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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/8699-8.txt b/8699-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e5c966f --- /dev/null +++ b/8699-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,8657 @@ +Project Gutenberg's Woman And Her Saviour In Persia, by A Returned Missionary + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Woman And Her Saviour In Persia + +Author: A Returned Missionary + +Posting Date: August 20, 2012 [EBook #8699] +Release Date: August, 2005 +First Posted: August 2, 2003 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WOMAN AND HER SAVIOUR IN PERSIA *** + + + + +Produced by Charles Aldarondo, Tiffany Vergon, and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + + + + + + + +[Illustration: PLAIN OF OROOMIAH, FROM THE SEMINARY AT SEIR.] + + + + +WOMAN AND HER SAVIOUR IN PERSIA. + +BY + +A RETURNED MISSIONARY. + + +With + +Fine Illustrations, and a Map of Nestorian Country. + + + + +PREFACE. + +Our Saviour bade his disciples gather up the fragments, that nothing be +lost; and many who have known of Miss Fiske's fifteen years of labor +for woman in Persia, have desired her to prepare for publication the +facts now presented to the reader. The writer was one of these; and it +was only when he found that she could not do it, that he attempted it, +in accordance with her wishes, simply that these interesting records of +divine grace might not be lost. + +The materials have been drawn from the letters and conversations of +those familiar with the scenes described, and especially from Miss +Fiske. In all cases, the language of others has been condensed, as much +as is consistent, with the truthful expression of their ideas; and, in +the translation of the letters of Nestorians, it has not been deemed +essential to follow slavishly every Syriac idiom, for, instead of these +letters owing their interest, as some have supposed, to their +translators, they may have sometimes rather suffered from renderings +needlessly idiomatic. + +It was at one time proposed to embrace the history of both the Male and +Female Seminaries, but the proposition came too late, and the memoir of +the lamented Stoddard gives so full an account of the former, that now +we need to hear only the story of its less known companion; but let the +reader bear in mind that as much might have been said of the one as of +the other, had the design been to give an account of both. + +A strict adherence to the order of events in the following pages would +have produced a series of disjointed annals. To avoid such a breaking +up of the narrative, each subject has been treated in full whenever +introduced, though that has involved a freedom somewhat independent of +chronological order. + +The notices of the revivals are mere incidental sketches. Their +complete history remains to be written. + +The beautiful Illustrations introduced are all new, copied from +sketches taken on the spot by the skillful pencil of a dear missionary +brother, whose modesty, though it will not consent to the mention of +his name, yet cannot prevent a grateful sense of his kindness. The Map +is an improvement on others previously published, and, besides adding +to our geographical knowledge, will be found valuable to the friends of +missions. + +If the readers of these pages enjoy but a small part of the delight +found in their preparation, the writer will not regret his undertaking. +May the day be hastened when heaven shall repeat the hosannas of a +regenerated world, even as now the abundant grace bestowed upon the +Nestorians redounds, through the thanksgiving of many, to the glory of +God. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +CHAPTER I. + +WOMAN WITHOUT THE GOSPEL. + +POLITICAL CONDITION.--NESTORIAN HOUSES.--VERMIN.--SICKNESS.--POSITION +AND ESTIMATION OF WOMAN.--NO READERS AMONG THEM.--UNLOVELY +SPIRIT.--SINS OF THE TONGUE.--PROFANITY.--LYING.--STEALING.--STORY +ABOUT PINS.--IMPURITY.--MOSLEM INTERFERENCE WITH SEMINARY. + + +CHAPTER II. + +MARBEESHOO. + +VISIT THERE.--NATIVE ACCOMMODATIONS.--HOSPITALITY OF SENUM.--MOHAMMEDAN +WOMEN. + + +CHAPTER III. + +THE SCENE OF THE NARRATIVE. + +NESTORIANS.--THEIR COUNTRY.--FRONTISPIECE.--LAKE.--PLAIN.--FORDING THE +SHAHER.--MISSION PREMISES IN OROGMIAH. + + +CHAPTER IV. + +MISSIONARY EDUCATION. + +OBJECT.--MEANS.--STUDY OF BIBLE.--PUPILS KEPT IN SYMPATHY WITH THE +PEOPLE.--PEOPLE STIMULATED TO EXERTION AND +SELF-DEPENDENCE.--TAHITI.--MADAGASCAR. + + +CHAPTER V. + +BEGINNINGS. + +MRS. GRANT.--EARLY LIFE AND LABORS.--GREAT INFLUENCE.--HER SCHOOL.--HER +PUPILS.--BOARDING SCHOOL.--GETTING PUPILS.--CARE OP THEM.--POVERTY OF +PEOPLE.--PAYING FOR FOOD OF SCHOLARS.--POSITION OF UNMARRIED MISSIONARY +LADIES.--BOOKS. + + +CHAPTER VI. + +THE SEMINARY. + +MAR YOHANAN.--STANDARD OF SCHOLARSHIP.--ENGLISH BOOKS READ IN +SYRIAC.--EXPENSE.--FEELINGS OF PARENTS.--DOMESTIC DEPARTMENT.--DAILY +REPORTS.--PICTURE OF A WEEK DAY AND SABBATH.--"IF YOU LOVE ME, LEAN +HARD."--ESLI'S JOURNAL.--LETTER FROM PUPILS TO MOUNT HOLYOKE +SEMINARY--FROM THE SAME TO MRS. C.T. MILLS. + + +CHAPTER VII. + +VACATION SCENES. + +IN GAWAR AND ISHTAZIN.--VILLAGES OF MEMIKAN.--OOREYA, DARAWE, AND +SANAWAR.--IN GAVALAN.--ACCOMMODATIONS.--SABBATH SCHOOL. + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +EARLY LABORS FOR WOMEN. + +FIRST MEETINGS WITH THEM.--FIRST CONVERT.--FIRST LESSONS.--WILD WOMEN +OF ARDISHAI. + + +CHAPTER IX. + +FRUITS OF LABOR IN NESTORIAN HOMES. + +USEFULNESS AMONG RELATIVES OF PUPILS.--DEACON GUWERGIS.--REFORMED +DRUNKARD AND HIS DAUGHTER.--MATERNAL MEETINGS.--EARLY INQUITIES FROM +GEOG TAPA.--PARTING ADDRESS OF MR. HOLLADAY.--.VISIT TO GEOG +TAPA.--SELBY AND HER CLOSET. + + +CHAPTER X. + +GEOG TAPA. + +DEACON MURAD KHAN IN 1846.--PENTECOSTAL SABBATH IN 1849.--MEETINGS IN +1850 AND 1854.--EXTRACTS FROM JOURNAL OF YONAN IN 1858. + + +CHAPTER XI. + +REVIVAL IN 1846. + +PREPARATORY WORK.--SANCTIFIED AFFLICTIONS.--NAME FOR REVIVAL.--SCENES +IN THE SEMINARIES IN JANUARY.--DEACON JOHN, SANUM, AND SARAH.--MR. +STODDARD.--YACOB.--YONAN.--MEETING IN THE BETHEL.--PRIEST +ESHOO.--DEACON TAMO.--PHYSICAL EXCITEMENT AND ITS CURE.--ARTLESS +SIMPLICITY OF CONVERTS.--MISSIONARY BOX.--MEETINGS BEFORE +VACATION.--MR. STODDARD'S LABORS.--FEMALE PRAYER MEETING.--REVIVAL IN +THE AUTUMN. + + +CHAPTER XII. + +FIRST FRUITS. + +SARAH, DAUGHTER OF PRIEST ESHOO.--MARTHA.--HANNAH. + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +SUBSEQUENT REVIVALS. + +DEACON JOHN STUDYING BACKSLIDING IN 1849.--WORK IN VILLAGE OF +SEIR.--WIVES OF SIYAD AND YONAN.--KHANUMJAN.--WOMEN AT THE +SEMINARY.--GEOG TAPA.--DEGALA.--A PENITENT.--SIN OF ANGER,--REVIVAL IN +1856.--MISS FISKE ENCOURAGED,--STILLNESS AND DEEP FEELING.--UNABLE TO +SING.--CONVERSION OF MISSIONARY CHILDREN.--VISIT OF ENGLISH +AMBASSADOR.--REVIVAL OF 1857.--LETTER OF SANUM. + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +DARK DAYS. + +SEMINARY BROKEN UP IN 1844.--DEACON ISAAC.--PERSECUTION BY MAR +SHIMON.--FUNERAL OF DAUGHTER OF PRIEST ESHOO.--DEACON +GUWERGIS.--ATTEMPT AT ABDUCTION OF PUPIL.--PERIL OF SCHOOL.--MRS. +HARRIET STODDARD.--YAHYA KHAN.--ANARCHY.--LETTER FROM BARILO. + + +CHAPTER XV. + +TRIALS. + +EVIL INFLUENCE OF HOMES.--OPPOSITION IN DEGALA.--ASKER KHAN.--POISONING +OF SANUM'S CHILDREN.--REDRESS REFUSED.--INQUISITOR IN SCHOOL.--TROUBLES +AT KHOSRAWA.--LETTERS FROM HOIMAR. + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +PRAYERFULNESS. + +LANGUAGE OP PRAYER.--PRAYER ON HORSEBACK.--OLD MAN IN SUPERGAN.--MAR +OGEN.--EARNESTNESS.--FAREWELL PRAYER MEETING IN 1858.--LETTER FROM +PUPIL.--SPIRIT OF PRAYER IN 1846.--WOMAN WHO COULD NOT PRAY,--"CHRIST +BECOME BEAUTIFUL."--CLOSET IN THE MANGER.--MONTHLY +CONCERTS.--PRAYERFULNESS IN 1849 AND 1850.--SABBATH, JANUARY +20TH.--INTEREST CONTINUED TILL CLOSE OF TERM.--FAMILY +MEETINGS.--AUDIBLE PRAYER.-ANSWER TO MOTHERS' PRAYERS.--CONNECTION OF +REVIVALS WITH PRAYER AT HOME. + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +FORERUNNERS. + +MOUNTAIN GIRLS IN SEMINARY.--PRAYING SARAH.--RETURN TO THE +MOUNTAINS.--VISIT OF YONAN AND KHAMIS, IN 1850.--OF MR. COAN, 1851.--OF +YONAN, AGAIN, 1861.--SARAH'S LETTERS. + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +LABORERS IN THE MOUNTAINS. + +LETTER OF BADAL.--ACCOUNT OP HANNAH.--THE PIT.--LETTER OF GULY AND +YOHANAN.--ACCOUNT OF SARAH.--LETTERS OF OSHANA.--LETTERS AND JOURNAL OF +SARAH,--LETTERS FROM AMADIA,--CONFERENCE OF NATIVE HELPERS. + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +EBENEZERS. + +EXAMINATION IN 1850.--COLLATION AND ADDRESS.--VALEDICTORY BY +SANUM.--SABBATH SCHOOL IN GEOG TAPA.--EXAMINATION THERE IN +1854.--PRAYER MEETING AND COMMUNION AT OROGMIAH, MAY, 1858.--SELBY, OF +GAVALAN, AND LETTER.--LETTER FROM HATOON, OF GEOG TAPA. + + +CHAPTER XX. + +COMPOSITIONS. + +THE FIELD OF CLOVER.--THE LOST SOUL.--THE SAVED SOUL.--HANNAH. + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +KIND OFFICES. + +HOSPITALITY OF NESTORIANS.--KINDNESS OF PUPILS.--BATHING FEET.--LETTERS +OF GOZEL, HANEE, SANUM OF GAWAR, MUNNY, RAHEEL, AND +MARTA.--HOSHEBO.--RAHEEL TO MRS. FISKE.--MOURNING FOR THE +DEAD.--NAZLOO.--HOSHEBO'S BEREAVEMENT.--DEATH OF MISSIONARY +CHILDREN.--LETTER FROM SARAH, DAUGHTER OF JOSEPH. + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +PROGRESS AND PROMISE. + +BENEVOLENCE, EARLY MANIFESTATION OF.--PROGRESS.--REVIVAL OF BENEVOLENCE +IN APRIL, 1861.--INTEREST OF PARENTS FOR THE CONVERSION OF THEIR +CHILDEREN.--PEACE IN FAMILIES.--REFORMED +MARRIAGES.--ORDINATIONS.--COMMUNION SEASONS.--MISS RICE AND MISS +BEACH.--CONCLUSION. + + + + * * * * * + +_List of Illustrations._ + +I. PLAIN AND LAKE OF OROOMIAH, AS SEEN FROM ROOF OF SEMINARY AT SEIR + +II. MAP OF THE NESTORIAN COUNTRY. + +III. FEMALE SEMINARY. + +IV. TENTS. + +V. MISSIONARY SCENE IN TURGAWER. + +VI. COURT YARD OF SEMINARY. + +VII. SEIR GATE, OROOMIAH. + +VIII. TIARY GIRL. + + + + +WOMAN AND HER SAVIOUR. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + +WOMAN WITHOUT THE GOSPEL. + +POLITICAL CONDITION.--NESTORIAN HOUSES.--VERMIN.--SICKNESS.--POSITION +AND ESTIMATION OF WOMAN.--NO READERS AMONG THEM.--UNLOVELY +SPIRIT.--SINS OF THE TONGUE.--PROFANITY.--LYING.--STEALING.--STORY +ABOUT PINS.--IMPURITY.--MOSLEM INTERFERENCE WITH SEMINARY. + +We love to wander over a well-kept estate. Its green meadows and +fruitful fields delight the eye. Its ripening harvests make us feel as +if we too were wealthy. But while the view of what lies before us is so +pleasant, our joy is greater if we can remember when it was all a +wilderness, and contrast its present beauty with the roughness of its +former state. + +So, in viewing the wonders of divine grace, we need to see its results +in connection with what has been. We can appreciate the loveliness of +the child of God only as we compare him with the child of wrath he was +before. Paul not only recounts the great things which God had done for +the early disciples, but bids them remember that they were once without +Christ; and before he tells them that God had made them "sit together +in heavenly places in Christ Jesus," he reminds them that they had +"walked according to the spirit that now worketh in the children of +disobedience." + +In seeking, then, to set forth the great things which God has done for +woman in Persia, let us first look on her as his gospel found her, that +we may better appreciate the grace which wrought the change. + +We can understand the condition of woman in that empire only as we bear +in mind that its government is despotic, and that no constitutional +safeguards shield the subjects of a thoroughly selfish and profligate +nobility. The Nestorians, too, are marked out alike by religion and +nationality as victims of oppression. However great their wrongs, they +can hope for little redress, for a distant court shares in the plunder +taken from them, and believes its own officials rather than the +despised rayahs, whom they oppress. Even when foreign intervention +procures some edict in their favor, these same officials, in distant +Oroomiah, are at no loss to evade its demands. + +The Nestorian is not allowed a place in the bazaar;[1] he cannot engage +in commerce. And in the mechanic arts, he cannot aspire higher than the +position of a mason or carpenter; which, of course, is not to be +compared to the standing of the same trades among us. When our +missionaries went to Oroomiah, a decent garment on a Nestorian was safe +only as it had an outer covering of rags to hide it. [Footnote 1: The +bazaar is, literally, the market, but denotes the business part of a +city.] + +In their language, as in Arabic, the missionaries found no word for +_home;_ and there was no need of it, for the thing itself was wanting. +The house consisted of one large room and was generally occupied by +several generations. In that one room all the work of the family was +performed. There they ate, and there they slept. The beds consisted of +three articles--a thick comfortable filled with wool or cotton beneath, +a pillow, and one heavy quilt for covering. On rising, they "took up +their beds," and piled them on a wooden frame, and spread them down +again at night. The room was lighted by an opening in the roof, which +also served for a chimney; though, of course, in a very imperfect +manner, as the inside of every dwelling that has stood for any length +of time bears witness. The upper part of the walls and the under +surface of the roof--we can hardly call it ceiling--fairly glitter, as +though they had been painted black and varnished, and every article of +clothing, book, or household utensil, is saturated with the smell of +creosote. The floor, like the walls, is of earth, covered in part with +coarse straw mats and pieces of carpeting; and the flat roof, of the +same material, rests on a layer of sticks, supported by large beams; +the mass above, however, often sifts through, and sometimes during a +heavy rain assumes the form of a shower of mud. Bad as all this may +seem, the houses are still worse in the mountain districts, such as +Gawar. There they are half under ground, made of cobble stones laid up +against the slanting sides of the excavation, and covered by a conical +roof with a hole in the centre. They contain, besides the family, all +the implements of husbandry, the cattle, and the flocks. These last +occupy "the sides of the house" (1 Sam. xxiv. 3), and stand facing the +"decana," or raised place in the centre, which is devoted to the +family. As wood is scarce in the mountains, and the climate severe, the +animal heat of the cattle is a substitute for fuel, except as sun-baked +cakes of manure are used once a day for cooking, as is the practice +also on the plain. In such houses the buffaloes sometimes break loose +and fight furiously, and instances are not rare when they knock down +the posts on which the roof rests, and thus bury all in one common ruin. + +The influence of such family arrangements, even in the more favored +villages of the plain, on manners and morality, need not be told. It is +equally evident that in such circumstances personal tidiness is +impossible, though few in our favored land have any idea of the extent +of such untidiness. If the truth must be told, vermin abound in most of +these houses; the inmates are covered not only with fleas, but from +head to foot they are infested with the third plague of Egypt. (Ex. +viii. 16-19). This last is a constant annoyance in many parts of Turkey +as well as Persia. If one lodges in the native houses, there is no +refuge from them, and only an entire change of clothing affords relief +when he returns to his own home; even there the divans have to be +sedulously examined after the departure of visitors, that the plague do +not spread. The writer has known daughters of New England, ready for +almost any self-denial, burst into tears when first brought into +contact with this. + +At first, the teachers of the Female Seminary in Oroomiah had to +cleanse their pupils very thoroughly, and were glad thus to purify the +outside, while beseeching Christ to cleanse the heart. Each one, on her +first arrival, had to be separately cared for, lest the enemy should +recover ground from which he had already been driven with much labor. +Missionary publications do not usually tell of such trials, but those +who drew the lambs from the deep pit, loved them all the more tenderly +for having gone down into it themselves, that thence they might bring +them to Jesus. Such trials are less common now, for it is generally +understood that a degree of personal cleanliness is an indispensable +requisite for admission to the Seminary; but such a demand, at that +time, would have rendered the commencement of the school impossible. + +The pupils became much improved in personal appearance, and some of +their simple-hearted mothers really thought their children had grown +very pretty under their teachers' care. So, as many of them were +strangers to the cleansing properties of water, they would ask again +and again, "How do you make them so white?" + +But if such houses were comfortless abodes for those in health, what +were they for the sick? Think of one in a burning fever, perhaps +delirious, lying in such a crowd. In winter, there they must remain, +for there is no other place, and in summer, they are often laid under a +tree in the day time, and carried up to the flat roof, with the rest of +the family, at night. + +Dr. Perkins, in the early part of his missionary life, tells us that in +a village the family room was given up to him for the night, and in the +morning he found a little son had been born in the stable. He supposed +that he had been the unwitting cause of such an event occurring there; +but longer acquaintance with the people shows that woman almost +invariably resorts to that place in her hour of sorrow, and there she +often dies. The number who meet death in this form is very large. + +In Persia, as in other unevangelized countries, women spend their days +in out-door labor. They weed the cotton, and assist in pruning the +vines and gathering the grapes. They go forth in the morning, bearing +not only their implements of husbandry, but also their babes in the +cradle; and returning in the evening, they prepare their husband's +supper, and set it before him, but never think of eating themselves +till after he is done. One of the early objections the Nestorians made +to the Female Seminary was, that it would disqualify their daughters +for their accustomed toil. In after years, woman might be seen carrying +her spelling-book to the field, along with her Persian hoe, little +dreaming that she was thus taking the first step towards the +substitution of the new implement for the old. + +Nestorian parents used to consider the birth of a daughter a great +calamity. When asked the number of their children, they would count up +their sons, and make no mention of their daughters. The birth of a son +was an occasion for great joy and giving of gifts. Neighbors hastened +to congratulate the happy father, but days might elapse before the +neighborhood knew of the birth of a daughter. It was deemed highly +improper to inquire after the health of a wife, and the nearest +approach to it was to ask after the welfare of the house or household. +Formerly, a man never called his wife by name, but in speaking of her +would say, "the mother of so and so," giving the name of her child; or, +"the daughter of so and so," giving the name of her father; or, simply +"that woman" did this or that. Nor did the wife presume to call her +husband's name, or to address him in the presence of his parents, who, +it will be borne in mind, lived in the same apartment. They were +married very young, often at the age of fourteen, and without any +consultation of their own preference, either as to time or person. + +There was hardly a man among the Nestorians who did not beat his wife. +The women expected to be beaten, and took it as a matter of course. As +the wife lived with the husband's father, it was not uncommon for him +to beat both son and daughter-in-law. When the men wished to talk +together of any thing important, they usually sent the women out of +doors or to the stable, as unable to understand, or unfit to be +trusted. In some cases, this might be a necessary precaution; for the +absence of true affection; and the frequency of domestic broils, +rendered the wife an unsafe depositary of any important family affair. +The same causes often led the wife to appropriate to her own foolish +gratification any money of her husband she could lay hands on, +regardless of family necessities. Women whose tastes led them to load +themselves with beads, silver, baser metal, and rude trinkets, would +not be likely to expend money very judiciously. + +In 1835, the only Nestorian woman that knew how to read was Heleneh, +the sister of Mar Shimon; and when others were asked if they would not +like to learn, with a significant shrug they would reply, "I am a +woman." They had themselves no more desire to learn than the men had to +have them taught. Indeed, the very idea of a woman reading was regarded +as an infringement of female modesty and propriety. + +It is a little curious, and shows how we adapt ourselves to our +situation, that the women were as unwilling to receive attention from +their husbands as they were to render it. Several years after the +arrival of Miss Fiske in Oroomiah, the wife of one of her assistants +visited the Seminary, and on leaving to return to her village, the +teacher, in the kindness of her heart, proposed to the husband to go +and assist her to carry the child. She seemed as if she had been +insulted in being thought unable to carry it, and sent her husband back +from the door in any thing but a gracious mood, leaving the good +teacher half bewildered and half amused at this reception of her +intended kindness. + +Indeed, until some of them were converted, all that was lovely and of +good report in woman was entirely wanting. They were trodden down, but +at the same time exceedingly defiant and imperious. If they were not +the "head," it was not because they did not "strive for the mastery." +They seemed to have no idea of self-control; their bursts of passion +were awful. The number of women who reverenced their husbands was as +small as the list of husbands who did not beat their wives. Says Miss +Fiske, in writing to a friend, "I felt pity for my poor sisters before +going among them, but anguish when, from actual contact with them, I +realized how very low they were. I did not want to leave them, but I +did ask, Can the image of Christ ever be reflected from such hearts? +They would come and tell me their troubles, and fall down at my feet, +begging me to deliver them from their husbands. They would say, 'You +are sent by our holy mother, Mary, to help us;' and do not think me +hard-hearted when I tell you that I often said to them, 'Loose your +hold of my feet; I did not come to deliver you from your husbands, but +to show you how to be so good that you can be happy with them.' +Weeping, they would say, 'Have mercy on us; if not, we must kill +ourselves.' I had no fear of their doing that, so I would seat them at +my side, and tell them of my own dear father,--how good he was; but he +was always _obeyed_. They would say, 'We could obey a good man.' 'But I +am very sure you would not have been willing to obey my father.' + +"It is one thing to pray for our degraded sisters while in America, but +quite another to raise them from their low estate. When I saw their +true character, I found that I needed a purer, holier love for them +than I had ever possessed. It was good for me to see that _I_ could do +nothing, and it was comforting to think that Jesus had talked with just +such females as composed the mass around me, and that afterwards many +believed because of one such woman." + +Sometimes the revilings of the women were almost equalled by similar +talk among the men, as in a village of Gawar, where they said, "We +would not receive a priest or deacon here who could not swear well, and +lie too." In the same village, a young man spoke favorably of Mr. +Coan's preaching in Jeloo. Instantly a woman called out, "And have you +heard those deceivers preach?" "Yes," was the reply, "both last year +and this, and hope I shall again." Hearing this, her eyes flashed, and +drawing her brawny arms into the form of a dagger, with a vengeful +thrust of her imaginary weapon, she cried, "The blood of thy father +smite thee, thou Satan!" and dreadful was the volley of oaths and +curses that followed. Yet she was only a fair specimen of the village. + +We of the calmer West do not know what it is to have a mob of such +women come forth in their wrath. In one town was a virago, who often, +single-handed, faced down and drove off Moslem tax-gatherers when the +men fled in terror. No one who has ever heard the stinging shrillness +of their tongues, or looked on their frenzied gestures, can ever forget +them, or wonder why the ancients painted the Furies in the form of +women. Words cannot portray the excitement of such a scene. The hair of +the frantic actors is streaming in the wind; stones and clods seem only +embodiments of the unearthly yells and shrieks that fill the air; and +yet it was such beings that grace made to be "last at the cross and +first at the sepulchre." + +The East is notorious for profanity, and among the Nestorians women +were as profane as men. The pupils in the Seminary at first used to +swear, and use the vilest language on the slightest provocation. Poor, +blind Martha, on her death bed, in her own father's house, was +constantly cursed and reviled. She was obliged sometimes to cover her +head with the quilt, and stop her ears, to secure an opportunity to +pray for her profane and abusive brother; and though, in such +circumstances, she died before her prayers were answered, yet they were +heard, for he afterwards learned to serve his sister's God. "Do you +think people will believe me," said a pupil to her teacher, who was +reproving her for profanity, "if I do not repeat the name of God very +often?" + +Lying was almost as common as profanity, and stealing quite as +prevalent as either. It was a frequent remark, "We all lie here; do you +think we could succeed in business without it?" + +In the early days of the Seminary, nothing was safe except under lock +and key. Sometimes there seemed to be a dawn of improvement, and next, +all the buttons would be missing from the week's washing, and the +teacher was pretty sure to find that her own pupils were the thieves. +Miss Rice tells of one, amply supplied with every thing by her parents, +yet noted for her thefts. Indeed, sons and daughters were alike trained +to such practices. In 1843, Miss Fiske could not keep a pin in her +pin-cushion; little fingers took them as often as she turned away, and +lest she should tempt them to lie, she avoided questioning them, unless +her own eye had seen the theft. No wonder she wrote, "I feel very weak, +and were it not that Christ has loved these souls, I should be +discouraged; but he has loved them, and he loves them still." If the +pins were found with the pupils, the answer was ready--"We found them," +or, "You gave them to us;" and nothing could be proved. But one summer +evening, just before the pupils were to pass through her room to their +beds on the flat roof, knowing that none of that color could be +obtained elsewhere, the teacher put six black pins in her cushion, and +stepped out till they had passed. As soon as they were gone, she found +the pins gone too, and at once called them back. She told them of her +loss, but none knew any thing about it. She showed them that no one +else had been there, and therefore they must know. Six pairs of little +hands were lifted up, as they said, "God knows we have not got them;" +but this only called forth the reply, "I think that God knows you have +got them," and she searched each one carefully, without finding them. +She then proposed to kneel down where they stood, and ask God to show +where they were, adding, "He may not see it best to show me now, but he +will do it some time." She laid the matter before the Lord, and, just +as they rose from their knees, remembered that she had not examined +their cloth caps. She now proposed to examine them, and one pair of +hands went right up to her cap. Of course she was searched first, and +there were the six pins, so nicely concealed in its folds that nothing +was visible but their heads. This incident did much good. The pupils +looked on the discovery as an answer to prayer, and so did their +teacher. They began to be afraid to steal when God so exposed their +thefts, and she was thankful for an answer so immediate. The offender +is now a pious, useful woman. + +Yet some were so accustomed to falsehood, that, even after conversion, +it cost a struggle to be entirely truthful, and missionaries could see, +as Christians in our own land cannot see, why an apostle should write +to the regenerate, "Lie not one to another." The teacher labored to +impress her charge with the sinfulness of such conduct, but in the +revival of 1846, they seemed to learn more in one hour than she had +taught them in the two years preceding. Yet that faithful instruction +was not lost. It was the fuel which the Spirit of God kindled into a +flame. The sower has not labored in vain because the seed lies for days +buried in the soil. + +In that revival, the awakened hastened to restore what they had stolen. +One came to Miss Fiske in great distress, saying, "Do you remember the +day, two years ago, when Sawdee's new shoes were taken from the +door?"--They leave off their shoes on entering a house.--"Yes, I +recollect it." "You thought a Moslem woman stole them, but"--and here +her feelings overcame her--"I took them, for I was angry with her, and +threw them into a well. What shall I do? I know Christ will not receive +me till I have confessed it to her. Can I go and confess it to-night, +and pray with her, and then may I go and work for money to replace +them?" She paid for the shoes, and became a bright light in her dark +home. There were many such cases, and from that time the teachers had +little trouble from theft. New pupils would sometimes steal, but the +older ones were ready to detect them, and show them a more excellent +way. Miss Fiske says of this, "The frequent visits of the Holy Spirit +have removed an evil which mocked my efforts. God made me feel my utter +helplessness, and then he did the work." That same term there was but +one case of theft in the Male Seminary, though formerly it was not +infrequent there. + +In reference to transgressions of the seventh commandment, much detail +is not expedient. It is sufficient to say, that the first impressions +of earlier missionaries respecting the purity of Nestorian women were +not sustained by subsequent acquaintance. The farther they went beneath +the surface of things, the more they found of corruption. One might go +to Persia supposing that he knew a good deal of the degradation of the +people, and yet really know very little of the pit into which he was +descending. + +A seminary gathering together such a company of young females, was a +new thing in Persia, and it will readily be conceived that amid a +Mohammedan community it was an object of peculiar solicitude to its +guardians. Many a Moslem eye was on those girls, as the results of a +religious education appeared in their manners, their dress, and +personal beauty. In one instance, an officer of government attempted to +take one of them to his harem, but God thwarted his purpose through the +interference of the English consul. Similar dangers threatened from +other sources, and eternity alone will reveal the burden of care and +watchfulness they involved. If only one pupil had been led astray, what +a hopeless loss of confidence would have followed among the people! In +the early years of the institution, when parents could hardly be +persuaded to trust their daughters out of their sight for a single +night, it might have broken up the whole enterprise; but in this +matter, also, God showed himself the hearer of prayer, and not one +danger of the kind was ever allowed to be more than an occasion for +renewed intercession, and more confiding dependence on his gracious +care. Sometimes, in vacation, it seemed strange to its guardians that +they had no longer a fold to protect, and could retire to rest free +from that anxious solicitude that sometimes drove sleep from their eyes. + +It is not in the beginning of missionary life that all these things are +understood: they are learned gradually. This is wisely ordered, that +the missionary be not discouraged at the outset. Strength is given each +day to meet new trials as they come, and it would not be leaving a +truthful impression on the reader, if, at the close of this description +of what has been, it should not be recorded, to the praise of divine +grace, that a great change has taken place. There are many to-day to +whom the missionary may say, "Such were some of you; but ye are washed, +but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord +Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." Not only do some who stole steal +no more, but many young husbands now provide separate apartments for +the bride whom they bring home, and they need all that the word "home" +expresses to describe their mutual joy. The hour of suffering is +anticipated by a considerate affection, and that affection is so +reciprocated that many hearts safely trust in the daughters of the +Female Seminary of Oroomiah. + +It is not merely education that has wrought this change, but a Bible +education. Paul cared for just such converts, and left divine teachings +for the use of those who should come after him in the same work. As a +young wife said to her teacher one day, after she had been talking with +her about her new duties, "I thank you; you are right. I am glad that +you have told me what Paul says, and I think that God has told you the +same thing." Many a graduate might say, with another, "I thank you for +your instructions, and as I look on the trials of ungodly families, +every drop of my blood thanks you." + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +MARBEESHOO. + +VISIT THERE.--NATIVE ACCOMMODATIONS.--HOSPITALITY OF SENUM.--MOHAMMEDAN +WOMEN. + +The following account of Miss Fiske's visit to Marbeeshoo, in November, +1847, presents a vivid picture of things as they were, and the +Christian thoughtfulness of one who had learned a more excellent way:-- + +"As we sat at dinner a few days since, Mr. Stocking proposed that I +spend the Sabbath with him at Marbeeshoo. I said at once, 'I cannot +leave my school.' But he forthwith called Sanum, Sarah, and Moressa, my +oldest girls, and asked them if they did not love souls in Marbeeshoo +well enough to take good care of school, and let me be absent till +Tuesday. They were delighted to think of my going where no missionary +lady had ever been, and said, 'We will do all we can for the girls, and +we will pray for you, if you will only go and try to do those poor +women good.' It was hardly two o'clock before we were on horseback. +Marbeeshoo is about fifty miles from us, and in Turkey. Two years ago +it was said 'no lady should try to go there,' but brother Stocking +thought not so now; and I was willing to follow where he led, +especially as a former pupil had recently settled there. We must be out +over night, but we thought best not to spend it in a tent, on account +of the cold. Near sunset we came to Mawana, a village of mud huts. We +went to the house of the head man, who joyfully welcomed us to his +house. It consisted of a single low room, inhabited by at least a score +of men, women, and children. They came in one by one, but already the +hens had found their resting place, evidently no strangers there. +Several lambs had been brought into their corner, and three or four +calves, each had his couch of grass. Our horses had been arranged for +the night on the other side of a partition wall, some three feet high. +When all were within, the coarse bread and sour milk were brought out +for supper. Then Mr. Stocking read from the Bible, and talked, and +prayed with the numerous family, and the women sat around me, while I +tried to do them good, till about ten o'clock. At that time, the mother +of the family rose, saying, 'Now we will settle it.' I listened to hear +the settlement of some family quarrel, but to my surprise her meaning +was, 'We will settle where to lie down for the night;' and as I looked +over the room I thought, surely some little skill in settling is +needed, if we are all to sleep here. But soon she took out three of the +children to an empty manger, where she put new hay, and quickly settled +them; they were covered with an old rug, and at once fell fast asleep. +She then returned, saying, 'Now there is room for our guests,' and +brought a piece of cotton cloth, which she said was _all_ for me. In a +short time, one and another was fast asleep. They lay on mats, without +either bed or pillow, and the divers breathing or snoring of men, and +calves, and lambs was soon heard, all mingled together. + +"I found myself sitting alone with the old lady, and so, putting my +carpet bag under my head, and drawing my shawl about me, I lay down +too. This was a signal for extinguishing the light; but before that, I +had marked a road, where I thought I might possibly pass out between +the sleepers should I need fresh air. There was no sleep for me; and +the swarms of fleas made me so uncomfortable, that before midnight I +found my way out, and remained as long as the cold air of that November +night allowed, and so passed out and in several times during the night. +I watched long for the morning, and at length it came, and the +sleepers, one by one, arose. They all hoped I had slept well, and I +could not tell them I had not, for they had given me the best they had, +and told me again and again how glad they were that I had come, and +hoped their house would always be mine when I came that way. There was +a proposal for breakfast, but the morning was so fine that I suggested +to Mr. Stocking that a carpet bag sometimes furnished a very good +breakfast. + +"We did enjoy that ride very much after a sleepless night. The road was +often only a narrow path on the edge of a precipice, and such as I had +never passed over before; but I thanked my God at every step for the +pure, fresh air of those mountains. As we approached the village, hid +away among the cliffs, and in such a narrow spot that houses were +placed one above another on the terraced hill-side, one of our +attendants insisted on riding forward, and we were not greatly +surprised to find a crowd ready to welcome us. One and another cried +out, 'Senum wants you to go to Zechariah's.' So to Zechariah's we went, +and there was my pupil, waiting with open arms to receive me. She took +me from my horse, exclaiming, 'Is it true that you have come? I have +heard where you staid last night, and I know you did not sleep at all. +Come right into my room; there are no fleas here; I have a bed that is +clean, that I keep for the missionaries. I will spread it for you, and +you shall sleep before any body comes to see you.' The bed was spread; +she gave me milk to drink (Judg, iv. 19), and then said, 'I will guard +the door so no one shall disturb you, and I will wake you for dinner.' +I was soon asleep, and slept two long hours before she woke me. + +"When she did, she came with her tray in her hand, where was the +freshly baked bread, the nicely cooked little fish, which, she said, +'my husband caught expressly for you and Mr. Stocking,' honey from +their own hives, milk from their flock, and other simple refreshments. +All was neatly prepared, and we were so thankful for the dear child's +attentions! When dinner was over, she said, 'Now I want you to see the +women; but they must not come here, for they will leave fleas, and you +will not be able to sleep tonight. There is another large room the +other side, and we will have meeting there this afternoon.' + +"About three o'clock I met there more than one hundred poor women, who +of course must ask many questions before their curiosity would be +satisfied. They finally became quiet, however, and I could tell them of +the Saviour, who had loved to teach just such needy ones as they were. +I enjoyed the afternoon very much; it was all the more precious for the +discomforts of the night, and the comforts of Senum's house. The next +day was the Sabbath, and most of the time I was in the 'large room,' +where the women came freely. In the afternoon about three hundred were +present. I was weary at night, but Senum's care, with the thought of +the privilege of meeting so many who had never before heard of Christ +as the _only_ Saviour, made me forget it all." + +Painful as is this view of woman as she was among the Nestorians, her +condition was still worse among the Mohammedans; not, indeed, in +matters of outward comfort, for the wealth of Persia is in Moslem +hands, and they occupy every position of rank or authority in the land. +But in all that pertains to morality and religion, they stand on a +lower level. + +The Nestorian woman may not have known what was contained in the Bible, +yet she knew that it was the word of God, and was ready to receive all +its teachings as of divine authority. To her Moslem sister it is not +only an unknown book, but one she is taught to regard as superseded by +the Koran. + +Although the Nestorian woman knew nothing of spiritual worship, yet she +regarded the Lord's day as set apart for his service. The Moslem, on +the other hand, regards it like any other day of the week, and exalts +her Friday to the place that of right belongs to the Sabbath of the +Lord. + +In all her degradation, the Nestorian woman reverenced the name of +Jesus as her God. True, she had no correct idea of salvation or +redeeming love; yet even a blind attachment to that sacred name is not +without its reward. She may have fallen very low, but there was a power +even in her ignorant adherence to Christ, that kept her from falling to +the level of those who renounced him for the Arabian impostor. This was +seen especially in the blessings that came to her through the +institution of Christian marriage, while others groaned under the +debasing influence of a sensual polygamy. The wretchedness this +occasioned is a topic too large and too painful to dwell upon here. But +the wide gulf that separated the two classes was clearly seen, when on +her Sabbath the missionary could speak to the Nestorian of her Saviour +out of her Bible, while the Moslem knows nothing beyond her kohl and +her henna,[1] her dresses and her follies, and other topics at once +belittling, debasing, and corrupting. [Footnote 1: Kohl is a black +powder used to paint the eyebrows and eyelashes. Henna is a plant +employed to stain the nails, and sometimes the entire hand and part of +the foot, of a dark orange hue.] + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + +THE SCENE OF THE NARRATIVE. + +NESTORIANS.--THEIR COUNTRY.--FRONTISPIECE.--LAKE.--PLAIN.--FORDING THE +SHAHER.--MISSION PREMISES IN OROOMIAH. + +We will now glance at the scene of the events to be narrated, as it may +not be familiar to every reader. To write of woman in Persia would +embrace the whole empire as the field of inquiry; for the existence of +woman is coextensive with the population. But "Woman and her Saviour in +Persia" confines our attention to those who have been taught the truth +as it is in Jesus; for when Christ sent forth Paul to preach his gospel +to the Gentiles, it was that they might receive forgiveness of sins, +and inheritance among them who are sanctified by faith that is in him; +and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? Our +theme, then, confines us to the Nestorians, who number about one +hundred thousand souls. About two thirds of these live in Turkey; but +the following pages relate principally to those residing in Persia, and +hence the title of the volume. + +This people inhabit, along with Koords and other races, the territory +extending from the western shore of the Lake of Oroomiah to the eastern +bank of the Tigris. It includes the Persian province of Oroomiah, and +both the eastern and western slope of Central Koordistan. The most +inaccessible recesses of the Koordish Mountains have been their refuge +for centuries. The whole region extends across four degrees of +longitude, with a varying breadth of from one to two degrees of +latitude. Attention will be called especially to the city of Oroomiah +and the villages around it. The plain of that name is seventy-five +miles long and from twelve to twenty miles in width, containing more +than a thousand square miles. It is dotted with perhaps three hundred +villages, the population varying, according to the size of the village, +from less than one hundred to more than a thousand inhabitants. + +The frontispiece gives a view of this plain, from the roof of the +mission premises at Seir, one thousand feet above the city. The lofty +Wolf mountain appears on the right, and the high range west of the +narrowest part of the lake on the left. The lake itself is seen beyond +the plain at the foot of the mountains which rise abruptly from its +eastern shore. The distance makes it seem much narrower than it is, for +while one hundred miles in length, it is not far from thirty miles in +breadth. Its surface is forty-one hundred feet above the sea, and four +hundred feet below the city of Oroomiah. No living thing exists in its +waters, which are both salt and bituminous. + +The plain is more crowded with villages than here represented, and each +one is made conspicuous by its grove of trees, as well as its houses. +The city appears prominent at the foot of the hill, though six miles +distant from the spectator. It is in the same latitude with Richmond, +Virginia, and contains about thirty-five thousand souls. The plain +slopes up very gradually from the lake, and Mount Seir rises, behind +our point of view, two thousand eight hundred and thirty-four feet +above the city. Farther west, the summits of Central Koordistan rise, +range above range, to the height of seventeen thousand feet. + +We pass down from Seir to the city by a carriage road, now by the side +of vineyards, and now near fields of wheat and clover, diversified by +orchards and gardens of cucumbers. All of these, and indeed the whole +plain, owes its fertility to canals, led out from the rivers which +descend from the mountains. Willow, poplar, and sycamore trees line +these watercourses. All kinds of fruit trees abound, while the rich +verdure of the plain contrasts strikingly with the bare declivities +that overlook it from every side. The villages on either hand are +clusters of mud houses crowded together for greater security, and every +tree in their groves has to be watered as regularly as the fields and +gardens. + +Before reaching the city we must ford the Shaher, a river that, though +frequently all drained off into the fields in summer, is very deep in +early spring, when fatal accidents sometimes occur. It was here that, +in May, 1846, Miss Fiske narrowly escaped a watery grave. On her way to +Seir, with Mr. and Mrs. Stoddard, the horse lay down in the middle of +the river, leaving her to be swept off by the rapid current. Mr. +Stoddard hastened to the rescue; but the moment his steed was loose, he +rushed to attack the horse of Mrs. Stoddard, and, as Miss Fiske rose to +the surface, she caught a glimpse of Mr. Stoddard looking back on the +battle, and his wife held between the combatants by her riding habit, +which had caught on the saddle; but while she looked the dress gave +way, and Mrs. Stoddard was safe. She herself had sufficient presence of +mind not to breathe under water, and, on coming up for the fifth time, +floated into shallow water near the opposite shore, forty rods below +the ford, just as Mr. Stoddard reached the same point. + +From the river, beautiful orchards line the road on both sides to the +city gate, of which a representation is given on page 154; and about +one eighth of a mile inside of that, where the Nestorian and Moslem +sections of the city join each other, stand the mission premises, built +of sun-dried bricks, like the houses around them. + +They occupy a little more than an acre, in the form of a parallelogram; +and if, for the sake of clearness, we compare it to a window, the +bottom of the lower sash is represented by a long, earthen-roofed +structure, half of it a dwelling house, once the home of Dr. Grant, but +now the dwelling of Dr. Wright. It is the building on the left of the +engraving at page 131, and the round object occupying the nearest +window in the second story is a clock, the gift of a well-known +merchant of Boston, brother of one of our deceased missionaries. Let +our lower sash be filled by two large panes in modern style, and these +are represented by two courts surrounded by pavements, and shaded by +large sycamore trees. In the engraving just referred to, the spectator +stands in one of these courts, looking over a low wall into the other. +For the top of the lower sash, we have another building, extending +across the premises. The left half of this appearing on page 131, +behind the trees, and on the opposite page represented without them, +was the first home of Dr. Perkins, and is now the Female Seminary; but +repeated additions and modifications have been required to transform a +building, originally erected for a private residence, into a structure +suitable for such a school. + +Miss Fiske first taught in one room of a building to the right, which +does not appear in the engraving, though a part of it is seen on page +131; then, as the school grew larger, another room was added, and when +those quarters became too strait, this building was remodelled for its +use. + +[Illustration: Female seminary at Oboomiah] + +As we shall have a good deal to do with the Seminary in these pages, +let us become familiar with its home. Between the central door and the +one on the left, those three windows belong to a large room once used +as a chapel, but since then as a guest room for the accommodation of +the women whom we shall see coming here to learn of Jesus. In this +room, Nestorian converts first partook of the Lord's supper with the +missionaries. The left of the three windows directly over these, with +the rose-bush in it, belongs to Miss Fiske's private room, and the +other two to her sitting room. This the pupils have named "The Bethel," +and it is so connected that the teacher can step into recitation room, +dining room, or kitchen, as occasion requires. The last named apartment +is on the rear of the building. The largest recitation room, by a +curious necessity, is in the form of a carpenter's wooden square, with +the teacher's desk in the angle between the two compartments. One of +these is on the back side of the building, out of sight; the other, +extending across the end, is represented in front by the window at the +extreme left. + +Over the central door is, first, the steward's room, and then closets +over that; for one of the results of the successive alterations and +additions is, that parts of the building are two, and other parts +three, stories high. Miss Rice's room is directly over the door on the +left hand, as the steward's is here. The three windows in the second +story, to the right of the two central closets, open into the dining +room, and one of the girls' rooms occupies the corner beyond. On the +lower floor, going from the central door to the right, is first a +closet, and then a large guest room for visitors; and underneath the +whole is the cellar where the boys' school was first taught, that has +since grown into the Male Seminary at Seir. + +The rooms of the pupils are mostly in the rear. These are large enough +to accommodate six or eight occupants, as the Oriental style of living +does not require so much furniture as ours. In each room is a member of +the senior class, who exercises a kind supervision over her younger +companions. Every room has two or more closets, designed especially, +but not exclusively, for devotion; and some sleep in the recitation +rooms, as such a use of them at night does not interfere with other +uses during the day. + +But we had almost forgotten our imaginary window, the upper sash of +which remains to be described. In that we have only one pane, +representing a large court, with the chapel on one side, and the wash +rooms and other outbuildings of the Seminary on the other. This court +is more garden-like than the other two, has fewer trees, and a long +arbor, covered with grape vines, forms a covered walk in the middle of +it. It was in this arbor that the tables were spread for the collation +in 1850, to be described hereafter. This court is invaluable as a place +for out-door exercise, where the pupils may enjoy the fresh air, free +from the annoyances and exposures of the streets in an Oriental city. + +A stream is led through all these courts in a channel lined with stone. +Its murmuring waters are a pleasant sound at early dawn, when they +mingle sweetly with the morning song of birds. Here many Nestorian +women come to fill their earthen pitchers, as the water is not carried +through the courts of Christian houses. The mission premises belonged +to Mohammedans; and here, in the shade of the tall sycamores, Mrs. +Grant used to sit, with her children, and talk with the women who came +for water. Her successors find time to continue the same practice, and +as the natives let down their pitchers (Gen. xxiv. 18), and now and +then one is broken (Eccles. xii. 6), realize that they live in a Bible +land, and seek to make its daughters feel the power of Bible truth. + +The Seminary is outwardly very humble, and would contrast very +unfavorably with the stately edifices of similar institutions at home. +But we shall see that the Saviour has not disdained to honor it with +his presence, and its earthen floors and mud walls[1] have witnessed +many a gracious visit of the Holy Spirit. Though the glory of Lebanon +has not come unto it, yet has God himself beautified the place and made +it glorious. [Footnote 1: The pilasters in the engraving are made of +brick, and not only support the large timbers of the roof, but, by +their greater projection, protect the softer material of the wall from +the weather. The whole is plastered outside with a mixture of lime and +clay, that requires frequent renewal.] + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + +MISSIONARY EDUCATION. + +OBJECT--MEANS--STUDY OF BIBLE--PUPILS KEPT IN SYMPATHY WITH THE +PEOPLE.--PEOPLE STIMULATED TO EXERTION AND SELF-DEPENDENCE--TAHITI. +--MADAGASCAR. + +Let us now look at some of the principles on which missionary education +was here carried on, that we may see what kind of an instrumentality +God was pleased to crown with his blessing. + +The Seminary was founded, not to polish the manners, refine the taste, +or impart accomplishments, but to renovate the character by a permanent +inward change. The main dependence for bringing this about was the +power of the Holy Ghost--the only power that can impart or maintain +spiritual life in man. This dependence was expressed in fervent prayer, +offered for years amid discouragement and opposition, and, instead of +ceasing when an answer came, only offered by a greater number. It is +worthy of note that some of the seasons of greatest revival were +preceded by disasters that threatened the very existence of the mission. + +The principal text book was the word of God; partly, as we shall see, +through a providential necessity, but chiefly because it was God's own +chosen instrumentality for the salvation of our race; and it was +eminently adapted for the education of such a people. The teachers +could say, with a beloved co-laborer on Mount Lebanon, "To the +Scriptures we give increased attention; they do more to unfold and +expand the intellectual powers, and to create careful and honest +thinkers, than all the sciences we teach." It is also most efficient in +freeing mind and heart from those erroneous views that are opposed to +its teachings; and actual trial developed a richness and fulness of +practical adaptation to the work that astonished even those who already +knew something of its value. Its precepts and instructions were also +clothed with power: requirements and counsels which from the missionary +had only awakened opposition, coming from the Bible were received as +messages from heaven. Said a Nestorian to a missionary who had been +speaking to him the words of God, "His words grew very beautiful while +we were talking." In reference to every suspicious novelty or +distasteful duty, the Bible was the ultimate appeal. The missionary +could say to them as Paul did to an early church, "When ye received the +word of God, which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of +man, but, as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh +also in you that believe." Besides, those thus educated were to teach +others, and needed to be thoroughly furnished from the divine oracles +with the truths they were to impart. It is not strange, then, that in +the Seminary the Bible was studied both doctrinally and historically; +that they had a system of theology and tables of Scripture chronology; +that biblical biography and geography were regular studies; that +different portions of Scripture occupied different years; and that, +instead of Butler's Analogy and Wayland's Moral Science, were the +Epistles to the Romans and Hebrews studied with all the accurate +analysis and thoroughness bestowed elsewhere upon the classics. Such +teaching would yield good fruit any where, and the good seed found good +ground in Persia. + +So much for the instrumentality; but, then, influences are every where +at work to check the growth of the plant of grace, and these must be +overcome. There is danger that missionary education may be made worse +than useless by allowing the sympathies of pupils to become alienated +from the masses around them. Children from heathen families may be +puffed up with an idea of superiority to their own people. Their taste +may be cultivated so as to render disgust with heathen degradation +stronger than the Christian desire to do them good. A foreign language, +foreign dress, and foreign habits may widen the gulf that separates +them from their people, till, what with an undue exaltation on the one +hand and a suspicious jealousy on the other, usefulness is well nigh +impossible. But here such tendencies have been carefully watched and +guarded against. The pupils have been trained with the view of doing +good among their own people. No line of separation has been drawn in +dress or diet, furniture or household arrangements. While taught to be +neat, the goal kept ever in sight has been, a happy usefulness in their +own homes, the elevation of the mass just as fast as was consistent +with mutual love and sympathy, the people not feeling that their +daughters were denationalized, and they not lifted out of sympathy with +the homes they were to bless. Hence, even in 1844, we find the mud +floor of the small school room covered with straw mats; one window, of +oiled paper, admitting the light; and a brick stove, with a few rude +benches, its only furniture. In the other room, where the cooking was +done, the pupils ate, and spent their time out of school. Here were two +windows of like material; and besides the mats, the floor was covered +with a thick felt, on which they spread their beds at night. A table +was provided, covered with a coarse blue and white check. There were +also a set of coarse plates and a few other dishes, but no knives nor +forks. They eat their soup with wooden spoons, and their other food +with their hands. Their clothing, like their cooking, was mostly in +native style; and they were taught to make it for themselves. + +Another object in missionary education is, to do enough to stimulate to +exertion, and yet not foster inefficiency or undue dependence. The +Nestorians are poor, but doing too much for them may make them still +poorer. They must be brought to sustain their own institutions at the +earliest possible moment, and their training should keep that end in +view. Hence Miss Fiske writes, "At first I was inclined to do more for +them than afterwards, and at length settled down on this principle,--to +give my pupils nothing for common use which they could not secure in +their own homes by industry and economy. So I furnished only such +articles as they could buy in the city. I preferred that they should +make all their own clothing, and may have grieved friends sometimes by +declining clothing which they offered to send for them. We chose rather +to spend our own strength in training them to provide for themselves. I +do not mean that I am not glad to see foreign articles in Oroomiah; but +we were in danger of fostering a more expensive taste than they would +have the means of gratifying. Our great object is to raise up the most +efficient coadjutors from among the people, and they must labor among +their neighbors as of them, and not as foreigners, and be prepared to +carry forward the work when we leave it. + +"At first we clothed as well as boarded our pupils, and then led them +to provide one article after another, till they clothed themselves. It +was delightful to see the interest parents began to take in clothing +their daughters, in order to send them to school after they provided +their own garments. They took better care of them, and so learned to +take better care of other things. Since I left, Miss Rice has advanced +farther in this matter; and last year most of the pupils paid a trifle +for tuition, amounting in all to over twenty dollars. It often costs +more than the amount to secure these pittances; but it does our pupils +good, and we spared no pains to this end." + +It is touching to see the spirit manifested by some parents in this +connection. One very poor widow, whose little field of grain had been +devoured by locusts, brought a large squash and a quantity of raisins +which she had earned by laboring for others--a self-denial almost equal +to her previous giving up of her only bed for the use of a daughter in +the Seminary, which she brought, saying, "I can sleep on the _hasseer_ +[rush mat], if you will only receive her into school." + +It certainly is not benevolence to do for others what they can do as +well for themselves, or to do for them in a way to diminish either +their ability or disposition to provide for themselves. Missionaries +may be in danger of staying too long and doing too much for a people, +rather than of leaving them too soon after the gospel has taken root +among them. + +Native pastors came into being at Tahiti simply because the French +drove off the missionaries. They were not ordained before, but at once +proved themselves equal to the work that Providence assigned them; and +after twenty years of French misrule, in spite of Popery on the one +hand and brandy and vice on the other, there are now more church +members under these native pastors than ever before. + +Twenty years ago the European shepherds were driven from Madagascar, +and a few lambs left in the midst of wolves; but God raised up native +pastors, and, instead of tens of Christians under Europeans, there are +now hundreds, yea, thousands, under these natives.[1] Those +missionaries are wise who aim constantly at results like these; and it +is in such a spirit that work has been done among the women of Persia. +[Footnote: Rev. Dr. Tidman, secretary of the London Missionary Society, +in "Conference of Missions at Liverpool," 1860, p. 225.] + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + +BEGINNINGS. + +MRS. GRANT.--EARLY LIFE AND LABORS.--GREAT INFLUENCE.--HER SCHOOL.--HER +PUPILS.--CHANGED INTO BOARDING SCHOOL.--GETTING PUPILS.--CARE OF +THEM.--DIFFICULTIES FROM POVERTY OF PEOPLE.--PAYING FOR FOOD OF +SCHOLARS.--POSITION OF UNMARRIED MISSIONARY LADIES.--BOOKS. + +We have seen that among the Nestorians it was counted a disgrace for a +female to learn to read; and even now, in the districts remote from +missionary influence, a woman who reads, and especially one who writes, +is an object of public odium, if not of persecution. How, then, could +the Nestorians be induced to send their daughters to schools? What +overcame this strong national prejudice? These questions open a +delightful chapter in divine providence, showing how wonderfully God +adapts means to ends, even on opposite sides of the globe. + +A Christian gentleman in the State of New York, on the death of his +wife's sister, adopted into his own family her infant child. She was +trained to the exercise of a practical Christian benevolence, and her +superior mind was improved by an education remarkably thorough. In the +classics and mathematics she exhibited uncommon aptitude, and made +unusual attainments; so that it was truly said of her, "Perhaps no +female missionary ever left our country with a mind so well disciplined +as Mrs. Judith S. Grant." She sailed for Persia, July 11, 1835; and +there she displayed rare ability in acquiring the language of the +people. The Turkish she soon spoke familiarly. In a short time she read +the ancient Syriac, and acquired the spoken language with at least +equal facility. Previous even to these acquisitions, she taught Mar +Yohanan and others English; and as they noticed the ease with which she +turned to her Greek Testament, whenever ours seemed to differ from the +ancient Syriac, they regarded her with feelings in which it would be +hard to say whether wonder, love, or reverence was the strongest. Some +might have cried out, when her fine intellect and rare acquirements +were devoted to the missionary work, "Why is this waste of the ointment +made?" But had her friends searched the round world for a sphere of +greatest usefulness, they could not have selected one where her rare +gifts would have accomplished so much; and when such a woman manifested +deep solicitude for the education of her sex, ancient prejudice fell +before her. She taught her own domestics to read. She sedulously +cultivated the acquaintance of both Christian and Mohammedan women; nor +did she rest till she had opened a school for girls in what is now Mr. +Coan's barn. Such was her zeal, that when her health would not allow +her to go there, she taught the pupils in her own apartment. She +commenced with only four scholars, but at the same time prepared the +maps for Parley's Geography in modern Syriac, and the old map of +Oroomiah, so familiar to the readers of the Missionary Herald, was her +handiwork. Nor was her usefulness confined to her school room. Hers was +the privilege of creating such a public sentiment in favor of the +education of woman, that her successors have found the gates wide open +before them, and often wondered at the extent and permanence of the +influence she acquired. There is no one topic of which Miss Fiske has +spoken to the writer so frequently, and with such enthusiasm, as the +great work that Mrs. Grant accomplished for woman in Persia, during her +short missionary life. She was the laborious and self-denying pioneer +in female education, and every year thus far has brought to light new +evidence of her extensive usefulness. It was no empty compliment, when +the venerable Mar Elias said, "We will bury her in our church, where +none but very holy men are laid. As she has done so much for us, we +want the privilege of digging her grave with our own hands." + +Miss Fiske writes, shortly after her arrival, "The first Syriac word I +learned was 'daughter;' and as I can now use the verb 'to give,' I +often ask parents to give me their daughters. Some think that I cannot +secure boarding scholars, but Mrs. Grant got day scholars; and when I +hear men, women, and children say, 'How she loved us!' I want to love +them too. I mean to devote at least five years to the work of trying to +gather girls into a boarding school, as Mrs. Grant desired to do. She +has gone to her rest. I wonder that I am allowed to take her place." +And again: "I am usually in school till three P.M., and then I go out +among the poor mothers till tea time. They often say to me, 'Mrs. Grant +did just as you do.' Her short life was a precious offering. I feel +each day more and more that I have entered into the labors of a +faithful servant of Christ." + +Among the pupils of Mrs. Grant was Selby, of Oroomiah, who was +hopefully converted while teaching some day scholars connected with the +Seminary, in 1845. Raheel, (Rachel,) the wife of Siyad, the tailor +mentioned in the Memoir of Mr. Stoddard, was another. So were Sanum, +the wife of Joseph; Meressa, the wife of Yakob; and Sarah, the daughter +of Priest Abraham, and wife of Oshana, of whom we shall hear more +hereafter. + +After the death of Mrs. Grant, January 14, 1839, the school was +continued under the charge of Mr. Holladay, who employed native +teachers to assist him, the ladies of the mission cooperating as they +could. It then passed into the hands of Dr. Wright, who had the care of +it when Miss Fiske arrived in Oroomiah, June 14, 1843. During all this +time it was only a day school, and contact with vice in the homes of +the pupils greatly hindered its usefulness. It was for this reason that +Miss Fiske was exceedingly anxious to make it a boarding school, so as +to retain the pupils continuously under good influences. But would they +be allowed to spend the night on the mission premises? This was doubted +by many, and all had their fears; yet in August an appropriation was +made for the support of six boarding pupils, who were to be entirely +under the control of the mission for three years. Some said they could +not be obtained for even one year, and not one of them would remain to +complete the three. Even Priest Abraham said, "I cannot bear the +reproach of having my daughter live with you." At that time, scarcely a +girl twelve years old could be found who was not betrothed; and years +were devoted to the preparation of a coarse kind of embroidery, a +certain amount of which must be ready for the wedding. + +One day in August, Mar Yohanan said to Miss Fiske, "You get ready, and +I find girls." She devoted that month and the next to preparation for +her expected charge. But the day came for opening the school, and not +one pupil had been obtained. The teacher was feeling somewhat anxious, +when, from her window in the second story, she saw Mar Yohanan crossing +the court, with a girl in either hand. One of them was his own niece, +Selby, of Gavalan, seven years of age; the other, Hanee, of Geog Tapa, +about three years older. They were not very inviting in outward +appearance; but it did not take Miss Fiske long to reach the door, +where the bishop met her, and placing their little hands in hers, said, +in his broken English, "They be your daughters; no man take them from +your hand." She wrote to a friend an account of her success, adding, "I +shall be glad to give them to the Lord Jesus, and love to look on them +as the beginning of my dear school." These two pupils were supported by +ladies in Maiden, Massachusetts, and the number soon increased to six; +but fifteen days after, two of them, finding the gate open, suddenly +left for home. Their teacher did not think it advisable to follow them; +nor did she see them again till, ten years after, an invitation for a +reunion of all her scholars brought two whom she did not recognize. She +said, "Perhaps you were here under Mrs. Grant?" "No, we were your own +scholars for fifteen days, and we are very sorry we ran away." They are +now both useful Christians, and the places they left in 1843 were +speedily filled by others. + +The care of the school was much more exhausting than its instruction. +When the teacher went out, and when she came in, she must take her +pupils with her, for she dared not leave them to themselves. Indeed, so +strong were the feelings of their friends, that they allowed them to +remain only on condition that they should lodge with or near their +teacher, and never go out except in her company. A native teacher +rendered such help as he could, needing much teaching himself; and +everything combined to make the principal feel that hers was to be a +work of faith and prayer. As the first of January approached, she +thought how sweet it would be to be remembered by dear friends at Mount +Holyoke; and when it came, she wrote to Miss Whitman, "In looking over +Miss Lyon's suggestions for the observance of the day, last year, I +cannot tell you how I felt as I read the words, 'Perhaps next new +year's day will find some of you on a foreign shore. If so, we pledge +you a remembrance within these consecrated walls.' I thought not then +that privilege would be mine; but since it is, I count your prayers the +greatest favor you can confer." + +At Oroomiah, the missionaries met together for prayer at one o'clock, +and after that Dr. Perkins and Mr. Holladay preached to the assembled +Seminaries, while the ladies of the mission met separately for prayer; +then united intercession again closed the day. And they needed to wait +on God, for many difficulties combined to prevent success. + +One was the poverty of the people. To say merely that they were poor +gives no true idea of their situation to an American reader. They were +extremely poor, and grinding oppression still keeps them so. In 1837, +Mr. Stocking found very few pupils in the schools wearing shoes, even +in the snow of midwinter; and one sprightly lad in Sabbath school had +nothing on but a coarse cotton shirt, reaching down to his knees, and a +skull cap, though the missionary required all his winter clothes, +besides a fire, to keep him comfortable. + +Another evil growing out of their poverty was, that the missionairies, +in order to give the first impulse to education, resorted to some +measures which, after an interest was awakened, had to be laid aside in +order to increase it. For example, poor parents could not be persuaded +to earn bread for their children while they sent them to school; hence, +to get scholars at first, the mission furnished their daily bread; and +this having been done for the boys, had to be done for the girls also. +So, in the winter of 1843-44, twenty-five cents a week was paid to the +day scholars, the others having their board instead. But the current +having once commenced to flow in the new channel, such inducements +became more a hinderance than a help, and, in the spring of 1844, Miss +Fiske told her scholars that no more money would be paid for their +bread; and though some of the mission feared it would be necessary to +resume the practice, instead of that it was soon dropped in the other +Seminary also. + +But the special difficulty growing out of the condition of woman in a +Mohammedan country demands our notice. Some may suppose that because +Miss Fiske and Miss Rice have succeeded so well, an unmarried lady from +this country has nothing to do but to go there and work like any one +else. This is not true; such a one cannot live by herself: her home +must be in some missionary family. She cannot go out alone, either +inside or outside of the city. In many things she needs to be shielded +from annoyances here unknown. And God provided all that the teachers of +the Seminary needed of such help; first, in the kind family of Mr. +Stocking, and, after his death, in the pleasant household of Mr. +Breath. Indeed, not one of all the missionary circle ever stood in need +of such a hint as Paul gave the church at Rome concerning the deaconess +of Cenchrea. As Miss Fiske says, playfully, "Whenever we went with them +to visit pupils at a distance, they always made us believe that it was +a great privilege to take us along;" and every lady who goes out, in a +similar way, to labor in the missionary field, will find just such +Christian kindness indispensable to her comfort and usefulness. In such +a sphere of action, a lady's dependence is her independence. + +Another difficulty was the want of books. Such a thing as a school book +had been unknown among the Nestorians. The only ones to be had in 1843 +were the Bible in ancient Syriac,--a language unintelligible to the +common people,--and the Gospel of John, with a few chapters of Genesis, +in the spoken language, besides a few tracts. Later came the Gospel of +Matthew, and, after that, the four Gospels. Mr. Stocking prepared a +Spelling Book of fifty-four pages, 8vo, a Mental Arithmetic of +twenty-four pages, and afterwards a larger Arithmetic. Mr. Coan, a +Scripture Spelling Book of one hundred and sixty pages, 8vo. Mr. +Stoddard issued a very full and complete Arithmetic for the older +scholars in 1856, but his System of Theology did not appear till after +his decease, in 1857. Dr. Wright was the author of a Geography of three +hundred and two pages, printed in 1849. Mr. Cochran's Scripture +Geography appeared in 1856, and Barth's Church History was published +the same year. But the book studied more than all others, and most +efficient in enlightening and elevating the people, was the Bible, of +which the New Testament appeared in 1846, and the Old in 1852. As many +as three hours a day were devoted to that; and no recollections of +missionary education in Persia are so pleasant as those of the Bible +lessons. The pupils have pleasant memorials of some of them in the form +of Bible maps, drawn by themselves, which now form a conspicuous and +appropriate ornament of their homes. + +It may seem to some as though so much study of the Bible would make the +pupils weary of its sacred pages; but precisely the contrary was true. +When the New Testament, shortly after it was printed, was offered to +those who, during recreation hours, would commit to memory the +Scripture Catechism, containing more than one thousand texts, some +learned it in three weeks, and others in a longer time; and their joy +in receiving the reward could hardly be expressed. It was near the +close of the term, and some who had not quite finished when vacation +began remained to complete the task; for they said they could not go +home unless they carried with them their Testament; and the diligent +use they made of it afterwards showed that their desire was more than +mere covetousness. Even eighteen months after, writing to a friend in +America, they say, "Now we have each of us this blessed book, this +priceless blessing; would that in it we might all find salvation for +our souls. This book is from the unspeakable mercy of God; nor can we +ever repay our dear friends for it." I cannot forbear quoting here the +closing sentence of the letter--"Dear friend, the gentle love of the +Saviour be with you. AMEN." + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + +THE SEMINARY. + +MAE YOHANAN.--STANDARD OF SCHOLARSHIP.--ENGLISH BOOKS READ IN +SYRIAC.--EXPENSE.--FEELINGS OF PARENTS.--DOMESTIC DEPARTMENT.--DAILY +REPORTS.--PICTURE OF A WEEK DAY AND SABBATH.--"IF YOU LOVE ME, LEAN +HARD."--ESLI'S JOURNAL.--LETTER FROM PUPILS TO MOUNT HOLYOKE +SEMINARY.--FROM THE SAME TO MRS. C. T. MILLS. + +When Mar Yohanan returned to Persia after his visit to the United +States, in 1843, Prince Malik Kassim Meerza, who could speak a little +English, asked him, "What are the wonders of America?" He replied, "The +blind they do see, the deaf they do hear, and the women they do read; +they be not beasts." Having visited Mount Holyoke Seminary, he often +said, "Of all colleges in America, Mount Holy Oke be the best; and when +I see such a school here, I die;" meaning that then he would be ready +to die. When he brought her first boarding scholars to Miss Fiske, he +said, "Now you begin Mount Holy Oke in Persia." + +As she sought to reproduce one of our female seminaries, as far as was +possible in such different circumstances, it seems fitting to enter +somewhat into the minutiae of its arrangements. + +Resemblance to similar institutions at home is not as yet to be sought +in the standard of scholarship, though that is rapidly advancing. In an +unevangelized community, the people move on a lower level. Not only +social condition, but morality and education, feel the want of the +elevating influence of the gospel. A seminary that commences operations +by teaching the alphabet must advance far, and climb high, before its +graduates will stand on a level with those whose pupils were familiar +with elementary algebra when they entered; yet its course of study may +be the best to secure the usefulness of its members in their own +community. If ragged village girls, untutored and uncombed, studying +aloud in school hours, and at recess leaping over the benches like wild +goats, now study diligently and in silence, move gently, and are +respectful to their teachers and kind to each other, a thorough +foundation has been laid; and if, in addition to that, the literary +attainments of the lower classes to-day exceed those of the pupils who +first left the school, the superstructure rises at once beautifully and +securely. + +Leaving out the Bible,--which has been already spoken of,--to the +original reading, writing, singing, and composition; have been added by +degrees, grammar, geography, arithmetic, and theology; with oral +instruction in physiology, chemistry, natural philosophy, and astronomy. + +But we should neither understand the attainments of the pupils, nor the +source of their marked ability as writers, did we not notice that, as a +reward for good conduct during the day, their teacher was accustomed to +translate orally to them, at its close, at first simple stories, and +then such volumes as Paradise Lost, The Course of Time, and Edwards's +History of Redemption. To these were added such practical works as +Pike's Persuasives to Early Piety, Pastor's Sketches, and Christ a +Friend; and the pupils understood books a great deal better in the free +translations thus given, than in the more exact renderings issued from +the press. Baxter's Saints' Rest, poured thus hot and glowing into a +Syriac mould, was more effective, at least for the time, than the same +after it had cooled and been laboriously filed into fidelity to the +original. + +The Seminary was unlike similar schools at home in the matter of +expense. In 1853, the cost for each pupil was only about eighteen +dollars for the year, including rent, board, fuel, lights, and clothing +in part; and as this was paid by the American Board, education to the +people was without money and without price. We have already alluded to +the efforts of the teachers to train up the people to assume this +expense themselves. + +Let us now trace the progress made in getting the pupils away from the +evil influences of their Persian homes. In 1843, besides her six +boarding pupils, Miss Fiske had a few day scholars; next year she had +still fewer; and the year after that, they were dropped entirely. Many +wished to send their daughters in this way; but she was decided in her +refusal to receive them, because thus only could the highest good of +the pupils be secured. At first, so great was her dread of home +influences, that she sought to retain them even in vacation; but she +soon saw that their health and usefulness, their sympathy with the +people, and the confidence of the people in them, required them to +spend a part of the year at home. This also gave their teachers a good +opportunity to become acquainted with their friends and neighbors, and +a door was opened for many delightful meetings with women, in which the +pupils rendered much assistance. It also secured the influence of the +parents in favor of what was for the good of their daughters, and made +them interested in the school. During Miss Fiske's entire residence in +Persia, fathers rarely disregarded her wishes concerning their +daughters in her school. + +The only time that the teachers were ever reviled by a Nestorian father +was in the case of a village priest. He came one day to the Seminary to +see his daughter, and because she did not appear at once,--she was +engaged at the moment,--he cursed and swore, in a great passion, and +when she did come, carried her home. No notice was taken of it, and no +effort made to get her back; but three years after, the first +indications of his interest in religion were deep contrition for his +conduct on that occasion, and a letter full of grief for such treatment +of those who had come so far to tell him and his of Jesus. He at once +sent his daughter back, and three weeks after she too came to the +Saviour, and even begged, as a favor, to have the care of the rooms of +the teachers her father had reviled. Since then, the priest has written +no less than three letters, as he says, to be sure that so great +wickedness was really pardoned, it seemed to him so unpardonable. + +The circumstances of the Seminary required a domestic department. It +was difficult, in Persia, to have girls only ten years old take charge +of household affairs; yet a beginning was made; but how much labor of +love and patience of hope it involved cannot be told to those who have +not tried it. At first, their one hour of work each day was more of a +hinderance than a help; but gradually, through watchfulness and much +effort, they were brought to do the whole without the least +interference with their regular duties in school. They were thus +trained to wait upon themselves, and so one deeply rooted evil of +Oriental life was corrected. This practice also relieved the school of +the bad influence of domestics, while it prepared the pupils for lives +of contented usefulness among a people so poor as the Nestorians. +Besides, in this way they acquired habits of regularity and punctuality +such as they never saw in their own homes. + +But while these Western habits were inculcated, such of their own +customs as were harmless were left untouched. They were carefully +taught to do things in their own way, so as naturally and easily to +fall into their proper place at home. + +At first, in their daily reports, Miss Fiske dared not ask any question +the answer to which she could not ascertain for herself. The earliest +she ventured to put was, whether they had combed their hair that day. +The pupils all stood up, and those who had attended to this duty were +asked to sit down. The faithful ones were delighted to comply. The +others, mortified and ashamed, remained standing; but if one of them +tried to sit down, a glance of the eye detected her. This simple method +laid a foundation for truthfulness and self-respect; and from this the +teacher gradually advanced to other questions, as their moral sense +became able to bear them, till, when they could answer five +satisfactorily, such as, "Have you all your knitting needles?" "Were +you at prayers?" "Were you late?"--things that could be ascertained at +once,--they thought themselves wonderfully good, little dreaming how +much the teacher did not dare to ask, lest she should lead them into +temptation. After the first revival, she could ask about things that +took place out of her sight; and now this exercise is conducted in the +same way as in our best schools at home. There is very little +communication now between them in the school room. In 1852, there were +only five failures on this point for four months, and those by new +scholars. Dr. Perkins wrote, that year, "The exact system in this +school, and the order, studiousness, good conduct, and rapid +improvement of the pupils, in both this and the other Seminary, are +probably unsurpassed in any schools in America." + +In reply to a request for the picture of a day in the Seminary, Miss +Fiske writes, in 1862,-- + +"You ask for a day of my life in Persia. Come, then, to my home in +1854. You shall be waked by the noise of a hand-bell at early dawn: +twenty minutes after, our girls are ready for their half hour of silent +devotion. The bell for this usually finds them waiting for it, and the +perfect quiet in the house is almost unbroken. At the close of it, +another bell summons us to the school room for family devotion, where, +besides reading the Scriptures and prayer, they unite in singing one of +our sweet hymns.[1] In a few minutes after this, another bell calls us +to breakfast, and, that finished, all attend to their morning work. +Tables are cleared, rooms put in order, and preparations made for +supper--the principal meal in Persia; then for an hour they study +silently in their rooms. At a quarter before nine o'clock I enter the +school room, while Miss Rice cares for things without. We open school +with prayer, in which we carry to the Master more of our little cares +and trials than in the early morning. My first lesson is in Daniel, +with the older pupils, while two other classes go out to recite in +another room. Yonan stays with me, for I want him to help and be helped +in these Bible lessons. The class enjoy it exceedingly, and the forty +minutes spent on it always seem too short. The other classes now come +in, and all study or recite another forty minutes. After that, a short +recess in the yard makes all fresh again. The older classes then study, +while one of the younger ones has a Bible lesson with me on the life of +Christ. Each time I go over it with them I find things which I wonder I +had not perceived before. It is delightful to hear them express their +own thoughts of our blessed Saviour. We trace his journeyings on maps +prepared by the pupils, and they study the Scripture geography of each +place. After this, one class recites ancient Syriac to Yonan, and +another, in physiology, goes out to Miss Rice, leaving me to spend +forty minutes with the older girls on compositions. At present the +topic is, "The Christ of the Old Testament;" and I am thankful that I +studied Edwards's History of Redemption under Miss Lyon. This done, +fifteen minutes remain for a kind of general exercise, when we talk +over many things; and then the noon recess of one and a half hours +allows the girls to lunch, see friends, and recreate, till fifteen +minutes before its close, when they have a prayer meeting by +themselves. [Footnote 1: At first, only one hymn was printed on a +separate sheet; then a little hymn book of five,--as many as Luther +commenced with at the Reformation. Now the hymn book contains about two +hundred hymns, and some of the pupils can repeat them all.] + +"In the afternoon, Miss Rice takes charge of the school, and I have the +time out. At present the first hour is given to writing; soon astronomy +will take its place. Recitations in geography follow till recess, and +after that singing or spelling. The last hour, I go in and hear a +lesson in Hebrews. On this Epistle we have full notes prepared in +Syriac, and we study it carefully, in connection with the Old +Testament. Miss Rice also has a lesson in Judges, and then all come +together for the daily reports, more as a family than a school. There +is still an hour before supper for mutual calls, knitting, sewing, and +family duties. After supper and work are over, and they have had a +little time to themselves, come evening prayers. Then they have a short +study hour in their rooms, followed by the half hour for private +devotion, which closes the day. + +"Of course, at another time, the studies might be somewhat different. +The hours that Miss Rice and I are out of school we spend in seeing +visitors, holding prayer meetings, going out among the women, and +sometimes devote a whole day to a distant village." + +Having thus looked in on a day of study, let us, through the same +glass, take a view of the Lord's day. The letter is dated December, +1855. + +MY DEAR FRIEND: I have learned here that He who fed five thousand with +the portion of five can feed the soul to the full with what I once +counted only crumbs. May I give you one of the Master's sermons? A few +Sabbaths ago, I went to Geog Tapa with Mr. Stoddard. It was afternoon, +and I was seated on a mat in the middle of the earthen floor of the +church. I had already attended Sabbath school and a prayer meeting with +my pupils, and, weary, I longed for rest. It seemed as if I could not +sit without support through the service. Then I remembered that after +that came my meeting with the women readers of the village; and O, how +desirable seemed rest! But God sent it in an unexpected way; for a +woman came and seated herself directly behind me, so that I could lean +on her, and invited me to do so. I declined; but she drew me back, +saying, "If you love me, lean hard." Very refreshing was that support. +And then came the Master's own voice, repeating the words, "If you love +_me_, lean hard;" and I leaned on him too, feeling that, through that +poor woman, he had preached me a better sermon than I could have heard +at home. I was rested long before the services were through; then I +spent an hour with the women, and after sunset rode six miles to my own +home. I wondered that I was not weary that night nor the next morning; +and I have rested ever since on those sweet words, "If you love me, +lean hard." + +But I intended to tell you of our Sabbaths in school. Saturday is the +girls' day for washing and mending, and we are busy all day long. Just +before sunset, the bell calls us to the school room, and there we +inquire if the last stitch is taken, and the rooms are all in order. If +any thing is still undone, the half hour before supper sees it +finished. After leaving the table, every thing is arranged for the +morning, and then we have a quiet half hour in our rooms. After this, +half the pupils come to Miss Rice, and half to me. Each has a prayer +meeting, remembering the absent ones, also the Female Seminaries in +Constantinople, South Hadley (Mass.), and Oxford (Ohio). All retire +from these precious meetings to their "half hour," as they call it, and +before nine o'clock all is quiet, unless it be the voice of some one +still pleading with her God. + +The first bell, Sabbath morning, is at half past five, when all rise +and dress for the day. Morning prayers are at half past six; then comes +breakfast, and, our few morning duties being done, the girls retire to +study their Sabbath school lessons, and sometimes ask to meet together +for prayer. At half past nine, we attend Syriac service in the chapel. +The Sabbath school follows that, numbering now about two hundred +pupils. About two thirds of our scholars are teachers in it, and it is +a good preparation for teaching in their homes. Those who do not teach +form a class. We then go home to lunch, flavored with pleasant +remembrances and familiar explanations of the morning service. The +afternoon service commences at two o'clock, and our Bible lessons an +hour before supper, though some are called earlier, to help us teach +the women who come in for instruction. At supper, all are allowed to +ask Bible questions, and before leaving the table we have evening +prayers. At seven o'clock, Miss Rice and I go to the English prayer +meeting, while the pupils meet in six or seven family meetings, as they +call them, the inmates of each room being by themselves, and the pious +among them taking turns in conducting them. If any wish to come to us +after this, we are glad to see them; and often this hour witnesses the +submission of souls to God. + +Besides these there is a weekly prayer meeting on Tuesday evening, a +lecture on Friday afternoon, and on Wednesday, as well as Sabbath +evening, the school meets in two divisions for prayer. + +The following journal, kept during the revival, in 1860, by Esli, an +assistant teacher, forms an appropriate continuation of this interior +picture of the Seminary:-- + +"_February 1st_. To-day, a part of the girls wrote compositions on +'anger,' and a part on 'the gospel.' + +"_3d, Friday_. John was here to-day writing to Mount Holyoke Seminary, +and attended our noon prayer meeting. In the afternoon, Deacon Joseph +of Degala preached from the words "King of kings and Lord of lords." In +the evening, Mr. Coan sung with us, and we read the weekly report of +our conduct. + +"_5th, Sabbath_. In the forenoon, Dr. Wright preached from Acts ii. 37. +He said that we must know what sin is; that we are sinners; and that we +cannot save ourselves. In the afternoon, Priest Eshoo preached from +Luke xv. 32. The evening prayer meetings were very pleasant. + +"_9th_. A blessed morning. Some of the girls are thoughtful. This was +seen in the quiet at table and the silence in the kitchen. The work was +done both earlier and better than usual. During the study hour, the +voice of prayer sounded very sweetly in every room. When the girls +walked in the yard, it was very quiet, and so when they came in. Our +noon prayer meeting was very pleasant; Miss Rice said a few words on +the shortness of time. While Hanee prayed, some wept. When Miss Rice +dismissed us, no one moved; all were bowed on their desks, weeping. She +then gave opportunity for prayer, and while I prayed, all were in +tears. The girls have kept all the rules well to-day. This evening, the +communicants met with Miss Rice, and the rest with Martha. Miss Rice +read about Jonah in the ship, and said a few words; after that, Raheel +the teacher prayed. Then Hanee spoke a little of her own state, and +asked us to pray for Raheel of Ardishai, who is thoughtful. I spoke, +and asked them to pray for Hannah and Parangis, who are in my room. + +"10th. The state of our school is the same. Mr. Cochran preached on the +faithfulness of the Jews under Nehemiah, when they rebuilt Jerusalem. +After meeting he told us that the members of the Male Seminary spent +yesterday as a day of fasting and prayer, and many rose confessing +their sins. One very wicked man, also from the village, asked them to +pray for him. After work was done in the kitchen this evening, a little +time remained, and the girls there asked to have a meeting. With +gladness of heart I knelt and mingled my tears with theirs, as though +I, too, were commencing the work. Afterwards Mr. Coan came and sung +with us, and we read the accounts of the week." + +Esli, the writer of the above, is the daughter of Yohanan, a pious man +in Geog Tapa, who for a time was steward of the Seminary. She was one +of the first fruits of the revival of 1856, and graduated after Miss +Fiske's return to America. She has since been a most faithful assistant +of Miss Rice, and is very much beloved by the pious Nestorians. But the +following letter to Miss Fiske, from her own pen, dated April 1859, +will form her best introduction to the reader:-- + +"When I recall your love to me, my heart is full. I remember the times +when we knelt together before our Father in heaven, in godly anguish +for priceless souls. Especially do I remember when God first came near +to me, how you shared my sorrow by day and by night, and pointed me to +Him who bled for me. After you brought me to Christ, you showed me the +helps to a Christian life; that I must pray not only in my closet, but +also in my heart, when at work or studying, that God would keep me. O +that I had heeded your counsels more! + +"This winter the Lord led me to see my cold state. For a time the +Saviour's face was hidden; then it seemed to be midnight; but I looked +above, and the darkness fled. I saw him standing with open arms, and +quickly I threw myself into those arms. Tears of joy fell from my eyes, +and by the grace of God I was enabled to go forward day by day. Secret +prayer has since been very pleasant to me. + +"We have had pleasant seasons of prayer in our school this winter, and +we trust that some souls have been born again. I have the care of a +circle of girls in the kitchen. They work well, and keep it clean. I +think you know that such work is difficult, but if you were to come in +you would find every thing in order. Every Wednesday we scour all the +shelves and the doors. + +"The girls have made the yard very pleasant; but one thing is wanting +there: we miss you at the cool of the day, walking in it to see if any +evil has grown up in your garden. + +"I went to my village in vacation; the prayer meetings there were very +pleasant, and I enjoyed much, praying with the women alone. Our seasons +of family devotion also were delightful. In the morning we read the +Acts in course; and as each read a verse, my father asked its meaning. +When he went away to preach, I used to lead, and we then read the +portion for the day, in the book called 'Green Pastures for the Lord's +Flock.' + +"In the school we have studied Ezra, in connection with Haggai and +Zechariah, and are now in Nehemiah. In the New Testament we are on +Paul's third journey, and have nearly finished Scripture geography and +theology." + +The Seminary keeps up a Christian intercourse with the institution at +South Hadley, as the following letters will show; and the beautiful +melodeon in the sitting room is a tuneful testimony to the liberality +of Holyoke's daughters. + +"Many salutations and much love from the school of Miss Fiske to you, +our dear sisters of the school at Mount Holyoke. We rejoice that there +is such a great institution full of holy words and the warm love of +Christ: we hear that many of you have an inheritance above, and are +daily looking forward to it. We want to tell you how glad we are that +the Holy Spirit has come among you, and that God has turned so many to +himself. Though we are great sinners, we rejoice exceedingly in the +success of the work of God in every place; and we beg you to pray that +the Holy Spirit may visit us also, and our people, and strike sharp +arrows into flinty hearts, that they may melt like wax before the fire. +Blessed be God, that though we had become the least of all nations, and +adopted many customs worse than the heathen, and our holy books were +carefully laid away and never used, yet he put love into the hearts of +his servants, that they should come to this dark land. We are greatly +obliged to you and to your people for so kindly sending us these +missionaries. They have greatly multiplied our books, and, as we trust, +brought many souls to Christ. Some of us, formerly, knew not who Christ +was, or whether a Redeemer had died for us; but now he has gathered us +together in this school of godly instruction; and some of us are +awaking to our sins, and to the great love God has shown in sending his +Son to die for us. We thank God very much that we know Jesus Christ, +the only Saviour. + +"Again, we want to thank you for sending Miss Fiske to teach us the way +of life; we love her because she greatly loves us, and desires our +salvation. Every day she takes much trouble that we may be the +daughters of God. But her burdens are so great, that we fear she will +not remain long with us, unless some one comes to help her. And now we +have a petition to present: we hear that in many of you dwelleth the +spirit of our Master, Jesus Christ; and that you are ready to leave +home and friends, and go to distant lands, to gather the lost sheep of +Christ. Dear sisters, our petition is, that you will send us a +teacher.[1] We shall greatly rejoice if one comes, and will love her +very much. We ask this, not because we do not love Miss Fiske. No! no! +this is not in our hearts; but she is weak, and her work is more than +she can do alone. We shall expect one to come, and pray God to bring +her to us in safety. [Footnote 1: Miss Mary Susan Rice, already +mentioned in these pages, went out this same year (1847), from the +Seminary in South Hadley.] + +"Please remember us in your closets and in your meetings, and ask your +friends to pray for us and for our people. Farewell, beloved sisters." + +The following extracts are from a letter written by them, in 1848, to +Miss Susan L. Tolman, now Mrs. Cyrus T. Mills of the Sandwich Islands, +and formerly of Ceylon:-- + +"Much love from the members of the Female Seminary of Oroomiah to you, +our dear Miss Tolman. We are very glad to find one who loves us so +much, and prays for us. Our delight in your letter was greater than we +can express. Miss Fiske came in joyfully with it in her hand, and while +she read, it seemed as if you were present, inviting and drawing us to +Christ. + +"Give our love to all in your favored school, and ask them to pray for +us. We love all those dear ladies, because they have been so kind to +us, and have been willing that Miss Fiske and Miss Rice should leave +them, and come here for our sakes. Though they were dear to you, we +think that now they have come to us, your joy in them is greater. We +hope to hear of many of you carrying the leaves of life to the dark +corners of the earth. + +"Dear Miss Tolman, you said, 'You love Miss Fiske, you must also love +Miss Rice.' Did you think that we would not love her? We love them +both, not only for leaving their friends to come to us, but also +because they are full of the love of our dear Redeemer. + +"We have heard that you are going to India. We are glad, and love you +more for it, because the love of Christ constrains you to this, and +thus in spirit you come very near to our dear teachers. We entreat +Almighty God to be with you, and bring you in safety to the place he +appoints for you, that you may be a light among a dark people. We hope +that when there you will not forget us, but write us about your work, +and about the daughters of India, whether they love you much or not. +Tell your friends not to sorrow for you, but to rejoice that they have +a friend ready to go and teach those who know not Christ. The Saviour +guide you in all your labors." + +Those who aided Miss Lyon to carry out her large-hearted plans in New +England, little dreamed that offshoots from the vine they planted would +so soon be carried to the ends of the earth. Who does not admire that +grace which, in this missionary age, raised up such a type of piety to +be diffused over the globe? Doubtless it will undergo changes in +Persia, as it has done already; but the devout student of Providence +will watch its growth with interest, and its developments will not +disappoint his hopes. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + +VACATION SCENES. + +IN GAWAR AND ISHTAZIN.--VILLAGES OF MEMIKAN.--OOBEYA, DARAWE, AND +SANAWAR.--IN GAVALAN.--ACCOMMODATIONS.--SABBATH SCHOOL. + +To the interior pictures of the school in the last chapter we add some +vacation scenes, though chronologically in advance of other things yet +to come. + +[Illustration: Tents.] + +Towards the close of July, 1851, Mr. Stocking and family, with Misses +Fiske and Rice, and several native helpers, spent the vacation in +Gawar. Mr. Coan accompanied them on his way to regions beyond. +Wandering from place to place, like the patriarchs of old, they pitched +their tents at first near the village of Memikan. A sketch of these +tents is here presented. The women there were frequent visitors, and +few went away without some idea of the truth as it is in Jesus. The +pious natives were unwearied in labor, and sometimes woke the +missionaries in the morning with prayer for the people round about +them. On the Sabbath, there was preaching in as many as five different +villages, and after morning service in Memikan, the women came to the +tents to receive more particular instruction from their own sex. In the +evening, a mother who had buried her son in February--then a very +promising member of the Seminary at Seir[1]--brought her youngest +daughter, about six years of age, saying, "We give her to you in the +place of Guwergis. He has gone to a blessed place. You led him there. +We thank you, and now intrust to you our little daughter." Eshoo, the +father, spoke of his departed son with much feeling, but most sweet +submission. He said to Miss Fiske, as the big tears glistened in the +moonlight, "I shall not be here long. I shall soon rejoin him. My hope +in Jesus grows stronger every day." The death of that dear son was not +only a great spiritual blessing to him, but the mere mention of his +name at once secured the attention of the villagers to any thing the +missionaries had to say about his Saviour. [Footnote 1: Nestorian +Biography, p. 127.] + +On Monday, they left for a visit to the Alpine district of Ishtazin. +Unable to take horses along those frightful paths, they rode on hardy +mules. In a subsequent journey over the same road, the fastenings of +Miss Fiske's saddle gave way, and she fell, but providentially without +injury. Sometimes they climbed, or, more hazardous still, descended, a +long, steep stairway of rock, or they were hid in the clouds that hung +around the higher peaks of the mountain. Now the path led them under +huge, detached rocks, that seemed asking leave to overwhelm them, and +now under the solid cliffs, that suggested the more grateful idea of +the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. Down in the valley were +pleasant waterfalls, little fields rescued by much labor from the +surrounding waste, choice fruits, and such a variety of flowers, that +it seemed as if spring, summer, and autumn had combined to supply them. +Then, in looking up, the eye rested on silver threads apparently +hanging down from far-off summits, but really foaming streams dashing +headlong down the rocks, yet so distant that no sound came to the ear +from their roaring waters. + +The party stopped at Ooreya, on one of its flat roofs, shaded by a +magnificent walnut tree. The villagers brought mulberries, apples, and +other fruits, till they could prepare something more substantial, and +seemed to forget their fears of the patriarch in their zealous +hospitality. After supper, all adjourned to the churchyard, and there, +in the bright moonlight, a crowd of eager listeners heard of Christ, +and redemption through his precious blood. The silence of night was +broken only by the voice of the preacher, and the echoes of the +surrounding cliffs seemed to repeat joyfully the unwonted sounds. Yonan +preached from the words "Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in +their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom." He +commenced by asking whether Christ was right in so doing. They replied, +"Certainly he did right." "Yes," said the preacher, "and as he did, so +must his followers do; and you must expect to see them in Ishtazin. +When we cease to climb over these precipices to come to you, fear lest +we have become Mussulmans, for Christians cannot but go from village to +village to preach the gospel." The reader will see the force of such an +appeal, when he remembers that Mar Shimon had forbidden these people to +receive the missionaries because they preached. This was followed by a +statement of the doctrines that Jesus preached, in which he did not +fail to bring out the essence of the gospel. When he sat down, Khamis, +the brother of Deacon Tamo, followed with a most impassioned +exhortation. The missionaries had thought him a good preacher before, +but the place and the circumstances--he was among his own native +mountains--seemed to carry him beyond himself. All through this region, +the people appeared to render as much honor to him as they would have +done to Mar Shimon. The assembly dispersed, and the travellers lay down +where they were, to battle with the sand-flies till the welcome dawn +lit up the conspicuous summits high above them. + +Almost every moment of the next forenoon was filled by personal +religious conversation with many who never heard such truths before. In +the evening, even more fixed attention was given to another service in +the open air, at the village of Boobawa, for the pious Mar Ogen[1] was +then living there, and the bright light of his piety had not shone in +vain. Several were earnestly inquiring how to be saved. [Footnote 1: +Nestorian Biography, p. 267.] + +On Thursday, the day after their return to Memikan, Mr. Coan, Priest +Dunkha, Khamis, and Deacon John left for Central Koordistan, and Deacon +Isaac went to Kochannes. But though the laborers were fewer, the number +of visitors continued the same. Next Sabbath, besides two services, and +two meetings with the women in Memikan, there was preaching in three +other villages. In Chardewar, the home of Priest Dunkha, Miss Fiske +found his daughter, who had come with them from Oroomiah, already full +of work. She had just dismissed her Sabbath school, and was reading the +Bible with her cousin, the village priest, who did all in his power to +help her, both in her school through the week, and her meetings with +the women. One Sabbath, almost every woman in the place had been +present, as was the case also when she was visited by Misses Fiske and +Rice, and Sanum said that she could not ask for a better place in which +to work for Christ. There was more of real hunger for the truth here +than any where else in the mountains. + +Leaving Memikan, the travellers removed to Darawe, the village +described on page 21. Here they could scarcely get permission to pitch +their tent, or procure provision for themselves and horses; yet even in +such a place, the manifestation of Christian love was not without +fruit, though many bitterly opposed them to the last. The neighboring +villages wondered at the missionaries going there at all, and still +more at their being able to remain. + +At Keyat, the kindness of the people, and pleasant intercourse with +them, were all the more grateful for the contrast with what had gone +before. Here Miss Fiske met with that kind reception from Mar Shimon, +then passing through the place, described on page 159, while the tent +literally flowed with milk and honey furnished by the villagers, whom +he had charged to take good care of their visitors. + +On the following Sabbath, Yonan preached to a congregation of about two +hundred, at Sanawar, where forty families of refugees from Saat were +spending the summer. When Miss Fiske and Miss Rice visited their camp, +they found a number of temporary huts enclosing a circle, where the +domestic labors of spinning, weaving, and cooking were actively going +on. All the women at once left their work, and welcomed their visitors +with every mark of confidence and gladness. Some of them had heard the +gospel from the missionaries in Mosul, as they had often spent the +winter near there. So they drank in every word with eagerness. + +The ladies were delighted with their visit, especially with a widow, +who, though unable to read, showed unusual familiarity with the Bible, +and, as they hoped, a spiritual acquaintance with its doctrines. When +the topic of our fallen nature was mentioned, "Yes," said she, "we were +all shapen in iniquity, as David testifies." When asked if she had any +hope of being saved from sin, she replied, "I am very far from God, yet +my only hope is in the wounded side of Jesus Christ. If penitently I +stand beneath the blood dropping from his cross, I hope that my sins, +though red like scarlet, may become as white as snow." Her views of the +way of salvation were not only clear, but beautifully expressed. It was +exceedingly refreshing, in that region where they had expected only +darkness, thus to find the rays of light struggling through from their +associates in another mission; and it gave a delightful foretaste of +the time when the voice of one watchman upon those mountain tops should +reach to another, and on all sides the eye behold the trophies of +Immanuel. It was with feelings of peculiar interest that they heard, +some years after, that this stranger in Sanawar, but, as they fondly +hoped, their sister in Christ, held fast her confidence in his grace to +the end, and so fell asleep in Jesus. + +For a companion picture to the preceding, we turn to the summer of +1852. Mr. Stocking moved out to Gavalan, the native place of Mar +Tohanan, early in the season, and both teachers followed, with thirteen +of their pupils, about the middle of June. The village lies near the +base of a range of mountains, at the northern end of the plain of +Oroomiah, forty miles distant from the city. On the east the blue +waters of the lake seem to touch the sky, and stretch away to the south +in quiet loveliness. Sometimes, when reposing in the gorgeous light of +sunset, or reflecting the red rays of the full moon, they remind the +beholder of the "sea of glass mingled with fire" revealed to the +beloved disciple. The breeze from the lake, in the long summer days, is +very grateful, and the evening air from the mountains makes sleep +refreshing. + +Mar Yohanan gave the school free use of two rooms as long as it +remained. In the court yard before them a large tent was pitched, that +served for dining room, dormitory, and reception room, or diwan khaneh. +An adjoining house afforded a comfortable recitation room. Here the +regular routine of the school went on, and while men from the village +found their way to Mr. Stocking's at the hour of evening prayer, women +also came to the school room at the same hour. At the last meeting of +this kind before Miss Fiske returned to the city, nearly forty were +present, listening with quiet attention to the words of life. On the +Sabbath, the sides of the tent were lifted outward from the bottom, and +fastened in a horizontal position, so as to admit the air and exclude +the sun. The ground beneath was covered with mats, and formed quite a +pleasant chapel. In the forenoon, this was thronged with attentive +hearers. The children of the boys' school in the village sat close to +their teacher. The members of the girls' school could be distinguished +from their playmates by the greater smoothness of their hair, the +whiteness of their faces, and general tidiness. Among the old men, the +venerable father of the bishop was very conspicuous. The members of the +Seminary crowded round their teachers so as to leave more room for +others, and still all could not get under the shadow of the wings of +the tabernacle. Mr. Stocking preached in the forenoon, and in the +afternoon the people came together again as a Sabbath school. Each of +the pupils of the Seminary had a class of women or girls, and seemed to +learn how to do good faster than ever before. They visited them at +their houses during the week; they sought out the absentees; and it was +delightful to go round the school and note the interest of both scholar +and teacher. If these were zealous in teaching, those were no less so +in learning. The classes, after the introductory services, filled every +available corner in the rooms, the tent, the front of the house, and +even sat on the low mud wall of the court. With the same variety of +character, there was greater diversity of lessons than in schools at +home. Some studied the Old Testament, and some the New; others were +just learning to read, and those who could not read at all were taught +the Scriptures orally. One class of Armenians was taught in Turkish. + +Matters went on very well for two Sabbaths, but on the third, women and +children had vanished. What was the matter? It had been reported that +all this labor was only a preparation to transport them to America, and +the simple-minded mothers staid away with their children in great +trepidation; but visits from house to house, during the week, dispelled +their fears, and next Sabbath all were again in their places, and this +pleasant labor in Gavalan continued till September. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + +EARLY LABORS FOR WOMEN. + +FIRST MEETINGS WITH THEM.--FIRST CONVEKT.--FIRST LESSONS.--WILD WOMEN +OF ARDISHAI. + +The teachers of the Seminary did not confine their labors to its +inmates; they expended both time and toil for adult women as well as +for their daughters, and never felt that they gave them too large a +proportion of their labors. At first there was a strong feeling among +most of the women that they might not worship God along with deacons +and readers; and so they could not be persuaded to attend public +preaching. But Miss Fiske found that a few would come to her room at +the same hour; so, encouraged by her missionary sisters whose hearts +were in the work, but whose family cares prevented their doing it +themselves, she visited the women at their houses, to urge them to come +in. Then, as her own knowledge of the language was as yet imperfect +(this was in 1844), and she wisely judged that listening to a gentleman +would sooner prepare them to come in to the regular service, she +secured one of the missionary brethren to conduct the meeting. The +first day only five attended; but soon she enjoyed the sight of about +forty mothers listening to the truth as it is in Jesus. On the third +Sabbath, she was struck with the fixed attention of one of them, and, +on talking with her alone, found her deeply convinced of sin. She had +not before seen one who did not feel perfectly prepared to die; but +this one groaned, being burdened, and seemed bowed to the dust with the +sense of her unworthiness. When Miss Fiske prayed with her, she +repeated each petition in a whisper after her, and rose from her knees +covered with perspiration, so intensely was she moved: her life, she +said, had been one of rebellion against God; and she knew that no +prayers, fasts, or other outward observances, had benefited her, or +could procure forgiveness. In this state of mind she was directed to +Christ and his righteousness as her only hope; and though for some time +little progress was apparent, at length, as she herself expressed it, +"I was praying, and the Lord poured peace into my soul." The change in +her character was noticed by her neighbors. From being one of the most +turbulent and disagreeable of the women in her vicinity, she became +noted for her gentleness and general consistency. She has since died, +and her last days were full of a sweet trust in her Saviour. She was +the first inquirer among Nestorian women. + +This meeting was given up as soon as the women found their way to the +regular service; but ever since there have been separate meetings for +them at other hours. + +Until the revival in 1846, those who conducted these meetings had to +labor alone, for there were none of the Nestorians to help them. +Indeed, Miss Fiske had been in Oroomiah more than two years, before +women came much to her for strictly religious conversation, or could be +induced to sit down to the study of the Scriptures. + +Some of her first efforts to interest them in the Bible were almost +amusing in the difficulties encountered, and the manner in which they +were overcome. + +She would seat herself among them on the earthen floor, and read a +verse, then ask questions to see if they understood it. For example: +after reading the history of the creation (for she began at the +beginning), she asked, "Who was the first man?" _Answer_. "What do we +know? we are women;" which was about equivalent in English to "we are +donkeys." The passage was read again, and the question repeated with no +better success. Then she told them, Adam was the first man, and made +them repeat the name Adam over and over till they remembered it. The +next question was, "What does it mean?" Here, too, they could give no +answer; not because they did not know, for the word was in common use +among them; but they had no idea that they could answer, and so they +did not, and were perfectly delighted to find that the first man was +called _red earth_, because he was made of it. This was enough for one +lesson. It set them to thinking. It woke up faculties previously +dormant. The machinery was there, perfect in all its parts, but so +rusted from disuse, that it required no little skill and patience to +make it move at all; but the least movement was a great gain; more was +sure to follow. Another lesson would take up Eve (Syriac, _Hawa_, +meaning _Life_). Miss Fiske would begin by saying, "Is not that a +pretty name? and would you not like to know that you had a +great-great-grandmother called _Life?_ Now, that was the name of our +first mother--both yours and mine." It was interesting to notice how +faces previously stolid would light up with animation after that, if +the preacher happened to repeat the name of our first parents, and how +one would touch another, whispering with childish joy, "Didn't you +hear? He said Adam." + +Such were the women who came to the Seminary for instruction; but the +teachers also went forth to search out the no less besotted females in +the villages; and, as a counterpart to the above, we present an account +of labors among the wild women of Ardishai, a village twelve miles +south-east from Oroomiah. + +When Miss Fiske had been in Oroomiah about one year, Mr. Stocking +proposed a visit to Ardishai. So the horses were brought to the gate, +one bearing the tent, another the baskets containing Mr. Stocking's +children, and a third miscellaneous baggage; besides the saddle horses. +The first night, the tent was pitched on one of the threshing floors of +Geog Tapa; but as American ladies were a novelty in Ardishai, the party +there, in order to secure a little quiet, had to pitch their tent on +the flat roof of a house. It was Miss Fiske's first day in a large +village, and she became so exhausted by talking with the women, that +she can never think of that weary Saturday without a feeling of +fatigue. As the village is near the lake, the swarms of mosquitoes +allowed them no rest at night; and morning again brought the crowd with +its idle curiosity as unsatisfied as the appetite of more diminutive +assailants. About nine o'clock, all went to the church, where Mr. +Stocking preached, while the women sat in most loving proximity to +their strange sisters, handling and commenting on their dresses during +the discourse. Mr. Stocking could preach though others talked, and +readily raised his voice so as to be heard above the rest. At the +close, Priest Abraham, without consulting any one, rose and announced +two meetings for the afternoon; one in another church for men, and a +second in this for women, who must all come, because the lady from the +new world was to preach. So the news flew through the neighboring +villages. The good lady called the priest to account for his doings; +but he replied, "I knew that they would come if I said that, and yon +can preach very well, for your girls told me so." He was greatly +disappointed, however, when he found that his notice left him alone to +preach to the men, while Mr. Stocking preached to some six hundred +women, with half as many children. They were a rude, noisy company, not +one of them all caring for the truth; and there was no moment when at +least half a dozen voices could not be heard besides the preacher's. +When he closed, as many as twenty cried out, "Now let Miss Fiske +preach." So he withdrew, and left her to their tender mercies. Her +preaching was soon finished. She simply told them, that when she knew +their language better, she would come and talk with them, but she could +not talk at the same time that they did, for God had given her a very +small voice, and her words would no more mingle with theirs than oil +and water. They said, "Oil and water never mix; but we will be silent +if you will come and preach." Months passed on, and she again visited +the village. The women remembered her promise, and hundreds came +together; but they did not remember to be silent. As soon as she began, +they began; and if she asked them to be quiet, each exhorted her +neighbor, at the top of her voice, to be still; and the louder the +uproar, of course the louder the reproofs. At length Miss Fiske said, +"I cannot say any more, unless you all put your fingers on your +mouths." All the fingers went up, and she proceeded: "I have a good +story to tell you; but if one takes her finger from her mouth, I cannot +tell it." Instantly muzzled voices, all round the church, cried, "Be +still, be still, so that we can hear the story!" Some minutes elapsed, +and the four hundred women were silent. "Once there was an old woman--I +did not know her, nor did my father, and I think my grandfather did +not; but he told me--" Here commenced many inquiries about said +grandfather; but again the fingers were ordered to their places, and +their owners told that they should hear no more about the woman if they +talked about the grandfather. "Now, this woman talked in meeting,--I +should think she must have been a relative of yours, for ours do not +talk in meeting,--and after many reproofs she was forbidden to go to +church any more if she continued to do so. She promised very +faithfully; but, poor woman, she could not be still; then, as soon as +she heard her own voice, she cried out, 'O, I have spoken in meeting. +What shall I do? Why, I keep speaking, and I cannot stop.' Now, you are +very much like this woman, and as I think you cannot stop, I must." By +this time their fingers were pressed closely on their lips, and no one +made a reply. Having thus secured silence, Miss Fiske took the New +Testament, and read to them of Mary, who, she was sure, never talked in +meeting; for if she had, Jesus would not have loved her so much. She +talked to them about fifteen minutes more, and prayed with them, and +they went away very still and thoughtful. + +Miss Fiske gave this account to the writer, with no idea that he would +print it. But he thinks--and the reader will doubtless agree with +him--that in no other way could he convey so vivid an idea of woman as +she was in Persia, or the tact needed to secure a first hearing for the +truth. Miss Fiske was often called to deal with just such rude +assemblages, and by varied methods she generally succeeded in securing +attention. In subsequent visits to Ardishai the number of hearers was +never again so large; but they came together from better motives, and, +as we shall see, not without the blessing of the Lord. In March, 1850, +Miss Rice met nearly three hundred women in the same church, some of +them awakened, and a few already hopefully pious. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + +FRUITS OF LABOR IN NESTORIAN HOMES. + +USEFULNESS AMONG RELATIVES OF PUPILS.--DEACON GUWERGIS.--REFORMED +DRUNKARD AND HIS DAUGHTER.--MATERNAL MEETINGS.---EARLY INQUIRERS FROM +GEOG TAPA.--PARTING ADDRESS OF MR. HOLLADAY.--VISIT TO GEOG +TAPA.--SELBY AND HER CLOSET. + +Having thus glanced at early labors for women in the Seminary and in +the villages, let us now turn to another field of usefulness among the +relatives of the pupils, who came to visit them in school; and here we +are at no loss for a notable illustration. + +In the autumn of 1845, Deacon Guwergis, of Tergawer,--and almost every +reader was either priest or deacon,--brought his oldest daughter, then +about twelve years of age, and begged for her admission to the +Seminary. He was known as one of the vilest and most defiantly +dissolute of the Nestorians, and Miss Fiske shrunk from receiving the +daughter of such a man into her flock. Yet, on the ground that, like +her Master, she was sent not to the righteous, but to the lost, she +concluded to receive her. Still the father, during his short stay, +showed such a spirit of avarice and shameless selfishness,--he even +asked for the clothes his daughter had on when she came,--that she +rejoiced when he went away. + +His home was twenty-five miles off, in the mountains, and she hoped +that winter snows would soon shield her from his dreaded visits. Little +did she think that his next coming would result in his salvation. In +February he again presented himself at her door in his Koordish +costume, gun, dagger, and belt of ammunition all complete. He came on +Saturday, when many of the pupils were weeping over their sins; and the +teacher could not but feel that the wolf had too truly entered the +fold. He ridiculed their anxiety for salvation, and opposed the work of +grace, in his own reckless way. She tried to guard her charge from his +attacks as best she could; but they were too divinely convinced of sin +to be much affected by what he said. His own daughter, at length, +distressed at his conduct, begged him to go alone with her to pray. +(The window on the right of the central door of the Seminary points out +the place.) Ho mocked and jeered, but went, confident in his power to +cure her superstition. "Do you not think that I too can pray?" And he +repeated over his form in ancient Syriac, as a wizard would mutter his +incantation. His child then implored mercy for her own soul, and for +her perishing father, as a daughter might be expected to do, just +awakened to her own guilt and the preciousness of redemption. As he +heard the words "Save, O, save my father, going down to destruction," +he raised his clinched hand to strike; but, as he said afterwards, "God +held me back from it." No entreaties of his daughter could prevail on +him to enter the place of prayer again that day. + +The native teacher, Murad Khan, then recently converted, took him to +his own room, and reasoned with him till late at night. Sabbath morning +found him not only fixed in his rebellion, but toiling to prevent +others coming to Christ. At noon Miss Fiske went to the room where he +was. (The two lower windows on the right of the engraving of the +Seminary mark the place.) He sat in the only chair there, and never +offered her a seat; so she stood by him, and tried to talk; but he +sternly repelled every attempt to speak of Jesus. She then took his +hand, and said, "Deacon Guwergis, I see you do not wish me to speak +with you, and I promise you that I will never do it again unless you +wish it; but pledge me one thing: when we stand together in judgment, +and you are on the left hand, as you must be if you go on in your +present course, promise me that you will then testify, that on this +twenty-second day of February, 1846, you were warned of your danger." +He gave no pledge, but a weeping voice said, "Let me pray." The hand +was withdrawn, and he passed into the adjoining room, whence soon +issued a low voice, that Miss Fiske could hardly yet believe was +prayer. The bell rung for meeting, and she sent her precious charge +alone, while she staid to watch the man whose previous character and +conduct led her to fear that he was only feigning penitence in order to +plunder the premises undisturbed. She staid till a voice seemed to say, +What doest thou here, Elijah? then went and took her place in the +chapel; soon the door opened again very gently, and Deacon Guwergis +entered; but how changed! His gun and dagger were laid aside; the folds +of his turban had fallen over his forehead; his hands were raised to +his face; and the big tears fell in silence; he sank into the nearest +seat, and laid his head upon the desk. After Mr. Stoddard had +pronounced the blessing, Miss Fiske requested Mr. Stocking to see +Deacon Guwergis. + +He took him to his study, and there, in bitterness of soul, the recent +blasphemer cried out, "O my sins! my sins! they are higher than the +mountains of Jeloo." "Yes," said Mr. Stocking, "but if the fires of +hell could be out, you would not be troubled--would you?" The strong +man now bowed down in his agony, exclaiming, "Sir, even if there were +no hell, I could not bear this load of sin. I could not live as I have +lived." + +That night he could not sleep. In the morning, Miss Fiske begged Mr. +Stoddard to see him, and after a short interview he returned, telling +her that the dreaded Guwergis was sitting at the feet of Jesus. "My +great sins," and "My great Saviour," was all that he could say. He was +subdued and humble, and before noon left for his mountain home, saying, +as he left, "I must tell my friends and neighbors of sin and of Jesus." +Yet he trembled in view of his own weakness, and the temptations that +might befall him. Nothing was heard from him for two weeks, when Priest +Eshoo was sent to his village, and found him in his own house, telling +his friends "of sin and of Jesus." He had erected the family altar, and +at that moment was surrounded by a company weeping for their sins. So +changed was his whole character, and so earnest were his exhortations, +that for a time some looked on him as insane; but the sight of his +meekness and forgiving love under despiteful usage amazed them, and +gave them an idea of vital piety they never had before. He returned to +Oroomiah, bringing with him his wife, another child, and brother, and +soon found his way to Miss Fiske's room. As he opened the door, she +stood on the opposite side; but the tears were in his eyes, and +extending his hand as he approached, he said, "I know you did not +believe me; but you will love me--will you not?" And she did love him, +and wondered at her own want of faith. In a few days, he was able to +tell Mr. Stocking, with holy joy, that two of his brothers were +anxiously seeking the way of life. His own growth in grace surprised +every one, and his views of salvation by grace were remarkably clear +and accurate. + +When his daughter returned to school, on the 30th of March, she was +accompanied by one of her father's brothers, who seemed to have cast +away his own righteousness, and to rely on Christ alone for pardon. As +no missionary had conversed with him, Mr. Stocking felt desirous to +know how he had been led into the kingdom, and learned that he had +promised Deacon Guwergis to spend the Sabbath with one of the native +teachers of the Female Seminary. This teacher and others prayed with +him, till he threw away his dagger, saying, "I have no more use for +this," and in tears cried out, "What shall I do to be saved?" He gave +no evidence then of having submitted to Christ, but in his mountain +home he seemed to make a full surrender, and became well acquainted +with the mercy seat. The native helpers felt that he was moving +heavenward faster than themselves. In April, it was found that as many +as nine persons in Hakkie, the village of Deacon Guwergis, gave +evidence of regeneration, five of them members of his own family; and +the whole village listened to the truth which the zealous deacon +constantly taught. + +He always remembered the school as his spiritual birthplace, and ever +loved to pray for it. Once, when rising from his knees in the Male +Seminary, where he had been leading in evening devotion, he exclaimed, +"O God, forgive me. I forgot to pray for Miss Fiske's school." So he +knelt again and prayed for it. And Mr. Stoddard said he did not think +there was a smile on a single face, it was done with such manifest +simplicity and godly sincerity. + +In June, 1846, Miss Fiske visited Hakkie with Mr. and Mrs. Stocking. It +was the first time ladies had been in the mountains, and the good +deacon was greatly delighted. Labors were then commenced for females +there that have been continued ever since. The annexed sketch will give +a more vivid idea of the nature of such labors than the most accurate +description. One day the party was toiling up a rough ascent, and the +deacon, as much at home among the rocks as the wild goats, offered his +assistance. The reply was, "We get on very well." At once his eyes +filled, and he said, "You once helped me in a worse road; may I not now +help you?" And his aid was at once gratefully accepted. At the top of +the hill, while the party rested, they heard his voice far off among +the clefts of the rocks, pleading for them and their relatives in +distant America. + +[Illustration: MISSIONARY SCENE IN TEEGAWER.] + +After his conversion, the deacon devoted himself to labors for souls, +especially in the mountains. One might always see a tear and a smile on +his face, and he was ever ready, as at first, to speak "of sin and of +Jesus." He traversed the mountains many times on foot, with his +Testament and hymn book in his knapsack. In the rugged passes, he would +sing, "Rock of Ages, cleft for me," and at the spring by the wayside, +"There is a fountain filled with blood" flowed spontaneously from his +lips. He warned every man, night and day, with tears, and pointed them +to Jesus as their only hope. He rested from his labors March 12th, +1856, and, as his mind wandered in the delirium of that brain fever, he +dwelt much on those days when he first learned the way to Christ. He +would say, "O, Miss Fiske was right when she pointed out that way;" and +then he would shout, "Free grace! free grace!" till he sunk away +unconscious. Again he would say, "That blessed Mr. Stocking! O, it was +free grace." These were almost his last words. The daughter who prayed +with him that first Saturday was by his dying bed, and her voice in +prayer was the last earthly sound that fell upon his ear. + +It may strike the reader as strange that a man so notorious for +wickedness as Deacon Guwergis was, should be allowed in the Seminary; +but Oriental notions of hospitality are widely different from ours; and +in order to do good to a people, however rude, they must feel that you +are their friend. No protection from government can take the place of +this feeling of affectionate confidence from the people; and while +sufficient help was at hand to repel any overt wickedness, the highest +usefulness required that patient love should have its perfect work, and +in this case, at least, its labor was not unrewarded. + +The usefulness of the Seminary among the relatives of its pupils was +illustrated in another case that occurred about the same time. March +2d, 1846, the father of one of the girls called and inquired, with +tears, if his daughter was troubled for her sins. Surprised at such an +inquiry from a notorious drunkard, he was exhorted to seek his own +salvation. He then told how he had been taught the plague of his own +heart, and, as a ruined sinner, was clinging to Christ alone. His +prayers showed that he was no stranger at the throne of grace. Father +and daughter spent the evening mingling their supplications and tears +before the mercy seat. The daughter had given more trouble than any in +school, and several times had almost been sent away. Four days later, +her mother came, and remained several days, almost the whole time in +tears, and hardly speaking, except to pray. Her daughter and the pious +members of the school were unwilling to let her go till she came to +Christ, and she seemed to take him for her Saviour before she left. She +was a sister of Priest Abraham, and had been so exceedingly clamorous +and profane in her opposition to religion, that her brother had for +years dreaded to see her. How did he rejoice, when, instead of the +customary oath, he found her uttering the praises of her Saviour! The +sister of her husband had been one of the vainest of the vain, wearing +an amount of ornament unusual even for a Nestorian; but she no sooner +put on the righteousness of Christ than she sold her ornaments, and, +giving the proceeds to the poor, clothed herself with that modest +apparel which becometh women professing godliness. The husband himself, +though an illiterate laborer, preached the gospel while at work in the +field, and often took two or three of his associates aside to pray with +them, and to tell them of Christ and his salvation. + +But these cases must suffice: we can only indicate the ways in which +the school became a centre of holy influence, especially for woman; but +it is impossible to narrate all the facts. + +After the revival, the Seminary was thronged with visitors, who desired +the time to be filled up with religious instruction. That year +witnessed a rich ingathering of wives and mothers, brought by their +converted husbands and children to be taught the way of salvation. The +teacher who received visitors always found enough to do both by day and +by night. As soon as there were two praying women in a village, Miss +Fiske and Miss Rice sought to establish female prayer meetings; and +when they visited a village, the women expected to be called together +for prayer; and when the women returned the visit, they each sought to +be prayed and conversed with alone. This was done also with the +communicants generally three times a year. The prayers and remarks of +the pious members of the school often gave a high spiritual tone to the +weekly prayer meeting. Occasionally there were maternal meetings; and +on such occasions one teacher met with the mothers, and the other with +the children in a separate room. + +These took the place of the early meetings with women mentioned in the +beginning of the chapter, and were very useful. + +Nestorian families have been already described in part, but the absence +of the religious element in them can hardly be realized by Christians +here. They did not believe that a child was possessed of a soul until +it was forty days old. This belief affected all their feelings towards +children, and their custom of burying unbaptized infants outside of +their cemeteries did not serve to correct such impressions. + +Family registers were unknown. In 1835, probably not five Nestorians +could tell their birthday, and but few knew in what year they were +born. Miss Fiske kept a list of all the children, which was read at +every meeting; but at first she could record the birth of only the very +youngest. The deceased children were written down in a separate page, +and it was sad to see how much they exceeded the number of the living. +One childless mother, who had buried eleven, was always present; for +she said she wanted to pray for the children of others, though her own +were not. They assembled in Miss Fiske's room, sometimes to the number +of thirty, with, such of their little ones as were too small to attend +the other meeting, and, seated on the floor around her, were never more +happy than when telling their troubles, asking questions, and receiving +instructions about family duties, much more specific than could be +given on other occasions. Now and then she read to them, from English +books, facts and truths adapted to their needs. One good man in +Fairhaven, Connecticut, who had heard of this, sent a complete set of +the Mother's Magazine, to be used in that way. So interested were they, +that many of them walked regularly three miles and back again, under a +burning sun, to enjoy these gatherings; and from a monthly, it had to +be changed to a weekly meeting. It sometimes lasted three hours, but +never seemed to them too long; and, commenced in 1850, it is still kept +up with as much regularity as Miss Rice's many other duties will allow. +It would be interesting to dwell on its results; but a single incident +may suffice. One mother, whose husband was not a Christian, was very +regular in private devotion, but thought she could not offer prayer in +the family, till her husband became dangerously sick, when, in the +agony of her intercession for him, she vowed that, if God would spare +him, she would establish family prayer. So, as soon as he was able to +bear it, she gathered her children around his bed, and after they had +read the first chapter of Matthew, verse about, she led in prayer, and +so went on reading the New Testament in the morning and the Old +Testament in the evening, till she got through with the whole of the +former, before any one of the missionaries knew that she had commenced. + +The teachers of the Seminary enjoyed very much the visits of the early +inquirers from Geog Tapa, in the summer of 1845, most of whom became +hopefully pious the following winter. Let us look in on one visit made +towards the end of May. A pupil announces that two women below wish to +see Miss Fiske; and a middle-aged stranger is shown into her room. In +answer to the usual inquiry, "From whence do you come?" she replies, "I +have come from Geog Tapa, for I have heard that you have repented, and +I want to know about it." She has walked six miles on purpose to make +the inquiry. "I wish that you, too, had repented," calls forth the +reply, "Alas, I have not! I am on my way to destruction." Feeling that +the Bible was the safest guide for such an inquirer, Miss Fiske reads +appropriate portions, explaining as she reads. The visitor shows a +great deal of Bible knowledge for one who cannot read, indicating that +she had not been inattentive to the faithful instructions of Priest +Abraham and Deacon John, and her questions are numerous and intensely +practical. Among other things, she asked, "Is it true, that for one sin +Adam and Eve were cast out of Eden?" and on being told that it was so, +"There," said she, turning to the unconcerned neighbor, who had come +with her, "do you hear that? What will become of you and me, who have +sinned so often?" At length prayer was proposed, to which she eagerly +and tearfully assented; and though the tongue that commended her to +Jesus, in that strange language, might have faltered, the heart did not +share in the embarrassment. The woman, like the first inquirer, +repeated every word of the prayer in a low whisper, as though unwilling +to lose a single syllable. The conversation was then resumed till it +was interrupted by the entrance of some of the pupils on business. +"Have you finished?" was the woman's eager inquiry. "I wish very much +to hear more of these things." Her companion now begged her to go home. +"No," was the kind reply; "you may go, but I must stay here to +prayers." Evening prayers were earlier than usual that evening for her +sake, but still she lingered. She had not yet found rest. Selby, one of +Mrs. Grant's pupils, then in the Seminary, now conversed with her; and +as there seemed to be a sympathy between them (Selby had recently found +peace in believing), they were left by themselves. After supper, Selby +remained with her an hour or more, that they might pray together, till +it was quite dark, and her friends had sent for her repeatedly. She +left, having first begged permission to come in to morning prayers. +Morning came, and before sunrise she was again listening intently to +the reading of the Word, and, after devotions, left for home, earnestly +begging Miss Fiske to come and spend a week in Geog Tapa. + +The Seminary was dismissed June 5th. On that day, several hundreds of +the parents and friends of the pupils, in both Seminaries, were invited +to a simple entertainment, got up in native style. The gentlemen of the +mission ate in one room, with the men and boys, and the ladies in +another, with their own sex. The confidence and kind feeling manifested +by all towards the school was very gratifying. After dinner, the whole +company, seated in the court, listened to an address from Mr. Holladay, +then about to return home. He spoke to parents and children on their +duties, privileges, and responsibilities: towards the close, he spoke +of the almost certainty of never meeting them again till the judgment, +and bade them an affectionate farewell. His utterance was often choked, +and his hearers wept; and well they might, for in him they parted with +a faithful friend. During the exercises, the members of the two schools +sang, twice, to the great gratification of their friends. + +That evening most of the pupils went home, all but a few of the girls +carrying with them a copy of the four Gospels, in modern Syriac, which +they had paid for with their needles. + +Miss Fiske left for Geog Tapa on the 14th of June with Mr. Stocking, +reaching that place as the people were coming out from evening prayers +in the church. The first to welcome them were six pupils, residents in +the village, who greeted their teacher with a hearty good will. Next to +them came Pareza, the inquirer, changed somewhat in her feelings, but +with no loss of religious interest. John, too, was there (the native +pastor): he had been busy, day and night, instructing the people, and +had taken special care of the pupils, that they might both improve +themselves and exert a good influence on others. When Mr. Stocking +asked him about matters in the village, "O sir," said he, "it is a very +good time here now; very many love to hear the truth; their hearts are +very open. O sir, I have very much hope!" After supper, the villagers +poured into the room for a meeting, to the number of one hundred, while +some thirty or forty more were unable to get in. This was all the more +welcome, as no notice whatever had been given. It was a clear moonlight +evening, and the groups outside were distinctly visible, through the +latticed side of the room. John commenced with an earnest prayer for a +blessing on the evening; asking, in his simplicity, that "the people +might run after the word like sheep after salt"--a strange expression +to us, but most appropriate and striking there. Fixed attention was +given to Mr. Stocking's discourse: then John, who feared that those +around the door had not been fed, spoke to them of Zaccheus. "The crowd +about him," said he, "did not know his feelings; but Jesus knew them, +and loved him; and so, mothers and sisters"--they, as an inferior +class, had to take the lowest places while the men were within--"if you +have come here to-night with a broken heart, though we have not seen +you, Jesus has." He then, with Miss Fiske's pupils, sung a hymn, and +the meeting closed. Still, many women lingered; some sitting down by +Miss Fiske, and others in little groups, talking over what they had +heard; very different from previous visits, when dress and such things +were the most interesting themes of conversation. This was the first +meeting in the village in which the missionaries noticed much religious +interest. + +Early in the morning, Miss Fiske's pupils were gathered together for a +Bible class. The women soon filled the room. The exercise continued all +the forenoon, simply because it could not be closed. It was impossible +to send away unfed those who hungered for the word. Among the women +were a few men, one of them the husband of the inquirer. He was asked, +"Have you and your wife chosen the good part?" He covered his face for +a moment; the tears rolled down his cheeks; and then he said, "By the +grace of God, I hope we have." His heart was too full to say more. + +Soon after noon, Mr. Stocking preached in the church, on the barren fig +tree, to a crowded assembly. The heat and the multitude made the place +very uncomfortable, but the interest deepened till the close. As soon +as they were out of the church, many women crowded around Miss Fiske, +some of whom she could look on as truly pious, and more as thoughtful. +One, who was the first to be awakened about a year before, seemed now a +growing Christian. On leaving, she said, "Perhaps I shall not see you +again till I meet you in heaven." She seemed to be looking forward with +humble hope to a sinless home. With others, she had encountered much +opposition from her family and friends. She has since entered into rest. + +On the 19th, Selby visited Miss Fiske, and in answer to a question +about a place for private devotion, "O, yes," said she, "there is a +deep hole under our house, like a cellar, and there I go every day to +pray." + +A brief account of her may not here be out of place. In 1830, when she +was an infant in her mother's arms, the cholera in five days carried +her father and five of his household to the grave. In 1838, she was one +of the first pupils of Mrs. Grant. She learned more rapidly than the +rest, and yet was so amiable that she was loved by those whom she +excelled. Still, she was a stranger to God, and she felt it. When +thirteen years of age, her brother took her out of school, replying to +her earnest pleadings, to be allowed to remain, "You have been there +already too long." At the same time she was forced to marry a boy +twelve years of age, with whom she had never spoken. For days +previously, tears were her meat and drink; nor was she the only one +that wept. After this, the missionaries seldom saw her, till, one cold +Sabbath in the winter of 1844-45, a girl entered the chapel, wrapped, +as brides usually are, in a large, white sheet. She was not recognized, +of course, till her mother led her forward, saying, "I have brought +Selby here to-day to listen to the words of God; she loves them and you +very much." She was feeble and much depressed, and expressed a strong +desire to return to school. Her father-in-law consented to her teaching +in the primary department, on condition that her husband was received +into the Boys' Seminary, which was done. She now manifested much +interest in religion, and one day wept much, and inclined to be alone. +The next evening, she went to Miss Fiske, distressed with a sense of +sin. Said she, "I have lied, and stolen, and sworn; nor that only, but +have lived so long without once loving my kind, heavenly Father! When I +felt sadly about dying at home, I thought then only of hell; but now my +sins--O, how many they are! I never knew before that I was such a +sinner." The next day, at her father-in-law's request, she was to spend +the Sabbath at home. She was very loath to go, but it was not thought +best to try to retain her, and she went. There she found neither closet +nor Christian friend, and the house was full of guests from morning +till night, whom, she was required to entertain. Yet in the morning she +returned with even increased interest in spiritual things. Said she, +"Two or three times I was left alone for a moment, and then I tried to +commit my soul to my Saviour." Those few moments she seemed to value +above all price. Not long after, she found peace in Jesus, who became +her chosen theme. No wonder she loved to point others also to the Lamb +of God, and lead them to the mercy seat. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + +GEOG TAPA. + +DEACON MURAD KHAN IN 1846.--PENTECOSTAL SABBATH IN 1849.--MEETINGS IN +1850 AND 1854.--EXTRACTS FROM JOURNAL OF YONAN IN 1858. + +The village of Geog Tapa is so prominent, and has been so largely +blessed, that, though there is not room for a continuous account of the +work in that place, we here give a glimpse of its progress in different +years. + +Deacon Murad Khan, one of the assistants in the Seminary, and a native +of the place, spent some Sabbaths there in May, 1846. He took turns +with the other native teacher in this, going Saturday, and returning on +Monday. He tells us that, after morning prayers in the church, pious +men met together to pray for a blessing on the day; twelve of their +number then went to labor in other villages, the rest remaining to work +at home. Passing through a vineyard, he found hidden among the vines a +youth setting home gospel truth to a group of others about his own age. +At their request, he expounded the parable of the ten virgins to them +till it was time for forenoon service; then they separated, to spend a +few moments in private devotion before entering the church. + +In 1849, the pious men of the village divided it into districts, and +visited from house to house for religious conversation and prayer. +Meetings were held daily, and well attended. The most abandoned persons +were hopefully converted. Crimes committed twenty-five years before +were confessed, and restitution made. One Sabbath in February, Mr. +Stocking and Mar Yohanan found a large assembly in the house of Mar +Elias, listening to an exhortation from Priest Abraham. Mar Yohanan, +who had not been there since his conversion a little while before, was +then called on, and spoke of himself as the chief of sinners, having +led more souls to destruction than any other of his people, and being +all covered with their blood. In regard to his flock he said, the +fattest he had eaten, the poorest he had cast away, the lame and the +sick he had neglected. He begged them no longer to look to their +bishops for salvation, but to repent at once and turn to God. Priest +Abraham, then recently awakened, also made a humble confession of his +sins as their priest, and besought them, one and all, to attend to the +salvation of their souls. + +In the afternoon, the church was crowded, and a number, unable to gain +admission, retired to a school room, where a meeting was conducted by a +member of the Male Seminary. In the church, they sung the hymn, "Come, +Holy Spirit, heavenly Dove." Mar Yohanan offered prayer, and Mr. +Stocking preached from the text, "Now, then, we are ambassadors for +Christ," and produced a very deep impression, which was increased by +short addresses from the bishop and others. This was known afterwards +by the name of the Pentecostal Sabbath. + +In 1850, those previously renewed gained new light, and those whose +piety was doubtful--to use Deacon John's broken English,-were "very +much firmed." Miss Fiske and Miss Rice spent a day in the village, +after the close of their spring term, and had delightful intercourse +with about twenty women hopefully pious, and many more inquirers. In +the evening, supper was hurried through, and men, women, and children +hastened to the house of the pastor. Mr. Stocking preached there to a +crowded assembly of men, while the teachers adjourned to a neighboring +house, to meet with the women. Their hearts were full at meeting so +many for whom they had alternately hoped and feared, now sitting in +heavenly places in Christ Jesus; they remembered seeing their first +penitential tears, and could hardly restrain their own for joy. The +house was full, and in a silence interrupted only by stifled sobs, they +communed together concerning Jesus and his grace. It seemed as though +God perfected praise that night out of the mouths of babes, by keeping +them perfectly still in their mothers' aims; and as the pupils of the +Seminary belonging to the village, in their prayers, laid mothers, +sisters, and friends at the feet of Jesus, the place seemed near to +heaven. Next day, about one hundred and fifty attended another meeting, +and it was with difficulty the teachers could tear themselves away. One +of the pious mothers could not bear to have her daughter, recently +converted in the Seminary, leave her sight; and more than once a day +they bowed together at the throne of grace. When this mother met Miss +Fiske her feelings were so intense she could only say, "Thank God," +over and over, and weep. Her husband was moved by his child's anxiety +for his salvation. Once, when she urged him to pray, he replied, "I +cannot; but you may pray for me." She at once knelt and interceded for +him, with many tears. The gray-headed man knelt also, deeply moved, and +tears flowed from eyes not used to weep. When she ceased praying, she +rose; but his strength was gone; he could not rise. Yet the love of the +world was strong within him, and it is to be feared that he resisted +the Holy Ghost. + +In 1854, Miss Fiske found about sixty families maintaining family +prayer, and hardly a family in which there was not some one that seemed +to be a true disciple. John held a prayer meeting Sabbath morning with +those whom he sent out, two and two, to preach in the neighboring +villages, and in the evening they reported what they had done. Sabbath +school commenced about nine o'clock, and before it opened, almost all +were reading or listening to those that read; and then the school +continued in session two hours, without a sign of weariness. The number +wishing to learn to read was so large that it was difficult to provide +for them. Men came begging good teachers for their wives, and women +came pleading for spelling books for their husbands. After school, at +their own request, Miss Fiske met twenty-one girls, who had been +members of her school (twenty of them now teachers in the Sabbath +school), and gave them a word of counsel and encouragement in their +work. At the close of afternoon service, the women who could read staid +with her till near sunset, they never so thankful before, and she never +more thankful to be with them. + +The next glimpse we take of Geog Tapa shall be from a native +standpoint. A young man of the village, possessed of more than ordinary +abilities, was early taken into the Male Seminary. His influence over +the rest was so great, and so decidedly opposed to religion, that he +was about to be sent away, when grace made him the first fruit of the +revival in 1846. Yonan (for that is his name) was a teacher in the +Female Seminary from 1848 till 1858, and, as he was generally +accustomed to spend his Sabbaths in his native village, on Monday +morning he handed in to Miss Fiske a written report of the labors of +the previous day; and from, these we now give some extracts:-- + +"_January 17th_, 1858. I had a pleasant time in morning family prayer, +at which several young persons were present. The Sabbath school was +followed by a meeting, at the close of which I returned to my room with +four young men. I talked with them about two hours, first about coming +to church,--for they attend only occasionally,--and in this they +promised to do better. I then questioned until I reached their inmost +souls. I asked one, 'What is the distance between you and God?' 'My +teacher, there is a very great distance between us.' 'Is it God's +fault, or yours?' 'It is mine.' I then looked on another, noted for his +wickedness, and said, 'Beloved, did not Christ come for you? His +stripes, his anguish, his crucifixion,--were they not for you? Why, +then, treat him so ill? Has he left the least thing undone for you?' He +admitted the truth, but seemed like a rock. At length I said to them, +'Now, Satan has provided something or somebody outside the door, to +drive these thoughts from your hearts.' One replied, 'True, Satan has +let down all the nets of the Sea of Ardishai[1] for us.' I prayed for +them, and they left me, serious. Then I prayed for them alone. Soon my +little sister Raheel came in, who is under Papal influence. I talked +with her about prayer to the saints, and opened to the ten +commandments, and began to read; but she did not want to hear. My heart +yearned over my poor sister, and I prayed with her. [Footnote 1: Lake +of Oroomiah.] + +"Moses preached in the afternoon about Achan, and after that I had my +usual meeting with the pious women. Guly returned with me for +conversation. I think she is a blessed Christian. She labors and prays +with two of her companions. She told how her cousin ridiculed her, and +I encouraged her to go forward, but said, 'If all the world think you a +Christian, don't rest till you can say, 'I know in whom I have +believed."' We prayed together, and O, what a prayer she offered! +Deacon Siyad led the evening meeting. + +"_January 24th_. After morning service, I took Baba Khan and Guwergis +to my room. The first I had labored with last year, and thought him +interested. His wife fears God, and has often asked me to talk with +him. He is seldom absent from church or prayer meeting, and often goes +out with our young men when they preach. This was my thought in talking +with him: 'Near the kingdom, but not in it.' I earnestly pressed these +questions: What do you think of yourself? What is your dependence for +salvation? Have you repented? In short, on which side are you? He was +troubled; tears ran down his cheeks, and for a time he made no reply. +At last he said, 'I cannot tell.' A companion began to answer for him, +with the confidence of ignorance, judging Christians and finding holes +in the coats of the righteous: 'Who knows whether a man is a Christian? +God alone.' I said, 'Are there any Christians in our village?' 'Yes.' +'Then you know some as Christians?' His words were many, while Baba +Khan's were few. My father here came in, but I prayed with them all, +and then went to church, where I preached from the words, 'And thou +mourn at the last.' + +"To-day I conversed with Sadee. I found her in the habit of praying +with her sisters in Christ one by one. I advised her to try and lead +some of her unconverted neighbors to Christ by her labors and prayers. +She promised to do so. We spent more than an hour speaking the language +of Canaan, and then knelt at the feet of the Saviour whom we love. She +prayed, spreading out her hands to heaven, as I think the early saints +used to do; and it seemed as though God would fill us with blessing in +answer to that prayer. She left me alone, and thanking God for these +blessed opportunities to labor. + +"_January 31st_. After meeting, conversed with Munny, daughter of +Mukdesseh. It was profitable to talk with her. She said that her +sainted mother used to say, "When, my heart is cold, I go to Christ, +and never rise from my knees till he warms it." She has some hope for +her husband, and also fear, since he does not forsake wine. She told of +a woman for whom she had prayed and labored five or six years, and +promised to do so with others. O, what a sweet savor of piety did I +receive from her! If we had many such mothers in Geog Tapa how changed +it would be! I cannot write all our pleasant words; they remain for +eternity. + +"_February 7th_. I took home from Sabbath school two young men, for +whom I have fears because they drink too much wine. I talked long with +them, not as though I would take a pledge from them, or that it is a +sin ever to drink at all, for I thought this would not be profitable; +but I asked them questions, that they might themselves distinguish what +is right; as, 'Does wine make you to sin?' They owned that it did. +Their hearts seemed won to the right, but the work is the Lord's. May +he save them from this temptation. + +"In the afternoon, I began to talk with Sanum without feeling, but +ended in tears. I did not ask questions, but carefully explained the +difficulties and the fight of faith, also the special grace of God to +his people. When I said to her, 'I want you to enlarge your heart, and +take in one more besides the two women whom you now labor with,' she +selected a very ignorant one. I am afraid that I do differently, +seeking rather an easy work. + +"_February 22d_. This afternoon I sent for Nargis. I had never thought +of her as a Christian, but I found that I was greatly mistaken. It is +all my own fault. I had seldom met her, and never prayed with her. I +commenced: 'Do you think yourself a Christian?' 'I do.' 'How long have +you thought so?' 'About eight years.' 'How is it that I have not known +it?' 'Yakob was my pastor, and since he left I have had none.' Then she +told of her awakening, and sufferings for Christ's sake, between her +betrothal and her marriage. 'I used to go to evening meetings with +Yakob, and on my return my uncle would take me by the braids of my hair +and throw me on the ground, saying, "You go because there are young men +there." Sometimes I found the door barred against me; then I went to a +neighbor's to lodge, or oftener to the stable, and slept in a manger; +but I was never afraid, for Christ was with me: for a time my betrothed +wished to put me away. It was then I found Christ, and I have never +forsaken him since.' She is now poor and in distress. She attends +church and Sabbath school, but cannot go to evening meeting, as her two +little children keep her at home. She lamented this, not thinking that +she could serve Christ in the care of these little ones. I told her, 'I +preach that prayer and the care of children are equally a duty.' She +was greatly comforted: these words seemed like oil poured into the +flickering lamp. I gave her the 'Green Pastures,' and prayed with her. +I have great confidence in her piety. + +"On Friday forenoon, I saw Martha, the wife of Eshoo. I trust she has +grace in her heart; and her husband hopes that he is a Christian, but +looks after her more than himself. She sees him not doing right, and +tells him in love; he is not pleased. Still, she thinks him a +Christian. She wished I would talk to them together, that their path +might be one. I told her I did not think it best that she should talk +much to him, but be very quiet, pray for him, be obedient to him, and +hope to win him by her chaste conversation coupled with fear. She +received my words well. + +"_February 28th._ I talked with Moressa. We hoped, seven or eight years +ago, that she was a Christian; but her husband soon prevented her +attending meeting, and so she remained, till lately she came to church +again. I did not know that one of the sisters in Christ had prayed +regularly with her all this while, but supposed that she had gone back +to her dead forms, and that God moved me to call her to repentance. But +I found her trusting that she had been set in Christ's breastplate, the +light of which can never go out. I said, 'Do you think you love the +Saviour?' 'Yes, as the apple of my eye.' 'Are you sure that you have +not forsaken him in all these years?' 'I have been very sinful all the +time, but do not think I have taken my hand from Christ.' My heart was +now drawn towards her. I said, 'Moressa, forgive me. I have been an +unfaithful shepherd. I have not once searched for you. I confess my +faults.' 'I have faults. I have been a wandering sheep, forsaking the +fold.' 'Have you kept up secret prayer during all these years?' 'I +have.' I found that she had learned to read at home, and I gave her a +Testament. I have a good hope for her; but how negligent I have been! +There may be many Christians unknown." + +These extracts might be extended; but enough have been given to +illustrate the inner workings of Nestorian piety, and the labors of +those so appropriately called "native helpers." It was such men that +Paul called his helpers in Christ Jesus. + +The women of Geog Tapa, in a letter to Miss Fiske, written Feb. 1861, +thanking her for her labors among them, say, "We often think, What are +we more than the women of other nations, that we should have such +heavenly blessings? and are ready to cry, Blessed is the dust of the +land that sends forth such good news, and makes known the way of life +to the world." They add, that at their last communion more than eighty +souls sat down at the Lord's table; and it seemed as if He who sitteth +between the cherubim was present in the church. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + + +REVIVAL IN 1846. + +PREPARATORY WORK.--SANCTIFIED AFFLICTIONS.--NAME FOR REVIVAL.--SCENES +IN IHE SEMINARIES IN JANUARY.--DEACON JOHN, SANUM, AND SARAH.--MR. +STODDARD.--YAKOB.--YONAN.--MEETING IN THE BETHEL.--PRIEST +ESHOO.--DEACON TAMO.--PHYSICAL EXCITEMENT AND ITS CURE.--ARTLESS +SIMPLICITY OF CONVERTS.--MISSIONARY BOX.--MEETINGS BEFORE +VACATION.--MR. STODDARD'S LABORS.--FEMALE PRAYER MEETING.--REVIVAL IN +THE AUTUMN. + +The first revival in Oroomiah seemed to burst forth like a fountain in +the desert. Yet, as such a fountain, though springing full grown from +the earth, is connected with unseen arrangements working out that +visible result, so was this revival connected with an extended process +of preparation. For years there had been a laborious inculcation of +divine truth, especially in the Seminary. True, there had been few +conversions; but those few were an essential part of the preparatory +work. The roots of this revival extended back as far as the conversion +of Deacon John, in 1844. Even in those still unconverted, there had +been a wonderful preparation of the way of the Lord. No one could +compare the condition of the places yet unblessed by missionary labor, +with those so favored, and not feel this. Religious education had made +a marked improvement in the appearance of the pupils of both +Seminaries, in their personal habits, their intelligence, and +especially in their knowledge of the doctrines of the gospel. Old +superstitions had lost their hold; they could no longer trust in fasts +and ceremonies, and they had an intellectual understanding of the way +of salvation through a Redeemer. True, all this did not necessarily +involve a spiritual work; but God is pleased to have the way thus +prepared for that Spirit who sanctifies through the truth. Those who +had received the most instruction were the first to come to Christ, and +have since lived the more consistent Christian life. + +Then, in the good providence of Him who always observes a beautiful +order in the manifestations of his grace, other influences tended to +the same result. The very delay of the blessing called forth earnest +prayer from the husbandmen who were waiting for precious fruit, and had +long patience for it, till they received the early and the latter rain. +The trials which the missionaries had passed through in 1845 also +tended to produce that despair of help from themselves which usually +precedes blessing. In 1844 they numbered sixteen souls; but in 1846, +from various causes, they were diminished to ten. These were not +discouraged, but remained at their post confident that labors in the +Lord cannot be in vain. Then the persecution under Mar Shimon shut them +up to God as their only hope, while it rid them of some native helpers, +who cared chiefly for their own temporal advantage. The army of Gideon, +on all sides, was being diminished in order to secure obedience to that +precept, "He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord." The feeling was +general, "all our springs are in God." One of the missionaries said, in +the autumn of 1845, "God never formed a soul that Christ cannot redeem +from the power of sin. I know this people are sunk in sin and +degradation; but Jesus died to save them, and we may see them forever +stars in his crown of rejoicing, if we are only humble and faithful +enough to lead them to the Saviour." + +At the time of the revival, Dr. and Mrs. Perkins resided at Seir, and +Dr. and Mrs. Wright were temporarily with them in that village. Mr. +Breath was in the city, but using the Turkish mainly, he never ventured +to give religious instruction in Syriac; so that Mr. Stocking and Mr. +Stoddard were the only laborers in Oroomiah. They lived on the mission +premises already described; and at that time the Male Seminary occupied +a building in the same enclosure. + +One day in the autumn of 1845, Mr. Stocking, Miss Fiske, and Deacon +John were riding together, when John asked in English, "If we ever have +a revival here, what shall we call it?" Mr. Stocking replied, "Let us +get it first; then we will find a name;" and when it did come, the +pious Nestorians at once called it "an awakening." + +Towards the close of December, Mr. Stocking noticed repeated +indications of deep seriousness among the pupils of Mr. Stoddard, and +felt that they were on the eve of a revival. About the same time, +Deacon John was more active in labor, and earnest in prayer. In the +Seminaries, the teachers did not think so much of what their pupils +were, as of the power of God to make them like himself. They labored in +hope, expecting a blessing; but it came sooner than they looked for, +and in larger measure. The first Monday of the new year, January 5th, +was spent as a day of fasting and prayer; and the missionaries had just +begun to pray, when they found that some were praying for themselves. +Miss Fiske went into her school, as usual, at nine o'clock, and, after +telling her flock that many prayers were being offered for them that +day in a distant land, led their morning devotions, and then sent them +into another room to study with a native teacher. Sanum and Sarah +lingered behind the rest; and as they drew near, she asked, "Did you +not understand me?" They made no reply; and she saw they were weeping. +"Have you had bad news?" Still no reply; but when they got near enough, +they whispered, "May we have to-day to care for our souls?" and Sarah +added, "Perhaps next year I shall not be here." There was no private +room to give them, but they made a closet for themselves among the fuel +in the wood cellar, and there spent that day looking unto Jesus; nor +did they look in vain. Their teacher did not know where they had gone, +till, long after one of them had died, the survivor gave her an account +of that memorable day. + +On Sabbath evening, January 18th, the words at the English prayer +meeting were few; but the prayers carried the dear pupils and laid them +at the feet of Jesus. At the close of the meeting, Mr. Stoddard was +lighting his candle to go home, when Mr. Stocking asked if he saw any +indications of interest in his school. There was no reply; but the +expressive face, and the candle dropping unnoticed as he held it, +showed that thought was busy, and the heart full. At length he said, +with deep feeling, "I should expect to see interest if we felt as we +ought to feel;" and passed out. All were impressed with his manner, so +earnest, yet so humble. He retired to his study, called John, and +talked with him on the state of the school. He proposed that they +should each day make some one pupil a subject of special prayer and +personal effort, and begin that night with Yakob of Sooldooz. They +prayed together for him, and then he said, "John, I want to talk with +him to-night; we don't know what may be on the morrow; go and call +him." Yakob, who had acted badly in meeting that day, came, expecting +to be punished; but when Mr. Stoddard kindly asked him to come and sit +down by him, and, taking his hand, said, "Have you ever thought that +you have a soul to be saved or lost?" he broke down at once. He +confessed that the whole school had combined to shut out the subject +from their thoughts, but really felt so uneasy, that if one of them +should be brought to Christ he thought all would follow. Then the good +man, who was so distressed that day because he could see no impression +made by the sermon, thanked God and took courage. Not willing to devote +Monday to Yakob alone, he conversed with another of the same name, and +he too went away weeping to his closet. The two had been in the +recitation room but a little while before their feelings became so +intense that they had to ask leave to retire. "It is God!" "It is God!" +was whispered from seat to seat; and at noon a group collected to +discuss what was to be done. One proposed to rise up against the work, +and put it down; but at length Yonan of Geog Tapa said, "I don't want +to be a Christian; I don't mean to be; but I am afraid to oppose this; +we had better let it alone. If it is God's work we cannot put it down, +and if it is man's work it will come to nought without our +interference." Nothing more was said, but before school commenced that +afternoon, some of those boys were on their knees in prayer. + +In the evening, Mr. Stoddard sent for two leaders in the opposition, +very promising scholars, but of late forward in every thing that was +evil--one of them this Yonan, and as he himself told afterwards: "Mr. +Stoddard said, 'If you do not wish to be saved yourselves, I beg of +you, from my inmost soul, not to hinder others;' and eternity so opened +up before me, that I was ready to be swallowed up. I longed for some +one to speak to me of the way of escape; but no such word was spoken to +me that night. I could not sleep, for I was almost sure there was but a +step between me and death." Late on Thursday evening, the other Yonan, +of Ada, came to Mr. Stoddard in extreme agitation, who conversed with +him a while, and then left him there to pray alone. That night he too +could not sleep. The years he had spent in sin rose up before him in +the light of God, and filled him with anguish; but next morning, in +conversing with Mr. Stoddard, he seemed to find rest in submitting to +sovereign mercy. + +On Monday evening, the indications of interest in the Female Seminary +were such, that the teacher invited those disposed to seek salvation at +once, to come to her room at five o'clock. Before that hour, a number +had retired to pray for themselves. Just then, Mr. Stoddard came to the +door of the teacher, saying, "I cannot stop; but I wanted you to know +that four or five of my boys are much distressed for their sins." This +was the first intimation she had of what was taking place in the other +school; and she turned away from Mr. Stoddard to find five of her +pupils in the same condition. Mr. Stoddard came in again, in the course +of the evening, to pray and consult; and Mr. Stocking gave up every +thing else to labor with the pupils in both schools. Both Dr. Perkins +and Dr. Wright came down frequently from Seir. Every day brought out +new cases of those who were being taught of God. Wednesday evening, at +the conclusion of a sermon from Mr. Stocking, on the words, "Behold, I +stand at the door and knock," no member of the Male Seminary seemed +willing to leave his seat. After a few words of exhortation, they were +dismissed to their rooms; but so intense were their feelings that they +came in crowds to the teacher's study, where he preached Jesus Christ, +and forgiveness through his blood, till near midnight; then, fatigued +and exhausted, he retired to rest. Thursday evening, in the English +prayer meeting, Mr. Stoddard said, "God will assuredly carry forward +his own work. Let us give ourselves up to labor for him, in pointing +these precious souls to Christ." After the meeting, the teachers of +both Seminaries left to engage in that blessed work till midnight. +Eleven years after, on the same evening, and about the same hour, one +was called to see the other pass from earth into the presence of the +Saviour whom he then set forth so faithfully. No wonder the survivor +recalled it in the hush of that parting scene. + +It is difficult to describe the occurrences of this eventful week. The +teachers' rooms were in such demand as closets for the pupils, that +they could hardly command them long enough for their own devotions. +They were ready to write "Immanuel" on every thing around them. The +girls were very free to express their feelings, and they had such +perfect confidence in their teacher, that often, during the revival, +some of them woke her in the morning, standing at her bedside, with +some inquiry about the way of life. + +The two schools hardly knew any thing of each other till Friday +evening, when they met in a room fitted up for the Female Seminary the +preceding autumn. The first time Mr. Stoddard entered it after this, he +looked round, and said, "May this room be wholly consecrated to the +Lord forever;" and this evening Christ seemed to take possession of it. +The boys sat on one side, and the girls on the other; and seldom, +perhaps, has there been a company more under the influence of things +unseen. It seemed as though God himself spoke that evening through his +ministering servants, and this and that one was born there and then. It +was in the same room that that last prayer meeting of the teacher with +her former pupils was held, July 15th, 1858. In the engraving, the two +upper windows, immediately to the left of the small ones over the +central door, belong to this room. + +At the close of the week, ten of the pupils were trusting in Christ; +and of the next Lord's day it might truly be said, "That Sabbath was an +high day," for the Lord was present, and many strong men bowed before +him. Priest Eshoo had watched the boys; he had watched his own praying +Sarah; and now he looked within. He had never been known to weep; he +scorned such weakness; but when, at the close of the afternoon service, +Mr. Stocking took his hand, saying, "Be sure you are on the right +foundation," he buried his face in his handkerchief and wept aloud. Nor +did he weep alone; Deacon Tamo, too,--whose levity all through the week +had been a sore trial to Mr. Stoddard, so that he had asked, "Can it be +that God has let him come here to hinder the work?"--now trembled from +head to foot. Mr. Stoddard prayed with him, and as they rose from their +knees, Tamo looked him in the face, and, with streaming eyes, said, +"Thank you, thank you for caring for my soul." + +During the following week, most of the inmates of both Seminaries were +deeply convinced of sin, and daily some souls seemed to come to the +Saviour. + +But some things rendered it apparent that the interest was not all from +above. One evening, fifteen or twenty boys were found rolling on the +floor, groaning and crying for mercy. Measures were taken at once to +prevent the repetition of such a scene, and at evening prayers Mr. +Stocking commenced his remarks by asking if any of them had ever seen +the Nazloo River, at Marbeeshoo, near its source. Startled by what +seemed a very untimely question, a few answered, "Yes." "Was there much +water in it?" Wondering what he could mean, the answer was, "No; very +little." "Did it make much noise?" "Yes; a great deal." The catechist +went on: "Have you seen the same river on the plain?" By this time, +every ear was listening, and all replied, "Yes." "Was it deep and +wide?" "Yes; it was full of water." "And was it more noisy than at +Marbeeshoo?" "No; it was very quiet and still." The parable was now +applied very faithfully. He said that he had hoped the Holy Spirit had +been teaching them the evil of their hearts; but their noise and +confusion that evening showed him that there was no depth to their +experience. The effect was wonderful; they hung their heads and quietly +dispersed, and from many a closet that night might have been heard the +petition, "Lord, make me to know my heart, and let me not be like that +noisy river." What threatened to be an uncontrollable excitement became +at once a quiet but deep sense of guilt. Their desires were not less +intense, but more spiritual; their consciences were very tender, and +their feelings contrite, but subdued and gentle. + +In this revival, the converts had a great deal of feeling, but no +knowledge of the mode in which such feelings find expression in +Christian lands; and in the freshness and strength of their emotions +they yielded to every impulse with an unconscious simplicity that was +exceedingly interesting. If they were under conviction of sin, that +found immediate and unrestrained utterance. If they thought they were +forgiven, that, too, at once found expression. There was a wonderful +transparency of spirit that revealed each varying aspect of their +feelings, and withal a tendency to undue excitement that needed careful +handling. Indeed, it was found necessary to watch their social meetings +very closely, and sometimes to direct them to pray alone. + +For three weeks, very few visitors came to the Seminary. The time +seemed to be given expressly for the benefit of the pupils, and it was +like one continual Sabbath. Every corner was consecrated to prayer, and +most of the work was direct effort for the salvation of souls. But +after that, visitors began to come, and then the young converts became +helpers in Christ Jesus, even the sight of their devotion turning the +thoughts of others to spiritual things. Often ten or fifteen women +spent the night on the premises; and at such times, all the spare +bedding was brought into the great room, which was transformed into a +dormitory. The teacher often staid with them till midnight, and then, +from her own room, could hear them praying the rest of the night. In +connection with this, one incident claims our notice. One day in +February, a box arrived from America for the Seminary; but so engrossed +was the teacher with more important duties, that it was midnight ere +she could open it. Next morning, all were invited to her room, to see +the contents. She told of the kind friends who had sent it, and the +love of Christ, that constrained to such kindness. They were moved to +tears, but not one rose to examine the things, and not a word was +spoken, till the proposal was made that the quilts should be kept for +the use of their friends who came to hear the word of God. All joyfully +agreed to that, and then, after looking at the articles, they returned +to pray for their benefactors. + +The last meetings of the school before the March vacation were called +thanksgivings, and fitly, too, for in the two Seminaries as many as +fifty souls had begun to love the Saviour, When they left, the +universal cry was, "Pray for us." "Pray for us in the temptations that +await us at home." One little girl said, "Did you ever see a new-born +lamb cast into the snow and live? And can we live?" Thank God, most of +the hopeful converts did live, and we trust are to live forever, with +the good Shepherd who gave his life for their salvation. + +It does not fall in with the design of this volume to give a complete +account of the revival, but we cannot leave it without a word more +about the instrumentality of Mr. Stoddard in connection with that work +of grace. He was abundant in preaching. He did not think that the most +ordinary sermons are good enough for the mission field; for he knew +that the Nestorians could discriminate as well as others nearer home, +and so wrote out his sermons carefully in English, but in the Syriac +idiom, noting on a blank page the books consulted in their preparation. +He also excelled in labors for individuals. The first inquirer became +such while Mr. Stoddard pressed home upon his conscience his guilt as a +sinner against God; and the same is true of many others. After +conversing with a person, he always led him to the throne of grace, and +then had him present his own offering there; and after such a one had +left, he seemed unable to turn his thoughts to any thing else, till +again in private he had commended him to God. Indeed, he often began to +do this before they descended the stairs. He kept a little book, in +which he recorded every case, the state in which he found the person, +and any subsequent change; and it was noticed that where he began, he +continued to labor, not only till there was hope, but even assurance of +hope. Such labor is as exhausting as it is delightful; and no wonder +his strength proved less than his zeal and love. + +It was a great joy to him when his people could take part in prayer +meetings. He divided the thirty converts among them into three circles, +and met each of them twice a week: this furnished him a season of +refreshment every day, and each of them took part at least once a week. +They were thus early initiated into a course of Christian activity, and +taught that they would lose much themselves, besides failing to do good +to others, if they held back. The converts were so rooted and grounded +in this truth, that once, when Miss Fiske was in Geog Tapa, a brother +said to her that she must not leave the village till she had induced a +woman to pray with her, whom they all regarded as a Christian, but who +would not take part in their female prayer meetings; and when she +objected to urging her, Deacon John replied, "If she was an ordinary +Christian, we might let her pass; but her position is one of such +prominence, that the other women will do just as she does; and so she +must do right," Miss Fiske talked long with the delinquent, but she +insisted that she could not do it. The missionary told of her own +trials in the matter,--how she had staid away from meeting lest she +should be called on, and remained unblessed till she was willing to do +her duty. She prayed with her once and again, even a third time, before +she consented, saying, "I will not displease God any more in this." So, +drawing very close to her instructor, she offered two petitions for +herself, and one that her friend might be rewarded for showing her her +duty. Hannah was soon active in the women's meetings, and is to this +day a most useful and consistent Christian. + +Another marked feature in Mr. Stoddard's labors was his tact in setting +others to work for Christ. He taught his pupils that they must toil as +well as pray, and soon after the first converts were brought to Christ, +definite labor for others was assigned to them, not only among their +schoolmates and those who visited the premises, but also in gathering +in those not disposed to come to meeting. Once, when three fourths of +the pupils were hopefully pious, Mr. Stoddard said, "I must bring in +more, just to furnish work for these converts." He himself was happy in +his work, because he gave himself wholly to it, without the least +reservation; and amid the many trials that marked the years of his +residence in Persia, he looked beyond them all, to Him who not only can +give joy in suffering, but, by means of it, bring sinners to the +Saviour. + +The hopeful converts in the Seminary, after spending the summer of 1846 +at their own homes, in circumstances of great trial and temptation, +returned, all save one, not only retaining their interest in spiritual +things, but established in Christian character. Their friends also +testified to their thoughtfulness, prayerfulness, and cheerful +obedience at home, and the influence of their piety was happy on others. + +For a while, in the autumn of 1846, the school was disbanded on account +of the cholera. But, contrary to the fears of many, after a separation +of two months, all were spared to meet again, though hundreds had +fallen on all sides. Three weeks afterwards, the Christians among them +seemed more than usually earnest in prayer for the conversion of the +impenitent, and at once the answer came. The first one awakened was +Moressa, now the wife of Yakob, of Supergan, and then about fourteen +years of age. She had been taken into the family of Mrs. Grant nine +years before, and that of Mr. Stocking afterwards. She had received +much religious instruction, with apparently little effect; but now her +convictions were deep, though she did not submit to Christ for nearly a +week after she felt she was lost. Her case deeply enlisted the +sympathies of her fellow-pupils, and soon several others passed through +a season of deep distress, to rest in the grace of Christ. + +One of these was Eneya, sister of Oshana, and now the wife of Shlemon, +in Amadia. Her widowed mother had fled with her children to Oroomiah +before the Koordish invasion of her native Tehoma. Few children have so +deep a sense of sin as she had, or exercise such implicit trust in the +Saviour. At that time, her teacher wrote, "May she become a messenger +of great good to her countrywomen;" and now, that prayer is being +answered in her usefulness in that distant and lonely field of labor. +Altogether there were seven who seemed at this time to take the Lord +Jesus Christ as their God and Saviour. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + + +FIRST FRUITS. + +SARAH, DAUGHTER OF PRIEST ESHOO.--MARTHA.--HANNAH. + +Let us now turn aside to take a nearer view of the first fruits of this +revival. The first to ask the way to heaven, to find it, and to enter +through the gate into the city, was Sarah, or Sarra, as the Nestorians +pronounce it. She was born among the rude mountaineers of Gawar, in +1831. Her father, Eshoo, then a deacon, regarded her at first with the +aversion Nestorian fathers usually felt towards their daughters; but +her strong attachment to him while yet a child, so won his heart, that +when the Koords overran Gawar, in 1835, and the family fled from their +smouldering village, he was willing to be seen carrying her on his +back, in the same way that his wife bore her younger sister. The family +stopped for a time at Degala, and subsisted by begging from door to +door, lodging at night in a stable. The fine intellect of the +self-taught father soon brought him to the notice of the missionaries; +and one day Mrs. Grant, then just about securing her long-cherished +desire of a school for girls, asked him, in her winning way, "Have you +any daughters? and will you not send them to our little school?" The +inquiry revived a wish that he had felt while yet in Gawar, that his +daughter should learn to read; and in the spring of 1841, when he moved +from Degala to the city, he sent her to the mission school. She had +just entered her tenth year--a tall, slender, dark-eyed girl, even then +giving indications of her early death, and though often a great +sufferer, she applied herself so diligently to study, that she soon +became, as she ever continued to be, the best scholar in the school. + +The ancient Syriac Bible was the principal text book; and she so far +mastered that language as to acquire a knowledge of Scripture rarely +attained in any land by a child of her years. She was the walking +concordance of the school; and her knowledge of the doctrines of the +Bible was even more remarkable. Under the teaching of Mrs. Harriet +Stoddard, she had also learned to sing sweetly our sacred music. Still, +with all her acquirements, she was destitute of grace; and her +declining health led her teacher to feel much anxiety for her salvation. + +On the first Monday in 1846, she said to Sanum, one of her schoolmates, +who, she knew, was thoughtful, "Sister, we ought to turn to God. Shall +we ever find a better time than when so many are praying for us?" They +together resolved to spend the day in seeking salvation; and the manner +in which they made known this purpose to their teacher, and carried it +out, has been already related. (See p. 116). From that day, she never +seemed to waver. As soon as she found peace for herself, she sought to +make others acquainted with her Saviour; not forgetting, however, that +prayer of the Psalmist, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, +and know my thoughts. See if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me +in the way everlasting." Feeble as she was, she never shrank from +labor. Hours every day were spent in her closet, and the rest of her +time was sacredly used for Christ. She had much to do with the +conversion of the twenty schoolmates whom she was permitted to see in +Christ before she went home; and she did much for the women who came to +the Seminary. Her teacher never knew a young person more anxious to +save souls. Both pupils and visitors loved to have Sarah tell them the +way. They said, "We can see it when she tells us." No wonder they saw +it, for she seemed to look on it all the time. Her teacher depended +much on her, and yet often remonstrated with her for such incessant +labors. Still she felt that she must be about her Father's business +while the day lasted. Her desires for the salvation of her father +seemed to commence with her anxiety for herself; and his feelings were +soon so tender that he could not answer an inquiry about his own state +without tears. Sarah was the first to know that he had found peace. His +first religious intercourse with her was to tell her that he had found +Jesus. He had known that she was thoughtful, but was not prepared to +find her so full of humble hope and holy joy. Next day, when urged by a +missionary to labor for the salvation of his family, he replied, "Sarah +knows the way to heaven better than I do. She can teach me far better +than I could her." Their previous strong attachment now ripened into +Christian love. He never felt that his daily bread had been given him, +if he had not knelt with her in prayer, and his heart been lifted up by +her petitions as well as his own. Her mother at first scoffed; but soon +she, too, sought the Saviour; and her younger daughter, whose evil ways +for a time tried Sarah sorely, was also afterwards brought into the +kingdom. + +Mr. Stocking used to call her "the best theologian among the +Nestorians," and often said, "If I want to write a good sermon, I like +to sit down first and talk with Sarah, and then be sure that she is +praying for me." + +Her attachment to the means of grace was strong. She went to every +meeting, even after she could not reach the chapel without help. Her +emaciated form, her hollow cough, her eye bright with unnatural lustre, +all told that she was passing away, but, combined with her sweet +singing and heavenly spirit, led her companions sometimes to whisper, +as she took her seat in the chapel, "Have we not an Elizabeth +Wallbridge among us?"--"The Dairyman's Daughter," in Syriac, had just +then issued from the press, and was a great favorite with the +Nestorians. + +As early as March, it was seen that she must die. Still she clung to +the school, and not for nought. She had a mission to fulfil, and her +Saviour strengthened her for the work to which he called her. As yet, +none of the pious Nestorians had finished their course. With the +converts, victory over death was something heard of, but never +witnessed; and Sarah was chosen to show them "in what peace a Christian +can die." Perhaps the last days of no young disciple were ever watched +with more eager interest. "Will Christ sustain us to the last? Will he +be with us through the dark valley? Will he come for us and receive us +to himself, as he promised?" These were to them momentous questions; +and they stood ready to answer them according as the Lord supported +her. Ever since her death they have looked upon the last change from a +new point of view. But we must not anticipate. + +The five months between her conversion and her decease were very +precious to all who knew her. She sometimes sat with her teacher and +talked an hour at a time on the home of the blessed. She seemed to look +in upon its glories, and share its gladness; and then her thoughts +turned to the perishing around her, saying, "I would labor a little +longer for them, if it is my Father's will." The young converts whom +she had taught could not bear the thought of her leaving them; but they +sought to stay an angel in his course. The dross had been consumed, and +the spirit was made meet for the inheritance of the saints in light. + +[Illustration: Courtyard of the Female Seminary] + +About the middle of May, it was felt that she must go home to her +father, whose house was near the Seminary. It was a beautiful day in a +Persian summer. The morning exercises were closed. When her teacher +told her what they thought, she replied in a whisper, "I think I had +better go, but I want to be alone a little before I leave not to +return." With weary step she sought the closet where first she found +her Saviour: it was occupied. Perhaps He saw she might think more of +the place than was meet; so she spent an hour in another room, and then +returned, saying, "I am ready to go now." She went supported by a +schoolmate on either side: stopping in the court, she turned to take a +last look of the dear home where she had learned of Jesus, and, +plucking some of the roses that bloomed by her side, passed on. On the +preceding page that court is represented, as seen from the adjoining +one. She suffered intensely for a few days. Her disease forbade her +lying down, even at night. But still not a day passed that she did not +gather some women about her, and point them to Jesus. Her teacher +visited her frequently, and often found her with her Bible open, and +several women around her bed, to whom she was explaining it. The +praying pupils, too, often knelt with her at the accustomed throne of +grace. + +One Saturday in June, her father was asked if he could go to +Tergawer--twenty-five miles distant--and preach. His reply was, "I will +see what Sarah says." She said, "Go, father, and I will pray for you." +Sabbath morning came, and her teacher saw that Sarah was almost home: +she told her so, and once more committed the dear pupil to the Saviour +who stood by. She had to return to her duties in school, but first said +to her mother, "Send for me when the Master calls for her, for, if I +cannot go over Jordan with her, I would at least accompany her to the +swelling stream." In the afternoon her sufferings became intense; and +losing herself for a moment, she said, "Call my father." They told her +where he was. "O, yes, I remember. Don't call him. Let him preach; I +can die alone." She then said, "Call Miss Fiske;" and her sister +started to go. But the dying one remembered that it was the hour for +prayer meeting, and beckoned her to return, saying, "She is in meeting +now, with my companions. Don't call her; I can die alone." Perhaps, +with that teacher present, her eyes had not so clearly discerned the +Lord Jesus. Her sufferings were now so great, she hardly spoke for an +hour. Then she said, in a clear voice, "Mother, raise me, that I may +commit my spirit;" for she would never approach her Saviour but on her +knees. Supported, as she had been hundreds of times before, by that +mother's strong arms, and in the attitude of prayer, she said, "Lord +Jesus, receive--" And there she stopped: prayer had ended. Instead of +the closing words of the earthly petition was the opening of the new +song in heaven. The Saviour did not wait for the close of her petition +before he answered it. The teacher had just sat down with her pupils +when the door opened, and a messenger said "Sarah is asleep!" "Yes," +thought she, gratefully, "till Jesus shall say, 'Awake!'" According to +Eastern custom, Sarah was buried that same evening (June 13th), and the +whole school followed her to the grave, which was close to that of Mrs. +Grant. The first fruit of the school appropriately lies by the side of +her who planted that tree in the garden of the Lord, At the funeral her +teacher was just thinking that Sarah could help her no more, that her +prayers and labors were forever ended, when she looked up, and her eye +rested on the evening star looking down upon the grave. It was a +pleasant thought that she, too, was a star in glory. She was glad that +the first to love Christ was the first to go to be with him, and still +loves to think, of her as waiting for those who used to pray with her +on earth. The Christian life of Sarah was short; but she did much, for +she taught her people how + + "Jesus can make a dying bed + Feel soft as downy pillows are."[1] + +[Footnote 1: For additional foots about Sarah, see Nestorian Biography, +pp. 25-40.] + +After Sarah, like Stephen among the early disciples, had led the way +into the presence of her Saviour, Blind Martha was the next to follow. + +She was constrained by sickness to leave the school early in the spring +of 1847, and go home to her parents in Geog Tapa. Though six miles +distant, her schoolmates loved to walk out there to comfort her. They +prized no recreation so much as the privilege of going to see her. They +read and talked with her about her favorite portions of Scripture, +prayed with her, and were never allowed to leave without singing +"Jerusalem, my happy home." At such times, one of them said, "Her +countenance always showed that her spirit was walking the golden +streets." When asked about her health, she uniformly replied, "The Lord +helps me;" and when urged to speak more particularly, would say, "Dear +sisters, the Lord helps me, and that is enough." When, after five or +six of them had prayed in succession, she was asked if she was not +wearied, she would reply, "I know that I am weak, but prayer never +tires me." So great a privilege was it deemed to be with her, that one +morning, when a pious member of the Seminary at Seir was called to +leave the village early, he said, "I cannot go till I have prayed with +Blind Martha, and got from her manna for the road." + +Her companions desired very much to be present when she went home; but +this was not permitted. One morning in June, she said, at early dawn, +"Mother, the day breaks; I think Jesus is coming for me now; let me +go." But seeing no change in her appearance, her mother lay down again, +and, when next she woke, found that Jesus had come, and taken her to be +with him in his home above. What was that vision of the glory of +Immanuel that prompted the cry, "Mother, the day breaks!" from one who +never remembered to have seen the light? She became blind in infancy. A +smile remained on her pale face; and well might the sight of Him who +said, "If I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and +receive you unto myself," leave such a memento of the bliss. + +Little Hannah, the youngest member of the school, was suddenly called +home the following September, when only eleven years of age. When she +first came to Christ, her teacher was awakened one morning by her +asking at the bedside, "Is it wrong to wish to die?" "But why do you +want to die?" "That I may go and stay with Jesus, and never sin again." +This desire never left her. Once she said, with tears, "It seems as if +I cannot wait so long to go to my Saviour;" and at another time, "I +fear that I have sinned in not being willing to wait till Jesus calls +me." Before leaving for vacation, each pupil put up her own things in a +bundle, to be laid away till her return. As Hannah was at work on hers, +she said to a girl near her, "Perhaps you will open this. I do not +think that I ever shall. When you come together in the autumn, I trust +that I shall be in the Saviour's school above." So strong was the +desire awakened in her by Him who intended soon to gratify it. + +While the cholera raged around her in August, she frequently said, +"This may be my time to go to my dear Saviour;" and repeated it to her +mother on the last morning of her life, but went out as usual to her +work in the vineyard. About noon she became unwell, and said to a +companion, "I am sick; perhaps I shall die soon." "Are you willing?" +"O, yes, I am not afraid to go to Jesus." The disease made rapid +progress, and again she said, "I am very sick; I shall die soon: shall +we not pray together?" Her young friend led in prayer, and then called +on her to follow; but her time for prayer was almost finished. She +could just say, "Bless my dear sister; take me gently through the dark +river;" when she sunk exhausted, and was carried to the house. A mother +bent over an only daughter, and three loving brothers over an only +sister; but they could not keep her back from Jesus. She sent for her +companions, and they hastened to her bedside. She called for her +Testament; but her eyesight was failing her, and she returned it, +saying, "I can never use it more; but read it more prayerfully, and +love the Saviour more than I have done." She lingered through the +night, and rose with the dawn to her long-desired rest in the presence +of her Redeemer. + +It Is remarkable that three timid girls should have been chosen to lead +the advance of a great multitude of Nestorians through the dark valley +into the light beyond. No member of the Boy's Seminary died till three +years afterwards; and only two others of this before 1858--a period of +eleven years; but Infinite Wisdom chose, through such weak and timorous +ones, to glorify the power of Christ to bear his people through the +last conflict into everlasting rest. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + + +SUBSEQUENT REVIVALS + +DEACON JOHN STUDYING BACKSLIDING IN 1849--WORK IN VILLAGE OF +SEIR--WIVES OF SIYAD AND YONAN--KHANUMJAN--WOMEN AT THE SEMINARY--GEOG +TAPA--DEGALA--A PENITENT--SIN OF ANGER--REVIVAL IN 1856--MISS FISKE +ENCOURAGED--STILLNESS AND DEEP FEELING--UNABLE TO SING--CONVERSION OF +MISSIONARY CHILDREN--VISIT OF ENGLISH AMBASSADOR--REVIVAL OF +1857--LETTER OF SANUM + +The first indication of a work of grace in 1849 was seen in the unusual +seriousness of Deacon John. He had been reading Pike's Guide to Young +Disciples, and the chapter on backsliding moved him deeply. For a long +time, he went mourning his departure from God. One day he was reading +aloud in the Seminary, when a missionary came in, and wondering to see +him there, asked what he was doing. He replied, "I am studying +backsliding; and O, sir, I love it very much;" meaning to say that he +loved to study the way back to the enjoyment of God. This state of mind +was followed by earnest effort for the salvation of others, and the +hopefully pious first passed through a season of deep heart-searching +and renewed consecration to God. Under an awful sense of the violation +of covenant vows, for many days some of them did nothing but weep and +pray. "How unfaithful have I been to my Saviour and to immortal souls!" +was the cry on all sides. One whose Bible was found blotted with tears, +had been converted in 1846, and her grief was on account of her +unfaithfulness as a follower of Christ. Having thus wept bitterly +herself, she was well fitted to lead others to the God of all comfort. +Her labors were unwearied, both in and out of school. Indeed, the +mission was now so reduced in numbers, that much of the work in this +revival was performed by the Nestorians, and they proved themselves +very efficient. Naturally ardent, they preached Christ and him +crucified with a zeal and faithfulness rarely witnessed in our own +land; but their ardor needed careful guiding, for some were, at one +time, entirely prostrated by excessive labor. + +The pupils of the Seminary, during a short vacation, seemed like angels +of mercy to their families and friends. In Geog Tapa, their meetings +for women every evening had an attendance varying from thirty to one +hundred. Many of these were glad to learn the way of salvation, even +from children. Besides this, the older pupils, under the guidance of an +experienced native helper, spent much time in personal conversation and +prayer with their own sex, as did the members of the other Seminary +with the men. + +In the village of Seir, the work was very general. In addition to the +labors of the pious students in the Male Seminary there, Sanum and +Moressa labored from house to house among the women. But hear their own +account of what they did, in a letter to Miss Lovell's school at +Constantinople;-- + +"What shall we tell you, beloved, of the great love God has shown to +our school and people? For two months we have had such delightful days +as we never saw in our lives before. The work of the Lord has also +commenced in the villages, and in many there is great inquiry for the +way of life. The servants of God are so full of zealous love, that they +preach till their strength and voice give way. But again they go on to +preach, for the harvest is great, and the laborers few. How should we, +with burning hearts, beg the Lord of the harvest to send forth +laborers! Can we bear, dear sisters, to see the deadly wings of Satan's +kingdom spread out and destroy those bought by the precious blood of +Christ? Ought we not rather to wrestle like Jacob till we see the +loving wings of the kingdom of the Saviour spread out, and impart life +to wounded souls on every side? We hope that your waiting eyes may see +greater wonders among your own people than we do here. + +"Now we will tell you about the little village of Seir, which contains +nineteen houses. God has visited every house; and because the women +were much awakened, and had no teacher, the missionaries sent two of us +there, not because we were fit for such a work,--for we are deficient +in Godly knowledge, and every qualification,--but because God sometimes +chooses the ignorant and weak to do him service. And what shall we tell +you of the wonders God showed us among those poor women? There was no +time in which they did not cry, with tears, 'What shall we do?' 'Woe +unto us!' 'We are lost!' When we asked them to pray in meetings, they +prayed as if taught of God. We wondered at them very much. In one +house, we found a woman beating her head with both hands, crying, 'O my +sins! They are so great! There is no pardon!' We tried to reason with +her; but if we took her hands from her head, she beat her breast. She +said, 'You told me, when you prayed with me the other day, to go to +Christ; but he will not receive me, I am such a sinner.' With +difficulty we quieted her, and told of the great mercy of the Son of +David. We prayed with each woman of the village alone, and they with +us, fervently and in tears. + +"In one instance, we heard an old man praying earnestly in the stable, +and his wife in the house. We waited till they had finished, before we +went in, and there we found an old man, perhaps ninety years old, and +his wife, also very aged. We spoke with them of the lowly Redeemer, and +how he was ready to dwell with them, poor as they were. The tears +rolled down their wrinkled faces, and made our own hearts burn within +us. The old man prayed with us as if Christ stood right before him, and +we prayed with them both. + +"There were meetings several times a day, and when they closed, the +voice of prayer might be heard on all sides, in the houses and stables. +Every family now has morning and evening worship." + +In this revival, the native helpers were very much interested for the +salvation of their unconverted wives. The families of Siyad and Yonan +live in Geog Tapa, and their first visits home were blessed to the +conviction of their companions, who soon came to the school, begging to +be allowed to stay and learn the way of life. Of course, they were not +refused. The wife of Siyad had been a frequent visitor there, but such +an opposer of religion, that her coming was always dreaded; but now how +changed! Day by day her convictions deepened, till they were +overwhelming. Tears were her meat, and prayer her employment, day and +night, till, as she said, "The Saviour found her," and she was at rest. +Three children and a daughter-in-law joined her in believing, and it +was delightful to see the family, not long after, each in his or her +turn, calling on the name of the Lord in one of the rooms of the +Seminary. + +Yonan, the junior teacher of the school, had been married by force two +years before, by his wicked father; that, too, when his heart was fixed +on another, every way fitted to be his companion. It was a severe +trial; but grace triumphed, and his great desire, seemed to be the +conversion of the wife thus forced upon him. At midnight, he was often +heard interceding for her, and, in the early part of the revival, the +answer came. Miss Fiske will never forget the time when, in an +adjoining room, she heard her for the first time praying with her +husband. It gave her a new insight into the meaning of that scripture, +"They believed not for joy." The new convert was very active among the +women in her village; and when her father-in-law forbade social prayer +in his house, she took her little company at sunset behind the village +church, where even the bleak winds of February did not chill their +devotions. + +Khanumjan, the aged mother of John, though past threescore and ten, +entered into the work with a zeal that might put to shame many younger +women in our own land. She toiled to bring the more aged women right to +the cross, taking them one by one into her own closet, that then and +there they might accept the Saviour. Though herself unable to read, she +did much for the preachers who went out to the villages, providing food +for them on their return, and exhorting them to courage and +faithfulness. No wonder she said to a visitor, "Three years ago, I saw +Christ in heaven, and I have seen him there ever since; but now he sits +by my side all day long." When she died, she said, over and over again, +"I am going after Jesus." + +In this revival, the encouragement to labor for woman was greater than +ever before. After the middle of January, the Seminary was almost +constantly thronged with inquirers. Day and night, it was consecrated +by the prayers and tears of women seeking their Saviour. On Friday, and +on the Sabbath, many from the neighboring villages spent the time there +between services. The room was filled with them; and even while they +ate, they must have some one speaking to them of Jesus. Those who did +so, often spoke with such tenderness as showed that Christ himself was +very near. Sometimes the women could not eat any thing but the bread of +life. At times, the anguish of some for sin was so overpowering, that +the question, "Can a woman forget her sucking child?" might almost have +been answered in the affirmative. In some instances, the scenes that +took place were too much for frail nature to bear, and the laborers +were ready to ask to be clothed upon with immortality while the Lord +passed by. Those who spent the night in the Seminary slept in the large +room on the lower floor, between the central door and that on the left, +in the engraving; and occasionally the sound of their weeping and +praying banished sleep from the rooms above them. Yet such hinderance +to rest brought a refreshment all its own. + +In Geog Tapa, the village ruler was found sitting at the feet of Jesus, +and going with the preachers from place to place, to give greater +weight to their words; and twenty-five young men, though they could not +read, yet did what they could with untiring zeal. + +There was an interesting work in Degala, so noted for vice that it was +called the Sodom of the Nestorians. The first converted there was a +young man employed in the Seminary. He passed through a severe mental +conflict before his proud heart yielded; but when it did, he became a +living sacrifice to God. One day he came to the teachers, saying, "I +have a petition to make; will you receive it?" Supposing it to be some +pecuniary matter, they replied, "Tell us what it is." He at once burst +into tears, and covering his face with his garment, said, "My village +is lost; my family is perishing, and their blood is on my neck; let me +go to-night and beg forgiveness for my wicked example, and urge them to +flee from the wrath to come." He obtained his request, and left, +sobbing aloud. Next morning, he brought his wife and two other women to +be instructed. About a week after, Deacon Tamo found in the village +several inquirers, and one woman in agony on account of her sins. She +had been notorious for wickedness, and so vile as hardly to find one +who would associate with her, though now one of the most lovely +Christians in any land. The next day, she came to the Seminary, and as +soon as Miss Fiske sat down beside her, she threw herself into her lap, +crying, "Do tell me what to do, or where to go, to get rid of my sins." +She was pointed to the Lamb of God, and one moment her feet seemed to +rest on the Rock of Ages, and the next a fresh wave of conviction swept +her into the raging sea. So she vibrated between life and death. She +was asked to pray. In all her life she had not probably heard ten +prayers; but her strong crying and tears showed that the Holy Spirit +was her teacher, and the helper of her infirmities. She had learned to +pray where her Saviour found a cradle--in the manger--cast out and +derided by her friends. + +She was first awakened in the Seminary; for one day, as soon as she +entered the door, a pupil, then under deep conviction herself, and to +whom she was an entire stranger, seized her hand, saying, "My sister, +my sister, what are you doing? We are all lost. We must repent, or +perish." These words she could not forget, and from that hour sought +until she found her Saviour, and then bore ill treatment with such +meekness as won others also to Christ. + +The desire of the converts for instruction was most affecting. One of +them wept bitterly when asked if she was willing to forsake every sin, +saying, "What shall I do? I have one sin so strong that I fear I cannot +leave it off." "What is it?" "I cannot live without these words of God. +My husband will not let me go to hear them, and anger sometimes rises +in my heart at this. Tell me what to do with this sin." + +An account of the revival in 1850 will be given in the chapter on the +prayerfulness of the Nestorians. After this were instances of +conversion each year, but not so marked, or so general, as in 1849. So +we pass over the intervening time to dwell a moment on the revival of +1856. That year, the pupils were very studious, and kind in their +feelings towards each other and their teachers; but the winter was +nearly over before any additions were made to the now diminished number +of believers. The teachers mourned; still the heavens were brass, and +the earth iron. Christians were lukewarm, and none seemed to have power +with God. + +Miss Fiske returned from the English prayer meeting Sabbath evening, +February 18th, in that desponding state that sometimes follows intense +and protracted desire, when its object is not attained. At such times, +the sensibilities seem paralyzed, and emotion dies of sheer exhaustion. +The pupils had retired; so also had Miss Rice; and she was left alone. +Her thoughts brooded over the state of her charge, but she had no +strength to rise and carry those precious souls to Christ. She could +not sleep, and yet so shrunk from the duties of the morrow, that she +longed for a lengthening out of the night, rather than the approach of +dawn. Eleven o'clock struck, and there was a knock at the door. Could +she open it? Must she see another face that night? She did open it, and +there stood one of her pupils, not so without feeling as her fainting +heart had imagined. Struck by the languor of her teacher's looks, she +inquired tenderly, "Are you very tired?" "No, not very; why do you +ask?" "I cannot sleep; our school has been resting on me all day, and I +thought perhaps you would help me to pray." The spell was broken; the +dry fountain of feeling gushed out afresh, and, with a full heart, she +said, "Come in, thou blessed of the Lord." As an angel from heaven, +that dear pupil strengthened her teacher that night, and together they +carried the whole household to Jesus. When at length she retired, all +was sweetly left with Christ, and he whispered peace. She could sleep +now, and when morning came there was still peace. "Could ye not watch +with me one hour?" was the word spoken to her as she arose; and hardly +had she repeated it at morning prayers, before three, in different +parts of the room, were weeping. She said little, for she felt it safer +to go and tell Jesus their wants and their unworthiness. All day, the +feeling in the school was subdued and tender. No one asked, "What shall +I do to be saved?" but there was quiet at the table, and quiet in the +rooms. The work was done willingly and well, but in silence, and the +voice of prayer in the closets was gentle. Tuesday passed in almost +perfect stillness. No one said even, "Pray for me." Towards evening, +Miss Fiske said, "If there is one who wants first of all to attend to +her eternal interests, I would like to see her at half past eight +o'clock." At that hour, her door opened, and one entered alone; then +another and another, each alone, till the room was full. She closed the +door, but still they came. What were her feelings when she looked round +on twenty-three, sitting with their heads bowed down in silence? She +said little, for she felt that they wanted to hear God, rather than +man, and the parable of the prodigal son that evening seemed to come +fresh from the lips of Jesus. + +Next day, each lesson was recited in its season, and recited well; but +tears blurred many a page, and at recess not a few went to be alone +with God. At eleven o'clock, Mr. Perkins came in as usual to sing with +them, "Bartimeus" was the first hymn. All began it; but some voices +faltered on the first stanza, more on the second, and soon the leader's +voice was heard alone. He took up the Bible lying on the desk, and +saying, "Perhaps some wanderer would like now to arise and go to her +heavenly Father," he too read the portion of the night before, and led +in prayer. The teachers had to lengthen the intermission at noon, +because they could not bear to summon the pupils so early from their +closets. + +The mission met that afternoon in the Seminary. Mr. Stoddard came down +from Seir covered with snow, saying, in his pleasant way, as he opened +the door, "We have snowed down this time;" but when he learned the +state of things, he said, very tenderly, "You must have thought my +speech untimely; I did not know God was so near; but my heart is with +you, and I hope we both shall have a large blessing." That meeting was +almost all prayer, and the weeks that followed it witnessed a work +silent but deep. It was characterized by humble contrition, and much +simple dependence on Christ. Most of those twenty-three, before the +close of the term, were hoping in his mercy. + +Three missionary children were among the converts in this revival, and +their conversion did much good to the Nestorians; for, though they had +felt their own need of regeneration, they were in doubt about the +children of pious parents; but when they saw the children of +missionaries weep over sin, and come as lost sinners to the Saviour, +they understood as never before that the entrance into the kingdom was +the same for all. + +At this time, the English ambassador passed through Oroomiah; and +though, when he and his suite visited the Seminary, there was some +apprehension felt as to the effect it might have on the religious +interests of the pupils, they not only did themselves credit, in the +examination he made of the school, but returned from the interview with +their relish for spiritual things undiminished. Indeed, the event, +which ordinarily would have been more than a nine days' wonder, caused +scarce a ripple on the deep current of spiritual emotion. + +The Seminary was again blessed in 1857, and the year following Miss +Fiske returned from Seir after the funeral of Harriet Stoddard to +welcome several who had entered the fold of the good Shepherd during +her absence. + +The labors of Miss Rice, who had charge of the school (while she was +away,) have also been blessed in each of the four succeeding years. +During that time, eighteen of the pupils have been received to the +communion. The revival in the winter of 1861-62 was, however, more +interesting and extensive. + +At one meeting in the Male Seminary, the young men burst into tears +while singing the hymn, "Alas, and did my Saviour bleed?" and soon +after, in the Saturday evening meeting, Miss Rice's whole school were +bowed in earnest prayer, and did not move for some time when requested +by her to retire for private devotion. On this occasion, Mr. Cobb +writes, "It was my privilege to speak a word to them, and I can truly +say that I never saw such a scene before, as, with heads bowed down on +their desks, unable wholly to repress their sobs, they listened, and +again engaged in prayer." Even then, it was only after repeated +requests that they went to their own rooms, where many continued their +supplications far into the night. + +The interesting scenes of these awakenings are thus gratefully recalled +by Sanum, a convert of the first revival, in a letter dated Salmas, +June 6th, 1859:-- + +Beloved Teacher, Miss Fiske: I received your priceless letter with many +tears of joy, and when I read your loving, motherly counsels, my heart +was full; it was drawn to you with inexpressible love; and when you +reminded me of those blessed revivals, my eyes were darkened with +floods of tears, so that, for a time, I could not read. How can I ever +forget the first night that you met me, after the Lord had touched my +heart, in that blessed room? or how many times you took me by the hand, +and led me to the throne of grace? Often I was in the dark, and the +Lord, through you, was pleased to give me rest. Can I ever forget, when +the hand of the Lord rested on me in the death of my dear children,[1] +how many times you came as an angel of peace to wipe away my tears? +Shall I ever forget the Lord's coming among us by the still rain of the +Holy Spirit? or those meetings of the sisters for prayer? or those +tearful pleadings in the closets? Can I ever forget the fervent +supplications and preaching of blessed Mr. Stocking, and how he begged +us to flee from the wrath to come? If I forget these, let my right hand +forget her cunning, and my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth. +[Footnote 1: Page 185] + +It is a year, my beloved, since I have been able to go to Oroomiah. I +have sorrowed greatly to be cut off so long from the supper of our +Lord, and them that meet around his table. Perhaps it is because I am +not worthy of the blessing. The Lord mercifully grant that I be not cut +off from the heavenly supper of the Lamb. + +Our work here is much as before. I grieve to say that there are few +with whom I can pray, and in the few cases where I can do so, it must +be done as by stealth. But there are those with whom I can talk. Hoimer +and I have a meeting for the women every Sabbath, and on other days. +Every Tuesday, Hoimer, Raheel, and I have a little meeting together, +and it is very pleasant, but will be more so when the Lord shall +increase our number. O that we longing ones might see that day, and our +troubled hearts rejoice! + +During the nineteen years since the Seminary was established, it has +enjoyed, in all, twelve revivals; and though it is not desirable to +count up the results of human labors, it is due to the praise of divine +grace to record, that out of those who have been connected with it, as +many as two thirds have, in the judgment of charity, been created anew +in Christ Jesus. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + + +DARK DAYS. + +SEMINARY BROKEN UP IN 1844.--DEACON ISAAC.--PERSECUTION BY MAR +SHIMON.--FUNERAL OF DAUGHTER OF PRIEST ESHCO.--DEACON +GUWERGIS.--ATTEMPT AT ABDUCTION OF PUPIL.--PERIL OF SCHOOL.--MRS. +HARRIET STODDAR.--YAHYA KHAN.--ANARCHY.--LETTER FROM BABILO. + +The Nestorian mission has encountered less opposition than other +missions in Western Asia. Yet here, also, they who would live godly in +Christ Jesus have suffered persecution. On June 19th, 1844, the +brothers of Mar Shimon issued this order: "Be it known to you all, ye +readers at Seir, that if ye do not come to us tomorrow, we will +excommunicate you from our most holy church; your finger nails shall be +torn out; we will hunt you from village to village, and kill you if we +can." Miss Fiske was spending the summer there with her pupils, and it +was not deemed best to provoke further trouble by retaining them. When +told of this, they all wept aloud. Nor did they weep alone. Their +teacher, and the family of Mr. Stocking, in which they lived, could not +restrain their tears. It seemed as if the girls would never tear +themselves away from their teacher; and when at length they departed, +again and again the lamentation arose, "We shall never hear the word of +God again." Miss Fiske laid them at the feet of Jesus, trusting that he +would bring them back to her, and others with them. A German Jew, who +was present, said in his broken English, "I have seen much bad to +missionaries in other countries, but nothing bad like this, to take +little children from words of Jesus Christ." + +Even Deacon Isaac, a brother of Mar Shimon, who was prominent in the +act, was ashamed of it. On a visit to the school, eight years +afterwards, he asked leave to speak to the pupils, and said, "My young +friends, I want you to do all you can to help your teachers, for I once +troubled Miss Fiske, and it has made my life bitter ever since." Here +the good man broke down, and there was not a dry eye among his hearers; +while he added, "I have vowed before God that I will do all that I can +to help her as long as I live." And all who know him can testify that +he has kept his word, ever since his conversion in 1849. When he first +began to be thoughtful, he heard that one of the pupils was in the +habit of praying for him. He sent for her, and insisted on her praying +with him; and though he was the most intelligent of the Nestorians, and +possessed of rare force of character, and Sarah was more noted for +devotion, than for her mental powers, yet he learned from her in a most +childlike spirit; and that scripture which says, "A little child shall +lead them," found in this case a beautiful illustration. + +He has been occasionally employed in the school, and always proved a +very useful and acceptable teacher. When he bade Miss Fiske good-bye, +in 1858, he said, "You may rest assured that I will do all I can for +the women till you come back;" and the next Sabbath found him teaching +a class of adult females. In our favored land, the grace of God has +made it nothing strange for the governor of a state to be a teacher in +the Sabbath school; but one who has not lived in Persia can form no +idea of what it is for a brother of Mar Shimon to teach a class of +women. He has great skill in bringing out the meaning of Scripture, and +is every where exceedingly acceptable as a Bible teacher. Along with +unfeigned piety, he has more real refinement than any of his +countrymen, and few Nestorians can show kindness with such true +delicacy of feeling. + +The health of Miss Fiske was so impaired in the spring of 1848, that +she reluctantly yielded to the advice of the mission, and went with Mr. +Stocking to Erzroom, to meet Mr. Cochran and family, then on their way +to Persia. When they returned, they found Mr. Stoddard's health so +seriously affected by long-continued over-exertion, that he only +awaited their arrival to leave for Trebizond. Little did they dream +that it was Mrs. Stoddard's last farewell to the scene of her labors. + +Nor was this all. The patriarch Mar Shimon, who had long worn the guise +of friendship, now threw off the mask. He broke up schools in small and +distant villages, and secured the beating of a man by the governor on +the charge of apostasy. The Female Seminary was honored with his +special anathema. "Has Miss Fiske taught you this?" was his frequent +demand of those who fell into his hands, followed by such reviling as +only an Oriental could pour forth. + +On the morning of July 28th, the infant daughter of Priest Eshoo, named +Sarah, after her sainted sister, lay on her death bed; and to punish +her father for his preaching, Mar Shimon forbade her burial in the +Nestorian graveyard. He collected a mob ready to do his bidding as soon +as she should die; but she lingered on, and so disappointed him for +that day. Next day she died, and at once he anathematized all who +should assist in her burial. A pious carpenter, however, forced his way +through the mob, and made her coffin. He remained steadfast throughout +the storm, replying to every dissuasion of his friends, "I must go +forward, even to the shedding of my blood." + +The missionaries appealed to a former governor, who owned that part of +the city, for leave to bury in the cemetery used by the Nestorians from +time immemorial; but the patriarch paid no attention to his messages, +and the child remained unburied. Miss Fiske wrote, "As we look out on +this troubled sea, and sympathize with these afflicted parents, we love +to look up and think of the dear child as sweetly resting on the bosom +of the Saviour. May the Sabbath bring us a foretaste of heavenly rest." +But it found them still "where storms arise and ocean rolls." The +governor sent men to demand the digging of a grave, which the mob would +not allow. Meanwhile, the profligate Mar Gabriel craftily suggested +that a promise from the priest not to preach any more, might end the +trouble. "Never," was the prompt reply. "Let my dead remain unburied, +but I will not go back from the service of the Lord." This so enraged +the patriarch, that, for the sake of peace, the governor advised to +bury the body in one of the villages. The sorrowing parents then locked +their house, and leaving their babe alone in its slumbers, went to the +chapel. There they found comfort from a sermon on the text, "Through +much tribulation we must enter into the kingdom of God." About twenty +men returned with them to the house. Then one bearing the little coffin +went before; the rest followed, singing the forty-sixth Psalm. Even +Moslems gazed with wonder, as they passed close by the door of the +patriarch, and went out of the city gate. The engraving (page 154) +gives a very good representation of this gate. On the green hill-side +at Seir the little one was laid to rest, and the father, thanking the +company for their kindness, hastened them back, to be in time for the +afternoon service. + +In the mean time, Mar Shimon sent far and near, forbidding all +intercourse with the missionaries. At Geog Tapa, in the absence of the +Malis, he ordered an old man, who formerly held that office, to summon +the people before him. Only a few vagrants obeyed, and these he +commanded to break up the schools, and prevent preaching in the church. +So, that evening, when John commenced preaching, they proceeded to +execute their orders; but, afraid to face the determined people, they +deferred the attack till the hearers passed out; and then, like stanch +old Puritans, hardly noticing them, the congregation wended their way +homewards, singing psalms as they went. + +[Illustration: SEIR GATE, OROOMIAH] + +The patriarch now excommunicated Mar Yohanan, and made common cause +with the French Lazarists. He even wrote a fraternal epistle to the +pope, ready for any thing, if he could only crush the mission. His +attendants marched about the mission premises with loud threats; pious +Nestorians were knocked down in the streets; while his brother Isaac +went to a distant village, to show that he had no sympathy with such +iniquity. + +Soon after, the carpenter who made the coffin was severely beaten by +his own father for attending a prayer meeting. As the blows fell thick +and fast, he cried, "Must this come from my own father?" But he +remained firm, and next day went to the chapel pale and weak, but +filled with holy joy. + +Deacon Guwergis, prevented from going to the mountains,--for the Koords +sided with Mar Shimon,--fearlessly encountered the revilings of the +patriarch in his own house, and told him that he hoped to continue +preaching till he died. His countenance must have shone like Stephen's, +for his persecutor said to one of the attendants, "See how his face +glistens. If he is so bold here, what will he be in the mountains?" +Well might a missionary write, "What a blessing are such men! The sight +of them is worth ten thousand times the sacrifices made by us all." + +Though this was vacation, fifteen of the pupils remained in the +Seminary for protection during the storm; yet even there they were not +wholly safe. On the 25th of August, a messenger came in haste for one +of them, saying that her dying brother wished to see her immediately. +As the man was her relative, the girl was ready to go at once; but +providentially Miss Fiske learned that the brother was well, and the +messenger had been seen last with Mar Shimon. So he left, chagrined and +enraged at his failure. The patriarch had told him to be sure and hide +his purpose from that Satan, Miss Fiske, and in case of failure, to +take the girl by force. But the teacher had had some experience in +guarding her fold, and both she and her pupil were thankful for the +deliverance. Next day, Mar Shimon forbade preaching in Geog Tapa; but +if the church was closed, the house-tops remained open. The same day, +the school in Vizierawa was repeatedly dispersed, but each time +reassembled by the teacher. + +The 28th of this month was such a day as the mission had never seen +before. In the forenoon, the teacher from Charbash fled wounded from +the servants of Mar Shimon to the mission premises. Scarcely had he +entered, when his brother came in, having escaped from similar +violence. The Moslem owner of the village had to put a stop to the +tearing down of their house. + +Miss Fiske and Miss Rice had just sat down to dinner with the school, +when the cry, "A man is killed!" was followed by a rush from all parts +of the yard. A mob at the gate was trying to break in and seize the +native helpers. Mar Yohanan was wounded, and all was confusion. The +teachers exhorted their little flock not to count their lives dear to +them, for Jesus' sake. Happily, they were not called to such a test of +discipleship; but the sympathies of the Moslems were plainly with Mar +Shimon, and no one knew what a day might bring forth. That tried friend +of the mission, E.W. Stevens, Esq., English consul at Tabreez, feared +lest the missionaries should fall by the hand of violence. Miss Fiske +writes, "Our native friends will doubtless suffer much, and we rejoice +to share with them. We hope that fears on our account will not be +realized. Still there is danger; and we try to be ready for life or +death, as our Father sees best. Though in a land of violence, we are +not unhappy; we trust in God, and hope this vine is being pruned that +it may bring forth more fruit. We would have all the gracious designs +of God fulfilled, even though we should be cast down." + +The same day came tidings of the death of Mrs. Stoddard, at Trebizond, +and Miss Fiske wrote that night an account of it to her former teacher, +at South Hadley, adding, "Precious sister: she died far away; but my +Father knows why I might not stand by that dying bed, and I would +submit, though my heart bleeds. _Our_ homes are sad to-night, and there +is many a weeping eye among those for whom she toiled so faithfully. +From my first acquaintance with her, she has been to me all that mortal +could be. Her heart was tenderly alive to the spiritual interests of +the dear Nestorians; and to them she devoted all her powers. It was she +who first taught their daughters to sing the songs of Zion. Few, +probably, have accomplished so much in so short a life. Her family, the +mission, the Seminary, and all about us, shared in her untiring labors. +As truly as of dear Mrs. Grant may it be said of her, 'She hath done +what she could.' + +"Like Mrs. Grant, she was the youngest member of the mission at the +time of her death. When she left her native land, some almost regretted +that so frail a flower should go forth to encounter the hardships of +missionary life; but she did much, and did it well. The Seminary in +Seir still bears the impress she stamped upon it. Her memory is not +only fragrant today among the Nestorians, but it draws them nearer to +Christ, and renders them more efficient in his service." + +Mar Shimon now made common cause with the Persian nobility. The English +and Russian ambassadors had procured the appointment of Dawood Khan as +governor of the Christians in Oroomiah, in order to protect them from +illegal oppression. The nobility of course opposed this; and Mar +Shimon, by promising his aid in the removal of the protector of his own +people, secured their cooperation in his wickedness. The converts were +now insulted at every turn. They could hardly appear in the street, and +the authorities afforded no redress. The missionaries had no earthly +friend nearer than Mr. Stevens at Tabreez, who did all he could for +them; and the pious natives felt shut up to God as their only refuge. + +Yahya Khan, the governor of the province, now wrote urging on Mar +Shimon, and ordered his agent in Oroomiah to aid him to the utmost of +his power. As Yahya Khan was brother-in-law to the king, he was able to +do the mission much harm at the court; and the patriarch, encouraged by +such a coadjutor, set himself with renewed zeal to destroy it; but in +September, the prince royal summoned him to Tabreez, and the nobility +hardly daring to resist the order, he was reluctantly preparing to +comply, when news came of the death of the shah, and all was confusion. +The missionaries had been praying for help against their dreaded enemy, +Yahya Khan, and lo! his power to harm them perished with his master. + +The night after the news reached Oroomiah, anarchy reigned, and all +kinds of crime abounded. Five men were killed near the mission +premises, and the firing of guns was heard all night long; but though +outside were robberies and murders, within that enclosure all was +peace. Though its inmates knew that the fanatical population would +gladly stone them, yet they felt it a privilege to labor on under the +care of the Keeper of Israel. + +In Persia, no king, no government; so besides this anarchy in the city, +the Koords came down and plundered many villages, burning the houses +and driving the people for shelter to Oroomiah. These strokes fell most +heavily on the Moslems, many of whom were robbers themselves. The fear +of an attack on Seir was at one time so great, that the ladies were +sent off, and the gentlemen remained alone to guard the mission +premises; but both in Seir and the city the houses of the missionaries +were thronged by multitudes seeking relief, and each approaching +footstep announced some new tale of woe. + +Mar Shimon, after the death of the king, prudently retired into Turkey, +and his servants were put under bonds to keep the peace. The Koords, +however, drove him back, later in the season, but stripped of his power +to persecute. It may sound like the close of a tale of fiction to add, +that the next time Miss Fiske met the patriarch was in Gawar, August, +1851, when he rode up to the tents of the missionaries to inquire after +their health, before he went to his own. He staid an hour and a half, +appearing more free and social than ever before; and when they returned +his visit, he came out of his tent to meet them, and treated them with +unusual respect, saying, in the course of the interview, "I fear that +Miss Fiske is not happy here: she does not look well." On being assured +that she was both well and happy, he said to his attendants, "This lady +is happy only as she has a number of Nestorian girls around her, eating +care[1] for them, teaching and doing them good." So, when our ways +please the Lord, he maketh even our enemies to be at peace with us. +[Footnote: This is the Nestorian idiom. We say, "taking care of them."] + +Babilo, the carpenter, who made the coffin for the child of Priest +Eshoo, was taught to read by the younger girls in the Seminary after +school hours, and thus writes to Miss Fiske, November 20th, 1859:-- + +"I remember how, thirteen years ago, in that trouble with Mar Shimon, +when my father beat me for attending meeting, and men despitefully used +me, dear Mr. Stocking and you comforted me in the great room. I shall +never forget your love. Give my love to your dear mother, who so loved +us that she willingly gave you to the Lord, as Hannah did Samuel. + +"If you inquire about my work in the city Sabbath school,--I teach a +class of ten women; three of them, I trust, are Christians. When I read +your letter to them they greatly rejoiced. I reminded them of the +meetings you used to have for them in your room, and their eyes filled +with tears. In the afternoon I went to Charbash, and read your letter +to the eighteen women in my class there. They, too, were very glad. +Five of them, I trust, are Christians. We are now studying Second +Timothy. After the lesson, I question them on Old Testament history; +and then I teach the women and their children to sing." + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + + +TRIALS. + +EVIL INFLUENCE OF HOMES.--OPPOSITION IN DEGALA.--ASKER KHAN.--POISONING +OF SANUM'S CHILDREN.--REDRESS REFUSED.--INQUISITOR IN SCHOOL.--TROUBLES +AT KHOSRAWA.--LETTERS FROM HOIMAR. + +But, aside from open persecution, there is a constant danger arising +from the people themselves. The teacher in a Christian land can never +fully understand the feelings of the missionary teacher. The one sends +forth his pupils to meet Christian parents, brothers and sisters, who, +with more than a teacher's love, lead the young convert by still +waters, and establish him in holy feeling; but the flock of the other +goes out often into families where every soul would gladly break the +bruised reed and quench the smoking flax. He can sympathize with Paul +in his anxiety in behalf of those for whom he had labored in the gospel. + +Sometimes the pupils of the Seminary so dreaded the scenes of home, in +vacation, that they preferred to remain in the school. + +In April, 1849, Miss Fiske visited the village of Degala. As it was a +holiday, most of the women had gone out for amusement; but a little +company of twelve praying ones gathered around her, and listened in +tears while she spoke of Jesus and his love. Their fervent prayers for +neighbors and friends made her feel that a blessing was yet in store +for Degala. These women suffered all sorts of insult for their +attachment to the truth; they were often beaten and driven from their +homes by their husbands. While the pupils of the Seminary were here, +some of their own sex did all they could to annoy them. But read an +account of their trials from the pen of Sanum, of Gawar. She writes to +a friend in this country,-- + +"I had bitter times this vacation, for our neighbors are all very +hard-hearted, not listening at all to the words of God. When I opened +my Testament to read to them, they would shut it, and begin to quarrel +about the forms of religion. I entreat you to pray for my village, that +I, so unworthy, may see its salvation. + +"One day, Miss Fiske went to the village of Degala, where is a band of +women who greatly love the Lord. They gathered about her, and she had a +very pleasant time. All these were inquiring what they should do to be +saved. She could not stay long with them; but they were so humble that +they asked to have some of the girls sent to them. So four of us, +though so weak, ventured to go in the name of Christ. We found these +sisters in great distress, being reviled and beaten by wicked men, for +Jesus' sake. + +"We were speaking in an upper room there on a feast day, and the women +with us were weeping very much, while others, afraid to come in, seated +themselves on the terrace by the window. Suddenly a wicked man came +with a rod, and drove all those away who were without. Poor souls! how +my heart burned for them! One, who had not been used to come to +meeting, came that day for sport. She wore many ornaments, but as soon +as she heard the words of God, her tears began to flow. After meeting, +she arose up quickly, and threw aside her ornaments, and followed us +wherever we went. We were having a meeting in another house, when a +quarrelsome woman entered, having a large stick in her hand, and began +to beat her daughter and daughter-in-law, and she carried off her +daughter; but the other remained, though sorely bruised, saying, 'I +will spill my blood, but will not leave the place of prayer.' The women +who fear God wept much because this woman did so. + +"We went to the sacrament, and there was a company of women who +separated themselves from the others, and were weeping in one corner of +the church. Some very bad women came to them, and said, 'Let us rise up +and dance, because they are weeping.' Another, in anger, took the +sacrament from the mouth of one of them, and gave it to her little +granddaughter. There was much confusion in the village, and they seemed +like those who cried, 'Great is Diana of the Ephesians.' One said, 'I +wish neither Satan nor God, but only Mar Shimon.' Once, when we were +assembled with the women, and Moressa was speaking, a wicked man fired +a pistol to frighten us. But the women encouraged us, saying, 'Go on, +and speak louder, that he may hear.' And when he heard my sister speak +of the wickedness of man's heart, he cried out, 'Those words must have +been for me. She must have known that I was there.'" + +It does not fall within the object of this volume to give any detailed +account of the proceedings of Asker Khan, who for several years sought +to wear out the saints of the Most High, causing the native helpers to +be beaten, fined, and annoyed in many ways, and then arrogantly denying +all redress. Encouraged in his persecutions by the prime minister, he +was able to defy all interference. Indeed, during part of the time, the +English ambassador was constrained to leave the kingdom, and the +Russian ambassador, though personally disposed to do all in his power +for the mission, was yet officially unable to help. + +At one time, he gave orders that no school should be opened without his +sanction, and that all the teachers must report to him; and in case of +disobedience, he threatened them with fines and imprisonment. + +It may show in what estimation the influence of the Female Seminary was +held by enemies, when we find him issuing his command, "Allow no girls +to attend your school; schools are for boys alone;" and claiming credit +for great forbearance because he did not at once break up the Seminary. +That which called forth such opposition from enemies was surely not +inefficient. There must have been a power for good manifest even to +Moslem opposers, that taught them where to strike so as most +effectually to destroy.' But there was a Power above them that said, +"Thus far, and no farther." "The bush burned with fire, yet it was not +consumed." + +The evil wrought by Asker Khan was not confined to his own doings. His +hostility, in a position so commanding, emboldened every Shimei to +curse. In Ardishai, two or three unprincipled drunkards, with their +dissolute bishop (Mar Gabriel), saved themselves from Mohammedan +rapacity by taking part against the converts. These last were made +examples of, to deter others from attending preaching or sending their +children to the schools.' One poor widow, with four children,--a most +consistent Christian,--was driven from her house by her father-in-law, +because she allowed her oldest daughter to attend the village school. +As many as thirty families, unable to endure persecution any longer, +fled from the village; and Priest Abraham himself, after suffering +much, was compelled to leave, though his congregation was from one +hundred and fifty to two hundred every Sabbath. + +In Dizza Takka, on the evening of April 20th, 1856, Sanum, who +graduated in 1850, had arsenic put into the supper which she carried to +a neighbor's tandoor (native oven) to be warmed. Happily, Joseph, her +husband, was delayed beyond his usual hour, so that he was uninjured; +and the quantity of arsenic was so large, that, by the prompt use of +remedies, the mother's life was saved, though her innocent children +suffered severely, and, after lingering a few months, both of them +died. She rose from weeping over their graves to serve her Master more +faithfully than ever. But Asker Khan,--though the arsenic was found at +the bottom of the pot, though a portion of the contents, given to a +cat, speedily produced convulsions and death, and though a Jewess +testified that "the neighbor" had recently applied to her husband for +arsenic, and no one else had access to the vessel where it was +found,--instead of investigating the case, insulted Joseph and his +friends, and caused his aged father to be beaten; at the same time +telling the people of Dizza Takka to shoot Joseph if he went to their +village again. Such conduct emboldened the enemies of the truth to +complain against the more enlightened of their clergy who had renounced +many sinful customs, as forsaking the religion of their fathers; and, +with blasphemous threats, they were ordered to do the bidding of their +accusers. + +On the 1st of June, an order from the authorities at Tabreez to Asker +Khan was presented to him by the missionaries, which, after a calm +recital of the facts in the case of poisoning, proceeded thus: "As the +person who did this act is a criminal, and, if unpunished, the affair +may lead to the destruction of life, it is necessary that you, high in +rank, take the attitude of investigation, and having discovered the +criminal, that you punish him, with the knowledge of the Americans, and +so act that no one, Christian or Moslem, shall dare to repeat such a +crime." This order was obtained through the kind offices of the Russian +ambassador; but the criminals were only detained a few days, and not +pressed at all to a confession. Asker Khan then proposed, as they had +not confessed, that the missionaries should intercede for their +release. Of course, they refused. Then, saying "that if he had known +that, beforehand, he would not have touched the matter, and that he +could defend himself at Tabreez," he dismissed the accused, and it was +in vain for the missionaries to prosecute the matter further. + +Indeed, the opposition at this time was more serious than at any +previous period, and for a time it seemed as though the seminaries, and +especially the Female Seminary, would be destroyed. + +In the autumn, a commissioner, sent from Teheran to examine into the +proceedings of the mission, made an inquisitorial visit, and went all +through the building, peeping into the chambers, and making himself and +suite every where at home. Coming into the recitation room, where most +of the girls were engaged in study, he selected, a large, robust pupil, +who could speak Turkish, and questioned her as follows:-- + +"Are you allowed to follow your own customs?" + +"We follow all that are good, but not such foolish ones as you would +not wish us to follow." + +"Do these ladies let you see your friends?" + +"Certainly; we always see them when they come here, and we go home +three times a year, staying, at one time, three months." + +"What do you do when at home?" + +"We work in the fields, and do any thing that our friends do. Our +teachers tell us to help our friends all we can, and are displeased if +we do not." + +"Can you work, or have you become Ingleez?" (English.) + +"Look at me; I am strong; I can carry very large loads." + +"What do you do here?" + +"We study, and learn all wisdom." + +"Are you allowed to use your own books?" + +"Certainly; the principal book of our religion they have printed for +us, and we use it more than any other." + +"But have you not left the books of your fathers?" + +"The book I spoke of is our sacred book, like your Koran, and we use +all others that agree with that." + +"Do you fast?" + +"One day at the beginning of the year, and other days afterwards." + +"But have you not forsaken some of your church fasts?" + +"None that are written in that book. I keep all those very carefully." + +"What! twice in the week?" + +"No; for that is not required in the book." + +"But your people do." + +"Yes; not being readers, they do many things that are not written in +the book." + +"Would your teachers allow you to fast?" + +"O, yes; but we don't want to fast more than our book requires." + +"What are your prayers?" + +"Those taught in the book." + +Then followed questions about dress, employment, and such things, all +of which she answered in the same manner. The teacher was very thankful +that the Master had neither left to her the selection of the witness, +nor her preparation for the examination. But the examiner expressed +very decided disapproval of female education, and held up their +previous condition as their only proper one. The truth was, the Moslems +were angry that their rayahs were being elevated, and they were +specially indignant at the education of women. + +So the opposition went on. Messrs Stoddard and Wright proceeded to +Tabreez, and secured orders for redress which, as usual, were +counteracted by secret orders to the contrary. The native helpers were +now beaten because they were in the employ of the mission: some were +thrown into prison, and threatened with being sent to Teheran in irons. +But when the Lord saw that the wrath of man had proceeded far enough, +he restrained the remainder thereof. For one of the leading spirits in +this onset on the mission fell under the daggers of the Koords, and his +death at once called off attention from missionary operations to other +things. + +Again, in January, 1858, two pious residents at Khosrowa, in the +province of Salmas, were shamefully oppressed; and when application was +made for redress, Asker Khan not only refused to adjudicate the matter, +but beat one of the complainants so severely that he was confined to +his bed for weeks. Still later, after urgent importunity from +Nestorians and nominal Papists, two very able and excellent men, +Deacons Joseph and Siyad, were sent to labor in that distant province. +On one occasion they entered the village of Khosrowa to purchase fuel, +and were quietly passing along the street, when a mob stoned them out +of the village. Shortly after, Deacon Siyad was expelled from the +district so suddenly that he had to leave his wife, Merganeeta: she, +too, was driven away alone; but Holmar, a pious woman residing there, +went with her. The first night they spent in a field, and the next day +they sought refuge in an Armenian village; but, driven from thence, the +persecuted wife fled to Oroomiah. After long effort, an officer was +sent from Tabreez to Salmas, and ample promises of full redress were +given, ending, as usual, in nothing. A mob, headed by a French Lazarist +and native bishop, rescued the offender, and the officer desisted from +further procedure. + +The reader will be interested in the following extract, from a letter +of Hoimar to Miss Fiske, in 1859:-- + +"I cannot tell you how glad I am to hear that your health is better. O +that quickly you might meet us, if the Lord will! Till death I can +never forget your love, nor your reminding your pupils to ask the Lord +to support a poor, ignorant one like me. I do not believe your thoughts +can ever rest about your little company of Nestorians. If a mother +leaves a nursing child, she cannot rest till she returns to it. If you +are far from us in body, I know your spirit is with us. If Jonah +mourned over the gourd for which he had not labored, how shall not you +mourn after those for whom you have labored? + +"If the breezes did not bring the cry of 'Salvation' over the ocean, +our desolations would cry out. But thanks to Him who favors those that +leave their native land to labor among the ignorant. Yet what shall +this people do? The beast having great iron teeth still reigns here; +but it may be the Lord will speedily destroy him with the breath of his +mouth. I trust that you will ever remember in your prayers one who will +remember you in her weakness till death." + +Two years later brought the following, with its graphic delineation of +the trials that such as choose the better part may meet with yet for +years to come:-- + +BELOVED MISS FISKE: Almost every day of this summer has been a bitter +day. For my mother had become willing to give Raheel (Rachel, sister of +Hoimar) to the Papists, and she had prevailed over my father to do the +same. And now I will tell you how Goliah fell upon the earth, and he +that had no weapons overcame; but it was from the power of God. The +arrangement had all been made by my parents, and the betrothal feast +made ready. Sanum and I were in Oroomiah, but Deacon Joseph was in +Salmas, and we had also this comfort--my oldest brother stood firm, +saying, "Fear not; till death _I_ stand." Raheel also was firm, hoping +for help. With entreaties and tears, I asked Deacon Isaac to go to +Salmas. He went, but Raheel knew it not. She was very sorrowful for +only an hour remained to the time fixed for putting the betrothal ring +on her finger. The hope of her life seemed to hang on a hair. She went +to the vineyard, and prayed God to deliver her; then returned sorrowful +to her room. She hears them say, "They have come!" and locks her door. +They ask her to open it, bat she opens it not. Just then, Deacon Joseph +goes to the window, and, seeing that Doacon Isaac has come, says, +"Open; be not afraid." Deacon Isaac sits down with the Papists who have +come to the betrothal. My father leaves it with him, and he says, "Very +well; I have only now come; I must have time to examine into this +business. To-morrow I will give you an answer." He talks with my +father, saying, "How can you give your daughter to the Papists? The +missionaries are not willing, our people are not willing, I am not +willing; and more than all, the girl is not willing." My father at +length said, "She is your daughter, not mine; do as you please." Then +Deacon Isaac sent word to the Papists, "There is no possibility of your +carrying this forward. I have questioned the girl, she is not willing; +speak no more about it." The deacon then asked my father to let her go +to the city to school again. At first he consented, but finally left it +with her mother, who did not let her go. The deacon left displeased. +When I heard this, I arose and took Mar Yohanan's brother, and went to +Salmas, thinking I might possibly bring Raheel. While yet a good way +from the village, like Canaan's spies, we sent for my oldest brother +(who is, as we trust, a Christian). He, gave us good news, and said, +"Raheel is all ready to go to school." As the Lord favored Eleazar +about Rebecca, so he favored us; and the next morning my sister and +Deacon Joseph returned to Oroomiah, while I remained to meet the wrath +of my mother. As soon as Raheel was gone, she left, and as yet we know +not where she is. Truly, great is the power of prayer. So God brought +to nought evil counsels, scattered fearful, dark clouds, and caused the +light of joy to rise upon us. But I am very sad about my mother, +because she has turned away from the fear of God, and is fleeing from +life. My father and husband still get intoxicated. I trust that you +will multiply your prayers for them; and ask your friends to do the +same, and to pray for me, and our village and country. Give my love to +all your friends. + +From your lover, HOIMAR. + +We shall hear from Hoimar again, in connection with the communion. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + + +PRAYERFULNESS. + +LANGUAGE OF PRAYER.--PRAYER ON HORSEBACK.--OLD MAN IN SUPERGAN.--MAR +OGEN.---EARNESTNESS.--FAREWELL PRAYER MEETING IN 1858.--LETTER FROM +PUPIL.--SPIRIT OF PRAYER IN 1846.--WOMAN WHO COULD NOT PRAY.--"CHRIST +BECOME BEAUTIFUL."--CLOSET IN THE MANGER.--MONTHLY +CONCERTS.--PRAYERFULNESS IN 1849 AND 1850.--SABBATH, JANUARY +20TH.--INTEREST CONTINUED TILL CLOSE OF TERM.--FAMILY +MEETINGS.--AUDIBLE PRAYER.--ANSWER TO MOTHERS' PRAYERS.--CONNECTION OF +REVIVALS WITH PRAYER AT HOME. + +The Nestorian converts have been noted for their spirit of prayer. + +In 1846, the prayers of the hopefully pious in the Male Seminary were +very remarkable. Several rooms were appropriated to devotion, and there +one might hear the voice of supplication from morning till night. Many +spent several hours a day in this holy employment; and one needed only +to listen to know that their prayers came from the depths of the soul. +At one time, they beg that the dog may have a single crumb from the +table of his master; again, they are smiting on their breasts by the +side of the publican. Now they are prodigals--hungry, naked, and far +from their Father's house; and now they sink in the sea, crying, "Lord, +save me; I perish!" or, as poor outcast lepers, they come to the great +Physician for a cure. This one builds on the Rock of Ages, while the +torrents roar around. That one washes the feet of Jesus with his tears, +and wipes them with the hair of his head; another, as a soldier of the +cross, plants its blood-stained banner in the inner citadel of his +heart. Their ardent feelings found such appropriate expression in their +Oriental metaphors, that one might learn from children to pray as he +never prayed before. + +On the reopening of the Seminary that spring, the first desire of the +pupils was to enter their closets and commune with God. + +Riding out one evening, Mr. Stoddard saw three persons before him on +the way to Seir. Their horses went from one side of the road to the +other, at random; and their own heads were uncovered to the cold March +wind. At first he took them for dervishes; but on coming nearer he +heard the voice of prayer, and found they were Nestorians. The eyes of +all were reverently closed, and when one finished the other continued +their supplications. He turned aside, and left them undisturbed. On +another occasion, when John and Moses were riding to Geog Tapa on the +same horse, they again engaged in devotion; but as the horse was +unruly, they each prayed in turn, while the other held the reins. + +Sometimes the language of their prayers is very broken. Mr. Stoddard +once stood in the church in Supergan, twenty miles from Oroomiah, while +prayers were read in the ancient Syriac, and overheard an old man, very +ignorant, praying back in the congregation by himself. He had, perhaps, +never heard five prayers, in his whole life, in a language he could +understand; but reverently, and in a low tone, commingling the memories +of old forms with the utterance of new desires, he was saying, "Our +Father in heaven--always going, after Satan--O Lord Jesus +Christ--hallelujah--forever and ever, Amen!" It was incoherent, but +comprehensive. He addresses God as his heavenly Father. He confesses +his sins. He appeals to Christ as his only helper. He praises God for +his unspeakable gift, and then closes in the usual form. + +The pious Mar Ogen, of Ishtazin, when in great pain, and hardly able to +move, often broke out in words like these: "O Lord Jesus, thou art the +King of glory, the King of kings and Lord of lords; thou art great and +holy, and merciful. I am a sinner, condemned. My face is black, my +bones are rotten. O Lord Jesus, have mercy upon me, poor, and blind, +and naked, and miserable. O Lord Jesus Christ, I am vile. I am lost; +but do thou remember me." + +No language expressed their sense of guilt better than the words, "All +our righteousnesses are as filthy rags." In the fervor of their desire +for Christ, and grace through him, they would say, "Blessed Saviour, we +will cling to the skirts of thy garment, and hope for mercy till our +hands are cut off." A common petition was, "O Lord, we pray that we may +never deny thee, even to the blood of our necks"--most expressive +words, in a land where so many criminals are beheaded. + +One prayed for our country, when he heard of the southern rebellion, +thus: "O God, pour peace into that land. Permit them not to fight with +each other, but with Satan and their wicked hearts, and may they fight +spiritually to subdue the whole world to Christ." + +During one of the revivals in the Female Seminary, the prayers of the +pupils were exceedingly earnest. A member of the mission, having +occasion to open the door of a room where a few of them were together, +heard as follows: + +"We are hanging over a lake of fire, with a heavy load upon our backs, +by a single hair, and that is almost broken. We are in a ship burned +almost down to the water; the flames are just seizing upon us. O God, +have mercy. Jesus, Son of David, have mercy. O Lamb of God, have mercy +on us." "No wonder," a missionary wrote, "I sometimes think that it is +pleasanter to pray in Syriac than in our own language, because I have +such fervent-minded ones with whom to pray." + +The day Miss Fiske left Oroomiah, a large number of women and girls +gathered around to bid her farewell. They said, "Can we not have one +more prayer meeting before you leave?" They were told that they might +meet in the school room. "But may it not be in that Bethel?" they +asked, referring to the teacher's own room. She told them she could not +lead their devotions then. Their reply was, "You need not do it; we +will _carry you_ to-day." Seventy were soon assembled in her room. They +sung, "Blest be the tie that binds," and offered six prayers. One asked +that when Elijah should go up, they might all see the horsemen and +chariot, and all catch the falling mantle; not sit down to weep, or +send into the mountains to search for their master, but take up the +mantle, go, smite Jordan, and, passing over, go to work. She then +reminded the Saviour that he had promised not to leave them orphans +(John xiv. 18, Greek and Syriac), and begged him not only to come to +them, but to abide with them when their teacher was gone. Her thoughts +then turned to the departing company, who were to take their long land +journey of six hundred miles on horseback. She asked that the sun might +not smite them by day, nor the moon by night. Theirs was a desert way, +and the Lord was entreated to spread a table for them through all the +wilderness, and, when they should pass over the narrow, precipitous +roads, to give his angels charge to keep them in all their ways, and +bear them up in their hands, lest they dash a foot against a stone; and +when they should go through the rivers, not to let the waters overflow +them. The company would lodge by night in tents, and it was asked that +the angel of the Lord might ever encamp round about the moving +tabernacle. Borne in mind as they should pass on, first to the steamer, +and then to the sailing vessel, she asked that when they should be on +the "fire ship," the flame might not kindle upon them; and when on the +"winged ship," where the waves would go up to heaven, and down to hell, +that He would keep them in the hollow of his hand, and bring them to +the desired haven. She then asked that all her teacher's friends might +be spared till she should reach them, especially the aged mother, and +that when she should fold her daughter in her arms, she might say, like +Simeon of old, "Now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace." Here she +paused, and Miss Fiske thought she had finished; but soon she added, +"May our teacher's dust never mingle with a father's dust, or with a +mother's dust; but may she come back to us to mingle her dust with her +children's dust, hear the trumpet with them, and with them go up to +meet the Lord, and be forever with him." Nor did their prayerfulness +cease after their teacher had left them. + +There was a pupil in the Seminary, who, before conversion, was +exceedingly obstinate and rude; but afterwards, in writing to Miss +Fiske, she uses expressions like these: "I remember how you used to put +your arms about my neck, and tell me how Christ became obedient unto +death; not for friends, but for enemies like me. Especially do I +remember how you spoke of that love which saw a remedy in its own +blood, when there was no help for a lost world. At that time I did not +understand it, but now I know not how to express my gratitude. I know +that you are very happy with your aged mother, though your heart is +here; and she is happy, too, that she sees your face. Yet these earthly +meetings, though so pleasant, are but for a season. But how delightful +will be that meeting with the holy angels, with the risen Lamb, and +with God our Father! and if separations are so trying here, what must +be those of the last day? May I not then be separated from you. If I +should be, I know you will say, 'Holy, holy Lord God, just art thou, +for she has been taught.' We miss you much; but the Teacher who is +better than any earthly instructor, came and taught us this winter +(1858-1859). The Lord Jesus has been the gardener of our school. He has +come down and watered it with heavenly rain. He has truly fulfilled his +promise, 'I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.' He said, +'Wait for the promise of the Father.' We waited for his coming, and he +turned himself quickly, and we had delightful seasons. Our times of +prayer were longed for. We prayed more than we did any thing else. When +we retire from the school room now, in many places two girls are found +praying together. In my village I meet the women together and alone. I +also have precious seasons, praying with a company of girls; and I have +selected two women to pray with and for till they shall be Christians. +I hope that they will choose Christ for their portion. Some of the +women of our village, like Mary, sit at Jesus' feet. One Christian +mother had an only son, and very wicked, who trod the Sabbath under +foot, and was wholly given up to his own pleasure. She set apart a day +for fasting and prayer in his behalf, and soon the Lord met him in his +evil way, and now he is a decided Christian." + +But let us leave these general views, and look at this prayerfulness +more in the order of its manifestations. + +During the revival in 1846, two of the pupils spent a whole night in +prayer for the conversion of their brothers, first one leading in +devotion, and then the other, till morning. Like Jacob they felt, "We +will not let thee go except thou bless us." While the missionaries +admired their pious zeal, it is proper to add, that they generally +insisted on the observance of regular hours of sleep, as conducive +alike to bodily and spiritual health. Yet one writes on a similar +occasion, "Sometimes, in my anxiety, I have gone to their cold closets +to persuade them to leave; but the fervor of their prayers has oftener +driven me to mine, than it has allowed me to call them from theirs." + +Twice, and even three times, a day, were not enough for them to retire +for communion with God. Many spent hours every day at the mercy seat. +There were but few closets, and this was a great trial to them. Often +three or four of them might be seen sitting, in tears, waiting their +turn to go in to the mercy seat. Would that they might have had some of +those closets at home that are never entered! At another time, the +Bible of one of the girls was found on one of their wooden stools, open +at the fifty-first psalm, and the page blotted with weeping, as she +read it preparatory to retiring for prayer. Her teacher could put her +finger on no part of those large pages without touching a tear.[1] +Still later, when news of the death of Munny, of Ardishai, by the +accidental discharge of a gun, reached Miss Fiske in America, her first +thought was, "Dear child, I shall never again break off your communion +with Jesus;" for she remembered that when once she begged her to leave +her closet and get rest for the Sabbath, her reply was, "O, I am so +sorry that you spoke to me! I was having such a good time with my dear +Saviour." Only a few days before her death, while in the vineyard with +her brother, she suddenly clasped her hands, and exclaimed, "Blessed +Mr. Stoddard! when shall I see him? and when shall I see my blessed +Saviour?" [Footnote 1: See page 138.] + +A poor woman came to the Seminary one day, weeping for her sins, and +seated herself on the floor. The teacher was soon at her side, telling +her of Him who was wounded for our transgressions. She prayed with her, +and then asked her to pray for herself. "But I can't pray; I don't know +your prayers." "Hatoon, don't try to pray like me, or like any body; +but just tell God how you feel and what you want." "May I tell God just +what is in my heart?" Being assured on that point, she fell on her +face, weeping aloud, saying amid sobs, "O God, I am not fit even for an +old broom to sweep with," and could say no more. This was doubtless the +most worthless thing the poor woman could think of in her humble home. +But it was not long ere she could join others in their little meetings +for prayer; and she still lives, honoring the Saviour, whom she loves. +She is the mother of two of the most useful graduates of the Seminary. + +Again: a pious man brought his wife to spend a few days in the +Seminary, when she was somewhat thoughtful, and left her nearly a week. +Let Miss Fiske describe their meeting. "He came for her at noon, and I +was conversing with him in my room, when she passed out from her closet +without seeing him. (The small upper window to the left, over the +central door, marks the closet.) But he saw her, and reached out his +hand, saying, 'My beloved, come here.' She placed her hand in his, +looked up in his face, and answered his 'Is Christ become beautiful?' +with a gentle '_I_ think so.' The tears of both fell fast, while he led +her, without leave, into my chamber, that they might unite in prayer. +But I was glad to have them offer their first _united_ prayers there. +It was ever after a more sacred place." + +Miss Fiske spent most of the vacation that followed the first revival, +in 1848, with Mr. Stoddard, in the villages, where her pupils aided her +much in labors among the people. After a very pleasant evening spent in +Geog Tapa with those who were seeking Jesus, Hanee, the pupil with whom +she staid, came and asked, "Would you like to be alone?" It was the +first time she had ever been asked such a question by a Nestorian, and +it awakened feelings similar to those that filled her heart when first +she heard the voice of a Nestorian woman leading in prayer. To use her +own words, "I followed the dear child, and she led me to the best +closet she could give me--a manger, where she had spread clean hay; and +she said to me, as she turned to leave, 'Stay just as long as you +like.' You may well suppose it was a precious spot to me. It was my own +fault if I did not there meet Him who was once laid in a manger for us." + +The members of the Seminary were especially interested in the monthly +concert, which was held in Oroomiah, on the first Monday of the month. +On that day they generally wanted two or three meetings; and in 1846 it +was often difficult to persuade them to study at all. From the rising +to the setting sun, the voice of supplication for a dying world +continually fell upon the ear. At one time, all united in pleading for +a world's redemption; then, in little companies of five or six, they +urged the request; and again, each, alone in her closet, still pressed +the same petition. + +Previous to 1846, so few of the Nestorians knew how to pray, that +religious meetings were for instruction rather than prayer; but now it +was a delightful privilege to unite with them in pleading for the +conversion of the world to Christ. Never were their petitions so full +of unction as when offered for this object. In April, Miss Fiske's +pupils, not satisfied with an extra meeting by themselves, though +continued till near sunset, were induced to close it only by the +promise of having a similar meeting next day. No wonder their teacher +never enjoyed a monthly concert in America as she did that one. It was +indeed a rare privilege to unite with such spirits in its observance. + +The pupils wrote to the Seminary, at South Hadley--"Dear sisters, we +love the monthly concert very much. Three hours on that day we meet +together to pray that the kingdom of God may come among us, and among +all the nations of the earth. It is a very sweet day to us, and we love +none so well, except the Sabbath." + +In January, 1849, they spent day and night in weeping and prayer, +mostly for themselves, as unfit to pray for others. The same was true +of the Male Seminary. The teachers, the older pupils, and Deacons John +and Guwergis spent nearly the whole of one night in prayer; and so +burdened were they with the lost condition of their people, and their +own unfaithfulness, that almost all of them gave up their former hope +in Christ, and sought anew for pardon. The voice of praise and prayer +was now heard, not only through the day, but frequently during the +night. + +Up to January 29th, only two or three of the unconverted in the +Seminary showed any concern for salvation. Most of them were so +careless and trifling, that their teachers were almost heart-broken; +but when the retiring bell rung that night, many were so distressed for +sin that they could not heed it. The pious were pleading in behalf of +those out of Christ, and many of these last were crying for mercy. One +prayer commenced, "O Lord, throw us a rope, for we are out in the open +sea, on a single plank, and wave after wave is dashing over us." So +they continued till near midnight, when their teachers constrained them +to retire. + +At the beginning of February, the other Seminary witnessed a remarkable +outpouring of the spirit of prayer. Every spare moment of the previous +day, and much of the night, had been devoted to fervent intercession by +those who feared that the Spirit of God was about to leave them. So +intense was the feeling, that the ordinary services were suspended, and +at once every closet was filled; yet a majority had no place for +retirement. One of them proposed prayer in the yard, and there, on that +wintry day, for an hour, their earnest cries went up to heaven. All of +the careless were deeply moved, and many dated their conversion from +that day. + +The work extended to Geog Tapa, Seir, and other villages. From Degala, +Deacon Joseph wrote, "Whenever I went home, I found our house a house +of mourning. After the lamp was put out at night, I could not sleep for +the sounds of prayer and weeping on all sides. In some houses, very +young children had heard their parents pray so much, that they also did +the same. The women, too, had frequent meetings by themselves. One day +I led some men to a place where they could hear women praying within +the latticed window of a house, and, trembling, they begged me to teach +them also how to come to God." + +The missionaries avoided all stirring appeals to the passions, among a +people so excitable, though the ready performance of every duty +manifested the sincerity of the praying pupils, while it made the +labors of their teachers pleasant. + +There was not that agonizing wrestling in prayer on the first Monday of +1850 that had marked the same day the year before; but the following +week was characterized by unusual tenderness in both Seminaries, and +two of the older pupils of the Female Seminary found no rest except in +their closets. + +On the evening of the second Sabbath in January, Miss Fiske was not +able to attend the prayer meeting, and remained in her room alone. The +gentle opening of her door announced that the meeting was over, and a +little group passed on hastily, but quietly, to the rooms beyond. She +had just risen to follow, when she heard several voices in earnest +supplication. She turned to the stairway, and there also the sound of +fervent entreaty came up from many closets, while some groped about to +light their lamps, or stirred the dying embers of their fires. What +meant this simultaneous movement to the mercy seat? There had been +nothing unusually exciting in the meeting, and she sat down with the +sweet assurance that it was from above. It was late before the +suppliants left their closets, and retired in perfect silence; but +morning found them resuming the same loved employment, and good news +came of similar blessings from the Boys' Seminary. + +That week was one of deep solemnity. The pious pupils devoted every +leisure moment to prayer. Their domestic duties were performed +faultlessly, and much earlier than usual, and then they sought their +closets. Some spent five hours each day of that week in those sacred +retreats, and when urged to leave for needed sleep, the reply was, "For +weeks we have slept, doing nothing for God and souls. How can we sleep +until forgiven?" + +Saturday afternoon, several begged leave to give themselves entirely to +prayer for a blessing on the morrow; and never did the teachers more +gladly welcome the approach of holy time. A blessed Sabbath followed +such a preparation day. During morning service, almost all were in +tears. At dinner, many seats were vacant. It may seem an exaggeration, +but it was literally true, that no voice was heard all that day save +the voice of prayer. Miss Fiske has never known such a Sabbath before, +nor since. In the afternoon, the feeling was overpowering. There was no +request for prayer, but unbroken stillness and the perfect performance +of every duty, without a word being said. At the supper table, every +face seemed to say, "Our meat and drink are not here." Some asked to be +excused, but at length all were seated; and the scene that followed can +never be forgotten. All who were previously interested, and more +beside, wept tears of silent sorrow. The blessing was asked, and the +steward[1] began to help them, himself in tears; but no plate was +touched, for even the uninterested gazed in silent wonder. Their +teacher urged them to eat; but one, seizing her hand, said in a voice +too low to be overheard, "You would not ask _me_ to eat if you knew my +heart." The reply was, "I feel just as sure that the Lord would have +you eat, as that he would have you pray." They were then besought to +eat, so as to have strength to pray. This touched a tender chord, and +so succeeded; and then they silently withdrew to make that use of their +renovated strength. Each hour that night found some at the mercy seat, +feeling that to leave off at such a crisis might lessen the blessing. +[Footnote 1: Yohanan, father of Esli. See page 67.] + +Two months now passed on, each day furnishing new evidence that those +prayers were heard. There was less of excitement, but no diminution of +interest, to the close of the term. The uniform and sustained +prayerfnlness of those months surprised the beholders. The voice of +supplication was the latest sound of evening, the watchword of +midnight, and the lark song of the dawn. One pupil, nine years of age, +after spending two hours in her closet, consented to retire only when +allowed to rise and pray if she awoke during the night; and she was +sure to wake. About three o'clock every morning, her earnest pleadings +roused her teachers from repose. + +The hours of social prayer were full of tenderness. Those who heard the +pupils pleading far within the veil, close by the mercy seat, almost +forgot that they were yet on earth. The school, their parents and +relatives, were all affectionately remembered. The hour always seemed +too short, and often closed with such expressions as these: "If we have +not been heard here, we will go to our closets, and if not heard there, +we will return here, and again go back to our closets, and so continue +to plead for these loved ones to the last." These meetings, though +varied in character, were always of thrilling interest. Now there was +an overwhelming sense of sin, as committed against a holy God, and +then, as a ray of hope appeared, a weeping voice would implore, as on +one occasion, that "the Holy One would walk over the hills of Judea, +find Golgotha, and let them live." Again, the sight of manifold +transgressions prompted the cry, "But we fear our sins have covered +Golgotha from thy sight, and then are we forever lost." Another part of +the same prayer contained the entreaty, "Lift not the mercy seat from +off the holy ark, to look on the law we have broken, but look into +Jesus' grave, and bid us live." + +In the daily family prayer meetings every inmate of the room was +specially and tenderly remembered. Once, when a father had come for his +daughter, and Miss Fiske went to find her, on opening the door she +heard a prayer for one who had shown little feeling; and in pleading +the sufferings of Christ on her behalf, each petition seemed to rise +higher, till every face was turned upward, as if to see him; and the +one who led in devotion involuntarily stretched out her hands to lay +hold of him, saying, "Come, Lord Jesus, and save our perishing sister; +but if she will not receive thee in this life we must forever rejoice +in her destruction"--a striking illustration of intense spiritual +emotion, bringing the heart into sympathy with the whole truth of God. +(Rev. xix. 3.) + +These labors for their impenitent associates, and for those women who +came to the Seminary, were full of Christ. The hour between supper and +the evening meeting was usually spent in personal labor from room to +room; and the entreaties and prayers, then audible on all sides, made +it delightful to be a stranger in a strange land for Jesus' sake. It +was scarcely less affecting when superstitious grandmothers, worldly +mothers, and giddy sisters were prayed with and entreated to come to +Christ. + +The audible prayers of the pupils may trouble some readers, but not +more than they troubled their teacher. She desired more silent +devotion; but Mr. Stoddard, himself in the habit of praying aloud, +looked on it with more favor, and feared to have it checked. Soon after +his own conversion, a friend remarked to him, "I think you had better +not pray quite so loud;" and for days after it he could not pray at +all. He had never thought of others while communing with God, and he +was troubled that others should think of him. Even to the last he +continued the practice of praying audibly. + +Miss Fiske sometimes spoke to her pupils on the subject. There was one +who spent hours daily in her closet, but her teacher heard all she +said. So, on a fitting opportunity, she suggested to her, in a gentle +way, that she might modify the practice. "I will try to pray in a lower +voice," was the reply; "but I never thought of anybody's hearing me." +That night her voice was more subdued, but her prayer was very short; +and soon after midnight her teacher was awakened by the voice of prayer +out on the roof. She stepped out quietly; and there was her pupil +wrapped in a blanket, and thanking the Lord for such a place to pray. +She continued her devotions till near morning; and the kind teacher had +no heart to interfere any further. Mr. Stoddard was much amused with +her success; and it may teach all of us, in this matter, to suffer the +Holy Spirit to divide to every one severally as he will. + +On another occasion, not liking to assume the responsibility herself, +and yet fearing for the health of her pupil, who generally spent a long +time in fervent devotion, she led the physician to the outside of the +door; but he, too, after listening for a while, did not venture to +interrupt such communion with God. Sarah of Tiary was within. + +Meetings were held three days in the week with the women in the +neighborhood, and were well attended. The older pupils were allowed to +assist in these in order to form habits of doing good for after life; +and they did so to edification, both leading in prayer and addressing +the beloved mothers--as they called those older than +themselves--tenderly and in fitting words. + +It was of such a work that Miss Fiske wrote at the time, "We cannot +speak confidently of its fruits at this early date, especially as many +of our dear charge are so young; but we can say what present +appearances are; and while we daily try to obey our Saviour's command, +'Feed my lambs!' we trust that friends at home will hear no less +distinctly the same voice, saying, 'Pray for my lambs in Persia.' All +those whom we regarded as Christians have shown themselves most +faithful to their Master during this season. Others, of whom we were +less confident, have seemed to pass through a previously untried +experience, and, we tremblingly hope, have laid hold of eternal life. +The same is true of several never before convicted. Among these last is +a little girl who was suddenly awakened, with as clear convictions, +apparently, as I ever saw in any; and her final trust in Christ as +implicit. For several days she would say, with tears and sobs, 'I have +never yet loved the Saviour; but O, I do want to love him now.' Her +mother is one of the few converted in Geog Tapa before the first +revival. She has suffered almost every thing for Christ. Often, on +returning late from meeting, she has found herself shut out for an hour +in a piercing winter wind, before her husband would open the door. At +other times she has been beaten, but never denied Him who bought her. +The pious natives often say that in the conversion of her daughter, she +now receives the reward of her years of prayer and faithful endurance. +The last days of the term bound the dear pupils very closely to each +other, and we trust to Christ. When the hour of separation came, a +prayer meeting was held in each room, and continued to the last moment. +Those without hope clung to their praying sisters, with tears and +entreaties for prayer. The hopeful converts went forth with a holy, +chastened gratitude and trust. We tremble for them among their wicked +friends, but rejoice that Israel's Shepherd will keep his own." + +Their prayer was, "May we not carry to our homes the poison of the +second death in our hearts, but bear to them the seeds of eternal life." + +But the rich blessings bestowed in Oroomiah were not all in answer to +prayer ascending from that place. There was a connection between them +and prayer offered in our own country, of which David would say, "Whoso +is wise, and will observe it, even he shall understand the loving +kindness of the Lord." Most of the revivals in Oroomiah commenced on +the day of the monthly concert of prayer, and several on or immediately +after the first Monday in January--a day specially set apart to prayer +for missions. But there was a special centre of prayer for the Female +Seminary in the institution at South Hadley; and pious hearts loved to +watch the connection between the two. While the two inquirers, on that +first Monday in 1846, were making closets for themselves with the +sticks of wood in the cellar, some of Miss Lyon's pupils distinctly +remember how she said to them that morning, "We must pray more for Miss +Fiske and her school." They did so; and they remember, too, how the +good news of the revival cheered them, when it came. + +The earliest indication of interest, in 1847, was on the first Monday +in January; and letters afterwards told of special prayer for the +school offered that day in South Hadley. Almost every letter written +during the winter of 1849 contained similar information. The revival of +1856 came suddenly and unexpectedly; but when, on the night of February +17th, one of the praying pupils could not sleep, because, as she said, +"the whole school was resting on her," and at midnight went to her +teacher to ask her help in prayer, subsequent letters from America +showed, that on that night she wrestled not alone. In 1857, the first +inquiry for the way of life was on the last Thursday in February, the +day of prayer for institutions of learning. Miss Fiske returned from +the February concert of prayer, in 1858, feeling depressed on account +of the want of interest in the school, and in half an hour was called +to see two of her pupils, who felt that they could not remain the +enemies of God. In the first week of February, 1859, meetings were held +every evening in the Seminary at South Hadley to pray for the school in +Oroomiah; and a letter from Miss Rice, written that week, says, "God is +with us; souls are seeking Christ; and I am so strengthened for labor, +that I am sure Christian friends are praying for us more than they did +last month." Do Christians in this country realize as they ought the +connection between their prayers and the blessings bestowed on the +opposite side of the globe? Do we go to the monthly concert believing +that prayer, offered then and there, will, through infinite grace in +Christ Jesus, result in the salvation of souls and the advancement of +his kingdom? Such facts as these ought surely to increase our faith. +Well might a missionary say, "I have so often felt sure that I was +reaping in answer to the prayers of those far away, that on this +subject my heart is full, and my first and last word to friends is, +'Pray for us.'" + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + + +FORERUNNERS. + +MOUNTAIN GIRLS IN SEMINAKY.--PRAYING SARAH.--RETURN TO THE +MOUNTAINS.--VISIT OF YONAN AND KHAMIS, IN 1850.--OF MR. COAN, 1851--OF +YONAN, AGAIN, 1861.--SARAH'S LETTERS. + +But rich as are the benefits conferred on the females of the plain, the +influence of the Seminary is not confined to Persia. It has climbed the +rugged steeps of Kurdistan, and pours into its wild glens and secluded +hamlets the same spiritual blessings. It is delightful to trace the way +in which God has led to results, as yet only beginning to appear, among +the mountain Nestorians. + +As the Seminary could not enter the mountains, Providence brought the +mountains to the Seminary. In 1843, Badir Khan Beg sacked and burned +the villages of Tiary, and the homeless fugitives who escaped the sword +fled to the plains of Assyria and Azerbijan. Towards the close of that +year, a miserable group presented themselves at the Seminary door for +charity, asking for the lady who teaches Nestorian girls. The quick eye +of the teacher detected three in the company before her, and replied, +"Silver and gold we have not, but such as we have we will give you--a +home for these children." This sent them away sorrowful, for it was not +what they wanted. But while the parents retired to the shade of the +tall sycamores to debate the matter, the little ones, attracted by +kindness in a stranger, staid with their new friend. By and by the +parents came back, and, falling on the necks of their children, told +them they might stay, till they returned to Tiary. The teacher never +heard a more gentle and subdued "thank you" than this announcement +called forth from those mountain girls. This was the first movement of +the school towards the evangelization of Kurdistan, and it will be seen +how Providence led the Seminary at Seir in the same path. + +The girls were taken in, washed, and clothed; and though at first they +knew no more of good manners than of the alphabet, they made +commendable progress in both. Better than that, Sarah and Nazeo became +hopefully pious in the revival of 1846, and Heleneh three years +afterwards. + +The last days of the spring term, in 1849, as we have seen, were full +of interest. The teachers did not understand it then, but now they see +that God was preparing his first messengers to the rude mountaineers +for the work before them. Among a company of praying ones, Sarah had +long been known as "the praying Sarah." She was the pupil whom Deacon +Isaac invited to come and pray[1] [Footnote 1: See page 151.] with him; +and the strong man bowed before the simple piety of that mountain girl. +Her mind was not so gifted as many of her associates. She comprehended +truth with difficulty, but she prayed with all prayer and supplication +in the spirit. At this time an unusual spirit of prayer was imparted to +the school. The prospect of vacation, instead of diverting the mind +from devotion, seemed to produce intenser earnestness. The voice of +prayer fell on the ears of the teachers at all hours, except the most +silent watch of the night. After the evening meeting, some spent two +hours in their closets, and others of the older pupils could not leave +till they had prayed with each one in the school alone. On the last +morning of the term, they separated with many tears and fervent +supplications. The quiet of the hour seemed a foretaste of the rest of +heaven. Not a loud voice, heavy step, or harshly shutting door was +heard in all the house. All was so sacredly quiet that the still small +voice might be heard the more distinctly. The teachers sent out the +lambs from the fold with feelings of peculiar anxiety. Some were to go +into families where every soul would gladly undo in them the work of +the Spirit; others to villages where not one heart could enter into +their feelings as the followers of Christ; and as they went forth, +their teachers prayed, from full hearts, that the Shepherd of Israel +would himself be to them for a little sanctuary in the places where +they went. + +While their thoughts were on such of their flock as belonged to the +plain, the thoughts of God were on those also whom he was about to send +forth to a life-long separation from these means of grace. As late as +ten o'clock, on the evening after the close of the term, Miss Fiske +heard the voice of prayer for the absent ones, and fearing that the +occupant of the closet was transgressing the laws of health, she +approached the door, intending to enter, and advise her to retire; but +as she listened to her strong crying, with tears, for each of the +school by name, she could not find it in her heart to disturb the +intercessions of Sarah. She was then a great bodily sufferer, but very +patient, and for a long time had not spent less than four hours daily +in her closet. The next day her disease assumed a serious form, and for +more than a week she hovered on the borders of the grave. Several times +she appeared to have drawn her last breath. But though her sick room +seemed to all like the gate of heaven, and though to her the dark +valley was all light, and she longed to embrace the messenger who +should lead her through, it was not her Father's will to call her then. +She was at first disappointed at the prospect of coming back to the +world; yet still she sweetly said, "Thy will be done," as God restored +her to health, with its responsibilities and temptations. + +April came, and a scarcity in the plain, occasioned by locusts, drove +the fugitives from Tiary back to their mountains. The teachers hoped +the girls might remain, and besought their parents to allow them to do +so, but in vain. They were only too glad to get their daughters away +from influences which in their blindness they abhorred. But God +intended through these daughters to lay the foundations of many +generations, and build again the old waste places of those mountains. + +It was hard for them to go. How could they leave their Christian home, +and the means of grace they had enjoyed so much? It was no less hard +for the teachers to think of those lambs as about to be left at the +mercy of wolves, in rocky glens, so far away that no cry of distress +would ever reach them. Yea, even if those loved ones died, long years +might pass ere their friends could hear of their death. Those were days +of sadness, and communion with God was the only comfort of all, and +especially of Sarah. + +On the day of their departure, the whole school came together, in the +room of the teachers, for the parting prayer. All was silent, till the +three asked to go and bid a farewell to their closets. They went, and +only He who seeth in secret knows how they prayed. They returned +weeping. A few words of comfort were uttered, and the teachers +commended them to God. They rose from their knees, but only to kneel +again; for one of the pupils proposed that all who would pledge +themselves to remember their Tiary sisters in every prayer should join +hands around them, commend them to the good Shepherd, and give to him +their pledge. About twenty thus enclosed the departing sisters, and so +they continued in prayer until the last moment. As the dear ones passed +out, they could not speak, they whispered but one word,--"the +promise,"--and so they went. For years after, no prayer was heard +within those walls that did not contain a petition for "blessings on +our Tiary sisters." + +Many a time had her teacher noticed the large folio page of Sarah's +Syriac Testament wet with her tears, and after she left, found the +whitewash of the wall in her closet furrowed with the same. It opened +out of the passage behind the door on the left of the engraving. She +did not tell this to the school, lest superstition should attach an +idolatrous sacredness to the place; and yet she could not obliterate +marks that to her own heart were so full of comfort. Sarah had gone but +a little way before she pleaded with her parents to stop, and allow her +to retire a little from the road for prayer. + +And so, weeping and praying as they went, these lambs were led into the +dark recesses of a den of lions. We shall see persecution raging, +pitiless as the mountain storm, and long continued. But we shall also +see the Hearer of prayer preserving them unharmed; and if we hear more +from the others than from Sarah, it may be that the revelation of the +answers to her prayers is reserved for that day which shall unfold +displays of grace too glorious for comprehension here. + +Nothing was heard from them till October, 1850, when Yonan and Khamis +entered those rocky fastnesses to gather tidings of them. They spent +the first Sabbath of the month in the house of Nazee; but she was +absent. They say in their journal,-- + +"We preached three times to large assemblies. They brought us Nazee's +Testament to preach from, and seemed accustomed to the sound of the +gospel. In respectful attention to the word, as well as in knowledge, +they were far superior to other villages in Tiary. This we knew was the +result of her teachings. Monday we waited her return. She came about +noon. How can we express the joy of that meeting! We spent another +night there, the most of it in sweet Christian conversation with Nazee. +We were surprised at the respect shown to her, and the restraint felt +in her presence. If any chanced to swear, he at once went and asked +pardon for thus injuring her feelings. Tuesday we had to leave, lest we +should be detained by the snow till spring. We longed to pray with her +before we left, but custom here forbade it; yet she accompanied us a +little on our way, which gave as an opportunity to mingle our prayers +and tears together. As we bade her farewell, she said, weeping, 'Here +is my love for my teachers, for my sisters in the school, for the +missionaries, their children, and all that know me. Tell them to +remember me in their prayers, that God may keep me in this place of +temptation.' We left her looking after us, and wiping away her tears, +till we were out of sight. + +"We went that day to the village of the other two. As soon as Heleneh +saw us, she began to weep, thinking of the past. Sarah we did not see; +she was in another village, very anxious to come, but her wicked +husband, whom she had been forced to marry, would not permit it. We +spent the night with Heleneh, and preached to a large company. Next +morning we left, and she too, with tears, begged that all her friends +in Oroomiah would remember her in their prayers." + +Was Sarah prevented from seeing her Christian friends, that God might +show hereafter how, without even that help, he could answer the prayers +of others for her, and her own? + +The next we hear of them is through Mr. Coan, who visited Tiary in +August, 1851. The writer can understand his account of crossing the +Zab, as the bridge was in the same condition when he crossed it with +the late Dr. Azariah Smith, August 31st, 1844. But hear Mr. Coan:-- + +"A toilsome day, over the roughest of roads, brought us opposite +Chumba. The bridge had been swept away, and fording such a torrent was +impossible. Two long poplar trees spanned the flood; and we crossed on +them, bending under us at every step. Nazee was on the bank, ready to +greet us. After a few words of salutation and kind inquiry, she +hastened to prepare a place for us; and while doing this, the malik +took us to his house. She was much disappointed, but followed, anxious +to treasure up every word. After supper, we spoke long to the company +assembled on the roof. It was affecting to see how eagerly she +listened. She staid after the rest, for religious conversation, till +near midnight, when she apologized for keeping us up so late. She is +cruelly persecuted by her wicked mother and ungodly neighbors; for she +is a shining light, by which the dark deeds of the wicked are reproved; +and hence their hatred. When Mar Shimon's attendants come, they treat +her with wanton cruelty. Some friends in America had sent her several +articles of clothing; but her neighbors came together and tore them in +pieces before her eyes. She bore it meekly, and only prayed for them. +She expected fresh insults because of our visit, but prayed that +nothing might separate her from the love of Christ. Long before day, +she again sought to improve every moment for Christian conversation. We +tried to comfort her: and her eyes filled with tears of gratitude. She +received a copy of the Gospels with joy. When we left, she followed us, +lonely and sad, to the river side. I opened her Testament, and pointed +to Matt. xi. 28: 'Come unto me, all ye that labor, and are heavy +laden;' but her voice choked, and tears prevented her reading. We +kneeled by the roaring Zab, and in broken accents commended her to Him +who will keep her, for his promise is sure." + +For ten long years we hear nothing of either of the three; till, in +September, 1861, Yonan--the same who found them in 1850--and another +preacher visited the mountains. In a village of Tiary, some two +thousand people were keeping the feast of the cross--eating, drinking, +dancing, and carousing. They sat down among the quietest of the crowd. +Heleneh came up and saluted them. Though she had not seen her teacher +for eleven years, she recognized him at once. They talked from morning +till near sunset. As they spoke of old friends, Yonan asked, "Heleneh, +do you remember where our Lord was crucified?" "On Calvary. Can I +forget _Calvary?_" as though grieved that he should think she could +forget. Yonan gave her a kerchief for the head, saying, "Take this, and +remember me by it." "Shall I remember you by this?" was the reply. "I +will remember you in my prayers." "Do you pray, Heleneh?"--She was the +last one converted, and left Oroomiah soon after her conversion; so he +wanted to know whether she still held on her Christian way.--"Always," +was the answer. They sought a place to pray together; and though they +might not go away alone, yet there, in sight, but not in hearing of the +crowd, they approached the mercy seat, the spectators little dreaming +of the nature of their intercourse. It was delightful to find that she +had not forgotten the language or the spirit of devotion. + +The accompanying sketch of a Tiary girl will show how the kerchief is +worn. It also exhibits the mode of using the Oriental spindle, which is +probably a facsimile of the article mentioned by Solomon. (Prov. xxxi. +19.) + +[Illustration: A TIARY GIRL] + +The other two were not at the feast; so, next day, they left to seek +them at their homes. Nazee was absent, but came home in the morning--a +widow with two children. She was delighted, and even her children +seemed to recognize in the strangers their mother's friends. She was +poor; her house had been burned, and almost all it contained; but a +stone was on her Testament, and that was saved. They talked long with +her, and gave her a copy of the Rays of Light (the monthly periodical +issued by the mission), and a pencil to write to her friends. She gave +them letters written ten years before, which she had penned in secret, +and carried about with her ever since, waiting an opportunity to send +them. + +The next day, another long journey brought them to the home of Sarah; +she saw them coming and hastened to meet them; but that very night she +had to leave for a distant village: yet not till in answer to prayer +they had an opportunity to pray together; and the friends left that +village happy; for, as Yonan said, they "found her, like the others, +having the love of our Christ in her heart." + +That solitary disciple, through those long years of seclusion, never +hearing the voice of Christian fellowship, or knowing whether her pious +friends were alive, or if her sisters still remembered their pledge, +was yet kept of God according to his promise; and it is interesting to +see that she does not once allude to her persecutions in her letters, +but only solicits the prayers of her friends for her relatives and +neighbors; and then, while both Mr. Coan and her teacher testify to her +usefulness, with what humility does she allude to herself, and "the +very little she has made known of the Lord Jesus Christ." + +Extracts from the letters that she kept so long here follow. The first, +to friends in Middlebury, Vermont, is dated September, 1851, and reads +thus:-- + +"To you, dear friends, I write a letter unworthy and imperfect, in +which I make known to you my lost condition and my present abode. Know +ye that a little more than two years ago I left the Seminary, and came +with my friends to our country. I did not wish to leave so soon, for I +had learned but very imperfectly what the Scriptures teach about our +Lord Jesus Christ. But my mother was not willing I should remain, for +her heart is yet hard and dark. Know, then, dear sisters in Christ, I +dwell in Tiary, in the village of Chumba, about six days' journey from +Oroomiah. Again, though so far away, know ye, that your letter reached +me in May. It was translated and sent to me by Mr. Perkins, our beloved +father, whom we are unworthy to call such. My dear sisters, when I took +your letter in my hands and read, my heart longed to fly and sit down +by you, and behold your faces in the body; but I said, "The will of the +Lord, not mine, be done." When I look within myself, and see not a +place worthy to cherish gratitude to God for his great mercy and grace, +which he hath wrought for us, sinful and unworthy, I liken myself to +the slothful servant, who did not the will of his Lord. Yet, O, my +sisters, though I have not done the will of my Saviour, I have hope in +him that I shall do it, and serve him henceforth so long as I am in +this world--fleeting as a dream in the night. + +Though our country has been, in time past, greatly afflicted by the +Koords, yet God has spared many of us, who had sinned and trodden under +our feet the blood of his holy Son. But do not marvel that we have +sorrow from the scourge God brought upon us for our sins. No. Still +every day we provoke our Maker more and more. Then ought we not to +mourn over this people, lost and fallen under the yoke of Satan? For +should you go through all Tiary, you would not find one soul that fears +the Lord, but all bound in fetters not to be loosed. If God do not +loose them, quickly will they perish; and not this country only, but +many others, sit under the shadow of death and walk in darkness, going +to destruction. Then, dear sisters, though unworthy, we should increase +our painful efforts, and our prayers to God, that speedily his kingdom +may come and his will be done on earth as it is done in heaven, that +all regions may know him and praise him forever. Beloved sisters, I am +unworthy to thank you, and still more to thank God, who has disposed +you to show such kindness to my poor body, and yet more to my perishing +soul, with words so gentle and full of love; yet greatly do I thank you. + +Again, dear friends, I have one request to make--that every time you +bow before God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of all who +love him, you will remember me in your prayers, for I am very needy, +and there is great danger that my soul will perish forever. Remember +also my mother, and all my friends, sinners, and on their way to +destruction. Know ye, further, that I conceal the writing of this +because they would not allow me openly to write, for they are very +foolish and benighted. Accept, then, this poor letter, as a token of +friendship and gratitude, in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ. + +From your unworthy and sinful sister, + +NAZRE, of Tiary. Amen. + +The following are extracts from another letter to the same persons:-- + +"Though we are far from each other in this evil world, yet I hope that +our Lord Jesus Christ will make us pure from sin, and worthy of his +kingdom, where we shall see each other with that light which shall not +end, in the joy of the holy angels. Ah, my friends, how great are our +mercies and we how unworthy, but especially I!--unworthy of the gift of +the gospel of God, which I have received, that I might make it known to +lost souls around me. But know ye, very little have I made known about +our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, dear friends, I desire to speak of him to +lost souls, in the imperfection of my mind. But many do not desire even +to hear of the sound doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ, and yet think +to gain heaven, while they practise in this world according to their +wicked desires. And for this reason, O my sisters, I beseech you that +you will remember this people, lost and fallen under the snares of +Satan; especially my mother, and brother, and all my friends. But more +especially, I beseech you to remember me, a sinner, in your prayers, +every time that you bow the knee before God, the Father of our Lord +Jesus Christ, and the Father of all who fear him, and listen to his +commandments." + +Accompanying these was the following to Dr. Perkins, dated October 3d, +1851:-- + +"To you, O my spiritual father, Mr. Perkins, I presume to send two +letters, for friends in Middlebury. If you please, you will translate +them, and send them; but I fear that they will give you much trouble. + +"Again, you wrote me in your letter, that I should teach children to +read. Now, I am very needy myself of instruction. Yet I desire that +that might be my employment. But that is a very difficult matter among +such a people, of whom you have heard that although there may be here +and there one who would walk in this way, yet there is a stone of +stumbling and a rock of offence therein; so that every one that goeth +in it, his foot stumbleth, and quickly he turns back. + +"Again, O friend beloved, though I am unworthy to call you such, yet I +beseech you that you remember me always in your prayers. I know that +you do remember me, but I desire that you remember me more, for I +greatly fear for my perishing soul. Greatly do I desire to see you once +more in this world, if the Lord will." + +He who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in working, commissioned +these praying souls to prepare his way in the mountains, even as he +chose those other three to show forth his grace in death; and they who +live to mark the future course of the river of life in those rocky +glens will find, we trust, that his strength was made perfect in their +weakness. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + + +LABORERS IN THE MOUNTAINS. + +LETTER OF BADAL.--ACCOUNT OF HANNAH.--THE PIT.--'LETTER OF GULY AND +YOHANAN.--ACCOUNT OF SARAH.--LETTERS OF OSHANA.--LETTERS AND JOURNAL OF +SARAH.--LETTER FKOM AMADIA.--CONFERENCE OF NATIVE HELPERS. + +Besides these, the Seminary has sent up other laborers into the same +field. At the monthly concert in Oroomiah, June, 1858, there were +present four graduates, with their husbands, either going there for the +first time, or returning to resume their labors. Guly, the wife of +Yohanan, who had already spent one year in little Jeloo, was now about +to return there with her husband. Nargis, the wife of Khamis, who had +spent the winter laboring alone in the vicinity of Amadia, on the +Turkish side of the mountains, was now with him, going back to Gawar. +Hannah, the wife of Badal, who had sent her husband, three days after +marriage, to his winter's campaign in the same region, was now +accompanying him to the chosen field of his labors; and Eneya, the wife +of Shlemon, his associate, was also expecting to leave in a few days. + +By the way of introducing the reader to one of these laborers, we +subjoin a letter from Badal to Miss Fiske, dated December 12th, 1859. +It is a good specimen of Oriental style. + +"Writing to you brings to mind many sweet conversations with you. +Dwelling on them, my mind is sad. My sighs rise like the swelling +stream, and almost carry me away, especially when I look at your +garden, where you labored with so much skill to graft in these wild +olive plants, cutting off your sleep with watchings by night, that they +should not be rooted up by the desert wind. Thus you watched them, till +they became as noble forest trees that not even the avalanche can +overturn. Your garden, now, not only gives a shade pleasant to the +traveller, but it yields sweet fruits; clouds rise from it that give us +the early and the latter rain; they empty themselves,--the plain +rejoices, and the barren places become verdant. Yes, the vine that you +planted has budded, and blossomed, and gives of its fruit to every +passer by. Come to us, our beloved, open the door of your garden, that +the traveller may enter in and be refreshed. You have left many +pleasant remembrances in the work of your hands. On every side you have +left a picture for our eyes, and the skilful work of your hands (his +wife), lo, and behold! it is with me. I cannot be silent. My voice +shall be heard as the turtle's; 'Behold, your feet are within my doors, +and your counsels are ever in my family.' The Lord reward you for these +pupils, that you have taught to be patient and persevering, so that +they truly help us in the work of life. + +"Beloved, give my love to your friends, and ask them, when they go up +to Shiloh to offer sacrifice, to place me in the censer of their +prayers. + +"We are troubled that as yet we know not the Lord's thoughts concerning +you,--whether he will allow you to meet your flock again, or says to +you as to Daniel, 'Thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of +the days.' Like Moses, you are gathered to your fathers; but Miss Rice +stands like Joshua, commanding the sun not to go down till the sword of +the gospel shall triumph. We thank the Lord that she is still a judge +in Israel, so that as yet the sceptre has not departed from Judah. + +"Your affectionate friend, BADAL." + +There are some things about Hannah, and the work of divine grace in +her, that demand grateful record. + +She was the daughter of one of the most intelligent and wealthy +Nestorians, who placed her in the Seminary as early as 1845. She was +then quite small, and the teacher objected very much to taking her; but +paternal importunity prevailed. As soon as her father turned to go, she +began to scream; but he left, saying she must remain, and "learn +wisdom." The kind teacher took her in her lap to soothe her; but it was +of no use; her bleeding hands bore the marks of the nails of her new +protegée for weeks. She called for her father, but he was intentionally +out of hearing. + +The child remained, but learned wisdom very slowly. She had her fits of +rage so often, that she was sent home sometimes for weeks, and again +for months. She made little progress, either in study or other good, +till the winter of 1850, when she seemed to begin to love the truth; +yet, though her general deportment was correct, she often showed such a +determined will, that her instructors feared she had never said from +the heart, "Not my will, but thine," and often told her that, if she +was a Christian, God would, in love, subdue that will. She could not +feel her need of this, and thought that they required too much of her. +So they were obliged to leave her with God, and he cared for her in an +unusual way. The mission premises had formerly been occupied by an +Oriental bath; and here and there were old pits, once used for carrying +off the water, but now covered up, so that no one knew where they were. +One evening Miss Fiske called the girls together, and told them some +things she wished they would refrain from. They promised compliance, +and went out; but hardly had they gone before their teacher heard the +cry, "Hannah is in the well!" She ran there, but all was right. Then +they led her to an opening just before the back door, saying, "The +earth opened and swallowed her up." The covering of one of the pits had +given way, and she had fallen perhaps twenty feet below the surface. +Fortunately, as in the case of Joseph, there was no water in the pit, +and in a few days she was able to resume her place in school, but much +more gentle and subdued than ever before. The change was marked by all. +Months after, in a private interview with her teacher, she gave an +account of the whole matter. She said the girls went out, most of them +saying, "We will obey our teachers;" but she, stamping her foot, said, +"I did right before, and I shall do so again." With these words on her +lips, she sunk into the earth. At first she did not know what had +happened, but remembered all that had been said, and felt that God was +dealing with her. Lying there helpless and bruised at the bottom of the +pit, she made a solemn vow to God, "Never again my will." From that +time she was a most lovely example of all that was gentle. She seemed +to give up every thing, and "bear all things." Her father saw the +change, and one day said to her teachers, "I am not a Christian; but +Hannah knows nothing but God's will. If she should die now, I should +know she was with Christ, she is so like him." Her Christian character +developed beautifully; the school learned of her to be Christ-like. She +longed to do good, and was ready to make any sacrifice for the good of +souls. When Badal sought her hand from her father, the latter called +her, and said, "Hannah, Badal the son of the herdsman, wants you to go +to the mountains with him, and wants you to live here with him. It +shall be as you say." She replied very meekly, "I wish to suffer with +the people of God. I choose to go with Badal;" and June 8th, 1858, she +left for her mountain home. + +The parting prayer meeting with those four girls, going as missionaries +to the mountains, was one of the pleasantest memories that Miss Fiske +carried away from Oroomiah. She left soon after, but often heard from +Hannah and her companions that she was happy in her life of privation +for Jesus' sake, and did what she could. She suffered, however, from +the change, and was advised to visit Oroomiah for her health. It was +hoped she might soon recover; but she went only to leave her sweet +testimony to the blessedness of knowing no will but God's, and then go +home. She sent the following messages to Miss Fiske from her dying bed: +"I love to have God do just as he pleases. I thank you for all your +love, and especially for showing me my Saviour." She died in December, +1860. + +Having given herself to Missionary work among the mountains, it is +interesting to know that her little property also went to the same +object. In the remarkable revival of benevolence, in Oroomiah, in the +spring of 1861, her brother gave her inheritance, which had fallen to +him, to sustain laborers in the mountains: thus, after her life had +been laid down in the work, all her living went to carry it on. + +Let Guly introduce herself to the reader by giving her own account of +her conversion, in 1856:-- + +MY DEAR SUPERINTENDENT, MISS FISKE: I wish now, as far as I can, to +describe to you my spiritual state. The first four weeks of the revival +I did not realize that I was lost, but afterwards was more burdened; my +sins were round about me like dark clouds. One night I went to Miss +Rice to have her pray with me. I did not know how to find Christ. She +told me; yet all that night I saw no light, but only darkness. I was +almost in despair, yet felt that this was from Satan. In the morning +the sun rose pleasantly, but it was as night to me; for I knew that I +had no portion in God. So I continued all that day. I could not read in +my class, but went to my room, and vowed not to leave it till I had +some token that Christ was mine. I brought nothing in my hands save my +sins, which were like mountains. I remembered that scripture, "Though +your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;" and I +recalled the promises of God, and that no other could pardon me. With +earnest longing, I laid my soul into the hands of Jesus. I heartily +covenanted to serve him all my life, and sought help from him in +prayer. Then suddenly I saw light, as if he were at my side; and I did +not wish to rise from my knees, so blessed was that communion. From +that time I had hope, but sometimes fear I may be deceived. Yet daily I +find Christ more and more precious. Though old Adam is not dead, yet in +the strength of God I will resist him. + +Yes, my dear mother in Christ, my guide to the cross, my desire is to +please God, and live for him, not for myself. I cannot say that I shall +never sin, for I am weak, and my foe is strong; but I will seek help +from Him who was tempted, and can succor me when tempted. + +I am most thankful to you that you have been the means of my salvation, +and can never forget your love till my tongue is silent in the grave. + +Your affectionate GULY, of Seir. + +She and her husband, Yohanan, have labored in the mountains ever since +their marriage. He writes to Miss Fiske in February, 1861,-- + +"I have not forgotten your pleasant love, and trust I never shall until +I die. I hope that, with all your friends here, I shall see you again. +As our joy is not full in your absence, may you not rest till you +return. + +"We are now in Vizierawa of Gawar; for the people of Ishtazin, +instigated by Mar Shimon, have cast us out. I had hoped to go to +Amadia, but was robbed and wounded, in the autumn, by the Koords; and +before I could recover my goods, it was too late to go so far. So I +remain here; and, thanks to God, our labor in the gospel is more +pleasant than ever. Some of the men wish to hear the whole will of God; +and women and girls come to Guly to hear his words. A few children also +are constant in learning to read. The work of God prospers this year in +Gawar, and the laborers are more numerous and more faithful." + +In estimating the zeal and self-denial of these Nestorian missionaries, +it should be borne in mind that our missionaries there, think it +requires as much self-denial for a native of Oroomiah to go to the +mountains, as for an American to go to Oroomiah; and according to the +testimony of a native observer, the married graduates of the Seminary, +in the mountains, are centres of light in that great sea of darkness. + +Besides those already mentioned, Oshana and Sarah, with Shlemon and +Eneya, are laboring in Amadia. This Sarah is daughter of Priest +Abraham, of Geog Tapa, and was one of the earliest pupils of the +Seminary. When Deacon Isaac broke it up, in 1844, she was the only +pupil who remained. She was hopefully converted in 1846, and while in +the Seminary was supported by the Sabbath school in Owego, New York. + +In 1849, it was proposed that her father labor in Ardishai, one of the +darkest and most wicked villages of the plain, as one might expect the +home of the notorious Mar Gabriel would be. Great opposition was made +by the people to his coming among them; and his own wife--not then +converted--did much to hinder his going; but Sarah did all in her power +to encourage him; and a letter of hers on the subject decided him to +go. She rejoiced to give up her friends, her pleasant home, and even +her privileges, that he might labor in that unpromising field. Nor was +she by any means idle. She spent all her vacations there, laboring with +much acceptance and success; and after she graduated, in 1850, besides +her day school through the week, she had a Bible class on the Sabbath, +with the women; and on Friday, also, she sent out her pupils, in the +afternoon, to invite their mothers and other women to a meeting she +held with them in the evening. She thus acquired great influence, and +led several to the Saviour. Her labors were very systematic. She had a +plan for conversing personally with one pupil each day, and was noted +for her tact and success in efforts with individuals. Others might act +from impulse, and soon tire; but hers is an activity controlled by +principle, and therefore uniform and enduring. Very faithful in +admonition when admonition is required, she is at the same time noted +for gentleness, and thus expresses to Miss Fiske her delight in +laboring for Christ: "Separated from Christian friends, I am sometimes +sad; but I am not greater than my Master, who left the holy society of +heaven to come to earth, and I am glad for a corner where I may labor +for such a Master. Come and spend a Sabbath here if you can; if not, +pray much and often for these poor women." Again speaking of her +school, she says, "It is the goodness of God that gives me these little +girls. Pray for them. I see indications that they will be lovers of the +Lord. Forty or fifty of the women come to meeting, and twenty-two are +willing to receive the truth." She was accustomed to study the Bible +with her father, and in that way also aided him in his labors. + +But it is time to bring forward her husband, in letters which open up a +new department of usefulness, and illustrate the meaning of Mar +Yohanan, when he brought her first pupils to Miss Fiske, and said, "No +man take them from you." The truth was, that the same parents, who at +first could not trust their daughters in the Seminary for a single +night, were now unwilling that they should be united to a husband who +did not commend himself to its teachers as a suitable companion for +their pupils. But let Oshana speak:-- + +HONORED LADY, MISS FISKE: I have a petition to lay before your zeal, +which is active in doing good to all poor insignificant ones like me. +Dear lady, whose love is like the waters of the Nile, and spreads more +than they; for it reaches the sons of the mountains of Kurdistan, as +well as those of the plain. I am venturing to trouble you more than +ever before. This summer, when I went to my country (Tehoma), my mother +and uncles, who greatly love me, with a natural love, beset me to marry +one of the daughters of my country, whomsoever I should please; but I +made known to them that I wished, if possible, to take one of the +pupils of your school, for I said to them, "If I take one of these who +are so wicked, ignorant, immodest, and disorderly, they will embitter +my life;"' I entreated of them not to put this yoke of iron on my neck. +They listened a little to my petition, from the mercy of God, but made +me promise that if it should reach my hand, I would marry this winter. +The girl on whom I have placed my eye, to take her, is Sarah; because +she has the "fear of God, which is the beginning of wisdom," and she +has been brought up in all the graces of Christianity, and has well +learned the holy doctrines; and in the fear of God, and the knowledge +she has acquired, she can help me, and strengthen me, in the work of +God, on which I have placed my heart for life. + +And now, to whom shall I look to help me in this matter? I will look to +God, the Lord of heaven and earth. But he works by instruments. Then to +whom shall I look, as the instrument to do this work? I am a stranger, +poor, and without a name here. My relatives are far away. If I have +friends in Oroomiah, they cannot do this kindness for me. If I remain +silent, silence alone shall I see. Now, my lady, I look to you for +help; and with confidence shall I do so more than I should to my +parents; for you have guided me and my sister better than any +Nestorians have guided their children. Yes, by your hand God will +supply my need. Now do as you think proper. From your unworthy + +OSHANA. + +P.S. The other letter (enclosed) is for Sarah, and on this subject. + +Some time after he was engaged to her, she was very sick, when he wrote +as follows; and the reader will notice that the "honored lady" gives +place to + +DEAR MOTHER, AND NOURISHER OF SARAH: I have no friend in whose +pleasant, pure love I can delight as in Sarah, and she is now wasting +away on a bed of sickness. My heart is very heavy with sorrow on her +account. Yes, I am so borne down with trouble, that for three days my +tears have not been stayed. I do not say this to boast of my love. I +owe her all this. I have a petition to make; which is, that you will do +all you can for Sarah. But I need not ask this, for I am confident that +your kindness, will lead you to do, and cause to be done, all that can +be done for her. But will you not let me know whether her sickness +increases or diminishes?--if it increases, that my sighs and tears may +increase in pleading before the Lord for mercy, and if it diminishes, +that my thanksgivings may increase before our merciful Father in heaven. + +Dear mother, if it is the will of our Father in heaven to take Sarah to +the upper mansions,--though I shall be comforted on account of her +being saved from all the bitter misery of this world, and her blessed +rest with the Saviour, where she can praise his love with her pleasant +voice, joined with the sweet songs of angels,--still it will be hard +for me. If I live after she has gone, God forbid that I behold her +dust, and not long to be her companion in heaven. Your unworthy + +OSHANA. + +Our next letter is from Sarah to Miss Fiske, written at Seir, in 1859, +more than two years after her marriage, and gives a good idea of her +Christian spirit:-- + +BELOVED: The good news that you gave us of the revivals in your +country, rouses our hearts to warmer zeal. Shall we not also prepare +the way of the Lord? We know, by the gracious visits of God here this +winter, that Christians there are ever praying for our poor people. For +we hear from the preachers who come up to the concert every month, that +the work of the Lord goes forward in the villages of the plain, and +also in the mountains. + +Here in Seir, the good work began among the women. I hear them say, +"Though we have had revivals before, we have never seen a year like +this, when the words of God had such deep effect." Mrs. Cochran and I +have good meetings with these women. Our congregations make glad the +Christian heart, and I am particularly happy in laboring for them, one +by one. A portion of them, with tearful eyes, are covenanting to be the +Lord's. We ask the Lord to strengthen them in their covenant, and we +entreat of you and of your friends to pray for them. + +Our Sabbath schools are very pleasant. Mr. Cochran will tell you how +the work goes forward. Mrs. Cochran has a class of women, and so have +I. Last Sabbath Mr. Cochran read one of your letters to the +congregation, and we learned from it how the work of the Lord goes +forward in your blessed churches. We praised the Lord, and then we +entreated him to bless our churches, and make them more spiritual, for +we are confident that his grace is sufficient for us all. + +She visited Tehoma, in May, two months after the date of the preceding, +with her husband, Oshana, and two little children, and gives the +following account of their journey:-- + +"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 in which I have been, 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 the city of Oroomiah, May 6th. We were ten souls--Hormezd, of +Aliawa, Sagoo, of Geog Tapa, Matlub, the Tehomian, Guly, and little +Gozel, Oshana and his brother, our two little girls, and myself. May +8th, we reached Memikan, and remained there three days. + +"It was our first Sabbath in the mountains. 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 staid 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. Prom 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 +Jesns 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 as I am here, I shall labor for that Master who +wearied himself for me, and who bought these souls with his blood. + +"The Lord keep and bless you, our beloved, who have been a mother to +the Nestorian girls, all of whom, with longing hearts are expecting +your return. We continually pray Him who gave you to us, to restore you +again in mercy to our people. If counted worthy, I should greatly +rejoice to receive a little note from you." + +She returned to Oroomiah in the spring of 1860, and left again in 1861 +for Amadia. When she went away, her three children had the whooping +cough; so she would not go into any of the mission families lest she +should spread the disease among the children; but after she was all +ready to go, and the heads of her own little flock were peeping out of +the saddle-bag contrivance in which they rode, Mrs. Breath went out to +bid her good by. Sarah told her how Miss Fiske had said, when she took +her oldest child into her arms for the first time, "'Now, Sarah, you +will not seek for this child a pleasant home upon the plain, as Lot +did, but rather to do God's will, and then he will give you all +things." "I have always remembered it," she added, "and am not willing +now to be found seeking my pleasure here." + +During the long winter of 1861-62, no messenger could cross the +mountains from Oroomiah to Amadia; and she thus writes 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 them 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 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." + +Our latest news from Sarah is, that during the summer of 1862, her +little son had died, and she herself was just recovering from a +dangerous fever. + +The joyful anticipations awakened by such a letter from a graduate of +the Seminary, in ancient Amadia, are not diminished by accounts +received of a conference of "Mountain helpers," held in Gawar, from May +30th to June 2d, 1862. They came from Gawar, Jeloo, Tehoma and Amadia. +At the opening of each session, half an hour was spent in prayer; then +carefully prepared essays were read on subjects previously assigned, +and each topic was afterwards thoroughly discussed. The first subject +was, "Hinderances to evangelization in the mountains,--such as their +ruggedness, deep snows, superstition of the people, and persecution." +Deacon Tamo, in speaking, admitted all these, but said, "For rough +roads we have our feet and goats' hair sandals; for deep snows, snow +shoes; for the darkness and superstition of the people, we have the +light of the truth and the sword of the Spirit; and for persecution, we +have God's promise of protection and the firman of the sultan." "The +faithful pastor's duty to his flock," and "Means of securing laborers +for the field," were among the topics discussed. Their discussions on +the subject of benevolence showed that they regarded that duty as +binding as any other. They engaged to observe the monthly concert, and +take up monthly and also annual collections in their congregations, and +apply the proceeds to the support of a laborer in the mountains. On +Sabbath evening the monthly concert was observed, and after stirring +addresses, the contribution amounted to what was for them the very +large sum of fifty-two dollars. Among the offerings were a horse, an +ox, a sheep, a goat, and different articles of jewelry. Arrangements +were made at the conference for the formation of a Protestant community +in Gawar, in accordance with the firman of the sultan. In all respects +the meeting was a rich spiritual festival, and from the spirit its +members manifested, and the progress already made, we may hope for +extensive and important results before many years have passed away. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + + +EBENEZERS. + +EXAMINATION IN 1850.--COLLATION AND ADDRESS.--VALEDICTORY BY SANUM. +--SABBATH SCHOOL IN GEOG TAPA.--EXAMINATION THERE IN 1854.--PRAYER +MEETING AND COMMUNION AT OROOMIAH, MAY, 1858.--SELBY, OF GAVALAN, AND +LETTER.--LETTER FROM HATOON, OF GEOG TAPA. + +There are occasions, interesting in themselves, that also serve to mark +the progress which they promote. Such an occasion was the examination +of the Seminary, June 6th, 1850. There have been examinations since, +but none so marked in their influence for good; none where the teachers +felt so much like calling the name of it "Ebenezer," and saying, +"Hitherto hath the Lord helped us." + +The pupils had improved, during the last weeks of the term, more than +they had ever done in twice the same length of time, both spiritually +and mentally. At the close of the term, their parents and friends, with +some of the leading Nestorians, were invited to the examination. More +than one hundred and sixty spectators, besides the pupils, were crowded +into the large recitation room. This had been adorned with a profusion +of roses, from the vineyard of Mar Yohanan, arranged in wreaths and +bouquets, with festoons of sycamore leaves, and other devices. The +people were delighted,--for, like other Persians, they are great +admirers of flowers,--and many, on entering, involuntarily exclaimed, +"Paradise! Paradise!" In their various studies, the attainments of the +pupils would have reflected honor on a seminary in our own land; but +their knowledge of Scripture exceeded all besides. Even on the details +of the Tabernacle they rarely faltered; and their compositions showed +an intimate acquaintance with Bible facts and doctrines. + +Dr. Perkins delivered an address, comparing the early days of the +mission with that scene, and felicitously answering various objections +that had been raised against female education; and, at the close, +diplomas were given to three of the oldest pupils. + +The exercises were pleasantly diversified by a plentiful collation +under the arbor in the court behind the Seminary, where lambs roasted +whole, in the native style, lettuce, cherries, pilav (a preparation of +rice), and some cake, prepared by the pupils, were duly discussed. Many +of the women had never before sat at the same table with men, and it +was amusing to witness their awkward embarrassment. Some snatched the +food from the table by stealth, and ate it behind their large veils, as +though it were a thing forbidden. + +Hormezd, the Miner of John, now aged and blind, who had been led all +the way from Geog Tapa, said, towards the close of the afternoon, "I +wish Joshua were here." + +"And what do you, want of Joshua?" + +"I want him to command the sun and moon to stand still, for the day is +altogether too short." As the company dispersed, several old men took +Miss Fiske and Miss Rice by the hand, saying, with moistened eyes, +"Will you forgive us that we have done no more for your school?" But +the best of all was, some sixty adult women, from different villages, +begging for spelling books, that they might commence learning to read. +Thirty of them did not rest till they could read their Bibles. The +cause of female education never lost the impulse that it received that +day. + +Instead of the valedictory composed for this anniversary, is here +subjoined the greater part of the one prepared by Sanum, for a like +occasion, because it takes a wider range, and is richer in its +historical allusions:-- + +"Now that another year is closed, and we are ready to leave each other +in peace, it is fitting to review the past, that together we may praise +the sweet Keeper of Israel for the blessings he has poured upon our +heads. We fear to try to recount them all, lest we tempt the Lord; so +we will speak of but a few. + +"Let us renew the wings of our loving thoughts, send them to the years +that are past, and see where rests the dust of some of the dear +teachers of this school. Listen! There comes a voice, 'They are not to +be found among the living.' Yes, the place of one is empty here, and of +another there. Then, where are they? Thou, O country art a witness that +they have pressed thy soil; and you, ye blessed winds, answer us, 'They +have gone!' and ye green leaves of time are true witnesses that they +lie among the numbered dead. But where shall we find them? They lie far +apart. We must visit one that first laid her hand on some of us to +bless us (Mrs. Grant); and though we remember her not, she often +embraced us in the arms of love, and carried us before a throne of +grace. She was one of the first that left all her friends, and ploughed +the mighty waves of ocean, that she might come to Oroomiah's dark +border. Though fierce tempests raged, and heavy waves raised themselves +above the ship, her prayers, mingled with love for us, ascended higher +still, and overcame all. At the foot of Mount Ararat she doubtless +remembered the bow of promise; and her consolations were renewed, when +she thought of it as a prophecy, that a company of the fallen daughters +of Chaldea should become heirs of glory. She so labored, that her +influence is widening from generation to generation. + +"The Lord is rewarding her even to the third and fourth generation. But +though she engaged in her work with such holy zeal, her journey was +short. Some of us had not seen our eighth summer when those lips, on +which were written wisdom, were still; and that tongue, on which dwelt +the law of kindness, was silent in death. Now she rests in our +churchyard. She sleeps with our dead, and her dust is mingled with the +dust of our fathers, till that day when she shall rise to glory, and a +company of ransomed Nestorians with her. + +"But where is that other dear friend of our school [Dr. Grant], who was +the beautiful staff of her support? He encouraged her to labor for us +while many of us were yet unborn. His heart was large enough to love +every son and daughter of our people. He sowed with many tears, and +gave himself for the Nestorians. Shall we not believe that the fruits +of his labors have sprung up among us? Then, where is he? Let us go +silently, silently, and ask that ancient city, Nineveh. It will direct +us, 'Lo, he rests on the banks of the noble Tigris.' Would that our +whisper might reach the ear of the wild Arab and cruel Turk, that they +walk gently by that stranger grave, and tread not on its dust. Then, +shall we think no more of it? No; with a firm hope we expect that those +mountains, on which his beautiful feet rested, shall answer his name in +echoes, one to the other; and the persons who saw his faithful example +there shall mingle in the flock of his Saviour. + +"But the journey of our thoughts is not finished. We must leave in +peace this blessed grave, and go search for one with whom we were well +acquainted [Mrs. Stoddard], and whose gentle, loving example is so +graven on the tablet of memory, that it cannot be erased. Can we forget +her prayers with some of us the week she left us? or how, when she took +our hand for the last time, she said, 'The blessing of the Lord rest +upon you'? We did not then expect that our eyes would no more rest on +that lovely face, and our ears no more hear that sweet voice in our +dwellings. When we heard of her departure to a world of light, it was +hard to believe that she had gone and left us behind. Lo, on the shores +of the Black Sea she has laid her down to rest. O ye angry waves, be +still, and ye winds of God, fan gently that sacred spot. All our people +are indebted to thee, thou blessed one. Thou, who didst first teach us +to sing the songs of Zion, now removed from sin and sorrow, thou art +singing with the myriads of the just. We would not call thee back, but +rather praise the Lord that you and those other dear friends are +entered into rest. No, ye are not lost, ye spirits made holy; but as it +was necessary that some should come from a distant land to labor here, +so ye were necessary to do a greater work in heaven. We believe that ye +are doing there more than ye could have done here; yea, that ye form a +part of that great cloud of witnesses that encompass us to-day. It is +delightful to us to think that ye blessed ones guard us. It is a +comfort to our teachers to think that you, who laid these foundations, +are still round about us. Beloved ones, we would not call you back. +Cling closely, and more closely, to your Saviour, till we, too, through +free grace, shall share in your glory. + +"And now, beloved friends, who with them flew on the wings of the +gospel across the ocean to tell us of salvation, we rejoice to-day that +the sharp arrows of death have not touched you. Ye have been more than +fathers and mothers to us. Our hearts are full of love to every one of +you, O blessed band! but we cannot express it, except with a heavenly +tongue. When darkness reigned in the breast of every son of the +Chaldeans, and no whisper of salvation had fallen on the ear of their +daughters, you opened the beauties of the priceless pearl before our +eyes, that it should enlighten us with heavenly brightness. We cannot +make known all that you have done for us. Let it remain till that day +of light when the Lord shall commend you before his chosen. When we +look at our dear teachers, our hearts warm to you with no common love, +because you led them to leave the sweet place of their nativity for our +sakes. You have been parents to them, wiping away their tears with the +soft hand of a mother, and sharing their trials with a father's heart. +While you have helped them in every department of their school, the +blessing has all been ours. + +"If on the wings of an eagle we should fly to the extreme north, we +should find no such school as this, crowned with blessings, but should +see our sisters groaning in bitterness, saying, 'Not one ray from the +divine sun rises on us in our misery.' If we turn to the south, there +we see the daughters of Arabia lamenting, 'In all this desert, not one +oasis yields the waters of life to quench our burning thirst.' Eternity +alone will suffice to praise Him who sent you, the only heralds of his +grace, to us sinners. + +"But our southern journey is not finished. From one end of Africa to +the other our sisters lie wrapped in the shadows of death; and if we +turn to the east, all the way to China, the daughters cry, 'Wretched is +our unhappy lot: no cloud of mercy, such as surrounds you, lights up +the place of our abode. So on the west, as far as Constantinople, our +companions in suffering have no school to sound in their ears the +blessed name of Jesus. + +"What are we, that the Lord should choose us from the midst of such +darkness, and send you to us with the message of life? Let all nations, +with wondering lips, praise the Almighty for his grace to us, so +worthless. + +"Now that we go from you, we leave with you this our handiwork as a +token of gratitude. [A specimen of needlework now among the curiosities +at the Missionary House in Boston.] Receive it, though a trifle. The +figures on it show what you have taught us in our pleasant school. As +we have first of all been taught to sit at the foot of the cross, and +neither hope nor glory in anything else, we have made that the +foundation. Under the cross you have watered us with the showers of +divine instruction and prayers, that, like this vine, we might entwine +about it and bear pleasant fruit. From this cross we learned, while yet +in the bloom of life, like newly-opened flowers, to join together in +sweet friendship. Above this we have placed a circle around the Holy +Bible, that bright lamp of the Lord, that will enlighten us like the +sun if we follow its leading--that well of living waters, which will +cause us to flourish like the palm tree. Thus will our leaf be ever +green, and our fruit sweet till the day when the mystery of love shall +be revealed, and we dwell in the mansions of the blest. There, joining +with all the singers in heavenly places, we shall receive harps and +sing glory to our heavenly King, who saved us from everlasting woe. +There we shall inherit crowns of gold, and, with myriads of the saints, +cast them down before the Lamb. If but one of us reach that place, will +you deem your labor in vain? God, who rewards even the gift of a cup of +cold water, will never forget what you have done to the least of his +people, and if the least are on the earth, we are they. Now that you +send us forth into the world, remember us, we beg you, whenever you +bring your sacrifice before the Lord. + +"Dear teachers, your acts of kindness have been more than the hairs of +our heads; we cannot recount them. We can only ask Him, who alone is +rich, to reward you from his good treasures, for none but He can meet +our obligations to you. Each thought that reverts to the past demands a +tear of gratitude. O blessed seasons, when God sent down his Holy +Spirit, that through your labors these walls of Jerusalem, so long +broken down, might be again rebuilt. It is sweet to think that in the +hand of Christ, you have been the means of the salvation of our souls, +which are to live forever. We believe that your prayers and tears are +in the golden censer before the throne. Now that we go out from under +your wings of love, which cannot reach to all your scattered flock, we +entreat you to ask the Good Shepherd to lead us in green pastures and +beside the still waters, and keep us under his wings of mercy in our +weakness. + +[Her address to the native teachers, bishops, &c., is omitted.] + +"Dear parents, we rejoice exceedingly to see you here, looking on us +with eyes of love. No words can express what you have done for us, +especially in sending us here to learn of Jesus. We trust that it has +been, or shall be, a blessing to you also. It is our hope that you will +be willing to send your daughters to distant places, to make known +eternal life. If you do, great will be your reward from the Lord. + +"And now, sweet sisters, another year have we sat under our own vine +and fig tree unmolested. We have tasted the honey and milk of the +blessed land, and drank of the waters from the Rock. But now the time +has come to leave these bowers of knowledge, but not the lessons here +learned, nor the counsels of our teachers, nor the sweet whispers of +the Holy Spirit. + +"Dear sisters, let us bear forth with us the light-giving countenance +of the Saviour, which will scatter all the evil around us as the light +dispels the darkness: without this we cannot go. Though separated in +body, let us be united in fervent prayer. Let a conscience made +sensitive by grace be our abiding companion. Let the tent of Abraham +teach us that we have no abiding city here; and like him, let our first +work be to offer those prayers to God which shall testify that he is +ours. And now, before going forth, let us clothe ourselves with the +meekness and gentleness of Christ. Yea, let us take with us all his +virtues, being obedient, teaching our dying associates, and leading +them one and all to Christ. Though we part, our love can never be +sundered, and we will ask the Lord to send his ministering spirits to +strengthen our faltering steps, and feed our souls with heavenly manna, +so that if we never more see each other here, we may meet in heaven +with our sisters who have gone before." + +The teachers improved the interest awakened by the examination in 1850, +to urge their older pupils to labor in the village Sabbath schools; and +let us look in on their efforts in Geog Tapa. The children there were +divided into ten classes, each with one of the pupils for a teacher. +Others taught the women who could not read. Soon these were joined by +both old and young men, who were taught by pupils from the Seminary at +Seir, and as many as forty spelling books were in active use. The +children, too, were taught to sing. Thus they labored till winter, when +the school was put in charge of the village school teachers. In the +spring the pupils resumed the work with undiminished zeal. Nor did they +toil in vain, for the attendance increased from about seventy to four +hundred; and some of the teachers testified that they spent there some +of the most delightful Sabbaths they ever knew. Yonan, who +superintended the school with Moses, had also a class of old women, +that increased from six to thirty-seven, whom he taught from the book, +well known to our Sabbath school children, "Line upon Line." His own +account of it is very interesting. He says, "The women, especially the +aged among them, have a habit, when they meet, of engaging in +unprofitable conversation, and, both on the way to church and in it, we +could not stop it. Awakening sermons produced no impression; and though +they had heard preaching for fifteen years, they were still very +ignorant. But now what I teach them on one Sabbath I require them to +repeat the next; and so they are obliged to leave off their gossip, and +talk over what they have heard, that they may not forget it. These +women are so anxious to be taught, that if I am hindered a little +longer than usual in arranging the classes, they cry out after me in +the church, that all the other classes are being taught, but they +forsaken." + +A class of old men, taught by Deacon John, commenced with an attendance +of ten, but soon numbered forty. Formerly they went to market on the +Sabbath, or sat sunning themselves in the street, going to hear +preaching about half the time; but they became so interested in the +exercises, that they were unwilling they should close. They brought +others with them, and if one of them was kept away one Sabbath, he +mourned that the rest had got so far before him. + +The women carried their books with them when they went out to the +vineyards, and at resting time: while others slept, they read. Some, +who could not afford oil at night, read by moonlight, and when they +spun, they fastened the book open on a shelf, so that they could read +at the same time. Once, when a woman was asked if she could repeat her +lesson, she replied, "O, yes; I repeated it over just now while I was +milking." The men also took their books out to the fields, that they +might improve every spare moment, and one was so earnest that, when +waked in the night to attend to the cattle, he read till morning; but +his family, finding that he burned so much oil, took care after that to +let him sleep. Good old Mar Elias rejoiced to see such a work among his +flock; and it was most pleasant to see the large church so crowded by +people, seated on the floor, that one could hardly walk about among +them. + +After the teachers had attended to their classes about an hour and a +half, the younger scholars repeated the portion of Scripture they had +learned during the week, and the parents were much pleased to hear +their children recite. + +The daily report of the Seminary was introduced into the Sabbath school +in a way that only Orientals could do it. The older members of the +school were required to report any cases of swearing, stealing, or +quarrelling among the younger ones during the week, who were publicly +reproved on the following Sabbath. This made the parents more careful +to watch over their children, and the children more circumspect in +their daily behavior. If any little trouble occurred among them during +the week, they said to each other, "Let us be careful; Sabbath is +near;" and though at first some of the people smiled when the children +were reproved, it soon became more common for them to weep. + +After taking an account of the attendance, the children sung, divided +into two companies, on opposite sides of the church; and then Mar +Ellas, or some of the elders of the village, addressed the school. +Yonan closes his account of it by saying, "We have learned in this work +more than ever before the value of female education. Among our most +energetic, faithful teachers are young women who love to sit down +before little children, and the ignorant of their own sex, and teach +them the way of life." + +Thursday, June 1st, 1854, was a great day in Geog Tapa. The forenoon +was devoted to the examination of a girls' school, taught by Hanee and +Nargis, graduates of the preceding year, and both belonging in the +village. As it was a feast day, a large number were present from the +neighboring hamlets. At nine o'clock the examination commenced in the +spacious church, which was crowded, the congregation numbering about +six hundred in all. The fifty pupils occupied the middle of the church. +The studies pursued were ancient and modern Syriac, geography, +arithmetic, both Scripture and secular history, reading and spelling; +and in all of them the pupils did credit both to themselves and their +teachers. The singing, that day, especially pleased the parents, many +of whom exclaimed with wonder, "Our daughters can learn as well as our +sons." Miss Fiske rejoiced to see her children's children in the pupils +of her first pupil, who gracefully managed her little flock with an +easy control. The villages of Gavalan, Vizierawa, and Ardishai, had +each a similar school, containing in all one hundred pupils; and each +of these schools was as valued a centre of religious influence as of +intellectual training. The teachers were in the habit of praying with +one of their pupils alone every day, as well as of opening the school +with prayer; and Friday afternoon was regularly devoted to a religious +meeting with the mothers of the pupils. These schools fitted the +teachers for usefulness, and the pupils for admission to the Seminary, +as well as for teachers in the Sabbath school; and they furnish a +delightful view of the present and prospective usefulness of the +Seminary among the people. + +Noon came, and the large assembly scattered, to enjoy the hospitality +of the village. For the people opened their houses for those in +attendance, just as they do with us at the annual meetings of the +American Board. Geog Tapa could also boast of its committee of +arrangements, in humble imitation of greater things. + +After a recess of an hour and a half, the people reassembled for the +examination of the Sabbath school, in a grove behind the church, as +that building could not contain the multitude which now numbered more +than a thousand. First came a class of men, from twenty to seventy +years of age, headed by Malik Aga Bey, the village chief. They had been +taught orally by Deacon John, and answered questions in Old Testament +history very readily. Then followed a class of women, fifty or sixty in +number, most of them over forty years of age. These had been taught by +Yonan, and were quite familiar with the Old Testament, from the +creation to the reign of David. One old blind woman wanted to point out +the stopping places of Israel in the desert, on the map which hung on +one of the tall trees: she had learned their names by heart, and was +familiar with their location by touch. + +Next came a class of twenty men, who had recently learned to read; for +which they had each received a copy of the New Testament. A class of +women then followed, numbering twenty-three, who had also been taught +to read by the boys and girls in the village schools. Mr. Stoddard +called for the teacher of each woman to step forward; and a copy of the +Old Testament was presented to every one of them, as they stood in a +row in front of their pupils. There was one woman who stood without a +teacher. Mr. Stoddard called for hers also, and some one whispered to +him that she had been taught by her husband. Mr. Stoddard thereupon led +him out, and, placing his hand on his head, said, before the whole +assembly, "All honor to the man who has taught his wife to read!" and +presented him also with a Bible. + +One who was frequently present often wept to see Women giving a morsel +to their infants to quiet them, that they might devote the longer time +to their lessons; some of them so intent on the work of learning, that +their faces were bathed in perspiration. She used to fill her pocket +and reticule with cakes for the little ones, so that their mothers +might be more free from interruption. The exercises of that day gave a +great impulse to the cause of education in Geog Tapa. As many as +seventy adults were soon poring over their spelling books; and the next +summer one half of the adult women were either readers or engaged in +the same employment; though previous to the examination of the Seminary +in 1850, not one in thirty could read, or cared to learn. + +Having given an account of these two interesting occasions, let us now +look in on another equally interesting, though of a different kind, +that took place in Oroomiah, three years later. During the interval, +Mr. Stoddard had entered into rest; and his bereaved widow, Dr. Perkins +and family, and Miss Fiske, were about to sit down together, perhaps +for the last time, with the Nestorian converts, at the table of the +Lord. + +It was in May, and the day one of the finest of those charming May days +in Oroomiah. The most of the Nestorians who had been admitted to the +communion were present; and in distributing the guests among the +mission families, it was understood that all who had been connected +with the Seminary should go there. The object of this was, to gather +all the scattered members of the family together once more in the place +where prayer had been wont to be made, before they went to the Lord's +table. As yet, no one knew that their teacher was about to leave them; +for she did not wish any thing else to turn away their thoughts from +Jesus. When they had assembled in the school room, she could not say +much, but besought the Lord Jesus to be the Master of the assembly. +After singing a hymn, the words "looking unto Jesus" were given as the +key-note of the meeting. He came and whispered peace, and all felt that +they sat together in heavenly places. The eyes of their hearts were +opened, so that they realized the fulfilment of the promise, "There am +I in the midst of you." + +They were invited to speak freely of their joys and sorrows, in order +that together they might carry them to Jesus. The first to speak was +Hanee, one of the two whom Mar Yohanan brought to Miss Fiske at the +commencement of the school.[1] She had, not long before, buried her +only child; and holding her hands as though the little one still rested +on her arms, she said, "Sisters, at the last communion you saw me here +with my babe in these arms. It is not here now. I have laid it into the +arms of Jesus, and come to-day to tell you there is a sweet as well as +a bitter in affliction. When the rod is appointed to us, let us not +only kiss it, but press it to our lips. When I stood by that little +open grave, I said, 'All the time I have given to my babe, I will give +to souls.' I try to do so. Pray for me." She told but the simple truth; +for after the death of her child, she used to bring the women into the +room where it died, and there talk and pray with them. Since then, she +has received another little one, and in the same spirit given it back +to Christ. When she ceased, the whole company were in tears. The leader +could only ask, "Who will pray?" and Sanum, whose children had died by +poison, and who could enter into the feelings of the bereaved mother, +knelt down and prayed as very few could pray for mothers left desolate, +and for those who still folded their little ones in their arms. There +was perfect silence while she pleaded for them, save as the sweet voice +of her own babe sometimes added to the tenderness of her petitions. A +child in heaven! what a treasure! and what a blessing, if it draw the +heart thither also! [Footnote 1: See page 51.] + +There was a little pause after the prayer; and, to the surprise of all, +the voice of Nazloo was heard in another part of the room; for they had +supposed her near, if not already entering, the river of death. +"Sisters," said she, "since seeing you, I have stood with one foot in +the grave; and may I tell you that it is a very different thing to be a +Christian then, from what it is in this pleasant school room. Let me +ask you if you are sure that you are on the Rock Christ Jesus." A +tender prayer followed, the burden of which was, "Search us, O Lord, +and try us, and see if there be any wicked way in us, and lead us in +the way everlasting." + +The next to speak was one of the early pupils, who had come many miles +that day to be present. She said, "I could think but one thought all +the way as I came, and that was, 'Freely ye have received, freely +give.' We have certainly received freely: have we given any thing? Can +we not do something for souls? I fear the Lord Jesus is not pleased +with us." + +They were then asked if they were ready to engage in direct labors for +souls, to search them out, and by conversation and prayer seek to lead +them to Christ. Many pledged themselves to the work, and engaged to +bring the names of those for whom, they had labored to the next +communion, that all together might intercede in their behalf to God. +Before that time arrived, Miss Fiske left for America; but the first +letter she opened, out of a large parcel that awaited her in Boston, +was one containing the names of those with whom her pupils had labored +and prayed in distant Persia. Is it strange that, as the slips of paper +fell at her feet, her heart was moved? + +But we cannot dwell longer on the prayer meeting. As many as twelve +said a few words, and more than that number led in prayer, during the +two hours they were together: from thence all repaired to the dining +room,--the three upper windows on the right of the engraving belong to +this,--where they did "eat their meat with gladness and singleness of +heart." Then it was announced that arrangements had been made for class +prayer meetings. It seemed to be just the thing that all longed for, +though none had spoken of it; and at once each class went along the +familiar passages to the room assigned it, and the voice of prayer +arose from nearly every apartment in the building. The chapel bell +rung, but it was unnoticed; and each little company had to be +separately summoned to church. There, according to previous +arrangement, Miss Fiske led each to a seat, that the communicants might +be together, and then herself sat down behind them all. A glance +revealed ninety-three sisters in Christ before her; and as the services +had not yet commenced, her thoughts went back to the day when, asking +concerning many of them, "Is this one a Christian?" "or that one?" "or +that other?" the answer came, "You have no sister in Christ among them +all!" No wonder she now inwardly exclaimed, "What hath God wrought? The +Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad." There was but +one among the ninety-three with whom she had not bowed the knee in +prayer, and that same evening, as she was devising methods to get her +away from the rest to her room alone, the Lord sent her, unexpectedly, +to the door; and with her also she enjoyed the privilege of personal +religious intercourse and prayer. + +At the communion, when all stood up to enter into covenant with +thirty-nine new converts, six of them pupils of the Seminary, there +seemed a deeper meaning than ever before in engaging to be the Lord's +forever. + +In Hanee we have seen the grace bestowed on one of the two whom Mar +Yohanan brought to form the nucleus of the school. The other was Selby, +of Gavalan, his own niece. She became hopefully pious in 1846, when +hardly ten years of age. There were very few in whom her teachers took +such uniform delight, though they felt some anxiety when she married +Priest Kamo, of Marbeeshoo, a cousin of Mar Shirnon--intelligent and +influential, but unconverted. Yet she had strong faith that he would +become a Christian, and soon gained a wonderful influence over him, +without compromising in the least her own religious principles. She +became his teacher in the Bible,--it was a new book to him,--and in her +he saw the Christian life it described beautifully exemplified. She had +just begun to hope that her prayers were answered in his conversion. He +was much interested in aiding the evangelists in the mountains, and the +mission was hoping great things from him, under the good influence of +Selby, when he died. Her feelings, under this affliction, are thus +described by her own pen, in a letter to her teacher, dated Marbeeshoo, +June 4th, 1859:-- + +"It is not because I have forgotten you that I have not written you +until now. How can I forget you? And were that possible, I could not +forget your instructions. I remember them at all times, by day and by +night. They comfort me in sorrow, and strengthen me in anguish. You +have taught me the duties of this life, and you have pointed me to the +world to come. I remember when you used to take me by the hand, and +lead me into your closet, and there pray with me; and my heart fills +with mingled joy and sorrow--with joy, that such precious seasons were +given me; with sorrow, that they will be mine no more. Shall I never +see your face again--that face, which bore to us more than a mother's +love? You were a perfect mother, because in Christ. + +"I grieve very much that I did not see you before you left; but I +believe that the seed you have sown will continue to spring up to the +end of the world. You asked me, in your letter, to tell you about my +work. I have a greater work than any of my companions, but it is in a +place covered with thick darkness, like that of Egypt. The people are +stiff-necked, wise to do evil, but of God they have no knowledge. +Temptations surround me as mountains; they rise up about me like the +waves of the sea. While Kamo lived, I was comforted, for he loved the +truth. Every day he used to read the Scriptures with me, and ask the +meaning of each verse. I had hoped he would have Paul's zeal in the +work of the Lord. I had expected that we should have schools in our +village after a year or two, and that the places of concourse for idle +conversation would become places for reading the Scriptures, and for +prayer. But it has pleased the Lord to give me a great and heavy +affliction. He has smitten me with his own rod, making this world a +vale of tears. But it is the Lord; let him do what he pleaseth. It is +all for my profit. + +"I want to ask you and your friends to pray for me, that I may endure +to the end." + +The feelings of the pupils, after the departure of Miss Fiske, are +graphically expressed in the following letter from Hatoon, of Geog +Tapa:-- + +"My heart longs to tell you of the change in our dear school. Our +return, after vacation, was much like that of the Jews from Babylon, +when they found their city laid waste, and their temple in ruins. Every +time they looked on the spot where it had stood, their hearts were +crushed. So when we did not see you, and went not to take your hand and +be kissed by you,--when we saw not your ready feet coming to the door, +to bring in each one and make her happy,--our hearts were broken, and +we could not restrain our tears; especially when I remembered the times +that the daughters of the church used to meet in your room to mingle +our prayers, our tears, and our joys together. These recollections +leave an aching void which cannot be filled. It seems to me that the +ways of your room mourn, because you come not to the solemn feasts. If +Jeremiah were here, I think he would say, 'How doth Miss Fiske's room +sit solitary that was full of people! How do the daughters of the +Oroomiah schools mourn, and their eyes run down with water, because +Miss Fiske is far from them?' These changes show us that this world is +as down driven by the wind. Perhaps you will reply, in your cheerful +way, 'Do you feel so? There is much that is pleasant in the world.' I +know it; but our school was always such a pleasant place to me. I was +so happy in it and its heavenly employments, that not even the death of +friends could destroy that joy. But now I seem overshadowed by dark +clouds, and sinking in deep mire. Yet I will try, in all this, to bow +my will to the holy will of Him who doeth all things well." + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + + +COMPOSITIONS. + +THE FIELD OF CLOVES.--THE LOST SOUL.--THE SAVED SOUL.--HANNAH. + +It was very important that the pupils should be able to express their +own thoughts, readily and correctly, with the pen, and unwearied effort +was devoted to this end; but for a long time they seemed incapable of +clothing an idea in words. The simplest sentence was copied over and +over without the change of a single word; and even when it was +expressed for them in other language, they only repeated over that +variation of the first. Three years were spent in trying to teach them +to write their own thoughts, with very little success; but in 1846, the +Spirit of God secured the result that man had sought in vain. After +that, both their ideas and their language were very beautiful. Nothing +pleased them better than to be allowed to write; and it was matter of +grateful remark that those compositions which were penned during a +revival were always the best. + +This was especially true in the awakening of 1850, which was noted for +the prevalence of a spirit of meditation and holy communion with God. +The pupils at that time came forth from private intercourse with their +Saviour, to pen some of the sweetest writings in the Syriac language. + +One day that winter, both the teachers wished to attend an examination +at Seir, and asked them if they would be diligent during their absence. +"O, yes," was the reply, "if you will only let us write composition." +The following was found on the slate of Nazloo, when they returned:-- + +"THE CLOVER FIELD. + +"We walk out in the country, and the road leads us by a lovely field of +clover. We see it in all its modest beauty. There are the green leaves, +so regular in their form and outline; the beautiful flowers, so +wonderful in their structure; and the sweet fragrance, that regales our +senses as we pass. All these are there, but we see not whence they +come. No showers descend to make it grow; the earth is parched on all +sides. Do you inquire for the source of all this loveliness? A tiny +rill of water flows gently underneath. No eye sees it. You cannot hear +its quiet advance, for it does not murmur as it wears itself out in its +work of love. Noiseless it hies to each little rootlet. It conveys +nourishment to every leaf; not one is overlooked or forgotten. That +unseen rill causes these fair blossoms to spring forth. It distils +these odors for the enjoyment of all that pass this way. What that +streamlet is to the field, prayer is to the Christian. We see it not; +it is all hid from human eye; but O, the rich fruit that it yields +every day in the soul thus made partaker of the life of Christ! That +also makes the wilderness to rejoice and blossom as the rose." + +At the annual examination in 1850, Sanum read her composition, a +translation of which is here inserted:-- + +"THE LOST SOUL. + +"I have dreamed a dream, dear friends--may I relate it? + +"In my dream I was wandering about, seeking for earthly pleasures, +though my life was crowned with blessings more plentiful than the dew +of the morning. My father and mother did every thing they could to +bring me to Christ. Their labors for me were enough to make me weep my +last tear, but my hard heart remained unmoved. Four times did the Holy +Spirit strive with me, and as often I grieved him away. I broke every +promise that I made to serve the Lord. + +"There came a beautiful day in spring. The sun lighted up every thing +with gladness. The fields were dressed in green. The trees were in +blossom. Loved by my friends, surrounded by every thing to make me +happy, and rejoicing that so much enjoyment was still in store for me, +I was saying to my soul, 'Take thine ease,' when suddenly a voice +cried, 'This night thy soul shall be required of thee; then whose shall +be all these?' Another voice added, 'These four years heaven and earth +have pleaded with you to bring forth fruit to God, but you have +refused. Your heart has said "I will fix my seat above the stars of +heaven." Now you must go down to the abyss.' Like arrows these words +pierced my heart; my strength departed, and others bore me to my home. +There my parents were speechless with sorrow. The bed of down was made +ready, but it afforded me no rest. I seemed to lie on thorns. Then I +appeared to faint, though still able to hear their conversation. +Sobbing aloud, they said, 'Sweet child, if you were only a Christian, +gladly would we go with you to the gates of heaven, hoping soon to meet +again; but this is more than we can bear. Alas, that one borne in the +arms of our love, with whom and for whom we have prayed, must now say +that our God is not her God, nor our Saviour hers! Is there no ray of +light for her in the darkness? Can we never again point her to Jesus?' +As I listened in anguish, I cried aloud, 'Is there no hope for me?' +They replied, 'We will implore mercy for you again and again, and +possibly the physician may help you. Here he is.' As he came in the +recollection of his past faithful warnings made me weep aloud. He said, +'Why weep? Do you not wish to see me?' 'Dear friend, it is not that; +but the sight of you recalls your entreaties to come to Christ, and my +neglect of them. If you can only give me one hour of quiet, I will try +to come now.' He saw that the hand of death was on me, and replied, +'What you do you must do quickly.' 'What can I do in such distress?' +'Can you not cry, "Lord, remember me," like the dying malefactor?' +'Those words comforted me once, but now I cannot use them.' 'Can you +not pray?' 'No. Once I would not hear God, and now he will not hear me. +O father, mother, friends, pray for me. Send for my teacher to pray for +me. Ask every servant of God to entreat for me while yet I live.' The +request went forth. The weeping physician offered supplication at my +side. My father and mother seemed to pour forth their last breath in +intercession for me. As I turned, I saw my teachers, and conscience +arrayed before me every word they had ever spoken to me of Christ and +heaven. All my own actions were likewise spread out before my eyes. +Then the whirlwind of my sins swept me away like a tiny leaf, to sink +in a sea of anguish. My teacher now cried, 'We had hoped to see our +dear pupil passing over to the new Jerusalem; but, instead of that, +must she dwell among the lost?' A gentle voice then whispered, 'Go to +Jesus; he will not cast you out.' 'To Jesus! nay, for knowingly my +hands have pierced him. Willingly these feet have trampled on his +precious blood. I have compelled his spirit to forsake me, and must +perish.' + +"Then I saw those whom I had led into sin and encouraged in unbelief, +and said to them, 'Can you forgive me?' But a voice from heaven +replied, 'You cannot be forgiven; for the name of Jesus you have set at +nought, and there is none other.' Then my teacher pressed my hand; she +could not speak. I said, 'You have ever shown great love; can you not +help me now?' 'Dear child, have I not told you that though I love you, +yet I have no power to help in this hour or hereafter.' 'O, dreadful +thought! Must I leave you all, forever? parents, teachers, all! Can you +do nothing for me?' 'We can only point you to Jesus.' 'I have no part +in him. I am a Demas; and with such agony now, what will be the wrath +to come?' I begged all present not to live as I had lived. 'Seize the +moments that fly swifter than the lightning. There is no place for +repentance now: my retribution begins. Forget not these words of your +lost sister.' I turned to my mother: 'There is no love like a mother's; +can that do nothing for me now?' What could she do? 'Can no one help +me? Father, father, I am going; can you do nothing?' + +"Now the light forsook my eyes. O for a few moments more! But even this +was denied me; for, as I remembered, 'Cursed is the man that trusteth +in man, and whose heart departeth from the living God.' + +"I now heard a voice as of a rushing, mighty wind. Trembling seized me, +as I discerned four fiends of darkness. I uttered a piercing shriek, +and died. Then I found myself suspended between heaven and earth. +Behind me, the world I loved so well had gone forever. Before me I saw +the Ancient of Days seated on his throne, his raiment white as snow, +his eyes as a flame of fire, his feet like brass glowing in the +furnace, and a stream of fire issued from before him; thousand +thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand +stood before him. Brightness radiated from him on all sides. He fixed +his eyes on me, glowing with holy indignation, while a two-edged sword +proceeded out of his mouth. My sins arose before me. Conscience +condemned me. I could not look up. The pains of hell gat hold upon me. +In a voice unlike all I ever heard before, he said, 'Slayer of my Son, +despiser of my grace, what hast thou done? Thou hast set at nought all +my counsels.' I longed to flee; but above me stood the Judge, below, +the abyss. I could give no reply. Again he said, 'My covenant thou hast +trodden under foot;' and he commanded his servants, 'Bind her hand and +foot, and cast her into outer darkness, where is weeping and gnashing +of teeth. There let her remain till that great day, when all mine +enemies shall be trodden in the wine-press of my wrath.' + +"Then a voice from out of the throne said, 'Praise our God, all ye his +servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great;' and all cried, +like the voice of many waters, 'Amen. Allelujah.' Heaven responded from +all sides, 'Just and true are thy judgments, thou King of saints.' Then +Satan and his angels clapped their hands; and mocking my misery, they +thrust me into the inner prison. + +"I now found myself associated with Cain, Judas, Jeroboam, and Jezebel. +I understood what Christ meant when he said, 'Bind the tares in bundles +to burn them,' for I was enclosed by them on all sides, and the flames +from them kindled on me. Then a voice said, 'Judas sold his Lord once, +but thou many times. Cain slew one brother; thou hast brought many to +this place of torment.' Then all, especially those whom I had led +there, cursed me. Fallen spirits gloried over me. The evil passions of +all the lost were let loose on me. My own wicked feelings were kindled +into a flame by the divine wrath. Now I understood that scripture, +'They have no rest day nor night.' My ears, that had taken pleasure in +evil conversation, were filled with revilings. My tongue, which had set +on fire the course of nature, now itself set on fire of hell, I gnawed +for pain. I looked up to beg a drop of water; but instead of it came +the word, 'Daughter, remember.' As I looked up, I got a glimpse of one +of my companions in Abraham's bosom. Once we were together pointed to +Jesus. Now the impassable gulf was between us. Hope now fled forever, +and that word, 'Remember,' brought every moment of my life before me in +characters of flaming fire. Gladly would I have exchanged this agony +for the pangs of death endured a thousand times over, or for all the +sufferings of earth till the final conflagration. I cursed my soul, +weeping without a tear. Why were my associates, once, like me, children +of wrath, now in heaven, while I was shut out? Ah, they listened to +Jesus, while I rejected him, and to enjoy a momentary pleasure plunged +into all this anguish. I had loved those who now tormented me, and cast +aside the loving Saviour. No ray of mercy can ever reach me more. No +friend will ever love me again. In my madness I sought to flee; but +wrath held me rooted to the spot. Cloud on cloud rose above me, each +inscribed, 'Eternity!' A voice cried aloud, 'Forever!' and another +replied, 'Forever and ever!' The waves of fire now rolled over me, and +the worm that dieth not seized hold of me. I begged for even the +smallest mitigation of misery, and the vials of wrath were poured out +upon me. In my anguish I cried, 'Roll on, ye eternal ages!' But why? +They will be no nearer through. 'O Lord, how long?' With an earthquake, +that seemed to shake the very throne, came back the reply, 'Forever! +Forever!' I sank down in unutterable agony. Then I awoke, and lo, it +was all a dream. The darkness of night was yet around me; a cold sweat +covered me; and that word, 'Forever!' still rang in my ears. Friends, +this was a dream, and only a drop in the ocean, compared with the +terrible reality. Let us pray that we may be saved from it through +Jesus Christ our Lord." + +The large audience listened to these vivid delineations, part of the +time, in breathless silence; and again the women beat on their breasts +with half-suppressed cries for mercy. The reader, as well as they, will +find relief from the companion picture by Moressa. Sanum's was an +original conception of her own. The theme of this last was suggested by +Miss Fiske, as a fitting counterpart to the preceding, but the +treatment of it was left wholly with the writer. + +"THE SAVED SOUL. + +"While meditating on death, I fell into a sweet sleep, and dreamed a +dream which rejoiced my spirit. I cannot refrain from relating it to +you, dear Christian friends, who are looking forward to the glory that +shall be revealed. I dreamed that my heavenly Father said to me, 'Dear +child, heir of my kingdom, you have long enough borne the troubles of +this vale of tears; now you shall be freed from them, and come to your +heavenly home, to worship me in holiness.' As I listened, sickness +came, and I laid me down on my bed of death with this thought: 'One +more fruit of sin, and then--heaven.' My poor friends, not +understanding this, inquired, with weeping, if I could not possibly +recover; but when they saw that I was dying, they gathered round me, to +go down with me to the banks of Jordan. My soul was exceeding joyful, +for the light of the promised land shone on me, and the dread river was +quiet, for Jesus had said to it, 'Peace, be still.' + +"While in this joyful state, I remembered with sorrow how many years I +had refused to acknowledge the Prince of life as my King, while he +waited with open arms to receive me; and how often, after putting my +hand to the plough, I had looked back. My backsliding, my evil example, +my neglect of souls, all rose before me like a dark cloud, and I was in +agony. But soon a voice said, 'Thy sins are forgiven!' and all was +light. I said, 'Lord, I must praise thee for this forever; but I cannot +forgive myself.' Yet, though the pains of death were on me, I was +comforted to be nearer the land where they sin no more. Earthly +pleasure now seemed emptiness. The pleasures of heaven filled my +thoughts. I said, 'Is this death--that which we poor mortals fear?' My +friends asked, 'Has he no terrors for you?' 'No; none. The king of +terrors is to me the chief of joys.' One of my teachers said, 'So you +have no fear of him--no sorrow that your body shall lie in the grave!' +'Why fear or sorrow, when Christ has overcome both death and sin?' My +father then asked, 'Do you suffer much'?' 'Yes; but if I suffered a +thousand times more, what would that be to those bitter hours upon the +cross. This veil must be rent asunder, though by suffering, before I +can see Him, whom, even now, I long to behold.' My poor mother +interposed, 'But are you willing to leave us?' 'You are all very dear +to me; but there is only one who is altogether lovely. When shall I see +him as he is, and be filled with his love?' + +"It was now difficult to speak, but I could bid my friends farewell. I +could thank my dear teachers for telling me of Christ, and ask their +forgiveness for all I had ever done to grieve them. As my weeping +mother wiped the cold sweat from my brow, she gently whispered, 'Where +is my child going?' 'Mother,' I replied, 'your poor sinful child is +going to that Saviour who has been willing to receive her.' His rod and +staff then comforted me, till I had passed quite over into the blessed +land. And, as I was borne on in my Saviour's arms, voices cried, +'Welcome, dear sister; you are now made whole--you shall sin no +more--enter into rest.' Mortal tongue cannot tell what I now saw of the +treasures which Christ has prepared for the redeemed. He gave me a +mansion he had made ready for me, and I found myself gazing on the +brightness of the Father's glory. What a change had come over me! I was +among those without spot, for they had been made white in the blood of +the Lamb. Their voices were one, for all praised the Lord. Now the +glory of the Ancient of Days filled me with awe. He sat upon a throne +of light, with seraphim on the right and cherubim on the left, and I +could read the foundations of his throne. Legions of bright angels and +happy saints were around him. I fell down with them to worship at his +feet, when he touched me and raised me up, saying, 'Thou art blessed, +for thou art redeemed with the blood of my Son.' Then he clothed me in +a heavenly robe, and bade all heaven rejoice, saying, 'This my child +was dead, and is alive again, and is saved from everlasting +destruction.' + +"He then revealed to me more fully that mystery of ages--the Redeemer +standing on the right hand of the Father. He stood with open arms, +saying, 'Come, daughter of my bitter grief, come in peace. I remembered +thee on the cross. For thee I drank that cup of agony; thy curse has +rested on me, that everlasting joy might dwell in thee.' As he thus +spoke, I fell down to worship, and when I looked up, my eyes rested on +his pierced hands and wounded side. Tears filled my eyes when I +remembered that my sins had caused them; but they were tears that Jesus +wiped away. + +"When I saw the book of remembrance at his side, I thought, there is +the record of my sins; but he opened it, saying, 'Fear not; from the +day thou first camest to me, they have been blotted out.' He then held +out to me the Book of Life, bidding me to read my name recorded there, +and added, 'Ages hence, in the great day of account, the world shall +know that I have saved thee; and as thou hast not denied me before men, +I will confess thy name before my Father and before his angels; enter +into the full joy of thy Lord; inherit the kingdom, prepared for thee +from the foundation of the world.' Then all the blessed ones cried, +'Amen.' Their harps were tuned to a new song, and they praised the +living God that another soul was rescued from the great adversary. A +crown was also placed upon my head, that, with the saints, I might cast +it at the feet of the Redeemer. + +"Afterwards I was led to our first parent, now for more than five +thousand years in Paradise, but not walking amid forbidden fruit. +Still, when he stretched out his hand to the tree of life, he seemed to +remember that first sin, and to thank God more than others for the +healing of the nations. His bright face glistened with a tear as he +took my hand, saying, 'Heir of my fallen nature, welcome to this +inheritance of the second Adam;' and I learned that tears are always +wiped from that face when Christ brings home his fallen children. + +"As I turned, I saw the great company of the patriarchs, perfect in +holiness, and clothed in light. Faithful Abraham was there, his faith +changed to perfect sight, and rejoicing in his spiritual children. The +meek Moses was there, adoring the Prophet whom God raised up from the +midst of Israel like unto him. And I beheld Isaiah, satisfied with the +eternal sight of the glory of which he had a glimpse on earth. +Jeremiah, too, was no more weeping for the slain of the daughter of his +people, and all the holy prophets were clothed upon with immortality, +and praising their Beloved with holy lips. + +"While I stood gazing, on them in wonder, my thoughts reverted to my +former state. What a glorious change, from a world of sin to a world of +holiness--from sinful friends to the Friend of sinners. How different +these sweet sounds of praise from the rude sounds of earth! I am +receiving my reward for every bitter tear of penitence I shed on earth; +an age of joy is before me. Who am I, that I should be raised from +companionship with sin to the society of heaven? My soul at length is +at rest. But how? Not as rests my poor body in the grave, but in +blessedness; for I rest from sin, but not from praise. I rest from +suffering, but not from everlasting joy. How sweet to rest, while not +ceasing to cry, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty! I rest in +the bosom of my Saviour. My prayers are turned to praise, and my love +is perfect. + +"While these thoughts filled my soul, I thanked the Lord with a new +song on the golden harp that had been placed in my hands, singing with +a loud voice, 'What is my worthiness, O eternal King, that thou hast +made me to walk in thy pilgrimage, while millions are shut out from it?' + +"Now a company of the holy ones led me through a street of pure gold, +to where the river of water of life proceeded out of the throne of God. +They showed me the hidden manna, and the tree of life yielding its +twelve fruits, and leaves for the healing of the nations; and beyond, I +saw a great company of martyrs who had been slain for the word and for +the testimony of Jesus Christ. They stood beneath the altar, for they +were living sacrifices. They were clothed in white, and wore crowns of +glory on their heads, and they sang hallelujah to him who had been +slain for them, and made them kings and priests forever in his kingdom. + +"While thus wandering among those holy mansions, I met a spirit crowned +with honor,--Mary, the mother of our Lord. She was specially delighted +at seeing me, saying, 'How glad I am that you, from that erring people +who trust in me, have found the right way to this blessed place! Are +there other sisters of like faith, who believe in the only Mediator?' +When I told her that there were, she embraced me, and led me where I +could see the twelve apostles of the Lamb. They were all seated round +their Master, just as they used to be on earth; but no more debating +who should be greatest, for now they ascribed all greatness to their +King, and dwelt in perfect love. Among them I saw Peter, zealous still, +but with a holy zeal. I heard him ask, 'How long shall those precious +souls, redeemed by thy blood, be led astray? May I not fly on the wings +of love, and destroy that city of blasphemy on the seven hills, that +the glory may be thine?' But Jesus looked on him with an eye of love, +and said, 'Simon, son of Jonas, the time is not yet come.' Then Peter +only replied, 'Lord, thou knowest. Thy will be done.' + +"While in this joyful state, I walked in the green pastures of life. I +went round about the holy city, and counted its towers. They were all +of purest gold, and built with skill divine. I looked from the top of +one of them, and beheld the sea of glass, and also caught a glimpse of +the abyss, enough to see that the enemies of our God were all beneath +his feet. I could see some, once my friends among them; but I could +say, 'Holy and just art thou, O Lord God; and O, wonderful grace, that +has made such as I to differ.' + +"But while thus filled with praise, and delighting myself in that ocean +of love, I awoke, yet only to say, 'Blessed are the dead that die in +the Lord.' Dear friends, let us cleave to Christ on earth, until he +plants our feet on the Mount Zion above." + +The next composition was written by Nargis, of Geog Tapa, in 1852. It +is an account of Hannah, the mother of Samuel, and gives a very good +idea of the Bible knowledge of the pupils, and their interest in +Scripture themes. The allusions to the condition of Nestorian families, +illustrate, and are illustrated by, the statements of Chapter I. + +"About three thousand years ago, the family of Elkanah dwelt on the +hill of Zophim, in Palestine. He was a just man, and one that feared +God. According to the custom of those days, he had two wives, Peninnah +and Hannah. Let us turn our thoughts to Hannah, for every memory of her +is pleasant. She had no son, on whom she could look as a staff of joy +for her old age. Yet Hannah had a worthy portion in the love of +Elkanah, which flowed unceasingly like a crystal stream. Why was she +thus loved? We believe because of the lovely spirit which she had +received from that gentleness of the eternal Son which maketh great; +and, like him, her voice was not heard in the streets. Instead of the +contentious temper of the women of this age, we find in her a meek and +quiet spirit; instead of pride, humility; and instead of anger, +patience; she was kind, pleasant, and abounding in other graces. Shall +not such a woman be praised? + +"Now Elkanah took his family to Shiloh, to worship and feast before the +Lord. But the envious Peninnah so grieved Hannah that she could neither +eat nor drink. Soon, however, she heard the sweet tones of her +husband's voice. Was it not like an angel's? saying, 'Hannah, why +weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? Am +I not better to thee than ten sons?' When she heard that she arose and +ate. Love was rewarded by love. She would not grieve Elkanah. Unlike +many in our day, she was obedient to her husband, yielding her will to +his, and clothed with humility. They were not only one flesh, but one +spirit; and they walked together in the valley of love to that world +where love is made perfect. Now, after she had shown her love by +partaking of the feast,[1] may we not suppose that she arose and +whispered to Elkanah to know if he would approve of her intended vow; +and did he not reply, 'Your vow is mine.' Then did she not seek a +corner of the court where she might pray? Radiant spot, where Hannah +communed with God! herself a bright light among the women of that age. +There, in bitterness of soul, she wept before the Lord, and obtained +his blessing. She believed that God would grant her request, as he saw +best, and gave back her expected son to the Lord to be his forever. +Here was true faith. She left all with God; and though, like her +Saviour, she prayed the more earnestly: still her voice was not heard. +But we hear the voice of Eli: 'How long wilt thou be drunken?' 'O Eli, +Eli, why speak to her thus? She was of thy flock, and thou shouldst +have distinguished her from other women round about her.' [Footnote 1: +In Oriental families, anger is shown by refusing to eat, sometimes for +several days.] + +"Bright star of that generation! Blessed art thou among the daughters +of Levi. The moving of thy lips is like the voice of the dove. There +was a blessing in thy mouth, like the olive leaf of Noah's dove, that +told of rest from the tossings of the flood; for thy request was about +to give rest to the millions of Israel. Blessed art thou, daughter of +Zion. Thou soughtest not a son for thy own glory, but for the glory of +thy God. + +"What a prayer was Hannah's! It brought a deliverer and a prophet to +Israel, an intercessor and a preacher to the people of God. May the +daughters of Hannah and the sons of Elkanah be multiplied among our +people. She is a mirror into which we may look, to learn how to forsake +our evil ways. Let us, like her, build up the kingdom of our Lord Jesus +Christ. + +"Her prayer finished, Hannah returned to her house. Her sorrow was now +turned into joy, and her happy face was like the opening rose of the +morning. No wonder she was joyful. The will of the Lord was her will, +and what evil could befall her? Blessed Israel, that contains such a +praying soul. + +"Time passes on, and the answer to that prayer is a beloved son. The +grateful mother calls him Samuel--'God heard.' Her full heart could +give no other name to this child of prayer. She would remember ever, +Not mine, but God's. And now the childless one folds in her arms a +child of the covenant. New joy fills the heart of Elkanah. Their son +was new to them every day; yet not alone as theirs, but His who +answered prayer. + +"The time now draws near for them to go again to Shiloh. The happy +father does not forget God in his mercies. He appears before the Lord +with his thank offering;--a noble example to us. He asks Hannah to go +with him: not in a voice of harsh command, but in love he said, 'Will +you go?' and it was, doubtless, a gentle voice that answered, 'Not now, +for then I must bring Samuel back with me. He is too small to leave; +but when he is weaned, I will bring him, that he may appear before the +Lord, and there abide forever.' The good Elkanah was satisfied, saying, +'Only the Lord establish his word;' for he had not forgotten the vow. +So the happy Hannah remained at home another year, and taught the child +as a mother only can. + +"When the time came to go up again to Shiloh, Samuel was probably three +years old. That praying mother did not say, 'He is small; let him stay +with me one year longer.' No! With her whole heart she carried him to +the house of the Lord, to abide there; and she went not up empty, +saying, 'It is enough that I give my son;' but in the three bullocks we +find the burnt offering, the sin offering, and the peace offering, and +in her son the first fruits besides. She was ready to say, 'In all +things I am a debtor to the Lord.' + +"Nor did she come in pride of spirit, saying to Eli, 'You called me +drunken, while offering a prayer that God hath heard;' but in all +humility she accosts the aged priest, saying, 'I am the woman that +stood by thee here, praying;' and then, leading forward the child, 'for +this child I prayed, and the Lord hath given me my petition, and I have +lent him to the Lord.' We seem to see little Samuel approaching Eli +reverently; and then turning those speaking eyes to his mother, he +says, 'Is this my father, of whom you told me, and with whom I am to +live?' 'Yes, my child, he will be your father.' And now Eli places his +hand upon the head of Samuel, saying, 'Blessed art thou, son of a true +daughter of Levi. The Lord bless thee, and make thee a prophet of the +Most High.' + +"Hannah worships, and returns to her home. Her little son asks not to +go with her; for he has been taught that he is the Lord's, and is to +abide in Shiloh. What a blessing are praying mothers, training their +children for God! + +"Still she does not forget the Lord's Samuel. Every year she goes up to +Shiloh, with her husband, and as often does she carry for the little +prophet a coat, made by a mother's loving hand. She did not say, like +some of our mothers, 'If he is in the school of the prophets, let the +prophets clothe him;' but she clothed him for the Lord's service, and +he comforted Eli as he was never comforted by his own children. Will +our mothers follow the example of Hannah? Should a voice come from the +mountains to-day, calling for preachers, would they give their sons to +go and save the lost? Blessed are those mothers who give their sons to +be soldiers of the cross; who, like Hannah, lead the way to the throne +of grace, and serve God in their households. + +"The Lord helped Hannah to pray, and he helped her to write that +beautiful song. Her words are golden and full of wisdom. It is fitting +to call her a mother in Israel. Deborah sat as judge, but Hannah gave a +judge and teacher to the people of God. Both were bright stars, but +where is the people on whom they shone? The chosen people are +scattered. Deborah, perchance, sleeps under the oak of judgment, and +Hannah on the hill of Zephim. We love to think that her son stood by +her dying bed to thank her for all her prayers and instructions, and +see her reverently gathered to her people. + +"We leave thee, mother of the holy prophet. Thou hast passed through +this valley of humiliation. Thy works follow thee, and thy God hath +crowned thee with glory and honor. Sweet singer of Israel, sing on in +heaven, for with thy Saviour thou canst never sorrow more. Who will +rise among us to carry forward the kingdom of our Christ? Such as honor +the Master here, he will honor when mothers in Israel see their sons +made kings and priests unto the Lord forever." + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + + +KIND OFFICES. + +HOSPITALITY OF NESTORIANS.--KINDNESS OF PUPILS.--BATHING FEET.--LETTERS +OF GOZEL, HANEE, SANUM OF GAWAR, MUNNY, RAHEEL, AND +MARTA.--HOSHEBO.--RAHEEL TO MRS. FISKE.--MOURNING FOR THE +DEAD.--NAZLOO.--HOSHEBO's BEREAVEMENT.--DEATH OF MISSIONARY +CHILDREN.--LETTER FBOM SARAH, DAUGHTER OF JOSEPH. + +The foregoing pages have told something of the change that grace has +wrought among women in Persia. Let us now look at some points in that +change more carefully. + +The Nestorians are noted for their hospitality. Kindness to strangers +is regarded as a part of their religion; and if, after bringing out the +choicest of their stores, it is said, even in a strange language, "How +can I eat this?" or, "Who could endure a dish like that?'" the words +may be unintelligible, but not so the look and tone of the speaker. Yet +even such treatment often only calls forth additional efforts to +please. A stranger may not relish some of their dishes. Yet a spirit of +kindness would be careful not to let this appear. In the Seminary, the +pupils studied how to please, even in the folding of a table napkin; +and the kind-hearted steward was perfectly delighted when reminded that +the pains he took in the preparation of a meal was so much service to +Christ, because it strengthened his servants to labor for him. + +The girls were very kind to each other. When any one was sick, her +companions not only readily performed her share of domestic work, but +nursed her tenderly besides. If their teachers were ill, they coveted +the privilege of attending them by night and by day. It may comfort +some timid one to know, that in Oroomiah Miss Fiske never had a +missionary sister with her by night in sickness; not that they were +backward to come, but the services of the pupils left nothing to be +desired. It did good like a medicine to see those girls, once coarse +and uncouth, showing even kindness in a way offensive to refined +feelings, now move with noiseless step, anticipating every wish. They +sought to conform every thing to the home tastes of their teachers; and +yet there was nothing of that show of effort that says, "See how much +we do for you." They seemed to feel that they could not do too much, or +do it well enough. If Miss Fiske was exhausted and feeble during the +day, they might say nothing at the time, and not trouble her even to +answer a question; but when they supposed she was ready to retire, +there would be a gentle knock on the door, sometimes on more than one +door, and then, with a "Teacher, you looked tired to-day. Shall we come +in and bathe your feet? The water is warm, and every thing ready," +their loving service would not cease, till every thing was in its +place, and they had put out the light after she retired. + +Woman, there, as in the days of our Saviour, still bathes the feet of +the guest whom she wishes to honor. And sometimes, when stooping over +them, she rubs them gently with her loosely-flowing hair--not as a +substitute for a towel, but as a token of kindly welcome. This +privilege belongs to the oldest daughter of the family; and the custom +once liable to perversion, now shines with new beauty, as the +expression of Christian love. He who once accepted the service in his +own person, will hereafter say, to many a daughter of Chaldea, +"Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye +did it unto me." + +Their tender sympathy with the afflicted was not confined to their own +household. In January, 1857, Miss Fiske was absent at Seir, assisting +in taking care of Mr. Stoddard in his last illness; and from a number +of letters written to her, at that time, by her pupils, we select the +following:-- + +JANUARY 1st, 1857. + +Many of your flock have observed this as a day of fasting and prayer; +and all have looked on it as a blessed day. The pleasant voice of +prayer has been heard during all its hours, and it seems as if the +Saviour was about to come among us with great power. I trust that he +will work in many hearts by the Holy Spirit. We greatly desire to have +you here; but again, with all our hearts, we wish you to do for the +sick one whom we love. Yes, if each pupil were to write to you, all +would say, we wish you to remain, and do all you can for him; and may +he be raised up again to labor for our poor people. Give our love to +Mrs. Stoddard, and tell her we are glad to have the one we greatly +love, with her at this time. + +Your daughter, GOZEL. + +JANUARY 2d, 1857. + +My heart is drawn towards you all the time; but I thank God that he has +given you strength to do for our beloved brother Mr. Stoddard. I am +very much distressed when I think of him, and can only say, "The will +of the Lord be done." I greatly desired to hear your voice yesterday. +It was indeed a blessed day. Give my love to Mrs. Stoddard, and though +it is hard for her to bear these bitter pains, tell her to try to trust +the Lord of our beloved brother. + +Peace be to you, HANEK. + +The next is written by a graduate, who was then on a visit at the +Seminary:-- + +JANUARY 3d, 1857. + +I cannot tell you what great anxiety and anguish I have for Mr. +Stoddard. He has won my whole heart by taking so much pains for my dear +companions, and particularly for Elisha. I did not think he would be +taken from us. This trial seems to me heavier than losing Elisha and +Jonathan (her children, who died by poison), for it is not only a loss +to his dear family, but also to this band of stranger missionaries, and +a dreadful desolation to our poor people. May the Lord see how great is +the harvest, and how few the laborers. I cannot write more; my eyes +fail because of my tears. Give my tenderest love to dear Mrs. Stoddard. +I know her sorrows in such trying days; would that I could help her. + +From your truly afflicted pupil, + +SANUM. + +The following was written the day after the death of Mr. Stoddard, +which took place the 22d of January, and refers to that sad +occurrence:-- + +JANUARY 23d, 1857. + +What bitter intelligence comes to us these days!--the taking away of +those who carried us in the arms of love to the blood-stained cross of +Christ. Truly, my mother, these afflictions fall very heavily on our +heads. The guides of our souls are cut off from us. What shall we do? + +Dearly loved sister Mrs. Stoddard, sorrow and mourning are ours. There +is hope that you will soon meet the ornament of your life. But in his +school and in ours are those for whom there is no hope that they will +ever see him. Wounded sister, blessed is the heavenly pilgrim who has +spent his life in a strange land, and been a well of living water to +many thirsty souls. I know this separation is bitter to you; but there +is consolation for you, for it is not eternal. But what shall I say of +our poor people? + +O, how much more than any of you knew we loved that dear brother. It +was a quarter past three o'clock this morning when your letter reached +us (Miss Fiske's). I handed it to Miss Rice, and never saw such a +bitter night except that in which my father died. I did not sleep till +almost dawn; and when I slept, I saw the loved one standing in Miss +Rice's room, his face shining like the morning star. Both his hands +were raised to heaven, when suddenly he stooped and looked in my face. +I said, "O, you are not dead!" He answered, "No!" and I cried aloud, +"O, Mr. Stoddard is not dead!" and my own voice awoke me. How favored +those of you are who see the face of our beloved friend! + +MUNNY. + +Still later, she writes to her teacher, who was again at Seir, during +the sickness of Harriette Stoddard, whose death occurred March 16th, +1857. + +Though it is a time of anguish, yet, blessed be God, he has given us +One to whom we may look for comfort. A thousand thanks to the Saviour +that he does not chastise us by taking away the Holy Spirit. Though the +discipline is bitter, yet it is mingled with love, in that the Lord +comes by death among his own, and by his Spirit to those who have not +known him, that he may make them his own also. What grief would the +lovers of the Lord have, if you now sat by the bedside of a sister of +whom we had no evidence that her heart was purified by a Saviour's +blood? If you are so distressed about one whom you trust your Father Is +taking to rest in the bosom of his Son, how would you feel if she were +one of those who, as soon as the breath left her body, would dwell with +everlasting burnings! How thankful we should be that it is not the bed +of one of these! + +I have never seen such a trying year; but I do not believe it is for +the harm of those that fear the Lord. It only fulfils the promise, +"Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth." O that the gentle voice of Jesus +might be heard, whispering, "Daughter, I say unto thee, arise!" Who +knows but, if our faith were as Christ would have it, he would call +this sister back to life, though now so near to death! But your Father +knows what is for your good, and you know that here he often gives +anguish to those who love him, that they may be exceedingly joyful with +him hereafter. The Lord grant that these afflictions do not harden our +hearts. + +I have conversed and prayed with all the younger girls, save two. +Eleven say that they are resolved to follow Christ; but I fear lest the +vineyards and the cotton fields do not testify hereafter that they have +walked with God. It is very pleasant to me to sit down by them and ask +them of their state. + +Yesterday (Sabbath) was a delightful day, but it seemed very short. The +Lord help us in our weakness, and cause the dark clouds to rise from +all your friends. The God of consolation heal the wounded spirit of +your poor sister, Mrs. Stoddard. I have never seen the death of the +righteous--only by hearing have I heard of it. The Lord be with you +more and more. + +MUNNY. + +Others, written during the same period, are as follows:-- + +Sorrower for us, who hast also become as a stranger to us!--Now we know +your anxious love for us. We have no doubt that He who directs not +according to man's thoughts has directed you to be away from us much +this year. We had thought that it would be a very pleasant year; but +the Lord has ordered it as he pleases, and let us say, "His will be +done." We know that he does all for our profit. What a comfort this is +to us who have given our all to the Saviour to do with us as he will! + +It is very hard to look at your vacant place; but we thank God it is +not made vacant by death. Though not with us in body, we believe that +you are, in spirit, and we rejoice that you can do as few can, for the +sick. The Lord be with you, who are the second in anguish, and +strengthen your weak body. The prayer of your pupils is ever for your +life. We have no words with which to comfort you; we can only say, "The +Saviour, with whom you are better acquainted than we are, give you +comfort." + +What can we say to you, dear Mrs. Stoddard, who are shrouded in a cloud +that is very dark? We know it is very hard for you to look on the great +vacancy that is made in your dwelling. But do trust in the Lord; he +will bring light out of darkness. We feel for you, plunged in a sea of +sorrow, in the deep places of sighs. Our eyes are every hour upon the +door, expecting what we shall hear from Harriette; and our prayer is, +that if it can be the Lord's will, she may be brought back to you; but +every letter increases our anxiety. We understand not the Lord's +dealings this year, except this: we know that he does all things for +the profit of our souls. + +RAHEEL. + +MARTA. + +The writer of the following was at that time a teacher in the Seminary, +and a striking illustration of the elevating power of a good education. +Formerly a female who was either lame or deformed was so despised, that +she could never hope to be the head of a family: she was doomed to drag +through a miserable life, the object of universal neglect. But Hoshebo, +though a fall in early youth had shattered her ankle, and the ignorance +of native surgeons made her a cripple for life, yet because of her +education was as much esteemed as before she would have been despised, +and is now the wife of Meerza, our native helper at Saralon. Miss Fiske +might have filled up her school with such, but, with a wise foresight, +selected her pupils with an eye to their future usefulness among the +people, as well as their own personal advantage. + +When I understood from Miss Rice, that you would not meet your loved +flock next Sabbath, I felt that I could not let all your absence pass +without giving you an account of my charge. I have been sitting with +them, as I do every Saturday evening, to search out their spiritual +state; and I have good news to tell you of one for whom you, and also +others, have been very anxious--Esli, of Takka. I noticed her changed +all this week; but last night I saw a great breaking down under Mr. +Cochran's preaching. She came out in anguish of soul. I then saw her +alone, and found her contrition still increasing. I know this is not +evidence that she has passed from death unto life; but I rejoice that +she is visited by the Holy Spirit, and I trust she will become a +Christian. I am anxious for her and for all the girls of my room. I +look for the gentle shower that shall make the withered plants like the +fresh springing grass. Though you are absent, we know well that you +carry every one of your flock in the arms of love to Him who can do all +things, whether you are far away or near to us. The girls send up many +petitions for Harriette. We fear much when we recall your former going +to Seir. How glad should we be to hear of indications that she will +recover. Peace and love to Mrs. Stoddard. + +Your affectionate + +HOSHEBO. + +More than a year after this, Miss Fiske left Oroomiah, and at Salmas, +on her way home, met her dear pupil Sanum, the wife of Joseph. Having +no other place for devotion, they retired together to an orchard for +the parting prayer. In a subsequent letter, Sanum thus beautifully +alludes to it:-- + +"O, the remembrance of that bitter separation! and of those prayers, +when the green grass was watered with our tears! How could I have borne +it, but for the recollection of Him who prayed and wept in the garden +of Gethsemane, and whose kneeling upon the tender grass was for the +comfort of our souls!" + +The gratitude of the pupils to their teacher extended also to her aged +mother. Seldom have they written a letter to Miss Fiske, in America, +without its message of kind remembrance to the parent who gave up her +daughter, as Hannah gave up Samuel, to be the Lord's; and several wrote +letters to her separately. From among these we select the following, +written by Raheel (Rachel), of Geog Tapa, Sept. 10th, 1859:-- + +MY DEAR GRANDMOTHER HANNAH: Though I have never seen you, yet I must +write to you, for I love all Miss Fiske's friends as I do my own, and +especially yourself. I want to thank you for all your love to me. +Blessings have thus reached me which were not given to my early +sisters. When it was a great reproach for a girl to learn to read, God +had mercy on us in that he poured such love into your heart as made you +willing to send your daughter eight thousand miles, by sea and land, to +show our people the great mystery that had been previously hidden from +their eyes--that there is salvation for women. They used to dwell much +on those words of Solomon, "One man among a thousand have I found, but +a woman among all these have I not found;" but now they see their +mistake, and that Christ died for women also. Many thanks for your +patience all these years. I know something of it from the feelings of +my own mother, for if she did not see me for five months during term +time, she would mourn that she had not seen her daughter for so long. + +It was certainly a sacrifice for Christ to come into this world, and +deny himself; and it was also a sacrifice for the Father to send his +Son, when he knew all the sorrows and wounds there were in the cup +which he was to drink in this world of sin. + +You will see your daughter much changed from what she was fifteen years +ago; but I am confident that when that day comes, which will be longer +than any day we have seen in this world,--when He whom the Jews could +not bear to hear called king, shall sit upon his throne, judging the +world,--then all troubles, sorrows, and separation from friends will +appear to the Christian as the small dust of the balance; and I think +that it will especially seem so to you, when you see a band of +Nestorian girls on the right hand of the Redeemer, whom you, through +your daughter, were the means of bringing there. Yes, justly might they +have been left to dwell with Satan forever; but instead of that, they +will have joyful life with Christ in his kingdom. + +I can never repay your love; but there is one so rich that he can give +you what man cannot, and I ask him to reward you in heaven. + +Is there another Miss Fiske in your country? We can hardly believe it. +I hope that I shall see her again, but it is difficult for me to expect +it. + +It is very pleasant for me to write to friends, and especially to my +own dear mother, Miss Fiske. I should never be weary if I wrote to her +every day; but I thought that this time she would like to have me write +to you, and I trust that you will live to receive it. + +Please give my love to Martha, and also to Mrs. Stoddard and Sarah, and +tell them that our hearts are with them. + +From your granddaughter, whom you have not seen, + +RAHEEL. + +No reader of the Bible needs any description of Oriental mourning for +the dead. The rent garments and sackcloth (2 Sam. iii. 31), loud +weeping and wailing (ver. 32), protracted lamentation as for Jacob +(Gen. 1.10 and 11), and for Moses (Deut. xxxiv. 8), and the hired +mourning women (Jer. ix. 17, and Matt. ix. 23), were to be found +nowhere in greater perfection than among the Nestorians. It is very +difficult for us, in this land, to realize the force of such habits; +but it required much grace to break over them; and even now, when the +Christian heart grows cold, it is apt to return to the old ways. One +day, in 1845, the whole school were going to attend a funeral. When the +time came, one of the pupils requested to be excused. "Why? are you +sick?" "No." "Why not go, then?" "I do not wish to tell." But another +said, "May I tell you alone?" "It will be a great shame if we do not +all weep. We all think we can do it but Sarah, and we are afraid her +tears will not come; and so, lest she bring reproach upon us, we do not +want her to go." The heart of the teacher sunk within her, as she found +that she was about to lead a company of mourning women to the funeral. +She asked them how they could make themselves weep. "O, when we go to +such places, we call to mind all the sad things we ever knew, and so we +weep; but if the tears do not come, we leave very quickly." + +But grace has wrought a great change in this matter also. In the +journal of Yonan, we find the following entry: "At the close of +afternoon service, I had a Bible class with the women: this was +followed by a prayer meeting. Then Munny came to see me: she has buried +a little child recently. It is a matter of joy to me, that these women +can lift up their eyes and see their children with the dear Saviour, +and feel that they have treasures in heaven. I asked her, 'Did you ever +do any thing for your little girl that you remember now with +gratitude?' 'Many times I carried her with me to the stable, and knelt +with her upon the straw in the manger, to ask blessings on her.' +'Christ was in the manger, and perhaps there your daughter was +consecrated to him.'" + +In another place, we find him asking Esli,--the wife of Joseph, of whom +he had just said, "Her little daughter has died recently, and her heart +is broken,"--"When your child died, did you weep and wail as your +people do?" and she answered, "No." + +Nazloo, of Vizierawa, a pupil who hoped she took Christ for her Saviour +in 1849, and graduated in 1853, within less than a year after her +conversion was summoned to the death-bed of her uncle; and scarcely had +she returned to her studies before she was called to the bedside of her +father. For three days she watched with him incessantly, by day and by +night. Those who were present were greatly moved by her tender care of +him. During the whole of his sickness, she never failed to improve +every opportunity to point him to Christ. Even to the last, she begged +him to look to the Lamb of God and live. And when he died, with his +head resting on her hand, though she had no evidence that her efforts +were successful, her wonderful calmness, under so severe a stroke, led +many to feel that she possessed a source of consolation to which they +were strangers. But her cup was not yet full. A few days passed, and +she hastened once more to her afflicted home, to find her mother +entering the dark valley. Others wept aloud, but she pointed the dying +one to Jesus; and supporting her in her loving arms, she seemed to +plant her feet in the cold waters of the river of death, and commit her +departing mother into the hands of Him who could bear her safely to the +other side. So sensible was her mother of the benefit she and hers had +received from the school, that when the teacher came in, she beckoned +her to her side, and said, with difficulty, "God is not willing I +should be a mother to my daughters any longer. I commit them to you: +they are yours." She soon fell asleep, as was hoped, in Jesus. After +this, Nazloo was in the school most of the time till her marriage. As a +teacher, no one could have been more faithful: her religious experience +was very marked, and she labored wisely for souls. She still lives to +show how God can make grievous afflictions yield the peaceable fruit of +righteousness in his people. + +In this connection, we cannot omit another letter, written by Hoshebo +to her teacher, in 1860, on the death of her son Absalom. It is dated +Saralon, where she and her husband Meerza reside. + +DEAR MOTHER: I received your letter just before I received a bitter +stroke from the never-erring hand of my heavenly Father. Many thanks +for your loving remembrances of me. I cannot reward you for one of a +thousand of the good things that you have shown me, so unworthy. I have +many thoughts of you, and of those pleasant days that we passed +together in that blessed school. I am very sad when I think that +perhaps I may never, in this house of my pilgrimage, see your face, +which makes others to be exceeding glad. + +Dear mother: like a daughter distressed, who would find a little rest +by falling into the kind arms of her mother, I come to tell you what +has pierced the heart of your poor child. It is true that you are so +far from me that I cannot lean on your kind breast, and let you lead me +in prayer to the Father who has afflicted me; but with a feeling like +that I write you. Beloved, you used to write me that I must take good +care of my dear and tender babe, Aweshalom. Perhaps I did not fully do +as you told me. But one thing I know: the Lord, who loves little +children, was not willing that I should keep him. And I believe that he +will take better care of my dear child than I could. You must know that +I am deeply wounded and crushed by the death of Aweshalom. My tears +cease not. His first birth was October 14, 1858; his second and +spiritual one, April 23, 1860. His life with us was a pleasant one, and +he made our lives very sweet and delightful; but now he has gone to +heaven, while we remain on the earth. He lives the new life, while we +die daily. He is strong, while I am weak. He has grown beautiful, in +the light and image of the Saviour, while I am pining away. If you have +heard what a child he was, you will not wonder at my sickness since his +death. My husband is greatly afflicted in the death of this, our first, +our only child. We find no comfort except in casting our wounded souls +at the feet of the Saviour, who was tempted that he might heal our +wounds. It seems, sometimes, as if our comforters were far from us; but +our Saviour is very near to help and comfort. + +Our work has been as last year. My husband has taught in the Seminary +at Seir, coming here to preach on the Sabbath. I have taught a school +of eighteen boys and girls here. Before vacation, my babe sickened, and +rested in Jesus. Since that time, I have had fever, and am still very +weak. + +Five in the village, besides ourselves, are communicants. My father and +brother are among them. I trust that my mother and brother's wife will +soon unite with us. The work of the Lord in the village goes forward +better than formerly. I try to talk and pray with the women alone, and +they are more ready to have me do it, which makes me to rejoice in the +Lord. + +Give my loving peace to my dear grandmother Hannah. Though with the +eyes of this mortal body we have not seen each other, nor have I any +hope that we shall, the Lord her God help me, that we may meet on the +blessed hill of Zion above. I believe, my mother, that you will +remember your weak, unworthy lamb, when you bow before the throne of +mercy and grace. Perhaps this is the last letter you will receive from +me, for death seems very near. Receive loving peace from the priest +[her husband]. + +Your true daughter, + +HOSHEBO. + +Jesus has seemed to be almost bodily present, taking up these lambs in +his arms; and the mothers have not feared, for they felt sure that +under such a Guardian it was well with their children. + +Perhaps bereaved missionary mothers In Persia do not realize how much +their patient suffering has done for their poor Nestorian sisters. The +short lives of those twenty missionary children, who lie in Persian +graves, were a precious offering to Christ. They were all missionaries, +and did not go home till their work was done. Each one had a place to +fill among the instrumentalities employed by the Master to promote his +kingdom in Persia. There was no waste in the breaking of those +alabaster boxes of precious ointment. Nestorian parents looked on, to +learn how to lay their children into the arms of Jesus, and become more +Christ-like themselves. No years of mature toil have been more blessed +than the years of those thus early called home; and in this truth their +bereaved parents may find abundant consolation. There are influences +too deep and silent to be fully understood; but they are none the less +real and powerful; and the mother who to-day misses the little feet, +the loving eyes, and the pleasant voice, which God had lent to gladden +her earthly home for a season, may rejoice in the assurance that her +loving submission to a Father's hand is teaching a lesson to the people +whom she loves, such as they could never learn from words. + +During the revival of 1846, a little child of Dr. Perkins died; and as +the missionaries laid it away, in the hope of a glorious resurrection, +it helped them to point others to him who is the Resurrection and the +Life. It was buried on a snowy Sabbath day, and the faces of the young +converts, who stood in silence around the grave, showed that to them +the associations of death were no longer fearful. Turning away from the +cemetery, Mr. Stoddard, feeling that he could not be separated from +those young disciples even in death, said, "Do you not hope that you +shall rest here to rise with these to everlasting life?"[1] Little did +they who heard him know how soon that cemetery at Seir would become +more sacred as his own resting place. [Footnote 1: See Nestorian +Biography, page 242.] + +Before leaving this topic, we insert a letter from Sarah, daughter of +Joseph, a former pupil in the Seminary, and the oldest of four sisters. +The death of little Deborah seemed to draw her heart very closely to +her Saviour, and she now sleeps by her side, doubtless understanding +better the meaning of those arms of love that here she believed "folded +her little sister in his own bosom." + +"What word of fitting love can I write, and how tell you what God has +done? We are afflicted, for he has taken from us our dear little +Deborah. She was only two years and seven months old. We mourn; and yet +are comforted; for we know that He who loves little children has taken +her into his own arms, that we may love him more and better praise his +glorious name. She did not leave us to go to a stranger. The dear +Saviour, we think, has made her happier than we could; and now we dwell +much on this scripture, 'Prepare to meet thy God.' Deborah was very +sick, and suffered much; but when she died, there was a pleasant smile +on her little face. Then she rested from sorrow, and Jesus folded the +little Iamb in his own bosom." + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + + +PROGRESS AND PROMISE. + +BENEVOLENCE, EARLY MANIFESTATION OF.--PROGRESS.--REVIVAL OF BENEVOLENCE +IN APRIL, 1861.--INTEREST OF PARENTS FOR THE CONVERSION OF THEIR +CHILDREN.--PEACE IN FAMILIES.--REFORMED +MARRIAGES.--ORDINATIONS.--COMMUNION SEASONS.--MISS RICE AND MISS +BEACH.--CONCLUSION. + +The pupils were early trained to form habits of self-denying +benevolence. In 1844, the day scholars made as many as fifty garments +for poor children. Early in 1845, when some mountaineers came to beg +money for their ragged children, the question was put, "Who will give +her own clothes and wear poorer ones till she can make others." Many +responded at once, and she who gave her best dress was deemed the most +happy. Some even wept because they could not do the same. In a letter +written December, 1848, the pupils say, "The last day of the term was +monthly concert. We had a good time of prayer, and then a collection, +which went up to thirty-two sahib korans--(seven dollars.) We hope this +will be increased, and used for sending the gospel to the poor people +of the mountains." + +They were accustomed to devote several hours a week to sewing for some +benevolent object. At the close of one term the articles thus prepared +were sold for sixteen dollars, and the proceeds sent to Aintab to pay +for teaching women there to read. + +The same virtue was assiduously cultivated in the people. Deacons John +and Yonan had for some time been urged to take up a collection at the +monthly concert at Geog Tapa, but they dared not try; not that they did +not wish it, but they feared that the people, in their poverty, might +take offence at the innovation. At length, on the first Sabbath of +1852, John preached on the subject, and a few korans (worth twenty +cents each), were contributed. The first Sabbath of February it was +Yonan's turn to preach there. So he prepared himself thoroughly on this +subject,--Miss Fiske had read with him the prize essays on Benevolence, +published by the American Tract Society,--and, carrying his map into a +crowded church, he spoke at some length about missions in various parts +of the world. His account was well received. Then Bibles were +distributed through the church, and the readers were called on to read +passages previously selected, showing, first, the antiquity of +benevolent contributions; secondly, that the poor were to give as well +as the rich; and thirdly, that the blessing of God was promised to the +benevolent. The readers were scattered all over the church, and the +people listened with great attention. Then several spoke on the +subject, and the elders of the village gave the work their hearty +approval. Afternoon came, and as the time for meeting drew near, old +and young were eagerly engaged in getting ready their contributions (in +Geog Tapa the monthly concert is held on Sabbath afternoon), and as +many as two hundred came together. There were remarks and prayers, and +while the missionary hymn was being sung at the close, the collection +was taken up, amounting, in money and cotton yarn, to more than fifteen +korans. One sick boy, who had heard what was going on, rose from his +bed, and crept in to deposit his little coin. Instead of spending their +saints' days in idleness, as had been the custom, many now wrought on +those days to earn money for giving, saying to objectors that it was +better to labor for the spread of the gospel than to be idle for Satan. +Mr. Stoddard attended the March concert, with some idols from India, +and so interested the people that the collection amounted to more than +twenty-five korans, thus the good work went on. + +After this the spirit of benevolence steadily increased, and instances +of marked self-denial were not wanting. It shows at once their poverty +and their disposition to do what they could, that at the monthly +concert a basket was passed round along with the contribution box, to +receive eggs from the little children and such as were too poor to give +any thing else. Crosses of ivory or silver were often found among the +contributions. + +One day, a man was seen to take a silver coin out of his purse; and as +the missionary went on to describe more of the condition of the heathen +world, a second and a third was taken out, and held in readiness for +the collection. At another time, a woman, whom she had not seen before, +asked for a private interview with one of the ladies of the mission; +and when alone, besides requesting prayer that she might become a +Christian, she took out a gold ornament, the only one of any value that +she possessed, which had been handed down as an heirloom in her family +for several generations, and said she wanted to give that to send the +gospel to others, only no one must know who gave it. The ornament was +sold for four dollars and fifty cents, and the woman, in less than a +year, became a useful Christian. Sometimes the amount of interest might +be measured by the number of silver coins manufactured into buttons +that were found in the contribution box; for when their feelings were +aroused, the women cut off the fastenings of their outer garments, and +cast them into the Lord's treasury. + +But the most remarkable revival of benevolence occurred in April, 1861; +and we condense the following account of it from a long letter of Yonan +to Miss Fiske and Mrs. Stoddard:-- + +"The prayers and tears of our missionary friends have, this winter, +received a joyful reward from our Father in heaven. We were told that +the first week in January would be devoted by all Christians to prayer +for great things, and my heart was never so enlarged before. It seemed +as if Persia, nominal Christendom, and all the heathen were under the +power of prayer; as if the Christian's measuring-line was stretched +round the four corners of the earth. One day the missionaries met, as +usual, for prayer in Dr. Wright's large room. It moved me much, and I +said to my companions, 'They are praying for us while we are idle.' +They said, 'It is good that we spend this half hour in prayer every +day.' We did so. On the Sabbath, I went to my village, Geog Tapa, and +mentioned these things to the people at the evening meeting. The Lord +opened the mouth of Abraham, who said, 'Brethren, in these places we +are always idle--let us meet for prayer half an hour before sunset.' +They did so. The clouds over our heads seemed loaded with blessings: +still they did not descend. Mr. Cobb and Mr. Ambrose had talked with me +about commencing in our village to support preachers in the mountains. +So did Mr. Labaree last week. I told him of our poverty. He said, 'I am +grieved for that; but begin with some little thing.' + +"We went to Geog Tapa the last Sabbath in March. John gave notice, as +it was the gospel Sabbath, [monthly concert is so called], of the +contributions for our brothers in India. In his sermon he said that +much of our poverty is from our indolence. Last year our collection was +fifteen tomans. [A toman is about two dollars.] If we had more zeal, we +might raise twenty, and that would support a preacher in the mountains. +At once Guwergis cried out, 'I will give one.' I said, 'We will support +one preacher and two schools among ourselves, and if any thing is over, +we will send it far away.' Priest Abraham approved of this. Then all +the brethren in the congregation began to speak. 'So is good.' 'Thus we +will do.' John would have stilled them; but I said, 'Perhaps God is +blessing your preaching; let them speak.' Praised be God's name +forever; in a moment every obstacle was swept away. Had we known that +God was so near, we would have bowed our heads before him. Now Aib Khan +cried, 'I give one toman;' and 'I,' said Priest Moses, 'twelve korans;' +and another, 'I two monats.' [A monat is seventy-five cents.] Moses now +took out his pencil to write. The Malik said, 'I have often thought +that I would put a gold imperial in the box [four dollars and fifty +cents]; write that.' I then said, 'My family of eight souls hear +preaching all the year, and three or four attend school. I am a debtor; +write for me three tomans--it is not too much.' When God pleases, +excuses flee away; high prices and oppression were not thought of; we +were lords of wealth. Moses then said, 'I am troubled that I remain to +the last; but we are three brothers in company, and I know not whether +they will act through me, or each one for himself.' One brother cried +out, 'Our agent and I, five korans more.' Another man then said, 'I +also am at a loss on account of my brother;' and his brother replied, +'Four monats.' These things made brotherly love very firm. Guwergis now +cried out, 'Women, where are you? In the wilderness women gave their +brazen mirrors.' I said, 'Holy women, to-day ends fifteen years of the +prayers of Christianity among us. Speak!' [It was fifteen years since +the revival in 1846.] One replied, 'I half a monat;' and 'I a +head-dress;' 'I a silver ornament;' 'I my earrings;' and so on. A widow +said, 'I have kept my husband's coat till now; I will sell it, and give +half the price.' And others made similar responses. Isaac, a poor old +mountaineer, gave two korans; and another said, 'I have nothing but the +mat I sit on: I give that.' It was a new one he had just finished. A +mother said, 'I have nothing now, but I will give the work of my hands +this winter--a tope [ten yards] of cotton cloth.' A pilgrim said, 'When +I was in Jerusalem, an Armenian and a Russian bid against each other, +and the Russian prevailed, giving five hundred tomans to the Greek +convent. If they had such zeal for error, we ought to have more for the +truth.' And one unaccustomed to come to church gave the fruit and +prunings of fifteen rows in his vineyard. [The prunings of the vines +are sold for fuel.] We were in the church about four hours. Time was +given for all to contribute, and then we spent a season in joyful song +and pleasant prayer. + +"The report of what had been done spread quickly through the village, +and my mother-in-law sent word that she would give a hundred and +twenty-eight pounds of raisins. At evening meeting, the house was full. +Benjamin said, 'Brethren, the teacher of our school was one day +explaining the verse, "Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that +treadeth out the corn;" and Mr. Stoddard, who stood near, added, "But +the Nestorian oxen eat from the straw of America." That word has worked +in my heart ever since. I trust that, hereafter, we will eat our own +straw.' That night we lay awake a long time for joy. In the morning, +before I was up, my uncle and his wife came and promised a load of +wheat [five bushels]; and when passing through the village, a woman put +an ornament in my pocket to sell for the cause. + +"Monday we came to the city for the gospel day [the concert is held +there on Monday], and every one who met us remarked our glad faces. In +the meeting, after Mr. Coan spoke, John opened a bundle of the gifts, +and Moses described the scenes of the day before. I said, 'One toman +led to sixty in our village yesterday: perhaps it will lead to hundreds +more. Many times the good in the heart of the Christian comes up into +his mouth, and then goes back; but when the power of God prevails, it +not only comes into the mouth, but comes forth and abounds.' Priest +Moses arose, and said, 'As long as a man is sick, it is no shame if he +does not walk; but if the blood walks well in his veins, and he becomes +fat, and still lies in bed, every one reproaches him. We have grown +fat; and how long shall we lie under the quilts?' Priest Yakob added, +'For twenty-five years we have said, "Let the Lord go before;" and now +that he has come, let us wait no longer, but give.' He gave two tomans, +and others followed. Mar Tohanan's wife gave a toman of ornaments, and +almost every girl in school from one koran to three or four. Isras, of +Degala, gave fifteen tomans and a new vineyard that he had recently +bought. Guwergis, who had already proposed to plough the field the +second time, now rose, and opening his hand, said, 'If a man thrust his +hand into a pile of gold, and give of it to God, is it a great thing +when He has filled his hand with the blood of his Son, and given it to +us?' Sagoo,[1] of Gulpashan, said, 'My father gave each of my two +sisters thirty tomans. When Hannah died, hers became mine. I give it +for the bride's veil; [The kingdom of Christ is here spoken of as the +bride], also a silver watch.' One who had only two or three sheep +promised one of them. My little girl, Sherin, had asked, a few days +before, for a new dress. She now sent word to me that she would do +without it for a year, if I would give the money for the gospel. I +cannot fully describe the spirit of the meeting: we went out wondering +and congratulating each other at having witnessed such a pleasant +sight. At the evening meeting one said, 'I heard in the market what you +were doing; I give a gun, the price of which was seven and a half +tomans.' Some gave for themselves, and others for their wives and +children. Moses gave four monats for his brother's children. There were +tithes and sixths, fifths and fourths, thirds and halves, of crops of +hay and grapes. Priest Abraham said, 'We say a thief will never own a +house. Did you ever see one that had wealth? We are thieves, and +therefore are so poor. We have robbed God. I will give a tithe of my +vineyard.' Another replied, 'And I of every thing.' And a man, who had +before given one quarter of his vineyard, now gave the half. A widow, +who had nothing but a cow, pledged a hepta [four pounds] of butter. A +poor man, who has a few fruit trees in his yard, promised ten heptas of +apricots. Guwergis spoke up, 'We have butter: what shall we cook in it +for the bride?' A woman answered, 'I give four heptas of rice;' to +which her husband added two. [Footnote 1: See page 209.] + +"Mar Elias now kissed us much; he put nineteen korans into John's hand, +saying, 'As yet I have not grown indifferent.' And Mar Yohanan said, +with tears, 'The crown of the bride remains for me. I give thirty +tomans.' + +"In our village, besides the tithes, seventy tomans were collected, and +in the city two hundred and fifty. I hope the whole will go up to five +hundred or more. I stand amazed. I can think nothing but, 'I am a +miserable sinner.' The glorious God has gone before us in mercy. For +two or three years our village was going down; we were at variance and +in trouble; but Immanuel has met us with a blessing, a hundred fold +beyond our expectation. It is the beginning of a great work for future +generations. I know that the joy of heaven is awakened in the joy of +blessed Mr. Stocking and Mr. Stoddard. I want to fly to them and talk +with them about it, but this veil does not allow it. You, too, will +want to fly to the people that are so dear to you. I trust that this +pouring out of such a spirit will be the door of many blessings. We +have had a scarcity for seven years, so that wheat is six times its +former price. Our people are poor and sorely oppressed. From the depths +of their poverty they have given: I never knew them before. If all were +Christians, what might we not see? Perhaps the poor widows and orphans, +who have contributed for our good, have been discouraged; but truly +their gifts have not been sown in vain among our people. I believe at +the last day you will see fruit according to the word of Jesus--thirty, +sixty, and a hundred fold. The time is not far off when every converted +Nestorian will go to ten Mussulmen to teach them the word of God. + +"Pray for us more than ever, for many are the enemies of Nehemiah and +ruined Jerusalem. Our hope is in God. He has begun, and he will finish." + +The pledges then made have since been fulfilled, with very few +exceptions, and that not regretfully, but with a heartiness truly +affecting to those who knew their poverty. In July, 1861, the mission +resolved to furnish no teacher for a school--except in new +villages--where a part of his support was not assumed by the people. +The Barandooz congregation, in the spring of 1862, cheerfully assumed +the burden of their schools; and some have also expressed a readiness +to aid in the support of their pastors. A number of pupils, in both +Seminaries, contribute liberally towards their support. + +In bringing to a close these glimpses of the changes wrought by grace +among the Nestorians, we must not pass by the number of pious parents +who now aid the missionaries by their prayers. While, in the early days +of the Seminary, its teacher was left to pray alone for her pupils, +before she left, in 1858, she rejoiced to know that two thirds of them +had either a pious parent, or other member of the family, who prayed +for their salvation. + +One cold morning, in 1856, a pious mother walked three miles through +the snow, to inquire if there was any interest in the school. "Why do +you ask?" replied the teacher. "I have thought of you continually for +two or three days; and last night, after falling asleep, thinking about +you, I dreamed that God was visiting you by his Holy Spirit. So, when I +awoke, I arose and baked, and hurried here. I am so anxious about my +daughter! Can I see her?" She was told that her daughter was among the +inquirers the evening before, and sank down where she stood, weeping +for joy. The heart of the teacher grew strong in the feeling that the +mothers were wrestling with her. The mother passed into an adjoining +room to see her daughter; and a missionary brother, who came in just +then, could not restrain his tears as he listened to her earnest +intercessions, saying, "This is more to me than any thing I have seen +in Persia." After that year, some parents, when they came to the +Seminary, were never willing to leave till they had prayed with their +children. A father once wrote, "Yesterday I invited some Christian +friends to my house, and had three prayers offered for the school; and +while praying for you, we felt our own sins very much, and cried to God +to save us from their power." + +Nor were the pupils wanting in interest for their impenitent parents. +During the long vacation in 1850, Hanee, who used to spend several +hours a day in prayer for her mother, so pressed her with entreaties to +come to the Saviour, that one day she roughly replied, "Enough! Enough! +Stop your praying and weeping for me: you will weep yourself blind." "O +mother," was the beautiful reply, "it seems as though I would gladly +become blind, if thereby you might be brought to Jesus." + +Perhaps the effects of grace were nowhere more conspicuous than in the +effects it produced in those great households already described. Let us +first look in on the hinderances they occasioned to a life of piety. +Yonan writes, in his journal of March 7, 1858, "Widow Hatoon is a +devout woman, and tries to erect the family altar in her house; but it +is very difficult. She often collects the readers in the neighborhood +on Sabbath morning, to read the Bible with her family. I asked her, 'Do +you pray with your children? They have no father; they are left in your +hands, and God will require them of you again.' 'I do; but I find it +very hard in our house: we are all in one room, our beds very near each +other, and there is no separate chamber: when about to retire, I gather +them together behind a quilt, and talk and pray with them.'" + +Again he writes, "Hatoon, the wife of Sarhoosh, is a member of a large +family. Three of the women in the house, and one of their husbands, +fear God; but the older members of the household are very wicked, and +even violent in their opposition. She is much troubled about family +prayer. While the devout ones engage in worship at one end of the room, +the rest, at the other end, talk, laugh, and revile." + +Yet, even in such households, grace reveals its divine power. We find +Yonan putting this question to a communicant: "Do you and M. live +pleasantly together?" M. was her sister-in-law, in a household of more +than thirty souls. "She is a little quick tempered," was the reply; +"but I try not to trouble her, and to have our love perfect that we may +be a good example to the rest." Yonan prayed with her, and asked if he +could do any thing for her relatives. "Dear brother in Christ," she +replied, "in the name of the Lord Jesus, our precious Saviour, I beg +you to pray with my husband: it maybe God will bless him." "My sister, +God will bless him: this your anguish shall be turned into joy." "My +own heart was moved," adds the narrator. "I saw my own love very +little, compared with hers, and felt my unworthiness very much." + +The change in their social condition was beautifully illustrated by a +little incident in the Seminary, in 1849. One of the older pupils had +been betrothed; but when the ring of betrothal was brought, to be +placed on her finger, she could not be found. After long search, her +gentle voice was heard in the most retired part of the building, +imploring the blessing of God to abide with her in that new relation. +Only those who had seen the rioting and folly common on such occasions +could appreciate the change. + +The marriage of Mar Yohanan, in 1859, was a step in the work of lifting +up woman to her true position. Formerly, marriage had been deemed +something too unholy for a bishop; and the consequence was the general +degradation of the sex. The entrance of the gospel corrected public +sentiment on this point; and that act of the bishop only gave +expression to the popular conviction that marriage is honorable in all, +even the highest and holiest, nurturing some of the loveliest graces of +the Christian character. The event for a time caused some stir among +the enemies of the truth; but it soon died away, and the old ascetic +views of piety are passing away with the social degradation in which +they had their origin. + +About the same time Yohanan, whom we have seen laboring in the +mountains with his estimable wife, was ordained to the work of the +ministry without any of the mummeries that had been added to the simple +usage of the New Testament; the venerable Mar Elias uniting with the +missionaries in the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. Two +months later, six more of the most pious and best educated young men, +who had long deferred ordination through aversion to the old forms, +followed his example; among them our mountain friend Oshana, Deacon +John, of Geog Tapa, and Deacon Yakob, of Sapergan. Marriage ceremonies +and entertainments have long been improved, and the revelling of former +days on such occasions is going into deserved disuse among the more +enlightened. + +In the year 1858, the people of Memikan left off keeping their fasts, +on the ground that they tended to nullify salvation by grace through +Jesus Christ. Formerly this would have brought down on them, the wrath +of the patriarch, their village would have been devoted to plunder and +the torch, and themselves to death or exile; but now it caused scarce a +ripple on the current of events--not that men did not see the drift of +things, but they allowed it to have free course. + +There is another sign of the times that calls for more special mention. +Other missions in Western Asia had been forced by persecution to the +early formation of churches. They had to provide a fold for the lambs +driven from their former shelter. Here there had been no such +necessity; yet the converts longed for a more spiritual observance of +gospel ordinances. + +The mission had hitherto celebrated the Lord's supper by themselves, +and with one or two exceptions, no Nestorian had witnessed its +observance. There had been some thought of admitting them; but nothing +had been done, till, in the spring of 1854, three of the converts, who +had been reading an English treatise on the subject, asked one of the +ladies of the mission to intercede with the gentlemen to allow them to +be present. She informed Mr. Stoddard of their request, and he +encouraged them to go forward. The matter was laid before the mission, +and it was concluded that a few of those judged most fit for admission +to the ordinance should be invited to partake. + +The first communion to which the converts were admitted was celebrated +in September, 1854, in the large room on the lower floor of the Female +Seminary. Eleven Nestorians partook with the missionaries, and three of +them were women, who had graduated there. After the service, some of +the men went up stairs and sat down without speaking. Miss Fiske, not +knowing the cause of their silence, and fearing lest they might have +been disappointed by the simplicity of our forms, did not venture to +allude to the subject, till one of them asked, "Is it always, so when +you commune, or was this an unusual occasion?" "Why, did you not enjoy +it?" "Not enjoy it! Jesus Christ himself seemed almost visibly present; +it was difficult to realize that it was not the Saviour in person who +presided at the table. It must have been just such a scene when the +ordinance was first instituted in Jerusalem; and I could not get rid of +the inquiry, 'Shall one of us go out like Judas and betray him?'" It is +a significant fact that those most accustomed to mediaeval forms, when +regenerated by the Spirit, relish them the least; and the more +spiritual they become, the more they crave the simple forms of the New +Testament, because they draw the least attention to themselves, and fix +it most completely on the Saviour. + +In January, 1855, as many as seventy of the converts, after careful +examination, were allowed to partake; and once every four months the +privilege was renewed, with an accession of from twelve to thirty +communicants each time. These were occasions of unusual interest. +Several days were devoted to religious meetings, and even in midwinter +pious people made long journeys, and crossed bleak mountains on the +snow, to attend them. One woman, Hoimar, of Salmas,[1] travelled sixty +miles, through deep snow and piercing cold, to be present at this +ordinance in January, 1858. [Footnote 1: See page 171.] + +In June of that year, the better to distinguish those entitled to this +privilege, before the sacrament all entered together into solemn +covenant with God. The whole number received up to that time was two +hundred and forty-nine; at the close of 1861, it had swelled to five +hundred. As the meetings became too unwieldy, and it was inconvenient +for so many to come so far, the ordinance was administered at Seir +also, in September, 1858; and here providentially another end was +secured, for as Dr. Wright was then too sick to distribute the +elements, some of the natives had to perform that service. In June +following, a very interesting communion was observed at Memikan; +Yohanan and his wife crossing a high mountain, even then covered with +snow, to bring their little child for baptism. Next year, the ordinance +was celebrated in every village where there was a sufficient number of +hopeful converts to justify its observance. Thus has God led his +people, step by step, in a way that they knew not, till now there are +all the essentials of a church at every place where God has raised up +members of the body of Christ. They enter into covenant with him and +with each other. They keep his ordinances, and grow in grace, in +knowledge, and in numbers. They may take one step farther. Since this +last sentence was written, the converted Nestorians have proceeded even +to the adoption of a creed and directory for worship. + +Did the limits of this volume allow, it would be pleasant to dwell at +length on the labors of Miss Mary Susan Rice, who joined Miss Fiske in +November, 1847, and has ever since toiled diligently, and without +interruption, at her post. Since the return of Miss Fiske she has +entered into all her labors, both thoroughly and successfully. Her +fifteen years of toil will never be forgotten by those who have been +privileged to receive her instructions, both in and out of the +Seminary. They form an important part of the instrumentalities God has +employed to bring woman in Persia to the knowledge of her Saviour. A +mass of her correspondence now lies before the writer, which he has +read with much interest; but to quote from it would only be, +reproducing scenes already portrayed. It is not necessary to describe +the laying of each course of brick in the walls of the spiritual temple. + +One sentence, however, now arrests my eye, which I must quote, because +it shows how the Saviour was preparing her for the sole care of the +school, that has devolved on her ever since, owing to the protracted +illness of Miss Aura J. Beach, who was sent out to her assistance in +February, 1860. Writing to her predecessor, three years ago, she says, +"O, what a relief to roll the burdens, which we cannot bear, upon the +strong arm outstretched to help, and feel that, like sinking Peter, we +shall be sustained amid raging billows!" + +Labor among the Nestorians is becoming more assimilated to labor at +home. Instead of the national peculiarities conspicuous at the outset, +different from our own, and prominent because so different, things +begin to move in familiar orbits, because they set out from similar +conditions and tend to like results. In proportion as the gospel +advances in its work, the distinguishing characteristics of a people +fall into the background, to give place to those spiritual features +common to the work of grace in every land. The river is most +picturesque high up among the mountains, while its stream is yet small +and many obstacles oppose its course; after it glides out from among +the hills into the open plain, it moves with larger volume, but in a +more monotonous current, to the sea. + +May the work of God advance, till this unity of all nations in Jesus +Christ shall every where replace the diversity and hostility under +which to-day creation groans, till in the placid surface of such a +river of life the Saviour shall see his own image reflected, as it is +from the sea of glass above! + + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Woman And Her Saviour In Persia, by +A Returned Missionary + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WOMAN AND HER SAVIOUR IN PERSIA *** + +***** This file should be named 8699-8.txt or 8699-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/8/6/9/8699/ + +Produced by Charles Aldarondo, Tiffany Vergon, and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Woman And Her Saviour In Persia + +Author: A Returned Missionary + +Posting Date: August 20, 2012 [EBook #8699] +Release Date: August, 2005 +First Posted: August 2, 2003 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WOMAN AND HER SAVIOUR IN PERSIA *** + + + + +Produced by Charles Aldarondo, Tiffany Vergon, and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + + + + + + + +[Illustration: PLAIN OF OROOMIAH, FROM THE SEMINARY AT SEIR.] + + + + +WOMAN AND HER SAVIOUR IN PERSIA. + +BY + +A RETURNED MISSIONARY. + + +With + +Fine Illustrations, and a Map of Nestorian Country. + + + + +PREFACE. + +Our Saviour bade his disciples gather up the fragments, that nothing be +lost; and many who have known of Miss Fiske's fifteen years of labor +for woman in Persia, have desired her to prepare for publication the +facts now presented to the reader. The writer was one of these; and it +was only when he found that she could not do it, that he attempted it, +in accordance with her wishes, simply that these interesting records of +divine grace might not be lost. + +The materials have been drawn from the letters and conversations of +those familiar with the scenes described, and especially from Miss +Fiske. In all cases, the language of others has been condensed, as much +as is consistent, with the truthful expression of their ideas; and, in +the translation of the letters of Nestorians, it has not been deemed +essential to follow slavishly every Syriac idiom, for, instead of these +letters owing their interest, as some have supposed, to their +translators, they may have sometimes rather suffered from renderings +needlessly idiomatic. + +It was at one time proposed to embrace the history of both the Male and +Female Seminaries, but the proposition came too late, and the memoir of +the lamented Stoddard gives so full an account of the former, that now +we need to hear only the story of its less known companion; but let the +reader bear in mind that as much might have been said of the one as of +the other, had the design been to give an account of both. + +A strict adherence to the order of events in the following pages would +have produced a series of disjointed annals. To avoid such a breaking +up of the narrative, each subject has been treated in full whenever +introduced, though that has involved a freedom somewhat independent of +chronological order. + +The notices of the revivals are mere incidental sketches. Their +complete history remains to be written. + +The beautiful Illustrations introduced are all new, copied from +sketches taken on the spot by the skillful pencil of a dear missionary +brother, whose modesty, though it will not consent to the mention of +his name, yet cannot prevent a grateful sense of his kindness. The Map +is an improvement on others previously published, and, besides adding +to our geographical knowledge, will be found valuable to the friends of +missions. + +If the readers of these pages enjoy but a small part of the delight +found in their preparation, the writer will not regret his undertaking. +May the day be hastened when heaven shall repeat the hosannas of a +regenerated world, even as now the abundant grace bestowed upon the +Nestorians redounds, through the thanksgiving of many, to the glory of +God. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +CHAPTER I. + +WOMAN WITHOUT THE GOSPEL. + +POLITICAL CONDITION.--NESTORIAN HOUSES.--VERMIN.--SICKNESS.--POSITION +AND ESTIMATION OF WOMAN.--NO READERS AMONG THEM.--UNLOVELY +SPIRIT.--SINS OF THE TONGUE.--PROFANITY.--LYING.--STEALING.--STORY +ABOUT PINS.--IMPURITY.--MOSLEM INTERFERENCE WITH SEMINARY. + + +CHAPTER II. + +MARBEESHOO. + +VISIT THERE.--NATIVE ACCOMMODATIONS.--HOSPITALITY OF SENUM.--MOHAMMEDAN +WOMEN. + + +CHAPTER III. + +THE SCENE OF THE NARRATIVE. + +NESTORIANS.--THEIR COUNTRY.--FRONTISPIECE.--LAKE.--PLAIN.--FORDING THE +SHAHER.--MISSION PREMISES IN OROGMIAH. + + +CHAPTER IV. + +MISSIONARY EDUCATION. + +OBJECT.--MEANS.--STUDY OF BIBLE.--PUPILS KEPT IN SYMPATHY WITH THE +PEOPLE.--PEOPLE STIMULATED TO EXERTION AND +SELF-DEPENDENCE.--TAHITI.--MADAGASCAR. + + +CHAPTER V. + +BEGINNINGS. + +MRS. GRANT.--EARLY LIFE AND LABORS.--GREAT INFLUENCE.--HER SCHOOL.--HER +PUPILS.--BOARDING SCHOOL.--GETTING PUPILS.--CARE OP THEM.--POVERTY OF +PEOPLE.--PAYING FOR FOOD OF SCHOLARS.--POSITION OF UNMARRIED MISSIONARY +LADIES.--BOOKS. + + +CHAPTER VI. + +THE SEMINARY. + +MAR YOHANAN.--STANDARD OF SCHOLARSHIP.--ENGLISH BOOKS READ IN +SYRIAC.--EXPENSE.--FEELINGS OF PARENTS.--DOMESTIC DEPARTMENT.--DAILY +REPORTS.--PICTURE OF A WEEK DAY AND SABBATH.--"IF YOU LOVE ME, LEAN +HARD."--ESLI'S JOURNAL.--LETTER FROM PUPILS TO MOUNT HOLYOKE +SEMINARY--FROM THE SAME TO MRS. C.T. MILLS. + + +CHAPTER VII. + +VACATION SCENES. + +IN GAWAR AND ISHTAZIN.--VILLAGES OF MEMIKAN.--OOREYA, DARAWE, AND +SANAWAR.--IN GAVALAN.--ACCOMMODATIONS.--SABBATH SCHOOL. + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +EARLY LABORS FOR WOMEN. + +FIRST MEETINGS WITH THEM.--FIRST CONVERT.--FIRST LESSONS.--WILD WOMEN +OF ARDISHAI. + + +CHAPTER IX. + +FRUITS OF LABOR IN NESTORIAN HOMES. + +USEFULNESS AMONG RELATIVES OF PUPILS.--DEACON GUWERGIS.--REFORMED +DRUNKARD AND HIS DAUGHTER.--MATERNAL MEETINGS.--EARLY INQUITIES FROM +GEOG TAPA.--PARTING ADDRESS OF MR. HOLLADAY.--.VISIT TO GEOG +TAPA.--SELBY AND HER CLOSET. + + +CHAPTER X. + +GEOG TAPA. + +DEACON MURAD KHAN IN 1846.--PENTECOSTAL SABBATH IN 1849.--MEETINGS IN +1850 AND 1854.--EXTRACTS FROM JOURNAL OF YONAN IN 1858. + + +CHAPTER XI. + +REVIVAL IN 1846. + +PREPARATORY WORK.--SANCTIFIED AFFLICTIONS.--NAME FOR REVIVAL.--SCENES +IN THE SEMINARIES IN JANUARY.--DEACON JOHN, SANUM, AND SARAH.--MR. +STODDARD.--YACOB.--YONAN.--MEETING IN THE BETHEL.--PRIEST +ESHOO.--DEACON TAMO.--PHYSICAL EXCITEMENT AND ITS CURE.--ARTLESS +SIMPLICITY OF CONVERTS.--MISSIONARY BOX.--MEETINGS BEFORE +VACATION.--MR. STODDARD'S LABORS.--FEMALE PRAYER MEETING.--REVIVAL IN +THE AUTUMN. + + +CHAPTER XII. + +FIRST FRUITS. + +SARAH, DAUGHTER OF PRIEST ESHOO.--MARTHA.--HANNAH. + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +SUBSEQUENT REVIVALS. + +DEACON JOHN STUDYING BACKSLIDING IN 1849.--WORK IN VILLAGE OF +SEIR.--WIVES OF SIYAD AND YONAN.--KHANUMJAN.--WOMEN AT THE +SEMINARY.--GEOG TAPA.--DEGALA.--A PENITENT.--SIN OF ANGER,--REVIVAL IN +1856.--MISS FISKE ENCOURAGED,--STILLNESS AND DEEP FEELING.--UNABLE TO +SING.--CONVERSION OF MISSIONARY CHILDREN.--VISIT OF ENGLISH +AMBASSADOR.--REVIVAL OF 1857.--LETTER OF SANUM. + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +DARK DAYS. + +SEMINARY BROKEN UP IN 1844.--DEACON ISAAC.--PERSECUTION BY MAR +SHIMON.--FUNERAL OF DAUGHTER OF PRIEST ESHOO.--DEACON +GUWERGIS.--ATTEMPT AT ABDUCTION OF PUPIL.--PERIL OF SCHOOL.--MRS. +HARRIET STODDARD.--YAHYA KHAN.--ANARCHY.--LETTER FROM BARILO. + + +CHAPTER XV. + +TRIALS. + +EVIL INFLUENCE OF HOMES.--OPPOSITION IN DEGALA.--ASKER KHAN.--POISONING +OF SANUM'S CHILDREN.--REDRESS REFUSED.--INQUISITOR IN SCHOOL.--TROUBLES +AT KHOSRAWA.--LETTERS FROM HOIMAR. + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +PRAYERFULNESS. + +LANGUAGE OP PRAYER.--PRAYER ON HORSEBACK.--OLD MAN IN SUPERGAN.--MAR +OGEN.--EARNESTNESS.--FAREWELL PRAYER MEETING IN 1858.--LETTER FROM +PUPIL.--SPIRIT OF PRAYER IN 1846.--WOMAN WHO COULD NOT PRAY,--"CHRIST +BECOME BEAUTIFUL."--CLOSET IN THE MANGER.--MONTHLY +CONCERTS.--PRAYERFULNESS IN 1849 AND 1850.--SABBATH, JANUARY +20TH.--INTEREST CONTINUED TILL CLOSE OF TERM.--FAMILY +MEETINGS.--AUDIBLE PRAYER.-ANSWER TO MOTHERS' PRAYERS.--CONNECTION OF +REVIVALS WITH PRAYER AT HOME. + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +FORERUNNERS. + +MOUNTAIN GIRLS IN SEMINARY.--PRAYING SARAH.--RETURN TO THE +MOUNTAINS.--VISIT OF YONAN AND KHAMIS, IN 1850.--OF MR. COAN, 1851.--OF +YONAN, AGAIN, 1861.--SARAH'S LETTERS. + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +LABORERS IN THE MOUNTAINS. + +LETTER OF BADAL.--ACCOUNT OP HANNAH.--THE PIT.--LETTER OF GULY AND +YOHANAN.--ACCOUNT OF SARAH.--LETTERS OF OSHANA.--LETTERS AND JOURNAL OF +SARAH,--LETTERS FROM AMADIA,--CONFERENCE OF NATIVE HELPERS. + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +EBENEZERS. + +EXAMINATION IN 1850.--COLLATION AND ADDRESS.--VALEDICTORY BY +SANUM.--SABBATH SCHOOL IN GEOG TAPA.--EXAMINATION THERE IN +1854.--PRAYER MEETING AND COMMUNION AT OROGMIAH, MAY, 1858.--SELBY, OF +GAVALAN, AND LETTER.--LETTER FROM HATOON, OF GEOG TAPA. + + +CHAPTER XX. + +COMPOSITIONS. + +THE FIELD OF CLOVER.--THE LOST SOUL.--THE SAVED SOUL.--HANNAH. + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +KIND OFFICES. + +HOSPITALITY OF NESTORIANS.--KINDNESS OF PUPILS.--BATHING FEET.--LETTERS +OF GOZEL, HANEE, SANUM OF GAWAR, MUNNY, RAHEEL, AND +MARTA.--HOSHEBO.--RAHEEL TO MRS. FISKE.--MOURNING FOR THE +DEAD.--NAZLOO.--HOSHEBO'S BEREAVEMENT.--DEATH OF MISSIONARY +CHILDREN.--LETTER FROM SARAH, DAUGHTER OF JOSEPH. + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +PROGRESS AND PROMISE. + +BENEVOLENCE, EARLY MANIFESTATION OF.--PROGRESS.--REVIVAL OF BENEVOLENCE +IN APRIL, 1861.--INTEREST OF PARENTS FOR THE CONVERSION OF THEIR +CHILDEREN.--PEACE IN FAMILIES.--REFORMED +MARRIAGES.--ORDINATIONS.--COMMUNION SEASONS.--MISS RICE AND MISS +BEACH.--CONCLUSION. + + + + * * * * * + +_List of Illustrations._ + +I. PLAIN AND LAKE OF OROOMIAH, AS SEEN FROM ROOF OF SEMINARY AT SEIR + +II. MAP OF THE NESTORIAN COUNTRY. + +III. FEMALE SEMINARY. + +IV. TENTS. + +V. MISSIONARY SCENE IN TURGAWER. + +VI. COURT YARD OF SEMINARY. + +VII. SEIR GATE, OROOMIAH. + +VIII. TIARY GIRL. + + + + +WOMAN AND HER SAVIOUR. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + +WOMAN WITHOUT THE GOSPEL. + +POLITICAL CONDITION.--NESTORIAN HOUSES.--VERMIN.--SICKNESS.--POSITION +AND ESTIMATION OF WOMAN.--NO READERS AMONG THEM.--UNLOVELY +SPIRIT.--SINS OF THE TONGUE.--PROFANITY.--LYING.--STEALING.--STORY +ABOUT PINS.--IMPURITY.--MOSLEM INTERFERENCE WITH SEMINARY. + +We love to wander over a well-kept estate. Its green meadows and +fruitful fields delight the eye. Its ripening harvests make us feel as +if we too were wealthy. But while the view of what lies before us is so +pleasant, our joy is greater if we can remember when it was all a +wilderness, and contrast its present beauty with the roughness of its +former state. + +So, in viewing the wonders of divine grace, we need to see its results +in connection with what has been. We can appreciate the loveliness of +the child of God only as we compare him with the child of wrath he was +before. Paul not only recounts the great things which God had done for +the early disciples, but bids them remember that they were once without +Christ; and before he tells them that God had made them "sit together +in heavenly places in Christ Jesus," he reminds them that they had +"walked according to the spirit that now worketh in the children of +disobedience." + +In seeking, then, to set forth the great things which God has done for +woman in Persia, let us first look on her as his gospel found her, that +we may better appreciate the grace which wrought the change. + +We can understand the condition of woman in that empire only as we bear +in mind that its government is despotic, and that no constitutional +safeguards shield the subjects of a thoroughly selfish and profligate +nobility. The Nestorians, too, are marked out alike by religion and +nationality as victims of oppression. However great their wrongs, they +can hope for little redress, for a distant court shares in the plunder +taken from them, and believes its own officials rather than the +despised rayahs, whom they oppress. Even when foreign intervention +procures some edict in their favor, these same officials, in distant +Oroomiah, are at no loss to evade its demands. + +The Nestorian is not allowed a place in the bazaar;[1] he cannot engage +in commerce. And in the mechanic arts, he cannot aspire higher than the +position of a mason or carpenter; which, of course, is not to be +compared to the standing of the same trades among us. When our +missionaries went to Oroomiah, a decent garment on a Nestorian was safe +only as it had an outer covering of rags to hide it. [Footnote 1: The +bazaar is, literally, the market, but denotes the business part of a +city.] + +In their language, as in Arabic, the missionaries found no word for +_home;_ and there was no need of it, for the thing itself was wanting. +The house consisted of one large room and was generally occupied by +several generations. In that one room all the work of the family was +performed. There they ate, and there they slept. The beds consisted of +three articles--a thick comfortable filled with wool or cotton beneath, +a pillow, and one heavy quilt for covering. On rising, they "took up +their beds," and piled them on a wooden frame, and spread them down +again at night. The room was lighted by an opening in the roof, which +also served for a chimney; though, of course, in a very imperfect +manner, as the inside of every dwelling that has stood for any length +of time bears witness. The upper part of the walls and the under +surface of the roof--we can hardly call it ceiling--fairly glitter, as +though they had been painted black and varnished, and every article of +clothing, book, or household utensil, is saturated with the smell of +creosote. The floor, like the walls, is of earth, covered in part with +coarse straw mats and pieces of carpeting; and the flat roof, of the +same material, rests on a layer of sticks, supported by large beams; +the mass above, however, often sifts through, and sometimes during a +heavy rain assumes the form of a shower of mud. Bad as all this may +seem, the houses are still worse in the mountain districts, such as +Gawar. There they are half under ground, made of cobble stones laid up +against the slanting sides of the excavation, and covered by a conical +roof with a hole in the centre. They contain, besides the family, all +the implements of husbandry, the cattle, and the flocks. These last +occupy "the sides of the house" (1 Sam. xxiv. 3), and stand facing the +"decana," or raised place in the centre, which is devoted to the +family. As wood is scarce in the mountains, and the climate severe, the +animal heat of the cattle is a substitute for fuel, except as sun-baked +cakes of manure are used once a day for cooking, as is the practice +also on the plain. In such houses the buffaloes sometimes break loose +and fight furiously, and instances are not rare when they knock down +the posts on which the roof rests, and thus bury all in one common ruin. + +The influence of such family arrangements, even in the more favored +villages of the plain, on manners and morality, need not be told. It is +equally evident that in such circumstances personal tidiness is +impossible, though few in our favored land have any idea of the extent +of such untidiness. If the truth must be told, vermin abound in most of +these houses; the inmates are covered not only with fleas, but from +head to foot they are infested with the third plague of Egypt. (Ex. +viii. 16-19). This last is a constant annoyance in many parts of Turkey +as well as Persia. If one lodges in the native houses, there is no +refuge from them, and only an entire change of clothing affords relief +when he returns to his own home; even there the divans have to be +sedulously examined after the departure of visitors, that the plague do +not spread. The writer has known daughters of New England, ready for +almost any self-denial, burst into tears when first brought into +contact with this. + +At first, the teachers of the Female Seminary in Oroomiah had to +cleanse their pupils very thoroughly, and were glad thus to purify the +outside, while beseeching Christ to cleanse the heart. Each one, on her +first arrival, had to be separately cared for, lest the enemy should +recover ground from which he had already been driven with much labor. +Missionary publications do not usually tell of such trials, but those +who drew the lambs from the deep pit, loved them all the more tenderly +for having gone down into it themselves, that thence they might bring +them to Jesus. Such trials are less common now, for it is generally +understood that a degree of personal cleanliness is an indispensable +requisite for admission to the Seminary; but such a demand, at that +time, would have rendered the commencement of the school impossible. + +The pupils became much improved in personal appearance, and some of +their simple-hearted mothers really thought their children had grown +very pretty under their teachers' care. So, as many of them were +strangers to the cleansing properties of water, they would ask again +and again, "How do you make them so white?" + +But if such houses were comfortless abodes for those in health, what +were they for the sick? Think of one in a burning fever, perhaps +delirious, lying in such a crowd. In winter, there they must remain, +for there is no other place, and in summer, they are often laid under a +tree in the day time, and carried up to the flat roof, with the rest of +the family, at night. + +Dr. Perkins, in the early part of his missionary life, tells us that in +a village the family room was given up to him for the night, and in the +morning he found a little son had been born in the stable. He supposed +that he had been the unwitting cause of such an event occurring there; +but longer acquaintance with the people shows that woman almost +invariably resorts to that place in her hour of sorrow, and there she +often dies. The number who meet death in this form is very large. + +In Persia, as in other unevangelized countries, women spend their days +in out-door labor. They weed the cotton, and assist in pruning the +vines and gathering the grapes. They go forth in the morning, bearing +not only their implements of husbandry, but also their babes in the +cradle; and returning in the evening, they prepare their husband's +supper, and set it before him, but never think of eating themselves +till after he is done. One of the early objections the Nestorians made +to the Female Seminary was, that it would disqualify their daughters +for their accustomed toil. In after years, woman might be seen carrying +her spelling-book to the field, along with her Persian hoe, little +dreaming that she was thus taking the first step towards the +substitution of the new implement for the old. + +Nestorian parents used to consider the birth of a daughter a great +calamity. When asked the number of their children, they would count up +their sons, and make no mention of their daughters. The birth of a son +was an occasion for great joy and giving of gifts. Neighbors hastened +to congratulate the happy father, but days might elapse before the +neighborhood knew of the birth of a daughter. It was deemed highly +improper to inquire after the health of a wife, and the nearest +approach to it was to ask after the welfare of the house or household. +Formerly, a man never called his wife by name, but in speaking of her +would say, "the mother of so and so," giving the name of her child; or, +"the daughter of so and so," giving the name of her father; or, simply +"that woman" did this or that. Nor did the wife presume to call her +husband's name, or to address him in the presence of his parents, who, +it will be borne in mind, lived in the same apartment. They were +married very young, often at the age of fourteen, and without any +consultation of their own preference, either as to time or person. + +There was hardly a man among the Nestorians who did not beat his wife. +The women expected to be beaten, and took it as a matter of course. As +the wife lived with the husband's father, it was not uncommon for him +to beat both son and daughter-in-law. When the men wished to talk +together of any thing important, they usually sent the women out of +doors or to the stable, as unable to understand, or unfit to be +trusted. In some cases, this might be a necessary precaution; for the +absence of true affection; and the frequency of domestic broils, +rendered the wife an unsafe depositary of any important family affair. +The same causes often led the wife to appropriate to her own foolish +gratification any money of her husband she could lay hands on, +regardless of family necessities. Women whose tastes led them to load +themselves with beads, silver, baser metal, and rude trinkets, would +not be likely to expend money very judiciously. + +In 1835, the only Nestorian woman that knew how to read was Heleneh, +the sister of Mar Shimon; and when others were asked if they would not +like to learn, with a significant shrug they would reply, "I am a +woman." They had themselves no more desire to learn than the men had to +have them taught. Indeed, the very idea of a woman reading was regarded +as an infringement of female modesty and propriety. + +It is a little curious, and shows how we adapt ourselves to our +situation, that the women were as unwilling to receive attention from +their husbands as they were to render it. Several years after the +arrival of Miss Fiske in Oroomiah, the wife of one of her assistants +visited the Seminary, and on leaving to return to her village, the +teacher, in the kindness of her heart, proposed to the husband to go +and assist her to carry the child. She seemed as if she had been +insulted in being thought unable to carry it, and sent her husband back +from the door in any thing but a gracious mood, leaving the good +teacher half bewildered and half amused at this reception of her +intended kindness. + +Indeed, until some of them were converted, all that was lovely and of +good report in woman was entirely wanting. They were trodden down, but +at the same time exceedingly defiant and imperious. If they were not +the "head," it was not because they did not "strive for the mastery." +They seemed to have no idea of self-control; their bursts of passion +were awful. The number of women who reverenced their husbands was as +small as the list of husbands who did not beat their wives. Says Miss +Fiske, in writing to a friend, "I felt pity for my poor sisters before +going among them, but anguish when, from actual contact with them, I +realized how very low they were. I did not want to leave them, but I +did ask, Can the image of Christ ever be reflected from such hearts? +They would come and tell me their troubles, and fall down at my feet, +begging me to deliver them from their husbands. They would say, 'You +are sent by our holy mother, Mary, to help us;' and do not think me +hard-hearted when I tell you that I often said to them, 'Loose your +hold of my feet; I did not come to deliver you from your husbands, but +to show you how to be so good that you can be happy with them.' +Weeping, they would say, 'Have mercy on us; if not, we must kill +ourselves.' I had no fear of their doing that, so I would seat them at +my side, and tell them of my own dear father,--how good he was; but he +was always _obeyed_. They would say, 'We could obey a good man.' 'But I +am very sure you would not have been willing to obey my father.' + +"It is one thing to pray for our degraded sisters while in America, but +quite another to raise them from their low estate. When I saw their +true character, I found that I needed a purer, holier love for them +than I had ever possessed. It was good for me to see that _I_ could do +nothing, and it was comforting to think that Jesus had talked with just +such females as composed the mass around me, and that afterwards many +believed because of one such woman." + +Sometimes the revilings of the women were almost equalled by similar +talk among the men, as in a village of Gawar, where they said, "We +would not receive a priest or deacon here who could not swear well, and +lie too." In the same village, a young man spoke favorably of Mr. +Coan's preaching in Jeloo. Instantly a woman called out, "And have you +heard those deceivers preach?" "Yes," was the reply, "both last year +and this, and hope I shall again." Hearing this, her eyes flashed, and +drawing her brawny arms into the form of a dagger, with a vengeful +thrust of her imaginary weapon, she cried, "The blood of thy father +smite thee, thou Satan!" and dreadful was the volley of oaths and +curses that followed. Yet she was only a fair specimen of the village. + +We of the calmer West do not know what it is to have a mob of such +women come forth in their wrath. In one town was a virago, who often, +single-handed, faced down and drove off Moslem tax-gatherers when the +men fled in terror. No one who has ever heard the stinging shrillness +of their tongues, or looked on their frenzied gestures, can ever forget +them, or wonder why the ancients painted the Furies in the form of +women. Words cannot portray the excitement of such a scene. The hair of +the frantic actors is streaming in the wind; stones and clods seem only +embodiments of the unearthly yells and shrieks that fill the air; and +yet it was such beings that grace made to be "last at the cross and +first at the sepulchre." + +The East is notorious for profanity, and among the Nestorians women +were as profane as men. The pupils in the Seminary at first used to +swear, and use the vilest language on the slightest provocation. Poor, +blind Martha, on her death bed, in her own father's house, was +constantly cursed and reviled. She was obliged sometimes to cover her +head with the quilt, and stop her ears, to secure an opportunity to +pray for her profane and abusive brother; and though, in such +circumstances, she died before her prayers were answered, yet they were +heard, for he afterwards learned to serve his sister's God. "Do you +think people will believe me," said a pupil to her teacher, who was +reproving her for profanity, "if I do not repeat the name of God very +often?" + +Lying was almost as common as profanity, and stealing quite as +prevalent as either. It was a frequent remark, "We all lie here; do you +think we could succeed in business without it?" + +In the early days of the Seminary, nothing was safe except under lock +and key. Sometimes there seemed to be a dawn of improvement, and next, +all the buttons would be missing from the week's washing, and the +teacher was pretty sure to find that her own pupils were the thieves. +Miss Rice tells of one, amply supplied with every thing by her parents, +yet noted for her thefts. Indeed, sons and daughters were alike trained +to such practices. In 1843, Miss Fiske could not keep a pin in her +pin-cushion; little fingers took them as often as she turned away, and +lest she should tempt them to lie, she avoided questioning them, unless +her own eye had seen the theft. No wonder she wrote, "I feel very weak, +and were it not that Christ has loved these souls, I should be +discouraged; but he has loved them, and he loves them still." If the +pins were found with the pupils, the answer was ready--"We found them," +or, "You gave them to us;" and nothing could be proved. But one summer +evening, just before the pupils were to pass through her room to their +beds on the flat roof, knowing that none of that color could be +obtained elsewhere, the teacher put six black pins in her cushion, and +stepped out till they had passed. As soon as they were gone, she found +the pins gone too, and at once called them back. She told them of her +loss, but none knew any thing about it. She showed them that no one +else had been there, and therefore they must know. Six pairs of little +hands were lifted up, as they said, "God knows we have not got them;" +but this only called forth the reply, "I think that God knows you have +got them," and she searched each one carefully, without finding them. +She then proposed to kneel down where they stood, and ask God to show +where they were, adding, "He may not see it best to show me now, but he +will do it some time." She laid the matter before the Lord, and, just +as they rose from their knees, remembered that she had not examined +their cloth caps. She now proposed to examine them, and one pair of +hands went right up to her cap. Of course she was searched first, and +there were the six pins, so nicely concealed in its folds that nothing +was visible but their heads. This incident did much good. The pupils +looked on the discovery as an answer to prayer, and so did their +teacher. They began to be afraid to steal when God so exposed their +thefts, and she was thankful for an answer so immediate. The offender +is now a pious, useful woman. + +Yet some were so accustomed to falsehood, that, even after conversion, +it cost a struggle to be entirely truthful, and missionaries could see, +as Christians in our own land cannot see, why an apostle should write +to the regenerate, "Lie not one to another." The teacher labored to +impress her charge with the sinfulness of such conduct, but in the +revival of 1846, they seemed to learn more in one hour than she had +taught them in the two years preceding. Yet that faithful instruction +was not lost. It was the fuel which the Spirit of God kindled into a +flame. The sower has not labored in vain because the seed lies for days +buried in the soil. + +In that revival, the awakened hastened to restore what they had stolen. +One came to Miss Fiske in great distress, saying, "Do you remember the +day, two years ago, when Sawdee's new shoes were taken from the +door?"--They leave off their shoes on entering a house.--"Yes, I +recollect it." "You thought a Moslem woman stole them, but"--and here +her feelings overcame her--"I took them, for I was angry with her, and +threw them into a well. What shall I do? I know Christ will not receive +me till I have confessed it to her. Can I go and confess it to-night, +and pray with her, and then may I go and work for money to replace +them?" She paid for the shoes, and became a bright light in her dark +home. There were many such cases, and from that time the teachers had +little trouble from theft. New pupils would sometimes steal, but the +older ones were ready to detect them, and show them a more excellent +way. Miss Fiske says of this, "The frequent visits of the Holy Spirit +have removed an evil which mocked my efforts. God made me feel my utter +helplessness, and then he did the work." That same term there was but +one case of theft in the Male Seminary, though formerly it was not +infrequent there. + +In reference to transgressions of the seventh commandment, much detail +is not expedient. It is sufficient to say, that the first impressions +of earlier missionaries respecting the purity of Nestorian women were +not sustained by subsequent acquaintance. The farther they went beneath +the surface of things, the more they found of corruption. One might go +to Persia supposing that he knew a good deal of the degradation of the +people, and yet really know very little of the pit into which he was +descending. + +A seminary gathering together such a company of young females, was a +new thing in Persia, and it will readily be conceived that amid a +Mohammedan community it was an object of peculiar solicitude to its +guardians. Many a Moslem eye was on those girls, as the results of a +religious education appeared in their manners, their dress, and +personal beauty. In one instance, an officer of government attempted to +take one of them to his harem, but God thwarted his purpose through the +interference of the English consul. Similar dangers threatened from +other sources, and eternity alone will reveal the burden of care and +watchfulness they involved. If only one pupil had been led astray, what +a hopeless loss of confidence would have followed among the people! In +the early years of the institution, when parents could hardly be +persuaded to trust their daughters out of their sight for a single +night, it might have broken up the whole enterprise; but in this +matter, also, God showed himself the hearer of prayer, and not one +danger of the kind was ever allowed to be more than an occasion for +renewed intercession, and more confiding dependence on his gracious +care. Sometimes, in vacation, it seemed strange to its guardians that +they had no longer a fold to protect, and could retire to rest free +from that anxious solicitude that sometimes drove sleep from their eyes. + +It is not in the beginning of missionary life that all these things are +understood: they are learned gradually. This is wisely ordered, that +the missionary be not discouraged at the outset. Strength is given each +day to meet new trials as they come, and it would not be leaving a +truthful impression on the reader, if, at the close of this description +of what has been, it should not be recorded, to the praise of divine +grace, that a great change has taken place. There are many to-day to +whom the missionary may say, "Such were some of you; but ye are washed, +but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord +Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." Not only do some who stole steal +no more, but many young husbands now provide separate apartments for +the bride whom they bring home, and they need all that the word "home" +expresses to describe their mutual joy. The hour of suffering is +anticipated by a considerate affection, and that affection is so +reciprocated that many hearts safely trust in the daughters of the +Female Seminary of Oroomiah. + +It is not merely education that has wrought this change, but a Bible +education. Paul cared for just such converts, and left divine teachings +for the use of those who should come after him in the same work. As a +young wife said to her teacher one day, after she had been talking with +her about her new duties, "I thank you; you are right. I am glad that +you have told me what Paul says, and I think that God has told you the +same thing." Many a graduate might say, with another, "I thank you for +your instructions, and as I look on the trials of ungodly families, +every drop of my blood thanks you." + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +MARBEESHOO. + +VISIT THERE.--NATIVE ACCOMMODATIONS.--HOSPITALITY OF SENUM.--MOHAMMEDAN +WOMEN. + +The following account of Miss Fiske's visit to Marbeeshoo, in November, +1847, presents a vivid picture of things as they were, and the +Christian thoughtfulness of one who had learned a more excellent way:-- + +"As we sat at dinner a few days since, Mr. Stocking proposed that I +spend the Sabbath with him at Marbeeshoo. I said at once, 'I cannot +leave my school.' But he forthwith called Sanum, Sarah, and Moressa, my +oldest girls, and asked them if they did not love souls in Marbeeshoo +well enough to take good care of school, and let me be absent till +Tuesday. They were delighted to think of my going where no missionary +lady had ever been, and said, 'We will do all we can for the girls, and +we will pray for you, if you will only go and try to do those poor +women good.' It was hardly two o'clock before we were on horseback. +Marbeeshoo is about fifty miles from us, and in Turkey. Two years ago +it was said 'no lady should try to go there,' but brother Stocking +thought not so now; and I was willing to follow where he led, +especially as a former pupil had recently settled there. We must be out +over night, but we thought best not to spend it in a tent, on account +of the cold. Near sunset we came to Mawana, a village of mud huts. We +went to the house of the head man, who joyfully welcomed us to his +house. It consisted of a single low room, inhabited by at least a score +of men, women, and children. They came in one by one, but already the +hens had found their resting place, evidently no strangers there. +Several lambs had been brought into their corner, and three or four +calves, each had his couch of grass. Our horses had been arranged for +the night on the other side of a partition wall, some three feet high. +When all were within, the coarse bread and sour milk were brought out +for supper. Then Mr. Stocking read from the Bible, and talked, and +prayed with the numerous family, and the women sat around me, while I +tried to do them good, till about ten o'clock. At that time, the mother +of the family rose, saying, 'Now we will settle it.' I listened to hear +the settlement of some family quarrel, but to my surprise her meaning +was, 'We will settle where to lie down for the night;' and as I looked +over the room I thought, surely some little skill in settling is +needed, if we are all to sleep here. But soon she took out three of the +children to an empty manger, where she put new hay, and quickly settled +them; they were covered with an old rug, and at once fell fast asleep. +She then returned, saying, 'Now there is room for our guests,' and +brought a piece of cotton cloth, which she said was _all_ for me. In a +short time, one and another was fast asleep. They lay on mats, without +either bed or pillow, and the divers breathing or snoring of men, and +calves, and lambs was soon heard, all mingled together. + +"I found myself sitting alone with the old lady, and so, putting my +carpet bag under my head, and drawing my shawl about me, I lay down +too. This was a signal for extinguishing the light; but before that, I +had marked a road, where I thought I might possibly pass out between +the sleepers should I need fresh air. There was no sleep for me; and +the swarms of fleas made me so uncomfortable, that before midnight I +found my way out, and remained as long as the cold air of that November +night allowed, and so passed out and in several times during the night. +I watched long for the morning, and at length it came, and the +sleepers, one by one, arose. They all hoped I had slept well, and I +could not tell them I had not, for they had given me the best they had, +and told me again and again how glad they were that I had come, and +hoped their house would always be mine when I came that way. There was +a proposal for breakfast, but the morning was so fine that I suggested +to Mr. Stocking that a carpet bag sometimes furnished a very good +breakfast. + +"We did enjoy that ride very much after a sleepless night. The road was +often only a narrow path on the edge of a precipice, and such as I had +never passed over before; but I thanked my God at every step for the +pure, fresh air of those mountains. As we approached the village, hid +away among the cliffs, and in such a narrow spot that houses were +placed one above another on the terraced hill-side, one of our +attendants insisted on riding forward, and we were not greatly +surprised to find a crowd ready to welcome us. One and another cried +out, 'Senum wants you to go to Zechariah's.' So to Zechariah's we went, +and there was my pupil, waiting with open arms to receive me. She took +me from my horse, exclaiming, 'Is it true that you have come? I have +heard where you staid last night, and I know you did not sleep at all. +Come right into my room; there are no fleas here; I have a bed that is +clean, that I keep for the missionaries. I will spread it for you, and +you shall sleep before any body comes to see you.' The bed was spread; +she gave me milk to drink (Judg, iv. 19), and then said, 'I will guard +the door so no one shall disturb you, and I will wake you for dinner.' +I was soon asleep, and slept two long hours before she woke me. + +"When she did, she came with her tray in her hand, where was the +freshly baked bread, the nicely cooked little fish, which, she said, +'my husband caught expressly for you and Mr. Stocking,' honey from +their own hives, milk from their flock, and other simple refreshments. +All was neatly prepared, and we were so thankful for the dear child's +attentions! When dinner was over, she said, 'Now I want you to see the +women; but they must not come here, for they will leave fleas, and you +will not be able to sleep tonight. There is another large room the +other side, and we will have meeting there this afternoon.' + +"About three o'clock I met there more than one hundred poor women, who +of course must ask many questions before their curiosity would be +satisfied. They finally became quiet, however, and I could tell them of +the Saviour, who had loved to teach just such needy ones as they were. +I enjoyed the afternoon very much; it was all the more precious for the +discomforts of the night, and the comforts of Senum's house. The next +day was the Sabbath, and most of the time I was in the 'large room,' +where the women came freely. In the afternoon about three hundred were +present. I was weary at night, but Senum's care, with the thought of +the privilege of meeting so many who had never before heard of Christ +as the _only_ Saviour, made me forget it all." + +Painful as is this view of woman as she was among the Nestorians, her +condition was still worse among the Mohammedans; not, indeed, in +matters of outward comfort, for the wealth of Persia is in Moslem +hands, and they occupy every position of rank or authority in the land. +But in all that pertains to morality and religion, they stand on a +lower level. + +The Nestorian woman may not have known what was contained in the Bible, +yet she knew that it was the word of God, and was ready to receive all +its teachings as of divine authority. To her Moslem sister it is not +only an unknown book, but one she is taught to regard as superseded by +the Koran. + +Although the Nestorian woman knew nothing of spiritual worship, yet she +regarded the Lord's day as set apart for his service. The Moslem, on +the other hand, regards it like any other day of the week, and exalts +her Friday to the place that of right belongs to the Sabbath of the +Lord. + +In all her degradation, the Nestorian woman reverenced the name of +Jesus as her God. True, she had no correct idea of salvation or +redeeming love; yet even a blind attachment to that sacred name is not +without its reward. She may have fallen very low, but there was a power +even in her ignorant adherence to Christ, that kept her from falling to +the level of those who renounced him for the Arabian impostor. This was +seen especially in the blessings that came to her through the +institution of Christian marriage, while others groaned under the +debasing influence of a sensual polygamy. The wretchedness this +occasioned is a topic too large and too painful to dwell upon here. But +the wide gulf that separated the two classes was clearly seen, when on +her Sabbath the missionary could speak to the Nestorian of her Saviour +out of her Bible, while the Moslem knows nothing beyond her kohl and +her henna,[1] her dresses and her follies, and other topics at once +belittling, debasing, and corrupting. [Footnote 1: Kohl is a black +powder used to paint the eyebrows and eyelashes. Henna is a plant +employed to stain the nails, and sometimes the entire hand and part of +the foot, of a dark orange hue.] + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + +THE SCENE OF THE NARRATIVE. + +NESTORIANS.--THEIR COUNTRY.--FRONTISPIECE.--LAKE.--PLAIN.--FORDING THE +SHAHER.--MISSION PREMISES IN OROOMIAH. + +We will now glance at the scene of the events to be narrated, as it may +not be familiar to every reader. To write of woman in Persia would +embrace the whole empire as the field of inquiry; for the existence of +woman is coextensive with the population. But "Woman and her Saviour in +Persia" confines our attention to those who have been taught the truth +as it is in Jesus; for when Christ sent forth Paul to preach his gospel +to the Gentiles, it was that they might receive forgiveness of sins, +and inheritance among them who are sanctified by faith that is in him; +and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? Our +theme, then, confines us to the Nestorians, who number about one +hundred thousand souls. About two thirds of these live in Turkey; but +the following pages relate principally to those residing in Persia, and +hence the title of the volume. + +This people inhabit, along with Koords and other races, the territory +extending from the western shore of the Lake of Oroomiah to the eastern +bank of the Tigris. It includes the Persian province of Oroomiah, and +both the eastern and western slope of Central Koordistan. The most +inaccessible recesses of the Koordish Mountains have been their refuge +for centuries. The whole region extends across four degrees of +longitude, with a varying breadth of from one to two degrees of +latitude. Attention will be called especially to the city of Oroomiah +and the villages around it. The plain of that name is seventy-five +miles long and from twelve to twenty miles in width, containing more +than a thousand square miles. It is dotted with perhaps three hundred +villages, the population varying, according to the size of the village, +from less than one hundred to more than a thousand inhabitants. + +The frontispiece gives a view of this plain, from the roof of the +mission premises at Seir, one thousand feet above the city. The lofty +Wolf mountain appears on the right, and the high range west of the +narrowest part of the lake on the left. The lake itself is seen beyond +the plain at the foot of the mountains which rise abruptly from its +eastern shore. The distance makes it seem much narrower than it is, for +while one hundred miles in length, it is not far from thirty miles in +breadth. Its surface is forty-one hundred feet above the sea, and four +hundred feet below the city of Oroomiah. No living thing exists in its +waters, which are both salt and bituminous. + +The plain is more crowded with villages than here represented, and each +one is made conspicuous by its grove of trees, as well as its houses. +The city appears prominent at the foot of the hill, though six miles +distant from the spectator. It is in the same latitude with Richmond, +Virginia, and contains about thirty-five thousand souls. The plain +slopes up very gradually from the lake, and Mount Seir rises, behind +our point of view, two thousand eight hundred and thirty-four feet +above the city. Farther west, the summits of Central Koordistan rise, +range above range, to the height of seventeen thousand feet. + +We pass down from Seir to the city by a carriage road, now by the side +of vineyards, and now near fields of wheat and clover, diversified by +orchards and gardens of cucumbers. All of these, and indeed the whole +plain, owes its fertility to canals, led out from the rivers which +descend from the mountains. Willow, poplar, and sycamore trees line +these watercourses. All kinds of fruit trees abound, while the rich +verdure of the plain contrasts strikingly with the bare declivities +that overlook it from every side. The villages on either hand are +clusters of mud houses crowded together for greater security, and every +tree in their groves has to be watered as regularly as the fields and +gardens. + +Before reaching the city we must ford the Shaher, a river that, though +frequently all drained off into the fields in summer, is very deep in +early spring, when fatal accidents sometimes occur. It was here that, +in May, 1846, Miss Fiske narrowly escaped a watery grave. On her way to +Seir, with Mr. and Mrs. Stoddard, the horse lay down in the middle of +the river, leaving her to be swept off by the rapid current. Mr. +Stoddard hastened to the rescue; but the moment his steed was loose, he +rushed to attack the horse of Mrs. Stoddard, and, as Miss Fiske rose to +the surface, she caught a glimpse of Mr. Stoddard looking back on the +battle, and his wife held between the combatants by her riding habit, +which had caught on the saddle; but while she looked the dress gave +way, and Mrs. Stoddard was safe. She herself had sufficient presence of +mind not to breathe under water, and, on coming up for the fifth time, +floated into shallow water near the opposite shore, forty rods below +the ford, just as Mr. Stoddard reached the same point. + +From the river, beautiful orchards line the road on both sides to the +city gate, of which a representation is given on page 154; and about +one eighth of a mile inside of that, where the Nestorian and Moslem +sections of the city join each other, stand the mission premises, built +of sun-dried bricks, like the houses around them. + +They occupy a little more than an acre, in the form of a parallelogram; +and if, for the sake of clearness, we compare it to a window, the +bottom of the lower sash is represented by a long, earthen-roofed +structure, half of it a dwelling house, once the home of Dr. Grant, but +now the dwelling of Dr. Wright. It is the building on the left of the +engraving at page 131, and the round object occupying the nearest +window in the second story is a clock, the gift of a well-known +merchant of Boston, brother of one of our deceased missionaries. Let +our lower sash be filled by two large panes in modern style, and these +are represented by two courts surrounded by pavements, and shaded by +large sycamore trees. In the engraving just referred to, the spectator +stands in one of these courts, looking over a low wall into the other. +For the top of the lower sash, we have another building, extending +across the premises. The left half of this appearing on page 131, +behind the trees, and on the opposite page represented without them, +was the first home of Dr. Perkins, and is now the Female Seminary; but +repeated additions and modifications have been required to transform a +building, originally erected for a private residence, into a structure +suitable for such a school. + +Miss Fiske first taught in one room of a building to the right, which +does not appear in the engraving, though a part of it is seen on page +131; then, as the school grew larger, another room was added, and when +those quarters became too strait, this building was remodelled for its +use. + +[Illustration: Female seminary at Oboomiah] + +As we shall have a good deal to do with the Seminary in these pages, +let us become familiar with its home. Between the central door and the +one on the left, those three windows belong to a large room once used +as a chapel, but since then as a guest room for the accommodation of +the women whom we shall see coming here to learn of Jesus. In this +room, Nestorian converts first partook of the Lord's supper with the +missionaries. The left of the three windows directly over these, with +the rose-bush in it, belongs to Miss Fiske's private room, and the +other two to her sitting room. This the pupils have named "The Bethel," +and it is so connected that the teacher can step into recitation room, +dining room, or kitchen, as occasion requires. The last named apartment +is on the rear of the building. The largest recitation room, by a +curious necessity, is in the form of a carpenter's wooden square, with +the teacher's desk in the angle between the two compartments. One of +these is on the back side of the building, out of sight; the other, +extending across the end, is represented in front by the window at the +extreme left. + +Over the central door is, first, the steward's room, and then closets +over that; for one of the results of the successive alterations and +additions is, that parts of the building are two, and other parts +three, stories high. Miss Rice's room is directly over the door on the +left hand, as the steward's is here. The three windows in the second +story, to the right of the two central closets, open into the dining +room, and one of the girls' rooms occupies the corner beyond. On the +lower floor, going from the central door to the right, is first a +closet, and then a large guest room for visitors; and underneath the +whole is the cellar where the boys' school was first taught, that has +since grown into the Male Seminary at Seir. + +The rooms of the pupils are mostly in the rear. These are large enough +to accommodate six or eight occupants, as the Oriental style of living +does not require so much furniture as ours. In each room is a member of +the senior class, who exercises a kind supervision over her younger +companions. Every room has two or more closets, designed especially, +but not exclusively, for devotion; and some sleep in the recitation +rooms, as such a use of them at night does not interfere with other +uses during the day. + +But we had almost forgotten our imaginary window, the upper sash of +which remains to be described. In that we have only one pane, +representing a large court, with the chapel on one side, and the wash +rooms and other outbuildings of the Seminary on the other. This court +is more garden-like than the other two, has fewer trees, and a long +arbor, covered with grape vines, forms a covered walk in the middle of +it. It was in this arbor that the tables were spread for the collation +in 1850, to be described hereafter. This court is invaluable as a place +for out-door exercise, where the pupils may enjoy the fresh air, free +from the annoyances and exposures of the streets in an Oriental city. + +A stream is led through all these courts in a channel lined with stone. +Its murmuring waters are a pleasant sound at early dawn, when they +mingle sweetly with the morning song of birds. Here many Nestorian +women come to fill their earthen pitchers, as the water is not carried +through the courts of Christian houses. The mission premises belonged +to Mohammedans; and here, in the shade of the tall sycamores, Mrs. +Grant used to sit, with her children, and talk with the women who came +for water. Her successors find time to continue the same practice, and +as the natives let down their pitchers (Gen. xxiv. 18), and now and +then one is broken (Eccles. xii. 6), realize that they live in a Bible +land, and seek to make its daughters feel the power of Bible truth. + +The Seminary is outwardly very humble, and would contrast very +unfavorably with the stately edifices of similar institutions at home. +But we shall see that the Saviour has not disdained to honor it with +his presence, and its earthen floors and mud walls[1] have witnessed +many a gracious visit of the Holy Spirit. Though the glory of Lebanon +has not come unto it, yet has God himself beautified the place and made +it glorious. [Footnote 1: The pilasters in the engraving are made of +brick, and not only support the large timbers of the roof, but, by +their greater projection, protect the softer material of the wall from +the weather. The whole is plastered outside with a mixture of lime and +clay, that requires frequent renewal.] + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + +MISSIONARY EDUCATION. + +OBJECT--MEANS--STUDY OF BIBLE--PUPILS KEPT IN SYMPATHY WITH THE +PEOPLE.--PEOPLE STIMULATED TO EXERTION AND SELF-DEPENDENCE--TAHITI. +--MADAGASCAR. + +Let us now look at some of the principles on which missionary education +was here carried on, that we may see what kind of an instrumentality +God was pleased to crown with his blessing. + +The Seminary was founded, not to polish the manners, refine the taste, +or impart accomplishments, but to renovate the character by a permanent +inward change. The main dependence for bringing this about was the +power of the Holy Ghost--the only power that can impart or maintain +spiritual life in man. This dependence was expressed in fervent prayer, +offered for years amid discouragement and opposition, and, instead of +ceasing when an answer came, only offered by a greater number. It is +worthy of note that some of the seasons of greatest revival were +preceded by disasters that threatened the very existence of the mission. + +The principal text book was the word of God; partly, as we shall see, +through a providential necessity, but chiefly because it was God's own +chosen instrumentality for the salvation of our race; and it was +eminently adapted for the education of such a people. The teachers +could say, with a beloved co-laborer on Mount Lebanon, "To the +Scriptures we give increased attention; they do more to unfold and +expand the intellectual powers, and to create careful and honest +thinkers, than all the sciences we teach." It is also most efficient in +freeing mind and heart from those erroneous views that are opposed to +its teachings; and actual trial developed a richness and fulness of +practical adaptation to the work that astonished even those who already +knew something of its value. Its precepts and instructions were also +clothed with power: requirements and counsels which from the missionary +had only awakened opposition, coming from the Bible were received as +messages from heaven. Said a Nestorian to a missionary who had been +speaking to him the words of God, "His words grew very beautiful while +we were talking." In reference to every suspicious novelty or +distasteful duty, the Bible was the ultimate appeal. The missionary +could say to them as Paul did to an early church, "When ye received the +word of God, which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of +man, but, as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh +also in you that believe." Besides, those thus educated were to teach +others, and needed to be thoroughly furnished from the divine oracles +with the truths they were to impart. It is not strange, then, that in +the Seminary the Bible was studied both doctrinally and historically; +that they had a system of theology and tables of Scripture chronology; +that biblical biography and geography were regular studies; that +different portions of Scripture occupied different years; and that, +instead of Butler's Analogy and Wayland's Moral Science, were the +Epistles to the Romans and Hebrews studied with all the accurate +analysis and thoroughness bestowed elsewhere upon the classics. Such +teaching would yield good fruit any where, and the good seed found good +ground in Persia. + +So much for the instrumentality; but, then, influences are every where +at work to check the growth of the plant of grace, and these must be +overcome. There is danger that missionary education may be made worse +than useless by allowing the sympathies of pupils to become alienated +from the masses around them. Children from heathen families may be +puffed up with an idea of superiority to their own people. Their taste +may be cultivated so as to render disgust with heathen degradation +stronger than the Christian desire to do them good. A foreign language, +foreign dress, and foreign habits may widen the gulf that separates +them from their people, till, what with an undue exaltation on the one +hand and a suspicious jealousy on the other, usefulness is well nigh +impossible. But here such tendencies have been carefully watched and +guarded against. The pupils have been trained with the view of doing +good among their own people. No line of separation has been drawn in +dress or diet, furniture or household arrangements. While taught to be +neat, the goal kept ever in sight has been, a happy usefulness in their +own homes, the elevation of the mass just as fast as was consistent +with mutual love and sympathy, the people not feeling that their +daughters were denationalized, and they not lifted out of sympathy with +the homes they were to bless. Hence, even in 1844, we find the mud +floor of the small school room covered with straw mats; one window, of +oiled paper, admitting the light; and a brick stove, with a few rude +benches, its only furniture. In the other room, where the cooking was +done, the pupils ate, and spent their time out of school. Here were two +windows of like material; and besides the mats, the floor was covered +with a thick felt, on which they spread their beds at night. A table +was provided, covered with a coarse blue and white check. There were +also a set of coarse plates and a few other dishes, but no knives nor +forks. They eat their soup with wooden spoons, and their other food +with their hands. Their clothing, like their cooking, was mostly in +native style; and they were taught to make it for themselves. + +Another object in missionary education is, to do enough to stimulate to +exertion, and yet not foster inefficiency or undue dependence. The +Nestorians are poor, but doing too much for them may make them still +poorer. They must be brought to sustain their own institutions at the +earliest possible moment, and their training should keep that end in +view. Hence Miss Fiske writes, "At first I was inclined to do more for +them than afterwards, and at length settled down on this principle,--to +give my pupils nothing for common use which they could not secure in +their own homes by industry and economy. So I furnished only such +articles as they could buy in the city. I preferred that they should +make all their own clothing, and may have grieved friends sometimes by +declining clothing which they offered to send for them. We chose rather +to spend our own strength in training them to provide for themselves. I +do not mean that I am not glad to see foreign articles in Oroomiah; but +we were in danger of fostering a more expensive taste than they would +have the means of gratifying. Our great object is to raise up the most +efficient coadjutors from among the people, and they must labor among +their neighbors as of them, and not as foreigners, and be prepared to +carry forward the work when we leave it. + +"At first we clothed as well as boarded our pupils, and then led them +to provide one article after another, till they clothed themselves. It +was delightful to see the interest parents began to take in clothing +their daughters, in order to send them to school after they provided +their own garments. They took better care of them, and so learned to +take better care of other things. Since I left, Miss Rice has advanced +farther in this matter; and last year most of the pupils paid a trifle +for tuition, amounting in all to over twenty dollars. It often costs +more than the amount to secure these pittances; but it does our pupils +good, and we spared no pains to this end." + +It is touching to see the spirit manifested by some parents in this +connection. One very poor widow, whose little field of grain had been +devoured by locusts, brought a large squash and a quantity of raisins +which she had earned by laboring for others--a self-denial almost equal +to her previous giving up of her only bed for the use of a daughter in +the Seminary, which she brought, saying, "I can sleep on the _hasseer_ +[rush mat], if you will only receive her into school." + +It certainly is not benevolence to do for others what they can do as +well for themselves, or to do for them in a way to diminish either +their ability or disposition to provide for themselves. Missionaries +may be in danger of staying too long and doing too much for a people, +rather than of leaving them too soon after the gospel has taken root +among them. + +Native pastors came into being at Tahiti simply because the French +drove off the missionaries. They were not ordained before, but at once +proved themselves equal to the work that Providence assigned them; and +after twenty years of French misrule, in spite of Popery on the one +hand and brandy and vice on the other, there are now more church +members under these native pastors than ever before. + +Twenty years ago the European shepherds were driven from Madagascar, +and a few lambs left in the midst of wolves; but God raised up native +pastors, and, instead of tens of Christians under Europeans, there are +now hundreds, yea, thousands, under these natives.[1] Those +missionaries are wise who aim constantly at results like these; and it +is in such a spirit that work has been done among the women of Persia. +[Footnote: Rev. Dr. Tidman, secretary of the London Missionary Society, +in "Conference of Missions at Liverpool," 1860, p. 225.] + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + +BEGINNINGS. + +MRS. GRANT.--EARLY LIFE AND LABORS.--GREAT INFLUENCE.--HER SCHOOL.--HER +PUPILS.--CHANGED INTO BOARDING SCHOOL.--GETTING PUPILS.--CARE OF +THEM.--DIFFICULTIES FROM POVERTY OF PEOPLE.--PAYING FOR FOOD OF +SCHOLARS.--POSITION OF UNMARRIED MISSIONARY LADIES.--BOOKS. + +We have seen that among the Nestorians it was counted a disgrace for a +female to learn to read; and even now, in the districts remote from +missionary influence, a woman who reads, and especially one who writes, +is an object of public odium, if not of persecution. How, then, could +the Nestorians be induced to send their daughters to schools? What +overcame this strong national prejudice? These questions open a +delightful chapter in divine providence, showing how wonderfully God +adapts means to ends, even on opposite sides of the globe. + +A Christian gentleman in the State of New York, on the death of his +wife's sister, adopted into his own family her infant child. She was +trained to the exercise of a practical Christian benevolence, and her +superior mind was improved by an education remarkably thorough. In the +classics and mathematics she exhibited uncommon aptitude, and made +unusual attainments; so that it was truly said of her, "Perhaps no +female missionary ever left our country with a mind so well disciplined +as Mrs. Judith S. Grant." She sailed for Persia, July 11, 1835; and +there she displayed rare ability in acquiring the language of the +people. The Turkish she soon spoke familiarly. In a short time she read +the ancient Syriac, and acquired the spoken language with at least +equal facility. Previous even to these acquisitions, she taught Mar +Yohanan and others English; and as they noticed the ease with which she +turned to her Greek Testament, whenever ours seemed to differ from the +ancient Syriac, they regarded her with feelings in which it would be +hard to say whether wonder, love, or reverence was the strongest. Some +might have cried out, when her fine intellect and rare acquirements +were devoted to the missionary work, "Why is this waste of the ointment +made?" But had her friends searched the round world for a sphere of +greatest usefulness, they could not have selected one where her rare +gifts would have accomplished so much; and when such a woman manifested +deep solicitude for the education of her sex, ancient prejudice fell +before her. She taught her own domestics to read. She sedulously +cultivated the acquaintance of both Christian and Mohammedan women; nor +did she rest till she had opened a school for girls in what is now Mr. +Coan's barn. Such was her zeal, that when her health would not allow +her to go there, she taught the pupils in her own apartment. She +commenced with only four scholars, but at the same time prepared the +maps for Parley's Geography in modern Syriac, and the old map of +Oroomiah, so familiar to the readers of the Missionary Herald, was her +handiwork. Nor was her usefulness confined to her school room. Hers was +the privilege of creating such a public sentiment in favor of the +education of woman, that her successors have found the gates wide open +before them, and often wondered at the extent and permanence of the +influence she acquired. There is no one topic of which Miss Fiske has +spoken to the writer so frequently, and with such enthusiasm, as the +great work that Mrs. Grant accomplished for woman in Persia, during her +short missionary life. She was the laborious and self-denying pioneer +in female education, and every year thus far has brought to light new +evidence of her extensive usefulness. It was no empty compliment, when +the venerable Mar Elias said, "We will bury her in our church, where +none but very holy men are laid. As she has done so much for us, we +want the privilege of digging her grave with our own hands." + +Miss Fiske writes, shortly after her arrival, "The first Syriac word I +learned was 'daughter;' and as I can now use the verb 'to give,' I +often ask parents to give me their daughters. Some think that I cannot +secure boarding scholars, but Mrs. Grant got day scholars; and when I +hear men, women, and children say, 'How she loved us!' I want to love +them too. I mean to devote at least five years to the work of trying to +gather girls into a boarding school, as Mrs. Grant desired to do. She +has gone to her rest. I wonder that I am allowed to take her place." +And again: "I am usually in school till three P.M., and then I go out +among the poor mothers till tea time. They often say to me, 'Mrs. Grant +did just as you do.' Her short life was a precious offering. I feel +each day more and more that I have entered into the labors of a +faithful servant of Christ." + +Among the pupils of Mrs. Grant was Selby, of Oroomiah, who was +hopefully converted while teaching some day scholars connected with the +Seminary, in 1845. Raheel, (Rachel,) the wife of Siyad, the tailor +mentioned in the Memoir of Mr. Stoddard, was another. So were Sanum, +the wife of Joseph; Meressa, the wife of Yakob; and Sarah, the daughter +of Priest Abraham, and wife of Oshana, of whom we shall hear more +hereafter. + +After the death of Mrs. Grant, January 14, 1839, the school was +continued under the charge of Mr. Holladay, who employed native +teachers to assist him, the ladies of the mission cooperating as they +could. It then passed into the hands of Dr. Wright, who had the care of +it when Miss Fiske arrived in Oroomiah, June 14, 1843. During all this +time it was only a day school, and contact with vice in the homes of +the pupils greatly hindered its usefulness. It was for this reason that +Miss Fiske was exceedingly anxious to make it a boarding school, so as +to retain the pupils continuously under good influences. But would they +be allowed to spend the night on the mission premises? This was doubted +by many, and all had their fears; yet in August an appropriation was +made for the support of six boarding pupils, who were to be entirely +under the control of the mission for three years. Some said they could +not be obtained for even one year, and not one of them would remain to +complete the three. Even Priest Abraham said, "I cannot bear the +reproach of having my daughter live with you." At that time, scarcely a +girl twelve years old could be found who was not betrothed; and years +were devoted to the preparation of a coarse kind of embroidery, a +certain amount of which must be ready for the wedding. + +One day in August, Mar Yohanan said to Miss Fiske, "You get ready, and +I find girls." She devoted that month and the next to preparation for +her expected charge. But the day came for opening the school, and not +one pupil had been obtained. The teacher was feeling somewhat anxious, +when, from her window in the second story, she saw Mar Yohanan crossing +the court, with a girl in either hand. One of them was his own niece, +Selby, of Gavalan, seven years of age; the other, Hanee, of Geog Tapa, +about three years older. They were not very inviting in outward +appearance; but it did not take Miss Fiske long to reach the door, +where the bishop met her, and placing their little hands in hers, said, +in his broken English, "They be your daughters; no man take them from +your hand." She wrote to a friend an account of her success, adding, "I +shall be glad to give them to the Lord Jesus, and love to look on them +as the beginning of my dear school." These two pupils were supported by +ladies in Maiden, Massachusetts, and the number soon increased to six; +but fifteen days after, two of them, finding the gate open, suddenly +left for home. Their teacher did not think it advisable to follow them; +nor did she see them again till, ten years after, an invitation for a +reunion of all her scholars brought two whom she did not recognize. She +said, "Perhaps you were here under Mrs. Grant?" "No, we were your own +scholars for fifteen days, and we are very sorry we ran away." They are +now both useful Christians, and the places they left in 1843 were +speedily filled by others. + +The care of the school was much more exhausting than its instruction. +When the teacher went out, and when she came in, she must take her +pupils with her, for she dared not leave them to themselves. Indeed, so +strong were the feelings of their friends, that they allowed them to +remain only on condition that they should lodge with or near their +teacher, and never go out except in her company. A native teacher +rendered such help as he could, needing much teaching himself; and +everything combined to make the principal feel that hers was to be a +work of faith and prayer. As the first of January approached, she +thought how sweet it would be to be remembered by dear friends at Mount +Holyoke; and when it came, she wrote to Miss Whitman, "In looking over +Miss Lyon's suggestions for the observance of the day, last year, I +cannot tell you how I felt as I read the words, 'Perhaps next new +year's day will find some of you on a foreign shore. If so, we pledge +you a remembrance within these consecrated walls.' I thought not then +that privilege would be mine; but since it is, I count your prayers the +greatest favor you can confer." + +At Oroomiah, the missionaries met together for prayer at one o'clock, +and after that Dr. Perkins and Mr. Holladay preached to the assembled +Seminaries, while the ladies of the mission met separately for prayer; +then united intercession again closed the day. And they needed to wait +on God, for many difficulties combined to prevent success. + +One was the poverty of the people. To say merely that they were poor +gives no true idea of their situation to an American reader. They were +extremely poor, and grinding oppression still keeps them so. In 1837, +Mr. Stocking found very few pupils in the schools wearing shoes, even +in the snow of midwinter; and one sprightly lad in Sabbath school had +nothing on but a coarse cotton shirt, reaching down to his knees, and a +skull cap, though the missionary required all his winter clothes, +besides a fire, to keep him comfortable. + +Another evil growing out of their poverty was, that the missionairies, +in order to give the first impulse to education, resorted to some +measures which, after an interest was awakened, had to be laid aside in +order to increase it. For example, poor parents could not be persuaded +to earn bread for their children while they sent them to school; hence, +to get scholars at first, the mission furnished their daily bread; and +this having been done for the boys, had to be done for the girls also. +So, in the winter of 1843-44, twenty-five cents a week was paid to the +day scholars, the others having their board instead. But the current +having once commenced to flow in the new channel, such inducements +became more a hinderance than a help, and, in the spring of 1844, Miss +Fiske told her scholars that no more money would be paid for their +bread; and though some of the mission feared it would be necessary to +resume the practice, instead of that it was soon dropped in the other +Seminary also. + +But the special difficulty growing out of the condition of woman in a +Mohammedan country demands our notice. Some may suppose that because +Miss Fiske and Miss Rice have succeeded so well, an unmarried lady from +this country has nothing to do but to go there and work like any one +else. This is not true; such a one cannot live by herself: her home +must be in some missionary family. She cannot go out alone, either +inside or outside of the city. In many things she needs to be shielded +from annoyances here unknown. And God provided all that the teachers of +the Seminary needed of such help; first, in the kind family of Mr. +Stocking, and, after his death, in the pleasant household of Mr. +Breath. Indeed, not one of all the missionary circle ever stood in need +of such a hint as Paul gave the church at Rome concerning the deaconess +of Cenchrea. As Miss Fiske says, playfully, "Whenever we went with them +to visit pupils at a distance, they always made us believe that it was +a great privilege to take us along;" and every lady who goes out, in a +similar way, to labor in the missionary field, will find just such +Christian kindness indispensable to her comfort and usefulness. In such +a sphere of action, a lady's dependence is her independence. + +Another difficulty was the want of books. Such a thing as a school book +had been unknown among the Nestorians. The only ones to be had in 1843 +were the Bible in ancient Syriac,--a language unintelligible to the +common people,--and the Gospel of John, with a few chapters of Genesis, +in the spoken language, besides a few tracts. Later came the Gospel of +Matthew, and, after that, the four Gospels. Mr. Stocking prepared a +Spelling Book of fifty-four pages, 8vo, a Mental Arithmetic of +twenty-four pages, and afterwards a larger Arithmetic. Mr. Coan, a +Scripture Spelling Book of one hundred and sixty pages, 8vo. Mr. +Stoddard issued a very full and complete Arithmetic for the older +scholars in 1856, but his System of Theology did not appear till after +his decease, in 1857. Dr. Wright was the author of a Geography of three +hundred and two pages, printed in 1849. Mr. Cochran's Scripture +Geography appeared in 1856, and Barth's Church History was published +the same year. But the book studied more than all others, and most +efficient in enlightening and elevating the people, was the Bible, of +which the New Testament appeared in 1846, and the Old in 1852. As many +as three hours a day were devoted to that; and no recollections of +missionary education in Persia are so pleasant as those of the Bible +lessons. The pupils have pleasant memorials of some of them in the form +of Bible maps, drawn by themselves, which now form a conspicuous and +appropriate ornament of their homes. + +It may seem to some as though so much study of the Bible would make the +pupils weary of its sacred pages; but precisely the contrary was true. +When the New Testament, shortly after it was printed, was offered to +those who, during recreation hours, would commit to memory the +Scripture Catechism, containing more than one thousand texts, some +learned it in three weeks, and others in a longer time; and their joy +in receiving the reward could hardly be expressed. It was near the +close of the term, and some who had not quite finished when vacation +began remained to complete the task; for they said they could not go +home unless they carried with them their Testament; and the diligent +use they made of it afterwards showed that their desire was more than +mere covetousness. Even eighteen months after, writing to a friend in +America, they say, "Now we have each of us this blessed book, this +priceless blessing; would that in it we might all find salvation for +our souls. This book is from the unspeakable mercy of God; nor can we +ever repay our dear friends for it." I cannot forbear quoting here the +closing sentence of the letter--"Dear friend, the gentle love of the +Saviour be with you. AMEN." + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + +THE SEMINARY. + +MAE YOHANAN.--STANDARD OF SCHOLARSHIP.--ENGLISH BOOKS READ IN +SYRIAC.--EXPENSE.--FEELINGS OF PARENTS.--DOMESTIC DEPARTMENT.--DAILY +REPORTS.--PICTURE OF A WEEK DAY AND SABBATH.--"IF YOU LOVE ME, LEAN +HARD."--ESLI'S JOURNAL.--LETTER FROM PUPILS TO MOUNT HOLYOKE +SEMINARY.--FROM THE SAME TO MRS. C. T. MILLS. + +When Mar Yohanan returned to Persia after his visit to the United +States, in 1843, Prince Malik Kassim Meerza, who could speak a little +English, asked him, "What are the wonders of America?" He replied, "The +blind they do see, the deaf they do hear, and the women they do read; +they be not beasts." Having visited Mount Holyoke Seminary, he often +said, "Of all colleges in America, Mount Holy Oke be the best; and when +I see such a school here, I die;" meaning that then he would be ready +to die. When he brought her first boarding scholars to Miss Fiske, he +said, "Now you begin Mount Holy Oke in Persia." + +As she sought to reproduce one of our female seminaries, as far as was +possible in such different circumstances, it seems fitting to enter +somewhat into the minutiae of its arrangements. + +Resemblance to similar institutions at home is not as yet to be sought +in the standard of scholarship, though that is rapidly advancing. In an +unevangelized community, the people move on a lower level. Not only +social condition, but morality and education, feel the want of the +elevating influence of the gospel. A seminary that commences operations +by teaching the alphabet must advance far, and climb high, before its +graduates will stand on a level with those whose pupils were familiar +with elementary algebra when they entered; yet its course of study may +be the best to secure the usefulness of its members in their own +community. If ragged village girls, untutored and uncombed, studying +aloud in school hours, and at recess leaping over the benches like wild +goats, now study diligently and in silence, move gently, and are +respectful to their teachers and kind to each other, a thorough +foundation has been laid; and if, in addition to that, the literary +attainments of the lower classes to-day exceed those of the pupils who +first left the school, the superstructure rises at once beautifully and +securely. + +Leaving out the Bible,--which has been already spoken of,--to the +original reading, writing, singing, and composition; have been added by +degrees, grammar, geography, arithmetic, and theology; with oral +instruction in physiology, chemistry, natural philosophy, and astronomy. + +But we should neither understand the attainments of the pupils, nor the +source of their marked ability as writers, did we not notice that, as a +reward for good conduct during the day, their teacher was accustomed to +translate orally to them, at its close, at first simple stories, and +then such volumes as Paradise Lost, The Course of Time, and Edwards's +History of Redemption. To these were added such practical works as +Pike's Persuasives to Early Piety, Pastor's Sketches, and Christ a +Friend; and the pupils understood books a great deal better in the free +translations thus given, than in the more exact renderings issued from +the press. Baxter's Saints' Rest, poured thus hot and glowing into a +Syriac mould, was more effective, at least for the time, than the same +after it had cooled and been laboriously filed into fidelity to the +original. + +The Seminary was unlike similar schools at home in the matter of +expense. In 1853, the cost for each pupil was only about eighteen +dollars for the year, including rent, board, fuel, lights, and clothing +in part; and as this was paid by the American Board, education to the +people was without money and without price. We have already alluded to +the efforts of the teachers to train up the people to assume this +expense themselves. + +Let us now trace the progress made in getting the pupils away from the +evil influences of their Persian homes. In 1843, besides her six +boarding pupils, Miss Fiske had a few day scholars; next year she had +still fewer; and the year after that, they were dropped entirely. Many +wished to send their daughters in this way; but she was decided in her +refusal to receive them, because thus only could the highest good of +the pupils be secured. At first, so great was her dread of home +influences, that she sought to retain them even in vacation; but she +soon saw that their health and usefulness, their sympathy with the +people, and the confidence of the people in them, required them to +spend a part of the year at home. This also gave their teachers a good +opportunity to become acquainted with their friends and neighbors, and +a door was opened for many delightful meetings with women, in which the +pupils rendered much assistance. It also secured the influence of the +parents in favor of what was for the good of their daughters, and made +them interested in the school. During Miss Fiske's entire residence in +Persia, fathers rarely disregarded her wishes concerning their +daughters in her school. + +The only time that the teachers were ever reviled by a Nestorian father +was in the case of a village priest. He came one day to the Seminary to +see his daughter, and because she did not appear at once,--she was +engaged at the moment,--he cursed and swore, in a great passion, and +when she did come, carried her home. No notice was taken of it, and no +effort made to get her back; but three years after, the first +indications of his interest in religion were deep contrition for his +conduct on that occasion, and a letter full of grief for such treatment +of those who had come so far to tell him and his of Jesus. He at once +sent his daughter back, and three weeks after she too came to the +Saviour, and even begged, as a favor, to have the care of the rooms of +the teachers her father had reviled. Since then, the priest has written +no less than three letters, as he says, to be sure that so great +wickedness was really pardoned, it seemed to him so unpardonable. + +The circumstances of the Seminary required a domestic department. It +was difficult, in Persia, to have girls only ten years old take charge +of household affairs; yet a beginning was made; but how much labor of +love and patience of hope it involved cannot be told to those who have +not tried it. At first, their one hour of work each day was more of a +hinderance than a help; but gradually, through watchfulness and much +effort, they were brought to do the whole without the least +interference with their regular duties in school. They were thus +trained to wait upon themselves, and so one deeply rooted evil of +Oriental life was corrected. This practice also relieved the school of +the bad influence of domestics, while it prepared the pupils for lives +of contented usefulness among a people so poor as the Nestorians. +Besides, in this way they acquired habits of regularity and punctuality +such as they never saw in their own homes. + +But while these Western habits were inculcated, such of their own +customs as were harmless were left untouched. They were carefully +taught to do things in their own way, so as naturally and easily to +fall into their proper place at home. + +At first, in their daily reports, Miss Fiske dared not ask any question +the answer to which she could not ascertain for herself. The earliest +she ventured to put was, whether they had combed their hair that day. +The pupils all stood up, and those who had attended to this duty were +asked to sit down. The faithful ones were delighted to comply. The +others, mortified and ashamed, remained standing; but if one of them +tried to sit down, a glance of the eye detected her. This simple method +laid a foundation for truthfulness and self-respect; and from this the +teacher gradually advanced to other questions, as their moral sense +became able to bear them, till, when they could answer five +satisfactorily, such as, "Have you all your knitting needles?" "Were +you at prayers?" "Were you late?"--things that could be ascertained at +once,--they thought themselves wonderfully good, little dreaming how +much the teacher did not dare to ask, lest she should lead them into +temptation. After the first revival, she could ask about things that +took place out of her sight; and now this exercise is conducted in the +same way as in our best schools at home. There is very little +communication now between them in the school room. In 1852, there were +only five failures on this point for four months, and those by new +scholars. Dr. Perkins wrote, that year, "The exact system in this +school, and the order, studiousness, good conduct, and rapid +improvement of the pupils, in both this and the other Seminary, are +probably unsurpassed in any schools in America." + +In reply to a request for the picture of a day in the Seminary, Miss +Fiske writes, in 1862,-- + +"You ask for a day of my life in Persia. Come, then, to my home in +1854. You shall be waked by the noise of a hand-bell at early dawn: +twenty minutes after, our girls are ready for their half hour of silent +devotion. The bell for this usually finds them waiting for it, and the +perfect quiet in the house is almost unbroken. At the close of it, +another bell summons us to the school room for family devotion, where, +besides reading the Scriptures and prayer, they unite in singing one of +our sweet hymns.[1] In a few minutes after this, another bell calls us +to breakfast, and, that finished, all attend to their morning work. +Tables are cleared, rooms put in order, and preparations made for +supper--the principal meal in Persia; then for an hour they study +silently in their rooms. At a quarter before nine o'clock I enter the +school room, while Miss Rice cares for things without. We open school +with prayer, in which we carry to the Master more of our little cares +and trials than in the early morning. My first lesson is in Daniel, +with the older pupils, while two other classes go out to recite in +another room. Yonan stays with me, for I want him to help and be helped +in these Bible lessons. The class enjoy it exceedingly, and the forty +minutes spent on it always seem too short. The other classes now come +in, and all study or recite another forty minutes. After that, a short +recess in the yard makes all fresh again. The older classes then study, +while one of the younger ones has a Bible lesson with me on the life of +Christ. Each time I go over it with them I find things which I wonder I +had not perceived before. It is delightful to hear them express their +own thoughts of our blessed Saviour. We trace his journeyings on maps +prepared by the pupils, and they study the Scripture geography of each +place. After this, one class recites ancient Syriac to Yonan, and +another, in physiology, goes out to Miss Rice, leaving me to spend +forty minutes with the older girls on compositions. At present the +topic is, "The Christ of the Old Testament;" and I am thankful that I +studied Edwards's History of Redemption under Miss Lyon. This done, +fifteen minutes remain for a kind of general exercise, when we talk +over many things; and then the noon recess of one and a half hours +allows the girls to lunch, see friends, and recreate, till fifteen +minutes before its close, when they have a prayer meeting by +themselves. [Footnote 1: At first, only one hymn was printed on a +separate sheet; then a little hymn book of five,--as many as Luther +commenced with at the Reformation. Now the hymn book contains about two +hundred hymns, and some of the pupils can repeat them all.] + +"In the afternoon, Miss Rice takes charge of the school, and I have the +time out. At present the first hour is given to writing; soon astronomy +will take its place. Recitations in geography follow till recess, and +after that singing or spelling. The last hour, I go in and hear a +lesson in Hebrews. On this Epistle we have full notes prepared in +Syriac, and we study it carefully, in connection with the Old +Testament. Miss Rice also has a lesson in Judges, and then all come +together for the daily reports, more as a family than a school. There +is still an hour before supper for mutual calls, knitting, sewing, and +family duties. After supper and work are over, and they have had a +little time to themselves, come evening prayers. Then they have a short +study hour in their rooms, followed by the half hour for private +devotion, which closes the day. + +"Of course, at another time, the studies might be somewhat different. +The hours that Miss Rice and I are out of school we spend in seeing +visitors, holding prayer meetings, going out among the women, and +sometimes devote a whole day to a distant village." + +Having thus looked in on a day of study, let us, through the same +glass, take a view of the Lord's day. The letter is dated December, +1855. + +MY DEAR FRIEND: I have learned here that He who fed five thousand with +the portion of five can feed the soul to the full with what I once +counted only crumbs. May I give you one of the Master's sermons? A few +Sabbaths ago, I went to Geog Tapa with Mr. Stoddard. It was afternoon, +and I was seated on a mat in the middle of the earthen floor of the +church. I had already attended Sabbath school and a prayer meeting with +my pupils, and, weary, I longed for rest. It seemed as if I could not +sit without support through the service. Then I remembered that after +that came my meeting with the women readers of the village; and O, how +desirable seemed rest! But God sent it in an unexpected way; for a +woman came and seated herself directly behind me, so that I could lean +on her, and invited me to do so. I declined; but she drew me back, +saying, "If you love me, lean hard." Very refreshing was that support. +And then came the Master's own voice, repeating the words, "If you love +_me_, lean hard;" and I leaned on him too, feeling that, through that +poor woman, he had preached me a better sermon than I could have heard +at home. I was rested long before the services were through; then I +spent an hour with the women, and after sunset rode six miles to my own +home. I wondered that I was not weary that night nor the next morning; +and I have rested ever since on those sweet words, "If you love me, +lean hard." + +But I intended to tell you of our Sabbaths in school. Saturday is the +girls' day for washing and mending, and we are busy all day long. Just +before sunset, the bell calls us to the school room, and there we +inquire if the last stitch is taken, and the rooms are all in order. If +any thing is still undone, the half hour before supper sees it +finished. After leaving the table, every thing is arranged for the +morning, and then we have a quiet half hour in our rooms. After this, +half the pupils come to Miss Rice, and half to me. Each has a prayer +meeting, remembering the absent ones, also the Female Seminaries in +Constantinople, South Hadley (Mass.), and Oxford (Ohio). All retire +from these precious meetings to their "half hour," as they call it, and +before nine o'clock all is quiet, unless it be the voice of some one +still pleading with her God. + +The first bell, Sabbath morning, is at half past five, when all rise +and dress for the day. Morning prayers are at half past six; then comes +breakfast, and, our few morning duties being done, the girls retire to +study their Sabbath school lessons, and sometimes ask to meet together +for prayer. At half past nine, we attend Syriac service in the chapel. +The Sabbath school follows that, numbering now about two hundred +pupils. About two thirds of our scholars are teachers in it, and it is +a good preparation for teaching in their homes. Those who do not teach +form a class. We then go home to lunch, flavored with pleasant +remembrances and familiar explanations of the morning service. The +afternoon service commences at two o'clock, and our Bible lessons an +hour before supper, though some are called earlier, to help us teach +the women who come in for instruction. At supper, all are allowed to +ask Bible questions, and before leaving the table we have evening +prayers. At seven o'clock, Miss Rice and I go to the English prayer +meeting, while the pupils meet in six or seven family meetings, as they +call them, the inmates of each room being by themselves, and the pious +among them taking turns in conducting them. If any wish to come to us +after this, we are glad to see them; and often this hour witnesses the +submission of souls to God. + +Besides these there is a weekly prayer meeting on Tuesday evening, a +lecture on Friday afternoon, and on Wednesday, as well as Sabbath +evening, the school meets in two divisions for prayer. + +The following journal, kept during the revival, in 1860, by Esli, an +assistant teacher, forms an appropriate continuation of this interior +picture of the Seminary:-- + +"_February 1st_. To-day, a part of the girls wrote compositions on +'anger,' and a part on 'the gospel.' + +"_3d, Friday_. John was here to-day writing to Mount Holyoke Seminary, +and attended our noon prayer meeting. In the afternoon, Deacon Joseph +of Degala preached from the words "King of kings and Lord of lords." In +the evening, Mr. Coan sung with us, and we read the weekly report of +our conduct. + +"_5th, Sabbath_. In the forenoon, Dr. Wright preached from Acts ii. 37. +He said that we must know what sin is; that we are sinners; and that we +cannot save ourselves. In the afternoon, Priest Eshoo preached from +Luke xv. 32. The evening prayer meetings were very pleasant. + +"_9th_. A blessed morning. Some of the girls are thoughtful. This was +seen in the quiet at table and the silence in the kitchen. The work was +done both earlier and better than usual. During the study hour, the +voice of prayer sounded very sweetly in every room. When the girls +walked in the yard, it was very quiet, and so when they came in. Our +noon prayer meeting was very pleasant; Miss Rice said a few words on +the shortness of time. While Hanee prayed, some wept. When Miss Rice +dismissed us, no one moved; all were bowed on their desks, weeping. She +then gave opportunity for prayer, and while I prayed, all were in +tears. The girls have kept all the rules well to-day. This evening, the +communicants met with Miss Rice, and the rest with Martha. Miss Rice +read about Jonah in the ship, and said a few words; after that, Raheel +the teacher prayed. Then Hanee spoke a little of her own state, and +asked us to pray for Raheel of Ardishai, who is thoughtful. I spoke, +and asked them to pray for Hannah and Parangis, who are in my room. + +"10th. The state of our school is the same. Mr. Cochran preached on the +faithfulness of the Jews under Nehemiah, when they rebuilt Jerusalem. +After meeting he told us that the members of the Male Seminary spent +yesterday as a day of fasting and prayer, and many rose confessing +their sins. One very wicked man, also from the village, asked them to +pray for him. After work was done in the kitchen this evening, a little +time remained, and the girls there asked to have a meeting. With +gladness of heart I knelt and mingled my tears with theirs, as though +I, too, were commencing the work. Afterwards Mr. Coan came and sung +with us, and we read the accounts of the week." + +Esli, the writer of the above, is the daughter of Yohanan, a pious man +in Geog Tapa, who for a time was steward of the Seminary. She was one +of the first fruits of the revival of 1856, and graduated after Miss +Fiske's return to America. She has since been a most faithful assistant +of Miss Rice, and is very much beloved by the pious Nestorians. But the +following letter to Miss Fiske, from her own pen, dated April 1859, +will form her best introduction to the reader:-- + +"When I recall your love to me, my heart is full. I remember the times +when we knelt together before our Father in heaven, in godly anguish +for priceless souls. Especially do I remember when God first came near +to me, how you shared my sorrow by day and by night, and pointed me to +Him who bled for me. After you brought me to Christ, you showed me the +helps to a Christian life; that I must pray not only in my closet, but +also in my heart, when at work or studying, that God would keep me. O +that I had heeded your counsels more! + +"This winter the Lord led me to see my cold state. For a time the +Saviour's face was hidden; then it seemed to be midnight; but I looked +above, and the darkness fled. I saw him standing with open arms, and +quickly I threw myself into those arms. Tears of joy fell from my eyes, +and by the grace of God I was enabled to go forward day by day. Secret +prayer has since been very pleasant to me. + +"We have had pleasant seasons of prayer in our school this winter, and +we trust that some souls have been born again. I have the care of a +circle of girls in the kitchen. They work well, and keep it clean. I +think you know that such work is difficult, but if you were to come in +you would find every thing in order. Every Wednesday we scour all the +shelves and the doors. + +"The girls have made the yard very pleasant; but one thing is wanting +there: we miss you at the cool of the day, walking in it to see if any +evil has grown up in your garden. + +"I went to my village in vacation; the prayer meetings there were very +pleasant, and I enjoyed much, praying with the women alone. Our seasons +of family devotion also were delightful. In the morning we read the +Acts in course; and as each read a verse, my father asked its meaning. +When he went away to preach, I used to lead, and we then read the +portion for the day, in the book called 'Green Pastures for the Lord's +Flock.' + +"In the school we have studied Ezra, in connection with Haggai and +Zechariah, and are now in Nehemiah. In the New Testament we are on +Paul's third journey, and have nearly finished Scripture geography and +theology." + +The Seminary keeps up a Christian intercourse with the institution at +South Hadley, as the following letters will show; and the beautiful +melodeon in the sitting room is a tuneful testimony to the liberality +of Holyoke's daughters. + +"Many salutations and much love from the school of Miss Fiske to you, +our dear sisters of the school at Mount Holyoke. We rejoice that there +is such a great institution full of holy words and the warm love of +Christ: we hear that many of you have an inheritance above, and are +daily looking forward to it. We want to tell you how glad we are that +the Holy Spirit has come among you, and that God has turned so many to +himself. Though we are great sinners, we rejoice exceedingly in the +success of the work of God in every place; and we beg you to pray that +the Holy Spirit may visit us also, and our people, and strike sharp +arrows into flinty hearts, that they may melt like wax before the fire. +Blessed be God, that though we had become the least of all nations, and +adopted many customs worse than the heathen, and our holy books were +carefully laid away and never used, yet he put love into the hearts of +his servants, that they should come to this dark land. We are greatly +obliged to you and to your people for so kindly sending us these +missionaries. They have greatly multiplied our books, and, as we trust, +brought many souls to Christ. Some of us, formerly, knew not who Christ +was, or whether a Redeemer had died for us; but now he has gathered us +together in this school of godly instruction; and some of us are +awaking to our sins, and to the great love God has shown in sending his +Son to die for us. We thank God very much that we know Jesus Christ, +the only Saviour. + +"Again, we want to thank you for sending Miss Fiske to teach us the way +of life; we love her because she greatly loves us, and desires our +salvation. Every day she takes much trouble that we may be the +daughters of God. But her burdens are so great, that we fear she will +not remain long with us, unless some one comes to help her. And now we +have a petition to present: we hear that in many of you dwelleth the +spirit of our Master, Jesus Christ; and that you are ready to leave +home and friends, and go to distant lands, to gather the lost sheep of +Christ. Dear sisters, our petition is, that you will send us a +teacher.[1] We shall greatly rejoice if one comes, and will love her +very much. We ask this, not because we do not love Miss Fiske. No! no! +this is not in our hearts; but she is weak, and her work is more than +she can do alone. We shall expect one to come, and pray God to bring +her to us in safety. [Footnote 1: Miss Mary Susan Rice, already +mentioned in these pages, went out this same year (1847), from the +Seminary in South Hadley.] + +"Please remember us in your closets and in your meetings, and ask your +friends to pray for us and for our people. Farewell, beloved sisters." + +The following extracts are from a letter written by them, in 1848, to +Miss Susan L. Tolman, now Mrs. Cyrus T. Mills of the Sandwich Islands, +and formerly of Ceylon:-- + +"Much love from the members of the Female Seminary of Oroomiah to you, +our dear Miss Tolman. We are very glad to find one who loves us so +much, and prays for us. Our delight in your letter was greater than we +can express. Miss Fiske came in joyfully with it in her hand, and while +she read, it seemed as if you were present, inviting and drawing us to +Christ. + +"Give our love to all in your favored school, and ask them to pray for +us. We love all those dear ladies, because they have been so kind to +us, and have been willing that Miss Fiske and Miss Rice should leave +them, and come here for our sakes. Though they were dear to you, we +think that now they have come to us, your joy in them is greater. We +hope to hear of many of you carrying the leaves of life to the dark +corners of the earth. + +"Dear Miss Tolman, you said, 'You love Miss Fiske, you must also love +Miss Rice.' Did you think that we would not love her? We love them +both, not only for leaving their friends to come to us, but also +because they are full of the love of our dear Redeemer. + +"We have heard that you are going to India. We are glad, and love you +more for it, because the love of Christ constrains you to this, and +thus in spirit you come very near to our dear teachers. We entreat +Almighty God to be with you, and bring you in safety to the place he +appoints for you, that you may be a light among a dark people. We hope +that when there you will not forget us, but write us about your work, +and about the daughters of India, whether they love you much or not. +Tell your friends not to sorrow for you, but to rejoice that they have +a friend ready to go and teach those who know not Christ. The Saviour +guide you in all your labors." + +Those who aided Miss Lyon to carry out her large-hearted plans in New +England, little dreamed that offshoots from the vine they planted would +so soon be carried to the ends of the earth. Who does not admire that +grace which, in this missionary age, raised up such a type of piety to +be diffused over the globe? Doubtless it will undergo changes in +Persia, as it has done already; but the devout student of Providence +will watch its growth with interest, and its developments will not +disappoint his hopes. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + +VACATION SCENES. + +IN GAWAR AND ISHTAZIN.--VILLAGES OF MEMIKAN.--OOBEYA, DARAWE, AND +SANAWAR.--IN GAVALAN.--ACCOMMODATIONS.--SABBATH SCHOOL. + +To the interior pictures of the school in the last chapter we add some +vacation scenes, though chronologically in advance of other things yet +to come. + +[Illustration: Tents.] + +Towards the close of July, 1851, Mr. Stocking and family, with Misses +Fiske and Rice, and several native helpers, spent the vacation in +Gawar. Mr. Coan accompanied them on his way to regions beyond. +Wandering from place to place, like the patriarchs of old, they pitched +their tents at first near the village of Memikan. A sketch of these +tents is here presented. The women there were frequent visitors, and +few went away without some idea of the truth as it is in Jesus. The +pious natives were unwearied in labor, and sometimes woke the +missionaries in the morning with prayer for the people round about +them. On the Sabbath, there was preaching in as many as five different +villages, and after morning service in Memikan, the women came to the +tents to receive more particular instruction from their own sex. In the +evening, a mother who had buried her son in February--then a very +promising member of the Seminary at Seir[1]--brought her youngest +daughter, about six years of age, saying, "We give her to you in the +place of Guwergis. He has gone to a blessed place. You led him there. +We thank you, and now intrust to you our little daughter." Eshoo, the +father, spoke of his departed son with much feeling, but most sweet +submission. He said to Miss Fiske, as the big tears glistened in the +moonlight, "I shall not be here long. I shall soon rejoin him. My hope +in Jesus grows stronger every day." The death of that dear son was not +only a great spiritual blessing to him, but the mere mention of his +name at once secured the attention of the villagers to any thing the +missionaries had to say about his Saviour. [Footnote 1: Nestorian +Biography, p. 127.] + +On Monday, they left for a visit to the Alpine district of Ishtazin. +Unable to take horses along those frightful paths, they rode on hardy +mules. In a subsequent journey over the same road, the fastenings of +Miss Fiske's saddle gave way, and she fell, but providentially without +injury. Sometimes they climbed, or, more hazardous still, descended, a +long, steep stairway of rock, or they were hid in the clouds that hung +around the higher peaks of the mountain. Now the path led them under +huge, detached rocks, that seemed asking leave to overwhelm them, and +now under the solid cliffs, that suggested the more grateful idea of +the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. Down in the valley were +pleasant waterfalls, little fields rescued by much labor from the +surrounding waste, choice fruits, and such a variety of flowers, that +it seemed as if spring, summer, and autumn had combined to supply them. +Then, in looking up, the eye rested on silver threads apparently +hanging down from far-off summits, but really foaming streams dashing +headlong down the rocks, yet so distant that no sound came to the ear +from their roaring waters. + +The party stopped at Ooreya, on one of its flat roofs, shaded by a +magnificent walnut tree. The villagers brought mulberries, apples, and +other fruits, till they could prepare something more substantial, and +seemed to forget their fears of the patriarch in their zealous +hospitality. After supper, all adjourned to the churchyard, and there, +in the bright moonlight, a crowd of eager listeners heard of Christ, +and redemption through his precious blood. The silence of night was +broken only by the voice of the preacher, and the echoes of the +surrounding cliffs seemed to repeat joyfully the unwonted sounds. Yonan +preached from the words "Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in +their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom." He +commenced by asking whether Christ was right in so doing. They replied, +"Certainly he did right." "Yes," said the preacher, "and as he did, so +must his followers do; and you must expect to see them in Ishtazin. +When we cease to climb over these precipices to come to you, fear lest +we have become Mussulmans, for Christians cannot but go from village to +village to preach the gospel." The reader will see the force of such an +appeal, when he remembers that Mar Shimon had forbidden these people to +receive the missionaries because they preached. This was followed by a +statement of the doctrines that Jesus preached, in which he did not +fail to bring out the essence of the gospel. When he sat down, Khamis, +the brother of Deacon Tamo, followed with a most impassioned +exhortation. The missionaries had thought him a good preacher before, +but the place and the circumstances--he was among his own native +mountains--seemed to carry him beyond himself. All through this region, +the people appeared to render as much honor to him as they would have +done to Mar Shimon. The assembly dispersed, and the travellers lay down +where they were, to battle with the sand-flies till the welcome dawn +lit up the conspicuous summits high above them. + +Almost every moment of the next forenoon was filled by personal +religious conversation with many who never heard such truths before. In +the evening, even more fixed attention was given to another service in +the open air, at the village of Boobawa, for the pious Mar Ogen[1] was +then living there, and the bright light of his piety had not shone in +vain. Several were earnestly inquiring how to be saved. [Footnote 1: +Nestorian Biography, p. 267.] + +On Thursday, the day after their return to Memikan, Mr. Coan, Priest +Dunkha, Khamis, and Deacon John left for Central Koordistan, and Deacon +Isaac went to Kochannes. But though the laborers were fewer, the number +of visitors continued the same. Next Sabbath, besides two services, and +two meetings with the women in Memikan, there was preaching in three +other villages. In Chardewar, the home of Priest Dunkha, Miss Fiske +found his daughter, who had come with them from Oroomiah, already full +of work. She had just dismissed her Sabbath school, and was reading the +Bible with her cousin, the village priest, who did all in his power to +help her, both in her school through the week, and her meetings with +the women. One Sabbath, almost every woman in the place had been +present, as was the case also when she was visited by Misses Fiske and +Rice, and Sanum said that she could not ask for a better place in which +to work for Christ. There was more of real hunger for the truth here +than any where else in the mountains. + +Leaving Memikan, the travellers removed to Darawe, the village +described on page 21. Here they could scarcely get permission to pitch +their tent, or procure provision for themselves and horses; yet even in +such a place, the manifestation of Christian love was not without +fruit, though many bitterly opposed them to the last. The neighboring +villages wondered at the missionaries going there at all, and still +more at their being able to remain. + +At Keyat, the kindness of the people, and pleasant intercourse with +them, were all the more grateful for the contrast with what had gone +before. Here Miss Fiske met with that kind reception from Mar Shimon, +then passing through the place, described on page 159, while the tent +literally flowed with milk and honey furnished by the villagers, whom +he had charged to take good care of their visitors. + +On the following Sabbath, Yonan preached to a congregation of about two +hundred, at Sanawar, where forty families of refugees from Saat were +spending the summer. When Miss Fiske and Miss Rice visited their camp, +they found a number of temporary huts enclosing a circle, where the +domestic labors of spinning, weaving, and cooking were actively going +on. All the women at once left their work, and welcomed their visitors +with every mark of confidence and gladness. Some of them had heard the +gospel from the missionaries in Mosul, as they had often spent the +winter near there. So they drank in every word with eagerness. + +The ladies were delighted with their visit, especially with a widow, +who, though unable to read, showed unusual familiarity with the Bible, +and, as they hoped, a spiritual acquaintance with its doctrines. When +the topic of our fallen nature was mentioned, "Yes," said she, "we were +all shapen in iniquity, as David testifies." When asked if she had any +hope of being saved from sin, she replied, "I am very far from God, yet +my only hope is in the wounded side of Jesus Christ. If penitently I +stand beneath the blood dropping from his cross, I hope that my sins, +though red like scarlet, may become as white as snow." Her views of the +way of salvation were not only clear, but beautifully expressed. It was +exceedingly refreshing, in that region where they had expected only +darkness, thus to find the rays of light struggling through from their +associates in another mission; and it gave a delightful foretaste of +the time when the voice of one watchman upon those mountain tops should +reach to another, and on all sides the eye behold the trophies of +Immanuel. It was with feelings of peculiar interest that they heard, +some years after, that this stranger in Sanawar, but, as they fondly +hoped, their sister in Christ, held fast her confidence in his grace to +the end, and so fell asleep in Jesus. + +For a companion picture to the preceding, we turn to the summer of +1852. Mr. Stocking moved out to Gavalan, the native place of Mar +Tohanan, early in the season, and both teachers followed, with thirteen +of their pupils, about the middle of June. The village lies near the +base of a range of mountains, at the northern end of the plain of +Oroomiah, forty miles distant from the city. On the east the blue +waters of the lake seem to touch the sky, and stretch away to the south +in quiet loveliness. Sometimes, when reposing in the gorgeous light of +sunset, or reflecting the red rays of the full moon, they remind the +beholder of the "sea of glass mingled with fire" revealed to the +beloved disciple. The breeze from the lake, in the long summer days, is +very grateful, and the evening air from the mountains makes sleep +refreshing. + +Mar Yohanan gave the school free use of two rooms as long as it +remained. In the court yard before them a large tent was pitched, that +served for dining room, dormitory, and reception room, or diwan khaneh. +An adjoining house afforded a comfortable recitation room. Here the +regular routine of the school went on, and while men from the village +found their way to Mr. Stocking's at the hour of evening prayer, women +also came to the school room at the same hour. At the last meeting of +this kind before Miss Fiske returned to the city, nearly forty were +present, listening with quiet attention to the words of life. On the +Sabbath, the sides of the tent were lifted outward from the bottom, and +fastened in a horizontal position, so as to admit the air and exclude +the sun. The ground beneath was covered with mats, and formed quite a +pleasant chapel. In the forenoon, this was thronged with attentive +hearers. The children of the boys' school in the village sat close to +their teacher. The members of the girls' school could be distinguished +from their playmates by the greater smoothness of their hair, the +whiteness of their faces, and general tidiness. Among the old men, the +venerable father of the bishop was very conspicuous. The members of the +Seminary crowded round their teachers so as to leave more room for +others, and still all could not get under the shadow of the wings of +the tabernacle. Mr. Stocking preached in the forenoon, and in the +afternoon the people came together again as a Sabbath school. Each of +the pupils of the Seminary had a class of women or girls, and seemed to +learn how to do good faster than ever before. They visited them at +their houses during the week; they sought out the absentees; and it was +delightful to go round the school and note the interest of both scholar +and teacher. If these were zealous in teaching, those were no less so +in learning. The classes, after the introductory services, filled every +available corner in the rooms, the tent, the front of the house, and +even sat on the low mud wall of the court. With the same variety of +character, there was greater diversity of lessons than in schools at +home. Some studied the Old Testament, and some the New; others were +just learning to read, and those who could not read at all were taught +the Scriptures orally. One class of Armenians was taught in Turkish. + +Matters went on very well for two Sabbaths, but on the third, women and +children had vanished. What was the matter? It had been reported that +all this labor was only a preparation to transport them to America, and +the simple-minded mothers staid away with their children in great +trepidation; but visits from house to house, during the week, dispelled +their fears, and next Sabbath all were again in their places, and this +pleasant labor in Gavalan continued till September. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + +EARLY LABORS FOR WOMEN. + +FIRST MEETINGS WITH THEM.--FIRST CONVEKT.--FIRST LESSONS.--WILD WOMEN +OF ARDISHAI. + +The teachers of the Seminary did not confine their labors to its +inmates; they expended both time and toil for adult women as well as +for their daughters, and never felt that they gave them too large a +proportion of their labors. At first there was a strong feeling among +most of the women that they might not worship God along with deacons +and readers; and so they could not be persuaded to attend public +preaching. But Miss Fiske found that a few would come to her room at +the same hour; so, encouraged by her missionary sisters whose hearts +were in the work, but whose family cares prevented their doing it +themselves, she visited the women at their houses, to urge them to come +in. Then, as her own knowledge of the language was as yet imperfect +(this was in 1844), and she wisely judged that listening to a gentleman +would sooner prepare them to come in to the regular service, she +secured one of the missionary brethren to conduct the meeting. The +first day only five attended; but soon she enjoyed the sight of about +forty mothers listening to the truth as it is in Jesus. On the third +Sabbath, she was struck with the fixed attention of one of them, and, +on talking with her alone, found her deeply convinced of sin. She had +not before seen one who did not feel perfectly prepared to die; but +this one groaned, being burdened, and seemed bowed to the dust with the +sense of her unworthiness. When Miss Fiske prayed with her, she +repeated each petition in a whisper after her, and rose from her knees +covered with perspiration, so intensely was she moved: her life, she +said, had been one of rebellion against God; and she knew that no +prayers, fasts, or other outward observances, had benefited her, or +could procure forgiveness. In this state of mind she was directed to +Christ and his righteousness as her only hope; and though for some time +little progress was apparent, at length, as she herself expressed it, +"I was praying, and the Lord poured peace into my soul." The change in +her character was noticed by her neighbors. From being one of the most +turbulent and disagreeable of the women in her vicinity, she became +noted for her gentleness and general consistency. She has since died, +and her last days were full of a sweet trust in her Saviour. She was +the first inquirer among Nestorian women. + +This meeting was given up as soon as the women found their way to the +regular service; but ever since there have been separate meetings for +them at other hours. + +Until the revival in 1846, those who conducted these meetings had to +labor alone, for there were none of the Nestorians to help them. +Indeed, Miss Fiske had been in Oroomiah more than two years, before +women came much to her for strictly religious conversation, or could be +induced to sit down to the study of the Scriptures. + +Some of her first efforts to interest them in the Bible were almost +amusing in the difficulties encountered, and the manner in which they +were overcome. + +She would seat herself among them on the earthen floor, and read a +verse, then ask questions to see if they understood it. For example: +after reading the history of the creation (for she began at the +beginning), she asked, "Who was the first man?" _Answer_. "What do we +know? we are women;" which was about equivalent in English to "we are +donkeys." The passage was read again, and the question repeated with no +better success. Then she told them, Adam was the first man, and made +them repeat the name Adam over and over till they remembered it. The +next question was, "What does it mean?" Here, too, they could give no +answer; not because they did not know, for the word was in common use +among them; but they had no idea that they could answer, and so they +did not, and were perfectly delighted to find that the first man was +called _red earth_, because he was made of it. This was enough for one +lesson. It set them to thinking. It woke up faculties previously +dormant. The machinery was there, perfect in all its parts, but so +rusted from disuse, that it required no little skill and patience to +make it move at all; but the least movement was a great gain; more was +sure to follow. Another lesson would take up Eve (Syriac, _Hawa_, +meaning _Life_). Miss Fiske would begin by saying, "Is not that a +pretty name? and would you not like to know that you had a +great-great-grandmother called _Life?_ Now, that was the name of our +first mother--both yours and mine." It was interesting to notice how +faces previously stolid would light up with animation after that, if +the preacher happened to repeat the name of our first parents, and how +one would touch another, whispering with childish joy, "Didn't you +hear? He said Adam." + +Such were the women who came to the Seminary for instruction; but the +teachers also went forth to search out the no less besotted females in +the villages; and, as a counterpart to the above, we present an account +of labors among the wild women of Ardishai, a village twelve miles +south-east from Oroomiah. + +When Miss Fiske had been in Oroomiah about one year, Mr. Stocking +proposed a visit to Ardishai. So the horses were brought to the gate, +one bearing the tent, another the baskets containing Mr. Stocking's +children, and a third miscellaneous baggage; besides the saddle horses. +The first night, the tent was pitched on one of the threshing floors of +Geog Tapa; but as American ladies were a novelty in Ardishai, the party +there, in order to secure a little quiet, had to pitch their tent on +the flat roof of a house. It was Miss Fiske's first day in a large +village, and she became so exhausted by talking with the women, that +she can never think of that weary Saturday without a feeling of +fatigue. As the village is near the lake, the swarms of mosquitoes +allowed them no rest at night; and morning again brought the crowd with +its idle curiosity as unsatisfied as the appetite of more diminutive +assailants. About nine o'clock, all went to the church, where Mr. +Stocking preached, while the women sat in most loving proximity to +their strange sisters, handling and commenting on their dresses during +the discourse. Mr. Stocking could preach though others talked, and +readily raised his voice so as to be heard above the rest. At the +close, Priest Abraham, without consulting any one, rose and announced +two meetings for the afternoon; one in another church for men, and a +second in this for women, who must all come, because the lady from the +new world was to preach. So the news flew through the neighboring +villages. The good lady called the priest to account for his doings; +but he replied, "I knew that they would come if I said that, and yon +can preach very well, for your girls told me so." He was greatly +disappointed, however, when he found that his notice left him alone to +preach to the men, while Mr. Stocking preached to some six hundred +women, with half as many children. They were a rude, noisy company, not +one of them all caring for the truth; and there was no moment when at +least half a dozen voices could not be heard besides the preacher's. +When he closed, as many as twenty cried out, "Now let Miss Fiske +preach." So he withdrew, and left her to their tender mercies. Her +preaching was soon finished. She simply told them, that when she knew +their language better, she would come and talk with them, but she could +not talk at the same time that they did, for God had given her a very +small voice, and her words would no more mingle with theirs than oil +and water. They said, "Oil and water never mix; but we will be silent +if you will come and preach." Months passed on, and she again visited +the village. The women remembered her promise, and hundreds came +together; but they did not remember to be silent. As soon as she began, +they began; and if she asked them to be quiet, each exhorted her +neighbor, at the top of her voice, to be still; and the louder the +uproar, of course the louder the reproofs. At length Miss Fiske said, +"I cannot say any more, unless you all put your fingers on your +mouths." All the fingers went up, and she proceeded: "I have a good +story to tell you; but if one takes her finger from her mouth, I cannot +tell it." Instantly muzzled voices, all round the church, cried, "Be +still, be still, so that we can hear the story!" Some minutes elapsed, +and the four hundred women were silent. "Once there was an old woman--I +did not know her, nor did my father, and I think my grandfather did +not; but he told me--" Here commenced many inquiries about said +grandfather; but again the fingers were ordered to their places, and +their owners told that they should hear no more about the woman if they +talked about the grandfather. "Now, this woman talked in meeting,--I +should think she must have been a relative of yours, for ours do not +talk in meeting,--and after many reproofs she was forbidden to go to +church any more if she continued to do so. She promised very +faithfully; but, poor woman, she could not be still; then, as soon as +she heard her own voice, she cried out, 'O, I have spoken in meeting. +What shall I do? Why, I keep speaking, and I cannot stop.' Now, you are +very much like this woman, and as I think you cannot stop, I must." By +this time their fingers were pressed closely on their lips, and no one +made a reply. Having thus secured silence, Miss Fiske took the New +Testament, and read to them of Mary, who, she was sure, never talked in +meeting; for if she had, Jesus would not have loved her so much. She +talked to them about fifteen minutes more, and prayed with them, and +they went away very still and thoughtful. + +Miss Fiske gave this account to the writer, with no idea that he would +print it. But he thinks--and the reader will doubtless agree with +him--that in no other way could he convey so vivid an idea of woman as +she was in Persia, or the tact needed to secure a first hearing for the +truth. Miss Fiske was often called to deal with just such rude +assemblages, and by varied methods she generally succeeded in securing +attention. In subsequent visits to Ardishai the number of hearers was +never again so large; but they came together from better motives, and, +as we shall see, not without the blessing of the Lord. In March, 1850, +Miss Rice met nearly three hundred women in the same church, some of +them awakened, and a few already hopefully pious. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + +FRUITS OF LABOR IN NESTORIAN HOMES. + +USEFULNESS AMONG RELATIVES OF PUPILS.--DEACON GUWERGIS.--REFORMED +DRUNKARD AND HIS DAUGHTER.--MATERNAL MEETINGS.---EARLY INQUIRERS FROM +GEOG TAPA.--PARTING ADDRESS OF MR. HOLLADAY.--VISIT TO GEOG +TAPA.--SELBY AND HER CLOSET. + +Having thus glanced at early labors for women in the Seminary and in +the villages, let us now turn to another field of usefulness among the +relatives of the pupils, who came to visit them in school; and here we +are at no loss for a notable illustration. + +In the autumn of 1845, Deacon Guwergis, of Tergawer,--and almost every +reader was either priest or deacon,--brought his oldest daughter, then +about twelve years of age, and begged for her admission to the +Seminary. He was known as one of the vilest and most defiantly +dissolute of the Nestorians, and Miss Fiske shrunk from receiving the +daughter of such a man into her flock. Yet, on the ground that, like +her Master, she was sent not to the righteous, but to the lost, she +concluded to receive her. Still the father, during his short stay, +showed such a spirit of avarice and shameless selfishness,--he even +asked for the clothes his daughter had on when she came,--that she +rejoiced when he went away. + +His home was twenty-five miles off, in the mountains, and she hoped +that winter snows would soon shield her from his dreaded visits. Little +did she think that his next coming would result in his salvation. In +February he again presented himself at her door in his Koordish +costume, gun, dagger, and belt of ammunition all complete. He came on +Saturday, when many of the pupils were weeping over their sins; and the +teacher could not but feel that the wolf had too truly entered the +fold. He ridiculed their anxiety for salvation, and opposed the work of +grace, in his own reckless way. She tried to guard her charge from his +attacks as best she could; but they were too divinely convinced of sin +to be much affected by what he said. His own daughter, at length, +distressed at his conduct, begged him to go alone with her to pray. +(The window on the right of the central door of the Seminary points out +the place.) Ho mocked and jeered, but went, confident in his power to +cure her superstition. "Do you not think that I too can pray?" And he +repeated over his form in ancient Syriac, as a wizard would mutter his +incantation. His child then implored mercy for her own soul, and for +her perishing father, as a daughter might be expected to do, just +awakened to her own guilt and the preciousness of redemption. As he +heard the words "Save, O, save my father, going down to destruction," +he raised his clinched hand to strike; but, as he said afterwards, "God +held me back from it." No entreaties of his daughter could prevail on +him to enter the place of prayer again that day. + +The native teacher, Murad Khan, then recently converted, took him to +his own room, and reasoned with him till late at night. Sabbath morning +found him not only fixed in his rebellion, but toiling to prevent +others coming to Christ. At noon Miss Fiske went to the room where he +was. (The two lower windows on the right of the engraving of the +Seminary mark the place.) He sat in the only chair there, and never +offered her a seat; so she stood by him, and tried to talk; but he +sternly repelled every attempt to speak of Jesus. She then took his +hand, and said, "Deacon Guwergis, I see you do not wish me to speak +with you, and I promise you that I will never do it again unless you +wish it; but pledge me one thing: when we stand together in judgment, +and you are on the left hand, as you must be if you go on in your +present course, promise me that you will then testify, that on this +twenty-second day of February, 1846, you were warned of your danger." +He gave no pledge, but a weeping voice said, "Let me pray." The hand +was withdrawn, and he passed into the adjoining room, whence soon +issued a low voice, that Miss Fiske could hardly yet believe was +prayer. The bell rung for meeting, and she sent her precious charge +alone, while she staid to watch the man whose previous character and +conduct led her to fear that he was only feigning penitence in order to +plunder the premises undisturbed. She staid till a voice seemed to say, +What doest thou here, Elijah? then went and took her place in the +chapel; soon the door opened again very gently, and Deacon Guwergis +entered; but how changed! His gun and dagger were laid aside; the folds +of his turban had fallen over his forehead; his hands were raised to +his face; and the big tears fell in silence; he sank into the nearest +seat, and laid his head upon the desk. After Mr. Stoddard had +pronounced the blessing, Miss Fiske requested Mr. Stocking to see +Deacon Guwergis. + +He took him to his study, and there, in bitterness of soul, the recent +blasphemer cried out, "O my sins! my sins! they are higher than the +mountains of Jeloo." "Yes," said Mr. Stocking, "but if the fires of +hell could be out, you would not be troubled--would you?" The strong +man now bowed down in his agony, exclaiming, "Sir, even if there were +no hell, I could not bear this load of sin. I could not live as I have +lived." + +That night he could not sleep. In the morning, Miss Fiske begged Mr. +Stoddard to see him, and after a short interview he returned, telling +her that the dreaded Guwergis was sitting at the feet of Jesus. "My +great sins," and "My great Saviour," was all that he could say. He was +subdued and humble, and before noon left for his mountain home, saying, +as he left, "I must tell my friends and neighbors of sin and of Jesus." +Yet he trembled in view of his own weakness, and the temptations that +might befall him. Nothing was heard from him for two weeks, when Priest +Eshoo was sent to his village, and found him in his own house, telling +his friends "of sin and of Jesus." He had erected the family altar, and +at that moment was surrounded by a company weeping for their sins. So +changed was his whole character, and so earnest were his exhortations, +that for a time some looked on him as insane; but the sight of his +meekness and forgiving love under despiteful usage amazed them, and +gave them an idea of vital piety they never had before. He returned to +Oroomiah, bringing with him his wife, another child, and brother, and +soon found his way to Miss Fiske's room. As he opened the door, she +stood on the opposite side; but the tears were in his eyes, and +extending his hand as he approached, he said, "I know you did not +believe me; but you will love me--will you not?" And she did love him, +and wondered at her own want of faith. In a few days, he was able to +tell Mr. Stocking, with holy joy, that two of his brothers were +anxiously seeking the way of life. His own growth in grace surprised +every one, and his views of salvation by grace were remarkably clear +and accurate. + +When his daughter returned to school, on the 30th of March, she was +accompanied by one of her father's brothers, who seemed to have cast +away his own righteousness, and to rely on Christ alone for pardon. As +no missionary had conversed with him, Mr. Stocking felt desirous to +know how he had been led into the kingdom, and learned that he had +promised Deacon Guwergis to spend the Sabbath with one of the native +teachers of the Female Seminary. This teacher and others prayed with +him, till he threw away his dagger, saying, "I have no more use for +this," and in tears cried out, "What shall I do to be saved?" He gave +no evidence then of having submitted to Christ, but in his mountain +home he seemed to make a full surrender, and became well acquainted +with the mercy seat. The native helpers felt that he was moving +heavenward faster than themselves. In April, it was found that as many +as nine persons in Hakkie, the village of Deacon Guwergis, gave +evidence of regeneration, five of them members of his own family; and +the whole village listened to the truth which the zealous deacon +constantly taught. + +He always remembered the school as his spiritual birthplace, and ever +loved to pray for it. Once, when rising from his knees in the Male +Seminary, where he had been leading in evening devotion, he exclaimed, +"O God, forgive me. I forgot to pray for Miss Fiske's school." So he +knelt again and prayed for it. And Mr. Stoddard said he did not think +there was a smile on a single face, it was done with such manifest +simplicity and godly sincerity. + +In June, 1846, Miss Fiske visited Hakkie with Mr. and Mrs. Stocking. It +was the first time ladies had been in the mountains, and the good +deacon was greatly delighted. Labors were then commenced for females +there that have been continued ever since. The annexed sketch will give +a more vivid idea of the nature of such labors than the most accurate +description. One day the party was toiling up a rough ascent, and the +deacon, as much at home among the rocks as the wild goats, offered his +assistance. The reply was, "We get on very well." At once his eyes +filled, and he said, "You once helped me in a worse road; may I not now +help you?" And his aid was at once gratefully accepted. At the top of +the hill, while the party rested, they heard his voice far off among +the clefts of the rocks, pleading for them and their relatives in +distant America. + +[Illustration: MISSIONARY SCENE IN TEEGAWER.] + +After his conversion, the deacon devoted himself to labors for souls, +especially in the mountains. One might always see a tear and a smile on +his face, and he was ever ready, as at first, to speak "of sin and of +Jesus." He traversed the mountains many times on foot, with his +Testament and hymn book in his knapsack. In the rugged passes, he would +sing, "Rock of Ages, cleft for me," and at the spring by the wayside, +"There is a fountain filled with blood" flowed spontaneously from his +lips. He warned every man, night and day, with tears, and pointed them +to Jesus as their only hope. He rested from his labors March 12th, +1856, and, as his mind wandered in the delirium of that brain fever, he +dwelt much on those days when he first learned the way to Christ. He +would say, "O, Miss Fiske was right when she pointed out that way;" and +then he would shout, "Free grace! free grace!" till he sunk away +unconscious. Again he would say, "That blessed Mr. Stocking! O, it was +free grace." These were almost his last words. The daughter who prayed +with him that first Saturday was by his dying bed, and her voice in +prayer was the last earthly sound that fell upon his ear. + +It may strike the reader as strange that a man so notorious for +wickedness as Deacon Guwergis was, should be allowed in the Seminary; +but Oriental notions of hospitality are widely different from ours; and +in order to do good to a people, however rude, they must feel that you +are their friend. No protection from government can take the place of +this feeling of affectionate confidence from the people; and while +sufficient help was at hand to repel any overt wickedness, the highest +usefulness required that patient love should have its perfect work, and +in this case, at least, its labor was not unrewarded. + +The usefulness of the Seminary among the relatives of its pupils was +illustrated in another case that occurred about the same time. March +2d, 1846, the father of one of the girls called and inquired, with +tears, if his daughter was troubled for her sins. Surprised at such an +inquiry from a notorious drunkard, he was exhorted to seek his own +salvation. He then told how he had been taught the plague of his own +heart, and, as a ruined sinner, was clinging to Christ alone. His +prayers showed that he was no stranger at the throne of grace. Father +and daughter spent the evening mingling their supplications and tears +before the mercy seat. The daughter had given more trouble than any in +school, and several times had almost been sent away. Four days later, +her mother came, and remained several days, almost the whole time in +tears, and hardly speaking, except to pray. Her daughter and the pious +members of the school were unwilling to let her go till she came to +Christ, and she seemed to take him for her Saviour before she left. She +was a sister of Priest Abraham, and had been so exceedingly clamorous +and profane in her opposition to religion, that her brother had for +years dreaded to see her. How did he rejoice, when, instead of the +customary oath, he found her uttering the praises of her Saviour! The +sister of her husband had been one of the vainest of the vain, wearing +an amount of ornament unusual even for a Nestorian; but she no sooner +put on the righteousness of Christ than she sold her ornaments, and, +giving the proceeds to the poor, clothed herself with that modest +apparel which becometh women professing godliness. The husband himself, +though an illiterate laborer, preached the gospel while at work in the +field, and often took two or three of his associates aside to pray with +them, and to tell them of Christ and his salvation. + +But these cases must suffice: we can only indicate the ways in which +the school became a centre of holy influence, especially for woman; but +it is impossible to narrate all the facts. + +After the revival, the Seminary was thronged with visitors, who desired +the time to be filled up with religious instruction. That year +witnessed a rich ingathering of wives and mothers, brought by their +converted husbands and children to be taught the way of salvation. The +teacher who received visitors always found enough to do both by day and +by night. As soon as there were two praying women in a village, Miss +Fiske and Miss Rice sought to establish female prayer meetings; and +when they visited a village, the women expected to be called together +for prayer; and when the women returned the visit, they each sought to +be prayed and conversed with alone. This was done also with the +communicants generally three times a year. The prayers and remarks of +the pious members of the school often gave a high spiritual tone to the +weekly prayer meeting. Occasionally there were maternal meetings; and +on such occasions one teacher met with the mothers, and the other with +the children in a separate room. + +These took the place of the early meetings with women mentioned in the +beginning of the chapter, and were very useful. + +Nestorian families have been already described in part, but the absence +of the religious element in them can hardly be realized by Christians +here. They did not believe that a child was possessed of a soul until +it was forty days old. This belief affected all their feelings towards +children, and their custom of burying unbaptized infants outside of +their cemeteries did not serve to correct such impressions. + +Family registers were unknown. In 1835, probably not five Nestorians +could tell their birthday, and but few knew in what year they were +born. Miss Fiske kept a list of all the children, which was read at +every meeting; but at first she could record the birth of only the very +youngest. The deceased children were written down in a separate page, +and it was sad to see how much they exceeded the number of the living. +One childless mother, who had buried eleven, was always present; for +she said she wanted to pray for the children of others, though her own +were not. They assembled in Miss Fiske's room, sometimes to the number +of thirty, with, such of their little ones as were too small to attend +the other meeting, and, seated on the floor around her, were never more +happy than when telling their troubles, asking questions, and receiving +instructions about family duties, much more specific than could be +given on other occasions. Now and then she read to them, from English +books, facts and truths adapted to their needs. One good man in +Fairhaven, Connecticut, who had heard of this, sent a complete set of +the Mother's Magazine, to be used in that way. So interested were they, +that many of them walked regularly three miles and back again, under a +burning sun, to enjoy these gatherings; and from a monthly, it had to +be changed to a weekly meeting. It sometimes lasted three hours, but +never seemed to them too long; and, commenced in 1850, it is still kept +up with as much regularity as Miss Rice's many other duties will allow. +It would be interesting to dwell on its results; but a single incident +may suffice. One mother, whose husband was not a Christian, was very +regular in private devotion, but thought she could not offer prayer in +the family, till her husband became dangerously sick, when, in the +agony of her intercession for him, she vowed that, if God would spare +him, she would establish family prayer. So, as soon as he was able to +bear it, she gathered her children around his bed, and after they had +read the first chapter of Matthew, verse about, she led in prayer, and +so went on reading the New Testament in the morning and the Old +Testament in the evening, till she got through with the whole of the +former, before any one of the missionaries knew that she had commenced. + +The teachers of the Seminary enjoyed very much the visits of the early +inquirers from Geog Tapa, in the summer of 1845, most of whom became +hopefully pious the following winter. Let us look in on one visit made +towards the end of May. A pupil announces that two women below wish to +see Miss Fiske; and a middle-aged stranger is shown into her room. In +answer to the usual inquiry, "From whence do you come?" she replies, "I +have come from Geog Tapa, for I have heard that you have repented, and +I want to know about it." She has walked six miles on purpose to make +the inquiry. "I wish that you, too, had repented," calls forth the +reply, "Alas, I have not! I am on my way to destruction." Feeling that +the Bible was the safest guide for such an inquirer, Miss Fiske reads +appropriate portions, explaining as she reads. The visitor shows a +great deal of Bible knowledge for one who cannot read, indicating that +she had not been inattentive to the faithful instructions of Priest +Abraham and Deacon John, and her questions are numerous and intensely +practical. Among other things, she asked, "Is it true, that for one sin +Adam and Eve were cast out of Eden?" and on being told that it was so, +"There," said she, turning to the unconcerned neighbor, who had come +with her, "do you hear that? What will become of you and me, who have +sinned so often?" At length prayer was proposed, to which she eagerly +and tearfully assented; and though the tongue that commended her to +Jesus, in that strange language, might have faltered, the heart did not +share in the embarrassment. The woman, like the first inquirer, +repeated every word of the prayer in a low whisper, as though unwilling +to lose a single syllable. The conversation was then resumed till it +was interrupted by the entrance of some of the pupils on business. +"Have you finished?" was the woman's eager inquiry. "I wish very much +to hear more of these things." Her companion now begged her to go home. +"No," was the kind reply; "you may go, but I must stay here to +prayers." Evening prayers were earlier than usual that evening for her +sake, but still she lingered. She had not yet found rest. Selby, one of +Mrs. Grant's pupils, then in the Seminary, now conversed with her; and +as there seemed to be a sympathy between them (Selby had recently found +peace in believing), they were left by themselves. After supper, Selby +remained with her an hour or more, that they might pray together, till +it was quite dark, and her friends had sent for her repeatedly. She +left, having first begged permission to come in to morning prayers. +Morning came, and before sunrise she was again listening intently to +the reading of the Word, and, after devotions, left for home, earnestly +begging Miss Fiske to come and spend a week in Geog Tapa. + +The Seminary was dismissed June 5th. On that day, several hundreds of +the parents and friends of the pupils, in both Seminaries, were invited +to a simple entertainment, got up in native style. The gentlemen of the +mission ate in one room, with the men and boys, and the ladies in +another, with their own sex. The confidence and kind feeling manifested +by all towards the school was very gratifying. After dinner, the whole +company, seated in the court, listened to an address from Mr. Holladay, +then about to return home. He spoke to parents and children on their +duties, privileges, and responsibilities: towards the close, he spoke +of the almost certainty of never meeting them again till the judgment, +and bade them an affectionate farewell. His utterance was often choked, +and his hearers wept; and well they might, for in him they parted with +a faithful friend. During the exercises, the members of the two schools +sang, twice, to the great gratification of their friends. + +That evening most of the pupils went home, all but a few of the girls +carrying with them a copy of the four Gospels, in modern Syriac, which +they had paid for with their needles. + +Miss Fiske left for Geog Tapa on the 14th of June with Mr. Stocking, +reaching that place as the people were coming out from evening prayers +in the church. The first to welcome them were six pupils, residents in +the village, who greeted their teacher with a hearty good will. Next to +them came Pareza, the inquirer, changed somewhat in her feelings, but +with no loss of religious interest. John, too, was there (the native +pastor): he had been busy, day and night, instructing the people, and +had taken special care of the pupils, that they might both improve +themselves and exert a good influence on others. When Mr. Stocking +asked him about matters in the village, "O sir," said he, "it is a very +good time here now; very many love to hear the truth; their hearts are +very open. O sir, I have very much hope!" After supper, the villagers +poured into the room for a meeting, to the number of one hundred, while +some thirty or forty more were unable to get in. This was all the more +welcome, as no notice whatever had been given. It was a clear moonlight +evening, and the groups outside were distinctly visible, through the +latticed side of the room. John commenced with an earnest prayer for a +blessing on the evening; asking, in his simplicity, that "the people +might run after the word like sheep after salt"--a strange expression +to us, but most appropriate and striking there. Fixed attention was +given to Mr. Stocking's discourse: then John, who feared that those +around the door had not been fed, spoke to them of Zaccheus. "The crowd +about him," said he, "did not know his feelings; but Jesus knew them, +and loved him; and so, mothers and sisters"--they, as an inferior +class, had to take the lowest places while the men were within--"if you +have come here to-night with a broken heart, though we have not seen +you, Jesus has." He then, with Miss Fiske's pupils, sung a hymn, and +the meeting closed. Still, many women lingered; some sitting down by +Miss Fiske, and others in little groups, talking over what they had +heard; very different from previous visits, when dress and such things +were the most interesting themes of conversation. This was the first +meeting in the village in which the missionaries noticed much religious +interest. + +Early in the morning, Miss Fiske's pupils were gathered together for a +Bible class. The women soon filled the room. The exercise continued all +the forenoon, simply because it could not be closed. It was impossible +to send away unfed those who hungered for the word. Among the women +were a few men, one of them the husband of the inquirer. He was asked, +"Have you and your wife chosen the good part?" He covered his face for +a moment; the tears rolled down his cheeks; and then he said, "By the +grace of God, I hope we have." His heart was too full to say more. + +Soon after noon, Mr. Stocking preached in the church, on the barren fig +tree, to a crowded assembly. The heat and the multitude made the place +very uncomfortable, but the interest deepened till the close. As soon +as they were out of the church, many women crowded around Miss Fiske, +some of whom she could look on as truly pious, and more as thoughtful. +One, who was the first to be awakened about a year before, seemed now a +growing Christian. On leaving, she said, "Perhaps I shall not see you +again till I meet you in heaven." She seemed to be looking forward with +humble hope to a sinless home. With others, she had encountered much +opposition from her family and friends. She has since entered into rest. + +On the 19th, Selby visited Miss Fiske, and in answer to a question +about a place for private devotion, "O, yes," said she, "there is a +deep hole under our house, like a cellar, and there I go every day to +pray." + +A brief account of her may not here be out of place. In 1830, when she +was an infant in her mother's arms, the cholera in five days carried +her father and five of his household to the grave. In 1838, she was one +of the first pupils of Mrs. Grant. She learned more rapidly than the +rest, and yet was so amiable that she was loved by those whom she +excelled. Still, she was a stranger to God, and she felt it. When +thirteen years of age, her brother took her out of school, replying to +her earnest pleadings, to be allowed to remain, "You have been there +already too long." At the same time she was forced to marry a boy +twelve years of age, with whom she had never spoken. For days +previously, tears were her meat and drink; nor was she the only one +that wept. After this, the missionaries seldom saw her, till, one cold +Sabbath in the winter of 1844-45, a girl entered the chapel, wrapped, +as brides usually are, in a large, white sheet. She was not recognized, +of course, till her mother led her forward, saying, "I have brought +Selby here to-day to listen to the words of God; she loves them and you +very much." She was feeble and much depressed, and expressed a strong +desire to return to school. Her father-in-law consented to her teaching +in the primary department, on condition that her husband was received +into the Boys' Seminary, which was done. She now manifested much +interest in religion, and one day wept much, and inclined to be alone. +The next evening, she went to Miss Fiske, distressed with a sense of +sin. Said she, "I have lied, and stolen, and sworn; nor that only, but +have lived so long without once loving my kind, heavenly Father! When I +felt sadly about dying at home, I thought then only of hell; but now my +sins--O, how many they are! I never knew before that I was such a +sinner." The next day, at her father-in-law's request, she was to spend +the Sabbath at home. She was very loath to go, but it was not thought +best to try to retain her, and she went. There she found neither closet +nor Christian friend, and the house was full of guests from morning +till night, whom, she was required to entertain. Yet in the morning she +returned with even increased interest in spiritual things. Said she, +"Two or three times I was left alone for a moment, and then I tried to +commit my soul to my Saviour." Those few moments she seemed to value +above all price. Not long after, she found peace in Jesus, who became +her chosen theme. No wonder she loved to point others also to the Lamb +of God, and lead them to the mercy seat. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + +GEOG TAPA. + +DEACON MURAD KHAN IN 1846.--PENTECOSTAL SABBATH IN 1849.--MEETINGS IN +1850 AND 1854.--EXTRACTS FROM JOURNAL OF YONAN IN 1858. + +The village of Geog Tapa is so prominent, and has been so largely +blessed, that, though there is not room for a continuous account of the +work in that place, we here give a glimpse of its progress in different +years. + +Deacon Murad Khan, one of the assistants in the Seminary, and a native +of the place, spent some Sabbaths there in May, 1846. He took turns +with the other native teacher in this, going Saturday, and returning on +Monday. He tells us that, after morning prayers in the church, pious +men met together to pray for a blessing on the day; twelve of their +number then went to labor in other villages, the rest remaining to work +at home. Passing through a vineyard, he found hidden among the vines a +youth setting home gospel truth to a group of others about his own age. +At their request, he expounded the parable of the ten virgins to them +till it was time for forenoon service; then they separated, to spend a +few moments in private devotion before entering the church. + +In 1849, the pious men of the village divided it into districts, and +visited from house to house for religious conversation and prayer. +Meetings were held daily, and well attended. The most abandoned persons +were hopefully converted. Crimes committed twenty-five years before +were confessed, and restitution made. One Sabbath in February, Mr. +Stocking and Mar Yohanan found a large assembly in the house of Mar +Elias, listening to an exhortation from Priest Abraham. Mar Yohanan, +who had not been there since his conversion a little while before, was +then called on, and spoke of himself as the chief of sinners, having +led more souls to destruction than any other of his people, and being +all covered with their blood. In regard to his flock he said, the +fattest he had eaten, the poorest he had cast away, the lame and the +sick he had neglected. He begged them no longer to look to their +bishops for salvation, but to repent at once and turn to God. Priest +Abraham, then recently awakened, also made a humble confession of his +sins as their priest, and besought them, one and all, to attend to the +salvation of their souls. + +In the afternoon, the church was crowded, and a number, unable to gain +admission, retired to a school room, where a meeting was conducted by a +member of the Male Seminary. In the church, they sung the hymn, "Come, +Holy Spirit, heavenly Dove." Mar Yohanan offered prayer, and Mr. +Stocking preached from the text, "Now, then, we are ambassadors for +Christ," and produced a very deep impression, which was increased by +short addresses from the bishop and others. This was known afterwards +by the name of the Pentecostal Sabbath. + +In 1850, those previously renewed gained new light, and those whose +piety was doubtful--to use Deacon John's broken English,-were "very +much firmed." Miss Fiske and Miss Rice spent a day in the village, +after the close of their spring term, and had delightful intercourse +with about twenty women hopefully pious, and many more inquirers. In +the evening, supper was hurried through, and men, women, and children +hastened to the house of the pastor. Mr. Stocking preached there to a +crowded assembly of men, while the teachers adjourned to a neighboring +house, to meet with the women. Their hearts were full at meeting so +many for whom they had alternately hoped and feared, now sitting in +heavenly places in Christ Jesus; they remembered seeing their first +penitential tears, and could hardly restrain their own for joy. The +house was full, and in a silence interrupted only by stifled sobs, they +communed together concerning Jesus and his grace. It seemed as though +God perfected praise that night out of the mouths of babes, by keeping +them perfectly still in their mothers' aims; and as the pupils of the +Seminary belonging to the village, in their prayers, laid mothers, +sisters, and friends at the feet of Jesus, the place seemed near to +heaven. Next day, about one hundred and fifty attended another meeting, +and it was with difficulty the teachers could tear themselves away. One +of the pious mothers could not bear to have her daughter, recently +converted in the Seminary, leave her sight; and more than once a day +they bowed together at the throne of grace. When this mother met Miss +Fiske her feelings were so intense she could only say, "Thank God," +over and over, and weep. Her husband was moved by his child's anxiety +for his salvation. Once, when she urged him to pray, he replied, "I +cannot; but you may pray for me." She at once knelt and interceded for +him, with many tears. The gray-headed man knelt also, deeply moved, and +tears flowed from eyes not used to weep. When she ceased praying, she +rose; but his strength was gone; he could not rise. Yet the love of the +world was strong within him, and it is to be feared that he resisted +the Holy Ghost. + +In 1854, Miss Fiske found about sixty families maintaining family +prayer, and hardly a family in which there was not some one that seemed +to be a true disciple. John held a prayer meeting Sabbath morning with +those whom he sent out, two and two, to preach in the neighboring +villages, and in the evening they reported what they had done. Sabbath +school commenced about nine o'clock, and before it opened, almost all +were reading or listening to those that read; and then the school +continued in session two hours, without a sign of weariness. The number +wishing to learn to read was so large that it was difficult to provide +for them. Men came begging good teachers for their wives, and women +came pleading for spelling books for their husbands. After school, at +their own request, Miss Fiske met twenty-one girls, who had been +members of her school (twenty of them now teachers in the Sabbath +school), and gave them a word of counsel and encouragement in their +work. At the close of afternoon service, the women who could read staid +with her till near sunset, they never so thankful before, and she never +more thankful to be with them. + +The next glimpse we take of Geog Tapa shall be from a native +standpoint. A young man of the village, possessed of more than ordinary +abilities, was early taken into the Male Seminary. His influence over +the rest was so great, and so decidedly opposed to religion, that he +was about to be sent away, when grace made him the first fruit of the +revival in 1846. Yonan (for that is his name) was a teacher in the +Female Seminary from 1848 till 1858, and, as he was generally +accustomed to spend his Sabbaths in his native village, on Monday +morning he handed in to Miss Fiske a written report of the labors of +the previous day; and from, these we now give some extracts:-- + +"_January 17th_, 1858. I had a pleasant time in morning family prayer, +at which several young persons were present. The Sabbath school was +followed by a meeting, at the close of which I returned to my room with +four young men. I talked with them about two hours, first about coming +to church,--for they attend only occasionally,--and in this they +promised to do better. I then questioned until I reached their inmost +souls. I asked one, 'What is the distance between you and God?' 'My +teacher, there is a very great distance between us.' 'Is it God's +fault, or yours?' 'It is mine.' I then looked on another, noted for his +wickedness, and said, 'Beloved, did not Christ come for you? His +stripes, his anguish, his crucifixion,--were they not for you? Why, +then, treat him so ill? Has he left the least thing undone for you?' He +admitted the truth, but seemed like a rock. At length I said to them, +'Now, Satan has provided something or somebody outside the door, to +drive these thoughts from your hearts.' One replied, 'True, Satan has +let down all the nets of the Sea of Ardishai[1] for us.' I prayed for +them, and they left me, serious. Then I prayed for them alone. Soon my +little sister Raheel came in, who is under Papal influence. I talked +with her about prayer to the saints, and opened to the ten +commandments, and began to read; but she did not want to hear. My heart +yearned over my poor sister, and I prayed with her. [Footnote 1: Lake +of Oroomiah.] + +"Moses preached in the afternoon about Achan, and after that I had my +usual meeting with the pious women. Guly returned with me for +conversation. I think she is a blessed Christian. She labors and prays +with two of her companions. She told how her cousin ridiculed her, and +I encouraged her to go forward, but said, 'If all the world think you a +Christian, don't rest till you can say, 'I know in whom I have +believed."' We prayed together, and O, what a prayer she offered! +Deacon Siyad led the evening meeting. + +"_January 24th_. After morning service, I took Baba Khan and Guwergis +to my room. The first I had labored with last year, and thought him +interested. His wife fears God, and has often asked me to talk with +him. He is seldom absent from church or prayer meeting, and often goes +out with our young men when they preach. This was my thought in talking +with him: 'Near the kingdom, but not in it.' I earnestly pressed these +questions: What do you think of yourself? What is your dependence for +salvation? Have you repented? In short, on which side are you? He was +troubled; tears ran down his cheeks, and for a time he made no reply. +At last he said, 'I cannot tell.' A companion began to answer for him, +with the confidence of ignorance, judging Christians and finding holes +in the coats of the righteous: 'Who knows whether a man is a Christian? +God alone.' I said, 'Are there any Christians in our village?' 'Yes.' +'Then you know some as Christians?' His words were many, while Baba +Khan's were few. My father here came in, but I prayed with them all, +and then went to church, where I preached from the words, 'And thou +mourn at the last.' + +"To-day I conversed with Sadee. I found her in the habit of praying +with her sisters in Christ one by one. I advised her to try and lead +some of her unconverted neighbors to Christ by her labors and prayers. +She promised to do so. We spent more than an hour speaking the language +of Canaan, and then knelt at the feet of the Saviour whom we love. She +prayed, spreading out her hands to heaven, as I think the early saints +used to do; and it seemed as though God would fill us with blessing in +answer to that prayer. She left me alone, and thanking God for these +blessed opportunities to labor. + +"_January 31st_. After meeting, conversed with Munny, daughter of +Mukdesseh. It was profitable to talk with her. She said that her +sainted mother used to say, "When, my heart is cold, I go to Christ, +and never rise from my knees till he warms it." She has some hope for +her husband, and also fear, since he does not forsake wine. She told of +a woman for whom she had prayed and labored five or six years, and +promised to do so with others. O, what a sweet savor of piety did I +receive from her! If we had many such mothers in Geog Tapa how changed +it would be! I cannot write all our pleasant words; they remain for +eternity. + +"_February 7th_. I took home from Sabbath school two young men, for +whom I have fears because they drink too much wine. I talked long with +them, not as though I would take a pledge from them, or that it is a +sin ever to drink at all, for I thought this would not be profitable; +but I asked them questions, that they might themselves distinguish what +is right; as, 'Does wine make you to sin?' They owned that it did. +Their hearts seemed won to the right, but the work is the Lord's. May +he save them from this temptation. + +"In the afternoon, I began to talk with Sanum without feeling, but +ended in tears. I did not ask questions, but carefully explained the +difficulties and the fight of faith, also the special grace of God to +his people. When I said to her, 'I want you to enlarge your heart, and +take in one more besides the two women whom you now labor with,' she +selected a very ignorant one. I am afraid that I do differently, +seeking rather an easy work. + +"_February 22d_. This afternoon I sent for Nargis. I had never thought +of her as a Christian, but I found that I was greatly mistaken. It is +all my own fault. I had seldom met her, and never prayed with her. I +commenced: 'Do you think yourself a Christian?' 'I do.' 'How long have +you thought so?' 'About eight years.' 'How is it that I have not known +it?' 'Yakob was my pastor, and since he left I have had none.' Then she +told of her awakening, and sufferings for Christ's sake, between her +betrothal and her marriage. 'I used to go to evening meetings with +Yakob, and on my return my uncle would take me by the braids of my hair +and throw me on the ground, saying, "You go because there are young men +there." Sometimes I found the door barred against me; then I went to a +neighbor's to lodge, or oftener to the stable, and slept in a manger; +but I was never afraid, for Christ was with me: for a time my betrothed +wished to put me away. It was then I found Christ, and I have never +forsaken him since.' She is now poor and in distress. She attends +church and Sabbath school, but cannot go to evening meeting, as her two +little children keep her at home. She lamented this, not thinking that +she could serve Christ in the care of these little ones. I told her, 'I +preach that prayer and the care of children are equally a duty.' She +was greatly comforted: these words seemed like oil poured into the +flickering lamp. I gave her the 'Green Pastures,' and prayed with her. +I have great confidence in her piety. + +"On Friday forenoon, I saw Martha, the wife of Eshoo. I trust she has +grace in her heart; and her husband hopes that he is a Christian, but +looks after her more than himself. She sees him not doing right, and +tells him in love; he is not pleased. Still, she thinks him a +Christian. She wished I would talk to them together, that their path +might be one. I told her I did not think it best that she should talk +much to him, but be very quiet, pray for him, be obedient to him, and +hope to win him by her chaste conversation coupled with fear. She +received my words well. + +"_February 28th._ I talked with Moressa. We hoped, seven or eight years +ago, that she was a Christian; but her husband soon prevented her +attending meeting, and so she remained, till lately she came to church +again. I did not know that one of the sisters in Christ had prayed +regularly with her all this while, but supposed that she had gone back +to her dead forms, and that God moved me to call her to repentance. But +I found her trusting that she had been set in Christ's breastplate, the +light of which can never go out. I said, 'Do you think you love the +Saviour?' 'Yes, as the apple of my eye.' 'Are you sure that you have +not forsaken him in all these years?' 'I have been very sinful all the +time, but do not think I have taken my hand from Christ.' My heart was +now drawn towards her. I said, 'Moressa, forgive me. I have been an +unfaithful shepherd. I have not once searched for you. I confess my +faults.' 'I have faults. I have been a wandering sheep, forsaking the +fold.' 'Have you kept up secret prayer during all these years?' 'I +have.' I found that she had learned to read at home, and I gave her a +Testament. I have a good hope for her; but how negligent I have been! +There may be many Christians unknown." + +These extracts might be extended; but enough have been given to +illustrate the inner workings of Nestorian piety, and the labors of +those so appropriately called "native helpers." It was such men that +Paul called his helpers in Christ Jesus. + +The women of Geog Tapa, in a letter to Miss Fiske, written Feb. 1861, +thanking her for her labors among them, say, "We often think, What are +we more than the women of other nations, that we should have such +heavenly blessings? and are ready to cry, Blessed is the dust of the +land that sends forth such good news, and makes known the way of life +to the world." They add, that at their last communion more than eighty +souls sat down at the Lord's table; and it seemed as if He who sitteth +between the cherubim was present in the church. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + + +REVIVAL IN 1846. + +PREPARATORY WORK.--SANCTIFIED AFFLICTIONS.--NAME FOR REVIVAL.--SCENES +IN IHE SEMINARIES IN JANUARY.--DEACON JOHN, SANUM, AND SARAH.--MR. +STODDARD.--YAKOB.--YONAN.--MEETING IN THE BETHEL.--PRIEST +ESHOO.--DEACON TAMO.--PHYSICAL EXCITEMENT AND ITS CURE.--ARTLESS +SIMPLICITY OF CONVERTS.--MISSIONARY BOX.--MEETINGS BEFORE +VACATION.--MR. STODDARD'S LABORS.--FEMALE PRAYER MEETING.--REVIVAL IN +THE AUTUMN. + +The first revival in Oroomiah seemed to burst forth like a fountain in +the desert. Yet, as such a fountain, though springing full grown from +the earth, is connected with unseen arrangements working out that +visible result, so was this revival connected with an extended process +of preparation. For years there had been a laborious inculcation of +divine truth, especially in the Seminary. True, there had been few +conversions; but those few were an essential part of the preparatory +work. The roots of this revival extended back as far as the conversion +of Deacon John, in 1844. Even in those still unconverted, there had +been a wonderful preparation of the way of the Lord. No one could +compare the condition of the places yet unblessed by missionary labor, +with those so favored, and not feel this. Religious education had made +a marked improvement in the appearance of the pupils of both +Seminaries, in their personal habits, their intelligence, and +especially in their knowledge of the doctrines of the gospel. Old +superstitions had lost their hold; they could no longer trust in fasts +and ceremonies, and they had an intellectual understanding of the way +of salvation through a Redeemer. True, all this did not necessarily +involve a spiritual work; but God is pleased to have the way thus +prepared for that Spirit who sanctifies through the truth. Those who +had received the most instruction were the first to come to Christ, and +have since lived the more consistent Christian life. + +Then, in the good providence of Him who always observes a beautiful +order in the manifestations of his grace, other influences tended to +the same result. The very delay of the blessing called forth earnest +prayer from the husbandmen who were waiting for precious fruit, and had +long patience for it, till they received the early and the latter rain. +The trials which the missionaries had passed through in 1845 also +tended to produce that despair of help from themselves which usually +precedes blessing. In 1844 they numbered sixteen souls; but in 1846, +from various causes, they were diminished to ten. These were not +discouraged, but remained at their post confident that labors in the +Lord cannot be in vain. Then the persecution under Mar Shimon shut them +up to God as their only hope, while it rid them of some native helpers, +who cared chiefly for their own temporal advantage. The army of Gideon, +on all sides, was being diminished in order to secure obedience to that +precept, "He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord." The feeling was +general, "all our springs are in God." One of the missionaries said, in +the autumn of 1845, "God never formed a soul that Christ cannot redeem +from the power of sin. I know this people are sunk in sin and +degradation; but Jesus died to save them, and we may see them forever +stars in his crown of rejoicing, if we are only humble and faithful +enough to lead them to the Saviour." + +At the time of the revival, Dr. and Mrs. Perkins resided at Seir, and +Dr. and Mrs. Wright were temporarily with them in that village. Mr. +Breath was in the city, but using the Turkish mainly, he never ventured +to give religious instruction in Syriac; so that Mr. Stocking and Mr. +Stoddard were the only laborers in Oroomiah. They lived on the mission +premises already described; and at that time the Male Seminary occupied +a building in the same enclosure. + +One day in the autumn of 1845, Mr. Stocking, Miss Fiske, and Deacon +John were riding together, when John asked in English, "If we ever have +a revival here, what shall we call it?" Mr. Stocking replied, "Let us +get it first; then we will find a name;" and when it did come, the +pious Nestorians at once called it "an awakening." + +Towards the close of December, Mr. Stocking noticed repeated +indications of deep seriousness among the pupils of Mr. Stoddard, and +felt that they were on the eve of a revival. About the same time, +Deacon John was more active in labor, and earnest in prayer. In the +Seminaries, the teachers did not think so much of what their pupils +were, as of the power of God to make them like himself. They labored in +hope, expecting a blessing; but it came sooner than they looked for, +and in larger measure. The first Monday of the new year, January 5th, +was spent as a day of fasting and prayer; and the missionaries had just +begun to pray, when they found that some were praying for themselves. +Miss Fiske went into her school, as usual, at nine o'clock, and, after +telling her flock that many prayers were being offered for them that +day in a distant land, led their morning devotions, and then sent them +into another room to study with a native teacher. Sanum and Sarah +lingered behind the rest; and as they drew near, she asked, "Did you +not understand me?" They made no reply; and she saw they were weeping. +"Have you had bad news?" Still no reply; but when they got near enough, +they whispered, "May we have to-day to care for our souls?" and Sarah +added, "Perhaps next year I shall not be here." There was no private +room to give them, but they made a closet for themselves among the fuel +in the wood cellar, and there spent that day looking unto Jesus; nor +did they look in vain. Their teacher did not know where they had gone, +till, long after one of them had died, the survivor gave her an account +of that memorable day. + +On Sabbath evening, January 18th, the words at the English prayer +meeting were few; but the prayers carried the dear pupils and laid them +at the feet of Jesus. At the close of the meeting, Mr. Stoddard was +lighting his candle to go home, when Mr. Stocking asked if he saw any +indications of interest in his school. There was no reply; but the +expressive face, and the candle dropping unnoticed as he held it, +showed that thought was busy, and the heart full. At length he said, +with deep feeling, "I should expect to see interest if we felt as we +ought to feel;" and passed out. All were impressed with his manner, so +earnest, yet so humble. He retired to his study, called John, and +talked with him on the state of the school. He proposed that they +should each day make some one pupil a subject of special prayer and +personal effort, and begin that night with Yakob of Sooldooz. They +prayed together for him, and then he said, "John, I want to talk with +him to-night; we don't know what may be on the morrow; go and call +him." Yakob, who had acted badly in meeting that day, came, expecting +to be punished; but when Mr. Stoddard kindly asked him to come and sit +down by him, and, taking his hand, said, "Have you ever thought that +you have a soul to be saved or lost?" he broke down at once. He +confessed that the whole school had combined to shut out the subject +from their thoughts, but really felt so uneasy, that if one of them +should be brought to Christ he thought all would follow. Then the good +man, who was so distressed that day because he could see no impression +made by the sermon, thanked God and took courage. Not willing to devote +Monday to Yakob alone, he conversed with another of the same name, and +he too went away weeping to his closet. The two had been in the +recitation room but a little while before their feelings became so +intense that they had to ask leave to retire. "It is God!" "It is God!" +was whispered from seat to seat; and at noon a group collected to +discuss what was to be done. One proposed to rise up against the work, +and put it down; but at length Yonan of Geog Tapa said, "I don't want +to be a Christian; I don't mean to be; but I am afraid to oppose this; +we had better let it alone. If it is God's work we cannot put it down, +and if it is man's work it will come to nought without our +interference." Nothing more was said, but before school commenced that +afternoon, some of those boys were on their knees in prayer. + +In the evening, Mr. Stoddard sent for two leaders in the opposition, +very promising scholars, but of late forward in every thing that was +evil--one of them this Yonan, and as he himself told afterwards: "Mr. +Stoddard said, 'If you do not wish to be saved yourselves, I beg of +you, from my inmost soul, not to hinder others;' and eternity so opened +up before me, that I was ready to be swallowed up. I longed for some +one to speak to me of the way of escape; but no such word was spoken to +me that night. I could not sleep, for I was almost sure there was but a +step between me and death." Late on Thursday evening, the other Yonan, +of Ada, came to Mr. Stoddard in extreme agitation, who conversed with +him a while, and then left him there to pray alone. That night he too +could not sleep. The years he had spent in sin rose up before him in +the light of God, and filled him with anguish; but next morning, in +conversing with Mr. Stoddard, he seemed to find rest in submitting to +sovereign mercy. + +On Monday evening, the indications of interest in the Female Seminary +were such, that the teacher invited those disposed to seek salvation at +once, to come to her room at five o'clock. Before that hour, a number +had retired to pray for themselves. Just then, Mr. Stoddard came to the +door of the teacher, saying, "I cannot stop; but I wanted you to know +that four or five of my boys are much distressed for their sins." This +was the first intimation she had of what was taking place in the other +school; and she turned away from Mr. Stoddard to find five of her +pupils in the same condition. Mr. Stoddard came in again, in the course +of the evening, to pray and consult; and Mr. Stocking gave up every +thing else to labor with the pupils in both schools. Both Dr. Perkins +and Dr. Wright came down frequently from Seir. Every day brought out +new cases of those who were being taught of God. Wednesday evening, at +the conclusion of a sermon from Mr. Stocking, on the words, "Behold, I +stand at the door and knock," no member of the Male Seminary seemed +willing to leave his seat. After a few words of exhortation, they were +dismissed to their rooms; but so intense were their feelings that they +came in crowds to the teacher's study, where he preached Jesus Christ, +and forgiveness through his blood, till near midnight; then, fatigued +and exhausted, he retired to rest. Thursday evening, in the English +prayer meeting, Mr. Stoddard said, "God will assuredly carry forward +his own work. Let us give ourselves up to labor for him, in pointing +these precious souls to Christ." After the meeting, the teachers of +both Seminaries left to engage in that blessed work till midnight. +Eleven years after, on the same evening, and about the same hour, one +was called to see the other pass from earth into the presence of the +Saviour whom he then set forth so faithfully. No wonder the survivor +recalled it in the hush of that parting scene. + +It is difficult to describe the occurrences of this eventful week. The +teachers' rooms were in such demand as closets for the pupils, that +they could hardly command them long enough for their own devotions. +They were ready to write "Immanuel" on every thing around them. The +girls were very free to express their feelings, and they had such +perfect confidence in their teacher, that often, during the revival, +some of them woke her in the morning, standing at her bedside, with +some inquiry about the way of life. + +The two schools hardly knew any thing of each other till Friday +evening, when they met in a room fitted up for the Female Seminary the +preceding autumn. The first time Mr. Stoddard entered it after this, he +looked round, and said, "May this room be wholly consecrated to the +Lord forever;" and this evening Christ seemed to take possession of it. +The boys sat on one side, and the girls on the other; and seldom, +perhaps, has there been a company more under the influence of things +unseen. It seemed as though God himself spoke that evening through his +ministering servants, and this and that one was born there and then. It +was in the same room that that last prayer meeting of the teacher with +her former pupils was held, July 15th, 1858. In the engraving, the two +upper windows, immediately to the left of the small ones over the +central door, belong to this room. + +At the close of the week, ten of the pupils were trusting in Christ; +and of the next Lord's day it might truly be said, "That Sabbath was an +high day," for the Lord was present, and many strong men bowed before +him. Priest Eshoo had watched the boys; he had watched his own praying +Sarah; and now he looked within. He had never been known to weep; he +scorned such weakness; but when, at the close of the afternoon service, +Mr. Stocking took his hand, saying, "Be sure you are on the right +foundation," he buried his face in his handkerchief and wept aloud. Nor +did he weep alone; Deacon Tamo, too,--whose levity all through the week +had been a sore trial to Mr. Stoddard, so that he had asked, "Can it be +that God has let him come here to hinder the work?"--now trembled from +head to foot. Mr. Stoddard prayed with him, and as they rose from their +knees, Tamo looked him in the face, and, with streaming eyes, said, +"Thank you, thank you for caring for my soul." + +During the following week, most of the inmates of both Seminaries were +deeply convinced of sin, and daily some souls seemed to come to the +Saviour. + +But some things rendered it apparent that the interest was not all from +above. One evening, fifteen or twenty boys were found rolling on the +floor, groaning and crying for mercy. Measures were taken at once to +prevent the repetition of such a scene, and at evening prayers Mr. +Stocking commenced his remarks by asking if any of them had ever seen +the Nazloo River, at Marbeeshoo, near its source. Startled by what +seemed a very untimely question, a few answered, "Yes." "Was there much +water in it?" Wondering what he could mean, the answer was, "No; very +little." "Did it make much noise?" "Yes; a great deal." The catechist +went on: "Have you seen the same river on the plain?" By this time, +every ear was listening, and all replied, "Yes." "Was it deep and +wide?" "Yes; it was full of water." "And was it more noisy than at +Marbeeshoo?" "No; it was very quiet and still." The parable was now +applied very faithfully. He said that he had hoped the Holy Spirit had +been teaching them the evil of their hearts; but their noise and +confusion that evening showed him that there was no depth to their +experience. The effect was wonderful; they hung their heads and quietly +dispersed, and from many a closet that night might have been heard the +petition, "Lord, make me to know my heart, and let me not be like that +noisy river." What threatened to be an uncontrollable excitement became +at once a quiet but deep sense of guilt. Their desires were not less +intense, but more spiritual; their consciences were very tender, and +their feelings contrite, but subdued and gentle. + +In this revival, the converts had a great deal of feeling, but no +knowledge of the mode in which such feelings find expression in +Christian lands; and in the freshness and strength of their emotions +they yielded to every impulse with an unconscious simplicity that was +exceedingly interesting. If they were under conviction of sin, that +found immediate and unrestrained utterance. If they thought they were +forgiven, that, too, at once found expression. There was a wonderful +transparency of spirit that revealed each varying aspect of their +feelings, and withal a tendency to undue excitement that needed careful +handling. Indeed, it was found necessary to watch their social meetings +very closely, and sometimes to direct them to pray alone. + +For three weeks, very few visitors came to the Seminary. The time +seemed to be given expressly for the benefit of the pupils, and it was +like one continual Sabbath. Every corner was consecrated to prayer, and +most of the work was direct effort for the salvation of souls. But +after that, visitors began to come, and then the young converts became +helpers in Christ Jesus, even the sight of their devotion turning the +thoughts of others to spiritual things. Often ten or fifteen women +spent the night on the premises; and at such times, all the spare +bedding was brought into the great room, which was transformed into a +dormitory. The teacher often staid with them till midnight, and then, +from her own room, could hear them praying the rest of the night. In +connection with this, one incident claims our notice. One day in +February, a box arrived from America for the Seminary; but so engrossed +was the teacher with more important duties, that it was midnight ere +she could open it. Next morning, all were invited to her room, to see +the contents. She told of the kind friends who had sent it, and the +love of Christ, that constrained to such kindness. They were moved to +tears, but not one rose to examine the things, and not a word was +spoken, till the proposal was made that the quilts should be kept for +the use of their friends who came to hear the word of God. All joyfully +agreed to that, and then, after looking at the articles, they returned +to pray for their benefactors. + +The last meetings of the school before the March vacation were called +thanksgivings, and fitly, too, for in the two Seminaries as many as +fifty souls had begun to love the Saviour, When they left, the +universal cry was, "Pray for us." "Pray for us in the temptations that +await us at home." One little girl said, "Did you ever see a new-born +lamb cast into the snow and live? And can we live?" Thank God, most of +the hopeful converts did live, and we trust are to live forever, with +the good Shepherd who gave his life for their salvation. + +It does not fall in with the design of this volume to give a complete +account of the revival, but we cannot leave it without a word more +about the instrumentality of Mr. Stoddard in connection with that work +of grace. He was abundant in preaching. He did not think that the most +ordinary sermons are good enough for the mission field; for he knew +that the Nestorians could discriminate as well as others nearer home, +and so wrote out his sermons carefully in English, but in the Syriac +idiom, noting on a blank page the books consulted in their preparation. +He also excelled in labors for individuals. The first inquirer became +such while Mr. Stoddard pressed home upon his conscience his guilt as a +sinner against God; and the same is true of many others. After +conversing with a person, he always led him to the throne of grace, and +then had him present his own offering there; and after such a one had +left, he seemed unable to turn his thoughts to any thing else, till +again in private he had commended him to God. Indeed, he often began to +do this before they descended the stairs. He kept a little book, in +which he recorded every case, the state in which he found the person, +and any subsequent change; and it was noticed that where he began, he +continued to labor, not only till there was hope, but even assurance of +hope. Such labor is as exhausting as it is delightful; and no wonder +his strength proved less than his zeal and love. + +It was a great joy to him when his people could take part in prayer +meetings. He divided the thirty converts among them into three circles, +and met each of them twice a week: this furnished him a season of +refreshment every day, and each of them took part at least once a week. +They were thus early initiated into a course of Christian activity, and +taught that they would lose much themselves, besides failing to do good +to others, if they held back. The converts were so rooted and grounded +in this truth, that once, when Miss Fiske was in Geog Tapa, a brother +said to her that she must not leave the village till she had induced a +woman to pray with her, whom they all regarded as a Christian, but who +would not take part in their female prayer meetings; and when she +objected to urging her, Deacon John replied, "If she was an ordinary +Christian, we might let her pass; but her position is one of such +prominence, that the other women will do just as she does; and so she +must do right," Miss Fiske talked long with the delinquent, but she +insisted that she could not do it. The missionary told of her own +trials in the matter,--how she had staid away from meeting lest she +should be called on, and remained unblessed till she was willing to do +her duty. She prayed with her once and again, even a third time, before +she consented, saying, "I will not displease God any more in this." So, +drawing very close to her instructor, she offered two petitions for +herself, and one that her friend might be rewarded for showing her her +duty. Hannah was soon active in the women's meetings, and is to this +day a most useful and consistent Christian. + +Another marked feature in Mr. Stoddard's labors was his tact in setting +others to work for Christ. He taught his pupils that they must toil as +well as pray, and soon after the first converts were brought to Christ, +definite labor for others was assigned to them, not only among their +schoolmates and those who visited the premises, but also in gathering +in those not disposed to come to meeting. Once, when three fourths of +the pupils were hopefully pious, Mr. Stoddard said, "I must bring in +more, just to furnish work for these converts." He himself was happy in +his work, because he gave himself wholly to it, without the least +reservation; and amid the many trials that marked the years of his +residence in Persia, he looked beyond them all, to Him who not only can +give joy in suffering, but, by means of it, bring sinners to the +Saviour. + +The hopeful converts in the Seminary, after spending the summer of 1846 +at their own homes, in circumstances of great trial and temptation, +returned, all save one, not only retaining their interest in spiritual +things, but established in Christian character. Their friends also +testified to their thoughtfulness, prayerfulness, and cheerful +obedience at home, and the influence of their piety was happy on others. + +For a while, in the autumn of 1846, the school was disbanded on account +of the cholera. But, contrary to the fears of many, after a separation +of two months, all were spared to meet again, though hundreds had +fallen on all sides. Three weeks afterwards, the Christians among them +seemed more than usually earnest in prayer for the conversion of the +impenitent, and at once the answer came. The first one awakened was +Moressa, now the wife of Yakob, of Supergan, and then about fourteen +years of age. She had been taken into the family of Mrs. Grant nine +years before, and that of Mr. Stocking afterwards. She had received +much religious instruction, with apparently little effect; but now her +convictions were deep, though she did not submit to Christ for nearly a +week after she felt she was lost. Her case deeply enlisted the +sympathies of her fellow-pupils, and soon several others passed through +a season of deep distress, to rest in the grace of Christ. + +One of these was Eneya, sister of Oshana, and now the wife of Shlemon, +in Amadia. Her widowed mother had fled with her children to Oroomiah +before the Koordish invasion of her native Tehoma. Few children have so +deep a sense of sin as she had, or exercise such implicit trust in the +Saviour. At that time, her teacher wrote, "May she become a messenger +of great good to her countrywomen;" and now, that prayer is being +answered in her usefulness in that distant and lonely field of labor. +Altogether there were seven who seemed at this time to take the Lord +Jesus Christ as their God and Saviour. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + + +FIRST FRUITS. + +SARAH, DAUGHTER OF PRIEST ESHOO.--MARTHA.--HANNAH. + +Let us now turn aside to take a nearer view of the first fruits of this +revival. The first to ask the way to heaven, to find it, and to enter +through the gate into the city, was Sarah, or Sarra, as the Nestorians +pronounce it. She was born among the rude mountaineers of Gawar, in +1831. Her father, Eshoo, then a deacon, regarded her at first with the +aversion Nestorian fathers usually felt towards their daughters; but +her strong attachment to him while yet a child, so won his heart, that +when the Koords overran Gawar, in 1835, and the family fled from their +smouldering village, he was willing to be seen carrying her on his +back, in the same way that his wife bore her younger sister. The family +stopped for a time at Degala, and subsisted by begging from door to +door, lodging at night in a stable. The fine intellect of the +self-taught father soon brought him to the notice of the missionaries; +and one day Mrs. Grant, then just about securing her long-cherished +desire of a school for girls, asked him, in her winning way, "Have you +any daughters? and will you not send them to our little school?" The +inquiry revived a wish that he had felt while yet in Gawar, that his +daughter should learn to read; and in the spring of 1841, when he moved +from Degala to the city, he sent her to the mission school. She had +just entered her tenth year--a tall, slender, dark-eyed girl, even then +giving indications of her early death, and though often a great +sufferer, she applied herself so diligently to study, that she soon +became, as she ever continued to be, the best scholar in the school. + +The ancient Syriac Bible was the principal text book; and she so far +mastered that language as to acquire a knowledge of Scripture rarely +attained in any land by a child of her years. She was the walking +concordance of the school; and her knowledge of the doctrines of the +Bible was even more remarkable. Under the teaching of Mrs. Harriet +Stoddard, she had also learned to sing sweetly our sacred music. Still, +with all her acquirements, she was destitute of grace; and her +declining health led her teacher to feel much anxiety for her salvation. + +On the first Monday in 1846, she said to Sanum, one of her schoolmates, +who, she knew, was thoughtful, "Sister, we ought to turn to God. Shall +we ever find a better time than when so many are praying for us?" They +together resolved to spend the day in seeking salvation; and the manner +in which they made known this purpose to their teacher, and carried it +out, has been already related. (See p. 116). From that day, she never +seemed to waver. As soon as she found peace for herself, she sought to +make others acquainted with her Saviour; not forgetting, however, that +prayer of the Psalmist, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, +and know my thoughts. See if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me +in the way everlasting." Feeble as she was, she never shrank from +labor. Hours every day were spent in her closet, and the rest of her +time was sacredly used for Christ. She had much to do with the +conversion of the twenty schoolmates whom she was permitted to see in +Christ before she went home; and she did much for the women who came to +the Seminary. Her teacher never knew a young person more anxious to +save souls. Both pupils and visitors loved to have Sarah tell them the +way. They said, "We can see it when she tells us." No wonder they saw +it, for she seemed to look on it all the time. Her teacher depended +much on her, and yet often remonstrated with her for such incessant +labors. Still she felt that she must be about her Father's business +while the day lasted. Her desires for the salvation of her father +seemed to commence with her anxiety for herself; and his feelings were +soon so tender that he could not answer an inquiry about his own state +without tears. Sarah was the first to know that he had found peace. His +first religious intercourse with her was to tell her that he had found +Jesus. He had known that she was thoughtful, but was not prepared to +find her so full of humble hope and holy joy. Next day, when urged by a +missionary to labor for the salvation of his family, he replied, "Sarah +knows the way to heaven better than I do. She can teach me far better +than I could her." Their previous strong attachment now ripened into +Christian love. He never felt that his daily bread had been given him, +if he had not knelt with her in prayer, and his heart been lifted up by +her petitions as well as his own. Her mother at first scoffed; but soon +she, too, sought the Saviour; and her younger daughter, whose evil ways +for a time tried Sarah sorely, was also afterwards brought into the +kingdom. + +Mr. Stocking used to call her "the best theologian among the +Nestorians," and often said, "If I want to write a good sermon, I like +to sit down first and talk with Sarah, and then be sure that she is +praying for me." + +Her attachment to the means of grace was strong. She went to every +meeting, even after she could not reach the chapel without help. Her +emaciated form, her hollow cough, her eye bright with unnatural lustre, +all told that she was passing away, but, combined with her sweet +singing and heavenly spirit, led her companions sometimes to whisper, +as she took her seat in the chapel, "Have we not an Elizabeth +Wallbridge among us?"--"The Dairyman's Daughter," in Syriac, had just +then issued from the press, and was a great favorite with the +Nestorians. + +As early as March, it was seen that she must die. Still she clung to +the school, and not for nought. She had a mission to fulfil, and her +Saviour strengthened her for the work to which he called her. As yet, +none of the pious Nestorians had finished their course. With the +converts, victory over death was something heard of, but never +witnessed; and Sarah was chosen to show them "in what peace a Christian +can die." Perhaps the last days of no young disciple were ever watched +with more eager interest. "Will Christ sustain us to the last? Will he +be with us through the dark valley? Will he come for us and receive us +to himself, as he promised?" These were to them momentous questions; +and they stood ready to answer them according as the Lord supported +her. Ever since her death they have looked upon the last change from a +new point of view. But we must not anticipate. + +The five months between her conversion and her decease were very +precious to all who knew her. She sometimes sat with her teacher and +talked an hour at a time on the home of the blessed. She seemed to look +in upon its glories, and share its gladness; and then her thoughts +turned to the perishing around her, saying, "I would labor a little +longer for them, if it is my Father's will." The young converts whom +she had taught could not bear the thought of her leaving them; but they +sought to stay an angel in his course. The dross had been consumed, and +the spirit was made meet for the inheritance of the saints in light. + +[Illustration: Courtyard of the Female Seminary] + +About the middle of May, it was felt that she must go home to her +father, whose house was near the Seminary. It was a beautiful day in a +Persian summer. The morning exercises were closed. When her teacher +told her what they thought, she replied in a whisper, "I think I had +better go, but I want to be alone a little before I leave not to +return." With weary step she sought the closet where first she found +her Saviour: it was occupied. Perhaps He saw she might think more of +the place than was meet; so she spent an hour in another room, and then +returned, saying, "I am ready to go now." She went supported by a +schoolmate on either side: stopping in the court, she turned to take a +last look of the dear home where she had learned of Jesus, and, +plucking some of the roses that bloomed by her side, passed on. On the +preceding page that court is represented, as seen from the adjoining +one. She suffered intensely for a few days. Her disease forbade her +lying down, even at night. But still not a day passed that she did not +gather some women about her, and point them to Jesus. Her teacher +visited her frequently, and often found her with her Bible open, and +several women around her bed, to whom she was explaining it. The +praying pupils, too, often knelt with her at the accustomed throne of +grace. + +One Saturday in June, her father was asked if he could go to +Tergawer--twenty-five miles distant--and preach. His reply was, "I will +see what Sarah says." She said, "Go, father, and I will pray for you." +Sabbath morning came, and her teacher saw that Sarah was almost home: +she told her so, and once more committed the dear pupil to the Saviour +who stood by. She had to return to her duties in school, but first said +to her mother, "Send for me when the Master calls for her, for, if I +cannot go over Jordan with her, I would at least accompany her to the +swelling stream." In the afternoon her sufferings became intense; and +losing herself for a moment, she said, "Call my father." They told her +where he was. "O, yes, I remember. Don't call him. Let him preach; I +can die alone." She then said, "Call Miss Fiske;" and her sister +started to go. But the dying one remembered that it was the hour for +prayer meeting, and beckoned her to return, saying, "She is in meeting +now, with my companions. Don't call her; I can die alone." Perhaps, +with that teacher present, her eyes had not so clearly discerned the +Lord Jesus. Her sufferings were now so great, she hardly spoke for an +hour. Then she said, in a clear voice, "Mother, raise me, that I may +commit my spirit;" for she would never approach her Saviour but on her +knees. Supported, as she had been hundreds of times before, by that +mother's strong arms, and in the attitude of prayer, she said, "Lord +Jesus, receive--" And there she stopped: prayer had ended. Instead of +the closing words of the earthly petition was the opening of the new +song in heaven. The Saviour did not wait for the close of her petition +before he answered it. The teacher had just sat down with her pupils +when the door opened, and a messenger said "Sarah is asleep!" "Yes," +thought she, gratefully, "till Jesus shall say, 'Awake!'" According to +Eastern custom, Sarah was buried that same evening (June 13th), and the +whole school followed her to the grave, which was close to that of Mrs. +Grant. The first fruit of the school appropriately lies by the side of +her who planted that tree in the garden of the Lord, At the funeral her +teacher was just thinking that Sarah could help her no more, that her +prayers and labors were forever ended, when she looked up, and her eye +rested on the evening star looking down upon the grave. It was a +pleasant thought that she, too, was a star in glory. She was glad that +the first to love Christ was the first to go to be with him, and still +loves to think, of her as waiting for those who used to pray with her +on earth. The Christian life of Sarah was short; but she did much, for +she taught her people how + + "Jesus can make a dying bed + Feel soft as downy pillows are."[1] + +[Footnote 1: For additional foots about Sarah, see Nestorian Biography, +pp. 25-40.] + +After Sarah, like Stephen among the early disciples, had led the way +into the presence of her Saviour, Blind Martha was the next to follow. + +She was constrained by sickness to leave the school early in the spring +of 1847, and go home to her parents in Geog Tapa. Though six miles +distant, her schoolmates loved to walk out there to comfort her. They +prized no recreation so much as the privilege of going to see her. They +read and talked with her about her favorite portions of Scripture, +prayed with her, and were never allowed to leave without singing +"Jerusalem, my happy home." At such times, one of them said, "Her +countenance always showed that her spirit was walking the golden +streets." When asked about her health, she uniformly replied, "The Lord +helps me;" and when urged to speak more particularly, would say, "Dear +sisters, the Lord helps me, and that is enough." When, after five or +six of them had prayed in succession, she was asked if she was not +wearied, she would reply, "I know that I am weak, but prayer never +tires me." So great a privilege was it deemed to be with her, that one +morning, when a pious member of the Seminary at Seir was called to +leave the village early, he said, "I cannot go till I have prayed with +Blind Martha, and got from her manna for the road." + +Her companions desired very much to be present when she went home; but +this was not permitted. One morning in June, she said, at early dawn, +"Mother, the day breaks; I think Jesus is coming for me now; let me +go." But seeing no change in her appearance, her mother lay down again, +and, when next she woke, found that Jesus had come, and taken her to be +with him in his home above. What was that vision of the glory of +Immanuel that prompted the cry, "Mother, the day breaks!" from one who +never remembered to have seen the light? She became blind in infancy. A +smile remained on her pale face; and well might the sight of Him who +said, "If I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and +receive you unto myself," leave such a memento of the bliss. + +Little Hannah, the youngest member of the school, was suddenly called +home the following September, when only eleven years of age. When she +first came to Christ, her teacher was awakened one morning by her +asking at the bedside, "Is it wrong to wish to die?" "But why do you +want to die?" "That I may go and stay with Jesus, and never sin again." +This desire never left her. Once she said, with tears, "It seems as if +I cannot wait so long to go to my Saviour;" and at another time, "I +fear that I have sinned in not being willing to wait till Jesus calls +me." Before leaving for vacation, each pupil put up her own things in a +bundle, to be laid away till her return. As Hannah was at work on hers, +she said to a girl near her, "Perhaps you will open this. I do not +think that I ever shall. When you come together in the autumn, I trust +that I shall be in the Saviour's school above." So strong was the +desire awakened in her by Him who intended soon to gratify it. + +While the cholera raged around her in August, she frequently said, +"This may be my time to go to my dear Saviour;" and repeated it to her +mother on the last morning of her life, but went out as usual to her +work in the vineyard. About noon she became unwell, and said to a +companion, "I am sick; perhaps I shall die soon." "Are you willing?" +"O, yes, I am not afraid to go to Jesus." The disease made rapid +progress, and again she said, "I am very sick; I shall die soon: shall +we not pray together?" Her young friend led in prayer, and then called +on her to follow; but her time for prayer was almost finished. She +could just say, "Bless my dear sister; take me gently through the dark +river;" when she sunk exhausted, and was carried to the house. A mother +bent over an only daughter, and three loving brothers over an only +sister; but they could not keep her back from Jesus. She sent for her +companions, and they hastened to her bedside. She called for her +Testament; but her eyesight was failing her, and she returned it, +saying, "I can never use it more; but read it more prayerfully, and +love the Saviour more than I have done." She lingered through the +night, and rose with the dawn to her long-desired rest in the presence +of her Redeemer. + +It Is remarkable that three timid girls should have been chosen to lead +the advance of a great multitude of Nestorians through the dark valley +into the light beyond. No member of the Boy's Seminary died till three +years afterwards; and only two others of this before 1858--a period of +eleven years; but Infinite Wisdom chose, through such weak and timorous +ones, to glorify the power of Christ to bear his people through the +last conflict into everlasting rest. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + + +SUBSEQUENT REVIVALS + +DEACON JOHN STUDYING BACKSLIDING IN 1849--WORK IN VILLAGE OF +SEIR--WIVES OF SIYAD AND YONAN--KHANUMJAN--WOMEN AT THE SEMINARY--GEOG +TAPA--DEGALA--A PENITENT--SIN OF ANGER--REVIVAL IN 1856--MISS FISKE +ENCOURAGED--STILLNESS AND DEEP FEELING--UNABLE TO SING--CONVERSION OF +MISSIONARY CHILDREN--VISIT OF ENGLISH AMBASSADOR--REVIVAL OF +1857--LETTER OF SANUM + +The first indication of a work of grace in 1849 was seen in the unusual +seriousness of Deacon John. He had been reading Pike's Guide to Young +Disciples, and the chapter on backsliding moved him deeply. For a long +time, he went mourning his departure from God. One day he was reading +aloud in the Seminary, when a missionary came in, and wondering to see +him there, asked what he was doing. He replied, "I am studying +backsliding; and O, sir, I love it very much;" meaning to say that he +loved to study the way back to the enjoyment of God. This state of mind +was followed by earnest effort for the salvation of others, and the +hopefully pious first passed through a season of deep heart-searching +and renewed consecration to God. Under an awful sense of the violation +of covenant vows, for many days some of them did nothing but weep and +pray. "How unfaithful have I been to my Saviour and to immortal souls!" +was the cry on all sides. One whose Bible was found blotted with tears, +had been converted in 1846, and her grief was on account of her +unfaithfulness as a follower of Christ. Having thus wept bitterly +herself, she was well fitted to lead others to the God of all comfort. +Her labors were unwearied, both in and out of school. Indeed, the +mission was now so reduced in numbers, that much of the work in this +revival was performed by the Nestorians, and they proved themselves +very efficient. Naturally ardent, they preached Christ and him +crucified with a zeal and faithfulness rarely witnessed in our own +land; but their ardor needed careful guiding, for some were, at one +time, entirely prostrated by excessive labor. + +The pupils of the Seminary, during a short vacation, seemed like angels +of mercy to their families and friends. In Geog Tapa, their meetings +for women every evening had an attendance varying from thirty to one +hundred. Many of these were glad to learn the way of salvation, even +from children. Besides this, the older pupils, under the guidance of an +experienced native helper, spent much time in personal conversation and +prayer with their own sex, as did the members of the other Seminary +with the men. + +In the village of Seir, the work was very general. In addition to the +labors of the pious students in the Male Seminary there, Sanum and +Moressa labored from house to house among the women. But hear their own +account of what they did, in a letter to Miss Lovell's school at +Constantinople;-- + +"What shall we tell you, beloved, of the great love God has shown to +our school and people? For two months we have had such delightful days +as we never saw in our lives before. The work of the Lord has also +commenced in the villages, and in many there is great inquiry for the +way of life. The servants of God are so full of zealous love, that they +preach till their strength and voice give way. But again they go on to +preach, for the harvest is great, and the laborers few. How should we, +with burning hearts, beg the Lord of the harvest to send forth +laborers! Can we bear, dear sisters, to see the deadly wings of Satan's +kingdom spread out and destroy those bought by the precious blood of +Christ? Ought we not rather to wrestle like Jacob till we see the +loving wings of the kingdom of the Saviour spread out, and impart life +to wounded souls on every side? We hope that your waiting eyes may see +greater wonders among your own people than we do here. + +"Now we will tell you about the little village of Seir, which contains +nineteen houses. God has visited every house; and because the women +were much awakened, and had no teacher, the missionaries sent two of us +there, not because we were fit for such a work,--for we are deficient +in Godly knowledge, and every qualification,--but because God sometimes +chooses the ignorant and weak to do him service. And what shall we tell +you of the wonders God showed us among those poor women? There was no +time in which they did not cry, with tears, 'What shall we do?' 'Woe +unto us!' 'We are lost!' When we asked them to pray in meetings, they +prayed as if taught of God. We wondered at them very much. In one +house, we found a woman beating her head with both hands, crying, 'O my +sins! They are so great! There is no pardon!' We tried to reason with +her; but if we took her hands from her head, she beat her breast. She +said, 'You told me, when you prayed with me the other day, to go to +Christ; but he will not receive me, I am such a sinner.' With +difficulty we quieted her, and told of the great mercy of the Son of +David. We prayed with each woman of the village alone, and they with +us, fervently and in tears. + +"In one instance, we heard an old man praying earnestly in the stable, +and his wife in the house. We waited till they had finished, before we +went in, and there we found an old man, perhaps ninety years old, and +his wife, also very aged. We spoke with them of the lowly Redeemer, and +how he was ready to dwell with them, poor as they were. The tears +rolled down their wrinkled faces, and made our own hearts burn within +us. The old man prayed with us as if Christ stood right before him, and +we prayed with them both. + +"There were meetings several times a day, and when they closed, the +voice of prayer might be heard on all sides, in the houses and stables. +Every family now has morning and evening worship." + +In this revival, the native helpers were very much interested for the +salvation of their unconverted wives. The families of Siyad and Yonan +live in Geog Tapa, and their first visits home were blessed to the +conviction of their companions, who soon came to the school, begging to +be allowed to stay and learn the way of life. Of course, they were not +refused. The wife of Siyad had been a frequent visitor there, but such +an opposer of religion, that her coming was always dreaded; but now how +changed! Day by day her convictions deepened, till they were +overwhelming. Tears were her meat, and prayer her employment, day and +night, till, as she said, "The Saviour found her," and she was at rest. +Three children and a daughter-in-law joined her in believing, and it +was delightful to see the family, not long after, each in his or her +turn, calling on the name of the Lord in one of the rooms of the +Seminary. + +Yonan, the junior teacher of the school, had been married by force two +years before, by his wicked father; that, too, when his heart was fixed +on another, every way fitted to be his companion. It was a severe +trial; but grace triumphed, and his great desire, seemed to be the +conversion of the wife thus forced upon him. At midnight, he was often +heard interceding for her, and, in the early part of the revival, the +answer came. Miss Fiske will never forget the time when, in an +adjoining room, she heard her for the first time praying with her +husband. It gave her a new insight into the meaning of that scripture, +"They believed not for joy." The new convert was very active among the +women in her village; and when her father-in-law forbade social prayer +in his house, she took her little company at sunset behind the village +church, where even the bleak winds of February did not chill their +devotions. + +Khanumjan, the aged mother of John, though past threescore and ten, +entered into the work with a zeal that might put to shame many younger +women in our own land. She toiled to bring the more aged women right to +the cross, taking them one by one into her own closet, that then and +there they might accept the Saviour. Though herself unable to read, she +did much for the preachers who went out to the villages, providing food +for them on their return, and exhorting them to courage and +faithfulness. No wonder she said to a visitor, "Three years ago, I saw +Christ in heaven, and I have seen him there ever since; but now he sits +by my side all day long." When she died, she said, over and over again, +"I am going after Jesus." + +In this revival, the encouragement to labor for woman was greater than +ever before. After the middle of January, the Seminary was almost +constantly thronged with inquirers. Day and night, it was consecrated +by the prayers and tears of women seeking their Saviour. On Friday, and +on the Sabbath, many from the neighboring villages spent the time there +between services. The room was filled with them; and even while they +ate, they must have some one speaking to them of Jesus. Those who did +so, often spoke with such tenderness as showed that Christ himself was +very near. Sometimes the women could not eat any thing but the bread of +life. At times, the anguish of some for sin was so overpowering, that +the question, "Can a woman forget her sucking child?" might almost have +been answered in the affirmative. In some instances, the scenes that +took place were too much for frail nature to bear, and the laborers +were ready to ask to be clothed upon with immortality while the Lord +passed by. Those who spent the night in the Seminary slept in the large +room on the lower floor, between the central door and that on the left, +in the engraving; and occasionally the sound of their weeping and +praying banished sleep from the rooms above them. Yet such hinderance +to rest brought a refreshment all its own. + +In Geog Tapa, the village ruler was found sitting at the feet of Jesus, +and going with the preachers from place to place, to give greater +weight to their words; and twenty-five young men, though they could not +read, yet did what they could with untiring zeal. + +There was an interesting work in Degala, so noted for vice that it was +called the Sodom of the Nestorians. The first converted there was a +young man employed in the Seminary. He passed through a severe mental +conflict before his proud heart yielded; but when it did, he became a +living sacrifice to God. One day he came to the teachers, saying, "I +have a petition to make; will you receive it?" Supposing it to be some +pecuniary matter, they replied, "Tell us what it is." He at once burst +into tears, and covering his face with his garment, said, "My village +is lost; my family is perishing, and their blood is on my neck; let me +go to-night and beg forgiveness for my wicked example, and urge them to +flee from the wrath to come." He obtained his request, and left, +sobbing aloud. Next morning, he brought his wife and two other women to +be instructed. About a week after, Deacon Tamo found in the village +several inquirers, and one woman in agony on account of her sins. She +had been notorious for wickedness, and so vile as hardly to find one +who would associate with her, though now one of the most lovely +Christians in any land. The next day, she came to the Seminary, and as +soon as Miss Fiske sat down beside her, she threw herself into her lap, +crying, "Do tell me what to do, or where to go, to get rid of my sins." +She was pointed to the Lamb of God, and one moment her feet seemed to +rest on the Rock of Ages, and the next a fresh wave of conviction swept +her into the raging sea. So she vibrated between life and death. She +was asked to pray. In all her life she had not probably heard ten +prayers; but her strong crying and tears showed that the Holy Spirit +was her teacher, and the helper of her infirmities. She had learned to +pray where her Saviour found a cradle--in the manger--cast out and +derided by her friends. + +She was first awakened in the Seminary; for one day, as soon as she +entered the door, a pupil, then under deep conviction herself, and to +whom she was an entire stranger, seized her hand, saying, "My sister, +my sister, what are you doing? We are all lost. We must repent, or +perish." These words she could not forget, and from that hour sought +until she found her Saviour, and then bore ill treatment with such +meekness as won others also to Christ. + +The desire of the converts for instruction was most affecting. One of +them wept bitterly when asked if she was willing to forsake every sin, +saying, "What shall I do? I have one sin so strong that I fear I cannot +leave it off." "What is it?" "I cannot live without these words of God. +My husband will not let me go to hear them, and anger sometimes rises +in my heart at this. Tell me what to do with this sin." + +An account of the revival in 1850 will be given in the chapter on the +prayerfulness of the Nestorians. After this were instances of +conversion each year, but not so marked, or so general, as in 1849. So +we pass over the intervening time to dwell a moment on the revival of +1856. That year, the pupils were very studious, and kind in their +feelings towards each other and their teachers; but the winter was +nearly over before any additions were made to the now diminished number +of believers. The teachers mourned; still the heavens were brass, and +the earth iron. Christians were lukewarm, and none seemed to have power +with God. + +Miss Fiske returned from the English prayer meeting Sabbath evening, +February 18th, in that desponding state that sometimes follows intense +and protracted desire, when its object is not attained. At such times, +the sensibilities seem paralyzed, and emotion dies of sheer exhaustion. +The pupils had retired; so also had Miss Rice; and she was left alone. +Her thoughts brooded over the state of her charge, but she had no +strength to rise and carry those precious souls to Christ. She could +not sleep, and yet so shrunk from the duties of the morrow, that she +longed for a lengthening out of the night, rather than the approach of +dawn. Eleven o'clock struck, and there was a knock at the door. Could +she open it? Must she see another face that night? She did open it, and +there stood one of her pupils, not so without feeling as her fainting +heart had imagined. Struck by the languor of her teacher's looks, she +inquired tenderly, "Are you very tired?" "No, not very; why do you +ask?" "I cannot sleep; our school has been resting on me all day, and I +thought perhaps you would help me to pray." The spell was broken; the +dry fountain of feeling gushed out afresh, and, with a full heart, she +said, "Come in, thou blessed of the Lord." As an angel from heaven, +that dear pupil strengthened her teacher that night, and together they +carried the whole household to Jesus. When at length she retired, all +was sweetly left with Christ, and he whispered peace. She could sleep +now, and when morning came there was still peace. "Could ye not watch +with me one hour?" was the word spoken to her as she arose; and hardly +had she repeated it at morning prayers, before three, in different +parts of the room, were weeping. She said little, for she felt it safer +to go and tell Jesus their wants and their unworthiness. All day, the +feeling in the school was subdued and tender. No one asked, "What shall +I do to be saved?" but there was quiet at the table, and quiet in the +rooms. The work was done willingly and well, but in silence, and the +voice of prayer in the closets was gentle. Tuesday passed in almost +perfect stillness. No one said even, "Pray for me." Towards evening, +Miss Fiske said, "If there is one who wants first of all to attend to +her eternal interests, I would like to see her at half past eight +o'clock." At that hour, her door opened, and one entered alone; then +another and another, each alone, till the room was full. She closed the +door, but still they came. What were her feelings when she looked round +on twenty-three, sitting with their heads bowed down in silence? She +said little, for she felt that they wanted to hear God, rather than +man, and the parable of the prodigal son that evening seemed to come +fresh from the lips of Jesus. + +Next day, each lesson was recited in its season, and recited well; but +tears blurred many a page, and at recess not a few went to be alone +with God. At eleven o'clock, Mr. Perkins came in as usual to sing with +them, "Bartimeus" was the first hymn. All began it; but some voices +faltered on the first stanza, more on the second, and soon the leader's +voice was heard alone. He took up the Bible lying on the desk, and +saying, "Perhaps some wanderer would like now to arise and go to her +heavenly Father," he too read the portion of the night before, and led +in prayer. The teachers had to lengthen the intermission at noon, +because they could not bear to summon the pupils so early from their +closets. + +The mission met that afternoon in the Seminary. Mr. Stoddard came down +from Seir covered with snow, saying, in his pleasant way, as he opened +the door, "We have snowed down this time;" but when he learned the +state of things, he said, very tenderly, "You must have thought my +speech untimely; I did not know God was so near; but my heart is with +you, and I hope we both shall have a large blessing." That meeting was +almost all prayer, and the weeks that followed it witnessed a work +silent but deep. It was characterized by humble contrition, and much +simple dependence on Christ. Most of those twenty-three, before the +close of the term, were hoping in his mercy. + +Three missionary children were among the converts in this revival, and +their conversion did much good to the Nestorians; for, though they had +felt their own need of regeneration, they were in doubt about the +children of pious parents; but when they saw the children of +missionaries weep over sin, and come as lost sinners to the Saviour, +they understood as never before that the entrance into the kingdom was +the same for all. + +At this time, the English ambassador passed through Oroomiah; and +though, when he and his suite visited the Seminary, there was some +apprehension felt as to the effect it might have on the religious +interests of the pupils, they not only did themselves credit, in the +examination he made of the school, but returned from the interview with +their relish for spiritual things undiminished. Indeed, the event, +which ordinarily would have been more than a nine days' wonder, caused +scarce a ripple on the deep current of spiritual emotion. + +The Seminary was again blessed in 1857, and the year following Miss +Fiske returned from Seir after the funeral of Harriet Stoddard to +welcome several who had entered the fold of the good Shepherd during +her absence. + +The labors of Miss Rice, who had charge of the school (while she was +away,) have also been blessed in each of the four succeeding years. +During that time, eighteen of the pupils have been received to the +communion. The revival in the winter of 1861-62 was, however, more +interesting and extensive. + +At one meeting in the Male Seminary, the young men burst into tears +while singing the hymn, "Alas, and did my Saviour bleed?" and soon +after, in the Saturday evening meeting, Miss Rice's whole school were +bowed in earnest prayer, and did not move for some time when requested +by her to retire for private devotion. On this occasion, Mr. Cobb +writes, "It was my privilege to speak a word to them, and I can truly +say that I never saw such a scene before, as, with heads bowed down on +their desks, unable wholly to repress their sobs, they listened, and +again engaged in prayer." Even then, it was only after repeated +requests that they went to their own rooms, where many continued their +supplications far into the night. + +The interesting scenes of these awakenings are thus gratefully recalled +by Sanum, a convert of the first revival, in a letter dated Salmas, +June 6th, 1859:-- + +Beloved Teacher, Miss Fiske: I received your priceless letter with many +tears of joy, and when I read your loving, motherly counsels, my heart +was full; it was drawn to you with inexpressible love; and when you +reminded me of those blessed revivals, my eyes were darkened with +floods of tears, so that, for a time, I could not read. How can I ever +forget the first night that you met me, after the Lord had touched my +heart, in that blessed room? or how many times you took me by the hand, +and led me to the throne of grace? Often I was in the dark, and the +Lord, through you, was pleased to give me rest. Can I ever forget, when +the hand of the Lord rested on me in the death of my dear children,[1] +how many times you came as an angel of peace to wipe away my tears? +Shall I ever forget the Lord's coming among us by the still rain of the +Holy Spirit? or those meetings of the sisters for prayer? or those +tearful pleadings in the closets? Can I ever forget the fervent +supplications and preaching of blessed Mr. Stocking, and how he begged +us to flee from the wrath to come? If I forget these, let my right hand +forget her cunning, and my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth. +[Footnote 1: Page 185] + +It is a year, my beloved, since I have been able to go to Oroomiah. I +have sorrowed greatly to be cut off so long from the supper of our +Lord, and them that meet around his table. Perhaps it is because I am +not worthy of the blessing. The Lord mercifully grant that I be not cut +off from the heavenly supper of the Lamb. + +Our work here is much as before. I grieve to say that there are few +with whom I can pray, and in the few cases where I can do so, it must +be done as by stealth. But there are those with whom I can talk. Hoimer +and I have a meeting for the women every Sabbath, and on other days. +Every Tuesday, Hoimer, Raheel, and I have a little meeting together, +and it is very pleasant, but will be more so when the Lord shall +increase our number. O that we longing ones might see that day, and our +troubled hearts rejoice! + +During the nineteen years since the Seminary was established, it has +enjoyed, in all, twelve revivals; and though it is not desirable to +count up the results of human labors, it is due to the praise of divine +grace to record, that out of those who have been connected with it, as +many as two thirds have, in the judgment of charity, been created anew +in Christ Jesus. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + + +DARK DAYS. + +SEMINARY BROKEN UP IN 1844.--DEACON ISAAC.--PERSECUTION BY MAR +SHIMON.--FUNERAL OF DAUGHTER OF PRIEST ESHCO.--DEACON +GUWERGIS.--ATTEMPT AT ABDUCTION OF PUPIL.--PERIL OF SCHOOL.--MRS. +HARRIET STODDAR.--YAHYA KHAN.--ANARCHY.--LETTER FROM BABILO. + +The Nestorian mission has encountered less opposition than other +missions in Western Asia. Yet here, also, they who would live godly in +Christ Jesus have suffered persecution. On June 19th, 1844, the +brothers of Mar Shimon issued this order: "Be it known to you all, ye +readers at Seir, that if ye do not come to us tomorrow, we will +excommunicate you from our most holy church; your finger nails shall be +torn out; we will hunt you from village to village, and kill you if we +can." Miss Fiske was spending the summer there with her pupils, and it +was not deemed best to provoke further trouble by retaining them. When +told of this, they all wept aloud. Nor did they weep alone. Their +teacher, and the family of Mr. Stocking, in which they lived, could not +restrain their tears. It seemed as if the girls would never tear +themselves away from their teacher; and when at length they departed, +again and again the lamentation arose, "We shall never hear the word of +God again." Miss Fiske laid them at the feet of Jesus, trusting that he +would bring them back to her, and others with them. A German Jew, who +was present, said in his broken English, "I have seen much bad to +missionaries in other countries, but nothing bad like this, to take +little children from words of Jesus Christ." + +Even Deacon Isaac, a brother of Mar Shimon, who was prominent in the +act, was ashamed of it. On a visit to the school, eight years +afterwards, he asked leave to speak to the pupils, and said, "My young +friends, I want you to do all you can to help your teachers, for I once +troubled Miss Fiske, and it has made my life bitter ever since." Here +the good man broke down, and there was not a dry eye among his hearers; +while he added, "I have vowed before God that I will do all that I can +to help her as long as I live." And all who know him can testify that +he has kept his word, ever since his conversion in 1849. When he first +began to be thoughtful, he heard that one of the pupils was in the +habit of praying for him. He sent for her, and insisted on her praying +with him; and though he was the most intelligent of the Nestorians, and +possessed of rare force of character, and Sarah was more noted for +devotion, than for her mental powers, yet he learned from her in a most +childlike spirit; and that scripture which says, "A little child shall +lead them," found in this case a beautiful illustration. + +He has been occasionally employed in the school, and always proved a +very useful and acceptable teacher. When he bade Miss Fiske good-bye, +in 1858, he said, "You may rest assured that I will do all I can for +the women till you come back;" and the next Sabbath found him teaching +a class of adult females. In our favored land, the grace of God has +made it nothing strange for the governor of a state to be a teacher in +the Sabbath school; but one who has not lived in Persia can form no +idea of what it is for a brother of Mar Shimon to teach a class of +women. He has great skill in bringing out the meaning of Scripture, and +is every where exceedingly acceptable as a Bible teacher. Along with +unfeigned piety, he has more real refinement than any of his +countrymen, and few Nestorians can show kindness with such true +delicacy of feeling. + +The health of Miss Fiske was so impaired in the spring of 1848, that +she reluctantly yielded to the advice of the mission, and went with Mr. +Stocking to Erzroom, to meet Mr. Cochran and family, then on their way +to Persia. When they returned, they found Mr. Stoddard's health so +seriously affected by long-continued over-exertion, that he only +awaited their arrival to leave for Trebizond. Little did they dream +that it was Mrs. Stoddard's last farewell to the scene of her labors. + +Nor was this all. The patriarch Mar Shimon, who had long worn the guise +of friendship, now threw off the mask. He broke up schools in small and +distant villages, and secured the beating of a man by the governor on +the charge of apostasy. The Female Seminary was honored with his +special anathema. "Has Miss Fiske taught you this?" was his frequent +demand of those who fell into his hands, followed by such reviling as +only an Oriental could pour forth. + +On the morning of July 28th, the infant daughter of Priest Eshoo, named +Sarah, after her sainted sister, lay on her death bed; and to punish +her father for his preaching, Mar Shimon forbade her burial in the +Nestorian graveyard. He collected a mob ready to do his bidding as soon +as she should die; but she lingered on, and so disappointed him for +that day. Next day she died, and at once he anathematized all who +should assist in her burial. A pious carpenter, however, forced his way +through the mob, and made her coffin. He remained steadfast throughout +the storm, replying to every dissuasion of his friends, "I must go +forward, even to the shedding of my blood." + +The missionaries appealed to a former governor, who owned that part of +the city, for leave to bury in the cemetery used by the Nestorians from +time immemorial; but the patriarch paid no attention to his messages, +and the child remained unburied. Miss Fiske wrote, "As we look out on +this troubled sea, and sympathize with these afflicted parents, we love +to look up and think of the dear child as sweetly resting on the bosom +of the Saviour. May the Sabbath bring us a foretaste of heavenly rest." +But it found them still "where storms arise and ocean rolls." The +governor sent men to demand the digging of a grave, which the mob would +not allow. Meanwhile, the profligate Mar Gabriel craftily suggested +that a promise from the priest not to preach any more, might end the +trouble. "Never," was the prompt reply. "Let my dead remain unburied, +but I will not go back from the service of the Lord." This so enraged +the patriarch, that, for the sake of peace, the governor advised to +bury the body in one of the villages. The sorrowing parents then locked +their house, and leaving their babe alone in its slumbers, went to the +chapel. There they found comfort from a sermon on the text, "Through +much tribulation we must enter into the kingdom of God." About twenty +men returned with them to the house. Then one bearing the little coffin +went before; the rest followed, singing the forty-sixth Psalm. Even +Moslems gazed with wonder, as they passed close by the door of the +patriarch, and went out of the city gate. The engraving (page 154) +gives a very good representation of this gate. On the green hill-side +at Seir the little one was laid to rest, and the father, thanking the +company for their kindness, hastened them back, to be in time for the +afternoon service. + +In the mean time, Mar Shimon sent far and near, forbidding all +intercourse with the missionaries. At Geog Tapa, in the absence of the +Malis, he ordered an old man, who formerly held that office, to summon +the people before him. Only a few vagrants obeyed, and these he +commanded to break up the schools, and prevent preaching in the church. +So, that evening, when John commenced preaching, they proceeded to +execute their orders; but, afraid to face the determined people, they +deferred the attack till the hearers passed out; and then, like stanch +old Puritans, hardly noticing them, the congregation wended their way +homewards, singing psalms as they went. + +[Illustration: SEIR GATE, OROOMIAH] + +The patriarch now excommunicated Mar Yohanan, and made common cause +with the French Lazarists. He even wrote a fraternal epistle to the +pope, ready for any thing, if he could only crush the mission. His +attendants marched about the mission premises with loud threats; pious +Nestorians were knocked down in the streets; while his brother Isaac +went to a distant village, to show that he had no sympathy with such +iniquity. + +Soon after, the carpenter who made the coffin was severely beaten by +his own father for attending a prayer meeting. As the blows fell thick +and fast, he cried, "Must this come from my own father?" But he +remained firm, and next day went to the chapel pale and weak, but +filled with holy joy. + +Deacon Guwergis, prevented from going to the mountains,--for the Koords +sided with Mar Shimon,--fearlessly encountered the revilings of the +patriarch in his own house, and told him that he hoped to continue +preaching till he died. His countenance must have shone like Stephen's, +for his persecutor said to one of the attendants, "See how his face +glistens. If he is so bold here, what will he be in the mountains?" +Well might a missionary write, "What a blessing are such men! The sight +of them is worth ten thousand times the sacrifices made by us all." + +Though this was vacation, fifteen of the pupils remained in the +Seminary for protection during the storm; yet even there they were not +wholly safe. On the 25th of August, a messenger came in haste for one +of them, saying that her dying brother wished to see her immediately. +As the man was her relative, the girl was ready to go at once; but +providentially Miss Fiske learned that the brother was well, and the +messenger had been seen last with Mar Shimon. So he left, chagrined and +enraged at his failure. The patriarch had told him to be sure and hide +his purpose from that Satan, Miss Fiske, and in case of failure, to +take the girl by force. But the teacher had had some experience in +guarding her fold, and both she and her pupil were thankful for the +deliverance. Next day, Mar Shimon forbade preaching in Geog Tapa; but +if the church was closed, the house-tops remained open. The same day, +the school in Vizierawa was repeatedly dispersed, but each time +reassembled by the teacher. + +The 28th of this month was such a day as the mission had never seen +before. In the forenoon, the teacher from Charbash fled wounded from +the servants of Mar Shimon to the mission premises. Scarcely had he +entered, when his brother came in, having escaped from similar +violence. The Moslem owner of the village had to put a stop to the +tearing down of their house. + +Miss Fiske and Miss Rice had just sat down to dinner with the school, +when the cry, "A man is killed!" was followed by a rush from all parts +of the yard. A mob at the gate was trying to break in and seize the +native helpers. Mar Yohanan was wounded, and all was confusion. The +teachers exhorted their little flock not to count their lives dear to +them, for Jesus' sake. Happily, they were not called to such a test of +discipleship; but the sympathies of the Moslems were plainly with Mar +Shimon, and no one knew what a day might bring forth. That tried friend +of the mission, E.W. Stevens, Esq., English consul at Tabreez, feared +lest the missionaries should fall by the hand of violence. Miss Fiske +writes, "Our native friends will doubtless suffer much, and we rejoice +to share with them. We hope that fears on our account will not be +realized. Still there is danger; and we try to be ready for life or +death, as our Father sees best. Though in a land of violence, we are +not unhappy; we trust in God, and hope this vine is being pruned that +it may bring forth more fruit. We would have all the gracious designs +of God fulfilled, even though we should be cast down." + +The same day came tidings of the death of Mrs. Stoddard, at Trebizond, +and Miss Fiske wrote that night an account of it to her former teacher, +at South Hadley, adding, "Precious sister: she died far away; but my +Father knows why I might not stand by that dying bed, and I would +submit, though my heart bleeds. _Our_ homes are sad to-night, and there +is many a weeping eye among those for whom she toiled so faithfully. +From my first acquaintance with her, she has been to me all that mortal +could be. Her heart was tenderly alive to the spiritual interests of +the dear Nestorians; and to them she devoted all her powers. It was she +who first taught their daughters to sing the songs of Zion. Few, +probably, have accomplished so much in so short a life. Her family, the +mission, the Seminary, and all about us, shared in her untiring labors. +As truly as of dear Mrs. Grant may it be said of her, 'She hath done +what she could.' + +"Like Mrs. Grant, she was the youngest member of the mission at the +time of her death. When she left her native land, some almost regretted +that so frail a flower should go forth to encounter the hardships of +missionary life; but she did much, and did it well. The Seminary in +Seir still bears the impress she stamped upon it. Her memory is not +only fragrant today among the Nestorians, but it draws them nearer to +Christ, and renders them more efficient in his service." + +Mar Shimon now made common cause with the Persian nobility. The English +and Russian ambassadors had procured the appointment of Dawood Khan as +governor of the Christians in Oroomiah, in order to protect them from +illegal oppression. The nobility of course opposed this; and Mar +Shimon, by promising his aid in the removal of the protector of his own +people, secured their cooperation in his wickedness. The converts were +now insulted at every turn. They could hardly appear in the street, and +the authorities afforded no redress. The missionaries had no earthly +friend nearer than Mr. Stevens at Tabreez, who did all he could for +them; and the pious natives felt shut up to God as their only refuge. + +Yahya Khan, the governor of the province, now wrote urging on Mar +Shimon, and ordered his agent in Oroomiah to aid him to the utmost of +his power. As Yahya Khan was brother-in-law to the king, he was able to +do the mission much harm at the court; and the patriarch, encouraged by +such a coadjutor, set himself with renewed zeal to destroy it; but in +September, the prince royal summoned him to Tabreez, and the nobility +hardly daring to resist the order, he was reluctantly preparing to +comply, when news came of the death of the shah, and all was confusion. +The missionaries had been praying for help against their dreaded enemy, +Yahya Khan, and lo! his power to harm them perished with his master. + +The night after the news reached Oroomiah, anarchy reigned, and all +kinds of crime abounded. Five men were killed near the mission +premises, and the firing of guns was heard all night long; but though +outside were robberies and murders, within that enclosure all was +peace. Though its inmates knew that the fanatical population would +gladly stone them, yet they felt it a privilege to labor on under the +care of the Keeper of Israel. + +In Persia, no king, no government; so besides this anarchy in the city, +the Koords came down and plundered many villages, burning the houses +and driving the people for shelter to Oroomiah. These strokes fell most +heavily on the Moslems, many of whom were robbers themselves. The fear +of an attack on Seir was at one time so great, that the ladies were +sent off, and the gentlemen remained alone to guard the mission +premises; but both in Seir and the city the houses of the missionaries +were thronged by multitudes seeking relief, and each approaching +footstep announced some new tale of woe. + +Mar Shimon, after the death of the king, prudently retired into Turkey, +and his servants were put under bonds to keep the peace. The Koords, +however, drove him back, later in the season, but stripped of his power +to persecute. It may sound like the close of a tale of fiction to add, +that the next time Miss Fiske met the patriarch was in Gawar, August, +1851, when he rode up to the tents of the missionaries to inquire after +their health, before he went to his own. He staid an hour and a half, +appearing more free and social than ever before; and when they returned +his visit, he came out of his tent to meet them, and treated them with +unusual respect, saying, in the course of the interview, "I fear that +Miss Fiske is not happy here: she does not look well." On being assured +that she was both well and happy, he said to his attendants, "This lady +is happy only as she has a number of Nestorian girls around her, eating +care[1] for them, teaching and doing them good." So, when our ways +please the Lord, he maketh even our enemies to be at peace with us. +[Footnote: This is the Nestorian idiom. We say, "taking care of them."] + +Babilo, the carpenter, who made the coffin for the child of Priest +Eshoo, was taught to read by the younger girls in the Seminary after +school hours, and thus writes to Miss Fiske, November 20th, 1859:-- + +"I remember how, thirteen years ago, in that trouble with Mar Shimon, +when my father beat me for attending meeting, and men despitefully used +me, dear Mr. Stocking and you comforted me in the great room. I shall +never forget your love. Give my love to your dear mother, who so loved +us that she willingly gave you to the Lord, as Hannah did Samuel. + +"If you inquire about my work in the city Sabbath school,--I teach a +class of ten women; three of them, I trust, are Christians. When I read +your letter to them they greatly rejoiced. I reminded them of the +meetings you used to have for them in your room, and their eyes filled +with tears. In the afternoon I went to Charbash, and read your letter +to the eighteen women in my class there. They, too, were very glad. +Five of them, I trust, are Christians. We are now studying Second +Timothy. After the lesson, I question them on Old Testament history; +and then I teach the women and their children to sing." + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + + +TRIALS. + +EVIL INFLUENCE OF HOMES.--OPPOSITION IN DEGALA.--ASKER KHAN.--POISONING +OF SANUM'S CHILDREN.--REDRESS REFUSED.--INQUISITOR IN SCHOOL.--TROUBLES +AT KHOSRAWA.--LETTERS FROM HOIMAR. + +But, aside from open persecution, there is a constant danger arising +from the people themselves. The teacher in a Christian land can never +fully understand the feelings of the missionary teacher. The one sends +forth his pupils to meet Christian parents, brothers and sisters, who, +with more than a teacher's love, lead the young convert by still +waters, and establish him in holy feeling; but the flock of the other +goes out often into families where every soul would gladly break the +bruised reed and quench the smoking flax. He can sympathize with Paul +in his anxiety in behalf of those for whom he had labored in the gospel. + +Sometimes the pupils of the Seminary so dreaded the scenes of home, in +vacation, that they preferred to remain in the school. + +In April, 1849, Miss Fiske visited the village of Degala. As it was a +holiday, most of the women had gone out for amusement; but a little +company of twelve praying ones gathered around her, and listened in +tears while she spoke of Jesus and his love. Their fervent prayers for +neighbors and friends made her feel that a blessing was yet in store +for Degala. These women suffered all sorts of insult for their +attachment to the truth; they were often beaten and driven from their +homes by their husbands. While the pupils of the Seminary were here, +some of their own sex did all they could to annoy them. But read an +account of their trials from the pen of Sanum, of Gawar. She writes to +a friend in this country,-- + +"I had bitter times this vacation, for our neighbors are all very +hard-hearted, not listening at all to the words of God. When I opened +my Testament to read to them, they would shut it, and begin to quarrel +about the forms of religion. I entreat you to pray for my village, that +I, so unworthy, may see its salvation. + +"One day, Miss Fiske went to the village of Degala, where is a band of +women who greatly love the Lord. They gathered about her, and she had a +very pleasant time. All these were inquiring what they should do to be +saved. She could not stay long with them; but they were so humble that +they asked to have some of the girls sent to them. So four of us, +though so weak, ventured to go in the name of Christ. We found these +sisters in great distress, being reviled and beaten by wicked men, for +Jesus' sake. + +"We were speaking in an upper room there on a feast day, and the women +with us were weeping very much, while others, afraid to come in, seated +themselves on the terrace by the window. Suddenly a wicked man came +with a rod, and drove all those away who were without. Poor souls! how +my heart burned for them! One, who had not been used to come to +meeting, came that day for sport. She wore many ornaments, but as soon +as she heard the words of God, her tears began to flow. After meeting, +she arose up quickly, and threw aside her ornaments, and followed us +wherever we went. We were having a meeting in another house, when a +quarrelsome woman entered, having a large stick in her hand, and began +to beat her daughter and daughter-in-law, and she carried off her +daughter; but the other remained, though sorely bruised, saying, 'I +will spill my blood, but will not leave the place of prayer.' The women +who fear God wept much because this woman did so. + +"We went to the sacrament, and there was a company of women who +separated themselves from the others, and were weeping in one corner of +the church. Some very bad women came to them, and said, 'Let us rise up +and dance, because they are weeping.' Another, in anger, took the +sacrament from the mouth of one of them, and gave it to her little +granddaughter. There was much confusion in the village, and they seemed +like those who cried, 'Great is Diana of the Ephesians.' One said, 'I +wish neither Satan nor God, but only Mar Shimon.' Once, when we were +assembled with the women, and Moressa was speaking, a wicked man fired +a pistol to frighten us. But the women encouraged us, saying, 'Go on, +and speak louder, that he may hear.' And when he heard my sister speak +of the wickedness of man's heart, he cried out, 'Those words must have +been for me. She must have known that I was there.'" + +It does not fall within the object of this volume to give any detailed +account of the proceedings of Asker Khan, who for several years sought +to wear out the saints of the Most High, causing the native helpers to +be beaten, fined, and annoyed in many ways, and then arrogantly denying +all redress. Encouraged in his persecutions by the prime minister, he +was able to defy all interference. Indeed, during part of the time, the +English ambassador was constrained to leave the kingdom, and the +Russian ambassador, though personally disposed to do all in his power +for the mission, was yet officially unable to help. + +At one time, he gave orders that no school should be opened without his +sanction, and that all the teachers must report to him; and in case of +disobedience, he threatened them with fines and imprisonment. + +It may show in what estimation the influence of the Female Seminary was +held by enemies, when we find him issuing his command, "Allow no girls +to attend your school; schools are for boys alone;" and claiming credit +for great forbearance because he did not at once break up the Seminary. +That which called forth such opposition from enemies was surely not +inefficient. There must have been a power for good manifest even to +Moslem opposers, that taught them where to strike so as most +effectually to destroy.' But there was a Power above them that said, +"Thus far, and no farther." "The bush burned with fire, yet it was not +consumed." + +The evil wrought by Asker Khan was not confined to his own doings. His +hostility, in a position so commanding, emboldened every Shimei to +curse. In Ardishai, two or three unprincipled drunkards, with their +dissolute bishop (Mar Gabriel), saved themselves from Mohammedan +rapacity by taking part against the converts. These last were made +examples of, to deter others from attending preaching or sending their +children to the schools.' One poor widow, with four children,--a most +consistent Christian,--was driven from her house by her father-in-law, +because she allowed her oldest daughter to attend the village school. +As many as thirty families, unable to endure persecution any longer, +fled from the village; and Priest Abraham himself, after suffering +much, was compelled to leave, though his congregation was from one +hundred and fifty to two hundred every Sabbath. + +In Dizza Takka, on the evening of April 20th, 1856, Sanum, who +graduated in 1850, had arsenic put into the supper which she carried to +a neighbor's tandoor (native oven) to be warmed. Happily, Joseph, her +husband, was delayed beyond his usual hour, so that he was uninjured; +and the quantity of arsenic was so large, that, by the prompt use of +remedies, the mother's life was saved, though her innocent children +suffered severely, and, after lingering a few months, both of them +died. She rose from weeping over their graves to serve her Master more +faithfully than ever. But Asker Khan,--though the arsenic was found at +the bottom of the pot, though a portion of the contents, given to a +cat, speedily produced convulsions and death, and though a Jewess +testified that "the neighbor" had recently applied to her husband for +arsenic, and no one else had access to the vessel where it was +found,--instead of investigating the case, insulted Joseph and his +friends, and caused his aged father to be beaten; at the same time +telling the people of Dizza Takka to shoot Joseph if he went to their +village again. Such conduct emboldened the enemies of the truth to +complain against the more enlightened of their clergy who had renounced +many sinful customs, as forsaking the religion of their fathers; and, +with blasphemous threats, they were ordered to do the bidding of their +accusers. + +On the 1st of June, an order from the authorities at Tabreez to Asker +Khan was presented to him by the missionaries, which, after a calm +recital of the facts in the case of poisoning, proceeded thus: "As the +person who did this act is a criminal, and, if unpunished, the affair +may lead to the destruction of life, it is necessary that you, high in +rank, take the attitude of investigation, and having discovered the +criminal, that you punish him, with the knowledge of the Americans, and +so act that no one, Christian or Moslem, shall dare to repeat such a +crime." This order was obtained through the kind offices of the Russian +ambassador; but the criminals were only detained a few days, and not +pressed at all to a confession. Asker Khan then proposed, as they had +not confessed, that the missionaries should intercede for their +release. Of course, they refused. Then, saying "that if he had known +that, beforehand, he would not have touched the matter, and that he +could defend himself at Tabreez," he dismissed the accused, and it was +in vain for the missionaries to prosecute the matter further. + +Indeed, the opposition at this time was more serious than at any +previous period, and for a time it seemed as though the seminaries, and +especially the Female Seminary, would be destroyed. + +In the autumn, a commissioner, sent from Teheran to examine into the +proceedings of the mission, made an inquisitorial visit, and went all +through the building, peeping into the chambers, and making himself and +suite every where at home. Coming into the recitation room, where most +of the girls were engaged in study, he selected, a large, robust pupil, +who could speak Turkish, and questioned her as follows:-- + +"Are you allowed to follow your own customs?" + +"We follow all that are good, but not such foolish ones as you would +not wish us to follow." + +"Do these ladies let you see your friends?" + +"Certainly; we always see them when they come here, and we go home +three times a year, staying, at one time, three months." + +"What do you do when at home?" + +"We work in the fields, and do any thing that our friends do. Our +teachers tell us to help our friends all we can, and are displeased if +we do not." + +"Can you work, or have you become Ingleez?" (English.) + +"Look at me; I am strong; I can carry very large loads." + +"What do you do here?" + +"We study, and learn all wisdom." + +"Are you allowed to use your own books?" + +"Certainly; the principal book of our religion they have printed for +us, and we use it more than any other." + +"But have you not left the books of your fathers?" + +"The book I spoke of is our sacred book, like your Koran, and we use +all others that agree with that." + +"Do you fast?" + +"One day at the beginning of the year, and other days afterwards." + +"But have you not forsaken some of your church fasts?" + +"None that are written in that book. I keep all those very carefully." + +"What! twice in the week?" + +"No; for that is not required in the book." + +"But your people do." + +"Yes; not being readers, they do many things that are not written in +the book." + +"Would your teachers allow you to fast?" + +"O, yes; but we don't want to fast more than our book requires." + +"What are your prayers?" + +"Those taught in the book." + +Then followed questions about dress, employment, and such things, all +of which she answered in the same manner. The teacher was very thankful +that the Master had neither left to her the selection of the witness, +nor her preparation for the examination. But the examiner expressed +very decided disapproval of female education, and held up their +previous condition as their only proper one. The truth was, the Moslems +were angry that their rayahs were being elevated, and they were +specially indignant at the education of women. + +So the opposition went on. Messrs Stoddard and Wright proceeded to +Tabreez, and secured orders for redress which, as usual, were +counteracted by secret orders to the contrary. The native helpers were +now beaten because they were in the employ of the mission: some were +thrown into prison, and threatened with being sent to Teheran in irons. +But when the Lord saw that the wrath of man had proceeded far enough, +he restrained the remainder thereof. For one of the leading spirits in +this onset on the mission fell under the daggers of the Koords, and his +death at once called off attention from missionary operations to other +things. + +Again, in January, 1858, two pious residents at Khosrowa, in the +province of Salmas, were shamefully oppressed; and when application was +made for redress, Asker Khan not only refused to adjudicate the matter, +but beat one of the complainants so severely that he was confined to +his bed for weeks. Still later, after urgent importunity from +Nestorians and nominal Papists, two very able and excellent men, +Deacons Joseph and Siyad, were sent to labor in that distant province. +On one occasion they entered the village of Khosrowa to purchase fuel, +and were quietly passing along the street, when a mob stoned them out +of the village. Shortly after, Deacon Siyad was expelled from the +district so suddenly that he had to leave his wife, Merganeeta: she, +too, was driven away alone; but Holmar, a pious woman residing there, +went with her. The first night they spent in a field, and the next day +they sought refuge in an Armenian village; but, driven from thence, the +persecuted wife fled to Oroomiah. After long effort, an officer was +sent from Tabreez to Salmas, and ample promises of full redress were +given, ending, as usual, in nothing. A mob, headed by a French Lazarist +and native bishop, rescued the offender, and the officer desisted from +further procedure. + +The reader will be interested in the following extract, from a letter +of Hoimar to Miss Fiske, in 1859:-- + +"I cannot tell you how glad I am to hear that your health is better. O +that quickly you might meet us, if the Lord will! Till death I can +never forget your love, nor your reminding your pupils to ask the Lord +to support a poor, ignorant one like me. I do not believe your thoughts +can ever rest about your little company of Nestorians. If a mother +leaves a nursing child, she cannot rest till she returns to it. If you +are far from us in body, I know your spirit is with us. If Jonah +mourned over the gourd for which he had not labored, how shall not you +mourn after those for whom you have labored? + +"If the breezes did not bring the cry of 'Salvation' over the ocean, +our desolations would cry out. But thanks to Him who favors those that +leave their native land to labor among the ignorant. Yet what shall +this people do? The beast having great iron teeth still reigns here; +but it may be the Lord will speedily destroy him with the breath of his +mouth. I trust that you will ever remember in your prayers one who will +remember you in her weakness till death." + +Two years later brought the following, with its graphic delineation of +the trials that such as choose the better part may meet with yet for +years to come:-- + +BELOVED MISS FISKE: Almost every day of this summer has been a bitter +day. For my mother had become willing to give Raheel (Rachel, sister of +Hoimar) to the Papists, and she had prevailed over my father to do the +same. And now I will tell you how Goliah fell upon the earth, and he +that had no weapons overcame; but it was from the power of God. The +arrangement had all been made by my parents, and the betrothal feast +made ready. Sanum and I were in Oroomiah, but Deacon Joseph was in +Salmas, and we had also this comfort--my oldest brother stood firm, +saying, "Fear not; till death _I_ stand." Raheel also was firm, hoping +for help. With entreaties and tears, I asked Deacon Isaac to go to +Salmas. He went, but Raheel knew it not. She was very sorrowful for +only an hour remained to the time fixed for putting the betrothal ring +on her finger. The hope of her life seemed to hang on a hair. She went +to the vineyard, and prayed God to deliver her; then returned sorrowful +to her room. She hears them say, "They have come!" and locks her door. +They ask her to open it, bat she opens it not. Just then, Deacon Joseph +goes to the window, and, seeing that Doacon Isaac has come, says, +"Open; be not afraid." Deacon Isaac sits down with the Papists who have +come to the betrothal. My father leaves it with him, and he says, "Very +well; I have only now come; I must have time to examine into this +business. To-morrow I will give you an answer." He talks with my +father, saying, "How can you give your daughter to the Papists? The +missionaries are not willing, our people are not willing, I am not +willing; and more than all, the girl is not willing." My father at +length said, "She is your daughter, not mine; do as you please." Then +Deacon Isaac sent word to the Papists, "There is no possibility of your +carrying this forward. I have questioned the girl, she is not willing; +speak no more about it." The deacon then asked my father to let her go +to the city to school again. At first he consented, but finally left it +with her mother, who did not let her go. The deacon left displeased. +When I heard this, I arose and took Mar Yohanan's brother, and went to +Salmas, thinking I might possibly bring Raheel. While yet a good way +from the village, like Canaan's spies, we sent for my oldest brother +(who is, as we trust, a Christian). He, gave us good news, and said, +"Raheel is all ready to go to school." As the Lord favored Eleazar +about Rebecca, so he favored us; and the next morning my sister and +Deacon Joseph returned to Oroomiah, while I remained to meet the wrath +of my mother. As soon as Raheel was gone, she left, and as yet we know +not where she is. Truly, great is the power of prayer. So God brought +to nought evil counsels, scattered fearful, dark clouds, and caused the +light of joy to rise upon us. But I am very sad about my mother, +because she has turned away from the fear of God, and is fleeing from +life. My father and husband still get intoxicated. I trust that you +will multiply your prayers for them; and ask your friends to do the +same, and to pray for me, and our village and country. Give my love to +all your friends. + +From your lover, HOIMAR. + +We shall hear from Hoimar again, in connection with the communion. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + + +PRAYERFULNESS. + +LANGUAGE OF PRAYER.--PRAYER ON HORSEBACK.--OLD MAN IN SUPERGAN.--MAR +OGEN.---EARNESTNESS.--FAREWELL PRAYER MEETING IN 1858.--LETTER FROM +PUPIL.--SPIRIT OF PRAYER IN 1846.--WOMAN WHO COULD NOT PRAY.--"CHRIST +BECOME BEAUTIFUL."--CLOSET IN THE MANGER.--MONTHLY +CONCERTS.--PRAYERFULNESS IN 1849 AND 1850.--SABBATH, JANUARY +20TH.--INTEREST CONTINUED TILL CLOSE OF TERM.--FAMILY +MEETINGS.--AUDIBLE PRAYER.--ANSWER TO MOTHERS' PRAYERS.--CONNECTION OF +REVIVALS WITH PRAYER AT HOME. + +The Nestorian converts have been noted for their spirit of prayer. + +In 1846, the prayers of the hopefully pious in the Male Seminary were +very remarkable. Several rooms were appropriated to devotion, and there +one might hear the voice of supplication from morning till night. Many +spent several hours a day in this holy employment; and one needed only +to listen to know that their prayers came from the depths of the soul. +At one time, they beg that the dog may have a single crumb from the +table of his master; again, they are smiting on their breasts by the +side of the publican. Now they are prodigals--hungry, naked, and far +from their Father's house; and now they sink in the sea, crying, "Lord, +save me; I perish!" or, as poor outcast lepers, they come to the great +Physician for a cure. This one builds on the Rock of Ages, while the +torrents roar around. That one washes the feet of Jesus with his tears, +and wipes them with the hair of his head; another, as a soldier of the +cross, plants its blood-stained banner in the inner citadel of his +heart. Their ardent feelings found such appropriate expression in their +Oriental metaphors, that one might learn from children to pray as he +never prayed before. + +On the reopening of the Seminary that spring, the first desire of the +pupils was to enter their closets and commune with God. + +Riding out one evening, Mr. Stoddard saw three persons before him on +the way to Seir. Their horses went from one side of the road to the +other, at random; and their own heads were uncovered to the cold March +wind. At first he took them for dervishes; but on coming nearer he +heard the voice of prayer, and found they were Nestorians. The eyes of +all were reverently closed, and when one finished the other continued +their supplications. He turned aside, and left them undisturbed. On +another occasion, when John and Moses were riding to Geog Tapa on the +same horse, they again engaged in devotion; but as the horse was +unruly, they each prayed in turn, while the other held the reins. + +Sometimes the language of their prayers is very broken. Mr. Stoddard +once stood in the church in Supergan, twenty miles from Oroomiah, while +prayers were read in the ancient Syriac, and overheard an old man, very +ignorant, praying back in the congregation by himself. He had, perhaps, +never heard five prayers, in his whole life, in a language he could +understand; but reverently, and in a low tone, commingling the memories +of old forms with the utterance of new desires, he was saying, "Our +Father in heaven--always going, after Satan--O Lord Jesus +Christ--hallelujah--forever and ever, Amen!" It was incoherent, but +comprehensive. He addresses God as his heavenly Father. He confesses +his sins. He appeals to Christ as his only helper. He praises God for +his unspeakable gift, and then closes in the usual form. + +The pious Mar Ogen, of Ishtazin, when in great pain, and hardly able to +move, often broke out in words like these: "O Lord Jesus, thou art the +King of glory, the King of kings and Lord of lords; thou art great and +holy, and merciful. I am a sinner, condemned. My face is black, my +bones are rotten. O Lord Jesus, have mercy upon me, poor, and blind, +and naked, and miserable. O Lord Jesus Christ, I am vile. I am lost; +but do thou remember me." + +No language expressed their sense of guilt better than the words, "All +our righteousnesses are as filthy rags." In the fervor of their desire +for Christ, and grace through him, they would say, "Blessed Saviour, we +will cling to the skirts of thy garment, and hope for mercy till our +hands are cut off." A common petition was, "O Lord, we pray that we may +never deny thee, even to the blood of our necks"--most expressive +words, in a land where so many criminals are beheaded. + +One prayed for our country, when he heard of the southern rebellion, +thus: "O God, pour peace into that land. Permit them not to fight with +each other, but with Satan and their wicked hearts, and may they fight +spiritually to subdue the whole world to Christ." + +During one of the revivals in the Female Seminary, the prayers of the +pupils were exceedingly earnest. A member of the mission, having +occasion to open the door of a room where a few of them were together, +heard as follows: + +"We are hanging over a lake of fire, with a heavy load upon our backs, +by a single hair, and that is almost broken. We are in a ship burned +almost down to the water; the flames are just seizing upon us. O God, +have mercy. Jesus, Son of David, have mercy. O Lamb of God, have mercy +on us." "No wonder," a missionary wrote, "I sometimes think that it is +pleasanter to pray in Syriac than in our own language, because I have +such fervent-minded ones with whom to pray." + +The day Miss Fiske left Oroomiah, a large number of women and girls +gathered around to bid her farewell. They said, "Can we not have one +more prayer meeting before you leave?" They were told that they might +meet in the school room. "But may it not be in that Bethel?" they +asked, referring to the teacher's own room. She told them she could not +lead their devotions then. Their reply was, "You need not do it; we +will _carry you_ to-day." Seventy were soon assembled in her room. They +sung, "Blest be the tie that binds," and offered six prayers. One asked +that when Elijah should go up, they might all see the horsemen and +chariot, and all catch the falling mantle; not sit down to weep, or +send into the mountains to search for their master, but take up the +mantle, go, smite Jordan, and, passing over, go to work. She then +reminded the Saviour that he had promised not to leave them orphans +(John xiv. 18, Greek and Syriac), and begged him not only to come to +them, but to abide with them when their teacher was gone. Her thoughts +then turned to the departing company, who were to take their long land +journey of six hundred miles on horseback. She asked that the sun might +not smite them by day, nor the moon by night. Theirs was a desert way, +and the Lord was entreated to spread a table for them through all the +wilderness, and, when they should pass over the narrow, precipitous +roads, to give his angels charge to keep them in all their ways, and +bear them up in their hands, lest they dash a foot against a stone; and +when they should go through the rivers, not to let the waters overflow +them. The company would lodge by night in tents, and it was asked that +the angel of the Lord might ever encamp round about the moving +tabernacle. Borne in mind as they should pass on, first to the steamer, +and then to the sailing vessel, she asked that when they should be on +the "fire ship," the flame might not kindle upon them; and when on the +"winged ship," where the waves would go up to heaven, and down to hell, +that He would keep them in the hollow of his hand, and bring them to +the desired haven. She then asked that all her teacher's friends might +be spared till she should reach them, especially the aged mother, and +that when she should fold her daughter in her arms, she might say, like +Simeon of old, "Now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace." Here she +paused, and Miss Fiske thought she had finished; but soon she added, +"May our teacher's dust never mingle with a father's dust, or with a +mother's dust; but may she come back to us to mingle her dust with her +children's dust, hear the trumpet with them, and with them go up to +meet the Lord, and be forever with him." Nor did their prayerfulness +cease after their teacher had left them. + +There was a pupil in the Seminary, who, before conversion, was +exceedingly obstinate and rude; but afterwards, in writing to Miss +Fiske, she uses expressions like these: "I remember how you used to put +your arms about my neck, and tell me how Christ became obedient unto +death; not for friends, but for enemies like me. Especially do I +remember how you spoke of that love which saw a remedy in its own +blood, when there was no help for a lost world. At that time I did not +understand it, but now I know not how to express my gratitude. I know +that you are very happy with your aged mother, though your heart is +here; and she is happy, too, that she sees your face. Yet these earthly +meetings, though so pleasant, are but for a season. But how delightful +will be that meeting with the holy angels, with the risen Lamb, and +with God our Father! and if separations are so trying here, what must +be those of the last day? May I not then be separated from you. If I +should be, I know you will say, 'Holy, holy Lord God, just art thou, +for she has been taught.' We miss you much; but the Teacher who is +better than any earthly instructor, came and taught us this winter +(1858-1859). The Lord Jesus has been the gardener of our school. He has +come down and watered it with heavenly rain. He has truly fulfilled his +promise, 'I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.' He said, +'Wait for the promise of the Father.' We waited for his coming, and he +turned himself quickly, and we had delightful seasons. Our times of +prayer were longed for. We prayed more than we did any thing else. When +we retire from the school room now, in many places two girls are found +praying together. In my village I meet the women together and alone. I +also have precious seasons, praying with a company of girls; and I have +selected two women to pray with and for till they shall be Christians. +I hope that they will choose Christ for their portion. Some of the +women of our village, like Mary, sit at Jesus' feet. One Christian +mother had an only son, and very wicked, who trod the Sabbath under +foot, and was wholly given up to his own pleasure. She set apart a day +for fasting and prayer in his behalf, and soon the Lord met him in his +evil way, and now he is a decided Christian." + +But let us leave these general views, and look at this prayerfulness +more in the order of its manifestations. + +During the revival in 1846, two of the pupils spent a whole night in +prayer for the conversion of their brothers, first one leading in +devotion, and then the other, till morning. Like Jacob they felt, "We +will not let thee go except thou bless us." While the missionaries +admired their pious zeal, it is proper to add, that they generally +insisted on the observance of regular hours of sleep, as conducive +alike to bodily and spiritual health. Yet one writes on a similar +occasion, "Sometimes, in my anxiety, I have gone to their cold closets +to persuade them to leave; but the fervor of their prayers has oftener +driven me to mine, than it has allowed me to call them from theirs." + +Twice, and even three times, a day, were not enough for them to retire +for communion with God. Many spent hours every day at the mercy seat. +There were but few closets, and this was a great trial to them. Often +three or four of them might be seen sitting, in tears, waiting their +turn to go in to the mercy seat. Would that they might have had some of +those closets at home that are never entered! At another time, the +Bible of one of the girls was found on one of their wooden stools, open +at the fifty-first psalm, and the page blotted with weeping, as she +read it preparatory to retiring for prayer. Her teacher could put her +finger on no part of those large pages without touching a tear.[1] +Still later, when news of the death of Munny, of Ardishai, by the +accidental discharge of a gun, reached Miss Fiske in America, her first +thought was, "Dear child, I shall never again break off your communion +with Jesus;" for she remembered that when once she begged her to leave +her closet and get rest for the Sabbath, her reply was, "O, I am so +sorry that you spoke to me! I was having such a good time with my dear +Saviour." Only a few days before her death, while in the vineyard with +her brother, she suddenly clasped her hands, and exclaimed, "Blessed +Mr. Stoddard! when shall I see him? and when shall I see my blessed +Saviour?" [Footnote 1: See page 138.] + +A poor woman came to the Seminary one day, weeping for her sins, and +seated herself on the floor. The teacher was soon at her side, telling +her of Him who was wounded for our transgressions. She prayed with her, +and then asked her to pray for herself. "But I can't pray; I don't know +your prayers." "Hatoon, don't try to pray like me, or like any body; +but just tell God how you feel and what you want." "May I tell God just +what is in my heart?" Being assured on that point, she fell on her +face, weeping aloud, saying amid sobs, "O God, I am not fit even for an +old broom to sweep with," and could say no more. This was doubtless the +most worthless thing the poor woman could think of in her humble home. +But it was not long ere she could join others in their little meetings +for prayer; and she still lives, honoring the Saviour, whom she loves. +She is the mother of two of the most useful graduates of the Seminary. + +Again: a pious man brought his wife to spend a few days in the +Seminary, when she was somewhat thoughtful, and left her nearly a week. +Let Miss Fiske describe their meeting. "He came for her at noon, and I +was conversing with him in my room, when she passed out from her closet +without seeing him. (The small upper window to the left, over the +central door, marks the closet.) But he saw her, and reached out his +hand, saying, 'My beloved, come here.' She placed her hand in his, +looked up in his face, and answered his 'Is Christ become beautiful?' +with a gentle '_I_ think so.' The tears of both fell fast, while he led +her, without leave, into my chamber, that they might unite in prayer. +But I was glad to have them offer their first _united_ prayers there. +It was ever after a more sacred place." + +Miss Fiske spent most of the vacation that followed the first revival, +in 1848, with Mr. Stoddard, in the villages, where her pupils aided her +much in labors among the people. After a very pleasant evening spent in +Geog Tapa with those who were seeking Jesus, Hanee, the pupil with whom +she staid, came and asked, "Would you like to be alone?" It was the +first time she had ever been asked such a question by a Nestorian, and +it awakened feelings similar to those that filled her heart when first +she heard the voice of a Nestorian woman leading in prayer. To use her +own words, "I followed the dear child, and she led me to the best +closet she could give me--a manger, where she had spread clean hay; and +she said to me, as she turned to leave, 'Stay just as long as you +like.' You may well suppose it was a precious spot to me. It was my own +fault if I did not there meet Him who was once laid in a manger for us." + +The members of the Seminary were especially interested in the monthly +concert, which was held in Oroomiah, on the first Monday of the month. +On that day they generally wanted two or three meetings; and in 1846 it +was often difficult to persuade them to study at all. From the rising +to the setting sun, the voice of supplication for a dying world +continually fell upon the ear. At one time, all united in pleading for +a world's redemption; then, in little companies of five or six, they +urged the request; and again, each, alone in her closet, still pressed +the same petition. + +Previous to 1846, so few of the Nestorians knew how to pray, that +religious meetings were for instruction rather than prayer; but now it +was a delightful privilege to unite with them in pleading for the +conversion of the world to Christ. Never were their petitions so full +of unction as when offered for this object. In April, Miss Fiske's +pupils, not satisfied with an extra meeting by themselves, though +continued till near sunset, were induced to close it only by the +promise of having a similar meeting next day. No wonder their teacher +never enjoyed a monthly concert in America as she did that one. It was +indeed a rare privilege to unite with such spirits in its observance. + +The pupils wrote to the Seminary, at South Hadley--"Dear sisters, we +love the monthly concert very much. Three hours on that day we meet +together to pray that the kingdom of God may come among us, and among +all the nations of the earth. It is a very sweet day to us, and we love +none so well, except the Sabbath." + +In January, 1849, they spent day and night in weeping and prayer, +mostly for themselves, as unfit to pray for others. The same was true +of the Male Seminary. The teachers, the older pupils, and Deacons John +and Guwergis spent nearly the whole of one night in prayer; and so +burdened were they with the lost condition of their people, and their +own unfaithfulness, that almost all of them gave up their former hope +in Christ, and sought anew for pardon. The voice of praise and prayer +was now heard, not only through the day, but frequently during the +night. + +Up to January 29th, only two or three of the unconverted in the +Seminary showed any concern for salvation. Most of them were so +careless and trifling, that their teachers were almost heart-broken; +but when the retiring bell rung that night, many were so distressed for +sin that they could not heed it. The pious were pleading in behalf of +those out of Christ, and many of these last were crying for mercy. One +prayer commenced, "O Lord, throw us a rope, for we are out in the open +sea, on a single plank, and wave after wave is dashing over us." So +they continued till near midnight, when their teachers constrained them +to retire. + +At the beginning of February, the other Seminary witnessed a remarkable +outpouring of the spirit of prayer. Every spare moment of the previous +day, and much of the night, had been devoted to fervent intercession by +those who feared that the Spirit of God was about to leave them. So +intense was the feeling, that the ordinary services were suspended, and +at once every closet was filled; yet a majority had no place for +retirement. One of them proposed prayer in the yard, and there, on that +wintry day, for an hour, their earnest cries went up to heaven. All of +the careless were deeply moved, and many dated their conversion from +that day. + +The work extended to Geog Tapa, Seir, and other villages. From Degala, +Deacon Joseph wrote, "Whenever I went home, I found our house a house +of mourning. After the lamp was put out at night, I could not sleep for +the sounds of prayer and weeping on all sides. In some houses, very +young children had heard their parents pray so much, that they also did +the same. The women, too, had frequent meetings by themselves. One day +I led some men to a place where they could hear women praying within +the latticed window of a house, and, trembling, they begged me to teach +them also how to come to God." + +The missionaries avoided all stirring appeals to the passions, among a +people so excitable, though the ready performance of every duty +manifested the sincerity of the praying pupils, while it made the +labors of their teachers pleasant. + +There was not that agonizing wrestling in prayer on the first Monday of +1850 that had marked the same day the year before; but the following +week was characterized by unusual tenderness in both Seminaries, and +two of the older pupils of the Female Seminary found no rest except in +their closets. + +On the evening of the second Sabbath in January, Miss Fiske was not +able to attend the prayer meeting, and remained in her room alone. The +gentle opening of her door announced that the meeting was over, and a +little group passed on hastily, but quietly, to the rooms beyond. She +had just risen to follow, when she heard several voices in earnest +supplication. She turned to the stairway, and there also the sound of +fervent entreaty came up from many closets, while some groped about to +light their lamps, or stirred the dying embers of their fires. What +meant this simultaneous movement to the mercy seat? There had been +nothing unusually exciting in the meeting, and she sat down with the +sweet assurance that it was from above. It was late before the +suppliants left their closets, and retired in perfect silence; but +morning found them resuming the same loved employment, and good news +came of similar blessings from the Boys' Seminary. + +That week was one of deep solemnity. The pious pupils devoted every +leisure moment to prayer. Their domestic duties were performed +faultlessly, and much earlier than usual, and then they sought their +closets. Some spent five hours each day of that week in those sacred +retreats, and when urged to leave for needed sleep, the reply was, "For +weeks we have slept, doing nothing for God and souls. How can we sleep +until forgiven?" + +Saturday afternoon, several begged leave to give themselves entirely to +prayer for a blessing on the morrow; and never did the teachers more +gladly welcome the approach of holy time. A blessed Sabbath followed +such a preparation day. During morning service, almost all were in +tears. At dinner, many seats were vacant. It may seem an exaggeration, +but it was literally true, that no voice was heard all that day save +the voice of prayer. Miss Fiske has never known such a Sabbath before, +nor since. In the afternoon, the feeling was overpowering. There was no +request for prayer, but unbroken stillness and the perfect performance +of every duty, without a word being said. At the supper table, every +face seemed to say, "Our meat and drink are not here." Some asked to be +excused, but at length all were seated; and the scene that followed can +never be forgotten. All who were previously interested, and more +beside, wept tears of silent sorrow. The blessing was asked, and the +steward[1] began to help them, himself in tears; but no plate was +touched, for even the uninterested gazed in silent wonder. Their +teacher urged them to eat; but one, seizing her hand, said in a voice +too low to be overheard, "You would not ask _me_ to eat if you knew my +heart." The reply was, "I feel just as sure that the Lord would have +you eat, as that he would have you pray." They were then besought to +eat, so as to have strength to pray. This touched a tender chord, and +so succeeded; and then they silently withdrew to make that use of their +renovated strength. Each hour that night found some at the mercy seat, +feeling that to leave off at such a crisis might lessen the blessing. +[Footnote 1: Yohanan, father of Esli. See page 67.] + +Two months now passed on, each day furnishing new evidence that those +prayers were heard. There was less of excitement, but no diminution of +interest, to the close of the term. The uniform and sustained +prayerfnlness of those months surprised the beholders. The voice of +supplication was the latest sound of evening, the watchword of +midnight, and the lark song of the dawn. One pupil, nine years of age, +after spending two hours in her closet, consented to retire only when +allowed to rise and pray if she awoke during the night; and she was +sure to wake. About three o'clock every morning, her earnest pleadings +roused her teachers from repose. + +The hours of social prayer were full of tenderness. Those who heard the +pupils pleading far within the veil, close by the mercy seat, almost +forgot that they were yet on earth. The school, their parents and +relatives, were all affectionately remembered. The hour always seemed +too short, and often closed with such expressions as these: "If we have +not been heard here, we will go to our closets, and if not heard there, +we will return here, and again go back to our closets, and so continue +to plead for these loved ones to the last." These meetings, though +varied in character, were always of thrilling interest. Now there was +an overwhelming sense of sin, as committed against a holy God, and +then, as a ray of hope appeared, a weeping voice would implore, as on +one occasion, that "the Holy One would walk over the hills of Judea, +find Golgotha, and let them live." Again, the sight of manifold +transgressions prompted the cry, "But we fear our sins have covered +Golgotha from thy sight, and then are we forever lost." Another part of +the same prayer contained the entreaty, "Lift not the mercy seat from +off the holy ark, to look on the law we have broken, but look into +Jesus' grave, and bid us live." + +In the daily family prayer meetings every inmate of the room was +specially and tenderly remembered. Once, when a father had come for his +daughter, and Miss Fiske went to find her, on opening the door she +heard a prayer for one who had shown little feeling; and in pleading +the sufferings of Christ on her behalf, each petition seemed to rise +higher, till every face was turned upward, as if to see him; and the +one who led in devotion involuntarily stretched out her hands to lay +hold of him, saying, "Come, Lord Jesus, and save our perishing sister; +but if she will not receive thee in this life we must forever rejoice +in her destruction"--a striking illustration of intense spiritual +emotion, bringing the heart into sympathy with the whole truth of God. +(Rev. xix. 3.) + +These labors for their impenitent associates, and for those women who +came to the Seminary, were full of Christ. The hour between supper and +the evening meeting was usually spent in personal labor from room to +room; and the entreaties and prayers, then audible on all sides, made +it delightful to be a stranger in a strange land for Jesus' sake. It +was scarcely less affecting when superstitious grandmothers, worldly +mothers, and giddy sisters were prayed with and entreated to come to +Christ. + +The audible prayers of the pupils may trouble some readers, but not +more than they troubled their teacher. She desired more silent +devotion; but Mr. Stoddard, himself in the habit of praying aloud, +looked on it with more favor, and feared to have it checked. Soon after +his own conversion, a friend remarked to him, "I think you had better +not pray quite so loud;" and for days after it he could not pray at +all. He had never thought of others while communing with God, and he +was troubled that others should think of him. Even to the last he +continued the practice of praying audibly. + +Miss Fiske sometimes spoke to her pupils on the subject. There was one +who spent hours daily in her closet, but her teacher heard all she +said. So, on a fitting opportunity, she suggested to her, in a gentle +way, that she might modify the practice. "I will try to pray in a lower +voice," was the reply; "but I never thought of anybody's hearing me." +That night her voice was more subdued, but her prayer was very short; +and soon after midnight her teacher was awakened by the voice of prayer +out on the roof. She stepped out quietly; and there was her pupil +wrapped in a blanket, and thanking the Lord for such a place to pray. +She continued her devotions till near morning; and the kind teacher had +no heart to interfere any further. Mr. Stoddard was much amused with +her success; and it may teach all of us, in this matter, to suffer the +Holy Spirit to divide to every one severally as he will. + +On another occasion, not liking to assume the responsibility herself, +and yet fearing for the health of her pupil, who generally spent a long +time in fervent devotion, she led the physician to the outside of the +door; but he, too, after listening for a while, did not venture to +interrupt such communion with God. Sarah of Tiary was within. + +Meetings were held three days in the week with the women in the +neighborhood, and were well attended. The older pupils were allowed to +assist in these in order to form habits of doing good for after life; +and they did so to edification, both leading in prayer and addressing +the beloved mothers--as they called those older than +themselves--tenderly and in fitting words. + +It was of such a work that Miss Fiske wrote at the time, "We cannot +speak confidently of its fruits at this early date, especially as many +of our dear charge are so young; but we can say what present +appearances are; and while we daily try to obey our Saviour's command, +'Feed my lambs!' we trust that friends at home will hear no less +distinctly the same voice, saying, 'Pray for my lambs in Persia.' All +those whom we regarded as Christians have shown themselves most +faithful to their Master during this season. Others, of whom we were +less confident, have seemed to pass through a previously untried +experience, and, we tremblingly hope, have laid hold of eternal life. +The same is true of several never before convicted. Among these last is +a little girl who was suddenly awakened, with as clear convictions, +apparently, as I ever saw in any; and her final trust in Christ as +implicit. For several days she would say, with tears and sobs, 'I have +never yet loved the Saviour; but O, I do want to love him now.' Her +mother is one of the few converted in Geog Tapa before the first +revival. She has suffered almost every thing for Christ. Often, on +returning late from meeting, she has found herself shut out for an hour +in a piercing winter wind, before her husband would open the door. At +other times she has been beaten, but never denied Him who bought her. +The pious natives often say that in the conversion of her daughter, she +now receives the reward of her years of prayer and faithful endurance. +The last days of the term bound the dear pupils very closely to each +other, and we trust to Christ. When the hour of separation came, a +prayer meeting was held in each room, and continued to the last moment. +Those without hope clung to their praying sisters, with tears and +entreaties for prayer. The hopeful converts went forth with a holy, +chastened gratitude and trust. We tremble for them among their wicked +friends, but rejoice that Israel's Shepherd will keep his own." + +Their prayer was, "May we not carry to our homes the poison of the +second death in our hearts, but bear to them the seeds of eternal life." + +But the rich blessings bestowed in Oroomiah were not all in answer to +prayer ascending from that place. There was a connection between them +and prayer offered in our own country, of which David would say, "Whoso +is wise, and will observe it, even he shall understand the loving +kindness of the Lord." Most of the revivals in Oroomiah commenced on +the day of the monthly concert of prayer, and several on or immediately +after the first Monday in January--a day specially set apart to prayer +for missions. But there was a special centre of prayer for the Female +Seminary in the institution at South Hadley; and pious hearts loved to +watch the connection between the two. While the two inquirers, on that +first Monday in 1846, were making closets for themselves with the +sticks of wood in the cellar, some of Miss Lyon's pupils distinctly +remember how she said to them that morning, "We must pray more for Miss +Fiske and her school." They did so; and they remember, too, how the +good news of the revival cheered them, when it came. + +The earliest indication of interest, in 1847, was on the first Monday +in January; and letters afterwards told of special prayer for the +school offered that day in South Hadley. Almost every letter written +during the winter of 1849 contained similar information. The revival of +1856 came suddenly and unexpectedly; but when, on the night of February +17th, one of the praying pupils could not sleep, because, as she said, +"the whole school was resting on her," and at midnight went to her +teacher to ask her help in prayer, subsequent letters from America +showed, that on that night she wrestled not alone. In 1857, the first +inquiry for the way of life was on the last Thursday in February, the +day of prayer for institutions of learning. Miss Fiske returned from +the February concert of prayer, in 1858, feeling depressed on account +of the want of interest in the school, and in half an hour was called +to see two of her pupils, who felt that they could not remain the +enemies of God. In the first week of February, 1859, meetings were held +every evening in the Seminary at South Hadley to pray for the school in +Oroomiah; and a letter from Miss Rice, written that week, says, "God is +with us; souls are seeking Christ; and I am so strengthened for labor, +that I am sure Christian friends are praying for us more than they did +last month." Do Christians in this country realize as they ought the +connection between their prayers and the blessings bestowed on the +opposite side of the globe? Do we go to the monthly concert believing +that prayer, offered then and there, will, through infinite grace in +Christ Jesus, result in the salvation of souls and the advancement of +his kingdom? Such facts as these ought surely to increase our faith. +Well might a missionary say, "I have so often felt sure that I was +reaping in answer to the prayers of those far away, that on this +subject my heart is full, and my first and last word to friends is, +'Pray for us.'" + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + + +FORERUNNERS. + +MOUNTAIN GIRLS IN SEMINAKY.--PRAYING SARAH.--RETURN TO THE +MOUNTAINS.--VISIT OF YONAN AND KHAMIS, IN 1850.--OF MR. COAN, 1851--OF +YONAN, AGAIN, 1861.--SARAH'S LETTERS. + +But rich as are the benefits conferred on the females of the plain, the +influence of the Seminary is not confined to Persia. It has climbed the +rugged steeps of Kurdistan, and pours into its wild glens and secluded +hamlets the same spiritual blessings. It is delightful to trace the way +in which God has led to results, as yet only beginning to appear, among +the mountain Nestorians. + +As the Seminary could not enter the mountains, Providence brought the +mountains to the Seminary. In 1843, Badir Khan Beg sacked and burned +the villages of Tiary, and the homeless fugitives who escaped the sword +fled to the plains of Assyria and Azerbijan. Towards the close of that +year, a miserable group presented themselves at the Seminary door for +charity, asking for the lady who teaches Nestorian girls. The quick eye +of the teacher detected three in the company before her, and replied, +"Silver and gold we have not, but such as we have we will give you--a +home for these children." This sent them away sorrowful, for it was not +what they wanted. But while the parents retired to the shade of the +tall sycamores to debate the matter, the little ones, attracted by +kindness in a stranger, staid with their new friend. By and by the +parents came back, and, falling on the necks of their children, told +them they might stay, till they returned to Tiary. The teacher never +heard a more gentle and subdued "thank you" than this announcement +called forth from those mountain girls. This was the first movement of +the school towards the evangelization of Kurdistan, and it will be seen +how Providence led the Seminary at Seir in the same path. + +The girls were taken in, washed, and clothed; and though at first they +knew no more of good manners than of the alphabet, they made +commendable progress in both. Better than that, Sarah and Nazeo became +hopefully pious in the revival of 1846, and Heleneh three years +afterwards. + +The last days of the spring term, in 1849, as we have seen, were full +of interest. The teachers did not understand it then, but now they see +that God was preparing his first messengers to the rude mountaineers +for the work before them. Among a company of praying ones, Sarah had +long been known as "the praying Sarah." She was the pupil whom Deacon +Isaac invited to come and pray[1] [Footnote 1: See page 151.] with him; +and the strong man bowed before the simple piety of that mountain girl. +Her mind was not so gifted as many of her associates. She comprehended +truth with difficulty, but she prayed with all prayer and supplication +in the spirit. At this time an unusual spirit of prayer was imparted to +the school. The prospect of vacation, instead of diverting the mind +from devotion, seemed to produce intenser earnestness. The voice of +prayer fell on the ears of the teachers at all hours, except the most +silent watch of the night. After the evening meeting, some spent two +hours in their closets, and others of the older pupils could not leave +till they had prayed with each one in the school alone. On the last +morning of the term, they separated with many tears and fervent +supplications. The quiet of the hour seemed a foretaste of the rest of +heaven. Not a loud voice, heavy step, or harshly shutting door was +heard in all the house. All was so sacredly quiet that the still small +voice might be heard the more distinctly. The teachers sent out the +lambs from the fold with feelings of peculiar anxiety. Some were to go +into families where every soul would gladly undo in them the work of +the Spirit; others to villages where not one heart could enter into +their feelings as the followers of Christ; and as they went forth, +their teachers prayed, from full hearts, that the Shepherd of Israel +would himself be to them for a little sanctuary in the places where +they went. + +While their thoughts were on such of their flock as belonged to the +plain, the thoughts of God were on those also whom he was about to send +forth to a life-long separation from these means of grace. As late as +ten o'clock, on the evening after the close of the term, Miss Fiske +heard the voice of prayer for the absent ones, and fearing that the +occupant of the closet was transgressing the laws of health, she +approached the door, intending to enter, and advise her to retire; but +as she listened to her strong crying, with tears, for each of the +school by name, she could not find it in her heart to disturb the +intercessions of Sarah. She was then a great bodily sufferer, but very +patient, and for a long time had not spent less than four hours daily +in her closet. The next day her disease assumed a serious form, and for +more than a week she hovered on the borders of the grave. Several times +she appeared to have drawn her last breath. But though her sick room +seemed to all like the gate of heaven, and though to her the dark +valley was all light, and she longed to embrace the messenger who +should lead her through, it was not her Father's will to call her then. +She was at first disappointed at the prospect of coming back to the +world; yet still she sweetly said, "Thy will be done," as God restored +her to health, with its responsibilities and temptations. + +April came, and a scarcity in the plain, occasioned by locusts, drove +the fugitives from Tiary back to their mountains. The teachers hoped +the girls might remain, and besought their parents to allow them to do +so, but in vain. They were only too glad to get their daughters away +from influences which in their blindness they abhorred. But God +intended through these daughters to lay the foundations of many +generations, and build again the old waste places of those mountains. + +It was hard for them to go. How could they leave their Christian home, +and the means of grace they had enjoyed so much? It was no less hard +for the teachers to think of those lambs as about to be left at the +mercy of wolves, in rocky glens, so far away that no cry of distress +would ever reach them. Yea, even if those loved ones died, long years +might pass ere their friends could hear of their death. Those were days +of sadness, and communion with God was the only comfort of all, and +especially of Sarah. + +On the day of their departure, the whole school came together, in the +room of the teachers, for the parting prayer. All was silent, till the +three asked to go and bid a farewell to their closets. They went, and +only He who seeth in secret knows how they prayed. They returned +weeping. A few words of comfort were uttered, and the teachers +commended them to God. They rose from their knees, but only to kneel +again; for one of the pupils proposed that all who would pledge +themselves to remember their Tiary sisters in every prayer should join +hands around them, commend them to the good Shepherd, and give to him +their pledge. About twenty thus enclosed the departing sisters, and so +they continued in prayer until the last moment. As the dear ones passed +out, they could not speak, they whispered but one word,--"the +promise,"--and so they went. For years after, no prayer was heard +within those walls that did not contain a petition for "blessings on +our Tiary sisters." + +Many a time had her teacher noticed the large folio page of Sarah's +Syriac Testament wet with her tears, and after she left, found the +whitewash of the wall in her closet furrowed with the same. It opened +out of the passage behind the door on the left of the engraving. She +did not tell this to the school, lest superstition should attach an +idolatrous sacredness to the place; and yet she could not obliterate +marks that to her own heart were so full of comfort. Sarah had gone but +a little way before she pleaded with her parents to stop, and allow her +to retire a little from the road for prayer. + +And so, weeping and praying as they went, these lambs were led into the +dark recesses of a den of lions. We shall see persecution raging, +pitiless as the mountain storm, and long continued. But we shall also +see the Hearer of prayer preserving them unharmed; and if we hear more +from the others than from Sarah, it may be that the revelation of the +answers to her prayers is reserved for that day which shall unfold +displays of grace too glorious for comprehension here. + +Nothing was heard from them till October, 1850, when Yonan and Khamis +entered those rocky fastnesses to gather tidings of them. They spent +the first Sabbath of the month in the house of Nazee; but she was +absent. They say in their journal,-- + +"We preached three times to large assemblies. They brought us Nazee's +Testament to preach from, and seemed accustomed to the sound of the +gospel. In respectful attention to the word, as well as in knowledge, +they were far superior to other villages in Tiary. This we knew was the +result of her teachings. Monday we waited her return. She came about +noon. How can we express the joy of that meeting! We spent another +night there, the most of it in sweet Christian conversation with Nazee. +We were surprised at the respect shown to her, and the restraint felt +in her presence. If any chanced to swear, he at once went and asked +pardon for thus injuring her feelings. Tuesday we had to leave, lest we +should be detained by the snow till spring. We longed to pray with her +before we left, but custom here forbade it; yet she accompanied us a +little on our way, which gave as an opportunity to mingle our prayers +and tears together. As we bade her farewell, she said, weeping, 'Here +is my love for my teachers, for my sisters in the school, for the +missionaries, their children, and all that know me. Tell them to +remember me in their prayers, that God may keep me in this place of +temptation.' We left her looking after us, and wiping away her tears, +till we were out of sight. + +"We went that day to the village of the other two. As soon as Heleneh +saw us, she began to weep, thinking of the past. Sarah we did not see; +she was in another village, very anxious to come, but her wicked +husband, whom she had been forced to marry, would not permit it. We +spent the night with Heleneh, and preached to a large company. Next +morning we left, and she too, with tears, begged that all her friends +in Oroomiah would remember her in their prayers." + +Was Sarah prevented from seeing her Christian friends, that God might +show hereafter how, without even that help, he could answer the prayers +of others for her, and her own? + +The next we hear of them is through Mr. Coan, who visited Tiary in +August, 1851. The writer can understand his account of crossing the +Zab, as the bridge was in the same condition when he crossed it with +the late Dr. Azariah Smith, August 31st, 1844. But hear Mr. Coan:-- + +"A toilsome day, over the roughest of roads, brought us opposite +Chumba. The bridge had been swept away, and fording such a torrent was +impossible. Two long poplar trees spanned the flood; and we crossed on +them, bending under us at every step. Nazee was on the bank, ready to +greet us. After a few words of salutation and kind inquiry, she +hastened to prepare a place for us; and while doing this, the malik +took us to his house. She was much disappointed, but followed, anxious +to treasure up every word. After supper, we spoke long to the company +assembled on the roof. It was affecting to see how eagerly she +listened. She staid after the rest, for religious conversation, till +near midnight, when she apologized for keeping us up so late. She is +cruelly persecuted by her wicked mother and ungodly neighbors; for she +is a shining light, by which the dark deeds of the wicked are reproved; +and hence their hatred. When Mar Shimon's attendants come, they treat +her with wanton cruelty. Some friends in America had sent her several +articles of clothing; but her neighbors came together and tore them in +pieces before her eyes. She bore it meekly, and only prayed for them. +She expected fresh insults because of our visit, but prayed that +nothing might separate her from the love of Christ. Long before day, +she again sought to improve every moment for Christian conversation. We +tried to comfort her: and her eyes filled with tears of gratitude. She +received a copy of the Gospels with joy. When we left, she followed us, +lonely and sad, to the river side. I opened her Testament, and pointed +to Matt. xi. 28: 'Come unto me, all ye that labor, and are heavy +laden;' but her voice choked, and tears prevented her reading. We +kneeled by the roaring Zab, and in broken accents commended her to Him +who will keep her, for his promise is sure." + +For ten long years we hear nothing of either of the three; till, in +September, 1861, Yonan--the same who found them in 1850--and another +preacher visited the mountains. In a village of Tiary, some two +thousand people were keeping the feast of the cross--eating, drinking, +dancing, and carousing. They sat down among the quietest of the crowd. +Heleneh came up and saluted them. Though she had not seen her teacher +for eleven years, she recognized him at once. They talked from morning +till near sunset. As they spoke of old friends, Yonan asked, "Heleneh, +do you remember where our Lord was crucified?" "On Calvary. Can I +forget _Calvary?_" as though grieved that he should think she could +forget. Yonan gave her a kerchief for the head, saying, "Take this, and +remember me by it." "Shall I remember you by this?" was the reply. "I +will remember you in my prayers." "Do you pray, Heleneh?"--She was the +last one converted, and left Oroomiah soon after her conversion; so he +wanted to know whether she still held on her Christian way.--"Always," +was the answer. They sought a place to pray together; and though they +might not go away alone, yet there, in sight, but not in hearing of the +crowd, they approached the mercy seat, the spectators little dreaming +of the nature of their intercourse. It was delightful to find that she +had not forgotten the language or the spirit of devotion. + +The accompanying sketch of a Tiary girl will show how the kerchief is +worn. It also exhibits the mode of using the Oriental spindle, which is +probably a facsimile of the article mentioned by Solomon. (Prov. xxxi. +19.) + +[Illustration: A TIARY GIRL] + +The other two were not at the feast; so, next day, they left to seek +them at their homes. Nazee was absent, but came home in the morning--a +widow with two children. She was delighted, and even her children +seemed to recognize in the strangers their mother's friends. She was +poor; her house had been burned, and almost all it contained; but a +stone was on her Testament, and that was saved. They talked long with +her, and gave her a copy of the Rays of Light (the monthly periodical +issued by the mission), and a pencil to write to her friends. She gave +them letters written ten years before, which she had penned in secret, +and carried about with her ever since, waiting an opportunity to send +them. + +The next day, another long journey brought them to the home of Sarah; +she saw them coming and hastened to meet them; but that very night she +had to leave for a distant village: yet not till in answer to prayer +they had an opportunity to pray together; and the friends left that +village happy; for, as Yonan said, they "found her, like the others, +having the love of our Christ in her heart." + +That solitary disciple, through those long years of seclusion, never +hearing the voice of Christian fellowship, or knowing whether her pious +friends were alive, or if her sisters still remembered their pledge, +was yet kept of God according to his promise; and it is interesting to +see that she does not once allude to her persecutions in her letters, +but only solicits the prayers of her friends for her relatives and +neighbors; and then, while both Mr. Coan and her teacher testify to her +usefulness, with what humility does she allude to herself, and "the +very little she has made known of the Lord Jesus Christ." + +Extracts from the letters that she kept so long here follow. The first, +to friends in Middlebury, Vermont, is dated September, 1851, and reads +thus:-- + +"To you, dear friends, I write a letter unworthy and imperfect, in +which I make known to you my lost condition and my present abode. Know +ye that a little more than two years ago I left the Seminary, and came +with my friends to our country. I did not wish to leave so soon, for I +had learned but very imperfectly what the Scriptures teach about our +Lord Jesus Christ. But my mother was not willing I should remain, for +her heart is yet hard and dark. Know, then, dear sisters in Christ, I +dwell in Tiary, in the village of Chumba, about six days' journey from +Oroomiah. Again, though so far away, know ye, that your letter reached +me in May. It was translated and sent to me by Mr. Perkins, our beloved +father, whom we are unworthy to call such. My dear sisters, when I took +your letter in my hands and read, my heart longed to fly and sit down +by you, and behold your faces in the body; but I said, "The will of the +Lord, not mine, be done." When I look within myself, and see not a +place worthy to cherish gratitude to God for his great mercy and grace, +which he hath wrought for us, sinful and unworthy, I liken myself to +the slothful servant, who did not the will of his Lord. Yet, O, my +sisters, though I have not done the will of my Saviour, I have hope in +him that I shall do it, and serve him henceforth so long as I am in +this world--fleeting as a dream in the night. + +Though our country has been, in time past, greatly afflicted by the +Koords, yet God has spared many of us, who had sinned and trodden under +our feet the blood of his holy Son. But do not marvel that we have +sorrow from the scourge God brought upon us for our sins. No. Still +every day we provoke our Maker more and more. Then ought we not to +mourn over this people, lost and fallen under the yoke of Satan? For +should you go through all Tiary, you would not find one soul that fears +the Lord, but all bound in fetters not to be loosed. If God do not +loose them, quickly will they perish; and not this country only, but +many others, sit under the shadow of death and walk in darkness, going +to destruction. Then, dear sisters, though unworthy, we should increase +our painful efforts, and our prayers to God, that speedily his kingdom +may come and his will be done on earth as it is done in heaven, that +all regions may know him and praise him forever. Beloved sisters, I am +unworthy to thank you, and still more to thank God, who has disposed +you to show such kindness to my poor body, and yet more to my perishing +soul, with words so gentle and full of love; yet greatly do I thank you. + +Again, dear friends, I have one request to make--that every time you +bow before God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of all who +love him, you will remember me in your prayers, for I am very needy, +and there is great danger that my soul will perish forever. Remember +also my mother, and all my friends, sinners, and on their way to +destruction. Know ye, further, that I conceal the writing of this +because they would not allow me openly to write, for they are very +foolish and benighted. Accept, then, this poor letter, as a token of +friendship and gratitude, in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ. + +From your unworthy and sinful sister, + +NAZRE, of Tiary. Amen. + +The following are extracts from another letter to the same persons:-- + +"Though we are far from each other in this evil world, yet I hope that +our Lord Jesus Christ will make us pure from sin, and worthy of his +kingdom, where we shall see each other with that light which shall not +end, in the joy of the holy angels. Ah, my friends, how great are our +mercies and we how unworthy, but especially I!--unworthy of the gift of +the gospel of God, which I have received, that I might make it known to +lost souls around me. But know ye, very little have I made known about +our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, dear friends, I desire to speak of him to +lost souls, in the imperfection of my mind. But many do not desire even +to hear of the sound doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ, and yet think +to gain heaven, while they practise in this world according to their +wicked desires. And for this reason, O my sisters, I beseech you that +you will remember this people, lost and fallen under the snares of +Satan; especially my mother, and brother, and all my friends. But more +especially, I beseech you to remember me, a sinner, in your prayers, +every time that you bow the knee before God, the Father of our Lord +Jesus Christ, and the Father of all who fear him, and listen to his +commandments." + +Accompanying these was the following to Dr. Perkins, dated October 3d, +1851:-- + +"To you, O my spiritual father, Mr. Perkins, I presume to send two +letters, for friends in Middlebury. If you please, you will translate +them, and send them; but I fear that they will give you much trouble. + +"Again, you wrote me in your letter, that I should teach children to +read. Now, I am very needy myself of instruction. Yet I desire that +that might be my employment. But that is a very difficult matter among +such a people, of whom you have heard that although there may be here +and there one who would walk in this way, yet there is a stone of +stumbling and a rock of offence therein; so that every one that goeth +in it, his foot stumbleth, and quickly he turns back. + +"Again, O friend beloved, though I am unworthy to call you such, yet I +beseech you that you remember me always in your prayers. I know that +you do remember me, but I desire that you remember me more, for I +greatly fear for my perishing soul. Greatly do I desire to see you once +more in this world, if the Lord will." + +He who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in working, commissioned +these praying souls to prepare his way in the mountains, even as he +chose those other three to show forth his grace in death; and they who +live to mark the future course of the river of life in those rocky +glens will find, we trust, that his strength was made perfect in their +weakness. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + + +LABORERS IN THE MOUNTAINS. + +LETTER OF BADAL.--ACCOUNT OF HANNAH.--THE PIT.--'LETTER OF GULY AND +YOHANAN.--ACCOUNT OF SARAH.--LETTERS OF OSHANA.--LETTERS AND JOURNAL OF +SARAH.--LETTER FKOM AMADIA.--CONFERENCE OF NATIVE HELPERS. + +Besides these, the Seminary has sent up other laborers into the same +field. At the monthly concert in Oroomiah, June, 1858, there were +present four graduates, with their husbands, either going there for the +first time, or returning to resume their labors. Guly, the wife of +Yohanan, who had already spent one year in little Jeloo, was now about +to return there with her husband. Nargis, the wife of Khamis, who had +spent the winter laboring alone in the vicinity of Amadia, on the +Turkish side of the mountains, was now with him, going back to Gawar. +Hannah, the wife of Badal, who had sent her husband, three days after +marriage, to his winter's campaign in the same region, was now +accompanying him to the chosen field of his labors; and Eneya, the wife +of Shlemon, his associate, was also expecting to leave in a few days. + +By the way of introducing the reader to one of these laborers, we +subjoin a letter from Badal to Miss Fiske, dated December 12th, 1859. +It is a good specimen of Oriental style. + +"Writing to you brings to mind many sweet conversations with you. +Dwelling on them, my mind is sad. My sighs rise like the swelling +stream, and almost carry me away, especially when I look at your +garden, where you labored with so much skill to graft in these wild +olive plants, cutting off your sleep with watchings by night, that they +should not be rooted up by the desert wind. Thus you watched them, till +they became as noble forest trees that not even the avalanche can +overturn. Your garden, now, not only gives a shade pleasant to the +traveller, but it yields sweet fruits; clouds rise from it that give us +the early and the latter rain; they empty themselves,--the plain +rejoices, and the barren places become verdant. Yes, the vine that you +planted has budded, and blossomed, and gives of its fruit to every +passer by. Come to us, our beloved, open the door of your garden, that +the traveller may enter in and be refreshed. You have left many +pleasant remembrances in the work of your hands. On every side you have +left a picture for our eyes, and the skilful work of your hands (his +wife), lo, and behold! it is with me. I cannot be silent. My voice +shall be heard as the turtle's; 'Behold, your feet are within my doors, +and your counsels are ever in my family.' The Lord reward you for these +pupils, that you have taught to be patient and persevering, so that +they truly help us in the work of life. + +"Beloved, give my love to your friends, and ask them, when they go up +to Shiloh to offer sacrifice, to place me in the censer of their +prayers. + +"We are troubled that as yet we know not the Lord's thoughts concerning +you,--whether he will allow you to meet your flock again, or says to +you as to Daniel, 'Thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of +the days.' Like Moses, you are gathered to your fathers; but Miss Rice +stands like Joshua, commanding the sun not to go down till the sword of +the gospel shall triumph. We thank the Lord that she is still a judge +in Israel, so that as yet the sceptre has not departed from Judah. + +"Your affectionate friend, BADAL." + +There are some things about Hannah, and the work of divine grace in +her, that demand grateful record. + +She was the daughter of one of the most intelligent and wealthy +Nestorians, who placed her in the Seminary as early as 1845. She was +then quite small, and the teacher objected very much to taking her; but +paternal importunity prevailed. As soon as her father turned to go, she +began to scream; but he left, saying she must remain, and "learn +wisdom." The kind teacher took her in her lap to soothe her; but it was +of no use; her bleeding hands bore the marks of the nails of her new +protegee for weeks. She called for her father, but he was intentionally +out of hearing. + +The child remained, but learned wisdom very slowly. She had her fits of +rage so often, that she was sent home sometimes for weeks, and again +for months. She made little progress, either in study or other good, +till the winter of 1850, when she seemed to begin to love the truth; +yet, though her general deportment was correct, she often showed such a +determined will, that her instructors feared she had never said from +the heart, "Not my will, but thine," and often told her that, if she +was a Christian, God would, in love, subdue that will. She could not +feel her need of this, and thought that they required too much of her. +So they were obliged to leave her with God, and he cared for her in an +unusual way. The mission premises had formerly been occupied by an +Oriental bath; and here and there were old pits, once used for carrying +off the water, but now covered up, so that no one knew where they were. +One evening Miss Fiske called the girls together, and told them some +things she wished they would refrain from. They promised compliance, +and went out; but hardly had they gone before their teacher heard the +cry, "Hannah is in the well!" She ran there, but all was right. Then +they led her to an opening just before the back door, saying, "The +earth opened and swallowed her up." The covering of one of the pits had +given way, and she had fallen perhaps twenty feet below the surface. +Fortunately, as in the case of Joseph, there was no water in the pit, +and in a few days she was able to resume her place in school, but much +more gentle and subdued than ever before. The change was marked by all. +Months after, in a private interview with her teacher, she gave an +account of the whole matter. She said the girls went out, most of them +saying, "We will obey our teachers;" but she, stamping her foot, said, +"I did right before, and I shall do so again." With these words on her +lips, she sunk into the earth. At first she did not know what had +happened, but remembered all that had been said, and felt that God was +dealing with her. Lying there helpless and bruised at the bottom of the +pit, she made a solemn vow to God, "Never again my will." From that +time she was a most lovely example of all that was gentle. She seemed +to give up every thing, and "bear all things." Her father saw the +change, and one day said to her teachers, "I am not a Christian; but +Hannah knows nothing but God's will. If she should die now, I should +know she was with Christ, she is so like him." Her Christian character +developed beautifully; the school learned of her to be Christ-like. She +longed to do good, and was ready to make any sacrifice for the good of +souls. When Badal sought her hand from her father, the latter called +her, and said, "Hannah, Badal the son of the herdsman, wants you to go +to the mountains with him, and wants you to live here with him. It +shall be as you say." She replied very meekly, "I wish to suffer with +the people of God. I choose to go with Badal;" and June 8th, 1858, she +left for her mountain home. + +The parting prayer meeting with those four girls, going as missionaries +to the mountains, was one of the pleasantest memories that Miss Fiske +carried away from Oroomiah. She left soon after, but often heard from +Hannah and her companions that she was happy in her life of privation +for Jesus' sake, and did what she could. She suffered, however, from +the change, and was advised to visit Oroomiah for her health. It was +hoped she might soon recover; but she went only to leave her sweet +testimony to the blessedness of knowing no will but God's, and then go +home. She sent the following messages to Miss Fiske from her dying bed: +"I love to have God do just as he pleases. I thank you for all your +love, and especially for showing me my Saviour." She died in December, +1860. + +Having given herself to Missionary work among the mountains, it is +interesting to know that her little property also went to the same +object. In the remarkable revival of benevolence, in Oroomiah, in the +spring of 1861, her brother gave her inheritance, which had fallen to +him, to sustain laborers in the mountains: thus, after her life had +been laid down in the work, all her living went to carry it on. + +Let Guly introduce herself to the reader by giving her own account of +her conversion, in 1856:-- + +MY DEAR SUPERINTENDENT, MISS FISKE: I wish now, as far as I can, to +describe to you my spiritual state. The first four weeks of the revival +I did not realize that I was lost, but afterwards was more burdened; my +sins were round about me like dark clouds. One night I went to Miss +Rice to have her pray with me. I did not know how to find Christ. She +told me; yet all that night I saw no light, but only darkness. I was +almost in despair, yet felt that this was from Satan. In the morning +the sun rose pleasantly, but it was as night to me; for I knew that I +had no portion in God. So I continued all that day. I could not read in +my class, but went to my room, and vowed not to leave it till I had +some token that Christ was mine. I brought nothing in my hands save my +sins, which were like mountains. I remembered that scripture, "Though +your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;" and I +recalled the promises of God, and that no other could pardon me. With +earnest longing, I laid my soul into the hands of Jesus. I heartily +covenanted to serve him all my life, and sought help from him in +prayer. Then suddenly I saw light, as if he were at my side; and I did +not wish to rise from my knees, so blessed was that communion. From +that time I had hope, but sometimes fear I may be deceived. Yet daily I +find Christ more and more precious. Though old Adam is not dead, yet in +the strength of God I will resist him. + +Yes, my dear mother in Christ, my guide to the cross, my desire is to +please God, and live for him, not for myself. I cannot say that I shall +never sin, for I am weak, and my foe is strong; but I will seek help +from Him who was tempted, and can succor me when tempted. + +I am most thankful to you that you have been the means of my salvation, +and can never forget your love till my tongue is silent in the grave. + +Your affectionate GULY, of Seir. + +She and her husband, Yohanan, have labored in the mountains ever since +their marriage. He writes to Miss Fiske in February, 1861,-- + +"I have not forgotten your pleasant love, and trust I never shall until +I die. I hope that, with all your friends here, I shall see you again. +As our joy is not full in your absence, may you not rest till you +return. + +"We are now in Vizierawa of Gawar; for the people of Ishtazin, +instigated by Mar Shimon, have cast us out. I had hoped to go to +Amadia, but was robbed and wounded, in the autumn, by the Koords; and +before I could recover my goods, it was too late to go so far. So I +remain here; and, thanks to God, our labor in the gospel is more +pleasant than ever. Some of the men wish to hear the whole will of God; +and women and girls come to Guly to hear his words. A few children also +are constant in learning to read. The work of God prospers this year in +Gawar, and the laborers are more numerous and more faithful." + +In estimating the zeal and self-denial of these Nestorian missionaries, +it should be borne in mind that our missionaries there, think it +requires as much self-denial for a native of Oroomiah to go to the +mountains, as for an American to go to Oroomiah; and according to the +testimony of a native observer, the married graduates of the Seminary, +in the mountains, are centres of light in that great sea of darkness. + +Besides those already mentioned, Oshana and Sarah, with Shlemon and +Eneya, are laboring in Amadia. This Sarah is daughter of Priest +Abraham, of Geog Tapa, and was one of the earliest pupils of the +Seminary. When Deacon Isaac broke it up, in 1844, she was the only +pupil who remained. She was hopefully converted in 1846, and while in +the Seminary was supported by the Sabbath school in Owego, New York. + +In 1849, it was proposed that her father labor in Ardishai, one of the +darkest and most wicked villages of the plain, as one might expect the +home of the notorious Mar Gabriel would be. Great opposition was made +by the people to his coming among them; and his own wife--not then +converted--did much to hinder his going; but Sarah did all in her power +to encourage him; and a letter of hers on the subject decided him to +go. She rejoiced to give up her friends, her pleasant home, and even +her privileges, that he might labor in that unpromising field. Nor was +she by any means idle. She spent all her vacations there, laboring with +much acceptance and success; and after she graduated, in 1850, besides +her day school through the week, she had a Bible class on the Sabbath, +with the women; and on Friday, also, she sent out her pupils, in the +afternoon, to invite their mothers and other women to a meeting she +held with them in the evening. She thus acquired great influence, and +led several to the Saviour. Her labors were very systematic. She had a +plan for conversing personally with one pupil each day, and was noted +for her tact and success in efforts with individuals. Others might act +from impulse, and soon tire; but hers is an activity controlled by +principle, and therefore uniform and enduring. Very faithful in +admonition when admonition is required, she is at the same time noted +for gentleness, and thus expresses to Miss Fiske her delight in +laboring for Christ: "Separated from Christian friends, I am sometimes +sad; but I am not greater than my Master, who left the holy society of +heaven to come to earth, and I am glad for a corner where I may labor +for such a Master. Come and spend a Sabbath here if you can; if not, +pray much and often for these poor women." Again speaking of her +school, she says, "It is the goodness of God that gives me these little +girls. Pray for them. I see indications that they will be lovers of the +Lord. Forty or fifty of the women come to meeting, and twenty-two are +willing to receive the truth." She was accustomed to study the Bible +with her father, and in that way also aided him in his labors. + +But it is time to bring forward her husband, in letters which open up a +new department of usefulness, and illustrate the meaning of Mar +Yohanan, when he brought her first pupils to Miss Fiske, and said, "No +man take them from you." The truth was, that the same parents, who at +first could not trust their daughters in the Seminary for a single +night, were now unwilling that they should be united to a husband who +did not commend himself to its teachers as a suitable companion for +their pupils. But let Oshana speak:-- + +HONORED LADY, MISS FISKE: I have a petition to lay before your zeal, +which is active in doing good to all poor insignificant ones like me. +Dear lady, whose love is like the waters of the Nile, and spreads more +than they; for it reaches the sons of the mountains of Kurdistan, as +well as those of the plain. I am venturing to trouble you more than +ever before. This summer, when I went to my country (Tehoma), my mother +and uncles, who greatly love me, with a natural love, beset me to marry +one of the daughters of my country, whomsoever I should please; but I +made known to them that I wished, if possible, to take one of the +pupils of your school, for I said to them, "If I take one of these who +are so wicked, ignorant, immodest, and disorderly, they will embitter +my life;"' I entreated of them not to put this yoke of iron on my neck. +They listened a little to my petition, from the mercy of God, but made +me promise that if it should reach my hand, I would marry this winter. +The girl on whom I have placed my eye, to take her, is Sarah; because +she has the "fear of God, which is the beginning of wisdom," and she +has been brought up in all the graces of Christianity, and has well +learned the holy doctrines; and in the fear of God, and the knowledge +she has acquired, she can help me, and strengthen me, in the work of +God, on which I have placed my heart for life. + +And now, to whom shall I look to help me in this matter? I will look to +God, the Lord of heaven and earth. But he works by instruments. Then to +whom shall I look, as the instrument to do this work? I am a stranger, +poor, and without a name here. My relatives are far away. If I have +friends in Oroomiah, they cannot do this kindness for me. If I remain +silent, silence alone shall I see. Now, my lady, I look to you for +help; and with confidence shall I do so more than I should to my +parents; for you have guided me and my sister better than any +Nestorians have guided their children. Yes, by your hand God will +supply my need. Now do as you think proper. From your unworthy + +OSHANA. + +P.S. The other letter (enclosed) is for Sarah, and on this subject. + +Some time after he was engaged to her, she was very sick, when he wrote +as follows; and the reader will notice that the "honored lady" gives +place to + +DEAR MOTHER, AND NOURISHER OF SARAH: I have no friend in whose +pleasant, pure love I can delight as in Sarah, and she is now wasting +away on a bed of sickness. My heart is very heavy with sorrow on her +account. Yes, I am so borne down with trouble, that for three days my +tears have not been stayed. I do not say this to boast of my love. I +owe her all this. I have a petition to make; which is, that you will do +all you can for Sarah. But I need not ask this, for I am confident that +your kindness, will lead you to do, and cause to be done, all that can +be done for her. But will you not let me know whether her sickness +increases or diminishes?--if it increases, that my sighs and tears may +increase in pleading before the Lord for mercy, and if it diminishes, +that my thanksgivings may increase before our merciful Father in heaven. + +Dear mother, if it is the will of our Father in heaven to take Sarah to +the upper mansions,--though I shall be comforted on account of her +being saved from all the bitter misery of this world, and her blessed +rest with the Saviour, where she can praise his love with her pleasant +voice, joined with the sweet songs of angels,--still it will be hard +for me. If I live after she has gone, God forbid that I behold her +dust, and not long to be her companion in heaven. Your unworthy + +OSHANA. + +Our next letter is from Sarah to Miss Fiske, written at Seir, in 1859, +more than two years after her marriage, and gives a good idea of her +Christian spirit:-- + +BELOVED: The good news that you gave us of the revivals in your +country, rouses our hearts to warmer zeal. Shall we not also prepare +the way of the Lord? We know, by the gracious visits of God here this +winter, that Christians there are ever praying for our poor people. For +we hear from the preachers who come up to the concert every month, that +the work of the Lord goes forward in the villages of the plain, and +also in the mountains. + +Here in Seir, the good work began among the women. I hear them say, +"Though we have had revivals before, we have never seen a year like +this, when the words of God had such deep effect." Mrs. Cochran and I +have good meetings with these women. Our congregations make glad the +Christian heart, and I am particularly happy in laboring for them, one +by one. A portion of them, with tearful eyes, are covenanting to be the +Lord's. We ask the Lord to strengthen them in their covenant, and we +entreat of you and of your friends to pray for them. + +Our Sabbath schools are very pleasant. Mr. Cochran will tell you how +the work goes forward. Mrs. Cochran has a class of women, and so have +I. Last Sabbath Mr. Cochran read one of your letters to the +congregation, and we learned from it how the work of the Lord goes +forward in your blessed churches. We praised the Lord, and then we +entreated him to bless our churches, and make them more spiritual, for +we are confident that his grace is sufficient for us all. + +She visited Tehoma, in May, two months after the date of the preceding, +with her husband, Oshana, and two little children, and gives the +following account of their journey:-- + +"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 in which I have been, 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 the city of Oroomiah, May 6th. We were ten souls--Hormezd, of +Aliawa, Sagoo, of Geog Tapa, Matlub, the Tehomian, Guly, and little +Gozel, Oshana and his brother, our two little girls, and myself. May +8th, we reached Memikan, and remained there three days. + +"It was our first Sabbath in the mountains. 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 staid 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. Prom 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 +Jesns 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 as I am here, I shall labor for that Master who +wearied himself for me, and who bought these souls with his blood. + +"The Lord keep and bless you, our beloved, who have been a mother to +the Nestorian girls, all of whom, with longing hearts are expecting +your return. We continually pray Him who gave you to us, to restore you +again in mercy to our people. If counted worthy, I should greatly +rejoice to receive a little note from you." + +She returned to Oroomiah in the spring of 1860, and left again in 1861 +for Amadia. When she went away, her three children had the whooping +cough; so she would not go into any of the mission families lest she +should spread the disease among the children; but after she was all +ready to go, and the heads of her own little flock were peeping out of +the saddle-bag contrivance in which they rode, Mrs. Breath went out to +bid her good by. Sarah told her how Miss Fiske had said, when she took +her oldest child into her arms for the first time, "'Now, Sarah, you +will not seek for this child a pleasant home upon the plain, as Lot +did, but rather to do God's will, and then he will give you all +things." "I have always remembered it," she added, "and am not willing +now to be found seeking my pleasure here." + +During the long winter of 1861-62, no messenger could cross the +mountains from Oroomiah to Amadia; and she thus writes 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 them 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 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." + +Our latest news from Sarah is, that during the summer of 1862, her +little son had died, and she herself was just recovering from a +dangerous fever. + +The joyful anticipations awakened by such a letter from a graduate of +the Seminary, in ancient Amadia, are not diminished by accounts +received of a conference of "Mountain helpers," held in Gawar, from May +30th to June 2d, 1862. They came from Gawar, Jeloo, Tehoma and Amadia. +At the opening of each session, half an hour was spent in prayer; then +carefully prepared essays were read on subjects previously assigned, +and each topic was afterwards thoroughly discussed. The first subject +was, "Hinderances to evangelization in the mountains,--such as their +ruggedness, deep snows, superstition of the people, and persecution." +Deacon Tamo, in speaking, admitted all these, but said, "For rough +roads we have our feet and goats' hair sandals; for deep snows, snow +shoes; for the darkness and superstition of the people, we have the +light of the truth and the sword of the Spirit; and for persecution, we +have God's promise of protection and the firman of the sultan." "The +faithful pastor's duty to his flock," and "Means of securing laborers +for the field," were among the topics discussed. Their discussions on +the subject of benevolence showed that they regarded that duty as +binding as any other. They engaged to observe the monthly concert, and +take up monthly and also annual collections in their congregations, and +apply the proceeds to the support of a laborer in the mountains. On +Sabbath evening the monthly concert was observed, and after stirring +addresses, the contribution amounted to what was for them the very +large sum of fifty-two dollars. Among the offerings were a horse, an +ox, a sheep, a goat, and different articles of jewelry. Arrangements +were made at the conference for the formation of a Protestant community +in Gawar, in accordance with the firman of the sultan. In all respects +the meeting was a rich spiritual festival, and from the spirit its +members manifested, and the progress already made, we may hope for +extensive and important results before many years have passed away. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + + +EBENEZERS. + +EXAMINATION IN 1850.--COLLATION AND ADDRESS.--VALEDICTORY BY SANUM. +--SABBATH SCHOOL IN GEOG TAPA.--EXAMINATION THERE IN 1854.--PRAYER +MEETING AND COMMUNION AT OROOMIAH, MAY, 1858.--SELBY, OF GAVALAN, AND +LETTER.--LETTER FROM HATOON, OF GEOG TAPA. + +There are occasions, interesting in themselves, that also serve to mark +the progress which they promote. Such an occasion was the examination +of the Seminary, June 6th, 1850. There have been examinations since, +but none so marked in their influence for good; none where the teachers +felt so much like calling the name of it "Ebenezer," and saying, +"Hitherto hath the Lord helped us." + +The pupils had improved, during the last weeks of the term, more than +they had ever done in twice the same length of time, both spiritually +and mentally. At the close of the term, their parents and friends, with +some of the leading Nestorians, were invited to the examination. More +than one hundred and sixty spectators, besides the pupils, were crowded +into the large recitation room. This had been adorned with a profusion +of roses, from the vineyard of Mar Yohanan, arranged in wreaths and +bouquets, with festoons of sycamore leaves, and other devices. The +people were delighted,--for, like other Persians, they are great +admirers of flowers,--and many, on entering, involuntarily exclaimed, +"Paradise! Paradise!" In their various studies, the attainments of the +pupils would have reflected honor on a seminary in our own land; but +their knowledge of Scripture exceeded all besides. Even on the details +of the Tabernacle they rarely faltered; and their compositions showed +an intimate acquaintance with Bible facts and doctrines. + +Dr. Perkins delivered an address, comparing the early days of the +mission with that scene, and felicitously answering various objections +that had been raised against female education; and, at the close, +diplomas were given to three of the oldest pupils. + +The exercises were pleasantly diversified by a plentiful collation +under the arbor in the court behind the Seminary, where lambs roasted +whole, in the native style, lettuce, cherries, pilav (a preparation of +rice), and some cake, prepared by the pupils, were duly discussed. Many +of the women had never before sat at the same table with men, and it +was amusing to witness their awkward embarrassment. Some snatched the +food from the table by stealth, and ate it behind their large veils, as +though it were a thing forbidden. + +Hormezd, the Miner of John, now aged and blind, who had been led all +the way from Geog Tapa, said, towards the close of the afternoon, "I +wish Joshua were here." + +"And what do you, want of Joshua?" + +"I want him to command the sun and moon to stand still, for the day is +altogether too short." As the company dispersed, several old men took +Miss Fiske and Miss Rice by the hand, saying, with moistened eyes, +"Will you forgive us that we have done no more for your school?" But +the best of all was, some sixty adult women, from different villages, +begging for spelling books, that they might commence learning to read. +Thirty of them did not rest till they could read their Bibles. The +cause of female education never lost the impulse that it received that +day. + +Instead of the valedictory composed for this anniversary, is here +subjoined the greater part of the one prepared by Sanum, for a like +occasion, because it takes a wider range, and is richer in its +historical allusions:-- + +"Now that another year is closed, and we are ready to leave each other +in peace, it is fitting to review the past, that together we may praise +the sweet Keeper of Israel for the blessings he has poured upon our +heads. We fear to try to recount them all, lest we tempt the Lord; so +we will speak of but a few. + +"Let us renew the wings of our loving thoughts, send them to the years +that are past, and see where rests the dust of some of the dear +teachers of this school. Listen! There comes a voice, 'They are not to +be found among the living.' Yes, the place of one is empty here, and of +another there. Then, where are they? Thou, O country art a witness that +they have pressed thy soil; and you, ye blessed winds, answer us, 'They +have gone!' and ye green leaves of time are true witnesses that they +lie among the numbered dead. But where shall we find them? They lie far +apart. We must visit one that first laid her hand on some of us to +bless us (Mrs. Grant); and though we remember her not, she often +embraced us in the arms of love, and carried us before a throne of +grace. She was one of the first that left all her friends, and ploughed +the mighty waves of ocean, that she might come to Oroomiah's dark +border. Though fierce tempests raged, and heavy waves raised themselves +above the ship, her prayers, mingled with love for us, ascended higher +still, and overcame all. At the foot of Mount Ararat she doubtless +remembered the bow of promise; and her consolations were renewed, when +she thought of it as a prophecy, that a company of the fallen daughters +of Chaldea should become heirs of glory. She so labored, that her +influence is widening from generation to generation. + +"The Lord is rewarding her even to the third and fourth generation. But +though she engaged in her work with such holy zeal, her journey was +short. Some of us had not seen our eighth summer when those lips, on +which were written wisdom, were still; and that tongue, on which dwelt +the law of kindness, was silent in death. Now she rests in our +churchyard. She sleeps with our dead, and her dust is mingled with the +dust of our fathers, till that day when she shall rise to glory, and a +company of ransomed Nestorians with her. + +"But where is that other dear friend of our school [Dr. Grant], who was +the beautiful staff of her support? He encouraged her to labor for us +while many of us were yet unborn. His heart was large enough to love +every son and daughter of our people. He sowed with many tears, and +gave himself for the Nestorians. Shall we not believe that the fruits +of his labors have sprung up among us? Then, where is he? Let us go +silently, silently, and ask that ancient city, Nineveh. It will direct +us, 'Lo, he rests on the banks of the noble Tigris.' Would that our +whisper might reach the ear of the wild Arab and cruel Turk, that they +walk gently by that stranger grave, and tread not on its dust. Then, +shall we think no more of it? No; with a firm hope we expect that those +mountains, on which his beautiful feet rested, shall answer his name in +echoes, one to the other; and the persons who saw his faithful example +there shall mingle in the flock of his Saviour. + +"But the journey of our thoughts is not finished. We must leave in +peace this blessed grave, and go search for one with whom we were well +acquainted [Mrs. Stoddard], and whose gentle, loving example is so +graven on the tablet of memory, that it cannot be erased. Can we forget +her prayers with some of us the week she left us? or how, when she took +our hand for the last time, she said, 'The blessing of the Lord rest +upon you'? We did not then expect that our eyes would no more rest on +that lovely face, and our ears no more hear that sweet voice in our +dwellings. When we heard of her departure to a world of light, it was +hard to believe that she had gone and left us behind. Lo, on the shores +of the Black Sea she has laid her down to rest. O ye angry waves, be +still, and ye winds of God, fan gently that sacred spot. All our people +are indebted to thee, thou blessed one. Thou, who didst first teach us +to sing the songs of Zion, now removed from sin and sorrow, thou art +singing with the myriads of the just. We would not call thee back, but +rather praise the Lord that you and those other dear friends are +entered into rest. No, ye are not lost, ye spirits made holy; but as it +was necessary that some should come from a distant land to labor here, +so ye were necessary to do a greater work in heaven. We believe that ye +are doing there more than ye could have done here; yea, that ye form a +part of that great cloud of witnesses that encompass us to-day. It is +delightful to us to think that ye blessed ones guard us. It is a +comfort to our teachers to think that you, who laid these foundations, +are still round about us. Beloved ones, we would not call you back. +Cling closely, and more closely, to your Saviour, till we, too, through +free grace, shall share in your glory. + +"And now, beloved friends, who with them flew on the wings of the +gospel across the ocean to tell us of salvation, we rejoice to-day that +the sharp arrows of death have not touched you. Ye have been more than +fathers and mothers to us. Our hearts are full of love to every one of +you, O blessed band! but we cannot express it, except with a heavenly +tongue. When darkness reigned in the breast of every son of the +Chaldeans, and no whisper of salvation had fallen on the ear of their +daughters, you opened the beauties of the priceless pearl before our +eyes, that it should enlighten us with heavenly brightness. We cannot +make known all that you have done for us. Let it remain till that day +of light when the Lord shall commend you before his chosen. When we +look at our dear teachers, our hearts warm to you with no common love, +because you led them to leave the sweet place of their nativity for our +sakes. You have been parents to them, wiping away their tears with the +soft hand of a mother, and sharing their trials with a father's heart. +While you have helped them in every department of their school, the +blessing has all been ours. + +"If on the wings of an eagle we should fly to the extreme north, we +should find no such school as this, crowned with blessings, but should +see our sisters groaning in bitterness, saying, 'Not one ray from the +divine sun rises on us in our misery.' If we turn to the south, there +we see the daughters of Arabia lamenting, 'In all this desert, not one +oasis yields the waters of life to quench our burning thirst.' Eternity +alone will suffice to praise Him who sent you, the only heralds of his +grace, to us sinners. + +"But our southern journey is not finished. From one end of Africa to +the other our sisters lie wrapped in the shadows of death; and if we +turn to the east, all the way to China, the daughters cry, 'Wretched is +our unhappy lot: no cloud of mercy, such as surrounds you, lights up +the place of our abode. So on the west, as far as Constantinople, our +companions in suffering have no school to sound in their ears the +blessed name of Jesus. + +"What are we, that the Lord should choose us from the midst of such +darkness, and send you to us with the message of life? Let all nations, +with wondering lips, praise the Almighty for his grace to us, so +worthless. + +"Now that we go from you, we leave with you this our handiwork as a +token of gratitude. [A specimen of needlework now among the curiosities +at the Missionary House in Boston.] Receive it, though a trifle. The +figures on it show what you have taught us in our pleasant school. As +we have first of all been taught to sit at the foot of the cross, and +neither hope nor glory in anything else, we have made that the +foundation. Under the cross you have watered us with the showers of +divine instruction and prayers, that, like this vine, we might entwine +about it and bear pleasant fruit. From this cross we learned, while yet +in the bloom of life, like newly-opened flowers, to join together in +sweet friendship. Above this we have placed a circle around the Holy +Bible, that bright lamp of the Lord, that will enlighten us like the +sun if we follow its leading--that well of living waters, which will +cause us to flourish like the palm tree. Thus will our leaf be ever +green, and our fruit sweet till the day when the mystery of love shall +be revealed, and we dwell in the mansions of the blest. There, joining +with all the singers in heavenly places, we shall receive harps and +sing glory to our heavenly King, who saved us from everlasting woe. +There we shall inherit crowns of gold, and, with myriads of the saints, +cast them down before the Lamb. If but one of us reach that place, will +you deem your labor in vain? God, who rewards even the gift of a cup of +cold water, will never forget what you have done to the least of his +people, and if the least are on the earth, we are they. Now that you +send us forth into the world, remember us, we beg you, whenever you +bring your sacrifice before the Lord. + +"Dear teachers, your acts of kindness have been more than the hairs of +our heads; we cannot recount them. We can only ask Him, who alone is +rich, to reward you from his good treasures, for none but He can meet +our obligations to you. Each thought that reverts to the past demands a +tear of gratitude. O blessed seasons, when God sent down his Holy +Spirit, that through your labors these walls of Jerusalem, so long +broken down, might be again rebuilt. It is sweet to think that in the +hand of Christ, you have been the means of the salvation of our souls, +which are to live forever. We believe that your prayers and tears are +in the golden censer before the throne. Now that we go out from under +your wings of love, which cannot reach to all your scattered flock, we +entreat you to ask the Good Shepherd to lead us in green pastures and +beside the still waters, and keep us under his wings of mercy in our +weakness. + +[Her address to the native teachers, bishops, &c., is omitted.] + +"Dear parents, we rejoice exceedingly to see you here, looking on us +with eyes of love. No words can express what you have done for us, +especially in sending us here to learn of Jesus. We trust that it has +been, or shall be, a blessing to you also. It is our hope that you will +be willing to send your daughters to distant places, to make known +eternal life. If you do, great will be your reward from the Lord. + +"And now, sweet sisters, another year have we sat under our own vine +and fig tree unmolested. We have tasted the honey and milk of the +blessed land, and drank of the waters from the Rock. But now the time +has come to leave these bowers of knowledge, but not the lessons here +learned, nor the counsels of our teachers, nor the sweet whispers of +the Holy Spirit. + +"Dear sisters, let us bear forth with us the light-giving countenance +of the Saviour, which will scatter all the evil around us as the light +dispels the darkness: without this we cannot go. Though separated in +body, let us be united in fervent prayer. Let a conscience made +sensitive by grace be our abiding companion. Let the tent of Abraham +teach us that we have no abiding city here; and like him, let our first +work be to offer those prayers to God which shall testify that he is +ours. And now, before going forth, let us clothe ourselves with the +meekness and gentleness of Christ. Yea, let us take with us all his +virtues, being obedient, teaching our dying associates, and leading +them one and all to Christ. Though we part, our love can never be +sundered, and we will ask the Lord to send his ministering spirits to +strengthen our faltering steps, and feed our souls with heavenly manna, +so that if we never more see each other here, we may meet in heaven +with our sisters who have gone before." + +The teachers improved the interest awakened by the examination in 1850, +to urge their older pupils to labor in the village Sabbath schools; and +let us look in on their efforts in Geog Tapa. The children there were +divided into ten classes, each with one of the pupils for a teacher. +Others taught the women who could not read. Soon these were joined by +both old and young men, who were taught by pupils from the Seminary at +Seir, and as many as forty spelling books were in active use. The +children, too, were taught to sing. Thus they labored till winter, when +the school was put in charge of the village school teachers. In the +spring the pupils resumed the work with undiminished zeal. Nor did they +toil in vain, for the attendance increased from about seventy to four +hundred; and some of the teachers testified that they spent there some +of the most delightful Sabbaths they ever knew. Yonan, who +superintended the school with Moses, had also a class of old women, +that increased from six to thirty-seven, whom he taught from the book, +well known to our Sabbath school children, "Line upon Line." His own +account of it is very interesting. He says, "The women, especially the +aged among them, have a habit, when they meet, of engaging in +unprofitable conversation, and, both on the way to church and in it, we +could not stop it. Awakening sermons produced no impression; and though +they had heard preaching for fifteen years, they were still very +ignorant. But now what I teach them on one Sabbath I require them to +repeat the next; and so they are obliged to leave off their gossip, and +talk over what they have heard, that they may not forget it. These +women are so anxious to be taught, that if I am hindered a little +longer than usual in arranging the classes, they cry out after me in +the church, that all the other classes are being taught, but they +forsaken." + +A class of old men, taught by Deacon John, commenced with an attendance +of ten, but soon numbered forty. Formerly they went to market on the +Sabbath, or sat sunning themselves in the street, going to hear +preaching about half the time; but they became so interested in the +exercises, that they were unwilling they should close. They brought +others with them, and if one of them was kept away one Sabbath, he +mourned that the rest had got so far before him. + +The women carried their books with them when they went out to the +vineyards, and at resting time: while others slept, they read. Some, +who could not afford oil at night, read by moonlight, and when they +spun, they fastened the book open on a shelf, so that they could read +at the same time. Once, when a woman was asked if she could repeat her +lesson, she replied, "O, yes; I repeated it over just now while I was +milking." The men also took their books out to the fields, that they +might improve every spare moment, and one was so earnest that, when +waked in the night to attend to the cattle, he read till morning; but +his family, finding that he burned so much oil, took care after that to +let him sleep. Good old Mar Elias rejoiced to see such a work among his +flock; and it was most pleasant to see the large church so crowded by +people, seated on the floor, that one could hardly walk about among +them. + +After the teachers had attended to their classes about an hour and a +half, the younger scholars repeated the portion of Scripture they had +learned during the week, and the parents were much pleased to hear +their children recite. + +The daily report of the Seminary was introduced into the Sabbath school +in a way that only Orientals could do it. The older members of the +school were required to report any cases of swearing, stealing, or +quarrelling among the younger ones during the week, who were publicly +reproved on the following Sabbath. This made the parents more careful +to watch over their children, and the children more circumspect in +their daily behavior. If any little trouble occurred among them during +the week, they said to each other, "Let us be careful; Sabbath is +near;" and though at first some of the people smiled when the children +were reproved, it soon became more common for them to weep. + +After taking an account of the attendance, the children sung, divided +into two companies, on opposite sides of the church; and then Mar +Ellas, or some of the elders of the village, addressed the school. +Yonan closes his account of it by saying, "We have learned in this work +more than ever before the value of female education. Among our most +energetic, faithful teachers are young women who love to sit down +before little children, and the ignorant of their own sex, and teach +them the way of life." + +Thursday, June 1st, 1854, was a great day in Geog Tapa. The forenoon +was devoted to the examination of a girls' school, taught by Hanee and +Nargis, graduates of the preceding year, and both belonging in the +village. As it was a feast day, a large number were present from the +neighboring hamlets. At nine o'clock the examination commenced in the +spacious church, which was crowded, the congregation numbering about +six hundred in all. The fifty pupils occupied the middle of the church. +The studies pursued were ancient and modern Syriac, geography, +arithmetic, both Scripture and secular history, reading and spelling; +and in all of them the pupils did credit both to themselves and their +teachers. The singing, that day, especially pleased the parents, many +of whom exclaimed with wonder, "Our daughters can learn as well as our +sons." Miss Fiske rejoiced to see her children's children in the pupils +of her first pupil, who gracefully managed her little flock with an +easy control. The villages of Gavalan, Vizierawa, and Ardishai, had +each a similar school, containing in all one hundred pupils; and each +of these schools was as valued a centre of religious influence as of +intellectual training. The teachers were in the habit of praying with +one of their pupils alone every day, as well as of opening the school +with prayer; and Friday afternoon was regularly devoted to a religious +meeting with the mothers of the pupils. These schools fitted the +teachers for usefulness, and the pupils for admission to the Seminary, +as well as for teachers in the Sabbath school; and they furnish a +delightful view of the present and prospective usefulness of the +Seminary among the people. + +Noon came, and the large assembly scattered, to enjoy the hospitality +of the village. For the people opened their houses for those in +attendance, just as they do with us at the annual meetings of the +American Board. Geog Tapa could also boast of its committee of +arrangements, in humble imitation of greater things. + +After a recess of an hour and a half, the people reassembled for the +examination of the Sabbath school, in a grove behind the church, as +that building could not contain the multitude which now numbered more +than a thousand. First came a class of men, from twenty to seventy +years of age, headed by Malik Aga Bey, the village chief. They had been +taught orally by Deacon John, and answered questions in Old Testament +history very readily. Then followed a class of women, fifty or sixty in +number, most of them over forty years of age. These had been taught by +Yonan, and were quite familiar with the Old Testament, from the +creation to the reign of David. One old blind woman wanted to point out +the stopping places of Israel in the desert, on the map which hung on +one of the tall trees: she had learned their names by heart, and was +familiar with their location by touch. + +Next came a class of twenty men, who had recently learned to read; for +which they had each received a copy of the New Testament. A class of +women then followed, numbering twenty-three, who had also been taught +to read by the boys and girls in the village schools. Mr. Stoddard +called for the teacher of each woman to step forward; and a copy of the +Old Testament was presented to every one of them, as they stood in a +row in front of their pupils. There was one woman who stood without a +teacher. Mr. Stoddard called for hers also, and some one whispered to +him that she had been taught by her husband. Mr. Stoddard thereupon led +him out, and, placing his hand on his head, said, before the whole +assembly, "All honor to the man who has taught his wife to read!" and +presented him also with a Bible. + +One who was frequently present often wept to see Women giving a morsel +to their infants to quiet them, that they might devote the longer time +to their lessons; some of them so intent on the work of learning, that +their faces were bathed in perspiration. She used to fill her pocket +and reticule with cakes for the little ones, so that their mothers +might be more free from interruption. The exercises of that day gave a +great impulse to the cause of education in Geog Tapa. As many as +seventy adults were soon poring over their spelling books; and the next +summer one half of the adult women were either readers or engaged in +the same employment; though previous to the examination of the Seminary +in 1850, not one in thirty could read, or cared to learn. + +Having given an account of these two interesting occasions, let us now +look in on another equally interesting, though of a different kind, +that took place in Oroomiah, three years later. During the interval, +Mr. Stoddard had entered into rest; and his bereaved widow, Dr. Perkins +and family, and Miss Fiske, were about to sit down together, perhaps +for the last time, with the Nestorian converts, at the table of the +Lord. + +It was in May, and the day one of the finest of those charming May days +in Oroomiah. The most of the Nestorians who had been admitted to the +communion were present; and in distributing the guests among the +mission families, it was understood that all who had been connected +with the Seminary should go there. The object of this was, to gather +all the scattered members of the family together once more in the place +where prayer had been wont to be made, before they went to the Lord's +table. As yet, no one knew that their teacher was about to leave them; +for she did not wish any thing else to turn away their thoughts from +Jesus. When they had assembled in the school room, she could not say +much, but besought the Lord Jesus to be the Master of the assembly. +After singing a hymn, the words "looking unto Jesus" were given as the +key-note of the meeting. He came and whispered peace, and all felt that +they sat together in heavenly places. The eyes of their hearts were +opened, so that they realized the fulfilment of the promise, "There am +I in the midst of you." + +They were invited to speak freely of their joys and sorrows, in order +that together they might carry them to Jesus. The first to speak was +Hanee, one of the two whom Mar Yohanan brought to Miss Fiske at the +commencement of the school.[1] She had, not long before, buried her +only child; and holding her hands as though the little one still rested +on her arms, she said, "Sisters, at the last communion you saw me here +with my babe in these arms. It is not here now. I have laid it into the +arms of Jesus, and come to-day to tell you there is a sweet as well as +a bitter in affliction. When the rod is appointed to us, let us not +only kiss it, but press it to our lips. When I stood by that little +open grave, I said, 'All the time I have given to my babe, I will give +to souls.' I try to do so. Pray for me." She told but the simple truth; +for after the death of her child, she used to bring the women into the +room where it died, and there talk and pray with them. Since then, she +has received another little one, and in the same spirit given it back +to Christ. When she ceased, the whole company were in tears. The leader +could only ask, "Who will pray?" and Sanum, whose children had died by +poison, and who could enter into the feelings of the bereaved mother, +knelt down and prayed as very few could pray for mothers left desolate, +and for those who still folded their little ones in their arms. There +was perfect silence while she pleaded for them, save as the sweet voice +of her own babe sometimes added to the tenderness of her petitions. A +child in heaven! what a treasure! and what a blessing, if it draw the +heart thither also! [Footnote 1: See page 51.] + +There was a little pause after the prayer; and, to the surprise of all, +the voice of Nazloo was heard in another part of the room; for they had +supposed her near, if not already entering, the river of death. +"Sisters," said she, "since seeing you, I have stood with one foot in +the grave; and may I tell you that it is a very different thing to be a +Christian then, from what it is in this pleasant school room. Let me +ask you if you are sure that you are on the Rock Christ Jesus." A +tender prayer followed, the burden of which was, "Search us, O Lord, +and try us, and see if there be any wicked way in us, and lead us in +the way everlasting." + +The next to speak was one of the early pupils, who had come many miles +that day to be present. She said, "I could think but one thought all +the way as I came, and that was, 'Freely ye have received, freely +give.' We have certainly received freely: have we given any thing? Can +we not do something for souls? I fear the Lord Jesus is not pleased +with us." + +They were then asked if they were ready to engage in direct labors for +souls, to search them out, and by conversation and prayer seek to lead +them to Christ. Many pledged themselves to the work, and engaged to +bring the names of those for whom, they had labored to the next +communion, that all together might intercede in their behalf to God. +Before that time arrived, Miss Fiske left for America; but the first +letter she opened, out of a large parcel that awaited her in Boston, +was one containing the names of those with whom her pupils had labored +and prayed in distant Persia. Is it strange that, as the slips of paper +fell at her feet, her heart was moved? + +But we cannot dwell longer on the prayer meeting. As many as twelve +said a few words, and more than that number led in prayer, during the +two hours they were together: from thence all repaired to the dining +room,--the three upper windows on the right of the engraving belong to +this,--where they did "eat their meat with gladness and singleness of +heart." Then it was announced that arrangements had been made for class +prayer meetings. It seemed to be just the thing that all longed for, +though none had spoken of it; and at once each class went along the +familiar passages to the room assigned it, and the voice of prayer +arose from nearly every apartment in the building. The chapel bell +rung, but it was unnoticed; and each little company had to be +separately summoned to church. There, according to previous +arrangement, Miss Fiske led each to a seat, that the communicants might +be together, and then herself sat down behind them all. A glance +revealed ninety-three sisters in Christ before her; and as the services +had not yet commenced, her thoughts went back to the day when, asking +concerning many of them, "Is this one a Christian?" "or that one?" "or +that other?" the answer came, "You have no sister in Christ among them +all!" No wonder she now inwardly exclaimed, "What hath God wrought? The +Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad." There was but +one among the ninety-three with whom she had not bowed the knee in +prayer, and that same evening, as she was devising methods to get her +away from the rest to her room alone, the Lord sent her, unexpectedly, +to the door; and with her also she enjoyed the privilege of personal +religious intercourse and prayer. + +At the communion, when all stood up to enter into covenant with +thirty-nine new converts, six of them pupils of the Seminary, there +seemed a deeper meaning than ever before in engaging to be the Lord's +forever. + +In Hanee we have seen the grace bestowed on one of the two whom Mar +Yohanan brought to form the nucleus of the school. The other was Selby, +of Gavalan, his own niece. She became hopefully pious in 1846, when +hardly ten years of age. There were very few in whom her teachers took +such uniform delight, though they felt some anxiety when she married +Priest Kamo, of Marbeeshoo, a cousin of Mar Shirnon--intelligent and +influential, but unconverted. Yet she had strong faith that he would +become a Christian, and soon gained a wonderful influence over him, +without compromising in the least her own religious principles. She +became his teacher in the Bible,--it was a new book to him,--and in her +he saw the Christian life it described beautifully exemplified. She had +just begun to hope that her prayers were answered in his conversion. He +was much interested in aiding the evangelists in the mountains, and the +mission was hoping great things from him, under the good influence of +Selby, when he died. Her feelings, under this affliction, are thus +described by her own pen, in a letter to her teacher, dated Marbeeshoo, +June 4th, 1859:-- + +"It is not because I have forgotten you that I have not written you +until now. How can I forget you? And were that possible, I could not +forget your instructions. I remember them at all times, by day and by +night. They comfort me in sorrow, and strengthen me in anguish. You +have taught me the duties of this life, and you have pointed me to the +world to come. I remember when you used to take me by the hand, and +lead me into your closet, and there pray with me; and my heart fills +with mingled joy and sorrow--with joy, that such precious seasons were +given me; with sorrow, that they will be mine no more. Shall I never +see your face again--that face, which bore to us more than a mother's +love? You were a perfect mother, because in Christ. + +"I grieve very much that I did not see you before you left; but I +believe that the seed you have sown will continue to spring up to the +end of the world. You asked me, in your letter, to tell you about my +work. I have a greater work than any of my companions, but it is in a +place covered with thick darkness, like that of Egypt. The people are +stiff-necked, wise to do evil, but of God they have no knowledge. +Temptations surround me as mountains; they rise up about me like the +waves of the sea. While Kamo lived, I was comforted, for he loved the +truth. Every day he used to read the Scriptures with me, and ask the +meaning of each verse. I had hoped he would have Paul's zeal in the +work of the Lord. I had expected that we should have schools in our +village after a year or two, and that the places of concourse for idle +conversation would become places for reading the Scriptures, and for +prayer. But it has pleased the Lord to give me a great and heavy +affliction. He has smitten me with his own rod, making this world a +vale of tears. But it is the Lord; let him do what he pleaseth. It is +all for my profit. + +"I want to ask you and your friends to pray for me, that I may endure +to the end." + +The feelings of the pupils, after the departure of Miss Fiske, are +graphically expressed in the following letter from Hatoon, of Geog +Tapa:-- + +"My heart longs to tell you of the change in our dear school. Our +return, after vacation, was much like that of the Jews from Babylon, +when they found their city laid waste, and their temple in ruins. Every +time they looked on the spot where it had stood, their hearts were +crushed. So when we did not see you, and went not to take your hand and +be kissed by you,--when we saw not your ready feet coming to the door, +to bring in each one and make her happy,--our hearts were broken, and +we could not restrain our tears; especially when I remembered the times +that the daughters of the church used to meet in your room to mingle +our prayers, our tears, and our joys together. These recollections +leave an aching void which cannot be filled. It seems to me that the +ways of your room mourn, because you come not to the solemn feasts. If +Jeremiah were here, I think he would say, 'How doth Miss Fiske's room +sit solitary that was full of people! How do the daughters of the +Oroomiah schools mourn, and their eyes run down with water, because +Miss Fiske is far from them?' These changes show us that this world is +as down driven by the wind. Perhaps you will reply, in your cheerful +way, 'Do you feel so? There is much that is pleasant in the world.' I +know it; but our school was always such a pleasant place to me. I was +so happy in it and its heavenly employments, that not even the death of +friends could destroy that joy. But now I seem overshadowed by dark +clouds, and sinking in deep mire. Yet I will try, in all this, to bow +my will to the holy will of Him who doeth all things well." + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + + +COMPOSITIONS. + +THE FIELD OF CLOVES.--THE LOST SOUL.--THE SAVED SOUL.--HANNAH. + +It was very important that the pupils should be able to express their +own thoughts, readily and correctly, with the pen, and unwearied effort +was devoted to this end; but for a long time they seemed incapable of +clothing an idea in words. The simplest sentence was copied over and +over without the change of a single word; and even when it was +expressed for them in other language, they only repeated over that +variation of the first. Three years were spent in trying to teach them +to write their own thoughts, with very little success; but in 1846, the +Spirit of God secured the result that man had sought in vain. After +that, both their ideas and their language were very beautiful. Nothing +pleased them better than to be allowed to write; and it was matter of +grateful remark that those compositions which were penned during a +revival were always the best. + +This was especially true in the awakening of 1850, which was noted for +the prevalence of a spirit of meditation and holy communion with God. +The pupils at that time came forth from private intercourse with their +Saviour, to pen some of the sweetest writings in the Syriac language. + +One day that winter, both the teachers wished to attend an examination +at Seir, and asked them if they would be diligent during their absence. +"O, yes," was the reply, "if you will only let us write composition." +The following was found on the slate of Nazloo, when they returned:-- + +"THE CLOVER FIELD. + +"We walk out in the country, and the road leads us by a lovely field of +clover. We see it in all its modest beauty. There are the green leaves, +so regular in their form and outline; the beautiful flowers, so +wonderful in their structure; and the sweet fragrance, that regales our +senses as we pass. All these are there, but we see not whence they +come. No showers descend to make it grow; the earth is parched on all +sides. Do you inquire for the source of all this loveliness? A tiny +rill of water flows gently underneath. No eye sees it. You cannot hear +its quiet advance, for it does not murmur as it wears itself out in its +work of love. Noiseless it hies to each little rootlet. It conveys +nourishment to every leaf; not one is overlooked or forgotten. That +unseen rill causes these fair blossoms to spring forth. It distils +these odors for the enjoyment of all that pass this way. What that +streamlet is to the field, prayer is to the Christian. We see it not; +it is all hid from human eye; but O, the rich fruit that it yields +every day in the soul thus made partaker of the life of Christ! That +also makes the wilderness to rejoice and blossom as the rose." + +At the annual examination in 1850, Sanum read her composition, a +translation of which is here inserted:-- + +"THE LOST SOUL. + +"I have dreamed a dream, dear friends--may I relate it? + +"In my dream I was wandering about, seeking for earthly pleasures, +though my life was crowned with blessings more plentiful than the dew +of the morning. My father and mother did every thing they could to +bring me to Christ. Their labors for me were enough to make me weep my +last tear, but my hard heart remained unmoved. Four times did the Holy +Spirit strive with me, and as often I grieved him away. I broke every +promise that I made to serve the Lord. + +"There came a beautiful day in spring. The sun lighted up every thing +with gladness. The fields were dressed in green. The trees were in +blossom. Loved by my friends, surrounded by every thing to make me +happy, and rejoicing that so much enjoyment was still in store for me, +I was saying to my soul, 'Take thine ease,' when suddenly a voice +cried, 'This night thy soul shall be required of thee; then whose shall +be all these?' Another voice added, 'These four years heaven and earth +have pleaded with you to bring forth fruit to God, but you have +refused. Your heart has said "I will fix my seat above the stars of +heaven." Now you must go down to the abyss.' Like arrows these words +pierced my heart; my strength departed, and others bore me to my home. +There my parents were speechless with sorrow. The bed of down was made +ready, but it afforded me no rest. I seemed to lie on thorns. Then I +appeared to faint, though still able to hear their conversation. +Sobbing aloud, they said, 'Sweet child, if you were only a Christian, +gladly would we go with you to the gates of heaven, hoping soon to meet +again; but this is more than we can bear. Alas, that one borne in the +arms of our love, with whom and for whom we have prayed, must now say +that our God is not her God, nor our Saviour hers! Is there no ray of +light for her in the darkness? Can we never again point her to Jesus?' +As I listened in anguish, I cried aloud, 'Is there no hope for me?' +They replied, 'We will implore mercy for you again and again, and +possibly the physician may help you. Here he is.' As he came in the +recollection of his past faithful warnings made me weep aloud. He said, +'Why weep? Do you not wish to see me?' 'Dear friend, it is not that; +but the sight of you recalls your entreaties to come to Christ, and my +neglect of them. If you can only give me one hour of quiet, I will try +to come now.' He saw that the hand of death was on me, and replied, +'What you do you must do quickly.' 'What can I do in such distress?' +'Can you not cry, "Lord, remember me," like the dying malefactor?' +'Those words comforted me once, but now I cannot use them.' 'Can you +not pray?' 'No. Once I would not hear God, and now he will not hear me. +O father, mother, friends, pray for me. Send for my teacher to pray for +me. Ask every servant of God to entreat for me while yet I live.' The +request went forth. The weeping physician offered supplication at my +side. My father and mother seemed to pour forth their last breath in +intercession for me. As I turned, I saw my teachers, and conscience +arrayed before me every word they had ever spoken to me of Christ and +heaven. All my own actions were likewise spread out before my eyes. +Then the whirlwind of my sins swept me away like a tiny leaf, to sink +in a sea of anguish. My teacher now cried, 'We had hoped to see our +dear pupil passing over to the new Jerusalem; but, instead of that, +must she dwell among the lost?' A gentle voice then whispered, 'Go to +Jesus; he will not cast you out.' 'To Jesus! nay, for knowingly my +hands have pierced him. Willingly these feet have trampled on his +precious blood. I have compelled his spirit to forsake me, and must +perish.' + +"Then I saw those whom I had led into sin and encouraged in unbelief, +and said to them, 'Can you forgive me?' But a voice from heaven +replied, 'You cannot be forgiven; for the name of Jesus you have set at +nought, and there is none other.' Then my teacher pressed my hand; she +could not speak. I said, 'You have ever shown great love; can you not +help me now?' 'Dear child, have I not told you that though I love you, +yet I have no power to help in this hour or hereafter.' 'O, dreadful +thought! Must I leave you all, forever? parents, teachers, all! Can you +do nothing for me?' 'We can only point you to Jesus.' 'I have no part +in him. I am a Demas; and with such agony now, what will be the wrath +to come?' I begged all present not to live as I had lived. 'Seize the +moments that fly swifter than the lightning. There is no place for +repentance now: my retribution begins. Forget not these words of your +lost sister.' I turned to my mother: 'There is no love like a mother's; +can that do nothing for me now?' What could she do? 'Can no one help +me? Father, father, I am going; can you do nothing?' + +"Now the light forsook my eyes. O for a few moments more! But even this +was denied me; for, as I remembered, 'Cursed is the man that trusteth +in man, and whose heart departeth from the living God.' + +"I now heard a voice as of a rushing, mighty wind. Trembling seized me, +as I discerned four fiends of darkness. I uttered a piercing shriek, +and died. Then I found myself suspended between heaven and earth. +Behind me, the world I loved so well had gone forever. Before me I saw +the Ancient of Days seated on his throne, his raiment white as snow, +his eyes as a flame of fire, his feet like brass glowing in the +furnace, and a stream of fire issued from before him; thousand +thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand +stood before him. Brightness radiated from him on all sides. He fixed +his eyes on me, glowing with holy indignation, while a two-edged sword +proceeded out of his mouth. My sins arose before me. Conscience +condemned me. I could not look up. The pains of hell gat hold upon me. +In a voice unlike all I ever heard before, he said, 'Slayer of my Son, +despiser of my grace, what hast thou done? Thou hast set at nought all +my counsels.' I longed to flee; but above me stood the Judge, below, +the abyss. I could give no reply. Again he said, 'My covenant thou hast +trodden under foot;' and he commanded his servants, 'Bind her hand and +foot, and cast her into outer darkness, where is weeping and gnashing +of teeth. There let her remain till that great day, when all mine +enemies shall be trodden in the wine-press of my wrath.' + +"Then a voice from out of the throne said, 'Praise our God, all ye his +servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great;' and all cried, +like the voice of many waters, 'Amen. Allelujah.' Heaven responded from +all sides, 'Just and true are thy judgments, thou King of saints.' Then +Satan and his angels clapped their hands; and mocking my misery, they +thrust me into the inner prison. + +"I now found myself associated with Cain, Judas, Jeroboam, and Jezebel. +I understood what Christ meant when he said, 'Bind the tares in bundles +to burn them,' for I was enclosed by them on all sides, and the flames +from them kindled on me. Then a voice said, 'Judas sold his Lord once, +but thou many times. Cain slew one brother; thou hast brought many to +this place of torment.' Then all, especially those whom I had led +there, cursed me. Fallen spirits gloried over me. The evil passions of +all the lost were let loose on me. My own wicked feelings were kindled +into a flame by the divine wrath. Now I understood that scripture, +'They have no rest day nor night.' My ears, that had taken pleasure in +evil conversation, were filled with revilings. My tongue, which had set +on fire the course of nature, now itself set on fire of hell, I gnawed +for pain. I looked up to beg a drop of water; but instead of it came +the word, 'Daughter, remember.' As I looked up, I got a glimpse of one +of my companions in Abraham's bosom. Once we were together pointed to +Jesus. Now the impassable gulf was between us. Hope now fled forever, +and that word, 'Remember,' brought every moment of my life before me in +characters of flaming fire. Gladly would I have exchanged this agony +for the pangs of death endured a thousand times over, or for all the +sufferings of earth till the final conflagration. I cursed my soul, +weeping without a tear. Why were my associates, once, like me, children +of wrath, now in heaven, while I was shut out? Ah, they listened to +Jesus, while I rejected him, and to enjoy a momentary pleasure plunged +into all this anguish. I had loved those who now tormented me, and cast +aside the loving Saviour. No ray of mercy can ever reach me more. No +friend will ever love me again. In my madness I sought to flee; but +wrath held me rooted to the spot. Cloud on cloud rose above me, each +inscribed, 'Eternity!' A voice cried aloud, 'Forever!' and another +replied, 'Forever and ever!' The waves of fire now rolled over me, and +the worm that dieth not seized hold of me. I begged for even the +smallest mitigation of misery, and the vials of wrath were poured out +upon me. In my anguish I cried, 'Roll on, ye eternal ages!' But why? +They will be no nearer through. 'O Lord, how long?' With an earthquake, +that seemed to shake the very throne, came back the reply, 'Forever! +Forever!' I sank down in unutterable agony. Then I awoke, and lo, it +was all a dream. The darkness of night was yet around me; a cold sweat +covered me; and that word, 'Forever!' still rang in my ears. Friends, +this was a dream, and only a drop in the ocean, compared with the +terrible reality. Let us pray that we may be saved from it through +Jesus Christ our Lord." + +The large audience listened to these vivid delineations, part of the +time, in breathless silence; and again the women beat on their breasts +with half-suppressed cries for mercy. The reader, as well as they, will +find relief from the companion picture by Moressa. Sanum's was an +original conception of her own. The theme of this last was suggested by +Miss Fiske, as a fitting counterpart to the preceding, but the +treatment of it was left wholly with the writer. + +"THE SAVED SOUL. + +"While meditating on death, I fell into a sweet sleep, and dreamed a +dream which rejoiced my spirit. I cannot refrain from relating it to +you, dear Christian friends, who are looking forward to the glory that +shall be revealed. I dreamed that my heavenly Father said to me, 'Dear +child, heir of my kingdom, you have long enough borne the troubles of +this vale of tears; now you shall be freed from them, and come to your +heavenly home, to worship me in holiness.' As I listened, sickness +came, and I laid me down on my bed of death with this thought: 'One +more fruit of sin, and then--heaven.' My poor friends, not +understanding this, inquired, with weeping, if I could not possibly +recover; but when they saw that I was dying, they gathered round me, to +go down with me to the banks of Jordan. My soul was exceeding joyful, +for the light of the promised land shone on me, and the dread river was +quiet, for Jesus had said to it, 'Peace, be still.' + +"While in this joyful state, I remembered with sorrow how many years I +had refused to acknowledge the Prince of life as my King, while he +waited with open arms to receive me; and how often, after putting my +hand to the plough, I had looked back. My backsliding, my evil example, +my neglect of souls, all rose before me like a dark cloud, and I was in +agony. But soon a voice said, 'Thy sins are forgiven!' and all was +light. I said, 'Lord, I must praise thee for this forever; but I cannot +forgive myself.' Yet, though the pains of death were on me, I was +comforted to be nearer the land where they sin no more. Earthly +pleasure now seemed emptiness. The pleasures of heaven filled my +thoughts. I said, 'Is this death--that which we poor mortals fear?' My +friends asked, 'Has he no terrors for you?' 'No; none. The king of +terrors is to me the chief of joys.' One of my teachers said, 'So you +have no fear of him--no sorrow that your body shall lie in the grave!' +'Why fear or sorrow, when Christ has overcome both death and sin?' My +father then asked, 'Do you suffer much'?' 'Yes; but if I suffered a +thousand times more, what would that be to those bitter hours upon the +cross. This veil must be rent asunder, though by suffering, before I +can see Him, whom, even now, I long to behold.' My poor mother +interposed, 'But are you willing to leave us?' 'You are all very dear +to me; but there is only one who is altogether lovely. When shall I see +him as he is, and be filled with his love?' + +"It was now difficult to speak, but I could bid my friends farewell. I +could thank my dear teachers for telling me of Christ, and ask their +forgiveness for all I had ever done to grieve them. As my weeping +mother wiped the cold sweat from my brow, she gently whispered, 'Where +is my child going?' 'Mother,' I replied, 'your poor sinful child is +going to that Saviour who has been willing to receive her.' His rod and +staff then comforted me, till I had passed quite over into the blessed +land. And, as I was borne on in my Saviour's arms, voices cried, +'Welcome, dear sister; you are now made whole--you shall sin no +more--enter into rest.' Mortal tongue cannot tell what I now saw of the +treasures which Christ has prepared for the redeemed. He gave me a +mansion he had made ready for me, and I found myself gazing on the +brightness of the Father's glory. What a change had come over me! I was +among those without spot, for they had been made white in the blood of +the Lamb. Their voices were one, for all praised the Lord. Now the +glory of the Ancient of Days filled me with awe. He sat upon a throne +of light, with seraphim on the right and cherubim on the left, and I +could read the foundations of his throne. Legions of bright angels and +happy saints were around him. I fell down with them to worship at his +feet, when he touched me and raised me up, saying, 'Thou art blessed, +for thou art redeemed with the blood of my Son.' Then he clothed me in +a heavenly robe, and bade all heaven rejoice, saying, 'This my child +was dead, and is alive again, and is saved from everlasting +destruction.' + +"He then revealed to me more fully that mystery of ages--the Redeemer +standing on the right hand of the Father. He stood with open arms, +saying, 'Come, daughter of my bitter grief, come in peace. I remembered +thee on the cross. For thee I drank that cup of agony; thy curse has +rested on me, that everlasting joy might dwell in thee.' As he thus +spoke, I fell down to worship, and when I looked up, my eyes rested on +his pierced hands and wounded side. Tears filled my eyes when I +remembered that my sins had caused them; but they were tears that Jesus +wiped away. + +"When I saw the book of remembrance at his side, I thought, there is +the record of my sins; but he opened it, saying, 'Fear not; from the +day thou first camest to me, they have been blotted out.' He then held +out to me the Book of Life, bidding me to read my name recorded there, +and added, 'Ages hence, in the great day of account, the world shall +know that I have saved thee; and as thou hast not denied me before men, +I will confess thy name before my Father and before his angels; enter +into the full joy of thy Lord; inherit the kingdom, prepared for thee +from the foundation of the world.' Then all the blessed ones cried, +'Amen.' Their harps were tuned to a new song, and they praised the +living God that another soul was rescued from the great adversary. A +crown was also placed upon my head, that, with the saints, I might cast +it at the feet of the Redeemer. + +"Afterwards I was led to our first parent, now for more than five +thousand years in Paradise, but not walking amid forbidden fruit. +Still, when he stretched out his hand to the tree of life, he seemed to +remember that first sin, and to thank God more than others for the +healing of the nations. His bright face glistened with a tear as he +took my hand, saying, 'Heir of my fallen nature, welcome to this +inheritance of the second Adam;' and I learned that tears are always +wiped from that face when Christ brings home his fallen children. + +"As I turned, I saw the great company of the patriarchs, perfect in +holiness, and clothed in light. Faithful Abraham was there, his faith +changed to perfect sight, and rejoicing in his spiritual children. The +meek Moses was there, adoring the Prophet whom God raised up from the +midst of Israel like unto him. And I beheld Isaiah, satisfied with the +eternal sight of the glory of which he had a glimpse on earth. +Jeremiah, too, was no more weeping for the slain of the daughter of his +people, and all the holy prophets were clothed upon with immortality, +and praising their Beloved with holy lips. + +"While I stood gazing, on them in wonder, my thoughts reverted to my +former state. What a glorious change, from a world of sin to a world of +holiness--from sinful friends to the Friend of sinners. How different +these sweet sounds of praise from the rude sounds of earth! I am +receiving my reward for every bitter tear of penitence I shed on earth; +an age of joy is before me. Who am I, that I should be raised from +companionship with sin to the society of heaven? My soul at length is +at rest. But how? Not as rests my poor body in the grave, but in +blessedness; for I rest from sin, but not from praise. I rest from +suffering, but not from everlasting joy. How sweet to rest, while not +ceasing to cry, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty! I rest in +the bosom of my Saviour. My prayers are turned to praise, and my love +is perfect. + +"While these thoughts filled my soul, I thanked the Lord with a new +song on the golden harp that had been placed in my hands, singing with +a loud voice, 'What is my worthiness, O eternal King, that thou hast +made me to walk in thy pilgrimage, while millions are shut out from it?' + +"Now a company of the holy ones led me through a street of pure gold, +to where the river of water of life proceeded out of the throne of God. +They showed me the hidden manna, and the tree of life yielding its +twelve fruits, and leaves for the healing of the nations; and beyond, I +saw a great company of martyrs who had been slain for the word and for +the testimony of Jesus Christ. They stood beneath the altar, for they +were living sacrifices. They were clothed in white, and wore crowns of +glory on their heads, and they sang hallelujah to him who had been +slain for them, and made them kings and priests forever in his kingdom. + +"While thus wandering among those holy mansions, I met a spirit crowned +with honor,--Mary, the mother of our Lord. She was specially delighted +at seeing me, saying, 'How glad I am that you, from that erring people +who trust in me, have found the right way to this blessed place! Are +there other sisters of like faith, who believe in the only Mediator?' +When I told her that there were, she embraced me, and led me where I +could see the twelve apostles of the Lamb. They were all seated round +their Master, just as they used to be on earth; but no more debating +who should be greatest, for now they ascribed all greatness to their +King, and dwelt in perfect love. Among them I saw Peter, zealous still, +but with a holy zeal. I heard him ask, 'How long shall those precious +souls, redeemed by thy blood, be led astray? May I not fly on the wings +of love, and destroy that city of blasphemy on the seven hills, that +the glory may be thine?' But Jesus looked on him with an eye of love, +and said, 'Simon, son of Jonas, the time is not yet come.' Then Peter +only replied, 'Lord, thou knowest. Thy will be done.' + +"While in this joyful state, I walked in the green pastures of life. I +went round about the holy city, and counted its towers. They were all +of purest gold, and built with skill divine. I looked from the top of +one of them, and beheld the sea of glass, and also caught a glimpse of +the abyss, enough to see that the enemies of our God were all beneath +his feet. I could see some, once my friends among them; but I could +say, 'Holy and just art thou, O Lord God; and O, wonderful grace, that +has made such as I to differ.' + +"But while thus filled with praise, and delighting myself in that ocean +of love, I awoke, yet only to say, 'Blessed are the dead that die in +the Lord.' Dear friends, let us cleave to Christ on earth, until he +plants our feet on the Mount Zion above." + +The next composition was written by Nargis, of Geog Tapa, in 1852. It +is an account of Hannah, the mother of Samuel, and gives a very good +idea of the Bible knowledge of the pupils, and their interest in +Scripture themes. The allusions to the condition of Nestorian families, +illustrate, and are illustrated by, the statements of Chapter I. + +"About three thousand years ago, the family of Elkanah dwelt on the +hill of Zophim, in Palestine. He was a just man, and one that feared +God. According to the custom of those days, he had two wives, Peninnah +and Hannah. Let us turn our thoughts to Hannah, for every memory of her +is pleasant. She had no son, on whom she could look as a staff of joy +for her old age. Yet Hannah had a worthy portion in the love of +Elkanah, which flowed unceasingly like a crystal stream. Why was she +thus loved? We believe because of the lovely spirit which she had +received from that gentleness of the eternal Son which maketh great; +and, like him, her voice was not heard in the streets. Instead of the +contentious temper of the women of this age, we find in her a meek and +quiet spirit; instead of pride, humility; and instead of anger, +patience; she was kind, pleasant, and abounding in other graces. Shall +not such a woman be praised? + +"Now Elkanah took his family to Shiloh, to worship and feast before the +Lord. But the envious Peninnah so grieved Hannah that she could neither +eat nor drink. Soon, however, she heard the sweet tones of her +husband's voice. Was it not like an angel's? saying, 'Hannah, why +weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? Am +I not better to thee than ten sons?' When she heard that she arose and +ate. Love was rewarded by love. She would not grieve Elkanah. Unlike +many in our day, she was obedient to her husband, yielding her will to +his, and clothed with humility. They were not only one flesh, but one +spirit; and they walked together in the valley of love to that world +where love is made perfect. Now, after she had shown her love by +partaking of the feast,[1] may we not suppose that she arose and +whispered to Elkanah to know if he would approve of her intended vow; +and did he not reply, 'Your vow is mine.' Then did she not seek a +corner of the court where she might pray? Radiant spot, where Hannah +communed with God! herself a bright light among the women of that age. +There, in bitterness of soul, she wept before the Lord, and obtained +his blessing. She believed that God would grant her request, as he saw +best, and gave back her expected son to the Lord to be his forever. +Here was true faith. She left all with God; and though, like her +Saviour, she prayed the more earnestly: still her voice was not heard. +But we hear the voice of Eli: 'How long wilt thou be drunken?' 'O Eli, +Eli, why speak to her thus? She was of thy flock, and thou shouldst +have distinguished her from other women round about her.' [Footnote 1: +In Oriental families, anger is shown by refusing to eat, sometimes for +several days.] + +"Bright star of that generation! Blessed art thou among the daughters +of Levi. The moving of thy lips is like the voice of the dove. There +was a blessing in thy mouth, like the olive leaf of Noah's dove, that +told of rest from the tossings of the flood; for thy request was about +to give rest to the millions of Israel. Blessed art thou, daughter of +Zion. Thou soughtest not a son for thy own glory, but for the glory of +thy God. + +"What a prayer was Hannah's! It brought a deliverer and a prophet to +Israel, an intercessor and a preacher to the people of God. May the +daughters of Hannah and the sons of Elkanah be multiplied among our +people. She is a mirror into which we may look, to learn how to forsake +our evil ways. Let us, like her, build up the kingdom of our Lord Jesus +Christ. + +"Her prayer finished, Hannah returned to her house. Her sorrow was now +turned into joy, and her happy face was like the opening rose of the +morning. No wonder she was joyful. The will of the Lord was her will, +and what evil could befall her? Blessed Israel, that contains such a +praying soul. + +"Time passes on, and the answer to that prayer is a beloved son. The +grateful mother calls him Samuel--'God heard.' Her full heart could +give no other name to this child of prayer. She would remember ever, +Not mine, but God's. And now the childless one folds in her arms a +child of the covenant. New joy fills the heart of Elkanah. Their son +was new to them every day; yet not alone as theirs, but His who +answered prayer. + +"The time now draws near for them to go again to Shiloh. The happy +father does not forget God in his mercies. He appears before the Lord +with his thank offering;--a noble example to us. He asks Hannah to go +with him: not in a voice of harsh command, but in love he said, 'Will +you go?' and it was, doubtless, a gentle voice that answered, 'Not now, +for then I must bring Samuel back with me. He is too small to leave; +but when he is weaned, I will bring him, that he may appear before the +Lord, and there abide forever.' The good Elkanah was satisfied, saying, +'Only the Lord establish his word;' for he had not forgotten the vow. +So the happy Hannah remained at home another year, and taught the child +as a mother only can. + +"When the time came to go up again to Shiloh, Samuel was probably three +years old. That praying mother did not say, 'He is small; let him stay +with me one year longer.' No! With her whole heart she carried him to +the house of the Lord, to abide there; and she went not up empty, +saying, 'It is enough that I give my son;' but in the three bullocks we +find the burnt offering, the sin offering, and the peace offering, and +in her son the first fruits besides. She was ready to say, 'In all +things I am a debtor to the Lord.' + +"Nor did she come in pride of spirit, saying to Eli, 'You called me +drunken, while offering a prayer that God hath heard;' but in all +humility she accosts the aged priest, saying, 'I am the woman that +stood by thee here, praying;' and then, leading forward the child, 'for +this child I prayed, and the Lord hath given me my petition, and I have +lent him to the Lord.' We seem to see little Samuel approaching Eli +reverently; and then turning those speaking eyes to his mother, he +says, 'Is this my father, of whom you told me, and with whom I am to +live?' 'Yes, my child, he will be your father.' And now Eli places his +hand upon the head of Samuel, saying, 'Blessed art thou, son of a true +daughter of Levi. The Lord bless thee, and make thee a prophet of the +Most High.' + +"Hannah worships, and returns to her home. Her little son asks not to +go with her; for he has been taught that he is the Lord's, and is to +abide in Shiloh. What a blessing are praying mothers, training their +children for God! + +"Still she does not forget the Lord's Samuel. Every year she goes up to +Shiloh, with her husband, and as often does she carry for the little +prophet a coat, made by a mother's loving hand. She did not say, like +some of our mothers, 'If he is in the school of the prophets, let the +prophets clothe him;' but she clothed him for the Lord's service, and +he comforted Eli as he was never comforted by his own children. Will +our mothers follow the example of Hannah? Should a voice come from the +mountains to-day, calling for preachers, would they give their sons to +go and save the lost? Blessed are those mothers who give their sons to +be soldiers of the cross; who, like Hannah, lead the way to the throne +of grace, and serve God in their households. + +"The Lord helped Hannah to pray, and he helped her to write that +beautiful song. Her words are golden and full of wisdom. It is fitting +to call her a mother in Israel. Deborah sat as judge, but Hannah gave a +judge and teacher to the people of God. Both were bright stars, but +where is the people on whom they shone? The chosen people are +scattered. Deborah, perchance, sleeps under the oak of judgment, and +Hannah on the hill of Zephim. We love to think that her son stood by +her dying bed to thank her for all her prayers and instructions, and +see her reverently gathered to her people. + +"We leave thee, mother of the holy prophet. Thou hast passed through +this valley of humiliation. Thy works follow thee, and thy God hath +crowned thee with glory and honor. Sweet singer of Israel, sing on in +heaven, for with thy Saviour thou canst never sorrow more. Who will +rise among us to carry forward the kingdom of our Christ? Such as honor +the Master here, he will honor when mothers in Israel see their sons +made kings and priests unto the Lord forever." + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + + +KIND OFFICES. + +HOSPITALITY OF NESTORIANS.--KINDNESS OF PUPILS.--BATHING FEET.--LETTERS +OF GOZEL, HANEE, SANUM OF GAWAR, MUNNY, RAHEEL, AND +MARTA.--HOSHEBO.--RAHEEL TO MRS. FISKE.--MOURNING FOR THE +DEAD.--NAZLOO.--HOSHEBO's BEREAVEMENT.--DEATH OF MISSIONARY +CHILDREN.--LETTER FBOM SARAH, DAUGHTER OF JOSEPH. + +The foregoing pages have told something of the change that grace has +wrought among women in Persia. Let us now look at some points in that +change more carefully. + +The Nestorians are noted for their hospitality. Kindness to strangers +is regarded as a part of their religion; and if, after bringing out the +choicest of their stores, it is said, even in a strange language, "How +can I eat this?" or, "Who could endure a dish like that?'" the words +may be unintelligible, but not so the look and tone of the speaker. Yet +even such treatment often only calls forth additional efforts to +please. A stranger may not relish some of their dishes. Yet a spirit of +kindness would be careful not to let this appear. In the Seminary, the +pupils studied how to please, even in the folding of a table napkin; +and the kind-hearted steward was perfectly delighted when reminded that +the pains he took in the preparation of a meal was so much service to +Christ, because it strengthened his servants to labor for him. + +The girls were very kind to each other. When any one was sick, her +companions not only readily performed her share of domestic work, but +nursed her tenderly besides. If their teachers were ill, they coveted +the privilege of attending them by night and by day. It may comfort +some timid one to know, that in Oroomiah Miss Fiske never had a +missionary sister with her by night in sickness; not that they were +backward to come, but the services of the pupils left nothing to be +desired. It did good like a medicine to see those girls, once coarse +and uncouth, showing even kindness in a way offensive to refined +feelings, now move with noiseless step, anticipating every wish. They +sought to conform every thing to the home tastes of their teachers; and +yet there was nothing of that show of effort that says, "See how much +we do for you." They seemed to feel that they could not do too much, or +do it well enough. If Miss Fiske was exhausted and feeble during the +day, they might say nothing at the time, and not trouble her even to +answer a question; but when they supposed she was ready to retire, +there would be a gentle knock on the door, sometimes on more than one +door, and then, with a "Teacher, you looked tired to-day. Shall we come +in and bathe your feet? The water is warm, and every thing ready," +their loving service would not cease, till every thing was in its +place, and they had put out the light after she retired. + +Woman, there, as in the days of our Saviour, still bathes the feet of +the guest whom she wishes to honor. And sometimes, when stooping over +them, she rubs them gently with her loosely-flowing hair--not as a +substitute for a towel, but as a token of kindly welcome. This +privilege belongs to the oldest daughter of the family; and the custom +once liable to perversion, now shines with new beauty, as the +expression of Christian love. He who once accepted the service in his +own person, will hereafter say, to many a daughter of Chaldea, +"Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye +did it unto me." + +Their tender sympathy with the afflicted was not confined to their own +household. In January, 1857, Miss Fiske was absent at Seir, assisting +in taking care of Mr. Stoddard in his last illness; and from a number +of letters written to her, at that time, by her pupils, we select the +following:-- + +JANUARY 1st, 1857. + +Many of your flock have observed this as a day of fasting and prayer; +and all have looked on it as a blessed day. The pleasant voice of +prayer has been heard during all its hours, and it seems as if the +Saviour was about to come among us with great power. I trust that he +will work in many hearts by the Holy Spirit. We greatly desire to have +you here; but again, with all our hearts, we wish you to do for the +sick one whom we love. Yes, if each pupil were to write to you, all +would say, we wish you to remain, and do all you can for him; and may +he be raised up again to labor for our poor people. Give our love to +Mrs. Stoddard, and tell her we are glad to have the one we greatly +love, with her at this time. + +Your daughter, GOZEL. + +JANUARY 2d, 1857. + +My heart is drawn towards you all the time; but I thank God that he has +given you strength to do for our beloved brother Mr. Stoddard. I am +very much distressed when I think of him, and can only say, "The will +of the Lord be done." I greatly desired to hear your voice yesterday. +It was indeed a blessed day. Give my love to Mrs. Stoddard, and though +it is hard for her to bear these bitter pains, tell her to try to trust +the Lord of our beloved brother. + +Peace be to you, HANEK. + +The next is written by a graduate, who was then on a visit at the +Seminary:-- + +JANUARY 3d, 1857. + +I cannot tell you what great anxiety and anguish I have for Mr. +Stoddard. He has won my whole heart by taking so much pains for my dear +companions, and particularly for Elisha. I did not think he would be +taken from us. This trial seems to me heavier than losing Elisha and +Jonathan (her children, who died by poison), for it is not only a loss +to his dear family, but also to this band of stranger missionaries, and +a dreadful desolation to our poor people. May the Lord see how great is +the harvest, and how few the laborers. I cannot write more; my eyes +fail because of my tears. Give my tenderest love to dear Mrs. Stoddard. +I know her sorrows in such trying days; would that I could help her. + +From your truly afflicted pupil, + +SANUM. + +The following was written the day after the death of Mr. Stoddard, +which took place the 22d of January, and refers to that sad +occurrence:-- + +JANUARY 23d, 1857. + +What bitter intelligence comes to us these days!--the taking away of +those who carried us in the arms of love to the blood-stained cross of +Christ. Truly, my mother, these afflictions fall very heavily on our +heads. The guides of our souls are cut off from us. What shall we do? + +Dearly loved sister Mrs. Stoddard, sorrow and mourning are ours. There +is hope that you will soon meet the ornament of your life. But in his +school and in ours are those for whom there is no hope that they will +ever see him. Wounded sister, blessed is the heavenly pilgrim who has +spent his life in a strange land, and been a well of living water to +many thirsty souls. I know this separation is bitter to you; but there +is consolation for you, for it is not eternal. But what shall I say of +our poor people? + +O, how much more than any of you knew we loved that dear brother. It +was a quarter past three o'clock this morning when your letter reached +us (Miss Fiske's). I handed it to Miss Rice, and never saw such a +bitter night except that in which my father died. I did not sleep till +almost dawn; and when I slept, I saw the loved one standing in Miss +Rice's room, his face shining like the morning star. Both his hands +were raised to heaven, when suddenly he stooped and looked in my face. +I said, "O, you are not dead!" He answered, "No!" and I cried aloud, +"O, Mr. Stoddard is not dead!" and my own voice awoke me. How favored +those of you are who see the face of our beloved friend! + +MUNNY. + +Still later, she writes to her teacher, who was again at Seir, during +the sickness of Harriette Stoddard, whose death occurred March 16th, +1857. + +Though it is a time of anguish, yet, blessed be God, he has given us +One to whom we may look for comfort. A thousand thanks to the Saviour +that he does not chastise us by taking away the Holy Spirit. Though the +discipline is bitter, yet it is mingled with love, in that the Lord +comes by death among his own, and by his Spirit to those who have not +known him, that he may make them his own also. What grief would the +lovers of the Lord have, if you now sat by the bedside of a sister of +whom we had no evidence that her heart was purified by a Saviour's +blood? If you are so distressed about one whom you trust your Father Is +taking to rest in the bosom of his Son, how would you feel if she were +one of those who, as soon as the breath left her body, would dwell with +everlasting burnings! How thankful we should be that it is not the bed +of one of these! + +I have never seen such a trying year; but I do not believe it is for +the harm of those that fear the Lord. It only fulfils the promise, +"Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth." O that the gentle voice of Jesus +might be heard, whispering, "Daughter, I say unto thee, arise!" Who +knows but, if our faith were as Christ would have it, he would call +this sister back to life, though now so near to death! But your Father +knows what is for your good, and you know that here he often gives +anguish to those who love him, that they may be exceedingly joyful with +him hereafter. The Lord grant that these afflictions do not harden our +hearts. + +I have conversed and prayed with all the younger girls, save two. +Eleven say that they are resolved to follow Christ; but I fear lest the +vineyards and the cotton fields do not testify hereafter that they have +walked with God. It is very pleasant to me to sit down by them and ask +them of their state. + +Yesterday (Sabbath) was a delightful day, but it seemed very short. The +Lord help us in our weakness, and cause the dark clouds to rise from +all your friends. The God of consolation heal the wounded spirit of +your poor sister, Mrs. Stoddard. I have never seen the death of the +righteous--only by hearing have I heard of it. The Lord be with you +more and more. + +MUNNY. + +Others, written during the same period, are as follows:-- + +Sorrower for us, who hast also become as a stranger to us!--Now we know +your anxious love for us. We have no doubt that He who directs not +according to man's thoughts has directed you to be away from us much +this year. We had thought that it would be a very pleasant year; but +the Lord has ordered it as he pleases, and let us say, "His will be +done." We know that he does all for our profit. What a comfort this is +to us who have given our all to the Saviour to do with us as he will! + +It is very hard to look at your vacant place; but we thank God it is +not made vacant by death. Though not with us in body, we believe that +you are, in spirit, and we rejoice that you can do as few can, for the +sick. The Lord be with you, who are the second in anguish, and +strengthen your weak body. The prayer of your pupils is ever for your +life. We have no words with which to comfort you; we can only say, "The +Saviour, with whom you are better acquainted than we are, give you +comfort." + +What can we say to you, dear Mrs. Stoddard, who are shrouded in a cloud +that is very dark? We know it is very hard for you to look on the great +vacancy that is made in your dwelling. But do trust in the Lord; he +will bring light out of darkness. We feel for you, plunged in a sea of +sorrow, in the deep places of sighs. Our eyes are every hour upon the +door, expecting what we shall hear from Harriette; and our prayer is, +that if it can be the Lord's will, she may be brought back to you; but +every letter increases our anxiety. We understand not the Lord's +dealings this year, except this: we know that he does all things for +the profit of our souls. + +RAHEEL. + +MARTA. + +The writer of the following was at that time a teacher in the Seminary, +and a striking illustration of the elevating power of a good education. +Formerly a female who was either lame or deformed was so despised, that +she could never hope to be the head of a family: she was doomed to drag +through a miserable life, the object of universal neglect. But Hoshebo, +though a fall in early youth had shattered her ankle, and the ignorance +of native surgeons made her a cripple for life, yet because of her +education was as much esteemed as before she would have been despised, +and is now the wife of Meerza, our native helper at Saralon. Miss Fiske +might have filled up her school with such, but, with a wise foresight, +selected her pupils with an eye to their future usefulness among the +people, as well as their own personal advantage. + +When I understood from Miss Rice, that you would not meet your loved +flock next Sabbath, I felt that I could not let all your absence pass +without giving you an account of my charge. I have been sitting with +them, as I do every Saturday evening, to search out their spiritual +state; and I have good news to tell you of one for whom you, and also +others, have been very anxious--Esli, of Takka. I noticed her changed +all this week; but last night I saw a great breaking down under Mr. +Cochran's preaching. She came out in anguish of soul. I then saw her +alone, and found her contrition still increasing. I know this is not +evidence that she has passed from death unto life; but I rejoice that +she is visited by the Holy Spirit, and I trust she will become a +Christian. I am anxious for her and for all the girls of my room. I +look for the gentle shower that shall make the withered plants like the +fresh springing grass. Though you are absent, we know well that you +carry every one of your flock in the arms of love to Him who can do all +things, whether you are far away or near to us. The girls send up many +petitions for Harriette. We fear much when we recall your former going +to Seir. How glad should we be to hear of indications that she will +recover. Peace and love to Mrs. Stoddard. + +Your affectionate + +HOSHEBO. + +More than a year after this, Miss Fiske left Oroomiah, and at Salmas, +on her way home, met her dear pupil Sanum, the wife of Joseph. Having +no other place for devotion, they retired together to an orchard for +the parting prayer. In a subsequent letter, Sanum thus beautifully +alludes to it:-- + +"O, the remembrance of that bitter separation! and of those prayers, +when the green grass was watered with our tears! How could I have borne +it, but for the recollection of Him who prayed and wept in the garden +of Gethsemane, and whose kneeling upon the tender grass was for the +comfort of our souls!" + +The gratitude of the pupils to their teacher extended also to her aged +mother. Seldom have they written a letter to Miss Fiske, in America, +without its message of kind remembrance to the parent who gave up her +daughter, as Hannah gave up Samuel, to be the Lord's; and several wrote +letters to her separately. From among these we select the following, +written by Raheel (Rachel), of Geog Tapa, Sept. 10th, 1859:-- + +MY DEAR GRANDMOTHER HANNAH: Though I have never seen you, yet I must +write to you, for I love all Miss Fiske's friends as I do my own, and +especially yourself. I want to thank you for all your love to me. +Blessings have thus reached me which were not given to my early +sisters. When it was a great reproach for a girl to learn to read, God +had mercy on us in that he poured such love into your heart as made you +willing to send your daughter eight thousand miles, by sea and land, to +show our people the great mystery that had been previously hidden from +their eyes--that there is salvation for women. They used to dwell much +on those words of Solomon, "One man among a thousand have I found, but +a woman among all these have I not found;" but now they see their +mistake, and that Christ died for women also. Many thanks for your +patience all these years. I know something of it from the feelings of +my own mother, for if she did not see me for five months during term +time, she would mourn that she had not seen her daughter for so long. + +It was certainly a sacrifice for Christ to come into this world, and +deny himself; and it was also a sacrifice for the Father to send his +Son, when he knew all the sorrows and wounds there were in the cup +which he was to drink in this world of sin. + +You will see your daughter much changed from what she was fifteen years +ago; but I am confident that when that day comes, which will be longer +than any day we have seen in this world,--when He whom the Jews could +not bear to hear called king, shall sit upon his throne, judging the +world,--then all troubles, sorrows, and separation from friends will +appear to the Christian as the small dust of the balance; and I think +that it will especially seem so to you, when you see a band of +Nestorian girls on the right hand of the Redeemer, whom you, through +your daughter, were the means of bringing there. Yes, justly might they +have been left to dwell with Satan forever; but instead of that, they +will have joyful life with Christ in his kingdom. + +I can never repay your love; but there is one so rich that he can give +you what man cannot, and I ask him to reward you in heaven. + +Is there another Miss Fiske in your country? We can hardly believe it. +I hope that I shall see her again, but it is difficult for me to expect +it. + +It is very pleasant for me to write to friends, and especially to my +own dear mother, Miss Fiske. I should never be weary if I wrote to her +every day; but I thought that this time she would like to have me write +to you, and I trust that you will live to receive it. + +Please give my love to Martha, and also to Mrs. Stoddard and Sarah, and +tell them that our hearts are with them. + +From your granddaughter, whom you have not seen, + +RAHEEL. + +No reader of the Bible needs any description of Oriental mourning for +the dead. The rent garments and sackcloth (2 Sam. iii. 31), loud +weeping and wailing (ver. 32), protracted lamentation as for Jacob +(Gen. 1.10 and 11), and for Moses (Deut. xxxiv. 8), and the hired +mourning women (Jer. ix. 17, and Matt. ix. 23), were to be found +nowhere in greater perfection than among the Nestorians. It is very +difficult for us, in this land, to realize the force of such habits; +but it required much grace to break over them; and even now, when the +Christian heart grows cold, it is apt to return to the old ways. One +day, in 1845, the whole school were going to attend a funeral. When the +time came, one of the pupils requested to be excused. "Why? are you +sick?" "No." "Why not go, then?" "I do not wish to tell." But another +said, "May I tell you alone?" "It will be a great shame if we do not +all weep. We all think we can do it but Sarah, and we are afraid her +tears will not come; and so, lest she bring reproach upon us, we do not +want her to go." The heart of the teacher sunk within her, as she found +that she was about to lead a company of mourning women to the funeral. +She asked them how they could make themselves weep. "O, when we go to +such places, we call to mind all the sad things we ever knew, and so we +weep; but if the tears do not come, we leave very quickly." + +But grace has wrought a great change in this matter also. In the +journal of Yonan, we find the following entry: "At the close of +afternoon service, I had a Bible class with the women: this was +followed by a prayer meeting. Then Munny came to see me: she has buried +a little child recently. It is a matter of joy to me, that these women +can lift up their eyes and see their children with the dear Saviour, +and feel that they have treasures in heaven. I asked her, 'Did you ever +do any thing for your little girl that you remember now with +gratitude?' 'Many times I carried her with me to the stable, and knelt +with her upon the straw in the manger, to ask blessings on her.' +'Christ was in the manger, and perhaps there your daughter was +consecrated to him.'" + +In another place, we find him asking Esli,--the wife of Joseph, of whom +he had just said, "Her little daughter has died recently, and her heart +is broken,"--"When your child died, did you weep and wail as your +people do?" and she answered, "No." + +Nazloo, of Vizierawa, a pupil who hoped she took Christ for her Saviour +in 1849, and graduated in 1853, within less than a year after her +conversion was summoned to the death-bed of her uncle; and scarcely had +she returned to her studies before she was called to the bedside of her +father. For three days she watched with him incessantly, by day and by +night. Those who were present were greatly moved by her tender care of +him. During the whole of his sickness, she never failed to improve +every opportunity to point him to Christ. Even to the last, she begged +him to look to the Lamb of God and live. And when he died, with his +head resting on her hand, though she had no evidence that her efforts +were successful, her wonderful calmness, under so severe a stroke, led +many to feel that she possessed a source of consolation to which they +were strangers. But her cup was not yet full. A few days passed, and +she hastened once more to her afflicted home, to find her mother +entering the dark valley. Others wept aloud, but she pointed the dying +one to Jesus; and supporting her in her loving arms, she seemed to +plant her feet in the cold waters of the river of death, and commit her +departing mother into the hands of Him who could bear her safely to the +other side. So sensible was her mother of the benefit she and hers had +received from the school, that when the teacher came in, she beckoned +her to her side, and said, with difficulty, "God is not willing I +should be a mother to my daughters any longer. I commit them to you: +they are yours." She soon fell asleep, as was hoped, in Jesus. After +this, Nazloo was in the school most of the time till her marriage. As a +teacher, no one could have been more faithful: her religious experience +was very marked, and she labored wisely for souls. She still lives to +show how God can make grievous afflictions yield the peaceable fruit of +righteousness in his people. + +In this connection, we cannot omit another letter, written by Hoshebo +to her teacher, in 1860, on the death of her son Absalom. It is dated +Saralon, where she and her husband Meerza reside. + +DEAR MOTHER: I received your letter just before I received a bitter +stroke from the never-erring hand of my heavenly Father. Many thanks +for your loving remembrances of me. I cannot reward you for one of a +thousand of the good things that you have shown me, so unworthy. I have +many thoughts of you, and of those pleasant days that we passed +together in that blessed school. I am very sad when I think that +perhaps I may never, in this house of my pilgrimage, see your face, +which makes others to be exceeding glad. + +Dear mother: like a daughter distressed, who would find a little rest +by falling into the kind arms of her mother, I come to tell you what +has pierced the heart of your poor child. It is true that you are so +far from me that I cannot lean on your kind breast, and let you lead me +in prayer to the Father who has afflicted me; but with a feeling like +that I write you. Beloved, you used to write me that I must take good +care of my dear and tender babe, Aweshalom. Perhaps I did not fully do +as you told me. But one thing I know: the Lord, who loves little +children, was not willing that I should keep him. And I believe that he +will take better care of my dear child than I could. You must know that +I am deeply wounded and crushed by the death of Aweshalom. My tears +cease not. His first birth was October 14, 1858; his second and +spiritual one, April 23, 1860. His life with us was a pleasant one, and +he made our lives very sweet and delightful; but now he has gone to +heaven, while we remain on the earth. He lives the new life, while we +die daily. He is strong, while I am weak. He has grown beautiful, in +the light and image of the Saviour, while I am pining away. If you have +heard what a child he was, you will not wonder at my sickness since his +death. My husband is greatly afflicted in the death of this, our first, +our only child. We find no comfort except in casting our wounded souls +at the feet of the Saviour, who was tempted that he might heal our +wounds. It seems, sometimes, as if our comforters were far from us; but +our Saviour is very near to help and comfort. + +Our work has been as last year. My husband has taught in the Seminary +at Seir, coming here to preach on the Sabbath. I have taught a school +of eighteen boys and girls here. Before vacation, my babe sickened, and +rested in Jesus. Since that time, I have had fever, and am still very +weak. + +Five in the village, besides ourselves, are communicants. My father and +brother are among them. I trust that my mother and brother's wife will +soon unite with us. The work of the Lord in the village goes forward +better than formerly. I try to talk and pray with the women alone, and +they are more ready to have me do it, which makes me to rejoice in the +Lord. + +Give my loving peace to my dear grandmother Hannah. Though with the +eyes of this mortal body we have not seen each other, nor have I any +hope that we shall, the Lord her God help me, that we may meet on the +blessed hill of Zion above. I believe, my mother, that you will +remember your weak, unworthy lamb, when you bow before the throne of +mercy and grace. Perhaps this is the last letter you will receive from +me, for death seems very near. Receive loving peace from the priest +[her husband]. + +Your true daughter, + +HOSHEBO. + +Jesus has seemed to be almost bodily present, taking up these lambs in +his arms; and the mothers have not feared, for they felt sure that +under such a Guardian it was well with their children. + +Perhaps bereaved missionary mothers In Persia do not realize how much +their patient suffering has done for their poor Nestorian sisters. The +short lives of those twenty missionary children, who lie in Persian +graves, were a precious offering to Christ. They were all missionaries, +and did not go home till their work was done. Each one had a place to +fill among the instrumentalities employed by the Master to promote his +kingdom in Persia. There was no waste in the breaking of those +alabaster boxes of precious ointment. Nestorian parents looked on, to +learn how to lay their children into the arms of Jesus, and become more +Christ-like themselves. No years of mature toil have been more blessed +than the years of those thus early called home; and in this truth their +bereaved parents may find abundant consolation. There are influences +too deep and silent to be fully understood; but they are none the less +real and powerful; and the mother who to-day misses the little feet, +the loving eyes, and the pleasant voice, which God had lent to gladden +her earthly home for a season, may rejoice in the assurance that her +loving submission to a Father's hand is teaching a lesson to the people +whom she loves, such as they could never learn from words. + +During the revival of 1846, a little child of Dr. Perkins died; and as +the missionaries laid it away, in the hope of a glorious resurrection, +it helped them to point others to him who is the Resurrection and the +Life. It was buried on a snowy Sabbath day, and the faces of the young +converts, who stood in silence around the grave, showed that to them +the associations of death were no longer fearful. Turning away from the +cemetery, Mr. Stoddard, feeling that he could not be separated from +those young disciples even in death, said, "Do you not hope that you +shall rest here to rise with these to everlasting life?"[1] Little did +they who heard him know how soon that cemetery at Seir would become +more sacred as his own resting place. [Footnote 1: See Nestorian +Biography, page 242.] + +Before leaving this topic, we insert a letter from Sarah, daughter of +Joseph, a former pupil in the Seminary, and the oldest of four sisters. +The death of little Deborah seemed to draw her heart very closely to +her Saviour, and she now sleeps by her side, doubtless understanding +better the meaning of those arms of love that here she believed "folded +her little sister in his own bosom." + +"What word of fitting love can I write, and how tell you what God has +done? We are afflicted, for he has taken from us our dear little +Deborah. She was only two years and seven months old. We mourn; and yet +are comforted; for we know that He who loves little children has taken +her into his own arms, that we may love him more and better praise his +glorious name. She did not leave us to go to a stranger. The dear +Saviour, we think, has made her happier than we could; and now we dwell +much on this scripture, 'Prepare to meet thy God.' Deborah was very +sick, and suffered much; but when she died, there was a pleasant smile +on her little face. Then she rested from sorrow, and Jesus folded the +little Iamb in his own bosom." + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + + +PROGRESS AND PROMISE. + +BENEVOLENCE, EARLY MANIFESTATION OF.--PROGRESS.--REVIVAL OF BENEVOLENCE +IN APRIL, 1861.--INTEREST OF PARENTS FOR THE CONVERSION OF THEIR +CHILDREN.--PEACE IN FAMILIES.--REFORMED +MARRIAGES.--ORDINATIONS.--COMMUNION SEASONS.--MISS RICE AND MISS +BEACH.--CONCLUSION. + +The pupils were early trained to form habits of self-denying +benevolence. In 1844, the day scholars made as many as fifty garments +for poor children. Early in 1845, when some mountaineers came to beg +money for their ragged children, the question was put, "Who will give +her own clothes and wear poorer ones till she can make others." Many +responded at once, and she who gave her best dress was deemed the most +happy. Some even wept because they could not do the same. In a letter +written December, 1848, the pupils say, "The last day of the term was +monthly concert. We had a good time of prayer, and then a collection, +which went up to thirty-two sahib korans--(seven dollars.) We hope this +will be increased, and used for sending the gospel to the poor people +of the mountains." + +They were accustomed to devote several hours a week to sewing for some +benevolent object. At the close of one term the articles thus prepared +were sold for sixteen dollars, and the proceeds sent to Aintab to pay +for teaching women there to read. + +The same virtue was assiduously cultivated in the people. Deacons John +and Yonan had for some time been urged to take up a collection at the +monthly concert at Geog Tapa, but they dared not try; not that they did +not wish it, but they feared that the people, in their poverty, might +take offence at the innovation. At length, on the first Sabbath of +1852, John preached on the subject, and a few korans (worth twenty +cents each), were contributed. The first Sabbath of February it was +Yonan's turn to preach there. So he prepared himself thoroughly on this +subject,--Miss Fiske had read with him the prize essays on Benevolence, +published by the American Tract Society,--and, carrying his map into a +crowded church, he spoke at some length about missions in various parts +of the world. His account was well received. Then Bibles were +distributed through the church, and the readers were called on to read +passages previously selected, showing, first, the antiquity of +benevolent contributions; secondly, that the poor were to give as well +as the rich; and thirdly, that the blessing of God was promised to the +benevolent. The readers were scattered all over the church, and the +people listened with great attention. Then several spoke on the +subject, and the elders of the village gave the work their hearty +approval. Afternoon came, and as the time for meeting drew near, old +and young were eagerly engaged in getting ready their contributions (in +Geog Tapa the monthly concert is held on Sabbath afternoon), and as +many as two hundred came together. There were remarks and prayers, and +while the missionary hymn was being sung at the close, the collection +was taken up, amounting, in money and cotton yarn, to more than fifteen +korans. One sick boy, who had heard what was going on, rose from his +bed, and crept in to deposit his little coin. Instead of spending their +saints' days in idleness, as had been the custom, many now wrought on +those days to earn money for giving, saying to objectors that it was +better to labor for the spread of the gospel than to be idle for Satan. +Mr. Stoddard attended the March concert, with some idols from India, +and so interested the people that the collection amounted to more than +twenty-five korans, thus the good work went on. + +After this the spirit of benevolence steadily increased, and instances +of marked self-denial were not wanting. It shows at once their poverty +and their disposition to do what they could, that at the monthly +concert a basket was passed round along with the contribution box, to +receive eggs from the little children and such as were too poor to give +any thing else. Crosses of ivory or silver were often found among the +contributions. + +One day, a man was seen to take a silver coin out of his purse; and as +the missionary went on to describe more of the condition of the heathen +world, a second and a third was taken out, and held in readiness for +the collection. At another time, a woman, whom she had not seen before, +asked for a private interview with one of the ladies of the mission; +and when alone, besides requesting prayer that she might become a +Christian, she took out a gold ornament, the only one of any value that +she possessed, which had been handed down as an heirloom in her family +for several generations, and said she wanted to give that to send the +gospel to others, only no one must know who gave it. The ornament was +sold for four dollars and fifty cents, and the woman, in less than a +year, became a useful Christian. Sometimes the amount of interest might +be measured by the number of silver coins manufactured into buttons +that were found in the contribution box; for when their feelings were +aroused, the women cut off the fastenings of their outer garments, and +cast them into the Lord's treasury. + +But the most remarkable revival of benevolence occurred in April, 1861; +and we condense the following account of it from a long letter of Yonan +to Miss Fiske and Mrs. Stoddard:-- + +"The prayers and tears of our missionary friends have, this winter, +received a joyful reward from our Father in heaven. We were told that +the first week in January would be devoted by all Christians to prayer +for great things, and my heart was never so enlarged before. It seemed +as if Persia, nominal Christendom, and all the heathen were under the +power of prayer; as if the Christian's measuring-line was stretched +round the four corners of the earth. One day the missionaries met, as +usual, for prayer in Dr. Wright's large room. It moved me much, and I +said to my companions, 'They are praying for us while we are idle.' +They said, 'It is good that we spend this half hour in prayer every +day.' We did so. On the Sabbath, I went to my village, Geog Tapa, and +mentioned these things to the people at the evening meeting. The Lord +opened the mouth of Abraham, who said, 'Brethren, in these places we +are always idle--let us meet for prayer half an hour before sunset.' +They did so. The clouds over our heads seemed loaded with blessings: +still they did not descend. Mr. Cobb and Mr. Ambrose had talked with me +about commencing in our village to support preachers in the mountains. +So did Mr. Labaree last week. I told him of our poverty. He said, 'I am +grieved for that; but begin with some little thing.' + +"We went to Geog Tapa the last Sabbath in March. John gave notice, as +it was the gospel Sabbath, [monthly concert is so called], of the +contributions for our brothers in India. In his sermon he said that +much of our poverty is from our indolence. Last year our collection was +fifteen tomans. [A toman is about two dollars.] If we had more zeal, we +might raise twenty, and that would support a preacher in the mountains. +At once Guwergis cried out, 'I will give one.' I said, 'We will support +one preacher and two schools among ourselves, and if any thing is over, +we will send it far away.' Priest Abraham approved of this. Then all +the brethren in the congregation began to speak. 'So is good.' 'Thus we +will do.' John would have stilled them; but I said, 'Perhaps God is +blessing your preaching; let them speak.' Praised be God's name +forever; in a moment every obstacle was swept away. Had we known that +God was so near, we would have bowed our heads before him. Now Aib Khan +cried, 'I give one toman;' and 'I,' said Priest Moses, 'twelve korans;' +and another, 'I two monats.' [A monat is seventy-five cents.] Moses now +took out his pencil to write. The Malik said, 'I have often thought +that I would put a gold imperial in the box [four dollars and fifty +cents]; write that.' I then said, 'My family of eight souls hear +preaching all the year, and three or four attend school. I am a debtor; +write for me three tomans--it is not too much.' When God pleases, +excuses flee away; high prices and oppression were not thought of; we +were lords of wealth. Moses then said, 'I am troubled that I remain to +the last; but we are three brothers in company, and I know not whether +they will act through me, or each one for himself.' One brother cried +out, 'Our agent and I, five korans more.' Another man then said, 'I +also am at a loss on account of my brother;' and his brother replied, +'Four monats.' These things made brotherly love very firm. Guwergis now +cried out, 'Women, where are you? In the wilderness women gave their +brazen mirrors.' I said, 'Holy women, to-day ends fifteen years of the +prayers of Christianity among us. Speak!' [It was fifteen years since +the revival in 1846.] One replied, 'I half a monat;' and 'I a +head-dress;' 'I a silver ornament;' 'I my earrings;' and so on. A widow +said, 'I have kept my husband's coat till now; I will sell it, and give +half the price.' And others made similar responses. Isaac, a poor old +mountaineer, gave two korans; and another said, 'I have nothing but the +mat I sit on: I give that.' It was a new one he had just finished. A +mother said, 'I have nothing now, but I will give the work of my hands +this winter--a tope [ten yards] of cotton cloth.' A pilgrim said, 'When +I was in Jerusalem, an Armenian and a Russian bid against each other, +and the Russian prevailed, giving five hundred tomans to the Greek +convent. If they had such zeal for error, we ought to have more for the +truth.' And one unaccustomed to come to church gave the fruit and +prunings of fifteen rows in his vineyard. [The prunings of the vines +are sold for fuel.] We were in the church about four hours. Time was +given for all to contribute, and then we spent a season in joyful song +and pleasant prayer. + +"The report of what had been done spread quickly through the village, +and my mother-in-law sent word that she would give a hundred and +twenty-eight pounds of raisins. At evening meeting, the house was full. +Benjamin said, 'Brethren, the teacher of our school was one day +explaining the verse, "Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that +treadeth out the corn;" and Mr. Stoddard, who stood near, added, "But +the Nestorian oxen eat from the straw of America." That word has worked +in my heart ever since. I trust that, hereafter, we will eat our own +straw.' That night we lay awake a long time for joy. In the morning, +before I was up, my uncle and his wife came and promised a load of +wheat [five bushels]; and when passing through the village, a woman put +an ornament in my pocket to sell for the cause. + +"Monday we came to the city for the gospel day [the concert is held +there on Monday], and every one who met us remarked our glad faces. In +the meeting, after Mr. Coan spoke, John opened a bundle of the gifts, +and Moses described the scenes of the day before. I said, 'One toman +led to sixty in our village yesterday: perhaps it will lead to hundreds +more. Many times the good in the heart of the Christian comes up into +his mouth, and then goes back; but when the power of God prevails, it +not only comes into the mouth, but comes forth and abounds.' Priest +Moses arose, and said, 'As long as a man is sick, it is no shame if he +does not walk; but if the blood walks well in his veins, and he becomes +fat, and still lies in bed, every one reproaches him. We have grown +fat; and how long shall we lie under the quilts?' Priest Yakob added, +'For twenty-five years we have said, "Let the Lord go before;" and now +that he has come, let us wait no longer, but give.' He gave two tomans, +and others followed. Mar Tohanan's wife gave a toman of ornaments, and +almost every girl in school from one koran to three or four. Isras, of +Degala, gave fifteen tomans and a new vineyard that he had recently +bought. Guwergis, who had already proposed to plough the field the +second time, now rose, and opening his hand, said, 'If a man thrust his +hand into a pile of gold, and give of it to God, is it a great thing +when He has filled his hand with the blood of his Son, and given it to +us?' Sagoo,[1] of Gulpashan, said, 'My father gave each of my two +sisters thirty tomans. When Hannah died, hers became mine. I give it +for the bride's veil; [The kingdom of Christ is here spoken of as the +bride], also a silver watch.' One who had only two or three sheep +promised one of them. My little girl, Sherin, had asked, a few days +before, for a new dress. She now sent word to me that she would do +without it for a year, if I would give the money for the gospel. I +cannot fully describe the spirit of the meeting: we went out wondering +and congratulating each other at having witnessed such a pleasant +sight. At the evening meeting one said, 'I heard in the market what you +were doing; I give a gun, the price of which was seven and a half +tomans.' Some gave for themselves, and others for their wives and +children. Moses gave four monats for his brother's children. There were +tithes and sixths, fifths and fourths, thirds and halves, of crops of +hay and grapes. Priest Abraham said, 'We say a thief will never own a +house. Did you ever see one that had wealth? We are thieves, and +therefore are so poor. We have robbed God. I will give a tithe of my +vineyard.' Another replied, 'And I of every thing.' And a man, who had +before given one quarter of his vineyard, now gave the half. A widow, +who had nothing but a cow, pledged a hepta [four pounds] of butter. A +poor man, who has a few fruit trees in his yard, promised ten heptas of +apricots. Guwergis spoke up, 'We have butter: what shall we cook in it +for the bride?' A woman answered, 'I give four heptas of rice;' to +which her husband added two. [Footnote 1: See page 209.] + +"Mar Elias now kissed us much; he put nineteen korans into John's hand, +saying, 'As yet I have not grown indifferent.' And Mar Yohanan said, +with tears, 'The crown of the bride remains for me. I give thirty +tomans.' + +"In our village, besides the tithes, seventy tomans were collected, and +in the city two hundred and fifty. I hope the whole will go up to five +hundred or more. I stand amazed. I can think nothing but, 'I am a +miserable sinner.' The glorious God has gone before us in mercy. For +two or three years our village was going down; we were at variance and +in trouble; but Immanuel has met us with a blessing, a hundred fold +beyond our expectation. It is the beginning of a great work for future +generations. I know that the joy of heaven is awakened in the joy of +blessed Mr. Stocking and Mr. Stoddard. I want to fly to them and talk +with them about it, but this veil does not allow it. You, too, will +want to fly to the people that are so dear to you. I trust that this +pouring out of such a spirit will be the door of many blessings. We +have had a scarcity for seven years, so that wheat is six times its +former price. Our people are poor and sorely oppressed. From the depths +of their poverty they have given: I never knew them before. If all were +Christians, what might we not see? Perhaps the poor widows and orphans, +who have contributed for our good, have been discouraged; but truly +their gifts have not been sown in vain among our people. I believe at +the last day you will see fruit according to the word of Jesus--thirty, +sixty, and a hundred fold. The time is not far off when every converted +Nestorian will go to ten Mussulmen to teach them the word of God. + +"Pray for us more than ever, for many are the enemies of Nehemiah and +ruined Jerusalem. Our hope is in God. He has begun, and he will finish." + +The pledges then made have since been fulfilled, with very few +exceptions, and that not regretfully, but with a heartiness truly +affecting to those who knew their poverty. In July, 1861, the mission +resolved to furnish no teacher for a school--except in new +villages--where a part of his support was not assumed by the people. +The Barandooz congregation, in the spring of 1862, cheerfully assumed +the burden of their schools; and some have also expressed a readiness +to aid in the support of their pastors. A number of pupils, in both +Seminaries, contribute liberally towards their support. + +In bringing to a close these glimpses of the changes wrought by grace +among the Nestorians, we must not pass by the number of pious parents +who now aid the missionaries by their prayers. While, in the early days +of the Seminary, its teacher was left to pray alone for her pupils, +before she left, in 1858, she rejoiced to know that two thirds of them +had either a pious parent, or other member of the family, who prayed +for their salvation. + +One cold morning, in 1856, a pious mother walked three miles through +the snow, to inquire if there was any interest in the school. "Why do +you ask?" replied the teacher. "I have thought of you continually for +two or three days; and last night, after falling asleep, thinking about +you, I dreamed that God was visiting you by his Holy Spirit. So, when I +awoke, I arose and baked, and hurried here. I am so anxious about my +daughter! Can I see her?" She was told that her daughter was among the +inquirers the evening before, and sank down where she stood, weeping +for joy. The heart of the teacher grew strong in the feeling that the +mothers were wrestling with her. The mother passed into an adjoining +room to see her daughter; and a missionary brother, who came in just +then, could not restrain his tears as he listened to her earnest +intercessions, saying, "This is more to me than any thing I have seen +in Persia." After that year, some parents, when they came to the +Seminary, were never willing to leave till they had prayed with their +children. A father once wrote, "Yesterday I invited some Christian +friends to my house, and had three prayers offered for the school; and +while praying for you, we felt our own sins very much, and cried to God +to save us from their power." + +Nor were the pupils wanting in interest for their impenitent parents. +During the long vacation in 1850, Hanee, who used to spend several +hours a day in prayer for her mother, so pressed her with entreaties to +come to the Saviour, that one day she roughly replied, "Enough! Enough! +Stop your praying and weeping for me: you will weep yourself blind." "O +mother," was the beautiful reply, "it seems as though I would gladly +become blind, if thereby you might be brought to Jesus." + +Perhaps the effects of grace were nowhere more conspicuous than in the +effects it produced in those great households already described. Let us +first look in on the hinderances they occasioned to a life of piety. +Yonan writes, in his journal of March 7, 1858, "Widow Hatoon is a +devout woman, and tries to erect the family altar in her house; but it +is very difficult. She often collects the readers in the neighborhood +on Sabbath morning, to read the Bible with her family. I asked her, 'Do +you pray with your children? They have no father; they are left in your +hands, and God will require them of you again.' 'I do; but I find it +very hard in our house: we are all in one room, our beds very near each +other, and there is no separate chamber: when about to retire, I gather +them together behind a quilt, and talk and pray with them.'" + +Again he writes, "Hatoon, the wife of Sarhoosh, is a member of a large +family. Three of the women in the house, and one of their husbands, +fear God; but the older members of the household are very wicked, and +even violent in their opposition. She is much troubled about family +prayer. While the devout ones engage in worship at one end of the room, +the rest, at the other end, talk, laugh, and revile." + +Yet, even in such households, grace reveals its divine power. We find +Yonan putting this question to a communicant: "Do you and M. live +pleasantly together?" M. was her sister-in-law, in a household of more +than thirty souls. "She is a little quick tempered," was the reply; +"but I try not to trouble her, and to have our love perfect that we may +be a good example to the rest." Yonan prayed with her, and asked if he +could do any thing for her relatives. "Dear brother in Christ," she +replied, "in the name of the Lord Jesus, our precious Saviour, I beg +you to pray with my husband: it maybe God will bless him." "My sister, +God will bless him: this your anguish shall be turned into joy." "My +own heart was moved," adds the narrator. "I saw my own love very +little, compared with hers, and felt my unworthiness very much." + +The change in their social condition was beautifully illustrated by a +little incident in the Seminary, in 1849. One of the older pupils had +been betrothed; but when the ring of betrothal was brought, to be +placed on her finger, she could not be found. After long search, her +gentle voice was heard in the most retired part of the building, +imploring the blessing of God to abide with her in that new relation. +Only those who had seen the rioting and folly common on such occasions +could appreciate the change. + +The marriage of Mar Yohanan, in 1859, was a step in the work of lifting +up woman to her true position. Formerly, marriage had been deemed +something too unholy for a bishop; and the consequence was the general +degradation of the sex. The entrance of the gospel corrected public +sentiment on this point; and that act of the bishop only gave +expression to the popular conviction that marriage is honorable in all, +even the highest and holiest, nurturing some of the loveliest graces of +the Christian character. The event for a time caused some stir among +the enemies of the truth; but it soon died away, and the old ascetic +views of piety are passing away with the social degradation in which +they had their origin. + +About the same time Yohanan, whom we have seen laboring in the +mountains with his estimable wife, was ordained to the work of the +ministry without any of the mummeries that had been added to the simple +usage of the New Testament; the venerable Mar Elias uniting with the +missionaries in the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. Two +months later, six more of the most pious and best educated young men, +who had long deferred ordination through aversion to the old forms, +followed his example; among them our mountain friend Oshana, Deacon +John, of Geog Tapa, and Deacon Yakob, of Sapergan. Marriage ceremonies +and entertainments have long been improved, and the revelling of former +days on such occasions is going into deserved disuse among the more +enlightened. + +In the year 1858, the people of Memikan left off keeping their fasts, +on the ground that they tended to nullify salvation by grace through +Jesus Christ. Formerly this would have brought down on them, the wrath +of the patriarch, their village would have been devoted to plunder and +the torch, and themselves to death or exile; but now it caused scarce a +ripple on the current of events--not that men did not see the drift of +things, but they allowed it to have free course. + +There is another sign of the times that calls for more special mention. +Other missions in Western Asia had been forced by persecution to the +early formation of churches. They had to provide a fold for the lambs +driven from their former shelter. Here there had been no such +necessity; yet the converts longed for a more spiritual observance of +gospel ordinances. + +The mission had hitherto celebrated the Lord's supper by themselves, +and with one or two exceptions, no Nestorian had witnessed its +observance. There had been some thought of admitting them; but nothing +had been done, till, in the spring of 1854, three of the converts, who +had been reading an English treatise on the subject, asked one of the +ladies of the mission to intercede with the gentlemen to allow them to +be present. She informed Mr. Stoddard of their request, and he +encouraged them to go forward. The matter was laid before the mission, +and it was concluded that a few of those judged most fit for admission +to the ordinance should be invited to partake. + +The first communion to which the converts were admitted was celebrated +in September, 1854, in the large room on the lower floor of the Female +Seminary. Eleven Nestorians partook with the missionaries, and three of +them were women, who had graduated there. After the service, some of +the men went up stairs and sat down without speaking. Miss Fiske, not +knowing the cause of their silence, and fearing lest they might have +been disappointed by the simplicity of our forms, did not venture to +allude to the subject, till one of them asked, "Is it always, so when +you commune, or was this an unusual occasion?" "Why, did you not enjoy +it?" "Not enjoy it! Jesus Christ himself seemed almost visibly present; +it was difficult to realize that it was not the Saviour in person who +presided at the table. It must have been just such a scene when the +ordinance was first instituted in Jerusalem; and I could not get rid of +the inquiry, 'Shall one of us go out like Judas and betray him?'" It is +a significant fact that those most accustomed to mediaeval forms, when +regenerated by the Spirit, relish them the least; and the more +spiritual they become, the more they crave the simple forms of the New +Testament, because they draw the least attention to themselves, and fix +it most completely on the Saviour. + +In January, 1855, as many as seventy of the converts, after careful +examination, were allowed to partake; and once every four months the +privilege was renewed, with an accession of from twelve to thirty +communicants each time. These were occasions of unusual interest. +Several days were devoted to religious meetings, and even in midwinter +pious people made long journeys, and crossed bleak mountains on the +snow, to attend them. One woman, Hoimar, of Salmas,[1] travelled sixty +miles, through deep snow and piercing cold, to be present at this +ordinance in January, 1858. [Footnote 1: See page 171.] + +In June of that year, the better to distinguish those entitled to this +privilege, before the sacrament all entered together into solemn +covenant with God. The whole number received up to that time was two +hundred and forty-nine; at the close of 1861, it had swelled to five +hundred. As the meetings became too unwieldy, and it was inconvenient +for so many to come so far, the ordinance was administered at Seir +also, in September, 1858; and here providentially another end was +secured, for as Dr. Wright was then too sick to distribute the +elements, some of the natives had to perform that service. In June +following, a very interesting communion was observed at Memikan; +Yohanan and his wife crossing a high mountain, even then covered with +snow, to bring their little child for baptism. Next year, the ordinance +was celebrated in every village where there was a sufficient number of +hopeful converts to justify its observance. Thus has God led his +people, step by step, in a way that they knew not, till now there are +all the essentials of a church at every place where God has raised up +members of the body of Christ. They enter into covenant with him and +with each other. They keep his ordinances, and grow in grace, in +knowledge, and in numbers. They may take one step farther. Since this +last sentence was written, the converted Nestorians have proceeded even +to the adoption of a creed and directory for worship. + +Did the limits of this volume allow, it would be pleasant to dwell at +length on the labors of Miss Mary Susan Rice, who joined Miss Fiske in +November, 1847, and has ever since toiled diligently, and without +interruption, at her post. Since the return of Miss Fiske she has +entered into all her labors, both thoroughly and successfully. Her +fifteen years of toil will never be forgotten by those who have been +privileged to receive her instructions, both in and out of the +Seminary. They form an important part of the instrumentalities God has +employed to bring woman in Persia to the knowledge of her Saviour. A +mass of her correspondence now lies before the writer, which he has +read with much interest; but to quote from it would only be, +reproducing scenes already portrayed. It is not necessary to describe +the laying of each course of brick in the walls of the spiritual temple. + +One sentence, however, now arrests my eye, which I must quote, because +it shows how the Saviour was preparing her for the sole care of the +school, that has devolved on her ever since, owing to the protracted +illness of Miss Aura J. Beach, who was sent out to her assistance in +February, 1860. Writing to her predecessor, three years ago, she says, +"O, what a relief to roll the burdens, which we cannot bear, upon the +strong arm outstretched to help, and feel that, like sinking Peter, we +shall be sustained amid raging billows!" + +Labor among the Nestorians is becoming more assimilated to labor at +home. Instead of the national peculiarities conspicuous at the outset, +different from our own, and prominent because so different, things +begin to move in familiar orbits, because they set out from similar +conditions and tend to like results. In proportion as the gospel +advances in its work, the distinguishing characteristics of a people +fall into the background, to give place to those spiritual features +common to the work of grace in every land. The river is most +picturesque high up among the mountains, while its stream is yet small +and many obstacles oppose its course; after it glides out from among +the hills into the open plain, it moves with larger volume, but in a +more monotonous current, to the sea. + +May the work of God advance, till this unity of all nations in Jesus +Christ shall every where replace the diversity and hostility under +which to-day creation groans, till in the placid surface of such a +river of life the Saviour shall see his own image reflected, as it is +from the sea of glass above! + + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Woman And Her Saviour In Persia, by +A Returned Missionary + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WOMAN AND HER SAVIOUR IN PERSIA *** + +***** This file should be named 8699.txt or 8699.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/8/6/9/8699/ + +Produced by Charles Aldarondo, Tiffany Vergon, and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: Woman And Her Saviour In Persia + +Author: A Returned Missionary + +Release Date: August, 2005 [EBook #8699] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on August 2, 2003] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WOMAN AND HER SAVIOUR IN PERSIA *** + + + + +Produced by Charles Aldarondo, Tiffany Vergon, +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + +[Illustration: PLAIN OF OROOMIAH, FROM THE SEMINARY AT SEIR.] + + + + +WOMAN AND HER SAVIOUR IN PERSIA. + +BY + +A RETURNED MISSIONARY. + + +With + +Fine Illustrations, and a Map of Nestorian Country. + + + + +PREFACE. + +Our Saviour bade his disciples gather up the fragments, that nothing +be lost; and many who have known of Miss Fiske's fifteen years of +labor for woman in Persia, have desired her to prepare for +publication the facts now presented to the reader. The writer was +one of these; and it was only when he found that she could not do +it, that he attempted it, in accordance with her wishes, simply that +these interesting records of divine grace might not be lost. + +The materials have been drawn from the letters and conversations of +those familiar with the scenes described, and especially from Miss +Fiske. In all cases, the language of others has been condensed, as +much as is consistent, with the truthful expression of their ideas; +and, in the translation of the letters of Nestorians, it has not +been deemed essential to follow slavishly every Syriac idiom, for, +instead of these letters owing their interest, as some have +supposed, to their translators, they may have sometimes rather +suffered from renderings needlessly idiomatic. + +It was at one time proposed to embrace the history of both the Male +and Female Seminaries, but the proposition came too late, and the +memoir of the lamented Stoddard gives so full an account of the +former, that now we need to hear only the story of its less known +companion; but let the reader bear in mind that as much might have +been said of the one as of the other, had the design been to give an +account of both. + +A strict adherence to the order of events in the following pages +would have produced a series of disjointed annals. To avoid such a +breaking up of the narrative, each subject has been treated in full +whenever introduced, though that has involved a freedom somewhat +independent of chronological order. + +The notices of the revivals are mere incidental sketches. Their +complete history remains to be written. + +The beautiful Illustrations introduced are all new, copied from +sketches taken on the spot by the skillful pencil of a dear +missionary brother, whose modesty, though it will not consent to the +mention of his name, yet cannot prevent a grateful sense of his +kindness. The Map is an improvement on others previously published, +and, besides adding to our geographical knowledge, will be found +valuable to the friends of missions. + +If the readers of these pages enjoy but a small part of the delight +found in their preparation, the writer will not regret his +undertaking. May the day be hastened when heaven shall repeat the +hosannas of a regenerated world, even as now the abundant grace +bestowed upon the Nestorians redounds, through the thanksgiving of +many, to the glory of God. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +CHAPTER I. + +WOMAN WITHOUT THE GOSPEL. + +POLITICAL CONDITION.--NESTORIAN HOUSES.--VERMIN.--SICKNESS.--POSITION +AND ESTIMATION OF WOMAN.--NO READERS AMONG THEM.--UNLOVELY SPIRIT.--SINS +OF THE TONGUE.--PROFANITY.--LYING.--STEALING.--STORY ABOUT +PINS.--IMPURITY.--MOSLEM INTERFERENCE WITH SEMINARY. + + +CHAPTER II. + +MARBEESHOO. + +VISIT THERE.--NATIVE ACCOMMODATIONS.--HOSPITALITY OF SENUM.--MOHAMMEDAN +WOMEN. + + +CHAPTER III. + +THE SCENE OF THE NARRATIVE. + +NESTORIANS.--THEIR COUNTRY.--FRONTISPIECE.--LAKE.--PLAIN.--FORDING +THE SHAHER.--MISSION PREMISES IN OROGMIAH. + + +CHAPTER IV. + +MISSIONARY EDUCATION. + +OBJECT.--MEANS.--STUDY OF BIBLE.--PUPILS KEPT IN SYMPATHY WITH THE +PEOPLE.--PEOPLE STIMULATED TO EXERTION AND SELF-DEPENDENCE.-- +TAHITI.--MADAGASCAR. + + +CHAPTER V. + +BEGINNINGS. + +MRS. GRANT.--EARLY LIFE AND LABORS.--GREAT INFLUENCE.--HER SCHOOL.--HER +PUPILS.--BOARDING SCHOOL.--GETTING PUPILS.--CARE OP THEM.--POVERTY OF +PEOPLE.--PAYING FOR FOOD OF SCHOLARS.--POSITION OF UNMARRIED MISSIONARY +LADIES.--BOOKS. + + +CHAPTER VI. + +THE SEMINARY. + +MAR YOHANAN.--STANDARD OF SCHOLARSHIP.--ENGLISH BOOKS READ IN +SYRIAC.--EXPENSE.--FEELINGS OF PARENTS.--DOMESTIC DEPARTMENT.--DAILY +REPORTS.--PICTURE OF A WEEK DAY AND SABBATH.--"IF YOU LOVE ME, LEAN +HARD."--ESLI'S JOURNAL.--LETTER FROM PUPILS TO MOUNT HOLYOKE +SEMINARY--FROM THE SAME TO MRS. C.T. MILLS. + + +CHAPTER VII. + +VACATION SCENES. + +IN GAWAR AND ISHTAZIN.--VILLAGES OF MEMIKAN.--OOREYA, DARAWE, AND +SANAWAR.--IN GAVALAN.--ACCOMMODATIONS.--SABBATH SCHOOL. + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +EARLY LABORS FOR WOMEN. + +FIRST MEETINGS WITH THEM.--FIRST CONVERT.--FIRST LESSONS.--WILD +WOMEN OF ARDISHAI. + + +CHAPTER IX. + +FRUITS OF LABOR IN NESTORIAN HOMES. + +USEFULNESS AMONG RELATIVES OF PUPILS.--DEACON GUWERGIS.--REFORMED +DRUNKARD AND HIS DAUGHTER.--MATERNAL MEETINGS.--EARLY INQUITIES FROM +GEOG TAPA.--PARTING ADDRESS OF MR. HOLLADAY.--.VISIT TO GEOG TAPA.--SELBY +AND HER CLOSET. + + +CHAPTER X. + +GEOG TAPA. + +DEACON MURAD KHAN IN 1846.--PENTECOSTAL SABBATH IN 1849.--MEETINGS +IN 1850 AND 1854.--EXTRACTS FROM JOURNAL OF YONAN IN 1858. + + +CHAPTER XI. + +REVIVAL IN 1846. + +PREPARATORY WORK.--SANCTIFIED AFFLICTIONS.--NAME FOR REVIVAL.--SCENES +IN THE SEMINARIES IN JANUARY.--DEACON JOHN, SANUM, AND SARAH.--MR. +STODDARD.--YACOB.--YONAN.--MEETING IN THE BETHEL.--PRIEST ESHOO.--DEACON +TAMO.--PHYSICAL EXCITEMENT AND ITS CURE.--ARTLESS SIMPLICITY OF +CONVERTS.--MISSIONARY BOX.--MEETINGS BEFORE VACATION.--MR. STODDARD'S +LABORS.--FEMALE PRAYER MEETING.--REVIVAL IN THE AUTUMN. + + +CHAPTER XII. + +FIRST FRUITS. + +SARAH, DAUGHTER OF PRIEST ESHOO.--MARTHA.--HANNAH. + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +SUBSEQUENT REVIVALS. + +DEACON JOHN STUDYING BACKSLIDING IN 1849.--WORK IN VILLAGE OF +SEIR.--WIVES OF SIYAD AND YONAN.--KHANUMJAN.--WOMEN AT THE +SEMINARY.--GEOG TAPA.--DEGALA.--A PENITENT.--SIN OF ANGER,--REVIVAL +IN 1856.--MISS FISKE ENCOURAGED,--STILLNESS AND DEEP FEELING.--UNABLE +TO SING.--CONVERSION OF MISSIONARY CHILDREN.--VISIT OF ENGLISH +AMBASSADOR.--REVIVAL OF 1857.--LETTER OF SANUM. + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +DARK DAYS. + +SEMINARY BROKEN UP IN 1844.--DEACON ISAAC.--PERSECUTION BY MAR +SHIMON.--FUNERAL OF DAUGHTER OF PRIEST ESHOO.--DEACON GUWERGIS.--ATTEMPT +AT ABDUCTION OF PUPIL.--PERIL OF SCHOOL.--MRS. HARRIET STODDARD.--YAHYA +KHAN.--ANARCHY.--LETTER FROM BARILO. + + +CHAPTER XV. + +TRIALS. + +EVIL INFLUENCE OF HOMES.--OPPOSITION IN DEGALA.--ASKER KHAN.--POISONING +OF SANUM'S CHILDREN.--REDRESS REFUSED.--INQUISITOR IN SCHOOL.--TROUBLES +AT KHOSRAWA.--LETTERS FROM HOIMAR. + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +PRAYERFULNESS. + +LANGUAGE OP PRAYER.--PRAYER ON HORSEBACK.--OLD MAN IN SUPERGAN.--MAR +OGEN.--EARNESTNESS.--FAREWELL PRAYER MEETING IN 1858.--LETTER FROM +PUPIL.--SPIRIT OF PRAYER IN 1846.--WOMAN WHO COULD NOT PRAY,--"CHRIST +BECOME BEAUTIFUL."--CLOSET IN THE MANGER.--MONTHLY CONCERTS.-- +PRAYERFULNESS IN 1849 AND 1850.--SABBATH, JANUARY 20TH.--INTEREST +CONTINUED TILL CLOSE OF TERM.--FAMILY MEETINGS.--AUDIBLE PRAYER.-ANSWER +TO MOTHERS' PRAYERS.--CONNECTION OF REVIVALS WITH PRAYER AT +HOME. + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +FORERUNNERS. + +MOUNTAIN GIRLS IN SEMINARY.--PRAYING SARAH.--RETURN TO THE +MOUNTAINS.--VISIT OF YONAN AND KHAMIS, IN 1850.--OF MR. COAN, 1851.--OF +YONAN, AGAIN, 1861.--SARAH'S LETTERS. + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +LABORERS IN THE MOUNTAINS. + +LETTER OF BADAL.--ACCOUNT OP HANNAH.--THE PIT.--LETTER OF GULY AND +YOHANAN.--ACCOUNT OF SARAH.--LETTERS OF OSHANA.--LETTERS AND JOURNAL +OF SARAH,--LETTERS FROM AMADIA,--CONFERENCE OF NATIVE HELPERS. + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +EBENEZERS. + +EXAMINATION IN 1850.--COLLATION AND ADDRESS.--VALEDICTORY BY SANUM.-- +SABBATH SCHOOL IN GEOG TAPA.--EXAMINATION THERE IN 1854.--PRAYER +MEETING AND COMMUNION AT OROGMIAH, MAY, 1858.--SELBY, OF GAVALAN, +AND LETTER.--LETTER FROM HATOON, OF GEOG TAPA. + + +CHAPTER XX. + +COMPOSITIONS. + +THE FIELD OF CLOVER.--THE LOST SOUL.--THE SAVED SOUL.--HANNAH. + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +KIND OFFICES. + +HOSPITALITY OF NESTORIANS.--KINDNESS OF PUPILS.--BATHING FEET.--LETTERS +OF GOZEL, HANEE, SANUM OF GAWAR, MUNNY, RAHEEL, AND MARTA.--HOSHEBO.-- +RAHEEL TO MRS. FISKE.--MOURNING FOR THE DEAD.--NAZLOO.--HOSHEBO'S +BEREAVEMENT.--DEATH OF MISSIONARY CHILDREN.--LETTER FROM SARAH, +DAUGHTER OF JOSEPH. + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +PROGRESS AND PROMISE. + +BENEVOLENCE, EARLY MANIFESTATION OF.--PROGRESS.--REVIVAL OF +BENEVOLENCE IN APRIL, 1861.--INTEREST OF PARENTS FOR THE CONVERSION +OF THEIR CHILDEREN.--PEACE IN FAMILIES.--REFORMED MARRIAGES.-- +ORDINATIONS.--COMMUNION SEASONS.--MISS RICE AND MISS BEACH.--CONCLUSION. + + + + * * * * * + +_List of Illustrations._ + +I. PLAIN AND LAKE OF OROOMIAH, AS SEEN FROM ROOF OF SEMINARY AT SEIR + +II. MAP OF THE NESTORIAN COUNTRY. + +III. FEMALE SEMINARY. + +IV. TENTS. + +V. MISSIONARY SCENE IN TURGAWER. + +VI. COURT YARD OF SEMINARY. + +VII. SEIR GATE, OROOMIAH. + +VIII. TIARY GIRL. + + + + +WOMAN AND HER SAVIOUR. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + +WOMAN WITHOUT THE GOSPEL. + +POLITICAL CONDITION.--NESTORIAN HOUSES.--VERMIN.--SICKNESS.--POSITION +AND ESTIMATION OF WOMAN.--NO READERS AMONG THEM.--UNLOVELY +SPIRIT.--SINS OF THE TONGUE.--PROFANITY.--LYING.--STEALING.--STORY +ABOUT PINS.--IMPURITY.--MOSLEM INTERFERENCE WITH SEMINARY. + +We love to wander over a well-kept estate. Its green meadows and +fruitful fields delight the eye. Its ripening harvests make us feel +as if we too were wealthy. But while the view of what lies before us +is so pleasant, our joy is greater if we can remember when it was +all a wilderness, and contrast its present beauty with the roughness +of its former state. + +So, in viewing the wonders of divine grace, we need to see its +results in connection with what has been. We can appreciate the +loveliness of the child of God only as we compare him with the child +of wrath he was before. Paul not only recounts the great things +which God had done for the early disciples, but bids them remember +that they were once without Christ; and before he tells them that +God had made them "sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus," +he reminds them that they had "walked according to the spirit that +now worketh in the children of disobedience." + +In seeking, then, to set forth the great things which God has done +for woman in Persia, let us first look on her as his gospel found +her, that we may better appreciate the grace which wrought the +change. + +We can understand the condition of woman in that empire only as we +bear in mind that its government is despotic, and that no +constitutional safeguards shield the subjects of a thoroughly +selfish and profligate nobility. The Nestorians, too, are marked out +alike by religion and nationality as victims of oppression. However +great their wrongs, they can hope for little redress, for a distant +court shares in the plunder taken from them, and believes its own +officials rather than the despised rayahs, whom they oppress. Even +when foreign intervention procures some edict in their favor, these +same officials, in distant Oroomiah, are at no loss to evade its +demands. + +The Nestorian is not allowed a place in the bazaar;[1] he cannot +engage in commerce. And in the mechanic arts, he cannot aspire +higher than the position of a mason or carpenter; which, of course, +is not to be compared to the standing of the same trades among us. +When our missionaries went to Oroomiah, a decent garment on a +Nestorian was safe only as it had an outer covering of rags to hide +it. +[Footnote 1: The bazaar is, literally, the market, but denotes the +business part of a city.] + +In their language, as in Arabic, the missionaries found no word for +_home;_ and there was no need of it, for the thing itself was +wanting. The house consisted of one large room and was generally +occupied by several generations. In that one room all the work of +the family was performed. There they ate, and there they slept. The +beds consisted of three articles--a thick comfortable filled with +wool or cotton beneath, a pillow, and one heavy quilt for covering. +On rising, they "took up their beds," and piled them on a wooden +frame, and spread them down again at night. The room was lighted by +an opening in the roof, which also served for a chimney; though, of +course, in a very imperfect manner, as the inside of every dwelling +that has stood for any length of time bears witness. The upper part +of the walls and the under surface of the roof--we can hardly call +it ceiling--fairly glitter, as though they had been painted black +and varnished, and every article of clothing, book, or household +utensil, is saturated with the smell of creosote. The floor, like +the walls, is of earth, covered in part with coarse straw mats and +pieces of carpeting; and the flat roof, of the same material, rests +on a layer of sticks, supported by large beams; the mass above, +however, often sifts through, and sometimes during a heavy rain +assumes the form of a shower of mud. Bad as all this may seem, the +houses are still worse in the mountain districts, such as Gawar. +There they are half under ground, made of cobble stones laid up +against the slanting sides of the excavation, and covered by a +conical roof with a hole in the centre. They contain, besides the +family, all the implements of husbandry, the cattle, and the flocks. +These last occupy "the sides of the house" (1 Sam. xxiv. 3), and +stand facing the "decana," or raised place in the centre, which is +devoted to the family. As wood is scarce in the mountains, and the +climate severe, the animal heat of the cattle is a substitute for +fuel, except as sun-baked cakes of manure are used once a day for +cooking, as is the practice also on the plain. In such houses the +buffaloes sometimes break loose and fight furiously, and instances +are not rare when they knock down the posts on which the roof rests, +and thus bury all in one common ruin. + +The influence of such family arrangements, even in the more favored +villages of the plain, on manners and morality, need not be told. It +is equally evident that in such circumstances personal tidiness is +impossible, though few in our favored land have any idea of the +extent of such untidiness. If the truth must be told, vermin abound +in most of these houses; the inmates are covered not only with +fleas, but from head to foot they are infested with the third plague +of Egypt. (Ex. viii. 16-19). This last is a constant annoyance in +many parts of Turkey as well as Persia. If one lodges in the native +houses, there is no refuge from them, and only an entire change of +clothing affords relief when he returns to his own home; even there +the divans have to be sedulously examined after the departure of +visitors, that the plague do not spread. The writer has known +daughters of New England, ready for almost any self-denial, burst +into tears when first brought into contact with this. + +At first, the teachers of the Female Seminary in Oroomiah had to +cleanse their pupils very thoroughly, and were glad thus to purify +the outside, while beseeching Christ to cleanse the heart. Each one, +on her first arrival, had to be separately cared for, lest the enemy +should recover ground from which he had already been driven with +much labor. Missionary publications do not usually tell of such +trials, but those who drew the lambs from the deep pit, loved them +all the more tenderly for having gone down into it themselves, that +thence they might bring them to Jesus. Such trials are less common +now, for it is generally understood that a degree of personal +cleanliness is an indispensable requisite for admission to the +Seminary; but such a demand, at that time, would have rendered the +commencement of the school impossible. + +The pupils became much improved in personal appearance, and some of +their simple-hearted mothers really thought their children had grown +very pretty under their teachers' care. So, as many of them were +strangers to the cleansing properties of water, they would ask again +and again, "How do you make them so white?" + +But if such houses were comfortless abodes for those in health, what +were they for the sick? Think of one in a burning fever, perhaps +delirious, lying in such a crowd. In winter, there they must remain, +for there is no other place, and in summer, they are often laid +under a tree in the day time, and carried up to the flat roof, with +the rest of the family, at night. + +Dr. Perkins, in the early part of his missionary life, tells us that +in a village the family room was given up to him for the night, and +in the morning he found a little son had been born in the stable. He +supposed that he had been the unwitting cause of such an event +occurring there; but longer acquaintance with the people shows that +woman almost invariably resorts to that place in her hour of sorrow, +and there she often dies. The number who meet death in this form is +very large. + +In Persia, as in other unevangelized countries, women spend their +days in out-door labor. They weed the cotton, and assist in pruning +the vines and gathering the grapes. They go forth in the morning, +bearing not only their implements of husbandry, but also their babes +in the cradle; and returning in the evening, they prepare their +husband's supper, and set it before him, but never think of eating +themselves till after he is done. One of the early objections the +Nestorians made to the Female Seminary was, that it would disqualify +their daughters for their accustomed toil. In after years, woman +might be seen carrying her spelling-book to the field, along with +her Persian hoe, little dreaming that she was thus taking the first +step towards the substitution of the new implement for the old. + +Nestorian parents used to consider the birth of a daughter a great +calamity. When asked the number of their children, they would count +up their sons, and make no mention of their daughters. The birth of +a son was an occasion for great joy and giving of gifts. Neighbors +hastened to congratulate the happy father, but days might elapse +before the neighborhood knew of the birth of a daughter. It was +deemed highly improper to inquire after the health of a wife, and +the nearest approach to it was to ask after the welfare of the house +or household. Formerly, a man never called his wife by name, but in +speaking of her would say, "the mother of so and so," giving the +name of her child; or, "the daughter of so and so," giving the name +of her father; or, simply "that woman" did this or that. Nor did the +wife presume to call her husband's name, or to address him in the +presence of his parents, who, it will be borne in mind, lived in the +same apartment. They were married very young, often at the age of +fourteen, and without any consultation of their own preference, +either as to time or person. + +There was hardly a man among the Nestorians who did not beat his +wife. The women expected to be beaten, and took it as a matter of +course. As the wife lived with the husband's father, it was not +uncommon for him to beat both son and daughter-in-law. When the men +wished to talk together of any thing important, they usually sent +the women out of doors or to the stable, as unable to understand, or +unfit to be trusted. In some cases, this might be a necessary +precaution; for the absence of true affection; and the frequency of +domestic broils, rendered the wife an unsafe depositary of any +important family affair. The same causes often led the wife to +appropriate to her own foolish gratification any money of her +husband she could lay hands on, regardless of family necessities. +Women whose tastes led them to load themselves with beads, silver, +baser metal, and rude trinkets, would not be likely to expend money +very judiciously. + +In 1835, the only Nestorian woman that knew how to read was Heleneh, +the sister of Mar Shimon; and when others were asked if they would +not like to learn, with a significant shrug they would reply, "I am +a woman." They had themselves no more desire to learn than the men +had to have them taught. Indeed, the very idea of a woman reading +was regarded as an infringement of female modesty and propriety. + +It is a little curious, and shows how we adapt ourselves to our +situation, that the women were as unwilling to receive attention +from their husbands as they were to render it. Several years after +the arrival of Miss Fiske in Oroomiah, the wife of one of her +assistants visited the Seminary, and on leaving to return to her +village, the teacher, in the kindness of her heart, proposed to the +husband to go and assist her to carry the child. She seemed as if +she had been insulted in being thought unable to carry it, and sent +her husband back from the door in any thing but a gracious mood, +leaving the good teacher half bewildered and half amused at this +reception of her intended kindness. + +Indeed, until some of them were converted, all that was lovely and +of good report in woman was entirely wanting. They were trodden +down, but at the same time exceedingly defiant and imperious. If +they were not the "head," it was not because they did not "strive +for the mastery." They seemed to have no idea of self-control; their +bursts of passion were awful. The number of women who reverenced +their husbands was as small as the list of husbands who did not beat +their wives. Says Miss Fiske, in writing to a friend, "I felt pity +for my poor sisters before going among them, but anguish when, from +actual contact with them, I realized how very low they were. I did +not want to leave them, but I did ask, Can the image of Christ ever +be reflected from such hearts? They would come and tell me their +troubles, and fall down at my feet, begging me to deliver them from +their husbands. They would say, 'You are sent by our holy mother, +Mary, to help us;' and do not think me hard-hearted when I tell you +that I often said to them, 'Loose your hold of my feet; I did not +come to deliver you from your husbands, but to show you how to be so +good that you can be happy with them.' Weeping, they would say, +'Have mercy on us; if not, we must kill ourselves.' I had no fear of +their doing that, so I would seat them at my side, and tell them of +my own dear father,--how good he was; but he was always _obeyed_. +They would say, 'We could obey a good man.' 'But I am very sure you +would not have been willing to obey my father.' + +"It is one thing to pray for our degraded sisters while in America, +but quite another to raise them from their low estate. When I saw +their true character, I found that I needed a purer, holier love for +them than I had ever possessed. It was good for me to see that +_I_ could do nothing, and it was comforting to think that Jesus +had talked with just such females as composed the mass around me, +and that afterwards many believed because of one such woman." + +Sometimes the revilings of the women were almost equalled by similar +talk among the men, as in a village of Gawar, where they said, "We +would not receive a priest or deacon here who could not swear well, +and lie too." In the same village, a young man spoke favorably of +Mr. Coan's preaching in Jeloo. Instantly a woman called out, "And +have you heard those deceivers preach?" "Yes," was the reply, "both +last year and this, and hope I shall again." Hearing this, her eyes +flashed, and drawing her brawny arms into the form of a dagger, with +a vengeful thrust of her imaginary weapon, she cried, "The blood of +thy father smite thee, thou Satan!" and dreadful was the volley of +oaths and curses that followed. Yet she was only a fair specimen of +the village. + +We of the calmer West do not know what it is to have a mob of such +women come forth in their wrath. In one town was a virago, who +often, single-handed, faced down and drove off Moslem tax-gatherers +when the men fled in terror. No one who has ever heard the stinging +shrillness of their tongues, or looked on their frenzied gestures, +can ever forget them, or wonder why the ancients painted the Furies +in the form of women. Words cannot portray the excitement of such a +scene. The hair of the frantic actors is streaming in the wind; +stones and clods seem only embodiments of the unearthly yells and +shrieks that fill the air; and yet it was such beings that grace +made to be "last at the cross and first at the sepulchre." + +The East is notorious for profanity, and among the Nestorians women +were as profane as men. The pupils in the Seminary at first used to +swear, and use the vilest language on the slightest provocation. +Poor, blind Martha, on her death bed, in her own father's house, was +constantly cursed and reviled. She was obliged sometimes to cover +her head with the quilt, and stop her ears, to secure an opportunity +to pray for her profane and abusive brother; and though, in such +circumstances, she died before her prayers were answered, yet they +were heard, for he afterwards learned to serve his sister's God. "Do +you think people will believe me," said a pupil to her teacher, who +was reproving her for profanity, "if I do not repeat the name of God +very often?" + +Lying was almost as common as profanity, and stealing quite as +prevalent as either. It was a frequent remark, "We all lie here; do +you think we could succeed in business without it?" + +In the early days of the Seminary, nothing was safe except under +lock and key. Sometimes there seemed to be a dawn of improvement, +and next, all the buttons would be missing from the week's washing, +and the teacher was pretty sure to find that her own pupils were the +thieves. Miss Rice tells of one, amply supplied with every thing by +her parents, yet noted for her thefts. Indeed, sons and daughters +were alike trained to such practices. In 1843, Miss Fiske could not +keep a pin in her pin-cushion; little fingers took them as often as +she turned away, and lest she should tempt them to lie, she avoided +questioning them, unless her own eye had seen the theft. No wonder +she wrote, "I feel very weak, and were it not that Christ has loved +these souls, I should be discouraged; but he has loved them, and he +loves them still." If the pins were found with the pupils, the +answer was ready--"We found them," or, "You gave them to us;" and +nothing could be proved. But one summer evening, just before the +pupils were to pass through her room to their beds on the flat roof, +knowing that none of that color could be obtained elsewhere, the +teacher put six black pins in her cushion, and stepped out till they +had passed. As soon as they were gone, she found the pins gone too, +and at once called them back. She told them of her loss, but none +knew any thing about it. She showed them that no one else had been +there, and therefore they must know. Six pairs of little hands were +lifted up, as they said, "God knows we have not got them;" but this +only called forth the reply, "I think that God knows you have got +them," and she searched each one carefully, without finding them. +She then proposed to kneel down where they stood, and ask God to +show where they were, adding, "He may not see it best to show me +now, but he will do it some time." She laid the matter before the +Lord, and, just as they rose from their knees, remembered that she +had not examined their cloth caps. She now proposed to examine them, +and one pair of hands went right up to her cap. Of course she was +searched first, and there were the six pins, so nicely concealed in +its folds that nothing was visible but their heads. This incident +did much good. The pupils looked on the discovery as an answer to +prayer, and so did their teacher. They began to be afraid to steal +when God so exposed their thefts, and she was thankful for an answer +so immediate. The offender is now a pious, useful woman. + +Yet some were so accustomed to falsehood, that, even after +conversion, it cost a struggle to be entirely truthful, and +missionaries could see, as Christians in our own land cannot see, +why an apostle should write to the regenerate, "Lie not one to +another." The teacher labored to impress her charge with the +sinfulness of such conduct, but in the revival of 1846, they seemed +to learn more in one hour than she had taught them in the two years +preceding. Yet that faithful instruction was not lost. It was the +fuel which the Spirit of God kindled into a flame. The sower has not +labored in vain because the seed lies for days buried in the soil. + +In that revival, the awakened hastened to restore what they had +stolen. One came to Miss Fiske in great distress, saying, "Do you +remember the day, two years ago, when Sawdee's new shoes were taken +from the door?"--They leave off their shoes on entering a house.--"Yes, +I recollect it." "You thought a Moslem woman stole them, but"--and +here her feelings overcame her--"I took them, for I was angry with +her, and threw them into a well. What shall I do? I know Christ will +not receive me till I have confessed it to her. Can I go and confess +it to-night, and pray with her, and then may I go and work for money +to replace them?" She paid for the shoes, and became a bright light +in her dark home. There were many such cases, and from that time the +teachers had little trouble from theft. New pupils would sometimes +steal, but the older ones were ready to detect them, and show them +a more excellent way. Miss Fiske says of this, "The frequent visits +of the Holy Spirit have removed an evil which mocked my efforts. God +made me feel my utter helplessness, and then he did the work." That +same term there was but one case of theft in the Male Seminary, +though formerly it was not infrequent there. + +In reference to transgressions of the seventh commandment, much +detail is not expedient. It is sufficient to say, that the first +impressions of earlier missionaries respecting the purity of +Nestorian women were not sustained by subsequent acquaintance. The +farther they went beneath the surface of things, the more they found +of corruption. One might go to Persia supposing that he knew a good +deal of the degradation of the people, and yet really know very +little of the pit into which he was descending. + +A seminary gathering together such a company of young females, was a +new thing in Persia, and it will readily be conceived that amid a +Mohammedan community it was an object of peculiar solicitude to its +guardians. Many a Moslem eye was on those girls, as the results of a +religious education appeared in their manners, their dress, and +personal beauty. In one instance, an officer of government attempted +to take one of them to his harem, but God thwarted his purpose +through the interference of the English consul. Similar dangers +threatened from other sources, and eternity alone will reveal the +burden of care and watchfulness they involved. If only one pupil had +been led astray, what a hopeless loss of confidence would have +followed among the people! In the early years of the institution, +when parents could hardly be persuaded to trust their daughters out +of their sight for a single night, it might have broken up the whole +enterprise; but in this matter, also, God showed himself the hearer +of prayer, and not one danger of the kind was ever allowed to be +more than an occasion for renewed intercession, and more confiding +dependence on his gracious care. Sometimes, in vacation, it seemed +strange to its guardians that they had no longer a fold to protect, +and could retire to rest free from that anxious solicitude that +sometimes drove sleep from their eyes. + +It is not in the beginning of missionary life that all these things +are understood: they are learned gradually. This is wisely ordered, +that the missionary be not discouraged at the outset. Strength is +given each day to meet new trials as they come, and it would not be +leaving a truthful impression on the reader, if, at the close of +this description of what has been, it should not be recorded, to the +praise of divine grace, that a great change has taken place. There +are many to-day to whom the missionary may say, "Such were some of +you; but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified +in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." Not +only do some who stole steal no more, but many young husbands now +provide separate apartments for the bride whom they bring home, and +they need all that the word "home" expresses to describe their +mutual joy. The hour of suffering is anticipated by a considerate +affection, and that affection is so reciprocated that many hearts +safely trust in the daughters of the Female Seminary of Oroomiah. + +It is not merely education that has wrought this change, but a Bible +education. Paul cared for just such converts, and left divine +teachings for the use of those who should come after him in the same +work. As a young wife said to her teacher one day, after she had +been talking with her about her new duties, "I thank you; you are +right. I am glad that you have told me what Paul says, and I think +that God has told you the same thing." Many a graduate might say, +with another, "I thank you for your instructions, and as I look on +the trials of ungodly families, every drop of my blood thanks you." + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + +MARBEESHOO. + +VISIT THERE.--NATIVE ACCOMMODATIONS.--HOSPITALITY OF SENUM.-- +MOHAMMEDAN WOMEN. + +The following account of Miss Fiske's visit to Marbeeshoo, in +November, 1847, presents a vivid picture of things as they were, and +the Christian thoughtfulness of one who had learned a more excellent +way:-- + +"As we sat at dinner a few days since, Mr. Stocking proposed that I +spend the Sabbath with him at Marbeeshoo. I said at once, 'I cannot +leave my school.' But he forthwith called Sanum, Sarah, and Moressa, +my oldest girls, and asked them if they did not love souls in +Marbeeshoo well enough to take good care of school, and let me be +absent till Tuesday. They were delighted to think of my going where +no missionary lady had ever been, and said, 'We will do all we can +for the girls, and we will pray for you, if you will only go and try +to do those poor women good.' It was hardly two o'clock before we +were on horseback. Marbeeshoo is about fifty miles from us, and in +Turkey. Two years ago it was said 'no lady should try to go there,' +but brother Stocking thought not so now; and I was willing to follow +where he led, especially as a former pupil had recently settled +there. We must be out over night, but we thought best not to spend +it in a tent, on account of the cold. Near sunset we came to Mawana, +a village of mud huts. We went to the house of the head man, who +joyfully welcomed us to his house. It consisted of a single low +room, inhabited by at least a score of men, women, and children. +They came in one by one, but already the hens had found their +resting place, evidently no strangers there. Several lambs had been +brought into their corner, and three or four calves, each had his +couch of grass. Our horses had been arranged for the night on the +other side of a partition wall, some three feet high. When all were +within, the coarse bread and sour milk were brought out for supper. +Then Mr. Stocking read from the Bible, and talked, and prayed with +the numerous family, and the women sat around me, while I tried to +do them good, till about ten o'clock. At that time, the mother of +the family rose, saying, 'Now we will settle it.' I listened to hear +the settlement of some family quarrel, but to my surprise her +meaning was, 'We will settle where to lie down for the night;' and +as I looked over the room I thought, surely some little skill in +settling is needed, if we are all to sleep here. But soon she took +out three of the children to an empty manger, where she put new hay, +and quickly settled them; they were covered with an old rug, and at +once fell fast asleep. She then returned, saying, 'Now there is room +for our guests,' and brought a piece of cotton cloth, which she said +was _all_ for me. In a short time, one and another was fast +asleep. They lay on mats, without either bed or pillow, and the +divers breathing or snoring of men, and calves, and lambs was soon +heard, all mingled together. + +"I found myself sitting alone with the old lady, and so, putting my +carpet bag under my head, and drawing my shawl about me, I lay down +too. This was a signal for extinguishing the light; but before that, +I had marked a road, where I thought I might possibly pass out +between the sleepers should I need fresh air. There was no sleep for +me; and the swarms of fleas made me so uncomfortable, that before +midnight I found my way out, and remained as long as the cold air of +that November night allowed, and so passed out and in several times +during the night. I watched long for the morning, and at length it +came, and the sleepers, one by one, arose. They all hoped I had +slept well, and I could not tell them I had not, for they had given +me the best they had, and told me again and again how glad they were +that I had come, and hoped their house would always be mine when I +came that way. There was a proposal for breakfast, but the morning +was so fine that I suggested to Mr. Stocking that a carpet bag +sometimes furnished a very good breakfast. + +"We did enjoy that ride very much after a sleepless night. The road +was often only a narrow path on the edge of a precipice, and such as +I had never passed over before; but I thanked my God at every step +for the pure, fresh air of those mountains. As we approached the +village, hid away among the cliffs, and in such a narrow spot that +houses were placed one above another on the terraced hill-side, one +of our attendants insisted on riding forward, and we were not +greatly surprised to find a crowd ready to welcome us. One and +another cried out, 'Senum wants you to go to Zechariah's.' So to +Zechariah's we went, and there was my pupil, waiting with open arms +to receive me. She took me from my horse, exclaiming, 'Is it true +that you have come? I have heard where you staid last night, and I +know you did not sleep at all. Come right into my room; there are no +fleas here; I have a bed that is clean, that I keep for the +missionaries. I will spread it for you, and you shall sleep before +any body comes to see you.' The bed was spread; she gave me milk to +drink (Judg, iv. 19), and then said, 'I will guard the door so no +one shall disturb you, and I will wake you for dinner.' I was soon +asleep, and slept two long hours before she woke me. + +"When she did, she came with her tray in her hand, where was the +freshly baked bread, the nicely cooked little fish, which, she said, +'my husband caught expressly for you and Mr. Stocking,' honey from +their own hives, milk from their flock, and other simple refreshments. +All was neatly prepared, and we were so thankful for the dear child's +attentions! When dinner was over, she said, 'Now I want you to see +the women; but they must not come here, for they will leave fleas, +and you will not be able to sleep tonight. There is another large +room the other side, and we will have meeting there this afternoon.' + +"About three o'clock I met there more than one hundred poor women, +who of course must ask many questions before their curiosity would +be satisfied. They finally became quiet, however, and I could tell +them of the Saviour, who had loved to teach just such needy ones as +they were. I enjoyed the afternoon very much; it was all the more +precious for the discomforts of the night, and the comforts of +Senum's house. The next day was the Sabbath, and most of the time I +was in the 'large room,' where the women came freely. In the +afternoon about three hundred were present. I was weary at night, +but Senum's care, with the thought of the privilege of meeting so +many who had never before heard of Christ as the _only_ Saviour, made +me forget it all." + +Painful as is this view of woman as she was among the Nestorians, +her condition was still worse among the Mohammedans; not, indeed, in +matters of outward comfort, for the wealth of Persia is in Moslem +hands, and they occupy every position of rank or authority in the +land. But in all that pertains to morality and religion, they stand +on a lower level. + +The Nestorian woman may not have known what was contained in the +Bible, yet she knew that it was the word of God, and was ready to +receive all its teachings as of divine authority. To her Moslem +sister it is not only an unknown book, but one she is taught to +regard as superseded by the Koran. + +Although the Nestorian woman knew nothing of spiritual worship, yet +she regarded the Lord's day as set apart for his service. The +Moslem, on the other hand, regards it like any other day of the +week, and exalts her Friday to the place that of right belongs to +the Sabbath of the Lord. + +In all her degradation, the Nestorian woman reverenced the name of +Jesus as her God. True, she had no correct idea of salvation or +redeeming love; yet even a blind attachment to that sacred name is +not without its reward. She may have fallen very low, but there was +a power even in her ignorant adherence to Christ, that kept her from +falling to the level of those who renounced him for the Arabian +impostor. This was seen especially in the blessings that came to her +through the institution of Christian marriage, while others groaned +under the debasing influence of a sensual polygamy. The wretchedness +this occasioned is a topic too large and too painful to dwell upon +here. But the wide gulf that separated the two classes was clearly +seen, when on her Sabbath the missionary could speak to the +Nestorian of her Saviour out of her Bible, while the Moslem knows +nothing beyond her kohl and her henna,[1] her dresses and her +follies, and other topics at once belittling, debasing, and +corrupting. +[Footnote 1: Kohl is a black powder used to paint the eyebrows and +eyelashes. Henna is a plant employed to stain the nails, and +sometimes the entire hand and part of the foot, of a dark orange +hue.] + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + +THE SCENE OF THE NARRATIVE. + +NESTORIANS.--THEIR COUNTRY.--FRONTISPIECE.--LAKE.--PLAIN.--FORDING +THE SHAHER.--MISSION PREMISES IN OROOMIAH. + +We will now glance at the scene of the events to be narrated, as it +may not be familiar to every reader. To write of woman in Persia +would embrace the whole empire as the field of inquiry; for the +existence of woman is coextensive with the population. But "Woman +and her Saviour in Persia" confines our attention to those who have +been taught the truth as it is in Jesus; for when Christ sent forth +Paul to preach his gospel to the Gentiles, it was that they might +receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them who are +sanctified by faith that is in him; and how shall they believe in +him of whom they have not heard? Our theme, then, confines us to the +Nestorians, who number about one hundred thousand souls. About two +thirds of these live in Turkey; but the following pages relate +principally to those residing in Persia, and hence the title of the +volume. + +This people inhabit, along with Koords and other races, the +territory extending from the western shore of the Lake of Oroomiah +to the eastern bank of the Tigris. It includes the Persian province +of Oroomiah, and both the eastern and western slope of Central +Koordistan. The most inaccessible recesses of the Koordish Mountains +have been their refuge for centuries. The whole region extends +across four degrees of longitude, with a varying breadth of from one +to two degrees of latitude. Attention will be called especially to +the city of Oroomiah and the villages around it. The plain of that +name is seventy-five miles long and from twelve to twenty miles in +width, containing more than a thousand square miles. It is dotted +with perhaps three hundred villages, the population varying, +according to the size of the village, from less than one hundred to +more than a thousand inhabitants. + +The frontispiece gives a view of this plain, from the roof of the +mission premises at Seir, one thousand feet above the city. The +lofty Wolf mountain appears on the right, and the high range west of +the narrowest part of the lake on the left. The lake itself is seen +beyond the plain at the foot of the mountains which rise abruptly +from its eastern shore. The distance makes it seem much narrower +than it is, for while one hundred miles in length, it is not far +from thirty miles in breadth. Its surface is forty-one hundred feet +above the sea, and four hundred feet below the city of Oroomiah. No +living thing exists in its waters, which are both salt and +bituminous. + +The plain is more crowded with villages than here represented, and +each one is made conspicuous by its grove of trees, as well as its +houses. The city appears prominent at the foot of the hill, though +six miles distant from the spectator. It is in the same latitude +with Richmond, Virginia, and contains about thirty-five thousand +souls. The plain slopes up very gradually from the lake, and Mount +Seir rises, behind our point of view, two thousand eight hundred and +thirty-four feet above the city. Farther west, the summits of +Central Koordistan rise, range above range, to the height of +seventeen thousand feet. + +We pass down from Seir to the city by a carriage road, now by the +side of vineyards, and now near fields of wheat and clover, +diversified by orchards and gardens of cucumbers. All of these, and +indeed the whole plain, owes its fertility to canals, led out from +the rivers which descend from the mountains. Willow, poplar, and +sycamore trees line these watercourses. All kinds of fruit trees +abound, while the rich verdure of the plain contrasts strikingly +with the bare declivities that overlook it from every side. The +villages on either hand are clusters of mud houses crowded together +for greater security, and every tree in their groves has to be +watered as regularly as the fields and gardens. + +Before reaching the city we must ford the Shaher, a river that, +though frequently all drained off into the fields in summer, is very +deep in early spring, when fatal accidents sometimes occur. It was +here that, in May, 1846, Miss Fiske narrowly escaped a watery grave. +On her way to Seir, with Mr. and Mrs. Stoddard, the horse lay down +in the middle of the river, leaving her to be swept off by the rapid +current. Mr. Stoddard hastened to the rescue; but the moment his +steed was loose, he rushed to attack the horse of Mrs. Stoddard, +and, as Miss Fiske rose to the surface, she caught a glimpse of Mr. +Stoddard looking back on the battle, and his wife held between the +combatants by her riding habit, which had caught on the saddle; but +while she looked the dress gave way, and Mrs. Stoddard was safe. She +herself had sufficient presence of mind not to breathe under water, +and, on coming up for the fifth time, floated into shallow water +near the opposite shore, forty rods below the ford, just as Mr. +Stoddard reached the same point. + +From the river, beautiful orchards line the road on both sides to +the city gate, of which a representation is given on page 154; and +about one eighth of a mile inside of that, where the Nestorian and +Moslem sections of the city join each other, stand the mission +premises, built of sun-dried bricks, like the houses around them. + +They occupy a little more than an acre, in the form of a +parallelogram; and if, for the sake of clearness, we compare it to a +window, the bottom of the lower sash is represented by a long, +earthen-roofed structure, half of it a dwelling house, once the home +of Dr. Grant, but now the dwelling of Dr. Wright. It is the building +on the left of the engraving at page 131, and the round object +occupying the nearest window in the second story is a clock, the +gift of a well-known merchant of Boston, brother of one of our +deceased missionaries. Let our lower sash be filled by two large +panes in modern style, and these are represented by two courts +surrounded by pavements, and shaded by large sycamore trees. In the +engraving just referred to, the spectator stands in one of these +courts, looking over a low wall into the other. For the top of the +lower sash, we have another building, extending across the premises. +The left half of this appearing on page 131, behind the trees, and +on the opposite page represented without them, was the first home of +Dr. Perkins, and is now the Female Seminary; but repeated additions +and modifications have been required to transform a building, +originally erected for a private residence, into a structure +suitable for such a school. + +Miss Fiske first taught in one room of a building to the right, +which does not appear in the engraving, though a part of it is seen +on page 131; then, as the school grew larger, another room was +added, and when those quarters became too strait, this building was +remodelled for its use. + +[Illustration: Female seminary at Oboomiah] + +As we shall have a good deal to do with the Seminary in these pages, +let us become familiar with its home. Between the central door and +the one on the left, those three windows belong to a large room once +used as a chapel, but since then as a guest room for the +accommodation of the women whom we shall see coming here to learn of +Jesus. In this room, Nestorian converts first partook of the Lord's +supper with the missionaries. The left of the three windows directly +over these, with the rose-bush in it, belongs to Miss Fiske's +private room, and the other two to her sitting room. This the pupils +have named "The Bethel," and it is so connected that the teacher can +step into recitation room, dining room, or kitchen, as occasion +requires. The last named apartment is on the rear of the building. +The largest recitation room, by a curious necessity, is in the form +of a carpenter's wooden square, with the teacher's desk in the angle +between the two compartments. One of these is on the back side of +the building, out of sight; the other, extending across the end, is +represented in front by the window at the extreme left. + +Over the central door is, first, the steward's room, and then +closets over that; for one of the results of the successive +alterations and additions is, that parts of the building are two, +and other parts three, stories high. Miss Rice's room is directly +over the door on the left hand, as the steward's is here. The three +windows in the second story, to the right of the two central +closets, open into the dining room, and one of the girls' rooms +occupies the corner beyond. On the lower floor, going from the +central door to the right, is first a closet, and then a large guest +room for visitors; and underneath the whole is the cellar where the +boys' school was first taught, that has since grown into the Male +Seminary at Seir. + +The rooms of the pupils are mostly in the rear. These are large +enough to accommodate six or eight occupants, as the Oriental style +of living does not require so much furniture as ours. In each room +is a member of the senior class, who exercises a kind supervision +over her younger companions. Every room has two or more closets, +designed especially, but not exclusively, for devotion; and some +sleep in the recitation rooms, as such a use of them at night does +not interfere with other uses during the day. + +But we had almost forgotten our imaginary window, the upper sash of +which remains to be described. In that we have only one pane, +representing a large court, with the chapel on one side, and the +wash rooms and other outbuildings of the Seminary on the other. This +court is more garden-like than the other two, has fewer trees, and a +long arbor, covered with grape vines, forms a covered walk in the +middle of it. It was in this arbor that the tables were spread for +the collation in 1850, to be described hereafter. This court is +invaluable as a place for out-door exercise, where the pupils may +enjoy the fresh air, free from the annoyances and exposures of the +streets in an Oriental city. + +A stream is led through all these courts in a channel lined with +stone. Its murmuring waters are a pleasant sound at early dawn, when +they mingle sweetly with the morning song of birds. Here many +Nestorian women come to fill their earthen pitchers, as the water is +not carried through the courts of Christian houses. The mission +premises belonged to Mohammedans; and here, in the shade of the tall +sycamores, Mrs. Grant used to sit, with her children, and talk with +the women who came for water. Her successors find time to continue +the same practice, and as the natives let down their pitchers (Gen. +xxiv. 18), and now and then one is broken (Eccles. xii. 6), realize +that they live in a Bible land, and seek to make its daughters feel +the power of Bible truth. + +The Seminary is outwardly very humble, and would contrast very +unfavorably with the stately edifices of similar institutions at +home. But we shall see that the Saviour has not disdained to honor +it with his presence, and its earthen floors and mud walls[1] have +witnessed many a gracious visit of the Holy Spirit. Though the glory +of Lebanon has not come unto it, yet has God himself beautified the +place and made it glorious. +[Footnote 1: The pilasters in the engraving are made of brick, and +not only support the large timbers of the roof, but, by their +greater projection, protect the softer material of the wall from the +weather. The whole is plastered outside with a mixture of lime and +clay, that requires frequent renewal.] + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + +MISSIONARY EDUCATION. + +OBJECT--MEANS--STUDY OF BIBLE--PUPILS KEPT IN SYMPATHY WITH THE +PEOPLE.--PEOPLE STIMULATED TO EXERTION AND SELF-DEPENDENCE--TAHITI. +--MADAGASCAR. + +Let us now look at some of the principles on which missionary +education was here carried on, that we may see what kind of an +instrumentality God was pleased to crown with his blessing. + +The Seminary was founded, not to polish the manners, refine the +taste, or impart accomplishments, but to renovate the character by a +permanent inward change. The main dependence for bringing this about +was the power of the Holy Ghost--the only power that can impart or +maintain spiritual life in man. This dependence was expressed in +fervent prayer, offered for years amid discouragement and +opposition, and, instead of ceasing when an answer came, only +offered by a greater number. It is worthy of note that some of the +seasons of greatest revival were preceded by disasters that +threatened the very existence of the mission. + +The principal text book was the word of God; partly, as we shall +see, through a providential necessity, but chiefly because it was +God's own chosen instrumentality for the salvation of our race; and +it was eminently adapted for the education of such a people. The +teachers could say, with a beloved co-laborer on Mount Lebanon, "To +the Scriptures we give increased attention; they do more to unfold +and expand the intellectual powers, and to create careful and honest +thinkers, than all the sciences we teach." It is also most efficient +in freeing mind and heart from those erroneous views that are +opposed to its teachings; and actual trial developed a richness and +fulness of practical adaptation to the work that astonished even +those who already knew something of its value. Its precepts and +instructions were also clothed with power: requirements and counsels +which from the missionary had only awakened opposition, coming from +the Bible were received as messages from heaven. Said a Nestorian to +a missionary who had been speaking to him the words of God, "His +words grew very beautiful while we were talking." In reference to +every suspicious novelty or distasteful duty, the Bible was the +ultimate appeal. The missionary could say to them as Paul did to an +early church, "When ye received the word of God, which ye heard of +us, ye received it not as the word of man, but, as it is in truth, +the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that +believe." Besides, those thus educated were to teach others, and +needed to be thoroughly furnished from the divine oracles with the +truths they were to impart. It is not strange, then, that in the +Seminary the Bible was studied both doctrinally and historically; +that they had a system of theology and tables of Scripture +chronology; that biblical biography and geography were regular +studies; that different portions of Scripture occupied different +years; and that, instead of Butler's Analogy and Wayland's Moral +Science, were the Epistles to the Romans and Hebrews studied with +all the accurate analysis and thoroughness bestowed elsewhere upon +the classics. Such teaching would yield good fruit any where, and +the good seed found good ground in Persia. + +So much for the instrumentality; but, then, influences are every +where at work to check the growth of the plant of grace, and these +must be overcome. There is danger that missionary education may be +made worse than useless by allowing the sympathies of pupils to +become alienated from the masses around them. Children from heathen +families may be puffed up with an idea of superiority to their own +people. Their taste may be cultivated so as to render disgust with +heathen degradation stronger than the Christian desire to do them +good. A foreign language, foreign dress, and foreign habits may +widen the gulf that separates them from their people, till, what +with an undue exaltation on the one hand and a suspicious jealousy +on the other, usefulness is well nigh impossible. But here such +tendencies have been carefully watched and guarded against. The +pupils have been trained with the view of doing good among their own +people. No line of separation has been drawn in dress or diet, +furniture or household arrangements. While taught to be neat, the +goal kept ever in sight has been, a happy usefulness in their own +homes, the elevation of the mass just as fast as was consistent with +mutual love and sympathy, the people not feeling that their +daughters were denationalized, and they not lifted out of sympathy +with the homes they were to bless. Hence, even in 1844, we find the +mud floor of the small school room covered with straw mats; one +window, of oiled paper, admitting the light; and a brick stove, with +a few rude benches, its only furniture. In the other room, where the +cooking was done, the pupils ate, and spent their time out of +school. Here were two windows of like material; and besides the +mats, the floor was covered with a thick felt, on which they spread +their beds at night. A table was provided, covered with a coarse +blue and white check. There were also a set of coarse plates and a, +few other dishes, but no knives nor forks. They eat their soup with +wooden spoons, and their other food with their hands. Their +clothing, like their cooking, was mostly in native style; and they +were taught to make it for themselves. + +Another object in missionary education is, to do enough to stimulate +to exertion, and yet not foster inefficiency or undue dependence. +The Nestorians are poor, but doing too much for them may make them +still poorer. They must be brought to sustain their own institutions +at the earliest possible moment, and their training should keep that +end in view. Hence Miss Fiske writes, "At first I was inclined to do +more for them than afterwards, and at length settled down on this +principle,--to give my pupils nothing for common use which they +could not secure in their own homes by industry and economy. So I +furnished only such articles as they could buy in the city. I +preferred that they should make all their own clothing, and may have +grieved friends sometimes by declining clothing which they offered +to send for them. We chose rather to spend our own strength in +training them to provide for themselves. I do not mean that I am not +glad to see foreign articles in Oroomiah; but we were in danger of +fostering a more expensive taste than they would have the means of +gratifying. Our great object is to raise up the most efficient +coadjutors from among the people, and they must labor among their +neighbors as of them, and not as foreigners, and be prepared to +carry forward the work when we leave it. + +"At first we clothed as well as boarded our pupils, and then led +them to provide one article after another, till they clothed +themselves. It was delightful to see the interest parents began to +take in clothing their daughters, in order to send them to school +after they provided their own garments. They took better care of +them, and so learned to take better care of other things. Since I +left, Miss Rice has advanced farther in this matter; and last year +most of the pupils paid a trifle for tuition, amounting in all to +over twenty dollars. It often costs more than the amount to secure +these pittances; but it does our pupils good, and we spared no pains +to this end." + +It is touching to see the spirit manifested by some parents in this +connection. One very poor widow, whose little field of grain had +been devoured by locusts, brought a large squash and a quantity of +raisins which she had earned by laboring for others--a self-denial +almost equal to her previous giving up of her only bed for the use +of a daughter in the Seminary, which she brought, saying, "I can +sleep on the _hasseer_ [rush mat], if you will only receive her +into school." + +It certainly is not benevolence to do for others what they can do as +well for themselves, or to do for them in a way to diminish either +their ability or disposition to provide for themselves. Missionaries +may be in danger of staying too long and doing too much for a +people, rather than of leaving them too soon after the gospel has +taken root among them. + +Native pastors came into being at Tahiti simply because the French +drove off the missionaries. They were not ordained before, but at +once proved themselves equal to the work that Providence assigned +them; and after twenty years of French misrule, in spite of Popery +on the one hand and brandy and vice on the other, there are now more +church members under these native pastors than ever before. + +Twenty years ago the European shepherds were driven from Madagascar, +and a few lambs left in the midst of wolves; but God raised up +native pastors, and, instead of tens of Christians under Europeans, +there are now hundreds, yea, thousands, under these natives.[1] +Those missionaries are wise who aim constantly at results like +these; and it is in such a spirit that work has been done among the +women of Persia. +[Footnote: Rev. Dr. Tidman, secretary of the London Missionary +Society, in "Conference of Missions at Liverpool," 1860, p. 225.] + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + +BEGINNINGS. + +MRS. GRANT.--EARLY LIFE AND LABORS.--GREAT INFLUENCE.--HER SCHOOL.-- +HER PUPILS.--CHANGED INTO BOARDING SCHOOL.--GETTING PUPILS.--CARE OF +THEM.--DIFFICULTIES FROM POVERTY OF PEOPLE.--PAYING FOR FOOD OF +SCHOLARS.--POSITION OF UNMARRIED MISSIONARY LADIES.--BOOKS. + +We have seen that among the Nestorians it was counted a disgrace for +a female to learn to read; and even now, in the districts remote +from missionary influence, a woman who reads, and especially one who +writes, is an object of public odium, if not of persecution. How, +then, could the Nestorians be induced to send their daughters to +schools? What overcame this strong national prejudice? These +questions open a delightful chapter in divine providence, showing +how wonderfully God adapts means to ends, even on opposite sides of +the globe. + +A Christian gentleman in the State of New York, on the death of his +wife's sister, adopted into his own family her infant child. She was +trained to the exercise of a practical Christian benevolence, and +her superior mind was improved by an education remarkably thorough. +In the classics and mathematics she exhibited uncommon aptitude, and +made unusual attainments; so that it was truly said of her, "Perhaps +no female missionary ever left our country with a mind so well +disciplined as Mrs. Judith S. Grant." She sailed for Persia, July +11, 1835; and there she displayed rare ability in acquiring the +language of the people. The Turkish she soon spoke familiarly. In a +short time she read the ancient Syriac, and acquired the spoken +language with at least equal facility. Previous even to these +acquisitions, she taught Mar Yohanan and others English; and as they +noticed the ease with which she turned to her Greek Testament, +whenever ours seemed to differ from the ancient Syriac, they +regarded her with feelings in which it would be hard to say whether +wonder, love, or reverence was the strongest. Some might have cried +out, when her fine intellect and rare acquirements were devoted to +the missionary work, "Why is this waste of the ointment made?" But +had her friends searched the round world for a sphere of greatest +usefulness, they could not have selected one where her rare gifts +would have accomplished so much; and when such a woman manifested +deep solicitude for the education of her sex, ancient prejudice fell +before her. She taught her own domestics to read. She sedulously +cultivated the acquaintance of both Christian and Mohammedan women; +nor did she rest till she had opened a school for girls in what is +now Mr. Coan's barn. Such was her zeal, that when her health would +not allow her to go there, she taught the pupils in her own +apartment. She commenced with only four scholars, but at the same +time prepared the maps for Parley's Geography in modern Syriac, and +the old map of Oroomiah, so familiar to the readers of the +Missionary Herald, was her handiwork. Nor was her usefulness +confined to her school room. Hers was the privilege of creating such +a public sentiment in favor of the education of woman, that her +successors have found the gates wide open before them, and often +wondered at the extent and permanence of the influence she acquired. +There is no one topic of which Miss Fiske has spoken to the writer +so frequently, and with such enthusiasm, as the great work that Mrs. +Grant accomplished for woman in Persia, during her short missionary +life. She was the laborious and self-denying pioneer in female +education, and every year thus far has brought to light new evidence +of her extensive usefulness. It was no empty compliment, when the +venerable Mar Elias said, "We will bury her in our church, where +none but very holy men are laid. As she has done so much for us, we +want the privilege of digging her grave with our own hands." + +Miss Fiske writes, shortly after her arrival, "The first Syriac word +I learned was 'daughter;' and as I can now use the verb 'to give,' I +often ask parents to give me their daughters. Some think that I +cannot secure boarding scholars, but Mrs. Grant got day scholars; +and when I hear men, women, and children say, 'How she loved us!' I +want to love them too. I mean to devote at least five years to the +work of trying to gather girls into a boarding school, as Mrs. Grant +desired to do. She has gone to her rest. I wonder that I am allowed +to take her place." And again: "I am usually in school till three +P.M., and then I go out among the poor mothers till tea time. They +often say to me, 'Mrs. Grant did just as you do.' Her short life was +a precious offering. I feel each day more and more that I have +entered into the labors of a faithful servant of Christ." + +Among the pupils of Mrs. Grant was Selby, of Oroomiah, who was +hopefully converted while teaching some day scholars connected with +the Seminary, in 1845. Raheel, (Rachel,) the wife of Siyad, the +tailor mentioned in the Memoir of Mr. Stoddard, was another. So were +Sanum, the wife of Joseph; Meressa, the wife of Yakob; and Sarah, +the daughter of Priest Abraham, and wife of Oshana, of whom we shall +hear more hereafter. + +After the death of Mrs. Grant, January 14, 1839, the school was +continued under the charge of Mr. Holladay, who employed native +teachers to assist him, the ladies of the mission cooperating as +they could. It then passed into the hands of Dr. Wright, who had the +care of it when Miss Fiske arrived in Oroomiah, June 14, 1843. +During all this time it was only a day school, and contact with vice +in the homes of the pupils greatly hindered its usefulness. It was +for this reason that Miss Fiske was exceedingly anxious to make it a +boarding school, so as to retain the pupils continuously under good +influences. But would they be allowed to spend the night on the +mission premises? This was doubted by many, and all had their fears; +yet in August an appropriation was made for the support of six +boarding pupils, who were to be entirely under the control of the +mission for three years. Some said they could not be obtained for +even one year, and not one of them would remain to complete the +three. Even Priest Abraham said, "I cannot bear the reproach of +having my daughter live with you." At that time, scarcely a girl +twelve years old could be found who was not betrothed; and years +were devoted to the preparation of a coarse kind of embroidery, a +certain amount of which must be ready for the wedding. + +One day in August, Mar Yohanan said to Miss Fiske, "You get ready, +and I find girls." She devoted that month and the next to +preparation for her expected charge. But the day came for opening +the school, and not one pupil had been obtained. The teacher was +feeling somewhat anxious, when, from her window in the second story, +she saw Mar Yohanan crossing the court, with a girl in either hand. +One of them was his own niece, Selby, of Gavalan, seven years of +age; the other, Hanee, of Geog Tapa, about three years older. They +were not very inviting in outward appearance; but it did not take +Miss Fiske long to reach the door, where the bishop met her, and +placing their little hands in hers, said, in his broken English, +"They be your daughters; no man take them from your hand." She wrote +to a friend an account of her success, adding, "I shall be glad to +give them to the Lord Jesus, and love to look on them as the +beginning of my dear school." These two pupils were supported by +ladies in Maiden, Massachusetts, and the number soon increased to +six; but fifteen days after, two of them, finding the gate open, +suddenly left for home. Their teacher did not think it advisable to +follow them; nor did she see them again till, ten years after, an +invitation for a reunion of all her scholars brought two whom she +did not recognize. She said, "Perhaps you were here under Mrs. +Grant?" "No, we were your own scholars for fifteen days, and we are +very sorry we ran away." They are now both useful Christians, and +the places they left in 1843 were speedily filled by others. + +The care of the school was much more exhausting than its +instruction. When the teacher went out, and when she came in, she +must take her pupils with her, for she dared not leave them to +themselves. Indeed, so strong were the feelings of their friends, +that they allowed them to remain only on condition that they should +lodge with or near their teacher, and never go out except in her +company. A native teacher rendered such help as he could, needing +much teaching himself; and everything combined to make the principal +feel that hers was to be a work of faith and prayer. As the first of +January approached, she thought how sweet it would be to be +remembered by dear friends at Mount Holyoke; and when it came, she +wrote to Miss Whitman, "In looking over Miss Lyon's suggestions for +the observance of the day, last year, I cannot tell you how I felt +as I read the words, 'Perhaps next new year's day will find some of +you on a foreign shore. If so, we pledge you a remembrance within +these consecrated walls.' I thought not then that privilege would be +mine; but since it is, I count your prayers the greatest favor you +can confer." + +At Oroomiah, the missionaries met together for prayer at one +o'clock, and after that Dr. Perkins and Mr. Holladay preached to the +assembled Seminaries, while the ladies of the mission met separately +for prayer; then united intercession again closed the day. And they +needed to wait on God, for many difficulties combined to prevent +success. + +One was the poverty of the people. To say merely that they were poor +gives no true idea of their situation to an American reader. They +were extremely poor, and grinding oppression still keeps them so. In +1837, Mr. Stocking found very few pupils in the schools wearing +shoes, even in the snow of midwinter; and one sprightly lad in +Sabbath school had nothing on but a coarse cotton shirt, reaching +down to his knees, and a skull cap, though the missionary required +all his winter clothes, besides a fire, to keep him comfortable. + +Another evil growing out of their poverty was, that the +missionairies, in order to give the first impulse to education, +resorted to some measures which, after an interest was awakened, had +to be laid aside in order to increase it. For example, poor parents +could not be persuaded to earn bread for their children while they +sent them to school; hence, to get scholars at first, the mission +furnished their daily bread; and this having been done for the boys, +had to be done for the girls also. So, in the winter of 1843-44, +twenty-five cents a week was paid to the day scholars, the others +having their board instead. But the current having once commenced to +flow in the new channel, such inducements became more a hinderance +than a help, and, in the spring of 1844, Miss Fiske told her +scholars that no more money would be paid for their bread; and +though some of the mission feared it would be necessary to resume +the practice, instead of that it was soon dropped in the other +Seminary also. + +But the special difficulty growing out of the condition of woman in +a Mohammedan country demands our notice. Some may suppose that +because Miss Fiske and Miss Rice have succeeded so well, an +unmarried lady from this country has nothing to do but to go there +and work like any one else. This is not true; such a one cannot live +by herself: her home must be in some missionary family. She cannot +go out alone, either inside or outside of the city. In many things +she needs to be shielded from annoyances here unknown. And God +provided all that the teachers of the Seminary needed of such help; +first, in the kind family of Mr. Stocking, and, after his death, in +the pleasant household of Mr. Breath. Indeed, not one of all the +missionary circle ever stood in need of such a hint as Paul gave the +church at Rome concerning the deaconess of Cenchrea. As Miss Fiske +says, playfully, "Whenever we went with them to visit pupils at a +distance, they always made us believe that it was a great privilege +to take us along;" and every lady who goes out, in a similar way, to +labor in the missionary field, will find just such Christian +kindness indispensable to her comfort and usefulness. In such a +sphere of action, a lady's dependence is her independence. + +Another difficulty was the want of books. Such a thing as a school +book had been unknown among the Nestorians. The only ones to be had +in 1843 were the Bible in ancient Syriac,--a language unintelligible +to the common people,--and the Gospel of John, with a few chapters +of Genesis, in the spoken language, besides a few tracts. Later came +the Gospel of Matthew, and, after that, the four Gospels. Mr. +Stocking prepared a Spelling Book of fifty-four pages, 8vo, a Mental +Arithmetic of twenty-four pages, and afterwards a larger Arithmetic. +Mr. Coan, a Scripture Spelling Book of one hundred and sixty pages, +8vo. Mr. Stoddard issued a very full and complete Arithmetic for the +older scholars in 1856, but his System of Theology did not appear +till after his decease, in 1857. Dr. Wright was the author of a +Geography of three hundred and two pages, printed in 1849. Mr. +Cochran's Scripture Geography appeared in 1856, and Barth's Church +History was published the same year. But the book studied more than +all others, and most efficient in enlightening and elevating the +people, was the Bible, of which the New Testament appeared in 1846, +and the Old in 1852. As many as three hours a day were devoted to +that; and no recollections of missionary education in Persia are so +pleasant as those of the Bible lessons. The pupils have pleasant +memorials of some of them in the form of Bible maps, drawn by +themselves, which now form a conspicuous and appropriate ornament of +their homes. + +It may seem to some as though so much study of the Bible would make +the pupils weary of its sacred pages; but precisely the contrary was +true. When the New Testament, shortly after it was printed, was +offered to those who, during recreation hours, would commit to +memory the Scripture Catechism, containing more than one thousand +texts, some learned it in three weeks, and others in a longer time; +and their joy in receiving the reward could hardly be expressed. It +was near the close of the term, and some who had not quite finished +when vacation began remained to complete the task; for they said +they could not go home unless they carried with them their +Testament; and the diligent use they made of it afterwards showed +that their desire was more than mere covetousness. Even eighteen +months after, writing to a friend in America, they say, "Now we have +each of us this blessed book, this priceless blessing; would that in +it we might all find salvation for our souls. This book is from the +unspeakable mercy of God; nor can we ever repay our dear friends for +it." I cannot forbear quoting here the closing sentence of the +letter--"Dear friend, the gentle love of the Saviour be with you. +AMEN." + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + +THE SEMINARY. + +MAE YOHANAN.--STANDARD OF SCHOLARSHIP.--ENGLISH BOOKS READ IN +SYRIAC.--EXPENSE.--FEELINGS OF PARENTS.--DOMESTIC DEPARTMENT.--DAILY +REPORTS.--PICTURE OF A WEEK DAY AND SABBATH.--"IF YOU LOVE ME, LEAN +HARD."--ESLI'S JOURNAL.--LETTER FROM PUPILS TO MOUNT HOLYOKE +SEMINARY.--FROM THE SAME TO MRS. C. T. MILLS. + +When Mar Yohanan returned to Persia after his visit to the United +States, in 1843, Prince Malik Kassim Meerza, who could speak a +little English, asked him, "What are the wonders of America?" He +replied, "The blind they do see, the deaf they do hear, and the +women they do read; they be not beasts." Having visited Mount +Holyoke Seminary, he often said, "Of all colleges in America, Mount +Holy Oke be the best; and when I see such a school here, I die;" +meaning that then he would be ready to die. When he brought her +first boarding scholars to Miss Fiske, he said, "Now you begin Mount +Holy Oke in Persia." + +As she sought to reproduce one of our female seminaries, as far as +was possible in such different circumstances, it seems fitting to +enter somewhat into the minutiae of its arrangements. + +Resemblance to similar institutions at home is not as yet to be +sought in the standard of scholarship, though that is rapidly +advancing. In an unevangelized community, the people move on a lower +level. Not only social condition, but morality and education, feel +the want of the elevating influence of the gospel. A seminary that +commences operations by teaching the alphabet must advance far, and +climb high, before its graduates will stand on a level with those +whose pupils were familiar with elementary algebra when they +entered; yet its course of study may be the best to secure the +usefulness of its members in their own community. If ragged village +girls, untutored and uncombed, studying aloud in school hours, and +at recess leaping over the benches like wild goats, now study +diligently and in silence, move gently, and are respectful to their +teachers and kind to each other, a thorough foundation has been +laid; and if, in addition to that, the literary attainments of the +lower classes to-day exceed those of the pupils who first left the +school, the superstructure rises at once beautifully and securely. + +Leaving out the Bible,--which has been already spoken of,--to the +original reading, writing, singing, and composition; have been added +by degrees, grammar, geography, arithmetic, and theology; with oral +instruction in physiology, chemistry, natural philosophy, and +astronomy. + +But we should neither understand the attainments of the pupils, nor +the source of their marked ability as writers, did we not notice +that, as a reward for good conduct during the day, their teacher was +accustomed to translate orally to them, at its close, at first +simple stories, and then such volumes as Paradise Lost, The Course +of Time, and Edwards's History of Redemption. To these were added +such practical works as Pike's Persuasives to Early Piety, Pastor's +Sketches, and Christ a Friend; and the pupils understood books a +great deal better in the free translations thus given, than in the +more exact renderings issued from the press. Baxter's Saints' Rest, +poured thus hot and glowing into a Syriac mould, was more effective, +at least for the time, than the same after it had cooled and been +laboriously filed into fidelity to the original. + +The Seminary was unlike similar schools at home in the matter of +expense. In 1853, the cost for each pupil was only about eighteen +dollars for the year, including rent, board, fuel, lights, and +clothing in part; and as this was paid by the American Board, +education to the people was without money and without price. We have +already alluded to the efforts of the teachers to train up the +people to assume this expense themselves. + +Let us now trace the progress made in getting the pupils away from +the evil influences of their Persian homes. In 1843, besides her six +boarding pupils, Miss Fiske had a few day scholars; next year she +had still fewer; and the year after that, they were dropped +entirely. Many wished to send their daughters in this way; but she +was decided in her refusal to receive them, because thus only could +the highest good of the pupils be secured. At first, so great was +her dread of home influences, that she sought to retain them even in +vacation; but she soon saw that their health and usefulness, their +sympathy with the people, and the confidence of the people in them, +required them to spend a part of the year at home. This also gave +their teachers a good opportunity to become acquainted with their +friends and neighbors, and a door was opened for many delightful +meetings with women, in which the pupils rendered much assistance. +It also secured the influence of the parents in favor of what was +for the good of their daughters, and made them interested in the +school. During Miss Fiske's entire residence in Persia, fathers +rarely disregarded her wishes concerning their daughters in her +school. + +The only time that the teachers were ever reviled by a Nestorian +father was in the case of a village priest. He came one day to the +Seminary to see his daughter, and because she did not appear at +once,--she was engaged at the moment,--he cursed and swore, in a +great passion, and when she did come, carried her home. No notice +was taken of it, and no effort made to get her back; but three years +after, the first indications of his interest in religion were deep +contrition for his conduct on that occasion, and a letter full of +grief for such treatment of those who had come so far to tell him +and his of Jesus. He at once sent his daughter back, and three weeks +after she too came to the Saviour, and even begged, as a favor, to +have the care of the rooms of the teachers her father had reviled. +Since then, the priest has written no less than three letters, as he +says, to be sure that so great wickedness was really pardoned, it +seemed to him so unpardonable. + +The circumstances of the Seminary required a domestic department. It +was difficult, in Persia, to have girls only ten years old take +charge of household affairs; yet a beginning was made; but how much +labor of love and patience of hope it involved cannot be told to +those who have not tried it. At first, their one hour of work each +day was more of a hinderance than a help; but gradually, through +watchfulness and much effort, they were brought to do the whole +without the least interference with their regular duties in school. +They were thus trained to wait upon themselves, and so one deeply +rooted evil of Oriental life was corrected. This practice also +relieved the school of the bad influence of domestics, while it +prepared the pupils for lives of contented usefulness among a people +so poor as the Nestorians. Besides, in this way they acquired habits +of regularity and punctuality such as they never saw in their own +homes. + +But while these Western habits were inculcated, such of their own +customs as were harmless were left untouched. They were carefully +taught to do things in their own way, so as naturally and easily to +fall into their proper place at home. + +At first, in their daily reports, Miss Fiske dared not ask any +question the answer to which she could not ascertain for herself. +The earliest she ventured to put was, whether they had combed their +hair that day. The pupils all stood up, and those who had attended +to this duty were asked to sit down. The faithful ones were +delighted to comply. The others, mortified and ashamed, remained +standing; but if one of them tried to sit down, a glance of the eye +detected her. This simple method laid a foundation for truthfulness +and self-respect; and from this the teacher gradually advanced to +other questions, as their moral sense became able to bear them, +till, when they could answer five satisfactorily, such as, "Have you +all your knitting needles?" "Were you at prayers?" "Were you +late?"--things that could be ascertained at once,--they thought +themselves wonderfully good, little dreaming how much the teacher did +not dare to ask, lest she should lead them into temptation. After the +first revival, she could ask about things that took place out of her +sight; and now this exercise is conducted in the same way as in our +best schools at home. There is very little communication now between +them in the school room. In 1852, there were only five failures on +this point for four months, and those by new scholars. Dr. Perkins +wrote, that year, "The exact system in this school, and the order, +studiousness, good conduct, and rapid improvement of the pupils, in +both this and the other Seminary, are probably unsurpassed in any +schools in America." + +In reply to a request for the picture of a day in the Seminary, Miss +Fiske writes, in 1862,-- + +"You ask for a day of my life in Persia. Come, then, to my home in +1854. You shall be waked by the noise of a hand-bell at early dawn: +twenty minutes after, our girls are ready for their half hour of +silent devotion. The bell for this usually finds them waiting for +it, and the perfect quiet in the house is almost unbroken. At the +close of it, another bell summons us to the school room for family +devotion, where, besides reading the Scriptures and prayer, they +unite in singing one of our sweet hymns.[1] In a few minutes after +this, another bell calls us to breakfast, and, that finished, all +attend to their morning work. Tables are cleared, rooms put in +order, and preparations made for supper--the principal meal in +Persia; then for an hour they study silently in their rooms. At a +quarter before nine o'clock I enter the school room, while Miss Rice +cares for things without. We open school with prayer, in which we +carry to the Master more of our little cares and trials than in the +early morning. My first lesson is in Daniel, with the older pupils, +while two other classes go out to recite in another room. Yonan +stays with me, for I want him to help and be helped in these Bible +lessons. The class enjoy it exceedingly, and the forty minutes spent +on it always seem too short. The other classes now come in, and all +study or recite another forty minutes. After that, a short recess in +the yard makes all fresh again. The older classes then study, while +one of the younger ones has a Bible lesson with me on the life of +Christ. Each time I go over it with them I find things which I +wonder I had not perceived before. It is delightful to hear them +express their own thoughts of our blessed Saviour. We trace his +journeyings on maps prepared by the pupils, and they study the +Scripture geography of each place. After this, one class recites +ancient Syriac to Yonan, and another, in physiology, goes out to +Miss Rice, leaving me to spend forty minutes with the older girls on +compositions. At present the topic is, "The Christ of the Old +Testament;" and I am thankful that I studied Edwards's History of +Redemption under Miss Lyon. This done, fifteen minutes remain for a +kind of general exercise, when we talk over many things; and then +the noon recess of one and a half hours allows the girls to lunch, +see friends, and recreate, till fifteen minutes before its close, +when they have a prayer meeting by themselves. +[Footnote 1: At first, only one hymn was printed on a separate +sheet; then a little hymn book of five,--as many as Luther commenced +with at the Reformation. Now the hymn book contains about two +hundred hymns, and some of the pupils can repeat them all.] + +"In the afternoon, Miss Rice takes charge of the school, and I have +the time out. At present the first hour is given to writing; soon +astronomy will take its place. Recitations in geography follow till +recess, and after that singing or spelling. The last hour, I go in +and hear a lesson in Hebrews. On this Epistle we have full notes +prepared in Syriac, and we study it carefully, in connection with +the Old Testament. Miss Rice also has a lesson in Judges, and then +all come together for the daily reports, more as a family than a +school. There is still an hour before supper for mutual calls, +knitting, sewing, and family duties. After supper and work are over, +and they have had a little time to themselves, come evening prayers. +Then they have a short study hour in their rooms, followed by the +half hour for private devotion, which closes the day. + +"Of course, at another time, the studies might be somewhat +different. The hours that Miss Rice and I are out of school we spend +in seeing visitors, holding prayer meetings, going out among the +women, and sometimes devote a whole day to a distant village." + +Having thus looked in on a day of study, let us, through the same +glass, take a view of the Lord's day. The letter is dated December, +1855. + +MY DEAR FRIEND: I have learned here that He who fed five thousand +with the portion of five can feed the soul to the full with what I +once counted only crumbs. May I give you one of the Master's +sermons? A few Sabbaths ago, I went to Geog Tapa with Mr. Stoddard. +It was afternoon, and I was seated on a mat in the middle of the +earthen floor of the church. I had already attended Sabbath school +and a prayer meeting with my pupils, and, weary, I longed for rest. +It seemed as if I could not sit without support through the service. +Then I remembered that after that came my meeting with the women +readers of the village; and O, how desirable seemed rest! But God +sent it in an unexpected way; for a woman came and seated herself +directly behind me, so that I could lean on her, and invited me to +do so. I declined; but she drew me back, saying, "If you love me, +lean hard." Very refreshing was that support. And then came the +Master's own voice, repeating the words, "If you love _me_, +lean hard;" and I leaned on him too, feeling that, through that poor +woman, he had preached me a better sermon than I could have heard at +home. I was rested long before the services were through; then I +spent an hour with the women, and after sunset rode six miles to my +own home. I wondered that I was not weary that night nor the next +morning; and I have rested ever since on those sweet words, "If you +love me, lean hard." + +But I intended to tell you of our Sabbaths in school. Saturday is +the girls' day for washing and mending, and we are busy all day +long. Just before sunset, the bell calls us to the school room, and +there we inquire if the last stitch is taken, and the rooms are all +in order. If any thing is still undone, the half hour before supper +sees it finished. After leaving the table, every thing is arranged +for the morning, and then we have a quiet half hour in our rooms. +After this, half the pupils come to Miss Rice, and half to me. Each +has a prayer meeting, remembering the absent ones, also the Female +Seminaries in Constantinople, South Hadley (Mass.), and Oxford +(Ohio). All retire from these precious meetings to their "half +hour," as they call it, and before nine o'clock all is quiet, unless +it be the voice of some one still pleading with her God. + +The first bell, Sabbath morning, is at half past five, when all rise +and dress for the day. Morning prayers are at half past six; then +comes breakfast, and, our few morning duties being done, the girls +retire to study their Sabbath school lessons, and sometimes ask to +meet together for prayer. At half past nine, we attend Syriac +service in the chapel. The Sabbath school follows that, numbering +now about two hundred pupils. About two thirds of our scholars are +teachers in it, and it is a good preparation for teaching in their +homes. Those who do not teach form a class. We then go home to +lunch, flavored with pleasant remembrances and familiar explanations +of the morning service. The afternoon service commences at two +o'clock, and our Bible lessons an hour before supper, though some +are called earlier, to help us teach the women who come in for +instruction. At supper, all are allowed to ask Bible questions, and +before leaving the table we have evening prayers. At seven o'clock, +Miss Rice and I go to the English prayer meeting, while the pupils +meet in six or seven family meetings, as they call them, the inmates +of each room being by themselves, and the pious among them taking +turns in conducting them. If any wish to come to us after this, we +are glad to see them; and often this hour witnesses the submission +of souls to God. + +Besides these there is a weekly prayer meeting on Tuesday evening, a +lecture on Friday afternoon, and on Wednesday, as well as Sabbath +evening, the school meets in two divisions for prayer. + +The following journal, kept during the revival, in 1860, by Esli, an +assistant teacher, forms an appropriate continuation of this +interior picture of the Seminary:-- + +"_February 1st_. To-day, a part of the girls wrote compositions +on 'anger,' and a part on 'the gospel.' + +"_3d, Friday_. John was here to-day writing to Mount Holyoke +Seminary, and attended our noon prayer meeting. In the afternoon, +Deacon Joseph of Degala preached from the words "King of kings and +Lord of lords." In the evening, Mr. Coan sung with us, and we read +the weekly report of our conduct. + +"_5th, Sabbath_. In the forenoon, Dr. Wright preached from Acts +ii. 37. He said that we must know what sin is; that we are sinners; +and that we cannot save ourselves. In the afternoon, Priest Eshoo +preached from Luke xv. 32. The evening prayer meetings were very +pleasant. + +"_9th_. A blessed morning. Some of the girls are thoughtful. +This was seen in the quiet at table and the silence in the kitchen. +The work was done both earlier and better than usual. During the +study hour, the voice of prayer sounded very sweetly in every room. +When the girls walked in the yard, it was very quiet, and so when +they came in. Our noon prayer meeting was very pleasant; Miss Rice +said a few words on the shortness of time. While Hanee prayed, some +wept. When Miss Rice dismissed us, no one moved; all were bowed on +their desks, weeping. She then gave opportunity for prayer, and +while I prayed, all were in tears. The girls have kept all the rules +well to-day. This evening, the communicants met with Miss Rice, and +the rest with Martha. Miss Rice read about Jonah in the ship, and +said a few words; after that, Raheel the teacher prayed. Then Hanee +spoke a little of her own state, and asked us to pray for Raheel of +Ardishai, who is thoughtful. I spoke, and asked them to pray for +Hannah and Parangis, who are in my room. + +"10th. The state of our school is the same. Mr. Cochran preached on +the faithfulness of the Jews under Nehemiah, when they rebuilt +Jerusalem. After meeting he told us that the members of the Male +Seminary spent yesterday as a day of fasting and prayer, and many +rose confessing their sins. One very wicked man, also from the +village, asked them to pray for him. After work was done in the +kitchen this evening, a little time remained, and the girls there +asked to have a meeting. With gladness of heart I knelt and mingled +my tears with theirs, as though I, too, were commencing the work. +Afterwards Mr. Coan came and sung with us, and we read the accounts +of the week." + +Esli, the writer of the above, is the daughter of Yohanan, a pious +man in Geog Tapa, who for a time was steward of the Seminary. She +was one of the first fruits of the revival of 1856, and graduated +after Miss Fiske's return to America. She has since been a most +faithful assistant of Miss Rice, and is very much beloved by the +pious Nestorians. But the following letter to Miss Fiske, from her +own pen, dated April 1859, will form her best introduction to the +reader:-- + +"When I recall your love to me, my heart is full. I remember the +times when we knelt together before our Father in heaven, in godly +anguish for priceless souls. Especially do I remember when God first +came near to me, how you shared my sorrow by day and by night, and +pointed me to Him who bled for me. After you brought me to Christ, +you showed me the helps to a Christian life; that I must pray not +only in my closet, but also in my heart, when at work or studying, +that God would keep me. O that I had heeded your counsels more! + +"This winter the Lord led me to see my cold state. For a time the +Saviour's face was hidden; then it seemed to be midnight; but I +looked above, and the darkness fled. I saw him standing with open +arms, and quickly I threw myself into those arms. Tears of joy fell +from my eyes, and by the grace of God I was enabled to go forward +day by day. Secret prayer has since been very pleasant to me. + +"We have had pleasant seasons of prayer in our school this winter, +and we trust that some souls have been born again. I have the care +of a circle of girls in the kitchen. They work well, and keep it +clean. I think you know that such work is difficult, but if you were +to come in you would find every thing in order. Every Wednesday we +scour all the shelves and the doors. + +"The girls have made the yard very pleasant; but one thing is +wanting there: we miss you at the cool of the day, walking in it to +see if any evil has grown up in your garden. + +"I went to my village in vacation; the prayer meetings there were +very pleasant, and I enjoyed much, praying with the women alone. Our +seasons of family devotion also were delightful. In the morning we +read the Acts in course; and as each read a verse, my father asked +its meaning. When he went away to preach, I used to lead, and we +then read the portion for the day, in the book called 'Green +Pastures for the Lord's Flock.' + +"In the school we have studied Ezra, in connection with Haggai and +Zechariah, and are now in Nehemiah. In the New Testament we are on +Paul's third journey, and have nearly finished Scripture geography +and theology." + +The Seminary keeps up a Christian intercourse with the institution +at South Hadley, as the following letters will show; and the +beautiful melodeon in the sitting room is a tuneful testimony to the +liberality of Holyoke's daughters. + +"Many salutations and much love from the school of Miss Fiske to +you, our dear sisters of the school at Mount Holyoke. We rejoice +that there is such a great institution full of holy words and the +warm love of Christ: we hear that many of you have an inheritance +above, and are daily looking forward to it. We want to tell you how +glad we are that the Holy Spirit has come among you, and that God +has turned so many to himself. Though we are great sinners, we +rejoice exceedingly in the success of the work of God in every +place; and we beg you to pray that the Holy Spirit may visit us +also, and our people, and strike sharp arrows into flinty hearts, +that they may melt like wax before the fire. Blessed be God, that +though we had become the least of all nations, and adopted many +customs worse than the heathen, and our holy books were carefully +laid away and never used, yet he put love into the hearts of his +servants, that they should come to this dark land. We are greatly +obliged to you and to your people for so kindly sending us these +missionaries. They have greatly multiplied our books, and, as we +trust, brought many souls to Christ. Some of us, formerly, knew not +who Christ was, or whether a Redeemer had died for us; but now he +has gathered us together in this school of godly instruction; and +some of us are awaking to our sins, and to the great love God has +shown in sending his Son to die for us. We thank God very much that +we know Jesus Christ, the only Saviour. + +"Again, we want to thank you for sending Miss Fiske to teach us the +way of life; we love her because she greatly loves us, and desires +our salvation. Every day she takes much trouble that we may be the +daughters of God. But her burdens are so great, that we fear she +will not remain long with us, unless some one comes to help her. And +now we have a petition to present: we hear that in many of you +dwelleth the spirit of our Master, Jesus Christ; and that you are +ready to leave home and friends, and go to distant lands, to gather +the lost sheep of Christ. Dear sisters, our petition is, that you +will send us a teacher.[1] We shall greatly rejoice if one comes, +and will love her very much. We ask this, not because we do not love +Miss Fiske. No! no! this is not in our hearts; but she is weak, and +her work is more than she can do alone. We shall expect one to come, +and pray God to bring her to us in safety. +[Footnote 1: Miss Mary Susan Rice, already mentioned in these pages, +went out this same year (1847), from the Seminary in South Hadley.] + +"Please remember us in your closets and in your meetings, and ask +your friends to pray for us and for our people. Farewell, beloved +sisters." + +The following extracts are from a letter written by them, in 1848, +to Miss Susan L. Tolman, now Mrs. Cyrus T. Mills of the Sandwich +Islands, and formerly of Ceylon:-- + +"Much love from the members of the Female Seminary of Oroomiah to +you, our dear Miss Tolman. We are very glad to find one who loves us +so much, and prays for us. Our delight in your letter was greater +than we can express. Miss Fiske came in joyfully with it in her +hand, and while she read, it seemed as if you were present, inviting +and drawing us to Christ. + +"Give our love to all in your favored school, and ask them to pray +for us. We love all those dear ladies, because they have been so +kind to us, and have been willing that Miss Fiske and Miss Rice +should leave them, and come here for our sakes. Though they were +dear to you, we think that now they have come to us, your joy in +them is greater. We hope to hear of many of you carrying the leaves +of life to the dark corners of the earth. + +"Dear Miss Tolman, you said, 'You love Miss Fiske, you must also +love Miss Rice.' Did you think that we would not love her? We love +them both, not only for leaving their friends to come to us, but +also because they are full of the love of our dear Redeemer. + +"We have heard that you are going to India. We are glad, and love +you more for it, because the love of Christ constrains you to this, +and thus in spirit you come very near to our dear teachers. We +entreat Almighty God to be with you, and bring you in safety to the +place he appoints for you, that you may be a light among a dark +people. We hope that when there you will not forget us, but write us +about your work, and about the daughters of India, whether they love +you much or not. Tell your friends not to sorrow for you, but to +rejoice that they have a friend ready to go and teach those who know +not Christ. The Saviour guide you in all your labors." + +Those who aided Miss Lyon to carry out her large-hearted plans in +New England, little dreamed that offshoots from the vine they +planted would so soon be carried to the ends of the earth. Who does +not admire that grace which, in this missionary age, raised up such +a type of piety to be diffused over the globe? Doubtless it will +undergo changes in Persia, as it has done already; but the devout +student of Providence will watch its growth with interest, and its +developments will not disappoint his hopes. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + +VACATION SCENES. + +IN GAWAR AND ISHTAZIN.--VILLAGES OF MEMIKAN.--OOBEYA, DARAWE, AND +SANAWAR.--IN GAVALAN.--ACCOMMODATIONS.--SABBATH SCHOOL. + +To the interior pictures of the school in the last chapter we add +some vacation scenes, though chronologically in advance of other +things yet to come. + +[Illustration: Tents.] + +Towards the close of July, 1851, Mr. Stocking and family, with +Misses Fiske and Rice, and several native helpers, spent the +vacation in Gawar. Mr. Coan accompanied them on his way to regions +beyond. Wandering from place to place, like the patriarchs of old, +they pitched their tents at first near the village of Memikan. A +sketch of these tents is here presented. The women there were +frequent visitors, and few went away without some idea of the truth +as it is in Jesus. The pious natives were unwearied in labor, and +sometimes woke the missionaries in the morning with prayer for the +people round about them. On the Sabbath, there was preaching in as +many as five different villages, and after morning service in +Memikan, the women came to the tents to receive more particular +instruction from their own sex. In the evening, a mother who had +buried her son in February--then a very promising member of the +Seminary at Seir[1]--brought her youngest daughter, about six years +of age, saying, "We give her to you in the place of Guwergis. He has +gone to a blessed place. You led him there. We thank you, and now +intrust to you our little daughter." Eshoo, the father, spoke of his +departed son with much feeling, but most sweet submission. He said +to Miss Fiske, as the big tears glistened in the moonlight, "I shall +not be here long. I shall soon rejoin him. My hope in Jesus grows +stronger every day." The death of that dear son was not only a great +spiritual blessing to him, but the mere mention of his name at once +secured the attention of the villagers to any thing the missionaries +had to say about his Saviour. +[Footnote 1: Nestorian Biography, p. 127.] + +On Monday, they left for a visit to the Alpine district of Ishtazin. +Unable to take horses along those frightful paths, they rode on +hardy mules. In a subsequent journey over the same road, the +fastenings of Miss Fiske's saddle gave way, and she fell, but +providentially without injury. Sometimes they climbed, or, more +hazardous still, descended, a long, steep stairway of rock, or they +were hid in the clouds that hung around the higher peaks of the +mountain. Now the path led them under huge, detached rocks, that +seemed asking leave to overwhelm them, and now under the solid +cliffs, that suggested the more grateful idea of the shadow of a +great rock in a weary land. Down in the valley were pleasant +waterfalls, little fields rescued by much labor from the surrounding +waste, choice fruits, and such a variety of flowers, that it seemed +as if spring, summer, and autumn had combined to supply them. Then, +in looking up, the eye rested on silver threads apparently hanging +down from far-off summits, but really foaming streams dashing +headlong down the rocks, yet so distant that no sound came to the +ear from their roaring waters. + +The party stopped at Ooreya, on one of its flat roofs, shaded by a +magnificent walnut tree. The villagers brought mulberries, apples, +and other fruits, till they could prepare something more +substantial, and seemed to forget their fears of the patriarch in +their zealous hospitality. After supper, all adjourned to the +churchyard, and there, in the bright moonlight, a crowd of eager +listeners heard of Christ, and redemption through his precious +blood. The silence of night was broken only by the voice of the +preacher, and the echoes of the surrounding cliffs seemed to repeat +joyfully the unwonted sounds. Yonan preached from the words "Jesus +went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching +the gospel of the kingdom." He commenced by asking whether Christ +was right in so doing. They replied, "Certainly he did right." +"Yes," said the preacher, "and as he did, so must his followers do; +and you must expect to see them in Ishtazin. When we cease to climb +over these precipices to come to you, fear lest we have become +Mussulmans, for Christians cannot but go from village to village to +preach the gospel." The reader will see the force of such an appeal, +when he remembers that Mar Shimon had forbidden these people to +receive the missionaries because they preached. This was followed by +a statement of the doctrines that Jesus preached, in which he did +not fail to bring out the essence of the gospel. When he sat down, +Khamis, the brother of Deacon Tamo, followed with a most impassioned +exhortation. The missionaries had thought him a good preacher +before, but the place and the circumstances--he was among his own +native mountains--seemed to carry him beyond himself. All through +this region, the people appeared to render as much honor to him as +they would have done to Mar Shimon. The assembly dispersed, and the +travellers lay down where they were, to battle with the sand-flies +till the welcome dawn lit up the conspicuous summits high above +them. + +Almost every moment of the next forenoon was filled by personal +religious conversation with many who never heard such truths before. +In the evening, even more fixed attention was given to another +service in the open air, at the village of Boobawa, for the pious +Mar Ogen[1] was then living there, and the bright light of his piety +had not shone in vain. Several were earnestly inquiring how to be +saved. +[Footnote 1: Nestorian Biography, p. 267.] + +On Thursday, the day after their return to Memikan, Mr. Coan, Priest +Dunkha, Khamis, and Deacon John left for Central Koordistan, and +Deacon Isaac went to Kochannes. But though the laborers were fewer, +the number of visitors continued the same. Next Sabbath, besides two +services, and two meetings with the women in Memikan, there was +preaching in three other villages. In Chardewar, the home of Priest +Dunkha, Miss Fiske found his daughter, who had come with them from +Oroomiah, already full of work. She had just dismissed her Sabbath +school, and was reading the Bible with her cousin, the village +priest, who did all in his power to help her, both in her school +through the week, and her meetings with the women. One Sabbath, +almost every woman in the place had been present, as was the case +also when she was visited by Misses Fiske and Rice, and Sanum said +that she could not ask for a better place in which to work for +Christ. There was more of real hunger for the truth here than any +where else in the mountains. + +Leaving Memikan, the travellers removed to Darawe, the village +described on page 21. Here they could scarcely get permission to +pitch their tent, or procure provision for themselves and horses; +yet even in such a place, the manifestation of Christian love was +not without fruit, though many bitterly opposed them to the last. +The neighboring villages wondered at the missionaries going there at +all, and still more at their being able to remain. + +At Keyat, the kindness of the people, and pleasant intercourse with +them, were all the more grateful for the contrast with what had gone +before. Here Miss Fiske met with that kind reception from Mar +Shimon, then passing through the place, described on page 159, while +the tent literally flowed with milk and honey furnished by the +villagers, whom he had charged to take good care of their visitors. + +On the following Sabbath, Yonan preached to a congregation of about +two hundred, at Sanawar, where forty families of refugees from Saat +were spending the summer. When Miss Fiske and Miss Rice visited +their camp, they found a number of temporary huts enclosing a +circle, where the domestic labors of spinning, weaving, and cooking +were actively going on. All the women at once left their work, and +welcomed their visitors with every mark of confidence and gladness. +Some of them had heard the gospel from the missionaries in Mosul, as +they had often spent the winter near there. So they drank in every +word with eagerness. + +The ladies were delighted with their visit, especially with a widow, +who, though unable to read, showed unusual familiarity with the +Bible, and, as they hoped, a spiritual acquaintance with its +doctrines. When the topic of our fallen nature was mentioned, "Yes," +said she, "we were all shapen in iniquity, as David testifies." When +asked if she had any hope of being saved from sin, she replied, "I +am very far from God, yet my only hope is in the wounded side of +Jesus Christ. If penitently I stand beneath the blood dropping from +his cross, I hope that my sins, though red like scarlet, may become +as white as snow." Her views of the way of salvation were not only +clear, but beautifully expressed. It was exceedingly refreshing, in +that region where they had expected only darkness, thus to find the +rays of light struggling through from their associates in another +mission; and it gave a delightful foretaste of the time when the +voice of one watchman upon those mountain tops should reach to +another, and on all sides the eye behold the trophies of Immanuel. +It was with feelings of peculiar interest that they heard, some +years after, that this stranger in Sanawar, but, as they fondly +hoped, their sister in Christ, held fast her confidence in his grace +to the end, and so fell asleep in Jesus. + +For a companion picture to the preceding, we turn to the summer of +1852. Mr. Stocking moved out to Gavalan, the native place of Mar +Tohanan, early in the season, and both teachers followed, with +thirteen of their pupils, about the middle of June. The village lies +near the base of a range of mountains, at the northern end of the +plain of Oroomiah, forty miles distant from the city. On the east +the blue waters of the lake seem to touch the sky, and stretch away +to the south in quiet loveliness. Sometimes, when reposing in the +gorgeous light of sunset, or reflecting the red rays of the full +moon, they remind the beholder of the "sea of glass mingled with +fire" revealed to the beloved disciple. The breeze from the lake, in +the long summer days, is very grateful, and the evening air from the +mountains makes sleep refreshing. + +Mar Yohanan gave the school free use of two rooms as long as it +remained. In the court yard before them a large tent was pitched, +that served for dining room, dormitory, and reception room, or diwan +khaneh. An adjoining house afforded a comfortable recitation room. +Here the regular routine of the school went on, and while men from +the village found their way to Mr. Stocking's at the hour of evening +prayer, women also came to the school room at the same hour. At the +last meeting of this kind before Miss Fiske returned to the city, +nearly forty were present, listening with quiet attention to the +words of life. On the Sabbath, the sides of the tent were lifted +outward from the bottom, and fastened in a horizontal position, so +as to admit the air and exclude the sun. The ground beneath was +covered with mats, and formed quite a pleasant chapel. In the +forenoon, this was thronged with attentive hearers. The children of +the boys' school in the village sat close to their teacher. The +members of the girls' school could be distinguished from their +playmates by the greater smoothness of their hair, the whiteness of +their faces, and general tidiness. Among the old men, the venerable +father of the bishop was very conspicuous. The members of the +Seminary crowded round their teachers so as to leave more room for +others, and still all could not get under the shadow of the wings of +the tabernacle. Mr. Stocking preached in the forenoon, and in the +afternoon the people came together again as a Sabbath school. Each +of the pupils of the Seminary had a class of women or girls, and +seemed to learn how to do good faster than ever before. They visited +them at their houses during the week; they sought out the absentees; +and it was delightful to go round the school and note the interest +of both scholar and teacher. If these were zealous in teaching, +those were no less so in learning. The classes, after the +introductory services, filled every available corner in the rooms, +the tent, the front of the house, and even sat on the low mud wall +of the court. With the same variety of character, there was greater +diversity of lessons than in schools at home. Some studied the Old +Testament, and some the New; others were just learning to read, and +those who could not read at all were taught the Scriptures orally. +One class of Armenians was taught in Turkish. + +Matters went on very well for two Sabbaths, but on the third, women +and children had vanished. What was the matter? It had been reported +that all this labor was only a preparation to transport them to +America, and the simple-minded mothers staid away with their +children in great trepidation; but visits from house to house, +during the week, dispelled their fears, and next Sabbath all were +again in their places, and this pleasant labor in Gavalan continued +till September. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + +EARLY LABORS FOR WOMEN. + +FIRST MEETINGS WITH THEM.--FIRST CONVEKT.--FIRST LESSONS.--WILD +WOMEN OF ARDISHAI. + +The teachers of the Seminary did not confine their labors to its +inmates; they expended both time and toil for adult women as well as +for their daughters, and never felt that they gave them too large a +proportion of their labors. At first there was a strong feeling +among most of the women that they might not worship God along with +deacons and readers; and so they could not be persuaded to attend +public preaching. But Miss Fiske found that a few would come to her +room at the same hour; so, encouraged by her missionary sisters +whose hearts were in the work, but whose family cares prevented +their doing it themselves, she visited the women at their houses, to +urge them to come in. Then, as her own knowledge of the language was +as yet imperfect (this was in 1844), and she wisely judged that +listening to a gentleman would sooner prepare them to come in to the +regular service, she secured one of the missionary brethren to +conduct the meeting. The first day only five attended; but soon she +enjoyed the sight of about forty mothers listening to the truth as +it is in Jesus. On the third Sabbath, she was struck with the fixed +attention of one of them, and, on talking with her alone, found her +deeply convinced of sin. She had not before seen one who did not +feel perfectly prepared to die; but this one groaned, being +burdened, and seemed bowed to the dust with the sense of her +unworthiness. When Miss Fiske prayed with her, she repeated each +petition in a whisper after her, and rose from her knees covered +with perspiration, so intensely was she moved: her life, she said, +had been one of rebellion against God; and she knew that no prayers, +fasts, or other outward observances, had benefited her, or could +procure forgiveness. In this state of mind she was directed to +Christ and his righteousness as her only hope; and though for some +time little progress was apparent, at length, as she herself +expressed it, "I was praying, and the Lord poured peace into my +soul." The change in her character was noticed by her neighbors. +From being one of the most turbulent and disagreeable of the women +in her vicinity, she became noted for her gentleness and general +consistency. She has since died, and her last days were full of a +sweet trust in her Saviour. She was the first inquirer among +Nestorian women. + +This meeting was given up as soon as the women found their way to +the regular service; but ever since there have been separate +meetings for them at other hours. + +Until the revival in 1846, those who conducted these meetings had to +labor alone, for there were none of the Nestorians to help them. +Indeed, Miss Fiske had been in Oroomiah more than two years, before +women came much to her for strictly religious conversation, or could +be induced to sit down to the study of the Scriptures. + +Some of her first efforts to interest them in the Bible were almost +amusing in the difficulties encountered, and the manner in which +they were overcome. + +She would seat herself among them on the earthen floor, and read a +verse, then ask questions to see if they understood it. For example: +after reading the history of the creation (for she began at the +beginning), she asked, "Who was the first man?" _Answer_. "What +do we know? we are women;" which was about equivalent in English to +"we are donkeys." The passage was read again, and the question +repeated with no better success. Then she told them, Adam was the +first man, and made them repeat the name Adam over and over till +they remembered it. The next question was, "What does it mean?" +Here, too, they could give no answer; not because they did not know, +for the word was in common use among them; but they had no idea that +they could answer, and so they did not, and were perfectly delighted +to find that the first man was called _red earth_, because he +was made of it. This was enough for one lesson. It set them to +thinking. It woke up faculties previously dormant. The machinery was +there, perfect in all its parts, but so rusted from disuse, that it +required no little skill and patience to make it move at all; but the +least movement was a great gain; more was sure to follow. Another +lesson would take up Eve (Syriac, _Hawa_, meaning _Life_). +Miss Fiske would begin by saying, "Is not that a pretty name? and +would you not like to know that you had a great-great-grandmother +called _Life?_ Now, that was the name of our first mother--both +yours and mine." It was interesting to notice how faces previously +stolid would light up with animation after that, if the preacher +happened to repeat the name of our first parents, and how one would +touch another, whispering with childish joy, "Didn't you hear? He +said Adam." + +Such were the women who came to the Seminary for instruction; but +the teachers also went forth to search out the no less besotted +females in the villages; and, as a counterpart to the above, we +present an account of labors among the wild women of Ardishai, a +village twelve miles south-east from Oroomiah. + +When Miss Fiske had been in Oroomiah about one year, Mr. Stocking +proposed a visit to Ardishai. So the horses were brought to the +gate, one bearing the tent, another the baskets containing Mr. +Stocking's children, and a third miscellaneous baggage; besides the +saddle horses. The first night, the tent was pitched on one of the +threshing floors of Geog Tapa; but as American ladies were a novelty +in Ardishai, the party there, in order to secure a little quiet, had +to pitch their tent on the flat roof of a house. It was Miss Fiske's +first day in a large village, and she became so exhausted by talking +with the women, that she can never think of that weary Saturday +without a feeling of fatigue. As the village is near the lake, the +swarms of mosquitoes allowed them no rest at night; and morning +again brought the crowd with its idle curiosity as unsatisfied as +the appetite of more diminutive assailants. About nine o'clock, all +went to the church, where Mr. Stocking preached, while the women sat +in most loving proximity to their strange sisters, handling and +commenting on their dresses during the discourse. Mr. Stocking could +preach though others talked, and readily raised his voice so as to +be heard above the rest. At the close, Priest Abraham, without +consulting any one, rose and announced two meetings for the +afternoon; one in another church for men, and a second in this for +women, who must all come, because the lady from the new world was to +preach. So the news flew through the neighboring villages. The good +lady called the priest to account for his doings; but he replied, "I +knew that they would come if I said that, and yon can preach very +well, for your girls told me so." He was greatly disappointed, +however, when he found that his notice left him alone to preach to +the men, while Mr. Stocking preached to some six hundred women, with +half as many children. They were a rude, noisy company, not one of +them all caring for the truth; and there was no moment when at least +half a dozen voices could not be heard besides the preacher's. When +he closed, as many as twenty cried out, "Now let Miss Fiske preach." +So he withdrew, and left her to their tender mercies. Her preaching +was soon finished. She simply told them, that when she knew their +language better, she would come and talk with them, but she could +not talk at the same time that they did, for God had given her a +very small voice, and her words would no more mingle with theirs +than oil and water. They said, "Oil and water never mix; but we will +be silent if you will come and preach." Months passed on, and she +again visited the village. The women remembered her promise, and +hundreds came together; but they did not remember to be silent. As +soon as she began, they began; and if she asked them to be quiet, +each exhorted her neighbor, at the top of her voice, to be still; +and the louder the uproar, of course the louder the reproofs. At +length Miss Fiske said, "I cannot say any more, unless you all put +your fingers on your mouths." All the fingers went up, and she +proceeded: "I have a good story to tell you; but if one takes her +finger from her mouth, I cannot tell it." Instantly muzzled voices, +all round the church, cried, "Be still, be still, so that we can +hear the story!" Some minutes elapsed, and the four hundred women +were silent. "Once there was an old woman--I did not know her, nor +did my father, and I think my grandfather did not; but he told me--" +Here commenced many inquiries about said grandfather; but again the +fingers were ordered to their places, and their owners told that +they should hear no more about the woman if they talked about the +grandfather. "Now, this woman talked in meeting,--I should think she +must have been a relative of yours, for ours do not talk in +meeting,--and after many reproofs she was forbidden to go to church +any more if she continued to do so. She promised very faithfully; +but, poor woman, she could not be still; then, as soon as she heard +her own voice, she cried out, 'O, I have spoken in meeting. What +shall I do? Why, I keep speaking, and I cannot stop.' Now, you are +very much like this woman, and as I think you cannot stop, I must." +By this time their fingers were pressed closely on their lips, and +no one made a reply. Having thus secured silence, Miss Fiske took +the New Testament, and read to them of Mary, who, she was sure, +never talked in meeting; for if she had, Jesus would not have loved +her so much. She talked to them about fifteen minutes more, and +prayed with them, and they went away very still and thoughtful. + +Miss Fiske gave this account to the writer, with no idea that he +would print it. But he thinks--and the reader will doubtless agree +with him--that in no other way could he convey so vivid an idea of +woman as she was in Persia, or the tact needed to secure a first +hearing for the truth. Miss Fiske was often called to deal with just +such rude assemblages, and by varied methods she generally succeeded +in securing attention. In subsequent visits to Ardishai the number +of hearers was never again so large; but they came together from +better motives, and, as we shall see, not without the blessing of +the Lord. In March, 1850, Miss Rice met nearly three hundred women +in the same church, some of them awakened, and a few already +hopefully pious. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + +FRUITS OF LABOR IN NESTORIAN HOMES. + +USEFULNESS AMONG RELATIVES OF PUPILS.--DEACON GUWERGIS.--REFORMED +DRUNKARD AND HIS DAUGHTER.--MATERNAL MEETINGS.---EARLY INQUIRERS +FROM GEOG TAPA.--PARTING ADDRESS OF MR. HOLLADAY.--VISIT TO GEOG +TAPA.--SELBY AND HER CLOSET. + +Having thus glanced at early labors for women in the Seminary and in +the villages, let us now turn to another field of usefulness among +the relatives of the pupils, who came to visit them in school; and +here we are at no loss for a notable illustration. + +In the autumn of 1845, Deacon Guwergis, of Tergawer,--and almost +every reader was either priest or deacon,--brought his oldest +daughter, then about twelve years of age, and begged for her +admission to the Seminary. He was known as one of the vilest and +most defiantly dissolute of the Nestorians, and Miss Fiske shrunk +from receiving the daughter of such a man into her flock. Yet, on +the ground that, like her Master, she was sent not to the righteous, +but to the lost, she concluded to receive her. Still the father, +during his short stay, showed such a spirit of avarice and shameless +selfishness,--he even asked for the clothes his daughter had on when +she came,--that she rejoiced when he went away. + +His home was twenty-five miles off, in the mountains, and she hoped +that winter snows would soon shield her from his dreaded visits. +Little did she think that his next coming would result in his +salvation. In February he again presented himself at her door in his +Koordish costume, gun, dagger, and belt of ammunition all complete. +He came on Saturday, when many of the pupils were weeping over their +sins; and the teacher could not but feel that the wolf had too truly +entered the fold. He ridiculed their anxiety for salvation, and +opposed the work of grace, in his own reckless way. She tried to +guard her charge from his attacks as best she could; but they were +too divinely convinced of sin to be much affected by what he said. +His own daughter, at length, distressed at his conduct, begged him +to go alone with her to pray. (The window on the right of the +central door of the Seminary points out the place.) Ho mocked and +jeered, but went, confident in his power to cure her superstition. +"Do you not think that I too can pray?" And he repeated over his +form in ancient Syriac, as a wizard would mutter his incantation. +His child then implored mercy for her own soul, and for her +perishing father, as a daughter might be expected to do, just +awakened to her own guilt and the preciousness of redemption. As he +heard the words "Save, O, save my father, going down to +destruction," he raised his clinched hand to strike; but, as he said +afterwards, "God held me back from it." No entreaties of his +daughter could prevail on him to enter the place of prayer again +that day. + +The native teacher, Murad Khan, then recently converted, took him to +his own room, and reasoned with him till late at night. Sabbath +morning found him not only fixed in his rebellion, but toiling to +prevent others coming to Christ. At noon Miss Fiske went to the room +where he was. (The two lower windows on the right of the engraving +of the Seminary mark the place.) He sat in the only chair there, and +never offered her a seat; so she stood by him, and tried to talk; +but he sternly repelled every attempt to speak of Jesus. She then +took his hand, and said, "Deacon Guwergis, I see you do not wish me +to speak with you, and I promise you that I will never do it again +unless you wish it; but pledge me one thing: when we stand together +in judgment, and you are on the left hand, as you must be if you go +on in your present course, promise me that you will then testify, +that on this twenty-second day of February, 1846, you were warned of +your danger." He gave no pledge, but a weeping voice said, "Let me +pray." The hand was withdrawn, and he passed into the adjoining +room, whence soon issued a low voice, that Miss Fiske could hardly +yet believe was prayer. The bell rung for meeting, and she sent her +precious charge alone, while she staid to watch the man whose +previous character and conduct led her to fear that he was only +feigning penitence in order to plunder the premises undisturbed. She +staid till a voice seemed to say, What doest thou here, Elijah? then +went and took her place in the chapel; soon the door opened again +very gently, and Deacon Guwergis entered; but how changed! His gun +and dagger were laid aside; the folds of his turban had fallen over +his forehead; his hands were raised to his face; and the big tears +fell in silence; he sank into the nearest seat, and laid his head +upon the desk. After Mr. Stoddard had pronounced the blessing, Miss +Fiske requested Mr. Stocking to see Deacon Guwergis. + +He took him to his study, and there, in bitterness of soul, the +recent blasphemer cried out, "O my sins! my sins! they are higher +than the mountains of Jeloo." "Yes," said Mr. Stocking, "but if the +fires of hell could be out, you would not be troubled--would you?" +The strong man now bowed down in his agony, exclaiming, "Sir, even +if there were no hell, I could not bear this load of sin. I could +not live as I have lived." + +That night he could not sleep. In the morning, Miss Fiske begged Mr. +Stoddard to see him, and after a short interview he returned, +telling her that the dreaded Guwergis was sitting at the feet of +Jesus. "My great sins," and "My great Saviour," was all that he +could say. He was subdued and humble, and before noon left for his +mountain home, saying, as he left, "I must tell my friends and +neighbors of sin and of Jesus." Yet he trembled in view of his own +weakness, and the temptations that might befall him. Nothing was +heard from him for two weeks, when Priest Eshoo was sent to his +village, and found him in his own house, telling his friends "of sin +and of Jesus." He had erected the family altar, and at that moment +was surrounded by a company weeping for their sins. So changed was +his whole character, and so earnest were his exhortations, that for +a time some looked on him as insane; but the sight of his meekness +and forgiving love under despiteful usage amazed them, and gave them +an idea of vital piety they never had before. He returned to +Oroomiah, bringing with him his wife, another child, and brother, +and soon found his way to Miss Fiske's room. As he opened the door, +she stood on the opposite side; but the tears were in his eyes, and +extending his hand as he approached, he said, "I know you did not +believe me; but you will love me--will you not?" And she did love +him, and wondered at her own want of faith. In a few days, he was +able to tell Mr. Stocking, with holy joy, that two of his brothers +were anxiously seeking the way of life. His own growth in grace +surprised every one, and his views of salvation by grace were +remarkably clear and accurate. + +When his daughter returned to school, on the 30th of March, she was +accompanied by one of her father's brothers, who seemed to have cast +away his own righteousness, and to rely on Christ alone for pardon. +As no missionary had conversed with him, Mr. Stocking felt desirous +to know how he had been led into the kingdom, and learned that he +had promised Deacon Guwergis to spend the Sabbath with one of the +native teachers of the Female Seminary. This teacher and others +prayed with him, till he threw away his dagger, saying, "I have no +more use for this," and in tears cried out, "What shall I do to be +saved?" He gave no evidence then of having submitted to Christ, but +in his mountain home he seemed to make a full surrender, and became +well acquainted with the mercy seat. The native helpers felt that he +was moving heavenward faster than themselves. In April, it was found +that as many as nine persons in Hakkie, the village of Deacon +Guwergis, gave evidence of regeneration, five of them members of his +own family; and the whole village listened to the truth which the +zealous deacon constantly taught. + +He always remembered the school as his spiritual birthplace, and +ever loved to pray for it. Once, when rising from his knees in the +Male Seminary, where he had been leading in evening devotion, he +exclaimed, "O God, forgive me. I forgot to pray for Miss Fiske's +school." So he knelt again and prayed for it. And Mr. Stoddard said +he did not think there was a smile on a single face, it was done +with such manifest simplicity and godly sincerity. + +In June, 1846, Miss Fiske visited Hakkie with Mr. and Mrs. Stocking. +It was the first time ladies had been in the mountains, and the good +deacon was greatly delighted. Labors were then commenced for females +there that have been continued ever since. The annexed sketch will +give a more vivid idea of the nature of such labors than the most +accurate description. One day the party was toiling up a rough +ascent, and the deacon, as much at home among the rocks as the wild +goats, offered his assistance. The reply was, "We get on very well." +At once his eyes filled, and he said, "You once helped me in a worse +road; may I not now help you?" And his aid was at once gratefully +accepted. At the top of the hill, while the party rested, they heard +his voice far off among the clefts of the rocks, pleading for them +and their relatives in distant America. + +[Illustration: MISSIONARY SCENE IN TEEGAWER.] + +After his conversion, the deacon devoted himself to labors for +souls, especially in the mountains. One might always see a tear and +a smile on his face, and he was ever ready, as at first, to speak +"of sin and of Jesus." He traversed the mountains many times on +foot, with his Testament and hymn book in his knapsack. In the +rugged passes, he would sing, "Rock of Ages, cleft for me," and at +the spring by the wayside, "There is a fountain filled with blood" +flowed spontaneously from his lips. He warned every man, night and +day, with tears, and pointed them to Jesus as their only hope. He +rested from his labors March 12th, 1856, and, as his mind wandered +in the delirium of that brain fever, he dwelt much on those days +when he first learned the way to Christ. He would say, "O, Miss +Fiske was right when she pointed out that way;" and then he would +shout, "Free grace! free grace!" till he sunk away unconscious. +Again he would say, "That blessed Mr. Stocking! O, it was free +grace." These were almost his last words. The daughter who prayed +with him that first Saturday was by his dying bed, and her voice in +prayer was the last earthly sound that fell upon his ear. + +It may strike the reader as strange that a man so notorious for +wickedness as Deacon Guwergis was, should be allowed in the +Seminary; but Oriental notions of hospitality are widely different +from ours; and in order to do good to a people, however rude, they +must feel that you are their friend. No protection from government +can take the place of this feeling of affectionate confidence from +the people; and while sufficient help was at hand to repel any overt +wickedness, the highest usefulness required that patient love should +have its perfect work, and in this case, at least, its labor was not +unrewarded. + +The usefulness of the Seminary among the relatives of its pupils was +illustrated in another case that occurred about the same time. March +2d, 1846, the father of one of the girls called and inquired, with +tears, if his daughter was troubled for her sins. Surprised at such +an inquiry from a notorious drunkard, he was exhorted to seek his +own salvation. He then told how he had been taught the plague of his +own heart, and, as a ruined sinner, was clinging to Christ alone. +His prayers showed that he was no stranger at the throne of grace. +Father and daughter spent the evening mingling their supplications +and tears before the mercy seat. The daughter had given more trouble +than any in school, and several times had almost been sent away. +Four days later, her mother came, and remained several days, almost +the whole time in tears, and hardly speaking, except to pray. Her +daughter and the pious members of the school were unwilling to let +her go till she came to Christ, and she seemed to take him for her +Saviour before she left. She was a sister of Priest Abraham, and had +been so exceedingly clamorous and profane in her opposition to +religion, that her brother had for years dreaded to see her. How did +he rejoice, when, instead of the customary oath, he found her +uttering the praises of her Saviour! The sister of her husband had +been one of the vainest of the vain, wearing an amount of ornament +unusual even for a Nestorian; but she no sooner put on the +righteousness of Christ than she sold her ornaments, and, giving the +proceeds to the poor, clothed herself with that modest apparel which +becometh women professing godliness. The husband himself, though an +illiterate laborer, preached the gospel while at work in the field, +and often took two or three of his associates aside to pray with +them, and to tell them of Christ and his salvation. + +But these cases must suffice: we can only indicate the ways in which +the school became a centre of holy influence, especially for woman; +but it is impossible to narrate all the facts. + +After the revival, the Seminary was thronged with visitors, who +desired the time to be filled up with religious instruction. That +year witnessed a rich ingathering of wives and mothers, brought by +their converted husbands and children to be taught the way of +salvation. The teacher who received visitors always found enough to +do both by day and by night. As soon as there were two praying women +in a village, Miss Fiske and Miss Rice sought to establish female +prayer meetings; and when they visited a village, the women expected +to be called together for prayer; and when the women returned the +visit, they each sought to be prayed and conversed with alone. This +was done also with the communicants generally three times a year. +The prayers and remarks of the pious members of the school often +gave a high spiritual tone to the weekly prayer meeting. +Occasionally there were maternal meetings; and on such occasions one +teacher met with the mothers, and the other with the children in a +separate room. + +These took the place of the early meetings with women mentioned in +the beginning of the chapter, and were very useful. + +Nestorian families have been already described in part, but the +absence of the religious element in them can hardly be realized by +Christians here. They did not believe that a child was possessed of +a soul until it was forty days old. This belief affected all their +feelings towards children, and their custom of burying unbaptized +infants outside of their cemeteries did not serve to correct such +impressions. + +Family registers were unknown. In 1835, probably not five Nestorians +could tell their birthday, and but few knew in what year they were +born. Miss Fiske kept a list of all the children, which was read at +every meeting; but at first she could record the birth of only the +very youngest. The deceased children were written down in a separate +page, and it was sad to see how much they exceeded the number of the +living. One childless mother, who had buried eleven, was always +present; for she said she wanted to pray for the children of others, +though her own were not. They assembled in Miss Fiske's room, +sometimes to the number of thirty, with, such of their little ones +as were too small to attend the other meeting, and, seated on the +floor around her, were never more happy than when telling their +troubles, asking questions, and receiving instructions about family +duties, much more specific than could be given on other occasions. +Now and then she read to them, from English books, facts and truths +adapted to their needs. One good man in Fairhaven, Connecticut, who +had heard of this, sent a complete set of the Mother's Magazine, to +be used in that way. So interested were they, that many of them +walked regularly three miles and back again, under a burning sun, to +enjoy these gatherings; and from a monthly, it had to be changed to +a weekly meeting. It sometimes lasted three hours, but never seemed +to them too long; and, commenced in 1850, it is still kept up with +as much regularity as Miss Rice's many other duties will allow. It +would be interesting to dwell on its results; but a single incident +may suffice. One mother, whose husband was not a Christian, was very +regular in private devotion, but thought she could not offer prayer +in the family, till her husband became dangerously sick, when, in +the agony of her intercession for him, she vowed that, if God would +spare him, she would establish family prayer. So, as soon as he was +able to bear it, she gathered her children around his bed, and after +they had read the first chapter of Matthew, verse about, she led in +prayer, and so went on reading the New Testament in the morning and +the Old Testament in the evening, till she got through with the +whole of the former, before any one of the missionaries knew that +she had commenced. + +The teachers of the Seminary enjoyed very much the visits of the +early inquirers from Geog Tapa, in the summer of 1845, most of whom +became hopefully pious the following winter. Let us look in on one +visit made towards the end of May. A pupil announces that two women +below wish to see Miss Fiske; and a middle-aged stranger is shown +into her room. In answer to the usual inquiry, "From whence do you +come?" she replies, "I have come from Geog Tapa, for I have heard +that you have repented, and I want to know about it." She has walked +six miles on purpose to make the inquiry. "I wish that you, too, had +repented," calls forth the reply, "Alas, I have not! I am on my way +to destruction." Feeling that the Bible was the safest guide for +such an inquirer, Miss Fiske reads appropriate portions, explaining +as she reads. The visitor shows a great deal of Bible knowledge for +one who cannot read, indicating that she had not been inattentive to +the faithful instructions of Priest Abraham and Deacon John, and her +questions are numerous and intensely practical. Among other things, +she asked, "Is it true, that for one sin Adam and Eve were cast out +of Eden?" and on being told that it was so, "There," said she, +turning to the unconcerned neighbor, who had come with her, "do you +hear that? What will become of you and me, who have sinned so +often?" At length prayer was proposed, to which she eagerly and +tearfully assented; and though the tongue that commended her to +Jesus, in that strange language, might have faltered, the heart did +not share in the embarrassment. The woman, like the first inquirer, +repeated every word of the prayer in a low whisper, as though +unwilling to lose a single syllable. The conversation was then +resumed till it was interrupted by the entrance of some of the +pupils on business. "Have you finished?" was the woman's eager +inquiry. "I wish very much to hear more of these things." Her +companion now begged her to go home. "No," was the kind reply; "you +may go, but I must stay here to prayers." Evening prayers were +earlier than usual that evening for her sake, but still she +lingered. She had not yet found rest. Selby, one of Mrs. Grant's +pupils, then in the Seminary, now conversed with her; and as there +seemed to be a sympathy between them (Selby had recently found peace +in believing), they were left by themselves. After supper, Selby +remained with her an hour or more, that they might pray together, +till it was quite dark, and her friends had sent for her repeatedly. +She left, having first begged permission to come in to morning +prayers. Morning came, and before sunrise she was again listening +intently to the reading of the Word, and, after devotions, left for +home, earnestly begging Miss Fiske to come and spend a week in Geog +Tapa. + +The Seminary was dismissed June 5th. On that day, several hundreds +of the parents and friends of the pupils, in both Seminaries, were +invited to a simple entertainment, got up in native style. The +gentlemen of the mission ate in one room, with the men and boys, and +the ladies in another, with their own sex. The confidence and kind +feeling manifested by all towards the school was very gratifying. +After dinner, the whole company, seated in the court, listened to an +address from Mr. Holladay, then about to return home. He spoke to +parents and children on their duties, privileges, and responsibilities: +towards the close, he spoke of the almost certainty of never meeting +them again till the judgment, and bade them an affectionate farewell. +His utterance was often choked, and his hearers wept; and well they +might, for in him they parted with a faithful friend. During the +exercises, the members of the two schools sang, twice, to the great +gratification of their friends. + +That evening most of the pupils went home, all but a few of the +girls carrying with them a copy of the four Gospels, in modern +Syriac, which they had paid for with their needles. + +Miss Fiske left for Geog Tapa on the 14th of June with Mr. Stocking, +reaching that place as the people were coming out from evening +prayers in the church. The first to welcome them were six pupils, +residents in the village, who greeted their teacher with a hearty +good will. Next to them came Pareza, the inquirer, changed somewhat +in her feelings, but with no loss of religious interest. John, too, +was there (the native pastor): he had been busy, day and night, +instructing the people, and had taken special care of the pupils, +that they might both improve themselves and exert a good influence +on others. When Mr. Stocking asked him about matters in the village, +"O sir," said he, "it is a very good time here now; very many love +to hear the truth; their hearts are very open. O sir, I have very +much hope!" After supper, the villagers poured into the room for a +meeting, to the number of one hundred, while some thirty or forty +more were unable to get in. This was all the more welcome, as no +notice whatever had been given. It was a clear moonlight evening, +and the groups outside were distinctly visible, through the latticed +side of the room. John commenced with an earnest prayer for a +blessing on the evening; asking, in his simplicity, that "the people +might run after the word like sheep after salt"--a strange +expression to us, but most appropriate and striking there. Fixed +attention was given to Mr. Stocking's discourse: then John, who feared +that those around the door had not been fed, spoke to them of Zaccheus. +"The crowd about him," said he, "did not know his feelings; but Jesus +knew them, and loved him; and so, mothers and sisters"--they, as an +inferior class, had to take the lowest places while the men were +within--"if you have come here to-night with a broken heart, though we +have not seen you, Jesus has." He then, with Miss Fiske's pupils, sung a +hymn, and the meeting closed. Still, many women lingered; some sitting +down by Miss Fiske, and others in little groups, talking over what they +had heard; very different from previous visits, when dress and such +things were the most interesting themes of conversation. This was +the first meeting in the village in which the missionaries noticed +much religious interest. + +Early in the morning, Miss Fiske's pupils were gathered together for +a Bible class. The women soon filled the room. The exercise +continued all the forenoon, simply because it could not be closed. +It was impossible to send away unfed those who hungered for the +word. Among the women were a few men, one of them the husband of the +inquirer. He was asked, "Have you and your wife chosen the good +part?" He covered his face for a moment; the tears rolled down his +cheeks; and then he said, "By the grace of God, I hope we have." His +heart was too full to say more. + +Soon after noon, Mr. Stocking preached in the church, on the barren +fig tree, to a crowded assembly. The heat and the multitude made the +place very uncomfortable, but the interest deepened till the close. +As soon as they were out of the church, many women crowded around +Miss Fiske, some of whom she could look on as truly pious, and more +as thoughtful. One, who was the first to be awakened about a year +before, seemed now a growing Christian. On leaving, she said, +"Perhaps I shall not see you again till I meet you in heaven." She +seemed to be looking forward with humble hope to a sinless home. +With others, she had encountered much opposition from her family and +friends. She has since entered into rest. + +On the 19th, Selby visited Miss Fiske, and in answer to a question +about a place for private devotion, "O, yes," said she, "there is a +deep hole under our house, like a cellar, and there I go every day +to pray." + +A brief account of her may not here be out of place. In 1830, when +she was an infant in her mother's arms, the cholera in five days +carried her father and five of his household to the grave. In 1838, +she was one of the first pupils of Mrs. Grant. She learned more +rapidly than the rest, and yet was so amiable that she was loved by +those whom she excelled. Still, she was a stranger to God, and she +felt it. When thirteen years of age, her brother took her out of +school, replying to her earnest pleadings, to be allowed to remain, +"You have been there already too long." At the same time she was +forced to marry a boy twelve years of age, with whom she had never +spoken. For days previously, tears were her meat and drink; nor was +she the only one that wept. After this, the missionaries seldom saw +her, till, one cold Sabbath in the winter of 1844-45, a girl entered +the chapel, wrapped, as brides usually are, in a large, white sheet. +She was not recognized, of course, till her mother led her forward, +saying, "I have brought Selby here to-day to listen to the words of +God; she loves them and you very much." She was feeble and much +depressed, and expressed a strong desire to return to school. Her +father-in-law consented to her teaching in the primary department, +on condition that her husband was received into the Boys' Seminary, +which was done. She now manifested much interest in religion, and +one day wept much, and inclined to be alone. The next evening, she +went to Miss Fiske, distressed with a sense of sin. Said she, "I +have lied, and stolen, and sworn; nor that only, but have lived so +long without once loving my kind, heavenly Father! When I felt sadly +about dying at home, I thought then only of hell; but now my sins-- +O, how many they are! I never knew before that I was such a sinner." +The next day, at her father-in-law's request, she was to spend the +Sabbath at home. She was very loath to go, but it was not thought +best to try to retain her, and she went. There she found neither +closet nor Christian friend, and the house was full of guests from +morning till night, whom, she was required to entertain. Yet in the +morning she returned with even increased interest in spiritual +things. Said she, "Two or three times I was left alone for a moment, +and then I tried to commit my soul to my Saviour." Those few moments +she seemed to value above all price. Not long after, she found peace +in Jesus, who became her chosen theme. No wonder she loved to point +others also to the Lamb of God, and lead them to the mercy seat. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + +GEOG TAPA. + +DEACON MURAD KHAN IN 1846.--PENTECOSTAL SABBATH IN 1849.--MEETINGS +IN 1850 AND 1854.--EXTRACTS FROM JOURNAL OF YONAN IN 1858. + +The village of Geog Tapa is so prominent, and has been so largely +blessed, that, though there is not room for a continuous account of +the work in that place, we here give a glimpse of its progress in +different years. + +Deacon Murad Khan, one of the assistants in the Seminary, and a +native of the place, spent some Sabbaths there in May, 1846. He took +turns with the other native teacher in this, going Saturday, and +returning on Monday. He tells us that, after morning prayers in the +church, pious men met together to pray for a blessing on the day; +twelve of their number then went to labor in other villages, the +rest remaining to work at home. Passing through a vineyard, he found +hidden among the vines a youth setting home gospel truth to a group +of others about his own age. At their request, he expounded the +parable of the ten virgins to them till it was time for forenoon +service; then they separated, to spend a few moments in private +devotion before entering the church. + +In 1849, the pious men of the village divided it into districts, and +visited from house to house for religious conversation and prayer. +Meetings were held daily, and well attended. The most abandoned +persons were hopefully converted. Crimes committed twenty-five years +before were confessed, and restitution made. One Sabbath in +February, Mr. Stocking and Mar Yohanan found a large assembly in the +house of Mar Elias, listening to an exhortation from Priest Abraham. +Mar Yohanan, who had not been there since his conversion a little +while before, was then called on, and spoke of himself as the chief +of sinners, having led more souls to destruction than any other of +his people, and being all covered with their blood. In regard to his +flock he said, the fattest he had eaten, the poorest he had cast +away, the lame and the sick he had neglected. He begged them no +longer to look to their bishops for salvation, but to repent at once +and turn to God. Priest Abraham, then recently awakened, also made a +humble confession of his sins as their priest, and besought them, +one and all, to attend to the salvation of their souls. + +In the afternoon, the church was crowded, and a number, unable to +gain admission, retired to a school room, where a meeting was +conducted by a member of the Male Seminary. In the church, they sung +the hymn, "Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly Dove." Mar Yohanan offered +prayer, and Mr. Stocking preached from the text, "Now, then, we are +ambassadors for Christ," and produced a very deep impression, which +was increased by short addresses from the bishop and others. This +was known afterwards by the name of the Pentecostal Sabbath. + +In 1850, those previously renewed gained new light, and those whose +piety was doubtful--to use Deacon John's broken English,-were "very +much firmed." Miss Fiske and Miss Rice spent a day in the village, +after the close of their spring term, and had delightful intercourse +with about twenty women hopefully pious, and many more inquirers. In +the evening, supper was hurried through, and men, women, and +children hastened to the house of the pastor. Mr. Stocking preached +there to a crowded assembly of men, while the teachers adjourned to +a neighboring house, to meet with the women. Their hearts were full +at meeting so many for whom they had alternately hoped and feared, +now sitting in heavenly places in Christ Jesus; they remembered +seeing their first penitential tears, and could hardly restrain +their own for joy. The house was full, and in a silence interrupted +only by stifled sobs, they communed together concerning Jesus and +his grace. It seemed as though God perfected praise that night out +of the mouths of babes, by keeping them perfectly still in their +mothers' aims; and as the pupils of the Seminary belonging to the +village, in their prayers, laid mothers, sisters, and friends at the +feet of Jesus, the place seemed near to heaven. Next day, about one +hundred and fifty attended another meeting, and it was with +difficulty the teachers could tear themselves away. One of the pious +mothers could not bear to have her daughter, recently converted in +the Seminary, leave her sight; and more than once a day they bowed +together at the throne of grace. When this mother met Miss Fiske her +feelings were so intense she could only say, "Thank God," over and +over, and weep. Her husband was moved by his child's anxiety for his +salvation. Once, when she urged him to pray, he replied, "I cannot; +but you may pray for me." She at once knelt and interceded for him, +with many tears. The gray-headed man knelt also, deeply moved, and +tears flowed from eyes not used to weep. When she ceased praying, +she rose; but his strength was gone; he could not rise. Yet the love +of the world was strong within him, and it is to be feared that he +resisted the Holy Ghost. + +In 1854, Miss Fiske found about sixty families maintaining family +prayer, and hardly a family in which there was not some one that +seemed to be a true disciple. John held a prayer meeting Sabbath +morning with those whom he sent out, two and two, to preach in the +neighboring villages, and in the evening they reported what they had +done. Sabbath school commenced about nine o'clock, and before it +opened, almost all were reading or listening to those that read; and +then the school continued in session two hours, without a sign of +weariness. The number wishing to learn to read was so large that it +was difficult to provide for them. Men came begging good teachers +for their wives, and women came pleading for spelling books for +their husbands. After school, at their own request, Miss Fiske met +twenty-one girls, who had been members of her school (twenty of them +now teachers in the Sabbath school), and gave them a word of counsel +and encouragement in their work. At the close of afternoon service, +the women who could read staid with her till near sunset, they never +so thankful before, and she never more thankful to be with them. + +The next glimpse we take of Geog Tapa shall be from a native +standpoint. A young man of the village, possessed of more than +ordinary abilities, was early taken into the Male Seminary. His +influence over the rest was so great, and so decidedly opposed to +religion, that he was about to be sent away, when grace made him the +first fruit of the revival in 1846. Yonan (for that is his name) was +a teacher in the Female Seminary from 1848 till 1858, and, as he was +generally accustomed to spend his Sabbaths in his native village, on +Monday morning he handed in to Miss Fiske a written report of the +labors of the previous day; and from, these we now give some +extracts:-- + +"_January 17th_, 1858. I had a pleasant time in morning family +prayer, at which several young persons were present. The Sabbath +school was followed by a meeting, at the close of which I returned +to my room with four young men. I talked with them about two hours, +first about coming to church,--for they attend only occasionally,-- +and in this they promised to do better. I then questioned until I +reached their inmost souls. I asked one, 'What is the distance +between you and God?' 'My teacher, there is a very great distance +between us.' 'Is it God's fault, or yours?' 'It is mine.' I then +looked on another, noted for his wickedness, and said, 'Beloved, did +not Christ come for you? His stripes, his anguish, his crucifixion,--were +they not for you? Why, then, treat him so ill? Has he left the least +thing undone for you?' He admitted the truth, but seemed like a rock. +At length I said to them, 'Now, Satan has provided something or +somebody outside the door, to drive these thoughts from your +hearts.' One replied, 'True, Satan has let down all the nets of the +Sea of Ardishai[1] for us.' I prayed for them, and they left me, +serious. Then I prayed for them alone. Soon my little sister Raheel +came in, who is under Papal influence. I talked with her about +prayer to the saints, and opened to the ten commandments, and began +to read; but she did not want to hear. My heart yearned over my poor +sister, and I prayed with her. +[Footnote 1: Lake of Oroomiah.] + +"Moses preached in the afternoon about Achan, and after that I had +my usual meeting with the pious women. Guly returned with me for +conversation. I think she is a blessed Christian. She labors and +prays with two of her companions. She told how her cousin ridiculed +her, and I encouraged her to go forward, but said, 'If all the world +think you a Christian, don't rest till you can say, 'I know in whom +I have believed."' We prayed together, and O, what a prayer she +offered! Deacon Siyad led the evening meeting. + +"_January 24th_. After morning service, I took Baba Khan and +Guwergis to my room. The first I had labored with last year, and +thought him interested. His wife fears God, and has often asked me +to talk with him. He is seldom absent from church or prayer meeting, +and often goes out with our young men when they preach. This was my +thought in talking with him: 'Near the kingdom, but not in it.' I +earnestly pressed these questions: What do you think of yourself? +What is your dependence for salvation? Have you repented? In short, +on which side are you? He was troubled; tears ran down his cheeks, +and for a time he made no reply. At last he said, 'I cannot tell.' A +companion began to answer for him, with the confidence of ignorance, +judging Christians and finding holes in the coats of the righteous: +'Who knows whether a man is a Christian? God alone.' I said, 'Are +there any Christians in our village?' 'Yes.' 'Then you know some as +Christians?' His words were many, while Baba Khan's were few. My +father here came in, but I prayed with them all, and then went to +church, where I preached from the words, 'And thou mourn at the +last.' + +"To-day I conversed with Sadee. I found her in the habit of praying +with her sisters in Christ one by one. I advised her to try and lead +some of her unconverted neighbors to Christ by her labors and +prayers. She promised to do so. We spent more than an hour speaking +the language of Canaan, and then knelt at the feet of the Saviour +whom we love. She prayed, spreading out her hands to heaven, as I +think the early saints used to do; and it seemed as though God would +fill us with blessing in answer to that prayer. She left me alone, +and thanking God for these blessed opportunities to labor. + +"_January 31st_. After meeting, conversed with Munny, daughter +of Mukdesseh. It was profitable to talk with her. She said that her +sainted mother used to say, "When, my heart is cold, I go to Christ, +and never rise from my knees till he warms it." She has some hope +for her husband, and also fear, since he does not forsake wine. She +told of a woman for whom she had prayed and labored five or six +years, and promised to do so with others. O, what a sweet savor of +piety did I receive from her! If we had many such mothers in Geog +Tapa how changed it would be! I cannot write all our pleasant words; +they remain for eternity. + +"_February 7th_. I took home from Sabbath school two young men, +for whom I have fears because they drink too much wine. I talked +long with them, not as though I would take a pledge from them, or +that it is a sin ever to drink at all, for I thought this would not +be profitable; but I asked them questions, that they might +themselves distinguish what is right; as, 'Does wine make you to +sin?' They owned that it did. Their hearts seemed won to the right, +but the work is the Lord's. May he save them from this temptation. + +"In the afternoon, I began to talk with Sanum without feeling, but +ended in tears. I did not ask questions, but carefully explained the +difficulties and the fight of faith, also the special grace of God +to his people. When I said to her, 'I want you to enlarge your +heart, and take in one more besides the two women whom you now labor +with,' she selected a very ignorant one. I am afraid that I do +differently, seeking rather an easy work. + +"_February 22d_. This afternoon I sent for Nargis. I had never +thought of her as a Christian, but I found that I was greatly +mistaken. It is all my own fault. I had seldom met her, and never +prayed with her. I commenced: 'Do you think yourself a Christian?' +'I do.' 'How long have you thought so?' 'About eight years.' 'How is +it that I have not known it?' 'Yakob was my pastor, and since he +left I have had none.' Then she told of her awakening, and +sufferings for Christ's sake, between her betrothal and her +marriage. 'I used to go to evening meetings with Yakob, and on my +return my uncle would take me by the braids of my hair and throw me +on the ground, saying, "You go because there are young men there." +Sometimes I found the door barred against me; then I went to a +neighbor's to lodge, or oftener to the stable, and slept in a +manger; but I was never afraid, for Christ was with me: for a time +my betrothed wished to put me away. It was then I found Christ, and +I have never forsaken him since.' She is now poor and in distress. +She attends church and Sabbath school, but cannot go to evening +meeting, as her two little children keep her at home. She lamented +this, not thinking that she could serve Christ in the care of these +little ones. I told her, 'I preach that prayer and the care of +children are equally a duty.' She was greatly comforted: these words +seemed like oil poured into the flickering lamp. I gave her the +'Green Pastures,' and prayed with her. I have great confidence in +her piety. + +"On Friday forenoon, I saw Martha, the wife of Eshoo. I trust she +has grace in her heart; and her husband hopes that he is a +Christian, but looks after her more than himself. She sees him not +doing right, and tells him in love; he is not pleased. Still, she +thinks him a Christian. She wished I would talk to them together, +that their path might be one. I told her I did not think it best +that she should talk much to him, but be very quiet, pray for him, +be obedient to him, and hope to win him by her chaste conversation +coupled with fear. She received my words well. + +"_February 28th._ I talked with Moressa. We hoped, seven or +eight years ago, that she was a Christian; but her husband soon +prevented her attending meeting, and so she remained, till lately +she came to church again. I did not know that one of the sisters in +Christ had prayed regularly with her all this while, but supposed +that she had gone back to her dead forms, and that God moved me to +call her to repentance. But I found her trusting that she had been +set in Christ's breastplate, the light of which can never go out. I +said, 'Do you think you love the Saviour?' 'Yes, as the apple of my +eye.' 'Are you sure that you have not forsaken him in all these +years?' 'I have been very sinful all the time, but do not think I +have taken my hand from Christ.' My heart was now drawn towards her. +I said, 'Moressa, forgive me. I have been an unfaithful shepherd. I +have not once searched for you. I confess my faults.' 'I have +faults. I have been a wandering sheep, forsaking the fold.' 'Have +you kept up secret prayer during all these years?' 'I have.' I found +that she had learned to read at home, and I gave her a Testament. I +have a good hope for her; but how negligent I have been! There may +be many Christians unknown." + +These extracts might be extended; but enough have been given to +illustrate the inner workings of Nestorian piety, and the labors of +those so appropriately called "native helpers." It was such men that +Paul called his helpers in Christ Jesus. + +The women of Geog Tapa, in a letter to Miss Fiske, written Feb. +1861, thanking her for her labors among them, say, "We often think, +What are we more than the women of other nations, that we should +have such heavenly blessings? and are ready to cry, Blessed is the +dust of the land that sends forth such good news, and makes known +the way of life to the world." They add, that at their last +communion more than eighty souls sat down at the Lord's table; and +it seemed as if He who sitteth between the cherubim was present in +the church. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + + +REVIVAL IN 1846. + +PREPARATORY WORK.--SANCTIFIED AFFLICTIONS.--NAME FOR REVIVAL.-- +SCENES IN IHE SEMINARIES IN JANUARY.--DEACON JOHN, SANUM, AND +SARAH.--MR. STODDARD.--YAKOB.--YONAN.--MEETING IN THE BETHEL.-- +PRIEST ESHOO.--DEACON TAMO.--PHYSICAL EXCITEMENT AND ITS CURE.-- +ARTLESS SIMPLICITY OF CONVERTS.--MISSIONARY BOX.--MEETINGS BEFORE +VACATION.--MR. STODDARD'S LABORS.--FEMALE PRAYER MEETING.--REVIVAL +IN THE AUTUMN. + +The first revival in Oroomiah seemed to burst forth like a fountain +in the desert. Yet, as such a fountain, though springing full grown +from the earth, is connected with unseen arrangements working out +that visible result, so was this revival connected with an extended +process of preparation. For years there had been a laborious +inculcation of divine truth, especially in the Seminary. True, there +had been few conversions; but those few were an essential part of +the preparatory work. The roots of this revival extended back as far +as the conversion of Deacon John, in 1844. Even in those still +unconverted, there had been a wonderful preparation of the way of +the Lord. No one could compare the condition of the places yet +unblessed by missionary labor, with those so favored, and not feel +this. Religious education had made a marked improvement in the +appearance of the pupils of both Seminaries, in their personal +habits, their intelligence, and especially in their knowledge of the +doctrines of the gospel. Old superstitions had lost their hold; they +could no longer trust in fasts and ceremonies, and they had an +intellectual understanding of the way of salvation through a +Redeemer. True, all this did not necessarily involve a spiritual +work; but God is pleased to have the way thus prepared for that +Spirit who sanctifies through the truth. Those who had received the +most instruction were the first to come to Christ, and have since +lived the more consistent Christian life. + +Then, in the good providence of Him who always observes a beautiful +order in the manifestations of his grace, other influences tended to +the same result. The very delay of the blessing called forth earnest +prayer from the husbandmen who were waiting for precious fruit, and +had long patience for it, till they received the early and the +latter rain. The trials which the missionaries had passed through in +1845 also tended to produce that despair of help from themselves +which usually precedes blessing. In 1844 they numbered sixteen +souls; but in 1846, from various causes, they were diminished to +ten. These were not discouraged, but remained at their post +confident that labors in the Lord cannot be in vain. Then the +persecution under Mar Shimon shut them up to God as their only hope, +while it rid them of some native helpers, who cared chiefly for +their own temporal advantage. The army of Gideon, on all sides, was +being diminished in order to secure obedience to that precept, "He +that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord." The feeling was general, +"all our springs are in God." One of the missionaries said, in the +autumn of 1845, "God never formed a soul that Christ cannot redeem +from the power of sin. I know this people are sunk in sin and +degradation; but Jesus died to save them, and we may see them +forever stars in his crown of rejoicing, if we are only humble and +faithful enough to lead them to the Saviour." + +At the time of the revival, Dr. and Mrs. Perkins resided at Seir, +and Dr. and Mrs. Wright were temporarily with them in that village. +Mr. Breath was in the city, but using the Turkish mainly, he never +ventured to give religious instruction in Syriac; so that Mr. +Stocking and Mr. Stoddard were the only laborers in Oroomiah. They +lived on the mission premises already described; and at that time +the Male Seminary occupied a building in the same enclosure. + +One day in the autumn of 1845, Mr. Stocking, Miss Fiske, and Deacon +John were riding together, when John asked in English, "If we ever +have a revival here, what shall we call it?" Mr. Stocking replied, +"Let us get it first; then we will find a name;" and when it did +come, the pious Nestorians at once called it "an awakening." + +Towards the close of December, Mr. Stocking noticed repeated +indications of deep seriousness among the pupils of Mr. Stoddard, +and felt that they were on the eve of a revival. About the same +time, Deacon John was more active in labor, and earnest in prayer. +In the Seminaries, the teachers did not think so much of what their +pupils were, as of the power of God to make them like himself. They +labored in hope, expecting a blessing; but it came sooner than they +looked for, and in larger measure. The first Monday of the new year, +January 5th, was spent as a day of fasting and prayer; and the +missionaries had just begun to pray, when they found that some were +praying for themselves. Miss Fiske went into her school, as usual, +at nine o'clock, and, after telling her flock that many prayers were +being offered for them that day in a distant land, led their morning +devotions, and then sent them into another room to study with a +native teacher. Sanum and Sarah lingered behind the rest; and as +they drew near, she asked, "Did you not understand me?" They made no +reply; and she saw they were weeping. "Have you had bad news?" Still +no reply; but when they got near enough, they whispered, "May we +have to-day to care for our souls?" and Sarah added, "Perhaps next +year I shall not be here." There was no private room to give them, +but they made a closet for themselves among the fuel in the wood +cellar, and there spent that day looking unto Jesus; nor did they +look in vain. Their teacher did not know where they had gone, till, +long after one of them had died, the survivor gave her an account of +that memorable day. + +On Sabbath evening, January 18th, the words at the English prayer +meeting were few; but the prayers carried the dear pupils and laid +them at the feet of Jesus. At the close of the meeting, Mr. Stoddard +was lighting his candle to go home, when Mr. Stocking asked if he +saw any indications of interest in his school. There was no reply; +but the expressive face, and the candle dropping unnoticed as he +held it, showed that thought was busy, and the heart full. At length +he said, with deep feeling, "I should expect to see interest if we +felt as we ought to feel;" and passed out. All were impressed with +his manner, so earnest, yet so humble. He retired to his study, +called John, and talked with him on the state of the school. He +proposed that they should each day make some one pupil a subject of +special prayer and personal effort, and begin that night with Yakob +of Sooldooz. They prayed together for him, and then he said, "John, +I want to talk with him to-night; we don't know what may be on the +morrow; go and call him." Yakob, who had acted badly in meeting that +day, came, expecting to be punished; but when Mr. Stoddard kindly +asked him to come and sit down by him, and, taking his hand, said, +"Have you ever thought that you have a soul to be saved or lost?" he +broke down at once. He confessed that the whole school had combined +to shut out the subject from their thoughts, but really felt so +uneasy, that if one of them should be brought to Christ he thought +all would follow. Then the good man, who was so distressed that day +because he could see no impression made by the sermon, thanked God +and took courage. Not willing to devote Monday to Yakob alone, he +conversed with another of the same name, and he too went away +weeping to his closet. The two had been in the recitation room but a +little while before their feelings became so intense that they had +to ask leave to retire. "It is God!" "It is God!" was whispered from +seat to seat; and at noon a group collected to discuss what was to +be done. One proposed to rise up against the work, and put it down; +but at length Yonan of Geog Tapa said, "I don't want to be a +Christian; I don't mean to be; but I am afraid to oppose this; we +had better let it alone. If it is God's work we cannot put it down, +and if it is man's work it will come to nought without our +interference." Nothing more was said, but before school commenced +that afternoon, some of those boys were on their knees in prayer. + +In the evening, Mr. Stoddard sent for two leaders in the opposition, +very promising scholars, but of late forward in every thing that was +evil--one of them this Yonan, and as he himself told afterwards: +"Mr. Stoddard said, 'If you do not wish to be saved yourselves, I +beg of you, from my inmost soul, not to hinder others;' and eternity +so opened up before me, that I was ready to be swallowed up. I +longed for some one to speak to me of the way of escape; but no such +word was spoken to me that night. I could not sleep, for I was +almost sure there was but a step between me and death." Late on +Thursday evening, the other Yonan, of Ada, came to Mr. Stoddard in +extreme agitation, who conversed with him a while, and then left him +there to pray alone. That night he too could not sleep. The years he +had spent in sin rose up before him in the light of God, and filled +him with anguish; but next morning, in conversing with Mr. Stoddard, +he seemed to find rest in submitting to sovereign mercy. + +On Monday evening, the indications of interest in the Female +Seminary were such, that the teacher invited those disposed to seek +salvation at once, to come to her room at five o'clock. Before that +hour, a number had retired to pray for themselves. Just then, Mr. +Stoddard came to the door of the teacher, saying, "I cannot stop; +but I wanted you to know that four or five of my boys are much +distressed for their sins." This was the first intimation she had of +what was taking place in the other school; and she turned away from +Mr. Stoddard to find five of her pupils in the same condition. Mr. +Stoddard came in again, in the course of the evening, to pray and +consult; and Mr. Stocking gave up every thing else to labor with the +pupils in both schools. Both Dr. Perkins and Dr. Wright came down +frequently from Seir. Every day brought out new cases of those who +were being taught of God. Wednesday evening, at the conclusion of a +sermon from Mr. Stocking, on the words, "Behold, I stand at the door +and knock," no member of the Male Seminary seemed willing to leave +his seat. After a few words of exhortation, they were dismissed to +their rooms; but so intense were their feelings that they came in +crowds to the teacher's study, where he preached Jesus Christ, and +forgiveness through his blood, till near midnight; then, fatigued +and exhausted, he retired to rest. Thursday evening, in the English +prayer meeting, Mr. Stoddard said, "God will assuredly carry forward +his own work. Let us give ourselves up to labor for him, in pointing +these precious souls to Christ." After the meeting, the teachers of +both Seminaries left to engage in that blessed work till midnight. +Eleven years after, on the same evening, and about the same hour, +one was called to see the other pass from earth into the presence of +the Saviour whom he then set forth so faithfully. No wonder the +survivor recalled it in the hush of that parting scene. + +It is difficult to describe the occurrences of this eventful week. +The teachers' rooms were in such demand as closets for the pupils, +that they could hardly command them long enough for their own +devotions. They were ready to write "Immanuel" on every thing around +them. The girls were very free to express their feelings, and they +had such perfect confidence in their teacher, that often, during the +revival, some of them woke her in the morning, standing at her +bedside, with some inquiry about the way of life. + +The two schools hardly knew any thing of each other till Friday +evening, when they met in a room fitted up for the Female Seminary +the preceding autumn. The first time Mr. Stoddard entered it after +this, he looked round, and said, "May this room be wholly +consecrated to the Lord forever;" and this evening Christ seemed to +take possession of it. The boys sat on one side, and the girls on +the other; and seldom, perhaps, has there been a company more under +the influence of things unseen. It seemed as though God himself +spoke that evening through his ministering servants, and this and +that one was born there and then. It was in the same room that that +last prayer meeting of the teacher with her former pupils was held, +July 15th, 1858. In the engraving, the two upper windows, +immediately to the left of the small ones over the central door, +belong to this room. + +At the close of the week, ten of the pupils were trusting in Christ; +and of the next Lord's day it might truly be said, "That Sabbath was +an high day," for the Lord was present, and many strong men bowed +before him. Priest Eshoo had watched the boys; he had watched his +own praying Sarah; and now he looked within. He had never been known +to weep; he scorned such weakness; but when, at the close of the +afternoon service, Mr. Stocking took his hand, saying, "Be sure you +are on the right foundation," he buried his face in his handkerchief +and wept aloud. Nor did he weep alone; Deacon Tamo, too,--whose +levity all through the week had been a sore trial to Mr. Stoddard, +so that he had asked, "Can it be that God has let him come here to +hinder the work?"--now trembled from head to foot. Mr. Stoddard +prayed with him, and as they rose from their knees, Tamo looked him +in the face, and, with streaming eyes, said, "Thank you, thank you +for caring for my soul." + +During the following week, most of the inmates of both Seminaries +were deeply convinced of sin, and daily some souls seemed to come to +the Saviour. + +But some things rendered it apparent that the interest was not all +from above. One evening, fifteen or twenty boys were found rolling +on the floor, groaning and crying for mercy. Measures were taken at +once to prevent the repetition of such a scene, and at evening +prayers Mr. Stocking commenced his remarks by asking if any of them +had ever seen the Nazloo River, at Marbeeshoo, near its source. +Startled by what seemed a very untimely question, a few answered, +"Yes." "Was there much water in it?" Wondering what he could mean, +the answer was, "No; very little." "Did it make much noise?" "Yes; a +great deal." The catechist went on: "Have you seen the same river on +the plain?" By this time, every ear was listening, and all replied, +"Yes." "Was it deep and wide?" "Yes; it was full of water." "And was +it more noisy than at Marbeeshoo?" "No; it was very quiet and +still." The parable was now applied very faithfully. He said that he +had hoped the Holy Spirit had been teaching them the evil of their +hearts; but their noise and confusion that evening showed him that +there was no depth to their experience. The effect was wonderful; +they hung their heads and quietly dispersed, and from many a closet +that night might have been heard the petition, "Lord, make me to +know my heart, and let me not be like that noisy river." What +threatened to be an uncontrollable excitement became at once a quiet +but deep sense of guilt. Their desires were not less intense, but +more spiritual; their consciences were very tender, and their +feelings contrite, but subdued and gentle. + +In this revival, the converts had a great deal of feeling, but no +knowledge of the mode in which such feelings find expression in +Christian lands; and in the freshness and strength of their emotions +they yielded to every impulse with an unconscious simplicity that +was exceedingly interesting. If they were under conviction of sin, +that found immediate and unrestrained utterance. If they thought +they were forgiven, that, too, at once found expression. There was a +wonderful transparency of spirit that revealed each varying aspect +of their feelings, and withal a tendency to undue excitement that +needed careful handling. Indeed, it was found necessary to watch +their social meetings very closely, and sometimes to direct them to +pray alone. + +For three weeks, very few visitors came to the Seminary. The time +seemed to be given expressly for the benefit of the pupils, and it +was like one continual Sabbath. Every corner was consecrated to +prayer, and most of the work was direct effort for the salvation of +souls. But after that, visitors began to come, and then the young +converts became helpers in Christ Jesus, even the sight of their +devotion turning the thoughts of others to spiritual things. Often +ten or fifteen women spent the night on the premises; and at such +times, all the spare bedding was brought into the great room, which +was transformed into a dormitory. The teacher often staid with them +till midnight, and then, from her own room, could hear them praying +the rest of the night. In connection with this, one incident claims +our notice. One day in February, a box arrived from America for the +Seminary; but so engrossed was the teacher with more important +duties, that it was midnight ere she could open it. Next morning, +all were invited to her room, to see the contents. She told of the +kind friends who had sent it, and the love of Christ, that +constrained to such kindness. They were moved to tears, but not one +rose to examine the things, and not a word was spoken, till the +proposal was made that the quilts should be kept for the use of +their friends who came to hear the word of God. All joyfully agreed +to that, and then, after looking at the articles, they returned to +pray for their benefactors. + +The last meetings of the school before the March vacation were +called thanksgivings, and fitly, too, for in the two Seminaries as +many as fifty souls had begun to love the Saviour, When they left, +the universal cry was, "Pray for us." "Pray for us in the +temptations that await us at home." One little girl said, "Did you +ever see a new-born lamb cast into the snow and live? And can we +live?" Thank God, most of the hopeful converts did live, and we +trust are to live forever, with the good Shepherd who gave his life +for their salvation. + +It does not fall in with the design of this volume to give a +complete account of the revival, but we cannot leave it without a +word more about the instrumentality of Mr. Stoddard in connection +with that work of grace. He was abundant in preaching. He did not +think that the most ordinary sermons are good enough for the mission +field; for he knew that the Nestorians could discriminate as well as +others nearer home, and so wrote out his sermons carefully in +English, but in the Syriac idiom, noting on a blank page the books +consulted in their preparation. He also excelled in labors for +individuals. The first inquirer became such while Mr. Stoddard +pressed home upon his conscience his guilt as a sinner against God; +and the same is true of many others. After conversing with a person, +he always led him to the throne of grace, and then had him present +his own offering there; and after such a one had left, he seemed +unable to turn his thoughts to any thing else, till again in private +he had commended him to God. Indeed, he often began to do this +before they descended the stairs. He kept a little book, in which he +recorded every case, the state in which he found the person, and any +subsequent change; and it was noticed that where he began, he +continued to labor, not only till there was hope, but even assurance +of hope. Such labor is as exhausting as it is delightful; and no +wonder his strength proved less than his zeal and love. + +It was a great joy to him when his people could take part in prayer +meetings. He divided the thirty converts among them into three +circles, and met each of them twice a week: this furnished him a +season of refreshment every day, and each of them took part at least +once a week. They were thus early initiated into a course of +Christian activity, and taught that they would lose much themselves, +besides failing to do good to others, if they held back. The +converts were so rooted and grounded in this truth, that once, when +Miss Fiske was in Geog Tapa, a brother said to her that she must not +leave the village till she had induced a woman to pray with her, +whom they all regarded as a Christian, but who would not take part +in their female prayer meetings; and when she objected to urging +her, Deacon John replied, "If she was an ordinary Christian, we +might let her pass; but her position is one of such prominence, that +the other women will do just as she does; and so she must do right," +Miss Fiske talked long with the delinquent, but she insisted that +she could not do it. The missionary told of her own trials in the +matter,--how she had staid away from meeting lest she should be +called on, and remained unblessed till she was willing to do her +duty. She prayed with her once and again, even a third time, before +she consented, saying, "I will not displease God any more in this." +So, drawing very close to her instructor, she offered two petitions +for herself, and one that her friend might be rewarded for showing +her her duty. Hannah was soon active in the women's meetings, and is +to this day a most useful and consistent Christian. + +Another marked feature in Mr. Stoddard's labors was his tact in +setting others to work for Christ. He taught his pupils that they +must toil as well as pray, and soon after the first converts were +brought to Christ, definite labor for others was assigned to them, +not only among their schoolmates and those who visited the premises, +but also in gathering in those not disposed to come to meeting. +Once, when three fourths of the pupils were hopefully pious, Mr. +Stoddard said, "I must bring in more, just to furnish work for these +converts." He himself was happy in his work, because he gave himself +wholly to it, without the least reservation; and amid the many +trials that marked the years of his residence in Persia, he looked +beyond them all, to Him who not only can give joy in suffering, but, +by means of it, bring sinners to the Saviour. + +The hopeful converts in the Seminary, after spending the summer of +1846 at their own homes, in circumstances of great trial and +temptation, returned, all save one, not only retaining their +interest in spiritual things, but established in Christian +character. Their friends also testified to their thoughtfulness, +prayerfulness, and cheerful obedience at home, and the influence of +their piety was happy on others. + +For a while, in the autumn of 1846, the school was disbanded on +account of the cholera. But, contrary to the fears of many, after a +separation of two months, all were spared to meet again, though +hundreds had fallen on all sides. Three weeks afterwards, the +Christians among them seemed more than usually earnest in prayer for +the conversion of the impenitent, and at once the answer came. The +first one awakened was Moressa, now the wife of Yakob, of Supergan, +and then about fourteen years of age. She had been taken into the +family of Mrs. Grant nine years before, and that of Mr. Stocking +afterwards. She had received much religious instruction, with +apparently little effect; but now her convictions were deep, though +she did not submit to Christ for nearly a week after she felt she was +lost. Her case deeply enlisted the sympathies of her fellow-pupils, +and soon several others passed through a season of deep distress, +to rest in the grace of Christ. + +One of these was Eneya, sister of Oshana, and now the wife of +Shlemon, in Amadia. Her widowed mother had fled with her children to +Oroomiah before the Koordish invasion of her native Tehoma. Few +children have so deep a sense of sin as she had, or exercise such +implicit trust in the Saviour. At that time, her teacher wrote, "May +she become a messenger of great good to her countrywomen;" and now, +that prayer is being answered in her usefulness in that distant and +lonely field of labor. Altogether there were seven who seemed at +this time to take the Lord Jesus Christ as their God and Saviour. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + + +FIRST FRUITS. + +SARAH, DAUGHTER OF PRIEST ESHOO.--MARTHA.--HANNAH. + +Let us now turn aside to take a nearer view of the first fruits of +this revival. The first to ask the way to heaven, to find it, and to +enter through the gate into the city, was Sarah, or Sarra, as the +Nestorians pronounce it. She was born among the rude mountaineers of +Gawar, in 1831. Her father, Eshoo, then a deacon, regarded her at +first with the aversion Nestorian fathers usually felt towards their +daughters; but her strong attachment to him while yet a child, so +won his heart, that when the Koords overran Gawar, in 1835, and the +family fled from their smouldering village, he was willing to be +seen carrying her on his back, in the same way that his wife bore +her younger sister. The family stopped for a time at Degala, and +subsisted by begging from door to door, lodging at night in a +stable. The fine intellect of the self-taught father soon brought +him to the notice of the missionaries; and one day Mrs. Grant, then +just about securing her long-cherished desire of a school for girls, +asked him, in her winning way, "Have you any daughters? and will you +not send them to our little school?" The inquiry revived a wish that +he had felt while yet in Gawar, that his daughter should learn to +read; and in the spring of 1841, when he moved from Degala to the +city, he sent her to the mission school. She had just entered her +tenth year--a tall, slender, dark-eyed girl, even then giving +indications of her early death, and though often a great sufferer, +she applied herself so diligently to study, that she soon became, as +she ever continued to be, the best scholar in the school. + +The ancient Syriac Bible was the principal text book; and she so far +mastered that language as to acquire a knowledge of Scripture rarely +attained in any land by a child of her years. She was the walking +concordance of the school; and her knowledge of the doctrines of the +Bible was even more remarkable. Under the teaching of Mrs. Harriet +Stoddard, she had also learned to sing sweetly our sacred music. +Still, with all her acquirements, she was destitute of grace; and +her declining health led her teacher to feel much anxiety for her +salvation. + +On the first Monday in 1846, she said to Sanum, one of her +schoolmates, who, she knew, was thoughtful, "Sister, we ought to +turn to God. Shall we ever find a better time than when so many are +praying for us?" They together resolved to spend the day in seeking +salvation; and the manner in which they made known this purpose to +their teacher, and carried it out, has been already related. (See p. +116). From that day, she never seemed to waver. As soon as she found +peace for herself, she sought to make others acquainted with her +Saviour; not forgetting, however, that prayer of the Psalmist, +"Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts. +See if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way +everlasting." Feeble as she was, she never shrank from labor. Hours +every day were spent in her closet, and the rest of her time was +sacredly used for Christ. She had much to do with the conversion of +the twenty schoolmates whom she was permitted to see in Christ +before she went home; and she did much for the women who came to the +Seminary. Her teacher never knew a young person more anxious to save +souls. Both pupils and visitors loved to have Sarah tell them the +way. They said, "We can see it when she tells us." No wonder they +saw it, for she seemed to look on it all the time. Her teacher +depended much on her, and yet often remonstrated with her for such +incessant labors. Still she felt that she must be about her Father's +business while the day lasted. Her desires for the salvation of her +father seemed to commence with her anxiety for herself; and his +feelings were soon so tender that he could not answer an inquiry +about his own state without tears. Sarah was the first to know that +he had found peace. His first religious intercourse with her was to +tell her that he had found Jesus. He had known that she was +thoughtful, but was not prepared to find her so full of humble hope +and holy joy. Next day, when urged by a missionary to labor for the +salvation of his family, he replied, "Sarah knows the way to heaven +better than I do. She can teach me far better than I could her." +Their previous strong attachment now ripened into Christian love. He +never felt that his daily bread had been given him, if he had not +knelt with her in prayer, and his heart been lifted up by her +petitions as well as his own. Her mother at first scoffed; but soon +she, too, sought the Saviour; and her younger daughter, whose evil +ways for a time tried Sarah sorely, was also afterwards brought into +the kingdom. + +Mr. Stocking used to call her "the best theologian among the +Nestorians," and often said, "If I want to write a good sermon, I +like to sit down first and talk with Sarah, and then be sure that +she is praying for me." + +Her attachment to the means of grace was strong. She went to every +meeting, even after she could not reach the chapel without help. Her +emaciated form, her hollow cough, her eye bright with unnatural +lustre, all told that she was passing away, but, combined with her +sweet singing and heavenly spirit, led her companions sometimes to +whisper, as she took her seat in the chapel, "Have we not an +Elizabeth Wallbridge among us?"--"The Dairyman's Daughter," in +Syriac, had just then issued from the press, and was a great +favorite with the Nestorians. + +As early as March, it was seen that she must die. Still she clung to +the school, and not for nought. She had a mission to fulfil, and her +Saviour strengthened her for the work to which he called her. As +yet, none of the pious Nestorians had finished their course. With +the converts, victory over death was something heard of, but never +witnessed; and Sarah was chosen to show them "in what peace a +Christian can die." Perhaps the last days of no young disciple were +ever watched with more eager interest. "Will Christ sustain us to +the last? Will he be with us through the dark valley? Will he come +for us and receive us to himself, as he promised?" These were to +them momentous questions; and they stood ready to answer them +according as the Lord supported her. Ever since her death they have +looked upon the last change from a new point of view. But we must +not anticipate. + +The five months between her conversion and her decease were very +precious to all who knew her. She sometimes sat with her teacher and +talked an hour at a time on the home of the blessed. She seemed to +look in upon its glories, and share its gladness; and then her +thoughts turned to the perishing around her, saying, "I would labor +a little longer for them, if it is my Father's will." The young +converts whom she had taught could not bear the thought of her +leaving them; but they sought to stay an angel in his course. The +dross had been consumed, and the spirit was made meet for the +inheritance of the saints in light. + +[Illustration: Courtyard of the Female Seminary] + +About the middle of May, it was felt that she must go home to her +father, whose house was near the Seminary. It was a beautiful day in +a Persian summer. The morning exercises were closed. When her +teacher told her what they thought, she replied in a whisper, "I +think I had better go, but I want to be alone a little before I +leave not to return." With weary step she sought the closet where +first she found her Saviour: it was occupied. Perhaps He saw she +might think more of the place than was meet; so she spent an hour in +another room, and then returned, saying, "I am ready to go now." She +went supported by a schoolmate on either side: stopping in the +court, she turned to take a last look of the dear home where she had +learned of Jesus, and, plucking some of the roses that bloomed by +her side, passed on. On the preceding page that court is +represented, as seen from the adjoining one. She suffered intensely +for a few days. Her disease forbade her lying down, even at night. +But still not a day passed that she did not gather some women about +her, and point them to Jesus. Her teacher visited her frequently, +and often found her with her Bible open, and several women around +her bed, to whom she was explaining it. The praying pupils, too, +often knelt with her at the accustomed throne of grace. + +One Saturday in June, her father was asked if he could go to +Tergawer--twenty-five miles distant--and preach. His reply was, "I +will see what Sarah says." She said, "Go, father, and I will pray +for you." Sabbath morning came, and her teacher saw that Sarah was +almost home: she told her so, and once more committed the dear pupil +to the Saviour who stood by. She had to return to her duties in +school, but first said to her mother, "Send for me when the Master +calls for her, for, if I cannot go over Jordan with her, I would at +least accompany her to the swelling stream." In the afternoon her +sufferings became intense; and losing herself for a moment, she +said, "Call my father." They told her where he was. "O, yes, I +remember. Don't call him. Let him preach; I can die alone." She then +said, "Call Miss Fiske;" and her sister started to go. But the dying +one remembered that it was the hour for prayer meeting, and beckoned +her to return, saying, "She is in meeting now, with my companions. +Don't call her; I can die alone." Perhaps, with that teacher +present, her eyes had not so clearly discerned the Lord Jesus. Her +sufferings were now so great, she hardly spoke for an hour. Then she +said, in a clear voice, "Mother, raise me, that I may commit my +spirit;" for she would never approach her Saviour but on her knees. +Supported, as she had been hundreds of times before, by that +mother's strong arms, and in the attitude of prayer, she said, "Lord +Jesus, receive--" And there she stopped: prayer had ended. Instead +of the closing words of the earthly petition was the opening of the +new song in heaven. The Saviour did not wait for the close of her +petition before he answered it. The teacher had just sat down with +her pupils when the door opened, and a messenger said "Sarah is +asleep!" "Yes," thought she, gratefully, "till Jesus shall say, +'Awake!'" According to Eastern custom, Sarah was buried that same +evening (June 13th), and the whole school followed her to the grave, +which was close to that of Mrs. Grant. The first fruit of the school +appropriately lies by the side of her who planted that tree in the +garden of the Lord, At the funeral her teacher was just thinking +that Sarah could help her no more, that her prayers and labors were +forever ended, when she looked up, and her eye rested on the evening +star looking down upon the grave. It was a pleasant thought that +she, too, was a star in glory. She was glad that the first to love +Christ was the first to go to be with him, and still loves to think, +of her as waiting for those who used to pray with her on earth. The +Christian life of Sarah was short; but she did much, for she taught +her people how + + "Jesus can make a dying bed + Feel soft as downy pillows are."[1] + +[Footnote 1: For additional foots about Sarah, see Nestorian +Biography, pp. 25-40.] + +After Sarah, like Stephen among the early disciples, had led the way +into the presence of her Saviour, Blind Martha was the next to +follow. + +She was constrained by sickness to leave the school early in the +spring of 1847, and go home to her parents in Geog Tapa. Though six +miles distant, her schoolmates loved to walk out there to comfort +her. They prized no recreation so much as the privilege of going to +see her. They read and talked with her about her favorite portions +of Scripture, prayed with her, and were never allowed to leave +without singing "Jerusalem, my happy home." At such times, one of +them said, "Her countenance always showed that her spirit was +walking the golden streets." When asked about her health, she +uniformly replied, "The Lord helps me;" and when urged to speak more +particularly, would say, "Dear sisters, the Lord helps me, and that +is enough." When, after five or six of them had prayed in +succession, she was asked if she was not wearied, she would reply, +"I know that I am weak, but prayer never tires me." So great a +privilege was it deemed to be with her, that one morning, when a +pious member of the Seminary at Seir was called to leave the village +early, he said, "I cannot go till I have prayed with Blind Martha, +and got from her manna for the road." + +Her companions desired very much to be present when she went home; +but this was not permitted. One morning in June, she said, at early +dawn, "Mother, the day breaks; I think Jesus is coming for me now; +let me go." But seeing no change in her appearance, her mother lay +down again, and, when next she woke, found that Jesus had come, and +taken her to be with him in his home above. What was that vision of +the glory of Immanuel that prompted the cry, "Mother, the day +breaks!" from one who never remembered to have seen the light? She +became blind in infancy. A smile remained on her pale face; and well +might the sight of Him who said, "If I go to prepare a place for +you, I will come again and receive you unto myself," leave such a +memento of the bliss. + +Little Hannah, the youngest member of the school, was suddenly +called home the following September, when only eleven years of age. +When she first came to Christ, her teacher was awakened one morning +by her asking at the bedside, "Is it wrong to wish to die?" "But why +do you want to die?" "That I may go and stay with Jesus, and never +sin again." This desire never left her. Once she said, with tears, +"It seems as if I cannot wait so long to go to my Saviour;" and at +another time, "I fear that I have sinned in not being willing to +wait till Jesus calls me." Before leaving for vacation, each pupil +put up her own things in a bundle, to be laid away till her return. +As Hannah was at work on hers, she said to a girl near her, "Perhaps +you will open this. I do not think that I ever shall. When you come +together in the autumn, I trust that I shall be in the Saviour's +school above." So strong was the desire awakened in her by Him who +intended soon to gratify it. + +While the cholera raged around her in August, she frequently said, +"This may be my time to go to my dear Saviour;" and repeated it to +her mother on the last morning of her life, but went out as usual to +her work in the vineyard. About noon she became unwell, and said to +a companion, "I am sick; perhaps I shall die soon." "Are you +willing?" "O, yes, I am not afraid to go to Jesus." The disease made +rapid progress, and again she said, "I am very sick; I shall die +soon: shall we not pray together?" Her young friend led in prayer, +and then called on her to follow; but her time for prayer was almost +finished. She could just say, "Bless my dear sister; take me gently +through the dark river;" when she sunk exhausted, and was carried to +the house. A mother bent over an only daughter, and three loving +brothers over an only sister; but they could not keep her back from +Jesus. She sent for her companions, and they hastened to her +bedside. She called for her Testament; but her eyesight was failing +her, and she returned it, saying, "I can never use it more; but read +it more prayerfully, and love the Saviour more than I have done." +She lingered through the night, and rose with the dawn to her +long-desired rest in the presence of her Redeemer. + +It Is remarkable that three timid girls should have been chosen to +lead the advance of a great multitude of Nestorians through the dark +valley into the light beyond. No member of the Boy's Seminary died +till three years afterwards; and only two others of this before +1858--a period of eleven years; but Infinite Wisdom chose, through +such weak and timorous ones, to glorify the power of Christ to bear +his people through the last conflict into everlasting rest. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + + +SUBSEQUENT REVIVALS + +DEACON JOHN STUDYING BACKSLIDING IN 1849--WORK IN VILLAGE OF SEIR-- +WIVES OF SIYAD AND YONAN--KHANUMJAN--WOMEN AT THE SEMINARY--GEOG +TAPA--DEGALA--A PENITENT--SIN OF ANGER--REVIVAL IN 1856--MISS FISKE +ENCOURAGED--STILLNESS AND DEEP FEELING--UNABLE TO SING--CONVERSION +OF MISSIONARY CHILDREN--VISIT OF ENGLISH AMBASSADOR--REVIVAL OF +1857--LETTER OF SANUM + +The first indication of a work of grace in 1849 was seen in the +unusual seriousness of Deacon John. He had been reading Pike's Guide +to Young Disciples, and the chapter on backsliding moved him deeply. +For a long time, he went mourning his departure from God. One day he +was reading aloud in the Seminary, when a missionary came in, and +wondering to see him there, asked what he was doing. He replied, "I +am studying backsliding; and O, sir, I love it very much;" meaning +to say that he loved to study the way back to the enjoyment of God. +This state of mind was followed by earnest effort for the salvation +of others, and the hopefully pious first passed through a season of +deep heart-searching and renewed consecration to God. Under an awful +sense of the violation of covenant vows, for many days some of them +did nothing but weep and pray. "How unfaithful have I been to my +Saviour and to immortal souls!" was the cry on all sides. One whose +Bible was found blotted with tears, had been converted in 1846, and +her grief was on account of her unfaithfulness as a follower of +Christ. Having thus wept bitterly herself, she was well fitted to +lead others to the God of all comfort. Her labors were unwearied, +both in and out of school. Indeed, the mission was now so reduced in +numbers, that much of the work in this revival was performed by the +Nestorians, and they proved themselves very efficient. Naturally +ardent, they preached Christ and him crucified with a zeal and +faithfulness rarely witnessed in our own land; but their ardor +needed careful guiding, for some were, at one time, entirely +prostrated by excessive labor. + +The pupils of the Seminary, during a short vacation, seemed like +angels of mercy to their families and friends. In Geog Tapa, their +meetings for women every evening had an attendance varying from +thirty to one hundred. Many of these were glad to learn the way of +salvation, even from children. Besides this, the older pupils, under +the guidance of an experienced native helper, spent much time in +personal conversation and prayer with their own sex, as did the +members of the other Seminary with the men. + +In the village of Seir, the work was very general. In addition to +the labors of the pious students in the Male Seminary there, Sanum +and Moressa labored from house to house among the women. But hear +their own account of what they did, in a letter to Miss Lovell's +school at Constantinople;-- + +"What shall we tell you, beloved, of the great love God has shown to +our school and people? For two months we have had such delightful +days as we never saw in our lives before. The work of the Lord has +also commenced in the villages, and in many there is great inquiry +for the way of life. The servants of God are so full of zealous +love, that they preach till their strength and voice give way. But +again they go on to preach, for the harvest is great, and the +laborers few. How should we, with burning hearts, beg the Lord of +the harvest to send forth laborers! Can we bear, dear sisters, to +see the deadly wings of Satan's kingdom spread out and destroy those +bought by the precious blood of Christ? Ought we not rather to +wrestle like Jacob till we see the loving wings of the kingdom of +the Saviour spread out, and impart life to wounded souls on every +side? We hope that your waiting eyes may see greater wonders among +your own people than we do here. + +"Now we will tell you about the little village of Seir, which +contains nineteen houses. God has visited every house; and because +the women were much awakened, and had no teacher, the missionaries +sent two of us there, not because we were fit for such a work,--for +we are deficient in Godly knowledge, and every qualification,--but +because God sometimes chooses the ignorant and weak to do him +service. And what shall we tell you of the wonders God showed us +among those poor women? There was no time in which they did not cry, +with tears, 'What shall we do?' 'Woe unto us!' 'We are lost!' When +we asked them to pray in meetings, they prayed as if taught of God. +We wondered at them very much. In one house, we found a woman +beating her head with both hands, crying, 'O my sins! They are so +great! There is no pardon!' We tried to reason with her; but if we +took her hands from her head, she beat her breast. She said, 'You +told me, when you prayed with me the other day, to go to Christ; but +he will not receive me, I am such a sinner.' With difficulty we +quieted her, and told of the great mercy of the Son of David. We +prayed with each woman of the village alone, and they with us, +fervently and in tears. + +"In one instance, we heard an old man praying earnestly in the +stable, and his wife in the house. We waited till they had finished, +before we went in, and there we found an old man, perhaps ninety +years old, and his wife, also very aged. We spoke with them of the +lowly Redeemer, and how he was ready to dwell with them, poor as +they were. The tears rolled down their wrinkled faces, and made our +own hearts burn within us. The old man prayed with us as if Christ +stood right before him, and we prayed with them both. + +"There were meetings several times a day, and when they closed, the +voice of prayer might be heard on all sides, in the houses and +stables. Every family now has morning and evening worship." + +In this revival, the native helpers were very much interested for +the salvation of their unconverted wives. The families of Siyad and +Yonan live in Geog Tapa, and their first visits home were blessed to +the conviction of their companions, who soon came to the school, +begging to be allowed to stay and learn the way of life. Of course, +they were not refused. The wife of Siyad had been a frequent visitor +there, but such an opposer of religion, that her coming was always +dreaded; but now how changed! Day by day her convictions deepened, +till they were overwhelming. Tears were her meat, and prayer her +employment, day and night, till, as she said, "The Saviour found +her," and she was at rest. Three children and a daughter-in-law +joined her in believing, and it was delightful to see the family, +not long after, each in his or her turn, calling on the name of the +Lord in one of the rooms of the Seminary. + +Yonan, the junior teacher of the school, had been married by force +two years before, by his wicked father; that, too, when his heart +was fixed on another, every way fitted to be his companion. It was a +severe trial; but grace triumphed, and his great desire, seemed to +be the conversion of the wife thus forced upon him. At midnight, he +was often heard interceding for her, and, in the early part of the +revival, the answer came. Miss Fiske will never forget the time +when, in an adjoining room, she heard her for the first time praying +with her husband. It gave her a new insight into the meaning of that +scripture, "They believed not for joy." The new convert was very +active among the women in her village; and when her father-in-law +forbade social prayer in his house, she took her little company at +sunset behind the village church, where even the bleak winds of +February did not chill their devotions. + +Khanumjan, the aged mother of John, though past threescore and ten, +entered into the work with a zeal that might put to shame many +younger women in our own land. She toiled to bring the more aged +women right to the cross, taking them one by one into her own +closet, that then and there they might accept the Saviour. Though +herself unable to read, she did much for the preachers who went out +to the villages, providing food for them on their return, and +exhorting them to courage and faithfulness. No wonder she said to a +visitor, "Three years ago, I saw Christ in heaven, and I have seen +him there ever since; but now he sits by my side all day long." When +she died, she said, over and over again, "I am going after Jesus." + +In this revival, the encouragement to labor for woman was greater +than ever before. After the middle of January, the Seminary was +almost constantly thronged with inquirers. Day and night, it was +consecrated by the prayers and tears of women seeking their Saviour. +On Friday, and on the Sabbath, many from the neighboring villages +spent the time there between services. The room was filled with +them; and even while they ate, they must have some one speaking to +them of Jesus. Those who did so, often spoke with such tenderness as +showed that Christ himself was very near. Sometimes the women could +not eat any thing but the bread of life. At times, the anguish of +some for sin was so overpowering, that the question, "Can a woman +forget her sucking child?" might almost have been answered in the +affirmative. In some instances, the scenes that took place were too +much for frail nature to bear, and the laborers were ready to ask to +be clothed upon with immortality while the Lord passed by. Those who +spent the night in the Seminary slept in the large room on the lower +floor, between the central door and that on the left, in the +engraving; and occasionally the sound of their weeping and praying +banished sleep from the rooms above them. Yet such hinderance to +rest brought a refreshment all its own. + +In Geog Tapa, the village ruler was found sitting at the feet of +Jesus, and going with the preachers from place to place, to give +greater weight to their words; and twenty-five young men, though +they could not read, yet did what they could with untiring zeal. + +There was an interesting work in Degala, so noted for vice that it +was called the Sodom of the Nestorians. The first converted there +was a young man employed in the Seminary. He passed through a severe +mental conflict before his proud heart yielded; but when it did, he +became a living sacrifice to God. One day he came to the teachers, +saying, "I have a petition to make; will you receive it?" Supposing +it to be some pecuniary matter, they replied, "Tell us what it is." +He at once burst into tears, and covering his face with his garment, +said, "My village is lost; my family is perishing, and their blood +is on my neck; let me go to-night and beg forgiveness for my wicked +example, and urge them to flee from the wrath to come." He obtained +his request, and left, sobbing aloud. Next morning, he brought his +wife and two other women to be instructed. About a week after, +Deacon Tamo found in the village several inquirers, and one woman in +agony on account of her sins. She had been notorious for wickedness, +and so vile as hardly to find one who would associate with her, +though now one of the most lovely Christians in any land. The next +day, she came to the Seminary, and as soon as Miss Fiske sat down +beside her, she threw herself into her lap, crying, "Do tell me what +to do, or where to go, to get rid of my sins." She was pointed to +the Lamb of God, and one moment her feet seemed to rest on the Rock +of Ages, and the next a fresh wave of conviction swept her into the +raging sea. So she vibrated between life and death. She was asked to +pray. In all her life she had not probably heard ten prayers; but +her strong crying and tears showed that the Holy Spirit was her +teacher, and the helper of her infirmities. She had learned to pray +where her Saviour found a cradle--in the manger--cast out and +derided by her friends. + +She was first awakened in the Seminary; for one day, as soon as she +entered the door, a pupil, then under deep conviction herself, and +to whom she was an entire stranger, seized her hand, saying, "My +sister, my sister, what are you doing? We are all lost. We must +repent, or perish." These words she could not forget, and from that +hour sought until she found her Saviour, and then bore ill treatment +with such meekness as won others also to Christ. + +The desire of the converts for instruction was most affecting. One +of them wept bitterly when asked if she was willing to forsake every +sin, saying, "What shall I do? I have one sin so strong that I fear +I cannot leave it off." "What is it?" "I cannot live without these +words of God. My husband will not let me go to hear them, and anger +sometimes rises in my heart at this. Tell me what to do with this +sin." + +An account of the revival in 1850 will be given in the chapter on +the prayerfulness of the Nestorians. After this were instances of +conversion each year, but not so marked, or so general, as in 1849. +So we pass over the intervening time to dwell a moment on the +revival of 1856. That year, the pupils were very studious, and kind +in their feelings towards each other and their teachers; but the +winter was nearly over before any additions were made to the now +diminished number of believers. The teachers mourned; still the +heavens were brass, and the earth iron. Christians were lukewarm, +and none seemed to have power with God. + +Miss Fiske returned from the English prayer meeting Sabbath evening, +February 18th, in that desponding state that sometimes follows +intense and protracted desire, when its object is not attained. At +such times, the sensibilities seem paralyzed, and emotion dies of +sheer exhaustion. The pupils had retired; so also had Miss Rice; and +she was left alone. Her thoughts brooded over the state of her +charge, but she had no strength to rise and carry those precious +souls to Christ. She could not sleep, and yet so shrunk from the +duties of the morrow, that she longed for a lengthening out of the +night, rather than the approach of dawn. Eleven o'clock struck, and +there was a knock at the door. Could she open it? Must she see +another face that night? She did open it, and there stood one of her +pupils, not so without feeling as her fainting heart had imagined. +Struck by the languor of her teacher's looks, she inquired tenderly, +"Are you very tired?" "No, not very; why do you ask?" "I cannot +sleep; our school has been resting on me all day, and I thought +perhaps you would help me to pray." The spell was broken; the dry +fountain of feeling gushed out afresh, and, with a full heart, she +said, "Come in, thou blessed of the Lord." As an angel from heaven, +that dear pupil strengthened her teacher that night, and together +they carried the whole household to Jesus. When at length she +retired, all was sweetly left with Christ, and he whispered peace. +She could sleep now, and when morning came there was still peace. +"Could ye not watch with me one hour?" was the word spoken to her as +she arose; and hardly had she repeated it at morning prayers, before +three, in different parts of the room, were weeping. She said +little, for she felt it safer to go and tell Jesus their wants and +their unworthiness. All day, the feeling in the school was subdued +and tender. No one asked, "What shall I do to be saved?" but there +was quiet at the table, and quiet in the rooms. The work was done +willingly and well, but in silence, and the voice of prayer in the +closets was gentle. Tuesday passed in almost perfect stillness. No +one said even, "Pray for me." Towards evening, Miss Fiske said, "If +there is one who wants first of all to attend to her eternal +interests, I would like to see her at half past eight o'clock." At +that hour, her door opened, and one entered alone; then another and +another, each alone, till the room was full. She closed the door, +but still they came. What were her feelings when she looked round on +twenty-three, sitting with their heads bowed down in silence? She +said little, for she felt that they wanted to hear God, rather than +man, and the parable of the prodigal son that evening seemed to come +fresh from the lips of Jesus. + +Next day, each lesson was recited in its season, and recited well; +but tears blurred many a page, and at recess not a few went to be +alone with God. At eleven o'clock, Mr. Perkins came in as usual to +sing with them, "Bartimeus" was the first hymn. All began it; but +some voices faltered on the first stanza, more on the second, and +soon the leader's voice was heard alone. He took up the Bible lying +on the desk, and saying, "Perhaps some wanderer would like now to +arise and go to her heavenly Father," he too read the portion of the +night before, and led in prayer. The teachers had to lengthen the +intermission at noon, because they could not bear to summon the +pupils so early from their closets. + +The mission met that afternoon in the Seminary. Mr. Stoddard came +down from Seir covered with snow, saying, in his pleasant way, as he +opened the door, "We have snowed down this time;" but when he +learned the state of things, he said, very tenderly, "You must have +thought my speech untimely; I did not know God was so near; but my +heart is with you, and I hope we both shall have a large blessing." +That meeting was almost all prayer, and the weeks that followed it +witnessed a work silent but deep. It was characterized by humble +contrition, and much simple dependence on Christ. Most of those +twenty-three, before the close of the term, were hoping in his +mercy. + +Three missionary children were among the converts in this revival, +and their conversion did much good to the Nestorians; for, though +they had felt their own need of regeneration, they were in doubt +about the children of pious parents; but when they saw the children +of missionaries weep over sin, and come as lost sinners to the +Saviour, they understood as never before that the entrance into the +kingdom was the same for all. + +At this time, the English ambassador passed through Oroomiah; and +though, when he and his suite visited the Seminary, there was some +apprehension felt as to the effect it might have on the religious +interests of the pupils, they not only did themselves credit, in the +examination he made of the school, but returned from the interview +with their relish for spiritual things undiminished. Indeed, the +event, which ordinarily would have been more than a nine days' +wonder, caused scarce a ripple on the deep current of spiritual +emotion. + +The Seminary was again blessed in 1857, and the year following Miss +Fiske returned from Seir after the funeral of Harriet Stoddard to +welcome several who had entered the fold of the good Shepherd during +her absence. + +The labors of Miss Rice, who had charge of the school (while she was +away,) have also been blessed in each of the four succeeding years. +During that time, eighteen of the pupils have been received to the +communion. The revival in the winter of 1861-62 was, however, more +interesting and extensive. + +At one meeting in the Male Seminary, the young men burst into tears +while singing the hymn, "Alas, and did my Saviour bleed?" and soon +after, in the Saturday evening meeting, Miss Rice's whole school +were bowed in earnest prayer, and did not move for some time when +requested by her to retire for private devotion. On this occasion, +Mr. Cobb writes, "It was my privilege to speak a word to them, and I +can truly say that I never saw such a scene before, as, with heads +bowed down on their desks, unable wholly to repress their sobs, they +listened, and again engaged in prayer." Even then, it was only after +repeated requests that they went to their own rooms, where many +continued their supplications far into the night. + +The interesting scenes of these awakenings are thus gratefully +recalled by Sanum, a convert of the first revival, in a letter dated +Salmas, June 6th, 1859:-- + +Beloved Teacher, Miss Fiske: I received your priceless letter with +many tears of joy, and when I read your loving, motherly counsels, +my heart was full; it was drawn to you with inexpressible love; and +when you reminded me of those blessed revivals, my eyes were +darkened with floods of tears, so that, for a time, I could not +read. How can I ever forget the first night that you met me, after +the Lord had touched my heart, in that blessed room? or how many +times you took me by the hand, and led me to the throne of grace? +Often I was in the dark, and the Lord, through you, was pleased to +give me rest. Can I ever forget, when the hand of the Lord rested on +me in the death of my dear children,[1] how many times you came as +an angel of peace to wipe away my tears? Shall I ever forget the +Lord's coming among us by the still rain of the Holy Spirit? or +those meetings of the sisters for prayer? or those tearful pleadings +in the closets? Can I ever forget the fervent supplications and +preaching of blessed Mr. Stocking, and how he begged us to flee from +the wrath to come? If I forget these, let my right hand forget her +cunning, and my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth. +[Footnote 1: Page 185] + +It is a year, my beloved, since I have been able to go to Oroomiah. +I have sorrowed greatly to be cut off so long from the supper of our +Lord, and them that meet around his table. Perhaps it is because I +am not worthy of the blessing. The Lord mercifully grant that I be +not cut off from the heavenly supper of the Lamb. + +Our work here is much as before. I grieve to say that there are few +with whom I can pray, and in the few cases where I can do so, it +must be done as by stealth. But there are those with whom I can +talk. Hoimer and I have a meeting for the women every Sabbath, and +on other days. Every Tuesday, Hoimer, Raheel, and I have a little +meeting together, and it is very pleasant, but will be more so when +the Lord shall increase our number. O that we longing ones might see +that day, and our troubled hearts rejoice! + +During the nineteen years since the Seminary was established, it has +enjoyed, in all, twelve revivals; and though it is not desirable to +count up the results of human labors, it is due to the praise of +divine grace to record, that out of those who have been connected +with it, as many as two thirds have, in the judgment of charity, +been created anew in Christ Jesus. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + + +DARK DAYS. + +SEMINARY BROKEN UP IN 1844.--DEACON ISAAC.--PERSECUTION BY MAR +SHIMON.--FUNERAL OF DAUGHTER OF PRIEST ESHCO.--DEACON GUWERGIS.-- +ATTEMPT AT ABDUCTION OF PUPIL.--PERIL OF SCHOOL.--MRS. HARRIET +STODDAR.--YAHYA KHAN.--ANARCHY.--LETTER FROM BABILO. + +The Nestorian mission has encountered less opposition than other +missions in Western Asia. Yet here, also, they who would live godly +in Christ Jesus have suffered persecution. On June 19th, 1844, the +brothers of Mar Shimon issued this order: "Be it known to you all, +ye readers at Seir, that if ye do not come to us tomorrow, we will +excommunicate you from our most holy church; your finger nails shall +be torn out; we will hunt you from village to village, and kill you +if we can." Miss Fiske was spending the summer there with her +pupils, and it was not deemed best to provoke further trouble by +retaining them. When told of this, they all wept aloud. Nor did they +weep alone. Their teacher, and the family of Mr. Stocking, in which +they lived, could not restrain their tears. It seemed as if the +girls would never tear themselves away from their teacher; and when +at length they departed, again and again the lamentation arose, "We +shall never hear the word of God again." Miss Fiske laid them at the +feet of Jesus, trusting that he would bring them back to her, and +others with them. A German Jew, who was present, said in his broken +English, "I have seen much bad to missionaries in other countries, +but nothing bad like this, to take little children from words of +Jesus Christ." + +Even Deacon Isaac, a brother of Mar Shimon, who was prominent in the +act, was ashamed of it. On a visit to the school, eight years +afterwards, he asked leave to speak to the pupils, and said, "My +young friends, I want you to do all you can to help your teachers, +for I once troubled Miss Fiske, and it has made my life bitter ever +since." Here the good man broke down, and there was not a dry eye +among his hearers; while he added, "I have vowed before God that I +will do all that I can to help her as long as I live." And all who +know him can testify that he has kept his word, ever since his +conversion in 1849. When he first began to be thoughtful, he heard +that one of the pupils was in the habit of praying for him. He sent +for her, and insisted on her praying with him; and though he was the +most intelligent of the Nestorians, and possessed of rare force of +character, and Sarah was more noted for devotion, than for her +mental powers, yet he learned from her in a most childlike spirit; +and that scripture which says, "A little child shall lead them," +found in this case a beautiful illustration. + +He has been occasionally employed in the school, and always proved a +very useful and acceptable teacher. When he bade Miss Fiske good-bye, +in 1858, he said, "You may rest assured that I will do all I can for +the women till you come back;" and the next Sabbath found him teaching +a class of adult females. In our favored land, the grace of God has +made it nothing strange for the governor of a state to be a teacher in +the Sabbath school; but one who has not lived in Persia can form no +idea of what it is for a brother of Mar Shimon to teach a class of +women. He has great skill in bringing out the meaning of Scripture, +and is every where exceedingly acceptable as a Bible teacher. Along +with unfeigned piety, he has more real refinement than any of his +countrymen, and few Nestorians can show kindness with such true +delicacy of feeling. + +The health of Miss Fiske was so impaired in the spring of 1848, that +she reluctantly yielded to the advice of the mission, and went with +Mr. Stocking to Erzroom, to meet Mr. Cochran and family, then on +their way to Persia. When they returned, they found Mr. Stoddard's +health so seriously affected by long-continued over-exertion, that +he only awaited their arrival to leave for Trebizond. Little did +they dream that it was Mrs. Stoddard's last farewell to the scene of +her labors. + +Nor was this all. The patriarch Mar Shimon, who had long worn the +guise of friendship, now threw off the mask. He broke up schools in +small and distant villages, and secured the beating of a man by the +governor on the charge of apostasy. The Female Seminary was honored +with his special anathema. "Has Miss Fiske taught you this?" was his +frequent demand of those who fell into his hands, followed by such +reviling as only an Oriental could pour forth. + +On the morning of July 28th, the infant daughter of Priest Eshoo, +named Sarah, after her sainted sister, lay on her death bed; and to +punish her father for his preaching, Mar Shimon forbade her burial +in the Nestorian graveyard. He collected a mob ready to do his +bidding as soon as she should die; but she lingered on, and so +disappointed him for that day. Next day she died, and at once he +anathematized all who should assist in her burial. A pious +carpenter, however, forced his way through the mob, and made her +coffin. He remained steadfast throughout the storm, replying to +every dissuasion of his friends, "I must go forward, even to the +shedding of my blood." + +The missionaries appealed to a former governor, who owned that part +of the city, for leave to bury in the cemetery used by the +Nestorians from time immemorial; but the patriarch paid no attention +to his messages, and the child remained unburied. Miss Fiske wrote, +"As we look out on this troubled sea, and sympathize with these +afflicted parents, we love to look up and think of the dear child as +sweetly resting on the bosom of the Saviour. May the Sabbath bring +us a foretaste of heavenly rest." But it found them still "where +storms arise and ocean rolls." The governor sent men to demand the +digging of a grave, which the mob would not allow. Meanwhile, the +profligate Mar Gabriel craftily suggested that a promise from the +priest not to preach any more, might end the trouble. "Never," was +the prompt reply. "Let my dead remain unburied, but I will not go +back from the service of the Lord." This so enraged the patriarch, +that, for the sake of peace, the governor advised to bury the body +in one of the villages. The sorrowing parents then locked their +house, and leaving their babe alone in its slumbers, went to the +chapel. There they found comfort from a sermon on the text, "Through +much tribulation we must enter into the kingdom of God." About +twenty men returned with them to the house. Then one bearing the +little coffin went before; the rest followed, singing the forty-sixth +Psalm. Even Moslems gazed with wonder, as they passed close by the +door of the patriarch, and went out of the city gate. The engraving +(page 154) gives a very good representation of this gate. On the +green hill-side at Seir the little one was laid to rest, and the father, +thanking the company for their kindness, hastened them back, to be +in time for the afternoon service. + +In the mean time, Mar Shimon sent far and near, forbidding all +intercourse with the missionaries. At Geog Tapa, in the absence of +the Malis, he ordered an old man, who formerly held that office, to +summon the people before him. Only a few vagrants obeyed, and these +he commanded to break up the schools, and prevent preaching in the +church. So, that evening, when John commenced preaching, they +proceeded to execute their orders; but, afraid to face the +determined people, they deferred the attack till the hearers passed +out; and then, like stanch old Puritans, hardly noticing them, the +congregation wended their way homewards, singing psalms as they +went. + +[Illustration: SEIR GATE, OROOMIAH] + +The patriarch now excommunicated Mar Yohanan, and made common cause +with the French Lazarists. He even wrote a fraternal epistle to the +pope, ready for any thing, if he could only crush the mission. His +attendants marched about the mission premises with loud threats; +pious Nestorians were knocked down in the streets; while his brother +Isaac went to a distant village, to show that he had no sympathy +with such iniquity. + +Soon after, the carpenter who made the coffin was severely beaten by +his own father for attending a prayer meeting. As the blows fell +thick and fast, he cried, "Must this come from my own father?" But +he remained firm, and next day went to the chapel pale and weak, but +filled with holy joy. + +Deacon Guwergis, prevented from going to the mountains,--for the +Koords sided with Mar Shimon,--fearlessly encountered the revilings +of the patriarch in his own house, and told him that he hoped to +continue preaching till he died. His countenance must have shone +like Stephen's, for his persecutor said to one of the attendants, +"See how his face glistens. If he is so bold here, what will he be +in the mountains?" Well might a missionary write, "What a blessing +are such men! The sight of them is worth ten thousand times the +sacrifices made by us all." + +Though this was vacation, fifteen of the pupils remained in the +Seminary for protection during the storm; yet even there they were +not wholly safe. On the 25th of August, a messenger came in haste +for one of them, saying that her dying brother wished to see her +immediately. As the man was her relative, the girl was ready to go +at once; but providentially Miss Fiske learned that the brother was +well, and the messenger had been seen last with Mar Shimon. So he +left, chagrined and enraged at his failure. The patriarch had told +him to be sure and hide his purpose from that Satan, Miss Fiske, and +in case of failure, to take the girl by force. But the teacher had +had some experience in guarding her fold, and both she and her pupil +were thankful for the deliverance. Next day, Mar Shimon forbade +preaching in Geog Tapa; but if the church was closed, the house-tops +remained open. The same day, the school in Vizierawa was repeatedly +dispersed, but each time reassembled by the teacher. + +The 28th of this month was such a day as the mission had never seen +before. In the forenoon, the teacher from Charbash fled wounded from +the servants of Mar Shimon to the mission premises. Scarcely had he +entered, when his brother came in, having escaped from similar +violence. The Moslem owner of the village had to put a stop to the +tearing down of their house. + +Miss Fiske and Miss Rice had just sat down to dinner with the +school, when the cry, "A man is killed!" was followed by a rush from +all parts of the yard. A mob at the gate was trying to break in and +seize the native helpers. Mar Yohanan was wounded, and all was +confusion. The teachers exhorted their little flock not to count +their lives dear to them, for Jesus' sake. Happily, they were not +called to such a test of discipleship; but the sympathies of the +Moslems were plainly with Mar Shimon, and no one knew what a day +might bring forth. That tried friend of the mission, E.W. Stevens, +Esq., English consul at Tabreez, feared lest the missionaries should +fall by the hand of violence. Miss Fiske writes, "Our native friends +will doubtless suffer much, and we rejoice to share with them. We +hope that fears on our account will not be realized. Still there is +danger; and we try to be ready for life or death, as our Father sees +best. Though in a land of violence, we are not unhappy; we trust in +God, and hope this vine is being pruned that it may bring forth more +fruit. We would have all the gracious designs of God fulfilled, even +though we should be cast down." + +The same day came tidings of the death of Mrs. Stoddard, at +Trebizond, and Miss Fiske wrote that night an account of it to her +former teacher, at South Hadley, adding, "Precious sister: she died +far away; but my Father knows why I might not stand by that dying +bed, and I would submit, though my heart bleeds. _Our_ homes +are sad to-night, and there is many a weeping eye among those for +whom she toiled so faithfully. From my first acquaintance with her, +she has been to me all that mortal could be. Her heart was tenderly +alive to the spiritual interests of the dear Nestorians; and to them +she devoted all her powers. It was she who first taught their +daughters to sing the songs of Zion. Few, probably, have +accomplished so much in so short a life. Her family, the mission, +the Seminary, and all about us, shared in her untiring labors. As +truly as of dear Mrs. Grant may it be said of her, 'She hath done +what she could.' + +"Like Mrs. Grant, she was the youngest member of the mission at the +time of her death. When she left her native land, some almost +regretted that so frail a flower should go forth to encounter the +hardships of missionary life; but she did much, and did it well. The +Seminary in Seir still bears the impress she stamped upon it. Her +memory is not only fragrant today among the Nestorians, but it draws +them nearer to Christ, and renders them more efficient in his +service." + +Mar Shimon now made common cause with the Persian nobility. The +English and Russian ambassadors had procured the appointment of +Dawood Khan as governor of the Christians in Oroomiah, in order to +protect them from illegal oppression. The nobility of course opposed +this; and Mar Shimon, by promising his aid in the removal of the +protector of his own people, secured their cooperation in his +wickedness. The converts were now insulted at every turn. They could +hardly appear in the street, and the authorities afforded no +redress. The missionaries had no earthly friend nearer than Mr. +Stevens at Tabreez, who did all he could for them; and the pious +natives felt shut up to God as their only refuge. + +Yahya Khan, the governor of the province, now wrote urging on Mar +Shimon, and ordered his agent in Oroomiah to aid him to the utmost +of his power. As Yahya Khan was brother-in-law to the king, he was +able to do the mission much harm at the court; and the patriarch, +encouraged by such a coadjutor, set himself with renewed zeal to +destroy it; but in September, the prince royal summoned him to +Tabreez, and the nobility hardly daring to resist the order, he was +reluctantly preparing to comply, when news came of the death of the +shah, and all was confusion. The missionaries had been praying for +help against their dreaded enemy, Yahya Khan, and lo! his power to +harm them perished with his master. + +The night after the news reached Oroomiah, anarchy reigned, and all +kinds of crime abounded. Five men were killed near the mission +premises, and the firing of guns was heard all night long; but +though outside were robberies and murders, within that enclosure all +was peace. Though its inmates knew that the fanatical population +would gladly stone them, yet they felt it a privilege to labor on +under the care of the Keeper of Israel. + +In Persia, no king, no government; so besides this anarchy in the +city, the Koords came down and plundered many villages, burning the +houses and driving the people for shelter to Oroomiah. These strokes +fell most heavily on the Moslems, many of whom were robbers +themselves. The fear of an attack on Seir was at one time so great, +that the ladies were sent off, and the gentlemen remained alone to +guard the mission premises; but both in Seir and the city the houses +of the missionaries were thronged by multitudes seeking relief, and +each approaching footstep announced some new tale of woe. + +Mar Shimon, after the death of the king, prudently retired into +Turkey, and his servants were put under bonds to keep the peace. The +Koords, however, drove him back, later in the season, but stripped +of his power to persecute. It may sound like the close of a tale of +fiction to add, that the next time Miss Fiske met the patriarch was +in Gawar, August, 1851, when he rode up to the tents of the +missionaries to inquire after their health, before he went to his +own. He staid an hour and a half, appearing more free and social +than ever before; and when they returned his visit, he came out of +his tent to meet them, and treated them with unusual respect, +saying, in the course of the interview, "I fear that Miss Fiske is +not happy here: she does not look well." On being assured that she +was both well and happy, he said to his attendants, "This lady is +happy only as she has a number of Nestorian girls around her, eating +care[1] for them, teaching and doing them good." So, when our ways +please the Lord, he maketh even our enemies to be at peace with us. +[Footnote: This is the Nestorian idiom. We say, "taking care of +them."] + +Babilo, the carpenter, who made the coffin for the child of Priest +Eshoo, was taught to read by the younger girls in the Seminary after +school hours, and thus writes to Miss Fiske, November 20th, 1859:-- + +"I remember how, thirteen years ago, in that trouble with Mar +Shimon, when my father beat me for attending meeting, and men +despitefully used me, dear Mr. Stocking and you comforted me in the +great room. I shall never forget your love. Give my love to your +dear mother, who so loved us that she willingly gave you to the +Lord, as Hannah did Samuel. + +"If you inquire about my work in the city Sabbath school,--I teach a +class of ten women; three of them, I trust, are Christians. When I +read your letter to them they greatly rejoiced. I reminded them of +the meetings you used to have for them in your room, and their eyes +filled with tears. In the afternoon I went to Charbash, and read +your letter to the eighteen women in my class there. They, too, were +very glad. Five of them, I trust, are Christians. We are now +studying Second Timothy. After the lesson, I question them on Old +Testament history; and then I teach the women and their children to +sing." + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + + +TRIALS. + +EVIL INFLUENCE OF HOMES.--OPPOSITION IN DEGALA.--ASKER KHAN.-- +POISONING OF SANUM'S CHILDREN.--REDRESS REFUSED.--INQUISITOR IN +SCHOOL.--TROUBLES AT KHOSRAWA.--LETTERS FROM HOIMAR. + +But, aside from open persecution, there is a constant danger arising +from the people themselves. The teacher in a Christian land can +never fully understand the feelings of the missionary teacher. The +one sends forth his pupils to meet Christian parents, brothers and +sisters, who, with more than a teacher's love, lead the young +convert by still waters, and establish him in holy feeling; but the +flock of the other goes out often into families where every soul +would gladly break the bruised reed and quench the smoking flax. He +can sympathize with Paul in his anxiety in behalf of those for whom +he had labored in the gospel. + +Sometimes the pupils of the Seminary so dreaded the scenes of home, +in vacation, that they preferred to remain in the school. + +In April, 1849, Miss Fiske visited the village of Degala. As it was +a holiday, most of the women had gone out for amusement; but a +little company of twelve praying ones gathered around her, and +listened in tears while she spoke of Jesus and his love. Their +fervent prayers for neighbors and friends made her feel that a +blessing was yet in store for Degala. These women suffered all sorts +of insult for their attachment to the truth; they were often beaten +and driven from their homes by their husbands. While the pupils of +the Seminary were here, some of their own sex did all they could to +annoy them. But read an account of their trials from the pen of +Sanum, of Gawar. She writes to a friend in this country,-- + +"I had bitter times this vacation, for our neighbors are all very +hard-hearted, not listening at all to the words of God. When I +opened my Testament to read to them, they would shut it, and begin +to quarrel about the forms of religion. I entreat you to pray for my +village, that I, so unworthy, may see its salvation. + +"One day, Miss Fiske went to the village of Degala, where is a band +of women who greatly love the Lord. They gathered about her, and she +had a very pleasant time. All these were inquiring what they should +do to be saved. She could not stay long with them; but they were so +humble that they asked to have some of the girls sent to them. So +four of us, though so weak, ventured to go in the name of Christ. We +found these sisters in great distress, being reviled and beaten by +wicked men, for Jesus' sake. + +"We were speaking in an upper room there on a feast day, and the +women with us were weeping very much, while others, afraid to come +in, seated themselves on the terrace by the window. Suddenly a +wicked man came with a rod, and drove all those away who were +without. Poor souls! how my heart burned for them! One, who had not +been used to come to meeting, came that day for sport. She wore many +ornaments, but as soon as she heard the words of God, her tears +began to flow. After meeting, she arose up quickly, and threw aside +her ornaments, and followed us wherever we went. We were having a +meeting in another house, when a quarrelsome woman entered, having a +large stick in her hand, and began to beat her daughter and +daughter-in-law, and she carried off her daughter; but the other +remained, though sorely bruised, saying, 'I will spill my blood, but +will not leave the place of prayer.' The women who fear God wept +much because this woman did so. + +"We went to the sacrament, and there was a company of women who +separated themselves from the others, and were weeping in one corner +of the church. Some very bad women came to them, and said, 'Let us +rise up and dance, because they are weeping.' Another, in anger, +took the sacrament from the mouth of one of them, and gave it to her +little granddaughter. There was much confusion in the village, and +they seemed like those who cried, 'Great is Diana of the Ephesians.' +One said, 'I wish neither Satan nor God, but only Mar Shimon.' Once, +when we were assembled with the women, and Moressa was speaking, a +wicked man fired a pistol to frighten us. But the women encouraged +us, saying, 'Go on, and speak louder, that he may hear.' And when he +heard my sister speak of the wickedness of man's heart, he cried +out, 'Those words must have been for me. She must have known that I +was there.'" + +It does not fall within the object of this volume to give any +detailed account of the proceedings of Asker Khan, who for several +years sought to wear out the saints of the Most High, causing the +native helpers to be beaten, fined, and annoyed in many ways, and +then arrogantly denying all redress. Encouraged in his persecutions +by the prime minister, he was able to defy all interference. Indeed, +during part of the time, the English ambassador was constrained to +leave the kingdom, and the Russian ambassador, though personally +disposed to do all in his power for the mission, was yet officially +unable to help. + +At one time, he gave orders that no school should be opened without +his sanction, and that all the teachers must report to him; and in +case of disobedience, he threatened them with fines and +imprisonment. + +It may show in what estimation the influence of the Female Seminary +was held by enemies, when we find him issuing his command, "Allow no +girls to attend your school; schools are for boys alone;" and +claiming credit for great forbearance because he did not at once +break up the Seminary. That which called forth such opposition from +enemies was surely not inefficient. There must have been a power for +good manifest even to Moslem opposers, that taught them where to +strike so as most effectually to destroy.' But there was a Power +above them that said, "Thus far, and no farther." "The bush burned +with fire, yet it was not consumed." + +The evil wrought by Asker Khan was not confined to his own doings. +His hostility, in a position so commanding, emboldened every Shimei +to curse. In Ardishai, two or three unprincipled drunkards, with +their dissolute bishop (Mar Gabriel), saved themselves from +Mohammedan rapacity by taking part against the converts. These last +were made examples of, to deter others from attending preaching or +sending their children to the schools.' One poor widow, with four +children,--a most consistent Christian,--was driven from her house +by her father-in-law, because she allowed her oldest daughter to +attend the village school. As many as thirty families, unable to +endure persecution any longer, fled from the village; and Priest +Abraham himself, after suffering much, was compelled to leave, +though his congregation was from one hundred and fifty to two +hundred every Sabbath. + +In Dizza Takka, on the evening of April 20th, 1856, Sanum, who +graduated in 1850, had arsenic put into the supper which she carried +to a neighbor's tandoor (native oven) to be warmed. Happily, Joseph, +her husband, was delayed beyond his usual hour, so that he was +uninjured; and the quantity of arsenic was so large, that, by the +prompt use of remedies, the mother's life was saved, though her +innocent children suffered severely, and, after lingering a few +months, both of them died. She rose from weeping over their graves +to serve her Master more faithfully than ever. But Asker Khan,-- +though the arsenic was found at the bottom of the pot, though a +portion of the contents, given to a cat, speedily produced +convulsions and death, and though a Jewess testified that "the +neighbor" had recently applied to her husband for arsenic, and no +one else had access to the vessel where it was found,--instead of +investigating the case, insulted Joseph and his friends, and caused +his aged father to be beaten; at the same time telling the people of +Dizza Takka to shoot Joseph if he went to their village again. Such +conduct emboldened the enemies of the truth to complain against the +more enlightened of their clergy who had renounced many sinful +customs, as forsaking the religion of their fathers; and, with +blasphemous threats, they were ordered to do the bidding of their +accusers. + +On the 1st of June, an order from the authorities at Tabreez to +Asker Khan was presented to him by the missionaries, which, after a +calm recital of the facts in the case of poisoning, proceeded thus: +"As the person who did this act is a criminal, and, if unpunished, +the affair may lead to the destruction of life, it is necessary that +you, high in rank, take the attitude of investigation, and having +discovered the criminal, that you punish him, with the knowledge of +the Americans, and so act that no one, Christian or Moslem, shall +dare to repeat such a crime." This order was obtained through the +kind offices of the Russian ambassador; but the criminals were only +detained a few days, and not pressed at all to a confession. Asker +Khan then proposed, as they had not confessed, that the missionaries +should intercede for their release. Of course, they refused. Then, +saying "that if he had known that, beforehand, he would not have +touched the matter, and that he could defend himself at Tabreez," he +dismissed the accused, and it was in vain for the missionaries to +prosecute the matter further. + +Indeed, the opposition at this time was more serious than at any +previous period, and for a time it seemed as though the seminaries, +and especially the Female Seminary, would be destroyed. + +In the autumn, a commissioner, sent from Teheran to examine into the +proceedings of the mission, made an inquisitorial visit, and went +all through the building, peeping into the chambers, and making +himself and suite every where at home. Coming into the recitation +room, where most of the girls were engaged in study, he selected, a +large, robust pupil, who could speak Turkish, and questioned her as +follows:-- + +"Are you allowed to follow your own customs?" + +"We follow all that are good, but not such foolish ones as you would +not wish us to follow." + +"Do these ladies let you see your friends?" + +"Certainly; we always see them when they come here, and we go home +three times a year, staying, at one time, three months." + +"What do you do when at home?" + +"We work in the fields, and do any thing that our friends do. Our +teachers tell us to help our friends all we can, and are displeased +if we do not." + +"Can you work, or have you become Ingleez?" (English.) + +"Look at me; I am strong; I can carry very large loads." + +"What do you do here?" + +"We study, and learn all wisdom." + +"Are you allowed to use your own books?" + +"Certainly; the principal book of our religion they have printed for +us, and we use it more than any other." + +"But have you not left the books of your fathers?" + +"The book I spoke of is our sacred book, like your Koran, and we use +all others that agree with that." + +"Do you fast?" + +"One day at the beginning of the year, and other days afterwards." + +"But have you not forsaken some of your church fasts?" + +"None that are written in that book. I keep all those very +carefully." + +"What! twice in the week?" + +"No; for that is not required in the book." + +"But your people do." + +"Yes; not being readers, they do many things that are not written in +the book." + +"Would your teachers allow you to fast?" + +"O, yes; but we don't want to fast more than our book requires." + +"What are your prayers?" + +"Those taught in the book." + +Then followed questions about dress, employment, and such things, +all of which she answered in the same manner. The teacher was very +thankful that the Master had neither left to her the selection of +the witness, nor her preparation for the examination. But the +examiner expressed very decided disapproval of female education, and +held up their previous condition as their only proper one. The truth +was, the Moslems were angry that their rayahs were being elevated, +and they were specially indignant at the education of women. + +So the opposition went on. Messrs Stoddard and Wright proceeded to +Tabreez, and secured orders for redress which, as usual, were +counteracted by secret orders to the contrary. The native helpers +were now beaten because they were in the employ of the mission: some +were thrown into prison, and threatened with being sent to Teheran +in irons. But when the Lord saw that the wrath of man had proceeded +far enough, he restrained the remainder thereof. For one of the +leading spirits in this onset on the mission fell under the daggers +of the Koords, and his death at once called off attention from +missionary operations to other things. + +Again, in January, 1858, two pious residents at Khosrowa, in the +province of Salmas, were shamefully oppressed; and when application +was made for redress, Asker Khan not only refused to adjudicate the +matter, but beat one of the complainants so severely that he was +confined to his bed for weeks. Still later, after urgent importunity +from Nestorians and nominal Papists, two very able and excellent +men, Deacons Joseph and Siyad, were sent to labor in that distant +province. On one occasion they entered the village of Khosrowa to +purchase fuel, and were quietly passing along the street, when a mob +stoned them out of the village. Shortly after, Deacon Siyad was +expelled from the district so suddenly that he had to leave his +wife, Merganeeta: she, too, was driven away alone; but Holmar, a +pious woman residing there, went with her. The first night they +spent in a field, and the next day they sought refuge in an Armenian +village; but, driven from thence, the persecuted wife fled to +Oroomiah. After long effort, an officer was sent from Tabreez to +Salmas, and ample promises of full redress were given, ending, as +usual, in nothing. A mob, headed by a French Lazarist and native +bishop, rescued the offender, and the officer desisted from further +procedure. + +The reader will be interested in the following extract, from a +letter of Hoimar to Miss Fiske, in 1859:-- + +"I cannot tell you how glad I am to hear that your health is better. +O that quickly you might meet us, if the Lord will! Till death I can +never forget your love, nor your reminding your pupils to ask the +Lord to support a poor, ignorant one like me. I do not believe your +thoughts can ever rest about your little company of Nestorians. If a +mother leaves a nursing child, she cannot rest till she returns to +it. If you are far from us in body, I know your spirit is with us. +If Jonah mourned over the gourd for which he had not labored, how +shall not you mourn after those for whom you have labored? + +"If the breezes did not bring the cry of 'Salvation' over the ocean, +our desolations would cry out. But thanks to Him who favors those +that leave their native land to labor among the ignorant. Yet what +shall this people do? The beast having great iron teeth still reigns +here; but it may be the Lord will speedily destroy him with the +breath of his mouth. I trust that you will ever remember in your +prayers one who will remember you in her weakness till death." + +Two years later brought the following, with its graphic delineation +of the trials that such as choose the better part may meet with yet +for years to come:-- + +BELOVED MISS FISKE: Almost every day of this summer has been a +bitter day. For my mother had become willing to give Raheel (Rachel, +sister of Hoimar) to the Papists, and she had prevailed over my +father to do the same. And now I will tell you how Goliah fell upon +the earth, and he that had no weapons overcame; but it was from the +power of God. The arrangement had all been made by my parents, and +the betrothal feast made ready. Sanum and I were in Oroomiah, but +Deacon Joseph was in Salmas, and we had also this comfort--my oldest +brother stood firm, saying, "Fear not; till death _I_ stand." +Raheel also was firm, hoping for help. With entreaties and tears, I +asked Deacon Isaac to go to Salmas. He went, but Raheel knew it not. +She was very sorrowful for only an hour remained to the time fixed +for putting the betrothal ring on her finger. The hope of her life +seemed to hang on a hair. She went to the vineyard, and prayed God +to deliver her; then returned sorrowful to her room. She hears them +say, "They have come!" and locks her door. They ask her to open it, +bat she opens it not. Just then, Deacon Joseph goes to the window, +and, seeing that Doacon Isaac has come, says, "Open; be not afraid." +Deacon Isaac sits down with the Papists who have come to the +betrothal. My father leaves it with him, and he says, "Very well; I +have only now come; I must have time to examine into this business. +To-morrow I will give you an answer." He talks with my father, +saying, "How can you give your daughter to the Papists? The +missionaries are not willing, our people are not willing, I am not +willing; and more than all, the girl is not willing." My father at +length said, "She is your daughter, not mine; do as you please." +Then Deacon Isaac sent word to the Papists, "There is no possibility +of your carrying this forward. I have questioned the girl, she is +not willing; speak no more about it." The deacon then asked my +father to let her go to the city to school again. At first he +consented, but finally left it with her mother, who did not let her +go. The deacon left displeased. When I heard this, I arose and took +Mar Yohanan's brother, and went to Salmas, thinking I might possibly +bring Raheel. While yet a good way from the village, like Canaan's +spies, we sent for my oldest brother (who is, as we trust, a +Christian). He, gave us good news, and said, "Raheel is all ready to +go to school." As the Lord favored Eleazar about Rebecca, so he +favored us; and the next morning my sister and Deacon Joseph +returned to Oroomiah, while I remained to meet the wrath of my +mother. As soon as Raheel was gone, she left, and as yet we know not +where she is. Truly, great is the power of prayer. So God brought to +nought evil counsels, scattered fearful, dark clouds, and caused the +light of joy to rise upon us. But I am very sad about my mother, +because she has turned away from the fear of God, and is fleeing +from life. My father and husband still get intoxicated. I trust that +you will multiply your prayers for them; and ask your friends to do +the same, and to pray for me, and our village and country. Give my +love to all your friends. + +From your lover, HOIMAR. + +We shall hear from Hoimar again, in connection with the communion. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + + +PRAYERFULNESS. + +LANGUAGE OF PRAYER.--PRAYER ON HORSEBACK.--OLD MAN IN SUPERGAN.--MAR +OGEN.---EARNESTNESS.--FAREWELL PRAYER MEETING IN 1858.--LETTER FROM +PUPIL.--SPIRIT OF PRAYER IN 1846.--WOMAN WHO COULD NOT PRAY.-- +"CHRIST BECOME BEAUTIFUL."--CLOSET IN THE MANGER.--MONTHLY +CONCERTS.--PRAYERFULNESS IN 1849 AND 1850.--SABBATH, JANUARY 20TH.-- +INTEREST CONTINUED TILL CLOSE OF TERM.--FAMILY MEETINGS.--AUDIBLE +PRAYER.--ANSWER TO MOTHERS' PRAYERS.--CONNECTION OF REVIVALS WITH +PRAYER AT HOME. + +The Nestorian converts have been noted for their spirit of prayer. + +In 1846, the prayers of the hopefully pious in the Male Seminary +were very remarkable. Several rooms were appropriated to devotion, +and there one might hear the voice of supplication from morning till +night. Many spent several hours a day in this holy employment; and +one needed only to listen to know that their prayers came from the +depths of the soul. At one time, they beg that the dog may have a +single crumb from the table of his master; again, they are smiting +on their breasts by the side of the publican. Now they are +prodigals--hungry, naked, and far from their Father's house; and now +they sink in the sea, crying, "Lord, save me; I perish!" or, as poor +outcast lepers, they come to the great Physician for a cure. This +one builds on the Rock of Ages, while the torrents roar around. That +one washes the feet of Jesus with his tears, and wipes them with the +hair of his head; another, as a soldier of the cross, plants its +blood-stained banner in the inner citadel of his heart. Their ardent +feelings found such appropriate expression in their Oriental +metaphors, that one might learn from children to pray as he never +prayed before. + +On the reopening of the Seminary that spring, the first desire of +the pupils was to enter their closets and commune with God. + +Riding out one evening, Mr. Stoddard saw three persons before him on +the way to Seir. Their horses went from one side of the road to the +other, at random; and their own heads were uncovered to the cold +March wind. At first he took them for dervishes; but on coming +nearer he heard the voice of prayer, and found they were Nestorians. +The eyes of all were reverently closed, and when one finished the +other continued their supplications. He turned aside, and left them +undisturbed. On another occasion, when John and Moses were riding to +Geog Tapa on the same horse, they again engaged in devotion; but as +the horse was unruly, they each prayed in turn, while the other held +the reins. + +Sometimes the language of their prayers is very broken. Mr. Stoddard +once stood in the church in Supergan, twenty miles from Oroomiah, +while prayers were read in the ancient Syriac, and overheard an old +man, very ignorant, praying back in the congregation by himself. He +had, perhaps, never heard five prayers, in his whole life, in a +language he could understand; but reverently, and in a low tone, +commingling the memories of old forms with the utterance of new +desires, he was saying, "Our Father in heaven--always going, after +Satan--O Lord Jesus Christ--hallelujah--forever and ever, Amen!" It +was incoherent, but comprehensive. He addresses God as his heavenly +Father. He confesses his sins. He appeals to Christ as his only +helper. He praises God for his unspeakable gift, and then closes in +the usual form. + +The pious Mar Ogen, of Ishtazin, when in great pain, and hardly able +to move, often broke out in words like these: "O Lord Jesus, thou +art the King of glory, the King of kings and Lord of lords; thou art +great and holy, and merciful. I am a sinner, condemned. My face is +black, my bones are rotten. O Lord Jesus, have mercy upon me, poor, +and blind, and naked, and miserable. O Lord Jesus Christ, I am vile. +I am lost; but do thou remember me." + +No language expressed their sense of guilt better than the words, +"All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags." In the fervor of their +desire for Christ, and grace through him, they would say, "Blessed +Saviour, we will cling to the skirts of thy garment, and hope for +mercy till our hands are cut off." A common petition was, "O Lord, +we pray that we may never deny thee, even to the blood of our +necks"--most expressive words, in a land where so many criminals are +beheaded. + +One prayed for our country, when he heard of the southern rebellion, +thus: "O God, pour peace into that land. Permit them not to fight +with each other, but with Satan and their wicked hearts, and may +they fight spiritually to subdue the whole world to Christ." + +During one of the revivals in the Female Seminary, the prayers of +the pupils were exceedingly earnest. A member of the mission, having +occasion to open the door of a room where a few of them were +together, heard as follows: + +"We are hanging over a lake of fire, with a heavy load upon our +backs, by a single hair, and that is almost broken. We are in a ship +burned almost down to the water; the flames are just seizing upon +us. O God, have mercy. Jesus, Son of David, have mercy. O Lamb of +God, have mercy on us." "No wonder," a missionary wrote, "I +sometimes think that it is pleasanter to pray in Syriac than in our +own language, because I have such fervent-minded ones with whom to +pray." + +The day Miss Fiske left Oroomiah, a large number of women and girls +gathered around to bid her farewell. They said, "Can we not have one +more prayer meeting before you leave?" They were told that they +might meet in the school room. "But may it not be in that Bethel?" +they asked, referring to the teacher's own room. She told them she +could not lead their devotions then. Their reply was, "You need not +do it; we will _carry you_ to-day." Seventy were soon assembled +in her room. They sung, "Blest be the tie that binds," and offered +six prayers. One asked that when Elijah should go up, they might all +see the horsemen and chariot, and all catch the falling mantle; not +sit down to weep, or send into the mountains to search for their +master, but take up the mantle, go, smite Jordan, and, passing over, +go to work. She then reminded the Saviour that he had promised not +to leave them orphans (John xiv. 18, Greek and Syriac), and begged +him not only to come to them, but to abide with them when their +teacher was gone. Her thoughts then turned to the departing company, +who were to take their long land journey of six hundred miles on +horseback. She asked that the sun might not smite them by day, nor +the moon by night. Theirs was a desert way, and the Lord was +entreated to spread a table for them through all the wilderness, +and, when they should pass over the narrow, precipitous roads, to +give his angels charge to keep them in all their ways, and bear them +up in their hands, lest they dash a foot against a stone; and when +they should go through the rivers, not to let the waters overflow +them. The company would lodge by night in tents, and it was asked +that the angel of the Lord might ever encamp round about the moving +tabernacle. Borne in mind as they should pass on, first to the +steamer, and then to the sailing vessel, she asked that when they +should be on the "fire ship," the flame might not kindle upon them; +and when on the "winged ship," where the waves would go up to +heaven, and down to hell, that He would keep them in the hollow of +his hand, and bring them to the desired haven. She then asked that +all her teacher's friends might be spared till she should reach +them, especially the aged mother, and that when she should fold her +daughter in her arms, she might say, like Simeon of old, "Now +lettest thou thy servant depart in peace." Here she paused, and Miss +Fiske thought she had finished; but soon she added, "May our +teacher's dust never mingle with a father's dust, or with a mother's +dust; but may she come back to us to mingle her dust with her +children's dust, hear the trumpet with them, and with them go up to +meet the Lord, and be forever with him." Nor did their prayerfulness +cease after their teacher had left them. + +There was a pupil in the Seminary, who, before conversion, was +exceedingly obstinate and rude; but afterwards, in writing to Miss +Fiske, she uses expressions like these: "I remember how you used to +put your arms about my neck, and tell me how Christ became obedient +unto death; not for friends, but for enemies like me. Especially do +I remember how you spoke of that love which saw a remedy in its own +blood, when there was no help for a lost world. At that time I did +not understand it, but now I know not how to express my gratitude. I +know that you are very happy with your aged mother, though your +heart is here; and she is happy, too, that she sees your face. Yet +these earthly meetings, though so pleasant, are but for a season. +But how delightful will be that meeting with the holy angels, with +the risen Lamb, and with God our Father! and if separations are so +trying here, what must be those of the last day? May I not then be +separated from you. If I should be, I know you will say, 'Holy, holy +Lord God, just art thou, for she has been taught.' We miss you much; +but the Teacher who is better than any earthly instructor, came and +taught us this winter (1858-1859). The Lord Jesus has been the +gardener of our school. He has come down and watered it with +heavenly rain. He has truly fulfilled his promise, 'I will not leave +you orphans; I will come to you.' He said, 'Wait for the promise of +the Father.' We waited for his coming, and he turned himself +quickly, and we had delightful seasons. Our times of prayer were +longed for. We prayed more than we did any thing else. When we +retire from the school room now, in many places two girls are found +praying together. In my village I meet the women together and alone. +I also have precious seasons, praying with a company of girls; and I +have selected two women to pray with and for till they shall be +Christians. I hope that they will choose Christ for their portion. +Some of the women of our village, like Mary, sit at Jesus' feet. One +Christian mother had an only son, and very wicked, who trod the +Sabbath under foot, and was wholly given up to his own pleasure. She +set apart a day for fasting and prayer in his behalf, and soon the +Lord met him in his evil way, and now he is a decided Christian." + +But let us leave these general views, and look at this prayerfulness +more in the order of its manifestations. + +During the revival in 1846, two of the pupils spent a whole night in +prayer for the conversion of their brothers, first one leading in +devotion, and then the other, till morning. Like Jacob they felt, +"We will not let thee go except thou bless us." While the +missionaries admired their pious zeal, it is proper to add, that +they generally insisted on the observance of regular hours of sleep, +as conducive alike to bodily and spiritual health. Yet one writes on +a similar occasion, "Sometimes, in my anxiety, I have gone to their +cold closets to persuade them to leave; but the fervor of their +prayers has oftener driven me to mine, than it has allowed me to +call them from theirs." + +Twice, and even three times, a day, were not enough for them to +retire for communion with God. Many spent hours every day at the +mercy seat. There were but few closets, and this was a great trial +to them. Often three or four of them might be seen sitting, in +tears, waiting their turn to go in to the mercy seat. Would that +they might have had some of those closets at home that are never +entered! At another time, the Bible of one of the girls was found on +one of their wooden stools, open at the fifty-first psalm, and the +page blotted with weeping, as she read it preparatory to retiring +for prayer. Her teacher could put her finger on no part of those +large pages without touching a tear.[1] Still later, when news of +the death of Munny, of Ardishai, by the accidental discharge of a +gun, reached Miss Fiske in America, her first thought was, "Dear +child, I shall never again break off your communion with Jesus;" for +she remembered that when once she begged her to leave her closet and +get rest for the Sabbath, her reply was, "O, I am so sorry that you +spoke to me! I was having such a good time with my dear Saviour." +Only a few days before her death, while in the vineyard with her +brother, she suddenly clasped her hands, and exclaimed, "Blessed Mr. +Stoddard! when shall I see him? and when shall I see my blessed +Saviour?" +[Footnote 1: See page 138.] + +A poor woman came to the Seminary one day, weeping for her sins, and +seated herself on the floor. The teacher was soon at her side, +telling her of Him who was wounded for our transgressions. She +prayed with her, and then asked her to pray for herself. "But I +can't pray; I don't know your prayers." "Hatoon, don't try to pray +like me, or like any body; but just tell God how you feel and what +you want." "May I tell God just what is in my heart?" Being assured +on that point, she fell on her face, weeping aloud, saying amid +sobs, "O God, I am not fit even for an old broom to sweep with," and +could say no more. This was doubtless the most worthless thing the +poor woman could think of in her humble home. But it was not long +ere she could join others in their little meetings for prayer; and +she still lives, honoring the Saviour, whom she loves. She is the +mother of two of the most useful graduates of the Seminary. + +Again: a pious man brought his wife to spend a few days in the +Seminary, when she was somewhat thoughtful, and left her nearly a +week. Let Miss Fiske describe their meeting. "He came for her at +noon, and I was conversing with him in my room, when she passed out +from her closet without seeing him. (The small upper window to the +left, over the central door, marks the closet.) But he saw her, and +reached out his hand, saying, 'My beloved, come here.' She placed +her hand in his, looked up in his face, and answered his 'Is Christ +become beautiful?' with a gentle '_I_ think so.' The tears of +both fell fast, while he led her, without leave, into my chamber, +that they might unite in prayer. But I was glad to have them offer +their first _united_ prayers there. It was ever after a more +sacred place." + +Miss Fiske spent most of the vacation that followed the first +revival, in 1848, with Mr. Stoddard, in the villages, where her +pupils aided her much in labors among the people. After a very +pleasant evening spent in Geog Tapa with those who were seeking +Jesus, Hanee, the pupil with whom she staid, came and asked, "Would +you like to be alone?" It was the first time she had ever been asked +such a question by a Nestorian, and it awakened feelings similar to +those that filled her heart when first she heard the voice of a +Nestorian woman leading in prayer. To use her own words, "I followed +the dear child, and she led me to the best closet she could give +me--a manger, where she had spread clean hay; and she said to me, +as she turned to leave, 'Stay just as long as you like.' You may well +suppose it was a precious spot to me. It was my own fault if I did +not there meet Him who was once laid in a manger for us." + +The members of the Seminary were especially interested in the +monthly concert, which was held in Oroomiah, on the first Monday of +the month. On that day they generally wanted two or three meetings; +and in 1846 it was often difficult to persuade them to study at all. +From the rising to the setting sun, the voice of supplication for a +dying world continually fell upon the ear. At one time, all united +in pleading for a world's redemption; then, in little companies of +five or six, they urged the request; and again, each, alone in her +closet, still pressed the same petition. + +Previous to 1846, so few of the Nestorians knew how to pray, that +religious meetings were for instruction rather than prayer; but now +it was a delightful privilege to unite with them in pleading for the +conversion of the world to Christ. Never were their petitions so +full of unction as when offered for this object. In April, Miss +Fiske's pupils, not satisfied with an extra meeting by themselves, +though continued till near sunset, were induced to close it only by +the promise of having a similar meeting next day. No wonder their +teacher never enjoyed a monthly concert in America as she did that +one. It was indeed a rare privilege to unite with such spirits in +its observance. + +The pupils wrote to the Seminary, at South Hadley--"Dear sisters, we +love the monthly concert very much. Three hours on that day we meet +together to pray that the kingdom of God may come among us, and +among all the nations of the earth. It is a very sweet day to us, +and we love none so well, except the Sabbath." + +In January, 1849, they spent day and night in weeping and prayer, +mostly for themselves, as unfit to pray for others. The same was +true of the Male Seminary. The teachers, the older pupils, and +Deacons John and Guwergis spent nearly the whole of one night in +prayer; and so burdened were they with the lost condition of their +people, and their own unfaithfulness, that almost all of them gave +up their former hope in Christ, and sought anew for pardon. The +voice of praise and prayer was now heard, not only through the day, +but frequently during the night. + +Up to January 29th, only two or three of the unconverted in the +Seminary showed any concern for salvation. Most of them were so +careless and trifling, that their teachers were almost heart-broken; +but when the retiring bell rung that night, many were so distressed +for sin that they could not heed it. The pious were pleading in +behalf of those out of Christ, and many of these last were crying +for mercy. One prayer commenced, "O Lord, throw us a rope, for we +are out in the open sea, on a single plank, and wave after wave is +dashing over us." So they continued till near midnight, when their +teachers constrained them to retire. + +At the beginning of February, the other Seminary witnessed a +remarkable outpouring of the spirit of prayer. Every spare moment of +the previous day, and much of the night, had been devoted to fervent +intercession by those who feared that the Spirit of God was about to +leave them. So intense was the feeling, that the ordinary services +were suspended, and at once every closet was filled; yet a majority +had no place for retirement. One of them proposed prayer in the +yard, and there, on that wintry day, for an hour, their earnest +cries went up to heaven. All of the careless were deeply moved, and +many dated their conversion from that day. + +The work extended to Geog Tapa, Seir, and other villages. From +Degala, Deacon Joseph wrote, "Whenever I went home, I found our +house a house of mourning. After the lamp was put out at night, I +could not sleep for the sounds of prayer and weeping on all sides. +In some houses, very young children had heard their parents pray so +much, that they also did the same. The women, too, had frequent +meetings by themselves. One day I led some men to a place where they +could hear women praying within the latticed window of a house, and, +trembling, they begged me to teach them also how to come to God." + +The missionaries avoided all stirring appeals to the passions, among +a people so excitable, though the ready performance of every duty +manifested the sincerity of the praying pupils, while it made the +labors of their teachers pleasant. + +There was not that agonizing wrestling in prayer on the first Monday +of 1850 that had marked the same day the year before; but the +following week was characterized by unusual tenderness in both +Seminaries, and two of the older pupils of the Female Seminary found +no rest except in their closets. + +On the evening of the second Sabbath in January, Miss Fiske was not +able to attend the prayer meeting, and remained in her room alone. +The gentle opening of her door announced that the meeting was over, +and a little group passed on hastily, but quietly, to the rooms +beyond. She had just risen to follow, when she heard several voices +in earnest supplication. She turned to the stairway, and there also +the sound of fervent entreaty came up from many closets, while some +groped about to light their lamps, or stirred the dying embers of +their fires. What meant this simultaneous movement to the mercy +seat? There had been nothing unusually exciting in the meeting, and +she sat down with the sweet assurance that it was from above. It was +late before the suppliants left their closets, and retired in +perfect silence; but morning found them resuming the same loved +employment, and good news came of similar blessings from the Boys' +Seminary. + +That week was one of deep solemnity. The pious pupils devoted every +leisure moment to prayer. Their domestic duties were performed +faultlessly, and much earlier than usual, and then they sought their +closets. Some spent five hours each day of that week in those sacred +retreats, and when urged to leave for needed sleep, the reply was, +"For weeks we have slept, doing nothing for God and souls. How can +we sleep until forgiven?" + +Saturday afternoon, several begged leave to give themselves entirely +to prayer for a blessing on the morrow; and never did the teachers +more gladly welcome the approach of holy time. A blessed Sabbath +followed such a preparation day. During morning service, almost all +were in tears. At dinner, many seats were vacant. It may seem an +exaggeration, but it was literally true, that no voice was heard all +that day save the voice of prayer. Miss Fiske has never known such a +Sabbath before, nor since. In the afternoon, the feeling was +overpowering. There was no request for prayer, but unbroken +stillness and the perfect performance of every duty, without a word +being said. At the supper table, every face seemed to say, "Our meat +and drink are not here." Some asked to be excused, but at length all +were seated; and the scene that followed can never be forgotten. All +who were previously interested, and more beside, wept tears of +silent sorrow. The blessing was asked, and the steward[1] began to +help them, himself in tears; but no plate was touched, for even the +uninterested gazed in silent wonder. Their teacher urged them to +eat; but one, seizing her hand, said in a voice too low to be +overheard, "You would not ask _me_ to eat if you knew my +heart." The reply was, "I feel just as sure that the Lord would have +you eat, as that he would have you pray." They were then besought to +eat, so as to have strength to pray. This touched a tender chord, +and so succeeded; and then they silently withdrew to make that use +of their renovated strength. Each hour that night found some at the +mercy seat, feeling that to leave off at such a crisis might lessen +the blessing. +[Footnote 1: Yohanan, father of Esli. See page 67.] + +Two months now passed on, each day furnishing new evidence that +those prayers were heard. There was less of excitement, but no +diminution of interest, to the close of the term. The uniform and +sustained prayerfnlness of those months surprised the beholders. The +voice of supplication was the latest sound of evening, the watchword +of midnight, and the lark song of the dawn. One pupil, nine years of +age, after spending two hours in her closet, consented to retire +only when allowed to rise and pray if she awoke during the night; +and she was sure to wake. About three o'clock every morning, her +earnest pleadings roused her teachers from repose. + +The hours of social prayer were full of tenderness. Those who heard +the pupils pleading far within the veil, close by the mercy seat, +almost forgot that they were yet on earth. The school, their parents +and relatives, were all affectionately remembered. The hour always +seemed too short, and often closed with such expressions as these: +"If we have not been heard here, we will go to our closets, and if +not heard there, we will return here, and again go back to our +closets, and so continue to plead for these loved ones to the last." +These meetings, though varied in character, were always of thrilling +interest. Now there was an overwhelming sense of sin, as committed +against a holy God, and then, as a ray of hope appeared, a weeping +voice would implore, as on one occasion, that "the Holy One would +walk over the hills of Judea, find Golgotha, and let them live." +Again, the sight of manifold transgressions prompted the cry, "But +we fear our sins have covered Golgotha from thy sight, and then are +we forever lost." Another part of the same prayer contained the +entreaty, "Lift not the mercy seat from off the holy ark, to look on +the law we have broken, but look into Jesus' grave, and bid us +live." + +In the daily family prayer meetings every inmate of the room was +specially and tenderly remembered. Once, when a father had come for +his daughter, and Miss Fiske went to find her, on opening the door +she heard a prayer for one who had shown little feeling; and in +pleading the sufferings of Christ on her behalf, each petition +seemed to rise higher, till every face was turned upward, as if to +see him; and the one who led in devotion involuntarily stretched out +her hands to lay hold of him, saying, "Come, Lord Jesus, and save +our perishing sister; but if she will not receive thee in this life +we must forever rejoice in her destruction"--a striking illustration +of intense spiritual emotion, bringing the heart into sympathy with +the whole truth of God. (Rev. xix. 3.) + +These labors for their impenitent associates, and for those women +who came to the Seminary, were full of Christ. The hour between +supper and the evening meeting was usually spent in personal labor +from room to room; and the entreaties and prayers, then audible on +all sides, made it delightful to be a stranger in a strange land for +Jesus' sake. It was scarcely less affecting when superstitious +grandmothers, worldly mothers, and giddy sisters were prayed with +and entreated to come to Christ. + +The audible prayers of the pupils may trouble some readers, but not +more than they troubled their teacher. She desired more silent +devotion; but Mr. Stoddard, himself in the habit of praying aloud, +looked on it with more favor, and feared to have it checked. Soon +after his own conversion, a friend remarked to him, "I think you had +better not pray quite so loud;" and for days after it he could not +pray at all. He had never thought of others while communing with +God, and he was troubled that others should think of him. Even to +the last he continued the practice of praying audibly. + +Miss Fiske sometimes spoke to her pupils on the subject. There was +one who spent hours daily in her closet, but her teacher heard all +she said. So, on a fitting opportunity, she suggested to her, in a +gentle way, that she might modify the practice. "I will try to pray +in a lower voice," was the reply; "but I never thought of anybody's +hearing me." That night her voice was more subdued, but her prayer +was very short; and soon after midnight her teacher was awakened by +the voice of prayer out on the roof. She stepped out quietly; and +there was her pupil wrapped in a blanket, and thanking the Lord for +such a place to pray. She continued her devotions till near morning; +and the kind teacher had no heart to interfere any further. Mr. +Stoddard was much amused with her success; and it may teach all of +us, in this matter, to suffer the Holy Spirit to divide to every one +severally as he will. + +On another occasion, not liking to assume the responsibility +herself, and yet fearing for the health of her pupil, who generally +spent a long time in fervent devotion, she led the physician to the +outside of the door; but he, too, after listening for a while, did +not venture to interrupt such communion with God. Sarah of Tiary was +within. + +Meetings were held three days in the week with the women in the +neighborhood, and were well attended. The older pupils were allowed +to assist in these in order to form habits of doing good for after +life; and they did so to edification, both leading in prayer and +addressing the beloved mothers--as they called those older than +themselves--tenderly and in fitting words. + +It was of such a work that Miss Fiske wrote at the time, "We cannot +speak confidently of its fruits at this early date, especially as +many of our dear charge are so young; but we can say what present +appearances are; and while we daily try to obey our Saviour's +command, 'Feed my lambs!' we trust that friends at home will hear no +less distinctly the same voice, saying, 'Pray for my lambs in +Persia.' All those whom we regarded as Christians have shown +themselves most faithful to their Master during this season. Others, +of whom we were less confident, have seemed to pass through a +previously untried experience, and, we tremblingly hope, have laid +hold of eternal life. The same is true of several never before +convicted. Among these last is a little girl who was suddenly +awakened, with as clear convictions, apparently, as I ever saw in +any; and her final trust in Christ as implicit. For several days she +would say, with tears and sobs, 'I have never yet loved the Saviour; +but O, I do want to love him now.' Her mother is one of the few +converted in Geog Tapa before the first revival. She has suffered +almost every thing for Christ. Often, on returning late from +meeting, she has found herself shut out for an hour in a piercing +winter wind, before her husband would open the door. At other times +she has been beaten, but never denied Him who bought her. The pious +natives often say that in the conversion of her daughter, she now +receives the reward of her years of prayer and faithful endurance. +The last days of the term bound the dear pupils very closely to each +other, and we trust to Christ. When the hour of separation came, a +prayer meeting was held in each room, and continued to the last +moment. Those without hope clung to their praying sisters, with +tears and entreaties for prayer. The hopeful converts went forth +with a holy, chastened gratitude and trust. We tremble for them +among their wicked friends, but rejoice that Israel's Shepherd will +keep his own." + +Their prayer was, "May we not carry to our homes the poison of the +second death in our hearts, but bear to them the seeds of eternal +life." + +But the rich blessings bestowed in Oroomiah were not all in answer +to prayer ascending from that place. There was a connection between +them and prayer offered in our own country, of which David would +say, "Whoso is wise, and will observe it, even he shall understand +the loving kindness of the Lord." Most of the revivals in Oroomiah +commenced on the day of the monthly concert of prayer, and several +on or immediately after the first Monday in January--a day specially +set apart to prayer for missions. But there was a special centre of +prayer for the Female Seminary in the institution at South Hadley; +and pious hearts loved to watch the connection between the two. +While the two inquirers, on that first Monday in 1846, were making +closets for themselves with the sticks of wood in the cellar, some +of Miss Lyon's pupils distinctly remember how she said to them that +morning, "We must pray more for Miss Fiske and her school." They did +so; and they remember, too, how the good news of the revival cheered +them, when it came. + +The earliest indication of interest, in 1847, was on the first +Monday in January; and letters afterwards told of special prayer for +the school offered that day in South Hadley. Almost every letter +written during the winter of 1849 contained similar information. The +revival of 1856 came suddenly and unexpectedly; but when, on the +night of February 17th, one of the praying pupils could not sleep, +because, as she said, "the whole school was resting on her," and at +midnight went to her teacher to ask her help in prayer, subsequent +letters from America showed, that on that night she wrestled not +alone. In 1857, the first inquiry for the way of life was on the +last Thursday in February, the day of prayer for institutions of +learning. Miss Fiske returned from the February concert of prayer, +in 1858, feeling depressed on account of the want of interest in the +school, and in half an hour was called to see two of her pupils, who +felt that they could not remain the enemies of God. In the first +week of February, 1859, meetings were held every evening in the +Seminary at South Hadley to pray for the school in Oroomiah; and a +letter from Miss Rice, written that week, says, "God is with us; +souls are seeking Christ; and I am so strengthened for labor, that I +am sure Christian friends are praying for us more than they did last +month." Do Christians in this country realize as they ought the +connection between their prayers and the blessings bestowed on the +opposite side of the globe? Do we go to the monthly concert +believing that prayer, offered then and there, will, through +infinite grace in Christ Jesus, result in the salvation of souls and +the advancement of his kingdom? Such facts as these ought surely to +increase our faith. Well might a missionary say, "I have so often +felt sure that I was reaping in answer to the prayers of those far +away, that on this subject my heart is full, and my first and last +word to friends is, 'Pray for us.'" + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + + +FORERUNNERS. + +MOUNTAIN GIRLS IN SEMINAKY.--PRAYING SARAH.--RETURN TO THE +MOUNTAINS.--VISIT OF YONAN AND KHAMIS, IN 1850.--OF MR. COAN, +1851--OF YONAN, AGAIN, 1861.--SARAH'S LETTERS. + +But rich as are the benefits conferred on the females of the plain, +the influence of the Seminary is not confined to Persia. It has +climbed the rugged steeps of Kurdistan, and pours into its wild +glens and secluded hamlets the same spiritual blessings. It is +delightful to trace the way in which God has led to results, as yet +only beginning to appear, among the mountain Nestorians. + +As the Seminary could not enter the mountains, Providence brought +the mountains to the Seminary. In 1843, Badir Khan Beg sacked and +burned the villages of Tiary, and the homeless fugitives who escaped +the sword fled to the plains of Assyria and Azerbijan. Towards the +close of that year, a miserable group presented themselves at the +Seminary door for charity, asking for the lady who teaches Nestorian +girls. The quick eye of the teacher detected three in the company +before her, and replied, "Silver and gold we have not, but such as +we have we will give you--a home for these children." This sent them +away sorrowful, for it was not what they wanted. But while the +parents retired to the shade of the tall sycamores to debate the +matter, the little ones, attracted by kindness in a stranger, staid +with their new friend. By and by the parents came back, and, falling +on the necks of their children, told them they might stay, till they +returned to Tiary. The teacher never heard a more gentle and subdued +"thank you" than this announcement called forth from those mountain +girls. This was the first movement of the school towards the +evangelization of Kurdistan, and it will be seen how Providence led +the Seminary at Seir in the same path. + +The girls were taken in, washed, and clothed; and though at first +they knew no more of good manners than of the alphabet, they made +commendable progress in both. Better than that, Sarah and Nazeo +became hopefully pious in the revival of 1846, and Heleneh three +years afterwards. + +The last days of the spring term, in 1849, as we have seen, were +full of interest. The teachers did not understand it then, but now +they see that God was preparing his first messengers to the rude +mountaineers for the work before them. Among a company of praying +ones, Sarah had long been known as "the praying Sarah." She was the +pupil whom Deacon Isaac invited to come and pray[1] [Footnote 1: See +page 151.] with him; and the strong man bowed before the simple +piety of that mountain girl. Her mind was not so gifted as many of +her associates. She comprehended truth with difficulty, but she +prayed with all prayer and supplication in the spirit. At this time +an unusual spirit of prayer was imparted to the school. The prospect +of vacation, instead of diverting the mind from devotion, seemed to +produce intenser earnestness. The voice of prayer fell on the ears +of the teachers at all hours, except the most silent watch of the +night. After the evening meeting, some spent two hours in their +closets, and others of the older pupils could not leave till they +had prayed with each one in the school alone. On the last morning of +the term, they separated with many tears and fervent supplications. +The quiet of the hour seemed a foretaste of the rest of heaven. Not +a loud voice, heavy step, or harshly shutting door was heard in all +the house. All was so sacredly quiet that the still small voice +might be heard the more distinctly. The teachers sent out the lambs +from the fold with feelings of peculiar anxiety. Some were to go +into families where every soul would gladly undo in them the work of +the Spirit; others to villages where not one heart could enter into +their feelings as the followers of Christ; and as they went forth, +their teachers prayed, from full hearts, that the Shepherd of Israel +would himself be to them for a little sanctuary in the places where +they went. + +While their thoughts were on such of their flock as belonged to the +plain, the thoughts of God were on those also whom he was about to +send forth to a life-long separation from these means of grace. As +late as ten o'clock, on the evening after the close of the term, +Miss Fiske heard the voice of prayer for the absent ones, and +fearing that the occupant of the closet was transgressing the laws +of health, she approached the door, intending to enter, and advise +her to retire; but as she listened to her strong crying, with tears, +for each of the school by name, she could not find it in her heart +to disturb the intercessions of Sarah. She was then a great bodily +sufferer, but very patient, and for a long time had not spent less +than four hours daily in her closet. The next day her disease +assumed a serious form, and for more than a week she hovered on the +borders of the grave. Several times she appeared to have drawn her +last breath. But though her sick room seemed to all like the gate of +heaven, and though to her the dark valley was all light, and she +longed to embrace the messenger who should lead her through, it was +not her Father's will to call her then. She was at first +disappointed at the prospect of coming back to the world; yet still +she sweetly said, "Thy will be done," as God restored her to health, +with its responsibilities and temptations, + +April came, and a scarcity in the plain, occasioned by locusts, +drove the fugitives from Tiary back to their mountains. The teachers +hoped the girls might remain, and besought their parents to allow +them to do so, but in vain. They were only too glad to get their +daughters away from influences which in their blindness they +abhorred. But God intended through these daughters to lay the +foundations of many generations, and build again the old waste +places of those mountains. + +It was hard for them to go. How could they leave their Christian +home, and the means of grace they had enjoyed so much? It was no +less hard for the teachers to think of those lambs as about to be +left at the mercy of wolves, in rocky glens, so far away that no cry +of distress would ever reach them. Yea, even if those loved ones +died, long years might pass ere their friends could hear of their +death. Those were days of sadness, and communion with God was the +only comfort of all, and especially of Sarah. + +On the day of their departure, the whole school came together, in +the room of the teachers, for the parting prayer. All was silent, +till the three asked to go and bid a farewell to their closets. They +went, and only He who seeth in secret knows how they prayed. They +returned weeping. A few words of comfort were uttered, and the +teachers commended them to God. They rose from their knees, but only +to kneel again; for one of the pupils proposed that all who would +pledge themselves to remember their Tiary sisters in every prayer +should join hands around them, commend them to the good Shepherd, +and give to him their pledge. About twenty thus enclosed the +departing sisters, and so they continued in prayer until the last +moment. As the dear ones passed out, they could not speak, they +whispered but one word,--"the promise,"--and so they went. For years +after, no prayer was heard within those walls that did not contain a +petition for "blessings on our Tiary sisters." + +Many a time had her teacher noticed the large folio page of Sarah's +Syriac Testament wet with her tears, and after she left, found the +whitewash of the wall in her closet furrowed with the same. It +opened out of the passage behind the door on the left of the +engraving. She did not tell this to the school, lest superstition +should attach an idolatrous sacredness to the place; and yet she +could not obliterate marks that to her own heart were so full of +comfort. Sarah had gone but a little way before she pleaded with her +parents to stop, and allow her to retire a little from the road for +prayer. + +And so, weeping and praying as they went, these lambs were led into +the dark recesses of a den of lions. We shall see persecution +raging, pitiless as the mountain storm, and long continued. But we +shall also see the Hearer of prayer preserving them unharmed; and if +we hear more from the others than from Sarah, it may be that the +revelation of the answers to her prayers is reserved for that day +which shall unfold displays of grace too glorious for comprehension +here. + +Nothing was heard from them till October, 1850, when Yonan and +Khamis entered those rocky fastnesses to gather tidings of them. +They spent the first Sabbath of the month in the house of Nazee; but +she was absent. They say in their journal,-- + +"We preached three times to large assemblies. They brought us +Nazee's Testament to preach from, and seemed accustomed to the sound +of the gospel. In respectful attention to the word, as well as in +knowledge, they were far superior to other villages in Tiary. This +we knew was the result of her teachings. Monday we waited her +return. She came about noon. How can we express the joy of that +meeting! We spent another night there, the most of it in sweet +Christian conversation with Nazee. We were surprised at the respect +shown to her, and the restraint felt in her presence. If any chanced +to swear, he at once went and asked pardon for thus injuring her +feelings. Tuesday we had to leave, lest we should be detained by the +snow till spring. We longed to pray with her before we left, but +custom here forbade it; yet she accompanied us a little on our way, +which gave as an opportunity to mingle our prayers and tears +together. As we bade her farewell, she said, weeping, 'Here is my +love for my teachers, for my sisters in the school, for the +missionaries, their children, and all that know me. Tell them to +remember me in their prayers, that God may keep me in this place of +temptation.' We left her looking after us, and wiping away her +tears, till we were out of sight. + +"We went that day to the village of the other two. As soon as +Heleneh saw us, she began to weep, thinking of the past. Sarah we +did not see; she was in another village, very anxious to come, but +her wicked husband, whom she had been forced to marry, would not +permit it. We spent the night with Heleneh, and preached to a large +company. Next morning we left, and she too, with tears, begged that +all her friends in Oroomiah would remember her in their prayers." + +Was Sarah prevented from seeing her Christian friends, that God +might show hereafter how, without even that help, he could answer +the prayers of others for her, and her own? + +The next we hear of them is through Mr. Coan, who visited Tiary in +August, 1851. The writer can understand his account of crossing the +Zab, as the bridge was in the same condition when he crossed it with +the late Dr. Azariah Smith, August 31st, 1844. But hear Mr. Coan:-- + +"A toilsome day, over the roughest of roads, brought us opposite +Chumba. The bridge had been swept away, and fording such a torrent +was impossible. Two long poplar trees spanned the flood; and we +crossed on them, bending under us at every step. Nazee was on the +bank, ready to greet us. After a few words of salutation and kind +inquiry, she hastened to prepare a place for us; and while doing +this, the malik took us to his house. She was much disappointed, but +followed, anxious to treasure up every word. After supper, we spoke +long to the company assembled on the roof. It was affecting to see +how eagerly she listened. She staid after the rest, for religious +conversation, till near midnight, when she apologized for keeping us +up so late. She is cruelly persecuted by her wicked mother and +ungodly neighbors; for she is a shining light, by which the dark +deeds of the wicked are reproved; and hence their hatred. When Mar +Shimon's attendants come, they treat her with wanton cruelty. Some +friends in America had sent her several articles of clothing; but +her neighbors came together and tore them in pieces before her eyes. +She bore it meekly, and only prayed for them. She expected fresh +insults because of our visit, but prayed that nothing might separate +her from the love of Christ. Long before day, she again sought to +improve every moment for Christian conversation. We tried to comfort +her: and her eyes filled with tears of gratitude. She received a +copy of the Gospels with joy. When we left, she followed us, lonely +and sad, to the river side. I opened her Testament, and pointed to +Matt. xi. 28: 'Come unto me, all ye that labor, and are heavy +laden;' but her voice choked, and tears prevented her reading. We +kneeled by the roaring Zab, and in broken accents commended her to +Him who will keep her, for his promise is sure." + +For ten long years we hear nothing of either of the three; till, in +September, 1861, Yonan--the same who found them in 1850--and another +preacher visited the mountains. In a village of Tiary, some two +thousand people were keeping the feast of the cross--eating, +drinking, dancing, and carousing. They sat down among the quietest +of the crowd. Heleneh came up and saluted them. Though she had not +seen her teacher for eleven years, she recognized him at once. They +talked from morning till near sunset. As they spoke of old friends, +Yonan asked, "Heleneh, do you remember where our Lord was +crucified?" "On Calvary. Can I forget _Calvary?_" as though +grieved that he should think she could forget. Yonan gave her a +kerchief for the head, saying, "Take this, and remember me by it." +"Shall I remember you by this?" was the reply. "I will remember you +in my prayers." "Do you pray, Heleneh?"--She was the last one +converted, and left Oroomiah soon after her conversion; so he wanted +to know whether she still held on her Christian way.--"Always," was +the answer. They sought a place to pray together; and though they +might not go away alone, yet there, in sight, but not in hearing of +the crowd, they approached the mercy seat, the spectators little +dreaming of the nature of their intercourse. It was delightful to +find that she had not forgotten the language or the spirit of +devotion. + +The accompanying sketch of a Tiary girl will show how the kerchief +is worn. It also exhibits the mode of using the Oriental spindle, +which is probably a facsimile of the article mentioned by Solomon. +(Prov. xxxi. 19.) + +[Illustration: A TIARY GIRL] + +The other two were not at the feast; so, next day, they left to seek +them at their homes. Nazee was absent, but came home in the morning--a +widow with two children. She was delighted, and even her children +seemed to recognize in the strangers their mother's friends. She was +poor; her house had been burned, and almost all it contained; but a +stone was on her Testament, and that was saved. They talked long +with her, and gave her a copy of the Rays of Light (the monthly +periodical issued by the mission), and a pencil to write to her +friends. She gave them letters written ten years before, which she +had penned in secret, and carried about with her ever since, waiting +an opportunity to send them. + +The next day, another long journey brought them to the home of +Sarah; she saw them coming and hastened to meet them; but that very +night she had to leave for a distant village: yet not till in answer +to prayer they had an opportunity to pray together; and the friends +left that village happy; for, as Yonan said, they "found her, like +the others, having the love of our Christ in her heart." + +That solitary disciple, through those long years of seclusion, never +hearing the voice of Christian fellowship, or knowing whether her +pious friends were alive, or if her sisters still remembered their +pledge, was yet kept of God according to his promise; and it is +interesting to see that she does not once allude to her persecutions +in her letters, but only solicits the prayers of her friends for her +relatives and neighbors; and then, while both Mr. Coan and her +teacher testify to her usefulness, with what humility does she +allude to herself, and "the very little she has made known of the +Lord Jesus Christ." + +Extracts from the letters that she kept so long here follow. The +first, to friends in Middlebury, Vermont, is dated September, 1851, +and reads thus:-- + +"To you, dear friends, I write a letter unworthy and imperfect, in +which I make known to you my lost condition and my present abode. +Know ye that a little more than two years ago I left the Seminary, +and came with my friends to our country. I did not wish to leave so +soon, for I had learned but very imperfectly what the Scriptures +teach about our Lord Jesus Christ. But my mother was not willing I +should remain, for her heart is yet hard and dark. Know, then, dear +sisters in Christ, I dwell in Tiary, in the village of Chumba, about +six days' journey from Oroomiah. Again, though so far away, know ye, +that your letter reached me in May. It was translated and sent to me +by Mr. Perkins, our beloved father, whom we are unworthy to call +such. My dear sisters, when I took your letter in my hands and read, +my heart longed to fly and sit down by you, and behold your faces in +the body; but I said, "The will of the Lord, not mine, be done." +When I look within myself, and see not a place worthy to cherish +gratitude to God for his great mercy and grace, which he hath +wrought for us, sinful and unworthy, I liken myself to the slothful +servant, who did not the will of his Lord. Yet, O, my sisters, +though I have not done the will of my Saviour, I have hope in him +that I shall do it, and serve him henceforth so long as I am in this +world--fleeting as a dream in the night. + +Though our country has been, in time past, greatly afflicted by the +Koords, yet God has spared many of us, who had sinned and trodden +under our feet the blood of his holy Son. But do not marvel that we +have sorrow from the scourge God brought upon us for our sins. No. +Still every day we provoke our Maker more and more. Then ought we +not to mourn over this people, lost and fallen under the yoke of +Satan? For should you go through all Tiary, you would not find one +soul that fears the Lord, but all bound in fetters not to be loosed. +If God do not loose them, quickly will they perish; and not this +country only, but many others, sit under the shadow of death and +walk in darkness, going to destruction. Then, dear sisters, though +unworthy, we should increase our painful efforts, and our prayers to +God, that speedily his kingdom may come and his will be done on +earth as it is done in heaven, that all regions may know him and +praise him forever. Beloved sisters, I am unworthy to thank you, and +still more to thank God, who has disposed you to show such kindness +to my poor body, and yet more to my perishing soul, with words so +gentle and full of love; yet greatly do I thank you. + +Again, dear friends, I have one request to make--that every time you +bow before God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of all who +love him, you will remember me in your prayers, for I am very needy, +and there is great danger that my soul will perish forever. Remember +also my mother, and all my friends, sinners, and on their way to +destruction. Know ye, further, that I conceal the writing of this +because they would not allow me openly to write, for they are very +foolish and benighted. Accept, then, this poor letter, as a token of +friendship and gratitude, in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ. + +From your unworthy and sinful sister, + +NAZRE, of Tiary. Amen. + +The following are extracts from another letter to the same persons:-- + +"Though we are far from each other in this evil world, yet I hope +that our Lord Jesus Christ will make us pure from sin, and worthy of +his kingdom, where we shall see each other with that light which +shall not end, in the joy of the holy angels. Ah, my friends, how +great are our mercies and we how unworthy, but especially I!-- +unworthy of the gift of the gospel of God, which I have received, +that I might make it known to lost souls around me. But know ye, +very little have I made known about our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, dear +friends, I desire to speak of him to lost souls, in the imperfection +of my mind. But many do not desire even to hear of the sound +doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ, and yet think to gain heaven, +while they practise in this world according to their wicked desires. +And for this reason, O my sisters, I beseech you that you will +remember this people, lost and fallen under the snares of Satan; +especially my mother, and brother, and all my friends. But more +especially, I beseech you to remember me, a sinner, in your prayers, +every time that you bow the knee before God, the Father of our Lord +Jesus Christ, and the Father of all who fear him, and listen to his +commandments." + +Accompanying these was the following to Dr. Perkins, dated October +3d, 1851:-- + +"To you, O my spiritual father, Mr. Perkins, I presume to send two +letters, for friends in Middlebury. If you please, you will +translate them, and send them; but I fear that they will give you +much trouble. + +"Again, you wrote me in your letter, that I should teach children to +read. Now, I am very needy myself of instruction. Yet I desire that +that might be my employment. But that is a very difficult matter +among such a people, of whom you have heard that although there may +be here and there one who would walk in this way, yet there is a +stone of stumbling and a rock of offence therein; so that every one +that goeth in it, his foot stumbleth, and quickly he turns back. + +"Again, O friend beloved, though I am unworthy to call you such, yet +I beseech you that you remember me always in your prayers. I know +that you do remember me, but I desire that you remember me more, for +I greatly fear for my perishing soul. Greatly do I desire to see you +once more in this world, if the Lord will." + +He who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in working, +commissioned these praying souls to prepare his way in the +mountains, even as he chose those other three to show forth his +grace in death; and they who live to mark the future course of the +river of life in those rocky glens will find, we trust, that his +strength was made perfect in their weakness. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + + +LABORERS IN THE MOUNTAINS. + +LETTER OF BADAL.--ACCOUNT OF HANNAH.--THE PIT.--'LETTER OF GULY AND +YOHANAN.--ACCOUNT OF SARAH.--LETTERS OF OSHANA.--LETTERS AND JOURNAL +OF SARAH.--LETTER FKOM AMADIA.--CONFERENCE OF NATIVE HELPERS. + +Besides these, the Seminary has sent up other laborers into the same +field. At the monthly concert in Oroomiah, June, 1858, there were +present four graduates, with their husbands, either going there for +the first time, or returning to resume their labors. Guly, the wife +of Yohanan, who had already spent one year in little Jeloo, was now +about to return there with her husband. Nargis, the wife of Khamis, +who had spent the winter laboring alone in the vicinity of Amadia, +on the Turkish side of the mountains, was now with him, going back +to Gawar. Hannah, the wife of Badal, who had sent her husband, three +days after marriage, to his winter's campaign in the same region, +was now accompanying him to the chosen field of his labors; and +Eneya, the wife of Shlemon, his associate, was also expecting to +leave in a few days. + +By the way of introducing the reader to one of these laborers, we +subjoin a letter from Badal to Miss Fiske, dated December 12th, +1859. It is a good specimen of Oriental style. + +"Writing to you brings to mind many sweet conversations with you. +Dwelling on them, my mind is sad. My sighs rise like the swelling +stream, and almost carry me away, especially when I look at your +garden, where you labored with so much skill to graft in these wild +olive plants, cutting off your sleep with watchings by night, that +they should not be rooted up by the desert wind. Thus you watched +them, till they became as noble forest trees that not even the +avalanche can overturn. Your garden, now, not only gives a shade +pleasant to the traveller, but it yields sweet fruits; clouds rise +from it that give us the early and the latter rain; they empty +themselves,--the plain rejoices, and the barren places become +verdant. Yes, the vine that you planted has budded, and blossomed, +and gives of its fruit to every passer by. Come to us, our beloved, +open the door of your garden, that the traveller may enter in and be +refreshed. You have left many pleasant remembrances in the work of +your hands. On every side you have left a picture for our eyes, and +the skilful work of your hands (his wife), lo, and behold! it is +with me. I cannot be silent. My voice shall be heard as the +turtle's; 'Behold, your feet are within my doors, and your counsels +are ever in my family.' The Lord reward you for these pupils, that +you have taught to be patient and persevering, so that they truly +help us in the work of life. + +"Beloved, give my love to your friends, and ask them, when they go +up to Shiloh to offer sacrifice, to place me in the censer of their +prayers. + +"We are troubled that as yet we know not the Lord's thoughts +concerning you,--whether he will allow you to meet your flock again, +or says to you as to Daniel, 'Thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot +at the end of the days.' Like Moses, you are gathered to your +fathers; but Miss Rice stands like Joshua, commanding the sun not to +go down till the sword of the gospel shall triumph. We thank the +Lord that she is still a judge in Israel, so that as yet the sceptre +has not departed from Judah. + +"Your affectionate friend, BADAL." + +There are some things about Hannah, and the work of divine grace in +her, that demand grateful record. + +She was the daughter of one of the most intelligent and wealthy +Nestorians, who placed her in the Seminary as early as 1845. She was +then quite small, and the teacher objected very much to taking her; +but paternal importunity prevailed. As soon as her father turned to +go, she began to scream; but he left, saying she must remain, and +"learn wisdom." The kind teacher took her in her lap to soothe her; +but it was of no use; her bleeding hands bore the marks of the nails +of her new protegée for weeks. She called for her father, but he was +intentionally out of hearing. + +The child remained, but learned wisdom very slowly. She had her fits +of rage so often, that she was sent home sometimes for weeks, and +again for months. She made little progress, either in study or other +good, till the winter of 1850, when she seemed to begin to love the +truth; yet, though her general deportment was correct, she often +showed such a determined will, that her instructors feared she had +never said from the heart, "Not my will, but thine," and often told +her that, if she was a Christian, God would, in love, subdue that +will. She could not feel her need of this, and thought that they +required too much of her. So they were obliged to leave her with +God, and he cared for her in an unusual way. The mission premises +had formerly been occupied by an Oriental bath; and here and there +were old pits, once used for carrying off the water, but now covered +up, so that no one knew where they were. One evening Miss Fiske +called the girls together, and told them some things she wished they +would refrain from. They promised compliance, and went out; but +hardly had they gone before their teacher heard the cry, "Hannah is +in the well!" She ran there, but all was right. Then they led her to +an opening just before the back door, saying, "The earth opened and +swallowed her up." The covering of one of the pits had given way, +and she had fallen perhaps twenty feet below the surface. +Fortunately, as in the case of Joseph, there was no water in the +pit, and in a few days she was able to resume her place in school, +but much more gentle and subdued than ever before. The change was +marked by all. Months after, in a private interview with her +teacher, she gave an account of the whole matter. She said the girls +went out, most of them saying, "We will obey our teachers;" but she, +stamping her foot, said, "I did right before, and I shall do so +again." With these words on her lips, she sunk into the earth. At +first she did not know what had happened, but remembered all that +had been said, and felt that God was dealing with her. Lying there +helpless and bruised at the bottom of the pit, she made a solemn vow +to God, "Never again my will." From that time she was a most lovely +example of all that was gentle. She seemed to give up every thing, +and "bear all things." Her father saw the change, and one day said +to her teachers, "I am not a Christian; but Hannah knows nothing but +God's will. If she should die now, I should know she was with +Christ, she is so like him." Her Christian character developed +beautifully; the school learned of her to be Christ-like. She longed +to do good, and was ready to make any sacrifice for the good of +souls. When Badal sought her hand from her father, the latter called +her, and said, "Hannah, Badal the son of the herdsman, wants you to +go to the mountains with him, and wants you to live here with him. +It shall be as you say." She replied very meekly, "I wish to suffer +with the people of God. I choose to go with Badal;" and June 8th, +1858, she left for her mountain home. + +The parting prayer meeting with those four girls, going as +missionaries to the mountains, was one of the pleasantest memories +that Miss Fiske carried away from Oroomiah. She left soon after, but +often heard from Hannah and her companions that she was happy in her +life of privation for Jesus' sake, and did what she could. She +suffered, however, from the change, and was advised to visit +Oroomiah for her health. It was hoped she might soon recover; but +she went only to leave her sweet testimony to the blessedness of +knowing no will but God's, and then go home. She sent the following +messages to Miss Fiske from her dying bed: "I love to have God do +just as he pleases. I thank you for all your love, and especially +for showing me my Saviour." She died in December, 1860. + +Having given herself to Missionary work among the mountains, it is +interesting to know that her little property also went to the same +object. In the remarkable revival of benevolence, in Oroomiah, in +the spring of 1861, her brother gave her inheritance, which had +fallen to him, to sustain laborers in the mountains: thus, after her +life had been laid down in the work, all her living went to carry it +on. + +Let Guly introduce herself to the reader by giving her own account +of her conversion, in 1856:-- + +MY DEAR SUPERINTENDENT, MISS FISKE: I wish now, as far as I can, to +describe to you my spiritual state. The first four weeks of the +revival I did not realize that I was lost, but afterwards was more +burdened; my sins were round about me like dark clouds. One night I +went to Miss Rice to have her pray with me. I did not know how to +find Christ. She told me; yet all that night I saw no light, but +only darkness. I was almost in despair, yet felt that this was from +Satan. In the morning the sun rose pleasantly, but it was as night +to me; for I knew that I had no portion in God. So I continued all +that day. I could not read in my class, but went to my room, and +vowed not to leave it till I had some token that Christ was mine. I +brought nothing in my hands save my sins, which were like mountains. +I remembered that scripture, "Though your sins be as scarlet, they +shall be as white as snow;" and I recalled the promises of God, and +that no other could pardon me. With earnest longing, I laid my soul +into the hands of Jesus. I heartily covenanted to serve him all my +life, and sought help from him in prayer. Then suddenly I saw light, +as if he were at my side; and I did not wish to rise from my knees, +so blessed was that communion. From that time I had hope, but +sometimes fear I may be deceived. Yet daily I find Christ more and +more precious. Though old Adam is not dead, yet in the strength of +God I will resist him. + +Yes, my dear mother in Christ, my guide to the cross, my desire is +to please God, and live for him, not for myself. I cannot say that I +shall never sin, for I am weak, and my foe is strong; but I will +seek help from Him who was tempted, and can succor me when tempted. + +I am most thankful to you that you have been the means of my +salvation, and can never forget your love till my tongue is silent +in the grave. + +Your affectionate GULY, of Seir. + +She and her husband, Yohanan, have labored in the mountains ever +since their marriage. He writes to Miss Fiske in February, 1861,-- + +"I have not forgotten your pleasant love, and trust I never shall +until I die. I hope that, with all your friends here, I shall see +you again. As our joy is not full in your absence, may you not rest +till you return. + +"We are now in Vizierawa of Gawar; for the people of Ishtazin, +instigated by Mar Shimon, have cast us out. I had hoped to go to +Amadia, but was robbed and wounded, in the autumn, by the Koords; +and before I could recover my goods, it was too late to go so far. +So I remain here; and, thanks to God, our labor in the gospel is +more pleasant than ever. Some of the men wish to hear the whole will +of God; and women and girls come to Guly to hear his words. A few +children also are constant in learning to read. The work of God +prospers this year in Gawar, and the laborers are more numerous and +more faithful." + +In estimating the zeal and self-denial of these Nestorian +missionaries, it should be borne in mind that our missionaries +there, think it requires as much self-denial for a native of +Oroomiah to go to the mountains, as for an American to go to +Oroomiah; and according to the testimony of a native observer, the +married graduates of the Seminary, in the mountains, are centres of +light in that great sea of darkness. + +Besides those already mentioned, Oshana and Sarah, with Shlemon and +Eneya, are laboring in Amadia. This Sarah is daughter of Priest +Abraham, of Geog Tapa, and was one of the earliest pupils of the +Seminary. When Deacon Isaac broke it up, in 1844, she was the only +pupil who remained. She was hopefully converted in 1846, and while +in the Seminary was supported by the Sabbath school in Owego, New +York. + +In 1849, it was proposed that her father labor in Ardishai, one of +the darkest and most wicked villages of the plain, as one might +expect the home of the notorious Mar Gabriel would be. Great +opposition was made by the people to his coming among them; and his +own wife--not then converted--did much to hinder his going; but +Sarah did all in her power to encourage him; and a letter of hers on +the subject decided him to go. She rejoiced to give up her friends, +her pleasant home, and even her privileges, that he might labor in +that unpromising field. Nor was she by any means idle. She spent all +her vacations there, laboring with much acceptance and success; and +after she graduated, in 1850, besides her day school through the +week, she had a Bible class on the Sabbath, with the women; and on +Friday, also, she sent out her pupils, in the afternoon, to invite +their mothers and other women to a meeting she held with them in the +evening. She thus acquired great influence, and led several to the +Saviour. Her labors were very systematic. She had a plan for +conversing personally with one pupil each day, and was noted for her +tact and success in efforts with individuals. Others might act from +impulse, and soon tire; but hers is an activity controlled by +principle, and therefore uniform and enduring. Very faithful in +admonition when admonition is required, she is at the same time +noted for gentleness, and thus expresses to Miss Fiske her delight +in laboring for Christ: "Separated from Christian friends, I am +sometimes sad; but I am not greater than my Master, who left the +holy society of heaven to come to earth, and I am glad for a corner +where I may labor for such a Master. Come and spend a Sabbath here +if you can; if not, pray much and often for these poor women." Again +speaking of her school, she says, "It is the goodness of God that +gives me these little girls. Pray for them. I see indications that +they will be lovers of the Lord. Forty or fifty of the women come to +meeting, and twenty-two are willing to receive the truth." She was +accustomed to study the Bible with her father, and in that way also +aided him in his labors. + +But it is time to bring forward her husband, in letters which open +up a new department of usefulness, and illustrate the meaning of Mar +Yohanan, when he brought her first pupils to Miss Fiske, and said, +"No man take them from you." The truth was, that the same parents, +who at first could not trust their daughters in the Seminary for a +single night, were now unwilling that they should be united to a +husband who did not commend himself to its teachers as a suitable +companion for their pupils. But let Oshana speak:-- + +HONORED LADY, MISS FISKE: I have a petition to lay before your zeal, +which is active in doing good to all poor insignificant ones like +me. Dear lady, whose love is like the waters of the Nile, and +spreads more than they; for it reaches the sons of the mountains of +Kurdistan, as well as those of the plain. I am venturing to trouble +you more than ever before. This summer, when I went to my country +(Tehoma), my mother and uncles, who greatly love me, with a natural +love, beset me to marry one of the daughters of my country, +whomsoever I should please; but I made known to them that I wished, +if possible, to take one of the pupils of your school, for I said to +them, "If I take one of these who are so wicked, ignorant, immodest, +and disorderly, they will embitter my life;"' I entreated of them +not to put this yoke of iron on my neck. They listened a little to +my petition, from the mercy of God, but made me promise that if it +should reach my hand, I would marry this winter. The girl on whom I +have placed my eye, to take her, is Sarah; because she has the "fear +of God, which is the beginning of wisdom," and she has been brought +up in all the graces of Christianity, and has well learned the holy +doctrines; and in the fear of God, and the knowledge she has +acquired, she can help me, and strengthen me, in the work of God, on +which I have placed my heart for life. + +And now, to whom shall I look to help me in this matter? I will look +to God, the Lord of heaven and earth. But he works by instruments. +Then to whom shall I look, as the instrument to do this work? I am a +stranger, poor, and without a name here. My relatives are far away. +If I have friends in Oroomiah, they cannot do this kindness for me. +If I remain silent, silence alone shall I see. Now, my lady, I look +to you for help; and with confidence shall I do so more than I +should to my parents; for you have guided me and my sister better +than any Nestorians have guided their children. Yes, by your hand +God will supply my need. Now do as you think proper. From your +unworthy + +OSHANA. + +P.S. The other letter (enclosed) is for Sarah, and on this subject. + +Some time after he was engaged to her, she was very sick, when he +wrote as follows; and the reader will notice that the "honored lady" +gives place to + +DEAR MOTHER, AND NOURISHER OF SARAH: I have no friend in whose +pleasant, pure love I can delight as in Sarah, and she is now +wasting away on a bed of sickness. My heart is very heavy with +sorrow on her account. Yes, I am so borne down with trouble, that +for three days my tears have not been stayed. I do not say this to +boast of my love. I owe her all this. I have a petition to make; +which is, that you will do all you can for Sarah. But I need not ask +this, for I am confident that your kindness, will lead you to do, +and cause to be done, all that can be done for her. But will you not +let me know whether her sickness increases or diminishes?--if it +increases, that my sighs and tears may increase in pleading before +the Lord for mercy, and if it diminishes, that my thanksgivings may +increase before our merciful Father in heaven. + +Dear mother, if it is the will of our Father in heaven to take Sarah +to the upper mansions,--though I shall be comforted on account of +her being saved from all the bitter misery of this world, and her +blessed rest with the Saviour, where she can praise his love with +her pleasant voice, joined with the sweet songs of angels,--still it +will be hard for me. If I live after she has gone, God forbid that I +behold her dust, and not long to be her companion in heaven. Your +unworthy + +OSHANA. + +Our next letter is from Sarah to Miss Fiske, written at Seir, in +1859, more than two years after her marriage, and gives a good idea +of her Christian spirit:-- + +BELOVED: The good news that you gave us of the revivals in your +country, rouses our hearts to warmer zeal. Shall we not also prepare +the way of the Lord? We know, by the gracious visits of God here +this winter, that Christians there are ever praying for our poor +people. For we hear from the preachers who come up to the concert +every month, that the work of the Lord goes forward in the villages +of the plain, and also in the mountains. + +Here in Seir, the good work began among the women. I hear them say, +"Though we have had revivals before, we have never seen a year like +this, when the words of God had such deep effect." Mrs. Cochran and +I have good meetings with these women. Our congregations make glad +the Christian heart, and I am particularly happy in laboring for +them, one by one. A portion of them, with tearful eyes, are +covenanting to be the Lord's. We ask the Lord to strengthen them in +their covenant, and we entreat of you and of your friends to pray +for them. + +Our Sabbath schools are very pleasant. Mr. Cochran will tell you how +the work goes forward. Mrs. Cochran has a class of women, and so +have I. Last Sabbath Mr. Cochran read one of your letters to the +congregation, and we learned from it how the work of the Lord goes +forward in your blessed churches. We praised the Lord, and then we +entreated him to bless our churches, and make them more spiritual, +for we are confident that his grace is sufficient for us all. + +She visited Tehoma, in May, two months after the date of the +preceding, with her husband, Oshana, and two little children, and +gives the following account of their journey:-- + +"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 in which I have been, 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 the city of Oroomiah, May 6th. We were ten souls--Hormezd, +of Aliawa, Sagoo, of Geog Tapa, Matlub, the Tehomian, Guly, and +little Gozel, Oshana and his brother, our two little girls, and +myself. May 8th, we reached Memikan, and remained there three days. + +"It was our first Sabbath in the mountains. 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 staid 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. Prom 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 Jesns 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 as I am here, I shall labor for that +Master who wearied himself for me, and who bought these souls with +his blood. + +"The Lord keep and bless you, our beloved, who have been a mother to +the Nestorian girls, all of whom, with longing hearts are expecting +your return. We continually pray Him who gave you to us, to restore +you again in mercy to our people. If counted worthy, I should +greatly rejoice to receive a little note from you." + +She returned to Oroomiah in the spring of 1860, and left again in +1861 for Amadia. When she went away, her three children had the +whooping cough; so she would not go into any of the mission families +lest she should spread the disease among the children; but after she +was all ready to go, and the heads of her own little flock were +peeping out of the saddle-bag contrivance in which they rode, Mrs. +Breath went out to bid her good by. Sarah told her how Miss Fiske +had said, when she took her oldest child into her arms for the first +time, "'Now, Sarah, you will not seek for this child a pleasant home +upon the plain, as Lot did, but rather to do God's will, and then he +will give you all things." "I have always remembered it," she added, +"and am not willing now to be found seeking my pleasure here." + +During the long winter of 1861-62, no messenger could cross the +mountains from Oroomiah to Amadia; and she thus writes 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 them 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 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." + +Our latest news from Sarah is, that during the summer of 1862, her +little son had died, and she herself was just recovering from a +dangerous fever. + +The joyful anticipations awakened by such a letter from a graduate +of the Seminary, in ancient Amadia, are not diminished by accounts +received of a conference of "Mountain helpers," held in Gawar, from +May 30th to June 2d, 1862. They came from Gawar, Jeloo, Tehoma and +Amadia. At the opening of each session, half an hour was spent in +prayer; then carefully prepared essays were read on subjects +previously assigned, and each topic was afterwards thoroughly +discussed. The first subject was, "Hinderances to evangelization in +the mountains,--such as their ruggedness, deep snows, superstition +of the people, and persecution." Deacon Tamo, in speaking, admitted +all these, but said, "For rough roads we have our feet and goats' +hair sandals; for deep snows, snow shoes; for the darkness and +superstition of the people, we have the light of the truth and the +sword of the Spirit; and for persecution, we have God's promise of +protection and the firman of the sultan." "The faithful pastor's +duty to his flock," and "Means of securing laborers for the field," +were among the topics discussed. Their discussions on the subject of +benevolence showed that they regarded that duty as binding as any +other. They engaged to observe the monthly concert, and take up +monthly and also annual collections in their congregations, and +apply the proceeds to the support of a laborer in the mountains. On +Sabbath evening the monthly concert was observed, and after stirring +addresses, the contribution amounted to what was for them the very +large sum of fifty-two dollars. Among the offerings were a horse, an +ox, a sheep, a goat, and different articles of jewelry. Arrangements +were made at the conference for the formation of a Protestant +community in Gawar, in accordance with the firman of the sultan. In +all respects the meeting was a rich spiritual festival, and from the +spirit its members manifested, and the progress already made, we may +hope for extensive and important results before many years have +passed away. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + + +EBENEZERS. + +EXAMINATION IN 1850.--COLLATION AND ADDRESS.--VALEDICTORY BY SANUM. +--SABBATH SCHOOL IN GEOG TAPA.--EXAMINATION THERE IN 1854.--PRAYER +MEETING AND COMMUNION AT OROOMIAH, MAY, 1858.--SELBY, OF GAVALAN, +AND LETTER.--LETTER FROM HATOON, OF GEOG TAPA. + +There are occasions, interesting in themselves, that also serve to +mark the progress which they promote. Such an occasion was the +examination of the Seminary, June 6th, 1850. There have been +examinations since, but none so marked in their influence for good; +none where the teachers felt so much like calling the name of it +"Ebenezer," and saying, "Hitherto hath the Lord helped us." + +The pupils had improved, during the last weeks of the term, more +than they had ever done in twice the same length of time, both +spiritually and mentally. At the close of the term, their parents +and friends, with some of the leading Nestorians, were invited to +the examination. More than one hundred and sixty spectators, besides +the pupils, were crowded into the large recitation room. This had +been adorned with a profusion of roses, from the vineyard of Mar +Yohanan, arranged in wreaths and bouquets, with festoons of sycamore +leaves, and other devices. The people were delighted,--for, like +other Persians, they are great admirers of flowers,--and many, on +entering, involuntarily exclaimed, "Paradise! Paradise!" In their +various studies, the attainments of the pupils would have reflected +honor on a seminary in our own land; but their knowledge of +Scripture exceeded all besides. Even on the details of the +Tabernacle they rarely faltered; and their compositions showed an +intimate acquaintance with Bible facts and doctrines. + +Dr. Perkins delivered an address, comparing the early days of the +mission with that scene, and felicitously answering various +objections that had been raised against female education; and, at +the close, diplomas were given to three of the oldest pupils. + +The exercises were pleasantly diversified by a plentiful collation +under the arbor in the court behind the Seminary, where lambs +roasted whole, in the native style, lettuce, cherries, pilav (a +preparation of rice), and some cake, prepared by the pupils, were +duly discussed. Many of the women had never before sat at the same +table with men, and it was amusing to witness their awkward +embarrassment. Some snatched the food from the table by stealth, and +ate it behind their large veils, as though it were a thing +forbidden. + +Hormezd, the Miner of John, now aged and blind, who had been led all +the way from Geog Tapa, said, towards the close of the afternoon, "I +wish Joshua were here." + +"And what do you, want of Joshua?" + +"I want him to command the sun and moon to stand still, for the day +is altogether too short." As the company dispersed, several old men +took Miss Fiske and Miss Rice by the hand, saying, with moistened +eyes, "Will you forgive us that we have done no more for your +school?" But the best of all was, some sixty adult women, from +different villages, begging for spelling books, that they might +commence learning to read. Thirty of them did not rest till they +could read their Bibles. The cause of female education never lost +the impulse that it received that day. + +Instead of the valedictory composed for this anniversary, is here +subjoined the greater part of the one prepared by Sanum, for a like +occasion, because it takes a wider range, and is richer in its +historical allusions:-- + +"Now that another year is closed, and we are ready to leave each +other in peace, it is fitting to review the past, that together we +may praise the sweet Keeper of Israel for the blessings he has +poured upon our heads. We fear to try to recount them all, lest we +tempt the Lord; so we will speak of but a few. + +"Let us renew the wings of our loving thoughts, send them to the +years that are past, and see where rests the dust of some of the +dear teachers of this school. Listen! There comes a voice, 'They are +not to be found among the living.' Yes, the place of one is empty +here, and of another there. Then, where are they? Thou, O country +art a witness that they have pressed thy soil; and you, ye blessed +winds, answer us, 'They have gone!' and ye green leaves of time are +true witnesses that they lie among the numbered dead. But where +shall we find them? They lie far apart. We must visit one that first +laid her hand on some of us to bless us (Mrs. Grant); and though we +remember her not, she often embraced us in the arms of love, and +carried us before a throne of grace. She was one of the first that +left all her friends, and ploughed the mighty waves of ocean, that +she might come to Oroomiah's dark border. Though fierce tempests +raged, and heavy waves raised themselves above the ship, her +prayers, mingled with love for us, ascended higher still, and +overcame all. At the foot of Mount Ararat she doubtless remembered +the bow of promise; and her consolations were renewed, when she +thought of it as a prophecy, that a company of the fallen daughters +of Chaldea should become heirs of glory. She so labored, that her +influence is widening from generation to generation. + +"The Lord is rewarding her even to the third and fourth generation. +But though she engaged in her work with such holy zeal, her journey +was short. Some of us had not seen our eighth summer when those +lips, on which were written wisdom, were still; and that tongue, on +which dwelt the law of kindness, was silent in death. Now she rests +in our churchyard. She sleeps with our dead, and her dust is mingled +with the dust of our fathers, till that day when she shall rise to +glory, and a company of ransomed Nestorians with her. + +"But where is that other dear friend of our school [Dr. Grant], who +was the beautiful staff of her support? He encouraged her to labor +for us while many of us were yet unborn. His heart was large enough +to love every son and daughter of our people. He sowed with many +tears, and gave himself for the Nestorians. Shall we not believe +that the fruits of his labors have sprung up among us? Then, where +is he? Let us go silently, silently, and ask that ancient city, +Nineveh. It will direct us, 'Lo, he rests on the banks of the noble +Tigris.' Would that our whisper might reach the ear of the wild Arab +and cruel Turk, that they walk gently by that stranger grave, and +tread not on its dust. Then, shall we think no more of it? No; with +a firm hope we expect that those mountains, on which his beautiful +feet rested, shall answer his name in echoes, one to the other; and +the persons who saw his faithful example there shall mingle in the +flock of his Saviour. + +"But the journey of our thoughts is not finished. We must leave in +peace this blessed grave, and go search for one with whom we were +well acquainted [Mrs. Stoddard], and whose gentle, loving example is +so graven on the tablet of memory, that it cannot be erased. Can we +forget her prayers with some of us the week she left us? or how, +when she took our hand for the last time, she said, 'The blessing of +the Lord rest upon you'? We did not then expect that our eyes would +no more rest on that lovely face, and our ears no more hear that +sweet voice in our dwellings. When we heard of her departure to a +world of light, it was hard to believe that she had gone and left us +behind. Lo, on the shores of the Black Sea she has laid her down to +rest. O ye angry waves, be still, and ye winds of God, fan gently +that sacred spot. All our people are indebted to thee, thou blessed +one. Thou, who didst first teach us to sing the songs of Zion, now +removed from sin and sorrow, thou art singing with the myriads of +the just. We would not call thee back, but rather praise the Lord +that you and those other dear friends are entered into rest. No, ye +are not lost, ye spirits made holy; but as it was necessary that +some should come from a distant land to labor here, so ye were +necessary to do a greater work in heaven. We believe that ye are +doing there more than ye could have done here; yea, that ye form a +part of that great cloud of witnesses that encompass us to-day. It +is delightful to us to think that ye blessed ones guard us. It is a +comfort to our teachers to think that you, who laid these +foundations, are still round about us. Beloved ones, we would not +call you back. Cling closely, and more closely, to your Saviour, +till we, too, through free grace, shall share in your glory. + +"And now, beloved friends, who with them flew on the wings of the +gospel across the ocean to tell us of salvation, we rejoice to-day +that the sharp arrows of death have not touched you. Ye have been +more than fathers and mothers to us. Our hearts are full of love to +every one of you, O blessed band! but we cannot express it, except +with a heavenly tongue. When darkness reigned in the breast of every +son of the Chaldeans, and no whisper of salvation had fallen on the +ear of their daughters, you opened the beauties of the priceless +pearl before our eyes, that it should enlighten us with heavenly +brightness. We cannot make known all that you have done for us. Let +it remain till that day of light when the Lord shall commend you +before his chosen. When we look at our dear teachers, our hearts +warm to you with no common love, because you led them to leave the +sweet place of their nativity for our sakes. You have been parents +to them, wiping away their tears with the soft hand of a mother, and +sharing their trials with a father's heart. While you have helped +them in every department of their school, the blessing has all been +ours. + +"If on the wings of an eagle we should fly to the extreme north, we +should find no such school as this, crowned with blessings, but +should see our sisters groaning in bitterness, saying, 'Not one ray +from the divine sun rises on us in our misery.' If we turn to the +south, there we see the daughters of Arabia lamenting, 'In all this +desert, not one oasis yields the waters of life to quench our +burning thirst.' Eternity alone will suffice to praise Him who sent +you, the only heralds of his grace, to us sinners. + +"But our southern journey is not finished. From one end of Africa to +the other our sisters lie wrapped in the shadows of death; and if we +turn to the east, all the way to China, the daughters cry, 'Wretched +is our unhappy lot: no cloud of mercy, such as surrounds you, lights +up the place of our abode. So on the west, as far as Constantinople, +our companions in suffering have no school to sound in their ears +the blessed name of Jesus. + +"What are we, that the Lord should choose us from the midst of such +darkness, and send you to us with the message of life? Let all +nations, with wondering lips, praise the Almighty for his grace to +us, so worthless. + +"Now that we go from you, we leave with you this our handiwork as a +token of gratitude. [A specimen of needlework now among the +curiosities at the Missionary House in Boston.] Receive it, though a +trifle. The figures on it show what you have taught us in our +pleasant school. As we have first of all been taught to sit at the +foot of the cross, and neither hope nor glory in anything else, we +have made that the foundation. Under the cross you have watered us +with the showers of divine instruction and prayers, that, like this +vine, we might entwine about it and bear pleasant fruit. From this +cross we learned, while yet in the bloom of life, like newly-opened +flowers, to join together in sweet friendship. Above this we have +placed a circle around the Holy Bible, that bright lamp of the Lord, +that will enlighten us like the sun if we follow its leading--that +well of living waters, which will cause us to flourish like the palm +tree. Thus will our leaf be ever green, and our fruit sweet till the +day when the mystery of love shall be revealed, and we dwell in the +mansions of the blest. There, joining with all the singers in +heavenly places, we shall receive harps and sing glory to our +heavenly King, who saved us from everlasting woe. There we shall +inherit crowns of gold, and, with myriads of the saints, cast them +down before the Lamb. If but one of us reach that place, will you +deem your labor in vain? God, who rewards even the gift of a cup of +cold water, will never forget what you have done to the least of his +people, and if the least are on the earth, we are they. Now that you +send us forth into the world, remember us, we beg you, whenever you +bring your sacrifice before the Lord. + +"Dear teachers, your acts of kindness have been more than the hairs +of our heads; we cannot recount them. We can only ask Him, who alone +is rich, to reward you from his good treasures, for none but He can +meet our obligations to you. Each thought that reverts to the past +demands a tear of gratitude. O blessed seasons, when God sent down +his Holy Spirit, that through your labors these walls of Jerusalem, +so long broken down, might be again rebuilt. It is sweet to think +that in the hand of Christ, you have been the means of the salvation +of our souls, which are to live forever. We believe that your +prayers and tears are in the golden censer before the throne. Now +that we go out from under your wings of love, which cannot reach to +all your scattered flock, we entreat you to ask the Good Shepherd to +lead us in green pastures and beside the still waters, and keep us +under his wings of mercy in our weakness. + +[Her address to the native teachers, bishops, &c., is omitted.] + +"Dear parents, we rejoice exceedingly to see you here, looking on us +with eyes of love. No words can express what you have done for us, +especially in sending us here to learn of Jesus. We trust that it +has been, or shall be, a blessing to you also. It is our hope that +you will be willing to send your daughters to distant places, to +make known eternal life. If you do, great will be your reward from +the Lord. + +"And now, sweet sisters, another year have we sat under our own vine +and fig tree unmolested. We have tasted the honey and milk of the +blessed land, and drank of the waters from the Rock. But now the +time has come to leave these bowers of knowledge, but not the +lessons here learned, nor the counsels of our teachers, nor the +sweet whispers of the Holy Spirit. + +"Dear sisters, let us bear forth with us the light-giving +countenance of the Saviour, which will scatter all the evil around +us as the light dispels the darkness: without this we cannot go. +Though separated in body, let us be united in fervent prayer. Let a +conscience made sensitive by grace be our abiding companion. Let the +tent of Abraham teach us that we have no abiding city here; and like +him, let our first work be to offer those prayers to God which shall +testify that he is ours. And now, before going forth, let us clothe +ourselves with the meekness and gentleness of Christ. Yea, let us +take with us all his virtues, being obedient, teaching our dying +associates, and leading them one and all to Christ. Though we part, +our love can never be sundered, and we will ask the Lord to send his +ministering spirits to strengthen our faltering steps, and feed our +souls with heavenly manna, so that if we never more see each other +here, we may meet in heaven with our sisters who have gone before." + +The teachers improved the interest awakened by the examination in +1850, to urge their older pupils to labor in the village Sabbath +schools; and let us look in on their efforts in Geog Tapa. The +children there were divided into ten classes, each with one of the +pupils for a teacher. Others taught the women who could not read. +Soon these were joined by both old and young men, who were taught by +pupils from the Seminary at Seir, and as many as forty spelling +books were in active use. The children, too, were taught to sing. +Thus they labored till winter, when the school was put in charge of +the village school teachers. In the spring the pupils resumed the +work with undiminished zeal. Nor did they toil in vain, for the +attendance increased from about seventy to four hundred; and some of +the teachers testified that they spent there some of the most +delightful Sabbaths they ever knew. Yonan, who superintended the +school with Moses, had also a class of old women, that increased +from six to thirty-seven, whom he taught from the book, well known +to our Sabbath school children, "Line upon Line." His own account of +it is very interesting. He says," The women, especially the aged +among them, have a habit, when they meet, of engaging in +unprofitable conversation, and, both on the way to church and in it, +we could not stop it. Awakening sermons produced no impression; and +though they had heard preaching for fifteen years, they were still +very ignorant. But now what I teach them on one Sabbath I require +them to repeat the next; and so they are obliged to leave off their +gossip, and talk over what they have heard, that they may not forget +it. These women are so anxious to be taught, that if I am hindered a +little longer than usual in arranging the classes, they cry out +after me in the church, that all the other classes are being taught, +but they forsaken." + +A class of old men, taught by Deacon John, commenced with an +attendance of ten, but soon numbered forty. Formerly they went to +market on the Sabbath, or sat sunning themselves in the street, +going to hear preaching about half the time; but they became so +interested in the exercises, that they were unwilling they should +close. They brought others with them, and if one of them was kept +away one Sabbath, he mourned that the rest had got so far before +him. + +The women carried their books with them when they went out to the +vineyards, and at resting time: while others slept, they read. Some, +who could not afford oil at night, read by moonlight, and when they +spun, they fastened the book open on a shelf, so that they could +read at the same time. Once, when a woman was asked if she could +repeat her lesson, she replied, "O, yes; I repeated it over just now +while I was milking." The men also took their books out to the +fields, that they might improve every spare moment, and one was so +earnest that, when waked in the night to attend to the cattle, he +read till morning; but his family, finding that he burned so much +oil, took care after that to let him sleep. Good old Mar Elias +rejoiced to see such a work among his flock; and it was most +pleasant to see the large church so crowded by people, seated on the +floor, that one could hardly walk about among them. + +After the teachers had attended to their classes about an hour and a +half, the younger scholars repeated the portion of Scripture they +had learned during the week, and the parents were much pleased to +hear their children recite. + +The daily report of the Seminary was introduced into the Sabbath +school in a way that only Orientals could do it. The older members +of the school were required to report any cases of swearing, +stealing, or quarrelling among the younger ones during the week, who +were publicly reproved on the following Sabbath. This made the +parents more careful to watch over their children, and the children +more circumspect in their daily behavior. If any little trouble +occurred among them during the week, they said to each other, "Let +us be careful; Sabbath is near;" and though at first some of the +people smiled when the children were reproved, it soon became more +common for them to weep. + +After taking an account of the attendance, the children sung, +divided into two companies, on opposite sides of the church; and +then Mar Ellas, or some of the elders of the village, addressed the +school. Yonan closes his account of it by saying, "We have learned +in this work more than ever before the value of female education. +Among our most energetic, faithful teachers are young women who love +to sit down before little children, and the ignorant of their own +sex, and teach them the way of life." + +Thursday, June 1st, 1854, was a great day in Geog Tapa. The forenoon +was devoted to the examination of a girls' school, taught by Hanee +and Nargis, graduates of the preceding year, and both belonging in +the village. As it was a feast day, a large number were present from +the neighboring hamlets. At nine o'clock the examination commenced +in the spacious church, which was crowded, the congregation +numbering about six hundred in all. The fifty pupils occupied the +middle of the church. The studies pursued were ancient and modern +Syriac, geography, arithmetic, both Scripture and secular history, +reading and spelling; and in all of them the pupils did credit both +to themselves and their teachers. The singing, that day, especially +pleased the parents, many of whom exclaimed with wonder, "Our +daughters can learn as well as our sons." Miss Fiske rejoiced to see +her children's children in the pupils of her first pupil, who +gracefully managed her little flock with an easy control. The +villages of Gavalan, Vizierawa, and Ardishai, had each a similar +school, containing in all one hundred pupils; and each of these +schools was as valued a centre of religious influence as of +intellectual training. The teachers were in the habit of praying +with one of their pupils alone every day, as well as of opening the +school with prayer; and Friday afternoon was regularly devoted to a +religious meeting with the mothers of the pupils. These schools +fitted the teachers for usefulness, and the pupils for admission to +the Seminary, as well as for teachers in the Sabbath school; and +they furnish a delightful view of the present and prospective +usefulness of the Seminary among the people. + +Noon came, and the large assembly scattered, to enjoy the +hospitality of the village. For the people opened their houses for +those in attendance, just as they do with us at the annual meetings +of the American Board. Geog Tapa could also boast of its committee +of arrangements, in humble imitation of greater things. + +After a recess of an hour and a half, the people reassembled for the +examination of the Sabbath school, in a grove behind the church, as +that building could not contain the multitude which now numbered +more than a thousand. First came a class of men, from twenty to +seventy years of age, headed by Malik Aga Bey, the village chief. +They had been taught orally by Deacon John, and answered questions +in Old Testament history very readily. Then followed a class of +women, fifty or sixty in number, most of them over forty years of +age. These had been taught by Yonan, and were quite familiar with +the Old Testament, from the creation to the reign of David. One old +blind woman wanted to point out the stopping places of Israel in the +desert, on the map which hung on one of the tall trees: she had +learned their names by heart, and was familiar with their location +by touch. + +Next came a class of twenty men, who had recently learned to read; +for which they had each received a copy of the New Testament. A +class of women then followed, numbering twenty-three, who had also +been taught to read by the boys and girls in the village schools. +Mr. Stoddard called for the teacher of each woman to step forward; +and a copy of the Old Testament was presented to every one of them, +as they stood in a row in front of their pupils. There was one woman +who stood without a teacher. Mr. Stoddard called for hers also, and +some one whispered to him that she had been taught by her husband. +Mr. Stoddard thereupon led him out, and, placing his hand on his +head, said, before the whole assembly, "All honor to the man who has +taught his wife to read!" and presented him also with a Bible. + +One who was frequently present often wept to see Women giving a +morsel to their infants to quiet them, that they might devote the +longer time to their lessons; some of them so intent on the work of +learning, that their faces were bathed in perspiration. She used to +fill her pocket and reticule with cakes for the little ones, so that +their mothers might be more free from interruption. The exercises of +that day gave a great impulse to the cause of education in Geog +Tapa. As many as seventy adults were soon poring over their spelling +books; and the next summer one half of the adult women were either +readers or engaged in the same employment; though previous to the +examination of the Seminary in 1850, not one in thirty could read, +or cared to learn. + +Having given an account of these two interesting occasions, let us +now look in on another equally interesting, though of a different +kind, that took place in Oroomiah, three years later. During the +interval, Mr. Stoddard had entered into rest; and his bereaved +widow, Dr. Perkins and family, and Miss Fiske, were about to sit +down together, perhaps for the last time, with the Nestorian +converts, at the table of the Lord. + +It was in May, and the day one of the finest of those charming May +days in Oroomiah. The most of the Nestorians who had been admitted +to the communion were present; and in distributing the guests among +the mission families, it was understood that all who had been +connected with the Seminary should go there. The object of this was, +to gather all the scattered members of the family together once more +in the place where prayer had been wont to be made, before they went +to the Lord's table. As yet, no one knew that their teacher was +about to leave them; for she did not wish any thing else to turn +away their thoughts from Jesus. When they had assembled in the +school room, she could not say much, but besought the Lord Jesus to +be the Master of the assembly. After singing a hymn, the words +"looking unto Jesus" were given as the key-note of the meeting. He +came and whispered peace, and all felt that they sat together in +heavenly places. The eyes of their hearts were opened, so that they +realized the fulfilment of the promise, "There am I in the midst of +you." + +They were invited to speak freely of their joys and sorrows, in +order that together they might carry them to Jesus. The first to +speak was Hanee, one of the two whom Mar Yohanan brought to Miss +Fiske at the commencement of the school.[1] She had, not long +before, buried her only child; and holding her hands as though the +little one still rested on her arms, she said, "Sisters, at the last +communion you saw me here with my babe in these arms. It is not here +now. I have laid it into the arms of Jesus, and come to-day to tell +you there is a sweet as well as a bitter in affliction. When the rod +is appointed to us, let us not only kiss it, but press it to our +lips. When I stood by that little open grave, I said, 'All the time +I have given to my babe, I will give to souls.' I try to do so. Pray +for me." She told but the simple truth; for after the death of her +child, she used to bring the women into the room where it died, and +there talk and pray with them. Since then, she has received another +little one, and in the same spirit given it back to Christ. When she +ceased, the whole company were in tears. The leader could only ask, +"Who will pray?" and Sanum, whose children had died by poison, and +who could enter into the feelings of the bereaved mother, knelt down +and prayed as very few could pray for mothers left desolate, and for +those who still folded their little ones in their arms. There was +perfect silence while she pleaded for them, save as the sweet voice +of her own babe sometimes added to the tenderness of her petitions. +A child in heaven! what a treasure! and what a blessing, if it draw +the heart thither also! +[Footnote 1: See page 51.] + +There was a little pause after the prayer; and, to the surprise of +all, the voice of Nazloo was heard in another part of the room; for +they had supposed her near, if not already entering, the river of +death. "Sisters," said she, "since seeing you, I have stood with one +foot in the grave; and may I tell you that it is a very different +thing to be a Christian then, from what it is in this pleasant +school room. Let me ask you if you are sure that you are on the Rock +Christ Jesus." A tender prayer followed, the burden of which was, +"Search us, O Lord, and try us, and see if there be any wicked way +in us, and lead us in the way everlasting." + +The next to speak was one of the early pupils, who had come many +miles that day to be present. She said, "I could think but one +thought all the way as I came, and that was, 'Freely ye have +received, freely give.' We have certainly received freely: have we +given any thing? Can we not do something for souls? I fear the Lord +Jesus is not pleased with us." + +They were then asked if they were ready to engage in direct labors +for souls, to search them out, and by conversation and prayer seek +to lead them to Christ. Many pledged themselves to the work, and +engaged to bring the names of those for whom, they had labored to +the next communion, that all together might intercede in their +behalf to God. Before that time arrived, Miss Fiske left for +America; but the first letter she opened, out of a large parcel that +awaited her in Boston, was one containing the names of those with +whom her pupils had labored and prayed in distant Persia. Is it +strange that, as the slips of paper fell at her feet, her heart was +moved? + +But we cannot dwell longer on the prayer meeting. As many as twelve +said a few words, and more than that number led in prayer, during +the two hours they were together: from thence all repaired to the +dining room,--the three upper windows on the right of the engraving +belong to this,--where they did "eat their meat with gladness and +singleness of heart." Then it was announced that arrangements had +been made for class prayer meetings. It seemed to be just the thing +that all longed for, though none had spoken of it; and at once each +class went along the familiar passages to the room assigned it, and +the voice of prayer arose from nearly every apartment in the +building. The chapel bell rung, but it was unnoticed; and each +little company had to be separately summoned to church. There, +according to previous arrangement, Miss Fiske led each to a seat, +that the communicants might be together, and then herself sat down +behind them all. A glance revealed ninety-three sisters in Christ +before her; and as the services had not yet commenced, her thoughts +went back to the day when, asking concerning many of them, "Is this +one a Christian?" "or that one?" "or that other?" the answer came, +"You have no sister in Christ among them all!" No wonder she now +inwardly exclaimed, "What hath God wrought? The Lord hath done great +things for us, whereof we are glad." There was but one among the +ninety-three with whom she had not bowed the knee in prayer, and +that same evening, as she was devising methods to get her away from +the rest to her room alone, the Lord sent her, unexpectedly, to the +door; and with her also she enjoyed the privilege of personal +religious intercourse and prayer. + +At the communion, when all stood up to enter into covenant with +thirty-nine new converts, six of them pupils of the Seminary, there +seemed a deeper meaning than ever before in engaging to be the +Lord's forever. + +In Hanee we have seen the grace bestowed on one of the two whom Mar +Yohanan brought to form the nucleus of the school. The other was +Selby, of Gavalan, his own niece. She became hopefully pious in +1846, when hardly ten years of age. There were very few in whom her +teachers took such uniform delight, though they felt some anxiety +when she married Priest Kamo, of Marbeeshoo, a cousin of Mar +Shirnon--intelligent and influential, but unconverted. Yet she had +strong faith that he would become a Christian, and soon gained a +wonderful influence over him, without compromising in the least her +own religious principles. She became his teacher in the Bible,--it +was a new book to him,--and in her he saw the Christian life it +described beautifully exemplified. She had just begun to hope that +her prayers were answered in his conversion. He was much interested +in aiding the evangelists in the mountains, and the mission was +hoping great things from him, under the good influence of Selby, +when he died. Her feelings, under this affliction, are thus +described by her own pen, in a letter to her teacher, dated +Marbeeshoo, June 4th, 1859:-- + +"It is not because I have forgotten you that I have not written you +until now. How can I forget you? And were that possible, I could not +forget your instructions. I remember them at all times, by day and +by night. They comfort me in sorrow, and strengthen me in anguish. +You have taught me the duties of this life, and you have pointed me +to the world to come. I remember when you used to take me by the +hand, and lead me into your closet, and there pray with me; and my +heart fills with mingled joy and sorrow--with joy, that such +precious seasons were given me; with sorrow, that they will be mine +no more. Shall I never see your face again--that face, which bore to +us more than a mother's love? You were a perfect mother, because in +Christ. + +"I grieve very much that I did not see you before you left; but I +believe that the seed you have sown will continue to spring up to +the end of the world. You asked me, in your letter, to tell you +about my work. I have a greater work than any of my companions, but +it is in a place covered with thick darkness, like that of Egypt. +The people are stiff-necked, wise to do evil, but of God they have +no knowledge. Temptations surround me as mountains; they rise up +about me like the waves of the sea. While Kamo lived, I was +comforted, for he loved the truth. Every day he used to read the +Scriptures with me, and ask the meaning of each verse. I had hoped +he would have Paul's zeal in the work of the Lord. I had expected +that we should have schools in our village after a year or two, and +that the places of concourse for idle conversation would become +places for reading the Scriptures, and for prayer. But it has +pleased the Lord to give me a great and heavy affliction. He has +smitten me with his own rod, making this world a vale of tears. But +it is the Lord; let him do what he pleaseth. It is all for my +profit. + +"I want to ask you and your friends to pray for me, that I may +endure to the end." + +The feelings of the pupils, after the departure of Miss Fiske, are +graphically expressed in the following letter from Hatoon, of Geog +Tapa:-- + +"My heart longs to tell you of the change in our dear school. Our +return, after vacation, was much like that of the Jews from Babylon, +when they found their city laid waste, and their temple in ruins. +Every time they looked on the spot where it had stood, their hearts +were crushed. So when we did not see you, and went not to take your +hand and be kissed by you,--when we saw not your ready feet coming +to the door, to bring in each one and make her happy,--our hearts +were broken, and we could not restrain our tears; especially when I +remembered the times that the daughters of the church used to meet +in your room to mingle our prayers, our tears, and our joys +together. These recollections leave an aching void which cannot be +filled. It seems to me that the ways of your room mourn, because you +come not to the solemn feasts. If Jeremiah were here, I think he +would say, 'How doth Miss Fiske's room sit solitary that was full of +people! How do the daughters of the Oroomiah schools mourn, and +their eyes run down with water, because Miss Fiske is far from +them?' These changes show us that this world is as down driven by +the wind. Perhaps you will reply, in your cheerful way, 'Do you feel +so? There is much that is pleasant in the world.' I know it; but our +school was always such a pleasant place to me. I was so happy in it +and its heavenly employments, that not even the death of friends +could destroy that joy. But now I seem overshadowed by dark clouds, +and sinking in deep mire. Yet I will try, in all this, to bow my +will to the holy will of Him who doeth all things well." + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + + +COMPOSITIONS. + +THE FIELD OF CLOVES.--THE LOST SOUL.--THE SAVED SOUL.--HANNAH. + +It was very important that the pupils should be able to express +their own thoughts, readily and correctly, with the pen, and +unwearied effort was devoted to this end; but for a long time they +seemed incapable of clothing an idea in words. The simplest sentence +was copied over and over without the change of a single word; and +even when it was expressed for them in other language, they only +repeated over that variation of the first. Three years were spent in +trying to teach them to write their own thoughts, with very little +success; but in 1846, the Spirit of God secured the result that man +had sought in vain. After that, both their ideas and their language +were very beautiful. Nothing pleased them better than to be allowed +to write; and it was matter of grateful remark that those +compositions which were penned during a revival were always the +best. + +This was especially true in the awakening of 1850, which was noted +for the prevalence of a spirit of meditation and holy communion with +God. The pupils at that time came forth from private intercourse +with their Saviour, to pen some of the sweetest writings in the +Syriac language. + +One day that winter, both the teachers wished to attend an +examination at Seir, and asked them if they would be diligent during +their absence. "O, yes," was the reply, "if you will only let us +write composition." The following was found on the slate of Nazloo, +when they returned:-- + +"THE CLOVER FIELD. + +"We walk out in the country, and the road leads us by a lovely field +of clover. We see it in all its modest beauty. There are the green +leaves, so regular in their form and outline; the beautiful flowers, +so wonderful in their structure; and the sweet fragrance, that +regales our senses as we pass. All these are there, but we see not +whence they come. No showers descend to make it grow; the earth is +parched on all sides. Do you inquire for the source of all this +loveliness? A tiny rill of water flows gently underneath. No eye +sees it. You cannot hear its quiet advance, for it does not murmur +as it wears itself out in its work of love. Noiseless it hies to +each little rootlet. It conveys nourishment to every leaf; not one +is overlooked or forgotten. That unseen rill causes these fair +blossoms to spring forth. It distils these odors for the enjoyment +of all that pass this way. What that streamlet is to the field, +prayer is to the Christian. We see it not; it is all hid from human +eye; but O, the rich fruit that it yields every day in the soul thus +made partaker of the life of Christ! That also makes the wilderness +to rejoice and blossom as the rose." + +At the annual examination in 1850, Sanum read her composition, a +translation of which is here inserted:-- + +"THE LOST SOUL. + +"I have dreamed a dream, dear friends--may I relate it? + +"In my dream I was wandering about, seeking for earthly pleasures, +though my life was crowned with blessings more plentiful than the +dew of the morning. My father and mother did every thing they could +to bring me to Christ. Their labors for me were enough to make me +weep my last tear, but my hard heart remained unmoved. Four times +did the Holy Spirit strive with me, and as often I grieved him away. +I broke every promise that I made to serve the Lord. + +"There came a beautiful day in spring. The sun lighted up every +thing with gladness. The fields were dressed in green. The trees +were in blossom. Loved by my friends, surrounded by every thing to +make me happy, and rejoicing that so much enjoyment was still in +store for me, I was saying to my soul, 'Take thine ease,' when +suddenly a voice cried, 'This night thy soul shall be required of +thee; then whose shall be all these?' Another voice added, 'These +four years heaven and earth have pleaded with you to bring forth +fruit to God, but you have refused. Your heart has said "I will fix +my seat above the stars of heaven." Now you must go down to the +abyss.' Like arrows these words pierced my heart; my strength +departed, and others bore me to my home. There my parents were +speechless with sorrow. The bed of down was made ready, but it +afforded me no rest. I seemed to lie on thorns. Then I appeared to +faint, though still able to hear their conversation. Sobbing aloud, +they said, 'Sweet child, if you were only a Christian, gladly would +we go with you to the gates of heaven, hoping soon to meet again; +but this is more than we can bear. Alas, that one borne in the arms +of our love, with whom and for whom we have prayed, must now say +that our God is not her God, nor our Saviour hers! Is there no ray +of light for her in the darkness? Can we never again point her to +Jesus?' As I listened in anguish, I cried aloud, 'Is there no hope +for me?' They replied, 'We will implore mercy for you again and +again, and possibly the physician may help you. Here he is.' As he +came in the recollection of his past faithful warnings made me weep +aloud. He said, 'Why weep? Do you not wish to see me?' 'Dear friend, +it is not that; but the sight of you recalls your entreaties to come +to Christ, and my neglect of them. If you can only give me one hour +of quiet, I will try to come now.' He saw that the hand of death was +on me, and replied, 'What you do you must do quickly.' 'What can I +do in such distress?' 'Can you not cry, "Lord, remember me," like +the dying malefactor?' 'Those words comforted me once, but now I +cannot use them.' 'Can you not pray?' 'No. Once I would not hear +God, and now he will not hear me. O father, mother, friends, pray +for me. Send for my teacher to pray for me. Ask every servant of God +to entreat for me while yet I live.' The request went forth. The +weeping physician offered supplication at my side. My father and +mother seemed to pour forth their last breath in intercession for +me. As I turned, I saw my teachers, and conscience arrayed before me +every word they had ever spoken to me of Christ and heaven. All my +own actions were likewise spread out before my eyes. Then the +whirlwind of my sins swept me away like a tiny leaf, to sink in a +sea of anguish. My teacher now cried, 'We had hoped to see our dear +pupil passing over to the new Jerusalem; but, instead of that, must +she dwell among the lost?' A gentle voice then whispered, 'Go to +Jesus; he will not cast you out.' 'To Jesus! nay, for knowingly my +hands have pierced him. Willingly these feet have trampled on his +precious blood. I have compelled his spirit to forsake me, and must +perish.' + +"Then I saw those whom I had led into sin and encouraged in +unbelief, and said to them, 'Can you forgive me?' But a voice from +heaven replied, 'You cannot be forgiven; for the name of Jesus you +have set at nought, and there is none other.' Then my teacher +pressed my hand; she could not speak. I said, 'You have ever shown +great love; can you not help me now?' 'Dear child, have I not told +you that though I love you, yet I have no power to help in this hour +or hereafter.' 'O, dreadful thought! Must I leave you all, forever? +parents, teachers, all! Can you do nothing for me?' 'We can only +point you to Jesus.' 'I have no part in him. I am a Demas; and with +such agony now, what will be the wrath to come?' I begged all +present not to live as I had lived. 'Seize the moments that fly +swifter than the lightning. There is no place for repentance now: my +retribution begins. Forget not these words of your lost sister.' I +turned to my mother: 'There is no love like a mother's; can that do +nothing for me now?' What could she do? 'Can no one help me? Father, +father, I am going; can you do nothing?' + +"Now the light forsook my eyes. O for a few moments more! But even +this was denied me; for, as I remembered, 'Cursed is the man that +trusteth in man, and whose heart departeth from the living God.' + +"I now heard a voice as of a rushing, mighty wind. Trembling seized +me, as I discerned four fiends of darkness. I uttered a piercing +shriek, and died. Then I found myself suspended between heaven and +earth. Behind me, the world I loved so well had gone forever. Before +me I saw the Ancient of Days seated on his throne, his raiment white +as snow, his eyes as a flame of fire, his feet like brass glowing in +the furnace, and a stream of fire issued from before him; thousand +thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand +stood before him. Brightness radiated from him on all sides. He fixed +his eyes on me, glowing with holy indignation, while a two-edged +sword proceeded out of his mouth. My sins arose before me. Conscience +condemned me. I could not look up. The pains of hell gat hold upon +me. In a voice unlike all I ever heard before, he said, 'Slayer of my +Son, despiser of my grace, what hast thou done? Thou hast set at +nought all my counsels.' I longed to flee; but above me stood the +Judge, below, the abyss. I could give no reply. Again he said, 'My +covenant thou hast trodden under foot;' and he commanded his servants, +'Bind her hand and foot, and cast her into outer darkness, where is +weeping and gnashing of teeth. There let her remain till that great +day, when all mine enemies shall be trodden in the wine-press of my +wrath.' + +"Then a voice from out of the throne said, 'Praise our God, all ye +his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great;' and all +cried, like the voice of many waters, 'Amen. Allelujah.' Heaven +responded from all sides, 'Just and true are thy judgments, thou +King of saints.' Then Satan and his angels clapped their hands; and +mocking my misery, they thrust me into the inner prison. + +"I now found myself associated with Cain, Judas, Jeroboam, and +Jezebel. I understood what Christ meant when he said, 'Bind the +tares in bundles to burn them,' for I was enclosed by them on all +sides, and the flames from them kindled on me. Then a voice said, +'Judas sold his Lord once, but thou many times. Cain slew one +brother; thou hast brought many to this place of torment.' Then all, +especially those whom I had led there, cursed me. Fallen spirits +gloried over me. The evil passions of all the lost were let loose on +me. My own wicked feelings were kindled into a flame by the divine +wrath. Now I understood that scripture, 'They have no rest day nor +night.' My ears, that had taken pleasure in evil conversation, were +filled with revilings. My tongue, which had set on fire the course +of nature, now itself set on fire of hell, I gnawed for pain. I +looked up to beg a drop of water; but instead of it came the word, +'Daughter, remember.' As I looked up, I got a glimpse of one of my +companions in Abraham's bosom. Once we were together pointed to +Jesus. Now the impassable gulf was between us. Hope now fled +forever, and that word, 'Remember,' brought every moment of my life +before me in characters of flaming fire. Gladly would I have +exchanged this agony for the pangs of death endured a thousand times +over, or for all the sufferings of earth till the final +conflagration. I cursed my soul, weeping without a tear. Why were my +associates, once, like me, children of wrath, now in heaven, while I +was shut out? Ah, they listened to Jesus, while I rejected him, and +to enjoy a momentary pleasure plunged into all this anguish. I had +loved those who now tormented me, and cast aside the loving Saviour. +No ray of mercy can ever reach me more. No friend will ever love me +again. In my madness I sought to flee; but wrath held me rooted to +the spot. Cloud on cloud rose above me, each inscribed, 'Eternity!' +A voice cried aloud, 'Forever!' and another replied, 'Forever and +ever!' The waves of fire now rolled over me, and the worm that dieth +not seized hold of me. I begged for even the smallest mitigation of +misery, and the vials of wrath were poured out upon me. In my +anguish I cried, 'Roll on, ye eternal ages!' But why? They will be +no nearer through. 'O Lord, how long?' With an earthquake, that +seemed to shake the very throne, came back the reply, 'Forever! +Forever!' I sank down in unutterable agony. Then I awoke, and lo, it +was all a dream. The darkness of night was yet around me; a cold +sweat covered me; and that word, 'Forever!' still rang in my ears. +Friends, this was a dream, and only a drop in the ocean, compared +with the terrible reality. Let us pray that we may be saved from it +through Jesus Christ our Lord." + +The large audience listened to these vivid delineations, part of the +time, in breathless silence; and again the women beat on their +breasts with half-suppressed cries for mercy. The reader, as well as +they, will find relief from the companion picture by Moressa. +Sanum's was an original conception of her own. The theme of this +last was suggested by Miss Fiske, as a fitting counterpart to the +preceding, but the treatment of it was left wholly with the writer. + +"THE SAVED SOUL. + +"While meditating on death, I fell into a sweet sleep, and dreamed a +dream which rejoiced my spirit. I cannot refrain from relating it to +you, dear Christian friends, who are looking forward to the glory +that shall be revealed. I dreamed that my heavenly Father said to +me, 'Dear child, heir of my kingdom, you have long enough borne the +troubles of this vale of tears; now you shall be freed from them, +and come to your heavenly home, to worship me in holiness.' As I +listened, sickness came, and I laid me down on my bed of death with +this thought: 'One more fruit of sin, and then--heaven.' My poor +friends, not understanding this, inquired, with weeping, if I could +not possibly recover; but when they saw that I was dying, they +gathered round me, to go down with me to the banks of Jordan. My +soul was exceeding joyful, for the light of the promised land shone +on me, and the dread river was quiet, for Jesus had said to it, +'Peace, be still.' + +"While in this joyful state, I remembered with sorrow how many years +I had refused to acknowledge the Prince of life as my King, while he +waited with open arms to receive me; and how often, after putting my +hand to the plough, I had looked back. My backsliding, my evil +example, my neglect of souls, all rose before me like a dark cloud, +and I was in agony. But soon a voice said, 'Thy sins are forgiven!' +and all was light. I said, 'Lord, I must praise thee for this +forever; but I cannot forgive myself.' Yet, though the pains of +death were on me, I was comforted to be nearer the land where they +sin no more. Earthly pleasure now seemed emptiness. The pleasures of +heaven filled my thoughts. I said, 'Is this death--that which we +poor mortals fear?' My friends asked, 'Has he no terrors for you?' +'No; none. The king of terrors is to me the chief of joys.' One of +my teachers said, 'So you have no fear of him--no sorrow that your +body shall lie in the grave!' 'Why fear or sorrow, when Christ has +overcome both death and sin?' My father then asked, 'Do you suffer +much'?' 'Yes; but if I suffered a thousand times more, what would +that be to those bitter hours upon the cross. This veil must be rent +asunder, though by suffering, before I can see Him, whom, even now, +I long to behold.' My poor mother interposed, 'But are you willing +to leave us?' 'You are all very dear to me; but there is only one +who is altogether lovely. When shall I see him as he is, and be +filled with his love?' + +"It was now difficult to speak, but I could bid my friends farewell. +I could thank my dear teachers for telling me of Christ, and ask +their forgiveness for all I had ever done to grieve them. As my +weeping mother wiped the cold sweat from my brow, she gently +whispered, 'Where is my child going?' 'Mother,' I replied, 'your +poor sinful child is going to that Saviour who has been willing to +receive her.' His rod and staff then comforted me, till I had passed +quite over into the blessed land. And, as I was borne on in my +Saviour's arms, voices cried, 'Welcome, dear sister; you are now +made whole--you shall sin no more--enter into rest.' Mortal tongue +cannot tell what I now saw of the treasures which Christ has +prepared for the redeemed. He gave me a mansion he had made ready +for me, and I found myself gazing on the brightness of the Father's +glory. What a change had come over me! I was among those without +spot, for they had been made white in the blood of the Lamb. Their +voices were one, for all praised the Lord. Now the glory of the +Ancient of Days filled me with awe. He sat upon a throne of light, +with seraphim on the right and cherubim on the left, and I could +read the foundations of his throne. Legions of bright angels and +happy saints were around him. I fell down with them to worship at +his feet, when he touched me and raised me up, saying, 'Thou art +blessed, for thou art redeemed with the blood of my Son.' Then he +clothed me in a heavenly robe, and bade all heaven rejoice, saying, +'This my child was dead, and is alive again, and is saved from +everlasting destruction.' + +"He then revealed to me more fully that mystery of ages--the +Redeemer standing on the right hand of the Father. He stood with +open arms, saying, 'Come, daughter of my bitter grief, come in +peace. I remembered thee on the cross. For thee I drank that cup of +agony; thy curse has rested on me, that everlasting joy might dwell +in thee.' As he thus spoke, I fell down to worship, and when I +looked up, my eyes rested on his pierced hands and wounded side. +Tears filled my eyes when I remembered that my sins had caused them; +but they were tears that Jesus wiped away, + +"When I saw the book of remembrance at his side, I thought, there is +the record of my sins; but he opened it, saying, 'Fear not; from the +day thou first camest to me, they have been blotted out.' He then +held out to me the Book of Life, bidding me to read my name recorded +there, and added, 'Ages hence, in the great day of account, the +world shall know that I have saved thee; and as thou hast not denied +me before men, I will confess thy name before my Father and before +his angels; enter into the full joy of thy Lord; inherit the +kingdom, prepared for thee from the foundation of the world.' Then +all the blessed ones cried, 'Amen.' Their harps were tuned to a new +song, and they praised the living God that another soul was rescued +from the great adversary. A crown was also placed upon my head, +that, with the saints, I might cast it at the feet of the Redeemer. + +"Afterwards I was led to our first parent, now for more than five +thousand years in Paradise, but not walking amid forbidden fruit. +Still, when he stretched out his hand to the tree of life, he seemed +to remember that first sin, and to thank God more than others for +the healing of the nations. His bright face glistened with a tear as +he took my hand, saying, 'Heir of my fallen nature, welcome to this +inheritance of the second Adam;' and I learned that tears are always +wiped from that face when Christ brings home his fallen children. + +"As I turned, I saw the great company of the patriarchs, perfect in +holiness, and clothed in light. Faithful Abraham was there, his +faith changed to perfect sight, and rejoicing in his spiritual +children. The meek Moses was there, adoring the Prophet whom God +raised up from the midst of Israel like unto him. And I beheld +Isaiah, satisfied with the eternal sight of the glory of which he +had a glimpse on earth. Jeremiah, too, was no more weeping for the +slain of the daughter of his people, and all the holy prophets were +clothed upon with immortality, and praising their Beloved with holy +lips. + +"While I stood gazing, on them in wonder, my thoughts reverted to my +former state. What a glorious change, from a world of sin to a world +of holiness--from sinful friends to the Friend of sinners. How +different these sweet sounds of praise from the rude sounds of +earth! I am receiving my reward for every bitter tear of penitence I +shed on earth; an age of joy is before me. Who am I, that I should +be raised from companionship with sin to the society of heaven? My +soul at length is at rest. But how? Not as rests my poor body in the +grave, but in blessedness; for I rest from sin, but not from praise. +I rest from suffering, but not from everlasting joy. How sweet to +rest, while not ceasing to cry, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God +Almighty! I rest in the bosom of my Saviour. My prayers are turned +to praise, and my love is perfect. + +"While these thoughts filled my soul, I thanked the Lord with a new +song on the golden harp that had been placed in my hands, singing +with a loud voice, 'What is my worthiness, O eternal King, that thou +hast made me to walk in thy pilgrimage, while millions are shut out +from it?' + +"Now a company of the holy ones led me through a street of pure +gold, to where the river of water of life proceeded out of the +throne of God. They showed me the hidden manna, and the tree of life +yielding its twelve fruits, and leaves for the healing of the +nations; and beyond, I saw a great company of martyrs who had been +slain for the word and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. They stood +beneath the altar, for they were living sacrifices. They were +clothed in white, and wore crowns of glory on their heads, and they +sang hallelujah to him who had been slain for them, and made them +kings and priests forever in his kingdom. + +"While thus wandering among those holy mansions, I met a spirit +crowned with honor,--Mary, the mother of our Lord. She was specially +delighted at seeing me, saying, 'How glad I am that you, from that +erring people who trust in me, have found the right way to this +blessed place! Are there other sisters of like faith, who believe in +the only Mediator?' When I told her that there were, she embraced +me, and led me where I could see the twelve apostles of the Lamb. +They were all seated round their Master, just as they used to be on +earth; but no more debating who should be greatest, for now they +ascribed all greatness to their King, and dwelt in perfect love. +Among them I saw Peter, zealous still, but with a holy zeal. I heard +him ask, 'How long shall those precious souls, redeemed by thy +blood, be led astray? May I not fly on the wings of love, and +destroy that city of blasphemy on the seven hills, that the glory +may be thine?' But Jesus looked on him with an eye of love, and +said, 'Simon, son of Jonas, the time is not yet come.' Then Peter +only replied, 'Lord, thou knowest. Thy will be done.' + +"While in this joyful state, I walked in the green pastures of life. +I went round about the holy city, and counted its towers. They were +all of purest gold, and built with skill divine. I looked from the +top of one of them, and beheld the sea of glass, and also caught a +glimpse of the abyss, enough to see that the enemies of our God were +all beneath his feet. I could see some, once my friends among them; +but I could say, 'Holy and just art thou, O Lord God; and O, +wonderful grace, that has made such as I to differ.' + +"But while thus filled with praise, and delighting myself in that +ocean of love, I awoke, yet only to say, 'Blessed are the dead that +die in the Lord.' Dear friends, let us cleave to Christ on earth, +until he plants our feet on the Mount Zion above." + +The next composition was written by Nargis, of Geog Tapa, in 1852. +It is an account of Hannah, the mother of Samuel, and gives a very +good idea of the Bible knowledge of the pupils, and their interest +in Scripture themes. The allusions to the condition of Nestorian +families, illustrate, and are illustrated by, the statements of +Chapter I. + +"About three thousand years ago, the family of Elkanah dwelt on the +hill of Zophim, in Palestine. He was a just man, and one that feared +God. According to the custom of those days, he had two wives, +Peninnah and Hannah. Let us turn our thoughts to Hannah, for every +memory of her is pleasant. She had no son, on whom she could look as +a staff of joy for her old age. Yet Hannah had a worthy portion in +the love of Elkanah, which flowed unceasingly like a crystal stream. +Why was she thus loved? We believe because of the lovely spirit +which she had received from that gentleness of the eternal Son which +maketh great; and, like him, her voice was not heard in the streets. +Instead of the contentious temper of the women of this age, we find +in her a meek and quiet spirit; instead of pride, humility; and +instead of anger, patience; she was kind, pleasant, and abounding in +other graces. Shall not such a woman be praised? + +"Now Elkanah took his family to Shiloh, to worship and feast before +the Lord. But the envious Peninnah so grieved Hannah that she could +neither eat nor drink. Soon, however, she heard the sweet tones of +her husband's voice. Was it not like an angel's? saying, 'Hannah, +why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart +grieved? Am I not better to thee than ten sons?' When she heard that +she arose and ate. Love was rewarded by love. She would not grieve +Elkanah. Unlike many in our day, she was obedient to her husband, +yielding her will to his, and clothed with humility. They were not +only one flesh, but one spirit; and they walked together in the +valley of love to that world where love is made perfect. Now, after +she had shown her love by partaking of the feast,[1] may we not +suppose that she arose and whispered to Elkanah to know if he would +approve of her intended vow; and did he not reply, 'Your vow is +mine.' Then did she not seek a corner of the court where she might +pray? Radiant spot, where Hannah communed with God! herself a bright +light among the women of that age. There, in bitterness of soul, she +wept before the Lord, and obtained his blessing. She believed that +God would grant her request, as he saw best, and gave back her +expected son to the Lord to be his forever. Here was true faith. She +left all with God; and though, like her Saviour, she prayed the more +earnestly: still her voice was not heard. But we hear the voice of +Eli: 'How long wilt thou be drunken?' 'O Eli, Eli, why speak to her +thus? She was of thy flock, and thou shouldst have distinguished her +from other women round about her.' +[Footnote 1: In Oriental families, anger is shown by refusing to +eat, sometimes for several days.] + +"Bright star of that generation! Blessed art thou among the +daughters of Levi. The moving of thy lips is like the voice of the +dove. There was a blessing in thy mouth, like the olive leaf of +Noah's dove, that told of rest from the tossings of the flood; for +thy request was about to give rest to the millions of Israel. +Blessed art thou, daughter of Zion. Thou soughtest not a son for thy +own glory, but for the glory of thy God. + +"What a prayer was Hannah's! It brought a deliverer and a prophet to +Israel, an intercessor and a preacher to the people of God. May the +daughters of Hannah and the sons of Elkanah be multiplied among our +people. She is a mirror into which we may look, to learn how to +forsake our evil ways. Let us, like her, build up the kingdom of our +Lord Jesus Christ. + +"Her prayer finished, Hannah returned to her house. Her sorrow was +now turned into joy, and her happy face was like the opening rose of +the morning. No wonder she was joyful. The will of the Lord was her +will, and what evil could befall her? Blessed Israel, that contains +such a praying soul. + +"Time passes on, and the answer to that prayer is a beloved son. The +grateful mother calls him Samuel--'God heard.' Her full heart could +give no other name to this child of prayer. She would remember ever, +Not mine, but God's. And now the childless one folds in her arms a +child of the covenant. New joy fills the heart of Elkanah. Their son +was new to them every day; yet not alone as theirs, but His who +answered prayer. + +"The time now draws near for them to go again to Shiloh. The happy +father does not forget God in his mercies. He appears before the +Lord with his thank offering;--a noble example to us. He asks Hannah +to go with him: not in a voice of harsh command, but in love he +said, 'Will you go?' and it was, doubtless, a gentle voice that +answered, 'Not now, for then I must bring Samuel back with me. He is +too small to leave; but when he is weaned, I will bring him, that he +may appear before the Lord, and there abide forever.' The good +Elkanah was satisfied, saying, 'Only the Lord establish his word;' +for he had not forgotten the vow. So the happy Hannah remained at +home another year, and taught the child as a mother only can. + +"When the time came to go up again to Shiloh, Samuel was probably +three years old. That praying mother did not say, 'He is small; let +him stay with me one year longer.' No! With her whole heart she +carried him to the house of the Lord, to abide there; and she went +not up empty, saying, 'It is enough that I give my son;' but in the +three bullocks we find the burnt offering, the sin offering, and the +peace offering, and in her son the first fruits besides. She was +ready to say, 'In all things I am a debtor to the Lord.' + +"Nor did she come in pride of spirit, saying to Eli, 'You called me +drunken, while offering a prayer that God hath heard;' but in all +humility she accosts the aged priest, saying, 'I am the woman that +stood by thee here, praying;' and then, leading forward the child, +'for this child I prayed, and the Lord hath given me my petition, +and I have lent him to the Lord.' We seem to see little Samuel +approaching Eli reverently; and then turning those speaking eyes to +his mother, he says, 'Is this my father, of whom you told me, and +with whom I am to live?' 'Yes, my child, he will be your father.' +And now Eli places his hand upon the head of Samuel, saying, +'Blessed art thou, son of a true daughter of Levi. The Lord bless +thee, and make thee a prophet of the Most High.' + +"Hannah worships, and returns to her home. Her little son asks not +to go with her; for he has been taught that he is the Lord's, and is +to abide in Shiloh. What a blessing are praying mothers, training +their children for God! + +"Still she does not forget the Lord's Samuel. Every year she goes up +to Shiloh, with her husband, and as often does she carry for the +little prophet a coat, made by a mother's loving hand. She did not +say, like some of our mothers, 'If he is in the school of the +prophets, let the prophets clothe him;' but she clothed him for the +Lord's service, and he comforted Eli as he was never comforted by +his own children. Will our mothers follow the example of Hannah? +Should a voice come from the mountains to-day, calling for +preachers, would they give their sons to go and save the lost? +Blessed are those mothers who give their sons to be soldiers of the +cross; who, like Hannah, lead the way to the throne of grace, and +serve God in their households. + +"The Lord helped Hannah to pray, and he helped her to write that +beautiful song. Her words are golden and full of wisdom. It is +fitting to call her a mother in Israel. Deborah sat as judge, but +Hannah gave a judge and teacher to the people of God. Both were +bright stars, but where is the people on whom they shone? The chosen +people are scattered. Deborah, perchance, sleeps under the oak of +judgment, and Hannah on the hill of Zephim. We love to think that +her son stood by her dying bed to thank her for all her prayers and +instructions, and see her reverently gathered to her people. + +"We leave thee, mother of the holy prophet. Thou hast passed through +this valley of humiliation. Thy works follow thee, and thy God hath +crowned thee with glory and honor. Sweet singer of Israel, sing on +in heaven, for with thy Saviour thou canst never sorrow more. Who +will rise among us to carry forward the kingdom of our Christ? Such +as honor the Master here, he will honor when mothers in Israel see +their sons made kings and priests unto the Lord forever." + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + + +KIND OFFICES. + +HOSPITALITY OF NESTORIANS.--KINDNESS OF PUPILS.--BATHING FEET.-- +LETTERS OF GOZEL, HANEE, SANUM OF GAWAR, MUNNY, RAHEEL, AND MARTA.-- +HOSHEBO.--RAHEEL TO MRS. FISKE.--MOURNING FOR THE DEAD.--NAZLOO.-- +HOSHEBO's BEREAVEMENT.--DEATH OF MISSIONARY CHILDREN.--LETTER FBOM +SARAH, DAUGHTER OF JOSEPH. + +The foregoing pages have told something of the change that grace has +wrought among women in Persia. Let us now look at some points in +that change more carefully. + +The Nestorians are noted for their hospitality. Kindness to +strangers is regarded as a part of their religion; and if, after +bringing out the choicest of their stores, it is said, even in a +strange language, "How can I eat this?" or, "Who could endure a dish +like that?'" the words may be unintelligible, but not so the look +and tone of the speaker. Yet even such treatment often only calls +forth additional efforts to please. A stranger may not relish some +of their dishes. Yet a spirit of kindness would be careful not to +let this appear. In the Seminary, the pupils studied how to please, +even in the folding of a table napkin; and the kind-hearted steward +was perfectly delighted when reminded that the pains he took in the +preparation of a meal was so much service to Christ, because it +strengthened his servants to labor for him. + +The girls were very kind to each other. When any one was sick, her +companions not only readily performed her share of domestic work, +but nursed her tenderly besides. If their teachers were ill, they +coveted the privilege of attending them by night and by day. It may +comfort some timid one to know, that in Oroomiah Miss Fiske never +had a missionary sister with her by night in sickness; not that they +were backward to come, but the services of the pupils left nothing +to be desired. It did good like a medicine to see those girls, once +coarse and uncouth, showing even kindness in a way offensive to +refined feelings, now move with noiseless step, anticipating every +wish. They sought to conform every thing to the home tastes of their +teachers; and yet there was nothing of that show of effort that +says, "See how much we do for you." They seemed to feel that they +could not do too much, or do it well enough. If Miss Fiske was +exhausted and feeble during the day, they might say nothing at the +time, and not trouble her even to answer a question; but when they +supposed she was ready to retire, there would be a gentle knock on +the door, sometimes on more than one door, and then, with a +"Teacher, you looked tired to-day. Shall we come in and bathe your +feet? The water is warm, and every thing ready," their loving +service would not cease, till every thing was in its place, and they +had put out the light after she retired. + +Woman, there, as in the days of our Saviour, still bathes the feet +of the guest whom she wishes to honor. And sometimes, when stooping +over them, she rubs them gently with her loosely-flowing hair--not +as a substitute for a towel, but as a token of kindly welcome. This +privilege belongs to the oldest daughter of the family; and the +custom once liable to perversion, now shines with new beauty, as the +expression of Christian love. He who once accepted the service in +his own person, will hereafter say, to many a daughter of Chaldea, +"Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the least of these my brethren, +ye did it unto me." + +Their tender sympathy with the afflicted was not confined to their +own household. In January, 1857, Miss Fiske was absent at Seir, +assisting in taking care of Mr. Stoddard in his last illness; and +from a number of letters written to her, at that time, by her +pupils, we select the following:-- + +JANUARY 1st, 1857. + +Many of your flock have observed this as a day of fasting and +prayer; and all have looked on it as a blessed day. The pleasant +voice of prayer has been heard during all its hours, and it seems as +if the Saviour was about to come among us with great power. I trust +that he will work in many hearts by the Holy Spirit. We greatly +desire to have you here; but again, with all our hearts, we wish you +to do for the sick one whom we love. Yes, if each pupil were to +write to you, all would say, we wish you to remain, and do all you +can for him; and may he be raised up again to labor for our poor +people. Give our love to Mrs. Stoddard, and tell her we are glad to +have the one we greatly love, with her at this time. + +Your daughter, GOZEL. + +JANUARY 2d, 1857. + +My heart is drawn towards you all the time; but I thank God that he +has given you strength to do for our beloved brother Mr. Stoddard. I +am very much distressed when I think of him, and can only say, "The +will of the Lord be done." I greatly desired to hear your voice +yesterday. It was indeed a blessed day. Give my love to Mrs. +Stoddard, and though it is hard for her to bear these bitter pains, +tell her to try to trust the Lord of our beloved brother. + +Peace be to you, HANEK. + +The next is written by a graduate, who was then on a visit at the +Seminary:-- + +JANUARY 3d, 1857. + +I cannot tell you what great anxiety and anguish I have for Mr. +Stoddard. He has won my whole heart by taking so much pains for my +dear companions, and particularly for Elisha. I did not think he +would be taken from us. This trial seems to me heavier than losing +Elisha and Jonathan (her children, who died by poison), for it is +not only a loss to his dear family, but also to this band of +stranger missionaries, and a dreadful desolation to our poor people. +May the Lord see how great is the harvest, and how few the laborers. +I cannot write more; my eyes fail because of my tears. Give my +tenderest love to dear Mrs. Stoddard. I know her sorrows in such +trying days; would that I could help her. + +From your truly afflicted pupil, + +SANUM. + +The following was written the day after the death of Mr. Stoddard, +which took place the 22d of January, and refers to that sad +occurrence:-- + +JANUARY 23d, 1857. + +What bitter intelligence comes to us these days!--the taking away of +those who carried us in the arms of love to the blood-stained cross +of Christ. Truly, my mother, these afflictions fall very heavily on +our heads. The guides of our souls are cut off from us. What shall +we do? + +Dearly loved sister Mrs. Stoddard, sorrow and mourning are ours. +There is hope that you will soon meet the ornament of your life. But +in his school and in ours are those for whom there is no hope that +they will ever see him. Wounded sister, blessed is the heavenly +pilgrim who has spent his life in a strange land, and been a well of +living water to many thirsty souls. I know this separation is bitter +to you; but there is consolation for you, for it is not eternal. But +what shall I say of our poor people? + +O, how much more than any of you knew we loved that dear brother. It +was a quarter past three o'clock this morning when your letter +reached us (Miss Fiske's). I handed it to Miss Rice, and never saw +such a bitter night except that in which my father died. I did not +sleep till almost dawn; and when I slept, I saw the loved one +standing in Miss Rice's room, his face shining like the morning +star. Both his hands were raised to heaven, when suddenly he stooped +and looked in my face. I said, "O, you are not dead!" He answered, +"No!" and I cried aloud, "O, Mr. Stoddard is not dead!" and my own +voice awoke me. How favored those of you are who see the face of our +beloved friend! + +MUNNY. + +Still later, she writes to her teacher, who was again at Seir, +during the sickness of Harriette Stoddard, whose death occurred +March 16th, 1857. + +Though it is a time of anguish, yet, blessed be God, he has given us +One to whom we may look for comfort. A thousand thanks to the +Saviour that he does not chastise us by taking away the Holy Spirit. +Though the discipline is bitter, yet it is mingled with love, in +that the Lord comes by death among his own, and by his Spirit to +those who have not known him, that he may make them his own also. +What grief would the lovers of the Lord have, if you now sat by the +bedside of a sister of whom we had no evidence that her heart was +purified by a Saviour's blood? If you are so distressed about one +whom you trust your Father Is taking to rest in the bosom of his +Son, how would you feel if she were one of those who, as soon as the +breath left her body, would dwell with everlasting burnings! How +thankful we should be that it is not the bed of one of these! + +I have never seen such a trying year; but I do not believe it is for +the harm of those that fear the Lord. It only fulfils the promise, +"Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth." O that the gentle voice of +Jesus might be heard, whispering, "Daughter, I say unto thee, +arise!" Who knows but, if our faith were as Christ would have it, he +would call this sister back to life, though now so near to death! +But your Father knows what is for your good, and you know that here +he often gives anguish to those who love him, that they may be +exceedingly joyful with him hereafter. The Lord grant that these +afflictions do not harden our hearts. + +I have conversed and prayed with all the younger girls, save two. +Eleven say that they are resolved to follow Christ; but I fear lest +the vineyards and the cotton fields do not testify hereafter that +they have walked with God. It is very pleasant to me to sit down by +them and ask them of their state. + +Yesterday (Sabbath) was a delightful day, but it seemed very short. +The Lord help us in our weakness, and cause the dark clouds to rise +from all your friends. The God of consolation heal the wounded +spirit of your poor sister, Mrs. Stoddard. I have never seen the +death of the righteous--only by hearing have I heard of it. The Lord +be with you more and more. + +MUNNY. + +Others, written during the same period, are as follows:-- + +Sorrower for us, who hast also become as a stranger to us!--Now we +know your anxious love for us. We have no doubt that He who directs +not according to man's thoughts has directed you to be away from us +much this year. We had thought that it would be a very pleasant +year; but the Lord has ordered it as he pleases, and let us say, +"His will be done." We know that he does all for our profit. What a +comfort this is to us who have given our all to the Saviour to do +with us as he will! + +It is very hard to look at your vacant place; but we thank God it is +not made vacant by death. Though not with us in body, we believe +that you are, in spirit, and we rejoice that you can do as few can, +for the sick. The Lord be with you, who are the second in anguish, +and strengthen your weak body. The prayer of your pupils is ever for +your life. We have no words with which to comfort you; we can only +say, "The Saviour, with whom you are better acquainted than we are, +give you comfort." + +What can we say to you, dear Mrs. Stoddard, who are shrouded in a +cloud that is very dark? We know it is very hard for you to look on +the great vacancy that is made in your dwelling. But do trust in the +Lord; he will bring light out of darkness. We feel for you, plunged +in a sea of sorrow, in the deep places of sighs. Our eyes are every +hour upon the door, expecting what we shall hear from Harriette; and +our prayer is, that if it can be the Lord's will, she may be brought +back to you; but every letter increases our anxiety. We understand +not the Lord's dealings this year, except this: we know that he does +all things for the profit of our souls. + +RAHEEL. + +MARTA. + +The writer of the following was at that time a teacher in the +Seminary, and a striking illustration of the elevating power of a +good education. Formerly a female who was either lame or deformed +was so despised, that she could never hope to be the head of a +family: she was doomed to drag through a miserable life, the object +of universal neglect. But Hoshebo, though a fall in early youth had +shattered her ankle, and the ignorance of native surgeons made her a +cripple for life, yet because of her education was as much esteemed +as before she would have been despised, and is now the wife of +Meerza, our native helper at Saralon. Miss Fiske might have filled +up her school with such, but, with a wise foresight, selected her +pupils with an eye to their future usefulness among the people, as +well as their own personal advantage. + +When I understood from Miss Rice, that you would not meet your loved +flock next Sabbath, I felt that I could not let all your absence +pass without giving you an account of my charge. I have been sitting +with them, as I do every Saturday evening, to search out their +spiritual state; and I have good news to tell you of one for whom +you, and also others, have been very anxious--Esli, of Takka. I +noticed her changed all this week; but last night I saw a great +breaking down under Mr. Cochran's preaching. She came out in anguish +of soul. I then saw her alone, and found her contrition still +increasing. I know this is not evidence that she has passed from +death unto life; but I rejoice that she is visited by the Holy +Spirit, and I trust she will become a Christian. I am anxious for +her and for all the girls of my room. I look for the gentle shower +that shall make the withered plants like the fresh springing grass. +Though you are absent, we know well that you carry every one of your +flock in the arms of love to Him who can do all things, whether you +are far away or near to us. The girls send up many petitions for +Harriette. We fear much when we recall your former going to Seir. +How glad should we be to hear of indications that she will recover. +Peace and love to Mrs. Stoddard. + +Your affectionate + +HOSHEBO. + +More than a year after this, Miss Fiske left Oroomiah, and at +Salmas, on her way home, met her dear pupil Sanum, the wife of +Joseph. Having no other place for devotion, they retired together to +an orchard for the parting prayer. In a subsequent letter, Sanum +thus beautifully alludes to it:-- + +"O, the remembrance of that bitter separation! and of those prayers, +when the green grass was watered with our tears! How could I have +borne it, but for the recollection of Him who prayed and wept in the +garden of Gethsemane, and whose kneeling upon the tender grass was +for the comfort of our souls!" + +The gratitude of the pupils to their teacher extended also to her +aged mother. Seldom have they written a letter to Miss Fiske, in +America, without its message of kind remembrance to the parent who +gave up her daughter, as Hannah gave up Samuel, to be the Lord's; +and several wrote letters to her separately. From among these we +select the following, written by Raheel (Rachel), of Geog Tapa, +Sept. 10th, 1859:-- + +MY DEAR GRANDMOTHER HANNAH: Though I have never seen you, yet I must +write to you, for I love all Miss Fiske's friends as I do my own, +and especially yourself. I want to thank you for all your love to +me. Blessings have thus reached me which were not given to my early +sisters. When it was a great reproach for a girl to learn to read, +God had mercy on us in that he poured such love into your heart as +made you willing to send your daughter eight thousand miles, by sea +and land, to show our people the great mystery that had been +previously hidden from their eyes--that there is salvation for +women. They used to dwell much on those words of Solomon, "One man +among a thousand have I found, but a woman among all these have I +not found;" but now they see their mistake, and that Christ died for +women also. Many thanks for your patience all these years. I know +something of it from the feelings of my own mother, for if she did +not see me for five months during term time, she would mourn that +she had not seen her daughter for so long. + +It was certainly a sacrifice for Christ to come into this world, and +deny himself; and it was also a sacrifice for the Father to send his +Son, when he knew all the sorrows and wounds there were in the cup +which he was to drink in this world of sin. + +You will see your daughter much changed from what she was fifteen +years ago; but I am confident that when that day comes, which will +be longer than any day we have seen in this world,--when He whom the +Jews could not bear to hear called king, shall sit upon his throne, +judging the world,--then all troubles, sorrows, and separation from +friends will appear to the Christian as the small dust of the +balance; and I think that it will especially seem so to you, when +you see a band of Nestorian girls on the right hand of the Redeemer, +whom you, through your daughter, were the means of bringing there. +Yes, justly might they have been left to dwell with Satan forever; +but instead of that, they will have joyful life with Christ in his +kingdom. + +I can never repay your love; but there is one so rich that he can +give you what man cannot, and I ask him to reward you in heaven. + +Is there another Miss Fiske in your country? We can hardly believe +it. I hope that I shall see her again, but it is difficult for me to +expect it. + +It is very pleasant for me to write to friends, and especially to my +own dear mother, Miss Fiske. I should never be weary if I wrote to +her every day; but I thought that this time she would like to have +me write to you, and I trust that you will live to receive it. + +Please give my love to Martha, and also to Mrs. Stoddard and Sarah, +and tell them that our hearts are with them. + +From your granddaughter, whom you have not seen, + +RAHEEL. + +No reader of the Bible needs any description of Oriental mourning +for the dead. The rent garments and sackcloth (2 Sam. iii. 31), loud +weeping and wailing (ver. 32), protracted lamentation as for Jacob +(Gen. 1.10 and 11), and for Moses (Deut. xxxiv. 8), and the hired +mourning women (Jer. ix. 17, and Matt. ix. 23), were to be found +nowhere in greater perfection than among the Nestorians. It is very +difficult for us, in this land, to realize the force of such habits; +but it required much grace to break over them; and even now, when +the Christian heart grows cold, it is apt to return to the old ways. +One day, in 1845, the whole school were going to attend a funeral. +When the time came, one of the pupils requested to be excused. "Why? +are you sick?" "No." "Why not go, then?" "I do not wish to tell." But +another said, "May I tell you alone?" "It will be a great shame if +we do not all weep. We all think we can do it but Sarah, and we are +afraid her tears will not come; and so, lest she bring reproach upon +us, we do not want her to go." The heart of the teacher sunk within +her, as she found that she was about to lead a company of mourning +women to the funeral. She asked them how they could make themselves +weep. "O, when we go to such places, we call to mind all the sad +things we ever knew, and so we weep; but if the tears do not come, +we leave very quickly." + +But grace has wrought a great change in this matter also. In the +journal of Yonan, we find the following entry: "At the close of +afternoon service, I had a Bible class with the women: this was +followed by a prayer meeting. Then Munny came to see me: she has +buried a little child recently. It is a matter of joy to me, that +these women can lift up their eyes and see their children with the +dear Saviour, and feel that they have treasures in heaven. I asked +her, 'Did you ever do any thing for your little girl that you +remember now with gratitude?' 'Many times I carried her with me to +the stable, and knelt with her upon the straw in the manger, to ask +blessings on her.' 'Christ was in the manger, and perhaps there your +daughter was consecrated to him.'" + +In another place, we find him asking Esli,--the wife of Joseph, of +whom he had just said, "Her little daughter has died recently, and +her heart is broken,"--"When your child died, did you weep and wail +as your people do?" and she answered, "No." + +Nazloo, of Vizierawa, a pupil who hoped she took Christ for her +Saviour in 1849, and graduated in 1853, within less than a year +after her conversion was summoned to the death-bed of her uncle; and +scarcely had she returned to her studies before she was called to +the bedside of her father. For three days she watched with him +incessantly, by day and by night. Those who were present were +greatly moved by her tender care of him. During the whole of his +sickness, she never failed to improve every opportunity to point him +to Christ. Even to the last, she begged him to look to the Lamb of +God and live. And when he died, with his head resting on her hand, +though she had no evidence that her efforts were successful, her +wonderful calmness, under so severe a stroke, led many to feel that +she possessed a source of consolation to which they were strangers. +But her cup was not yet full. A few days passed, and she hastened +once more to her afflicted home, to find her mother entering the +dark valley. Others wept aloud, but she pointed the dying one to +Jesus; and supporting her in her loving arms, she seemed to plant +her feet in the cold waters of the river of death, and commit her +departing mother into the hands of Him who could bear her safely to +the other side. So sensible was her mother of the benefit she and +hers had received from the school, that when the teacher came in, +she beckoned her to her side, and said, with difficulty, "God is not +willing I should be a mother to my daughters any longer. I commit +them to you: they are yours." She soon fell asleep, as was hoped, in +Jesus. After this, Nazloo was in the school most of the time till +her marriage. As a teacher, no one could have been more faithful: +her religious experience was very marked, and she labored wisely for +souls. She still lives to show how God can make grievous afflictions +yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness in his people. + +In this connection, we cannot omit another letter, written by +Hoshebo to her teacher, in 1860, on the death of her son Absalom. It +is dated Saralon, where she and her husband Meerza reside. + +DEAR MOTHER: I received your letter just before I received a bitter +stroke from the never-erring hand of my heavenly Father. Many thanks +for your loving remembrances of me. I cannot reward you for one of a +thousand of the good things that you have shown me, so unworthy. I +have many thoughts of you, and of those pleasant days that we passed +together in that blessed school. I am very sad when I think that +perhaps I may never, in this house of my pilgrimage, see your face, +which makes others to be exceeding glad. + +Dear mother: like a daughter distressed, who would find a little +rest by falling into the kind arms of her mother, I come to tell you +what has pierced the heart of your poor child. It is true that you +are so far from me that I cannot lean on your kind breast, and let +you lead me in prayer to the Father who has afflicted me; but with a +feeling like that I write you. Beloved, you used to write me that I +must take good care of my dear and tender babe, Aweshalom. Perhaps I +did not fully do as you told me. But one thing I know: the Lord, who +loves little children, was not willing that I should keep him. And I +believe that he will take better care of my dear child than I could. +You must know that I am deeply wounded and crushed by the death of +Aweshalom. My tears cease not. His first birth was October 14, 1858; +his second and spiritual one, April 23, 1860. His life with us was a +pleasant one, and he made our lives very sweet and delightful; but +now he has gone to heaven, while we remain on the earth. He lives +the new life, while we die daily. He is strong, while I am weak. He +has grown beautiful, in the light and image of the Saviour, while I +am pining away. If you have heard what a child he was, you will not +wonder at my sickness since his death. My husband is greatly +afflicted in the death of this, our first, our only child. We find +no comfort except in casting our wounded souls at the feet of the +Saviour, who was tempted that he might heal our wounds. It seems, +sometimes, as if our comforters were far from us; but our Saviour is +very near to help and comfort. + +Our work has been as last year. My husband has taught in the +Seminary at Seir, coming here to preach on the Sabbath. I have +taught a school of eighteen boys and girls here. Before vacation, my +babe sickened, and rested in Jesus. Since that time, I have had +fever, and am still very weak. + +Five in the village, besides ourselves, are communicants. My father +and brother are among them. I trust that my mother and brother's +wife will soon unite with us. The work of the Lord in the village +goes forward better than formerly. I try to talk and pray with the +women alone, and they are more ready to have me do it, which makes +me to rejoice in the Lord. + +Give my loving peace to my dear grandmother Hannah. Though with the +eyes of this mortal body we have not seen each other, nor have I any +hope that we shall, the Lord her God help me, that we may meet on +the blessed hill of Zion above. I believe, my mother, that you will +remember your weak, unworthy lamb, when you bow before the throne of +mercy and grace. Perhaps this is the last letter you will receive +from me, for death seems very near. Receive loving peace from the +priest [her husband]. + +Your true daughter, + +HOSHEBO. + +Jesus has seemed to be almost bodily present, taking up these lambs +in his arms; and the mothers have not feared, for they felt sure +that under such a Guardian it was well with their children. + +Perhaps bereaved missionary mothers In Persia do not realize how +much their patient suffering has done for their poor Nestorian +sisters. The short lives of those twenty missionary children, who +lie in Persian graves, were a precious offering to Christ. They were +all missionaries, and did not go home till their work was done. Each +one had a place to fill among the instrumentalities employed by the +Master to promote his kingdom in Persia. There was no waste in the +breaking of those alabaster boxes of precious ointment. Nestorian +parents looked on, to learn how to lay their children into the arms +of Jesus, and become more Christ-like themselves. No years of mature +toil have been more blessed than the years of those thus early +called home; and in this truth their bereaved parents may find +abundant consolation. There are influences too deep and silent to be +fully understood; but they are none the less real and powerful; and +the mother who to-day misses the little feet, the loving eyes, and +the pleasant voice, which God had lent to gladden her earthly home +for a season, may rejoice in the assurance that her loving +submission to a Father's hand is teaching a lesson to the people +whom she loves, such as they could never learn from words. + +During the revival of 1846, a little child of Dr. Perkins died; and +as the missionaries laid it away, in the hope of a glorious +resurrection, it helped them to point others to him who is the +Resurrection and the Life. It was buried on a snowy Sabbath day, and +the faces of the young converts, who stood in silence around the +grave, showed that to them the associations of death were no longer +fearful. Turning away from the cemetery, Mr. Stoddard, feeling that +he could not be separated from those young disciples even in death, +said, "Do you not hope that you shall rest here to rise with these +to everlasting life?"[1] Little did they who heard him know how soon +that cemetery at Seir would become more sacred as his own resting +place. +[Footnote 1: See Nestorian Biography, page 242.] + +Before leaving this topic, we insert a letter from Sarah, daughter +of Joseph, a former pupil in the Seminary, and the oldest of four +sisters. The death of little Deborah seemed to draw her heart very +closely to her Saviour, and she now sleeps by her side, doubtless +understanding better the meaning of those arms of love that here she +believed "folded her little sister in his own bosom." + +"What word of fitting love can I write, and how tell you what God +has done? We are afflicted, for he has taken from us our dear little +Deborah. She was only two years and seven months old. We mourn; and +yet are comforted; for we know that He who loves little children has +taken her into his own arms, that we may love him more and better +praise his glorious name. She did not leave us to go to a stranger. +The dear Saviour, we think, has made her happier than we could; and +now we dwell much on this scripture, 'Prepare to meet thy God.' +Deborah was very sick, and suffered much; but when she died, there +was a pleasant smile on her little face. Then she rested from +sorrow, and Jesus folded the little Iamb in his own bosom." + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + + +PROGRESS AND PROMISE. + +BENEVOLENCE, EARLY MANIFESTATION OF.--PROGRESS.--REVIVAL OF +BENEVOLENCE IN APRIL, 1861.--INTEREST OF PARENTS FOR THE CONVERSION +OF THEIR CHILDREN.--PEACE IN FAMILIES.--REFORMED MARRIAGES.-- +ORDINATIONS.--COMMUNION SEASONS.--MISS RICE AND MISS BEACH.-- +CONCLUSION. + +The pupils were early trained to form habits of self-denying +benevolence. In 1844, the day scholars made as many as fifty +garments for poor children. Early in 1845, when some mountaineers +came to beg money for their ragged children, the question was put, +"Who will give her own clothes and wear poorer ones till she can +make others." Many responded at once, and she who gave her best +dress was deemed the most happy. Some even wept because they could +not do the same. In a letter written December, 1848, the pupils say, +"The last day of the term was monthly concert. We had a good time of +prayer, and then a collection, which went up to thirty-two sahib +korans--(seven dollars.) We hope this will be increased, and used +for sending the gospel to the poor people of the mountains." + +They were accustomed to devote several hours a week to sewing for +some benevolent object. At the close of one term the articles thus +prepared were sold for sixteen dollars, and the proceeds sent to +Aintab to pay for teaching women there to read. + +The same virtue was assiduously cultivated in the people. Deacons +John and Yonan had for some time been urged to take up a collection +at the monthly concert at Geog Tapa, but they dared not try; not +that they did not wish it, but they feared that the people, in their +poverty, might take offence at the innovation. At length, on the +first Sabbath of 1852, John preached on the subject, and a few +korans (worth twenty cents each), were contributed. The first +Sabbath of February it was Yonan's turn to preach there. So he +prepared himself thoroughly on this subject,--Miss Fiske had read +with him the prize essays on Benevolence, published by the American +Tract Society,--and, carrying his map into a crowded church, he +spoke at some length about missions in various parts of the world. +His account was well received. Then Bibles were distributed through +the church, and the readers were called on to read passages +previously selected, showing, first, the antiquity of benevolent +contributions; secondly, that the poor were to give as well as the +rich; and thirdly, that the blessing of God was promised to the +benevolent. The readers were scattered all over the church, and the +people listened with great attention. Then several spoke on the +subject, and the elders of the village gave the work their hearty +approval. Afternoon came, and as the time for meeting drew near, old +and young were eagerly engaged in getting ready their contributions +(in Geog Tapa the monthly concert is held on Sabbath afternoon), and +as many as two hundred came together. There were remarks and +prayers, and while the missionary hymn was being sung at the close, +the collection was taken up, amounting, in money and cotton yarn, to +more than fifteen korans. One sick boy, who had heard what was going +on, rose from his bed, and crept in to deposit his little coin. +Instead of spending their saints' days in idleness, as had been the +custom, many now wrought on those days to earn money for giving, +saying to objectors that it was better to labor for the spread of +the gospel than to be idle for Satan. Mr. Stoddard attended the +March concert, with some idols from India, and so interested the +people that the collection amounted to more than twenty-five korans, +thus the good work went on. + +After this the spirit of benevolence steadily increased, and +instances of marked self-denial were not wanting. It shows at once +their poverty and their disposition to do what they could, that at +the monthly concert a basket was passed round along with the +contribution box, to receive eggs from the little children and such +as were too poor to give any thing else. Crosses of ivory or silver +were often found among the contributions. + +One day, a man was seen to take a silver coin out of his purse; and +as the missionary went on to describe more of the condition of the +heathen world, a second and a third was taken out, and held in +readiness for the collection. At another time, a woman, whom she had +not seen before, asked for a private interview with one of the +ladies of the mission; and when alone, besides requesting prayer +that she might become a Christian, she took out a gold ornament, the +only one of any value that she possessed, which had been handed down +as an heirloom in her family for several generations, and said she +wanted to give that to send the gospel to others, only no one must +know who gave it. The ornament was sold for four dollars and fifty +cents, and the woman, in less than a year, became a useful +Christian. Sometimes the amount of interest might be measured by the +number of silver coins manufactured into buttons that were found in +the contribution box; for when their feelings were aroused, the +women cut off the fastenings of their outer garments, and cast them +into the Lord's treasury. + +But the most remarkable revival of benevolence occurred in April, +1861; and we condense the following account of it from a long letter +of Yonan to Miss Fiske and Mrs. Stoddard:-- + +"The prayers and tears of our missionary friends have, this winter, +received a joyful reward from our Father in heaven. We were told +that the first week in January would be devoted by all Christians to +prayer for great things, and my heart was never so enlarged before. +It seemed as if Persia, nominal Christendom, and all the heathen +were under the power of prayer; as if the Christian's measuring-line +was stretched round the four corners of the earth. One day the +missionaries met, as usual, for prayer in Dr. Wright's large room. +It moved me much, and I said to my companions, 'They are praying for +us while we are idle.' They said, 'It is good that we spend this +half hour in prayer every day.' We did so. On the Sabbath, I went to +my village, Geog Tapa, and mentioned these things to the people at +the evening meeting. The Lord opened the mouth of Abraham, who said, +'Brethren, in these places we are always idle--let us meet for +prayer half an hour before sunset.' They did so. The clouds over our +heads seemed loaded with blessings: still they did not descend. Mr. +Cobb and Mr. Ambrose had talked with me about commencing in our +village to support preachers in the mountains. So did Mr. Labaree +last week. I told him of our poverty. He said, 'I am grieved for +that; but begin with some little thing.' + +"We went to Geog Tapa the last Sabbath in March. John gave notice, +as it was the gospel Sabbath, [monthly concert is so called], of the +contributions for our brothers in India. In his sermon he said that +much of our poverty is from our indolence. Last year our collection +was fifteen tomans. [A toman is about two dollars.] If we had more +zeal, we might raise twenty, and that would support a preacher in +the mountains. At once Guwergis cried out, 'I will give one.' I +said, 'We will support one preacher and two schools among ourselves, +and if any thing is over, we will send it far away.' Priest Abraham +approved of this. Then all the brethren in the congregation began to +speak. 'So is good.' 'Thus we will do.' John would have stilled +them; but I said, 'Perhaps God is blessing your preaching; let them +speak.' Praised be God's name forever; in a moment every obstacle +was swept away. Had we known that God was so near, we would have +bowed our heads before him. Now Aib Khan cried, 'I give one toman;' +and 'I,' said Priest Moses, 'twelve korans;' and another, 'I two +monats.' [A monat is seventy-five cents.] Moses now took out his +pencil to write. The Malik said, 'I have often thought that I would +put a gold imperial in the box [four dollars and fifty cents]; write +that.' I then said, 'My family of eight souls hear preaching all the +year, and three or four attend school. I am a debtor; write for me +three tomans--it is not too much.' When God pleases, excuses flee +away; high prices and oppression were not thought of; we were lords +of wealth. Moses then said, 'I am troubled that I remain to the +last; but we are three brothers in company, and I know not whether +they will act through me, or each one for himself.' One brother +cried out, 'Our agent and I, five korans more.' Another man then +said, 'I also am at a loss on account of my brother;' and his +brother replied, 'Four monats.' These things made brotherly love +very firm. Guwergis now cried out, 'Women, where are you? In the +wilderness women gave their brazen mirrors.' I said, 'Holy women, +to-day ends fifteen years of the prayers of Christianity among us. +Speak!' [It was fifteen years since the revival in 1846.] One +replied, 'I half a monat;' and 'I a head-dress;' 'I a silver +ornament;' 'I my earrings;' and so on. A widow said, 'I have kept my +husband's coat till now; I will sell it, and give half the price.' +And others made similar responses. Isaac, a poor old mountaineer, +gave two korans; and another said, 'I have nothing but the mat I +sit on: I give that.' It was a new one he had just finished. A +mother said, 'I have nothing now, but I will give the work of my +hands this winter--a tope [ten yards] of cotton cloth.' A pilgrim +said, 'When I was in Jerusalem, an Armenian and a Russian bid +against each other, and the Russian prevailed, giving five hundred +tomans to the Greek convent. If they had such zeal for error, we +ought to have more for the truth.' And one unaccustomed to come to +church gave the fruit and prunings of fifteen rows in his vineyard. +[The prunings of the vines are sold for fuel.] We were in the church +about four hours. Time was given for all to contribute, and then we +spent a season in joyful song and pleasant prayer. + +"The report of what had been done spread quickly through the +village, and my mother-in-law sent word that she would give a +hundred and twenty-eight pounds of raisins. At evening meeting, the +house was full. Benjamin said, 'Brethren, the teacher of our school +was one day explaining the verse, "Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth +of the ox that treadeth out the corn;" and Mr. Stoddard, who stood +near, added, "But the Nestorian oxen eat from the straw of America." +That word has worked in my heart ever since. I trust that, +hereafter, we will eat our own straw.' That night we lay awake a +long time for joy. In the morning, before I was up, my uncle and his +wife came and promised a load of wheat [five bushels]; and when +passing through the village, a woman put an ornament in my pocket to +sell for the cause. + +"Monday we came to the city for the gospel day [the concert is held +there on Monday], and every one who met us remarked our glad faces. +In the meeting, after Mr, Coan spoke, John opened a bundle of the +gifts, and Moses described the scenes of the day before. I said, +'One toman led to sixty in our village yesterday: perhaps it will +lead to hundreds more. Many times the good in the heart of the +Christian comes up into his mouth, and then goes back; but when the +power of God prevails, it not only comes into the mouth, but comes +forth and abounds.' Priest Moses arose, and said, 'As long as a man +is sick, it is no shame if he does not walk; but if the blood walks +well in his veins, and he becomes fat, and still lies in bed, every +one reproaches him. We have grown fat; and how long shall we lie +under the quilts?' Priest Yakob added, 'For twenty-five years we +have said, "Let the Lord go before;" and now that he has come, let +us wait no longer, but give.' He gave two tomans, and others +followed. Mar Tohanan's wife gave a toman of ornaments, and almost +every girl in school from one koran to three or four. Isras, of +Degala, gave fifteen tomans and a new vineyard that he had recently +bought. Guwergis, who had already proposed to plough the field the +second time, now rose, and opening his hand, said, 'If a man thrust +his hand into a pile of gold, and give of it to God, is it a great +thing when He has filled his hand with the blood of his Son, and +given it to us?' Sagoo,[1] of Gulpashan, said, 'My father gave each +of my two sisters thirty tomans. When Hannah died, hers became mine. +I give it for the bride's veil; [The kingdom of Christ is here +spoken of as the bride], also a silver watch.' One who had only two +or three sheep promised one of them. My little girl, Sherin, had +asked, a few days before, for a new dress. She now sent word to me +that she would do without it for a year, if I would give the money +for the gospel. I cannot fully describe the spirit of the meeting: +we went out wondering and congratulating each other at having +witnessed such a pleasant sight. At the evening meeting one said, 'I +heard in the market what you were doing; I give a gun, the price of +which was seven and a half tomans.' Some gave for themselves, and +others for their wives and children. Moses gave four monats for his +brother's children. There were tithes and sixths, fifths and +fourths, thirds and halves, of crops of hay and grapes. Priest +Abraham said, 'We say a thief will never own a house. Did you ever +see one that had wealth? We are thieves, and therefore are so poor. +We have robbed God. I will give a tithe of my vineyard.' Another +replied, 'And I of every thing.' And a man, who had before given one +quarter of his vineyard, now gave the half. A widow, who had nothing +but a cow, pledged a hepta [four pounds] of butter. A poor man, who +has a few fruit trees in his yard, promised ten heptas of apricots. +Guwergis spoke up, 'We have butter: what shall we cook in it for the +bride?' A woman answered, 'I give four heptas of rice;' to which her +husband added two. +[Footnote 1: See page 209.] + +"Mar Elias now kissed us much; he put nineteen korans into John's +hand, saying, 'As yet I have not grown indifferent.' And Mar Yohanan +said, with tears, 'The crown of the bride remains for me. I give +thirty tomans.' + +"In our village, besides the tithes, seventy tomans were collected, +and in the city two hundred and fifty. I hope the whole will go up +to five hundred or more. I stand amazed. I can think nothing but, 'I +am a miserable sinner.' The glorious God has gone before us in +mercy. For two or three years our village was going down; we were at +variance and in trouble; but Immanuel has met us with a blessing, a +hundred fold beyond our expectation. It is the beginning of a great +work for future generations. I know that the joy of heaven is +awakened in the joy of blessed Mr. Stocking and Mr. Stoddard. I want +to fly to them and talk with them about it, but this veil does not +allow it. You, too, will want to fly to the people that are so dear +to you. I trust that this pouring out of such a spirit will be the +door of many blessings. We have had a scarcity for seven years, so +that wheat is six times its former price. Our people are poor and +sorely oppressed. From the depths of their poverty they have given: +I never knew them before. If all were Christians, what might we not +see? Perhaps the poor widows and orphans, who have contributed for +our good, have been discouraged; but truly their gifts have not been +sown in vain among our people. I believe at the last day you will +see fruit according to the word of Jesus--thirty, sixty, and a +hundred fold. The time is not far off when every converted Nestorian +will go to ten Mussulmen to teach them the word of God. + +"Pray for us more than ever, for many are the enemies of Nehemiah +and ruined Jerusalem. Our hope is in God. He has begun, and he will +finish." + +The pledges then made have since been fulfilled, with very few +exceptions, and that not regretfully, but with a heartiness truly +affecting to those who knew their poverty. In July, 1861, the +mission resolved to furnish no teacher for a school--except in new +villages--where a part of his support was not assumed by the people. +The Barandooz congregation, in the spring of 1862, cheerfully +assumed the burden of their schools; and some have also expressed a +readiness to aid in the support of their pastors. A number of +pupils, in both Seminaries, contribute liberally towards their +support. + +In bringing to a close these glimpses of the changes wrought by +grace among the Nestorians, we must not pass by the number of pious +parents who now aid the missionaries by their prayers. While, in the +early days of the Seminary, its teacher was left to pray alone for +her pupils, before she left, in 1858, she rejoiced to know that two +thirds of them had either a pious parent, or other member of the +family, who prayed for their salvation, + +One cold morning, in 1856, a pious mother walked three miles through +the snow, to inquire if there was any interest in the school. "Why +do you ask?" replied the teacher. "I have thought of you continually +for two or three days; and last night, after falling asleep, +thinking about you, I dreamed that God was visiting you by his Holy +Spirit. So, when I awoke, I arose and baked, and hurried here. I am +so anxious about my daughter! Can I see her?" She was told that her +daughter was among the inquirers the evening before, and sank down +where she stood, weeping for joy. The heart of the teacher grew +strong in the feeling that the mothers were wrestling with her. The +mother passed into an adjoining room to see her daughter; and a +missionary brother, who came in just then, could not restrain his +tears as he listened to her earnest intercessions, saying, "This is +more to me than any thing I have seen in Persia." After that year, +some parents, when they came to the Seminary, were never willing to +leave till they had prayed with their children. A father once wrote, +"Yesterday I invited some Christian friends to my house, and had +three prayers offered for the school; and while praying for you, we +felt our own sins very much, and cried to God to save us from their +power." + +Nor were the pupils wanting in interest for their impenitent +parents. During the long vacation in 1850, Hanee, who used to spend +several hours a day in prayer for her mother, so pressed her with +entreaties to come to the Saviour, that one day she roughly replied, +"Enough! Enough! Stop your praying and weeping for me: you will weep +yourself blind." "O mother," was the beautiful reply, "it seems as +though I would gladly become blind, if thereby you might be brought +to Jesus." + +Perhaps the effects of grace were nowhere more conspicuous than in +the effects it produced in those great households already described. +Let us first look in on the hinderances they occasioned to a life of +piety. Yonan writes, in his journal of March 7, 1858, "Widow Hatoon +is a devout woman, and tries to erect the family altar in her house; +but it is very difficult. She often collects the readers in the +neighborhood on Sabbath morning, to read the Bible with her family. +I asked her, 'Do you pray with your children? They have no father; +they are left in your hands, and God will require them of you +again.' 'I do; but I find it very hard in our house: we are all in +one room, our beds very near each other, and there is no separate +chamber: when about to retire, I gather them together behind a +quilt, and talk and pray with them.'" + +Again he writes, "Hatoon, the wife of Sarhoosh, is a member of a +large family. Three of the women in the house, and one of their +husbands, fear God; but the older members of the household are very +wicked, and even violent in their opposition. She is much troubled +about family prayer. While the devout ones engage in worship at one +end of the room, the rest, at the other end, talk, laugh, and +revile." + +Yet, even in such households, grace reveals its divine power. We +find Yonan putting this question to a communicant: "Do you and M. +live pleasantly together?" M. was her sister-in-law, in a household +of more than thirty souls. "She is a little quick tempered," was the +reply; "but I try not to trouble her, and to have our love perfect +that we may be a good example to the rest." Yonan prayed with her, +and asked if he could do any thing for her relatives. "Dear brother +in Christ," she replied, "in the name of the Lord Jesus, our +precious Saviour, I beg you to pray with my husband: it maybe God +will bless him." "My sister, God will bless him: this your anguish +shall be turned into joy." "My own heart was moved," adds the +narrator. "I saw my own love very little, compared with hers, and +felt my unworthiness very much." + +The change in their social condition was beautifully illustrated by +a little incident in the Seminary, in 1849. One of the older pupils +had been betrothed; but when the ring of betrothal was brought, to +be placed on her finger, she could not be found. After long search, +her gentle voice was heard in the most retired part of the building, +imploring the blessing of God to abide with her in that new +relation. Only those who had seen the rioting and folly common on +such occasions could appreciate the change. + +The marriage of Mar Yohanan, in 1859, was a step in the work of +lifting up woman to her true position. Formerly, marriage had been +deemed something too unholy for a bishop; and the consequence was +the general degradation of the sex. The entrance of the gospel +corrected public sentiment on this point; and that act of the bishop +only gave expression to the popular conviction that marriage is +honorable in all, even the highest and holiest, nurturing some of +the loveliest graces of the Christian character. The event for a +time caused some stir among the enemies of the truth; but it soon +died away, and the old ascetic views of piety are passing away with +the social degradation in which they had their origin. + +About the same time Yohanan, whom we have seen laboring in the +mountains with his estimable wife, was ordained to the work of the +ministry without any of the mummeries that had been added to the +simple usage of the New Testament; the venerable Mar Elias uniting +with the missionaries in the laying on of the hands of the +presbytery. Two months later, six more of the most pious and best +educated young men, who had long deferred ordination through +aversion to the old forms, followed his example; among them our +mountain friend Oshana, Deacon John, of Geog Tapa, and Deacon Yakob, +of Sapergan. Marriage ceremonies and entertainments have long been +improved, and the revelling of former days on such occasions is +going into deserved disuse among the more enlightened. + +In the year 1858, the people of Memikan left off keeping their +fasts, on the ground that they tended to nullify salvation by grace +through Jesus Christ. Formerly this would have brought down on them, +the wrath of the patriarch, their village would have been devoted to +plunder and the torch, and themselves to death or exile; but now it +caused scarce a ripple on the current of events--not that men did +not see the drift of things, but they allowed it to have free +course. + +There is another sign of the times that calls for more special +mention. Other missions in Western Asia had been forced by +persecution to the early formation of churches. They had to provide +a fold for the lambs driven from their former shelter. Here there +had been no such necessity; yet the converts longed for a more +spiritual observance of gospel ordinances. + +The mission had hitherto celebrated the Lord's supper by themselves, +and with one or two exceptions, no Nestorian had witnessed its +observance. There had been some thought of admitting them; but +nothing had been done, till, in the spring of 1854, three of the +converts, who had been reading an English treatise on the subject, +asked one of the ladies of the mission to intercede with the +gentlemen to allow them to be present. She informed Mr. Stoddard of +their request, and he encouraged them to go forward. The matter was +laid before the mission, and it was concluded that a few of those +judged most fit for admission to the ordinance should be invited to +partake. + +The first communion to which the converts were admitted was +celebrated in September, 1854, in the large room on the lower floor +of the Female Seminary. Eleven Nestorians partook with the +missionaries, and three of them were women, who had graduated there. +After the service, some of the men went up stairs and sat down +without speaking. Miss Fiske, not knowing the cause of their +silence, and fearing lest they might have been disappointed by the +simplicity of our forms, did not venture to allude to the subject, +till one of them asked, "Is it always, so when you commune, or was +this an unusual occasion?" "Why, did you not enjoy it?" "Not enjoy +it! Jesus Christ himself seemed almost visibly present; it was +difficult to realize that it was not the Saviour in person who +presided at the table. It must have been just such a scene when the +ordinance was first instituted in Jerusalem; and I could not get rid +of the inquiry, 'Shall one of us go out like Judas and betray him?'" +It is a significant fact that those most accustomed to mediaeval +forms, when regenerated by the Spirit, relish them the least; and +the more spiritual they become, the more they crave the simple forms +of the New Testament, because they draw the least attention to +themselves, and fix it most completely on the Saviour. + +In January, 1855, as many as seventy of the converts, after careful +examination, were allowed to partake; and once every four months the +privilege was renewed, with an accession of from twelve to thirty +communicants each time. These were occasions of unusual interest. +Several days were devoted to religious meetings, and even in +midwinter pious people made long journeys, and crossed bleak +mountains on the snow, to attend them. One woman, Hoimar, of +Salmas,[1] travelled sixty miles, through deep snow and piercing +cold, to be present at this ordinance in January, 1858. +[Footnote 1: See page 171.] + +In June of that year, the better to distinguish those entitled to +this privilege, before the sacrament all entered together into +solemn covenant with God. The whole number received up to that time +was two hundred and forty-nine; at the close of 1861, it had swelled +to five hundred. As the meetings became too unwieldy, and it was +inconvenient for so many to come so far, the ordinance was +administered at Seir also, in September, 1858; and here +providentially another end was secured, for as Dr. Wright was then +too sick to distribute the elements, some of the natives had to +perform that service. In June following, a very interesting +communion was observed at Memikan; Yohanan and his wife crossing a +high mountain, even then covered with snow, to bring their little +child for baptism. Next year, the ordinance was celebrated in every +village where there was a sufficient number of hopeful converts to +justify its observance. Thus has God led his people, step by step, +in a way that they knew not, till now there are all the essentials +of a church at every place where God has raised up members of the +body of Christ. They enter into covenant with him and with each +other. They keep his ordinances, and grow in grace, in knowledge, +and in numbers. They may take one step farther. Since this last +sentence was written, the converted Nestorians have proceeded even +to the adoption of a creed and directory for worship. + +Did the limits of this volume allow, it would be pleasant to dwell +at length on the labors of Miss Mary Susan Rice, who joined Miss +Fiske in November, 1847, and has ever since toiled diligently, and +without interruption, at her post. Since the return of Miss Fiske +she has entered into all her labors, both thoroughly and +successfully. Her fifteen years of toil will never be forgotten by +those who have been privileged to receive her instructions, both in +and out of the Seminary. They form an important part of the +instrumentalities God has employed to bring woman in Persia to the +knowledge of her Saviour. A mass of her correspondence now lies +before the writer, which he has read with much interest; but to +quote from it would only be, reproducing scenes already portrayed. +It is not necessary to describe the laying of each course of brick +in the walls of the spiritual temple. + +One sentence, however, now arrests my eye, which I must quote, +because it shows how the Saviour was preparing her for the sole care +of the school, that has devolved on her ever since, owing to the +protracted illness of Miss Aura J. Beach, who was sent out to her +assistance in February, 1860. Writing to her predecessor, three +years ago, she says, "O, what a relief to roll the burdens, which we +cannot bear, upon the strong arm outstretched to help, and feel +that, like sinking Peter, we shall be sustained amid raging +billows!" + +Labor among the Nestorians is becoming more assimilated to labor at +home. Instead of the national peculiarities conspicuous at the +outset, different from our own, and prominent because so different, +things begin to move in familiar orbits, because they set out from +similar conditions and tend to like results. In proportion as the +gospel advances in its work, the distinguishing characteristics of a +people fall into the background, to give place to those spiritual +features common to the work of grace in every land. The river is +most picturesque high up among the mountains, while its stream is +yet small and many obstacles oppose its course; after it glides out +from among the hills into the open plain, it moves with larger +volume, but in a more monotonous current, to the sea. + +May the work of God advance, till this unity of all nations in Jesus +Christ shall every where replace the diversity and hostility under +which to-day creation groans, till in the placid surface of such a +river of life the Saviour shall see his own image reflected, as it +is from the sea of glass above! + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Woman And Her Saviour In Persia +by A Returned Missionary + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WOMAN AND HER SAVIOUR IN PERSIA *** + +This file should be named wmprs10.txt or wmprs10.zip +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, wmprs11.txt +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, wmprs10a.txt + +Produced by Charles Aldarondo, Tiffany Vergon, +and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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