Project Gutenberg's Journal of a Residence at Bagdad, by Anthony Groves
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Title: Journal of a Residence at Bagdad
Author: Anthony Groves
Editor: Alexander Scott
Release Date: August 7, 2009 [EBook #29631]
Language: English
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Transcriber's Notes:
1) Mousul/Mosul, piastre/piaster, Shiraz/Sheeraz,
Itch-Meeazin/Ech-Miazin/Etchmiazin,
each used on numerous occasions;
2) Arnaouts/Arnaoots, Dr. Beagrie/Dr. Beagry,
Beirout/Bayrout/Beyraut(x2), Saltett/Sallett,
Shanakirke/Shammakirke, Trebizond/Trebisand - once each.
All left as in original text.
3) M^R = a superscripted "R".
* * * * *
JOURNAL
OF A
RESIDENCE AT BAGDAD,
&c, &c.
LONDON:
DENNETT, PRINTER, LEATHER LANE.
JOURNAL
OF A
RESIDENCE AT BAGDAD,
DURING THE YEARS 1830 AND 1831,
BY
M^R. ANTHONY N. GROVES,
MISSIONARY.
LONDON:
JAMES NISBET, BERNERS STREET.
M DCCC XXXII.
* * * * *
INTRODUCTION.
This little work needs nothing from us to recommend it to attention.
In its incidents it presents more that is keenly interesting, both to
the natural and to the spiritual feelings, than it would have been
easy to combine in the boldest fiction. And then it is not fiction.
The manner in which the story is told leaves realities unencumbered,
to produce their own impression. It might gratify the imagination, and
even aid in enlarging our practical views, to consider such scenes as
possible, and to fancy in what spirit a Christian might meet them; but
it extends our experience, and invigorates our faith, to know that,
having actually taken place, it is thus that they have been met.
The first missionaries were wont, at intervals, to return from their
foreign labours, and relate to those churches whose prayers had sent
them forth, "all things that God had done with them" during their
absence. To the Christians at Antioch, there must have been important
edification, as well as satisfaction to their affectionate concern
about the individuals, and about the cause, in the narrative of Paul
and Barnabas. Nor would the states of mind experienced, and the spirit
manifested, by the narrators themselves be less instructive, than the
various reception of their message by various hearers. In these pages,
in like manner, Mr. Groves contributes to the good of the Church, an
important fruit of his mission, were it to yield no other. He had cast
himself upon the Lord. To Him he had left it to direct his path; to
give him what things He knew he had need of, and whether outward
prospects were bright or gloomy, to be the strength of his heart and
his portion for ever. The publication of his former little Journal was
the erection of his Eben Ezer. Hitherto, said he to us in England, the
Lord hath helped me. And now, after a prolonged residence among a
people with whom, in natural things, he can have no communion, and
who, towards his glad tidings of salvation, are as apathetic as is
compatible with the bitterest contempt; after having had, during many
weeks, his individual share of the suffering, and his mind worn with
the spectacle, of a city strangely visited at once with plague, and
siege, and inundation, and internal tumult; widowed, and not without
experience of "flesh and heart fainting and failing," he again
"blesses God for all the way he has led him,"[1] tells us that "the
Lord's great care over him in the abundant provision for all his
necessities, enables him yet further to sing of his goodness;"[2] and
while his situation makes him say, "what a place would this be to be
alone in now" if without God, he adds, "but with Him, this is better
than the garden of Eden."[3] "The Lord is my only stay, my only
support; and He is a support indeed."[4]
It is remarkable, that at a time when the fear of pestilence has
agitated the people of this country, and when the tottering fabric of
society threatens to hurl down upon us as dire a confusion as that
which has surrounded our brother, in a country hitherto regarded so
remote from all comparison with our own; at a time when the records of
the seasons at which the terrible voice of God has sounded loudest in
our capital, are republished as appropriate to the contemplation of
Christians at the existing crisis;[5]--this volume should have been
brought before the Public, by circumstances quite unconnected with
this train of God's dealings and threatenings to our land. The
Christians of Britain ought to consider, that there is a warning voice
of Providence, not only in the tumults of the people, and in the
terrors of the cholera around them, but even in the publication of
this Journal. It is not for nothing that God has moved Mr. Groves, as
it were, to an advanced post, where he might encounter the enemy
before them. The alarm may have, in a measure, subsided,[6] but if the
people of God are to be ever patiently waiting for the coming of their
conquering King, this implies a patient preparedness for those signs
of his coming, the clouds and darkness that are to go before him, in
the very midst of which they must be able to lift up their heads
because their redemption draweth nigh. To provide for the worst
contingencies is a virtue, not a weakness, in the soldier. That
Christian will not keep his garments who forgets, that in this life,
he is a soldier always. No army is so orderly in peace, or so
triumphant upon lesser assaults, as that which is ready always
for the extremest exigencies of war.
To those who are looking for the glorious appearing of our great God
and Saviour, Jesus Christ, this volume will exhibit indications of the
advancement of the world towards the state in which he shall find it
at his coming. The diffusion in the east of European notions and
practices; the desire on the part of the rulers to possess themselves
of the advantages of western intellect and skill; and on the side of
the governed, the conviction of the comparative security and comfort
of English domination; the vastly increased intercourse between those
nations and the west, and the proposals for still further accelerating
and facilitating that intercourse: all these things mark the rapid
tendency, of which we have so many other signs, towards the production
of one common mind throughout the human race, to issue in that
combination for a common resistance of God, which, as of old, when
the people were one, and had all one language, and it seemed that
nothing could be restrained from them which they had imagined to
do,--shall cause the Lord to come down and confound their purpose.
Already has this unity of views and aims, with marvellous rapidity,
prevailed in the European and American world; the press, the
steam-engine by land and water, the multiplication of societies
and unions, portend an advancement in it, to which nothing can
set limits but the intervention of God: and now it appears that
the mountain-fixedness of Asiatic prejudice and institution shall
suddenly be dissolved, and absorbed into the general vortex.
And to those who may have suspected, that the prospect of the return
of Jesus of Nazareth to our earth for vengeance and expurgation of
evil first, and then for occupation of rule, _under_ the face of the
whole heaven, is but a speculative subject for curious minds, this
little book presents matter of reflection. By circumstances of such
urgent personal concernment, as those in which Mr. Groves and his
departed wife have been placed, the merely speculative part of
religion is put to flight. But we shall find them in the midst of
confusion, and bereavement, and horror, clinging to this one hope for
themselves and for the world, that the Lord cometh to reign, wherefore
the earth shall be glad; deriving from this hope a delight in God, in
the midst of all that seems adverse to such a sentiment, which, if it
be not a proof of practical power in a doctrine, what is practical?
On some few points, Mr. Groves has given a somewhat detailed
expression of his own sentiments. One of the most important of these
is re-considered in the notes by the writer of this introduction.
Another, on which the interest of many has already been strongly
excited, is the recognition of those men as ministers of God, who do
not utter the word of his truth, and who are admitted to speak without
the Spirit of his truth. The question, encompassed as it has been with
difficulties foreign to itself, is but a narrow one. The preaching of
the Gospel _is_ an ordinance of God. The preaching of what is not the
Gospel is _no_ ordinance of God; and affords me no opportunity of
shewing my respect for divine ordinances by my attendance upon it.
That men possessing the Holy Ghost should confer spiritual gifts by
the laying on of hands on those who in faith receive it, _is_ an
ordinance of God: that men, not having the Holy Ghost, should lay
hands on others for spiritual gifts, is _no_ ordinance of God.
If the outward fact of what is named ordination, determines me to
regard as now made of God a teacher, a pastor, an evangelist, a
bishop, him who, to all intelligent and spiritual perception, is what
he was, in error, and ignorance, and carnality; this is not respect
for divine ordinances at all, but a faith in the _opus operatum_, a
faith in transubstantiation transferred to men, denying the truth of
my own perception, and clinging to the conclusion of my superstition,
just as in the mass the senses are denied, and bread and wine visibly
unaltered, are called flesh and blood. The arguments by which this
notion is supported, are too complicated, and too contemptuous of
unity or consistency, to be meddled with in our limited space. That
Christ bade men observe what the Scribes and Pharisees taught on the
authority of the law of Moses, is made a reason for reverencing what
is taught on _no_ divine authority: Scribes and Pharisees, who
pretended to no divine ordination, but rested their claims on their
knowledge, are made specimens of the respect due to ordination, in
the case of such whose ignorance and unsound teaching are allowed.
But were not the Scribes and Pharisees in many things ignorant and
unsound? Yes, truly; but were these the things of which the Lord
said expressly, these things observe and do? To tell us that we must
observe and do what is according to Scripture, however bad the men
who teach it, ordained or unordained alike; what has this to do with
ordination? True, this is no excuse for those who prostitute the form
and name of God's ordinance, and know that it is prostituted: who say,
"receive ye the Holy Ghost," and would laugh as being supposed to
confer the Holy Ghost: but there is no necessity for running from this
crime, to the error of which we have spoken. Let us acknowledge our
wretchedness, and misery, and poverty, and blindness, and nakedness.
When the laws were transgressed, and the everlasting covenant broken;
then the _ordinance_ was _changed_, as Isaiah foretold it should,[7]
among the causes why the earth is defiled under the inhabitants
thereof.
The Apostolic Epistles contain little, if any thing, to establish the
pastoral authority in a single person of each church or congregation:
and the omission of all allusion to such an office is often very
remarkable from the occasion seeming to assure us, that it would have
been mentioned had it existed. The Epistles of the Lord to the seven
churches are therefore resorted to for proof of the existence and
nature of the place of a single pastor with peculiar and exclusive
powers. But neither there nor elsewhere is the fact of ordination once
referred to, in relation to the receiving or rejection of those who
claimed to speak in the name of Christ. In these very Epistles there
is a commendation for disregarding for the truth's sake the highest
titles of ecclesiastical office. "Thou canst not bear them which are
evil: thou hast _tried_ them which say they are apostles, and are not,
and hast found them liars."[8] I believe, "not to bear them which are
evil" pastors, evangelists or apostles, is as commendable in England
as in Ephesus in the eye of the Head of the Churches. Is there a
syllable in the Bible to lead us to suppose that these liars were
detected by any other means than those which Paul had already taught
the Church? "Though _we_, or an angel from heaven, preach any other
gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be
accursed." As for the ordinance, such passages as Titus i. 9, make
_selection_ a part of that ordinance: the bishop is to be one "holding
fast the word of truth as he hath been taught." Now, on what authority
shall this part of the ordinance, viz. selection, be omitted, and no
flaw follow: while the presence or omission of a manual act in certain
hands is to constitute the reality or absence of Divine ordination?
A. J. SCOTT.
_Woolwich, Aug. 16th, 1832._
[1] Page 155.
[2] Page 169.
[3] Page 122.
[4] Page 146.
[5] See "Narratives of two Families exposed to the great
Plague of London, 1665; with Conversations on a Religions Preparation
for Pestilence," and "God's Terrible Voice in the City," by Vincent;
both republished by Rev. J. Scott, of Hull.
[6] And yet what security is afforded by a present abatement
of the visitation? In Glasgow, cholera was regarded as departing, and
all but departed. The number of cases has since risen, for some time,
to above 300 at once, and the deaths not seldom to between one and two
hundred a day, in a population small compared with that of London.
[7] Chap. xxiv. ver. 5.
[8] Rev. ii. 2.
* * * * *
JOURNAL
OF A
RESIDENCE AT BAGDAD.
_Bagdad, April 2, 1830._
We begin to find that our school-room is not large enough to contain
the children, and we have been obliged therefore to add to it another.
We have now fifty-eight boys and nine girls, and might have many more
girls had we the means for instructing them; but we have as yet no
other help than the schoolmaster's wife, who knows very little of any
thing, and therefore is very unfit to bring those into order who have
been educated without any order. But I have no doubt of the Lord's
sending us, in due time, sufficient help of all kinds.
_April 3._--An Armenian merchant from Egypt and Syria, was with us
to-day; a Roman Catholic by profession, but an infidel in fact. He
said it was all one to him, whether men were Armenian, Syrian,
Mohammedan, or Jew, so that they were good. He had left Beirout about
two months, and said there were none of the missionaries there then;
but that he knew there the Armenian Catholic bishop, and an Armenian
priest, who had left the Roman Catholic church, and who were in
Lebanon--he said they were friends of his, and very good men. We feel
interested in receiving some missionary intelligence, to know whether
or not Syria is still deserted.
We have received from Shushee a parcel of our Lord's Sermon on the
Mount, in the vulgar Armenian. We were very much rejoiced at this, as
it enabled us to supersede, in some little degree, the old language;
but in determining that every boy sufficiently advanced, should learn
a verse a day, we met with some opposition from two or three of the
elder boys, and I think two will leave the school in consequence; but
the Lord will easily enable us to triumph over all; of this I have no
doubt, at all events I see my way clear come what will. Captain Strong
has taken a letter for me to Archdeacon Parr, to ask for some school
materials, such as slates and slate pencils for the school. I feel
daily more established in the conviction, that our Lord has led us to
this place, and that he will make our way apparent, as we go on in
faithful waiting upon him.
I cannot sufficiently thank God for sending my dear brother Pfander
with me, for had it not been for him, I could not have attempted any
thing, so that all that has now been done, must rather be considered
his than mine, as I have only been able to look on and approve. But
if the Lord's work is advanced, I can praise him by whomsoever it may
be promoted.
_June 12._--The circumstances of our situation are now going on so
regularly, that there is little to write about, more than that the
Lord's mercies are new every morning. Since Captain Strong left us,
there has arrived here a Mr. and Mrs. Mignan, and another gentleman,
named Elliot, neither of whom seem to know, at present, whether they
will remain here or go on.
The capidji or officer, who came from Constantinople, bringing a
firman to the Pasha, is desired to take back with him a drawing of one
of the soldiers whom Major T. is organizing for the Pasha. Major T.'s
son is just arrived from India, and he also is going to organize a
body of horse; in fact, every thing is tending to the establishment
of an European influence, and it may be the Lord's pleasure thus to
prepare the way for his servants to publish the tidings which the
sheep will hear. This tendency to adopt European manners and
improvements, is not only manifested in the military department, but
in others more important. The Pasha has a great desire to introduce
steam navigation on these two beautiful rivers. A proposal has been
made from an agent of the Bristol Steam Company, to the Pasha, through
Major T., to have a steam vessel in the first place between Bussorah
and this place; and secondly, if possible, to extend the navigation,
either by the old canal or by a new one, into the Euphrates and up
to Beer. This navigation will bring one within three days of the
Mediterranean,[9] without the fatigue, danger, and loss of time to
which travellers are exposed in the present journey. It will be a most
important opening for missionaries; for should this mode of conveyance
once get established, the route by Constantinople would almost cease,
and some arrangement would soon be made for going from Scanderoon to
the different important stations in the Mediterranean.
[9] Impossible--within three days of Aleppo must be meant.
There is a gentleman here on his return to England, a Mr. Bywater,
whom Mr. Taylor wishes to undertake a survey of the Euphrates, from
Beer to the canal, which connects it with this place. Till within
about twenty years, heavy artillery came to this place by that river,
so there can be but little doubt that a steam packet would be able to
go; though it might not be of the same size as the one between this
and Bussorah. The voyage between these places backwards and forwards,
it is proposed to do in eight days, which now takes about six or seven
weeks, and during the whole of the returning voyage, which is long,
being against the current, you are at present exposed to the attacks
of the Arabs every hour, whereas the steam packet would have nothing
to fear from them. In fact, I feel the Lord is preparing great changes
in the heart of this nation, or rather from one end of it to the
other; and the events which have taken place in that part of the
empire around Constantinople, have tended to the hastening on of these
changes.
Among the boys that come to me to learn English, I have one, the son
of a rich Roman Catholic jeweller of this place. So important is the
commercial relation between this place and India become, that the
number who wish to learn English of me, is much greater than I can
possibly take charge of, as this is not with me a primary object; but
it is a most important field of labour, and one that might have, I
think, very interesting results, for they will bear opposition to
their own views more easily in another language than in their own: it
does not come to them like a book written to oppose them, and thus
truth may slide gently in. My Moolah, who is teaching me Arabic, and
whose son I teach English, told me, that in two or three years he
would send his son to England to complete his knowledge of English.
Now to those who know nothing of the Turks, this may not appear
remarkable, but to those who do, it will exhibit a striking breaking
down of prejudice in this individual.
There is a famous man here, a Mohammedan by profession, but in reality
an infidel, who is the head of a pantheistic sect, who believe God to
be every thing and every thing to be God, so that he readily admits,
on this notion, the divinity of our blessed Lord. Infidelity is
extending on every side in these countries. My Moolah said, that now
a-days, if you asked a Christian whether he were a Christian, he
would say, Yes; but if you asked him who Christ was, or why he was
attached to him, he did not know. And in the same manner he said, if
you asked a Mohammedan a similar question, he would also say, he did
not know, but that he went as others went; but, he added, now all the
_Sultans_ were sending out men to teach, the Sultan of England--the
Sultan of Stamboul, &c. By this I imagine his impression is, that we
are sent out by the king of England.
Our school is, on the whole, going on very well. We have introduced
classes, and a general table of good and bad behaviour, of lessons, of
absence, and of attendance; and they all go on, learning a portion of
Scripture every day in the vulgar dialect. This is something.
I am beginning to feel my acquaintance with Arabic increase under the
plan which I am now pursuing with the boys who learn English. They
bring me Arabic phrases, and as far as my knowledge extends, I give
them the meaning in English; and when that fails, I write it down for
inquiry from the Moolah next day, and then by asking words in Arabic
every day for the boys to give me the English, I at last get the
expressions so impressed on my memory, that when I want them they
arise almost without thought. Another advantage from the boys bringing
phrases and words, is that they bring such as they use in the spoken
Arabic, which is very different from the written. This is a plan I
would recommend, whenever it can be adopted, to every missionary; for
there is a stimulus to the memory in having the questions to ask every
day, and having only the English written down, which nothing else
gives.
We have lately had a little proof of Turkish honesty. The man who
sells us wood, charged us seven tagar, and brought us somewhat less
than three.
Our souls are much refreshed by the contemplation of our Lord's coming
to complete the mystery of godliness. Oh, how long shall it be, ere he
be admired in all them that believe.
_June 26._--We have heard to-day from Mrs. G.'s brother J. from
Alexander Casan Beg, mentioned in a preceding part of my journal, and
from Mr. Glen. All our various accounts were welcome. Some of the
information contained in them enables us to rejoice in those we love
naturally, some in those we love spiritually.
In the letters of Alexander C. Beg, and Mr. Glen, I have received the
intelligence that the former would not now be able to join us, as he
had previously received an offer from the Scottish Missionary Society,
to become a missionary of theirs in India; for certain reasons,
however, he does not at present seem able to accept it. Concerning
this Mohammedan convert, it is impossible not to feel the deepest
interest.
We have just had some interesting conversation with a poor Jacobite,
who is come from Merdin, with a letter from his matran or bishop,
about two churches which the Roman Catholics have taken away from the
Jacobites. His description of their state is striking. He says, the
Pasha of Merdin cares neither for this Pasha, who is his immediate
superior, nor for the Sultan; and that he encourages these disputes
among the Christians, that he may get money from both parties, who
bribe him by turns. He says, that the Yezidees, when they see a Syrian
priest coming, will get off their horse and salute him, and kiss his
hand, and that the Kourds are a much worse people than they, but that
Roman Catholics are worse than either.--I was surprised to find that
the Roman Catholic bishop has a school of fifty girls learning to read
Arabic, and to work at their needle.
We have heard to-day that the Mohammedans, inhabitants of the town,
are much dissatisfied with the Sultan and with the Pasha, for
introducing European customs. They say, they are already Christians,
and one of them asked Mr. Swoboda, if it was true that the old missid
or mosque near us, was to become again a Christian church, and whether
the beating of the drums every evening after the European manner at
the seroy or palace, did not mean that the Pasha was becoming a
Christian. And they say, that the military uniforms now introducing,
are haram or unlawful. Major T. has induced the Pasha to have a
regiment dressed completely in the European fashion, and is now
forming some horse regiments on the same plan. All these things will
clearly tend to one of these two results--either to the overthrow
of Mohammedanism by the introduction of European manners and
intelligence, or to a tremendous crisis in endeavouring to throw off
the burden which the great mass of the lower and bigoted Mohammedans
abhor. But still the Lord knows, and has given his angels charge to
seal his elect before these things come to pass.
Our attention has again been directed to the subject of steam
navigation between Bombay and England, by the arrival of Mr. James
Taylor from Bombay. This gentleman has been engaged for some time in
undertaking to effect steam communication by the Red Sea: with the
view of making final arrangements on the subject he had just been to
Bombay, and wished to have returned by the Red Sea, but difficulties
arising, he determined to come by way of the Persian Gulf and this
city, and to cross the desert. On his arrival here, he was made
acquainted with the previous plans for steam navigation on these
rivers; and he quickly perceived that if the river were navigable, and
no other difficulties arose, the preference must be given to this
route, as being at least ten days shorter to Bombay, and of the thirty
or thirty-five days which remained, seven, or perhaps five, would be
spent on two beautiful rivers, with opportunities of obtaining from
its banks vegetables and fruits; and instead of the Red Sea, which is
rocky, stormy, and little known, there would be the Persian Gulf,
which has been surveyed in every part, and is peculiarly free from
storms. From the mouth of the Persian Gulf, the boat would go direct
to Bombay instead of going down to Columbo from the mouth of the Red
Sea, and then up the western side of the Peninsula of India. In Egypt
also they would have five days journey over the desert, whilst from
Aleppo they would only have two to a place on the Euphrates, called
Beer. Fuel also in abundance might be obtained here, either from wood
or bitumen; in fact, Mr. Taylor feels that if it can be accomplished,
it would save expense on the voyage. The only two difficulties that
oppose themselves to this route are, first, the Arabs, and secondly,
whether there be a sufficiency of water in the rivers. As to the
Arabs, a steamer has nothing to fear, for by keeping mid-stream at
the rate they go, no Arab would touch them or attempt to do it. The
present vessels they have no power over in going down, but when they
are dragged up by Arab trackers, then they are easily attacked.
As to the second objection, the want of water, there appears no
insurmountable difficulty here, as all the heavy ordnance from
Constantinople were brought down the Euphrates from Beer, on rafts,
or, as they are called, kelecks; these, independent of their width,
being greater than that of a steamer, actually draw more water when
heavily laden. There does not appear to be more than one place where
there is a doubt, and that is at El Dar, the ancient Thapsacus, where
we understand at one season, when the waters are at the lowest point,
a camel can hardly go over; but still, perhaps, further information
may be desirable. The Pasha has entered very heartily into this plan,
and offered either to clear out an old canal, or to cut a new one
between this river and the Euphrates. The mouth of the Euphrates is
one extended marsh, which forms the best rice-grounds of the country.
The distance between the two rivers at this place is about thirty
miles. Mr. James Taylor thinks that travellers may reach England from
this in twenty-three days, and Bombay in twelve: should this ever take
place, steam boats will be passing twice a month up and down this
river with passengers from India and England; the effects of such a
change, both moral, spiritual, and political, none can tell, but that
they must be great every one may see.
I have been this morning talking with my Moolah about the two rivers,
as to their capability of steam navigation. He decidedly gives the
preference to the Euphrates, and says, that the average depth is the
height of two men, or ten feet--even till considerably above Beer; but
that the Tigris, above Mousul, is very shallow.[10]
[10] We have since discovered, by a survey of the Tigris,
that in its present state it will be only navigable to Mosul during
seven months in the year, from ledges of rock that pass across the
river.
This possibility thus set before us of seeing those we love, and many
of the Lord's dear servants here, is most comforting and encouraging:
this place would become a frontier post of Christian labour, from
which we might daily hope to send forth labourers to China, India, and
elsewhere, and the work of publishing the testimony of Jesus be
accomplished before the Lord come. However, we are in the Lord's
hands, and he will bring to pass what concerns his own honour, and we
will wait and see: a much greater opening has taken place since we
came here than we could have hoped for, and much more will yet open
upon us than we can now foresee. Things cannot remain as they are,
whether they continue to advance as they are now doing, or whether
bigotry be allowed to make a last vain effort to regain her ancient
position; still some decided change must be the final result of the
present state of things.
From the Bible Society at Bombay, I have received accounts of their
having sent me two English Bibles, fifty Testaments, twenty Arabic
Bibles, fifty Syriac Gospels, fifty Syriac Testaments, fifty Armenian
Bibles, one hundred Persian Psalters, seventy-five Persian Genesis,
and six Hebrew Testaments. In this are omitted those which are most
important to us, the Chaldean, the Persian, and the Arabic Testament;
but perhaps when they receive a supply from the Parent Society, they
will then forward these likewise.
I have also received a letter from Severndroog, from the first tutor
of my little boys, Mr. N., a true and dear person in the Lord, and he
mentions that they had, since he last wrote, admitted to their
church, four Hindoos and two Roman Catholics, and that one Hindoo
still remains, whom they hope soon to admit.
The following is the estimate of the time which the voyages, by the
Red Sea, and by these rivers to India, would respectively occupy:
BY RED SEA.
Miles. Days.
London to Gibraltar 1000 7
Gibraltar to Malta 1000 8
Malta to Diametta 900 5
Diametta to Suez 150 5
Suez to Mocha 1100 6
Mocha to Columbo 1920 10
Columbo to Bombay 1000 7
---
48
BY EUPHRATES.
Miles. Days.
London to Gibraltar 1000 7
Gibraltar to Malta 1000 8
Malta to Aleppo 1000 6
Aleppo to Beles 60 2
Beles to Bagdad } 5
Bagdad to Bussorah }
Bussorah to Bombay 9
---
37
I have recently had some conversation with Mr. J. Taylor, who is
waiting only to see the Pasha to make final arrangements.
Another very important feature of the above plan for steam
communication with India is, that those societies who have
missionaries there, may send out their secretaries to encourage and
counsel them, by which means they will be able not only to enter more
fully into the feelings and circumstances of those they send, but will
be able to make their own reports, which will be more agreeable to
those engaged in the work--to tell about which must always be a
difficult undertaking.
I found yesterday that one of the gentlemen who came hither lately
from India, was a Mr. Hull, the son of Mrs. Hull, of Marpool, near
Exmouth, who, however, is not going across the desert, but round by
Mosul and Merdin, to Stamboul. He hopes to be home in September.
Mr. Pfander learnt from some Armenians yesterday, that they were much
pleased with the children learning the Scriptures in the vulgar
dialect; that they were so far able to understand the ancient language
still read in their churches, and they expressed a wish that they
might have a complete translation in the vulgar tongue. Those
Bibles we now have from the Bible Society, are in the dialect of
Constantinople, which is by no means generally or well understood
here, where the Erivan dialect prevails, which they use in the
Karabagh, in the north of Persia, and in all these countries. The
missionaries at Shushee are going on with the New Testament: Mr.
Dittrich has finished the translation of the four Gospels, and we hope
it will be printed for the Bible Society this year, for we greatly
need Armenian books in the vulgar dialect, by which we may, step by
step, supersede the old altogether. We also greatly want Arabic
school-books; but these we shall hope to get from Malta, through the
labours of Mr. Jowett.
We find the general feeling here, not only among Christians, but even
among the Mohammedans, is a wish that the English power might prevail
here, for although the Pasha does not directly tax them high, yet from
a bunch of grapes to a barrel of gunpowder, he has the skimming of the
cream, and leaves the milk to his subjects to do with as they can.
Once a month at least the money is changed. When the Pasha has a great
deal of a certain base money that he issues, he fixes the price higher
by certain degrees, on pain of mutilation, and when he has paid it all
away, or has any great sums to receive, he lowers the value by as many
degrees as he has raised it before. And hearing, as they universally
do now, of our government in India, that it is mild and equitable,
most of them would gladly exchange their present condition, and be
subject to the British government. This conduct on the part of the
Pasha, begets an universal system of smuggling and fraud among all
classes, so that the state of these people is indeed very, very bad.
I never felt more powerfully than now, the joy of having nothing to do
with these things; so that let men govern as they will, I feel my path
is to live in subjection to the powers that be, and to exhort others
to the same, even though it be such oppressive despotism as this. We
have to shew them by this, that our kingdom is not of this world, and
that these are not things about which we contend. But our life being
hid where no storms can assail, "with Christ in God"--and our wealth
being where no moth or rust doth corrupt, we leave those who are of
this world to manage its concerns as they list, and we submit to them
in every thing as far as a good conscience will admit.
_July 12._--We have heard of two Jews, who have bought two Hebrew New
Testaments, and a very respectable Jewish banker has been here to see
Mr. Pfander, with the German Jew, whom I have mentioned before, and
who is still desirous of leaving the broad road, without heart to
trust in him who is in the heavenly path, the way, the truth, and the
life. He is now here, endeavouring to obtain a livelihood by teaching
a few boys Hebrew, and comes to read the book of Job in German with
Mr. Pfander, without any of their explanations, one of which, as it
regards Job, is as follows. They say that every individual of the
human race actually existed in Adam, some in his nails, some in his
toes, some in his eyes, mouth, &c. &c., and they think, in proportion
to the proximity of the position of any person to the parts concerned
in eating and digesting the forbidden fruit, will be their degree of
guilt and measure of punishment here; so they consider that Job had
his place near the mouth. Such are the follies which now occupy the
minds of this interesting people, instead of the Lord of life and
glory.
Colonization appears to have entered into the contemplation of those
engaged in steam-navigation, and the planting of indigo and sugar. To
this end, the Pasha has granted them thirty miles of land on the banks
of the river. Just before Mr. Taylor was to set off to go through the
desert, news came that the Arab tribes on the road were at war among
themselves, and that it would therefore not be safe for him to go that
way, so he changed his route, and went on the 13th, by the way of
Mousul and Merdin, nearly double the distance, and at the same time,
Mr. Bywater and Mr. Elliot set off to Beer, from whence they intend
going down the Euphrates and examining that river as far down as
Babylon.
The old Jew, who came with the German, heartily entered into some
conversation about the coming of Christ. A school of Jewish children
might, I think, easily be obtained here, if you would teach them
English and the Old Testament only.
Our Moolah has mentioned, that he has been reading the New Testament
with another Moolah, who wishes to have a copy of Sabat's translation,
thinking that that might stimulate them to answer it; but that the
Propaganda edition is so vulgar, it offends them, for like the
Greeks they seek after wisdom. Still, if they read, the testimony
of God is delivered, and the plucking a few brands from the general
conflagration, is the great work till the Lord come. They have a most
proud and obstinate hatred against the name of Jesus, before whom all
must bow.
We have been interested by some inquiries made by our schoolmaster and
his father, relative to our morning and evening prayers; he wanted to
know what they were, and Mr. Pfander had the greatest difficulty in
making him understand, that we prayed from a sense of our present
wants. They said, they had heard from their books, that in the time of
the apostles men were without form of prayer, and were enabled to pray
from their hearts; but that it was not so now. They also asked some
questions about the Lord's Supper, whether we used wine mixed with
water or unmixed; bread leavened or unleavened. They seem anxious to
know more, and may the Lord give an open door to them!
We cannot help feeling, that the difficulties among the Mohammedans,
and apostate Christian churches are great beyond any thing that
can be imagined previous to experience. The difficulties of absolute
falsehood are as nothing to those of perverted truth, as we see in the
confounding infant baptism with the renewing of the Holy Ghost. In
every thing it is the same, prayer, praise, love, all is perverted,
and yet the name retained. The communications we received from Mr.
G----l and others,[11] about the state of Christianity in these
countries, is but too true, and what he states about the monks at
Itch-Meeazin may be doubtless true; at least I suppose it is the seat
of the Armenian Patriarch he means, for I know of no other Armenian
church in these parts, where this service is kept up of reading the
whole Book of Psalms every day. The office of a missionary in these
countries is, to _live_ the Gospel before them in the power of the
Holy Ghost, and to drop like the dew, line upon line, and precept upon
precept, here a little and there a little, till God give the increase
of his labours; but it must be by patient continuance in well doing
against every discouraging circumstance, from the remembrance of what
we ourselves once were.
[11] See Record, Oct. 1, 1829.
We have this day heard, that the cholera or the plague is at Tabreez,
and that they are dying 4 or 5,000 a day; but this, I have no doubt,
is a gross exaggeration. May the Lord watch over the seed that seems
sowing there, and make the judgments that are in the earth warnings to
men to return to God. We also have the cholera here; but I trust not
severely.
The last Tartar who took our letters with the head of the ex-Khiahya
was plundered, so that our letters were lost which we sent by him.
We have been to-day in hopes of obtaining another Moolah, for teaching
the children in the school to read and write Arabic. For two months we
have been trying, without success, to obtain one, so great is their
prejudice against teaching Christians at all, but especially
themselves to read the New Testament; but as our Lord does every
thing for us, we doubt not he will do this also if it be best.
I am much led to think on those of my dear missionary brethren, who
look for the kingdom of Christ to come in by a gradual extension of
the exertions now making. This view seems to me very discouraging; for
surely after labouring for years, and so little having been done, we
may all naturally be led to doubt if we are in our places; but to
those who feel their place to be to preach Jesus, and publish the
Testament in his blood, whether men will hear or whether they will
forbear, they have nothing to discourage them, knowing they are a
sweet savour of Christ. I daily feel more and more, that till the Lord
come our service will be chiefly to gather out the few grapes that
belong to the Lord's vine, and publish his testimony in all nations;
there may be here and there a fruitful field on some pleasant hill,
but as a whole, the cry will be, "Who hath believed our report, and to
whom is the arm of the Lord revealed."
It is the constant practice here among the Jews, when they hear our
blessed Lord's name mentioned, or mention it themselves, to curse him;
so awful is their present state of opposition, Mohammedans will not
hear, and Christians do not care for any of those things--such is the
present state here; but if the Lord prosper our labour, we shall see
what the end will be, when the Almighty word of God becomes
understood. The poor German Jew still holds on; he has too much
honesty to live by writing lying amulets, and too little faith to cast
himself on the Lord; but his constant cry is, What shall I do to live?
The insight he gives us into the state of the Jews here is most awful,
but notwithstanding, there appears to me a most abundant field of
labour among the 10,000 who are here. Yesterday he called me suddenly
while at breakfast, to see a poor young Jewess who had been married
but two months, and had fallen over the bridge with her little brother
in her arms. The scene was awfully interesting. Not less perhaps than
300 Jews, with their wives, were in the house, but tumultuous as the
waves of the sea, without hope and without God in the world. There was
no hope of recovering her. She had been in the water an hour and a
half, and had there been life, they were acting so as to extinguish
every spark. She was lying in a close room crowded to suffocation,
with the windows shut; and they were burning under her nose charcoal
and wool.
The Armenian boys, who are learning English, go on with great zeal,
and may in the course of time become very interesting.
We have at length received information, that all our things are
arrived at Bussorah, and among the rest, the lithographic press, which
we hope to find most useful to us in our present position; every thing
happens rightly and well; they have been delayed for some time in
coming up the river, in consequence of a quarrel between the Pasha and
the Arab tribe, the Beni-Laam, in consequence of the plunder of Dr.
Beaky's boat, but we expect it will be settled, as the Pasha has
acceded to the terms the Sheikh offered, and has sent him down a dress
of honour.
I am sometimes led, in contemplating the gentlemanly and imposing
aspect which our present missionary institutions bear, and contrasting
them with the early days of the church, when apostolic fishermen and
tent-makers published the testimony, to think that much will not be
done till we go back again to primitive principles, and let the
nameless poor, and their unrecorded and unsung labours be those on
which our hopes, under God, are fixed.
We have just heard an interesting case. The gardener of the Pasha is a
Greek, who was lately sent to him at his request from Constantinople,
and yesterday (August 6), he became a Mohammedan. He had two daughters
of thirteen and fourteen, whom he also wished to become Mohammedans;
but they would not consent, and ran away to the factory, where they
might have remained under English protection; but they would not stay,
unless their brother, and his wife, and their servants could remain
with them; so they left, as Major T---- had not room for them all,
having already the family of one of the servants of the Pasha, who is
imprisoned for some delinquency in connection with the revenue
accruing to the Pasha from the bazaar.
There has been with Mr. Pfander to-day one of the writers of the
Pasha, and he read some parts of the Turkish New Testament, which he
very well understood, and expressed much pleasure in the reading of;
but when, on his being about to leave, Mr. P. asked him to accept of a
Turkish Testament, he very politely declined it.
There is another person come from Merdin, with the view of settling
the affair between the Syrians and the Roman Catholics at Merdin. He
is a weaver of Diarbekr; and from him Mr. Pfander learns, that in the
last census taken by the Pasha, the Syrians were 700 families, and the
Armenians 6,700: this certainly opens a most interesting field for
Christian inquiry: he also said, that the Syrians in the mountains
were perfectly independent of the Mohammedans, and among themselves
are divided into little clans under their respective Bishops. He also
stated, that reading and writing were much more cultivated among the
independent Syrians than those in the plains.
He also said there would be no difficulty whatever in going among the
Yezidees with a Syrian guide. The language which the independent
Syrians speak is Syriac, which is near the ancient Syriac, and that
they understand fully the Syrian Scriptures when read in their
churches. We hope, therefore, should the Lord spare our lives,
to have an opportunity of circulating some of the many copies of the
Scriptures in Syriac, which Mr. Pfander has brought from Shushee, and
some that I expect will come from Bombay for me.
The Gerba tribe of Arabs are come almost close to Bagdad, to check
whom the Pasha intends sending out the troops that have been under the
discipline of the English.
We have also heard from the Syrian, that from Mousul to Mardin the
road by the mountains of Sinjar is safer than by the plains. Among the
Yezidees and Syrians, no Mohammedan lives. It is impossible to
consider such an immense Christian population as that in Diarbekr,
without feeling a wish to pour in upon it the fountains of living
waters, which we are so abundantly blessed with. Oh, that some one
would come out, and settle down in such a place as Diarbekr--what an
abundant field of labour!
_August 14._--A young Jew was here to-day, and bought three Arabic
Bibles of Mr. Pfander, at 25 piastres of this place each, _i.e._ about
5s. sterling. This is almost the beginning. Many might perhaps have
been given away; but as we find that those of Mr. Wolff were generally
burnt, we wish them to buy them, at least, at such a price that they
would not burn them. He took away a Hebrew New Testament, but returned
it again. I should feel deeply interested in some one coming to take
charge of a Jewish school, in which the Old Testament, Hebrew, and
Arabic, might be the basis of instruction. I make no doubt, that at
once a most interesting school might be established here on a very
large scale, for they have but one school of about 150 poor boys at
their synagogue, or rather synagogues, for they have six, but all in
one place, and forming one building; they have also three rabbies, and
besides the boys which are taught at the above school, many others are
educated at home by teachers. Now, nothing can be more distinct than
their wish for a school, and their promise of supporting it on the
basis of the Old Testament being taught as a school-book, which
certainly, as a primary step, is a most important one to cause them,
by the Lord's blessing, to see that the book which they now disfigure
by monstrous interpretations, has yet in itself, by the illumination
of God's Spirit, a clear, simple, and, in all essential points, an
intelligible meaning, without the aid of man's exposition. But should
they finally turn round and oppose the school, which as soon as the
power of it is felt, they most assuredly would do, still some might
remain, and if none should, there is still a most abundant field of
labour in circulating the Scriptures, and in conversation among them
in this city, and throughout Mesopotamia, where they abound in almost
every town.
We have heard from a Jew, that Sakies, the Armenian Agent of the East
India Company, had given the Jews directions to treat Mr. Wolff when
here with attention, and to invite him to their houses. The Jews here
are closely connected with the English, at least many of them, who are
under English protection.
_August 15._ _Sunday._--The thermometer this day has been the highest
hitherto for the year, 117 in the shade, and 155 in the sun.[12] This
is the time when the dates ripen, and the most oppressive in the year;
but by the Lord's great mercy, we are all in health and strength,
though sometimes we feel a little disposed to think it is so hot, that
we may be excused from doing any thing; but my English scholars keep
me employed six hours a day, which prevents me from thinking much
about the heat, though not from feeling it. I can truly say, it is far
more tolerable than I expected, and yet there are few places on the
face of the earth hotter. The temperature of India is not near so
high; and I question, if there is any place, that for the year through
would average so high.
[12] It has _since_ been so high as 118 in the shade, and 158
in the sun.
_August 17._--The Jew has been here, and bought another Arabic Bible.
I showed him one of the Hebrew Psalters of the Jews' Society. He
greatly desired to have it; but I could not spare that; but promised
him that when mine came up from Bussorah, I would let him know.
We have this day a new Moolah, the best we could get, but not
altogether such as we could have desired.
The Jews here cannot believe that Christians know any thing of Hebrew,
and are therefore surprised to see Hebrew books with us. Oh, should
the Lord allow us to be of any use to this holy people, terrible from
their beginning hitherto alike in the favour and indignation of
Jehovah, we should esteem it a very great blessing; yet surely they
ought to have here one missionary, whose whole soul might be drawn out
towards this especial work.
From some communications with a native of Merdin, we find that the
custom of avenging murder and requiring blood for blood, exists among
the independent Chaldeans and Syrians, and keeps them in continual
warfare, where one happens to be killed by the inhabitants of another
village. The inhabitants of the village of the person killed, feel it
a necessary point of honour to revenge it.
He also mentioned, that the Yezidees were no longer so numerous as
formerly, but were greatly diminished by the plague, which happened a
few years ago, by which Diarbekr lost 10,000 of its inhabitants.
We had a visit from an Armenian, who was formerly treasurer to Sir
Gore Ouseley; while speaking about Christianity, he said, it was no
use to speak to the Armenians about it, for they all say, "How can we
know any thing about such matters, and that, except as a sect, they
are too ignorant to know or care about Christianity." They are indeed
full of the pride of heart that appertains to sectarians, and
obstinately resist the Scriptures being translated into the modern
languages, because, say they, the ancient language was spoken in
Paradise, and will be the language of heaven, and that, therefore,
translating the sacred book into that which is modern, is a
desecration. How wonderfully does Satan blind men, and how by one
contrivance or another does he endeavour to keep God's word from them,
as a real intelligible book, which the Spirit of God makes plain, even
to the most unlettered; but the more we discover him endeavouring to
pervert God's word from becoming intelligible, the more we should
strive to let every soul have the testimony of God concerning his
life in Christ, in a language he understands. In this point of view I
look to the schools with comfort.
_August 19._--Things here seem most unsettled, and require us to live
in very simple faith as to what a day may bring forth. It is stated,
that between 20 and 30,000 Arabs are close to the gates of the city.
The Pasha has an army about 24 miles from hence; but unable to move,
except all together, and there is another regiment under an English
officer about 12 miles distant. The deposition of this Pasha seems to
be the principal object of these Arabs, in which it is not impossible
that they may be fully supported by the Porte. What will be the result
of all this we are not careful to know, for we are not to fear their
face, nor to be afraid, but the Lord will be to us a hiding place from
the storm, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against a
wall.
A caravan has just come across the desert from Aleppo, with a guard of
500 men, consisting of 300 camels. Letters brought by a Tartar from
Constantinople have all been detained by the Pasha, except a few on
mercantile concerns which have been delivered. So many packets sent by
Constantinople have been in one way or another detained, that I have
no other hope of letters than what my most gracious Lord's approved
love gives me; all which he really desires me to have I shall receive,
and more I would desire not to wish for.
We have just heard, that Major T----'s brother, and the gentlemen who
left Mousul were pursued by 500 Arabs; but all escaped except a horse
of the Capidji,[13] an officer of the Sultan's, which was laden with
money, collected by his master for the government at Constantinople;
he could not go fast enough, so he fell into the hands of the Arabs.
[13] A Capidji Bashi is a messenger of the Porte, to collect
money, or bear especial messages of any sort.
The Roman Catholic bishop has received accounts that Algiers is taken
by the French, and also some forts in its neighbourhood. Aleppo is
quiet, though the Arabs are in the neighbourhood.
Our new Moolah has expressed his surprise at the contents of the New
Testament, and wonders how Mohammedans can speak against it as they
do. He intends coming to our Armenian schoolmaster on Sundays to read
it with him; may the Lord most graciously send down his Spirit upon
them, that the one who undertakes to teach what he does not know, may,
by discovering his ignorance, be led to the fountain of all wisdom;
and may the other learn to love him whose holy, heavenly, and divine
name he has blasphemed.
The cholera is much about, but the Lord preserves us all safe.
The Pasha has made up his differences with the Arab tribe, and all the
troops have returned, except those under Mr. Littlejohn, which still
remain out for fear of an attack before all the harvest is thrashed
and brought in.
There are symptoms of great fear on the part of the Pasha, that a
struggle is actually going on among those around him for superseding
him in his Pashalic, in which they have apparently much probability of
success, as the Porte has been greatly injured by his unwillingness to
meet her necessities and afford her pecuniary help. Our security,
however, is in this, that amidst all, the Lord knoweth them that are
his, and will defend them amidst all turmoils and in the most
troublous times--in this we find peace and quietness.
The poor men who came to endeavour to obtain from the Pasha here the
re-institution of the Syrian patriarch in those churches in Merdin,
from which he had been ejected by the Roman Catholic bishop, are now
returning without success, but carrying back with them two boxes of
Arabic and Syrian New Testaments to the Patriarch. May the Lord water
them by his most Holy Spirit, so that they may become the ground of
living churches, instead of those of stone which they have lost.
I have been much surprised to learn that all the Arab tribes on these
rivers, except the Montefeiks, are Sheahs or followers of Ali, whom I
had formerly thought followers of Omar.
I have already mentioned, that on leaving Mousul, Mr. Taylor's party
were attacked and obliged to return to Telaafer,[14] a village between
Mousul and Merdin, whence, after having waited for a stronger escort,
they proceeded towards Merdin, when the event related in the following
letter took place; but the supposed death of the three gentlemen was
unfounded. They were only made prisoners and carried to the mountains
of Sinjar, among the Yezidees. These people are declared enemies of
the Mohammedans, whom they hate; but, on the whole, except when their
cupidity is excited, they are not unfriendly towards Christians. They
seem, with the Sabeans and some others, such as the Druzes, to be
descendants of the believers in the two principles who have blown
their pestiferous breath at different times into every system of
religion that has prevailed in these countries, corrupting all.
However, these Yezidees, be they originally what they may, have now
these three gentlemen in custody, and require 7,500 piastres of this
place--about £75, for their liberation, and Major T. has sent a person
from hence to treat about it.
[14] All this was wrong; they were treacherously robbed and
murdered, Mr. Jas. Taylor, Mr. Aspinal, a merchant of Bombay, and Mr.
Bawater, formerly, I think, in the marines.
"My dear Sir,
"It is, I can assure you, with a sincere and melancholy regret
at the dreadful, I may say horrible and awful event that I have
so lately witnessed, that I sit down now to address a few lines
to you. I feel quite unable to give you an entire relation of
our misfortunes, and shall content myself with saying, that out
of seven as happy people as could well exist on our departure
from Mousul, three only have returned. To one so well able to
look for consolation, where, I may say, in such an event
consolation is alone to be found, fortitude and patience in
suffering might well be found. I myself have not attained this,
and I may say this event has plunged me in the deepest
melancholy. For a relation of facts, I must refer you to
Captain Cockrell's letter to Major Taylor: we were attacked and
compelled to fly, and in the confusion, Mr. Taylor, his
servant, Mr. Bywater, and our companion, Mr. Aspinal, were
murdered. We, that is Captain Cockrell, Mr. Elliot, and myself
escaped, though I was, I believe, especially fired at, as on
descending the hill four or five whistled close past me. That
we were betrayed, and moreover, our companions assassinated by
our own party, no doubt exists in my mind. All that were killed
out of 500 people that were with us were these four. They
again, out of all, happened to be the only ones among us who
carried money. We have done every thing in our power to recover
their bodies but without effect: on our return to Telaafer,
after having been twenty-six hours on horseback in the desert,
we wrote a note, in the hope that they might be prisoners at
Sinjar, and offered 4,000 piastres for them if they were
brought in safe. The Kapidgi Bashi left for Merdin before we
could hear of our messenger; he returned after three days, and
said he had seen their clothes and pistols, and that they were
all murdered. Mr. Taylor he mentioned as having been run
through the body with a spear. This was one out of many reports
of a similar nature, and we were fain to give them up for dead.
(They could not possibly have been alive had they escaped, as
there was no water within twenty-four hours.) All our things
were pillaged. I lost all my papers, including your letters,
and all that was left were a few pairs of white trowsers. This
was most assuredly done by our own party; even our own baggage
man, before my eyes, almost laid hold of my turban and pistol,
which I had laid upon the ground, and on my laying hold on him,
actually drew his dagger. I never witnessed such villany in my
life. All our guards were laughing, as if nothing had occurred;
and, although I may be wrong, yet I do venture it as my
opinion, that there were no thieves at all, but that it was
treachery altogether. You will be surprised to hear that
Captain Cockrell and myself start to-morrow on the same road
as before. I trust in God alone for protection, as we have no
guards at all. If I ever reach Exeter I shall not fail to call
on Miss Groves; but after what has happened who can say, "He
shall do this."
"We take no baggage of any description, being fully aware of
the danger and impracticability of so doing; so that if we are
again attacked, we shall be able to gallop for our lives. Now,
adieu, my dear Sir. I will write from Constantinople if I
reach it; in the mean time excuse this hurried scrawl, and
believe me, ever
"Yours very sincerely,
"W. HULL."
"_Mr. A. N. Groves._"
In consequence of the receipt of this intelligence, Major T. sent off
Aga Menas to Mousul, to treat about the liberation of the captives,
and we are anxiously waiting the result.
My dear brother Pfander and myself having come to the conclusion, that
with so large a school, and so many objects of one kind and the other
as there are here requiring attention, it would be impossible for me
to leave this and go with him into the mountains; this led to the
further determination on his part to return to Shushee next year,
having first spent a few months at Ispahan, to complete his knowledge
of Persian; and I of course was prepared to be left quite alone, but
still my heart was fully sustained with the confident hope that the
Lord would not only do what was right, but exceedingly abundant above
all I could ask. On all sides nothing but silence prevailed:--three
packets of letters had been lost between Constantinople and this, and
one between Tabreez and this, and all the letters from India had been
detained, by the Arabs on the river being at war with the Pasha for
four or five months. Therefore I knew nothing of the movements of any
of my dear friends, and all was left to conjecture; sometimes, when
faith was in full exercise, I felt assured that the Lord was doing all
well; at others, I hardly knew what to think. I had written to my very
dear friends in Petersburgh, Dr. W. and Miss K. to come if possible
and as soon as possible; but their having left Petersburgh doubtless
prevented their receiving my letter. From my dear friends in England I
heard little; from Ireland not a word. Things were in this state, when
suddenly there came in three Tartars bringing us three packets, so
full of Christian love, sympathy, and such good tidings, that it
almost overcame our hearts, weak from long abstinence from similar
entertainment, and even on this day, the third from their arrival,
they fill my heart till it runs over. To hear and see that those one
most loves, are indeed joying and rejoicing in their holy, most holy
relation to God in Christ,--the relationship of sons and daughters, to
see them anxious to walk blameless in all the ordinances their Lord
has left them, while they glory in being free from the law of
condemnation, and desire to know no freedom from the law of loving
obedience: moreover, to see them becoming more and more sensible to
the great truth that inestimable as knowledge is, it is what devils
may share, but that the love of Jesus, and a tenderness of conscience
as to his will, is infinitely higher than that, and that therefore his
high command to the members of his church to love one another as he
loves them, can never be slighted by them:--oh, to see this it does
indeed rejoice my heart, and I pray among us all that it may abound
more and more, particularly among us who have been so graciously and
so kindly led into all the holy freedom of the Gospel. Let us see we
use it not as a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of Christ,
loving and serving one another, not returning evil for evil, or
reviling for reviling, but contrariwise blessing. The path God's
children have to take when they are determined in the name of the Lord
not to give the name of God's truth to any thing merely human, knowing
that it is a vain thing to teach for doctrines the commandments of
men, is so naturally offensive, that our zeal for the truth should
lead us to pray for such especial graces of the Spirit as may prevent
any unloveliness in our walk, preventing the Lord's dear children from
coming, and seeing, and drinking of that well-spring in Christ by
which we have been so refreshed and invigorated. Whilst we profess,
my very dear friends, absolute freedom from man's control in the
things relating to God, we only acknowledge in a tenfold degree the
absoluteness of our subjection to the whole mind and will of Christ in
all things. As he is our _life_ hid with him in God, so let him be our
_way_ and our _truth_, both in doctrine and conversation. How many,
from neglect of this lovely union, have almost forgotten to care about
adorning the doctrine of God their Saviour in all things. Let us, my
dear brethren and sisters, pray that we may be united in all the will
of Christ. This is a basis not for time only but for eternity, and for
that glorious day especially, when the Lord shall come to be glorified
in all his saints, and admired in all them that believe. But not only
did my packets bring me joyful tidings of the Lord's doings among
those whom I especially know and love, but they also brought me
intelligence that he had prepared for me help from among those who had
been known and approved, and whom I especially loved. How I felt
reproved for every doubt; and indeed the Lord so fully has let his
goodness pass before me, that I am overwhelmed, and feel I can only
lay my hand upon my mouth, and whilst overwhelmed with my own vileness
and unworthiness of the least of all my most gracious Lord's loving
kindnesses to me, yet glory in that dispensation of grace which
ministers to us, not according to our deserts, but the unbought,
unbounded love of God. My letters tell me that my very dear brethren
and friends, Mr. P., Mr. C., his sister, and mother, and little babe,
and Mr. N., are coming to join us, with possibly a fourth. Now this
does seem altogether wonderful, and whilst not at all more than I
ought to have expected, yet more than I had faith to expect. Yet while
I have nothing to say for myself, I desire to say all for God: it is
like him, all whose ways are wonderful, and, towards his church, full
of mercy, goodness, and truth. Oh, how happy shall we be to await the
Lord's coming on the banks of these rivers, which have been the scene
of all the sacred history of the old church of God, and destined
still, I believe, to be the scene of doings of yet future and deeper
interest at the coming of the Lord; and whilst I should not hesitate
to go to the furthest corner of the habitable earth, were my dear Lord
to send me, yet I feel much pleasure in having my post appointed here,
though the most unsettled and insecure country beneath the sun
perhaps. In every direction, without are lawless robbers, and within
unprincipled extortioners; but it is in the midst of these, that the
Almighty arm of our Father delights to display his preserving mercy,
and while the flesh would shrink, the spirit desires to wing its way
to the very foremost ranks of danger in the battles of the Lord. Oh
that we may more and more press on this sluggish, timid, earthly
constitution, that is always wanting its native ease among the
delights of an earthly happiness. Oh, may my very loving, zealous
brethren, stir up my timid, languid spirit to the mild yet
life-renouncing love of my dear Lord, which, whilst it was silent,
was as strong, yea, stronger than death.
My dear friend and brother P---- and his wife have been baptized too;
to see this conformity to Christ's mind, is very delightful; and how
wonderful, too;--so strong a current of prejudice is there against
this simple, intelligible, and blessed ordinance. I learn also, that
he and my dear friend the A----[15] are preaching the everlasting
Gospel themselves, and with some others of those we love, employing
others to preach it. This also is good news.
[15] They have 3,362 congregations, whereas the most numerous
body besides has but 1,946. See _Miss. Register._
_September 10._--No accounts have been received from Sinjar regarding
our travellers. I fear this is ominous, for if ransom is what the
Yezidees want, would they not have contrived to forward some notice to
Bagdad? however, a few days will most likely disclose the truth, as on
the 8th Meenas reached Mousul.
We have just heard that the Nabob of Lucknow's brother, on his return
from a pilgrimage to Mished, was taken prisoner with the whole caravan
by the Turcomans. This amiable Mohammedan came from India on a round
of pilgrimages. He has visited Mecca and Kerbala, and was now
returning again to this place on his way home to Lucknow, after which
he purposed returning again, and going through Persia, Russia,
Germany, &c. to England. He was robbed once before between this and
Aleppo.
The Pasha has just sent to the Factory to say, that the cholera has
extended its ravages to Kerkook, and to ask for advice, and what is to
be done should it reach this place with its epidemic violence. Mr.
M---- is going therefore to write directions, and Major T---- will get
them translated into Arabic, for the use of the people here. Blessed
be the Lord's holy name, our charter runs, that in the pestilence,
"though ten thousand fall at thy right hand, it shall not come nigh
thee;" on this, therefore, we repose our hearts. The Pasha seems
perplexed to know, in the event of its reaching Bagdad, where he shall
go with his family for safety. It is certainly an awful thing to look
at Tabreez, where they say, that 8,000 or 9,000 have died out of
60,000; and two years ago at Bussorah, 1,500 out of 6,000, so that the
houses were left desolate, and the boats were floating up and down the
creek without owners, and when persons died in a house, the rest went
away, and left the bodies there locked up. But we have in our
dwellings a light in these days that they know nothing of, who know
not our God either in his power or his love, so that the heart is
enabled to cast all, even the dearest to it, on the exceeding
abundance of his mercy.
_September 10._--I fear the intelligence we have just received of
poor Mr. J. Taylor, Mr. Bywater, and Mr. Aspinal, and the Maltese
servant, leaves us little room to hope but that they have all been
treacherously murdered. Our Moolah tells us, he received a letter from
a friend of his at Merdin, stating, that they were murdered--not by
the Yezidees at all, but by the party of Arabs sent by the Pasha of
Mousul to protect them, in conjunction with a party from Telaafer, an
Arab village, where they spent a night. It appears, that when the
attack was made, Mr. Elliot, Captain Cockrell, and Mr. Hull galloped
off after being stripped; but Mr. Taylor, Mr. Aspinal, and Mr. Bywater
got entangled among these robbers, and Mr. A. shot one of the Arabs
with his pistol; and afterwards Mr. B. shot another. It then became
with these lawless plunderers, no longer a matter of simple robbery,
but of revenge and death. They killed these two young men, and then
pulling Mr. Taylor from his horse, killed him. I confess, when I saw
them mounting their horses, strongly covered with offensive weapons of
warfare, I felt very little comfort about them, for, if they were
attacked, it would only be with an overwhelming force, or they would
be given up in treachery, in both which cases almost all the danger
arises from resistance. Those wretched plunderers seek not life, but
booty; this quietly yielded, you may go; but if you use the sword, you
perish by the sword. If you carry money, or any thing valuable, you
are exposed to be stripped, and if you go armed, to be killed. About
three years ago, the French interpreter was going the very same route,
and near Telaafer he was attacked, and stripped; but they let him go
free. The fate of these gentlemen has greatly affected us all. A delay
must now take place in the steamboat communication, for it is not
probable that this route can ever be so disregarded, but that some
effort, sooner or later, will be made. Let our impatient hearts hush
their murmurings; it is the work of a loving Father, who declares to
his children, that all things shall work together for their good; yea,
the disappointment of present hopes shall, by heavenly patience, yield
the peaceable fruits of righteousness to those who are exercised
thereby.
_September 14._--We have just heard, that an order has been given out
in one of the mosques, that the Mohammedans shall receive no printed
books. Whether this watchfulness is the result of Mr. Pfander having
employed a man, a Jew, to sell Bibles, Testaments, and Psalters, or
whether, at the suggestion from the R---- C---- B----, I know not. How
near the principles are of the beast and the false prophet--how easily
they harmonize and help each other!
We have lately heard some interesting details of the numbers of the
Jews in the places north-east of Persia. A Jew who has travelled in
these countries states, that there are,
_In._ _Language spoken._ _Families._
Samarcand Turkish 500
Bokhaura Turkish and Persian 5,000
Mished Turkish and Persian 10,000
Heerat Turkish and Persian 8,000
Caubul {Pashtoo, but Persian} 300
Bulkh-(Caubul) { generally understood} 300
There are also in the villages about some Jews, from 20 to 100
families. Their knowledge of the Hebrew is very confined; very few
understand it at all; they have also very little knowledge of the
Talmud. We hope from time to time to collect more particulars to
correct, confirm, or cancel these, and all other accounts of a similar
nature, for in these countries it is not one account that can stand,
and when confronted by 50 more, it can still be only considered as an
approximation to truth.
_September 16._--Our long expected packet by Shushee and Tabreez has
just arrived. The messenger, on reaching Kourdistan, found it in such
a state of danger and confusion, that he was afraid to proceed, but
went back again, and came by a longer but more quiet way. Another
cause of delay seems to have been their going to India, and back
again to Tabreez. The information contained in this packet is most
interesting. From Petersburgh we heard from several friends, all
encouraging, comforting, and rejoicing us. The Lord seems to give
them courage still to persevere; and dear sister ---- intends,
after recruiting a little in England, to return again to her work
there. I feel satisfied it is a most interesting field, and that ere
long in Russia some tremendous changes will take place. The poor are
anxious for the word of God, and the nobility despising the hierarchy,
and, therefore, that blind priestly domination under which it has
groaned, will finally fall to pieces; infidelity will take openly its
side, and the Lord's saints theirs.
Dear Mr. K---- tells us, that some dear American brother, by name
Lewis, has sent him money to procure for his family a house in the
country during the few months of a Russian summer. How loving and
bountiful a Lord ours is, supplying his most affectionate and waiting
servant with all he needs; it makes every little bounty so sweet when
it comes from a Father through one of his vessels of mercy. Oh, who
would not live a life of faith in preference to one of daily, hourly
satiety--I mean as to earthly things; how very many instances of
happiness should we have been deprived of, had we not trusted to, and
left it to his love to fill us with good things as he pleased, and to
spread our table as he has done, year after year, and will do, even
here in this wilderness.
From Shushee we have also heard, that our dear brother Z---- and an
Armenian had been travelling and selling Bibles and Testaments. They
went first to Teflis; from thence to Erzeroum, Erivan, Ech-Miazin, and
back again to Shushee. What success he had in selling Bibles and
Testaments we do not know, but at Erzeroum, he was accused by the
Mohammedans before the Russian authorities, but let go. He returned
home in safety under the hand of the Lord. There is also in the
letters of our brethren most pleasing accounts of a young Armenian,
the son-in-law of the richest Armenian merchant in Baku, supposed to
be worth half a million. This young man, at a visit of Z---- and
P----, was much interested by their conversation about the New
Testament, and they went away, leaving him an interesting inquirer.
He, however, still pursued his way alone, and attained a perfect
understanding of the Armenian Testament, which at first he was able to
read but indifferently. He then felt himself unable to proceed in
mercantile transactions as before; so that his father-in-law told him,
that much as he regretted separating from him, if he became so pious,
they must part. Well, he said, he could not give up his convictions,
and he was sure his Lord would not allow him to want; so he left his
father-in-law, and learnt the trade of a taylor. From the very first
he began to teach his wife, and she takes part with him; and he is now
selling Bibles and Testaments, and circulating tracts among the
Russian soldiers. This is a sight indeed! for centuries perhaps they
have not seen one of their own body rising up, and choosing to suffer
affliction with the people of God, rather than enjoy the pleasures of
sin for a season; and the sight is as strange to Mohammedans as to
Christians. May the Lord sustain, comfort, and bless him out of his
heavenly treasures.
From Tabreez our tidings are heavy, or rather would be, but that the
Lord of love directs and orders all, and sees the end from the
beginning, yet they have also good tidings too. I have already
mentioned, that the cholera had been raging at Tabreez; but we learn,
that not only this, but the plague is there also, to a most frightful
extent. I will just copy here the account our dear sister
Mrs. ---- has given us; and for whose safety we desire to bless
the Lord; she says,
"Before this reaches you, you may have heard of the sorrow and
desolation that have befallen this city within these last two
months. Thousands around us have been cut off by the cholera
and the plague. The former raged so furiously for the first
month, that 2 or 300 died daily. Symptoms of the plague first
were discovered in the ark among the Russian soldiers, which
manifested itself by breaking out over the body in large boils;
the person attacked, feeling himself overcome by stupor; many
died before it was thought what it was; precautions were taken,
and they were sent out to camp at some distance from the town.
The disorder has not raged among them so much as it has in the
town. I cannot tell you how great the fear was that was struck
into the minds of the people. Many were taken ill through fear,
of which they died. Previous to the city being quite deserted,
men, women, children, of all denominations, collected
themselves together in large bodies, crying and beseeching God
to turn away his judgments from them: this they did bareheaded
and without shoes, humbling themselves, they said, because they
knew they were great sinners. The air resounded with their
cries day and night, particularly the latter, and often during
the whole of it. Oh, did they but know the truth as it is in
Jesus. At length all classes fled to the mountains, leaving the
town quite deserted. Alexander told me, on his return one day
from the city, that he had not met a person. All the shops in
the bazaar were forsaken, so that from this you may derive some
idea of the terror that has possessed this people."
Mrs. ---- also tells us, that the establishment at Tabreez is
going to be much reduced, and that therefore Mr. N---- is ordered back
to India. This has tried them much, for they were just expecting two
American missionaries, a Mr. Dwight and a Mr. Smith, with whom they
were hoping to have acted happily for their common Lord. But the
Lord's ways are not our ways, nor his thoughts our thoughts, so these
things happen otherwise than we expected. However, wherever they go,
may they be blessed, and a blessing. They purpose coming here on their
way, which affords us much pleasure at the prospect of seeing them
again. However, we are greatly rejoiced to think, that brethren from
America have designed Tabreez for their station. Now between Shushee,
Tabreez, and this place we have a little frontier line. Oh, may there
be daily new ambassadors of mercy publishing the testimony of Jesus in
all the world. Oh, that the end may quickly come.
Our Moolah is dreadfully depressed to-day, at the prospect of the
cholera and plague coming here, and he said to me, he thought the end
of the world must be near, because of these wars, pestilences, and
plagues.
We have also heard that we shall most likely be obliged to leave this
house after the year has expired; for the Sheahs have been complaining
to the Seyd,[16] the owner of it, for letting it to the infidels for
such a purpose. But we are not careful about these things; it will be
as the Lord wills.
[16] Descendant of the Prophet.
Nothing can show the stupid carelessness of these people more, than
that, although they are frightened out of their reason almost at the
prospect of the plague and cholera, yet they have actually allowed a
whole caravan from Tabreez to come into the city without quarantine,
or any kind of precaution.
Oh, how joyful the promises in the Revelations are for "those written
in the Lamb's book of life," for "those who have not the mark of the
beast on them," for those who are to be sealed before the angels are
allowed to hurt the earth. Yea, he will for his great name's sake hide
us in the secret of his pavilion, so that he will put a song into our
mouths; yea, he will encompass us with songs of deliverance. We feel
that it now indeed especially becomes us neither to fear their fear
nor be afraid.
_Sept._--The weather is now become decidedly cooler. A fortnight
since the average height of the thermometer in the shade, during the
warmest part of the day, was 117; it is now lowered to 110. During the
hottest time of the year, which is now just over, the quicksilver was
rarely lower than 110, or higher than 118 in the shade, except in the
morning, when the general range was from 87 to 93.
The Seyd who has let us his house, and who we had heard intended to
turn us out after the year was expired, has got into trouble with the
Pasha, about some ground he rented, and for which he was to pay the
Pasha a certain quantity of corn; but he says, what from the locusts,
and the rain not coming at the usual time, and when it did come,
coming in such unusual quantities, he lost his crop. He has now come
begging us to take his case to Major T., to beg him to endeavour to
settle it with the Musruff. Thus the Lord has brought him into
difficulties, that if he were disposed to turn us out he would not be
able this year. But he denies altogether having said any thing about
turning us out, and it is not improbable that it is as he says; his
family which is a large one, and once were opulent, feel it a great
disgrace to let out the house of one of the descendants of the prophet
to a Christian, and more especially as one of the rooms is over the
street under which the Mohammedans have to walk, and this most
especially offends them; but that we might not give them any
unnecessary offence we have never occupied the room, though the
most airy one we have.
A Jew of Yezd has been with us, and told us that there are 300
families of Jews in that city, and the same number at Ispahan.
_Sept. 24._--A caravan has just arrived from Constantinople, by way of
Aleppo. We have also heard that one caravan from Damascus has been
plundered, and another from Kerkook: and a messenger likewise who came
from Captain Campbell, from Tabreez, was also stopped, but having
nothing besides letters, was suffered to pass. I note these events
down merely that they may afford a little criterion of the unsettled
state of the whole of the interior of this immense continent. In fact,
the Lord is, amidst these commotions, preparing a way for his
testimony to spread.
The cholera, by the Lord's blessing, is decreasing, but it is reported
that at Kerkook the mortality went as high as 100 a day; it has now,
however, ceased.
_Sept. 27._--The intelligence has been confirmed of the death of Mr.
Taylor, Mr. Aspinal, and Mr. Bywater, as well as of a Maltese servant,
and that the principal perpetrators were the Sheikh of Telaafer, in
conjunction with a Sheikh of the Yezidees, who were with the caravan
at the time.
The Nawaub mentioned before, has been delivered by the Prince of
Teheran sending an army into Khorassan, and with him all the caravan.
_Sept. 29._--Meenas has just been here, and the only particulars he
has given of the unfortunate travellers, in addition to that which we
knew before is, that Mr. Aspinal made his escape with the others, but
hearing a cry from Mr. Taylor and Mr. Bywater, he returned, and
finding them surrounded by about fifty men, he drew his pistol and
shot one man through the arm. This made them retire for a moment, but
they advanced again: he then drew another pistol, and shot the Sheikh
of the Yezidees, by name Bella. His son then rushed on them with the
rest, and killed them all, and with them six other Christians--two on
a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and the others on mercantile business. The
booty they then divided, half to the people of Telaafer, who were the
guards of the murdered party, and the other half the Yezidees kept.
The Yezidees do not appear at all to have wished to kill them, knowing
their relation to the Resident here, from whom they hoped to get a
handsome ransom. Perhaps no two events could more powerfully manifest
the weakness of the Ottoman empire internally than this event which
has happened to Mr. Taylor, and the pillage of a caravan going to
Mousul, which was stripped of every thing but two boxes of books,
which Mr. Pfander had sent; these they left as being too heavy, and
they are now safe at Mousul. This caravan was stripped by persons
nominally the subjects of the Pasha within two days journey of Bagdad,
and the property divided with the most perfect impunity without any
attempt at recovery. These gentlemen were robbed and killed by persons
of a village subject to the Pasha of Mousul; and he has not the least
prospect of bringing them to punishment.
When Meenas gave the Syrians in Mousul an account of our school here,
they were so much interested, that all their principal persons have
written a letter to invite us to come there and establish schools
among them, and also to desire that we should send to them some Arabic
Testaments and Psalms. All this is most encouraging, and I plainly
see, that were there twenty servants of Christ, faithful men, who
would be content to work for the Lord in every way, there might soon
be found abundant work for them. Mousul seems especially open to
Christian influence. Many of those immediately connected with the
Pasha are Christians, and many even among the Mohammedans have still
Christian recollections. The letter from Mousul, Meenas tells us, will
come in about three days; if so, Mr. Pfander proposes sending back a
present of Arabic Testaments and Psalms, with the expression of our
hope that the Lord may strengthen our hands, as he has made willing
our hearts, to extend our labours unto them. Major T. often asks me if
I think any missionary mechanics may still come out. The Lord does so
much and so wonderfully, that I can almost hope this, notwithstanding
the host of prejudices to be first surmounted.
Marteroos, the schoolmaster, who we hear is on his way from Sheeraz,
will, I trust, be a great comfort to us, and a help to the school. He
taught two years in the school at Calcutta, and though solicited,
would receive no salary; and also at Bushire. This is a trait of
character so utterly unlike these countries, that we cannot but hope
he will enter into our plans with a heartiness that we can expect few
others would. From his understanding English, we hope he may be able
to take not only the higher Armenian classes, but also to have time to
translate such books as we need for the use of the school, and also
little tracts for circulation.
The Musruff, (or treasurer) of the Pasha told Major T. that they had
begun the canal between the Tigris and Euphrates. This shews the Pasha
is still anxious about the steam communication.
Our Mohammedan Moolah still continues to read the New Testament, with
the Armenian schoolmaster, who seems very sanguine that he will become
a Christian. At all events, I bless God that he sees the record of God
with his own eyes, so that if he now rejects the testimony, it will be
God's that he rejects, and not the solemn mockery of Christ's most
simple and most holy truth, which they have before seen.
We were much delighted to find that those of the little boys who had
been exercised in translating their own language into the vulgar, had
retained such a clear knowledge of it, that though they were called
upon quite unexpectedly, they understood it; whereas the bigger boys,
who come to me for English, and the Moolah for Arabic, and who are
considered to have finished the Armenian education, were not able to
translate one word, at which they were not a little ashamed, though
the fault was not theirs, but the plan of education. We are greatly
encouraged by this, and led to hope, with the Lord's blessing we shall
see, instead of a system of education, which after immense labour,
terminates in nothing but _sound_ without _sense_ or instruction, a
system that will at least bring God's word before them in a form
intelligible and clear; yea, the very truth that God's Spirit has
promised to bless, and which He has declared shall not return unto him
void. Our schoolmaster fully enters into these plans for improvement,
and really desires to do whatever we wish. Our Arabic Moolah also
enters much into our wishes, and the boys are making double the
progress they did under the old system. This is all of the Lord; and
in fact, when I think of the doubts expressed before we commenced of
our being allowed to work at all, and consider the quietness and peace
the Lord has allowed us to enjoy in the prosecution of our work, I
desire more entirely to cast my whole soul, with all its purposes and
plans on the Lord, not to move but as he guides.
The two great objects of the church in the latter days seem to me to
be, independent of growing herself up into the stature of fulness in
Christ, the publication of the testimony of Jesus in all lands, and
the calling out of the sheep of Christ that may be imprisoned in all
the Babylonish systems that are in the world. In both these may the
Lord of his infinite mercy grant success. Oh, how consoling it is,
under an overwhelming sense of powerless inefficiency, to one's work,
to know that God has chosen to put the most precious gift in earthen
vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of
man, so that we may glory in our very weakness and ignorance, and
natural insufficiency, knowing that the Lord's strength is made
perfect in this very weakness. Dear and blessed Lord, make us every
one willing to be nothing, that thou mayest in all things be
glorified.
_Oct. 2._--I have just seen a sight that interests me much; the
Mohammedan Moolah sitting at one window of the school reading the
Arabic New Testament, and the Armenian vartabiet (or schoolmaster)
sitting at a table explaining to the son of the priest of this place
the New Testament. This young man is just going to Ispahan to be
ordained. This certainly is something gained, that the word of eternal
truth is brought before them.
In speaking yesterday to my Moolah about the fortress which the Sultan
has ordered to be built between Damascus and Aleppo, to keep the road
safe for caravans, and which is nearly finished, he told me that the
Sultan had promised the European Sultans that he would govern and
regulate his country like theirs; thus the minds of these people seem
preparing step by step for changes.
I have heard, that after we left Petersburgh, some of those, from
whom we had experienced peculiar kindness, had become very active
in visiting the poor in the neighbourhood of that city, and in
circulating tracts and the Scriptures, till at last they attracted the
notice of the governors of one of these villages, who arrested and
examined them. Dr. W. was ordered to leave St. Petersburgh in
twenty-four hours, and the Russian dominions in three weeks. Dear
young Mr. ----, being an officer, was put into confinement,
and ----, whose mother has often visited Africa, has since left
her charge, and is returned to England for her health, but hopes with
increased prospects of usefulness, to return to her former sphere of
labour. They felt the cause of God had gained ground during their
trials, and that their own souls had greatly rejoiced in the Lord.
_Oct. 7._--We have just heard that a German watchmaker in this place
has turned Mohammedan. This unprincipled man had a wife and children
in Germany, yet wished to marry a Roman Catholic Armenian here; but
knowing that the Bishop here would not marry them, he then went to the
Musruff, (the chief officer of the Pasha,) and promised him that if he
would get him this woman he would become a Mohammedan, and this he
has now done, and he is using all his endeavours to compel the young
woman he has married to follow his steps. This, at present, she
resists, but she has little principle, as she knew before of his being
married. The more I see of this people, the more I am struck with the
necessity of our being made acquainted with the deep wickedness and
corruption of the human heart, that we may never be hopeless as to
these people, and think them some peculiarly iniquitous race; and on
the other hand, we need a deep sense of the omnipotence of God's Holy
Spirit, that we may never be discouraged; for the bones are indeed
very, very dry. We hear this wretched man has been beating the woman,
finding his entreaties failed.
_Oct. 10._--The Lord has blessed us with a little girl, and every
thing has been ordered by him most happily, so that we have wanted
nothing that the luxury or wealth of England could supply. Bless the
Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name; for
indeed he daily loadeth us with benefits.
_Oct. 14._--The news of the state of things in France, and of the
Revolution there, has led us to look up to our Lord to see what the
end will be of these movements. That they will help on the coming
kingdom of our Lord we know, but how we cannot yet see. We have
also heard not only that France has taken possession of Algiers,
but is marching towards Tunis. Thus, step by step, Turkey is being
dismembered; and although by infidel principles and by infidel hands,
yet perhaps preparing the way for the publication of the Lord's love
to man. We have also understood that an English force of 4,000 men, in
200 ships, are assembled at Malta with the view of attacking Egypt;
but this we do not believe, but regard it as French news, calculated
to bring us, in the eyes of the Turks, as guilty alike with them in
attacking the Turkish dominions. However, all these things render our
situation here very profitable, for we know not what a day may bring
forth, and are therefore obliged to look solely to our Lord. Not that
this Pasha cares much, perhaps, about the taking of Egypt by the
English, or the general reduction of the empire, for such is the state
of this country, that the security of every little despot depends on
the weakness of the supreme power. Yet notwithstanding this there may
break out paroxysms of popular fury, that however short are terrible.
But the Lord is our secure and sufficient refuge, and when he has a
people to save--his chosen ones--he will put a fear into the hearts
of their enemies. The Revolution in France seems to be the Infidel
against the Jesuit, or ultra-Papistical party, which may lead to the
removal of the Archbishop of Babylon from his consular authority,
though his ecclesiastical influence would not, perhaps, be lessened by
this.
_Oct. 17._--The value of the English protection is beginning here to
be so fully understood and felt, that the first merchant in Bagdad
came to Major T. begging to be taken under it, and when Major T.
declined, he requested that his son might; and the Seyd, our landlord,
in explaining the reason of his wish for the Resident to take up his
cause, stated, that it was not so much in order to obtain any present
benefit, as that the government might see that he interested himself
about him; as this, he said, would prevent him being subject to those
oppressions he had been exposed to before. In fact, I do not believe,
that during the late heavy exactions that have been made from all
degrees and kinds of people, one individual under English protection
has suffered, or that an attempt has been made to oppress one. I do
not now, or on any other occasion, mention these events as pieces of
political intelligence, but as necessary to give a view of the signs
of the times. This consideration for the English does not arise from
love, as the most intense hatred is manifested when it may with
safety, as well as the most unconquerable and haughty contempt of
Christianity and Christians; it seems with this people of God's curse,
as with the mystical whore, they are consuming away in preparation for
final destruction by the brightness of his coming.
Mr. Pfander's Persian Moolah has altogether refused to translate
Persian with him. He says he will read and converse with him, but not
translate; so great is their contempt of Christians, that though it
is only the Gulistan of Sadi, and therefore no religious book, they
will not teach it. In fact, the difficulty of getting teachers here is
very great. The Christians know nothing--the Mohammedans very little,
and what they do know they will not communicate to a Christian. But
all this is ceasing and must come down.
_Oct. 18._--Our hearts have been deeply affected by a conversation
which Mr. Pfander has had with the Mohammedan Moolah, who teaches our
boys Arabic. He was telling Mr. P. that he was greatly struck by our
Lord's precept, not when you make a feast, to invite the rich or those
who can invite you again, but the poor who cannot; and that from these
considerations he had been led to invite to an entertainment he had
provided, all the poor persons he knew, to the surprise of his
friends, to whom he explained his reasons. He also told Mr. Pfander he
had often wished he were an animal rather than a man. There appears
altogether a degree of uneasiness in his mind that may lead further.
Thus God is making his holy and blessed word a testimony to the hearts
of some; oh! may every success here be such as bears only the mark of
God's workmanship by his word and his Spirit. That there are many
souls here which will feel the power of God's omnipotent word, I can
never doubt, when it comes fully and clearly before them.
The German Jew, whom I have several times before mentioned, seems
determined to become a professing Christian. His mind is convinced,
but his heart I fear little, if at all, affected. He abhors the lying
abominations of Judaism, which he finds among his brethren. He has
certainly come thus far without being induced by any worldly motives,
for had he continued, or would he now return to live by begging for
Jerusalem and writing lying amulets, he might easily do it. He wishes
to go to Bombay, and there become a Christian.
We have just heard that one of the boys of the school and his mother,
who took him away from us, have both become Roman Catholics. The
inducement to these Armenians is, generally, the pecuniary relief they
obtain from the bishop here, who has the administration of some funds
entrusted to him for religious uses, which he exclusively gives to
Roman Catholics, and with this he bribes those who can have no other
attachment to their system beyond that which is hereditary, for in all
other things, and in practice, it would be difficult to say whether of
the two were most corrupt. But we trust, by the good hand of our God
upon us, one day to have different systems of judgment than that of
one corrupt system against another, even the holy, pure, unadulterated
word of God against the corruptions of all men and all nominal
churches.
We have heard, to our great sorrow, that the plague has returned again
to Tabreez, and that all have again left it; and also that the cholera
has again returned to Kerkook, and committed dreadful ravages. Thus
the Lord seems visiting the kingdoms of the false prophet with his
sore judgments and plagues.
_Oct. 21._--There has just been acting here a scene of duplicity,
falsehood, and bloodshed, which appears strange to us, but is not
uncommon in this land of misrule and cruelty. A Capidji (or
Ambassador) from the Porte to the Pasha has been long expected, and
with evident anxiety by him and those immediately about him, which was
increased to the highest pitch, when by a messenger from Aleppo, the
Pasha received the intelligence, that this man's intention was to
supersede him, and of course to destroy him. It then became the object
of the Pasha to endeavour to get him into his hands, which was the
more difficult, as it is usual for the Capidji to read publicly his
firman, and proclaim the successor at Mousul, or some place near, who,
collecting the Arabs, marches to lay siege to this place, till the
head of the Pasha is delivered to him. To prevent this, therefore, the
Pasha made the Imrahor, or Master of the Horse, who has the whole
arrangement of the military force, to write a letter to the Capidji,
begging him to come here at once, and that he would, without a
struggle, give the head of Daoud Pasha into his hand, whereas if he
remained at Mousul, there must be an open contention about it.
By this he was allured to approach the city, and the Pasha sent out
700 or 800 men under pretence of showing him honour, to meet him and
secure him in case any accounts of the true state of the case should
reach him, that he might have no possibility of flight. Thus he was
brought into the city, and his quarters appointed in the house of the
Musruff; when, after the Pasha had obtained from him the declaration
of his object, a Divan was called, and it was determined to put him to
death. This event has thrown the city into great consternation, and
every one who can, is buying corn in expectation of what is to follow.
For the tragedy will not end here, as a friend of the Capidji is left
behind at Mousul, and another Capidji is at Diarbekr, waiting the
result of this negociation. So it appears that the Sultan is
determined to act at once and decidedly against this Pasha. We are
now, therefore to expect a siege, and a state of anxiety and fear in
this city for some months; but the Lord, who sitteth in the heavens,
is ordering all for his own glory, and for our safety, and he will
provide for us.
_Oct. 22._--We have this day heard that the Syrian Patriarch of Merdin
has recovered one of his churches from the Roman Catholics, and is, on
the whole, making, in a certain sense, a more successful stand against
them; but not in the spirit of Christ, I fear. He has two of his
priests who had turned Roman Catholics in prison.
This day our new Armenian teacher has arrived from Sheeraz. He seems
an interesting man; but our final plans with him are not yet
arranged.
We have also heard that the school at Bushire, established by Mr.
Wolff, is going on badly. He promised to send out a teacher and money,
neither of which having arrived, the school has dwindled to seventeen,
and these are neglected.
It is the common conversation to-day in the Bazaar that the Capidji
was put to death last night. This man was the Accountant General of
the Porte, and formerly Kiahya. Our Arabic Moolah has been buying
corn, in the expectation of the present state of things here
terminating in an open contest, in which he thinks the Pasha, now
having no hope, will throw himself into the hands of Abbas Meerza, and
that thus Bagdad will again become subject to Persia. Amidst all these
wars and rumours of wars, our path is to sit still and wait the Lord's
pleasure, which he will assuredly manifest to our heart's content, for
they that wait upon the Lord, shall not make haste, nor be confounded,
world without end.
Our schoolmaster has come to a full understanding of the principles
on which we intend to conduct the school: to have nothing that is
_contrary to God's word admitted_, and I think he very fully and
heartily enters into this plan. But he informs us that the parents of
many of the children are dissatisfied with our superseding the church
prayers, called the Shanakirke, by the New Testament, and ask, "Who
are these people? Are they wiser than our Bishops and ancient fathers,
that we should reject what they introduced?" This is what we must
expect. But we can, with a quiet heart, leave all to the Lord, to
order as he will. That the schoolmaster is truly on our side I feel
very thankful, and, I hope, the hearts of many of the children.
_November 10._--After having waited now several weeks for an
opportunity to send letters and a parcel, and not having found any,
from the extreme vigilance there is here to prevent any communications
going to Constantinople, I have determined to avail myself of the
offer of an Austrian merchant here, to enclose them in a bale of goods
going to Aleppo, and to have them forwarded thence to Constantinople.
It is a great comfort to know that all the intelligence essential to
our cause, as being God's, will reach, and all that is separate from
that, though it may not be against it, is of little consequence.
We have had two Armenian priests to converse with Mr. Pfander, one
from Nisibin; and the other from Diarbekr. The one from Nisibin said
they had no printed books among them, and that they were very anxious
to go into the Russian provinces, but were afraid, since the death of
the Russian Ambassador, to make any attempt to go.
The Armenians seem going from all the Mohammedan states that they can
to Russia. From Erzeroum, great numbers have gone to the Karabagh, and
thus they may people the desolate provinces of Georgia. The other
Armenian Priest, from Diarbekr, confirmed the information we had
previously obtained, that the Armenian population of that city was
5,000 houses,[17] about 25,000 of all ages, and that they have two
schools there, containing about 300 children, but no one cared about
them.
[17] This is the only mode in the East by which any estimate
of the population can be attempted. They count the number of houses,
and allow one with another, five souls to each house. Some contain
many more, and few contain less, so that even thus, it can be but very
imperfectly ascertained.
It is now an understood fact, that the Capidji, or messenger of the
Sultan, who was left behind at Diarbekr, when his companion came on to
arrange the affairs of this Pashalic, is collecting troops around
Diarbekr, to attack Bagdad. This, however, will most probably be now
deferred till the spring. So we may then expect a siege, unless things
are arranged before. The Capidji who has been put to death appears to
have been a man of great distinction, and to have rendered great
services to the Sultan, both during the war and subsequent to it.
The priest of Diarbekr said, they were too far off to be helped either
by the Russians or the English; but I cannot help thinking, for such a
purpose as schools, or getting through their means a large body of
persons acquainted with God's word, it would be a most important
position. It presents, however, many difficulties, and at all events
would require some time to be spent in some place preparatory to
settling among them, to obtain a knowledge of the Turkish and Armenian
languages, and for these preparatory studies, should there be no
determining principle, perhaps Shushee would be the best position,
as the brethren there all know English, and some Turkish, and some
Armenian.
We are now fast approaching the termination of our first year's
residence in Bagdad, and the Lord's mercies towards us have been
exceeding great. We have been surrounded by many things that would
have been dangerous, had not the Lord checked them by bringing them to
nothing, both from disease and enemies; but, as he promised, they have
not come nigh us. We have borne the heat without any diminution of
natural strength. We are altogether standing on a more advanced
position, that on entering Bagdad we could have hoped. Things are
in preparation for the knowledge of God's holy word being extended,
and thus one great object of missionary labour is in the way of
attainment. But still, while I feel assured of there being some choice
fruit from here and there a fruitful bough, I at the same time feel no
less assured, that the great harvest will be of wickedness, and that
the pestilence of infidelity is the great spreading evil, not the
spreading of Millennial blessedness. As it was in the days of Noah, so
do I believe it will be at the coming of the Son of Man; and as it was
in the days of Lot, the great mass of mankind will be taunting the
Church with, "Where is the sign of his coming?" which shews plainly
enough that this will be a doctrine of the Church in the latter days,
or how should it be reviled; so that our Lord, in contemplating the
general apostacy, said, "When the Son of Man cometh shall he find
faith in the earth?" Oh, then, how happy is it to be among those who
love his appearing, who long for the termination of that dispensation
which witnessed the humiliation of the Church under the world, and the
rise of that glorious kingdom which shall not be dissolved, and into
which no sorrow or sighing can enter. I feel the languages to be a
great barrier. Whether the Lord will pour down this among the other
gifts of the latter days, I do not know, but at present it is a great
exercise of a Missionary's patience, to ask even for the common
necessaries of life; but to speak out the fulness of a full heart, so
as to be understood and felt is very, very difficult. The difficulties
in the way of a literary acquaintance with these languages are by no
means so great, as the study may be pursued alone, but the colloquial
language can only be learned by intercourse with men, and this is far
more difficult to attain by an European, who may have a very good
knowledge of the language of books, and still be little understood in
speaking. But still the time spent in the learning of a language among
a people, every thought, and purpose, and habit of whose lives are
diverse from your own, has this advantage, that you become in some
measure acquainted with their peculiarities before you are in a
situation to offend against them.
We have heard that the Emperor of Russia has conferred some honours on
the family of this Pasha, who are Armenian Christians, in Teflis.
Things are beginning to look unsettled in Persia. Contentions have
already arisen between the Prince of Kermanshah and the Prince of
Hamadan, which seems to be but the precursor of a general state of
confusion on the death of the Shah; and doubtless amidst all these
commotions the Lord will move on his way, and the day of his coming
advance. Oh, may we all labouring abundantly in patience, wait for
that day, that when it does come we may be found watching.
We have some anxieties about our dear friends who are journeying
towards us. Whether the intelligence of the state of the Pashalic may
deter them, or whether they will come on, trusting in the Lord, it is
our daily prayer for them, that he would guide and preserve them.
Our communications with Tabreez seem almost closed. Since we received
the letter from Mrs. ----, relative to their leaving Tabreez,
and going by this to India, we have neither seen them, nor heard of
them. Whether, therefore, they are gone by Shiraz, or whether they are
detained, we cannot tell; but the roads will soon become impassable
from snow in the lofty range of mountains over which they will have to
come.
I shall now conclude this portion of our little history, with
assuring those we love, that the Lord has been better than all our
fears and all our hopes. The more we have proved him, the more we have
found him to be faithful and gracious, and that not one of the good
things he has promised to faith has been wanting; but his love has
abounded far beyond our faith, yea, and they will yet abound more and
more. Let us then encourage one another to prove him more, that we may
have deeper experience of his faithfulness. We find the prospect of
the approaching coming of our Lord a corrective of the allurements of
the world, and an encouragement to a simple surrender of all we have
as his stewards, to him and his service, as their only legitimate and
worthy object, who has redeemed us from death with his own precious
blood, making us a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy
nation, a peculiar people, that we might shew forth his praises. Oh!
may the Holy Spirit dwell in us more powerfully, that we may be ever
fulfilling his great and glorious purpose.
Accounts have just come to us by letters from Tabreez, that the plague
has been ravaging that devoted city till 23,000 of its inhabitants
have fallen victims to it and the cholera, and that when this letter
came off (Oct. 28), they were still dying eighteen of a day, and this
is not confined to the city;--the villages of the surrounding country
have equally suffered; half the inhabitants have been swept away, the
corn has never been reaped, and the cattle were wandering about
without owners. The missionaries from America had not arrived then;
most probably they are deterred by the intelligence of the state of
Tabreez. Our dear friends the N----'s had never enjoyed better
health--thus preserved of the Lord in the midst of the general
devastation: they are also for the present, at the request of the
Prince, detained till an answer from the Indian government is again
received respecting them. A famine seems the inevitable consequence of
the plague and pestilence at Tabreez. Surely these are among the signs
of the times; but the Lord's command to us is, Let not your hearts be
troubled.
We have received no intelligence from Shushee, but we heard from
Tartars that the plague had been in the Karabagh, which makes us
additionally anxious to hear from thence: but doubtless since the
plague at Tabreez, all intercourse with Russia from that side has been
interdicted. Mr. Zaremba mentioned, that he had to pass through seven
quarantines between Erzeroum and Shushee.
I may also just add, that we have finally arranged with our new
schoolmaster from Shiraz. We had given particular directions to the
person who proposed sending for him, that if money were any object to
him, (which we heard it was not) he should write and let us know what
he would require. He however came, and when he came, he wanted a sum
equal to about £84. sterling a year. This I was both unable and
unwilling to give, and therefore fixed £30. as the utmost, and the
rest has been made up by the Armenians among themselves, excepting
£18. which has been given by Major T. He speaks English imperfectly,
but thoroughly understands Armenian, and will teach the elder boys
grammar and translating. He will also superintend the girl's school
for one or two hours in the morning, and teach Mrs. G. Armenian.
We also hope, as soon as may be, to get some tracts and little
school-books translated into vulgar Armenian, but all this must depend
on the blessing of the Lord on our undertaking. This brother has
joined the Church of England in Calcutta: but he is himself at present
a strict Armenian, yet I hope, not a bigoted man. But all our past
experience has led us to look to the Lord alone for all profitable
help. Those whom we think promise every thing, often occasion nothing
but anxiety, and those from whom we expect the least we have reason
abundantly to bless God for having sent us:--so wisely, so graciously,
and yet in so sovereign a way does the Lord bring to pass his
purposes, and bless his servants, that every thought of confidence
in any creature may be destroyed, and the soul, by a thousand
disappointments, when it has reposed elsewhere, at last be compelled
to learn only to repose on the bosom of its Father, where love and
faithfulness eternally dwell, and convince the soul of its past
expectations from any other source.
_February 14, 1831._
An offer has been made to us by one of the richest Armenian merchants
here, to send, at his own expense, two camel loads of books any where
we wish, which has of course been thankfully accepted; and we think of
sending at least one load to Diarbekr. He has also bought from our
Armenian teacher, those Bibles he had procured from the Bible Society
at Calcutta, who, with the many thus obtained, has determined to send
more Bibles from Bushire, where he has already 200, to Julfa and
Ispahan, and the villages round about, in which he says there are
above twenty churches.
I have this day settled all my accounts, and find, after every thing
is paid, including the expenses of my baggage from Bushire, and of the
house for ourselves, and school for another year, that our little
stock will last us, with the Lord's blessing, two months longer, and
then we know not whence we are to be supplied, but the Lord allows us
not to be anxious; he has so wonderfully provided for us hitherto,
that it would be most ungrateful to have an anxious thought. Even for
my baggage, Major T. only allowed me to pay half the charge, and he
has moreover told me, that should I at any time want money, only to
let him know and he will lend it me. Now, really, to find here such
kind and generous friends, is more than we could have hoped, but thus
the Lord deals with us, and takes away our fears. That we may many
times be in straits I have no doubt, but the time of our necessity
will be the time for the manifestation of our Lord's providential love
and munificence.
There is one peculiar feature that runs through all education in the
eastern churches, that it professes to be religious, which gives us an
opportunity of introducing such books as may be useful, without its
exciting any surprise or suspicion, or opposition.
_Feb. 16._--The Pasha has sent Major T. word of the ravages the plague
is making in Sulemania. The government and all who have it in their
power have quitted it. This account has spread much consternation, in
addition to which two men from Sulemania arrived here ill of the
plague, one of whom has recovered. Major and Mrs. T., with their usual
generous kindness to us, have offered us an asylum with them should
the plague come here, where we should enjoy this great advantage, that
as the house stands close to the river, a supply of water can be
obtained without communication with the city. But at present we do not
clearly see our way: should our school be broken up, I see not so much
difficulty; it would be a most valuable opportunity for Mrs. G. making
progress in the language; but we wait on the Lord and he will guide
us. These do indeed seem awful times for these lands. We cannot be
too thankful for the peace and joy the Lord allows us to feel in the
assurance of his loving care.
I was much struck by a remark of our Moolah yesterday, when speaking
of the horror he felt at the prospect of the plague coming here. He
said, the sword he did not fear, but the plague he did, for one was
the work of man, the other of God. I replied to him, that feeling this
God who directs the plague, to be my father, who loved me, I knew he
would not suffer it to come nigh me unless he had no longer occasion
for me, and then it would come as a summons from a scene of labour and
many trials to one of endless joy. He said, Yes, it is very well for
you not to fear death, who believe Christ to have atoned for you; but
I fear to die.
_Feb. 19._--To-day we have heard that the above report of the plague
being at Sulemania is false; that it has been there, but has now left
it; so we know not what to believe.
_Feb. 21._--The expenses attendant on our packages from Bombay to this
place, are as great as from England to Bombay. The boxes of books and
medicine, and the press, with three boxes of books from the Bible
Society, cost twenty-five pounds. Aleppo would certainly be the
cheapest way to send them by, and by far the most speedy. It would be
a great comfort to us, if this communication should ever be opened,
for then we might freely communicate with, and hear from those we
love. I sent a packet across the desert the other day, which we have
every reason to think was intercepted. In fact, it is now very
doubtful if any of the many letters we have sent, have gone safe, and
none have reached us for these six months.
Intelligence came to-day, that the Sultan has ordered the Pasha
of Mosul, and another Pasha who is dependant on this Pasha, to
discontinue all communication with him, as the enemy of the Sultan. A
few weeks will, most probably, conclude this long-continued struggle,
and, we hope, the insecurity and confusion attendant on it; yet, the
Lord knows his purposes, and we have only to execute his will.
_Feb. 24._--We have just heard, by a letter that came from Aleppo by
way of Merdin and Mosul, that the caravan which left this place more
than three months ago, entered Aleppo about thirty days ago. They
remained in the desert till the Pasha of Aleppo had quitted that place
on his expedition against the Pasha of Bagdad, from the fear, that if
they entered the town he would seize their camels for the use of his
army. Much alarm is entertained here by the inhabitants as to the
result of this attack. From past experience they are led to expect
great lawlessness, from both friends and foes. May the Lord keep our
hearts in perfect peace, stayed on him. We now begin to feel that it
is very doubtful when we shall see our dear friends: certainly no
caravan will pass the desert till all these disturbances are settled.
It may be also possible, that the journal and packet of letters I sent
packed in a bale of goods belonging to a merchant here, may yet reach
their destination.
_Feb. 28._--This day brought us news of the arrival of our very dear
and long expected friends and fellow-labourers safe at Aleppo, on the
11th of January, after many delays and many trials. We had never been
allowed to doubt our Lord's most gracious dealings with us, but yet
this overwhelmed us with joy and praise; and this welcome news reaches
us just as our dear brother Pfander is on the point of leaving us
alone. We received, at the same time, a packet of letters from most of
our dearest friends in England, at the very moment when our little all
was within a month of coming to a conclusion, telling us that the Lord
had provided us with supplies for at least four months to come, which
we might draw for. Surely the Lord has most graciously seen fit to dry
up those sources from whence we anticipated supply, that we might know
we depend on him alone, and see how he can supply even here; we were
ashamed of every little anxious feeling we had ever had, and were much
encouraged to trust him more and more. My soul is led to abhor, more
and more, that love of independence which still clings to it, when I
see how it would shut me out from these manifestations of my Father's
loving care. Oh! how hard it is to persuade the rebellious will and
proud heart, that to depend on your Father's love for your constant
support, is more for the soul's health, than to be clothed in purple
and fare sumptuously every day--or at least, as we would say, on bare
independence; and yet how plain it is to spiritual vision.
We met together in the evening to bless the Lord for the past, and
supplicate his continued blessing for the future--that he would
accomplish what he had begun, that our hearts may never cease to
praise and bless him. My soul was much comforted, especially with a
text to which one of our dear correspondents called my attention,
Zeph. iii. 17. "The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty, he
will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy, he will rest in his
love; he will joy over thee with singing." All the letters amounted to
twenty-six, which, after so long an interruption of all intelligence,
was an especial source of joy. And now we can think of our dear
friends definitely as absolutely at Aleppo, only waiting for the
termination of disturbances to join us.
To-day, a Chaldean, from near Julimerk, came to see us, and we expect
him again, with his brother, who, he says, can read, when I hope to
obtain from him a fuller account of the state, numbers, and
disposition, of his wild countrymen.
A Mohammedan Effendi was with me to-day; a very amiable young man, who
sees many things in the customs of his people bad, arising out of the
Mohammedan laws. He came to borrow an Arabic bible for, he said, a
poor schoolmaster, which I gladly lent him. Whether it be really for a
schoolmaster, or for himself, I do not know.
_March 4._--Read this morning, with peculiar pleasure, Hawker's
Evening Portion: "How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange
land:" heightened as it was by the localities of our situation; but
above all, by the unity of our experience with the sentiments of the
writer; for we have indeed found the love of our Father, the pastoral
care of our Elder Brother, and the consolation and visits of our
Comforter, that which has enabled us to sing the Lord's song in this
strange land, even the song of the redeemed.
_March 13._--The time is now fast approaching when we expect the
struggle for the Pashalic to commence, at the conclusion of the
Ramazan. Yet it may all pass over, for the government of Turkey is so
utterly without principle, that by a well timed application of money,
all difficulties may be surmounted with the Porte, and as the Pasha
seems now disposed to meet this desire, it may, especially in the
present difficulties of the Sultan with Russia, lead, after all, to an
amicable termination of one year's anxiety and suspense. We are now
especially anxious for the pacification of these countries, that our
dear friends may be able to pass over the desert, as our dear and kind
brother Pfander left us last evening for Ispahan. It was a great
rending to us all, and has left a vacuum we cannot easily hope to have
filled up in all its parts; and till our dear brothers and sisters
come, we shall be very solitary, and very much pressed; but our
strength will be as our day. Had he seen it right to remain I might
have crossed the desert to our dear friends; but this not being the
case, it is impossible for me to leave this, and perhaps in the
present state of things here, from apprehensions of plague and war, it
would have been impracticable even if he had remained.
Caravans pass much more frequently between this place and Damascus
than between this and Aleppo, and it appears to me the shorter and
better way of communication to Bayrout and Damascus to Bagdad than by
Aleppo. Three caravans have passed over the desert from hence to
Damascus within these few months. With one of these an Armenian with
his wife and children went, and with another several Mohammedan
families; thereby hoping to avoid the troubles they expected here. So
at least we may venture for our Lord what men venture for their own
various interests. In fact, it does not appear that any further danger
is incurred than that of being plundered, or perhaps only a heavy
exaction from the Arab tribes through whom the caravan passes, whose
interest it is not to press so hard upon caravans as that they shall
be stopped coming, but to levy a tax upon them sufficiently
considerable to help to support the tribe.
An English merchant and a Consul are about settling, if not
already settled, at Damascus, which will still further facilitate
communications; and besides the road from Beyraut to Damascus is much
better than that from Latakeea to Aleppo. This arrangement, as well as
that at Trebisand, shows that these countries are becoming the objects
of public, or rather mercantile, interest.
A Jew came to borrow an Arabic bible from me which I have let him
have. Another Jew was with me yesterday, who translated the Hebrew
into Arabic very tolerably; but, generally, they only learn to read,
without understanding what they read.
An Armenian Priest has just come to ask for four or five Armenian
Bibles, to send to some villages between Hamadan and Teheran. This is
a plan we like better than sending many to one place, not only as
spreading knowledge further, but also from the greater probability of
their being read.
We have just seen another of the Chaldeans, from the mountains. He
says that they understand the Syrian Scriptures; so that at least I
hope to send a letter to the Bishop, with a copy or two of the Syrian
Bible I have with me, that when they return next year they may bring
me an account whether they understand them or not; and also it will
serve as a means of opening a personal communication with their chief;
as, by that time it may be possible that one or two of us may be able
to return with these men to the mountains. As far as their personal
assurances go, they promise me a most welcome reception. One of these
people told me, if I would come to his village, he would kill a sheep
for me, and I should have plenty, and 200 walnuts for two-pence; they
said every thing was very abundant there and very cheap. Their pride
seems much gratified by their being the head and the Mohammedans the
tail in the mountains; so that they cannot open their mouths, or raise
their hands against them.
_March 15._--A packet of letters has just arrived from Shushee, after
more than six months interruption, three days after our dear brother
had left us. However, we got the messenger to set off immediately to
overtake him, and he having seen the caravan on the way, promised to
return in five days. In this packet I also received one letter from
our dear brother J. B. Dublin, a note from dear Mr. R. informing me of
his having forwarded the books to the brethren at Shushee. Surely they
are worthy for whom he has done this, and he will be happy in being
thus a fellow-helper in the truth. Mr. Knill also mentions their
arrival safe at Petersburgh, and his purpose of forwarding them to
Shushee. It has been a year of great trial at Shushee for the mission,
but of exactly what nature and to what extent we know not, nor how
things now stand in the communications to our dear fellow-helper who
has just left us, as they are in German; but should he not be able on
the road to write us a full account, he doubtless will when he has
reached Kermanshah or Hamadan.
We hear that the prince royal is marching against his brother the
Prince of Kerman, by way of Ispahan, the roads, therefore, are very
unsettled in Persia, but the Lord will encamp round about our brother
and bear him safely through.
_March 16._--The letters we yesterday received from Tabreez assured us
of the willingness of the Armenian Bishop to have a school as soon as
a fit person could be found; and on reading one of the tracts from
Shushee, he said he would read it in his church to his flock. Mrs. N.
also mentions the willingness among the Mohammedans to receive the
New Testament, and that in many instances, pleasing results have
manifested themselves; but of what kind she does not mention. She
mentions also one of the principal Mohammedan merchants asking for a
Testament to read on his road to Mecca. May the Lord stop him by it
before he gets there, at the gates of the heavenly Jerusalem. In fact,
there is room in these parts for much preparatory work, when the time
comes that the power of the Gospel shall have taken such root as to
show by the power and individuality it gives to the Christian
character that their craft is in danger. They will do as they have
done in Shushee; but by the Lord's blessing it may then be too late.
What appears to me to require the greatest patience and the most
unwavering perseverance, is the language; for, while on the one hand
there is every thing to encourage, if we only take the burthen of the
day on the day, there is such a natural tendency in the mind of man
to accumulate all the difficulties together, and make one great
impassable mountain, that it becomes more difficult than many would
imagine, to go on successfully and happily like a little child. That
measure of knowledge of a language which so enables one to move about
in the common transactions of life, does not seem difficult to attain;
but to be able to state clearly the power of moral distinctions, to
detect the fallacy of false systems, and put beside them the true
light of life, is another and a very difficult thing, but yet the Lord
doubtless sees in this reasons of immense weight, or he would again
bestow upon us the gifts of the Spirit as before.
God our Father has most marvellously eased our way, and so great has
been the kindness of our ---- here, that he would do any thing
he could for us. He even told me the other day, never to let our work
stand still for want of funds, for should I ever want any he would
gladly supply me, and lend me for my personal wants whatever I might
need. Now when we consider there is but one English family now
resident in Bagdad besides our own, how like the Lord's acting it is
to make them willing to supply to us the necessary help: not only does
the Lord supply us with means necessary for our expense, but does not
allow us when our little fund gets low, to know the anxiety of
expecting, or thinking what we should do. And, surrounded as we have
been these many months, by the alarm of war and the fear of plague or
cholera, even our dear native islands have not been without their
anxieties; but I have been much struck of late with the peculiar
dealings of God towards his chosen; as of old, the pillar that was all
darkness to the enemy, was light to the church in the wilderness, so
now all this dark cloud, the darkness of which may be felt, which is
spreading from one end of the Christian and Mohammedan world to the
other, has, towards the church in her pilgrimage, its full steady
bright light surmounted by "Behold he cometh!" Blessed assurance! But
a little day of toil, and then we shall come with him, or rise to join
his assembled saints, dressed all anew, with our house from heaven,
that spiritual clothing meet for the new creature in Christ Jesus. Oh,
what glorious liberty we are heirs to, as children of God, one day to
love our Eternal Father, Son, and Spirit, with unalloyed affections,
when our whole nature shall be again on the side of God, and not a
place left for the enemy to put his foot to harass the heir of glory.
_March 17._--A Chaldean Roman Catholic priest has been here to-day,
and read me the same passages of the Psalms in the Chaldean and Syrian
languages, and there appears to be no other difference than in
character, as far as he read. The Syrians, the Chaldeans, and the
Jews, might become most valuable objects of missionary labour, not
only as being in greater numbers here, but from the great similarity
of their languages, so that the mastering of the one would be to the
mastering of the three, with very little additional trouble. I
endeavoured to find out from him the difference between the spoken
and written languages, and as far as he produced illustrations, the
difference was only in pronunciation; the words seemed substantially
the same. But there is a very strong prejudice to contend with in all
those among these people who know any thing of these languages, in the
contempt in which they hold their vulgar, and the reverence and
sanctity they attach to their old language, so that I think tracts, in
the shape of paraphrases on particular parts of the Scriptures, would
be exceedingly valuable among them, as well as tracts generally. I
trust we shall be able to turn our attention to these when we are
able, from our knowledge of the languages, to judge sufficiently of
translations or compositions.
_March 18._--This evening the messenger I sent after Mr. Pfander with
the letters from Shushee, returned with a letter, which I shall here
insert, as it supplies a good deal of information concerning the dear
brethren in the Karabagh.
"_In the Desert near the Village Bakoobah_,
"_17th March, 1831._
"My dear Brother,
"I am very much obliged to you, that you sent this man after me
with the letters from Shushee. He reached us a day's journey
and a half from Bagdad. We advance very slowly, only from five
to ten English miles a day, on account of the spring season,
when the Dschervedars[18] feed their horses on grass, and
because they waited for other parties which had yet been
behind. The weather is very fine; we had rain twice, but only
slightly. The remaining time of the day I spend in reading, and
conversation with the Persians in the caravan. The first day I
felt very solitary, but the second, and since, the Lord
afforded me plenty of opportunity to give testimony of him who
is our Saviour and Lord, and to distribute several tracts and
books among my fellow travellers, and this rejoiced my heart
greatly. According to the manner of our present travelling we
shall not be in Kermanshah till after twenty days. They speak
in the caravan from fear of the Arabs after this; but it will
be easy for the Lord to bring me safely through. The caravan is
increased to about 500 horses and 180 persons.
[18] Muleteers.
"Now something out of dear Zaremba's letters; but I had only
time to read them once over, so that I am not able to give you
any regular extracts out of them. Should I forget any thing I
will write it from Kermanshah or Hamadan. The letter was of
December last. All had been attacked with sickness more or
less, and dear Brother Sallett, stationed at Teflis, was called
home: he died of the cholera.
"The circumstance with the Armenians is this: The two deacons
did go on in their spiritual life prosperously, and continued
to give testimony of the truth. This excited so much the hatred
of the Armenian clergy against them, that soon after Zaremba's
arrival in Shushee from Erzeroum, the Armenian Archbishop of
the Karabagh desired to have them sent as prisoners to
Etchmiazin, the seat of the Armenian Catholicos,[19] near
Erivan. This the Russian Governor of Shushee, after he was
informed of it from Zaremba, did not allow. So it got a little
quiet: but these young Armenians thought it impossible, at
present, to remain longer in Georgia, and so they prepared for
their departure to Germany. But during this time the Armenian
clergy got an order from the Russian Governor of Teflis, that
the two deacons should appear before a council in Etchmiazin.
The Governor in Shushee did again so much for them, that they
should go to Teflis, and be allowed to lay their case before
the governor. Zaremba went with them, though he was not quite
well. The one of these deacons, he who assisted Dittrich in
translation, died there, happy in his Lord. The other went
at last, but in a very good state of mind and heart, to
Etchmiazin, putting his confidence in his Lord, for whom he was
going to suffer. The brethren had not yet heard more of him
than his arrival there. During the time Zaremba was at Teflis,
the cholera took daily many away, and some days before his
departure, our beloved Saltett, as mentioned before. Zaremba
got worse too, but reached Shushee again. After his arrival, he
and Hohenaker, and Dittrich had been attacked from the cholera,
but recovered again. During this time the person from
Etchmiazin arrived in Shushee, and preached and spoke against
our brethren, and condemned all the persons who sent their
children to them. So the school was broken up. But now the
children are beginning to collect again, and the school is
again opened. Dittrich was with his family, yet at Teflis,
where Zaremba wrote the letter. Hohenaker was gone to the
German village, where you stopped, and Haas was kept in Moscow,
in quarantine, because of the cholera. Two Armenian tracts had
been printed in Moscow, and the copies of the first were
already in Shushee. In Shushee they are printing the Armenian
Dictionary.
[19] Patriarch.
"With our not going to the mountains, they are quite contented;
but they think I should rather go to Tabreez than to Ispahan,
where I might go at any other time. I do not yet know what I
shall do. I shall see how the Lord will lead me. But this is
clear now, that a long stay at Ispahan I must give up. Zaremba
writes further, that he has now little hope to be able to go
any more on a journey, and therefore they rather wish that I
should travel and do the Lord's work in the neighbourhood of
Shushee, as long as the door is yet open. I cannot reject this,
and so I must for the present give up my plans for travelling
in Persia. If the way to Ispahan should be quite open, I would
go thither, distribute books, and see that I might be in
Shushee in July; if not, I shall go direct to Shushee.
"The case with the mission in Shushee, is now laid before the
Emperor, and so they are waiting what decision they may receive
from thence; but they are sure that the Lord will direct and
order every thing as it will be best, and therefore are not
discouraged. The Russian government does not yet in the least
hinder them in their work.
"My letters all arrived safely at Shushee, and the cause of
their not writing, was their own sickness and the plague all
round about them. It does not seem that one of our letters was
lost. Boxes with Armenian and Persian books are in Tabreez.
They speak good of the Americans. For the news in your letter I
thank you: we live certainly in a most eventful time, and we
have therefore the more to work so long as it is yet day. May
the Lord mightily bless you, your family, and work. In him,
under every circumstance, we have every reason to be glad and
to rejoice that we have him on our side.
"Your affectionate brother,
"C. G. PFANDER."
"P.S. From Alexander Kasembeg[20] they received a letter which
rejoiced them much. It seems to be good with him.
[20] This affords us unfeigned joy, as we had heard
from one who was with him in Cazan, an account that made
us a little anxious about him.
"The other Armenian in Baku[21] came to Shushee to be employed
in distributing tracts and Bibles. He has already made a
journey into Georgia, and preaches to Armenians and Turks."
[21] This is the Armenian whose history I gave a
little account of before, as the son-in-law of the richest
merchant in Baku, who has given up all the prospects of his
connection with his father-in-law, which are very considerable,
to endure afflictions with the people of God. This young
Armenian is another proof of the immense importance of having
those to bear testimony to the power of the Spirit's work in
regenerating the soul in the image of him that created it, from
among themselves. The people can see in him the contrast
between the past and the present man. They have also a
knowledge of the peculiar modes of thinking and feeling among
those with whom they have been educated, and been in the
closest terms of intimacy with from their infancy, that they
cannot have with foreigners.
The two dear and most interesting deacons, of whom one is mentioned as
having died in the faith in his way to suffer for the truth, and the
other has gone to witness alone before his enemies and persecutors at
Etchmiazin, were both in the school at Shushee, and in the study of
and translating the word of God, had been led step by step, to see
through the errors of the system by which they were bound.
Another proof of the progress of the same spirit manifested itself in
our infant beginnings. The two little Armenian boys who live with us,
eat and live as we do; on being asked by the boys without, why they
did not fast as their nation did for fifty days? without any knowledge
or direction from me, they set about selecting from the New
Testament, in conjunction with my own little boys, those passages
which bear on the question, and which shew that if we eat not we are
none the better, and if we do eat, none the worse. Remarks of a
similar kind have many times occurred in the course of our
translations from the Testament. At all events, there is a growing
tendency in the minds of the children, to feel that God's word is the
one rule on which they must justify all they impose, and thence the
necessity of understanding it; and these principles upset at once the
whole system of ignorant mummery which is now called or thought to be
the religion of Jesus here. If it be the Lord's pleasure to spare our
lives, and grant us the ability and opportunity to publish his truth,
results will follow to rejoice our hearts, I have no doubt: God has
declared it shall not return to him void, nor shall it. And to the
Mohammedans also these converts from among the fallen churches become
invaluable preachers, from their vernacular facility in the language,
and from their being continually exposed to the question, why they do
not do so and so; they are called upon by the very necessity of their
position to defend with meekness and wisdom their new position;
whereas, with us, they are satisfied with just simply making up their
minds to this, that theirs is best for them, and yours best for you.
_March 20._--The Moolah yesterday, in speaking of the contest between
the Pasha and the Sultan, said, that if the English would guarantee
both sides, both might be satisfied and make peace; but that if not,
they would never believe one another, for says he, every Osmanli will
lie. This opinion of their own low moral condition, is universal among
Turks and Persians. This man has often said to me, No Osmanli cares
for more than his own bread, and if that is safe, the whole empire may
be destroyed.
Two tribes of Arabs, whom the Pasha has brought up to help him in the
approaching contest, in consequence of some feud between them, came to
blows, and all last night and this morning were firing at one another
in that quarter of the city which is on the other side of the river,
where they are stationed.--It caused much alarm, and may be but a
precursor to general confusion and greater trials; but the Lord
Jehovah who sitteth on the everlasting hills, is our shield and
defence. The firing has since ceased, and one of the tribes has been
driven out of Bagdad.
_March 21._--This day the packet of letters came by Bombay, which were
sent off about four months after we left, and therefore have been
about eighteen months on the road. The best way is to put all letters
into the post-office, paying the postage, and they will then come
generally in about eight months by Bombay, free of all expense but
that paid in England; and it would afford us peculiar pleasure if
our dear friends would write regularly by this route, for the
opportunities by Constantinople are either rare or expensive.
How strikingly do these letters prove the truth of our Lord's
declaration, that those who leave father or mother, &c. for his sake
and the gospel's, shall find a hundred fold, fathers, mothers,
brothers, sisters, houses, lands, with persecutions. Surely we are
rich indeed, in the love of the saints of our Lord, and in their
prayers for us. These letters prove that our weak childish faith has
not been without the Lord's blessing on his own work. Oh! then, what
might be expected if we had been strong in the Lord and in the power
of his might? Perhaps, however, he who has led us hitherto,
insignificant as we are, may lead us onward still to magnify his grace
in our weakness. Surely no missionaries, with so few pretensions to
the love and confidence of the church of God, ever received more solid
proofs of deep and hearty interest than we have during these ten
months; this is no small point gained, and I think we may go further,
and add, that many have been led by this weak effort of faith in us,
to take steps they might not otherwise have ventured upon. I do not
desire, for one moment, to set myself in opposition to those blessed
institutions whose labours roused us from our lethargy: but only this
I must say, that I do not think their plan is the best, or the only
good one. Notwithstanding, I desire to bless God for them, and to
co-operate with them, whenever I can. I do rejoice, with most
unfeigned joy, at any honour God bestows upon them, and I should
rejoice to see them multiplied a hundred fold; for whosoever brings a
stone to the temple of our Lord and king, by whatever different means
they may have laboured with from ourselves, shall be our father,
mother, sister, brother. The only end we know of existence is the
manifestation of that temple, and may the king's blessing and favour
rest on the head of every one who labours for it, at home or abroad,
under established institutions, or in any other way. By all, Christ is
preached, and God the Father glorified, and the power of the Holy
Ghost manifested. Unprofitable servants as we are, weak in faith, and
infirm in purpose, except as the Lord day by day lifted us up, as it
were, with one hand, and covered us with the other, and enabled us to
stagger on our way; still, we cannot but feel that the Lord's goodness
and care, which our weakness has elicited, may have moved in some
small degree the hearts of the little band of six, who are coming to
join us; and I hear that their simplicity and faith has yet further
stirred up the spiritual affections of others to go and do
likewise--but these are early days; if it be of the Lord, he will
bless it; if not, we desire to be the first to lay our hands on our
lips, and our faces in the dust, saying, We were deceived; the cause
is the Lord's, not ours; with him we will leave its prosperity and
defence.
_March 28._--The plague has now absolutely, we believe, entered this
unhappy city. Major T. and all those connected with the residency are
preparing to leave for the mountains of Kourdistan; they have most
kindly invited us to go with them and form part of their family; this
is most truly kind, and there are many things to recommend it--the
opportunities it would afford M. for learning Armenian, and me Arabic,
and for observation on the country and people, besides our being
delivered from all apparent danger either from the sword which
threatens us from without, or the pestilence within. The absence of
all these friends and so many of the principal Christian families who
are going with them, leaves us exposed to the bigotry of the people in
any tumults that may arise--all these things presented themselves to
our minds. But there are considerations that outweigh these in our
minds: in the first place, we feel that while we have the Lord's work
in our hands we ought not to fly and leave it; again, if we go, it is
likely that for many months we cannot return to our work, whereas the
plague may cease in a month; opportunities of usefulness may arise in
the plague that a more unembarrassed time may not present; and our
dear friends from Aleppo may come and find no asylum. The Lord gives
great peace and quietness of mind in resting under his most gracious
and loving care, and as the great object of our lives is to illustrate
his love to us, we believe that in the midst of these awful
circumstances, he will fill our tongues with praise as he does fill
our hearts with peace.
I have just heard, that some Englishmen have been circulating tracts
at Julfa, an Armenian town in the neighbourhood of Ispahan, and that
the bishop has prohibited their circulation; this shews what we have
to expect.
I believe I have many times mentioned the deeprooted opposition which
exists among the clergy and literary men in the East, to having any
thing translated into the vulgar dialects: they are worse than the
literati of Europe used to be with their Latin, many among whom, but
lately came to see that it was no disgrace to communicate their ideas
in a vernacular dress: as the common sense of mankind has triumphed
over the literary pride of the learned, so we shall find that babes
will one day overthrow the literary pride of these orientals. I
obtained, the other day, a translation of one of Carus Wilson's little
stories, into the vulgar Armenian of this place, for the little girls.
The contrast between the effect produced by reading this in an
intelligible language, and their usual lessons, was most striking: in
the one there is of necessity a perfect indifference; but on reading
the other, they begged and entreated they might have it to carry home,
which is promised them for next week. Of this I had no doubt before;
but the experiment has been most gratifying and encouraging.
_March 29._--Yesterday Dr. Beagrie and Mr. Montefiore went and saw
several patients they thought afflicted with the plague; but their
minds were not perfectly made up. To-day, there is no longer any
doubt. I accompanied Mr. Montefiore, in his visits, and now there are
about twenty, and the number is increasing. Thus, then, this long
expected scourge has visited this city, and our Father only knows when
the awful visitation may cease. We can only cast ourselves on his holy
and loving hands for safety or peace: into these hands we do cast
ourselves, with all that is dearest to us in this world. We have
proved our Jesus to be the Captain and Author of our hopes, and always
found that in the power of his name we have obtained the victory.
Nothing but the Lord's loving pity can prevent the most awful
extension of the disease; not only are the people crowded together,
two or three dying in one room, but the intercourse is perfectly
unrestricted in all parts of the city, so that I fear what is now
confined to one quarter, and might possibly, by a vigilant government
be kept there, is spreading in all directions. We have, therefore,
been forced to the most painful step of breaking up our school, for it
would have been quite impossible to collect together eighty children
from different parts of the city, without exposing all to danger. May
the Lord enable us profitably to avail ourselves of our retirement, to
cultivate a more extended communion with him who is our life. Dear M.
is much staid on her God, and feels that as he has been, so he will be
to us a hiding place in every storm.
_April 1._--The plague is still increasing, but apparently not
rapidly. We wait the Lord's pleasure in our own house. The only
inconvenience is want of water, which cannot be had from without; and
they say that when the plague becomes intense all the water carriers
cease to ply; but the Lord hath said, in the time of famine ye shall
be satisfied; on this promise we rest in peace.
Two English gentlemen set off to-morrow across the desert with a
single guide to Damascus, to examine the means of communication by
water between the Mediterranean and Aleppo. From thence, should they
be spared, they purpose going to Beer, and thence pass down the
Euphrates with the view of ascertaining its fitness for steam
navigation. Surveys have already been completed between this and
Bussorah, of both the Tigris and Euphrates, by Mr. Ormsby, in part
assisted by Mr. Elliot, and from Ana to Felugia by Captain Chesney
of the Royal Artillery, and there remains between Beer and Ana to
be examined. Through all that has yet been surveyed there is no
obstruction, but it is expected there will be a little labour required
in one or two points of what remains to be surveyed, before steam
communications could proceed on the rivers. If these gentlemen thus
labour for what perishes in the using, and run such risks, going as
they are across the desert with a guide, whose language they do not
understand, ought it to be called tempting God, in us going for such a
work as ours is, to run similar risks and encounter similar dangers.
The deaths at present from the plague are confined to the Mohammedans
and the Jews. To avoid it, many of the Jews have gone to Bussorah,
and the Kourds who brought it here have fled from the city; a large
caravan of Christians are now thinking of returning to Mosul, who were
driven from Mosul three or four years ago by plague and its attendant
famine.
The poor Jews have been robbed of every thing by the Arabs, and sent
naked back, and there seems little better prospect for those who are
going to Mosul: they have the Arabs on one side the road, and the
Kourds on the other.
It is striking how fully and simply the Mohammedans admit the expected
coming of our Lord and the end of the world. The end of our Lord's
coming they conceive to be to set his seal to Mohammed's mission, and
that all Christians will become Mohammedans. Still these fundamental
errors in their views do not prevent a clear and distinct expectation
similar to that of the heathen at the time of our Lord's coming.
Certainly no people can have a worse opinion of the state of the
professors of their religion than the Mohammedans have; still, with
the loss of zeal for their own, their heart seems full of a strong
delusion to believe a lie, and hate the way of life, and above all,
the Lord who is the true God and eternal life.
How blessed the 91st Psalm feels at such moments as these, in looking
round on one's little family, to know that every arrow that flies,
winged with death, is no random shot, but that the Lord who is your
life, and by whom your life is hid in God, directs them all. Call upon
me, says the Lord, in the day of trouble, and I will deliver _thee_,
and thou shalt _glorify me_. Blessed Lord, when thou hast (as thou
most assuredly wilt do) delivered us, may we never forget to glorify
and bless thee. Oh! what a blessed feeling it is to know that you are
not under the general but especial and particular government of
Jehovah--that he has redeemed you, and you are his--that he has
engraven you on the palms of his hands; and that day and night he is
watching to preserve you.
_April 3._--An immense crowd of poor Jews left the city this morning,
to escape the destruction of the plague. The Christians also are
leaving in every direction they can find open. I fear these poor
creatures in their flight can hardly fail to carry the plague with
them.
I have lately read several of Erskine's works, or little portions of
his writings, and never did I see the pernicious effects of system
displayed more legibly than in several of his most interesting, but as
a whole, most delusive publications. In his view of Gospel freeness,
and other places where similar views to those contained in that little
work are promulgated, there seems, to my mind, a radical defect, that
nothing in so good a man accounts for but the baneful effects of a
system, and a secret insurmountable repugnance to the sovereignty of
God's government, and the individuality of God's election in Christ
Jesus, from before the foundation of the world. I do not mean that
these doctrines are denounced; but they evidently are not entertained
as the comfort and consolation of the soul, nor as they are
represented by the Apostles, as the most overwhelming reasons for
unlimited devotion to his service, who has thus chosen us with our
bodies, souls, and spirits, which are his. He talks of spreading the
beauty of the Lord Jesus, and the excellency of God's love, not only
as the pasture of their souls, who are born again of the Spirit, of
which they undoubtedly are the legitimate, the only food and means of
their spiritual growth, but as the cause of spiritual life in the
unregenerate by being believed. Now, this appears to me a radical and
fundamental error. Food does not give life, though it sustains and
expands it. What he says of the effects of love, in moulding the soul
to the likeness of the object beloved, is most true; but in order to
the existence of this love, not merely faith in God's love seems to be
necessary, nor the reality of the things promised, but such a new
creation in the soul, as shall see a desirableness in it and them.
As we see in nature, when the heart is engaged by one object of
affection, any demonstration of affection from another, which involves
the relinquishment of it, not only does not give pleasure, but
positive pain, though you know its reality, purity, and intensity; the
fact is, the affections are occupied, and there is no place. So it is
by nature with every man, and while he remains in this state, no
knowledge of love, however real, intense, and devoted, when he sees
its tendency to disconnect him from the only source of known
enjoyment, by the substitution of that which he has no senses to
appreciate, will ever be found available. It appears to me, that the
spiritual immortal generation of the second Adam, the Lord from
heaven, is in Scripture represented to be as real and absolute as the
generation from our earthly head, and only invisible from being
spiritual. It has its proper food, its proper growth. Without being
thus begotten from above, though you could display all the beauties of
him who is the chief among ten thousand, the altogether lovely, though
you could display all the Father's love to the church from the day he
commanded his gathering it, till this day, it would be as powerless as
spreading the most sumptuous banquet before the dead.
With respect to the general design of vindicating the government of
God from the charge of partiality, which I feel to be at the bottom of
Mr. Erskine's views, I do not see that the Lord has committed it to
us, but, whenever in the Old Testament or in the New, he pleads with
his children against their ingratitude, it is from the specialty of
his love. He does not say to the Israelites, I have dealt with you
after a common dealing with all; but, with what nation has the Lord
dealt as with Israel. So, in the New, he says, "I have chosen you, not
you me." In the prayer of our Lord, in John xvii. in the Epistles of
Paul and Peter--in the Revelations, and so in all the called and
chosen, and faithful, who are written in the Lamb's book of life, and
have been from the foundation of the world, from the beginning to the
end, I see a constant reference made, and the warmest and most
enlarged attachment of the affections demanded, on the ground of
peculiar, especial, and personal choice on the part of God. That all
this is consistent with every perfection of God's character, and,
therefore, with his equal justice and mercy, I have the fullest
assurance, but that we are in possession of the means of shewing it,
or that the Lord requires it at our hands, I feel fully assured of the
contrary. And the danger Mr. E. seems to apprehend from stating the
doctrines of election as they are usually stated, are more imaginary
than real. For God, who by his Holy Spirit begets the soul again in
the likeness of the divine nature, gives to that nature thus begotten
the power of discriminating in its food between night-shade and sweet
pasture.--When he has created in the soul of any human being the love
of himself, he gives him, with this love, the privilege to rejoice
that his name is written in heaven, and the minister of Christ is by
no means embarrassed by all these apparent difficulties, for he has to
display all the beauty of Christ, all the love of the Father, all the
graces of the Spirit before the assembled world, knowing that all the
sheep will hear, and feed, and grow, and that the goats will cavil and
stamp down the pasture with their feet. But, ye believe not, because
ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you, My sheep hear my voice and
I know them, and they follow me. Again, he that is of God hath God's
words, ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God. How and
why this is we are not able nor willing to try to answer: all we can
say is, hath not the Lord right to do what he will with his own. Shall
the thing formed say to Him that formed it, "What makest thou?" And
"Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right." And many, many more
like it.
_April 4._--We were last night alarmed by the voices of apparently
thousands of persons on the other side of the river; by degrees the
discharges of guns were mingled with the cries, which gradually
extended also to this side the river. We concluded it must be from a
tribe of Arabs having broken into the city, the noise being exactly
similar, only much more violent, to that of the two tribes of Arabs
who were contending the other day. But after an hour's suspense, we
heard it was a concourse of Arabs to supplicate from God the removal
of the plague from them.
The deaths from the plague do not seem to increase with any rapidity,
these two or three days; 150 perhaps is the highest any day. On a
preceding occasion, about 60 years ago, it amounted to near 2000 a
day. There is with us the father of our schoolmaster, who had the
plague at that time, and says you might have walked from one gate of
the city to the other, and hardly have met a person or heard a sound.
We trust it may be the Lord's gracious purpose to take off the
heaviness of his judgment, and spare yet a little longer this sinful
city.
The news from Europe also--how strange--how anxious; surely the Lord
seems sifting the nations, and shewing their rulers that without the
Lord's blessing their confidences, plans, and speculations, can never
stand. That they should have discovered also that the spiritual and
temporal character of the Pope's government are incompatible--surely
these are signs in the times that may make the most sceptical enquire.
Oh! how joyful a thought it is that the Lord is at hand, and our
pilgrimage near ending.
_April 7._--We had thought the Lord had removed the sword from us, but
we hear it is now near at hand; and the plague seems extending, or
every one is running away. Sometimes, on looking round on our dear
little circle, the old heavy faithless flesh would seek its quiet,
sheltered retreat under the lofty elms, but the Lord never allows the
spirit for one moment to desire otherwise than to wait and see the
salvation of our God, who will for his name's sake do wonderfully for
us, that our hearts may rejoice in him. We hear the enemy is within
three days of the city, and the Pasha is going out with all his Haram,
whether to contend or fly we do not know, but we think from his
character, the latter; but where shall he fly? If he flies with gold,
there are those who will plunder him: if he flies without, he cannot
stir a step. In fact, the moment his affairs are actually sinking, all
the miserable elements of his present comparative strength turn
against him.
_April 9._--Stillness still prevails over the city, like the calm
which precedes a convulsion; our neighbours are preparing for defence,
by getting armed men into their houses, but we sit down under the
shadow of the Almighty's wings, fully assured that in his name we
shall boast ourselves. The Pasha, however, has not gone out as he
intended yesterday.
We have just heard that the reports of the plague has stopped for a
little the approach of the enemies of the Pasha, still every thing is
exceedingly unsettled. He is going to shut himself up in the citadel
till the answer comes from Constantinople to his overtures, but all
those about him are against him, and wishing for the arrival of his
enemies. About fifty went out the other day, and seized on Hillah,[22]
but they were driven out.
[22] Hillah is a small town on the river Euphrates, a little
below the ruins of Babylon. It was built in the year 495 of the
Hegira, or 1115 of the Christian era, in a district called by the
natives El Aredh Babel; its population does not exceed between 6 and
7000, consisting of Arabs and Jews, there being no Christians, and
only such Turks as are employed in the Government. The inhabitants
bear a very bad character. The air is salubrious, and the soil
extremely fertile, producing great quantities of rice, dates, and
grain of different kinds, though it is not cultivated to above half
the degree of which it is susceptible,--See Mr. Rich's Memoirs on the
Ruins of Babylon.--_Editor._
_April 10._--The Lord has in many respects this day altered our
position here. One of Major Taylor's seapoys has died of the plague,
and now four of the servants are attacked. This has so alarmed Major
T. and the family, that they are immediately going off to a country
house, built by order of the Government of Bombay, for the Resident in
the neighbourhood of Bussorah, and they may or may not return to this
place. They have kindly offered us an asylum with them, and a passage
in their boat. Having no immediate occupation here at present, I feel
quite free to accept it, but there are considerations that prevent
us.--Hitherto the Lord has kept us safe, and no symptom of plague has
appeared in our dwelling--though it is all around us. We cannot move
without coming in contact with numbers of people for many days, and
being shut up in a small boat with the Arab sailors,[23] and even the
very plague we may leave this city to avoid, may have reached Bussorah
before we arrived there, as thousands have already set off from hence
for that place; besides which, should it be the Lord's pleasure that
the plague terminate soon, and we then wish to return, it may be many
months before we may meet with an opportunity. The only advantage
seems to be, that we should thus be apparently further removed from
those troubles which seem likely to arise in the threatened attempt to
depose this Pasha; yet, on the whole, we feel we may hold on with the
Lord's blessing; but if we were once to leave our present post, it
might be very difficult again to regain it.
[23] The whole of those who took down the boats died.
The accounts brought us of the numbers of those who have died of the
plague, on this side of the river alone, in little more than one
fortnight, all agree in making it about 7000. The poor inhabitants
know not what to do: if they remain in the city, they die of the
plague; if they leave it, they fall into the hands of the Arabs, who
strip them, or they are exposed to the effects of an inundation of the
river Tigris, which has now overflown the whole country around Bagdad,
and destroyed, they say, 2000 houses on the other side of the river,
but I think this must be exaggerated; the misery of this place,
however, is now beyond expression, and may yet be expected to be much
greater. Dreadful as the outward circumstances of this people are,
their moral condition is infinitely worse; nor does there seem to be a
ray of light amidst it all. The Mohammedans look on those who die of
the plague as martyrs, and when they die there is no wailing made for
them; so that amidst all these desolations there is a stillness, that
when one knows the cause is very frightful. The Lord enables us to
feel the blessedness of the 91st Psalm, at least of the portion of
those to whom that Psalm pertains; and we have, amidst all these very
trying circumstances, a peace that passeth understanding. We feel
indeed that we owe it to our Lord's love to be careful for nothing,
neither to run or make haste as others, but to stand still and see the
salvation of our God.
There was a curious conversation going on last night, among some
Mohammedans, outside our window, relative to the plague, which they
said was an especial judgment on them and the Jews, but from which
Christ would deliver the Nazarenes, and in all these calamities, it is
remarkable how doubly heavy, they fall on these two classes. Feelings
like these, and others that we know exist, make us clear to stay where
we are in the midst of these judgments, trying as they are to natural
feeling. That which comes to the ungodly _as judgments_, comes to the
child of God, like the chariot of fire to Elijah. From these
visitations as judgments, we have an especial promise of protection,
and we trust in the midst of them some good may spring up; at all
events, we feel that we shall have quite met our dear Lord's mind in
giving this people a last opportunity of hearing, ere their house is
left unto them desolate.
_April 12._--I have just taken leave of the kind T.'s. The accounts of
the dead are truly terrific; they say the day before yesterday 1200
died, and yesterday Major T.'s man of business obtained a receipt to
the amount of 1040 on this side of the river. If this statement can
be relied on, the mortality, within and without the city, must be
truly appalling, and should it not please the Lord soon to stay the
destroying Angel's hand, the whole country must become one wide
waste. Some very kind Armenians[24] have offered to provide what is
necessary for our journey to Damascus, if we will go with them. The
possibility of meeting our dear Brethren is a great temptation, but
still we do not see clearly our permission to go, and the Lord has
given us all such perfect peace in staying, and such perfect health,
that we are even unwilling to go; we remain, therefore, and wait upon
our Lord's love, which we feel assured will be manifested towards us
amidst this scene of death; and afterwards we shall see why we
remained, more clearly perhaps than now.
[24] The caravan they went by suffered the most complicated
misery both from the flood and the plague, and never succeeded in
prosecuting the journey.
_April 13._--The plague has just entered our neighbour's dwelling,
where they have collected together nearly thirty persons, not simply
their own family. It seems as if a spirit of infatuation had seized
them, for instead of making their number as small as possible, they
seem to congregate as many together as they can.
Oh! what a blessed portion is ours, to have the God of Israel and his
unchangeable promises for our sure and abiding place of rest--our
little sanctuary unto which we may always resort. Yea, in the secret
of his pavilion he will hide us.
_April 14._--This is a day of awful visitation. The accounts of deaths
yesterday vary from between 1000 and 1500; and to-day, they say, is
worse than any, and the increase in the numbers of deaths is exclusive
of the immense multitudes who are dying without the city. One of our
schoolmasters[25] is gone to Damascus, and has taken with him his
little nephew who was boarding with us, so we are indeed now quite
alone. In fact, nothing prevents the entire desertion of the city, but
the dangers of the way, and the poverty of the inhabitants.
[25] He died afterwards--he was the one mentioned in my
former Journal as having come from Shiraz.
_April 15._--The accounts of the mortality yesterday still more
alarming--1800 deaths in the city. There was great danger of the
bodies being left in the houses, and the inhabitants flying and
leaving them unburied, but by great exertions on the part of some
young men in one quarter of the town to bury the dead there, others
have been stimulated in other quarters to similar exertions, and last
night all were buried. Our Moolah has just been here; he says he has
bought winding sheets for himself, his brother, and his mother.[26] He
says that yesterday he was in the Jew's quarter, and only met one
person, and that was a woman, who, when she saw him, ran in and locked
the door. Meat, for some days, or any thing else from without, we have
been unable to get. Water alone we have obtained. But, to-day, even
that we cannot get at any price; every waterman you stop, answers he
is carrying it to wash the bodies of the dead.
[26] Both he and his brother died.
_April 16._--The accounts of yesterday are worse than any day, and an
Armenian girl, who has been here this morning, said she saw, in a
distance of about 600 yards, fifty dead bodies carrying to burial. The
son of Gaspar Khan, our next neighbour, is dead. Two have been carried
out from a little passage opposite our house to-day, where two more
are ill. All you see passing have a little bunch of herbs, or a rose,
or an onion to smell to, and yet as to real measures of precaution
there has not been one step taken; not even contact avoided, and the
most unrestrained intercourse goes on in every direction, so that
nothing but the Lord's arm shortening it, can prevent the entire
desolation of the whole province. The population of Bagdad cannot
exceed 80,000, and of this number more than half have fled,[27] so
that the mortality of 2000 a-day is going on among considerably less
than 40,000 people. But the Lord tells us, when we hear or see these
things, not to have our hearts troubled, for our redemption draweth
nigh; and we believe it, and accept it as a sweet drop in the bitter
cup that is now drinking to the very dregs by so many about us; and
which, but for this expectation, would bow down the stoutest heart.
[27] Most of them were driven back by the increase of the
waters without.
One of Major T.'s servants has just been here, who says the city is a
perfect desert, only peopled by the dead, the bearers of the dead, and
the water carriers. Our household are all in perfect health, thanks be
to our loving Shepherd's care.
_April 17._--To-day, as yesterday, we have heard nothing as to
numbers. The accounts are very contradictory; some saying that there
is very little plague, others, that it is heavier than any day; so
that probably, in some parts of the city, it is very severe, and in
others lighter.
An Armenian told the schoolmaster that almost every one you meet is
carrying cotton and things for the interment of the dead. We are
left almost alone in our own neighbourhood, all having fled in one
direction or another; we have been, however, all preserved in health,
to the praise of the Keeper of Israel.
Surely every principle of dissolution is operating in the midst of the
Ottoman, and Persian empires. Plagues, earthquakes, and civil wars,
all mark that the days of the Lord's coming are at hand, and this is
our hope--on this our eyes and hearts rest as the time of repose, when
all these trials shall cease, and the saints shall possess the
kingdom.
_April 18._--To-day the accounts are truly distressing. In the family
of one of our little boys, consisting of six, four are laid down with
the plague, father, mother, one son, and one daughter--only one son
and a daughter remaining. Immense numbers of families will be
altogether swept away, and many thousand of fatherless and motherless
children left when this heavy judgment of God ceases. It is now become
useless to attempt obtaining accurate accounts about numbers.
_April 19._--Still heavy, heavy news. The Moolah has called to give us
an account of the city. He says it now stands stationary at between
1,500 and 2,000 a-day, and has been so for a fortnight. What a mass of
mortality! Among the Pasha's soldiers, he says they have lost, in some
of the regiments, above 500 out of 700.--And in the towns and villages
without, the report is, that it is as bad or worse than within the
city.
_April 20._--The plague much the same. Among the Armenians nine were
buried yesterday, and seven to-day. There are not left in the city
more than 400, and now there is the plague in every third or fourth
house. The water also is increasing, so that a little more will
inundate the whole city on this side the river, as it has on the
other, to the inexpressible additional misery of the poor people. The
caravan which left for Damascus can neither advance nor return on
account of the water. Yesterday four dead were carried out from the
little passage opposite our house, making in all 14 dead from eight
houses, and there are others now lying ill.
_April 21._--To-day the accounts of the plague are rather more
favourable, though another has been carried out from the passage
opposite us, and there are some ill in three houses adjoining ours.
The river has burst into the cellars of the Residency, and is within a
foot of inundating the whole city.
_April 22._--Having had occasion to-day to go out to the Residency, to
endeavour to save some things from the water, which has come into all
the cellars, in every way I was overwhelmed with the awful state of
the city, and at the difficulty of obtaining help of any kind at any
price. The servant of Major T----, who is left in charge of the house,
told me he had applied in every direction, but could get no one to
help him; one had a wife dead or dying, another a mother, another was
employed in carrying water for the dead, and on our way, we saw the
Court of the Meshid or Mosque full of graves; and no longer finding
room there, they were burying the dead in the public road. When in
want of water, I think we shall be obliged to go to the river and
fetch it for ourselves, as a water-carrier is hardly now to be seen,
except when followed by a man forcing him to carry water to some house
where there is death. Amidst all, the Lord lets not his destroying
angels enter our dwelling; though tens of thousands are falling around
us, we are all, by his grace and holy keeping, well. The business of
death is now come to that height, that people seem to take their
nearest relations, and bring them for interment with as much
indifference as they would transact the most ordinary business.
_April 23._--The plague not decreasing; two more were brought out
to-day from the passage opposite to us, making seventeen from eight
houses near us. The mother of the Seyd, who owns our house, has been
buried in her house, as no one could be found to bury her. Another
most affecting instance has just occurred. A little girl of about
twelve years old was seen carrying an infant in her arms, and being
asked whose it was, she said, she did not know, but had found it in
the road, having heard that both its parents were dead. Water now is
not to be had for money; yet even in these times Israel's pillar has
its bright side to Israel. These things must come to pass; but when we
see these signs, we must remember that our redemption draweth nigh;
and the Lord will be a little sanctuary for us, let him send however
sore judgments on the earth.
_April 24._--The plague still raging with most destructive violence;
the two servants in our next neighbour's house are both dead, and two
horses left, I fear, to starve. A poor Armenian woman has just been
here, to beg a little sugar for a little infant she picked up in the
street this morning; and she says, another neighbour of her's picked
up two more. They have just been digging graves beside our house.
Almost all the cotton is consumed, so that persons are wandering
all over the city to find some, for burying their dead. Water not
to be had at any price, nor a water-carrier to be seen. Oh, what
heart-rending scenes sin has introduced into the world! Oh, when will
the Lord come to put an end to these scenes of disorder, physical as
well as moral? In one short month, not less than 30,000 souls have
passed from time to eternity in this city, and yet, even now, no
diminution apparently of deaths. Surely the judgment of the Lord is
on this land? One more taken from the little passage opposite, making
nineteen from the eight houses.
_April 25._--To-day, three more from the same passage, making
twenty-one from these houses. Such a disease I never heard of or
witnessed; certainly not more than one in twenty recovers; every one
attacked seems to die.
This has been a heart-rending day. The accounts from the Residency,
and the falling of a wall, undermined by the water, obliged me to go
out, and I found nothing but signs of death and desolation; hardly
a soul in the streets, unless such as were carrying the dead, or
themselves affected with plague, and at a number of doors, and in the
lanes, bundles of clothes that had been taken from the dead, and put
out. The Court of the Mosque was shut, having no place left for
burying, and graves were digging in every direction in the roads, and
in the unoccupied stables about the city. The water also has increased
so much as to be within a few inches of inundating the city. Should
this further calamity come on this side, as it has on the other, the
height of human misery will be near its climax, for where they will
then bury their dead I know not. There seems no diminution in the
plague yet, that we can discern. Two of the men we had helping to take
Major T----'s things from the water are attacked; one of them is the
fourth from a house, consisting of six. The remaining servant of Mr.
T---- had intelligence brought while I was there, that his aunt was
dead, which, he says, is the eighth near relation he has lost.
Some of the Mohammedans, our neighbours, were sitting under our
windows last evening, and were observing, that while two or three had
been taken from every house, we only had remained free. And this is of
the Lord's marvellous love. We consist of thirteen, including the
schoolmaster's family, and the Lord has given his destroying angel
charge to pass over our door.
The Pasha has sent to desire, that he might have Major T----'s yacht
drawn up near the Seroy or Palace to go into, in case the water should
increase; and when the man was sent for, who had the charge of the
vessel, he with another had run away, three were dead, and only one
remained. These are surely the days of visitation for the pride of
Edom. The man who sold cotton for burying the dead, the price of which
he raised from 45 to 95 piastres, and who lived only two doors from
us, died yesterday. There is no more cotton left in the city, and they
now bury the dead in their clothes. The price of soap is raised four
times higher than usual. I have been enabled, by the Lord's goodness,
to get all our water-jars filled, though at twenty times the usual
price. The bodies of persons of considerable wealth are now just put
on the back of a donkey, or a mule, and carried away to be buried,
accompanied by one servant. We have also much anxiety about the people
of the Damascus-caravan, of which we can hear no tidings, whether or
not they have been swallowed up by the inundation. Whether they have
been able to retreat to some eminence, or what is become of them we
know not. The poor women who have taken charge of the two poor little
infants have sent to us for food for them, as in these countries they
have no idea of bringing up children by hand. It may be to be
instrumental in saving some of these poor little infants, and in
helping the orphans that remain, that the Lord has allowed us to stay
here. They are all Mohammedan children.
_April 26._--For many days we have been unable to obtain any account
of the number of deaths; but the _Chaoush_ of Major T---- has been
with the Pasha this morning, who is in the greatest possible state of
alarm, wishing to go, but not knowing how. One of his officers, whose
business it is to inquire about the number of deaths daily, reported
that it had reached 5,000, but yesterday was 3,000, and to-day less.
Enormous as the mortality has been, I cannot but think this beyond the
truth; yet it must be remembered, that the inundation kept immense
masses of poor thronged together in the city, who, but for this, would
have all fled in one direction or another.
The accounts are heart-rending of little children left in the
streets; five were left yesterday, a poor woman told us, near the
Residency, and others in different directions. If the wrath of God is
pouring out on the mystical Babylon, as it is on this province of the
literal Babylon; the two antichrists are beginning to draw near their
end. But for the presence of the Lord in our dwelling, as its light
and joy, what a place would this be to be alone in now; but with Him,
even this is better than the garden of Eden. These are invaluable
situations for the experience of God's loving distinguishing care, and
here we realize our pilgrim state much better than in the quiet of
England, with all its external apparent security.
The utmost number of daily deaths I heard of at Tabreez were 400, and
here it is said to be 4,000, and yet the population certainly is not
double. In going out to speak with a servant of Major T----, I saw a
very decently dressed female lying in a dying state of plague at our
door quite senseless; it is almost more than the heart can bear. Yet,
that the Lord will even from these scenes prepare ways for the
establishment of his truth, I feel fully assured, and this supports
us. A north wind has regularly blown for these four days past, so that
we hope the water will not again increase. Oh, may our Father of his
infinite mercy take away these heavy heavy judgments, and make their
present measure instrumental to the advancement of his kingdom. The
Soochee Bashee, an officer of police, has just been here, and tells
us, that the Pasha proposes removing to near Coote, a village on the
Tigris, half way between this and Bussorah. At any other time, this
would tend to most fearful convulsions within the city; but in the
present state of things, perhaps, all may remain quiet, without a
governor. When the plague, that now desolates the city ceases, we know
not what may happen; but this we do know, that the love of our Father,
and his gracious providence, will be magnified by all events, and that
we shall yet praise him more and more. It seems to me more than
probable that the Pasha does not intend to return. By the plague he
has lost half his soldiers, and a great number of his Georgian slaves,
who are his personal attached friends; he may now remove without
obstruction perhaps, from any one, or the possibility of any
communication being made to his enemies to intercept him; but time
only will show; however this may be, it is certain that should the
plague cease to-morrow, the city is in such a state, that no
resistance could be made for one moment to any enemy. How invaluable
the past proofs of the Lord's loving kindness and tender mercies are
at such times, the remembrance of him from the Hill Mizar of the
Hermonites. In going along the streets to-day, I saw several poor
sufferers labouring under the plague; and a number of places, where
clothes had been brought out and burnt.
Our anxieties have been greatly increased by the illness of our dear
little baby; but our unerring Physician has restored her to us to-day,
we trust in a measure which promises amendment.
_April 27._--To-day all thoughts are turned from the plague to the
inundation, which from the falling of a portion of the city wall on
the north-west side last night, let the water in full stream into the
city. The Jews' quarter is inundated, and 200 houses fell there last
night: we are hourly expecting to hear, that every part of the city is
overflowed. A part also of the wall of the citadel is fallen. And, in
fact, such is the structure of the houses, that if the water remains
near the foundations long, the city must become a mass of ruins. The
mortar they use in building is very like plaister of Paris, which sets
very hard, and does very well when all is dry; but as soon as ever
water is applied, it all crumbles to powder; and in building walls of
four or five feet thick, they have only an outside casing of brick
work thus cemented, and within it is filled up with dust and rubbish,
so that what seems strong enough in appearance to bear any thing, soon
moulders away, and by its own weight accelerates its ruin. It must be
many many years, if ever, before the city can recover. But it seems
to me, that this seat of Mohammedan glory, and of its proudest
recollections, has received its death-warrant from the hand of the
Lord. This inundation has not only ruined an immense number of houses
in the city, and been the cause of tens of thousands dying of the
plague, but the whole harvest is destroyed. The barley, which was just
ready to be reaped, is utterly gone, and every other kind of corn must
likewise be ruined, so that for 30 miles all round Bagdad, not a grain
of corn can be collected this year, and perhaps, if all was quiet this
might be of no consequence, for from Mosul and Kourdistan it might
easily come; but this will be prevented by the enemies of the Pasha
who surround us. The poor are beginning to feel immense difficulty in
the city, for all the shops are shut, and there is a great scarcity of
wood for firing; and should the water now cause a general inundation
of the whole city, the heart sickens at the contemplation of the
scenes that must follow; for the houses of the poor are nothing but
mud, scarcely one of which will be left standing.
For ourselves personally, the Lord has allowed us great peace, and
assured confidence in his loving care, and in the truth of his
promise, that our bread and our water shall be sure; but certainly
nothing but the service of such a Lord as he is would keep me in the
scenes which these countries do exhibit, and I feel assured will,
till the Lord has finished his judgments on them, for the contempt of
the name, nature, and offices of the Son of God; yet I linger in the
hope he has a remnant even among them, for whose return these
convulsions are preparing the way.
_April 28._--News more and more disastrous. The inundation has swept
away 7,000 houses from one end of the city to the other, burying the
sick, the dying, and the dead, with many of those in health, in one
common grave.[28] Those who have escaped, have brought their goods and
the relics of their families, to the houses the plague has desolated,
or desertion left unoccupied, and houses are yet falling in every
direction.
[28] I have heard of eight thus buried in one house, or
rather belonging to one family, the remains of which are come to
reside next us in a house, where those who had the charge of it are
dead.
The Lord has stopped the water just at the top of our street by a
little ledge of high ground, so that as yet we are dry; and all free
from the sword of the destroying angel. Scarcity of provision is
beginning to be sensibly felt, so that very respectable persons are
coming to the door to beg a little bread, or a little butter, or some
other simple necessary of life. To-day, the number dying in the road
was much greater than I have before seen, and the number unburied in
the streets daily and hourly increases. The Seroy of the Pasha is a
heap of ruins, and though he is most anxious to go, he cannot collect
forty men to man the yacht, for all fear of him is now past, and love
for him they have none; his distress beggars all description, for not
a single native vessel is left in Bagdad, every one having been
employed in taking down the crowds to Bussorah at the commencement of
this dreadful calamity. I have from day to day mentioned the dead
taken from the eight houses opposite to ours; that number has to-day
reached twenty-four; in one of these, out of nine, one only survives;
and I mention twenty-four not as all, but as those which have been
seen carried out by some of the schoolmaster's family, who were
however very little in that room which overlooks this passage. Of
another family near the Meidan, out of thirteen one only remains, and
I have no doubt there are hundreds of families similarly swept away;
yet amidst all these trials to the servants of God, my heart does not
despair for the work of the Lord, for no ordinary judgments seem
necessary to break the pride and hatred of this most proud and
contemptuous people; but the Lord will bring Edom down, and make a way
for the Kings of the East to his holy habitation. We have taken one
poor little Mohammedan baby, about three or four years old, from the
streets, and are supplying a poor Armenian woman with pap for another;
but what is this among so many? We know not what to do. It makes
passing the streets most painful and affecting, thus to see little
children from a month or six weeks, to two or four years, crying for a
home, hungry, and naked, and wretched, and knowing not what to do, nor
where to go. Thank God however, to-day the water is a little abated,
about a span lower. Oh, may the Lord's mercy spare yet a little longer
this wretched, wretched city. Oh, how does the glory of the Chalifat
lie in ashes; she seems within a step of falling like her elder sister
Babylon, the glory of the Chaldean's excellency, and in how many
things has her spirit towards the church of God been as bad, yea
worse, than hers. Missionaries in these countries have need of a very
simple faith, which can glory in God's will being done, though all
their plans come to nothing. It was but the other day we were
surrounded by as interesting a school of boys, and a commencing one of
thirteen girls, as the heart could desire; and now if the plague and
desolation were to terminate to-morrow, and our scattered numbers were
assembled, perhaps not more than half would remain to us. Yet dark as
all the labours of the Lord's servants in these countries appears, I
feel assured, that prophecy points them out as specially connected
with many of the great events of the latter days. Yet it requires
great confidence in God's love, and much experience of it, for the
soul to remain in peace, stayed on him, in a land of such changes,
without even one of our own nation near us, without means of escape
in any direction; surrounded with the most desolating plague and
destructive flood, with scenes of misery forced upon the attention
which harrow up the feelings, and to which you can administer no
relief. Even in this scene however, the Lord has kept us of his
infinite mercy, in personal quiet and peace, trusting under the shadow
of his Almighty wing, and has enabled us daily to offer up to his holy
name praise, for suffering us to assemble in undiminished numbers,
when tens of thousands have been falling around us. Neither is this
all, for he has made us know why we staid in this place, and why we
were never allowed to feel it to be our path of duty to leave the post
we were in.
_April 29._--Our situation is becoming daily still more extraordinary,
and in many respects more trying, except that our Lord is our hiding
place, who will preserve us from trouble, and will compass us about
with songs of deliverance. The Pasha has fled, accompanied by his
master of the horse, and his immediate family. His palace is left
open, without a soul to take care of any thing. His stud of beautiful
Arab horses are running about the streets, and are caught by those who
care to take the trouble, and offered for sale for from £10. to £100.
each; his stores also of corn are left open, and every one takes what
he wants, or what he can carry away, which is a great relief to the
poor, for the quantities are enormous, in expectation of a siege.
The plague is working its destructive way, apparently with no other
mitigation than that arising from decreasing numbers in the city; the
inundation however, has prevented this having its full weight, for it
has thronged the remaining population into a compass unnaturally
disproportionate. The house next us, which belongs to a Seyd, who left
it at the beginning of the plague, in charge of two servants who are
dead, is now filled by twenty persons from different directions. The
unburied dead, and the dying, are fearfully accumulating in the
streets. So difficult it is now to find persons to bury, that even the
priest of the Armenian church here, who died two days since, remains
yet unburied.
The water, thank God, is a little lower, but there seems now every
prospect that the moment the waters decrease, the surrounding Arabs
will come in, and plunder the city; yet even this is in the Lord's
hands--our wisdom has ever been to sit still, and see the salvation
of our God, and until we see his cloudy pillar arise from off our
tabernacle, where we feel it has hitherto rested, and move forward,
we shall yet judge our safety to be to sit still. We have in several
instances seen, that there was reason to bless God for remaining
quiet. We once thought of removing to the Residency, as a change to
the dear children, and as being nearer to the water; but still on the
whole we felt it best to remain here; and had we gone, we should have
been in the midst of the plague; or had we gone, when the T----s went
to Bussorah, what a state should we now be in, without the possibility
of removing, and in danger of our lives from the inundation and
falling of the walls, if we stayed.
We had again considered, whether it would be right to leave this with
the caravan for Damascus and Aleppo, which seemed the only opening
there might possibly be for us, so that if we let that pass by, we
must stay whether we would or not; still the Lord made us feel it was
our path to stay looking to him. And had we gone, what a state should
we have been in? For nearly three weeks they have been surrounded with
water, continually increasing around them, so that now we know not
what their situation may be, whether they are swept away, or remain;
but at all events we bless God for having inclined our minds to stay.
Why we did not join our dear and kind friends the T----s, in going to
Bussorah, we do not yet so clearly see the reason of, because we have
received no accounts thence, but it would have cut up alike our
connection with our work here, and with our dear friends at Aleppo,
with whom we feel it daily of more and more importance to have as
speedy a meeting as possible for advice and counsel.
We have just heard of the caravan already mentioned, as going to
Damascus and Aleppo. The plague has taken off eight of the Armenians,
and four have been drowned. The head of the caravan is dead of the
plague also, besides many others; they must therefore return to
Bagdad, instead of advancing on their journey; so in this instance at
least we see great reason to bless God for keeping us back. Yea, the
Lord will instruct us and teach us the way in which we should go, and
will guide us with his eye; this is our confidence and comfort; and in
such a time as this of unheard of perplexity, what a source of abiding
peace is this. We feel it well to know our God in such circumstances
as ours. Among the Armenians, thirteen died to-day, the largest number
yet in one day.
_April 30._--The report of the flight of the Pasha, it appears was not
true, and arose from the two circumstances I have mentioned, of his
horses having been seen running about the streets, and his supplies
being open to the people. He has been for several days endeavouring to
get away, and had drawn up for that purpose some boats under the
Seroy. All his stables were levelled to the ground, and the place
flooded with water. When the distress of the people was mentioned to
him, he ordered one of his corn stores to be opened to them. However,
to-day, blessed be God's Holy Name, _the waters have sunk more than a
yard_, so we trust the great danger is over.
To-day, one more was brought out dead from the eight opposite houses,
making twenty-five, and we know there are four more lying ill there.
Our poor schoolmaster, who went in the caravan, is dead, and was
buried in his tent.
_May 1._--The Lord has brought us all in safety to the beginning of
another month, through the most trying period of my life; yet the Lord
has every day filled our mouth with praise, and enabled us to see his
preserving hand.
To-day, as I passed along the street, I saw numbers of dead bodies
lying unburied, and the dogs eating with avidity the loathsome food.
Oh! it made my very heart sink. The numbers of the dead can now be no
longer ascertained, for most of the bodies are buried either in the
houses or in the roads; yet amidst all this, the Lord suffers not the
destroying angel to enter our dwelling; but we feel the Lord has
commanded the man with the ink-horn to write us down to be spared, as
this is one of the vials of God's wrath on his enemies.
_May 2._--We have heard nothing to-day to vary the general scene
of our calamities; the intensity of this most desolating disease
surpasses all thought. Numbers of families are altogether swept away;
in numerous others, out of ten or twelve, only one, two, or three
remain; but I hear of none, save our own, where death has not entered.
Yet, while I bless and praise the Holy Name of our Lord, under whose
wing alone we came here, and under whose wing alone we have trusted,
the things my eyes have seen, and my ears heard, press upon my heart,
and make me at times very sad; neither can I chase them from my mind.
I can only look forward for comfort to that day, when the Lord himself
will come to put an end to this dispensation of desolation, and
introduce his own peace. Yea, come Lord Jesus, come quickly.
We have just heard melancholy tidings of another caravan, which
endeavoured to escape into Persia from the plague, but has been forced
back again by the Arabs, the floods, and the scarcity of provisions,
and besides numbers among them have died daily of the plague, so still
we can bless God we did not leave our present position by this last
opportunity. Let us then again bless him for not allowing us to make
haste.
_May 3._--To-day we trust the Lord has a little alleviated the
virulence of the plague; many attacked yesterday, and the day before,
have been rapidly recovering, and fewer deaths have taken place
to-day--a great deal so far as we can ascertain. May God's holy name
be praised, who is a hiding place from every storm. We had our water
jars filled again to-day, when many, even of the rich, who have
connections in every direction, find the greatest difficulty. "Your
water shall be sure." We who are alone, and without a friend within
hundreds of miles in any direction, have been supplied by our Lord's
gracious ordering; thus he puts a new song into our mouths, even a
song of thanksgiving. To-day all are well, even our dear little baby
is quite recovered.
_May 4._--The weather has for these two or three days past been
beautifully fine, and clear, and hot, by which our God seems to have
mitigated the symptoms of the plague. All accounts to-day are
encouraging; the number of new cases few, and the number of those
recovering many. Our eyes have also been rejoiced by the sight of
three or four water-carriers passing again, after an interval of ten
days; many more people have also been passing and repassing than
before; so we trust the Lord is now taking away this desolating
judgment, which, in less than two months, has carried away more than
half the population of this city; for, allowing that it had been
silently making its deadly course three weeks before it was
discovered, it does not exceed eight weeks, and by far the greatest
portion of deaths have been within the last four weeks.
_May 5._--In my journal yesterday, I mention more than half the
population as having been swept away in the inconceivably short space
of two months, but every account I have received, convinces me that
this is within the number; certainly not less than two thirds have
been swept away, and this seems to have arisen from a complication of
causes. At the time when the great mass of the population would have
fled, and thus have thinned the city, the waters rose so high, that
they could move only with great difficulty; they waited in the hopes
of the water subsiding, instead of which, it so increased, that those
who had left the town and could get back, were compelled to return;
those who could not, were driven to seek some high ground where they
might remain safe from the water, but in all cases they were crowded
together without the power of moving their position.--Again, in the
city, when by the death of immense multitudes the population became
greatly thinned, the inundation of the water laid more than half the
town level with the ground, and drove the remaining people to
congregate together wherever they could find a dry place or an open
house, so that often twenty or thirty came to reside together in the
same house, as was the case next door to us; thus again the deaths
became awfully great. Inquire where you will, the answer is, The city
is desolate: around the Pasha four Georgians alone remain alive out of
more than one hundred. The son of our Moolah, who is dead, told me
to-day, that in the quarter where he lives, not one human being is
left--they are all dead. Out of about eighteen servants and seapoys
that Major T. left, fourteen are dead, two have now the plague,[29]
and two remain well. Among the Armenians, more than half are dead. An
Armenian who was with us to-day, tells us, there are not more than
twenty-seven men left in one hundred and thirty houses. I, however,
think that this is exaggerated.
[29] Those two died.
At Hillah, the modern Babylon, (population 10,000), there is, Seyd
Ibrahim told me to-day, scarce a soul left, and the dogs and the wild
beasts alone are there feeding on the dead bodies. This Seyd Ibrahim
is one of the surviving servants of Major T.; and is the only one of a
family of fourteen who remains alive.--His four brothers, their wives,
his own wife, their children, and his own, are all dead. If mystical
Babylon is suffering, as the seat of this Archbishopric of the literal
Babylon, the times are not far off when the river Euphrates shall be
dried up for the kings of the east to pass over.
For digging a grave they ask a sum that equals in England three
pounds, in consequence of which numbers have remained unburied about
the streets, so that the Pasha has been obliged to engage men, paying
them at the same rate for each body they will throw into the river.
In all the villages the desolation seems as complete as it is here.
When day by day I rise and see our numbers complete, and all in
health, my soul is indeed made to feel what cannot the Lord do? though
ten thousand shall fall at thy right hand it shall not come nigh
thee.--I do not yet see what effect all this is likely to have on our
labours here--whether it will break down or build up barriers; yet we
expect it will break down, for the Lord seems thus breaking to pieces
the power if not the pride of this haughty people. I have been struck
two or three times lately, in going out, with the intense hatred that
lurks at the bottom of the hearts of this people against Christians;
my dress manifested me to be one, and some Arabs I met, particularly
the women, cursed me with the most savage ferocity as I passed, two
or three calling out at me as though I were the cause of all their
calamities; and the people who are come to live next door to us, are
bitter against us, especially one man among them, who seems to have
his heart quite corroded, because they are dying and we are preserved
by our Lord's love; he sits and talks under our window, saying, "These
Christians and Jews alone remain, but in the whole of Bagdad you will
hardly find one hundred Mohammedans." This is altogether false, for
though in proportion as many Christians may not have died as
Mohammedans and Jews, yet the deaths among them have been enormous,
as the preceding accounts will have shewn.
Medicine I have found of no use. If you attack the fever, they die of
prostration of strength; if you endeavour to support the constitution,
they die of oppression on the brain. Those cases which first affected
the head with delirium, have been the most fatal; next those with
carbuncles, which did not appear, however, for a fortnight after the
commencement of the disease. Among those who have recovered, almost
the whole have had large glandular swellings, speedily separating and
thus relieving the constitution.
This night, the first time for three weeks, I have heard again the
Muezzin's call to prayers, from the minarets of the Mosques.
_May 6._--The water to-day is much decreased. I saw a man also with
fresh meat in his hand. I likewise saw many recovering from the plague
walking about, leaning on sticks, and sitting by the way-side. The
number of deaths, among the Armenians, to-day, amounted to 11, which,
considering that their whole remaining numbers cannot exceed 300 at
present, is an enormous mortality, and has a little damped our hopes
of a speedy conclusion to this awful visitation.
_May 7._--Of the plague nothing satisfactory to-day. Thieves are
multiplying in every direction; and news has come from Mosul that a
new Pasha has arrived there, who only waited for the cessation of
the plague to advance against Bagdad. Great part of his work of
destruction is already done for him, as hardly a Georgian is left,
and he will find money enough left without owners, to supply his own
utmost rapacity, or the demands of the Sultan. The Lord is our only
secure resting place, and we know that he who delivers us out of six
troubles, can and will deliver us out of seven.
The water is decreasing most rapidly, so that rice is beginning to
be brought from the other side of the river; and as all those who
monopolized the sale of wood, and not only asked enormous prices, but
cheated in the weight, are all dead, every one now that needs wood
takes it, so that the situation of the poor seems in this respect a
little improved.
There has not been among all the circumstances of this scene of
complicated suffering, any one that has more painfully affected my own
mind than the increasing number of infants and little children that
have been left exposed in the streets, and the absolute impossibility
of meeting such a state of things. We greatly desired to take one or
two; but our own little baby was ill, so that by night Mary had hardly
any rest, and at best, not being strong in such a climate, we came
reluctantly to the decision that we were not able to undertake such an
additional charge.
This is an anxious evening. Dear Mary is taken ill--nothing that would
at any other time alarm me, but now very little creates anxiety; yet
her heart is reposing on her Lord with perfect peace, and waiting his
will. A few hours, perhaps, may show us that it is but a little trial
of our faith to draw us nearer the fountain of our life. To nature it
seems fearful to think of the plague entering our dwelling; in our
present situation, nothing but the Lord's especial love could sustain
the soul in the contemplation of a young family, left in such a land,
at such a time, and in such circumstances; but we feel we came out
under the shadow of the Almighty's wing, and we know that his pavilion
will be our sanctuary, let his gracious providence prescribe what it
may. On his love, therefore, we cast ourselves with all our personal
interests.
_May 8._--The Lord has this day manifested that the attack of my dear
dear wife, is the plague, and of a very dangerous and malignant kind,
so that our hearts are prostrate in the Lord's hand. As I think the
infection can have only come through me, I have little hope of
escaping, unless by the Lord's special intervention. It is indeed an
awful moment, the prospect of having a little family in such a country
at such a time. Yet, my dearest wife's faith triumphs over these
circumstances, and as she sweetly said to me to day, "The difference
between a child of God and the worldling is not in death, but in the
hope the one has in Jesus, while the other is without hope and without
God in the world." She says, "I marvel at the Lord's dealings, but
not more than at my own peace in such circumstances." She is now
continually sleeping, and when roused feels it difficult to keep her
dear mind fixed on any subject for a minute. These are indeed the
floods of deep waters, but in the midst of them the Lord is working
his mysterious way, yet that way, however bitter to nature, is for the
everlasting consolation of his chosen ones. She said to me, a few
minutes since, "What does the Lord say concerning me." I said, that
you are a dear child of his. "Yes," she said, "of that I have no
doubt." May the Lord of his infinite mercy sustain my poor weak soul
amidst these heavy visitations, that at least we may magnify him,
whether by life or by death; what a relief it is now to my mind to
think that her's was so much set against moving, whenever I proposed
it, and she often said in reply, "The Lord has given me no desire nor
sense of the desirableness of moving, which I feel assured he would
have done had he seen it best."
_May 9._--My dearest, dearest wife still alive, and not apparently
worse than yesterday. Oh! if it were the Lord's holy blessed will to
spare her, it would indeed rejoice my poor foolish heart, but the Lord
has enabled me to cast my wife, myself, and my dear dear children on
his holy love, and to await the issue. Oh! what wrath there must be
against these lands, if not only the inhabitants are swept away, but
the Lord transplants also his own, who would teach them, to his own
garden of peace. My soul has just been refreshed by these two verses
of Psalm 116. "Return unto thy rest, O my soul, for the Lord hath
dealt bountifully with thee. He has taken one of thy olive branches to
glory, and is now perhaps about to take another, for precious in the
sight of the Lord is the death of his saints, for he only takes them
from the evil to come." Oh, but for Jesus, the never setting star of
our heavenly way, amidst the wilderness what would our situation now
be. Jesus is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever, and our
heavenly Father's love we have too often proved to doubt it now. But,
poor nature is bowed very very low, when I look at my dear boys and
little babe, and see only poor little Kitto to be left for their care
for hundreds of miles around; it needs all those consolations of God's
spirit to keep the soul from sinking also with the body; but the Lord
has said, "Leave your fatherless children unto me," and to him we
desire to leave them.
We did feel assured that the Lord would spare our dear little united
happy family; but his ways are not our ways, nor his thoughts our
thoughts. Dear little Kitto, I feel for his situation also from my
heart.
All the conversation of my dear dying wife, for these twelve months
past, but especially as our difficulties and trials increased, was on
the peace she enjoyed in the Lord. Often and often she has said to me,
notwithstanding the disparity of every thing external, I never in
England enjoyed that sweet sense of my Lord's loving care that I have
enjoyed in Bagdad. And her assurance of her Lord's love never forsook
her, even after she felt herself attacked by the plague. While
contemplating the mysteriousness of the Providence, her mind was
overwhelmed; but when she thought on her Lord's love, she was
confident in his graciousness. From almost the first, her brain has
been so oppressed, that with difficulty she opens her eyes, and though
she can answer a question of two or three words, Yes, or No; yet, if
it involves the slightest exercise of thought, she always replies, "I
do not know what you say." When I consider all I and the dear children
lose, should we survive her, it is almost more than my heart can
contemplate. On any essential point, for some years, we have never had
divided judgment on any material point; in every work of faith, or
labour of love, her desire was to animate, not to hinder. Such simple
truth of purpose, and unaffected love, and confidence in her Lord, as
dwelt in her dear departing spirit, I have seldom seen, and those who
knew her intimately will not think I say too much. She has been to me
in the relation of Christian wife, and Missionary wife, just what I
felt I so much, so very much needed. And yet the Lord sees fit to take
her to himself, and add one more from my little family to the chosen,
faithful, and true company that surrounds his throne. Lord, then,
though it cuts nature to the quick, makes me feel its deepest
suffering, and meets me under the most complicated forms of trial, yet
if it be for thy glory, and her glory, do, dear Lord, thine Almighty
will, and we know thou wilt to thy chosen, make light spring up out of
darkness.
_May 10._--Last evening my dearest wife was more herself than she had
been, till within a few hours of her being taken ill, which was
manifested by her asking to see dear little baby, the first thing she
had voluntarily asked for, since her illness, without being spoken to.
She again mentioned the subject of her confidence in her Lord, and
acquiescence in his will. She asked me what I thought of her
situation. I said I had committed her to the Lord, who, I knew, would
deal graciously by her. She replied, "Yes, that he will." She
continued in this state of improvement till to-day at about nine
o'clock, when her mind again began to wander. When I quoted to her,
that to the Lord's servants light should spring up in darkness, she
said, "Yes, that it shall." She said, "I feel much better than
yesterday--don't you see that I am." In fact, my hopes of her being
really improving would have been complete, but from that peculiar look
of the eyes, which authors who have written on this subject, all
denote as most fatal; from this, therefore, my hopes never were very
high, yet though I had yesterday been enabled, through the Lord's
grace, to lie in his hands like a weaned child, to-day the
disappointment of the dear hope, slight as it was, of having her
restored to us, has brought my soul again into very deep waters. She
also this morning expressed her anxiety about the dear children, and
her fear, least in attending her, I should take the plague, and they
be left orphans here.
In every respect, certainly the Lord has been most gracious to her.
She is about to be transplanted to her native soil, where tears and
sorrows shall never enter, and in the way of her removal, since the
Lord's time is come, nothing can be more compassionate to her peculiar
weakness of heart than not allowing her anxiety to dwell on the dear
children, and their probable situation here. To have been happy in
quitting them, amidst such a scene as now surrounds us, and in such a
country, perhaps no mortal faith could have been equal to; the Lord,
therefore, suffered not her mind to possess its usual sensibilities;
but took them from her, and left her only to return to his bosom in
peace.
I feel the Holy Ghost again sustaining my poor weak heart in the
prospect of losing such a wife, and remaining solitary here with three
dear motherless children; but I know the Lord in whom I have believed,
and he will not fail his chosen in one of all those good things he has
promised. Our trials are indeed very very great; but the Lord, the
comforter, is greater even than they. My dearest wife now (two
o'clock,) is quite delirious. Dear spirit! I have attended her night
and day since the evening of the 7th, on which she was taken ill, and
I allow no one else to approach her. The Lord is my only stay, my only
support, and he is a support indeed.
_May 11._--This night has been the most trying of my life. How hard
for the soul to see the object of its longest and best grounded
earthly affections suffering without the power of affording relief,
knowing too that a heavenly Father who has sent it, can relieve it,
and yet seems to turn a deaf ear to one's cries; at the same time, I
felt, in the depths of my soul's affections, that notwithstanding all,
he is a God of infinite love. Satan has sorely tried me, but the Lord
has shewn me, in the 22d Psalm, a more wonderful cry _apparently_
unheeded, and the Holy Ghost has given me the victory, and enabled me
to acquiesce in my Father's will, though I now see not the end of his
holy and blessed ways. Dear, dear spirit! she will soon wing her way
to where her heart has long been; and, if I am spared, I shall perhaps
have reason to bless God for having removed her thus early.
The plague has attacked two more of our household--the schoolmaster's
wife and our maid-servant, and how far it will go now, no one knows
but he who guides it by his sovereign will. My dearest Mary's
sufferings for four or five hours last night were great; she was quite
delirious, and her dear voice was so affected, that I could not make
out two words connectedly. How mysterious are God's ways! Oh my soul,
learn the lesson of patient submission to his holy will. I have cast
myself upon him and he will guide me. Dear Mary, to-day has been quite
insensible. It has indeed been a very painful day, but it is the
condition of this world. Dear spirit! her heart has been so set on her
Lord's coming of late, that it seemed quite to absorb her thoughts and
heart. And now she will quickly join the holy assembly that are
waiting to come with him. Surely such times as these, when the Lord is
taking a ripe shock of corn from your field, are seasons to rejoice
that your prayer for the quick accomplishment of the number of God's
elect has been heard, and yet how hard it is for nature not to feel
deep sorrow that a message has come for one of yours.
Poor dear Kitto and the little boys are now become the sole nurses of
the dear baby by night and by day. Oh, may the Lord watch over them
and bless them. My last night's attendance on my dear wife, leaves me
little hope of escaping the plague, unless it be our Father's special
will to preserve me, for in her delirium she required so many times to
be lifted from place to place, and to have all her clothes changed,
that I can now only cry to the Lord to preserve me, if it may be a
little while, for the dear children's sake.
The Lord has most graciously provided us with a servant of Mrs. T's.
to come and attend my dear Mary.[30] Oh may my soul bless him for this
timely help, just when our own servant was taken ill. This woman has
been in the midst of all the contagion, and has never taken it; so it
may be the Lord's will to shew how he can work even in the midst of
the darkest trials. She sits down beside the dear sufferer, keeps the
flies from her face, and does every thing for her the fondest heart
could desire. She came out with us from England, having gone there
with Mrs. T.; is a native of these countries, knows all that is
required in sickness, and how to perform the duties of a nurse, with
the most unwearied patience, tenderness, and watchfulness. She also
knows something of English, and having been with dear Mrs. T. in
England, is acquainted with English customs. Surely the Lord heard my
cry in the day of my deep distress, for such a person perhaps could
not be got again within a thousand miles. That she should have been
left too when all the rest went away. She has made dear Mary look so
comfortable; she washes her and changes her, who though insensible,
lies so quiet, and looks so composed. She said she knew the Lord would
be very gracious, and he has been so indeed--he sees it right to take
his sheep home to his fold; but he has so overwhelmed me by this proof
of his loving kindness, this ray of light arising in the midst of my
darkness, that it seems to have led my heart yet more and more to love
him and to confide in him, that he may yet stay his rough wind in the
day of his east wind. This kind friend, Mrs. T.'s servant, proposes to
remain with us until all our family are either well or dead.
[30] This servant was an old servant of Mrs. R.'s, and came
out with us, and was much attached to dear Mary.
_May 12._--Up to this day I am well, thank God, but seeing the ways of
the Lord are so marvellous, I have arranged all my little concerns,
and put them into the hands of dear Kitto, for the little boys and our
dear little baby, till they arrive at some of those places where there
may be some one to take care of them, and carry them to their
guardians or my trustees. But as poor Kitto is so little able to
provide even for himself, much less for the little boys, I shall now
endeavour, the Lord enabling me, to arrange with this woman, Mariam by
name, to undertake every thing for them till she can give them over
to Major T., to whose family she is going, unless they return here.
This woman was an old servant of dear Mrs. R. She has consented to
undertake this charge, and is to remain with the dear, dear children.
She knows enough of English to make herself understood by the dear
children, and she thoroughly understands the language, manners, and
habits of this people.--Whether it may ever be the Lord's will to call
into exercise the arrangements of this plan or not, I trust I never
shall forget the Lord's unspeakable mercy in shewing me, that when I
saw no earthly protector for my poor children, his holy, loving, and
fatherly hand could provide one if it were necessary. Oh, may my faith
in him in the darkest day never fail, for it is a light that springeth
up in darkness.
Dearest Mary is gradually sinking into the bosom of the Lord, and to
join in the society her soul has so long and so truly loved, of the
lovers of the Lamb of God. Though the Lord has taken away the desire
of my eyes, as it were with a stroke, and left me a few hours to cry
unto him in the midst of my deep, deep waters; yet these visions of
his love have so revived my soul, that my whole soul is brought to
acquiesce in his holy and fatherly arrangements, with respect to her
who was once the joy, the help, and companion of all in which I was
engaged. I sit down now to wait, and see the salvation of my God, for
doubtless he will reveal, in his own good time, the reason why he has
acted so contrary, not only to mine, but especially my dear wife's
strongest convictions, which were, that he would preserve us all safe
through this calamity.
When I now contemplate the spiritual state of dear Mary's mind for the
last twelve months, I am not at all surprised that the Lord has taken
her as a ripe shock of corn, but my expectation while watching her
spiritual progress was so different. I saw her daily growing in the
simple assurance of her Lord's love, and desiring under heaven neither
to know nor serve any other than him. Her heart was panting for the
Lord's coming, that the mystery of iniquity might be finished, and
the mystery of godliness be fully established; but I thought not of
all this being preparatory to her joining her Lord, but for the
strengthening of my poor weak hands here. It never entered my heart
that I was to be left alone, as far as earth is concerned, most alone.
Those friends for whom this journal is alone designed, know how much
she was to me, and how deservedly so: this, however, the Lord saw had
its great, great dangers too, and may in his infinite mercy to us both
have ripened her so rapidly for glory, and left me here to serve and
praise; for I have felt it was very, very hard to be as the Apostle
says, having a wife as though I had none. Now, when I go and look upon
her having reached within one short step, the habitation of all her
hopes; I have not a spiritual affection within my soul that would
call her back; but poor nature bows reluctantly its head.
The dear little baby also is but poorly. Her dear little cry of mamma,
mamma, cuts my poor heart like a knife, to think, that from to-day or
probably to-morrow, she must cease to know that endearing name, and
such a mother too! However, the Lord tells his children to leave their
fatherless, and doubtless motherless ones to him. Lord, I desire so to
do; for he is a dear and kind father, though _nature_ cannot always
see it, and indeed how could this be? for that which is _natural_ in
us is, not only in its will opposed to God, but even in its best
affections tainted from the fall. Were it not that the Lord whom we
love and serve, is as infinite in his compassions, as he is mysterious
in his ways, the days that must come when the excitement of present
suffering will be past, and my soul begins to look round and see the
extent of its desolations, in a country, too, where there is nothing
to comfort or cheer me, would appear to me too dark to be borne, did I
not know the Lord hath said, I will not leave you orphans, but I will
come unto you; so if he does come and dwell more sensibly within me,
even my poor dull and slow-growing spirit may soon be ripened and
gathered into his kingdom, there to join my dear departing spirit in
the realms of light.
_May 13._--My dearest wife has reached the light of another day,
still quietly sinking without a sigh and without a groan. This my
prayer for her in the night of my darkness the Lord has mercifully
heard. At present all the remaining ones of the family are well. I
have separated the dear little boys and Kitto, and allow them to hold
intercourse with none. The dear baby, and myself, and the maid, and
the little boy of our sick servant, are also much separated, and this
nurse, whom the Lord sent us, alone attends the sick; but yet so
contagious is this fearful disease, that when it has once entered your
dwelling, you can know no other safety than in your Lord's preserving
care. These are indeed days of trial, but doubtless they will have
their precious fruit in all God's children; for the eyes of the Lord
are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry--for the
Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants, therefore none of them that
trust in him shall be desolate--no, not even I, poor and worthless as
I am, I shall yet praise him who is the Lord of my life, and my God.
The dear boys also keep up their spirits much better than the first
two or three days after their dear mamma was taken ill. The magnitude
of present danger to themselves, and to all, in some measure divides
their thoughts, and prevents them from resting alone on that deeply
affecting prospect before them, for they loved her most truly, and,
Oh! how much reason had they to love her.
I have just heard that the streets begin again to be crowded, shops
here and there to be opened, and the gardeners are bringing things
from without into the city. To think that so near the end we should
have been thus visited, how mysterious! Yet my soul says, What thou
seest not, thou shalt see. If it does but lead to my Lord's glory, I
am sure it will lead to my dear sufferer's; then why should I repine?
Water is also reduced to 1s. 3d. the skin, the price it was at before.
For these proofs of mercy to the people, we will bless God in the
midst of our own personal sorrows.
_May 14._--This day dearest Mary's ransomed spirit took its seat among
those dressed in white, and her body was consigned to the earth that
gave it birth--a dark, heavy day to poor nature, but still the Lord
was the light and stay of it.
I cannot help exceedingly blessing my heavenly Father, however these
calamities (for to nature they are such, though not to the heirs of
glory) may end that he has allowed me to continue in health so long as
to see every thing done I could have desired, and so infinitely more
than I could have expected, for her whom I have so much reason to
love.
_May 15, 16._--I have heard to-day that the French Roman Catholic
Archbishop of Babylon has been dead a long time, and two of his
priests, and the remaining two fled. The poor schoolmaster's wife is
dying, and our servant I trust, recovering: the rest of our household
within and without, thank God, all continue in good health--even dear
little baby, though rather cross from want of amusement, and from her
teeth.
They say new cases of plague have almost entirely disappeared; may the
Lord grant its speedy disappearance altogether. We have had no
intelligence from the Taylors since their departure, which makes us
very anxious. As the waters are decreasing, the relics of those
families which fled are returning; and, in numberless cases, out of
eighteen in a family who left, only one or two return. The others died
in the greatest misery and destitution of all things, distressed by
the plague, the water, and scarcity, and the air in all the roads was
tainted from the immense number of dead bodies lying by the way.
I feel to-day many symptoms similar to those with which my dearest
Mary's illness commenced--pains in the head and heaviness, pains in
the back, and shooting pains through the glands and the arms. At
another time I should think only of them as the result of a common
cold; but now I know not how to discriminate, the beginnings are so
similar. Should these be my last lines in this journal, I desire to
ascribe all praise to the sovereign grace and unspeakable love of my
heavenly Father, who, from before the foundation of the world, set his
eye of redeeming love on me in the person of his dear and well-beloved
Son. I bless God for all the way he has led me; and vile and wretched
sinner as I feel I am, unworthily as I have in all my life served
him, yet I feel he has translated the affections of my inmost soul
from earth to heaven, from the creature to himself. As to the dear,
dear helpless children, I have committed them to his love, with the
full assurance that if he transplants me from hence to himself, to
join the partner of my earthly history, he will provide them much,
yea, very much better than I, or ten thousand fathers could do. To his
love and promises, then, in Christ Jesus, I leave them; and strange
and wonderful as his dealings appear, he has made my soul to acquiesce
in them. To all the family of the redeemed of the Lord, especially
those I know, I entreat you let your conversation be as it becometh
the gospel of Christ; always abound in his most holy work, for you
know your labour is not in vain in the Lord. Be as those who wait for
their Lord with your lamp trimmed, for shortly he who shall come will
come, and will not tarry. My soul embraces those I especially knew
with all its powers, and desires for them that Christ may exceedingly
be glorified in them, and by them, amen, and amen.
_May 17._--To-day the fever has almost entirely left me, so that I
feel a very little, except weakness, but never can I sufficiently
praise God for the experience of yesterday. I certainly never expected
again to have written in this journal, and few circumstances could
have apparently presented themselves more trying to the heart, to have
the prospect of soon leaving in a city like Bagdad, at this time,
three helpless children, and the impossibility of making those
provisions for them, which at another time might have been
comparatively easy, seemed altogether more than the heart could
support; yet so abundantly did the Lord allow his love to pass before
me, so fully did he assure me of his loving care, that I felt no doubt
for them--and, for myself, the prospect of soon joining him was
specially exhilarating. He allowed me to see my free and full
forgiveness and acceptance, and I never felt more the preciousness of
such a salvation as the Gospel of Jesus provides for the sinner, than
when I was as I thought, just entering eternity, to plead it as the
ground of my hope before God. There seemed such simplicity in having
only to believe you were redeemed by his love, and should be eternally
preserved by the same, instead of having to do with weighing the sum
of your beggarly services, all of which one hates now, and oh, how
shall we hate them when we see him face to face. May our dear Lord
make the promise he made to his disciples, good to my poor bereaved
heart, and come himself and fill it with his fulness, that having him
I may indeed feel I have all things.
_May 18._--Our poor servant died last night, notwithstanding our hopes
of her recovery, and has left one little orphan boy of seven years old
with us. Oh that I could think of her transition from hence to
eternity, and contemplate her, as the Lord to my unspeakable comfort
allows me to contemplate my dear, dear wife, dwelling in the light of
her Lord's countenance, where there is fulness of joy for evermore.
The schoolmaster has just told me, that out of forty relations, he has
now only four--the rest have all been swept away. The accounts we have
of the misery, in which many of these died who endeavoured to fly, is
truly heart-rending; with the water nearly half a yard high in their
tents, without victuals or the means of seeking or buying any, they
suffered every privation and misery that can be imagined, and one poor
family which has returned, described the intense desire they had to
return and die quietly in their houses. But return they could not, for
the waters had so risen that there was no road, and no boats could be
obtained, but at an immense price, which a few only could pay, and
very few obtain even at any price.
Oh! how many alleviations to the trials of parting with those we
loved, the Lord allowed us in permitting us to see them surrounded by
every comfort they could want, and with every attendance that could
alleviate a moment's uneasiness.
From the Taylors at Bussorah we have yet heard no accounts, and are
therefore most anxious to know how the Lord has been moving among
them. I have just heard that orders have come from Stamboul,[31] to
the Pashas marching against this Pasha, to desire them to return, and
that another messenger is on the way from Stamboul to bring his
annual dress of investiture. Should it be really thus, our dear
friends may soon be here from Aleppo; it would indeed be a great
comfort; but the Lord regards, in this dispensation, our real
advantage more than our sensible comfort, we therefore desire to leave
all to his Holy, gracious ordering, who, though he orders all things
after the counsel of his own free will, has no will towards us, but
that we should be filled with the fulness of Christ, and be conformed
to his image.
[31] Constantinople.
_May 19._--The water to-day has again fallen considerably in price,
and as far as we can judge, God has mercifully nearly extinguished
this desolating plague. I now feel quite satisfied the attack I had
the other day was an attack of the plague, though very slight. The
schoolmaster, yesterday, was attacked in the same way with a pain in
his back and head, and a pain in his glands, one of which is decidedly
enlarged, but still it is very slight, and I trust to-morrow, with the
Lord's blessing, to see him, with the exception of weakness, well
again. We are, thank God, all well; the only thing I now suffer from
is weakness and pain in the glands and under the arm, but there is no
enlargement, and I trust in a day or two it will go entirely away. I
heard, to-day, the Pasha had been ill of the plague this week; it is
now reported he is dead; but we know nothing certain. One of his sons
is also dead.
This has been a heavy day with my poor heart, so slow a scholar am I
under my dear Master's teaching. Yet I feel he will fill me with his
own most blessed presence, and then I shall be able to bear easily all
other bereavements. How strange it is that feeling should rule with so
much more power than principle, over the happiness of the soul, even
when the spirit still imparts strength to direct the conduct aright.
The feelings seize on the slightest recollection; and oh, what fuel
have they when every thing in the minutest daily occurrences, every
thing in the events passing around us, at once come directly on the
heart and press upon it; and when there is not a soul near, not only
not to supply all that is lost, but not even a portion of it, and yet
notwithstanding all this, that now weighs on me, I feel the Lord
himself will be yet more to me than all I have lost. I feel I have
been skimming too much on the surface of Christianity instead of being
clothed with Christ. Oh! what a child am I in the life of faith, but I
feel the Lord has my poor soul in his training, and though the
discipline may seem severe, it is only the severity of uncompromising
love.
_May 20._--This has been a day of mercies at the hand of the Most
High. For a day or two past, I had observed a little dust falling
through a creak in the wall, and although on any other occasion, it
would have excited no anxiety; yet, knowing the cellars were full of
water, I thought it better this morning early to take out all our
things from this room; it was our own, mine and dear Mary's, and
therefore contained all we had of clothing, &c.; the dear little boys
and the servant were helping me, and we had not finished taking out
the last things above ten minutes, when the whole arch on which the
room was built gave way--our little stock of things and ourselves
being all safe. Oh! my soul, bless the Lord who watcheth over the ways
of his children.
Oh! how easy it is to kiss our dear and loving Father's hand when he
turns bright providences towards us. How easy, then, it is to praise!
but I feel my dearest teacher is teaching me the hardest lesson to
kiss the hand that wounds, to bless the hand that pours out sorrow,
and to submit, with all my soul, though I see not a ray of light. Oh,
thou holy and blessed Spirit, come and help thy poor wayward scholar,
who indeed would not entertain a hard thought of his dear and loving
Father. Through much tribulation we must enter into the kingdom;
therefore, blessed Lord, prepare me for thy service. I am a poor
inexperienced soldier; clothe me with the whole armour of God, that my
soul may praise in the darkest day. All but myself are quite well, and
my indisposition seems only at present a little weakness, which
perhaps the exertions of removing the things from our room to-day, and
all the painful associations connected with it, has this evening a
little increased: but the Lord is very pitiful, and says, Ask what you
will of my Father, and he will give it you. Dear Lord, fill me with
thyself, that there may be no more room for the grief of any creature.
Thou, and thy Father, and the blessed Spirit, one eternal God alone,
are eternally a satisfying portion.
I am very anxious about the poor schoolmaster: should he die, he will
be the last of our teachers; _three_ are already dead, and he alone
remains.--Oh, my Lord, my soul desires to wait on thee for light,
and to remember Mizar and Hermon--days when the sun shone upon our
path; but the frost may be as necessary to bring the cover to full
perfection as the genial sun and showers. Dear Husbandman, do thine
own will, only make us bear much fruit, that thou mayest be glorified.
_May 21._--Last night thieves endeavoured three times to force an
outer door, but did not succeed--the whole city is swarming with them.
To-day the Pasha of Mosul is come to Bagdad; what it portends we know
not; but the Lord reigneth, therefore let the Saints rejoice; they can
only accomplish his will who is our Father and our God.
I have to-day sent off a messenger to Major T. to Bussorah, may he
quickly return with good tidings of them all. To-day I have also heard
of a caravan proposing to go to Aleppo. Every account we have of the
plague confirms its almost entire disappearance. Our walking now is
altogether by faith: we see not a ray of light for the future, but the
Lord will let light spring out of darkness, so that his servants who
wait upon him shall not always mourn. Oh how different a thing faith
is in a cloudy and dark day, and when all things smile around. I had
intentionally renounced the world, yet the Lord saw that I held more
of it than I knew in the dear object he has removed. In England, where
I had many dear Christian friends, she was my constant companion; but
_here_ she was on earth all I had left--my sorrows, my hopes, my
fears, she shared and bore them all. I feel Christ my Lord has in
store for me in himself some great and special good in exchange for
all this, but my poor weak faithless heart does not yet see the way of
his going forth.
Miriam is most kind to my sweet little helpless babe.
_May 22._--Our dear Lord said to his sorrowing disciples, You have
heard how I said unto you, I go away and come again unto you. _If ye
loved me ye would rejoice because I said I go unto the Father_, that
is, if you loved me above the enjoyment of my society and help, ye
would rejoice; how hard this is: as it was true of the departing head,
so it is true of every member, and yet I feel my selfish heart
constantly forgetting that true love which under the crucifixion of
all one's own feelings can truly rejoice at the happiness of an object
beloved, even at this expense.
This has again been an anxious day. Dear Henry complained this morning
of a swelling under his ear, or rather under the angle of the jaw,
where there was on feeling it, an evidently enlarged gland; however,
to the praise of the Lord's great grace, it is evidently passing away
without any general attack on the constitution. I really believe the
Holy Ghost is making these events instrumental in working a deep sense
on the minds of the dearest boys of the importance of their souls;
there is a concern about religion, a willingness to talk about it I
have not before observed. Oh, may the Lord's blessed spirit water
these seeds till they become plants of renown, to the glory of our own
Lord's great name.
_May 23._--Oh my poor heart flutters like a bird when it contemplates
the extent of its bereavement as a husband, a father, a missionary.
Oh, what have I not lost! Dear Lord sustain my poor weak faith. Thy
gracious visits sometimes comfort my soul; yet my days move heavily
on; but the Lord who redeemeth the souls of his servants has declared,
that none of those who trust in him shall be desolate. Lord I believe,
help thou mine unbelief. I do indeed desire with my whole soul to cast
myself into the ocean of thy love, and never to let Satan have one
advantage over me, by instilling into my heart hard thoughts of thy
ways. Surely we expect trials, and if so, and thou sendest one other
than we expected, should it surprise us when we see but a point in the
circle of thy providence, and thou seest the end from the beginning.
_May 24._--To-day Kitto has been very unwell.
_May 25._--To-day the dear baby is very unwell, but Kitto better. Thus
the Lord interchanges his merciful trials and merciful reliefs. I feel
one great want, "To be filled with all the fulness of Christ," that
there may be no room for those fluctuations, which from short
intervals of sweet peace, plunge me into depths of sorrow and
astonishment: yet I know the Lord will heal, he will bind up what he
has broken. O my soul, wait patiently on him to learn all, I know he
would teach thee: let patience have her perfect work, for the trial of
our faith is much more precious than of gold that perisheth. My eyes
are daily, hourly looking unto the Lord for a little ray of light, but
as yet I see none: yet we know that they that trust on the Lord shall
not walk in darkness, but mercies shall encompass them about.
_May 26._--To-day, thank God, all our household are tolerably
well.--All accounts from without say the plague is ended. May the Lord
grant it!
_May 27._--My dear baby still very poorly. Dear Lord, I commit this
tender delicate flower to thy loving gracious keeping. Oh my God, my
soul has been much cast down within me; but thou hast enabled me to
remember thee from the land of Jordan, and the Hermonites, from the
hill Mizar. O Lord, only let thy love appear shining through the
clouds that surround me, and my soul will rejoice; it is only when the
adversary prevails so far as to say, He loves thee not, that my soul
is overwhelmed within me; for if I have not the Lord, whom have I? for
vile and worthless as all my manifestations of love have been, cold
and dead as all my worship, low and doubting as all my confidence has
been, yet Lord, all my desire is to love thee better and serve thee
more singally, who art infinitely worthy of all love and all service.
How strong our tower seems till the Lord blow upon its foundations,
and then much that looked so fair, flies like the chaff of the summer
threshing floor, and meet it is, if the immoveable parts of Christ's
own building be found to connect the poor fluttering soul with the
Rock of Ages. Oh may my soul drink daily more and more deeply into
that spirit of adoption and love, and assurance of the Lord's favour,
that gilded the last year of my dear, dear Mary's life.--Lord, I feel
I am a very child; but Lord, lead thou me by thine own right hand. Oh
my heart longs for Christian communion--some one to whom I can talk of
Jesus and his ways, and with whom I may take counsel; yet it now seems
as though many months must elapse before our dear friends can come
from Aleppo, but the Lord knows what is best, and to him we leave all
our cares, and the providing for all our necessities. I pray the Lord
to pour down his Holy Spirit upon my poor heart, and strengthen it for
trials. It was one of my dearest Mary's greatest comforts, as it has
been mine, to know so many of those who were dear to the Lord, and had
purposed wholly to follow him, were praying for our guidance and
welfare;--this used to be in our evening walks, on the roof of our
house, a theme of thanksgiving, and used daily to draw out our hearts
to the Lord for the continual dew of his blessing upon them. Oh when
they hear of all the Lord's dealing, may their spirits be stirred up
within them to pray that I may be filled with him who filleth all in
all. I long to love my Eternal God--Father, Son, and Spirit, more with
all my undivided heart; the coldness of my love--the lowness of my
desires is my abiding sorrow.
_May 28._--To-day came letters from England, but Oh, how strangely
altered; those very letters which would have animated anew all our
endeavours, and led us to praise God together, had dearest Mary been
here to share them, came winged with passages that wrung my heart. But
still the love of the saints of God, of those we love, has much
sweetness in it; and then again to hear of our dear sister's
thoughtful love towards our tender little babe in providing her
clothes, which, while they are doing, my heart heaves with the
prospect of losing the sweet little flower--so tender--so needing more
than a mother's care. But the Lord is most compassionately gracious,
and what he does not reveal, he will hereafter.
I have also had intelligence to-day that my dear brothers and sisters
had been two months ago on the point of setting off for Aleppo; but
whether they received news of the plague and returned, or are waiting
at Anah, I know not, but I greatly need them--yet still the Lord knows
best how much I need them, and when.
When I think of my lowness in the attainments of the divine life, my
little knowledge, and less love of my dear Lord, I wonder how he has
so graciously allowed me a place in the hearts of his chosen, and that
he should allow our weak, tottering, and faithless walk, to encourage
the young and lusty eagles to take their higher flight is wonderful;
but it is that the glory might be his.
* * *
In concluding this portion of my journal, I shall just take a little
view of the last two years, as it is now within a few days of two
years since I left my dear, dear friends and native shore.
From the day my dearest Mary and myself deliberately prepared to set
out on the work in which we finally embarked, the Lord never allowed
us to doubt that it was _his_ work, and that the result on the church
of God would be greater than our remaining quietly at home. All our
subsequent intercourse with his dear children in England, and in our
journey, had a confirmatory tendency, and all the communications
from the dear circle to whom we were known, insignificant as we
were, convinced us that the cause of the Lord had suffered no
detriment--that many had been led to act with more decision, and some
to pursue measures which possibly might not otherwise have been
undertaken.
Again, the Lord's great care over us in his abundant provision for all
our necessities, although every one of those sources failed we had
calculated upon naturally when we left England, enabled us yet further
to sing of his goodness.
Then, as to our work; when we left England, schools entered not into
our plan; but when we arrived here, the Lord so completely put the
school of the Armenians into our hands, that on consultation both my
dearest Mary, myself, and Mr. Pfander thought that the Lord's children
and saints must take the work the Lord gives, particularly as there
appeared no immediate prospect of other work. We entered on it, and by
dear Mr. Pfander's most efficient help, the children were soon brought
to translate God's word with understanding, and the school increased
from 35 to near 80. My dearest Mary had long desired to undertake the
girl's school exclusively; but previous to her confinement she did not
feel able; but as soon as she got about, she undertook it heartily,
and the dear little children were so attached to their employments,
that they used to come on their holidays. She had got so far on in
Armenian, as to be able to prepare for them, in large characters, some
little pieces of Carus Wilson's, which I got translated into the
Armenian of this place, and the dear little children were so
interested by them, that they exceedingly desired to take them home,
and read them to their mothers, which in two or three days they were
to have done. For our own instruction in Arabic and Armenian, and for
the school, we had five most competent teachers. Thus things went on
up to the end of March, when the appearance of the plague obliged us
to break up the school. But now two months have passed, and Oh! how
changed. Half the children, or more, are dead; many have left the
place; the five teachers are dead, and my dear, dear Mary. When I
think on this, my heart is overwhelmed within me, and I remain in
absolute darkness as to the meaning of my Lord and Father; but shall I
therefore doubt him now, after so many proofs of love, because he acts
inscrutably to me? God forbid! That the Lord made the coming of my
dearest wife, and her multiplied trials and blessings, the instruments
of her soul's rapid preparation for his presence, I have no doubt. I
never heard a soul breathe a more simple, firm, and unostentatious
faith in God. She never had a doubt but that it was for the Lord she
left all that was naturally dear to her to expose herself to dangers
from which, with a constitutional timidity, she shrunk. Her soul was
most especially drawn out towards her Lord's coming, and this spread a
gilded halo round every trial. She constantly exclaimed, as we walked
on the roof of our house[32] of an evening, "When will he come?"
Often she would say to me, I never enjoyed such spiritual peace as
since I have been in Bagdad--such an unvarying sense of nearness to
Christ, and assurance of his love and care; we came out trusting only
under his wing, and he will never forsake us. Her strongest assurance
was certainly that the Lord would not allow the plague to enter our
dwelling; but when she saw that the Lord mysteriously accepted not
this confidence, but let it rest even on her, it never disturbed her
peace, as I have mentioned before. She said to me, "I know not which
is to me most mysterious, that the Lord should have laid his hand upon
me, or, having laid it, that I should enjoy such peace as I do." And
in this peace and confidence, every subsequent moment of sensibility
was passed. Her constant exclamation was, "I know he will do most
graciously by me." Yet notwithstanding all the happiness I have in
contemplating her among the redeemed, thus clothed in white; and
notwithstanding the triumphing conviction I have in spite of the
temptations of Satan, and the darkness that envelopes my present
position, that all is the offspring of infinite love; yet at times the
overwhelming loss I have sustained, in every possible way that a
husband, a father, a missionary, and even a man, can know, so affects
me that but for my Lord's loving presence, I should be overwhelmed.
[32] It is on account of the great heat in the summer that
the houses in Bagdad are built with flat roofs, to which the
inhabitants all move up at sunset, to dine and spend the night.
I now wait till the arrival of my dear friends to consult with them as
to our future plans. May the Lord, if it be his pleasure, quickly send
them hither, and direct us in all our plans and purposes, so that we
may be led to fulfil his will.
_May 30._--A messenger has arrived from Bussorah, bringing
intelligence of the kind Taylors; but the letters he brought were all
taken from him, and he stripped to his shirt, a few miles from Bagdad.
However, by word of mouth, he brings, on the whole, good accounts. All
their immediate family are well; some have died, among those that
accompanied them, and nearly all the Arab sailors, but as the letters
are lost, we know not the particulars.
_May 31._--I have had another proof of my heavenly Father's care. An
Armenian merchant has sent his servant to me to say, he proposes
sending him every day to buy for me what I want from the bazaar, and
also to offer me any money I may want. The latter I had no occasion to
accept, for when the Jew left the city who was to supply me, and the
man died who was to obtain it for me, and I seemed left without
remedy, an Armenian offered to supply whatever I might want, without
any application on my part, and from him I have had what I needed.
Whether or not the affairs of the Pasha are likely to be quietly
settled, I know not; but I think there are some indications that the
present Pasha will remain. So intensely ruined does the city appear,
that the Pasha of Aleppo, who was to have come and dispossessed him,
seems to have no desire for the exchange; and besides, the present
Pasha has offered so large a sum of money, that there appears little
doubt it will be accepted. Dispatches have arrived for him, the
contents of which are not yet known; but the Pasha says, he has
received the most satisfactory letters. He is, I believe, recovering
daily his strength.
Thus I finish this melancholy portion of my journal--one of those dark
pages in the history of one's life, that whenever the thoughts stray
towards it, chills to the very centre of one's being; and when we
trace all its sources, and see they terminate in sin, Oh! how hateful
must that thing be, which is fraught with such deadly consequences.
Oh! what a blessedness it is, amidst all these lights and shades of
life, to know that the Rock on which we rest is the same, and does not
vary; and that whether he administers to us the bitter portion or the
sweet, his banner over us is love.
* * *
_June 5._--Reports are again spreading that the Pasha of Aleppo is
within a few days of this place. But we sit down and patiently wait
the event.
_June 7._--To-day a letter has reached me from Major Taylor, being the
first I have received since he removed his family from this place to
Bussorah, on the breaking out of the plague here. In every one of the
boats going down the river deaths occurred, but especially in theirs,
they losing seven of their party. The plague broke out among the Arab
sailors, who secreted a corpse in the boat several days, and from
them it spread among his African servants, and seized Mrs. Taylor's
brother-in-law, so that I cannot see my early conclusions were wrong
as to not moving at that time. And, moreover, the Pasha, or rather
Motezellim of Bussorah, has been driven out by a party of Arabs, and
he is now come against the town with another large body of Turks, to
endeavour to recover it; so that even this evil of the sword we should
not have escaped. The Lord, therefore, leaves me nothing to regret,
unless it be that I ought perhaps to have kept myself quite apart from
the rest of the family, after I had been obliged by a sense of duty to
go out during the time the plague was raging. It is easy to be wise
after the events are past. The more I contemplate the circumstances in
which I have of late been placed, the more I see of the trials and
anxieties of the missionary life, and of the mysteriousness of God's
dealings; I feel the more overwhelmed with the importance of the soul
having a deep sense of the love of God in Christ, before it ventures
upon such an undertaking. Our dear Father very often, in love,
explains to us his reasons; at other times, he gives no account of his
matters; in the one case to excite love and confidence, in the other,
to exercise faith. It does seem to me, that no doctrines but those of
the sovereign grace of God, and his love entertained towards the soul,
before the foundation of the world, and the revelation by the Holy
Ghost of the love and fellowship with Christ, and through him with the
Father, so that we have thereby our life hid with him where no evil
can reach us, can happily sustain the soul. There is something so
filthy, so worthless in all our services, when events render it
probable to the soul that soon it will appear before God, that the new
creature cannot endure the deformity and defilement, and turns away
its distressed sight to the love of the Lord, and the garment he has
provided without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing. The experience of
my dear dear Mary on this head was most striking. She often said to
me, "They often talked to me, and I often read of the happiness of
religion--but I can truly say I never knew what misery was till I was
concerned about religion, and endeavoured to frame my life according
to its rules--the manifest powerless inadequacy of my efforts to
attain my standard, left me always further removed from hope and peace
than when I never knew or thought of the likeness of Christ, as a
thing to be aimed after; and it was not till the Holy Ghost was
pleased of his infinite mercy to reveal the love of my Heavenly Father
in Christ, as existing in _himself_ before all ages, contemplating me
with pity, and purposing to save me by his grace, and to conform me
to the image of Him whom my soul loves, that I really had peace, or
confidence, or strength. And if in any measure I have been able to
walk on with joy in the ways of the Lord, it has been from the
manifestation of _his_ love, and not from the abstract sense of what
is right, nor from the fear of punishment." This was the theme of her
daily praise--the love and graciousness of her Lord; and I can set my
seal, though with a comparatively feeble impression, to the same
truths, that the sense of the love of Christ is the high road to walk
in according to the law of Christ.
_June 9._--I have heard from a German merchant, Mr. Swoboda, that
above 15,000 persons, many sick with the plague, and others, were
buried under the ruins of the houses that fell in the night the water
burst into the city. Nothing can give a more awful impression of the
mass of misery then in the city, than that such an event, which at
another time, would have called forth every exertion to remove the
sufferers, and have been the universal conversation and lamentation of
the city, passed by without any effort to relieve them, and almost
without a word of remark, but from those immediately connected with
the sufferers. I hear that those who have closed their houses intend
opening them on the 18th inst. I bless God for the intelligence; and
trust the plague has quite left us. Mr. Swoboda tells me he does not
expect to open his khan again for 12 months;--this, however, does not
arise simply from the plague, but because the rich merchants have all
left the city, and the principal Jews, from the apprehension of the
coming of Ali Pasha from Aleppo, and that in consequence trade is at a
stand.
_June 10._--Last evening the guns of the citadel fired as for some
good news, and we find, on enquiring, that a messenger has come from
the Sultan, confirming the Pasha in his Pashalic.[33] The Tartars, who
are the bearers of this intelligence, are expected to enter to-morrow
or next day. This arrangement, it is reported, has been brought about
by our Ambassador at Constantinople.--Should it be the Lord's pleasure
that we now have a little peace and quietness here, it will be a great
mercy, and an inconceivable relief from the disquietude of the last
18 months; however, the Lord knows what is best for us. These
difficulties have led my heart many times to him, when, perhaps, but
for them, it would have rested on some lower object. This prospect of
peace seems to bring nearer the possibility of our dear friends
joining us from Aleppo, and this would indeed be a great comfort.
[33] All these reports were mere fables, got up for the
purpose of deceiving the people.
_June 11._--This day has made manifest that more judgments are coming
upon the city, and instead of a _Firman_ in favour Daoud Pasha,
bringing peace, we can hear the sound of the cannon of the new Pasha.
He will little regard the _Firman_ that has come from the Sultan, if
it has really come, and which being here universally believed to have
been procured through the instrumentality of our Ambassador, places
the English in no very acceptable position; but the Lord is our tower,
yea, our high tower, and into _him_ we run. The enemy is now about six
miles off, and the whole city is in a state of commotion that cannot
be described, every one armed with swords, pistols, and guns,
preparing for the expected contest. O Lord, we commend ourselves to
thy holy keeping, for thou neither slumberest nor sleepest. When all
the difficulties of these countries follow upon one another as rapidly
as they have of late done here, it seems very difficult to see how the
word of life is to go forth as a testimony. Yet it will; for the Lord
hath said it; therefore let not our hearts fail, or our hands hang
down, for the Lord of all circumstances, who governs the most
disastrous as well as the most prosperous, is our own Lord, the only
begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. All the bazaars are
closed, and we are taking in water again at an advanced price. Oh!
Lord, when will thy holy and blessed kingdom of peace come, when the
nations shall learn war no more, but love and light shall flourish in
the Lord! Wherever the blasting influence of Mohammedanism extends,
how iron bound all appears against the truth: yet even this the Lord
will soften by his love, or break by his power. May my soul be daily
more and more sensible of their misery and pride. Poor Mr. Goodell
says, in a letter, that after all the labours the American
missionaries have bestowed in Syria, they scarcely know an individual
to whom their message has been peace, saving in the case of two or
three Armenians of whom they hoped well. No one can imagine the
disheartening feelings that often try the missionary's heart in the
countries where Mohammedanism is professed and dominant, and where
your mouth is sealed. Among heathens, and especially in India, you can
publish your testimony, and this is a great comfort to the heart that
knows what a testimony it is, and what promises are connected with its
publication.
Shortly after we ascended to the roof for our evening walk, we heard
the cannon and small arms begin to fire, which informed us that the
contest was begun within the city. About eight o'clock we heard
multitudes crying out and shouting before the seroy, or palace, and
the account was soon brought us that the inhabitants had broken in and
seized the Pasha. After this all became quiet, except the firing of
guns from the tops of the houses, to frighten off the thieves, and the
cry of the watchmen, whom all, who can afford it in these trying
occasions, keep to protect them. The Lord has hitherto extended his
sheltering wing over us, though without sword, pistol, gun, or powder
in the house; and the only men besides myself, are Kitto, who is
deaf, and the schoolmaster's father, who is blind: but the Lord is our
hope and our exceeding great reward.
_June 12._ _Lord's day._--The wretched Pasha has just passed our house
under a guard to the residence of Saleh Beg, almost the only male
relation he suffered to live of the family he supplanted. The Lord is
now visiting on him his cruelty and blood; so that what with the
plague and now the sword, there will hardly be one of the apostate
Georgians left.
The day dawned quietly; but our house has just been attacked by a band
of lawless depredators, asking for powder and offensive weapons. I
told them I had none; but seeing a carpenter whom I knew, I told him I
would let him and three others in, if they would promise me that no
more should come in, which they did. So they entered, and were very
civil, though they searched the house: I gave them some money, and
they went away, promising that nothing more should be done to my
house; but my only confidence is in the Lord. They wanted to go from
the roof of my house to that of a rich neighbour's of mine, but I told
them I could not allow that they should make my house a passage to
his, and they were very civil and did not press it.
A Frenchman who was teaching the Pasha's soldiers European discipline,
has had his house stripped, and when they were on the point of killing
him he turned Mohammedan. Before he was professedly a Roman Catholic,
but really an infidel.
Oh, my dear Mary, what a contrast to your kingdom of peace and love!
Lord Jesus come quickly. For this I can now truly bless God that she
is freed from this season of trouble and anxiety. The dear children
bear it better than I could have hoped; but the Lord sustains and
comforts us in the hope that as the new Pasha is near, this state of
inquietude may not continue long. The Pasha of Mosul and an Arab chief
have entered the city, and are now at the palace, so thank God, the
state of anarchy is likely to be immediately put an end to. The crier
has been publishing the determination of those now acting for the new
Pasha, till he enters to punish all who commit any depredations, and
desiring that the bazaars may be opened, and every one go about his
own work. Should this be the end, we cannot but bless God that so
great a storm has passed over so lightly. But the fact was, that the
plague had destroyed all the powers of resistance. All Daoud Pasha's
soldiers were dead--all his public servants were dead--and he, though
recovering from the plague, unable to take any active part for
himself. When he passed our house this morning, he was supported on
his horse by six men. He is not yet killed, and on his expressing a
wish to have his son brought to him, he was sent for immediately.
Should they spare his life, it may augur that even the Turks are
coming to a sense of their barbarism. It has been a great comfort to
me to-day, to think on Noah's case, that God did not forget him amidst
a condemned world.
_June 14._--The people at the head of affairs have now begun to
quarrel among themselves: some are for killing Daoud Pasha, some
are for saving him, and the opposite parties are fighting in all
directions; so when these troubles will terminate, or how, we have
little knowledge. Our only resting place is in him who is the Shepherd
of the fold of Israel.
The Pasha of Mosul has been made prisoner, and part of the palace has
been burnt and plundered: they have killed or put to flight the
soldiers of the Pasha of Mosul, who came here as the agent of Ali
Pasha, of Aleppo, the successor to Daoud Pasha, said to have been
appointed by the Porte. The crier has again proclaimed Daoud as Pasha,
and Saleh Beg his kaimacam or representative, till he recovers. Some
say the Pasha of Aleppo is dead of the plague; some, that he is not
coming, and that this entrance of the Pasha of Mosul and a famous Arab
chief, was only a plot of theirs to get Bagdad into their own hands.
What is true, what is false, it is now utterly impossible to tell, or
what the result will be; but should Ali Pasha, if he is alive, be now
sufficiently powerful to advance and attempt to dispossess this man,
we may expect dreadful scenes. Last night the contest ended in
plundering the poor Jews.
Amidst this turmoil and interminable contention, a missionary with a
family has much to try his faith, particularly in the early years of
his missionary course, when he has no power in the language to take
advantage of those opportunities which accidentally present
themselves; for I am daily more and more convinced of the difficulty
of speaking so as to be felt; at least in the first Eastern language
one learns. The association of ideas, the images of illustration, are
almost entirely different in many cases. The organs of pronunciation
require a perfect new modelling, and perhaps not the least difficulty
is to prevent one's heart from sinking at the little apparent progress
made in understanding, and being understood, out of the common routine
of daily life: the feeling will often arise, Surely I never shall
learn. The difficulty is not, however, merely in words; you have to
converse in the East generally with persons who have either no ideas
on subjects of the deepest interest, or have attached some entirely
different meaning to the terms you use to express those ideas; and
which of the two occasions the most trouble, it is difficult to say.
Notwithstanding, however, all difficulties, and all discouragements,
and we seem now in the very centre of all, my soul was never more
assured of the value of missionary labours among any people, it
matters not whom, than now. There is, I am sure, what our blessed Lord
declares, a _testimony_, in whatever measure we can proclaim his
truth, or manifest his spirit, that is felt by those even who will
not embrace it savingly. In reading Mrs. Judson's journal of the
trials of the Burman mission, how deeply I now enter into them--how
truly I can sympathize with them. It is wonderful how the Lord does
sustain the heart when the time of trial comes. When I heard the
struggle at the palace, last night, then saw it on fire, and heard the
balls whizzing over our heads, and shortly after the screams of the
poor Jews, whom they were plundering, a little way from the end of our
street, my heart felt a repose in God that I cannot describe, and a
peace that nothing but confidence in his loving care could give me, I
feel assured. At times I feel so utterly useless, so devoid of every
aptitude for the work in which I am engaged, that I wonder the Lord
called me to it, yet the Lord may allow me to fill a place, though it
be the lowest in missionary service. My greatest earthly treasure is
the love of those who love the Lord, and in this I do feel rich,
unworthy as I am of it. My heart longs for Christian communion; but
such is the state of things here, that I feel almost as far from the
prospect as when the first letter arrived from England, telling me so
many were purposing to come. But what an inducement it is to patience
to know, that all our trials and disappointments are the orderings of
him who loved us, and gave himself for us.
The day is passing quietly over, thank God; and they are removing the
barricades from the streets.
_June 15._--The account has just reached us, that the Pasha of Mosul
was put to death last night. The reason assigned is, that he attacked
Bagdad without any warrant, and had detained at Mosul the Tartars who
were bringing the firman for Daoud Pasha. Oh! what a country, and what
a government! Should the reinstatement of Daoud Pasha not be a truth,
these circumstances will tend greatly to embitter the contest, and
make the occupying of the city by the new Pasha a much more
destructive and trying scene, than if these events had not occurred;
but I feel that the Lord is disciplining, by these trials, the poor
weak faith of his servant to lay hold on his strength, and not to rest
on his own. I now give up all hope of seeing the dear brethren from
Aleppo till the autumn. These scenes of anxiety and trouble strongly
urge the heart forward to desire the day of the Lord to come, so
wretched, so comfortless does all appear. I have quite given up the
little we have to plunder, so that I feel quite at ease on that point,
should it be the Lord's will to allow these scenes to continue, and us
thus to be served. For the moment a season of lawlessness commences,
you see the Mohammedan feeling relative to Christians. Now, for
instance, that meat is scarce, if they see a butcher disposed to give
a Christian some before them, they instantly put themselves into an
attitude of hostility, and say, "What! will you give it to these
infidels before us?" The other day, during the time of the
disturbances in the city, the son of one of the most respectable
Armenians here, went out, armed with pistol, sword, and gun to the
coffee-house. They immediately began with saying, "What does this
infidel with arms? Will he kill Moslems?" and they stripped him of
all. The governing powers are beginning to recognize and feel the
strength of those people called Christians; but this is never the
thought of an Arab populace, who care for none of these things, and
only think of present plunder.
I have finished reading the account of the Burmese mission, and
sympathize much more fully with the sufferers, than when I last
read it, and I greatly admire and bless God for their steady and
persevering devotedness to his holy service, amidst so many trials and
so many discouragements. Such manifestations of the grace of Christ,
tend much to encourage and strengthen the hands and hearts of those
who are in any trials, whether similar or different. Whoever proves
God to be among his dear children, becomes necessarily a light to the
Church, for the Lord surely will be faithful to his promise and to his
children's confidence; and the manifestation of this his faithfulness
becomes the light of others.
_June 16._ (_Friday._)--To-day all quiet within the city.
_June 17._--For some weeks past hope and fear have alternated for my
sweet little baby; but to-day hope finds not a place for her foot to
rest on. I see the Lord has sent his message for her also; this comes
very, very heavy; for from some days previous to dear Mary's death
till now, I have been her constant nurse, and solicitude about her has
in some measure served to distract my attention from the undivided
dwelling on my heavier loss, till she has become so accustomed to my
nursing, that as soon as ever she sees me, she stretches out her
little supplicating hands for me to take her. All this has served to
beguile my heart, and keep it in some degree occupied. But when the
Lord takes from me this sweet little flower, I shall indeed be
desolate. Why the Lord thus strips me, I do not now see; yet he does
not allow me to doubt his love, amidst all my sorrows, and I know that
light is sown for me, though it does not yet spring up. Oh! may my
soul never cease to feel assured of my heavenly Father's unchangeable
love; for with a doubt on this head _now_, what would my circumstances
be? We know that tribulation worketh patience, and patience
experience, and experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed. Oh! may
such a result spring from all my suffering!
_June 26._--For some days I have had nothing to write about from
without. All has been, on the whole, quiet, and we now wait for
communications from Constantinople to see how things are likely to
end. It appears now that Daoud Pasha has retired in favour of Saleh
Beg, whether willingly or from necessity, is not known. The treasury
and every thing else is given up into his hand; and he knows as well
how to spend it as his predecessor did to collect it; he is therefore
popular, but not esteemed by those of more understanding as a man of
abilities. He, however, goes to the old Pasha Daoud every day for
instructions.
How all these events will operate upon our future labours, I cannot at
all conceive; whether they will close up the little opening we had, or
make a wider one, the Lord, on whom we wait, alone knows. I have been
reading much lately of missionary labours, and am surprised to find
how uniformly trials, and difficulties, and threatened destruction
have hung over them for years, yet many of them the Lord has since
singally blessed. We are, however, in the Lord's hands.
I have just read through a second time Mr. Wolff's journal, and Mr.
Jowett's second volume, and I confess that if my little experience
entitles me to give my opinion, I think Mr. Jowett's judgment much the
soundest as to the nature of the operations to be carried on in these
countries; that the missionary corps should be as unencumbered as
possible, and ready to remove at a moment's notice. I mean those
engaged in the simple evangelist's office, disconnected from all
secular callings; but should there be a band of enlightened saints,
willing to take the handicraft departments of life, as their means of
support, and unobserved access to the people, they might remain and
carry on their work, when other and more ostensible teachers were
obliged to fly: and this is doubtless the way the primitive churches
were nourished, when their professed teachers fled.
As to those colleges and large establishments contemplated by Mr.
Wolff, even could they be established on the comprehensive principle
proposed by his zealous and ardent mind, I fear it would lead much
more to the diffusion of universal scepticism than the eternal
excellency of the truth of God; if, I say, it could be attained, but
for many reasons I feel it cannot be attained. The liberality of the
Christian public is not up to such undertakings, even though they saw
the utility to be clear. One cannot help being struck with Mr. Wolff's
judging of others from himself; because he felt he was willing to make
sacrifices, he promised for others as freely as for himself: but what
has been the result even of the two schools he did establish, and
promise to support from the funds of his patron and others? The
burthen has rested on those who were persuaded through him of the
willingness of others to co-operate. One is given up, and the other
has dwindled down to about nineteen pupils, and these are educated on
the native plan, so that, as far as divine light is concerned, it is
in _statu quo_. The two colleges that were to be established at Aleppo
and Tabreez, and towards which a beginning was made in promises and
plans--nothing now is heard of them; nor do I think it is to be
regretted. The object was too mixed for much of spiritual prosperity.
The difficulty is not in getting houses and firmans: it is when you
begin to wish to sit down and attack the strong holds of the enemy.
The same with the letters of patriarchs and bishops: when the thing is
new and they see not its bearings on their system, they are all
friendliness--as among the heads of the Armenians, the Catholics, and
other Bishops. But when they have seen the life-giving power of the
divine word in the souls of two or three of their followers, under the
instruction of such clear brethren as at Shushee, or the American
brethren, all is changed, and when dear Zaremba was at Ech-Miazin the
other day, and endeavoured to get the consent of the Armenian
patriarch to the translation of the Scriptures, by Dittrich, his
reception was every thing but kind; and they have actually dragged
away one of their deacons from the dear brethren at Shushee, to try
him at Ech-Miazin for heresy. I have also heard that the bishop of
Ispahan, who superintends all these countries, even as far as India,
has prohibited the reception of any tracts by his people, and would
not let them have a school till the Roman Catholics appeared there and
established one, taking away some of his flock, when he granted it. In
fact, wherever the hierarchical spirit exists, there a spirit of
domination and pride--there a spirit of Antichrist exists--whether in
the Brahmin, the Mufti, or the Patriarch, there is a body of men who
will not go in themselves, nor let others go in; it must be so, as
Mr. Jowett justly observes, wherever the distinction between laity and
clergy is kept up in opposition to the right and duty of each man to
judge for himself. Mr. Jowett's words are, I think, "The principal
religious characteristic of Syria and the Holy Land, (and he might
have added, of all the ancient churches, and too many of the modern,)
that which is common to all its professors and sects, is that _system
of distinction between priesthood and laity_, felt even when not
avowed; according to which, it seems to be the interest of a few
professed teachers to hold the rest of their fellow-creatures in
darkness." Those men, therefore, who, in a hasty visit, welcome you,
and if you are well introduced, flatter you, no sooner see or feel
your real design, than they become your enemies, and the missionary
who should begin with any other expectation from present prospects,
must be disappointed. For instance, had we been where there was a
powerful clergy, we should have met with the greatest opposition in
our school, because of our casting out of it the book which they so
highly prize, called the Shammakirke. Yet no Christian teacher could
conscientiously allow it--it was full of prayers to the Virgin, the
Cross, &c. &c.; we therefore here succeeded, under God's blessing,
because the laity were strong and the priesthood weak, without any
serious struggle; but their progress has been very different at
Shushee.
The morals of the monks at Ech-Miazin are such that no parent in the
country thinks himself justified in sending his child there to be
educated. From such men, what can you expect? With them what can you
do? I have for a long time been persuaded that the path for a child of
God to pursue, is to follow his Lord, and not to ask the Sanhedrim's
leave to preach the truth; and never to take any notice of them till
they take notice of us. Dark as the cloud seems to be now around these
lands, and difficult as it seems even to live in them, much more to
labour in them; yet I do not at all think, to one having patiently
attained a thorough knowledge of the colloquial Arabic, and the other
colloquial languages in use, that the door is barred to a travelling
unsettled missionary, or even to one resident many months in a place:
neither do I think he should be discouraged from attempting schools,
for although they may not stand above a year or two, you may by the
Lord's blessing be the instrument of stirring up their minds to think
and examine for themselves, and without violence lead them to question
the truth of some of their dogmas; and when you have once dislodged
the principle of implicit faith, you have at last opened the door for
truth. I think it is much to be regretted that Mr. Wolff's wishes
about Bussorah and Bushire did not succeed. In the one there is a
permanent British Resident, and in the other a permanent British
influence, that would have much favoured a school, and even perhaps
finally more extensive operations; and I do still hope he may yet
find some of his friends, who are as able as willing to take the
necessary charge of these places, for they are now more disheartened
than when nothing had been promised them. At Tabreez also, I think
a most interesting school might be established; but let it be as
comprehensive as it can with a safe conscience be, without pretending
to a principle that includes all. If, upon such terms Mohammedans
come, your conscience is not entangled, and you can go on steadily
with your work. If they go, they go; if they stay, they stay; but take
care how you take any of the gentiles by solicitation; it will tie
your hands, and hamper all your proceedings. It looks promising to see
the names of Princes and great men connected with our work; but I am
persuaded that it is utterly spiritual weakness. Better do ever so
little work with the whole soul, than ever so much, trimming between
the world and the Church, and all very comprehensive plans must
involve this: besides, from the outset, the feeling of duplicity
that always must result from inducing men to contribute to support
institutions under certain partial representations, which they would
not embrace if you stated your real design, and the full truth.
Besides these difficulties of money and principle, the unsettled state
of these countries is such that learned orientalists would never come,
even if they were in abundance; but the fact is, that even Europe is
very scantily supplied with men who could direct such an institution,
and if they could be found, unless the love of Christ were the spring
of their actions--were they mere literary orientalists, their
influence as it regards the kingdom of Christ would be worse than
nugatory. For though you might hope to correct this evil by having
others connected with the institution who might have the more
immediate spiritual direction of the students, this would soon lead to
strifes and divisions between the heads of the institution. That the
spread of literature in the East will sap and finally overthrow
_Mohammedanism_, I have little doubt; but this is the work of the men
of the world, and the result, as it regards Christianity, very
doubtful; but the missionary's object is one and indivisible: if
Christ be not glorified, he gains nothing; but if he be but exalted,
he has his rich reward.
_June 28._ _Thursday._--There seems just sufficient strength in this
wretched country to destroy itself: it has long lost the power of
attacking its enemies with success, it has also lost the power of
resistance against their attacks, neither can it longer stand without
external support: there seems just sufficient power left to commit
suicide. In this pashalic, though the Sultan cannot without extreme
difficulty remove the Pasha, yet he effectually destroys its
prosperity;--he ruins the merchant, he encourages every species of
robbery, so that frequently, as at present, not a shop dare be opened
but for the simplest necessaries. Nor does it operate against the
prosperity of this city only, but all the trade of which this was a
sort of intermediate place of transit between India, Mosul, Merdin,
Damascus, and Aleppo, as well as on the other side from Europe, is so
far interrupted, for not a merchant will now venture his goods across
the desert. All attachment too seems entirely destroyed between the
head and the members of the empire. ---- was with me to-day,
who, speaking on the state of the Pashalic said, If the Sultan will
let us have Daoud Pasha well, we neither want the Sultan nor a
stranger; but we would rather put ourselves under the English, and let
them govern as they do in Hindoostan. This feeling is exceedingly
general, and in looking forward to the downfall of the empire, they
seem quite to consider this country as the portion which will fall to
England, and speak of it openly as a thing they desire. This arises
from their hearing so much of our government in India.
_June 29._--My dear little baby has had an attack of purulent
ophthalmia, which gives me much anxiety; for three or four days she
had been recovering a little, when this trying attack seized her dear
little eyes; she was quite unable to open either of them.
My mind has been much exercised these two days by reflections on the
ease with which the soul is taken off from living in Christ. In
prosperity, we are occupied with plans; in adversity, with our
sorrows; in missionary labour, in preparation for what we intend to do
for the Lord, and even in our very times of danger we are constantly
exposed to the temptation of looking for relief to circumstances,
rather than to the Lord of circumstances--to the love of the Lord of
life. May the Lord of his great goodness grant that my soul may reap a
full harvest from these reflections, and determine not only in words
to know nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified, as the subject of
preaching, but as the object on which my soul constantly dwells, so
that growing up into his fulness in understanding and love, may be the
business of my future life, and much, yea, very much more, the simple
purpose of my heart than it has ever yet been. Nothing can be to me
clearer than that the work of the Lord will really prosper in the
hands of his servants, in proportion as these servants prosper in
their nearness to him. May his love, his life, his words, his wishes
be the abiding incentives in my soul to simply living to him and for
him, and for his creatures through him. How easy it is for one person
to make one class of sacrifices, and another, another; but how hard to
slay the darling idol, and to tear away the cherished indulgence:--how
easy it is to exercise those graces which accord with our natural
constitutions, how difficult those which mortify and run counter to
them.
May it be the labour and delight of my future life to see each
cherished idol one by one fall prostrate, slain before my Lord's love.
_July 1._--There has just been a transaction passing which
illustrates, in a striking manner, the very loose connections which
bind the parts of this empire together. I have already mentioned the
death of the Pashas of Mosul and Merdin. Ali Pasha, in support of whom
they had professedly marched against Bagdad, sent his treasurer to
Saleh Beg, to commend him for what he had done in thus preserving the
city by killing these two Pashas, requiring at the same time for
himself, the payment of his expenses, as well as a sum of money for
the Sultan, and promising that if this were given him he would return
to Aleppo. Thus, after nearly two years confusion, all parties will be
worse off than they were before. My reason for thinking it probable
this will be the case is, that the Khaznadar or treasurer of Daoud
Pasha, has accompanied the Khaznadar of Ali Pasha to his camp, who
evidently doubts the result of his attempt. Indeed, it seems very
doubtful if in any case he can succeed; for if he obtains the
Pashalic, I think it very probable from the history of former Pashas,
who, as strangers to the Pashalic, have been forced into it, that he
will not be allowed to retain it. The fact is, that almost all his
opposing force consists of Arabs, who become in a moment the servants
of the highest bidder. It was only two days ago the Pasha detached one
tribe from them; and I have little doubt that if he does not spare
money he may soon break up all the confederacy.[34] Yesterday the
soldiers of the late Pasha of Mosul came to the gates of the town, but
were driven back into their encampment with loss; and one hundred of
their mercenary troops (Arnaoots) came over to this Pasha, changing a
pay of forty-eight piasters a month to one hundred, or about a pound
sterling a month.
[34] We heard afterwards that the state of his health and the
lawlessness of the city prevented his getting access to his treasure.
Every kind of provision is becoming extremely dear, from double to ten
times its usual price; and I confess I see no present prospect of
improvement, for the inundation swept away the harvest, and the plague
has extended so far, that there have been no hands to cut down even
that grain which remained, and the things which they might have sown,
and which might in some measure have supplied the place of grain they
were prevented from sowing by the Arabs, who were at enmity with the
Pasha, and therefore laid waste the country. In contemplating the
perplexity and uncertainty of events, according to all human
calculation, that surrounds us, the knowledge that our own Lord is
ordering all things not only for his own glory but also for ours,
comes home continually to my soul with inexpressible comfort; and
notwithstanding the anxious thoughts that sometimes arise, I am
generally enabled at last to roll my burdens on his holy head, and
this I know will sustain them.
The dead weight about a missionary's neck in the first years of
his labour is the language. So difficult is it to hear so as to
understand, or to speak so as to be understood; for not only is it
necessary to use right words, but with right accents, or you may often
convey the very reverse of what you mean. Certainly, if I were quite
alone, the plan I should pursue, would be to go into some family or
place where the language I wish to learn alone is spoken, as brother
King did in Syria to learn Arabic:--this being attained, a missionary
is certainly not without the most interesting opportunities of
usefulness.
_July 2._ _Saturday._--Dear baby has suffered so much from her eyes
to-day, that it tried my heart to the very bottom. And in addition to
all this, the state of things here is assuming an alarming aspect.
Without the city walls, the numbers of those who wish to plunder the
city are increasing; and within, the same tendency is manifested among
those who are intended for its protection, so that my heart has been
at times very much pressed down; yet the Lord has sustained me. In the
evening, as I was looking out, I saw the man come into the court yard,
who brings and collects letters for Aleppo, and in his hand a letter
for me. With what eagerness did I seize it, and anticipate its
contents. Yet though good tidings, because tidings of the Lord's
blessing them, and being in the midst of them, it contained tidings
peculiarly heavy for me to receive at this moment, as it not only led
me to anticipate no present prospect of seeing my dear brethren from
Aleppo, but that it seemed very doubtful if it would be their path to
come at all; at least if they did, it would be purely to join me, and
this surely would not be the path of duty. I, however, receive this
last trying providence at my loving Father's hands, adoring his love
whilst I know not the modes of his going forth. It has not weighed me
down so much as I thought it would; and the Lord allows me to feel
assured he will yet do something for me. They seem to wish me to join
them, but I do not yet see my way clear to leave this place to which
the Lord has brought me. I feel daily more and more that my place in
the church is very low, and it matters very little where I am for any
good that is in me: yet by remaining, I keep the way open for those
who are more able, and whose establishment is more important. I know
my Lord will not cut me off from personal improvement by all his
darkly gracious dealing, and perhaps I am now learning another part of
that hard lesson, neither to glory in or trust in man. But still I
bless God he is giving my dear brethren a door of utterance and
prospects of usefulness where they are, and may my joy ever be in
proportion to the glory that is brought to his blessed name, and the
prosperity of his kingdom. Until the Lord, therefore, raises his
fiery cloudy pillar, and bids me forth, I shall pursue my plan of
endeavouring to converse in Arabic till the Lord is pleased to open my
mouth by degrees, or as he please, to publish his whole truth. Should
he send me some dear brother to help and comfort me, may he give me
grace to praise him; if not, to hope in him and find in himself all I
need. To the dear boys it has been a great disappointment, for it was
the constant theme of their conversation, and a cheering expectation
to see friends from England. However, our dear Father will order all
things well; and I bless him exceedingly for sending out to Aleppo,
our dear brethren and sisters. The Lord may make this event, which now
seems so awakening and trying, yet for the furthering of the gospel in
these lands: in fact, I should be almost sorry for _all_ of the
brethren to leave Aleppo.
_July 5._ _Tuesday._--I have had some interesting conversation with
three poor people from _Karakoosh_,[35] a town about five hours from
Mosul, composed of Roman Catholic Syrians. Every information I receive
from that quarter, convinces me that Erzeroum, Diarbekr, and Mosul,
would be most interesting head quarters for a missionary. The man told
me that the Nestorians of the mountains, (like the Scotch) go once a
year to receive the sacrament, whether upon their erroneous principle,
or that from living scattered among the mountains they cannot make it
convenient to meet often, I know not. The Syrians of the villages near
Mosul speak among themselves Syriac, but in asking them if they
understood the old Syriac, which is read, they reply, imperfectly; so
that I have no doubt, for any instructive purpose, it is perfectly
unintelligible, what with the mode of reading, and the difference of
language. These are deeply interesting countries to those who can be
happy in bestowing all their strength in planting under the prospect
that others will reap the fruits. The Lord will water their way with
little streams of comfort, and manifestations of the prospect of the
future; but the preparatory work in these countries must occupy at
least many, many years of missionary life. I shall never feel a
missionary till I can deliver my message clearly and intelligibly;
till then, I endeavour to drop a word, as it may be offered, and to
instil a principle as an occasion may occur, or by seeking an
occasion. The difficulty of this first step I daily feel to be
increasing--I mean only that my sense of the difficulty is increasing;
but the Lord daily comforts me, amidst the delays and trials of faith,
by the clearest conviction of the large sphere of usefulness there is
when once this is attained.
[35] _Karakoosh_ is a small town within twelve miles of
Mosul, containing about nine hundred houses, inhabited entirely by
Syrian or Jacobite Christians, many of whom are become Roman
Catholics. They speak Syriac, but so corrupted, that it is with great
difficulty they understand the Syriac of the Scriptures. There are
seven churches, four of which belong to the Roman Catholics, and the
remainder to the Jacobites. The road between Karakoosh and Mosul,
passes through the striking remains of Nineveh.
All things in the city continue in the most unsettled state.
Some of the lawless depredators came again to our house the day before
yesterday, and wanted arrack; but they went away quietly, and they
only talked about cutting off my head; but all this in mere bravado.
The Lord thus graciously takes care of us. They look on me as a sort
of dervish, because I do not drink arrack, nor use weapons of war, nor
take men to guard my house.
_July 9._--The camp of those without the city is moving down to-day
towards us; and we hear a continued firing of cannon. It is reported
they are come within half an hour's march of the city. The issue is in
the Lord's hand. Nothing can exceed the fear and want of confidence
that prevails throughout the city, every man's heart failing him for
fear of those things which may be coming on us. Oh! what a resting
place is the Lord's experienced love, and the assurance that all shall
work together for good to those that love him; yet living thus in the
midst of constant alarm, makes my heart sometimes long for that sweet,
quiet Christian communion which I left behind in England.
_July 10._ _Sunday._--In conversation to-day on the subject of
invoking the Virgin Mary, with some Armenians and a Jacobite, I was
struck with the readiness with which they all submit to Scripture; and
this seems universal among all those who are not ecclesiastics by
profession, or Roman Catholics. The curse of obstinate blindness seems
to be left to those who join this apostate church, for truly it may
be said of them, they come not to the light, because their deeds are
evil--not their deeds as members of society, but as professed members
of the mystical body of Christ.
Our Lord's days are solitary--none to tune Zion's harps. Oh! how it
makes the soul long for the courts of the Lord, where we may go up
with the crowds to keep holiday; how precious now would appear some of
those seasons of Christian communion which we enjoyed in dear England
and Ireland. When dear Mary was with me, we had an unceasing source of
happiness in conversing on our common hopes in our common Lord. Our
communion also with our dear friends was thus rendered vivid, aided as
it was and encouraged by the help of correspondence and conversation;
but now letters have almost ceased to come, and I have no one to
commune with. In addition to all this we are besieged, and every
necessary of life is nearly three times its usual price, very bad, and
to be got with difficulty. All night we hear nothing but firing and
drums beating, and men shouting--all this, too, at present, without
any prospect of termination, for those who are come against the city,
are not strong enough to enforce the change they design, and those
within have little to fear, so long as they have money and provisions
to give the soldiers, which they say they have for two years;[36] so
those who suffer are the poor people, who cannot help themselves. The
Pasha of Aleppo is about an hour's distance; it does not seem to be
his wish to act offensively against the city, but only to get into his
power those few whom he wishes to displace and behead. Yet how much
have I to bless God for, in that he keeps the little boys so free from
alarm. Blessed Lord! these are indeed scenes and times that lead the
soul to desire thy peaceful happy reign. Sometimes the sense of my
dear, dear Mary's peace, safety, and joys, makes me feel my burthens
lighter than though she had been with me; for to have those you love
in such scenes is trying in proportion to this very love, which so
sweetens times of mere labour or peace. I am sure the Lord _has_ dealt
lovingly, and _will_.
[36] This report of the provisions of the city appeared, in
the sequel, to be unfounded.
_July 14._--Since the ninth we have had little occurring but firing of
guns from the citadel, and the noise and confusion at night occasioned
by the soldiers.
A circumstance has occurred to-day which a little tries me. The
Armenian Priests are both dead; and the Armenian servant of Mrs. T.
has asked if she might receive the communion with us, the next time we
received it. Now, while I feel in my own soul that she knows nothing
of the power of the divine life, yet how far I have authority from
God's word to set up this, my private feeling, in the absence of any
thing palpable to fix on as an objection, I do not see. I feel so
utterly unworthy to place myself in the situation of a judge in such
a case. I feel so exceedingly low in the divine life--I experience
so little of the power of that life which was in Christ, subduing
all things to the obedience of the Father's will--that I feel she
may object more to my being accepted than I could to her. Yet,
notwithstanding all this, I am conscious there is a difference--though
I am only on the lowest step of Jacob's ladder, yet I do desire to
ascend higher into the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to descend
lower in my own esteem, so to be able to say without the pollution of
affected humility, I feel myself less than the least of all saints.
The divine life appears to me daily more and more a deep internal
personal work, without which all external exertions and exercises will
come to nothing; however fair, it will be at best but a fruitless
blossom, that withers as soon as blown. Oh! how difficult it is not to
deceive oneself with the appearance of Christian graces instead of the
substance; how difficult not to substitute the _act_ for the _spirit_;
that monster pride, how hard it is to kill, how chameleon like it
changes its colour and seems to live on air, yea, on very vanity.
_July 18._ _Lord's Day._--The warlike sounds of the cannon and mortars
have abated within these three days. Oh that the Lord would quickly
terminate this hateful civil strife. Yet at present there seems no
prospect.
How hard I feel it to-day to rise above the loss of my dear, dear
Mary--it seems like a new wound just opened. It is so hard to feel the
great honour and great proof of love the Lord has manifested towards
me, in removing her I loved from the trials and sorrows of this earth
to the ease and joy of his own Paradise, to join our dear little Mary,
and sing there together his praise who washed them in his own blood,
prepared them as vessels of honour, and then took them to himself.
Sometimes I think I ought not to have gone out of our house during the
plague, about Major T.'s affairs, but that I should have left them to
their own fate; yet, at other times, I think, after all the kindness I
had received from him, I ought not to have declined the dangerous
service. Then again, I think that when I did go, I should have taken
more precautions, and not have joined my dear family immediately,
but remained apart; yet at last my heart comes round to the full
assurance, that my dear and loving Lord would not have visited
undesigned neglect, which sprang mainly from confidence in his loving
care, with such a privation, had he not designed by it her speedy
glory and my final good: now I shall go to her, but she shall not
return to me.
The dear little boys are very anxious to leave Bagdad, yet they do not
complain, nor appear on the whole otherwise than happy, which is
indeed a great mercy. My poor dear little nursling, the object of
ceaseless care, seems rather gaining than losing ground, yet is still
so frail, that a blast of wind seems enough to extinguish the little
fire that burns; but if the Lord will, even this little fire shall yet
burn brighter and brighter, and defy in his name the rudest blasts.
Sometimes when I think on the complete stop the Lord has in his
infinite wisdom seen fit to put to my little work here, I am
astonished. Among those who are dead, is one who was translating the
New Testament into the vulgar Armenian of this place, and had gone as
far as Luke; and another gentleman, who was educated in Bombay, who
was writing for me an English and Armenian Dictionary, in which he had
proceeded about half way (10,000 words). In this dictionary there were
not only the ancient and modern parallel words, but an explanation in
vulgar Armenian, with examples. The probability of my meeting with one
similarly qualified, able and willing again, is very small indeed; but
with this, as with all the rest, it is the Lord, let him do what
seemeth to him good. I wait to see his future pleasure manifested, and
though I am now under a cloud of sorrow and separation from his
service, may he sanctify it, and advance his glory by whomsoever he
pleases, only giving me a heart to rejoice in their labours, and to
love my Lord fervently, and then I hope I shall not complain. I never
felt fit for much, and I daily now feel fit for less than I once
thought I was, yet the Lord will not deny me a place in the body, and
oh, may he give me a heart willing to take the lowest--that of
washing the disciples' feet. Oh, for the spirit of our dear humble
Lord in that wonderful transaction so calculated to stain human pride
with the name of madness, but especially the pride of those who call
themselves his.
The weather is now getting intensely hot, and our cellars, which were
our retreating places last year, are not habitable, the water being in
them at least three feet high, and this, with the overflowing of the
river, brought such swarms of mosquitos, that for several weeks it was
almost impossible to sleep, and although now they are far less
numerous, they are still very troublesome, so that if not on your
guard every moment, you get stung by them.
_July 20._--The weather is intensely hot, and we now begin seriously
to miss the Serdaubs;[37] but I feel it most for dear little baby, to
whom the heat is very, very trying. I also feel it very difficult to
do any thing that requires the least exertion, and for the next six
weeks we have no hope, of any mitigation, but rather an increase. The
prospect too of affairs around us, leaves no resting place but in the
love and favour of our Lord. The city is full of prophecies of the
sorrows and desolations that are to come on this land; from the Pasha
downward, this people seem devoted to astrology, believing lies, while
they refuse to hear the truth; yet all their visions are of sorrow,
lamentation, and woe.
[37] Cellars under ground, to which the inhabitants of Bagdad
retire during the heat of the day, from the months of June to
September.
I feel sometimes very much tried with respect to my future pursuit of
missionary labours; for I have not only lost the encouragement and
comfort of a sweet society that made every place a home; but all these
domestic cares, which she so willingly and so entirely bore, have
fallen on me, and I hardly seem, at least during the weakness of my
dear little baby, to have time for any thing but to attend to them.
Had I been joined by our dear brothers and sisters from Aleppo, it
would have been comparatively light; but now, I can take no step, and
before I may be able, the Lord may graciously afford me new light; for
this I will therefore, with his grace and help, patiently wait.
_July 21._--In some conversation I have just had with the old father
of our late schoolmaster, I have been encouraged to feel that it is
almost impossible for a missionary, even of the humblest pretensions,
and in the lowest degree qualified for his calling, which I can I
think with unaffected truth say, I feel to be my own case--to live
among these people, and not to lead them to some most important
principles. This old man is not only theoretically persuaded of the
sufficiency of the Scriptures, but in his understanding fully
convinced. His acquaintance with Scripture is very extensive and
accurate, and on my servant coming to ask him the explanation of words
in the translation lately set forth by the Bible Society, it led to a
conversation on the importance of having a translation that every
woman and child can understand. He said, "Yes, and it is only the
pride of the learned and of the bishops which prevents it: if books
once became published in the dialects of the people, the old language
would cease to be cultivated." This would doubtless be an infinite
benefit, not only to the Armenians but to the Syrians and Chaldeans,
and every Church of the East, among the people; a few learned men may,
and most likely will, be found to extract what is valuable from the
old language, if they have only enlightened judgment enough to leave
the mass of rubbish behind. He mentioned the sermon on the Mount,
which we received from Shushee, and said, that it opened the eyes of
the children--yet even this dialect is very different from the one
used here. I think this aged man understands and feels there is but
one Church in the world; and he quoted that interesting passage, "Paul
may plant and Apollos water, but God giveth the increase," to prove
it.
_July 22._--I have to-day received letters from London and Aleppo, and
I have reason to bless God for all; yet they all come armed with
sorrow; for they are full of her of whom the Lord has emptied me. In
my strength I thought I could so entirely give her up to him, did he
desire it, since he had made her so strong in himself, and filled her
so full of his blessings; well, and even now, my soul doth magnify the
Lord, though in so many ways, I still feel my great and trying loss.
Perhaps the Lord has meant to teach me that the 91st Psalm, as dear
brother Cronin writes, relates only to Christ's humanity, specially
shewing how, from his cradle to his grave, his father watched over
him, so that at last he laid down his life, but none took it from him;
and he, in this great act, has made it over spiritually to us: he has
left the natural plague because of sin, but destroyed the spiritual
because of righteousness, even that righteousness which is by his own
most precious blood.
The Pasha of Aleppo, hearing of dear Edward Cronin, as an English
physician, wishing to come to Bagdad, wished to engage him to come
with him as his physician, and offered him 1500 piasters a month; but,
anxious as they were to come, the circumstances of their party did
not, on mature deliberation, allow them to separate, and Ali Pasha was
unwilling to undertake the responsibility of the females with his
camp. And, oh, how my soul blesses the Lord, now I think on it, that
these obstacles were so graciously interposed; disease, delay, and
trouble would have accompanied them, and, till now, they would have
been detained in the desert, with little prospect of speedy admission
into the city, which is firing against the camp, and the camp firing
against the city, and they would have been exposed to the full power
of a sun, which no one can tell how to estimate, but by actual
exposure to it.
I have also received a letter from Bussorah, stating that on the
drying up of the inundations there, a fever has been spreading, and
carrying off numbers. Major T.'s family had most of them been ill, but
they were recovering. Mr. Bathie was very weak, and his wife dead. Dr.
Beagry, the new surgeon of this station, also died, and immense
numbers of those who had fled from the plague. Bussorah is still
besieged, but expected soon to fall into the hands of the Motezellim.
A letter has also reached me to-day by the same conveyance, from the
Bible Society, dated 27th July last year, mentioning the sending of
three cases of Arabic and Persian Scriptures to my dear brother
Pfander. When I consider how God, in his infinite and unsearchable
providence, has seen it fit to bring to nought all our plans by the
disorganization of this at all times lawless land, I cannot but feel
it a strong call to form very few plans for the future, and just to
work by the day. Our hope was, when we came to Bagdad, to have been
able to travel pretty extensively both in the mountains of Kourdistan
and in Persia; but the state of the country, and other considerations,
brought all these plans to nothing, so my dear friend and kind
brother left me for Shushee, having been able to obtain much of the
information he desired, without the journey. And I, instead of having
a large present field of useful employment, and one prospectively
increasing, am now without employment or prospect, and if it were not
that I feel getting on a little in the colloquial language of the
country, I should be almost without hope of remaining with advantage
here; but while I feel this, my heart does not sink. The Lord will yet
let his light shine out of the darkness, and will one day enable me to
speak of his promises; for I daily feel more assured this is the great
gift after which an evangelist is to press--it is the very instrument
of his labour. And let such a missionary feel infinitely happier
to hear it said he speaks very low Arabic, but that every body
understands him; than very pure, but which is unintelligible, except
to the Mollahs. If he speaks not in a very mixed dialect of Turkish,
Persian, and Arabic, he will not be understood here; there is,
however, still an immense preponderance of Arabic over the others.
The British and Foreign School Society have also very kindly offered
to afford what assistance their limited means will allow to the
furtherance of Scripture instruction in the East. I shall endeavour
to repay this free kindness by obtaining the best information I can,
before I call on their aid, for nothing is so discouraging as failures
from precipitate attempts; but so variable is the state of affairs in
these countries, that previous to your judgment being matured by
experience, you may be led, with the best intentions possible, to
undertake, on a bright day, plans which, before they can be executed,
prove as baseless as a vision, and which will leave nothing behind
but the remembrance of useless expense and unproductive labour.
_July 22._--I had with me to-day, for the last time as a patient, an
officer of the Pasha's household who had the plague, and a large wound
from a carbuncle, but is now quite well, and he was talking of the
state of the city and country, and said, "Why do we wish to give our
country into the hands of the Ghiaours,[38] and not to the Persians?
It is because we know they will neither take our wives or daughters
from us, nor rob us of our money, nor cut off our heads, but in Islam
there is no mercy, no pity." He added, "Did you ever see me before I
came about my leg?" I said, "No." "Yet," he said "you had mercy upon
me, and cured me and my daughter (who also had had the plague), and
why? It was from your heart--there was mercy there." I took this
opportunity to explain the reason, as emanating from the command of
Christ, and not the goodness of my heart, and how truly could I say
it; for the Lord knows how, but for this, it would be a weariness unto
me. Now this impatience of their own government is not the feeling of
a few discontented men, but I am persuaded it is very general--how can
such a kingdom stand?
[38] This word Ghiaour, or infidel, is applied by Mohammedans
to Christians without the least intention of personal offence; and
what is still more extraordinary, the Christians commonly designate
themselves by the same appellation.
The government, if government it can be called, is now sending the
soldiers round to every house to seek for wheat and rice. From some
they take half, from others a third of their little store, while they
have enough for two years in their own corn cellars, and this too when
the necessaries of life are raised to between four and five times
their usual price; and as for fruit and vegetables, which constitute
in eastern countries, during summer, so large a portion of the food of
all classes, not a particle is to be seen.
Yesterday and to-day I have had two Roman Catholic merchants with me,
and in quoting Scripture to them, I found them ready with the context;
but the deadly evil is the separation of religion and its principles
from the government and rule of every day and every moment. In these
countries, where religious expressions are in every one's mouth, a
missionary has most valuable employment, as he is able to bring their
minds back to their own expressions, to their own import and power, as
we are desired to do to those who heartlessly use that beautiful form
of dedication in the communion service of the Church of England, "We
here present unto thee our bodies, souls, and spirits to be a
reasonable, holy, and lively sacrifice unto thee." Oh! that all who
use these blessed words felt their power, and lived under it. Christ's
name would soon be magnified from land to land.
_July 23._--The Pasha has just sent me a fish, with his compliments,
and a request that I will dress it for him: this is the way he
collects the daily provisions for his household; one person sends him
a dish of rice, another a dish of kebaub, another bread; at other
times all this takes place because of custom, but now from necessity,
for he has no servants scarcely to attend to him. This is the first
time I have been so honoured, and when the fish was cooked and sent,
he desired the servant to come back, and bring him a few kustawee
dates to eat with it; that, however, you may not think these any very
extravagant luxury, I may add, their value is somewhat less than a
penny a pound. I note this as a little trait of manners that one would
hardly credit, had not the fact come under his own observation.
_July 24._ _Lord's Day._--Nothing among the perverted use of
scriptural terms has ever struck me as more remarkable than the use
the Church now makes of the expression, tempting God. In God's word it
is uniformly placed among the sins of unbelief; but the Church now, by
universal consent, places it among the sins of presumption, to which
it is the very antipodes. For instance, it is one of the great crimes
of Israel, their tempting God in the desert, and limiting the Holy One
of Israel. How? By presumptuous confidence? No--but by saying he hath
given bread, but _can he give meat_ also? This is the only sense I
know in scripture given to tempting God, and that famous passage from
which the erroneous impression has mainly sprung, in the interview of
Satan with our Lord, is quite kindred. The object of Satan was to get
our Lord's mind into a condition of doubting God, by leading him to
argue, God has certainly said so, but will he do it? for our blessed
Lord was manifestly as much tempting God by attempting to walk upon
the water, as to cast himself into the air. What proves this to be the
meaning is our Lord's quotation, "It is written, Thou shalt not tempt
the Lord thy God." Now, where is this written? Why, in the Old
Testament, where it uniformly implies doubt and distrust; in Exod.
xvii. 2. "Therefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us
water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with
me? Wherefore do ye tempt the Lord? And he called the name of the
place Massah and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of
Israel; and because they tempted the Lord, saying, _Is the Lord among
us, or not?_" (verse 7.) And it is in reference to this very passage,
that in Deut. vi. 16. it is said "Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy
God, as ye tempted him in Massah." And that we may not have a doubt of
the meaning, see the application of the word tempting, as applied to
our dear and blessed Lord. Is it ever in the sense of presumptuous
confidence? Never; but always of scepticism and doubt. I do not mean
to say there is not such a sin as presumptuous confidence; I am sure
there is; but that is never called tempting God. The Israelites were
guilty of this sin, when they went up contrary to the command of God
to fight their enemies, after he had pronounced upon them the forty
years wandering in the wilderness.
I think that rightly understanding this is a matter of no small
moment; for many are affrighted, and made sad in the ways of the Lord
by the erroneous application of this Scripture; for to whom does the
Church and the world alike now apply this term? Why, if they hear of a
man selling his property, and becoming poor, like Barnabas, according
to the exhortation of the apostles, and the _example of our Lord_, he
is considered as tempting God by all according to the degree in which
they wish to keep all or part of their own property. Again, if he
exposes himself to dangers he might avoid, troubles he might escape,
for what he believes the Lord's service, far from receiving any
comfort or encouragement, he is again accused of tempting God. But
tempting God is the deadly sin of an unregenerate mind, and is never
charged on any saint, either in the Old or New Testament, that I
recollect. Certainly, Peter did not tempt Christ, when he said, "If
thou be he, bid me come unto thee on the water;" for he did not doubt
our Lord's power; yet there was a measure of false confidence in
himself, as well as of unbelief; but these are compatible with the
holiest affections as a state. Tempting God belongs to the family of
the tempter, and is a part of no child of God at any time. After his
conversion, Peter asked a miracle of Christ; but it was in faith,
however weak. When the sceptical Sadducees and the Pharisees, sought a
sign it was to try him, can he do it? Therefore he said, Why tempt ye
me, ye hypocrites? shewing it was a sin to tempt him as well as it was
a sin to tempt his Father.
I feel now that I had been led to expect a greater measure of freedom
from the troubles which fall on the people, in the midst of which I
find myself, than the dispensation under which I live warranted; I do
not mean from those which spring directly out of the Lord's service,
but those natural and national evils which God sends as judgments on
the ungodly. This error arose from considering the temporal promises
of the 91st Psalm, and other similar ones in multitudes of places, as
the legitimate objects of faith: whereas I have been now led to see
that they, like the curses, are but typical representations of that
kingdom in which the saints of the Lord shall rejoice and be safe when
his enemies are swept away as the chaff of the summer threshing floor.
Yet even now, spiritually they are all ours. Not a hair of our head
shall fall to the ground without our heavenly Father's permission.
Therefore I feel these thoughts ought neither to trouble us, nor any
more prevent our hand undertaking for Christ any service, than if a
greater exemption was promised; for we know that whatever is allowed
to befall us, whether natural or spiritual, if Christ is ours and we
are his, they shall only so operate as to work out for us a far more
exceeding and eternal weight of glory; for these sufferings and trials
must be among all the things that work together for good to those who
love Christ.
_July 28._ _Thursday._--Up to this time the shells and balls of the
besiegers have done us no harm. Two shells have passed just over us.
The one fell on the roof of the house of an Arab family at a little
distance from us, who were all asleep, and on bursting killed three:
one cannon ball has just passed over us, besides musket balls
innumerable, only two of which, however, I have felt so near as to
endanger us. The one just passed by me and struck the wall, the other,
by bending my head, passed just over me: yet dangerous as it seems in
such circumstances to sleep on the roof, the suffocating heat of the
rooms is insupportable. I recollect Mr. Wolff, when here, mentions it
as so hot that he could not write his journal, and indeed such is the
heat, that one unaccustomed to it feels almost perfectly unfitted for
any laborious service either of mind or body, but particularly the
former, for at least my own experience is, that the body is much less
affected by it than the mind.
Famine is making its destructive way here among the poor. All the
necessaries of life are raised from four to six times their usual
price, and often are not to be obtained at all, and in addition there
is no labour going on in the city: every shop is closed, and every
one's concern is to take care of his life or property. They are
constantly killing persons in the streets, without the least inquiry
being made after the perpetrators; nay, they are publicly and
notoriously known, and no one regards it. Nothing can exceed the
misery and fear that pervades the city. Yet amidst all these
perplexities and troubles, the Lord reigns, and without him they can
do nothing.
_July 31._ _Lord's day._--A day that always dawns with sweet peace on
my soul: I seem more especially to bring before my mind those with
whom I think I took sweet counsel, and went to the house of God in
company; and though now deprived of all that the heart can desire from
holy fellowship on earth, there is something that brings me near those
I love, when I think on their places of assembly, and their times of
prayer. Though my dear Lord has broken my heart in pieces, and his
hand is still resting on me in the person of my dear little dying
baby, whose love and preference for the little care I know how to
show, renders it one of those exquisitely painful trials, that the
feelings know not how to obey the Lord in, when the spiritual judgment
is brought quite down. Yet I can never help feeling it to be a mercy
eternally to be thankful for, that the sense of my Father's love and
Saviour's sympathy has never been taken from me amidst all my trials;
nay, I do feel that the Lord is fitting me, by suffering and
separation, for the work to which he has called me; he leaves me
without a home, or the desire of one, and in that way prepares me for
situations, which, during the life-time of my dearest Mary, would have
been deeply trying. I bless God for the fourteen years uninterrupted
domestic happiness we enjoyed together, above all, for the seven years
spiritual communion in a common gracious Lord, who led us in unity of
faith and spirit to that work from which he has taken her so early to
himself, and from which, when the Lord dismisses me, I trust to ascend
and sing the song of Moses and the Lamb with her for ever and ever. My
great want is, more of Christ, more of his whole character; this I
purpose, by the Spirit's help, more to meditate on, that all that
hateful concern about self, that pollutes all I do, may be absorbed in
one only thought of how he may be glorified. What I feel I want, is
more holiness of spirit. I know the Lord is fitting me for his holy
presence, and that he is the chief desire of my soul; yet, oh! the
weakness of faith, the coldness of communion, the reserves of
dedication. Oh, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief!
A Mohammedan has been with me to-day, who is much alarmed at the
state of the city, and wants to fly, but sees not now any opening.
He told me, it was not this or that Pasha he cared about; but his
property, his life, and the females of his family. Oh, what a relief
to know, that my dear Mary is with her Lord; how light this makes my
present trials. Yesterday they were fighting from before sun-rise till
the afternoon, but could not effect an entrance into the city. The
Lord preserves us all in simple dependence on himself.
_August 2._ _Wednesday._--Accounts have arrived from the Hajjaj (Mecca
and Medina, &c.) stating the mortality from plague and cholera to be
most tremendous; many families that left this place on pilgrimage to
escape the troubles, in the midst of which we have so long been, have,
as we hear, suffered dreadfully. Thus God seems in wrath, making bare
his holy arm against this wretched nation in all its length and
breadth. My heart sometimes trembles for the dear brethren at Aleppo,
lest at the conclusion of the hot season it should break out there. My
only resource is God. The poor people here are beginning to sell their
little all to buy bread, and in consequence of the badness and
scarcity of provisions, dysentery is spreading its ravages in every
direction, as well as fever.
I have had with me to-day the translator to the late French Bishop,
and two or three Roman Catholic merchants, all overwhelmed with fear.
They say, the Sultan, on hearing of the death of the Pasha of Mosul,
and the Vaivode of Merdin, has written to the Pasha of Aleppo, to
spare neither man, woman, nor child in the city; but to let the very
name of Bagdad be swept from his dominions. Though this is not
altogether unlike the Sultan, I rather think it the report of those
within the city, to make the inhabitants dread delivering it up into
the hands of those without. How blessed a portion is ours, in the
midst of all these perplexities, to stay ourselves on our God, and to
confide in the sympathizing love of our Lord, who, worthless and vile
as we are, will not overlook us; but for his name's sake, will take
care of the very hairs of our heads, either in life or death. Amidst
it all, what chiefly troubles me is, that I love my Father and my Lord
so little, and that although there is not an object in the world, but
his service and glory, for which I would desire to live; yet that,
notwithstanding this I live so little for it. Three months have now
passed since my dearest Mary has entered into her rest, which I have
spent mostly in the sorrowful nursing of my poor dear sinking babe,
and though her love and preference repays a hundred-fold all the
trial, yet it pierces, while it pleases the heart, to see that
connection so soon must cease. I often wonder at my strange
indifference to my situation, which, but for my dear children, I think
would be greater. I am afraid to think it is the fruit of faith I
feel, in every other respect so weak; it seems more like the physical
insensibility of one who is without a stake in what is passing. Oh,
may my dear Lord, in every earthly tie he breaks, bind my poor soul
doubly strong to himself for eternity, and to his service while here.
_Aug. 3._--Some of the principal Christian families sent to me to-day,
to request me to subscribe for guards to our quarter of the city, so
that every night we might have about 40 on guard. This I saw my way
clear in declining, believing that for Christ's servants the sword is
not a lawful defence; whatever it may be the Lord's holy will I
suffer, let it not be in acting against my convictions of his holy and
blessed will, for though I feel as a sheep in the midst of wolves, the
Lord does not allow my heart to be disturbed with any sense of
personal insecurity. How beautifully all our blessed Lord's precepts
hang together, and fit the one the other; if your consent to follow
him in his poverty as he has commanded, you have little to fear in
following his other commands of non-resistance: if you accept not the
first, you will not accept the second, except in such circumstances as
expose you to perhaps little comparative danger. May the Lord make me
willing, whatever it costs, to learn all his will, and give me grace
to love it. I have heard such instances to-day of hateful and
abominable oppression and wickedness against the poor Christians, by
the followers of those who have the name of rulers within the city,
that my heart aches, and my soul loathes the place. But what can we
expect, when these very persons robbed last night the house of Saleh
Beg, himself from whom they receive their pay.
A little butter and some sheep have been brought into the city; but
they ask so enormous a price, that they have not yet been bought.
I was struck with the quickness with which the mind apprehends the
simple truth of God when unprejudiced by interest. I have, without
even speaking contemptuously to the Christians of their fasting, taken
various opportunities of expressing the liberty of a Christian to fast
in such a way, and at such times, as he believes most conducive to his
soul's advantage; and have pointed out to them, that to lay the stress
on it they do, was quite perverting the very end and design of
fasting; for that they are manifestly less afraid of violating
Christ's commands than their own regulations, which, as they used
them, were purely human. To-day, a question arose between two of them
in my presence, about their fasts; and the one stated as clearly as
could be wished, the uselessness of burthening their consciences about
eating a little butter instead of oil, or such like, instead of
seeking to flee from their lies, and drunkenness, and robbery, and
cheating. There seems to me such a glorious moral power in God's word,
that my heart never doubts of its producing marked effects, where it
can be clearly and fully delivered; but, oh, the language, what a
mountainous barrier!
Last night, whilst lying on my bed, on the roof of my house, five
balls passed over my head in about as many seconds, so close, that I
threw myself off in expectation that the next might hit it or me; at
times I almost determined to go down, but the danger of being shot did
not appear so dreadful as the suffocating heat down stairs.
_August 4._ _Thursday._--We have received accounts to-day of another
messenger from Bussorah, with letters for us, having been stripped.
How trying these dispensations are--how necessary for our peace that
our eye should only rest on God, ordering in love every event
concerning us, even to the arrival of a letter, so that he will allow
nothing to fail us that is for our good. I have to-day finished
reading through again Martyn's Memoir, by Sargent. How my soul admires
and loves his zeal, self-denial, and devotion; how brilliant, how
transient his career; what spiritual and mental power amidst bodily
weakness and disease. Oh, may I be encouraged by his example to press
on to a higher mark. When I think of my own spiritual weakness,
contrasted with his spiritual power, it brings a striking warning home
to my heart to seek a fuller and more abiding union with Jesus, from
whom alone flows the living waters that make the branches fruitful; I
am not now troubled about that intellectual difference between us,
which might seem to make it impossible for me to do what he did: the
Lord has made me, blessed be His holy name, contented in this respect
with any difference I may feel between myself and his more exalted
members; but my sorrow is caused by my want of that likeness to him,
who is my Lord and King, which is alike the common inheritance of all
the members of his mystical body. May I, however, henceforth make the
most of my talent, that I be not numbered among the slothful servants
at my dear Lord's most glorious and blessed appearing. The mild
seriousness that pervades dear H. M.'s soul has for my heart a great
charm. There is not a trait of eccentricity--all is like his Lord in
its measure--he was solemn and serious as became his work, yet full of
zeal and affection, which shewed itself, however, rather in the steady
power of a course of action than in expression. It is astonishing what
the world will endure from a child of God, whose manner gives them
excuse for calling him an interesting eccentric madman; because then
all he says they feel at liberty to laugh at; whereas, if the very
same truths were declared to them in the calm seriousness of our
Lord's manner, it would make them gnash on him with their teeth.
_August 7._ _Lord's day._--This has been a day of trials and tears.
The visions of the night were filled with her I have lost, and the
day has been spent in weeping over her, I am soon, very soon, to lose;
but this is only nature, my soul rests happily in my Lord. I had given
up a little for his dear service! but he knew where the heart's
reserves were, and has put his hand on them; yet, blessed hope, that
gilds these darkest days--the day of the Lord is at hand, when we
shall meet to part no more. Oh, may my heart live with this blessed
vision ever before it, and labour each day for the Lord, as though it
were to be the waking vision of the morning's dawn. My heart is very
sad to think how profitless a servant I have been; but I do purpose,
the Lord enabling me, to be more diligent, more devoted in the future.
My mind has been much exercised with the question of the desirableness
of keeping a journal of the soul's inmost workings; but after reading
and thanking God for those of others, I feel I never could write one
without the fear of its publication, and this would keep my soul in a
continual struggle, either by tempting me to say too much or too
little, more or less than the truth; for, if any but my most gracious
and loving Lord knew me as I am, I should hide myself for ever from
the face of man. Yet I pray the Lord, that he will by his Spirit write
a journal on my soul, that I may truly feel how very meek and lowly it
becomes me to be when I think of all his forgiveness, notwithstanding
my transgressions against him. I feel there was something peculiarly
gracious in my Lord's not sending me away to my sufferings and trials,
till he had given me a cordial, in the assurance of his unchanging
love. Oh, but for this, what would my past trials have been, had I not
felt assured my Lord's love did not fluctuate with my feelings, nor
depend upon my worthiness. Oh, what a blessed passage is that in Rom.
v. "If, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death
of his Son, _much more_ being reconciled we shall be saved by his
life." Yet the more I feel of this assurance of such unmerited love,
the more hateful sin appears in all its shapes, and the more my soul
desires entire devotedness to the whole will of God, and conformity to
my gracious Lord.
_Aug. 9._--A contest has sprung up between the troops and the
inhabitants of the city, in which, from the continued firing, I should
fear there has been much slaughter. Our neighbours are also again
making barricades across the street, near our door. I sometimes think
I am too impatient under these trials, instead of being thankful for
the mercies I enjoy, and waiting without anxiety upon the Lord to work
as seemeth good to Him in his own time. I hope to strive more and more
after this childlike confidence, which his experienced love so richly
deserves.
I did not expect my sweet little baby would have survived yesterday,
yet she has this morning a little revived.
In the hourly expectation of being plundered, I have put such things
as I should be sorry to lose in a hole made in the wall, by the
falling of a room. Yet I trust I am quite content the Lord should do
as he sees best, even with respect to these. I sometimes sigh to join
my dear Mary in the kingdom of peace and joy, and be ever with the
Lord. Oh, may the Lord fully and quickly make me meet for the
inheritance of the saints in light.
_Aug. 13._ _Saturday._--The Arabs made an attack on the other side of
the town to-day, but were repulsed. Another messenger from Bussorah is
arrived, but stripped and plundered of our letters, and detained four
days a prisoner by the Arabs. He has been near a month on his way.
Bussorah, like Bagdad, is still besieged.
_Aug. 14._ _Sunday._--My dear little baby and some others of my
patients have occupied much of my time to-day; for though I give the
people generally to understand, that unless in cases of necessity, I
would rather see them on any other day; yet, there are many whom I
have felt it to be my duty to see. The remainder of the day, however,
was rendered profitless by extreme weariness, I having had to walk
about with my poor little withering flower several hours through the
night. I feel these trials all arise in what appears to me my present
plain path of duty, so they do not greatly trouble me; though the
progress in the language is almost altogether in abeyance; but, if I
confine myself to my Lord's will, I feel he will manage all for me.
I have had with me to-day an Armenian gunsmith, who has resided some
years in Damascus; he says, the Christians there are treated very
well, for though they will not allow them to ride on horseback in the
city, yet, as inhabitants, they are well treated. He says, they are
also very numerous, inhabiting not less than 15,000 houses; but, if
from this we deduct 10,000, we shall probably be nearer the truth. The
Jews are not so well treated. From Shaum (Damascus) to Beyraut, on the
coast, is four days journey, to Acre four, to Tripoli six, to Aleppo
ten, and the roads quite safe. From Damascus to Jerusalem is seven
days journey, but through an unsafe country. On the journey from this
place to Damascus, the only dangerous part of the road is between this
and Hit, on the Euphrates, four days journey hence; after that a
certain sum is paid to the Arab tribes, you may pass through. From
Persian travellers, whom they hate, they extort, when they know them,
a much greater sum, amounting sometimes to from £10. to £20. between
this and Damascus. He says, you come to fresh water every second or
third day.
_Aug. 19._ _Friday._--Every thing seems darkening in this wretched
city. Numbers of poor people are crying at the gates to be let out,
that they may not be starved in the city; but they will not let them
go. All the necessaries of life have risen to five times their usual
price, and the pressure of this is increased tenfold by the time at
which it has occurred. The bricklayers, carpenters, every trade has
entirely ceased its occupations in the city since the commencement of
the plague; so that all day-labourers, such as weavers and others, are
thrown out of their employments, and without means of gaining their
bread. In addition to this, the Arabs are breaking into every house
where they expect to find a little corn or rice, so that it is a
difficult choice either to be without provisions in danger of
starving, or of being broken in upon by such ruffians, and stripped.
We intend to bury a little box, containing some rice, and flour, and
dates, under ground, that in the event of their breaking in, we may
yet secure food for a few days, which may give us time to look about.
The Lord, however, is very gracious, and will not try us above our
strength, but will magnify his grace even in these scenes of trial and
distress. The care of my dear little dying baby has taken my mind much
off from dwelling on the distressing position in which we are, and,
for aught I at present see, are likely to continue in, for those
within the town feel it is their heads for which they are contending,
and will therefore hold out to the very last. Yet in this whirlwind
the Lord rides and reigns, and no part of the mystical body of Christ,
however humble the member, will ever be forgotten: on this we rest and
wait for light and deliverance.
_Aug. 23._ _Tuesday._--Saturday last they made a sally from the city
against a tribe of Arabs, friends of Ali Pasha, and after putting them
to flight, and killing 100, they cut off the heads of 150 in cold
blood afterwards. It appears that the obnoxious parties within the
city are anxious to place the whole inhabitants of the city on such
terms with the assailants that they shall fear the consequences of
their entering the town as much as themselves. They have allowed about
5000 of the very poorest to leave the city, but the enemy without will
allow no more to pass. A letter came yesterday to Mr. Swoboda from a
Bohemian, who is physician to Ali Pasha, in which he desired to
communicate to all the Franks, that Ali Pasha had given the strictest
orders to his soldiers not to molest one of them. To a certain extent
this manifests good intentions; but we have had too much experience of
the powerlessness of governors at such times to restrain their
soldiers, to have much confidence in man: our confidence is in Him who
will and does watch over us for good. From the daily increase in the
price of provisions, and the daily coining new lies to feed the
people with hopes instead of bread, I think things cannot remain long
in their present position; yet the Lord knows. It is certain Bagdad is
altogether ruined; and if those who belong to the neighbouring
villages, and those who would leave it, were there ever so small an
opening, were gone, the city would be a desert.
I had a patient with me to-day, who told me that, out of a family of
sixteen, he alone remains from the plague. Persons he added, who
before these troubles were not worth a para, are seen riding about on
fine horses and trappings, covered with gold and pearls, &c.; and, on
the other hand, many who before were in very good circumstances, are,
by the robbery of those who should protect them, reduced to beggary.
It appears that Ali Pasha is in want of nothing but money and
ammunition; and those within the town want every thing but these. This
wretched city has suffered to an almost unparalleled extent the
judgments of God within the last six months: the plague swept away
more than two-thirds of its inhabitants--the flood has thrown down
nearly two-thirds of its houses; and property and provisions of corn,
dates, sugar, &c. &c. beyond all calculation, have been destroyed, and
we are now suffering under daily increasing famine, and we have yet
hanging over our heads the revengeful sword of resisted authority, and
the unprincipled plunder of a lawless soldiery to complete the
devastation. This Pashalic was just about to fall an easy prey into
the hands of the Persians, who long to possess it, from their famous
place of pilgrimage, Kerbala, being in the neighbourhood, and perhaps
also to make up for their losses on their Russian frontier. Thus the
Lord seems preparing these two great Mohammedan powers for their final
overthrow, partly by the hands of each other, and partly by the hands
of the Christian power. In the province of Kourdistan, the Persians
have encroached much on the territory of this Pashalic already.
Oh! how delightful it is to turn from these scenes of present and
prospective strife to that happy approaching day, when the Lord shall
come with ten thousand of his saints to establish his kingdom of peace
and glory. Oh! may our cry never cease to be, "Come, Lord Jesus, come
quickly;" and when he does come, may he find us in his service among
the faithful, chosen, and true.
_Aug. 24._ _Thursday._--Three months and ten days have now passed
since the Lord took from me her who was on earth the supreme
consolation of my life; and now, this day, he has taken from me my
sweet little baby without a sigh, without the expression of pain
during the whole of her illness; for this my heart can, even at this
moment, bless the Lord; but it has left a void that has more than ever
made the world appear a waste. The incessantly returning wants made
even these times appear to wing a rapid flight; but now all is still
as death, except the weeping of the poor nurse, who truly loved her,
and watched over her night and day with unremitting care. Oh! what a
time would these three months have been for dear Mary, had she lived,
and what a day would this have been; but the Lord took her from the
evil to come, and has now taken the dear little object of her love to
her, to join her little sainted sister and dear little brother; four
of us are gone, and three are left. May the Lord quickly prepare us
all, and hasten his coming kingdom, that we may meet to part no more.
And, Oh! may he make and accept the remnant of the worthless life he
grants me, as a living sacrifice to his service. Notwithstanding I
acquiesce, I trust, in the Lord's will from the bottom of my heart,
yet I feel a desolation and loneliness of heart, on this last
dispensation, that surpasses all I have felt in my last six months of
trial. My sweet little baby remained an object for those affections to
seize upon, which will exist while life lasts, however disciplined,
and however the power of grace may prevail; but in one so weak in
faith, so earthly as I am, they have had much, too much power, and
therefore the Lord, in mercy to my soul, has swept them all away, that
I may have nothing in this world left but his service. If this be his
holy purpose, may my whole soul second so gracious an intention; and I
pray the spiritual family which the Lord, according to his promise,
has given me, fathers, mothers, sisters, and brothers, that their
love and patience towards me may abound, that my spirit may be
refreshed thereby, and my weakness encouraged to proceed--though
faint, yet pursuing.
_Aug. 25._ _Friday._--This day has taught me, that if I would not be
entirely miserable, I must give up my whole time, and soul, and
thoughts to my Lord; for if I look off him, I feel bordering on a
gulf, the depth of which I cannot fathom. Oh! may the Holy blessed
Spirit give me such views of the graciousness and exceeding riches of
my Lord, that I may really feel, that in having him, I have all
things. He alone is the same, yesterday, to-day, and for ever. All
created things, the nearest, the dearest, the most beloved in the
moment of greatest need and greatest felicity, elude the grasp, and
flee away; but he abides always. I desire, therefore, the Lord
enabling me, to give myself altogether to the preparation for my
future labours more diligently than I have ever yet done; that though
desolate on earth, I may hold the freest and sweetest communion with
heaven; for of all preparation I feel the greatest, the most needful
to be, that of the heart; in order to the constant sensible
entertainment of Christ, from whose nearness all the spiritual
faculties derive the sap and the fruit bearing strength.
_Aug. 28._--To-day I feel the Lord has given me a victory, by turning
my thoughts off my miserable self and temporary circumstances, to the
contemplation of the happiness of those who are gone before me, and
by enabling me to feel set off on my journey to meet them, and drawing
every day one day's journey nearer, while I endeavour to forget I had
ever been happy in domestic life, or ever possessed those dear
objects; but nature was often too strong for me, as I dwelt on their
felicity, and my journeying towards them daily, whether the Lord
brings them with him, or I go before he comes. This hope does comfort
me, for it is a real abiding truth, whether I drink the sweets of the
consolation from it or not. I therefore now purpose, the Lord enabling
me, after nearly six months interruption, to return to the studies
preparatory to my future duties as an itinerating missionary. To this
service I ever thought the Lord had called me, and for this I now see
all his trials have been fitting me, for I am without a home and
without a tie in the world, but my dear Lord's service. These trials
have made me ready for entering on my work to any extent; as my dear
little boys will no longer confine me to one place, but will soon be
of an age to move about with me; or should their choice render other
arrangements necessary, the Lord will open a way for them likewise.
For an itinerating missionary on this side the desert, three languages
are essentially important; Arabic, Turkish, and Persian: and this I
feel, unless the Lord very especially helps me, will be _to me_ no
ordinary labour; but, as I am surrounded by men who every day learn
them for purposes of gain, I trust the Lord will not allow me to
faint, or be discouraged till, for his own service I have attained
them.
The internal state of the city is daily becoming more and more
critical: all the necessaries of life are risen to ten times their
common price, and are even then with difficulty obtained. The
abominations that are now committed in the face of day, makes the city
appear ripe for the judgment of the cities of the plain; and the poor
Christians principally suffer in the persons of their children in
these abominable acts of violence; but to seek a remedy now is utterly
useless, for all the power in the city is in the hands of the lawless
mob, who are the perpetrators of all the wickedness. It makes one's
heart ache to hear them weeping and telling of their sufferings.
_August 29._--Last night some of the depredators broke into our house,
and have taken away to the amount of about ten pounds from Kitto and
myself, while we were all asleep upon the roof of the house, so there
was nothing to hinder them from clearing the house; yet the Lord some
how or other disturbed them, for though they took my clothes out of a
box, they dropped them in their way to the window through which they
entered, and a box containing my money in my room they never
opened--in fact, it altogether appears they went away without
accomplishing the purpose for which they came, and it so happened that
from the constant expectation of the general plunder of the city, we
had put away every thing of any particular value. Should we be
plundered by the soldiers of Ali Pasha, we may possibly, if our lives
be spared, obtain, as Mr. Goodell did, remuneration; but about this I
do not feel anxious: the Lord will provide.
From daylight this morning till near noon there was a pretty sharp
contest between those within the city and those without, in which the
latter got the advantage. My feeling is, that we are very fast
approaching to a crisis, and in that crisis our eyes are unto the
everlasting hills--to him who says, 'I will never leave thee nor
forsake thee,' but who will be with us always even unto the end of
the world. Oh! what a relief would a little time of peace and free
communication with our dear friends be. The latest letters from
England are dated nine months ago; and from many, nay all my dear
friends at Exeter, the latest is nearly eleven months; so that all our
trials come together. For five months the dear little boys have not
set their foot without the door of our house, and I cannot but feel it
is a great mercy of the Lord, that they are so happy and contented. I
have never heard, during all this time, one word of complaint from
them.
_Aug. 30._--The inhabitants are building up gates in all the principal
streets, both against the swarms of thieves who plunder by night, and
in anticipation of the entrance of the opposing party, when a general
pillage seems now fully expected by all. It often seems to me, on
looking around and seeing all without God, and trusting to their puny
efforts to avert impending evils, what a blessed portion we have who
know him, believe in him, and love him, and know and feel, that
without his permission, not one hair of our heads shall fall. Those
within the city have also again been out and attacked another tribe of
Arabs that were on Ali Pasha's side, pillaged and set fire to their
camp, and brought the plunder into the city, among which was a great
quantity of silk, which these Arabs had taken from a caravan coming to
Bagdad from Persia in the time of the plague.
_September 2._--I was sent for to-day to see the Pasha, who has, from
the effects of a carbuncle on his toe lost one of the joints, and they
have so treated it, that he will, I think, now certainly lose another.
He was particularly kind and civil, and without any comparison, the
most gentlemanly person I have met with in the East. There is an
unaffected simplicity of manners, and a benevolence of countenance,
which makes one wonder how all the accounts of his actions, which we
may, I think, say we know to be true, could possibly be so. He made me
a present of three small cucumbers, at this time the greatest rarity;
and this may convey some idea to what extent the privations of the
poor have gone, when the Pasha can hardly command a cucumber, which,
with legumenous fruits of a similar kind, constitute a great portion
of the food of the poor in ordinary times. As I returned from the
Pasha a man levelled a gun at me, not with any intention to fire I
believe, but just to show that independent boldness which fears no
one, but dares to do what it chooses.
_September 6._--There is nothing new; but the uninterrupted stream of
misery is still swelling with its bitter waters: depredation and
scarcity increasing and advancing with pretty equal steps. There seems
to be signs of money beginning to fail from the treasury of the Pasha,
as his kanjaar (a dagger), richly studded with diamonds, was offered
for sale the other day. The palace of the Pasha, or rather its ruins,
are filled with Arnaouts, a mercenary band of soldiers, who employ
their time in making and drinking arrack, and knocking down the walls
of the palace, wherever they yield a hollow sound, in search of the
hidden treasures of the Pasha. In these countries it is a universal
custom to bury or build up in the walls of houses their treasures,
from the insecurity in which they always live.
Mr. Swoboda has received a letter from a friend of his in the Pasha's
camp, stating that there was a large pile of letters and parcels for
Europeans within the city, in the possession of the Pasha. This is
trying to us, but still it brings the hope that we may yet soon
receive intelligence of our friends.
It seems as if the angel of destruction was resting on this city as
on Babylon, to sweep it from the earth. They are actually pulling down
the roofs of the bazaars to sell and burn the wood, destroying
buildings for fuel, that a hundred times the worth of the wood will
not replace, and filling up the roads with rubbish so as to render
them scarcely passable. The state of anarchy which prevails must be
witnessed to be understood. If it were not that the soul feels it is
the Lord's province to bring order out of confusion and good out of
evil, it would utterly despair in such a scene, where every element at
work seems wickedness; but amidst all, our eyes are unto him.
_September 7._--Weak in body and mind, I could sometimes almost
impatiently wish for a change. Yet the Lord is very gracious, and
suffers us to have quite enough for our health and strength; and as
for money, a Roman Catholic merchant was with me yesterday, begging
that if I wanted any more, I would take it from him, for they seem all
to have that kind of confidence even in our national character, that
they will generally without hesitation, let you have money. For
myself, I know not if my mind preys on my body, or my body on my mind,
or whether they mutually act and re-act one on the other; yet I feel
on the whole thus much, that if it appeared the Lord's most gracious
pleasure to direct my steps away from this place for a season, I
should be thankful. Nevertheless, I desire to say from my heart, not
my will, O Lord, but thine be done. In Arabic, I think I make daily
progress, and I feel fully assured, should the Lord spare my life for
this blessed work, that I shall one day be able to preach the
unsearchable riches of Christ intelligibly, perhaps even fluently. Yet
from the natural badness of my memory, considerable time will be
requisite, unless the Lord vouchsafe to me his especial help to this
end, for which I daily pray, for I want not opportunity but language
to preach Christ.
_Sept. 9._ _Friday._--Every thing continues still increasing in price,
and in an increased ratio the sufferings of the poor: if they leave
the city they are stripped and driven back; if they remain they are
starved; and even the dates are just come to an end, upon which for
near three weeks, both the people and the cattle have been feeding.
The Pasha has this day taken the jewels of his wives to sell, from
which and some other signs, I am led to think his course is nearly
run, and that ere long he will follow the fate of his predecessor. Ali
Pasha told the Suffian-Effendi, who went out to him to endeavour to
accommodate matters, that he had come for one head only, but that
after the way in which he had been treated, he would not be satisfied
with less than _ten_; and if, at that time, which was nearly a month
ago, he had determined to take ten, I fear a hundred would not now
satisfy him.
A poor Roman Catholic priest was with me to-day, telling me of his
distress, while one of his opulent flock was sitting by him. He said
the Jews would not allow their poor to beg from others; by which I
thought he meant to give a pretty intelligible hint that his flock
ought to be ashamed. But his rich hearer only said, "The Lord is
merciful, and he will provide." On this side the desert, the
professing Christians are not certainly priest-ridden as they are in
most Roman Catholic countries, or even on the other side of the
desert, in consequence of there being no powerful and wealthy
communities like the monasteries in Mount Lebanon, to bring down the
heavy arm of the Turks upon them; for without the Turks they can do
little, and these petty governments joyfully interfere in their
strifes to extort money from both parties, though in this respect,
Bagdad has been better off than most Pashalics for nearly sixty years
past, since the time of Suliman Pasha, whose slave the present Pasha
was, but liberated on his death. Since him there have been Ali Pasha,
Suliman Pasha the younger, Abdallah Pasha, and Seyd Pasha, all of whom
have been murdered after a longer or shorter period. Daoud Pasha has
now been fourteen years in possession of the power he obtained by the
murder of his predecessor, and seems now not far from sharing the
same fate.
_Sept. 10._ _Saturday._--The evening before last the thieves broke
into the house of one of the sons of the Pasha, and killed three of
the servants: if they serve the Pasha so what have others to expect?
Instead of being surprised that things are so bad, my surprise is that
they are not worse, seeing the city is entirely at the mercy of those
who are capable of every abomination and cruelty; and there is no
other restraint upon them than what God puts into their hearts by the
undefined fear of possible retribution. The most valuable articles
known to belong to the Pasha, from whom they had been stolen, were
sold openly in the streets, without the least notice being taken, and
thus also they shoot individuals when they please, in the open day and
in the public thoroughfares, and no one stops to see who it is or why
it is, but every one hastens off as fast as he can lest he should
share the same fate. And the passengers in the streets are not only
exposed to be shot at by those prompted by deliberate enmity, but this
armed rabble is continually drunk, and, without the least provocation,
fire at men or women. I seem to think, if it did please the Lord to
put an end to these scenes of sorrow and trial, my heart would be very
thankful; yet perhaps in this I deceive myself, and all my gratitude
would be as a morning cloud. However, this I know, the Lord will not
suffer me to be tried above what he will enable me to bear, and on
this assurance, in the darkest day, may the blessed Spirit enable my
heart to repose. This is my daily comfort.
_Sept. 12._ _Monday._--The poor are again permitted to leave the city,
and it is reported, that when Ali Pasha heard that those had been
robbed who came out before, he threw some of the supposed plunderers
into the river, and cut off the heads of others. However this may be,
5 or 600 now daily go out and suffer no molestation. This is a great
mercy, for within the city every article of food has disappeared
except buffaloes' and camels' flesh, and this at about twenty times
its usual price. Should this state of things continue, it seems to
me from present appearances, that a general plunder will be the
consequence. To-day they have pillaged the houses of some Jews.
Yesterday they broke open the house of Major Taylor's chaoush. They
are very slow to interfere with those under English protection; but
when their natural thievish propensities are stimulated by want and
opportunity, from what may they be expected to withhold themselves?
Things within the city are now come to that pass, that I heard from
the Meidan to-day (the place where the principal Turks reside) that
they have determined to wait five days more, and if Ajeel, the Sheikh
of the Montefeik Arabs, or some other efficient aid, does not arrive,
they will cut off the heads of Daoud Pasha and Saleh Beg, who is his
Kaimacam, or Lieutenant Governor, and send them to Ali Pasha, for the
city can bear no more.
When I consider all the misery in the city, and the privations not
only among the poor, but the rich, and consider how we have been
provided for, it does seem to me most marvellous, strangers as we
were, and without a friend. Before the plague, in our ignorance of the
probable time of its continuance, and with the certain knowledge that
in the midst of the greatest want, there was not a soul that could
help us, we took in enough of wheat, rice, soap, and candles, to last
till within a very few weeks. When dear Mr. Pfander left us, we made
him some sausages, called in this country _pastourma_: he, however,
took but a few, and the rest remained with us, and served us both
during the plague, and now in the famine to vary our food a little,
though somewhat dry and as hard as wood, and still of them one or two
remains. The dear boys also had some pigeons: these also served us for
many days. We then had two goats for my poor dear little baby, and to
give us milk; but provisions became so dear that we were obliged to
kill one; this we divided among the poor: the second at last we also
killed, and potted in its fat. This by little and little we are
consuming. We have also got four or five hens, which lay two or three
eggs a-day. Thus the Lord has provided for us till now; and if we have
not had abundance, we have never suffered from want. And now, when
wheat and rice is not to be bought, and if possessed in quantities
would expose the possessors to inevitable pillage, the Lord has so
graciously supplied us, that we avoid both want and the danger of
possessing provisions in the house, for before the kind Taylors left
this, they gave me permission to take from the Residency whatever I
might want, and this I now take by little and little as I need, and
the house of the Resident is so far respected in public opinion, that
openly disorganized as things are, I do not think they will commit any
violence upon it.
I am sure there are many who, in reading this, will bless God for his
goodness to us, so utterly unworthy as we are; but, oh! if they could
be witnesses of the misery that others suffer, and from which his
mercies have freed us, they would indeed praise him. For, even when
provisions were to be had, had we been obliged to purchase at the
price things then were and are now, we must inevitably have run in
debt; but as it is we have enough of money for more than a month to
come. Therefore, bereaved and incapable as I yet feel of all
enjoyment, I desire to bless the Lord for all his great goodness
and care over us, of the least of whose mercies I feel infinitely
unworthy. And though my faith does not enable me fully now to feel,
in unison with my _soul's judgment_, on my heavenly Father's dealings
toward me, when time has removed the bitter cup farther distant, it
may not possess all its present intensity of bitterness, to which also
so many circumstances have tended to add additional pungency--not a
friend near, not a communication from any of those far away. I have
ever felt one abiding source of comfort, in that I knew I enjoyed the
prayers of many whose prayers I truly value, and through these I
believe I shall yet stand complete in all the will of God, to remove
or to remain, to live or to die. The Lord will quickly come, and then
his power and great glory will be manifested to the joy of his chosen
and the confusion of his enemies.
_Sept. 14._ _Wednesday._--While I feel more convinced every day that a
missionary in these countries, who really would cast himself upon his
Lord, and share in its revolutions and national judgments, has more to
prepare his mind for them previously to his entering upon it than he
can well conceive: yet on the other hand, I feel more confirmed in the
opinion, that amidst this disjointed disorganized state of society,
there are more doors of irregular missionary service open than he can
possibly occupy. For though he can perhaps find few opportunities of
publicly preaching Christ; yet in conversation, and the preparation
and circulation of tracts, I think there are immense opportunities
afforded. Yet for conversation much time will be required in acquiring
a facility in the language by most, till the Lord is pleased to pour
down from on high, his gifts of the Spirit--and as to tracts, at
present we have none. The Turkish Armenian tracts, printed at Malta,
are not clearly understood here; neither do I think the Arabic or
Turkish spoken on the other side of the desert would be so either, if
I may judge from the translations into Turkish and Arabic. In fact, it
would appear desirable if the object of a missionary be to labour in
the east, that he should study on this side the desert if possible;
though the difficulties of a family are great here amidst the constant
succeeding commotion of this disturbed country. There is no retiring
place within at least some hundred miles, at all times by a dangerous
journey, but in such times as these almost impassable. And the
elements of disorder do not arise only from the state of the Ottoman
empire, but from the vicinity of Persia, daily encroaching on this
side, as I have mentioned before, both from religious and political
motives, and this spirit is encouraged by the constant weakening of
the pashalic. About fifty or sixty years ago, commenced the government
of Suliman Pasha the elder, who continued twenty-three years in his
situation and died in his bed. This Pasha raised Bagdad from a place
of little mercantile consideration to be one of the most important
places of traffic in the east, and he allured merchants from all
parts by the equity and firmness of his government. From that to the
present time, this pre-eminence has been enjoyed by Bagdad, and it has
been the central place of trade between the east and the west; and for
these purposes, if improved, a more desirable situation could not be
imagined under a firm and wise administration. This Suliman Pasha
strengthened the Georgian interest in this pashalic prodigiously by
the purchasing of an immense number of Georgian slaves whom he
manumitted at his death. One of these, Ali Pasha, who married his
daughter, succeeded him, and was murdered at prayers after about five
years reign. Suliman Pasha who succeeded him, also married a daughter
of the former Suliman, he governed about three years, and was then put
to death. He was succeeded by Abdallah Pasha, who was the treasurer of
Ali Pasha; he continued about three years, and was put to death. To
him succeeded Seyd Pasha, son of Suliman Pasha the elder, who, at the
end of about three years, was also put to death. To these last who had
thus succeeded and murdered one another, succeeded Daoud, the present
Pasha, who to avoid a like fate with his predecessors, cut off every
man about him who could possibly afford him any umbrage; but while on
the one hand he secured himself, on the other he so weakened the
Georgian interest, that when his affairs became involved in
difficulty, there was none to help but creatures who had ministered to
his avarice which he had gratified at the expence of every loyal
feeling (if such an expression can be used by a Turk.) But still,
though previous to the plague, the Georgians had been thus diminishing
in numbers, and more so in intellectual and moral character, still
they were a strong body; but the plague swept them nearly all away.
All this taking place at this peculiar juncture when there is no
recruiting their strength from Georgia, which is now in the hands of
the Russians, and when the heart of the Sultan is peculiarly set
against the whole mameluke rule seems to indicate the period of their
downfall to be near at hand. Should Ali Pasha now succeed in getting
possession of the city, the Georgian government of these renegade
slaves will be ended as that of their brethren in apostacy was in
Egypt. But, however things may terminate, there are no elements of
recovery, fall they must; for the curse of God is upon them from the
hands of one tyrant after another, till some powerful nominal
Christian government will accept the government of them, for which
they are daily ripening, which they are daily expecting, and which
will finally happen, unless they fully adopt a European policy and
plan, and this by another road, will lead to the same end, the
overthrow of Mohammedanism and the establishment of infidelity. I have
just thus cursorily made these remarks, that no missionary may
deceive himself by expecting any long period of peace and quietness.
If it comes, he may bless God; but if it be withheld, he must
calculate upon it. And I think those who are lightly armed for their
work--who can run, and fly, and hide, and at all events have only
their own lives to care about, will be happiest amidst all their
privations and trials between Bagdad and China. But for those who have
known the endearment of domestic life, or who are by nature peculiarly
susceptible of its happiness it may truly be said, this is a living
martyrdom. It is: but it is _for Christ_, who will soon come and wipe
away all tears from our eyes. I desire daily to feel it is a world in
which my gracious Lord was an outcast, and where it would be to my
loss if I made me a home. May the Lord make me willing to serve him on
these or any other terms he may manifest at his pleasure.
This morning some persons who were employed for the purpose, set at
liberty two of the principal Georgians who were imprisoned in the camp
of Ali Pasha.
The Armenian servant to whom I lent an Armenian Testament, with the
translation into the modern Constantinople dialect, came to me to say
how much better he understood it than he did before in the old
language, and his countenance seemed quite to brighten up at the sense
of his attainment. Among the Armenians I think there is an open door,
especially among the young, their ears are open and thirsting for
information on every subject.
The father of the Armenian schoolmaster was to-day speaking with me on
the difficulty of that passage, "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I
hated." He said he felt just in that state as though God had said to
him, I will not receive you. I longed to preach to him fully so far as
I am able, Him who saith, Whosoever cometh to me I will in no wise
cast out; but I have many difficulties: he is very deaf, and Armenian
and Turkish, not Arabic, are the languages he understands. The
languages greatly try me, for though I feel by the Lord's mercy making
daily progress, yet still I feel four or five years must pass before I
am fully prepared even in this department of my labour, and happy
shall I be if in that time it be accomplished.
_Sept. 15._ _Thursday._--After a night of anxious suspense, the day
has dawned in comparative peace; the cry that Ali Pasha's troops were
entering the city, began soon after we had retired to rest, and
continued till near morning. Now we hear that Daoud Pasha had fled
from the house of Saleh Beg during the night and endeavoured to enter
the citadel, but the soldiers would not admit him. He is now in the
hands of the people of the Meidan. The Chaoush Kiahya of Ali Pasha has
entered the city, and every one is in an awful state of suspense as to
the future fate of the inhabitants, at least of the higher classes. I
have just set up the English flag that they may know the inhabitant of
the house is a stranger here, who has nothing to do with the strife
of the city. If, after this, the Lord allows them to enter our
habitation, may his holy and blessed will be done. I think the Lord
has allowed my mind to be in perfect peace as to the result.
The poor wives of the Pasha are kissing the hands of passers by,
begging that they will give them an asylum. Poor sufferers! all are
afraid to interfere so as to afford them that which they want. At
present, words and appearances are peaceable. May the Lord of his
mercy grant that they may continue so.
To-day we killed two fowls to have a little fresh meat. Thus the Lord
has kept us through all this time of trial, and we have enough
remaining for five or six days, blessed be his holy name. This day has
ended in perfect peace, not a disturbance or an individual molested.
The principal thieves, who, at the head of various gangs, were robbing
the city in every direction, are now doing all they can to escape, for
they are perfectly known. Thus the gracious hand of the Lord has
removed in one day the siege and famine, and fear and terror, from the
lawless within, and the undefined terrors from those who are without,
so that all seems joy and gladness to the poor inhabitants. In the
conclusion of this affair Ali Pasha has conducted himself amidst
numberless provocations with a moderation and prudence that does him
the highest honour; bless the Lord for all his mercies. This will be
the first night for months that we shall retire to rest without the
hateful sounds of civil strife saluting our ears, or disturbing our
rest.
_Sept. 16._ _Friday._--Another peaceful day. Ali Pasha has collected
all the principal Georgians together in his camp. When the late Pasha
went out to his camp, he rose from his seat and embraced him, and told
him not to fear; that the Sultan had ordered his life to be spared; to
Saleh Beg also assurances of safety were given, and in fact up to this
time not one individual has been put to death. It remains yet to be
seen whether this be a cloak or real moderation. However, from the
great body of the citizens all fear is removed, and both animals and
inhabitants alike rejoice in returning abundance. The wheat that was
sold on Wednesday, for 250 piasters, was sold on Thursday for 40,
and other things in proportion, besides which, vegetables have
re-appeared, which, for five months, were not to be procured, at any
price.
I sent out to-day the chaoush of Major Taylor to Ali Pasha, to enquire
if there were any letters or packets for the Residency or for me; but
I found there were none to my great disappointment. However, Ali Pasha
was very civil; enquired after the Resident, hoped there would be
perpetual and increasing affection between them, &c. &c. We have now
to wait to see how these fair beginnings will end. I have just seen
the Hakeem Bashee or chief Physician of Ali Pasha, who is an Italian,
and to my great joy found he had locked up in his box for me many
letters and newspapers, which he from time to time collected in the
camp; whenever any messenger was brought in, and his packets examined,
all that were for Europeans he took out, and put in his box; to-morrow
he promises to let me have those that were addressed to me. He tells
me that Ali Pasha has two interpreters, natives of Cyprus, who speak
Turkish, Italian, and Romaic. It appears that a great change is
contemplated in the government of this Pashalic.
One of the two gentlemen whom Major Taylor sent to examine the
Euphrates from Beles to Anah, has arrived at Aleppo on his way to
Beles. From Anah to Bussorah there is no insurmountable impediment in
the way of steam navigation. The part that now remains to be examined
is from Beer to Anah.
_Sept. 18._ _Lord's day._--To-day I have received a long missing
letter from the dear Taylors, in which Major Taylor most kindly and
generously offers, should any thing happen to me, to consider my dear
boys as his own, till he has an opportunity of sending them safely to
the hands of their friends in England. Thus the Lord provides, thus he
orders for us. This kind offer of Major T. was quite unsolicited, for,
though when I felt attacked by the plague, I had written a letter
making this request, yet, on my recovery, I destroyed it.
I also received a letter from Dr. Morrison, in China, in which he
expresses his conviction of the importance of missionaries learning to
earn their subsistence by some occupation, however humble, rather than
be dependant as they now are, on societies. I confess my mind so far
entirely agrees with him, that, if I had to prepare for a missionary
course, I would not go to a college or an institution, but learn
medicine, or go to a blacksmith's, watchmaker's, or carpenter's shop,
and there pursue my preparatory studies. I do not mean to say, that
this should be to the exclusion of preparatory studies in language,
and the deepest preparatory Scripture studies, but, in conjunction
with them, for I am satisfied it is a much greater blessing to
missionaries to lead those down who either by birth or other
circumstances may have been a little removed from the lower orders of
society than to raise those of humble birth to the rank of gentlemen
in the world, who neither by education, habits, nor intercourse are
enabled happily or profitably to fill such a station--but it is that
yoke of mere human ordination, the necessity of a _title from man to
preach_ and _administer_ as it is called the sacraments, of which not
so much as a hint is contained in the New Testament, it is that awful
distinction between laity and clergy which are the things that tie up
all hands, and put bodies of men into situations of trial, who, but
for this delusion, would be without any comparative difficulties.
Without these we should learn to judge of men's fitness for their
work, not by their being ordained or unordained by this or that
denomination of men, but according to the rule of the apostles, by
their doctrine and walking as they had them for "ensamples;" if they
came otherwise, though apostles or angels, let them, says the apostle,
be accursed. Oh, if this principle of the apostles were set up in
proving all things and holding fast that which is good, we should not
hear so good a man, and one so much to be loved, as Mr. Bickersteth,
misleading his readers by telling them to adhere to an unsound
_authorised_[39] teacher, rather than go to a sound and unauthorised
one; to one who is authorised by the head of the church, though not by
the head of the state. So said not Paul, but, "if I or an angel come
preaching any other doctrine, let him be accursed." In all the Apostle
Paul's trials with the false teachers, and in all the directions given
respecting them to the various churches, he never once alludes to
their appointment by the apostles or any other human being, or bodies
of human beings, as even a collateral ground of consideration and
preference, but always to the truth, the truth, the truth; if they
preach that, well; if they do not, it matters not who they are, nor
whence they came, from heaven or earth, they are to be rejected. God
grant the day may quickly come when the church of God may care as
little about the opinions of bishops and presbyteries or any other
association of men, _apart from their piety and truth_, as the Lord
and his Apostles cared about the opinions of the Sanhedrim. So far as
their estate or authority is temporal, let us obey them, but let us
keep our souls free.
[39] By whom authorised, of God or of man?
It is said that all these provinces, from Bussorah to Bagdad,
Sulemania, Mosul, Diarbekr, Merdin, Orfa, and Aleppo, are to be under
the government of Ali Pasha; at all events there seems to be such a
change contemplated, that at present I do not see it right to remove,
especially as the Lord has provided an asylum in the event of any
thing happening to me, in the bosom of Mr. Taylor's family, for my
dear boys.
Under Daoud Pasha the people were oppressed by monopolies in every
article of consumption. Ali Pasha seems determined to put an end to
the system. The cryer yesterday proclaimed that meat was to be sold
for no more than two piasters an oke,[40] and that if any man took
more he should be hanged on the spot to his own crooks. One of the
butchers, near the Meidan, who was detected yesterday, selling meat
for three piasters, was instantly hanged. After which, the butchers
went to the officer who superintends their affairs, and offered him
considerable sums of money as a bribe, but he would pay no attention
to them.
[40] About five-pence a pound.
_Sept. 21._ _Wednesday._--Nothing can exceed the attention and respect
that is paid to Daoud by Ali Pasha; for his life, he said, he had
nothing to fear; the Sultan had pardoned him, and a firman had come to
that effect, but that the Sultan wished him to go to Constantinople on
the morrow or the day after. Therefore he leaves this, and his wives
go with him, and his eldest son, Hassan Beg, who has had all his
property made him a present of by Ali Pasha, and every thing they
choose to select for the convenience of the journey, is to be provided
for them. There is something in this treatment so utterly unlike any
thing that has been ever witnessed before, that people know not what
to make of it; the Turks cannot be brought to believe but that there
must be some treachery under it; for my own part, I do believe that so
far as Ali Pasha is concerned, this is not true.
The Turks here are also much startled at seeing their long robes and
turbans thrown away for an European military uniform, with epaulets
and other decorations; and they say that Ali Pasha himself has quite
adopted the European dress, so what changes we may expect I know not,
but certainly great ones are contemplated; any change approximating to
this has not been introduced from the days of the Patriarchs till now.
Drinking is no longer a covert offence that they practice in secret;
but wine and spirits are brought in their trays as regular articles of
consumption. The fact is, that Mohammedanism and Popery have received,
and are receiving, such hard knocks that their power will certainly
sink, even though the name may remain, and I do expect that this state
of powerlessness in these two bodies will open ways for God's elect
among them to come out.
I had yesterday a long and most interesting conversation with a very
respectable Armenian Roman Catholic merchant of this place, most
timidly fearful of having his faith touched; yet the Lord opened the
way to the introduction of the conversation on some very interesting
topics--on the duty of reading God's word for ourselves, and on the
worship of the Virgin, on all of which, little by little, he conversed
freely.--He seemed well acquainted with the Scriptures I quoted, but
had never thought about the questions, and this is the great
preparatory work in this country, to get men to think on the things of
the soul's everlasting interests, and to feel that these things have
to do with the various relations of life. In all countries custom has
much power; but in the East it is despotic.
I have been much struck in reading some letters in the Record, on the
Church and Dissent, which has made me feel the necessity and value of
that word of our blessed Lord.--"If thine eye be single, thy whole
body shall be full of light." Surely if the Scripture be sufficient to
decide any question, it is sufficient to decide the question of what a
child of God ought to do when a man, calling himself a minister of
Christ, propagates errors among any section of Christ's church. Does
not Paul say, Who is Paul or Apollos, but ministers by whom ye
believe? What, then, is the Church of England, or Scotland, or the
Dissenters, but various ministries, by which we believe? And the same
apostle--the exalter of the Lord of life, and the abaser of every high
thought of man, says, "If I or an angel from heaven preach any other
gospel than that you have received, let him be accursed." Does Paul
set up the principle that men are to be received not according to the
truth or error of their doctrine, but according to the sect to which
they belong, or the mode or circumstance of ordination? Never: but the
very reverse. With the apostle it is always the truth--the truth--the
truth; let those judge who wish to see.
Now, I will just state a strong case, but a fact. I was one day
travelling in the mail, and a certain person in one corner began a
most obscene conversation, with a gentleman who came to see him at the
door of the mail, while it was changing horses. Opposite him, in the
other corner, was his own son. When the mail arrived at the place to
which we were going, on getting out, I asked the people at the coach
office, who that person was. I had previously considered him as an
officer in the army, but, to my amazement, was told he was the
Rev. ----. This individual has since been made a dignitary of
the Church of England, and has had other preferment bestowed upon him;
and this is but part of what might be said. You will say this is an
extreme case. But it is a matter of fact. Am I to remain under the
ministry of such a teacher? It not only shocks the affections of a
child of God, but the very common sense of the world, and, if our eyes
were single, it would, in proportion strike us till we should come
down to the apostle's rule, about receiving teachers--those who preach
the truth, and walk as ye have us for an ensample.
As to example on which so much stress is laid, what example does a man
give to his children or neighbourhood, when he continues to sit under
the ministry of one whom he believes to be not a preacher but a
perverter of the truth? Why, that the Church of England and its forms,
even in the midst of our unfaithful ministry, is dearer to him than
Christ's Church and his truth, under less agreeable external
circumstances. On the other hand, what example does he give if he quit
this, which may be granted on all hands to be an unsound ministry, for
a sound one? Why, that he loves Christ's Church and truth so much
better than any circumstances, that though it may cost him pain and
sorrow he leaves the one for the other.
There seems an idea prevalent, and kept up in all these letters, which
is in fact most untrue--that a man, by leaving the church[41] becomes
a dissenter in principle. Whereas I think many who have merely
followed the line which the apostle recommends, of turning away from
false teachers, are not at all thereby rendered in love with dissent
as one system set up against another system. It appears to me, that a
sectarian Church of England-man, and a sectarian Dissenter, whose only
desire is to see augmented the respective members of those who follow
them, are equally removed from the mind of Christ. The thing devoutly
to be prayed for, for them all is, that when they respectively
approach the nearest to the meaning of the divine word and the mind of
Christ, they might be respectively strengthened and made willing in
those things to borrow from each other, and all sides to remember that
that love which covereth many faults is more valuable a thousand times
than that sectarian zeal that magnifies every weakness and infirmity
into a mortal sin, and which delights in evil surmisings and evil
speakings.
[41] I use this term, though in its sense of national
churches, I think it absolutely unscriptural.
The term which passes current with so many who are attached to the
Church of England exclusively of "our apostolic church," it may not be
amiss for a moment to dwell on. Where then does this apostolic
similarity dwell, and in what does it consist?
Is it in the mode of appointment of Bishops? _Formerly_ it was the
work of the church, with which the state had nothing to do. _Now_, it
may be the work of an infidel ministry, for infidel purposes.
Is it the state and pomp of the episcopacy, the titles--"Your Grace,"
"Your Lordship," your palaces, your carriages, and fame, and hosts of
idle livery servants?
Is it in the mode of appointment to the cure of souls? _Then_ it was
in the choice of the church; or, if of new churches, the appointment
of those who had gathered them. _Now_, this cure is publicly sold like
cattle in the market to the highest bidder, and a large proportion of
the remainder may be in the hands of an infidel Lord Chancellor, to
give as he pleases.
Is it the Liturgy? However valuable it may be, no one will pretend to
say the apostles used one.
And even in the places of public worship, their grandeur, or their
neatness, or their convenience are equally unlike the places of
meeting of the apostles, who were happy to assemble in an upper loft.
Instead, therefore, of saying the Church of England is _Apostolic_, it
is infinitely more true to say she is _Romish_, in all those things on
the distinction of which she prides herself and becomes distinguished.
And the broad line of distinction between her and the apostate mother
of harlots, commences when she comes to those points, whereon all the
churches of Christ agree--the doctrines she professes, and which are
to a very great extent scriptural and pure; and may the Lord water her
truth while he sweeps away her dross and tin. Believing, as I do, her
connection with the state to be an unmitigated evil as it relates to
her spiritual power, I cannot but rejoice that this false ground of
confidence and support which has made toryism stand too often in the
place of truth and piety, as a recommendation to her highest places of
trust, is crumbling underneath her, only her bonds will be burnt in
the fire. May she have the holy wisdom to strengthen what remains,
that when the times of her dominion shall pass by, the time of her
spiritual splendour may return. In short, though there be much that is
intolerable in the Church of England, much may be modified, and may
yet, possibly, remain; but this is clear, that that swelling of the
bosom which distinguishes a true son of the Church of England,
considered as a sectarian, when he enunciates the term of "Our
Apostolic Church," if it refers to discipline as well as doctrine, and
external circumstances as well as internal principles, is the merest
delusion that ever was published, and the most unsubstantial vision
that ever formed the basis of pride, and one that will now remain
unmasked no longer. May the Lord grant her grace in her day of trial,
to run into her real ark of strength--the truth of God. What is
contrary to God's will in her, may he make her ready, nay, anxious to
throw off, as an incubus that oppresses her. What is not contrary, yet
not essential, may she hold with that degree of tenacity only which
such things deserve, and remain alone valiant for the truth on the
earth.
Many will say this is written by the hand of an enemy. But I protest
before Him whom I love and serve, however unworthily, that I love the
Church of Christ in the midst of her, fervently desiring their
spiritual pre-eminence, and praying for her prosperity.
The detestable association between the Dissenters, considered as a
body, and the calumniators and degraders of the Lord of life, for the
beggarly purposes of this world's power, sufficiently prove to my
mind, that a spirit, which is not of God's children, rests among them
too extensively somewhere, as I have before mentioned; and even the
true children among them, who have been drawn into such an ungodly
coalition, show great spiritual weakness. In the word of God I see
Christ exalted and his truth; and not churches, apostles, or prophets;
all things are to be proved, and that which is good to be kept.
Apostles are to be tried, and if found _liars_, to be rejected. Think
you, when the church of Ephesus, in the Apocalypse is commended by our
Lord, for trying those who said they were apostles and were not, and
when she had found them liars, that her members for example, still sat
under their ministry. What a strange perversity of judgment prejudice
casts over the mind. I cannot imagine any holier more acceptable
service to our dear and blessed Lord and master, than that of
endeavouring to unite in true and holy union, all the real members of
his now (as to external circumstances) painfully divided body, for the
Lord enables me to feel and to know, that amidst all the divisions and
hard names that prevail among the members, there does really exist a
body bound together for eternity, in all the essentials of Divine
truth.
_Sept. 24._--Nothing of any striking moment relative to our situation
has occurred since the last date: all is quiet. Yet circumstances have
taken place of the deepest interest, which makes my soul rejoice in
God. In a packet of letters, I received the other day from India and
Bussorah, was one from a person whom I met here, a gay thoughtless
officer in the army, who seems now really seeking for light and life.
Of this I am sure, that with that soul, it never can be again as in
times past; the name of Christ will either be a savour of life unto
life, or of death unto death. Oh! how strange a thing here does a
consciousness of divine life in the soul appear, and how affecting is
it to receive that news fresh from the heart of one who has seen, in
spiritual things, men as trees walking. May the Lord complete what he
has begun, and make his recovered child a burning and a shining light
in that land of darkness, where he sojourns. This intelligence comes
too at a very acceptable time, for I have had a slight attack of fever
for these last ten days, which, though it is not worth mentioning,
has, like all fevers, left me weak, and with a tendency to depression.
Nor is this all the good the Lord has done me. The Roman Catholic
merchant whom I mentioned before, has been again with me. He told me,
that when I came from England I brought a letter for him, which is
true, from a very dear friend, in which he was requested to come every
day to see me, and talk with me, for I was neither a Roman Catholic, a
Greek, an Armenian, nor belonging to any other denomination, but a
Christian. He, however, never came. Shortly after my arrival I met him
at the house of another merchant, and as I could not talk with him, my
dear brother Pfander did; but nothing could exceed the timid reserve
and coldness with which he answered all questions respecting religion.
But yesterday he told me, "Now I do not fear to converse with you."
Surely here is something gained. May the Lord grant me grace to pour
in the sincere milk of the word. At present I see nothing more than a
willingness to hear and consider; but this is almost like finding a
spring in the desert, when you are parched with thirst.
I have also received from Mr. Brandram, the Secretary of the Bible
Society, a kind and generous letter from that noble institution, which
enables me to enter on their work with all my heart, leaving the
question of money free, and only seeking the soul's profit of those on
whom their benefits are bestowed: if I obtain money, well--if not, I
am only to seek a fair guarantee that the people will read and take
care of the books I have without money full liberty to give. These
books are arrived at Bussorah, so that when they reach me, what with
those I already have, and those coming from Constantinople or Smyrna,
I shall have quite a depository. All these circumstances at present
make me determine to stay here, the Lord enabling me, though we again
hear that the Persians are at Sulemania. I was lately informed that
Capt. Chesney, with a gentleman from Bombay, and his wife, had
endeavoured to pass on to Shiraz from Bushire; but that they were not
allowed to enter that place. They next tried by Shuster, but from
hence likewise they were obliged to turn back. They appear to have
made a third trial with more success; but an Armenian, who was with me
the other day, said he saw them at Ispahan stripped of every thing
they had, and obliged to borrow money for their journey, which, as I
have before observed, the English always obtain without the least
difficulty.
_October 9._ _Lord's Day._--It is just one fortnight since the Lord
has laid me on the bed of sickness and suffering; for nearly a
fortnight previous an attack of typhus fever had been making its
steady advances. I had lost all appetite, strength, and ability to
sleep, accompanied by that strange overwhelming depression of mind
that inclines one to weep one knows not why. But this day fortnight I
was completely laid by, and this is the first day I have had my
clothes on since.
_Oct. 11._--The Lord still allows me to feel convalescent, and I
cannot but think of his mercies to me in my solitary and lonely
situation, with all these tendencies to depression, which are
concomitants of the disease. He sent me from time to time such
cheering intelligence, as enabled me to hope his cause would prosper,
and that all these turmoils were only the more speedily preparing the
way for it. I certainly now close this journal with more of hope than
I have been led to entertain for many months, yet not without some
fears.
The few Georgians that remained from the plague have been nearly all
put to death, so that the Georgian government of Bagdad is, as I
anticipated, now extinguished. The elements of disorder and weakness
are so interwoven in this wretched government, that it will require a
measure of energy and wisdom not often found united, to establish a
better order of things; but I desire to leave all in the Lord's hands.
I shall here then conclude my journal for the present, and most humbly
and heartily pray, that all the trials, public and private, recorded
in it, may redound to the glory of him who is the Lord of lords, and
King of kings; and that my soul may not lose its portion of profit.
* * *
I had thought of finishing my journal for the present, but as it has
been delayed going for want of an opportunity, I add the following.
_Oct. 14._--All in the city is quiet yet. There is no apparent
confidence: men seem waiting to see how things will turn out. Every
thing is very dear, as it must necessarily be for some time. The
greatest part of the inhabitants are dead, and many of the survivors
have become rich, either by the death of relations or by robbery, and
no one will do any thing without an exorbitant remuneration. I have
just had a quantity of rice cleaned, for doing which, previously to
the plague I gave a piastre and a half, and now I have given six
piastres.
We have an Armenian bishop coming here in the room of the priests who
are dead. I know not what his plan of operation will be; but the Lord
is on our side.
I had a visit yesterday from the Abbé Troche, who has the
superintendence of the Catholic mission here; he was very pleasant;
but nothing particular passed, as many others were present. My
conversations with the Roman Catholic merchant I have before
mentioned, are still very open and free. Oh! may the Lord water and
bless them.
_Oct. 17._--Several of the elder boys, who had fled from the plague
with their parents, have been with me since their return. My heart
feels deeply interested about them; yet I see not plainly my way. I
certainly never felt teaching in a school to be my proper work, and
now much less than ever; yet they need instruction and desire it, and
I think they are attached to me. May the Lord give me a wise and
understanding heart, that I may rightly see the service he requires of
me. I much wish for the counsel of my dear brethren at Aleppo; and
perhaps the Lord may soon send some of them to me.
_Oct. 18._--I have heard to-day we are to have no other Roman Catholic
bishop in the room of him who is dead; nor any French Consul, but only
an agent; this may take off many restraints; for the late bishop had
given out we were worse than either the Mohammedans or Jews, and this
had made a great impression on his flock; for he was a very liberal
man, and therefore influential among them. However, I very much
question if things will now be kept under the same restraint; so that
should the Lord lead me to open the school again, I should not be
surprised if many Roman Catholics came; for they all acknowledge that
our boys learned more in three months than theirs in two years. The
new Pasha is likewise exceedingly desirous of cultivating the closest
friendship with our Resident, who has most kindly offered me any aid
he can possibly lend me; and besides all this, the letters I have this
day received from England and Ireland, shew me that my very dear
friends have been making provision for my school; so that altogether,
it seems to me the Lord's will I should try again; and in due time,
when I am fit for other service, he may raise up help that will take
this out of my hands. I desire to be ready to do any work, however
humble and contrary to my nature, that I think the Lord appoints for
me. I hear also, that at Aleppo, the French intend only having an
Agent instead of a Consul; whereas, our government has just sent a
Consul out to Damascus with an English merchant, and one to Aleppo,
and last year we had a Consul established at Trebizond. I think Ali
Pasha will do all in his power to promote the steam navigation of
these rivers; and he is evidently a man of a very different character
from the Georgians who preceded him. They cherished most of all the
pride and pomp of Turkish power, with all its inveterate prejudices,
ignorance, and narrowness of mind, so that if you had any business of
the least difficulty, you could never get them to attend five minutes
to it. But not so Ali Pasha: he apprehends with facility; and you at
least have the satisfaction of knowing you are understood. He has been
at Trieste, and in Hungary, and seems acquainted, to a limited extent,
with several of the public journals of Europe. He dresses nearly as an
European, and his brother-in-law quite so, with the exception of the
hat; which is as yet very trying to the genuine Asiatics, who look on
their own dress as that which it would be a sin to change. The Pasha
also seems perfectly indifferent to hoarding money.
Things in the city are still very dear, arising from the harvest of
last year not having been reaped, and various other causes. We have to
pay three times the usual price for most things; but after such
tremendous visitations as we have suffered, we cannot expect that
things can return to their usual course in a day.
_Oct. 22._--I have had with me to-day a gentleman who was formerly
attached to Mr. Morier's mission in Persia. He fled from the plague
at Tabreez, and arrived at Kermanshah four days after dear brother
Pfander left it, who, by his conversations in the caravan, had left so
distinct an impression, that he thought Mohammed a liar, that when he
reached Kermanshah, he found his situation very difficult, nay
dangerous, and he was obliged hastily to quit it. He went to Hamadan,
and remained there three days in the house of a priest, from whence he
proceeded to Ispahan. All the villages between Hamadan and Ispahan are
Armenian. The journey takes about ten days. When he arrived at
Ispahan, Abbas Meerza being at Yezd, he went there, was treated with
great honour and respect, and a firman given him to go where he liked:
he returned to Ispahan, and from thence went to Tabreez, which place
he reached before the plague broke out the second time. This account
makes me long to hear from his own pen the course of the Lord's
dealings with him. The same gentleman told me that the plague in
Tabreez was much worse the second than the first time. Kermanshah is
absolutely destroyed, and the governor, a grandson of the king, is
reported to have collected from the property of the dead five lacs of
piasters. In Kourdistan, also, they say it has been dreadful. In
Saggas, Banah, and Sulemania, he says the desolation is shocking. How
wonderful God's visitations on these nations are; it makes the soul
that the Lord has appointed to be in the midst of them often say,
Lord, let thy kingdom come; yea, speedily, that thy people may know
peace and safety.
I have sent to see the number of the poor little boys of my school
that remain, and I find that they amount to 25 out of 80, and that
I may expect near 30, should I get a master for them. I shall,
therefore, endeavour to accomplish this, the Lord enabling me, and
when I feel strong enough to begin again.
I am very anxious about the dear N----'s at Tabreez, from whom I have
not received a line. Abbas Meerza ordered large pits to be dug for
those who died of the plague, and when they were full to have them
covered in. The Ambassador, and the English, Russian, and other public
functionaries, had fled, and from a packet that came from Capt.
Campbell, who has now the charge of the mission since the death of Sir
John Macdonald, we know that he was safe up to a late date.
_Oct. 26._--I was much struck with an account which Mr. Swoboda, an
Austrian merchant, gave me to-day, of a conversation he had with the
brother-in-law of Ali Pasha. He said that now, in Stamboul, the
Christians went to the mosque, and the Mohammedans to the Church;
there was no difference. How strikingly this shows the rapid progress
of that infidel spirit in these countries, which is spreading in
Europe; surely these then are such signs as should keep us on the
watch for our Lord.
Accounts have just come that the struggle has commenced at Damascus,
that supreme seat of bigotry, between the new and the old regime, and
it remains to be seen how it will terminate. I already hear of one or
two Roman Catholic boys, who will now come to the school, who before,
during the life of the bishop, were afraid. My health I also feel
daily establishing; and that I shall soon be able to enter on real
labour again, with the Lord's blessing, I sincerely trust.
_Oct. 27._--The affairs of the city appear daily more and more
settling again; provisions are coming in in abundance, and the price
gradually lowering. The roads also are becoming more open and safe:
for all these signs of tranquility we bless the Lord and take courage,
and trust we may yet serve him in this land of our pilgrimage. Also
across the desert we hear the road is tranquil.
_Oct. 28._--To-day the Jew called whom I mentioned in my journal of
last year, as having come to Mr. Pfander: he is a Jewish Rabbi, who
disbelieving Judaism, and possibly preferring Christianity, seems to
be in both without heart or principle. He brought with him a Polish
Jew, who is the tailor of Ali Pasha. He saw Mr. Wolff at Jerusalem,
and speaks of him with high admiration. The Rabbi told me he was
reading with him the German New Testament. May the Lord send his holy
fire on the altar of their hearts, that they may really, heartily, and
zealously enter into his truth. If there is any gift my soul longs
for, it is to be able to speak to every one in his own tongue wherein
he was born, the wonderful works of God; for want of this, in
countries like this, where you are surrounded by many different
languages, the heart gets overwhelmed with the difficulties that seem
to spread on every side; as, for instance, with these Jews, they know
little Arabic, and I do not know German, and thus we stand incapable
of any such conversation as is likely to search the heart.
_Nov. 1._--I have been reading with considerable attention the
remarks, or rather reflections, of Jonathan Edwards, on the Life of
Brainerd, wherein he endeavours to recommend to the Church of God, the
_disinterested_ and _unmercenary_ love of God, by which he means the
love of him for his abstract perfections apart from the consideration
of any personal interest or happiness arising out of his especial love
to his chosen. This is all very fine and very philosophical, but in
my humble apprehension, most unscriptural. Does God any where in
Scripture, when appealing to his chosen, or expostulating with them,
argue on the ground of his abstract perfections, or of his especial
love and distinguishing grace towards them? Throughout the Old
Testament this is the controversy, not that they slighted his abstract
perfections, but disregarded his especial favour. All the invitations
to return, appeal to what Edwards would call the selfish and mercenary
feelings. What! had not Moses respect unto the recompense of reward;
and in all the 11th of the Hebrews, where is this abstraction held
up? When our dear and blessed Lord exhorts to faithfulness,
watchfulness, devotion, does he represent an abstraction as a motive,
or without our own everlasting participation with him with whom there
is fulness of joy for evermore. Paul thought it not mercenary to think
on his crown, or to encourage his converts by the consideration, that
present sorrow for the Lord, works for them a far more exceeding and
eternal weight of glory. Again, eye hath not seen nor ear heard the
things which God hath prepared for them that love him. Our blessed
Lord makes promises to whoever leaves father or mother for his
sake,[42] and John encourages his disciples, by telling them that they
were made sons of God, and that they were to be made like their Lord;
he saw nothing debasing in this contemplation, but instantly adds, "he
that hath this hope purifieth himself even as he is pure." This is the
promise he hath promised even eternal life. In fact, the doctrine of
rewards, as an incentive to the saints, prevails from one end to the
other of the sacred volume. The notion that a love which springs from
a sense of being beloved, must be selfish and mercenary, is the
greatest delusion imaginable. It may be, and in proportion as its
power is really known and felt, is the most holy, self-denying, pure,
and devoted of all affections, an affection that seeketh not her own,
but the glory of the object beloved. If Edwards would set up dear D.
Brainerd and his Indians in favour of the abstract system, we may set
up the Moravians and their Esquimaux in favour of the other. But why
set up one set of worms and their conduct against another set of worms
and theirs, when we have the record of God in our hands? Let us see
how our Heavenly Father proposes himself to our love, confidence, and
affections, and what incentives he proposes as inducements to the
sinner to return, and the saint to persevere to the end, and not
attempt to be wise above that which is written. That God is infinitely
adorable in his abstract perfections I am sure, though I cannot fathom
these abstract perfections, nor conceive of him but as revealed in his
blessed word in connection with his chosen, and as personally
exhibited by him who was the brightness of his Father's glory, and the
express image of his person, and this is not in abstractions or apart
from our happiness.
[42] Matt. xix. 28, 29; Luke xviii. 29, 30.
Again, when Edwards endeavours to prove it is enthusiasm in an
individual to imagine that Christ, in an especial manner died for him,
I think he destroys the peculiar stimulus to devotedness, which the
doctrines of election in their widest latitude, contain above the
doctrines of Armenianism, and he throws a coldness over all the
doctrines of grace. In Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, David, Daniel, and
others, with the Apostles of our Lord and Paul, it was both personal
and open, but because not equally open to the rest of God's children,
I do not believe the holy and blessed Spirit allows it to be less
individual and personal.
If, however, his opponents were practically such men as he describes,
we cannot too deeply deplore it; but he writes so much more like the
advocate of a sect, than an impartial enquirer after truth, that,
without a particular knowledge of the case, one cannot help suspecting
his picture of those he is writing against, to be very highly
coloured. In fact, on the truth of God, it seems philosophical
declamation, without scriptural proof: on the subject of his opponent,
it is assertion in the lump, concerning masses of individuals, without
proof or discrimination.
_Nov. 4._--We have here now at the head of affairs, under the Pasha,
one of those extraordinary men who are capable of any thing good or
bad. Under Daoud Pasha he, for a long time, cruelly oppressed the
people, but more especially the Jews, till at last a conspiracy was
formed against him, and by the influence of the father of the Serof
Bashee of the Pasha, who is one of the serofs, or bankers,[43] of the
Sultan at Constantinople, an order was procured for his being put to
death. Daoud Pasha did not execute this order, but imprisoned him, and
as he had been the instrument of extorting money for him, he concluded
he had not failed at the same time to enrich himself. In their
endeavours to extort his money from him they drew the bow-string so
tight that they nearly strangled him: however he recovered: he told
them he had a certain sum of money, and where it was, which Daoud
Pasha had previously agreed he should collect for himself. This his
rapacious miserable master had the meanness to take from him. He had
some friends who exerted themselves to save his life; which was
spared. However, only a few days before the entrance of Ali Pasha,
orders were again issued to put him to death, as he was detected
holding communication with those without the city; but again
intercession was made for him, and he was again spared. He was
instantly taken into favour by Ali Pasha, on his entrance into the
town, who has made him his treasurer and accountant-general (Musruff
and Deftardar); and in fact, the whole business of the Pashalic is in
his hands. He is at work night and day: till after midnight he is
engaged in business, and long before dawn he is to be seen on
horseback. He never sleeps at home, but each night at a different
friend's house, though the Pasha gave him the best house (taken with
all its accompaniments) in Bagdad. When the Pasha heard that Major
Taylor's house, which is on the river, had suffered by the flood, he
instantly gave it to him, and he now intends occupying it. This man is
not only acquainted with all the internal affairs of the city, but he
is connected with all the tribes of Arabs from Bussorah to Merdin;
knows all their relations, enmities, friendships, and divisions,
external as well as internal, and has ability and tact to take
advantage of them. He is also acquainted with the agriculture of the
country between the two rivers, and greatly desires to advance and
improve it. What two such men as Ali Pasha and he may effect, should
the Lord allow them to remain, it is impossible to conceive; but
certainly great changes. He has now his old enemy, the Serof Bashee,
in prison, and is bastinadoing him to get money out of him. But his
general carriage to the inhabitants is much changed, though he has now
twice the authority, which clearly, I think, manifests the altered
temper of the government. To the English, he is a most devoted friend,
and especially to the Resident, to whom he feels he owes his life, for
he is at once a firm friend, and, I fear, an implacable enemy: one of
those men from whom if you can once extort the assurance that you are
safe, you may be at ease; whereas, in general, from the Pasha
downwards, the more they assured you of your safety, the more reason
you felt you had to fear.
[43] The bankers in Turkey are generally Jews, and possessed
of great wealth.
_Nov. 7._--I have been to-day calling on several of the most
respectable Roman Catholic merchants of this place, who have, some of
them, repeatedly called on me; but, partly from want of health, and
partly from want of spirits, I have not hitherto returned their
visits. They received me with the greatest kindness, and the
opportunities these visits afforded of bringing in God's word as the
only standard of truth, I feel to be very valuable. It seems perfectly
new to them to have the sentiments or conduct of themselves or others
measured by this holy and blessed book; such a use they never in their
lives saw made of it, so that it strikes them exceedingly; and the
Lord's spirit may make something here or there rest on their hearts. I
feel that the door for my particular line of usefulness is opening,
and as I advance in the practical use of the language, I have
confidence the Lord will yet shew me greater things than these.
There is a new Roman Catholic priest here, formerly an Armenian. He
has been trying to see if he can get my school boys to come to him if
he opens a school: they have all refused; and this strengthens me in
my purpose of not delaying the re-opening of mine longer than I am
obliged. Should I not be able to get a master from Bussorah, for whom
I have written, there has been an Armenian with me, who offers to
come, a most respectable man; him, therefore, I may consider, as
ready, should the other fail. Thus, the Lord provides. With my English
class, I purpose, the Lord willing, to begin after another fortnight.
My greatest difficulty will be I fear, to obtain an Arabic teacher;
the mortality among the Mollahs has been enormous. Here then I shall
end for the present, I fear this too long, and, in many respects,
tedious, journal of the last five months, as the messenger goes
to-morrow or the day after.
* * * * *
NOTES.
Mr. Groves having so strongly expressed his condemnation of Mr.
Erskine's view of Divine Truth, in pages 102, 103, and 104 of his
Journal, the Editor, who believes Mr. Groves to be in error regarding
the extent of the Atonement, has felt it to be a duty not to allow his
statements to pass unaccompanied with a plain declaration of the
truth. The following Notes on some of the principal points touched
upon by Mr. Groves, have been contributed by a brother who bears him
much love, the Rev. A. J. Scott, of Woolwich, not so much with any
view of detailed discussions of Mr. Groves's positions, as simply to
exhibit truth, as the best antidote to error.
NOTE A, page 102.
Mr. Groves has referred to the effects of system. One of the most
important of these is, that opposite systems lead men to take such
opposite views of the evidence itself by which the truth of the
conflicting opinions must be tried. Of this he here furnishes an
instance, in saying so strongly that the "sovereignty of God's
government, and the individuality of God's election," are "represented
by the Apostles as the most overwhelming reasons for unlimited
devotion to his service, who has thus chosen us." Many of the very
passages, doubtless, to which he would turn for the establishment of
this assertion, would be enjoyed by others, as proofs how available
is the general "kindness of God our Saviour towards _man_," as an
argument for loving and serving him. When Paul persuades the Ephesians
to "walk in love as Christ also hath loved _us_, and hath given
himself for _us_;"[44] when Peter recommends to his brethren patient
meekness in suffering, by the consideration that "Christ also suffered
for _us_, the just for the unjust,"[45] the power of this over the
mind of one man depends on his understanding by "_us_" the fallen
world; and of another, on its reminding him only of distinguishing
personal obligations to sovereign election. Now, suasives to holiness,
or what are felt as such, as they continually recur in Scripture,
produce on a devout mind a much deeper conviction of the truth of the
doctrines from which they are derived, than a formal assertion can.
When, by the same expressions, one man is habitually carried to this,
another to that, view of the Divine character, and each experiences,
that in what he sees, there is a practical tendency towards the state
of the heart and form of life at which he aims as good: this becomes
to each, as instances accumulate, a far stronger reason than bare
propositions, could be for growing in confidence, that the belief
which thus impresses him is indeed the truth of God.
[44] Eph. v. 2.
[45] 1 Pet. ii. 21.
And one accustomed to observe the effects of system will not wonder
that expressions like those above cited, still less that those in
which Christ is spoken of as having "loved _the church_ and given
himself for _it_," should thus come to be regarded as containing an
argument for a selective atonement. It is by such a doctrine being
perceived in them, that they practically impress the feelings of many.
And yet, in truth, how are they inconsistent with the universal love
of God and propitiation of Christ? Of course, where a common benefit
is received, its efficacy, as a motive to grateful returns, is
limited to those who recognize and value it. A patriot has delivered
millions of ignorant, suspicious, ungrateful countrymen. His services
are to be used as an argument for joining in some effort for his
honour; and those who acknowledge and bless his exertions are
especially addressed, and reminded that "he loved _you_, laboured for
_you_, achieved happiness for _you_." Would this contain even an
insinuation, that they were the exclusive objects of his disinterested
ardour? In such an address not only would the common benefit be
mentioned peculiarly as a good bestowed on themselves; but their
acknowledgment of it, and their distinguishing susceptibility to the
feeling of its worth, would be referred and appealed to, as reasons
why that was looked for and demanded of them, which from others might
be as justly asked, but not so naturally expected. Such appeals are
the apostolic epistles to the churches, as contrasted with their
proclamation of Christ to the world.
NOTE B, page 103.
The moral condition of man, his seeing no desirableness in the object
presented to him by the Gospel, Mr. Erskine shews, at great length, to
be the grand obstacle to his enjoying it. The capacity to know and
believe, he indeed conceives to bring with it the capacity to enjoy.
But if a change in the moral state is necessary in receiving the
truth, this surely obviates the objection that such truth would be
unpalatable and uninfluential to those whose moral state is
_unchanged_.
Our business, however, is not with Mr. E. but with the truth of the
matter. Mr. Groves' remarks refer to the _nature_ of regeneration, and
to the _necessity_ of a change in the affections, in order to man's
appreciating the object presented to him in the Gospel: these he
considers as objections to the doctrine that the simple knowledge
and belief of that object are "the cause of spiritual life in the
unregenerate;" and he uses the analogy of food, which he says, is not
the cause of life, although it be the support of it. Certainly the
contemplation of Jesus is not the cause, but it is the commencement
and exercise of spiritual life, which needs no commencement of a
distinct kind from its subsequent functions. As to the analogy of
food, it will be seen whether the language of Scripture bears us out
in making the same distinction between the source and the sustenance
of spiritual, as of natural life.
What, indeed, is meant to be asserted? Is it, that men have life in
them _first_, to capacitate them to eat the flesh and drink the blood
of the Son of Man? This seems to be said: but Himself hath said,
"Except ye eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man, ye
have _no_ life in you." Not life then without the food, or before the
food, but _by_ the food. This banquet _is_ to be spread before the
dead. Thus only shall any live. Is spirit and life in men first from
another source, and then do they take and profit by his words? But
"the entrance of his words _giveth_ light," and that light is life.
"The words that I speak unto you," says the Lord, "_they_ are spirit,
and they are life": and that spirit, the spirit of his words, he tells
us it is that "quickeneth" or produceth life. Is there, then, no need
for regeneration? Surely there is: but it does not follow that the
principle of regeneration is one, and that of faith another to be
superadded to it. "We are born," says Peter, "not of corruptible seed,
but of the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever;" adding, in
very remarkable language, "This is the word which by the Gospel is
preached unto you." An explanation which removes all doubt as to the
meaning of James, when he says, "Of his own will begat he us with the
word of truth," that is, according to Peter, with the Gospel preached.
John, in like manner, tells us, that "whatsoever is born of God
overcometh the world," and if we ask, what is born of God? Is it a
principle antecedent and necessary to faith? He answers, It is faith
itself. "This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our
faith."
NOTE C, page 104.
The question is not whether the scheme of salvation is merely
reconcilable with divine love and justice, but how it constitutes the
grand proof and manifestation of these attributes, and in general, of
the perfections of God. In it he undertakes to shew himself worthy of
love, and thus to win our love to himself. Any other means to that end
than such as should prove his own worthiness, He could not use. One
may confer a benefit on an individual from a thousand various motives,
of which one only may be morally right. In event of any of the others
having prompted the action, the benefactor may be regarded with
gratitude, but then it is either because the motive is mistaken for
the nobler one, or the gratitude is a mere reflected selfishness. As
an example of the latter sort, the Jews, in the days of the Son of Man
upon earth, had a love to God, a zeal for God, founded on their
conviction of his partiality for their people. They regarded him as
the God of the Jews only, and not also of the Gentiles. Its fruits
were, their carrying the Lord to the brow of the hill to destroy him,
because he reminded them of Naaman and the widow of Sarepta, as
preferred to objects of bounty among their own people; and their
endeavouring to tear Paul in pieces when he spake of a commission
given him by Jesus to the Gentiles. They were indeed zealous, the
apostle bears them witness in the Holy Ghost, and fully believed in
God's sovereign election of their nation. There is yet a zeal like
their's--let us beware of it.
It will not do to represent the Gospel scheme of salvation as not only
_leaving_, but involving, the moral character of God in difficulty;
and then to say we can still believe him holy, just, and good
notwithstanding. The atonement was designed to prove and establish
these attributes: to be the ground of our confidence in them, and of
our love to God because of them. We are not to believe in them in
spite of the plan of redemption; but, because of the plan of
redemption. The words of John, "we love him because he first loved
us," and "herein is the love of God manifested towards us, because he
sent his Son into the world that we might live through him," imply
that the believer's delight in the essential excellence of God (which
delight alone is divine love) springs out of the display of that
excellence in the cross of Christ. An atonement for all, arising out
of love to all, proves that it is indeed justice that inflicts
vengeance on the impenitent; not partial, personal hatred, not
indifference, not cruelty. A limited atonement, just because it gives
no proof that they are beloved--gives no proof that nothing else than
justice could have punished them. It gives, on the other hand, no
proof that forgiving love has been that which saved the elect, as it
is to an arbitrary distinction it teaches them to look as the ultimate
cause of their hope. I care not to be told that they acknowledge love
in their salvation notwithstanding. I repeat, the redemption is to
_prove_ the divine character, not merely to leave us the possibility
of believing it.
Finally, This scheme obliges to believe that Jesus has broken the law,
and transgression of the law is sin. This he assuredly did, if he
loved not all mankind as himself. It is an ignorant answer to say,
that for him to break the law was not sin. To break the moral law, and
to be a sinner, are not things arbitrarily put together; they are two
names for the same thing. It is worse to say he need not keep the law
because he was God. The law is the transcript of the character of God:
opposition to it is opposition to that character. Made of woman,
besides, he was made under the law. All praises of his goodness and
moral perfection are so many varied expressions for the completeness
with which he kept the law. And oh! indeed, what part of it so
peculiarly his own, as to love his neighbour as himself?
I say, therefore, again, to limit the divine love, to limit the
atonement, the grand expression of that love, is to limit the love of
Christ, and thus to make Christ a sinner. He that hath seen him hath
seen the Father. No moral difference surely is so great as that
between a breaker and a keeper of the law of love. What a moral
difference, then, between the character of a God manifested in the
one form and in the other.
APPENDIX.
The following letters are added, because they contain some interesting
details of the Lord's dealings with this our dear brother, which are
not contained in the Journal. And the reader will observe, that the
last letter is of a later date than the conclusion of the Journal.
BAGDAD, _Oct. 15th, 1831._
The Lord has just raised me up from a typhus fever, which, for
the last month, has been pressing a little hard on my strength,
but more on my spirits. The loss of my dearest Mary was so
deeply felt by my poor desolate heart, that, at times, I bore
up with difficulty; but the Lord shewed me that my sorrow was
so selfish, so earthly, so unworthy of his love, and poured in
besides such hopes and prospects as to my future work, that
sustained and comforted me.
I send with this a Journal of four months, from which you will
see what has been passing amongst us.
I have lately received many letters from my dear brethren at
Aleppo, and I think either Mr. Cronin or Mr. and Mrs. Parnell
will come to me the first opportunity, which will be an
unspeakable relief to my mind; for I long for some one to whom
I may unburthen my soul; for although my Lord is always near,
yet, as I see in Paul, so I find in myself, that the society of
Christian brethren and sisters, so long as we are in the flesh,
will always afford a sweet consolation.
I feel that Jesus meant his Church to be a body, not isolated
members. We have each a little ministry essential to the
happiness and building up of the mystical body--that there
should be no schism, but that all the members might love and
care one for the other.
This place has been governed by Georgians, Apostate Christians,
just as the Memelukes, another race of Apostate Christians,
formerly governed Egypt. The Sultan has extirpated the first,
and now the second, and the Janissaries who had a somewhat
similar origin, have, at Stamboul, experienced a similar fate.
Those of the Georgians who have had their lives spared will be
sent to Stamboul. It is certainly the design of Ali Pasha and
the Sultan, to make many changes here, and I wait to see the
Lord's goings. It appears to me probable that most important
openings may be afforded by these changes to our operations in
these quarters: but I have seen such things these last twelve
months, that my soul rests only upon God, to see how he will
move. His ways are so deep, so out of sight, that what we think
likely, He, in a month, brings to nothing, and yet in his own
good time, will bring the most wonderful and unexpected things
to pass. I have never ceased to bless God for the sweet
assurance of his unchanging love, for the sake of Him who is
our life, our dear and blessed Jesus. He has supplied me, I
know not how, in the midst of famine, pestilence, and war; and
though I have heard from none in England for more than a year,
especially from those that supply my wants, the Lord has not
suffered me to want, or to be in debt, and though the
necessaries of life have amounted to almost twenty times their
value during our late trials, he has not suffered me personally
to be much affected by it. His loving-kindness and care have
been wonderful.
Of all the political and religious agitations of England, I
have heard only whispers; but I am very anxious to receive a
full account. For many months all communication has been
entirely cut off; not a message has come though the road has
now been open a month.
The Lord has graciously allowed me to see the signs of
spiritual life in three souls of late, through my
instrumentality; and as the Lord gives me utterance, I trust I
shall be able to speak to many others. The difficulties of the
language are fading away one by one. I had occasion to
translate a public document from the new Pasha to the Resident
at Bussorah, concerning business of the utmost importance and
secrecy, in which the Resident, who is a most competent judge,
tells me I succeeded fully.
I often think my dear friends in England will be sadly
discouraged at the Lord's dealings with our mission: so
difficult is it to act faith in dark seasons. However, should
their faith and hope fail, the Lord will either raise up others
or find me some little occupation by which I may live. His
goodness in the way of provision has been so wonderfully
manifested, that my heart feels quite easy that He will find a
way for the support of his servant.
_Oct. 24._--Since writing the above, I have received your
letter of March last, by Bombay. Oh! how welcome it came! Oh!
how it refreshed me! Surely there exists not in the world a
more loving little Church than these dear believers amongst
whom the Lord has brought us into one fellowship. I assure you,
widely as I am separated from this beloved family in body, I am
truly one with them in spirit, and am greatly refreshed by the
springs of the Lord's grace, that run amongst them.
I received several letters with yours, from England and
Ireland; and the zeal of those dear friends who had provided
for my school, made me finally determine, the Lord willing, and
supplying me masters, to try again. I have sent one of the
bigger boys round, and I trust, with new boys, I shall begin
with thirty.
The Bible Society have sent me a number of Books with a
generous letter, nobly generous as to the principles of
distribution. And there appears a prospect of great changes
which may open a much wider door of usefulness here than I now
have: I had thoughts of leaving this place, but the Resident
entreats me not to go, and promises, should any thing happen to
me, that he will be a father to my dear boys, till he can send
them by an unexceptionable opportunity to England. All these
things make me feel that the Lord still means me to stay here,
and see his salvation.--Infidelity is making open and manifest
strides amongst the Mohammedans on the other side of the
desert, and in Persia, and we shall soon see the same spirit
that is working in Europe working here: amidst these tempests,
I sometimes think 'tis hard to live. Yet, my dear friend, it is
sweet to live hardly for Jesus.
After all my sufferings and all my sorrows, my heart is not
discouraged. We have first the clods of the language to break
up, then to prepare the ground, then to sow the seed, and
through all to look for the precious showers from on high, and
lastly for the fruit. Let us, then, like the husbandman
patiently wait.
The evil of the pressure of the world on the soul I feel as
fully as you can do; not the luxurious worldliness of Europe,
yet the pursuit of the language, and the absolute
uncongeniality of all around, disorders the soul greatly.
During Mary's life, or rather pilgrimage, I never wanted
spiritual refreshment; I sometimes used to fear it stole away
those hours that the language and other calls demanded; but now
whilst I am sensibly proceeding in the language, my soul knows
not that animated joy of heavenly communion with the saints on
earth which I once enjoyed. Jesus still is near, still comforts
and supports; but yet I feel he meant his Church to be a body.
The miserable substitute of man's ordination for the Holy
Ghost's, has destroyed the true unison and order of the Church
of Christ, by substituting that which is artificial for that
which is of God; by appointing man to be the artificer of a
work God alone can accomplish. Now the Church presents a
monstrous aspect, a great mis-shapen head called the clergy,
and as mis-shapen a body called the laity. All the members
being crowded into the head, and leaving the body without
office or service, this did not the Spirit. How blessed it is
among all these disorders to know that the Lord cares for his
own, and will keep them as the apple of his eye, watching day
and night lest any hurt them. Thus, were we preserved when we
little thought it, by our Shepherd's care. There is something,
I think, in this view of the body being thus composed of
members of various orders, various services, from the most
minute to the most important, all tending to the one great end,
the glory of the only Head and the Church's glory in him, that
greatly comforts the weak. When the Lord first led me to feel
interested in the service of his cause abroad, I framed to
myself some _beau-ideal_ of a missionary that if I now
entertained would destroy all happiness. Since the Lord has led
me to see how truly low my place is in his holy blessed body,
amidst all this humiliation he makes me feel happy in the
thought I am a member, though embracing little that pride would
lead to aim at. If I am but allowed to minister to my dear and
holy brethren on the other side of the desert I shall feel
happy and thankful. Sometimes I am overwhelmed with the
condescension that he should allow me to feel part of his
mystical body, though so weak so useless.
On the subject of baptism all the dear brethren at Aleppo have
finally agreed and been baptized; thus the last little
difference that I know between us is closed. How gracious the
Lord is!
The Lord has laid his hand heavily on them. Dear Newman is but
just raised from a bed of sickness. The schoolmaster whom they
brought is so unwell, that dear John Parnell and his wife have
taken him for the change of air to the water's side; they too
have both been very ill. Mrs. Cronan is daily getting weaker
and weaker, so they are prevented joining me now from ill
health, as before from the disturbances, and in a short time
Mrs. Parnell expects to be confined, which will still delay
them, as well as the expectation of a friend or two from
England and Ireland. Should the Lord not remove these
difficulties to their coming before the spring, and my Bibles
and Testaments arrive from Bussorah, I purpose, the Lord
willing, perhaps even in about two months, going by the way of
Mosul, Merdin, Diarbekr, Orsa, and Beer to Aleppo, there to
consult and to be refreshed, should the Lord graciously smile
upon us, and in my way to distribute his word and see the state
of the places above mentioned.
When Mr. Newman was at the worst, and they had given up all
hopes of him, they anointed him with oil according to the 14th
of the 5th of James, and prayed over him, and the Lord had
mercy on them, yea, and on me also, and restored him. It seems
to me truly scriptural, and if the Church of Rome has perverted
it to superstitious ends, ought we therefore to cast aside so
plain a precept? By many it would be called plain popery, but
this we must bear. I can feel a happiness in submitting to
these directions of the Lord by the Spirit; they seem to us
little, but surely whatsoever is of sufficient importance for
the Spirit to command or direct, is sufficiently important for
us worms to obey. With regard to miracles my mind is not at
present prepared to embrace them fully: but this I do feel that
the Apostle Paul, in Corinthians 12 and 14, when speaking of
supernatural gifts for the edifying the Church and doing the
work of God, points them out as things to be desired and prayed
for then, and if they were desired to be prayed for then, why
not now? I look on the argument from experience in the churches
as of no weight, for unless it can be proved the churches have
received faith on these powers, their not possessing the
power is according to the whole analogy of faith. That
distinguishing between apostolic times and present times is to
my mind so dangerous a principle, and puts into the hands of
any one so disposed, a sword that seems to me to reach the very
vitals of the Gospel.
I would have you pray for me, especially that Christ may be in
me daily, my glorious loving Lord and satisfying portion, whose
presence can make even this waste howling wilderness like the
garden of Eden. Little did I think how poor I was in the
anointed Lamb of God till he stripped me bare, and left me here
to stand months alone with himself, and then I saw how much of
that apparent love and zeal I felt flowed from human fountains.
I bless his name, he left me yet a little while untainted to
cheer, support, and comfort me, but my stature, my dear friend,
I pray I may not again, mistake nor think I am approaching
towards manhood when a very child in spiritual growth. When
surrounded by all the love and kindness I experienced amongst
you, encouraged by your sympathy and prayers, those thousand
weaknesses I since have felt I hardly know the smart of. Amidst
dangers, sorrows, and death I have walked for many months; and
these scenes have tried the very foundation, yet it was most
gracious of the Lord, when he let the plague reach me and laid
me on my couch to give me the sweetest comfort from a full
assurance of his favour and forgiveness, when there was as I
thought but a step between me and death. Yet whilst he has
never left me without the sense of being his, He has shewn me
how much I have to aim at, how earnestly to desire to be filled
with all his fulness.
BAGDAD, _Dec. 25th, 1831_.
Your most kind and welcome letter arrived this day, together
with several others from my beloved friends in England, all by
Bombay. It does, indeed, truly refresh my heart, to hear of the
Lord's love to you all. Do you not praise God for these dear
brothers and sisters he has given us? How rich we are in our
sweet little church; a more loving, holy, and blessed little
family cannot surely be found upon earth. Unworthy as I am to
be one of you, yet I bless God that I am one. My heart is
running over with thankfulness at the Lord's goodness to you
all, and to me through you, and be not discouraged because I am
blasted, and my bough no longer green, as it once was, the Lord
has yet dealt most bountifully with me. In all but my dear
Mary's place my path is opening again. I have hired one
schoolmaster, and expect another. My English boys are most
zealous and attached: my prospects of Bible circulation in
Persia much opening. To the Jews here I have sold all my Hebrew
Bibles, at about 3s. 6d. each: this is more to them than 12s.
would be in England, and though it seems little, it answers an
end of getting God's word amongst them. I had an Armenian
bishop with me the other day, asking for Persian Testaments to
send to Ispahan; and a Roman Catholic merchant has promised to
take a parcel for me to Teheran, and to distribute them there.
Besides these there are others whom I hope to find subservient
to this end. For some days I had been making preparations to
cross the desert, in order to consult with my dear brethren
there about our future measures; but when I came to put
together all the items of expense, I found I had not money
enough, so I gave up the plan of going with my dear boys, and
proposed waiting till Major Taylor came, and leaving them in
the Residency, under his and dear Mrs. Taylor's kind care, to
go alone. Your letter, however, has relieved all my pecuniary
difficulties, and we shall now go altogether or remain
together. The love of you all in thinking of and caring for me
quite overwhelms me, as I see it to be the Lord's love in and
through you all. He not only feeds us in this wilderness, but
also provides for the school, so as to overwhelm me with a
sense of his care over the most unworthy of his servants. My
wonder is, how it is possible for me to love him so little.
Since I left England, this is the first purpose I really
thought desirable, that the want of sufficient money has put a
stop to; and this you see but for a moment; not but that I can
get money at any time, but I am determined not to borrow money
till my affairs come to the utmost straits, and then only for
the simplest necessaries.
I have received a letter from England, which gives me a painful
impression of the state of most of the religious societies.
Indeed, I fear they cannot stand on their present basis. May
the Lord gently lead them right. The spirit of compromise to
gain the world has ruined all; yet are there some sweet spirits
amongst them. I would rather have the love that could love
amidst a thousand faults, than the zeal that will endure but
one. Some, I know, would call this a sickly sort of feeling,
but the more I see of their fiery condemnation and sarcastic
scorn, the more I am sure it is not of Christ. It is only
turning the truth of God into a sort of chimney for the escape
of nature's pride and passion.
My second plan for going to Aleppo has been defeated by my
having heard a very bad account of the Arab Sheikh of the
Caravan. The Lord graciously gave me an opportunity of seeing
his true character before I was alone involved with him in the
desert, where, indeed, you are fearfully at their mercy, and
where they have so many means of oppressing you.
_Dec. 29._--How gracious it was of the Lord to send me your
letter, just before expense became inevitable, for either for
the journey, or for shutting up; you must expend money, as
during the time of the plague raging, you can obtain nothing,
not even bread, and, if you could, you would be afraid to use
it. What unspeakable peace it brings to the soul to have Jesus
to look to, and to know that his eye is not averted, though all
seems dark. Blessed doctrines of grace! how they comfort when
the soul would sink under sin: to know that for Christ's sake
we are pardoned. Yea, though we have played the harlot with
many lovers, the Lord has restored us, and decked us for his
bride against the day of his espousals. Oh what a day, the day
of the marriage supper of the Lamb will be, may our hearts be
waiting for it, with holy expectation. Pray for me that my
faith fail not, nor my Lord's love even appear little in my
eyes; but that I may always be enabled to say, "Though he slay
me yet will I trust in him." If it be, that all my hopes
finish, may his holy blessed will be done. I often wonder how
he keeps up my hope as he does; but still I do hope even
against hope: and I would call upon you, and all my dear
friends, brethren, and sisters in Christ, to rejoice with me at
the prospect of that blessed day which is dawning upon us, when
we shall see our beloved as he is, and dwell with him for ever,
when our vile bodies will be changed and made like unto his
glorious body, when the whole number of his elect family will
be completed, and we shall reign with him in glory.
_Jan. 16, 1832._--My dear little boy, Frank, is just laid down
in a fever, so I cannot now go to Aleppo. Thus the Lord
frustrates all our plans and purposes.
THE END.
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