4 

 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 
 THEOPHILUS WALDMEIER.
 
 THEoIxiKE, LATE KIN(i OF ABYSSIMA.
 
 THE 
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
 
 BEING AN ACCOUNT OF 
 
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 PREFACE. 
 
 MANY friends have repeatedly asked me to 
 write down my experiences in Abyssinia 
 and Syria. I have hesitated for many reasons, but 
 finally I have thought it good to comply with 
 their wishes. Some years ago I wrote a book in 
 German about my ten years' residence in Abyssinia 
 which was translated into French, Swedish, and 
 Arabic, but not into English. As I have the privi- 
 lege of knowing so many dear friends in England 
 and America I have therefore written this Auto- 
 biography in the English language. My great aim 
 in doing so is to show forth to the reader how won- 
 derfully our heavenly Father has led me from my 
 early childhood until the present time. Not only 
 in the beautiful highlands of Abyssinia, where the 
 greatest and most wonderful events of my life have 
 taken place, but in Beirut and Mount Lebanon 
 also I have experienced the overshadowing power 
 of the Almighty. I therefore say with the Psalmist, 
 " Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who only 
 doeth wondrous things" (Psalm Ixix. 18).
 
 viii. Preface. 
 
 The description of the different religious sects in 
 the East, especially that of the Druses, as well as 
 much other information connected with my journeys 
 will, I trust be acceptable and useful to many. 
 That this humble and simple book may now go 
 forth in the name of the Lord, and become a 
 blessing to its readers is the earnest desire of the 
 author. 
 
 TH. WALDMEIER. 
 
 Brummana, Mount Lebanon, 
 October, 1886.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 EARLY HISTORY, MISSION TO EGYPT, SOUDAN, AND ABYSSINIA. 
 
 Childhood Running away from home Education Conversion Starts 
 as Missionary to Abyssinia Journey through Egypt and Soudan 
 Arrival in Abyssinia Reception by King Theodore Marriage ... 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 ABYSSINIA. 
 
 Mountains Volcanoes Climate Vegetation Crops Fertility of the 
 Soil Characteristics of the People Abyssinian mode of adminis- 
 tering Justice Honesty rewarded Dress Food Houses Trades 
 Money 13 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 RELIGION OF THE ABYSSINIANS. 
 
 Queen of Sheba Falashas Introduction of Christianity Manner of 
 Ordaining Priests Abyssinian Churches, Priests, and Preaching 
 Jesuit Mission Mohammedan Aggression Galla Tribes Slave 
 Trade Galla Languages 22 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 PROTESTANT MISSION TO ABYSSINIA. 
 
 Missions of Bishop Gobat, Mr. Kugler, Dr. Krapf, and Mr. Isenberg 
 Jesuit Opposition Maricha \Varka Expulsion of the Jesuits 
 Industrial Mission Bishop Gobat's Charge ... ... ... ... 38 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 THE LANGUAGE OF ABYSSINIA. 
 
 Ethiopic Language Ethiopic Bible Amharic Language Amharic 
 
 Bible Amharic Alphabet Amharic Lexicon 59 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 THE MISSION STATION AT GAFFAT. 
 
 Settlement at Gaffat The Boudah Abyssinian Churches Death of 
 John Bell Mission to the Falashas The Converted Soldier The 
 Convent at Godjam The Liberated Slaves Progress in the Arts 
 Royal Bounty Missionary Work 63
 
 x. Contents. 
 
 PAOK 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE BEGINNING OP TROUBLES. 
 
 Death of Queen Touabetch King Theodore's Second Marriage Politi- 
 cal Missions of Captain Cameron and M. Bardel, and subse<ruent 
 misunderstandings Dr. Stem offends the King Imprisonment of 
 Europeans 78 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 HASSAM'S EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA. 
 
 Mr. Rassam sent to Abyssinia Further misunderstandings Prisoners 
 released and re-captured Cholera in the Camp Mrs. Waldmeier's 
 Illness An Abyssinian Martyr The End of the Mission Station 
 at Gaffat Death of his Children The Casting of the great Gun 
 Sebastopol Cruelty of the King 87 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 DEPARTURE FROM DEBRA TABOR ARRIVAL AT MAGDALA. 
 
 Journey to Magdala Illness Imprisonment King Theodore tries to 
 take T. Waldmeier's Life Approach of British Troops The King's 
 Interview with Mr. Rassam ... ... ... ... ... ... 97 
 
 CHAPTER x. 
 
 THE FIVE LAST DATS IN MAGDALA. 
 
 Slaughter of Abyssinian Prisoners The King refuses overtures from 
 the English Address to his Soldiers The Battle Overtures for 
 Peace The King Attempts to Shoot Himself The Abyssinians 
 wish to Kill the Prisoners King Theodore delivers them Their 
 Welcome at the British Camp Storming of Magdala Death of 
 the King The Rejected Present The Extent and Cost of the 
 British Expedition 104 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 DEPARTURE FROM MAGDALA. 
 
 Lord Napier's Address to his Troops Journey towards the Coast 
 
 Description of the Country Results of the Expedition 121 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 PRESENT CONDITION OF ABYSSINIA. 
 
 King John of Abyssinia War with Shoa Treaty with Shoa King 
 John's Missionary Efforts The Knife Creed Mr. Mayer's Mission 
 to the Baly Gallas King Menelek of Shoa Missionaries Expelled 
 from Shoa The Slave-trade 130 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 TRANSITION. 
 
 Arrival at Jerusalem Fresh Locations for the Missionaries Mr. and 
 Mrs. Waldmeier go to Beirut Visit to Europe Becomes Inspector 
 of the British Syrian Schools ... ... ... ... ... ... 145
 
 Contents. xi. 
 
 PAOB 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 BEIRUT AND MOUNT LEBANON. 
 
 Situation of Beirut Ancient Name Early History Channel of Zeno- 
 bia Earthquake Population of Beirut Mount Lebanon Feasts 
 of Adonis Assyrian and Egyptian Tablets Flora of Syria ... 150 
 
 CHAPTER xv. 
 
 EDUCATION IN BEIRUT AND MOUNT LEBANON. 
 
 Work of American Missionaries Beirut School Statistics Protestant 
 Schools in Syria Population of Syria Druse and Maronite Quar- 
 rels Massacre of the Christians Mrs. Bowen Thompson's Work 
 in Syria Letter to Syrian Children Death of Mrs. Thompson 
 Work carried on by Mrs. Mott Visits of English Friends First 
 Visit to England Work among the British Syrian Schools 
 Damascus Brummana ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 169 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 THE SECRET RELIGION OF THE DRUSES. 
 
 The best works about the Druses The Ten Incarnations El Hakem 
 E' Dorazy and Hamse Ali Dahir Emigration of the Druses 
 The Tannoukhites Druse Doctrines Admixture of Persian Phil- 
 osophy Transmigration of Souls Akkals and Juhhals Re-appear- 
 ance of El Hakem 186 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 THE GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH. 
 
 Founding of Constantinople Disputes between the Eastern and Wes- 
 tern Churches Monophysite and Monotheletic Heresies Papal 
 Excommunication of the Eastern Churches Unsuccessful Efforts 
 at Reformation Cyrillus Lukaris Sacraments and Creeds of the 
 Greek Orthodox Church A Shoemaker made a Priest Difficulties 
 of Missionary Effort 208 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 THE GREEK CATHOLIC CHURCH. 
 
 Council of Chalcedon Separation between the Greek Orthodox and 
 Greek Catholic Churches Jesuit Mission in Syria Differences 
 between the Greek Catholic and Greek Orthodox Churches ... 218 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 THE MARONITES IN KESSRAWAN. 
 
 Origin of the Maronites Union with Rome The Collegium Maronit- 
 
 arum French Protection Papal Agencies and Opposition . . . 222 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 ASSAD SHIDIAK, THE SYRIAN MARTYR. 
 
 Conversion The Maronite Patriarch, Joseph Habeish Convent of 
 Alma College of Ain Waraka The Armenian Patriarch, Gregory 
 Convent of B'zummar Bishop Jacob Discussion with Bishop of 
 Beirut Escape Re-capture Sufferings Death 228
 
 xii. Contents. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 THE I8MAILIYEH8 AND Nt .-A1UKIIS. 
 
 Origin of the Ismailiyehs Creed Hashshash Origin of the Nusariehs 
 Creed Worship Marriage Ceremonies Customs American 
 Presbyterian Mission Suggestion for a new Mission among the 
 Nusanehs 245 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 OCR REMOVAL TO BRUMMANA. 
 
 Arrival at Brummana Straitened Circumstances Girls' School at 
 Brummana Boys' Schools at Brummana and Beit Mary Corres- 
 pondence with England and America Winter on Mount Lebanon 
 Silk Manufacture 253 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 SECOND VISIT TO ENGLAND. 
 
 Meetings in Switzerland Visit to Sweden Work in England Forma- 
 tion of the Friends' Syrian Mission Association Admitted into 
 Membership with Friends Petition for a Boys' Training Home 
 Return to Mount Lebanon Death of Dora Saalmiiller 271 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 THE PURCHASE OF AIN SALAAM. 
 
 Berkat Ghanem Opening of School at Dar Bsaleem First Report of 
 
 the Bnuumana Mission Departure of G. Hessenauer for England 277 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 PRIESTLY OPPOSITION. 
 
 Law-suit about the Land Opening of Schools at Roomy and Neby 
 
 Muallim Semaan el Koury Persecution 283 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 WELCOME VISITORS. 
 
 Visit of EH Jones and A. L. Fox Church Organized Opening of the 
 Boys' Training Home Daibes Safrawy's Rej)entance The Feast 
 of Reconciliation 292 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 THE BOYS' TRAINING HOME. 
 
 Building of the Training Home Opening of Schools at Mansourieh 
 School of Industry Established Opening of the New Training 
 Home Death of Abu Joseph 299 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 PROGRESS OF THE MISSION. 
 
 George Satterthwaite's Visit Third Journey to England The Girls' 
 Training Home Opening of Hospital Arrival of Maria Feltham 
 and Ellen Clayton Mission at Ramallah Visits from English 
 Friends Sheikh Akel Death of A. L. Fox Present Condition 
 of the Mission Visit to Switzerland and England ... 312
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PAOB 
 THEODORE, LATE KING OP ABYSSINIA Frontispiece. 
 
 HIPPOPOTAMUSES ON THE NILE 6 
 
 BAMBOOS 9 
 
 ABYSSINIAN WOMAN CLEANING CORN 19 
 
 AXUM AND ITS ANCIENT MONUMENTS 23 
 
 A BRIDGE OVER THE RIVER KAHAA IN ABYSSINIA 31 
 
 SHOHO GALLA 35 
 
 DR. GOBAT 39 
 
 A SLAVE GANG 71 
 
 HAGOS, THE LION 76 
 
 GONDAR, CAPITAL OF ABYSSINIA, WITH THE KING'S PALACE 84 
 
 CHARACTER OF THE ABYSSINIAN HIGHLANDS 99 
 
 MAGDALA 105 
 
 GROUP OF TRACHYTE MOUNTAINS IN TIGRE 124 
 
 RHYNOHOPETALUM MONTANUM (LOBELIACE.ffi) ... ... ... ... 127 
 
 JOHN, THE PRESENT KING OF ABYSSINIA ... ... ... ... ... 132 
 
 AN ABYSSINIAN MAMHER, OR TEACHER OF THEOLOGY, WITH STUDENTS 136 
 
 WOMAN OF SHOA ... 139 
 
 i 
 
 NATURAL FORTIFICATION OF DEBRA DAMO IN TIGRE ... 143 
 
 PORT OF BEIRUT ... ... ... .. ... ... ... ... 151 
 
 RUINS OF PALMYRA ... ... ... ... ... ... .. ... 160 
 
 CEDARS OF LEBANON 166 
 
 AN ARAB SCHOOL 181 
 
 WANDERING ARABS 191
 
 xiv. List of Ill-lustrations. 
 
 PAOF. 
 
 EMIR EDEEN, A DRUSE AKKAL OP MOUNT LEBANON 201 
 
 CONSTANTINOPLE 213 
 
 MARONITES ASCENDING MOUNT LEBANON 223 
 
 MOSLEM CALL TO PRAYER 244 
 
 BRUMMANA, MOUNT LEBANON, WITH FRIENDS 1 MISSION BUILDINGS ... 252 
 
 HANNAH STAFFORD ALLEN 259 
 
 CARRYING CORN IN PALESTINE 263 
 
 A LEBANON SHEPHERD 268 
 
 BEIRUT MERCHANT 297 
 
 THE BOYS' TRAINING HOME, AIN SALAAM 303 
 
 WOMEN GRINDING CORN ON" MOUNT LEBANON 317 
 
 MISSION HOUSE, RAMALLAH 323 
 
 AIN SALAAM, BRUMMANA, LOOKING NORTHWARD 327
 
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP 
 THEOPHILUS WALDMEIER. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 EARLY HISTORY, MISSION TO EGYPT, SOUDAN, 
 AND ABYSSINIA. 
 
 I WAS born a Roman Catholic in Canton Ar- 
 gau, Switzerland, and brought up under severe 
 religious instruction by my dear mother and 
 grandmother, who were very anxious for the salva- 
 tion of my soul, and strict with me on matters of 
 religion. My grandmother forced me to kneel 
 down on the ground for three hours daily praying 
 with rosaries and Psalter. Once when I refused to 
 do so she was very much displeased and punished 
 me severely, and when I told her that God would 
 not listen to prayers that were forced out by the 
 stick, she beat me even more, but this cruel treat- 
 ment only hardened my heart and made me feel 
 sure that such prayers could not be acceptable to 
 the Lord. I used to go to a quarry near our house 
 where I could be alone and pray out of my heart, 
 which gave me much comfort. But my troubles 
 did not end here, for when the time of Confession 
 came, it was impossible for me to believe that the 
 priest could give me absolution for my sins, as I 
 had often seen him indulging in intoxicating drink 
 and playing cards ; so I said, " The Priest himself
 
 2 Running away from Home, and Conversion. 
 
 is a greater sinner than other people:" and for this I 
 was severely punished. I then became very miser- 
 able, not knowing what was really right to do ; so 
 at last in despair I ran away from home to my uncle 
 at Lorrach, who received me very kindly and adop- 
 ted me as his son. Here I was sent to a Roman 
 Catholic school, and began to feel much happier, 
 for I was well treated. 
 
 In Lorrach, near Bale, there was a young man 
 named Deimler, who often came to my uncle and 
 aunt, and spoke much about the Gospel, which 
 made my uncle angry with him, so that he wished 
 to send him out of the house ; but the young man 
 patiently endured all unkindness, and explained 
 the way of salvation more fully. He did not speak 
 in vain, for my aunt began to be enlightened, and 
 not long after both she and my uncle were con- 
 verted. 
 
 J. G. Deimler entered as missionary student into 
 the Bale Mission College, where he studied for six 
 years. During this time he often came to Lorrach 
 and had Gospel meetings, which were held in our 
 house by the students from Bale and St. Chrischona 
 in turn. J. G. Deimler was ultimately sent to India, 
 where he has been working since 1855 amongst the 
 Mohammedans. 
 
 I was so much influenced by the dear missionary 
 brethren, and the blessed meetings, that I was con- 
 vinced that the Evangelical Christians were on the 
 right basis. Soon after my mind was enlightened, my 
 heart also became changed, and I resigned all mere 
 worldly joy and pleasure, to join with the Lord's 
 people wherever I went. Through them I became 
 acquainted with the great need of the world for mis- 
 sionaries. This made me long to be a missionary 
 also, and often in the night I went out into the 
 fields and asked the Lord that He would take me into
 
 Starting as a Missionary to Abyssinia. 3 
 
 His service, after which I felt assured that He was 
 indeed ready to take me up, if I, on my part, was 
 willing to give myself entirely to Him. After this 
 I resolved to write a letter to the Committee of the 
 St. Chrischona Mission and ask to be admitted as a 
 missionary student, but I was too young, and had 
 to wait three years before I was accepted. During 
 this time I went to Geneva to study French, where 
 I met with Dr. Malan, J. H. Merle D'Aubigne", 
 Pastor Gossain, and others. Their acquaintance, 
 and the meetings at the Oratoire and the Pelliserie, 
 helped me on my way. 
 
 I was very glad when I was at last accepted as a 
 student of the St. Chrischona College, but it was no 
 easy life that we students led there. We had to 
 work hard for our living, and to study much, so 
 that if there were any not in earnest they would 
 hardly stay there long ; but the belief that we were 
 called of the Lord made it no hardship to bear all 
 for His sake. 
 
 Bishop Gobat came one day to St. Chrischona'and 
 wanted a missionary for Abyssinia. I was selected, 
 and was asked if I would like to go to that dis- 
 tant mission field, and, after making it a subject of 
 earnest prayer, I agreed to go. In September, 1858, 
 a large congregation assembled at St. Chrischona 
 College, when I was consecrated, with other stu- 
 dents, by Dean Ledderhose, to go out into the 
 Lord's harvest field. When I left Europe I tra- 
 velled with Bishop Gobat as far as Alexandria, 
 from thence he went on to Jerusalem, and I was 
 joined by Mr. and Mrs. Flad, Mr. Saalmiiller, and 
 Mr. Schroth and his son. The two latter were 
 sent as workmen tcf King Theodore, but both died 
 subsequently on our road to Abyssinia. 
 
 I was interested in seeing the land of the Pha- 
 raohs, the land which is as old as history itself.
 
 4 Passing through Egypt. 
 
 Its monoliths, like Cleopatra's Needle, seventy 
 feet high, of syenite granite, covered with hiero- 
 glyphics, lead us back to the time of the Exo- 
 dus of the children of Israel from Egypt. From 
 Alexandria we went by rail to Cairo, a distance of 
 130 miles. In the neighbourhood of Cairo we 
 visited the large pyramids of Gizeh, Cheops, and 
 Mycrenes, of which it is said, "that all things 
 dread Time, but Time itself dreads the pyramids." 
 From Cairo onwards towards the south there was 
 no railroad, we therefore had to travel in a boat 
 on the old Yaro (Nile), the life-giving river. The 
 journey was slow, and as we needed strong wind to 
 force the vessel against the current of the stream, 
 sometimes we were stopped for whole days ; this 
 gave us leisure to study the past and present con- 
 dition of the land of the Pharaohs. We passed the 
 territory of the three old gods of Egypt : Phtha in 
 Lower, Ammon in Middle, and Ra in Upper Egypt, 
 whose temples we saw. 
 
 We arrived after much patience at Luxor and 
 Karnak, which are situated on the right bank of 
 the Nile, and at Medinet Abu, where we saw the 
 palace of Ramses III. and IV. At Karnak we 
 entered the great hall, with its one hundred gigantic 
 pillars, and saw sphinxes and obelisks in monoliths 
 ninety feet in height, often with poor mud huts, 
 contrasting strangely, at the bottom. Then we 
 visited the hundred-gated city of Thebes. In a 
 tomb there, a drawing of brickmaking is still dis- 
 tinctly to be seen, and many think that it refers 
 to the children of Israel, who might easily have 
 come so far south, and under circumstances of 
 war have run away to Abyssinia (Ethiopia). 
 From Thebes we sailed to Korosko, and from 
 thence travelled through the desert of Nubia 
 with thirty-two camels, which were mostly loaded
 
 The Soudan. 7 
 
 with Amharic Bibles and Testaments for Abys- 
 sinia. Crossing the desert was no easy task, as 
 water was scarce. We loaded some of the camels 
 with leathern sacks filled with water, but after ten 
 days it became very bad, and we suffered much in 
 the day from thirst and the great heat, and in the 
 night from cold. After sixteen days' journey we 
 reached Abu-Hamed, a poor village on the bank of 
 the Nile, and we rejoiced and thanked our Father 
 in heaven who had led us safely through the 
 dangers of the desert where so often men and 
 animals are buried in the sand. The whole plain 
 looks like a past world burnt by the wrath of God. 
 From Abu-Hamed we went to Berber along the 
 Nile, and thence by boat to Khartoum, the great 
 city of Soudan. Whilst we were travelling on the 
 Nile we saw hundreds of crocodiles, like fallen trunks 
 of large trees lying on the sandy islands in the river, 
 opening their immense mouths towards the sun, and 
 little birds feeding in their open jaws, fearlessly eating 
 up the worms, till the least movement of the crocodile 
 caused the bird to fly away. We saw also many 
 hippopotamuses often in the middle and often on the 
 banks of the river. Khartoum, the capital of Soudan, 
 with its 30,000 inhabitants, was the residence of the 
 Governor General. It was founded by Mohammed 
 AH in 1823, but its climate is deadly, owing to its 
 situation between the junction of the Blue and 
 White Nile, the water line of which is not much 
 below the level of the plain. 
 
 From Khartoum we travelled on the Blue Nile, 
 which comes from the tropical Alps of Abyssinia, 
 to Abu-Harres, and from thence we journeyed 
 south-east on camels through desert and wilder- 
 ness, by Assar and Dokah, south of .the stagnant 
 river Rabat, a tributary to the Blue Nile. The 
 heat was very great in the day, and in the night
 
 8 Death of one of our party. 
 
 we were in danger from wild beasts, lions, 
 leopards, rhinoceroses, hyenas, and serpents, but 
 we were still more afraid of the wild Nubians. 
 
 The heat was so great that the ground was 
 much cracked, the earth often gaping before 
 us ; but the camels learned to pass these deep 
 crevices in the ground very cleverly. After much 
 trouble and danger we finally arrived at Met- 
 hemmeh, a place notorious on account of its 
 deadly climate and the large slave market which 
 exists here. From Methemmeh (pronounced Mot- 
 hamma and meaning " Abode of Death ") the slaves 
 are carried to Kassala, Khartoum, Suakim, Mas- 
 sowah, and Hodeidah. From this place we went 
 to Wachnee, which stands at the base of the Abys- 
 sinian mountains. Between Methemmeh and 
 Wachnee, we suffered intensely from the heat, which 
 was so great that the sperm candles melted in the 
 boxes on the camels' backs. In Wachnee we all 
 fell ill except Mrs. Flad, who nursed us all as well 
 as she could. Here Mr. Schroth died, and we had 
 hardly strength to bury him, as we lay on the sand 
 and scooped out a hollow with our hands as best 
 we could, whilst the plaintive cooing of a turtle- 
 dove, on a sycamore tree near by, added to the 
 melancholy feelings that possessed us, and we made 
 up our minds that we should soon follow him. But 
 the Lord spared our lives, and we left Wachnee and 
 soon began to ascend the Abyssinian mountains 
 through large bamboo forests. 
 
 After five months' travelling we reached the 
 tropical Alps of Abyssinia ; but the journey through 
 Soudan to Abyssinia was really a journey of 
 sickness and death. Now we found ourselves 6,000 
 feet above the sea level, with beautiful flowers, 
 wild roses, fresh water, and a pure salubrious at- 
 mosphere to strengthen our weak bodies and faint-
 
 BAMBOOS.
 
 Arrival in Abyssinia ; King Theodores Reception. 11 
 
 ing hearts. We began to breathe easier, and thank- 
 fulness flowed from our hearts to Him who had 
 guided us safely through desert and wilderness, 
 and brought us to the land of our destination. 
 At that time we did not know that we had just 
 entered into the land of our sufferings ; for we 
 were not aware that on entering this country we 
 had lost our liberty, as the sequel proved. 
 
 Soon after our arrival we were presented to 
 King Theodore by John Bell, an English gentle- 
 man who was Prime Minister. His Majesty re- 
 ceived us very kindly, and expressed his sorrow at 
 the loss of our two companions, who had been 
 appointed as workmen for him, saying, "It is on 
 account of my sins that God took these two men 
 away from me." 
 
 King Theodore ordered us to reside at the 
 natural fortification of Magdala, where we lived 
 with our missionary brethren, who had already 
 been working three years in Abyssinia. The elder 
 brethren who knew the language were occupied 
 with missionary and literary work, whilst we, the 
 younger ones, were studying the language and 
 teaching mechanical work to some Abyssinians, for 
 which the King was very glad and thankful. We 
 were seven missionaries with Mrs. Flad ; she and 
 her husband occupied one house, and the other five, 
 of whom I was one, occupied a second house. Each 
 house in Abyssinia consists of one room, so that 
 we felt very crowded ; but Christian love was 
 exercised, which wonderfully enlarged the small 
 accommodation. 
 
 The royal Secretary, Debtera Sanneb, came daily 
 to us, with whom our elder brethren had long 
 religious conversations, and they read the Bible 
 through with him. Ere long he was converted to 
 evangelical truth, and is still witnessing for Jesus
 
 12 Marriage with the Prime Minister's Daughter. 
 
 in that distant land. He is now engaged by King 
 Menelek, the son of Sahela Salassa, who was 
 conquered by King Theodore. Prince Menelek 
 was at Magdala when we were ; he was a very 
 nice young gentleman, and we were on intimate 
 terms with him. He is now King of Shoa, and 
 has been very helpful to the Anti-slavery Society 
 in stopping the slave trade. 
 
 Magdala was the safe place for King Theodore's 
 enemies, and also for his friends ; the former in 
 prison and in chains, the latter at liberty as far as 
 the boundary of the fortifications goes. The trea- 
 sury of the King was there, with an accumulation 
 of presents from India. Egypt and Europe. The 
 Abuna Salama, the head of the Abyssinian Church, 
 and the Queen, were also with us at Magdala as 
 semi -prisoners ; and one thousand soldiers had 
 charge of us during the long absences of the King 
 when at war with distant rebels. 
 
 It was in Magdala, on the 4th of December, 1859, 
 that I was married to Susan Bell, the daughter of 
 the Prime Minister John Bell before-mentioned. 
 He was indeed the guardian angel of the King, and 
 the protector and good counsellor of the Euro- 
 peans. He was formerly a Lieutenant of the British 
 Navy, and accompanied Lord Chesney on his expe- 
 dition to the Euphrates in the year 1850 ; after 
 which he became English Consul at Aleppo, and 
 finally entered into the service of Kas Ali, and 
 King Theodore of Abyssinia.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 ABYSSINIA. 
 
 A BYSSINIA is a country of great natural in- 
 X\_ terest. The Sandy Desert of Samhara is 
 intensely hot between the Red Sea and the 
 mountains of Tigre ; but though so near the equa- 
 tor, the different elevations formed by volcanic erup- 
 tion produce an agreeable climate. The average 
 height of the country is 9,000 feet above the sea ; 
 the thermometer shows at this height 45 during the 
 night, and 59 in the day (Fahrenheit). In the low 
 country, which is called Kolla, at the height of 3,000 
 to 4,000 feet, the thermometer stands at 122 in the 
 day, and half as much during the night ; whilst on 
 elevations of 14,000 feet the thermometer goes 
 down to zero. Kolla in the Wollo Galla country looks 
 in summer like Mount Hermon, and in winter 
 like Sanneen in the Lebanon. There is a great 
 similarity in form between the mountains round 
 Magdala and the mountains of Lebanon at Ain- 
 Zahalta in Syria ; the only difference is those are 
 of trachyte, and the others of grey fossiliferous lime- 
 stone, intersected with ferruginous soft sandy soil. 
 It is said that from Hauran to Bab-el-Mandeb there 
 were once twenty-eight powerful volcanos, but they 
 are not now in action. 
 
 On the west side of the Red Sea, on the plains 
 bounding Abyssinia, the large volcano Edd was in 
 full action in 1860, and the ashes of its eruptions
 
 14 The Climate, Vegetation, and Crops of Abyssinia. 
 
 were carried by the wind into the interior of the 
 country to a distance of from sixty to one hundred 
 miles. Half-way down the Red Sea, between 
 Hodeidah and Massowah, is a volcano which is 
 called by the natives the Fire Mountain Terr. 
 So that we can imagine that there might have 
 been a volcanic connection from Abyssinia under 
 the Red Sea through Arabia to Hauran. 
 
 On account of the variations of climate caused 
 by the different elevations of the country, the 
 vegetation is abundant. The winter of the tropical 
 Alps begins with June and lasts till the beginning 
 of September. It is not a cold season, and 
 consists only of heavy and short rains, accompanied 
 by fearful thunder and lightning ; in the morning, 
 for instance, there may be a nice shower of rain, 
 while the afternoon is as sunny and pleasant as 
 possible. Streams and rivulets abound, forming 
 here and there waterfalls from fifty to five 
 hundred feet in depth. In the month of Sep- 
 tember, Abyssinia is like a beautiful flower garden, 
 even the stony and poor soil being clothed with 
 grass and flowers. Lilies, aloes, orchids, wild 
 roses, ferns, brambles, honeysuckles, tulips, and 
 prickly broom, grow under the rich foliage of 
 beautiful trees, such as the Wansa tree (Cordia 
 Abyssinica), the sycamore, the mimosa, and the 
 kosso tree. The flowers of the latter are used in 
 medicine. The wild olive, the juniper, and euphor- 
 bia are also abundant. Monkeys delight to climb 
 amongst the branches of the Wansa tree, whilst 
 various birds of brilliant plumage but unmusical 
 voices, flit from bough to bough. The farmers 
 cultivate their land with a very poor primitive kind 
 of plough, and obtain a rich harvest with but little 
 trouble, growing barley, wheat, maize, lentils, cot- 
 ton, oil plants, and different vegetables.
 
 Fertility of the Soil ; Characteristics of Natives. 15 
 
 The farmers might easily be rich so far as the fer- 
 tility of the soil is concerned, but they are very poor, 
 for they get quite disheartened in their work. They 
 sow the seed but are not sure of gathering the 
 harvest, for the Abyssinian soldiers, when passing 
 through the land, put their horses, mules, and 
 donkeys, into a prosperous harvest-field until they 
 have ruined the crop ; and often have I seen the 
 owners imploring the intruders, with tears, to re- 
 move their animals, but they would neither hear 
 nor pity them. 
 
 If Abyssinia could only have good government, 
 and its own old sea-port at Massowah, it might 
 soon become one of the most prosperous countries 
 in the world. King Theodore once said to me, 
 " My country is like a paradise, only I am sorry to 
 say it is inhabited by donkeys." Many people 
 in Europe and America are of opinion that the 
 Abyssinians belong to the slave race of Africa, 
 but it is not so. They are of thorough Caucasian 
 type, and generally tall, nice-looking people ; their 
 colour is not black, but chestnut brown ; ladies 
 who are always in the house are not so dark, and 
 some of them are white. The Abyssinians are 
 an intelligent race, clever in everything when 
 taught, kind hearted, full of sympathy, loving, 
 and obliging ; but when harshly or unjustly treated, 
 nothing can appease their excitement but revenge. 
 I had some boys in my school who were taught 
 reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, and his- 
 tory, and was astonished to see how quickly they 
 understood everything. 
 
 Time is apparently of no value in Abyssinia ; the 
 people do not work hard, as the soil being so rich 
 and productive, easily supplies their small wants. 
 Having little to do, they are fond of sitting to- 
 gether, telling story after story to each other, and
 
 16 Abyssinian Mode of Administering Justice. 
 
 thus spend much time in useless and worthless 
 conversation. They are also very fond of litiga- 
 tion, and embroil themselves in long processes, in 
 which the King is their tribunal of final appeal. 
 The people do not know how to read or write ; 
 this is an art known only to the priest and debteras 
 (the learned). Nevertheless, they are wonderfully 
 eloquent and clever in demonstration. During my 
 ten years' stay in Abyssinia, I had a good oppor- 
 tunity of seeing and learning the ways and man- 
 ners of the people. I was often surprised at their 
 eloquence, quick-wittedness, and ability, in judicial 
 cases especially. Each village has its Shum (Go- 
 vernor), who is the judge ; but if he has not 
 settled the case well, it can be brought before the 
 Governor of the district, and if he has failed in 
 his judgment, it can be brought to the King, who 
 will punish both officers if they have been wrong. 
 
 The Abyssinians have a law book, which is 
 called Fetana Negest, and in difficult cases it is 
 consulted, and a decision is made accordingly. 
 This code is regarded as a translation of the Jus- 
 tinian law book of the fifth century ; others say 
 it comes from Constantine the Great. The general 
 way of bringing a process before the King is 
 as follows. The King's camp consists of about 
 10,000 tents, in the midst of which stand his tent 
 and the church, the latter being of red and purple, 
 and around the King's tent is an empty space of 
 some 200 yards. Early in the morning we could 
 hear daily the melancholy cry, beginning at four 
 o'clock, " Ishan Hoy, Ishan Hoy" (your Majesty), 
 for twenty times and more. This is the cry of 
 those who are bringing their lawsuits before the 
 Sovereign, and as the people are not allowed to 
 approach near the royal court, the King has a man 
 appointed to stand between him and the people,
 
 Honesty Rewarded, and Covetousness Punished. 17 
 
 who is named Afa Negus (the mouth of the King). 
 This man has to hear the accusations and processes 
 of the people, and to bring them before the King, 
 who pronounces his judgment in low tones, and 
 the Afa Negus then proclaims it in a loud voice 
 to the people. Woe be to him if he misunderstands 
 a case, and brings it wrongly before the King ; for 
 he must then be very sharp if he does not wish to 
 have his hands and feet cut off. When daylight 
 spreads itself over the camp, we see how judgment 
 is executed ; on one side a murderer is being 
 hung ; on the other, a guilty thief is flogged ; whilst 
 others are chained and put in prison. 
 
 Once I was riding along with the King through 
 the country. A man stood afar off and cried, 
 "Ishan Hoy! Ishan Hoy!" until the King said, 
 " Speak, my son." The man said, "I have found 
 twenty dollars on the way, and as I do not know to 
 whom this money belongs, I have brought it to your 
 Majesty." The King said, "That is good of you, 
 keep the money with you until the man is found 
 who has lost it, and for your uprightness I give 
 you another twenty dollars." The man went his 
 way rejoicing. But he was envied by one of his 
 friends, who thought, " If money can be got so 
 easily, I shall take my forty dollars, which I saved 
 from many years' service, and bring it to the King, 
 telling him that I found them." The man brought 
 the money to the King, and said that he found it 
 and did not know to whom it belonged. The 
 King, perceiving the trick, said to the man, " Go 
 and give it to my treasurer." The man went with 
 great sorrow, and handed over his forty dollars to 
 the royal treasury. 
 
 If some European travellers and soldiers speak 
 against the demoralization of the social condition of 
 the Abyssinian people, they might modify their judg-
 
 18 Native Lh'ess, Food, and Mode of Living. 
 
 ment when they remember that the English expe- 
 dition, and some other Europeans did not set them 
 a very good example. Then if these critics find 
 themselves without sin, let them throw the first 
 stone at the Abyssinians. 
 
 The women in that land work hard ; they spin 
 the cotton and wool, and prepare it for the weaver, 
 who makes the stuff so universally worn by men 
 and women for clothing. They carry water and 
 wood on their backs, grind corn, bake bread, cook 
 for their husbands, help them in the fields, and 
 often follow them to war. The men wear white 
 trousers with a shamma (or Roman toga), and 
 the women wear a shamma with only one long 
 shirt underneath ; these are quite white when new, 
 but become almost black with uncleanliness, and 
 from anointing their heads with butter, which the 
 sun causes to melt and run down. 
 
 The dress of the better class of people, however, 
 is always neat, and as white as snow. Shoes and 
 stockings are not used in the country. Everyone 
 goes barefooted both in summer and winter. As 
 Abyssinia is so far off and difficult of approach, we 
 were soon left without shoes or stockings, and had 
 to go with bare feet like other people. At first we 
 suffered very much, especially from the stony and 
 thorny roads, but finally we became accustomed to 
 this privation ; only when our feet got cut by flint 
 stones, or stung by thorns, we were reminded of 
 the comfort of stockings and shoes. 
 
 Living in Abyssinia is simple, with no plate, 
 spoon, fork, or table. A basket containing bread, 
 Over which some kind of red pepper curry is poured, 
 forms the principal dish. The people sit round about 
 on the ground or on skins, and each one helps 
 himself with his fingers. Raw beef is not always 
 eaten, but it is liked by the people ; and honey wine
 
 ABYSSINIAN WOMAN CLEANING CORN.
 
 Native Houses and Handicraft. 21 
 
 (mead) is much appreciated, but all cannot afford 
 to obtain it, which is no loss to them, as it is in- 
 toxicating. The descriptions of some travellers, 
 saying that the Abyssinians cut pieces of flesh 
 from living animals to eat, are quite untrue : indeed 
 I have read numbers of books about the customs 
 of the country, which are much exaggerated, and 
 in many cases erroneous. 
 
 The houses in the villages are round huts, with 
 one room, plastered with a kind of mortar made of 
 earth and straw, or cow-dung, which is considered 
 still better : in cities like Gondar, there are massive 
 stone houses, the roofs of which, however, are 
 made with slender pieces of wood, reeds, or bam- 
 boo, covered with straw. 
 
 The Abyssinians are clever in different handi- 
 crafts ; they are saddlers, blacksmiths, carpenters, 
 silver and goldsmiths, weavers of silk and cotton, 
 builders, stonemasons, painters, and potters. 
 
 Money is not made in Abyssinia, and the current 
 coin is the Austrian Maria Theresa silver dollar. 
 There exists no smaller money, and if anyone wants 
 to change a dollar, he gets thirty crystalized pieces of 
 salt seven inches long, two inches broad, and one 
 inch thick. Besides being used for small money, 
 this is also the only salt for cooking.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 RELIGION OF THE ABYSSINIANS. 
 
 WE are told in Scripture that Ham, the son of 
 Noah, was the father of Gush, and from the 
 people of Gush are descended the Ethiopian 
 Habesh or Abyssinians ; his brother Mizraim was 
 the father of the Egyptians, and Ganaan the father 
 of the Phoenicians or Canaanites ; between these 
 people and the Abyssinians there is a real relation- 
 ship (Gen. x. 6, 7, 15). We do not hear any more 
 of Abyssinia until the time of the Queen of Sheba, 
 who may have had her residence at Axum, on the 
 high land of Ethiopia, where there are still old 
 ruins, pillars, and obelisks, remaining, some stand- 
 ing, others lying broken on the ground. 
 
 According to Abyssinian legend the Queen of 
 Sheba became one of the wives of Solomon, and 
 gave birth to a son called Menelek, who subse- 
 quently became King of Abyssinia, and from that 
 time the Abyssinian Kings claim their descent from 
 Solomon. Another legend says that a large num- 
 ber of Jews came to Abyssinia, who escaped from 
 Palestine at the time of the Assyrian and Baby- 
 lonian captivity, first to Egypt (Jer. xliii.), and then 
 up the Nile to the south, until they came to the 
 district of Guara, in Abyssinia, where there are still 
 many Jews to this day. The Abyssinians call the 
 Jews Falashas, which means Wanderers. These 
 Falashas only acknowledge the five books of Moses,
 
 Abyssinian Jews. 25 
 
 Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Ruth, calling them 
 Orit, or the Law ; the Prophets are unknown to them. 
 There must, in any case, have been Jews in Abyssinia 
 before the Babylonian captivity, because it says in 
 Zeph. iii. 10, " From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia 
 my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, 
 shall bring mine offering." Mr. Martin Flad, a mis- 
 sionary among the Falashas, says, in his very inter- 
 esting information of the Abyssinian Jews, that he 
 rebuked the Falashas for their idolatry in worship- 
 ping the goddess Sanbathoo, and thus transgressing 
 the second commandment. One of the Falashas 
 answered, " We shall do as our forefathers did, we 
 shall burn incense unto the Queen of Heaven, and 
 pour out drink offerings unto her, as our fathers, 
 our kings, and our princes did in the cities of 
 Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem ; for then 
 had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw 
 no evil. But since we left off to burn incense to 
 the Queen of Heaven, and to pour out drink offer- 
 ings unto her, we have wanted all things and have 
 been consumed by the sword and by the famine." 
 (See Jer. xliv. 17, 18). 
 
 The goddess Sanbathoo is certainly Ashtoreth, 
 Queen of Heaven (Jer. vii. 18). She was wor- 
 shipped mostly in Tyre and Sidon, Byblos and 
 Beirut, Babylon and Askelon ; and hev wor- 
 ship extended to Jerusalem under Solomon (1 
 Kings xi. 5). The Jews of Abyssinia offer her 
 drink offerings, make her cakes, and burn incense, 
 believing that she controls the heavens, and thus 
 they implore her blessing. They have their syna- 
 gogues, priests, monks, nuns, and prophets. They 
 circumcise, observe the Sabbath and feast days, and 
 make offerings according to the law of Moses, 
 which distinguishes them from all other Jews of 
 the present time.
 
 26 Introduction of Christianity. 
 
 With regard to the spread of the Christian re- 
 ligion in Abyssinia, we have a very interesting 
 article translated by Mr. John Mayer, missionary in 
 Abyssinia, from an old Ethiopian book, and also 
 mentioned in Mr. Flad's " Falashas of Abyssinia." 
 It says, " In the time when Herod was King 
 of Judiea, and Basiru King in Ethiopia, when 
 Akin was the High Priest of the Jews in Abys- 
 sinia, Jesus, according to His human nature, was 
 born of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem." Two hun- 
 dred and fifty-seven years after the ascension of 
 Jesus Christ, when part of the Abyssinian nation 
 called themselves Christians, part were Jews and part 
 were Ophites or worshippers of serpents, there came 
 a Christian merchant with his two sons from Tyre. 
 The Abyssinians say they came from Jerusalem, for 
 they think that city includes all the places of the 
 world. The names of these two sons were Frumen- 
 tius and ^Edesius. They were sent to the priest 
 Anlaram in Axum, and they remained in his house 
 with their father. Frumentius said to the priest, 
 " You have a very curious religion, for though you 
 believe in Jesus Christ and have circumcision, you 
 have no baptism or communion." The priest 
 answered, " The circumcision we get from our 
 fathers, the children of Levi, and the belief in 
 Christ we have from the eunuch of Queen Candace; 
 but that we have no baptism or communion is 
 due to the fact that no apostle was sent to us." 
 Frumentius was sent to Athanasius in Alexandria, 
 who ordained him Bishop of the Abyssinian Church, 
 and sent him back under the name of Abuna Sala- 
 ma. He arrived in the year 315 A.D., when King 
 Aberha was ruling over Ethiopia. Anlaram the 
 priest was baptized and ordained to the office of 
 bishop under the name of Hesba Kedoos. During 
 the reign of the two good Kings Aberha and his son
 
 Christianity in Abyssinia. 27 
 
 Asbeha, who succeeded him, the Christian religion 
 was propagated by Hesba Kedoos, and from one 
 to two hundred thousand people are said to have 
 been baptized daily in Abyssinia. Nubians, Sou- 
 danese, and Guderu (Gallas) were also baptized. 
 We can imagine what kind of Christianity must 
 have been propagated where no one could read, and 
 none were taught but simply baptized. It is there- 
 fore no wonder that the Abyssinian Church is 
 notoriously the most corrupt Church in the world. 
 
 The Abyssinian King Aberha conquered Yemen, 
 and caused the heathen and the Jews there to em- 
 brace the Christian religion by force. He and 
 Asbeha ruled about seventy years in Yemen. The 
 Abyssinian occupation of Yemen became of sad 
 importance to the whole world through the small 
 pox which was brought by the Abyssinians for the 
 first time from their tropical mountains across the 
 Red Sea to the plains of Arabia and hills of Yemen. 
 There the dangerous epidemic took hold of the 
 people and soon spread over the whole world. 
 Here we have the origin of the small pox. * 
 
 The small number of Falashas and the mass 
 of nominal Christians have both gone astray 
 from the true principles of their religion ; yet, 
 geographically secluded as Abyssinia is, it is won- 
 derful that in such a country in the midst of 
 Mohammedans and Heathen, Christianity and Juda- 
 ism should exist even in the most corrupted forms. 
 The Abyssinians are Monophysites, that is they be- 
 lieve that Jesus Christ had only one nature, which 
 is Divine. In this they followed the teaching of 
 Dioscoros, Patriarch of Alexandria, 444 A.D., which 
 was condemned by Marcian and the Papal legates 
 at the Council of Chalcedon, in 451 A.D. They 
 
 * See Ch. Knight, Cyclopedia Geograph., vol. 1, p. 419.
 
 28 Manner of Ordaining Priests. 
 
 also say that Christ was born three times, the first 
 from the Father, the second by the Virgin Mary, 
 and the third by His baptism in the Jordan. The 
 Abyssinians put tradition on the same level with 
 Scripture. They believe that not only Jesus Christ, 
 but the Virgin Mary died for the salvation of the 
 world, and they also believe in the intercession of 
 the saints, and trust much in fastings. They have 
 192 fasting days in the year. The whole church 
 service is performed in the ancient Ethiopian lan- 
 guage, of which the people understand nothing. St. 
 Mark is considered the Apostle of Egypt, and the 
 Abyssinians also regard him through Athanasius 
 and Frumentius as their own. In copying some 
 pictures from a church I found the winged lion 
 which is characteristic of Venice, where the Apostle 
 Mark is likewise adored. They have to get their 
 Abuna Salama, the head of their church, from 
 Egypt, for whom they have to pay to the Metro- 
 politan of the Coptic Church 10,000 dollars. He 
 ordains the priests, by conveying his breath into 
 the mouth of the theological candidate. I was told 
 that the Abuna Salama was not able to go to the dis- 
 tant kingdom of Shoa to ordain priests, on account 
 of rebellious tribes, who made the road dangerous. 
 After considering how he could surmount the diffi- 
 culty, he got a leather sack and filled it with his 
 breath, so that it was regarded as a sack full of the 
 Holy Spirit. This sack was carried into the Shoa 
 country by delegates, where through a little tube 
 the holy air was transmitted into the mouths of 
 those who wanted to become priests. 
 
 The Abyssinians have only two sacraments, bap- 
 tism and the communion. Boys are baptized forty 
 days after birth, but girls have to wait until eighty 
 days old ; because Adam entered into paradise 
 forty days after his creation, and Eve followed him
 
 Abyssinian Churches, Priests, and Preaching. 29 
 
 after another forty days. When the children are 
 baptized they receive a blue silk cord to put round 
 their necks. This distinguishes the Christians from 
 the Mohammedans. The cord is considered holy, 
 and hangs on the neck of every Christian until 
 death, and is then even buried with them. 
 
 The churches are large round buildings, in the 
 centre of which is a square room called the Holiest, 
 where are kept the tabot, or ark of the covenant, 
 the cup, bread, wine, and holy vestments. The 
 four walls of this room are decorated with pictures 
 from the Old and New Testaments and their mytho- 
 logy. No one but the priests is allowed to enter 
 into the holiest place. All the common people have 
 to stand outside. The only preaching in the year 
 is on Easter Day, when the priests give a short 
 address of which this is the translation : " My dear 
 brethren, hear my words. The priest has fasted forty 
 days. It is therefore proper for you to give to the 
 priest fifty jars of good wine, fifty jars of good beer, 
 fifty large good loaves of bread, fifty well-roasted 
 hens without bones, fifty fat cows whose horns touch 
 heaven and whose tails sweep the earth. Besides 
 this, you are not to make fire in your houses, or 
 cook anything, unless you have invited the priest. 
 Follow these precepts, and you will be blessed." 
 All the churches are built on the summits of the 
 finest hills, and are surrounded by beautiful little 
 groves of trees. When I looked at these churches, 
 I was always reminded of 1 Kings xiv. 23, " They 
 also built them high places, and images, and groves, 
 on every high hill, and under every green tree." 
 This way of building their places of worship prob- 
 ably had its origin in Judaea and Phoenicia. 
 
 The Abyssinian era does not begin with Christ's 
 birth, but from the creation of the world. The 
 year 1886 they call 7381, and the 10th of September
 
 30 A Jesuit Mission to Abyssinia. 
 
 is their New Year's Day. The greatest feast is on 
 the 26th of September, and is held in remem- 
 brance of St. Helena finding the holy cross and 
 using fire signals to let the news be known quickly 
 in Constantinople. The people therefore come 
 together and accumulate large heaps of wood, and 
 burn them at night in memory of the discovery of 
 the cross. We find this custom on Mount Lebanon 
 in all the Eastern churches. 
 
 At the beginning of the 16th century the Pope of 
 Rome and the King of Portugal sent a Jesuit Mission 
 to try to bring the Abyssinian Church under the 
 Church of Rome. The Abyssinians were divided 
 by the Jesuits into two parties ; the first held 
 faithfully to the old faith, and the second with the 
 King Sosneos and the Prince Facilidas, adhered 
 to the newly-introduced religion of the Jesuits. 
 The hatred between these two parties culminated 
 in a bloody battle, in which 8,000 men of the old 
 faith were slain in one day, over whom the Jesuits 
 rejoiced. But as Prince Facilidas rode through 
 the blood-stained field, he began to think, " A re- 
 ligion which causes so much bloodshed cannot be 
 good. We had better, though victorious, return to 
 the faith of the conquered, and remain faithful as 
 they were." Facilidas became King, and expelled 
 the Jesuits from his dominions in the year 1632, and 
 the Abyssinian Church returned to its former head, 
 the Coptic Patriarch of Alexandria. The remains 
 of the Jesuit Mission in Abyssinia are the King's 
 castle, bridges, and other buildings, mostly in ruins, 
 which were erected by Portuguese workmen in 
 connection with them. 
 
 The Mohammedans often tried to bring the Abys- 
 sinians under their dominion, but could not succeed 
 until their seaport of Massowah, on the Red Sea, 
 was taken by them in the year 1527, under Gerang
 
 A BRIDGE OVEK THE RIVEK KAHAA IN ABYSSINIA.
 
 Mohammedanism in Abyssinia. 33 
 
 (the left-handed), who entered Abyssinia, destroyed 
 all the churches, and massacred numbers of the 
 people. The Abyssinians had never seen firearms 
 before, and made sure that resistance was vain, 
 having up to that time only fought with shield and 
 spear. In the time of King Claudius, Christopher da 
 Gama was sent with an army by the King of Por- 
 tugal to assist the Abyssinians against the Moham- 
 medans. Christopher da Gama was killed by Gerang, 
 but his army proved victorious. Just as the Jewish 
 and Christian religions have not been truly taught 
 and propagated in Abyssinia, so it is with the 
 religion of the Koran. Its principles have never 
 been known there by the Mohammedans themselves, 
 and only the fear of the sword compelled them to 
 embrace it in the time of Gerang. 
 
 There are now only a small number of Moham- 
 medans in Abyssinia, but in the surrounding coun- 
 tries there are many. The main difference between 
 the Christian and the Mohammedan is in their 
 greeting of each other when they meet. The Chris- 
 tian says " Good morning," and the other answers 
 in Arabic, though he does not understand the lan- 
 guage, " Hamdallah" (God be praised). The Mo- 
 hammedans acknowledge one God, and are a little 
 cleaner than the Christians. These are the only 
 differences between the two denominations. The 
 Wollo Gallas are partly Mohammedans. They 
 know very little of Mohammed, but adore one God. 
 They abhor the Abyssinian Christians on account 
 of their idolatry, and are always in a state of hos- 
 tility with each other. 
 
 Three years ago King John, the reigning King 
 of Abyssinia, who is much more cruel than King 
 Theodore, tried to force the poor Wollo Galla 
 people to embrace the distorted Abyssinian religion, 
 and on their refusal he had them put to death. 
 
 D
 
 34 The Heathen Oalla Tribes. 
 
 Those who yielded to his unjust claims were merely 
 baptized without any instruction. 
 
 The heathen Gallas consist of many tribes, the 
 Kunnama, the Shangalla, the Danakeel, the Shoho, 
 the Limoo, the Enaria, the Kaffa, the Tchensheroo, 
 the Guarague, and other large heathen tribes num- 
 bering several millions of people with different lan- 
 guages. These Gallas are waiting for Christianity, 
 not for the Abyssinian Christianity, but for the true 
 Gospel of Christ. Some of them, sad to say, have 
 embraced a nominal Mohammedanism. They be- 
 lieved originally in one supreme Being, whom they 
 call Wack or Dossa, a name meaning the blue sky, 
 which they say is the garment of God. We find 
 the association of blue with the gods among the 
 Hindus, and in other forms of ancient mythology, 
 and in Exodus xxiv. 10 we read, " They saw the 
 God of Israel, and there was under His feet as it 
 were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it 
 were the body of heaven in His clearness." The 
 Gallas also worship certain trees, as the Wansa 
 tree (Cordia Abyssinica, known in Syria as Maksas) 
 and the Shola or Sycamore tree. When there is 
 a very dry year the people think that Dossa is dis- 
 pleased with them on account of their sinfulness, 
 and then they try to reconcile him with offerings of 
 sheep and goats, and in times of danger, famine, 
 or plague with human sacrifices. They sprinkle 
 themselves with the blood of these sacrifices, and 
 feel sure that in this way they will regain his love 
 towards them. 
 
 The slave markets at Basso in Godjam, at Met- 
 hemmeh, Khartoum, Kedarif, Suakim, and Kassala 
 in Soudan, and the large slave market at Hodeidah 
 in Yemen, on the other side of the Red Sea, are all 
 supplied by the Galla slaves ; for though so much 
 is being done to put down the slave trade, it is still
 
 Slave Markets; The Galla Languages. 37 
 
 carried on, because Arabia and Egypt will not live 
 without slaves. The Abyssinians also keep slaves, 
 but they are very kindly treated and regarded as 
 members of the families. 
 
 The Galla languages are different from the 
 Ethiopian or Amharic language. This has a litera- 
 ture, but the others are not yet written languages. 
 The Waitos and the Agau people in Abyssinia 
 are neither Jews, Christians, Mohammedans, nor 
 heathens, but a mixture of all these religions, com- 
 posed according to their convenience. They have 
 a curious unknown language, somewhat similar to 
 the Falasha. I tried to compose the first vocabulary 
 and a small grammar of their language, which have 
 been printed by a friend of Oriental languages at 
 Halle. These different tribes of Abyssinians are 
 waiting for the preaching of the Gospel. If King 
 John would tolerate religious liberty I am sure that 
 a Mission exclusively for these tribes would prove 
 a great success and blessing.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 PROTESTANT MISSION TO ABYSSINIA. 
 
 EVERY feeling Christian must sympathize with 
 the people of Abyssinia, who were brought 
 into such a confusion of religious error ; 
 and it is no wonder that the Protestant churches 
 felt it their duty to send missionaries there. It was in 
 the year 1830, that Dr. Gobat and Mr. Kugler were 
 sent by the Church Missionary Society to Abyssinia. 
 They went by way of the Red Sea, and entered 
 from the east into the district of Tigre in Abys- 
 sinia, where the Governor-General received them 
 very kindly. Dr. Gobat travelled a good deal, 
 learned the language of the country, and had a very 
 good influence on the people, who respected and 
 loved him ; but he became ill, and had to return 
 to Europe : and Mr. Kugler died. After Dr. 
 Gobat left, Mr. Isenberg and Dr. Krapf took up 
 the work. As soon as the Jesuit Propaganda in 
 Rome saw that the Protestants had begun a Mission 
 in Abyssinia, they sent the priest Sapeto to that 
 country, and his intrigues were sufficient to influence 
 the Governor to stop the Protestant Mission. This 
 took place in 1838. 
 
 Dr. Krapf and Mr. Isenberg then went to the 
 Abyssinian kingdom of Shoa, where they were 
 kindly received by the King, Sahela Salassa. 
 Their mission work there was hopeful and satis- 
 factorv ; but, as there were no books or school
 
 DR. (40BAT.
 
 Dr. Krapf in the hands of Robbers. 41 
 
 materials, Mr. Isenberg left Shoa, and went to 
 Europe, in order to carry the Amharic Dictionary, 
 Geography, and Prayer Book, through the press, 
 while Dr. Krapf remained four years longer, work- 
 ing in Shoa and travelling in the service of the 
 Gospel. As Dr. Krapf was returning to Europe, 
 he fell into the hands of Adra Bille, the chief of 
 the robbers in the Wollo Galla country. He there 
 lost all his things ; but was himself liberated, and 
 continued his journey like a beggar, amid great 
 trouble and danger, by Edjoo, Lasta, Enderta, 
 Massowah, and the Red Sea to Europe.* The 
 above-mentioned Adra Bille was prisoner in Mag- 
 dala when I was there in 1859. 
 
 Shortly after Dr. Gobat left the country, the 
 military commander of three towns in Abyssinia, 
 who had shown kindness to him, was driven into 
 exile with his two sons during one of the revolutions 
 frequent in that land. The fugitives fell in with the 
 eccentric traveller, Joseph Wolff, who took them 
 with him to Bombay, where they became the guests 
 of Dr. John Wilson. The boys, then seventeen and 
 twelve years of age, read Amharic and its Tigre 
 dialect with great fluency. Up to this time Dr. 
 Wilson's polyglot accomplishments had not extended 
 to the tongue of Ethiopia, but Joseph Wolff left 
 with him an Amharic and English vocabulary, 
 through which the boys and their teacher at first 
 learned from each other. Dr. Wilson wrote : "I 
 trust they are not the only Christians connected 
 with the eastern churches exterior to India who 
 will be placed under our care." 
 
 For five years these two boys, Gabru and Maricha 
 Warka, lived in Dr. Wilson's house, and were educa- 
 ted in the Mission college. When Dr. Wilson came 
 
 * See Dr. Gobat's "Abyssinia," published both in German and English.
 
 42 Maricha Warka. 
 
 home, in the year of the Disruption, he brought 
 them with him as far as Aden ; from there he sent 
 them back to Abyssinia, with the prayer " that to 
 their benighted countrymen they might be the in- 
 struments of great spiritual good, even as Frumen- 
 tius and ^Edesius, the tender Syrian youths, through 
 whom the Gospel was first introduced into Abys- 
 sinia." 
 
 Gabru and Maricha frequently sent gifts to the 
 Mission and letters to Dr. Wilson on his return to 
 Bombay. Among the former were two young 
 lionesses, which they had received from the king. 
 Of these Dr. Wilson wrote in 1850 : 
 
 " I lately heard from my two young Abyssinian 
 friends ; indeed, I may say my sons in the Gospel. 
 They have given me the two African lionesses pre- 
 sented to them by the king of their country. These 
 are objects of great curiosity to the natives of 
 Bombay, hundreds of whom come to see them in 
 my compound. I find it, however, very expensive 
 to maintain them, as they devour a goat at a meal. 
 I have been offered a thousand rupees for them, and 
 shall soon part with them, and devote the proceeds 
 to the enlightenment of Abyssinia. . . They 
 followed Gabru and Maricha for several days' jour- 
 ney like dogs. If they were tired, when they came 
 to a bush, they used to get into it and rest till they 
 were thumped up with clubs to proceed on the 
 march. Their growl is terrible." 
 
 Gabru died soon after their return. In 1864, 
 Maricha Warka, then about forty years of age, be- 
 came of vast importance to the British Govern- 
 ment. He had risen to be the chief minister of 
 Prince Kasai, of Tigre, and proved the friend and 
 help of the British army, then invading Abyssinia. 
 In frequent telegrams and dispatches Lord Napier 
 of Magdala warmly acknowledged his services.
 
 Death of Prince Alamayu. 43 
 
 The special correspondents with the expedition 
 were even more emphatic, the most experienced of 
 them writing thus : " The belief is entertained by 
 not a few that in connection with the campaign in 
 Abyssinia, England owes more to the Free Church 
 of Scotland's Mission Institution in Bombay, than 
 it does to any institution in the Presidency, the 
 Government itself and the commissariat depart- 
 ment not excepted." 
 
 When the British army left Abyssinia, Prince 
 Kasai became sovereign of the whole country, and 
 Maricha his Prime Minister. Lord Napier urged 
 Her Majesty's Government to send Prince Ala- 
 mayu, the son of the deceased King Theodore, to 
 the Free Church College at Bombay; but, unhappily 
 for the Prince, he was kept at Sandhurst, and did 
 not long survive the climate and the exile. Two 
 boys and two girls were rescued from slavery and 
 sent to Dr. Wilson, to be trained as intelligent 
 Christians in the college which now bears his name. 
 
 During the past twenty years Maricha Warka 
 has made Abyssinia both stronger and more peace- 
 ful than it ever was before. On the outbreak of 
 the war in Egypt and despatch of General Gordon 
 to the Soudan, Admiral Hewitt went to the capital 
 of Abyssinia, and succeeded, through Maricha's 
 influence, in making a treaty with King John to 
 put down the slave trade, and help General Gordon. 
 To ratify this treaty, Maricha was sent as ambas- 
 sador to the Queen. He was accompanied by his 
 two nephews, and brought with him, among other 
 royal gifts, a young African elephant, Gwola, and 
 its keeper.* 
 
 What Maricha thought of Great Britain, and 
 how he has clung to his early faith and love for the 
 
 From " Maricha Warka," a tract published by the Free Church of Scotland.
 
 44 Maricha's Visit to Great Britain. 
 
 Bible was thus told by The Pall Matt Gazette, which 
 interviewed the now venerable man : " 'All work, 
 all work ! ' said Maricha. ' England is a great 
 country. No one seems to be idle. . . . Your 
 Queen, how great, how kind, how good, and how 
 humble she is 1 We all of us felt her goodness in 
 receiving us at Osborne in your White Island. We 
 walked in the beautiful gardens there, having with 
 us our elephant and our presents ; and the Queen 
 came and spoke kind words to us, and admired 
 Gwola and the presents which we bore from King 
 John. You are happy with such a mistress.' . . 
 Maricha once accompanied General Gordon on a 
 journey, and spoke with unfeigned zeal of his great 
 qualities. ' I like him. He is a gentlemen, kind 
 and gentle to everyone, seldom angry, and how 
 fond he is of the Bible ! Some people laugh at 
 him for it. Why ? ' He thought that General 
 Gordon could escape easily enough, and that King 
 John would lead an expedition against the Mahdi, 
 whom he called ' an inspired carpenter,' and hated. 
 . . . . Maricha is fond of reading history and 
 any works about his own country, while geography 
 is his favourite study. But he adds, * There is only 
 one book. That contains everything. Who will 
 ever write another like it ? I mean the Bible.' 
 Although this is his first visit to England, and he is 
 now an old man, his Excellency evidently knows 
 something of us. ' It grieves me,' he remarked, 
 with a sigh, as he played with the gold cross which 
 hung from his neck, ' to think of the differences 
 that exist as to religious matters in your country. 
 You have I cannot say how many religions.' ' Do 
 you like the missionary,' I asked. ' The Protest- 
 ant, yes ; he tries but to teach : the Roman Catho- 
 lic, no ; he thinks his religion much better than 
 any other.' " . . .
 
 Predominance of the Jesuits. 45 
 
 His Excellency Maricha Warka was often in iny 
 house at Gaffat, and we spent many happy hours 
 together conversing about the progress and reli- 
 gious liberty of Abyssinia under King Theodore. 
 
 Dr. Krapf left Europe a second time, with Mr. 
 Isenberg, in 1848, and arrived at the boundary of 
 Shoa. During their absence, however, French in- 
 fluence had been strongly exerted upon King Sa- 
 hela Salassa by the traveller Rochet, to prevent 
 Protestant Missions from entering his dominion, 
 and they had to return. Mr. Isenberg went to 
 Tigre" where he was before, and there he was able 
 to work for some years with success. The some- 
 what incautious way in which he afterwards spoke 
 against their worship of the Virgin Mary so exas- 
 perated the Abyssinians against him that it was 
 easy for the Jesuit Sapeto, in connection with a 
 Frenchman named Michel Abbadie, to induce King 
 Ubie again to expel the Protestant missionaries 
 from his country. This enabled the Jesuit Mission 
 to be carried on with great success, especially in 
 the eastern part of Abyssinia. The people were 
 baptized, congregations organized, churches built, 
 schools opened, and all remained in favour of the 
 Jesuit Mission, until King Theodore appeared, who 
 conquered King Ubie and sent him prisoner to 
 Magdala. He afterwards, however, became father- 
 in-law to King Theodore. We were in Magdala at 
 that time, and often saw the imprisoned king. In 
 1859, King Theodore, who knew the history of the 
 Jesuits in Abyssinia in former times, gave orders 
 that they should leave his kingdom. 
 
 After Dr. Gobat returned from Abyssinia, he 
 was ordained Bishop of Jerusalem. Having 
 always been much interested in the welfare of 
 Abyssinia, he sent Dr. Krapf and Mr. Flad to 
 King Theodore, asking permission to start an
 
 46 Lh\ Krapf's Mission to King Theodore. 
 
 Apostolic Mission in his land, consisting of mis- 
 sionaries who would not only teach the people 
 religion, but also European civilization and arts. 
 To this latter part he readily agreed ; but with res- 
 pect to religious teaching, he said, " You must ask 
 the Abuna Salama, who is the head of the Abys- 
 sinian Church." This prelate was consulted, and 
 said that he had nothing against good Christian 
 lay missionaries, but could not allow priests to 
 come and organize new churches in the country, so 
 as to subject their church to the supremacy of 
 Rome. Dr. Krapf and Mr. Flad returned rejoicing 
 to Bishop Gobat in Jerusalem, and reported the 
 result of the mission to King Theodore. In the 
 year 1855, Bishop Gobat sent Mr. Flad, Mr. Bender, 
 Mr. John Mayer, and Mr. Gottlieb Kienzlen as lay 
 missionaries to Abyssinia. They were most cor- 
 dially received by the monarch, and also by the 
 Abuna Salama. Mr. Flad became very ill and re- 
 turned to Jerusalem. After his recovery he was 
 married to Sister Paulina, a Deaconess in Jerusa- 
 lem, and again resolved to go back to Abyssinia, 
 and thither Mr. Charles Saalmiiller, Mr. Shroth and 
 his son, and I accompanied him, in 1858. 
 
 It may be interesting to insert here a translation 
 of the true Apostolic instruction and Christian 
 rules, which Bishop Gobat gave his missionaries 
 before starting for Abyssinia, at the farewell meet- 
 ing of the Protestant congregation on Mount Zion 
 at Jerusalem, in December, 1855. Although I did 
 not go till three years later, we all received the 
 same instruction. 
 
 " Beloved Brethren, The hour has come for 
 which you have for some years been preparing 
 yourselves, the hour for parting with the Christian 
 friends in whose circle your spiritual life has been 
 developed. Now you will have to lean on the
 
 Bishop Gobat's Charge to the Missionaries. 47 
 
 Lord in your weakness, in a land that is covered 
 with darkness, and among a people that are 
 still in the shadow of death. If you have 
 ever felt and understood your infinite weakness 
 and helplessness, as every one must into whose 
 soul a ray from the Sun of Righteousness has 
 penetrated, you must increasingly feel it in 
 this solemn hour, as you see before you the 
 difficulties of the journey, the deep degradation 
 of the people to whom you are going, and the 
 temptations of every kind to which you will be 
 exposed from the might of the enemy against 
 whom you are fighting. More especially as you 
 look on the holiness of the Lord whom you wish to 
 serve, and whose cause you have espoused before a 
 stiff-necked nation, must you feel still more deeply 
 your own unfitness, and your helplessness in your- 
 selves, and be ready to exclaim with that pious 
 king, ' O our God, we have no might against this 
 great company that cometh against us, neither 
 know we what to do, but our eyes are upon Thee.' 
 Yes, to the Lord your eyes must be continually 
 lifted that you neither stumble nor fall, and that 
 the Sun of His mercy may open your hearts, 
 that according to your aim, you may be a light in 
 the midst of the darkness of the Ethiopian nation. 
 If to-day, above all, I remind you of your unfitness 
 and weakness in facing the difficulties and self- 
 denial, and the dangers from within and from 
 without, against which you will have to fight, it is 
 not my aim to discourage you. But if your refuge, 
 trust, or courage, be in your own strength, pru- 
 dence, insight, wisdom, or judgment, I could wish 
 you and the mission work nothing better, than 
 that before you go a step further that courage may 
 sink and that trust forsake you, so that you 
 and we may not be put to shame. But I have a
 
 48 Bishop Oobat's Charge to the Missionaries. 
 
 good faith that it stands better with you, that you 
 really acknowledge you are weak and miserable in 
 yourselves, unfitted for any good, inclined to all 
 evil, and that if you were left alone, you could not 
 but sin, fall, and be put to shame. Do you feel 
 assured of this, are you painfully sensible of it ? 
 Do you pray to become strong in the Lord and in 
 the power of His might, and thus fight the good 
 fight ? So shall the Lord be your strength, His 
 mercy will be might in your weakness, His Spirit 
 will become your light and wisdom, your courage 
 and help will grow in the fight, and you will joy- 
 fully exclaim with the Apostle, ' I can do all things 
 through Christ which strengtheneth me.' 
 
 "To be able to rely truly and under all circum- 
 stances on the the Lord, you must quite entirely 
 give yourselves to Him, being ready to follow Him 
 through honour and dishonour, through good and 
 evil report, and for this especially you must be up- 
 right and virtuous in your whole conduct towards 
 Him, towards each other, and towards everybody ; 
 for the righteous and upright, whether their talents 
 be many or few, the Lord makes to prosper. The 
 calling for which you have been chosen is an impor- 
 tant one, to lead souls from darkness to light, and 
 from the power of Satan unto God. For this, you 
 must first yourselves walk in the light, in truth and 
 virtue, that you may have communion with the 
 Father and with His Son Jesus Christ, and be able 
 to take of His fulness, grace, mercy, wisdom, light, 
 strength, and comfort. Never forget that you are 
 sent like sheep among wolves, therefore be prudent 
 without falsehood. Let your prudence consist 
 chiefly in remaining immovably near the Good 
 Shepherd, so shall you be safe, and you shall not 
 want. 
 
 " The field that lies desert before you, and must
 
 Bishop Gobat's Charge to the Missionaries. 49 
 
 be worked and turned into a garden of God, is a 
 wide, almost immeasurable field. It not only 
 includes all Abyssinia, but the neighbouring 
 heathenish Galla tribes, and the whole centre of 
 Africa, of which Abyssinia is to be regarded only 
 as the entrance. There the devil has his kingdom, 
 and for thousands of years it has been allowed to 
 go on quietly and undisturbed beneath his govern- 
 ment. There his principles, hypocrisy, falsehood, 
 superstition, sorcery, misrule, and cruelty flourish. 
 It is a kingdom of darkness, where, till now, no 
 Gospel ray has penetrated. This kingdom is to be 
 attacked in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
 to win the victory must be the aim of your lives, 
 the aim of all your labour. Never forget this, for 
 it is a thought to open your hearts to the needed 
 sympathy, pity, and prayer ; and it will also keep 
 you humble in your own eyes. Your work will be 
 at first in a small circle, and it is necessary that you 
 be faithful to that which is entrusted to you. 
 
 " I wish to give you some advice before you start 
 on your journey. Your duty at present is a double 
 one : firstly, that as you go to Abyssinia with a 
 good number of Bibles and New Testaments you 
 should distribute them as widely as possible ; and 
 secondly, that you inform yourselves whether you 
 may go and settle in different parts of the country, 
 not yet as open preachers, but as quiet disciples of 
 Jesus Christ who let their light shine before men 
 through word and deed. According to the ideas 
 of the present King, who himself reads the Bible in 
 his own language, and according to the practice of 
 the Abyssinian Abuna Salama, I do not think that 
 you will have any obstacle in spreading the Word 
 of God. Judging by my own experience, I believe 
 that many an Abyssinian will receive the Bible with 
 thankfulness, but you will nevertheless find oppo- 
 
 E
 
 50 Bishop Gobat's Charge to the Missionaries. 
 
 sition and obstacles. The Prince of darkness will 
 not easily give way to the light of the Word of 
 God being spread in that darkened region. You 
 will, perhaps, find most of the people at the begin- 
 ning more inclined to follow their own ways, pre- 
 ferring them to the Bread of Life. Light-minded 
 scorners you will meet, especially amongst the 
 priesthood, sorcerers who hate the pure truth and 
 and are self-righteous hypocrites. Therefore in the 
 business of Bible distribution be wise as serpents 
 and harmless as doves. Watch, also, over your 
 own hearts and look continually to the Lord that 
 He shield you from pride and discouragement, and 
 especially against impatience and anger. Show 
 through your whole conduct that the word of God 
 which you praise dwells richly in your hearts, not 
 only as ruler but as leader of all your thoughts and 
 desires, as it is also the spring of your comfort and 
 hope. We must believe, as the dear brothers 
 Krapf and Flad have found, that there are here 
 and there solitary souls yearning for something 
 better than their church offers to them ; but we 
 cannot say that there is a general desire in the 
 Abyssinian nation for the pure word of God. This 
 desire must be awakened, and we know that the 
 only real remedy for awaking it is by spreading the 
 knowledge of God far and wide. Therefore it is 
 needful that on the road to Cairo, and on the Nile, 
 you practice the reading of the Amharic language, 
 that when you praise the Word of God to the peo- 
 ple you may clearly, comprehensively, and pene- 
 tratingly read it to them, with some remarks, but 
 not more than is necessary to explain what has 
 been read. Trust more to the Word of God than 
 your own explanation of it. I do not mean to say that 
 you are not to witness, according to your experi- 
 ence, for words of life founded on the Holy Scrip-
 
 Bishop Gobat's Charge to the Missionaries. 51 
 
 tures, flowing from a faithful and loving heart, also 
 lead to salvation. What I mean is this, that you 
 lead the people to read the Word of God with 
 understanding by themselves. This, however, you 
 will understand better when you are there among 
 the people. If you thus succeed in circulating 
 some hundreds of Bibles and New Testaments as 
 widely as possible, with the hope and knowledge 
 that the people will read them, and if you are able 
 to teach some to read for themselves, and thus 
 receive profit for the salvation of their souls, then 
 I can say you have accomplished the first and most 
 important thing which is the aim of your mission. 
 And should you be obliged to leave the country, 
 which is quite possible in the present state of 
 Abyssinia, you can leave the Word of God which 
 you have begun to distribute, with comfort in the 
 hand of God and His Holy Spirit. The seed 
 which you sow will undoubtedly begin to show 
 signs of life in many, and bear fruit, and the 
 longing for the Word of Life will not be wanting, 
 so that, perhaps, it will be said in a few years the 
 Abyssinian field is white for the harvest, and the 
 Lord will send other workers, with whom you will 
 be able to rejoice before Him in eternity. God 
 grant that it may be so, through the riches of His 
 grace. 
 
 " But one or another may be asking anxiously, 
 ' If this does not succeed, if we may not enter the 
 land with our books, or if we are allowed to dis- 
 tribute them and then have to leave and go back, 
 what shall we do then V To this question I feel the 
 reply of the English drummer boy is applicable. 
 He was asked in a foreign country to strike the 
 different marches which he played so skilfully, and 
 when asked to play a retreat he said, ' I can never 
 do that ; such a thing as going back we do not
 
 52 Bishop Gobat'a Charge to the Missionaries. 
 
 learn.' I find it no where written in the Scriptures 
 that God told His servants to do this or that, in 
 case anything happened to them. He did not tell 
 the children of Israel what they were to do if they 
 did not enter the land of Canaan. Only this has 
 the Lord said, ' If they persecute you in one city, 
 flee ye to another ; ' and let this be enough for you 
 and us. If this undertaking is of God, He will 
 surely make a way for its accomplishment ; but if 
 it is only from man, it cannot succeed. So I can 
 only tell you not to look to man for advice, but go 
 direct and ask it of the Lord. 
 
 " Besides the Bible distribution your present jour- 
 ney has another aim in view, which to me was of the 
 first importance, but is now a secondary matter ; 
 and this is that you should inform yourselves well 
 and conscientiously whether it be possible or ad- 
 visable to have an Evangelical Mission station in 
 the country, and, if so, which would be the best 
 spot for it. In case you find it possible, it would 
 be best to go to the place yourselves. First ascer- 
 tain, however, the present political and civil con- 
 dition of the whole country. But do not put to 
 the King direct questions, so as to get decisive 
 answers, as to whether you may settle in his country 
 as messengers of salvation. The better plan will 
 be not to bring the matter forward, nor seem 
 anxious about it, but try first to persuade and con- 
 vince the King, through your behaviour, that you 
 are true Christians who are led by the Spirit and 
 the Word of God, so that if possible you may 
 incline his heart towards you, and he may be con- 
 vinced that you are servants of Jesus Christ, 
 really seeking the good of his people. At the 
 same time, even before you speak to the King, you 
 must examine some parts of the country in regard 
 to its fertility, see whether the place is healthy,
 
 Bishop Gobat's Charge to the Missionaries 53 
 
 choose a spot rich in wood and water, so as to 
 be able to say what place you think fitting for 
 your destination, when you eventually find it well 
 to go decisively to the King. You must also pay 
 attention to the character of the people in the 
 neighbourhood of the situation you choose, and see 
 if they will be inclined to receive you, for you will 
 find a great variety of character in the different 
 districts. Although it is the Lord's will that all 
 men, both bad and good, should be helped, much 
 depends upon where you first begin, and whether 
 you are surrounded by those of more or less im- 
 pressible character. It therefore becomes one of 
 your chief duties from the day you enter Abyssinia, 
 to study the character of the nation, and make 
 yourselves friendly in every way amongst the peo- 
 ple. You will meet with every description of bad 
 men, for these always come to strangers, and if you 
 give up too much time to them you will have no 
 opportunity to know those who are better and in- 
 clined to good ; for these latter do not generally 
 come forward, but wait to be found. 
 
 " To return, however, to the subject of the mis- 
 sion station itself. The missionary must not at 
 first show himself as a priest, as for instance in 
 some parts of India and West Africa, where he 
 declares himself directly as a public teacher of 
 religion, and tries at once to open regular schools 
 and meetings. This has been partly tried in Abys- 
 sinia, but was not successful, on account of the 
 suspicions of the people, and particularly of the 
 priesthood. To these I would like you to show 
 love and charity, for I can say from experience 
 that in addition to many bad priests, there are still 
 numbers of faithful and conscientious men in their 
 ranks, who only need enlightening and the best 
 kind of knowledge to make them good examples.
 
 54 Bishop Gobat's Cfiarge to the Missionaries. 
 
 The first mission station in Abyssinia should, ac- 
 cording to my views, resemble the English and 
 Irish Missions of the middle ages in Alsace, Ger- 
 many, and Switzerland, founded with Christian 
 liberty to draw back in some things as opportunity 
 offers. That is, you must choose a place, not too 
 far from the people, but good for farming, and at 
 first give your attention mostly to this, with the 
 help of some promising youths, whom you can 
 instruct from time to time more particularly in the 
 Word of God. You must teach these youths by 
 your example how to work steadily, increasing 
 their number until you have a good choice of the 
 most promising to continue teaching, to employ as 
 colporteurs, or to visit with you in the neighbour- 
 ing villages when you carry the message of salva- 
 tion. This you are to do, at least for a time, not 
 as public preachers, but as good Christian neigh- 
 bours, always speaking in humility and love. And 
 do not forget that you must win the character of 
 Christians in the eyes of the people before you will 
 be able to declare yourselves preachers with suc- 
 cess. You may feel it strange and disagreeable to 
 hear that instead of preaching and baptizing you 
 are asked to work with your hands, and partly to 
 earn your own living. The devil will whisper to 
 you, and your own hearts will answer him loudly 
 enough : ' Work and earn our bread, live and die, 
 we could have done in Germany, without the long 
 preparation, and without going to wild Abyssinia.' 
 But, dear brothers, remember to work the land 
 and eat bread with the sweat of the brow is 
 the work God Himself out of love gave to man- 
 kind. It is not below the dignity of the best and 
 noblest man. Moreover, the apostle Paul has 
 given us the example to work with the hands, and 
 according to my view it is the most likely if not
 
 Bishop Gobat's Charge to the Missionaries. 55 
 
 the only way, to win the Abyssinian nation and 
 eventually to evangelize the whole country. How- 
 ever, I shall be true to my word which I gave to 
 your, first superintendent, that I will send you 100 
 per annum, if it be the Lord's will, as long as I 
 live. This sum would perhaps be enough, consider- 
 ing the cheapness of food, to support you all, even 
 if you did not work ; but this would be good, 
 neither for you nor the Mission, and thus it could 
 not prosper. If, however, you succeed by the way 
 in which you have been told to begin, give praise 
 to the Lord when the doors are opened for the free 
 preaching of the Gospel. It may be so in a few 
 years time. Then your position will change, and 
 your work be more entirely for the spiritual welfare 
 of the people. Until this comes to pass you must 
 bear all with patience, and I know you will do so 
 gladly for the Lord's sake. I will readily do more 
 for you if the Lord makes it possible for me, but I 
 cannot promise further. Let us also give into His 
 care even this outward matter. 
 
 " Your settling in different parts of the land is 
 your second aim. On the coming journey your 
 first aim must be the spreading of the word of 
 God in Abyssinia. About these two things I 
 shall be thankful if you send me clear and decisive 
 answers. We do not expect long reports, but 
 desire to know how it fares with you, what pro- 
 jects you have in view, what you hope, and what 
 you fear ; and at the same time, what you believe 
 ought to be done, within the limits of reason and 
 possibility. To enable such tidings to have full 
 weight, they must be signed by all of you. Each 
 one has full freedom to express his own views in 
 private letters, and I will give every attention to 
 them ; but only the general information signed by 
 all will be regarded as weighty. As our Lord
 
 o6 Bishop Gobat's CJi/irge to the Missionaries. 
 
 Jesus Christ put no one among His disciples as 
 head or master, but told them to love each other, 
 and be obliging to each other, saying to them, 'All 
 ye are brethren,' therefore I must not put any 
 of you above the others. Nevertheless it seems 
 natural that in your own circle, where you are as 
 brothers and make one family, you should look to 
 Brother Bender as your House Father. He will 
 advise you in cases of difficulty, and you will show 
 him love and respect before the people. But as 
 Brother Flad has already been in Abyssinia, and 
 has had the most experience of travelling, he must 
 take the arrangement of your journeyings under 
 his care, until your arrival. But as you are all 
 brothers, who have the same aim in view, it is 
 desirable that you consult together before taking 
 any decisive step, until you are all of one mind 
 and heart. As already said, you cannot do anything 
 well in Abyssinia as missionaries until you have 
 proved yourselves true disciples of Christ, and this 
 you can only do by loving one another in the Lord, 
 and for His sake. He said Himself, ' By this shall 
 all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have 
 love one toward another.' Walk in love, as Christ 
 also hath loved us, remembering that He gave 
 Himself an offering for us. Small disagreements 
 will come from time to time, but do not let such 
 differences destroy your work, or your inner peace 
 and rest. Have much patience one with another. 
 ' Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law 
 of Christ.' Forgive each other, as God also has 
 forgiven you, and as you would be yourselves for- 
 given. 
 
 " Until now I have said nothing of the Abys- 
 sinian Falashas or Jews, although they have been 
 in my thoughts. It will be desirable that you in- 
 form yourselves accurately about them, and all
 
 Bishop Gobat's Charge to the Missionaries. 57 
 
 their concerns. You should also give them the 
 Bible if they like to accept it. See particularly if 
 you can open a Mission among them. I shall be 
 glad if you can go amongst them as evangelists, 
 and seek to lead them to the Messiah, the Saviour 
 of Israel. 
 
 " Now, dear brothers, I have gone into many de- 
 tails which may seem now of little consequence, 
 but I am convinced that later on you will see their 
 benefit and profit by them. I have now only one 
 more remark before closing, and it is this : You go 
 now to Abyssinia where there is a Church, which, 
 I am sorry to say, is a dead one. Seek, by the 
 Lord's help, to put life into it, and with the seed of 
 the Word of God to make it bear fruit. You 
 go as messengers of salvation and as servants of 
 Christ. That you are not ordained of man makes 
 no difference, the conditions on which you go re- 
 quire this omission. And if only Jesus Christ our 
 great High Priest lay His hands upon you and 
 bless you, you will need nothing more, for He 
 alone is the one who gives the true authority. You 
 go to Abyssinia, I hope, with the simple aim and 
 earnest desire to spread the knowledge and the 
 kingdom of Jesus Christ, with the longing desire 
 to lead lost sheep to the Good Shepherd, to bring 
 lost sinners to the Saviour, to free them from the 
 slavery of Satan and sin, and to make them par- 
 takers of everlasting happiness. You know, how- 
 ever, that in you is neither light nor strength, and 
 of yourselves you are not able to lead one soul 
 to repentance. It all depends on how your own 
 hearts stand with the Lord, without whom you can 
 do nothing. The success of your important under- 
 taking depends entirely on this, that each one 
 should have continual communion with the Lord, 
 living so near to Him that your personal piety con-
 
 58 Bishop Gobat's Charge to the Missionaries. 
 
 sists in daily, hourly connection of soul with the 
 Lord. This alone will fit you for your calling, and 
 make blessing from above to flow into your work. 
 Therefore, dear brethren, watch and pray at all 
 times. Let no day pass without your having had 
 some time in private prayer with the Lord, and in 
 reading and in studying His Holy Word. Daily 
 read and pray with one another. It will strengthen 
 and unite you more closely in love. But if you 
 become careless of yourselves, if you leave off 
 watching and prayer, you must fall and be spoiled, 
 so that even if you preached the truth the whole 
 day long to others, your work would be lost, and 
 all in vain. Therefore go in the name of the Lord, 
 and pray without ceasing for us also, and we, with 
 God's help, will pray for you, that the Lord will 
 send His angel before you to open a wide door for 
 blessing on your work. Oh ! that He may use 
 you as instruments to open the eyes of the blind 
 Abyssinians, to lead them from darkness unto light, 
 and from the power of Satan unto God : that they 
 may, with you and us, have a portion in the king- 
 dom and eternal life of our God. Amen. 
 
 " SAMUEL GOBAT, Angl. Hierosol. 
 "Jerusalem, 7th Dec., 1855."
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE LANGUAGE OF ABYSSINIA. 
 
 npjHE Ethiopia language, the ancient language of 
 Abyssinia, now counts among the dead lan- 
 guages of that country, with the exception of 
 the Tigreniya, which is a corrupted Ethiopic dialect 
 spoken at Tigre" in the eastern part of Abyssinia. 
 The Bible was translated into the Ethiopic language 
 from the Greek Septuagint in the 6th century ; but 
 as the Amharic language took the place of the 
 Ethiopic, the Word of God became a hidden trea- 
 sure to the common people, whilst the priests had to 
 study the Ethiopic just as we have to study Latin 
 or Greek. As the Gospel truth under such circum- 
 stances could not be the guide of the Abyssinians 
 it is no wonder that the Church became distorted 
 and corrupted. Abu Rumi, an Abyssinian monk, 
 translated the Ethiopic Bible into the Amharic lan- 
 guage in the year 1808, with the help of Asseline, 
 the French consul at Cairo. The manuscript was 
 bought, revised, and printed by the British and 
 Foreign Bible Society in the year 1840, and by 
 these means Abyssinia was supplied with the Word 
 of God in the language of the people. The letters 
 of the Ethiopic and Amharic languages are the 
 same, and the adjoining alphabet illustrates the 
 characters in which the Amharic Bible is printed. 
 There are thirty-three original letters, and six 
 vowels, oo, ay, ah, ee, o, o, which are joined to the
 
 
 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 w 
 
 
 O 
 
 
 o^o 
 
 o 
 
 43 
 
 O 
 
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 o o o 
 
 oo J- eo 
 
 43 2 
 
 ,* -> 3 
 
 00 
 
 4a 
 
 o o 
 
 43 fl 
 
 c 
 bo a 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 w* 
 
 
 
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 V- 
 
 
 
 61 
 
 3- u c 
 
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 fr 
 
 V- u 
 
 &. X 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 fc 
 
 :o ; to 
 
 :O 
 
 :o 
 
 
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 oo t* oo 
 
 1 S 4? 3 
 
 1 
 
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 43 a 
 
 bo :o 
 
 ^ 
 
 "53 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 fc 
 
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 r r 
 
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 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 GO 
 
 
 
 
 
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 8 J 8 
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 43 
 
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 O O QJ 
 
 T. t-> '-f. 
 
 <y <o o 
 43 <*> a> S 
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 5 
 
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 43 43 43 
 
 'S 'S 'S 
 
 43 >$ ic3 T 
 ao 44 42 -** 
 
 lw 
 
 43 '0 
 
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 rti ^^ t T 
 
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 t*t U 
 
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 ^ 
 
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 43 
 
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 8 8 
 
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 ooo 
 
 43 
 
 P4 w flO 
 
 
 o 
 
 J4 o 
 
 
 O 
 
 8 * 
 
 8 8 
 
 43 
 
 i 
 
 bo 
 
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 1 
 
 6 
 
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 6 6 
 
 5 s 
 
 \/ -i 
 
 & C 
 
 f- .r- 
 
 r- -i 
 
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 03 
 
 eB S 
 
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 Go 
 
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 2c3 - 
 CO QQ 
 
 <8 eB 
 
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 43 
 
 -2 -3 
 
 43 a 
 
 eB 
 
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 bo 
 
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 f- fr 
 
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 *o 
 
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 * J 
 
 hJ W 
 
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 "3 43 
 <O 43 03 
 
 PH CC CO 
 
 y 
 3 
 
 td PQ 
 
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 OS 'S 
 
 H EH 
 
 03 -5 
 
 W ^i 
 
 -3 
 
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 &c 
 
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 o o 
 
 3 $ 
 
 o 
 
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 :o : g : . : a 
 
 :o 
 
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 x: o 
 
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 <r> CJ <U 5J< 
 
 W > **- 2 
 
 43 ^ ~ .- 
 
 5 
 
 
 
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 ,2 S. -2 2 
 
 I I 
 
 03 
 
 
 
 F e 
 
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 O 
 
 bo 
 
 -g 
 
 o 
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 e9 
 
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 o g 
 
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 X 6 
 
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 03 03 
 
 -2 -2 2 
 
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 13 " -a 5 '3 
 
 3 
 
 H PH H H 
 
 h 
 
 H <S 
 
 ^5 PM
 
 62 The Amharic Language. 
 
 original characters and thus cause more or less 
 change in the original forms of the letters ; for 
 instance 
 
 U ha U- hoo ^ hay *| ah hee {J ho IT ho 
 
 Each original letter has seven forms as shown in 
 the accompanying alphabet ; and besides these are 
 four diphthongs, and each of these has four changes 
 by taking up the vowels, thus making altogether 
 251 forms of letters in the Ethiopic and Amharic 
 alphabet. The Amharic language belongs to the 
 Semitic tongues. It is, however, written from left 
 to right, and the same letters are used both for 
 printing and writing. It sounds euphonious and 
 looks pretty when well written. Each word is 
 separated from the other by two dots, thus - and at 
 the end of each sentence are four dots, thus ' as 
 
 "Ethiopia shall stretch out her hands unto God." Ps. Ixviii. 31. 
 
 Hiob Ludolf, a traveller in Abyssinia, produced 
 the first history of the country and people, and 
 compiled the first dictionary, called the Amharic 
 Lexicon Latinum. Besides these he brought out 
 an excellent Ethiopic Lexicon and Grammar. His 
 interesting works on Abyssinia were published at 
 Frankfort on the Maine, in the year 1698. These 
 publications have formed the basis of all the writings 
 of subsequent travellers and missionaries, respecting 
 the habits and the language of the Abyssinians.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE MISSION STATION AT GAFFAT. 
 
 AS Magdala was not suitable for a mission 
 station, I went to the camp of King Theo- 
 dore and explained to my father-in-law, 
 John Bell, that we required another place for our 
 mission work. He brought the matter before the 
 King, and obtained permission for us to go back 
 and bring all our brethren and luggage, and settle 
 at Gaffat, an eminence 8000 feet high, in the midst 
 of fertile plains and hills, one hour east of Debra 
 Tabor, the capital of the district of Begimder. 
 Our party consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Flad, Mr. 
 and Mrs. Mayer, Mr. Bender, Mr. Saalmtiller, Mr. 
 Kienzlen, Mrs. Waldmeier, and myself. We left 
 Magdala in June, 1860, and after seven days' jour- 
 ney, arrived at Gaffat. Here we built twelve small 
 houses or huts, each in five days, from small pieces 
 of wood, covered with straw outside, and well 
 plastered within. Each one of us had two huts, 
 one for dwelling and sleeping, the other for a 
 kitchen. The Gaifat hill was thus converted into 
 quite a colony of Europeans. This attracted the 
 Abyssinians, who soon came in large numbers to 
 visit us, and opportunity presented for real apostolic 
 mission work according to our instructions. Charles 
 Saalmiiller and I taught some of the Abyssinian 
 young men mechanical work, which brought us 
 into great favour with the King and people. Thou-
 
 64 A Woman Possessed with an Evil Spirit. 
 
 sands and thousands of times all the people said to 
 us, " You Europeans are a wonderful people, and 
 God has revealed to you everything except a medi- 
 cine against death, for you die just as we do." The 
 King often kissed my hands, saying, " Poor hands, 
 for these also must be laid in the grave." This 
 outward work was the best means of procuring a 
 solid basis for our mission amongst the ignorant 
 Christians, and also among the Falashas, even as 
 Paul said to the elders of Ephesus, " Ye yourselves 
 know that these hands have ministered unto my 
 necessities, and to them that were with me " (Acts 
 xx. 34. It is a great mistake for young missionaries 
 to think it beneath their dignity to work with their 
 own hands when commencing in a foreign mission 
 field. 
 
 The more we understood of the Amharic language, 
 the deeper we found was the ignorance and super- 
 stition of the people. 
 
 It often happens in Abyssinia that people seem 
 possessed by an evil spirit. This the Abyssinians 
 call Boudafi. I witnessed these wonderful and dark 
 occurrences many times, but will relate one only 
 and even in this case I must not describe the most 
 horrible and disgusting details. One evening when 
 I was in my house at Gaffat, a woman began to cry 
 fearfully, and run up and down the road on her 
 hands and feet like a wild beast, quite unconscious 
 of what she was doing. The people said to me, 
 " This is the Boudah ; and if it is not driven out of 
 her, she will die." A large number of people 
 gathered round her, and many means were tried, 
 but all in vain. She was always howling and roar- 
 ing in an unnatural and most powerful voice. At 
 length a man was called, a blacksmith by profession, 
 of whom it was said that he was in secret connec- 
 tion with the evil spirit. He called the woman,
 
 Casting out the Evil Spirit. 65 
 
 who obeyed him at once. He took her hand in his 
 and dropped the juice of the white onion or garlic 
 into her nose, and said to her or rather to the evil 
 spirit which possessed her " Why didst thou pos- 
 sess this poor woman ? " 
 
 " Because I was allowed to do so." 
 
 " What is thy name ? " 
 
 " My name is Gebroo." 
 
 " Where is thy country ? " 
 
 " My country is Godjam." 
 
 " How many people didst thou take possession 
 of?" 
 
 " I took possession of forty people, men and wo- 
 men." 
 
 " Now I command thee to leave this woman." 
 
 " I will leave her on one condition." 
 
 " What is that condition ? " 
 
 " I want to eat the flesh of a donkey." 
 
 " Very well," said the man, " thou mayst have 
 that." 
 
 So a donkey was brought which had a wounded 
 back from carrying heavy loads, and its back was 
 quite sore and full of matter. The woman then ran 
 upon the donkey and bit the flesh out of the poor 
 creature's back ; and though the donkey kicked and 
 ran off, she did not fall down, but clung to it just 
 as if she was nailed on the animal's back. The 
 man called the woman back to him, and said to the 
 evil spirit, " Now art thou satisfied ? " 
 
 " Not yet," was the reply, and a disgusting mix- 
 ture was asked for, which was prepared for the 
 woman and put down in a secret place which she 
 could not see ; but when the man said to her, " Go 
 and look for your drink," she ran on all fours like 
 an animal to that very place and drank the whole 
 potful to the very last drop. Then she came back 
 to the man, who said again, " Now take up this
 
 66 Mission Boarding School at Gaffat. 
 
 stone." It was a very large stone which she would 
 not have been able to move in her natural condition, 
 but she took it up with ease upon her head, and 
 turned round like a wheel until the stone flew off 
 on one side and she on the other on the ground. 
 The man then said, " Take her now away to bed, for 
 the Boudah has left her." The poor woman slept 
 for about ten hours, and awoke and went to her 
 work, and did not know anything of that which had 
 passed over her, nor what she did and said. 
 
 Much can be said about these Psychological 
 phenomena. I only state the facts, which I often 
 have witnessed, and leave the rest to the reader. 
 Whether scientific and medical men are able to 
 explain it or not, I cannot say ; but in a country 
 of darkness the power of darkness is fearful, and 
 beyond human explanation. 
 
 I began my Mission work at Gaffat by opening a 
 boarding school for poor children, who were in- 
 structed in reading and writing, while the older ones 
 learned some useful handicrafts. Every Sunday 
 we had divine service in our own language for our- 
 selves, and another service in the Amharic language 
 for the Abyssinians. On feast days we went to the 
 Abyssinian churches, where hundreds, and some- 
 times thousands of people were gathered together, 
 in and around the groves which surround the 
 churches, dancing, playing, and occupied in other 
 unprofitable amusements ; to these we could preach 
 and read the Gospel publicly, under the shade of 
 the rich foliage of the sacred groves. The Abys- 
 sinian churches are not built for large gatherings of 
 people, because the square building in the centre is 
 the consecrated place for the priests only, in which 
 is kept the ark of the covenant f Tabot). This 
 Tabot (Arabic and Heb. Tabot) is most reverently 
 honoured in the Abyssinian churches, though it is
 
 Description of Abyssinian Churches. 67 
 
 nothing but a block of solid wood, eighteen inches 
 square, and two inches thick, with a cross carved 
 in the middle, and surrounded by ornamental en- 
 gravings. This block of wood is considered by all 
 the Abyssinians as a symbol of the Israelites' ark 
 of the covenant, which they think the Queen of 
 Sheba brought to Ethiopia after her visit to King 
 Solomon, and are very angry if anyone supposes it 
 is not still to be found in the old temple at Axum. 
 Without this Tabot no church in Abyssinia can be 
 regarded as a holy place by the natives, who are 
 under the idea that God will not hear any prayer 
 nor help anyone in a church where there is no 
 Tabot. 
 
 The holy place is rather small, being usually not 
 more than fourteen feet scuiare, and the outer 
 court also being inconvenient, the people prefer 
 being in the groves of the church, and only go 
 inside in rainy weather. The church itself is not 
 at all well adapted for preaching the Gospel to the 
 people. At first the Christian churches were built 
 according to the plan of the temple at Jerusalem, 
 the three divisions being arranged on the old Jew- 
 ish plan.* 
 
 On great feast days every Abyssinian is expected 
 to come to church, that is to say, he must come 
 and kiss the church door, after which he joins the 
 dancing, playing, and singing parties, in the so- 
 called holy groves. As soon as I could use the 
 boys of my school as Scripture readers and cate- 
 chists, we often took them on such occasions, and 
 placed them with their Bibles among the people, 
 while some of the missionaries explained what had 
 been read to the multitude. Priests and monks 
 often interrupted, saying, " You do wrong by ex- 
 
 * See Neander's Church History, vol. 2, p. 408.
 
 68 Death of Mr. Bell ; Arrival of Dr. Stem. 
 
 posing the holy Christian religion and the Word of 
 God to the public. Religious books and the ladies 
 of our country must be kept secret behind the 
 curtains, for as soon as they get revealed to the 
 public they will grow profane. You degrade our 
 most holy religion by reading and preaching the 
 Gospel in the common language of the people." 
 The Druses on Mount Lebanon likewise say that a 
 good religion, as well as women, must be kept 
 strictly secret. 
 
 For a number of years all went on very satisfac- 
 torily, and our prospects were hopeful for the future 
 of our Mission. In John Bell, the Prime Minister, 
 we had a most influential and faithful friend, who 
 always defended the cause of the Mission at the 
 court of the king against the Abyssinian priests 
 and other enemies ; but he lost his life in a battle 
 against the rebel Garet at Waldiba in November, 
 1860. This loss was great beyond expression to 
 the king, the Mission, and all the Europeans. In 
 the same year, Dr. Stern, a proselyte of the Lon- 
 don Society for Promoting Christianity among the 
 Jews, came to Abyssinia for the purpose of or- 
 ganizing a Mission to the Falashas. He came a 
 few months before the death of John Bell, and so 
 had the advantage of his friendly influence with 
 King Theodore, and was helped by him in many 
 ways. One of our brethren, Martin Flad, accom- 
 panied him on his journey among the Falashas, and 
 was subsequently engaged by him as a missionary 
 among those at Tchenta. We were all sorry to lose 
 Mrs. Flad from amongst us, for she was like a 
 mother to our mission station ; to the missionaries 
 as well as the Abyssinians, among whom her medical 
 knowledge opened the door to the hearts of many 
 thousands. 
 
 Dr. Stern, after organizing his Mission among
 
 Progress of the Mission at Oaf at. 69 
 
 the Jews, left the country in peace, in the same 
 month that John Bell was killed in the battle of 
 Waldiba. The great drawback in connection with 
 the Falasha Mission was that its converts were 
 obliged to be baptized by priest of the corrupt 
 Abyssinian church, who are decided enemies to 
 spiritual life. When Dr. Stern arrived in England 
 he wrote a book called " Wanderings among the 
 Falashas in Abyssinia," in which he mentioned 
 many things against the King and the people, 
 which afterwards turned out badly for him in his 
 second visit to Abyssinia in the year 1863. 
 
 The Mission station at Gaffat became a powerful 
 agency for the propagation of Gospel truth, as well 
 as for the progress of civilization by the circulation 
 of the Holy Scriptures in the Amharic language, by 
 the free preaching of sound Christian doctrine, and 
 by teaching the young. The Word of God, which 
 was distributed among the people, often manifested 
 its blessed power ; and I could relate many interest- 
 ing anecdotes in connection with it. For instance, 
 a soldier came to me begging for an Amharic Bible. 
 After a long conversation with him I found that he 
 was a true inquirer, and gave him a Bible, for which 
 he was very thankful. He went away on his road 
 to Magdala, carrying on the one shoulder the Word 
 of Life (Amharic Bibles are always very heavy on 
 account of the largeness of the type) and on the 
 other his deadly weapons. After his arrival at 
 Magdala he began to read and study his Bible well 
 without the help of any teacher or missionary ; and 
 through the influence of the Holy Spirit it became 
 the means of his unmistakable conversion. He 
 was not satisfied with having found the truth for 
 himself, he soon began to teach and preach the 
 Gospel to his fellow soldiers and other people. He 
 also had regular meetings for worship, and wher-
 
 70 Tke Effect of the Bible in a Convent. 
 
 ever he went he took his Bible with him. Dr. 
 Stern was at that time a prisoner at Magdala, and 
 hearing of him, he wrote to one of his fellow mis- 
 sionaries, that the soldier to whom Theophilus 
 Waldmeier gave a Bible at Gaffat, had become truly 
 converted and was preaching the Gospel publicly at 
 every opportunity, and if allowed to go on in 
 this way would become a great power for God to 
 his people. 
 
 Mr. Flad once gave some Bibles to a monk, 
 who carried them into his convent at Godjam, the 
 western province of Abyssinia, where some of the 
 monks read the Bibles through with attention. 
 One day one of the monks said to his fellow her- 
 mits, " Dear brethren, we have all been, or are still 
 in error. We do not find in the Bible that God 
 has ordered men to go and sit in solitude in con- 
 vents and spend their life in idleness, but we read 
 that Jesus Christ ordered His followers to go into 
 all the world and preach the Gospel to every crea- 
 ture. So we must not remain in this convent, but 
 go out into our neighbourhood and preach the 
 Gospel of Jesus according to His order." And so 
 some of them went forth to read and preach the 
 Gospel to their poor ignorant fellow-countrymen." 
 
 As the King was a friend to both civilization 
 and our Mission, he loved and supported us, and 
 gave us many hundreds of Abyssinian workmen- 
 Christians, heathen, Jews, and Mohammedans 
 whom we instructed in arts, and in true religious 
 principles. Once the King wrote me a letter say- 
 ing he had liberated some hundreds of slaves from 
 a slave dealer whom he caught in the neighbour- 
 hood of Gondar. He sent me some of them, and 
 said, " Teach these young boys arts and religion, 
 and I shall send thee more of such unfortunate 
 creatures to make them happy, and I will pay all
 
 Instruction in Arts, Trade, Manufactures, etc. 73 
 
 their expenses." These poor slaves were brought 
 from the interior of the Galla country. They had 
 first to learn the Amharic language ; but one of 
 them, I remember in particular, was very diligent, 
 and when he learned the Gospel and became con- 
 verted to Christ, I employed him often as Bible 
 reader. He afterwards left Abyssinia to preach 
 the Gospel among his heathen brethren in the 
 Galla country. 
 
 As King Theodore wanted to civilize his country 
 he began to make good roads, asking us to superin- 
 tend the work. By this means we were brought 
 in connection with thousands of people, to whom 
 we spoke of salvation through Christ Jesus. 
 European workmen from France and Germany, 
 who were not missionaries, came to Gaffat, and the 
 first carriage for transport was constructed there. 
 One of these workmen was a gunmaker, and 
 another an ironfounder. Many houses were built, 
 and a foundry constructed, where guns were cast 
 and bored. A powerful water wheel for moving 
 different kinds of machinery was built at Gaffat, 
 and all the clever men of Abyssinia were brought 
 thither by order of the King. Thousands and tens 
 of thousands of Abyssinians and Gallas thus came 
 in contact with us. Religion, civilization, arts, and 
 trade, were the subjects of private and public con- 
 versation. I often sat for hours with the King, 
 engaged in religious conversation, and speaking 
 about the welfare of his country and its people. 
 He was peacefully disposed towards all the Euro- 
 peans, especially towards us as lay missionaries and 
 instructors of arts. 
 
 One day when I was travelling with King 
 Theodore over the country, we met a poor woman 
 who had scarcely any clothing upon her half- 
 starved body. The King got down from his mule
 
 74 A Tame Lion. 
 
 and gave her his own shamma, and then, as he 
 wanted also to give her some money and had none 
 with him, he asked me whether I could lend him a 
 few dollars. I answered, " Yes, your Majesty, I 
 have about five dollars here, and you can have 
 them." He took them and gave them to the poor 
 woman, who went away rejoicing, for they would 
 buy her as many sheep. In the evening the King 
 gave me one hundred dollars. I said to him, 
 " I gave your Majesty only tivo dollars ; why have 
 you given me ninety-five dollars too much ? " He. 
 replied, " I return and give like a king." I thanked 
 him, and went home rejoicing. So does the 
 heavenly King do unto us for all that we give unto 
 Him. 
 
 In Abyssinia nobody is allowed to keep a lion, 
 except the King and those who have permission 
 from him. One day King Theodore sent a young 
 lion to me by a soldier who had the little fellow in 
 his arms, because he was quite small like a cat, and 
 I accepted the gift with thankfulness. At first I 
 gave him milk for he could not yet eat flesh, but 
 when he grew larger he was no more to be satisfied 
 with milk only, so I had to give him rough meat, 
 and he ate nearly one sheep every day, but the 
 King supplied me with the needful food for him. 
 After three years he grew into a beautiful, fine 
 animal and was really a kingly lion. He liked to 
 play just like cats do and was very amusing indeed. 
 We often played with him, and let him loose from 
 his chain, and gave him liberty to run about. My 
 daughter, who was about three years old, rode 
 now and then on the lion's back, but I was obliged 
 to be at her side to hold her with my right hand, 
 while I led him with my left. He was very tame 
 indeed, but when he got his meals, he did not like 
 that anyone should look at him. His voice was so
 
 Liberty for Preaching the Gospel. 77 
 
 powerful that he made the air tremble, as well as 
 the cows, sheep, and goats, who were near him. He 
 grew larger and larger until he looked just like the 
 adjoining picture. I called him Hagos, and he fol- 
 lowed me like a lamb. When I was taken prisoner 
 by King Theodore, the lion was also taken and 
 killed, and his skin was carefully prepared, and 
 presented to one of his brave Generals, who wore 
 its skin on his shoulder to show his fearlessness, 
 and power, and victory. 
 
 The King gave us more liberty to preach the 
 Gospel than any Protestant missionary or priest 
 had ever had in Abyssinia before. The word of 
 God was distributed in the common Amharic 
 language, religious books and tracts were trans- 
 lated, and children were taught in our schools. 
 The Gospel was also made known by private con- 
 versation among rich and poor, at the King's court, 
 as well as in the poorest hut. On the basis of our 
 friendship with the King, the other mission stations, 
 under the direction of Mr. Flad, among the Falashas 
 at Tchenta, and of Messrs. Staiger and Brandeis, 
 of the Scotch mission at Darna, were likewise work- 
 ing satisfactorily, and all were very thankful for the 
 blessings which attended our mission work. 
 
 We were also at peace with the Abuna Salama, 
 who made me trustee of his household property for 
 a considerable time ; indeed, mine was the only 
 house in the country, besides his own, that he 
 entered, as custom prevents him from going into 
 any place where there is a woman. So much is 
 this the case that the women cover and hide even 
 in the temple when he conies near.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE BEGINNING OF TROUBLES. 
 
 I will narrate the facts which gave rise to 
 all the difficulties, captivity, trials, bloodshed, 
 and horrors, which ended with the costly 
 English expedition, and the suicide of King Theo- 
 dore, which have never been thoroughly described, 
 though so many books, journals, and pamphlets have 
 been published about them. I think I may say that 
 I am able to describe these things better than any of 
 the Europeans who have been in Abyssinia, not 
 that I am more diligent than others, but on account 
 of my having been in the immediate presence of 
 the King, where I could see how things went on. 
 I made use of my position and privileges as much 
 as I could, and often at the risk of my own welfare, 
 and I acknowledge with humble thankfulness to 
 God that I was many times able to prevent the 
 excited King from executing the European prisoners, 
 especially in the last time at Magdala, when every- 
 one's life was hanging on the minutest thread. 
 But Mr. John Bell's place I could not occupy for 
 I was not a soldier, nor could I follow the King 
 continually like he did, nor could I as a missionary 
 mix myself with politics, but wherever I could give 
 good counsel to the King I did not neglect my duty 
 as a messenger of peace. 
 
 King Theodore, in the commencement of his 
 career, was accompanied by two good guardian
 
 Arrival of Captain Cameron. 79 
 
 angels. The first was his wife, the Queen Toua- 
 betch ; the second was the prime minister, John 
 Bell. The Queen, according to Abyssinian custom, 
 took great care of the King in regard to food. He 
 was not allowed to accept anything to eat or drink 
 from any other hand but hers, and she was wise 
 enough to keep the King continually sober, saying, 
 " A King must not drink intoxicating liquors." 
 Besides this, she read the Bible with him, thus 
 seeking to keep him in the fear of God. John Bell 
 was his wise and good counsellor, who enjoyed his 
 full confidence, while at the same time exerting a 
 beneficial influence upon the King. He was thus 
 able to guide the King by peaceful suggestions for 
 the internal welfare of his country, as well as with 
 regard to foreign powers ; but alas 1 the Queen died, 
 and John Bell was killed in battle. The King was 
 left alone, and no one was found to take John Bell's 
 place. 
 
 Then the King married the daughter of King 
 Ubie of Tigre, whom he conquered, but the new 
 Queen did not give the same constant attention to 
 the King as the former Queen had done. In con- 
 sequence of this the King grew displeased, and 
 gave way to intoxicating drinks, and then began 
 to care for other women also, although not nearly 
 to such an extent as has been reported. I cannot 
 say that I ever saw him drunk, but even the 
 moderate use of drink seemed to inflame his 
 naturally excitable disposition, and caused him to 
 be guilty of injustice and iniquity. 
 
 It was in the year 1862, that the English Con- 
 sul, Captain Cameron, came to Abyssinia, accom- 
 panied by his secretary, a Frenchman named 
 Bard el. These two gentlemen spent the rainy 
 season in Gondar, the capital, during the absence 
 of the King, who was at war with the Wollo
 
 80 Captain Cameron disappoints the King. 
 
 Gallas. When the King returned from his expe- 
 dition he received the two diplomatists with great 
 honour, saying that he wished to enter into more 
 intimate friendship with England and France, and 
 he proposed to both to send them back to their 
 respective Governments with nice letters, asking 
 the Queen of England and the Emperor Napoleon 
 III. of France, for friendly interest in Abyssinia. 
 It is entirely untrue, however, that the King asked 
 for the hand of Queen Victoria in that letter. The 
 King supplied these two gentlemen with money for 
 the journey, and told them emphatically, " Please 
 carry these letters personally to your Governments, 
 and bring me back the answers." 
 
 Captain Cameron and M. Bardel left Abyssinia, 
 and for some time all went well. Arrived at Mas- 
 sowah, M. Bardel went by steamer ma Egypt to 
 France, whilst Captain Cameron sent his letter by 
 post to the Foreign Office in London, and went to 
 the Boggos, Mensa, and Keran country, in the 
 Soudan, which was in rebellion against King Theo- 
 dore on account of the slave trade, which is carried 
 on to a great extent in these wild regions. He 
 thought of remaining there until a letter reached 
 him in answer to King Theodore's, which he hoped 
 it would do before the rainy season, when no 
 European is able to remain in these low-lying 
 tropical regions without exposing himself to deadly 
 malaria. The expected answer to King Theodore 
 did not come, and on account of the bad climate 
 he was obliged to go up to the high land of Abys- 
 sinia without it. There he met with the King, 
 who was sadly disappointed at Captain Cameron's 
 unfruitful journey. I was just then with King 
 Theodore, and had often to translate for them. 
 This disappointment was the first cause of mischief 
 which made King Theodore become suspicious
 
 The King and the French Ambassadors. 81 
 
 of Europeans, and this feeling was soon strength- 
 ened by other things, as the sequel will show. 
 Captain Cameron, being perfectly sure in his own 
 mind of a favourable reply from his Government, 
 said to the King, " Your Majesty, I will give my 
 head if after two months the answer to your letter 
 is not here." Time passed on, however, and there 
 was still no answer. This brought the King into 
 such a rage that he could scarcely see any European 
 without distrust and excitement. This was the 
 FIRST cause of mischief. 
 
 Meanwhile it came to pass that M. Guillaume 
 Lejean, a French Consul, came to Abyssinia, and 
 lodged in my own house. He was respectfully 
 received by the King ; but the Frenchman's be- 
 haviour was vacillating and undignified. The King 
 asked M. Lejean if he would like to stay in his 
 country, or whether he was going away. He 
 answered, " I should like to stay, if your Majesty 
 permits me to do so." King Theodore replied, 
 " Oh yes, you may stay until my friend M. Bardel, 
 your fellow countryman, returns, whom I sent to 
 your Government with friendly negotiations." This 
 M. Lejean gladly accepted, but after a few weeks he 
 changed his mind, and asked leave to return. The 
 King, surprised at this, said, " Please wait until 
 M. Bardel comes back ;" to which M. Lejean re- 
 plied, " Your Majesty, M. Bardel is a miserable 
 liar and deceiver, and will never come back." The 
 King said, " I want to keep you here until we 
 know who is the liar." M. Bardel came back, and 
 M. Lejean proved to be the liar : so the King said, 
 "I have liars enough in my country, let M. Lejean 
 depart from here." When M. Lejean arrived at 
 the Abyssinian boundary, and was safe out of King 
 Theodore's hands, he sent an insulting letter to 
 him. That was the SECOND cause of mischief in
 
 82 Dr. Stei'n gives offence to the King. 
 
 setting the King against the Europeans, and it took 
 the more effect from the answer of Napoleon III., 
 through his Minister of Foreign Affairs, Drouyn 
 de Lehuys, not being satisfactory. 
 
 Not long before this Dr. Stern, in company with 
 Mr. and Mrs. Rosenthal, came to Abyssinia to visit 
 the Jewish Mission station at Tchenta in Dembea, 
 and to settle Mr. and Mrs. Rosenthal as helpers 
 with Mr. Flad in proselytizing the Abyssinian 
 Falashas, of whom a considerable number were 
 already baptized. When Dr. Stern had completed 
 his visit and was about to leave the country, he ob- 
 tained the requisite permission from the King, but 
 afterwards remaining longer, he fell into his hands, 
 just as he was returning from an unsuccessful ex- 
 pedition. Dr. Stern not being acquainted with the 
 etiquette of the Abyssinian Court, made some other 
 mistake also, which so excited the King that he 
 caused him and his servants to be beaten, and kept 
 under guard during the night. Before morning Dr. 
 Stern called the Frenchman M. Bardel, and said to 
 him, " I have a book with me entitled, ' Wanderings 
 among the Falashas of Abyssinia.' It is in that 
 box. Please bring it to me. I am afraid to keep 
 it because there are some things written in it which 
 will not please the King." M. Bardel took out the 
 book, but instead of giving it to Dr. Stern, trans- 
 lated all the passages written against the King, 
 with some letters which he also found of the same 
 nature, and made them all known to the King. 
 This, as might be supposed, put King Theodore in 
 a terrible fury, and became the THIRD cause of mis- 
 chief which helped to bring iron chains and captivity 
 to the Europeans. The following are specimens of 
 the objectionable passages ; " King Theodore is not 
 a descendant of the Royal Dynasty, but only 
 the son of a poor woman who sold a kind of
 
 Stern, and Rosenthal Sentenced to Death. 85 
 
 medicine. He is a cruel, blood-thirsty man, like a 
 wild animal." Many other equally bad things were 
 written. Moreover the King was further exasper- 
 ated by no answer having arrived from England, so 
 that he appointed a day of judgment for all these 
 cases, exclaiming with a loud voice to the guilty 
 transgressors, before thousands of people; "You 
 Europeans came into this country, and I loved, 
 honoured, and respected you, because I thought 
 that all Europeans were like my beloved John Bell, 
 who always spoke the truth ; but you are liars. I 
 did you good, but you returned me evil ; you spoke 
 and wrote against me in your reports, and gave me 
 a bad name before the world. God shall be judge 
 between you and me." The King's throne was 
 erected in a large plain near Gondar, and sur- 
 rounded by thousands of people. The Abyssinian 
 Codex, or law book was consulted. Dr. Stern and 
 Mr. Rosenthal were sentenced to be executed and the 
 gallows erected before their eyes. As I was in 
 favour with the King, I went with a trembling 
 heart and implored him, with tears, not to execute 
 this judgment. As I knelt before him, he looked 
 fixedly at me, and took my hand in his, saying, 
 " Don't be afraid, my friend, my child. For your 
 sake, and Mr. Bell's, I will not kill them, I will not 
 only grant you Stern's life but even if you asked a 
 finger off my hand, I would give it you, because 
 you are true, and I love you." Their lives were 
 spared, but Captain Cameron, Dr. Stern, Mr. 
 Rosenthal, with their European servants, and the 
 missionaries, Mr. Martin Flad, Mr. Staiger, and Mr. 
 Brandeis, were all put in chains. 
 
 In the year 1864, Captain Cameron, Dr. Stern, 
 and Mr. and Mrs. Rosenthal, with their European 
 servants, were sent prisoners to Magdala ; whilst 
 Mr. and Mrs. Flad, Mr. Staiger, and Mr. Brandeis,
 
 86 Appointed Agent to the English Envoy. 
 
 were allowed to dwell in the country near Gaffat as 
 semi-prisoners. The condition of every European 
 became very dangerous under these circumstances, 
 for the King had lost all confidence in Europeans, 
 even in me, whom he called his best friend. As I 
 was appointed agent for the English envoy, Mr. 
 Rassam, who arrived about this time, I was put 
 into a most critical position, because it was very 
 difficult to deal with the King, and I often got 
 myself into great danger for daring to speak in 
 favour of the prisoners. My attempts to ameliorate 
 their condition, and suggest measures of peace 
 between the King and his prisoners, to provide 
 them with money, and assist their messengers be- 
 tween the coast and Magdala, were acknowledged 
 with gratitude by Mr. Rassarn, in his " Mission to 
 Abyssinia," vol. ii., pages 292 and 340.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 RASSAM'S EXPEDITION TO ABYSSINIA. 
 
 English Government were alarmed at hear- 
 ing of the captivity of the English Consul 
 Captain Cameron, of Dr. Stern, and Mr. and 
 Mrs. Rosenthal, and sent Mr. Hormutz Rassam, 
 Dr. Blanc, and Lieutenant Prideaux, to King Theo- 
 dore to negotiate the deliverance of the prisoners 
 on friendly terms. They arrived in Abyssinia at 
 the beginning of 1866, and were ordered to reside 
 at Quarata, near the beautiful lake of Tzana, 
 6,000 feet above the sea. 
 
 King Theodore received the British mission with 
 great honour, and treated them royally indeed. 
 Mr. Rassam presented the official letter from Her 
 Majesty Queen Victoria to King Theodore, in which 
 she asked him to deliver the captives to Mr. Ras- 
 sam, in whom he might place full confidence, and 
 through whom he might convey all his wishes. But 
 the Amharic translation was inaccurate : it said, 
 " We give you Mr. Rassam as a good confidential 
 gentleman, and all and everything which your 
 Majesty desires he will do for you." Thus the 
 King was wrongly informed, which gave rise to 
 future difficulties, which was the FOURTH cause 
 of mischief.* The King often said, "The great 
 Queen of England has sent me a confidential, 
 
 * See also Dr. H. Blanc's "Narrative of Captivity in Abyssinia," pages 
 129, 130.
 
 88 The King misunderstands Mr. Rctssam. 
 
 good man, through whom the old friendship be- 
 tween England and Ethiopia shall be renewed and 
 cemented. He is more valuable to me than all the 
 European prisoners. Let them go where they like 
 if my dear friend Mr. Rassam remains with me." 
 King Theodore then gave Mr. Rassam 10,000 dol- 
 lars, and sent to fetch the prisoners from Magdala, 
 handing them over to him at Quarata, where 
 another trial took place. They acknowledged their 
 guilt, and asked pardon. The King said, " I have 
 given the prisoners over to Mr. Rassam, and they 
 belong to him, he may send them wherever he 
 likes." 
 
 The fatal misunderstanding between the King 
 and Mr. Rassam consisted in the inaccurate trans- 
 lation of the Queen's letter, which led the King to 
 suppose that he was to remain with him in Abys- 
 sinia, whilst he sent off the prisoners to Europe. 
 I pointed out this error to Mr. Rassam, but he 
 thought it would be of no consequence. I was 
 obliged to stay with my fellow missionaries, and 
 came to Quarata too late to interfere in the 
 matter.* If Mr. Rassam would have remained 
 with the King, he could easily have sent the prison- 
 ers to Europe in charge of Dr. Blanc and Lieu- 
 tenant Prideaux, whilst he stayed on some time 
 longer in Abyssinia ; and thus he could have spared 
 the further captivity of all the Europeans, and 
 much bloodshed, loss of life, and other indescrib- 
 able horrors and miseries connected with the 
 English expedition, which cost besides 10,000,000 
 sterling. King Theodore was very friendly with 
 Mr. Rassam, and really loved him. Mr. Rassam, 
 too, knew how to deal with the King better than 
 any other foreigner ; but when he insisted on ac- 
 
 * See my book, " Ten Years in Abyssinia," in German, pages 52 and 53, in 
 which this story is clearly related.
 
 Prisoners Released and Re-captured. 89 
 
 companying the released prisoners back to Europe, 
 he greatly disappointed him, though the King, 
 wishing to find out certainly whether Mr. Rassam 
 wished to stay with him or not, let him do as he 
 thought best. 
 
 The prisoners were sent away along the east side 
 of Lake Tzana, whilst Mr. Rassam himself, with 
 Dr. Blanc and Lieutenant Prideaux, crossed the 
 lake in canoes on the 13th of April, 1866, to take 
 leave of the King, who was residing at the time at 
 Sagie. I accompanied them, and as soon as we 
 arrived at the Court I saw at once that matters 
 were completely changed. Mr. Rassam and his 
 party were taken prisoners, and an order sent to 
 bring back the released captives, who were on their 
 way to the frontier. They were all brought to 
 Sagie, and from this date, Mr. Rassam, Dr. Blanc, 
 and Lieutenant Prideaux, were joined to the rest 
 of the prisoners, and a new period of troubles, per- 
 plexities, and captivity began. Mr. Rassam, how- 
 ever, was kindly treated by the King during his 
 imprisonment. Many things happened at Sagie, 
 and among them the repeated trial of the first 
 prisoners, and Mr. Flad's departure for England to 
 obtain instruments and workmen for the King. 
 Executions of natives, and other atrocities also 
 took place daily, increasing the misery of the long 
 season of captivity and perplexity, but they cannot 
 be described in detail. 
 
 After a while cholera broke out in the camp at 
 Sagie, and the King was obliged to leave the low 
 country for Debra Tabor and Gaffat, 9,000 feet 
 above the sea. It was a very difficult journey, 
 because the first rains had set in, and I had my 
 wife and little daughter Rosa with me. We had 
 to travel in the midst of a crowd of 100,000 
 soldiers, women and children. Some sick, dying,
 
 90 Our Lives in Danger every Hour. 
 
 and even dead, were carried in the crowd, and many 
 others lay dead on the ground, the multitude pass- 
 ing over them, so that the smell became fearful, and 
 the lamentation for the dead was heart-rending. 
 Some of my servants fell ill and died on the road. 
 After a few days' journey we arrived at Debra 
 Tabor, and from thence we went to our mission 
 colony, whilst Mr. Rassam was left there with his 
 fellow prisoners. When we reached our house my 
 wife was seized with a violent attack of cholera, 
 followed by typhus fever, which was so dangerous 
 that she was brought to the very brink of the grave. 
 In despair I ran to the King, asking that Dr. 
 Blanc, who was a prisoner at Debra Tabor, might 
 be allowed to come to my house and prescribe for 
 her in her alarming and unconscious condition, 
 which request was granted. The cholera prostrated 
 all our servants, and some of them died. Indeed, 
 the angel of death was daily claiming its victims at 
 Gaffat. The anger of the King caused many 
 executions, and much bloodshed, so that every hour 
 our lives were in danger, either of being attacked 
 by the cholera, or the cruelty of an excited 
 monarch. All seemed to go wrong, and every 
 house was filled with forebodings of greater suffer- 
 ing yet to come. Dr. Blanc told me candidly to be 
 prepared for the worst with regard to my dear 
 wife, and that little Rosa was not to go to her any 
 more, though she repeatedly asked for the child. 
 My heart was breaking, and it seemed to me that 
 every tree and shrub were mourning for the 
 immense loss of life. During that time of great 
 misery, Mr. Rassam and his fellow captives were 
 brought to Gaffat, and subsequently sent to prison 
 at the natural fortification of Magdala. My wife 
 began to recover, and was soon able to get up 
 again. By degrees the cholera passed away, but
 
 An Abyssinian Martyr. 91 
 
 the anger and hatred of the King towards all 
 the Europeans, and also towards the natives, in- 
 creased every day, and the continuance of our lives 
 and mission work was no more to be depended 
 on, for we were in danger and uncertainty every 
 hour. 
 
 On the 13th of April, 1866, King Theodore sent 
 a large number of soldiers to my house at GafFat, 
 and ordered me to gather my fellow missionaries at 
 three o'clock in the afternoon. This was the King's 
 message : " I have heard that you are in correspond- 
 ence with England (of course by M. Bardel's instiga- 
 tion), therefore you are prisoners." In an instant 
 our houses were surrounded by soldiers, and every 
 one of us taken in charge. I remember still, as if 
 it had happened but yesterday, being carried away 
 from my home, with my dear wife and our little 
 daughter Rosa, who was only three years old, 
 following me in despair. A rough soldier pushed 
 my poor wife backward with such force that she 
 fell heavily against a rock, bruising her head in the 
 fall. Her wild lamentation, " Let me die with my 
 husband," and Rosa's childish voice, crying out, 
 " Papa, papa, come," penetrated my heart like a 
 sharp arrow ; but I was powerless . to help or com- 
 fort them, being carried away with my brethren by 
 the wild soldiers to Debra Tabor, where we were 
 kept under strict guard. The next morning we 
 were obliged to go down again the one hour's 
 journey to Gaffat, but were not allowed to enter 
 the colony. We were then asked to give up all 
 our property, dress, furniture, money, and books. 
 Debtera Sahaloo, teacher of my boys' school, was 
 brought before the King, and his hands and feet 
 were cut off. He was faithful unto death, and 
 preached the Gospel even during the indescribable 
 agony of the next two days. We gave up every-
 
 ^^^" 
 
 92 The End of tfte Mission Station at Gaffat 
 
 thing pertaining to the Mission colony and to our- 
 selves, my wife concluding the whole by taking the 
 golden saddle, which the King once presented to 
 me, and throwing it out from the upper window, 
 so that, without her meaning to hurt them, it fell 
 rather heavily upon the soldiers' heads. Sic tran- 
 sit gloria mundi. 
 
 It was late in the evening when we were trans- 
 ported with our families to Debra Tabor. This was 
 the end of the Abyssinian Mission colony at GafFat, 
 where we had worked and suffered for six long 
 years, and where I had lost four dear sons ; but, 
 by the Lord's goodness, spiritual children were 
 born unto me in return. It was very touching to 
 see how our school children followed us into prison 
 with the Gospel in their hands, and how they 
 served us, bringing water and milk, whilst our own 
 servants ran away in fear. We had nothing where- 
 with to support these children, so some went back 
 to their relations, but a few remained with us, of 
 whom three died on the road to Magdala. 
 
 At Debra Tabor we were as beggars, but we 
 comforted ourselves with thinking that in death 
 nothing is needed but faith in Jesus Christ, and to 
 Him alone we lifted our hearts, and committed our 
 souls. At first we lived in tents, but were after- 
 wards ordered to enter small huts, in which we 
 could scarcely stand upright, and a thorn fence, ten 
 feet high, was placed round about us. Thus were 
 we kept in misery, having scarcely enough to eat, 
 and were continually in danger of our lives ; but 
 
 " Let not sorrow dim your eye, 
 Soon shall every tear be dry ; 
 Let not fears your course impede, 
 Great your strength, if great your need." 
 
 One day the King said to me, " You European 
 people are very clever, but you conceal your
 
 Casting a Gun to carry a 1,000-pound Ball. 93 
 
 capacity. Now I want you to make me a gun 
 which will discharge a ball of 1,000 pound weight. 
 If you say that you do not know how, I shall re- 
 gard you all as liars, and you know what I have 
 done with those that deceived me." I felt sadly 
 perplexed, thinking, if I say we cannot do such a 
 thing, the King may kill us all at once, and also 
 those at Magdala ; and if on the other hand I say 
 we can do it, and then fail, it may bring the same 
 danger upon us. So after some reflection I replied, 
 " We will try our best to do it ;" and the King was 
 satisfied. It was very discouraging to have the 
 story reported to us, that the King had told some 
 of his courtiers that he intended to use the Euro- 
 peans as slaves, and after they had succeeded in 
 casting the great gun, meant to kill them on the 
 plain of Debra Tabor. I made a drawing of the 
 gun according to the plan he wished, and showed 
 it to the King, after which I made the model. 
 Great preparations were made for casting the gun. 
 Thousands of people were engaged, and two large 
 furnaces were built. At this time the King, being 
 excited by the fear of a European expedition for 
 the release of his prisoners, vented his anger on 
 his own people also, and when they tried to run 
 away, was after them like a lion upon his prey. I 
 often wished I was chained with the other prisoners 
 at Magdala, out of sight of the formerly good- 
 hearted, but now so cruel, monarch. Once he 
 made a short journey to Dembea for some days, 
 and during that time we could breathe more freely ; 
 but he soon returned with 80,000 cows, and killed 
 them round about our camp, leaving their carcases 
 exposed to the sun and air, which after a few days 
 caused much sickness among the people. 
 
 Many in the King's camp had nothing to eat, 
 some were actually starving, and a considerable
 
 94 The Gun is the Means of Saving our Lives. 
 
 number of soldiers ran away, but were caught 
 again, and massacred with their poor wives and 
 innocent children. It was under such distressing 
 circumstances that we had to make arrangements 
 for the casting of that memorable gun. The King 
 came several times daily to us, and sometimes I 
 had long conversations with him, but was all the 
 while trembling, because he would change so 
 suddenly, and then it seemed as if he could not 
 rest without shedding blood. At last the day came 
 for casting the great gun. The two furnaces were 
 heated to melt the metal, and thousands of people 
 assembled. The King stood between the two fur- 
 naces, and taking hold of my hand, he said, " Now 
 tell me what is to be done, and I will give orders 
 to carry out thy will." Wherever I went the King 
 accompanied me, holding me fast by the hand, 
 which made me the more afraid, for I thought if 
 the gun should prove a failure, he may perhaps put 
 us all into the burning fiery furnace. When I saw 
 that the metal was sufficiently heated, I asked the 
 King to give orders to open the channel of the 
 furnace, and the heated brass ran like a fiery ser- 
 pent into the large mould prepared for it. After 
 twenty minutes it was full, and the King was glad, 
 and called the gun " Sebastopol." It was opened 
 after three days and found well cast. Because 
 there was no shot large enough for it, however, this 
 gun was never used for the destruction of men, but 
 on the contrary, was the means, in the hand of 
 God, for saving our lives, and those of the prisoners 
 in Magdala.* 
 
 After this it was again debated whether the 
 Europeans should be killed, but the King said, 
 " No, let them live and make a wagon for the 
 
 * See also Dr. H. Blanc's "Narrative of Captivity in Abyssinia," page 
 323.
 
 Two of the Prisoners Saved from, Death. 95 
 
 gun." A large wagon was constructed, and when 
 it was finished one of the chiefs said, " Now, your 
 Majesty, we have what we wanted, and you have 
 made yourself an everlasting name, because nothing 
 was done like this in Ethiopia before, but only 
 under your glorious reign. We are no more in 
 need of these white asses," meaning the Europeans. 
 But the Abyssinians could not transport this heavy 
 piece of artillery, and were needing our suggestions 
 and superintendence not, only for its transmission, 
 but also for making the road, which humanly 
 speaking, preserved our lives once more. 
 
 The King continued so fearfully exasperated that 
 he kept on killing many more of his own people. 
 Some were burnt alive, others shot, hanged, and 
 otherwise tortured to death. Once I remember 
 three hundred poor victims being killed by starva- 
 tion. It was a horrible sight. Executions in every 
 possible way were devised. Men. women, and 
 children, in high position or of low degree, both 
 friends and enemies, all were treated alike when 
 the King's anger was kindled ; and nothing seemed 
 to prevent him from doing his worst towards us 
 but, in God's hand, the making of the great gun 
 and subsequent wagon and road. One day he 
 began to kill the servants of the missionaries, 
 Messrs. Staiger and Brancleis, and he was just 
 going to kill their masters also, when I implored 
 him for counter orders. He yielded, saying, "Eshy 
 (all right), for thy sake I will not do it." This was 
 by no means the only time that I had the privilege 
 of being the means of saving the lives not only of 
 European missionaries and political prisoners, but 
 of Abyssinians also. In those days we could 
 realize the truth of the words in Psalm xci., "A 
 thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at 
 thy right hand ; but it shall not come nigh thee."
 
 96 The King desires to excel his Predecessors. 
 
 We were seven months at Debra Tabor, where we 
 lost our fifth son, in consequence of the hardships 
 which we suffered. Night and day we were in 
 danger of our lives. Besides this, we were forced 
 to work like slaves, as the children of Israel did 
 for Pharaoh in Egypt, in order to satisfy King 
 Theodore's ambition to perform something which 
 no one before him had ever accomplished in 
 Abyssinia.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 DEPARTURE FROM DEBRA TABOR ARRIVAL 
 AT MAGDALA. 
 
 THE sad news reached England of the im- 
 prisonment of Mr. Hormutz Kassam and his 
 colleagues, together with the re-capture of 
 the old prisoners, and the Government decided to 
 undertake a military expedition, in order to set 
 them all at liberty. When King Theodore heard 
 of the arrival of the expedition at Zullu (Ansley 
 Bay), near Massowah, he resolved to leave Debra 
 Tabor for Magdala. On the 1st of October, 1867, 
 we left with the royal camp ; but the King was 
 unable to travel faster than one or two miles daily, 
 as he had to have the roads made for his heavy 
 artillery. Though the distance, therefore, between 
 Debra Tabor and Magdala is only 200 miles, it 
 took us six months to make the journey, on account 
 of the broken character of the land through which 
 we had to pass. The whole journey was stained 
 with cruel bloodshed, which I had better not de- 
 scribe. 
 
 Owing to the bad food and the great heat I was 
 taken seriously ill with dysentery, my strength gave 
 way, and I was confined to bed. In this miserable 
 condition I was transported from place to place. 
 One night during my illness, when I was uncon- 
 scious at intervals, as my dear wife was watching 
 by me, fearing that in this sad condition I could 
 not live long, she suddenly heard the tramp of 
 
 H
 
 98 The Kings Accusation. 
 
 soldiers coming towards our little tent. They un- 
 ceremoniously entered, saying that the King had 
 sent them for me. My wife replied, " My husband 
 is so ill, he cannot walk." "Never mind," they 
 shouted, "we will carry him." My wife saw at 
 once that something fresh had happened, and she 
 sat down and burst into a flood of tears. The 
 soldiers carried me off by force, my poor wife wish- 
 ing to follow, but they pushed her away, and 
 dragged me along, through bushes, thorns, and 
 jungle, till I reached the King, who was sitting 
 before his tent. His complaint was : "I have 
 heard that thou desirest to run away with thy 
 brethren. I replied, "No, your Majesty, and 
 I could not do so even if I wished." Heavy iron 
 chains were then brought to put upon me, but 
 the soldiers said to the King, " We can keep him 
 without chains, for he is too ill to stir." So I 
 lay on the damp ground, without bed or covering, 
 till morning, and I saw the dew upon the grass 
 had frozen during the night. In the morning the 
 King saw that I was very ill, and sent me back 
 to my family ; but next evening I- was seized again, 
 and banished far away from my wife and child, 
 under the cruel treatment of a Pasha. I was not 
 nursed or cared for, but left to die, and I wished 
 and asked the Lord that He would end my great 
 sufferings. However, it was not His will that I 
 should die, but live. A woman was sent to me by 
 my wife, who administered a medicine composed 
 of linseed and cress seed, pounded together and 
 mixed with water. This preparation I began to 
 take, and from that time I got better, until my 
 health was to a great extent restored. 
 
 After much trouble the King arrived with his 
 camp at Beit Hor, on the edge of an immense 
 gorge, 3,000 feet deep, and 7 miles wide. This
 
 A Narrow Escape. 101 
 
 stupendous wall of rock is on the edge of the 
 Talanta Highlands, and forms one side of the deep 
 gorge in which the Tshitta river is hidden. Though 
 scarcely able to do anything, I had to act as engineer, 
 and plan the road down to the bottom of this gorge 
 and up on the other side to the height of Talanta. 
 The other missionaries helped, and it was made, 
 under our superintendence, by thousands of men. 
 After a short time the artillery and the whole camp 
 passed safely across to the plateau of Talanta. 
 There the King rested for a while, and it was here 
 that I suggested to him sending a message of peace 
 to the Commander-in-Chief, Sir R. Napier, now 
 Lord Magdala, whose expedition was already near. 
 This brought me into the greatest danger of my 
 life. The King wanted to fire his pistol at me, but 
 the Lord stayed his hand. He then threw his 
 spear, which flew against me, and missing my body, 
 entered deeply into the ground. 
 
 Having thus narrowly escaped death, I was im- 
 prisoned under very close guardianship. After a 
 few days the King said to me, " I think it will be 
 better for me to be thy guardian, for my people 
 might play me a trick, steal thee away from the 
 camp, and carry thee to the rebels or to the English 
 army." So he ordered my tent to be pitched near 
 his own. It was a double silk tent, of beautiful 
 colour both inside and out, which the King had 
 presented to me some time before when I was in 
 favour, and which I had never used for fear of 
 arousing jealousy, till I was now imprisoned in it.* 
 
 After this the King, hearing the English army 
 was approaching, proceeded to Magdala, but before 
 reaching that place there was another road to be 
 made, 4,000 feet deep, down to the Eiver Beshielo, 
 
 * This tent can be seen at Katherine Backhouse's residence, Ashburn, 
 Sunderland.
 
 102 Approach of the English Army. 
 
 which is a tributary of the Blue Nile. On the 
 other side of the river the road had to be made up 
 to Magdala. This was hard work, but the King 
 accomplished this great task, which often reminded 
 me of Napoleon's road across the Simplon from 
 Switzerland to Italy. King Theodore often worked 
 hard himself, and thus encouraged the whole army, 
 in dragging up the heavy pieces of artillery. For 
 the large gun Sebastopol it took in some places 800 
 men to move it forward towards the contemplated 
 fortress of Magdala. 
 
 The English army approached nearer and nearer 
 every day, and the King was duly informed of their 
 proceedings, which made him furious, and thus in- 
 creased his cruelties and bloodshed. The least un- 
 pleasant thing was enough to make him give out a 
 dreadful order for execution. The misery, starva- 
 tion, and sickness in the King's camp were fearful ; 
 and we Europeans were often reminded by the 
 people to make ourselves ready for death. They 
 would say, " In a few days your turn for being 
 killed will come also." One day the King called 
 me and said, " Take this telescope and look over 
 the gulf of the River Beshielo. There thou wilt 
 see thy brethren, who have come from England to 
 kill me. I am pleased to see those red jackets. I 
 am glad that I have moved England to bring me 
 the answer which Consul Cameron, the liar, pro- 
 mised to bring." The King became gloomy and dark 
 as night, restless and angry as Saul, and I trembled 
 with fear as I lifted up my heart to Him from 
 whom alone the needed help cometh. None of the 
 Europeans, who were imprisoned some with and 
 others without chains, ventured to think that there 
 could be any escape from the lion's mouth without 
 a wonderful interposition of Divine grace, of which 
 we did not deem ourselves worthy. We therefore
 
 The King Commits his Son to Mr. Raasam. 103 
 
 prepared to die, and strengthened each other by 
 prayer. 
 
 The missionaries had their camp at Islamgie, not 
 far from the gate of the fortress of Magdala, while 
 the political prisoners, Mr. Rassam and his party, 
 were shut up in the fortress. One day the King 
 called me, saying, " Let us go to Magdala. Call 
 thy brethren and let us go together. I want to see 
 my friend Rassam." I was very troubled at this, 
 because I thought that King Theodore was going 
 to hurl us down over the perpendicular wall of 400 
 feet, where many poor victims had been thrown 
 during the last few days. Arrived at the fortress, 
 the King released the prisoners from their chains, 
 and called Mr. Rassam and his party, except 
 Messrs. Stern and Rosenthal, and had a friendly 
 conference with them in our presence. King Theo- 
 dore said to Mr. Rassam : " As I have confidence 
 in you, I present to you here my son Prince Ala- 
 may u. Take care of him, and be to him a father, 
 for I know that my end will soon come, and that 
 the time is near at hand when you shall stand by 
 the side of my dead body. Then you will think, 
 ' O King Theodore, how great was thy sinfulness ! ' 
 But please do not judge me, because God will 
 judge each one of us. I shall be judged as a king. 
 Thou wilt be judged as an ambassador. Waldmeier 
 will be judged as a missionary. And the poor 
 beggars will be judged as beggars. God is my 
 witness in heaven, and Waldmeier and his party 
 on earth, that I am thy friend. I will pay thee 
 another visit after God has shown us what He is 
 going to do." With these words the conference 
 terminated, and we returned to our huts and tents.
 
 E 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE FIVE LAST DAYS IN MAGDALA. 
 
 ARLY in the morning of the 9th of April, 
 gloomy clouds arose on the western horizon, 
 and soldiers as well as others were afraid 
 for the future ; more especially ourselves and the 
 political prisoners, of whom it was said by the 
 natives, " These are the cause of the Anglo- Abys- 
 sinian war. They, of course, must be massacred." 
 Mr. Rassam and his party, and my comrades and I 
 were near each other that day, because the King 
 called Mr. Rassam to come down from the fortress. 
 King Theodore was restless and excited. He 
 called me and said, " Let us go together and see 
 what thy friends, my enemies the English army are 
 doing." We soon reached an elevation, and he, 
 looking through his telescope, exclaimed, " The 
 English army is really proceeding rapidly, and it 
 seems to me that they use the same road which 
 thou planned and made, and for which we had so 
 much trouble in breaking the hard rocks." The 
 King had ordered the making of the road, and it 
 turned out ultimately for his own destruction, and 
 for the victory of the English army. " What a 
 fool I am to have made the road," said the King, 
 " but it appears that God wants to have it so." He 
 returned very angry, and did not speak as usual 
 when we went to our tents. 
 
 At four o'clock that afternoon the Abyssinian
 
 Great Slaughter of Abyssinian Prisoners. 107 
 
 prisoners began to cry out " Exeo ! Exeo !" which 
 means, " God have mercy on us." The King on 
 hearing this, asked in great anger, " What is this ?" 
 When he was told that the prisoners were crying 
 so, on account of being half-starved, he went him- 
 self in a great fury to the prison, and gave orders 
 for a horrible butchery. The hands and feet of 
 335 of the poor victims were cut off, others were 
 killed by the sword, and others shot, but ultimately 
 all were thrown over a precipice 200 feet deep, 
 where they were dashed to pieces, and became the 
 food of vultures and hyenas. The place of execu- 
 tion was quite near to our tents and huts. The 
 Abyssinians said that the King had become insane, 
 and had begun his butchery with the natives, and 
 intended to conclude it by executing all the Euro- 
 peans. The heart-breaking cries of the victims, 
 and the gushing rivulets of blood running down 
 the slopes, were enough to make the strongest feel 
 faint. We sighed, we prayed, we trembled, we 
 wept. We tried to comfort each other ; but who 
 could help us ? No one but our Father in heaven ; 
 because we ourselves and every native of Abyssinia 
 would not have given a farthing for our lives. 
 Night coming on, caused a stoppage in this horrible 
 work, and we commended ourselves anew into the 
 hands of our heavenly Father. 
 
 On the 10th of April, at six o'clock in the morn- 
 ing, two royal messengers came running hastily 
 towards my tent, asking me to come at once to the 
 King. We were much afraid, and the melancholy 
 behaviour of the messengers made us the more 
 anxious. However I went at once to the King, 
 whom I found in a very dangerous mood. It 
 seemed that he had called me for something about 
 which he suddenly changed his mind. In conse- 
 quence of this he let me stay in silence before
 
 108 The King Refuses Overtures from the English. 
 
 him, whilst he looked moodily on to the ground, 
 and after a short time he entered his pavilion. In 
 about an hour he re-appeared, dressed in his court 
 robes of gold and silver, and stood on an elevation 
 overlooking the camp, giving orders that Mr. Ras- 
 sam and his party should at once be brought 
 up to the fortress of Magdala. This was a very 
 threatening sign, and I feared that all was working 
 together to bring about a horrible end to the Euro- 
 peans who were in the King's power. While King 
 Theodore was still standing, a messenger came 
 with a letter from the Commander-in-Chief of the 
 English army. I informed the King that the leader 
 of the English expedition had sent him a letter. 
 He replied. " Let the letter be kept in the messen- 
 ger's pocket, and he can go back to his master, 
 because I shall not receive it at all ; it would not 
 change my mind." The King then ordered his 
 artillery-men to take charge of all the large guns, 
 and bring them to Fala, a mountain plateau, from 
 which he could easily look down upon the advanc- 
 ing English army. 
 
 King Theodore then said to me, " Go and take 
 leave of thy family, because to-day thou wilt have 
 the honour to die with a King." I went and said 
 farewell to my dear wife and Rosa, not thinking 
 that I should ever see them again in this world. 
 Then I had to follow the King, who kept me barefooted 
 all the while under guard ; and as I walked along he 
 saw the tears running down my face, and was sur- 
 prised that I could not realize the joy and honour 
 of dying with a King. It was not a long distance 
 from Magdala to Fala, but it was a Via Dolorosa. 
 When we arrived at Fala the King mounted his 
 horse, and gathering about 7,000 men before him, 
 began the following speech : " My children, be not 
 afraid of these English soldiers, because they are
 
 The Abyssinians attack the English. 109 
 
 like the Philistines who made war against David ; 
 but, remember, David smote them, and in the name 
 of God I shall conquer. Am I not a son of David 
 and Solomon '( Has not God anointed me King of 
 Ethiopia ? Am I not the old hero in the battle, 
 the pillar of fire to those who are afraid ? Who 
 can bear my countenance ? Has not God given me 
 victory after victory ? To-day you shall see that I 
 who brought the English army to Abyssinia, shall 
 also obtain the victory over them. As our Abuna 
 Salama is dead, and according to our rules he should 
 absolve those who might fall in battle, I absolve, 
 in the name of God the Father, the Son, and the 
 Holy Ghost, every soldier who may lose his life in 
 battle against the Europeans." 
 
 After the King had finished his address the 
 whole Abyssinian army rushed down upon the 600 
 or 700 English soldiers who were already arrived 
 in the valley of Arogie and Damm Vouse. These 
 consisted of detachments from different regiments, 
 under Colonel Cameron, and Majors Chamberlain 
 and Pritchard ; and the Madras Sappers, under 
 Major Prendergast. All the rest of the troops 
 were still coming up the Beshielo Valley. King 
 Theodore looked down from Fala, and got into a 
 fearful mood, so that I prepared myself for death 
 at all events. The King at once ordered his 
 artillery-men to charge the large guns (40 Ibs.) ; 
 but it happened that one of these pieces of artillery 
 got a double charge, and therefore burst. The 
 King was standing quite near it, and we were only 
 about four yards distant when the disaster took 
 place. The King became furious and trembled 
 with rage, gnashing his teeth in his fury. All the 
 remaining guns were fired upon the English troops, 
 who in return opened fire upon the Abyssinians 
 with their breech-loader and Snider rifles, at the
 
 110 Threatened Execution of tJie Europeans. 
 
 rate of six volleys a minute, so that the latter were 
 beaten at once, and mown down like grass by the 
 bullets which fell upon them. The rest of the 
 army turned back towards Fala, and the victory 
 was won, but not by the Naval Rocket Brigade, 
 nor by the Mountain Gun Battery of light steel 
 guns. All these were as nothing, and would only 
 have brought the English into trouble ; but the 
 victory was won by the breech-loading rifles. 
 
 The principal fighting was over, and only now 
 and then we heard some guns, and saw rockets 
 like smoky serpents flying over the battle-field. A 
 cold rain came on, and behind the clouds the 
 evening sun was setting in its golden garment. 
 As I and my fellow prisoners watched it we never 
 thought to see it rise again, because the King and 
 his official staff had decided to execute all the 
 prisoners in the coming night. As the remainder 
 of the Abyssinian army came back, they reported 
 the loss of a large number of soldiers. Many 
 fathers, husbands, sons, and brothers, returned no 
 more to their families in the camp of Islamgie, which 
 caused a most dismal howling and lamentation 
 from the relations of those who had fallen in the 
 battle. The King repaired to his tent in the dusk of 
 the evening, but he knew not what to do. His 
 anger had made him almost insane, and he allowed 
 his chiefs to strengthen him in the horrible plan he 
 had formed of our execution. Exactly that day 
 two years before, my fellow prisoners and I were 
 taken captive at Debra Tabor. 
 
 During the night of the 10th of April, Mr. 
 Flad and I were summoned before the King. 
 Every one was afraid for us, and as we went 
 along we trembled with fear, and could only 
 silently look up to Him who knew and felt the 
 agony of our hearts. But the King, instead of
 
 The King Desires Peace. Ill 
 
 being angry and exasperated as we expected, was 
 on the contrary very friendly and agreeably dis- 
 posed. He said, " Make yourselves ready, and I 
 will send you with a message to Mr. Rassam." 
 The message was as follows : "I, the King of 
 Ethiopia, was under the idea that I was the only 
 strong man in my country, but as God has shown 
 me stronger men than I am, I ask thy advice in 
 order to bring about a reconciliation between my- 
 self and the Commander-in-Chief of the English 
 army." We conveyed the royal message to Mr. 
 Rassam in the fortress of Magdala, who proposed 
 to the King to send a messenger to the Commander- 
 in-Chief, proposing measures of peace. When we 
 returned to the King we found him totally changed, 
 and in an excited mood. We reported Mr. Ras- 
 sam's message, and the King said, " There is no 
 hurry about sending to the English. Let God do 
 what He pleases. Now go to sleep." We were 
 quite prepared to obey this last command, for we 
 were completely exhausted from constant sorrow 
 and the hourly fear of being killed. We were only 
 allowed a short time for rest, as at four o'clock in 
 the morning the King again sent for us, and asked 
 our advice on the matter of peace. We advised 
 him to adopt Mr. Rassam's proposal, and he conse- 
 quently sent Mr. Prideaux, Mr. Flad, and an Abys- 
 sinian named Alamy, with a petition for reconcilia- 
 tion and peace to the English Commander-in-Chief. 
 About nine o'clock the King went to a hill from 
 whence he looked through his telescope into the 
 English camp, exclaiming, " Oh, wonderful sight 
 in Abyssinia ! This day an English army is on 
 Ethiopian soil ! " The King waited impatiently for 
 an answer, but none came until three o'clock in the 
 afternoon, which brought him again into excite- 
 ment and anger. We were afraid to present the
 
 112 The Kings Reply to General Napier. 
 
 letter to the King, but were obliged to do so, as it 
 was written in English, and we had to translate it 
 into the Amharic language. The contents were as 
 follows : 
 
 " To His Majesty King Theodore. 
 
 " Your Majesty fought yesterday like a 
 brave man, but you were conquered by our arts 
 and power. We trust now that no more blood 
 will be shed between us. If, therefore, your 
 Majesty will submit to the Queen of England, and 
 bring all the Europeans who are in your Majesty's 
 hand and deliver them safely this day into the 
 British camp, I will guarantee honourable treat- 
 ment for yourself and all the members of your 
 Majesty's family. 
 
 " Signed by the Commander-in-Chief, 
 
 " EGBERT NAPIER." 
 
 " What is the meaning of honourable treatment ?" 
 exclaimed the King, in a convulsion of excitement. 
 " I know," he said, " it means to treat me as a 
 prisoner. I, Theodore, a prisoner ! That shall 
 never be. Go away from me." Then we retired to 
 a distance of fifty yards. The King then wrote a 
 letter to the English Commander, giving full ex- 
 pression to his revengeful, angry, and despairing 
 feelings, and sent it by the same messenger who 
 had brought him the letter from the English camp. 
 
 The royal anger had now reached a fearful height, 
 and the Abyssinian courtiers also were filled with 
 deadly hatred against all the Europeans. They 
 were prepared to destroy us, and only waited with 
 impatience for the slightest sign from the King to 
 carry out his cruel commands. Mr. Rassam and 
 his party were still kept in the fortress, so that 
 they had no idea of what was going on, although 
 we could fully realize their great danger at this
 
 The King Attempts to Shoot Himself. 113 
 
 moment, and our own also. Each one of us lifted 
 up his heart in prayer, asking the Lord to help us 
 safely through the valley of death. The King sat 
 upon a stone looking gloomy and dark as night. 
 By and by he suddenly roused himself up, took a 
 little water, and began to pray, making the sign of 
 the cross upon his breast, and bowing himself three 
 times low towards the ground. After this he took 
 a double barrelled pistol from his belt (but not the 
 one presented to him by the Queen of England), 
 and attempted to shoot himself through the head. 
 His courtiers and favourite officers ran to him in 
 fear, for they never saw their King in such a mood 
 before. They seized hold of his hands, but at that 
 moment the pistol discharged itself, and whizzed 
 harmlessly into the air, wounding only his ear. 
 " Oh, your Majesty," they exclaimed, " you have 
 not to die, but these Europeans, who are the cause 
 of this war, they must be massacred, now, now, 
 NOW." Then his courtiers tried to take from the 
 King his deadly weapons, which he refused to give 
 up. At last Ras Ingeda succeeded in getting them 
 under his care. 
 
 These blood-thirsty counsellors then began to 
 propose to the King the way in which they eagerly 
 desired to massacre the Europeans without excep- 
 tion, together with their wives and children. One 
 said, " There is a great wood house with a straw 
 roof, large enough for them. There we will burn 
 them alive." Another said, " No, let us cut their 
 hands and feet off, and let the English come and 
 take them away." A third said, " Let us hang 
 them all on yonder tree." And a fourth, " NO, let 
 us kill them by guns, and then we will all run 
 away." I heard myself these horrible counsels, 
 and even more shocking plans for our execution 
 were proposed, the very hearing of which was like
 
 114 The King Saves our Lives. 
 
 a premature death. We poor persecuted victims 
 were like sheep brought to the slaughter. Our 
 prayer was, " Oh, Father in heaven, help us ! Take 
 away the bitterness of death from us. Not our will 
 but Thine be done. Strengthen us in these our 
 last moments. Forgive us all our sins for Christ's 
 sake, and lead us to the better land." We were 
 surrounded by angry soldiers whose relatives were 
 yesterday killed in the battle, and they were so 
 eager and greedy for the destruction of our lives, 
 that they began to sharpen their swords, for the 
 King's order was expected at once. In a short 
 time the royal messenger arrived, and our danger 
 was at its height. It seemed as if the last moment 
 must have come, and the cruel soldiers beamed 
 with delight at the prospect of carrying out their 
 deadly plans. I was summoned before the King, 
 who looked at me and my brethren who were 
 standing behind for some minutes without saying 
 a word. Then he began : " Sit down, be not afraid. 
 I was advised to kill you and all the Europeans, but 
 you have not done anything against me, and I shall 
 not kill you. My death is near at hand, and I do 
 not like that you should go before and accuse me 
 in the presence of God. Go, and get your friends 
 Rassam and party, and accompany them to the 
 English camp." These were the wonderful words 
 of the King. It was he who saved our lives, 
 humanly speaking, for all the Abyssinian chiefs 
 wanted to massacre us ; and the English expedition 
 could not interfere in any way at that time without 
 putting us in greater danger. But it was our own 
 prayer-answering Father in heaven who thus in- 
 fluenced the King's mind, and brought about our 
 deliverance, using the English expedition as a 
 means to bring our sufferings to a conclusion. 
 Mr. Rassam and his party soon arrived, but the
 
 The Welcome at the English Camp. 115 
 
 King had previously said, " Please do not let me 
 see my enemy Stern ; " so I ran to meet Mr. 
 Rassam, and told him to hide Dr. Stern, which he 
 did. On the way the King called Mr. Rassam to 
 his side, and took leave of him, saying, " Farewell, 
 my friend, if we see each other no more in this life, 
 we shall meet again beyond death. I trust thou 
 wilt remain my friend, even when thou art out of 
 my power. If, however, thou shouldst change thy 
 kindly feeling towards me, then thou wilt hear, 
 either of my death, or that I have become a monk." 
 The King had always over-estimated Mr. Rassam's 
 power, and after his deliverance he still imagined 
 that his influence with the Commander-in-Chief 
 would yet bring matters to what he considered a suc- 
 cessful issue. On that memorable day, Mr. Mayer, 
 Mr. Saalmiiller, and I accompanied Mr. Rassam 
 and his party, at sunset, into the English camp, 
 where we arrived at half-past eight o'clock, and 
 were received with a hearty welcome and joyful 
 hurrahs. We were brought before Sir Robert 
 Napier, who greeted us cordially, and gave orders 
 for our lodging ; but we could not sleep well, as 
 there were still our own families and nine Euro- 
 peans in King Theodore's hand. 
 
 The 12th of April was Easter day, and early in 
 the morning, according to Abyssinian custom, cows 
 and sheep were slaughtered for the celebration of 
 the feast. The King sent a letter by Mr. Bender, 
 asking the Commander-in-Chief of the English 
 army to receive 1,000 cows and 500 sheep as a 
 token of peace and friendship. Messrs. Flad, 
 Mayer, Bender, Saalmiiller, and I had been sent by 
 Sir Robert Napier to King Theodore in the morn- 
 ing, in order to ask him to deliver our families and 
 the rest of the Europeans to the English Com- 
 mander. We were not long on the way, but know-
 
 116 / Take Leave of the King. 
 
 ing the changeable moods of the King, our hearts 
 were filled with anxiety, hope and fear by turns 
 taking possession of us, as life and death seemed 
 again on the balance. We found the King sitting 
 on a stone near the road, in a tolerably good mood. 
 We delivered our message from Sir Robert Napier, 
 which was to the effect, that he desired all the 
 Europeans should repair to the English camp ; and 
 Samuel, Mr. Rassam's dragoman, and Detchatch 
 Alamy told the King that when the Europeans 
 were all gone to the English army, the cows and 
 sheep would be received with thankfulness. After 
 this the King gave orders that our families and all 
 the other Europeans were to depart in peace. 
 How joyfully I went to my dear wife and Rosa, 
 who were still in fear and trembling, to tell them 
 to come off with me as quickly as possible to the 
 English camp ! Then I went to take leave of the 
 King, who exclaimed, with tears in his eyes, 
 " Farewell, my dear friend, I loved thee as I loved 
 John Bell." In the afternoon, at three o'clock, all 
 the Europeans arrived in the British camp. Their 
 number, including children, was fifty-nine persons. 
 After so many years of trial and perplexity, of fear 
 and danger of our lives, to find ourselves again in 
 liberty and peace was almost too much for our 
 hearts to realize. It seemed more like a dream, 
 and we could only grasp its reality by degrees. 
 " When the Lord turned again the captivity of 
 Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was 
 our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue 
 with singing. Then said they among the heathen, 
 the Lord hath done great things for them. The 
 Lord hath done great things for us ; whereof we 
 are glad." Psalm cxxvi. 1-3. 
 
 Preparations were made early in the morning of 
 the 13th of April for storming Magdala, and by
 
 Preparations for Storming Magdala. 117 
 
 nine o'clock the whole army was on foot. Mr. Flad 
 and I were chosen by the Commander-in-Chief to 
 accompany the army, and show them the best roads 
 and the most advantageous position for the attack. 
 I had to go with General Charles Staveley, to help to 
 get the position of Salassie, a mountain opposite 
 Magdala, and near enough for good guns. After 
 this I received orders from General Merryweather 
 to disarm all the Abyssinian soldiers, which was 
 very hard work. In the midst of the stir and con- 
 fusion I saw four men carrying a wounded soldier 
 towards me. This proved to be the same man who 
 treated my poor wife so rudely, pushing her on to 
 the ground, when I was taken prisoner two years 
 before at Gatfat. He had requested his companions 
 to carry him to me, so that he might entreat my 
 forgiveness. He was mortally wounded, but said, 
 " I cannot die before I am reconciled with Mr. 
 Waldmeier." 
 
 During that time the English army was preparing 
 for the attack on Magdala. The storming of the 
 fortress began in the afternoon, and the rocky mass, 
 though undefended, received many blows in vain. 
 The English artillery did their business very 
 badly. I was quite ashamed that the Abyssinians 
 should see such failure. The only advantage 
 gained over the natives was again by the breech- 
 loader and Snider rifles, which showered a hail of 
 bullets upon the enemy. King Theodore stood 
 with fifty of his faithful officers on the brow of his 
 fortress, and saw how the English were advanc- 
 ing, whilst his own soldiers were running away. 
 His armour bearer said, " Your Majesty, let us lay 
 down our arms and surrender ?" " No," said the 
 King, " Let us not fall into men's hands, they have 
 no pity ; let us fall into God's hand." He then took 
 his pistol and shot himself through the head, falling
 
 118 Death of the King; Destruction of Magdala. 
 
 instantly dead on the ground. Fifteen minutes 
 afterwards the English soldiers entered Magdala, 
 and Sir Robert Napier, Mr. Rassam, and I stood 
 by the dead body of the King. I was asked, " Is 
 this the body of King Theodore ? " I replied, 
 " Yes," and turning to Mr. Rassam, reminded him 
 of the King's words a few days before. After this 
 the dead body was carried into Mr. Rassam's 
 house, thus paying him the promised visit. On 
 the 14th of April King Theodore was buried in 
 the church at Magdala. The native prisoners were 
 released, who up to this time had been in chains 
 in Magdala ; and the English flag was hoisted on 
 the fortress for the first time. Queen Terrowork, 
 the daughter of King Ubie, was also a prisoner in 
 Magdala. She was at once set free, and I was 
 charged to accompany Her Majesty to the English 
 camp, with Prince Alamayu, who was then six 
 years of age. Magdala was subsequently partly 
 blown up by powder and destroyed. 
 
 The stirring events of these few days filled the 
 world with the wonderful news : " Conquest of the 
 English expedition ! Prisoners set free ! King 
 Theodore dead ! Magdala destroyed !" These great 
 deeds were not accomplished by the skill, arts, or 
 power of the English army, because, with the excep- 
 tion of the breech-loading rifles, there was little to 
 admire in the warlike proceedings ; and if King 
 Theodore had not concentrated his forces at Mag- 
 dala, and been surrounded by enemies in his own 
 kingdom, and forsaken by his own army, it would 
 have been impossible for a foreign power thus to 
 gain the victory over him. Just as surely as the 
 Egyptian army, under European officers, was 
 annihilated in the year 1877 by King John of 
 Abyssinia ; and as Hicks Pasha's army was utterly 
 destroyed at El Obeyed, in Kordofan, by the
 
 The Rejected Present. 119 
 
 M ahdi's power ; so would the Abyssinia expedition 
 have failed, even under Sir Robert Napier's wise 
 arrangements, if the whole country had not revolted 
 against their King, and favoured the English army 
 both on their coming in and going out. Besides 
 this, King Theodore was unfairly treated with 
 regard to his gift of 1,000 cows and 500 sheep 
 which were a sign of peace and friendship, and 
 which Mr. Samuel reported would be thankfully 
 received as soon as the Europeans should all have 
 reached the English camp. It was on this under- 
 standing that he allowed the Europeans to depart, 
 but on their arrival the cows and sheep which 
 accompanied them were sent back, while King 
 Theodore still believed his present to have been 
 accepted. He was, therefore, greatly surprised 
 when the English forces approached Magdala by 
 storm. He said, " I delivered the prisoners to the 
 English expedition on being informed of the 
 acceptance of my present of 1,000 cows and 500 
 sheep as a sign of good will ; and now they come 
 and fight with me again." In this matter the King 
 was deceived, which was also acknowledged in the 
 account of the Abyssinian expedition in the Illus- 
 trated London News. 
 
 I do not judge the conduct of Captain Cameron, 
 Mr. H.Rassam, Dr. Stern, the French Consul Lejean, 
 and other Europeans in Abyssinia, but leave that 
 to the readers of my statements. Surely this tragic 
 story of England's dealings with Abyssinia will be 
 helpful to civilized Christian nations the world 
 over ; also to missionaries and politicians in being 
 more careful in their dealings with uncivilized, or 
 half-civilized, countries. I am fully convinced that 
 this Anglo- Abyssinian war, with all its bloodshed, 
 and enormous expense, might have been spared, 
 by a nobler way of dealing with King Theodore,
 
 120 The Extent and Gust of the Expedition. 
 
 and that the prisoners might have been set at 
 liberty without such an accumulation of danger, 
 fear, and perplexity. 
 
 The British army in Abyssinia consisted of 1 '2,000 
 English and Indian soldiers, 20,000 servants and 
 transporters, 8,000 camels, 12,400 mules, 8,000 
 oxen, 200 donkeys, and 45 elephants. The time 
 occupied was eight months from the starting of the 
 expedition until its termination, and the total 
 expenditure was 10,000,000 sterling; 6,000,000 
 being paid by England, and the remaining 4,000,000 
 by India. 50 lives were lost by accident, sickness, 
 and war. When the English expedition was pre- 
 paring for Abyssinia, Joseph Abdelnur Faker, of 
 Beirut, was ordered to go up to Brummana and buy 
 as many mules as he could to send to Abyssinia. 
 Who would have thought at that time that one of 
 the released prisoners from Abyssinia should come 
 up to Brummana and establish a mission there ? 
 
 " God moves in a mysterious way, 
 His wonders to perform." 
 
 Although the expedition was not sent to 
 Abyssinia purposely to release missionaries who 
 went there on their own responsibility ; but rather 
 to liberate the English Consul, and the British 
 Envoy, Mr. Rassam, and his party ; yet the mission- 
 aries, and all Europeans of different nationalities, 
 who were kept by King Theodore in bondage, were 
 thus set at liberty by English intervention ; and 
 heartfelt were their thanks and gratitude, first to 
 Almighty God, who was the overruling power, and 
 then to the English expedition, and its noble leader, 
 Lord Napier of Magdala.
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 DEPARTURE FROM MAGDALA. 
 
 ON the 16th of April we left Magdala, the scene 
 of our fears and joys, our bondage and 
 deliverance, and crossed, for the last time in 
 our lives, to all human probability, the wild river 
 Beshielo, and its stupendous gorge of 4,000 feet 
 in depth. We arrived on the 18th at the plain of 
 Talanta, where the British army was gathered, and 
 on the 20th Lord Napier had a review of his troops, 
 addressing them in the following words : 
 
 " Soldiers and sailors of the army of Abyssinia : 
 -The Queen and the people of England entrusted 
 to you a very arduous and difficult expedition, to 
 release our countrymen from a long and painful 
 captivity, and to vindicate the honour of England, 
 which had been outraged by Theodore, King of 
 Abyssinia. I congratulate you with all my heart 
 on the way in which you have fulfilled the com- 
 mands of our Sovereign. You have traversed, 
 often under a tropical sun, or amidst storms of rain 
 and sleet, 400 miles of mountainous and rugged 
 country. You have crossed many steep and pre- 
 cipitous mountain ranges to the height of 10,000 
 feet, where food supply was at times scanty. In 
 four days you passed the formidable chasm of the 
 Beshielo, and came within sight of our enemies ; 
 and when some of you had been for many hours 
 without food or water, you defeated the army of
 
 122 Sir R. Napier's Address to the Troops. 
 
 King Theodore, which poured down on you from 
 its lofty fortress in full confidence of victory. A 
 host of many thousands laid down their arms at 
 your feet. You have captured and destroyed up- 
 wards of thirty pieces of artillery, many of great 
 weight and efficiency, with ample stores of ammu- 
 nition. After you forced the entrance of his for- 
 tress, King Theodore himself who never showed 
 mercy, distrusted the offer of it held out to him by 
 me, and died by his own hand. You have released 
 not only the British captives, but those of other 
 friendly nations. You have unloosed the chains of 
 more than ninety of the principal chiefs of Abys- 
 sinia. Magdala also, where so many victims have 
 been slaughtered, has been committed to the flames, 
 and now remains only a scorched rock. 
 
 " Our complete and rapid success is due firstly 
 to the mercy of God, whose hand, I feel assured, 
 has been over us in a just cause, and secondly, to 
 the high spirit with which you have been inspired. 
 Indian soldiers have forgotten the prejudices of 
 race and creed, to keep pace with their European 
 comrades. Never did an army enter upon war 
 with more honourable feeling than yours. This it 
 is which has carried you through so many fatigues 
 and difficulties. Your sole anxiety for the moment 
 was to arrive where you could come close to the 
 enemy. The remembrance of your privations will 
 pass away quickly, but your gallant exploit will 
 live in history. The Queen and the people of 
 England will appreciate and acknowledge your 
 service. On my part, as your commander, I thank 
 you for your devotion to duty, and the good dis- 
 cipline you have maintained throughout. Not a 
 single complaint has been made against our soldiers, 
 of fields injured, or villagers wilfully molested either 
 in person or property. We must not, however,
 
 Si?
 
 On our Homeward Journey. 125 
 
 forget what we owe to our comrades, who have 
 been labouring for us in the sultry climate of Zullu, 
 in the Pass of Kameylea, or in the monotony of 
 the posts, which maintained our communication. 
 One and all would have given everything they 
 possessed to be with us, and they deserve our 
 heartfelt gratitude. I shall watch over you safely 
 to the moment of your re-embarking ; and to the 
 end of my life I shall remember with pride that I 
 have commanded you. R. NAPIER." 
 
 On the 21st we left Talanta, and crossed, with a 
 detachment of the expedition, the deep chasm of the 
 Tshitta river. On our arrival at Beit Hor we took 
 leave of all our native friends, relations, and 
 scholars, with whom we bowed in prayer before 
 the throne of grace, committing each other to our 
 heavenly Father's care. Hailu Mariam, my Timo- 
 theus, took his Bible, and went to his native 
 heathen Galla country as a preacher of the Gospel. 
 Our parting was hard and sorrowful indeed, for we 
 felt that on earth we should see each other's faces 
 no more. We travelled southward on the high 
 land, and then descended into the deep valley of 
 the great river Takkassie, with its hot mineral 
 spring. This river separates the eastern province 
 of Tigre' from the western one of Amhara, and 
 after a long and precipitous decline, flows down 
 from the Abyssinian Alps into the low country of 
 the Kunama tribes, and runs directly northwards 
 through the midst of Soudan, under the name of 
 Atbara, till it unites with the Nile about twenty 
 miles above Berber. Between the Nile and the 
 Atbara was the old kingdom of Meroe, where are 
 still remaining two ancient temples and an avenue 
 of sphinxes, which date back to the time of King 
 Tirhakah, of the twenty-fifth Ethiopian dynasty 
 (Isa. xxxvii. 9), whose name is inscribed at Medinet
 
 126 Dea&ription of the Country. 
 
 Abu. This river, though very large and powerful, 
 in summer loses itself in the sandy plain of Soudan, 
 to re-appear at intervals, which shows evidently 
 the existence of a subterranean connection on a 
 more water-tight clay bed under the sand. In July 
 it receives the tropical rainfalls of Abyssinia, and 
 in August the Atbara and Blue Nile swell into 
 two mighty streams, which cause the fertilizing 
 inundation of the Nile in Lower Egypt. Passing 
 on our way the Alps of Lasta, Doba, Wodshera, 
 Enderta, and Haramad, we arrived at Senafie, in 
 Tigre*. We saw in the distance the Bahet Moun- 
 tain, where not long ago most interesting plants 
 belonging to the Lobeliacere were discovered, ten 
 feet in height, with a fleshy stem, bright green 
 leaves, and a candle-like spike of blue blossoms. 
 The only localities known where this plant grows 
 are in Abyssinia, 13,000 feet above the sea. From 
 Senafie we descended through the bed of the river 
 Komayle to the port of Zullu, forty days being 
 occupied in travelling from the heights of Magdala 
 down to the Red Sea. The difference of climate 
 was very great, from 10,000 feet above the sea at 
 Magdala, where we had cold frosty nights and rain, 
 and Zullu on Ansley Bay, where the thermometer 
 stood at 130 (Fahrenheit) at noon, and the heat 
 was intense. 
 
 The small strip of land between the Red Sea and 
 the Abyssinian Mountains is called Samhara, and 
 there towards the south are the natural salt pits, 
 which supply the whole of Abyssinia. The water 
 of the Red Sea contains more salt than other sea 
 water. At high tides and storms it overflows its 
 banks, and the water runs over the plain, forming 
 great pools on the low^er land. The great heat 
 condenses the water, and the salt remains crystal- 
 ized on the ground like ice, one or two inches in
 
 RHYNCHOPETALUM MOSTANUM (LOBELIACE.E).
 
 The English astonish the Abyssinians. 129 
 
 thickness. The Daiiakeel Gallas cut the salt into 
 blocks, one inch thick, two inches wide, and seven 
 inches long, and carry them to the highlands for 
 sale in the markets. These pieces of salt are used 
 as small money in the whole of Abyssinia. I 
 was always in the habit of exchanging twenty-six 
 pieces of salt for one dollar. 
 
 After having been half roasted in the great heat, 
 I was glad to embark with my dear wife and Kosa, 
 and the other prisoners, for Suez. From thence we 
 went by rail to Cairo and Alexandria. During the 
 whole journey we were supplied with the necessary 
 provisions and assistance by the order of Lord 
 Napier, who paid each one's travelling expenses to 
 his respective country. When the English Com- 
 mander-m-Chief left the Abyssinian territory, he 
 presented to Kasa (the present King John) one 
 mountain battery of steel guns and smooth bore 
 muskets for one regiment, in acknowledgment of 
 his kind assistance to the expedition. The people of 
 Abyssinia were astonished that the English left the 
 country to itself, and did not take possession or 
 even nominate a Government for it ; but it would 
 be too costly for England to take up Ethiopia at 
 the present time. In the future, however, I feel 
 sure that some European Power will exert its 
 dominion over that healthy and fertile country, 
 with its intelligent inhabitants. 
 
 K
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 PRESENT CONDITION OF ABYSSINIA. 
 
 AS many people will like to hear how matters 
 are progressing in that distant and interest- 
 ing country since the English expedition 
 left, I will quote from a letter which I wrote some 
 time ago in The Friend of Missions. Since the 
 death of King Theodore, the Abyssinian kingdom, 
 or empire, has been divided into two parts. The 
 first includes Tigre on the eastern, and Amhara on 
 the western side of the river Takkassie, under the 
 name of Abyssinia, over which King John now 
 reigns. The second is called the kingdom of Shoa, 
 south of Abyssinia, and is under the dominion of 
 King Menelek, the son of King Hailu Melekot, of 
 Shoa. He was at school at Magdala when I was 
 there, and I often saw him afterwards with King 
 Theodore. One day, however, he ran away from 
 Magdala, and went to Shoa, where he subsequently 
 ascended his father's throne. Kasa,* with his 
 superior arms, soon subdued all rebellion, was 
 crowned King of Abyssinia, and assumed the name 
 of John. He annihilated the Egyptian army in the 
 year 1877, by which means he obtained a large 
 supply of good guns, and plenty of ammunition. 
 One year later, wishing to enlarge his dominions, 
 King John declared war against King Menelek, who 
 
 * Kasa was his name when lie retailed against King Theodore, but he calls 
 himself now, John, King of kings of Abyssinia.
 
 JOHN, THE PRESENT KING OF ABYSSINIA.
 
 Treaty of Peace between the two Kings. 133 
 
 was already in trouble because his own wife had 
 revolted against him, though her rebellion was soon 
 quelled, and the Queen and her party forgiven. 
 Meanwhile, King John was fast approaching with 
 his destructive army, and the news filled the hearts 
 of the Shoa people with terror. Nevertheless, 
 King Menelek stayed at Letsche, and hoping to 
 end the matter peacefully without bloodshed, he 
 sent his ambassadors to King John to ask for peace, 
 but they were sent back with a refusal, and the 
 Abyssinians, having already crossed the frontier, 
 began to plunder and kill. The people of Shoa 
 naturally expected that Menelek would gather an 
 army and fight against the enemy, but he remained 
 quietly in Letsche, only putting his treasures in 
 safety. Ultimately negotiations were re-commenced 
 between the two kings, John insisting that Menelek 
 should acknowledge him as his chief, and his coun- 
 try should be tributary. Menelek was forbidden 
 to cross the northern boundary of Shoa, and was 
 also expected to give soldiers to King John. The 
 following conditions of peace were accordingly 
 drawn up between the two kingdoms on the 4th 
 of March, 1878 : 
 
 1. King Menelek must pay tribute to King John. 
 
 2. He must supply King John's army with pro- 
 visions when in his dominion. 
 
 3. He must cease to be called King of kings of 
 Ethiopia, and only be called King of Shoa. 
 
 4. He must give King John assistance in any 
 time of need. 
 
 5. King John must give Menelek help in time 
 of need. 
 
 6. King Menelek shall rule the Wollo Galla 
 Mohammedans, who are located between Shoa and 
 Abyssinia. 
 
 7. King Menelek must build Christian churches
 
 134 A Council to Settle the Creed of the Empire. 
 
 ill the Wollo Galla country and introduce Chris- 
 tianity there. 
 
 8. King Menelek must give free passage to King 
 John's army as far as Debra Lebanos, a convent 
 in Shoa. 
 
 Agreed to, and signed by the two kings on the 
 14th March, 1878. 
 
 King John, now Emperor of Ethiopia, crowned 
 Menelek with his own crown, as King of Shoa, on 
 the ^(5th of March, 1878 ; and proclaimed by his 
 herald, " I have crowned my son Menelek, as King 
 of Shoa ; honour him, as you honour me." 
 
 In consequence of the agreement between the 
 two kingdoms, King John, who was fully under 
 the power of priestcraft, was anxious to establish 
 one form and creed of the Christian religion, 
 throughout the whole Abyssinian Empire. This 
 was previously tried by King Theodore with, regard 
 to the Abyssinian Je\vs and Mohammedans, but he 
 could not succeed. There is a dogmatic difference 
 between the Christians of Shoa, and those of Abys- 
 sinia ; as the Shoa people believe in three births of 
 Jesus Christ the first from the Father, the second 
 from the Virgin Mary, and the third by the Holy 
 Spirit at His baptism in Jordan ; whilst the people 
 of Abyssinia accept only two births of Christ, viz., 
 the one from the Father and the other from the 
 Virgin Mary. On this occasion, a large Council 
 was held in Shoa, and those who believed in three 
 births were compelled to renounce their views, and 
 adopt the creed of King John. The Shoa people 
 call this belief Kara Haimanot, or the knife creed, 
 because, they say, it cuts off one birth of Jesus 
 Christ. At that council it was also concluded that 
 Christ was perfect God, and not a man. Against 
 this doctrine three monks began to protest, saying 
 that Christ was perfect man and perfect God, and
 
 AN ABYSSIXIAX MAMHER, OK TEACHER OF THEOLOGY, WITH HIS STUDENTS.
 
 A Mission Begun in Shoa. 137 
 
 they quoted before the King, the passage in Phil, 
 ii. 6 8 : " Who being in the form of God, thought 
 it not robbery to be equal with God : but made 
 Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the 
 form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of 
 men : and being found in fashion as a man, He 
 humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, 
 even the death of the cross." King John and 
 his theological Mamherotsch (teachers), upon hearing 
 this, became very angry ; and the King exclaimed, 
 " I do not permit anyone to insult my Lord Jesus 
 Christ, by saying that He was also a perfect man, 
 according to the sayings of these monks :" and he 
 gave orders to cut out the tongues of these three 
 monks, which was done instantly. The accompany- 
 ing picture illustrates the usual dress of the Abys- 
 sinian priests, who are the only people in the 
 country who wear white turbans, and constantly 
 have the cross in their hands. The students dress 
 in sheep skins, and with their little baskets, beg 
 from house to house, singing psalms and the Ave 
 Maria. Mohammedans, Jews, and heathens, were 
 forced to adopt Christianity without instruction, 
 and those who resisted were beaten and killed. 
 King John and King Menelek then travelled to- 
 gether through the Wollo Galla country, plundering, 
 killing, burning and baptizing ; an astonishing way 
 of propagating Christianity. 
 
 Soon after this, Mr. John Mayer, my brother 
 missionary under King Theodore, returned to 
 Shoa, in connection with the St. Chrischona Mis- 
 sion. This induced King John to ask King 
 Menelek to send all Europeans away ; but the 
 latter answered, " I do not like to shut my country 
 against Europeans, because I love them." This he 
 has really proved, for he sent Mr. Mayer and his 
 fellow workers to the heathen Baly Gallas to preach
 
 138 King John Burns all Bibles and Testaments. 
 
 the Gospel, and at the same time he supported and 
 protected them, as they were still under his do- 
 minion. Till quite lately Mr. Mayer sent me very 
 encouraging accounts of his missionary success 
 there. King Menelek also wrote me a long letter, 
 asking me to come to him to preach the Gospel 
 among the Gallas. There were also Swedish (from 
 the Stockholm Fosterland's Stiftelsen Expedition) 
 and Roman Catholic missionaries working among 
 them. King Menelek had also European workmen 
 engaged in his kingdom, who were not connected 
 with any mission, but were well treated and paid 
 for their services, and he gave them full liberty to 
 leave whenever they wished. The King also did 
 what he could to suppress the slave trade. 
 
 King John, on the contrary, is an enemy to all 
 Europeans, and shuts his country against them. 
 He does not allow any missionary to enter his do- 
 minions. The Bibles and Testaments printed by 
 the British and Foreign Bible Society in the com- 
 mon Amharic language, which were distributed 
 between 1858 and 1868 by Bishop Gobat's mis- 
 sionaries, were diligently sought for by the King 
 and burned. It is reported that King John is much 
 more cruel than King Theodore. He goes about 
 plundering villages with his large army, destroying 
 the homes of the poor peasants, and butchering 
 men and women for trifling causes. He is a con- 
 queror and a wild warrior, but not able to rule with 
 justice, nor to improve the condition of his country 
 and people. Though King Theodore was hard, the 
 people of Abyssinia much wish that his time could 
 come back again. Poor Abyssinia is more than 
 ever a country of bloodshed and horrors. Oh I 
 when will Ethiopia stretch out her hands unto the 
 Lord and have peace I 
 
 At the beginning of 1886, King John wrote a
 
 All Europeans Expelled from Shoa. 141 
 
 letter to King Menelek to Entoto, asking him to 
 expel at once all the Protestant missionaries and 
 Europeans from his country, or to force them to 
 embrace the Abyssinian form of Christianity. King 
 Menelek, who was kind and good to all the Euro- 
 peans, was greatly disappointed at these forcible 
 measures, but, as his vassal, he dared not disobey 
 King John. So he recalled Mr. Mayer, who was 
 still superintending the Baly Galla Mission, and 
 told him that he was very sorry to convey to them 
 King John's order, but as the missionaries could 
 not embrace the distorted Christianity of the Abys- 
 sinians, they must leave the country. Mr. Mayer 
 went back to his mission station, where all the 
 people and school children were gathered together, 
 and informed his family, fellow-missionaries, and all 
 the people, that the whole missionary party must 
 leave the country. For several days the people 
 were howling and weeping, and it was heart-break- 
 ing for all thus to separate probably for ever. The 
 missionaries then travelled through Fare towards 
 Tajurrah. The Swedish missionaries joined them, 
 and many other people, and on the 10th of February 
 they entered the wilderness, and were exposed to 
 many dangers. The caravan consisted of 1,000 
 men and 1,000 camels. Mr. Mayer writes under 
 date of May 27th, 1886 : " I am very sorry to hear 
 from the people that King Menelek again allows 
 the traders to carry on their horrible business of the 
 slave-trade. This sad news was confirmed by the 
 fact that several slave dealers brought 600 young 
 Galla girls, with many boys, and joined our caravan 
 towards Tajurrah. When we arrived at Kurfa, on 
 February 28th, we were told that a caravan had 
 been attacked by robbers the day before, when 
 twenty-two persons were killed. We went round 
 about in the neighbourhood a little, and found the
 
 142 The Missionaries Robbed of their Money. 
 
 twenty-two bodies in different places, but half eaten 
 up by the hyenas. After leaving this horrible 
 place we arrived, at the beginning of April, at a 
 deep ravine, and then upon the Salt Sea of Asal. 
 For one hour we walked upon this salt sea, just as 
 we should walk on a frozen lake in Switzerland. 
 The heat was intense, and the land, of course, with- 
 out vegetation. Arrived in Tajurrah, which is oc- 
 cupied by the French, the Governor received us 
 very kindly, and sent us on one of his war vessels 
 to Aden. One of our missionary brethren had to 
 remain behind, because our money was stolen by 
 some Haussa Gallas, and the French power was too 
 weak to compel them to give it up. Out of what 
 they had stolen, however, they gave us back a little, 
 which was just enough to pay our passage from 
 Aden to Jerusalem, where I now am, poorer than I 
 ever have been in my life ; but the Lord will pro- 
 vide."
 
 NATURAL FORTIFICATION OF DEBRA DAMO IN TIGRE.
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 TRANSITION. 
 
 AFTER the hot journey on the Red Sea, and 
 across the sultry sandy plain between Suez 
 and Cairo, we spent a short time at the 
 latter place, where we were very kindly received by 
 Mr. H. Rappard, son-in-law of Bishop Gobat, and 
 now Inspector of the St. Chrischona Mission. Then 
 we returned to Jerusalem to Bishop Gobat, by 
 whom we had been sent out as missionaries. There 
 I gave a public account of our mission in Abyssinia, 
 and of our sufferings and wonderful deliverance. 
 We brought a number of our Abyssinian scholars 
 with us to Jerusalem, and they were put into 
 Bishop Gobat's School, and Mr. Schneller's Orphan- 
 age, after which they were sent to St. Chrischona 
 and trained as missionaries. They have now gone 
 back to Abyssinia in connection with the London 
 Society for Promoting Christianity among the Jews, 
 to preach the Gospel to the Falashas, as no Euro- 
 peans are allowed to enter Abyssinia. These 
 native missionaries are doing excellent work ; but 
 it is a pity that, according to the old agreement, 
 their converts still have to be baptized by Abys- 
 sinian priests, and thus become members of the 
 Abyssinian church. The good Bishop Gobat was 
 often attacked by the High Church party, for having 
 sent out lay missionaries to Abyssinia, and not or- 
 dained clergymen ; but it would have been impos-
 
 14G Prospect of Future Work. 
 
 sible for the latter to have organized a mission in 
 that fanatical land. The pious Bishop himself, did 
 not highly value human ordination for a country 
 like Abyssinia, where it might be more damaging 
 than helpful to young theologians, who seek to 
 become true followers of Jesus Christ. He pre- 
 ferred sending out lay missionaries, who would be 
 able to work with their own hands, as Paul did, at 
 the same time that they were engaged in preaching 
 the Gospel. It was this mechanical work which 
 enabled us to reach all classes of the people, and 
 was the means in God's hands of prolonging the 
 lives of the political prisoners, and finally saving us 
 from a cruel death, for that great blessing of preach- 
 ing the Gospel to others also. 
 
 Mr. Bender and his family, with Mr John 
 Mayer and his family, subsequently returned to 
 Abyssinia ; but Mr. and Mrs. Bender were soon 
 called to their heavenly rest ; and Mr. Mayer 
 went from Abyssinia to Shoa, where, as before 
 stated, he was for some time engaged in a most 
 interesting work among the Baly Gallas, into whose 
 language he has already translated the New Testa- 
 ment. Mr. Saalmliller remained in Jaffa, in con- 
 nection with Dr. Hoffmann's Mission ; and Mr. W. 
 Staiger came to Beirut in connection with the Mis- 
 sion of the Free Church of Scotland. As our 
 heavenly Father had so wonderfully delivered us 
 out of thousands of dangers, I desired more than 
 ever before to dedicate the remainder of my life to 
 the Lord's service, and decided to remain in the 
 Eastern mission field. At Jaffa, on my way to 
 Jerusalem, I made the acquaintance of Miss Arnot, 
 who proposed to me to go to Beirut and help Mrs. 
 Elizabeth Bowen Thompson's work in the British 
 Syrian Schools. For this purpose she wrote to 
 Beirut, and thus unconsciously prepared the way
 
 Our Health giving way. 147 
 
 for my future mission work. In all these things 
 can we not distinctly trace the hand of the Lord 
 leading His children ? 
 
 During our stay in Jerusalem we lodged at Bishop 
 Gobat's house, and generally spent the evenings 
 with him and his family. One evening we were 
 speaking much about Abyssinia, when Mrs. Gobat, 
 with a vivid recollection of her own experiences in 
 that country, asked whether we were not afraid of 
 the hyenas there, because our houses were sur- 
 rounded by wild beasts at night, and they were 
 continually howling and disturbing our rest. Whilst 
 we were speaking of these animals, a drunken man 
 passed by, making a loud noise, but as the shutters 
 were closed and we could not see him, we only 
 heard his voice. Rosa, our little daughter of five 
 years old, hearing the cry of the drunkard, said in 
 the Abyssinian language : " Papa, the hyenas of 
 this country do not cry like those in Abyssinia." 
 
 When we left Jerusalem, Bishop Gobat also gave 
 me letters of introduction to Mrs. Bowen Thomp- 
 son, and to Mr. and Mrs. Mentor Mott, who re- 
 ceived us into their own house at Beirut, and 
 treated us very kindly. 
 
 After having passed through so much sorrow and 
 anxiety from being, as it were, continually on the 
 verge of death, it was no wonder that our health 
 began to give way, and it was deemed expedient 
 that we should remove quickly into the cooler 
 climate of Mount Lebanon. Here we were intro- 
 duced to Mr. and Mrs. Benton, of the American 
 Mission at B'hamdoun, and Mrs. Benton took great 
 care of my dear suffering wife, for which we were 
 very thankful. After some days we went with 
 Mrs. Bowen Thompson and Mrs. Mott to Ain 
 Zahalta, where there is a branch of the British 
 Syrian Mission. At that place I left my wife and
 
 148 My Reception at Home. 
 
 Rosa for some time, to the kind care of Mrs. 
 Thompson and Mrs. Mott, whilst I went home to 
 Europe to take measures for the re-establishment 
 of the mission in Abyssinia. 
 
 When I reached my home in Lorrach, after ten 
 years' absence, my uncle and aunt, who had adopted 
 me as their son on the death of my parents, did not 
 recognise me. I said to them, " I am come from a 
 far off land, and am weary and hungry, will you 
 not give me rest and comfort ? " " Oh, yes," they said, 
 "only please to wait a little ; " and still, not having 
 recognised me, they continued, " we have a son 
 away as a missionary in Abyssinia, but we do not 
 know where he is now/' Then I could no longer dis- 
 guise myself, and replied, " I am that son, just come 
 from Abyssinia." Surprised and deeply touched, 
 they wept for joy ; and my aunt said, " Let me look 
 into thy eyes. Yes," she cried, " they are the eyes 
 of Theophilus, but where is thy fair hair, that hair 
 of which I was so proud, where is it gone ?" Then 
 I explained that having to stand in the sun before 
 King Theodore, without being allowed any pro- 
 tection, my head had become so swelled and painful 
 that in a few days the hair fell off. " Never mind," 
 she answered, " with hair or without, we are thank- 
 ful to see thee once more before we die." The old 
 meeting which was held in our house before I left 
 home, was still continued, and on account of my 
 having just returned from Abyssinia, it became so 
 crowded that we decided to build a new room, 
 which also soon became too small. Then a large 
 house was erected for the sum of 2,000, which is 
 used for meetings as well as for a regular place of 
 worship. 
 
 During my stay in Europe, I wrote a book in 
 German (afterwards translated into Swedish, French, 
 and Arabic), called " Ten Years in Abyssinia ;" and
 
 Settlement at Beirut. 149 
 
 I went about the country lecturing, and seeking to 
 interest God's people about that benighted country. 
 I had a call from Geneva, to engage in temporary 
 home mission work there, and wrote to my wife, 
 asking her to come to Europe. Only a few days 
 after this an offer came from the Committee of the 
 -British Syrian Schools, in London, asking me to 
 assist Mrs. Bowen Thompson, as Inspector of her 
 Schools in Beirut, Damascus, and Mount Lebanon. 
 News from Abyssinia also informed us that circum- 
 stances were not favourable for our return to that 
 country, so I accepted Syria from the Lord as my 
 second mission field, and sent a telegram to my wife, 
 who was then at St. John's Hospital in Beirut, telling 
 her to remain. The telegram arrived just as her 
 luggage was being carried on board the Austrian 
 steamer. So she remained in Beirut, which was 
 good for her, as her health was still weak after the 
 birth of a little son, three months before. Here I 
 should like to acknowledge the great kindness of 
 Sister Sophie Graff, in taking such good care of my 
 dear wife. 
 
 After an absence of ten months, I returned in 
 May, 1869, to my wife and to the work of the 
 British Syrian Schools. I hired a house near to 
 the head quarters of Mrs. Thompson and Mrs. Mott, 
 and began to enter upon my duties as Inspector of 
 the branch schools ; but, as I did not know the 
 Arabic language, I had to study very hard, and my 
 being nearly forty years of age made the acquisition 
 of this very difficult language much more arduous.
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 BEIRUT AND MOUNT LEBANON. 
 
 IN May, 1869, 1 arrived at Beirut in Syria, where 
 I joined the mission work of the British Syrian 
 Schools, and received much kindness from 
 Mr. and Mrs. Mentor Mott, and Mrs. Elizabeth 
 Bowen Thompson, who introduced me to the work. 
 Beirut is beautifully situated in the plain of 
 Phoenicia. It is unquestionably a very ancient 
 city, and is probably referred to in the Bible, though 
 it seems uncertain whether it is identical with 
 the Berith mentioned in Judges viii. 33. It is cer- 
 tain, however, that the worship of Baal was fol- 
 lowed both here and at Byblus, the ancient Gebal 
 or Jebeil (Ezekiel xxvii. 9). It is difficult to 
 identify Beirut with Berothai of 2 Sam. viii. 8., 
 from which David took exceeding much brass ; 
 for as there are no traces of copper mines in the 
 neighbourhood, it is not easy to see how there 
 should be much brass there, unless it had been 
 accumulated by traders from Cyprus. We know, 
 however, that the Phoenicians colonized Cyprus, 
 and developed a lively trade between the two 
 countries in the time of David and Solomon. It 
 was during this time that the copper mines of 
 Cyprus were being worked, and the precious metal 
 may therefore have been taken thence to Berothai, 
 from which place David brought it to Jerusalem. 
 It is reported that the Phoenicians came to Cornwall,
 
 Ancient Water Supplies. 153 
 
 from which place they took tin for mixing it with 
 copper, and thus making brass at Beirut. Tyre, 
 Sidon, Beirut, Byblus, and Tripoli, were im- 
 portant cities along the Phoenician coast of the 
 Mediterranean ; and though Tripoli is not so 
 old as the others, they are all very interesting 
 on account of their antiquity. In all these cities 
 idolatry was practised, and the gods of the Phoe- 
 nicians worshipped. The god Chronos (X^o'vo?), 
 subsequently known in that neighbourhood as Baal- 
 Berith, was worshipped in Beirut, and also the 
 goddess Astarte, who was represented as a woman 
 standing on a crescent, like the Virgin Mary in 
 some Christian churches. 
 
 On the heights of Lebanon, which command a 
 general view of Beirut and Phoenicia, we still find 
 ruins of ancient temples, as at Deir el Kalla, near 
 Beit Mary. An ancient Phoenician aqueduct was 
 constructed, through which the water from Ain 
 Arrar, four miles north-east of Brummana, was 
 conveyed in stone tubes to the old city round Deir 
 el Kalla, traces of which can still be easily seen. 
 The aqueduct is called by the people, the "Kana Zo- 
 beida," or Channel of Zenobia, though it is mentioned 
 in the history of this country that it was made 
 by the Phoenicians, and only repaired when out 
 of order by Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra. I do not 
 think that this aqueduct carried the water of Ain 
 Arrar to Beirut, as some writers say, but the water 
 was only carried to the temple and city of Deir el 
 Kalla by the way of Babdat and Brummana. The 
 bridge of Zobeida also, not far from Mansourieh, 
 over the Biver Magoras which falls into the sea at 
 Beirut, is a wonderful work of ancient architecture, 
 160 feet high. The water of the Magoras was 
 taken high enough up, and carried by a canal 
 along the right side of the river over the bridge of
 
 154 Origin of tlie name of Beirut. 
 
 Zobeida, and then through a tunnel and at low 
 places over arches to Beirut. These water- works 
 the inhabitants of Beirut could easily protect, but 
 the aqueduct between Ain Arrar and Deir el Kalla 
 on Mount Lebanon was beyond their control. The 
 rivers which came down from Mount Lebanon and 
 united with the sea were regarded as holy by the 
 Phoenicians, like the river Damur, south of Beirut ; 
 the Magoras, at Beirut ; and the Lycus, north of 
 that city; as well as the Nahr Ibrahim, or the rivev 
 Adonis. All these rivers were worshipped in the 
 olden time, and temples were consequently erected 
 near them. 
 
 Some say the name of Beirut was derived from 
 the word Beer which means a well, and there are 
 many at this place ; but Sanchoniathon, the oldest 
 Phoenician historian, says that the wife of the god 
 Ely on of Byblus was called Br/povS (Beyrouth), and 
 as Beirut was so near Byblus its people followed the 
 same kind of idolatry, and called it after the name 
 of the goddess. The Jewish king Herod Agrippa I. 
 preferred to reside at Beirut, and he beautified the 
 city by constructing a most splendid amphitheatre 
 and many other public buildings. Josephus relates 
 that Titus celebrated his victory over Jerusalem, 
 together with the birthday of his father Vespasian, 
 by gladiatorial plays in this amphitheatre, when 
 hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of captive Jews 
 were thrown to wild beasts and thus perished. 
 
 From the third to the sixth century Beirut was a 
 celebrated seat of learning. Many schools and 
 colleges were there, open for thousands of students 
 from far and near, especially for the study of juris- 
 prudence, and Beirut was then called the nurse of 
 the sciences and the mother of the laws. On May 
 20th, 529 A.D. Beirut was totally destroyed by a 
 terrible earthquake which visited the whole Syrian
 
 Population of Beirut. 155 
 
 coast, and destroyed many cities and villages, in 
 which 250,000 men lost their lives. It is wonderful 
 that the visits of any of the apostles to Beirut are 
 not mentioned anywhere, though the city early em- 
 braced Christianity and became a bishopric. Pam- 
 philus, a native of Beirut and Presbyter of Csesarea 
 in Palestine, was a learned theologian and very 
 active in the propagation of the Gospel ; he died 
 the death of a martyr, 309 A.D.* Beirut flour- 
 ished under the Christian Emperors until the Em- 
 peror Justinian, who united himself with the 
 Maronites of the northern Lebanon against Abd el 
 Malek, the Mohammedan leader, and gained the 
 victory over them, though Beirut remained in the 
 hands of the Mohammedans. According to Bitter, 
 the earthquake of 529 A.D. and the conquest of 
 Beirut by the Mohammedans have brought its 
 former glory down to a very poor place. 
 
 In 1110 Beirut was taken by the Crusaders, who 
 built a beautiful church there, and dedicated it to 
 St. John ; but when the city fell again into the 
 hands of the Mohammedans, this church was con- 
 verted into a mosque. The Christians, under Mo- 
 hammedan oppression, became degraded, and Beirut 
 on the whole fell back into ignorance and supersti- 
 tion. 
 
 According to the French Consul, M. H. Guys, 
 who was residing in Beirut from 1824 to 1838, this 
 city had then only 15,000 inhabitants, of whom 
 there were nearly 7,000 Mohammedans, 4,000 Greek 
 Orthodox Christians, 1,500 Maronites, 1,200 Greek 
 Catholics, 400 Armenians, 200 Jews, 800 Druses, 
 and 400 Europeans. It now contains 100,000 in- 
 habitants. No other city in the Turkish Empire has 
 had such rapid growth and development. It has 
 
 * See Mr. Edward Backhouse's " Early Church History," page 360.
 
 150 Geological Formation. 
 
 become the seat of the European trade, and the 
 residence of the European and American Consuls. 
 Beirut has large and beautiful gardens, especially 
 of mulberry trees. Its soil is fertile and produces 
 all the tropical fruits and vegetables. Its climate 
 is healthy, and its position, with old Lebanon in its 
 immediate background, rising to the clouds, makes 
 it one of the nicest spots in the world. 
 
 Mount Lebanon means the White Mountain, like 
 Mont Blanc in Savoy. Two reasons for this are 
 obvious. The first is the snow, which is very con- 
 spicuous on the highest summits during the winter 
 months, and can be easily seen from Cyprus. We 
 cannot say that the snow covers these mountains 
 the greater part of the year, for we only see it from 
 late in the autumn until the early spring, except on 
 Mount Hermon the snow can be seen the whole 
 year round. But this mountain, though included 
 in Anti Lebanon, is not called the White Mountain, 
 but Sion or Jebel E'Sheikh (the chief mountain). 
 The second reason is the whitish appearance of the 
 limestone rocks, of which most of Mount Lebanon 
 is formed. The vegetation of Lebanon goes up to 
 6,000 feet ; beyond that height it is destitute of 
 anything like trees and shrubs. Nothing can be 
 seen but the white sterile limestone rocks during 
 the greater part of the year. It is also interesting 
 to remark that the limestone in the lower regions 
 along the sea coasts becomes rather dark, while 
 in the higher regions of Lebanon it remains white, 
 which is caused probably from the purifying friction 
 of the rain and snow upon the pale heads of Mount 
 Lebanon. 
 
 The whole of Palestine and Syria, in regard to 
 its geological formation, consists principally of lime- 
 stone ; but on Mount Lebanon we also find a soft 
 sandstone formation of red and yellow colour, con-
 
 Coal Mines on Mount Lebanon. 157 
 
 taining a good deal of iron ore and iron pyrites 
 upon clay beds. These soft sandstone localities are 
 common between the limestone hills of Lebanon, 
 and rest, no doubt, upon a limestone foundation, 
 however deep it may be found. They show them- 
 selves just at the foot of the mountain not far from 
 the sea shore, as well as on every height of Lebanon, 
 up to 6,000 feet. In some parts these beds of 
 sandy soil are from three to six miles in length, and 
 two to three in breadth ; some are larger, some 
 smaller. Upon this soil we find much cultivation, 
 especially of mulberry trees. The uncultivated 
 parts are covered with fir trees. In these localities 
 we find a number of coal mines, besides excellent 
 iron ore, which was used formerly for the manufac- 
 ture of the celebrated Damascus steel. The largest 
 of the coal mines is found two miles south-east of 
 Saleema, near Kornail, and it was well and sys- 
 tematically worked during Ibrahim Pasha's occupa- 
 tion of Syria in the year 1836, under the English 
 engineers Brattel and Hornhill ; but when Ibrahim 
 Pasha was defeated, the mining work was stopped 
 and the mines are closed up to this day. 
 
 The double mountain ranges of Lebanon and 
 Anti Lebanon, which run ninety miles in parallel 
 lines from the sources of the Jordan towards the 
 north-eastern boundary of Syria, are divided from 
 each other by the high plain of Bukaa, in which 
 the ancient ruins of Heliopolis (Baalbec or Baal 
 Gad) are located. Mount Lebanon runs along 
 the Mediterranean coast, and is far more beautiful 
 than the Anti Lebanon, which possesses no special 
 attraction besides its southern summit of the 
 Mount of Transfiguration, upon which the tower 
 was built which looketh towards Damascus (Cant, 
 vii. 4). Not without cause did Moses, the manof 
 God, pray to go over and see the good land that is
 
 158 The Forests of Mount Lebanon. 
 
 beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain (Hermon) 
 and Lebanon (Deut. iii. 25). These beautiful 
 mountains were included in the Promised Land, 
 but Israel never took possession of them. Mount 
 Lebanon has a great attraction for the people of 
 the East as well as to Europeans. Its healthy 
 bracing air, when coming from the sultry feverish 
 plains of Palestine, Egypt, and Phoenicia, is truly 
 beneficial. When walking in the morning or even- 
 ing amidst the hills and fields of Mount Lebanon, 
 one is at once reminded by the fragrance of the 
 flowers, of the pine and fir trees, and of the myrtle 
 and other aromatic shrubs, of the Song of Solomon 
 iv. 11, where it says, " The smell of thy garments 
 is like the smell of Lebanon." Also, " I will be as 
 dew unto Israel ; he shall grow as the lily, and cast 
 forth his roots as Lebanon. His branches shall 
 spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, 
 and his smell as Lebanon" (Hos. xiv. 5, 6). Solo- 
 mon delighted in Lebanon and its forests, and took 
 much of the fir, pine, cedar and oak wood, in order 
 to build the interior of the temple, and his palaces 
 at Jerusalem. The prophets speak with glowing 
 interest of Mount Lebanon, " The glory of Lebanon 
 shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and 
 the box together, to beautify the places of My 
 sanctuary" (Is. Ix. 13). "The glory of Lebanon 
 shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and 
 Sharon ; they shall see the glory of the Lord, and 
 the excellency of our God " (Isa. xxxv. '2). The 
 80,000 hewers who were sent by Solomon to Mount 
 Lebanon, to cut down the cedar, fir, pine and oak 
 trees, must have inflicted a great damage on its 
 forests, from which they have never recovered. Now 
 there is no supply of timber on Mount Lebanon 
 for the temple in Jerusalem, nor is there any need 
 for it, for the large forests have long since passed
 
 Idolatrous Worship of the Phoenicians. 161 
 
 away, and the temple of Jerusalem is no more ; but 
 there is a spiritual sanctuary into which we have to 
 bring the spiritual glory of Mount Lebanon. 
 
 Within the limits of this part of Lebanon we 
 find localities of very great interest. About three 
 miles south-west from Brummana, near Beit Mary, 
 are the ruins of an ancient Phoenician temple, with 
 the inscription, "lovi Bal Marcodi." This Bal 
 Marcodi was no doubt Baal-Berith, who was wor- 
 shipped by the Phoenicians of Beirut, and also by 
 the Israelites who were fond of imitating the 
 heathen idolatry of the Phoenicians (1 Kings xi. 5). 
 At Apheca (Afka), between the lofty summits of 
 Munitrah and Sanneen, at the sources of the famous 
 river Adonis (Tammuz), we find the ruins of a very 
 ancient temple of Venus. This temple was built 
 by Kingras, king of the Giblites, who are mentioned 
 in Joshua xiii. 5, and 1 Kings v. 18, and was used 
 for the abominably licentious worship of Venus 
 and Adonis. 
 
 The feasts of Tammuz, or Adonis, were held at 
 Byblus (the ancient Gebal) by the Giblites, as well 
 as in the temple of Venus at Apheca, and at Baal 
 Gad or Heliopolis, in Damascus, Palmyra, Baby- 
 lon, Phoenicia, Egypt, and Jerusalem. The death 
 of the beautiful god Adonis, who was killed by a 
 wild beast at the sources of the river which is 
 known by his name, was lamented by Venus, and 
 by all the beautiful women and girls of Mount 
 Lebanon, Byblus, and Cyprus. At the beginning 
 of the winter when the rain came down in torrents 
 from Mount Lebanon, the floods carried off much 
 red iron ore, and gave the waters of the river 
 a reddish colour which was supposed to be the 
 blood of Adonis, whose death was said to have 
 taken place in the autumn. But with the return of 
 spring Adonis was said to rise again from the dead 
 
 M
 
 162 Ruins of Gebal. 
 
 in all his beauty. Both seasons, therefore, were 
 commemorated in the feasts of Tammuz, at which 
 the women and girls played the greatest part. 
 At the first they made a great lamentation, for 
 which the women in the East are wonderfully 
 capable ; and at the latter they broke forth in ex- 
 ceeding joy and pleasure, fancying that Adonis the 
 object of their love had risen from the dead, and in 
 order to gratify Venus and Adonis they indulged 
 themselves in sensual pleasures. 
 
 " Tammuz came next behind, 
 Whose annual wound in Lebanon allured 
 The Syrian damsels to lament his fate 
 In amorous ditties all a summer's day ; 
 While smooth Adonis from his native rock 
 Ran purple to the sea, supposed with blood 
 Of Tammuz yearly wounded." * 
 
 We see with sorrow how attractive these heathen 
 feasts were to the children of Israel, for they were 
 early introduced at Jerusalem. In the prophecy of 
 Ezekiel we read, " He brought me to the door of 
 the Lord's house, and behold there sat women 
 weeping for Tammuz (Adonis)." Ezekiel viii. 14. 
 
 The temple of Venus at Apheca on Mount 
 Lebanon, where this demoralising heathen worship 
 was carried on till the beginning of the fourth cen- 
 tury, was with many other heathen temples utterly 
 destroyed by Constantine the Great. 
 
 As I look from Brummana northwards I can see 
 through the telescope at a distance of twenty-three 
 miles the ruins of ancient Gebal. The Giblites in 
 ancient times were clever stone squarers and ship 
 builders and rendered King Solomon great service 
 through the medium of Hiram, King of Tyre, in 
 building the temple and palaces at Jerusalem (1 
 Kings v. 18). These Giblites may, therefore, have 
 
 * See " Paradise Lost," I. 446.
 
 Discovery of Assyrian and Egyptian Tablets. 163 
 
 been the means of introducing the heathen feasts 
 and worship of Tammuz to Jerusalem (Ezekiel 
 viii. 14), because in Byblus (Gebal) the worship of 
 Adonis was so greatly honoured that we find the 
 following inscription upon old coins : AScovlSo? iepd 
 (holy Adonis), ~Bv/3\ov lepd? (holy Byblus). The river 
 Adonis, which was holy to the Giblites, enters into 
 the sea only half an hour south of Byblus or Gebal. 
 
 About five miles to the north of Brummana 
 down at the sea coast is the Nahr el Kelb (the 
 Lycus or Dog river) which runs down from the 
 heights of Jebel Sanneen to the Mediterranean. I 
 often visited the exceedingly interesting historical 
 monuments which were discovered there by the 
 French Consul, M. H. Guys, in the year 1808, con- 
 sisting of six Assyrian and three Egyptian tablets 
 containing the pictures of the respective kings 
 chiselled out life size upon the hard limestone rock, 
 with Egyptian hieroglyphics and Assyrian cunei- 
 form inscriptions commemorating the journeys, 
 battles, and victories of Ramses, Sesostris, and 
 Pharaoh Necho of ancient Egypt, and of Shalman- 
 ezer, Tiglathpileser, Eserhaddon, and Nebuchadnez- 
 zar of Assyria. Many other Persian, Greek, and 
 Roman potentates passed by this old road who are 
 all gone into oblivion ; but the Assyrian and Egyp- 
 tian kings whose names we find in the Bible have 
 perpetuated their deeds by these monuments, which 
 thus become an excellent illustration of the facts 
 recorded of them in the Holy Scripture. In my 
 journey through Egypt I saw many tablets similar 
 to those at the Dog river, representing Ramses II. 
 with the winged Discus Q and the mystic Tau, the 
 symbol of eternity and | happiness, which so 
 much resembles the Cross which is the type 
 
 of Christian life and eternal happiness. 
 
 I was greatly astonished when I came from the
 
 1G4 Varieties of Trees growing at Beirut. 
 
 tropical Alps of Abyssinia to find two kinds of 
 trees in Syria which I had nearly daily before my 
 eyes in the former country. The first is called in 
 the Amharic language Shola and in Arabic Shumi- 
 zet. It is a sycamore tree with large branches 
 stretching out nearly horizontally from the trunk, 
 at about a man's height. This tree I found also at 
 Jericho, and by the Jordan, and its low branches 
 must have been convenient for good Zaccheus to 
 mount. It bears wild figs (Amos vii. 14). The 
 second tree of Abyssinia which I found at Beirut 
 was the Wansa, in Arabic Maksas. It has beautiful 
 foliage and edible yellow berries. These two trees 
 had many sad and joyful associations to me from 
 their connection with Abyssinia. Sometimes we 
 had lodged under them, and sometimes I had seen 
 them crowded with the dead bodies of those whom 
 King Theodore had executed. In the interior 
 of the Galla country these two trees are regarded 
 as holy, and are worshipped by the heathen. 
 
 There are some kinds of trees which we find 
 growing both on the plain between Mount Lebanon 
 and the Mediterranean Sea, and on the average 
 height of Mount Lebanon, which is about 3,000 
 feet above the level of the sea. Among these is 
 the mulberry tree (Morus alba), which is cared for 
 and loved very much by the natives of the northern 
 part of Syria, and not without cause, for it provides 
 the inhabitants with the means of living, and beau- 
 tifies their country with its shining, fresh, dark 
 green foliage. A few other trees we also find in 
 nearly every locality, as the fig tree, pomegranate, 
 olive, almond, cypress, poplar, quince, apricot, fir, 
 pine, laurel, service, acacia, different kinds of 
 willow, vine, and pear tree. Other kinds of trees 
 grow only in the low, hot plain along the coast, 
 such as the orange and citron, which we find in
 
 The Trees, Shrubs, and Flowers of Lebanon. 167 
 
 abundance at Beirut, Sidon, and Jaffa. Mandarin 
 oranges, which have been only lately imported, are 
 growing with success ; and cactus, bananas, tamarisk, 
 sycamore, and palms are common. The mimosa 
 (Acacia Egyptiaca, the Arabic musk), which is at 
 home in Soudan, where it yields gum Arabic in 
 abundance, has also been introduced ; but in Syria 
 it does not produce gum, and is only liked on 
 account of its yellow aromatic blossoms. It likes 
 great heat, and grows well at Jericho and by the 
 Jordan. 
 
 The trees which grow only on the heights of 
 Mount Lebanon are the evergreen oak, often by 
 mistake called Terebinth, the common oak, the 
 walnut, plane, different kinds of Terebinth, the 
 storax, apple, cherry, plum, and the stone pine or 
 Pinus pinea, which bears edible fruits. The cedar 
 tree occupies the highest place in the vegetation of 
 Mount Lebanon. As one looks at these majestic 
 trees one understands the full beauty of the illus- 
 tration : " The righteous shall flourish like a palm 
 tree, and spread abroad like a cedar of Lebanon." 
 These beautiful and stately trees, which the Lord 
 had planted, are now reduced to two small groves, 
 one of which is in the southern part of Lebanon 
 at Barouk, and the other larger grove is in the 
 northern part at B'sherry, at a height of 6,000 feet. 
 
 The following flowers and shrubs grow abund- 
 antly on all the heights of Lebanon, as they do in 
 other parts of Bible Lands. The Cistus salvifolius 
 and prickly broom are always to be found near 
 each other, under and between the pine trees. 
 Many kinds of blue anemones and deep red violets 
 grow in millions from December to the end of March, 
 crocuses, tulips, cyclamens, and irises, grow in 
 abundance early in the spring ; and later on dif- 
 ferent kinds of lilies, myrtle, oleander, rhododen-
 
 168 The Flora of Syi-ia. 
 
 drons, wild flax, mallow, lavender, Adonis sestivalis, 
 Ranunculus, lupins, Solanum sanctum, Acanthus, 
 meadow saffron, Capparis spinosa, periwinkle, 
 Bongardia, wild pea, scabius, gladiolus, hollyhock, 
 Salvia Indica, Kubus sanctus, burnet, Plumbago, 
 buglos, veronicas, heaths, and many other species. 
 The flora of Syria is rich and beautiful from Feb- 
 ruary to the end of April or to the middle of May ; 
 but with the beginning of June the grass and its 
 flowers are dried up by the scorching heat of the 
 sun, and pass away ; but on the heights of Mount 
 Lebanon they last a little longer.
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 EDUCATION IN BEIRUT AND MOUNT LEBANON. 
 
 WHEN the American missionaries began their 
 good work in Syria, in the year 1823, they 
 chose Beirut as their central station, and so 
 it became again what it had been before, a centre 
 of learning, not of Roman law, but of the law of 
 God which makes wise unto salvation. Simple 
 schools were opened for boys and girls. The 
 Arabic language was studied, religious conversa- 
 tions and meetings held, a new printing press was 
 sent from America, the Bible was translated, 
 printed, and circulated, and many other books and 
 tracts were printed and distributed. Seminaries 
 for both sexes were opened, a large Protestant 
 church was built, and in the year 1870 the Syrian 
 Protestant College, including medicine and surgery, 
 received its first students, and on the 7th of 
 December, 1871, the corner-stone was laid for the 
 New College which is the crown of the Protestant 
 mission work in Syria. All these powerful agencies 
 exercised great regenerating influences upon the 
 people at Beirut, and through the whole of Syria. 
 They aroused the sleepy clergy of the different 
 Oriental churches into jealousy, which provoked 
 them also to open schools. More than all, the 
 Jesuits got up in excitement and left their moun- 
 tain school at Ghuzir, on Mount Lebanon, to make 
 Beirut their central station. They built an immense
 
 170 Schools and Colleges at Beirut. 
 
 castle-like college in connection with an excellent 
 press where they printed their new version of the 
 Bible in three volumes. There are now 8,900 scholars 
 under daily instruction in the different schools and 
 colleges at Beirut. 
 
 BEIRUT SCHOOL STATISTICS. 
 
 Protestant Schools, high and common 
 Orthodox Greek 
 Papal Greek (Melchites) 
 Maronites 
 
 Schools. 
 30 
 15 
 3 
 10 
 
 Teachers. 
 116 
 33 
 11 
 25 
 
 Boys. 
 761 
 928 
 227 
 820 
 
 Girls. 
 2281 
 425 
 
 Svriac ... 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 SO 
 
 
 Jewish ... 
 
 3 
 
 7 
 
 125 
 
 
 Jesuit, high and common 
 Sisters of Charity 
 Sisters of Nazareth ... 
 Mohammedan .. 
 
 14 
 4 
 2 
 11 
 
 29 
 31 
 18 
 23 
 
 1024 
 805 
 
 1110 
 340 
 
 Total. 
 
 3042 
 
 1353 
 
 227 
 
 vJO 
 
 80 
 
 125 
 
 1024 
 
 1110 
 
 340 
 
 805 
 
 93 295 4770 4156 8926 
 
 PROTESTANT SCHOOLS OUTSIDE BEIRUT. 
 
 Schools. Teachers. Boys. Girls. Total. 
 
 American Mission, high and common ... 80 115 3200 780 3980 
 Anglo-American Friends' Society on Mount 
 
 Lebanon 10 12 272 72 344 
 
 British Syrian Schools 20 40 50 2000 2050 
 
 Irish Presbyterian Mission at Damascus... 10 11 396 30 426 
 Free Church of Scotland on Mount 
 
 Lebanon 10 13 280 100 380 
 
 Society for Promoting Female Education 
 
 in the East 14 60 60 
 
 Reformed Presbyterian Mission at Latakieh 7 10 300 100 400 
 
 138 205 4498 3142 7640 
 Protestant Schools at Beirut .30 116 761 2281 3042 
 
 168 321 5259 5423 10682 
 
 These, of course, will be an immense power for 
 the future elevation of the social, religious, and 
 political condition of the people in Syria. 
 
 In Beirut are ten public printing presses, and 
 nine regular journals are printed, with a circulation
 
 Population of Syria. 171 
 
 of 10,000. The population of Syria is estimated 
 at 2,055,000: 
 
 Mohammedans 1,000,000 
 
 Nusariehs 250,000 
 
 Maronites 250,000 
 
 Greeks 235,000 
 
 Roman Catholics 80,000 
 
 Druses 80,000 
 
 Beda win Arabs 60,000 
 
 Jews 30,000 
 
 Ismaeliyehs 30,000 
 
 Armenians 20,000 
 
 Jacobites ( Monophysites) ... 15,000 
 
 Protestants 5,000 
 
 2,055,000 
 
 I must remember the British Syrian Schools 
 in Beirut, Lebanon, and Damascus. These schools 
 were founded by Mrs. Elizabeth Bowen Thomp- 
 son, in the year 1860, just after the bloody Druse 
 massacre of the Christians on Mount Lebanon ; 
 and before saying anything about her work, 
 it may be well briefly to explain the causes of that 
 fearful event. Christians and Druses formerly lived 
 in peace and friendship with each other. The 
 Druses mainly occupied the southern, and the 
 Maronites the northern part of Mount Lebanon ; 
 but there were also a number of villages which 
 were inhabited by both. 
 
 In the year 1756 two Emirs of the Shehab family, 
 who were Mohammedans, became Maronites, and 
 other Shehab Princes followed, which was felt to 
 be a disgrace to their religion, and caused much 
 trouble. The Turkish Pashas did not lose any 
 opportunity of securing animosities among the in- 
 habitants of Mount Lebanon, knowing well that if 
 the people there should ever be bound together by 
 feelings of mutual confidence the danger to the 
 continuance of Turkish supremacy would be great. 
 The Christians were greatly oppressed by the
 
 172 Civil War on Mount Lebanon. 
 
 Turkish Government. In 1833, Mohammed All 
 and his adopted son Ibrahim Pasha conquered 
 Syria and tried to elevate that degraded country. 
 He was afterwards defeated by the help of the 
 English fleet, and Syria again fell back under the 
 destructive power of the Turks. Since then the 
 Sultan has always done his utmost to secure Mount 
 Lebanon by creating enmity between its different 
 tribes, especially between the Druses and Maronites. 
 The last, being under French influence, boasted 
 much of their position, and pushed their hatred too 
 far. It is said that the Maronite Patriarch 
 received from France 20,000 in order to strengthen 
 their community against the Druses, which em- 
 broiled them also with the Sultan and excited him 
 against them. The ambitious Maronite patriarch 
 and his whole clerical suite were the instigators of 
 the animosity against the Druses, which ultimately 
 resulted in an affray at Deir el Kamar, in the year 
 1841, and then in a general civil war and massacre 
 in the whole of Lebanon. This weakened the 
 whole country and secured the supremacy of the 
 Sultan over all Syria, and he rejoiced to stand as 
 conqueror though his position was gained through 
 the worst passions of human nature. In the year 
 1845 the Maronite clergy gathered their adherents 
 and led them to the bloody and devilish work of 
 massacring the Druses. The bishops, to their 
 shame be it said, were the officers in the war, 
 carrying their crucifixes in their hands and destroy- 
 ing everything before them till they were defeated 
 at Muktara. The feeling of hatred was thus firmly 
 planted in the hearts of these two mountain 
 peoples, and the growing tendency to revenge was 
 cleverly fostered on both sides by the Turkish 
 officers, who, seeing that the Druses were far 
 superior in warfare to the Maronites, invited the
 
 Massacre of the Christians. 173 
 
 former to an intimate fellowship and union with 
 the Sublime Porte. 
 
 Said Beg Jumplatt, the most influential chief of 
 the Druses, obtained a Firman from Constantinople 
 appointing him an Imperial Equerry. The Druses 
 were flattered with golden promises by the Sultan, 
 and they began to think much of themselves, while 
 the Christians were ignored and despised by the 
 authorities. The Druses were used by the Turkish 
 Government to break the power of the Maronites, 
 and, if possible, to remove all Christians from 
 Lebanon. In 1859, the signal for a very serious 
 affray took place at Beit Mary, half-an-hour 
 south-west of Brummana and now under the care 
 of our Mission, by which every sensible man could 
 clearly see that a civil war was going to follow. 
 The Maronite patriarch, bishops, and priests, ex- 
 cited their adherents against the Druses, and all 
 the Maronite and Greek Christians began to pre- 
 pare themselves for war. So did the Druses, whose 
 delight it is to shed the blood of idolaters, as they 
 call Christians, and in this they were fully encour- 
 aged from Constantinople. The Druses began to 
 try their weapons upon the Christians here and 
 there, and killed some of them, which passed off 
 without the slightest notice by the authorities. 
 Small fightings in different localities, in which the 
 Christians were always the losing party, took place. 
 On the 30th of May, 1860, the Druses, with fire- 
 signals arranged with the Turkish soldiers, began 
 the massacre in terrible earnest. In a few hours 
 all the villages were in flames. Christian men, 
 women, and children, fled away in the utmost con- 
 sternation. Said Beg Jumplatt took the full com- 
 mand of these dark and bloody horrors, and in a 
 short time Lebanon was in conflagration and stained 
 with blood. Druses from Hauran came to unite
 
 174 Massacre of the Christians. 
 
 with their brethren in Lebanon ; and the Turkish 
 forces, under pretence of maintaining and securing 
 peace, played the worst part in the tragedy. 
 
 The horrors committed at Jesseen, Zachleh, Deir 
 el Kamar, Hasbaya, Rasheya, and Damascus, were 
 fearful. But the culmination of horrors took place 
 at Hasbaya, where the Druse Lady, Sitt Naaify, 
 the sister of Said Beg Jumplatt, got the Christians, 
 under the pretext of protection, into the large 
 castle, where their arms were taken away from 
 them. Wives, mothers, and daughters, went up to 
 Sitt Naaify, and threw themselves madly at her 
 feet, imploring her to release their husbands and 
 fathers ; but she was as cold as a piece of marble, 
 and gave order that all the Christians should be 
 massacred. Before this awful order was carried 
 out, Ali Hamadi went up to the blood-thirsty 
 woman, and said to her, " Are all the Christians to 
 be massacred ? Please think of their families, the 
 widows and orphan babes, and take compassion. 
 Spare those fine young men. Execute the leaders 
 only, and set free the rest." But she said, " Impos- 
 sible ! Not a Christian is to be left alive from 
 seven years old to seventy ! " The trumpets 
 sounded, and Druses and Turks entered the castle 
 and massacred the Christians with hatchets, bill- 
 hooks, swords, and guns. As the Christians 
 bowed their heads under the executioners' swords, 
 they exclaimed, " In Thy name, Lord Jesus ; " but 
 the murderers responded, " Don't you know that 
 God is a Druse ? " After the bloody work was 
 over, and about 1,000 victims lay in the courtyard 
 of the castle, Sitt Naaify entered, and seeing all 
 these mutilated corpses lying in six inches of 
 human blood, she said, " Well done, my faithful 
 Druses I This is just what I expected from you ! " 
 Before there could be any interference from the
 
 Mrs. Bowen Thompson's Work in Syria. 175 
 
 Powers in Europe to stop this horrible butchery, 
 11,000 Christian men were massacred, and 24,000 
 widows and orphans were in consequence in the 
 greatest destitution. Thousands of them were 
 flocking to Beirut for refuge and help. 
 
 Mrs. Bowen Thompson heard of the great misery 
 of these widows and orphans in Syria, and being 
 herself a widow, she sympathized deeply with 
 them. So she left her native land, and in the love of 
 Jesus went out to the Syrian field of desolation to 
 help the poorest of the world by maternal and 
 spiritual comfort. She arrived at Beirut in Octo- 
 ber, 1860, and began her great work among the 
 widows and orphans, which ultimately developed 
 into the most interesting mission of the British 
 Syrian Schools. 
 
 Being engaged as Inspector of the branch schools 
 of this Mission, I had to visit the schools regularly 
 at Beirut and many villages on Mount Lebanon, as 
 well as at Damascus. There were over twenty 
 schools, with an average attendance of more than 
 one thousand children. The Training Institution 
 at Beirut where 80 girls are trained for teachers 
 would need special description, if space could 
 allow, because it is the central point of the British 
 Syrian Schools. The best side of this very interest- 
 ing work is that it consists not only in giving 
 secular instruction, but it trains the Syrian girls in 
 sound Gospel truths, which lead them to Jesus 
 Christ, the Prince of Peace. This is specially 
 needed in Syria where the people are so ready to 
 shed each other's blood. It was exceedingly 
 interesting to see the children of the murderers 
 sitting closely together with the children of the 
 murdered and learning the love of God, as it has 
 been made manifest through Christ Jesus. I was 
 not privileged to work long with Mrs. Bowen
 
 176 Mr 8. Thompson's Letter to Syrian Children. 
 
 Thompson, who was like a pious mother over her 
 whole work. When my dear wife was ill and I 
 was suffering from fever, Mrs. Thompson came and 
 knelt down at her bedside and offered up fervent 
 and effectual prayers which were answered by our 
 Father in heaven. She worked so hard during her 
 nine years missionary efforts in Syria, that her 
 health was greatly impaired and she had to leave 
 for England on the 17th of September, 1869. She 
 reached her sister, Susette Smith's residence, at 
 Blackheath College, London, on the 7th of October, 
 and on the 30th she wrote her last letter to her 
 dear Syrian children, as follows : 
 
 " When I was a little girl I always wanted to go 
 to Syria, and I wrote a little book to interest other 
 little girls about you, and to lead them to Jesus. 
 It has given me great pleasure that my friend, Mr. 
 Saleem Bistany, has translated this book into 
 Arabic. I now send it with a very few simple 
 words to say that the same advice which I gave 
 you long ago I give you now. Read the word of 
 God, and make it your study. When you open the 
 book put up the prayer which you find in Psalm 
 cxix. 18, ' Open Thou mine eyes, that I may behold 
 wondrous things out of Thy law.' I pray to God 
 to give you the Holy Spirit to help you to remember 
 what you read, to teach you your need of it, and 
 how to make use of it, so will you become 
 acquainted with your own hearts, and the Holy 
 Spirit will lead you to the heavenly Friend, who 
 will bless you and will bring you to glory, such as 
 is not seen on earth. I know how fond little 
 children are of pictures, to teach them about 
 countries, and trees, and birds, and about people 
 who have lived in former days, so now I send you 
 a picture, one of the loveliest that can be conceived, 
 for it is one of the loving Jesus receiving children
 
 Death of Mrs. Thompson. 177 
 
 when others thought they were too young, and wanted 
 to send them away. ' Suffer little children to come 
 unto Me, and forbid them not, for of such is the 
 kingdom of heaven.' Some people worship pictures, 
 but this is very wrong, and I wish my children to 
 learn the second Commandment. I hope to see 
 you again in heaven. Farewell. God bless you. 
 
 " Your affectionate friend, and Syrian mother, 
 
 "ELIZABETH MARIA THOMPSON." 
 
 On the 14th of November, 1869, dear Mrs. 
 Thompson's departure to the better land was 
 drawing nigh. The last words she uttered were, 
 " Glory be to the Father, the Son, and the Holy 
 Ghost ! Jesus ! Jesus ! Rest ! rest ! Arise ! 
 Amen ! " and she was transplanted to the celestial 
 regions. On the 18th of November the sad tele- 
 gram reached us in Syria which caused indescrib- 
 able grief and sorrow. Dear Mrs. Thompson was a 
 living sacrifice for the glory of God. She lived 
 not for herself but for Him who called her out to 
 the great harvest field in Syria. Gerald Smith's 
 words respecting her are true : 
 
 " Mourn for the widow's and the orphan's friend ! 
 Mourn that a life so dear so soon should end. 
 With wisdom, grace, and love divinely blessed, 
 She raised the fallen, shielded the oppressed ; 
 The blind she led to touch the Word and see, 
 And healed the strife of creeds by charity. 
 Damascus mourns her ; Hermon's daughters weep ; 
 Their mother in the Lord has fallen asleep ! 
 Her native land has claimed her mortal part, 
 Jesus her soul, but Syria has her heart ! " 
 
 Mrs. Mentor Mott was appointed by her late 
 sister to follow her as the Directress of the British 
 Syrian Schools, assisted by her husband, Mr. Mentor 
 Mott, and her sister, Miss Lloyd. I had the branch 
 schools and the teachers under my care, and did 
 my best to co-operate with Mrs. Mott in the whole 
 
 N
 
 178 Visits of Friends to Syria. 
 
 work. My daughter Rosa was in the Training In- 
 stitution, and was well cared for. 
 
 Mrs. Mott carried on her sister's great work with 
 much wisdom, energy and devotedness, and I was 
 pleased to see the disinterested way in which she 
 did not gather her children and workers under the 
 organisation of the Established Church of England, 
 of which she, her husband, and Miss Lloyd were 
 members, but she led her large flock every Sunday 
 to the American Presbyterian Mission Church at 
 Beirut. 
 
 In the year 1869, the British Syrian Schools were 
 visited by Eli and Sybil Jones, Richard Allen, 
 Charles Wakefield, and Captain Pirn, who were 
 greatly pleased with the work. I was told that 
 they were Quakers, or Friends, who were good 
 people on the whole, though wrong in rejecting the 
 outward ordinances. This interested me much, 
 and as I had never become acquainted with such 
 people before, I the more desired to see them, and 
 learn their religious principles. Their addresses, 
 especially those of Sybil Jones, were so powerful 
 and edifying, that our hearts were touched, and I 
 began to think that their religious principles must 
 be of a superior nature. I went to the hotel where 
 they lodged, and made their acquaintance, and from 
 that time I have believed that the Quaker principles 
 are the right basis for a true spiritual Church. When 
 these dear Friends left the country, their blessed 
 influence remained upon my heart, though they had 
 not the slightest idea of it, nor had I any hope of 
 seeing them again. 
 
 In the spring of 1871, another Quaker, Stafford 
 Allen, with his son Francis Allen, visited Syria, and 
 they also visited the British Syrian Schools, where 
 I got acquainted with them through Captain Pirn. 
 It was so arranged that I had to accompany Staf-
 
 Visit to Europe and England. 179 
 
 ford Allen, his son, and Captain Pirn, to Baalbec 
 and back. Having already a great leaning towards 
 the principles of the Society of Friends, I inquired 
 more deeply into them, and had very blessed inter- 
 course with Stafford Allen all the way along. He 
 also seemed to take great interest in me, and it was 
 on that journey that we were bound together by an 
 everlasting friendship. He said to me when he 
 left the Syrian shores, " If thee come to London, 
 please visit my house, and stay with me, and my 
 dear wife Hannah will take care of thee." I 
 was then very far from guessing that Hannah 
 Stafford Allen would become the mother of the 
 Friends' Lebanon Mission. 
 
 On the 15th of March, 1872, I left Beirut with 
 my dear wife and two children for Europe, while 
 our daughter Rosa was left at Mrs. Mott's Institu- 
 tion. When we reached our home at Lorrach, I 
 left my wife and the two small children, Theophilus 
 and Augusta, with my relations there, and went to 
 England, where I arrived on the 13th of April at 
 Blackheath College, the residence of Mrs. Mott's 
 sister, Mrs. Smith, who was the principal person 
 in England connected with the British Syrian 
 Schools. Mrs. Smith introduced me to Colonel 
 Boileau, the Secretary of their Mission, and with 
 him I visited many towns up and down the country, 
 holding public and private meetings, in order to 
 increase the interest in the British Syrian Schools. 
 In the year 1879, after the death of her husband, 
 Mrs. Smith came out to Syria in order to help Mrs. 
 Mott in the great work. She was engaged for six 
 years in the work in Beirut, and fell asleep in Jesus 
 on the 25th of January, 1885. Her loss to the 
 British Syrian Schools is great, because she was a 
 mother in Israel, well beloved. 
 
 On the 17th of April I visited my friend Stafford
 
 180 Return to Syria. 
 
 Allen, whose acquaintance I made in Syria. He 
 introduced me to his wife, Hannah Stafford Allen, 
 and I was glad to see her heavenly countenance, 
 with the lustre of peace and love upon it. From 
 that time, during my stay in England, I was 
 privileged to make her house my home. Here I got 
 initiated by degrees into the principles of the 
 Society of Friends, and the Friends' Meeting at 
 Stoke Newington became a great blessing to me. 
 Robert and Christine Alsop, Rebecca Thursfield, 
 and Hannah Stafford Allen, were used of God to 
 lead me more and more into the spiritual principles 
 of the Society of Friends. The more I began to 
 know them the more I began to love them, and 
 often did I say to myself, " Oh ! what a precious 
 thing it is to come out from the bondage of ritual- 
 istic slavery into the liberty of the children of God." 
 I will not judge for others, but to me Quakerism 
 was just the very thing which gave rest to my con- 
 science, and peace to my soul. 
 
 After I had completed my lecturing with Colonel 
 Boileau, on behalf of the British Syrian Schools, I 
 rested a few days in my new English home at 
 Stafford Allen's, and departed on the 4th of July 
 to Germany, where I met my family. After having 
 had different meetings in Germany and Switzerland, 
 we left again for Syria, where we arrived on the 
 3rd of September, and I again resumed my duties 
 in the British Syrian Schools. I visited all the 
 schools in Beirut and on Mount Lebanon. The 
 schools at Hasbaya and Mucktara interested me 
 very much. At Hasbaya I met with that terrible 
 Druse lady, Sitt Naaify, who looked gloomy and 
 downcast, but somewhat redeemed her melancholy 
 appearance by a sharp and friendly look at me, and 
 the promise that she would do her best for the wel- 
 fare of Mrs. Mott's school there. At Mucktara I met
 
 The British Syrian Mission Schools. 183 
 
 the widow of Said Beg Jumplatt, the leader of the 
 last massacre and brother of Sitt Naaify. This 
 lady received me very kindly, and I lodged in the 
 Druse castle of Jumplatt, Avhich was for some time 
 the summer residence of the English Consul. I 
 felt, however, very queer among the Druses, and 
 would rather have slept in a simple country- 
 man's house than in the gloomy Druse castle, which 
 is stained with blood. 
 
 At Zachleh, the largest village on Mount Leba- 
 non, where the poor Christians were plundered and 
 killed in the time of the massacre, Mrs. Mott has a 
 very flourishing school, and some Bible women also 
 at work there. In Damascus, too, where the civil 
 war committed the most fearful horrors and blood- 
 shed, Mrs. Bowen Thompson, at the sacrifice of 
 her health, founded her last work of an educational 
 character, which is still in a most satisfactory con- 
 dition. Moslem, Druse, Christian, and Jewish girls 
 were alike instructed there in the glorious Gospel 
 truth, while M. Frankel, of the Jewish Mission, had 
 divine service every Sunday on the premises of the 
 British Syrian Schools. At Damascus I made the 
 acquaintance of the excellent Dr. Wright, now 
 editorial Secretary of the British and Foreign Bible 
 Society in London. I went, too, to see the cele- 
 brated Abd el Kadir, of Algiers, and also Dr. 
 Mushaka, who is one of the most learned self- 
 taught men. He was a Greek Catholic, but seeing 
 the errors of his church, became a Protestant, and 
 wrote an able book of 340 pages, in which he ex- 
 posed the errors of the Roman Catholic church. 
 He also entered into a written controversy with the 
 learned Patriarch Maximus, in which Maximus 
 was silenced by the truth which Dr. Mushaka so 
 well handled. I had many happy and blessed hours 
 with Dr. Mushaka, because we could sympathize
 
 184 The Need of Missionaries on Mount Lebanon. 
 
 with each other, as both of us had been under the 
 Popish yoke, but were now happily escaped from 
 bondage into the liberty of the Gospel. I also 
 visited Mr. Crawford, of the American Mission, 
 who has worked faithfully at Damascus for many 
 years, under great perplexities, oppositions, and 
 trials ; but, after much toil, his work has been 
 richly blessed. 
 
 Through my work in the British Syrian Schools 
 I became well acquainted with the religious con- 
 dition of Damascus, Mount Lebanon, and Beirut. I 
 found the southern part of Mount Lebanon well 
 supplied with mission schools and missionaries, 
 while in the northern part, especially in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Brummana, there was no resident 
 missionary. I often looked eastwards in the even- 
 ing when the setting sun threw its golden rays 
 over the mountain, and I could see clearly many 
 villages and hamlets in which priestly assumption 
 kept the people in darkness and superstitious 
 bondage. I thought in my heart, why should we 
 teachers and missionaries be accumulated at 
 Beirut, while only eight miles to the east nothing 
 is done for the enlightenment of the benighted 
 mountaineers. This idea came often before me, 
 and each time it left a deeper impression upon my 
 soul. I began, therefore, to inform myself about 
 those lofty mountains and their inhabitants, and 
 was told : " The inhabitants of Brummana and its 
 neighbourhood are the greatest liars and thieves 
 in the world. They are Maronites, Greeks, and 
 Druses, and the evil report of them has filled the 
 country, even unto Egypt. Everyone is afraid of 
 them. The American missionaries wanted to es- 
 tablish a Mission amongst them, but they were 
 expelled from the place in 1831, and the Bibles 
 and Testaments which they distributed among the
 
 Prepared to go to Mount Lebanon. 185 
 
 people were publicly burnt. You will not be able 
 to organize a Mission there." What a fine report, I 
 thought ; surely that is just the place for a mission 
 station ! I made it a subject of earnest prayer, 
 and went on with my work as usual in the British 
 Syrian Schools. When, after a long time, the 
 subject was matured, and my doubts and fears 
 removed, I felt in my soul that I was called by the 
 Lord to go up to those bad people at Brummana. 
 My position in the British Syrian Schools was out- 
 wardly a very comfortable one, and I had nothing 
 to complain of in any respect. I could not reason- 
 ably expect such a comfortable home on the moun- 
 tains, among good society, and with such compara- 
 tively easy work ; but the consultation with flesh 
 and blood and outward comfort had to be set aside, 
 that I might follow the order of God, which was 
 day and night before me in the following words, 
 " Go up to those mountains of Brummana." On 
 the 9th of April, 1873, I gave in my resignation to 
 the Committee of the British Syrian Schools, six 
 months before my service was to be concluded in 
 that mission field. 
 
 Here I desire to give an abridged description of 
 the Druses, and Orthodox Greek, Greek Catholic 
 and Maronite churches, among whom I was work- 
 ing in Beirut, Mount Lebanon, and Damascus, so 
 that the reader will more easily understand the 
 oppositions and difficulties which beset the path of 
 a missionary in Syria.
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE SECRET RELIGION OF THE DRUSES. 
 
 THE religion of the Druses on Mount Lebanon 
 was kept strictly secret from its origin at 
 the beginning of the eleventh century until 
 1838, when Ibrahim Pasha conquered Syria. Some 
 of his soldiers, when at Hasbaya, entered into the 
 Kalwat, or Druse place of worship, and took away 
 a number of the principal books which, till then, 
 had been carefully hidden there. Parts were sub- 
 sequently translated into some modern European 
 languages, and from that time the mystery of the 
 Druse religion was unfolded to the public. The 
 best works about the Druses and their religion are 
 Dr. Wartabet's " Researches into the Religions of 
 Syria," published in 1860 ; Colonel Churchill's "Ten 
 Years' Residence on Mount Lebanon," in 1885 ; 
 Dr. Philipp Wolff's " Die Drusen und ihre Vor- 
 laiifer," in 1845 ; Sylvestre de Sacy's " Expose" de 
 la Religion des Druses," in 1838 ; G. W. Chasseaud's 
 " The Druses of Lebanon, their Manners, Customs, 
 and History," in 1854 ; and Petermann's " Reisen 
 im Orient liber die Drusen," in 1860. 
 
 Many of the Druse books, which are all in 
 manuscript, found their way to Europe, to the 
 Vatican in Rome, to Paris, Vienna, Munich, Ox- 
 ford, and Upsala ; but as there are few competent 
 scholars in the Arabic language in these cities, the 
 contents of the books remain mostly on the shelves
 
 Origin of the Druse Religion. 187 
 
 of the libraries, and scientific men have to be satis- 
 fied with that which is already translated. Ventura, 
 who wrote a history of the Druses, in the Appendix 
 to his " Memoir of Baron de Tott," in 1786 ; and 
 J. G. Worbs, author of the " Geschichte und 
 Beschreibung der Drusen, in Syria," in 1799 ; and 
 other travellers in Syria before 1838, could not 
 ascertain the real truth of the Druse religion, be- 
 cause nobody of any other religious denomination 
 had ever seen or possessed a Druse book, and on 
 this account many misrepresentations were made 
 both about the people and their religion. 
 
 The Druses consider there have been ten incarna- 
 tions or manifestations of God to the human race, 
 by different human forms, at different times, and in 
 different places, but only within the limits of the 
 Fatimite Dynasty. The first was in El Alee ; the 
 second in El Bar ; the third in Abu Zakaria ; the 
 fourth in Ali ; the fifth in El Muell ; the sixth in 
 El Kaim ; the seventh in El Mansour, who founded 
 Bagdad, 762 A.D. ; the eighth in El Muezz ; the 
 ninth in El Azeez ; and the tenth in El Hakem, who, 
 according to Ibn Khillikan (vol. 2, p. 165) is also 
 called Abu Ali El Mansour. The last five incarna- 
 tions were kings of Egypt and Northern Africa. 
 
 El Muezz, who traced his descent to Fatimah the 
 daughter of Mohammed, was the strongest among 
 them, and it was he who founded the city of Cairo 
 in the year 972, and conquered the whole of Syria 
 and Palestine as far as Damascus. His son, El 
 Azeez, succeeded him, and married a Christian 
 woman, whose brothers he appointed patriarchs in 
 Alexandria and Jerusalem in the year 978. Their son 
 El Hakem ascended the throne when he was eleven 
 years of age, and distinguished himself by his 
 cruelty and folly. He persecuted Christians, Jews, 
 and Mohammedans alike, and caused indescribable
 
 188 The Founders of the Druse Religion. 
 
 atrocities ; killing more than 18,000 men by his 
 fanaticism and bloodshed. He destroyed the places 
 of worship of all other denominations, and among 
 them many Christian churches. He also pulled 
 down the church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusa- 
 lem, in the year 1009. He was a second Nero, 
 and caused fearful sufferings and loss of life. His 
 bloodthirstiness and folly in persecuting the Chris- 
 tians, caused them to cry desperately for help and 
 protection to their brethren in Europe, who re- 
 sponded to their earnest entreaty by the first 
 Crusade to the Holy Land.* 
 
 At El Hakem's court, at Cairo, were two Persian 
 priests named E' Dorazy and Hamse, who were 
 the founders of the Druse religion. E' Dorazy 
 publicly declared his master, El Hakem, to be an 
 incarnate God, and asked the people to worship 
 him. This excited the people so much that E' 
 Dorazy was at once killed by them. But his 
 adherents were ever after called by his name, 
 Druses. Hamse wrote his books in secret and 
 published them after El Hakem was dead, or 
 killed by his sister, Sitt el Mullook, in a most secret 
 way. 
 
 Ali Dahir, the son of El Hakem, succeeded 
 him on the Egyptian throne, and at first claimed 
 the same submission and honour which had been 
 granted to his father. But Hamse, the Prime Minis- 
 ter, who was a Persian magician, said to Ali 
 Dahir, " We cannot grant thee the same honour 
 and submission which we paid to El Hakem, be- 
 cause he was a god and not a man ; he was not 
 born, nor could he beget children." Ali Dahir was 
 greatly displeased with this, and said to Hamse, 
 " Am I then an illegitimate bastard ? " Hamse 
 
 * Charles Knight, " English Encyclopaedia," under Ffltinrite ; and " Zeits- 
 chrift des Deutschen Palestina," Vereins, vol. 7, p. 264, 1885.
 
 Emigration of the Druses. 189 
 
 said, " Thou hast said it." Ali Dahir was greatly 
 exasperated, and gave vent to his anger by repudi- 
 ating all the religious doctrines taught by his father 
 and Hamse, and by persecuting all those who 
 adhered to them. He killed many of them, and 
 those who were not reached by his sword fled to 
 Banias, Damascus, Mount Lebanon, and the Wady 
 e' Tyme, near Mount Hermon in Syria, in the year 
 1103. There they found already a kind of Baten- 
 ites, a Persian sect with whom the Fatimites 
 already sympathized, who pretended that every 
 outward thing in this world has its secret inter- 
 pretation, and that every passage in the Koran has 
 a mystical meaning. Their name in Arabic means 
 possessors of secrets. These Batenites came orig- 
 inally from Irack (Ispahan in Persia), and settled 
 down especially in the Wady e' Tyme, near Has- 
 baya, in the neighbourhood of the sources of the 
 Jordan. The persecuted Hamsites or Druses 
 naturally found a good deal of sympathy among 
 them, and then it was that the Druse religion took 
 hold of these Batenites. 
 
 The Selihites, who were descended from the 
 Hymyarites, emigrated into Hauran in the time of 
 Christ. They came from Yemen, in Arabia, and 
 made a covenant with each other for which they 
 were called Tannoukhites, from an Arabic word 
 meaning Confederates.* Afterwards some of them 
 came to Mount Lebanon, where they are still called 
 by that name. 
 
 In the history of the Arabs, as well as in Knight's 
 "English Cyclopedia" (vol. 1, col. 418), we find 
 that Amru Ben Amer Musyka, one of the nobles 
 of Yemen, also emigrated northwards, on account 
 of the predicted Seil el Arim or Torrent of the 
 Mound, that is to say, a flood caused by the burst- 
 
 * See Wetzstein's " Hauran," p. 105.
 
 190 The Yemenites adopt the Druse Religion. 
 
 ing of a famous reservoir. After his death, his son 
 Jofna established himself and his descendants in 
 Syria. They likewise were known as Tannoukhites, 
 and it seems probable that they were already Chris- 
 tians when they left Arabia, as one of the tribes 
 in Yemen who embraced Christianity was called 
 Tannoukh. We know, too, that King Aberha, of 
 Abyssinia, had conquered Yemen about the fourth 
 century, and during the seventy years in which he 
 and his son ruled over that country, they propagated 
 the Christian religion by force, as is still the custom 
 of Abyssinian kings. Some of these Arab tribes 
 who settled on Mount Lebanon appear to have 
 held some Christian heresy like Manicheism, which 
 has some similarity with the religion of the Baten- 
 ites. It is known in the history of Mount Lebanon 
 that the Yemenites settled at first in the district of 
 El Meten, on its western slopes, and as they were 
 quite different from the other Arabs who had pre- 
 ceded them, and who liked tent life, they constructed 
 solid stone houses, and the castle of Musyka, so 
 named in honour of their first leader, was their 
 central stronghold. In 1844, Consul Von Wilden- 
 bruck, of Beirut, discovered the ruins of the old 
 castle of Musyka, one hour's distance to the east 
 of El Meten, in the district of El Meten. Its 
 colossal bevelled stones, fourteen feet long by five 
 feet high, indicated great age. All these Yemenites 
 came to Mount Lebanon before Mohammed began 
 to preach his religion. When that religion after- 
 wards overran the East, they became Mohammed- 
 ans in order to accommodate themselves to it. In 
 the eleventh century, however, they embraced the 
 religion of the Druses, and have since stuck to its 
 deluded principles with wonderful firmness. These 
 Yemenites or Tannoukhites also built a large castle 
 at Abeih, which is now in a neglected condition.
 
 Hamse declares EL Hakem to be God. 193 
 
 There are not many Druses there now, for their 
 chief centres are Baakleen and Mucktara, where 
 their princes are residing. Since their massacre of 
 the Christians in 1860 the Druses have diminished, 
 and many have emigrated to Hauran. It is said 
 that there are not more Druses in Mount Lebanon, 
 Wady e' Tyme, Damascus, and Hauran, than 
 70,000 souls. 
 
 Hamse, in his books, declared El Hakem to be 
 God who had appeared for the tenth time in human 
 form, and himself to be the most glorious of all 
 created beings, the cause of causes, the centre 
 point, the universal intelligence, the true Christ, 
 the leader of believers. But, while asserting that 
 El Hakem is everlasting God, Hamse admitted that 
 God cannot condescend really to adopt man's form, 
 but His human appearance in El Hakem was only 
 a phantom. This resembles the doctrine of Docetus, 
 Basilides, Valentinus and Marcian, who could not 
 comprehend that Jesus Christ was God in human 
 form, but a mere phantom.* " God," said Hamse, 
 "is so sublime that even the best attributes by 
 which we endeavour to define Him, would interfere 
 with the glory of His unity." 
 
 Hamse, as a Persian magician, naturally based 
 his new religion upon the two principles of good 
 and evil. The first he regarded as absolute and 
 eternal, the latter relative and emanated. He held 
 that these two principles clothe themselves with 
 successive human forms, which explains the belief 
 in Metempsychosis. The universal intelligence 
 embodied in Hamse is the first and most glorious 
 existence which was created by El Hakem, or God. 
 It was the concentration and representation of 
 every good, through which everything was created, 
 except itself, which emanated from God, in conse- 
 
 * Neander's " Church History," vol. 1.
 
 194 Ministers of Light and Darkness. 
 
 quence of which it is the pure light in opposition 
 to the gross darkness. From the light that is the 
 universal intelligence, the true Messiah, even 
 Hamse four kindred spirits emanated, which were 
 manifested in human form in the time of El 
 Hakem, by Ismael, Mohammed, (not the founder of 
 Mohammedanism,) Salman, and Beha Eddeen. 
 These were called the ministers of truth who have 
 to proclaim the way of salvation. They are also 
 called Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, for they 
 believe that just as Hamse may represent Christ, 
 so these four kindred spirits may represent the four 
 Evangelists. Just as the soul of the universal 
 intelligence and light was in Hamse, and through 
 Hamse in the four ministers of light and truth, so 
 is the darkness and all evil found in Mohammed, 
 the founder of Islamism, whom they call the devil, 
 the opposer of every good, who has also his four 
 ministers of darkness who are known in human 
 form as Ali Ibn Aby Talib, Aby Baker, Omar, and 
 Othman. As God has manifested Himself ten 
 times to the human race, the universal intelli- 
 gence with its four ministers of truth and light, as 
 well as the devil with his four ministers of lies and 
 darkness, have likewise appeared in human form, 
 and they will also appear in the great judgment 
 day, when the devil with his ministers will be 
 punished eternally. 
 
 Here we meet a good deal of the reformed Per- 
 sian Religious Philosophy of Zoroaster in the Zend 
 Avesta. The Persians believed in one eternal God 
 over all, infinite in regard to space and time, and 
 too great and glorious to be defined by the human 
 intellect. Basilides, of Alexandria, says that God 
 cannot be explained, appriro? atcarov oyuao-ro? (no lan- 
 guage is able to define Him). The Persians also 
 believed in two principles, the good and the evil,
 
 Resemblance between the Druses and Persians. 195 
 
 which are opposing each other by their respective 
 agencies and creations. The good principle they 
 called Ormuz, and the bad Ahriman. The first is 
 represented by light and fire, and the second by 
 darkness ; but as the light is of an eternal nature 
 it must finally obtain the victory over darkness and 
 all evil. The adherents of Zoroaster were perse- 
 cuted by the Mohammedans in the middle of the 
 seventh century, and took refuge in Gujerat in 
 India, where their descendants are still to be found, 
 as the well-known Parsis. These Persians, who 
 came from the same common stock as E' Dorazy 
 and Hamse, had some tendency to receive the 
 Druse doctrine, and many Druses say that they 
 have brethren in India and China. Muktana Beha 
 Eddeen, who was next to Hamse in compiling and 
 increasing the religious books of the Druses, sent 
 some of his books to India and others to Con- 
 stantinople.* 
 
 We have seen that the universal intelligence 
 was said to be the most perfect and glorious of 
 all created beings, pure light from the pure light of 
 God. But when the universal intelligence became 
 proud in looking upon his superior glorious attri- 
 butes, he fell at once from his glory, down to the 
 deepest woe, and from him the devil or adversary 
 emanated, who was not in existence before. He 
 was entire darkness, and empowered with every 
 attribute of opposition in order to fight with the 
 universal intelligence, who cried to God for help 
 in the conflict.t God, having pity, caused four 
 good ministers to emanate from the universal in- 
 telligence ; but the adversary asked God also for 
 
 * See Herzog's " Theological Encyclopaedia." 
 
 t In Mani's doctrine, who took so much out of the Persian Religious Philo- 
 sophy to make up his own, we find that when the first man was in conflict 
 with the powers of darkness, he began to be in danger, and implored God for 
 help, who sent him the eternal Spirit to lift him up to the kingdom of light.
 
 196 Transmigration of Souls. 
 
 the same number of ministers, in order to defend 
 himself against them. His appeal was granted, 
 and four evil ministers emanated from him, because 
 it pleased God to create for every positive a nega- 
 tive, through the whole creation. 
 
 Metempsychosis is a principal doctrine of the 
 Druse religion. They believe that the souls of 
 men are emigrating from one human body into 
 another, which is the case with all men, good or 
 bad. The souls of Hamse and his four minis- 
 ters, as well as the souls of the devil and his 
 four ministers, have been wandering from ' the 
 beginning from one human body into another. 
 The spirit of Hamse, for instance, was in the 
 time of Moses in Jethro, the priest of Midian, 
 and in the time of Jesus Christ in the body 
 of Zachariah, and the souls of the four ministers 
 were in the four evangelists. In the time of 
 Mohammed the spirit of Hamse was in the body 
 of Salman El Pharisy, and the souls of his four 
 ministers in Mukdad, El Ghaffary, Omar ben 
 Yasser, and Nedshashy. The souls of the devil 
 and of his four ministers of errors emigrated into 
 the bodies of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, 
 Aaron, Joshua, Jesus Christ, Peter, Mohammed, 
 Ali Said, and Kaddali. As the Druses believe in 
 the eternity of matter, like the Zabeir of Babylon, 
 they consider that the emigration of souls is 
 wonderfully arranged by God to reward the good 
 and punish the wicked. " Look at that poor sick 
 and destitute man," said a Druse to me, " he must 
 have committed much mischief in a former life. 
 And look at the rich Sheikh Mousa, he has no 
 doubt been a good man before he was born." 
 When speaking with the Druses about Metemp- 
 sychosis they say, " Did not Christ say that John 
 the Baptist was Elijah ? and did not the disciples of
 
 Indifference to Death. 197 
 
 Christ say in regard to the man who was born 
 blind, ' Who did sin, this man or his parents, that 
 he was born blind ? ' " Basilides, in his Religious 
 Philosophy in the second century, could not com- 
 plete his system without using the doctrine of Me- 
 tempsychosis which was believed by the old Egyp- 
 tians. Basilides says that the souls of men wander 
 from one human body into another in order to be 
 punished or rewarded just as they conducted them- 
 selves in former bodies, till there is such a develop- 
 ment for good that the purified souls can appear 
 before God. All sufferings of men he attributes 
 to their bad and sinful conduct in former bodies." * 
 In the Philosophy of Plato we meet the doctrine 
 of Metempsychosis, and the Druses regard Plato, 
 ^Esculapius, and Pythagoras, as incarnations of 
 Hamse, the universal intelligence. Hamse, no 
 doubt, studied the Egyptian Gnostics, and used 
 some of their material to build his own system. 
 
 As one result of their belief in Metempsychosis, 
 the Druses are not at all timid of danger in times 
 of epidemic sickness or war. They have no fear of 
 death, for in this they are perfect fatalists like the 
 Mohammedans. They say, " There is no death for 
 us Druses at all ; that is for the Christians to be 
 afraid of. Death for us is just to go from one 
 house to another according to the will of God." 
 Hence we can understand their heroic conduct in 
 the time of battle and massacre. If Druses are 
 travelling to distant places and meet other Druses 
 they test them by the question, " Where do your 
 farmers sow the seed of Ehlilish ? " This should 
 be answered by, " Our farmers are sowing the seed 
 of Ehlilish in the hearts of believers." Then they 
 bring them two pots and set them before them. 
 In one is water and in the other is nothing. If the 
 
 * Neander's "Church History," vol. 1.
 
 198 The Druses Divided into two Classes. 
 
 strangers take the full pot and pour it into the 
 empty one they show that they believe in the 
 transmigration of souls and they accept them as 
 fellow believers. 
 
 The Druses are divided into two principal classes, 
 namely, into the Akkals, the wise, learned, and 
 initiated ; and into the Juhhals, the unlearned and 
 stupid. This is also an ancient practice, which 
 Hamse, Muktana Beha Eddeen, and other Druse 
 writers have borrowed from old religious systems 
 of the Persians, especially from the Gnostics and 
 Mystics, who divided their adherents into two 
 classes, namely, into Esoteric and Exoteric. The 
 first are the Tri/ev^cm/co/, the Electi or spiritual and 
 learned ; the second are the ^V-^IKOL, the Audi- 
 tores or unlearned. Most of the Philosophers, 
 Mystics, and Gnostics, say that the most spiritual 
 part of religion is the property of only a few, that 
 it is difficult to find God, and is much more diffi- 
 cult to lead another to Him.* 
 
 The Druses say that they have only a few 
 Akkals who are in possession of the whole wonder- 
 ful and good Mystery of the Druse religion. This 
 causes them to divide themselves into three classes, 
 which agrees again with Basilides. He calls the 
 first TrvevfjuiTiKoi, the second ^WXIKOI, and the third v\t], 
 The first, say the Druses, are the good and spiritually 
 minded Akkals, who live near God. The second 
 are those who are mixed up with too much earthly 
 things, but may yet be saved. The third are the 
 real Juhhals who perish entirely, because they dis- 
 obey the law of God, and are subject to the will of 
 the flesh, for which they are condemned to hell. It is 
 generally acknowledged that the Druse Akkals live 
 a good moral life, and are much better than many 
 Christian priests. They never take any intoxica- 
 
 * See Plato.
 
 The Druse Christ soon to Appear. 199 
 
 ting drink or smoke tobacco. They dress very 
 simply. They do not use bad language. Their 
 chief work is to read and study and learn by heart 
 the 111 epistles of Hamse, which are divided into 
 six volumes. They conduct their meetings, which 
 are held on Thursday evenings, on elevated isolated 
 places, in very simple buildings, where the Akkals, 
 and Juhhals, and women, gather together. The 
 superior Akkals, after having taught and admon- 
 ished the audience, have a special meeting among 
 themselves, to speak about the political signs which 
 must occur in order to announce the coming of 
 Hamse and El Hakem. For the Druses expect, 
 most certainly and watchfully, the coming of their 
 Christ from China about this time, as the 900 years 
 which Hamse said would pass before his re-appear- 
 ance in human form have now elapsed. I asked 
 one of their Akkals : " If the anticipated revelation 
 of El Hakem and Hamse does not soon take place, 
 what will become of you ? " The Akkal said, " Our 
 nearest way is to Protestantism." " But how can 
 you think of embracing Protestantism," I answered, 
 "while the Protestants believe in the crucified 
 Saviour Jesus Christ ? " The Druse Sheikh said, 
 " That is the very stumbling-block for us, because 
 our books tell us that your Christ, who was cruci- 
 fied by the Jews, is a false Christ, and the true 
 Christ, even Hamse, was then in Zachariah ; but if 
 he does not appear in a few years our whole re- 
 ligion is a mistake, and in this case we cannot 
 do better than unite with the English Protestant 
 Church ; but we are sure that the true Christ will 
 soon appear." The Druses have been often mis- 
 represented by some travellers and writers as being 
 worshippers of the " calf," which is not true at all. 
 On the contrary, they call Ali Ibn Aby Talib the 
 " ox," and Mohammed the " calf," to denote their
 
 200 Education of Druse Women. 
 
 stupidity as incarnations of the evil spirits. The 
 Druses are enemies of all kinds of idolatry. This 
 was one cause of the enmity between them and the 
 idolatrous Greek and Maronite Churches of Mount 
 Lebanon, which partly resulted in bloody massacres 
 like that of 1860. 
 
 The Druse Akkals encourage the instruction of 
 their own women. They teach them to read and 
 write, and reveal to them the holy secrets of their 
 religion. I often visited the house of an Akkal, 
 and was astonished to see what interest the Druse 
 women manifested in religious concerns. In this 
 they differ very much from the Christian women of 
 Mount Lebanon, who are usually too ignorant and 
 indifferent to carry on religious conversation of any 
 kind. The middle class between the higher Akkals 
 and the lowest Juhhals, are not much instructed in 
 religious concerns. The principal thing which they 
 know is the difference between the false and the 
 true Christ. It is a curious fact that the same doc- 
 trine in regard to the true and false Christ took 
 hold in the twelfth century of some people in the 
 south of France, who were called the Albigenses 
 and Chaterers, who pretended that the true Christ 
 was not the one who was crucified by the Jews, 
 but the one who walked on the sea of Galilee, and 
 entered through the closed door to the disciples, 
 saying, " Peace be unto you." They believed also 
 in a relative dualism of good and evil, and in 
 Metempsychosis. Some Church historians like 
 Neander think that these singular doctrines were 
 brought to Europe by the Crusaders. The Druses, 
 the Albigenses, the Manicheans, and the most of 
 the Gnostics and Mystics, have always been very 
 fond of the Gospel of St. John. 
 
 The Druses believe that God created all visible 
 and invisible things through the universal intelli-
 
 EMIR EDEEN, A DRUSE AKKAL OF MOUNT LEBANON.
 
 Changing their Religion for Convenience. 203 
 
 gence, and that from the good and evil which 
 emanated from it He formed men as we find them 
 now, a composition of light and darkness, good and 
 evil, right and wrong. As the Druses believe in 
 Hamse, from whom the true light is derived, they 
 naturally think they must possess more light than 
 other people, through which they can comprehend 
 the truth, and obtain the victory over darkness and 
 lies. The Druses believe that God in the beginning 
 created the same number of people, male and fe- 
 male, of all ages, occupations, and capacities, as 
 there are found now, neither less nor more, for 
 each body a soul, and for each soul a body, and 
 that when any man dies, his soul emigrates into a 
 body which is born just at the very time. This 
 they call farewell, or to dress in another shirt. As 
 the souls of the Druses are wandering from one 
 Druse body into another Druse, so it will be with 
 the souls of other denominations. They circulate 
 in their wanderings from body to body within the 
 limits of their respective religions. No man, there- 
 fore, from any other religion can become a Druse, 
 and no Druse, they think, can truly become a mem- 
 ber of any other religious society. If this should 
 appear to take place outwardly, it is only to accom- 
 modate themselves to circumstances, while they 
 remain unchanged in their hearts. In such a case 
 they say their own religion is like the body of a 
 man, and other religions are like clothings. The 
 body remains the same, but the dresses may be 
 changed according to circumstances, fashion, and 
 climate. In the year 1837, when Ibrahim Pasha 
 invaded and conquered Syria, many Druses changed 
 their religion outwardly, professed themselves 
 Christians, and were baptized, just in order to 
 escape military conscription ; but when Ibrahim 
 Pasha was defeated and returned to Egypt, the
 
 204 The Druse Reign of Perfect Happiness. 
 
 Druses who were baptised returned to their Druse 
 religion. 
 
 The final destruction of the world is not be- 
 lieved in by the Druses, because they believe in 
 the eternity of matter. The glorious reign and 
 perfect happiness of the Druses begins with the 
 re-appearance of El Hakem and Hamse and 
 their hosts. The Druses calculate from the ap- 
 pearance of El Hakem in Egypt, in the Moham- 
 medan year A.H. 400, until his re-appearance at 
 Mecca 900 years after. Now we live in the year 
 A.H. 1302 ; so we see very clearly, that according 
 to the Druse books, the 900 years have fully and 
 literally elapsed, and the advent of the Druse 
 Saviour has not occured. The sign of the coming 
 of El Hakem and Hamse, they say, will be the over- 
 throw and destruction of the Chinese Empire, and 
 the great war between the European Christian 
 powers and the Mohammedans, who have profaned 
 the holy city of Jerusalem. The armies of the 
 different Christian kings will then march towards 
 Mecca, and fight there with the Mohammedans. 
 An Abyssinian king, who is called John, an incar- 
 nation of the devil according to the books of the 
 Druses, will at that time come down from his 
 mountains, with his great army of Christian soldiers, 
 cross the Red Sea, and proceed towards Mecca 
 in order to assist the European Christian kings in 
 destroying the Mohammedans,* While this war is 
 going on the startling news from the east will reach 
 them, causing great perplexity and fear, that the 
 Druse god El Hakem, and Hamse, and his four 
 ministers, with their innumerable armies are ap- 
 proaching from China. The Christians and Mo- 
 hammedans will then say to each other, " What can 
 
 * As the present King of Abyssinia is called John, the Druses prognosti- 
 cate the coming of their Saviour about this time.
 
 Judgments at the Coming of the Druse Christ. 205 
 
 we do better than unite and make peace with each 
 other and surrender ourselves to this great and 
 wonderful king of glory, El Hakem ?"* El Hakem 
 and Hamse will then take possession of Mecca 
 with tremendous power, and all the Christian kings 
 and their armies, together with the Mohammedans, 
 will tremble with fear and perplexity because the 
 day of judgment is at hand. On the tenth day of 
 the month Thi El Hijjah (that is, September), 
 should this judgment be carried out. El Hakem 
 will appear in the same human form in which he ap- 
 peared 900 years ago in Cairo, and will take his seat 
 on the roof of El Kabba, the black stone of Mecca, 
 and will tell the Christian, Mohammedan, Jewish, 
 and heathen nations who are gathered before him, 
 " I have appeared in the human form ten times 
 before to teach you my condescension, that you 
 should believe in me, the true God, and Hamse 
 who is the true Christ ; but you would not hear 
 my commandments, on which account you have to 
 bear the punishment of your folly." Then El Ha- 
 kem will cause a tremendous thunder storm and 
 earthquake, by which the Mohammedans, Chris- 
 tians, Jews, faithless Druses, and heathen will be 
 swept away from the surface of the plain, together 
 with the city of Mecca, leaving no trace whatever 
 behind them. After this fearful judgment the 
 Druse God with Hamse and his four ministers will 
 proceed toward the north-west to Hauran (Bashan), 
 to gather all his believers and give them great 
 rewards for their faithfulness. Then they will pro- 
 ceed to Mount Lebanon where the Druses will leap 
 
 * In the system of Mani we find a similar passage, to the effect that 
 when the powers of darkness were fighting with each other they pushed each 
 other to and fro until they came to the portals of the kingdom of light. 
 Then they said to each other, "What can we do better than unite 
 with each other in order to enter into the wonderful kingdom of light ? "- 
 Neander's " Church History," vol. 1, division 2.
 
 206 The Druse God will dwell in Cairo. 
 
 for joy, join the celestial army, and proceed to 
 Egypt. They will carry the old Antagonist, the 
 devil, with them, who is Harrat ibn Tarmakh, from 
 Ispahan in Persia, whose soul was in Adam and 
 wandered from one person into another until it 
 entered into Mohammed, and, finally, into John, 
 King of Abyssinia. On the road to Egypt, 
 between Ramleh and Ledd, the devil will be killed, 
 by his head being cut off into a golden vessel. In 
 great pomp and triumph, El Hakem will then pro- 
 ceed to Cairo in Egypt, with the whole of his army. 
 Arrived at Cairo, another judgment will take 
 place of all the people who were not present 
 at the destruction of the Christians and Moham- 
 medans at Mecca. The Mohammedans, Jews, and 
 Christians, will be punished by being obliged to 
 carry heavy blocks of lead, iron, and glass in their 
 ears, which will burn them in summer, and freeze 
 them in winter. But the greatest punishment is for 
 those Druses who at first believed, but after the 
 disappearance of Hamse, fell back into unbelief. 
 
 The Druse God will continue to dwell personally 
 among his people in Cairo on the throne of his 
 glory and power. Hamse, the true Christ, will 
 receive power and glory and be like an emperor ; 
 his four ministers will be like kings, and each 
 Druse will be like a prince. The four ministers will 
 travel over the whole world, and take all the gold 
 and silver and all the treasures from the rich men 
 and kings, and kill all the unbelievers who shall be 
 still left in other places. Then they will come back 
 again to Cairo, where all the riches will be accumu- 
 lated for the enjoyment of the Druses. The Druses 
 will dwell in upper rooms in beautiful palaces, and 
 the Christians, Jews, and Mohammedans, will be 
 their slaves, and will have to work very hard for 
 the Druses without wages. They will also have
 
 The Fate of Jews, Mohammedans, & Christians. 207 
 
 very little to eat and not enough to drink, though 
 the Nile is quite near. They will not have any 
 clothing, and they will have to pay a heavy tribute 
 to the Druses besides their service day and night. 
 The greatest trouble for them, however, will be- a 
 horrible smell diffusing from their skins, which will 
 not trouble the Druses but only themselves. 
 Each Druse will live one hundred and twenty 
 years without his natural force abating, and then 
 a sweet dream will come over him, in which his 
 soul will be transferred without pain into another 
 Druse body, who will just at that time be born 
 without pain, and in that body he will live again 
 one hundred and twenty years, and so on always, 
 world without end. The condition of the Chris- 
 tians, Jews, Mohammedans, and Heathen, will also 
 remain the same. They will always remain the 
 slaves of the Druses, and their souls will migrate 
 from one miserable body into another, under great 
 agony and pain, to all eternity. 
 
 This account of the principal doctrines of the 
 Druse religion is the result of much study and con- 
 versation with Druses. The Druses are a fine in- 
 tellectual people in every respect, and they deserve 
 a better religion than this poor delusion.
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 THE name of the Greek Orthodox Church, to 
 which some of the Christians in Bible Lands 
 belong, owes its origin to the Greek Empire 
 ultimately embracing that form of Christianity as 
 the religion of the state. The Greek Orthodox or 
 Oriental Christians in Syria and Palestine call 
 themselves Rome or Romany, but this name has 
 nothing to do with the old city of Rome in Italy, 
 which was the centre of the Western Churches, but 
 has its origin in Constantinople, which was founded 
 by Constantine the Great, in 326 A.D., and called 
 New Rome, in opposition to the more famous city 
 of the west. 
 
 Greek civilization prepared the ground for the 
 readier propagation of Christianity. The Gospel 
 was preached, and the New Testament written in 
 classic Greek, and in this language we have also the 
 oldest Christian literature, consisting of treatises on 
 Christian doctrine and its defence against heathen 
 philosophy and idolatry. We find already in the 
 first and second centuries a number of congrega- 
 tions in Greece and Asia Minor, like Corinth, 
 Ephesus, and Sardis, where the Gospel was power- 
 fully presented in opposition to Roman and Greek 
 mythology and philosophy, and Egyptian and Syrian 
 Gnosticism. With the decline of Greek and the 
 progress of Roman influence, the east and west
 
 The Eastern and Western Churches divided. 209 
 
 became divided, not only politically but religiously. 
 The Bishop of the Greek Church at New Rome, 
 proud of the antiquity and merits of his Church, 
 looked for a certain supremacy over all the Churches ; 
 while the Bishop of Old Rome, favoured by politi- 
 cal advantages, did not feel disposed to submit, but 
 wished to assume universal supremacy. Yet the 
 Western or Roman Church had no violent rupture 
 with the Eastern or Greek Church. Dogmatical 
 disputes between the Eastern and Western Churches 
 began under the Emperor Zeno in the fifth cen- 
 tury, and were settled for a time by the Council of 
 Chalcedon, in 451 A.D., which pronounced the 
 equality of the Bishops of Rome and Constantinople. 
 In spite of this arrangement, the Bishops Pelagius 
 II. and Gregory I. of Rome had new difficulties 
 with John Yejunator, who assumed the title of 
 Ecumenical Patriarch at Constantinople, in the 
 year 587 A.D. Long controversies took place, not 
 only in the Greek Church herself, but with her 
 rival Church of Rome, on certain doctrines which 
 were being developed in the Eastern Churches with 
 regard to Monotheletism, which asserts that Christ 
 had no human will, but only a Divine, and Mono- 
 physitism, which maintains that He had but one 
 nature, not human, but Divine. 
 
 The Trullo Synods at Constantinople in 680 A.D. 
 settled these theological disputes for a short time, 
 for in their eighteen sittings Agatho, Bishop of 
 Rome, so ably presented the truth that the Mono- 
 thelite leaders, Makarius of Antioch and Gregory of 
 Constantinople, were defeated, and were afterwards 
 expelled by the Emperor Constantine Pagonatus. 
 Makarius fled to Kessrawan on Mount Lebanon, 
 where he taught the people the Monotheletic 
 heresy. Jacob Baradoi, who travelled in great 
 poverty and self-denial through the whole of Syria
 
 210 Disputes about Picture and Image Worship. 
 
 and Asia Minor, induced the people also to adopt 
 the Monophysite doctrines, and they were called 
 after him Jacobites. 
 
 The time from 726 to 842 A.D. was occupied in 
 the Greek Church with continual disputes with 
 regard to the worshipping of pictures and images, 
 in which the strong inclination to religious sym- 
 bols, so characteristic of the Greek mind, appeared. 
 These disputes caused fierce fightings between the 
 friends and enemies of pictures. They condemned 
 each other publicly and privately, and the acts of one 
 Council contradicted those of another. Troubles and 
 weakness to the Church thus arose from within, while 
 sufferings from without were caused by the Moham- 
 medans, who abhorred the Christians on account of 
 their idolatry. The Western Church was protected 
 by its geographical position from the attacks of the 
 Mohammedans, and, besides this, till the seven- 
 teenth century it was not so much inclined towards 
 picture or image worship. It was a most unfor- 
 tunate fact, that after the pictures had been re- 
 moved from the Greek Oriental Churches by the 
 Emperor Theophilus, his wife Theodora, through 
 the influence of the priests, replaced them after 
 his death. On the 19th of February, 842 A.D., the 
 Greek Church degraded herself by publicly acknow- 
 ledging the worship of pictures. She then began to 
 call herself Orthodox, and the Feast of Orthodoxy 
 (>} Travi'iyupis rtjs opOoSoQas) is still held to commemor- 
 ate this dogma of the infallibility in doctrine of the 
 Greek Orthodox Church. 
 
 The Greek Church having thus exalted herself 
 as being in sole possession of the right Christian 
 doctrine, looked down upon Rome and the Western 
 Churches, and attacked them for having adulterated 
 the true faith by teaching that (1) the Holy Spirit 
 proceeds from the Father and from the Son ;
 
 Excommunication of the Greek Church. 211 
 
 (2) there must be fasting on the seventh day of 
 the week, but in the first week of Lent, milk and 
 cheese may be allowed ; (3) the priests must not 
 marry ; (4) unleavened bread should be used in the 
 Eucharist ; (5) animals that were strangled may 
 be eaten, and also meat on fast days by those 
 who are ill ; (6) bishops may wear rings on their 
 fingers, and shave their beards and cut their hair ;* 
 (7) children may be baptized by only dipping them 
 once in water ; (8) the sign of the cross may 
 be made in other ways than that prescribed by 
 the Greek Church. Many other such miserable and 
 minor things were brought against the Bishop of 
 the Western or Romish Church, who in return 
 attacked the Bishops of the Oriental Churches and 
 their errors. On both sides the controversies were 
 carried on, not only with hierarchical envy, but 
 with political intentions. The gulf of division grew 
 larger and larger, and the very means which, from 
 time to time, were used to unite these Churches, 
 tended further to separate them. Rome went on 
 developing in unity and power, both within and 
 without, while Constantinople remained behind, 
 being too obstinate in its pride in its own orthodoxy 
 to make any right progress. 
 
 The accumulating hatred between both parties 
 took hold of every little difference in doctrine to use 
 in fighting with each other. Thus the use of un- 
 leavened bread in the communion in the Western 
 Churches, and of leavened bread in the Eastern, was 
 the chief cause of their official separation in July, 
 1054, when the excommunication of the Greek 
 Church was publicly read by the Papal legates at 
 Constantinople in the venerable church of St. Sophia, 
 which is now a Mohammedan mosque. It is as- 
 
 * The Greek Orthodox priests never cut their hair or beards, but let them 
 grow as long as they will, which gives them a very ugly appearance. 
 
 \
 
 212 The Greek Church averse to Reform. 
 
 tonishing that while the Roman Catholic and Greek 
 Orthodox Churches should both be in the same 
 fundamental error in departing from the simplicity 
 of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, they should continue 
 to quarrel in wild fury over insignificant differences 
 of religious ceremonies till the gulf which separ- 
 ates the two largest portions of the Christian 
 Church has become so wide that there is never likely 
 to be unity between them. The Crusaders who were 
 such a concentrating and cementing power for the 
 general good of Christendom did not succeed in 
 uniting the Greek and Roman Churches in their 
 great object of rescuing Bible lands from the 
 Mohammedans. These caused fearful destruction 
 and loss of life in the Greek Churches, which 
 were under their immediate political power, and 
 the union of the Eastern and Western Churches, 
 which was prevented by the obstinacy of the former, 
 would have limited the sword of Mohammed. 
 
 The Reformation in the sixteenth century also 
 passed by without being able to influence this cor- 
 rupt and obstinate Greek Orthodox Church. The 
 Lutheran Theologians of Tubingen tried to give an 
 impulse towards Reformation. The Catechism of 
 Luther and Confession of Augsburg were translated 
 into Greek, and in 1575 much correspondence 
 took place between the Lutheran Theologians and 
 the Patriarch Jeremiah, of Constantinople, but 
 without the expected results. Much hope, however, 
 was entertained when Cyrillus Lukaris occupied the 
 patriarchal chair, for he adopted the evangelical 
 principles of the Protestant Church, and confessed 
 them publicly in 1629. Like Luther, he saw the 
 corruption and errors of his Church, and did his 
 utmost to develop a Reformation. But while 
 Luther met with success in the tendency to pro- 
 gress, the liberty of religion and of conscience, and
 
 Sacraments and Creeds of the Greek Church. 215 
 
 general enlightenment, in which the Reformation 
 could strike root, Cyrillus Lukaris found his old in- 
 flexible Orthodox Greek Church unwilling to be 
 taught better things. Cyrillus stood alone, and the 
 Greek clergy and the Jesuits together brought his 
 work to nothing. He was persecuted and troubled 
 in every form, until his enemies succeeded in in- 
 fluencing Sultan Murad to put him to death in 1638. 
 The present Greek Church has, like the Roman 
 Catholic Church, seven Sacraments : (1) Baptism, 
 (2) Chrisma, or holy anointing, (3) Eucharist, (4) 
 Repentance, (5) Holy order of Priests, (6) Marriage, 
 (7) Extreme Unction. The Greek Church also 
 believes that all the canons and rules issued by their 
 seven ecumenical councils were inspired by the 
 Holy Spirit, and it prefers them to the Old and New 
 Testament. It believes in tran substantiation in 
 the Eucharist, intercession of saints, auricular 
 confession, and the power of the priests to 
 absolve sins. It cultivates picture worship, Mari- 
 olatry, and thousands of foolish superstitions which 
 have grown reverend to them through their 
 antiquity. It believes in one limbo near hell for 
 the wicked, and another near heaven for the saints. 
 The Greek Orthodox Church is divided into three 
 great sections, the first in Greece, the second in 
 Russia, and the third in Syria. All reject the Pope 
 in Rome as Antichrist, in which they are right. 
 The first two are governed by their own inde- 
 pendent Synods. The Greek Church in Syria is 
 governed by four patriarchs, namely, those of Con- 
 stantinople, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Alexandria. 
 Both the higher and lower clergy are mostly men 
 of little education, but desperately obstinate, and 
 proud beyond measure of their Orthodoxy, repu- 
 diating every effort for the reform of their polluted 
 Church, and pressing always for its restoration,
 
 216 A Shoemaker made a Priest. 
 
 rather than its reformation. The Greek Orthodox 
 Church is just at present in very great need of 
 churchmen, and a number of churches on Mount 
 Lebanon are without priests, because the young 
 men of some education do not like to dedicate 
 themselves to the priesthood, and the old priests 
 are dying away. On this account the Greek Bishop 
 often persuades men to become priests who are not 
 at all qualified for such an office. At Brummana, 
 quite lately, a shoemaker who did not like to work 
 offered himself as a priest to the Greek Bishop at 
 Beirut, who received him, gave him a little instruc- 
 tion for some weeks until his hair and beard 
 were grown long enough, and then conferred 
 upon him the priestly office and priestly dress. 
 The shoemaker, therefore, came back in the 
 priestly costume of the Orthodox Church, but as 
 stupid and more ugly than he was before. The 
 Orthodox clergy are generally unlearned, while 
 their people are more enlightened. It is the 
 opposite with the Maronite clergy who are generally 
 learned, but their adherents are very ignorant. 
 When the American missionaries entered the Syrian 
 Mission field in 1823 they entertained the idea of 
 reforming the Oriental Churches, especially the 
 Greek Orthodox. They soon had to give up their 
 plan on account of the above mentioned causes, and 
 had to be content with working among private in- 
 dividuals, and affecting the whole population through 
 the education of the young. By great perseve- 
 rance in the midst of persecution and counteracting 
 circumstances, they have succeeded in organizing 
 Protestant Churches in Syria, which are composed 
 mostly of converts from the Greek Orthodox 
 Church. It must be always borne in mind, how- 
 ever, that the missionaries have to work with much 
 more difficulty, and with less success, among the
 
 Difficulties of Missiona 1 )^ Effort. 217 
 
 deluded, degraded, and dead Eastern Churches, 
 than among the heathen. It needs a long time of 
 much patience and faithful work, before the accumu- 
 lated rubbish of many centuries of superstition 
 and human invention is removed from these East- 
 ern Churches, and they are converted into Spiritual 
 Temples of God.
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 THE GREEK CATHOLIC CHURCH. 
 
 WITH the decline of Greek influence and 
 the increasing power of the Roman Empire 
 the Bishop or Pope of Rome availed him- 
 self of the most favourable political condition of 
 that time to assume the supremacy over all the 
 Christian Churches. At the council of Chalcedon 
 in 451 A.D. the Papal legates, who assumed great 
 authority over the rest, occupied the left side of the 
 house with their party, while Dioscuros, Patriarch 
 of Alexandria, and his party took the right side. 
 The Papal legates defended the Doctrine of the 
 Western Churches in acknowledging two natures 
 and two wills in Jesus Christ. The Emperor Mar- 
 tian with his wife Pulcheria, who was his guiding 
 star, agreed with the Theological views of Pope 
 Leo and his legates, which made a very great im- 
 pression upon the whole assembly, and many mem- 
 bers of the Oriental Churches left their places and 
 went over to the left side where the Papal legates 
 presided. From that time until now, this part of 
 the Christian Oriental Church has called herself the 
 Melchite (Royal), or Catholic Church. The Pope 
 made continual claims on the Greek Catholics as 
 being under his supremacy, but though they had 
 united with Rome in the Doctrine of two natures 
 and two wills in Christ in order to please the 
 Emperor Marcian, they did not agree in the future
 
 The Jesuit Mission in Syria. 219 
 
 with all that he demanded. The Greek Catholic 
 Church, therefore, continued to govern itself while 
 struggling on one hand against the hierarchical 
 despotism of the Pope, and on the other against 
 the Monophysite and Monotheletic heresies of 
 Alexandria and Palestine. By degrees the Pope 
 greatly reduced his expectations with regard to the 
 Greek Oriental Churches, but he never gave up his 
 mission to them, nor neglected to do his utmost by 
 various councils to bring about the union of all the 
 Churches under the Roman Pontiff. 
 
 In modern times the Jesuits have been a power- 
 ful agency for working in Papal interests among the 
 Greek Orthodox and Melchite Churches. About 
 the year 1650 some Jesuits were sent to Syria with 
 the object of performing mission work. They 
 settled at Antioch, Beirut, Damascus, Jerusalem, 
 and other places. At Antioch the Greek Pa- 
 triarch gave them full liberty for their work ; but 
 not till after many years of Jesuitical intrigue 
 and fascination did they succeed in influencing 
 the Greek Orthodox Bishops of Tyre, Sidon, 
 Beirut, Baalbec, and Tripoli, with their flocks, 
 to submit to Papal supremacy. All those who 
 thus submitted to the supremacy of the Pope 
 called themselves Greek Melchite Catholics, and 
 said that they originated in the Council of Chalce- 
 don ; but more correctly they are, to large extent, 
 the fruits of the Jesuit Mission in Syria. For 
 some time the Greek Catholics had to suffer a 
 great deal of persecution from the Greek Orthodox 
 patriarchs and bishops, but since the year 1760 
 they have enjoyed religious liberty. There are about 
 50,000 Greek Catholics in Syria, who acknowledge 
 the Pope as the visible head of the Church, but 
 they do not unite with the Roman Catholic Church 
 so fully as the Maronites do, because they remain
 
 220 Creed of the Greek Catholic Church. 
 
 attached to the old Greek Orthodox Church in 
 many things. The Greek Catholics, for instance, 
 use leavened bread in the Eucharist, and in this 
 point, which was the first cause of final separation 
 between the Greek and Roman Churches, the Pope 
 gave way wonderfully, in order to be acknowledged 
 by the Greek Catholics as head of the Church. 
 They have the same Missal and Horologion, and 
 the same order of rituals, as the Greek Orthodox 
 Church. They use the old Greek language as the 
 sacred language of the Church, and allow their 
 priests to be married before their ordination. They 
 call the Virgin Mary OCOTOKOS (mother of God), and 
 cultivate the same Mariolatry, and picture and 
 image worship, as the Greek and Roman Churches. 
 In baptism they differ from both the Romans and 
 Greeks, because they neither use immersion nor 
 sprinkling, but pour water over the candidate in 
 the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, 
 believing that this is the washing of regeneration, 
 without which nobody can be saved. They believe 
 in transubstantiation in the Eucharist, and differ 
 only in the exact moment when the great change 
 takes place. They always used to have their re- 
 ligious feasts at the same time as the Greek Ortho- 
 dox Church, but in 1857 they began to celebrate 
 their festivals according to the Roman calendar. 
 This causes a difference of twelve days between 
 the Western and Eastern Churches. The Western 
 Church celebrates Christmas on the 25th of Decem- 
 ber, but the Greek Orthodox on the 6th of January. 
 There was a great controversy among the Greek 
 Catholics themselves about this point. Some of 
 them agreed with the Patriarch and celebrated 
 their festivals with the Roman Church, and some 
 did not agree to this and kept their feasts with the 
 Greek Orthodox Church. On this account they
 
 Greek Catholics becoming Protestants. 221 
 
 split into two parties, but both retain the name of 
 Greek Catholics, because both look towards the 
 Pope as the visible head of the Church. We see 
 from all this that the Greek Catholics are partly 
 attached to the Greek Orthodox Church and partly 
 to the Roman Catholic. One of their liberal clergy 
 told me once : " Our doors are open to Rome, to 
 Constantinople, and to London," indicating that 
 they are liable to be influenced by the Pope, by the 
 Greek Orthodox Church, and by the Protestants. 
 
 A number of Greek Catholics have become 
 Evangelical Christians, and some of them have 
 proved most efficient and useful members of the 
 Protestant Church, like Dr. Michael Mushaka at 
 Damascus, who publicly and privately taught the 
 truth, and attacked the errors of the Popish 
 Church.
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 THE MARONITES IN KESSRAWAN. 
 
 SOME historians think that the Maronites de- 
 rive their name from an abbot named Ma- 
 roon who lived near the Orontes in the sixth 
 century and preached Monotheletic doctrine, whom 
 they regard as a great saint, though the Pope con- 
 demns him as a heretic. Others say that it was 
 from John Maroon who lived and taught on the 
 Northern Lebanon some years later. Towards the 
 middle of the seventh century the Emperor 
 Constantine Pagonatus, persecuted the Maronites 
 on Mount Lebanon,* and also stationed 12,000 men 
 from the Persian emigrants, called Mardi, on the 
 Northern Lebanon, for the purpose of opposing the 
 Mohammedan invasion.t It is from these people of 
 Persia with whom they united in fighting against 
 the Mohammedans that the Maronites are also 
 called and call themselves Mardites. When Jus- 
 tinian II. removed the 12,000 Mardites from 
 Lebanon to Armenia, the Maronites continued the 
 contest with the Mohammedans and fought so well 
 that for a long time they secured their independent 
 position. The Monotheletic Maronites on Mount 
 Lebanon had to endure hard and long persecution 
 
 * See Dittmar's " Universal History," vol. 3, p. 213 ; and Herzog's " Theo- 
 logical Encyclopaedia," vol 10, p. 180. 
 
 t See Chambers' " Encyclopaedia," vol. 3, p. 679 ; and. Auguetil Dupperon's 
 " Recherches sur les Migration des Mardis, Ancien Peuple de Perse."
 
 tpr- 
 
 MARONITES ASCENDING MOUNT LEBANON.
 
 Education of Maronitea at Rome. 225 
 
 by the Byzantine Emperors Justinian I., Justinian 
 II., Constantine IV., and Marcian, on account of 
 which many of their priests and bishops emigrated 
 to distant countries, especially to Armenia. 
 
 After the Maronites had been Monotheletics for 
 more than 500 years, according to the statements of 
 William of Tyre and Bishop Vitry, they began to 
 listen to the delegates of Pope Innocent in the year 
 1215. In the time of the Crusaders the Maronites 
 joined the Christian army from the West, and thus 
 came more in contact with the doctrines of the Papal 
 Church. In 1445 special effort was made through 
 the Council of Florence to unite the Greek Catho- 
 lic and Maronite Churches under the supremacy 
 of the Pope. The Maronites seeing some political 
 advantages in uniting with Rome approached it step 
 by step. Messengers from Rome induced promis- 
 ing young men to go there from Mount Lebanon, 
 and after being educated gratis, they were sent 
 back to their native country as Papal agents. 
 Pope Gregory XIII. dedicated a large amount of 
 money to erecting at Rome, in 1584, a Collegium 
 Maronitarum, exclusively for young Maronites. 
 From this College a number of learned and dis- 
 tinguished men took degrees ; like the Patriarch 
 Georgius Amira, and Professors Gabriel Sionita 
 and Abraham Ecchellensis, from Mount Lebanon, 
 who were finally engaged in the great work of the 
 Polyglot Bible at Paris ; also Joseph Simon 
 Assamani, from Tripoli, the author of the "Bib- 
 liotheca Orientalis," in 4 vols., which is regarded as 
 an authority in Oriental History. By the powerful 
 agency of this College in Rome the Pope could 
 soon exert full influence and power over the 
 Maronites on Mount Lebanon, where he likewise 
 founded high schools for the education of their 
 youths. At the end of the fifteenth century the 
 
 Q
 
 226 The Maronites under French Protection. 
 
 Maronites fully acknowledged the supremacy of the 
 Pope, and united with the Roman Catholic Church, 
 not from religious conviction, but from the political 
 motive of desiring the assistance of France and 
 Austria, which was really accomplished when the 
 French Emperor Louis XIV. granted them letters 
 of protection. This political agreement between 
 France and the Maronites is still kept up with 
 increased interest by the French Consuls. By their 
 union with Rome the Maronites have been freed 
 from the Monotheletic heresy, but have adopted 
 instead all the errors of the Roman Catholic Church 
 which make them much worse than they were 
 before, and more fanatical than the Roman Catholics 
 themselves. The number of Maronites in the 
 whole of Syria is estimated at 250,000. They have 
 only one Patriarch residing at Kanobin in Kessra- 
 wan, who is subject to Rome, and governs all the 
 Maronite bishops and priests, and all the convents 
 with their monks. 
 
 In order to strengthen the Maronites against 
 other denominations, as well as to purify them from 
 their old tendency to errors, the Pope has four 
 agencies engaged to accomplish his designs. These 
 are, first, the Jesuits; second, the Franciscans; third, 
 the Lazarists ; and fourth, the Capuchins. The first 
 are trying to catch the people by introducing more 
 scientific knowledge, while the second, third, and 
 fourth are engaged in elementary education and 
 good works for the poor. They have an enormous 
 influence among the Oriental Christians, who have 
 a natural tendency to outward show, and much 
 inclination to be helped instead of doing their 
 utmost to help themselves, and thus be indepen- 
 dent. 
 
 On the appearance of Protestantism in Syria in 
 the year 1823, by the American Missions to the
 
 Opposition to Protestant Missionaries. 227 
 
 Oriental Churches, the Jesuits, well aware of the 
 power of Evangelical teaching, lost no time in 
 instructing the Maronite patriarch, bishops, and 
 priests, and all other Popish Christians to oppose 
 the missionaries by counteracting and neutralizing 
 their influence by every possible means. The 
 missionaries had, therefore, a very hard time in 
 thus beginning their work among a superstitious 
 and ignorant people, under the fanatical Maronite 
 clergy. The following story out of the annals of 
 the Syrian Mission field of the first Protestant 
 convert and martyr on Mount Lebanon illustrates 
 their difficulties as well as the triumph of truth 
 over fanaticism and superstition.
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 ASSAD SHIDIAK, THE SYRIAN MARTYR. 
 
 WHEN the American missionaries began to 
 occupy Syria as their Mission field they 
 engaged Assad Shidiak, an intelligent young 
 Maronite, as their teacher in the Arabic language. 
 Before this he was secretary to the Maronite 
 Patriarch, Joseph Habeish. Through contact with 
 the missionaries Assad Shidiak learned to know 
 the Holy Scriptures and the truth as it is in Jesus 
 Christ. The Patriarch was informed that Assad 
 was employed by Protestants, and sent him a 
 letter asking him at once to abandon his engage- 
 ment with heretics and come to him, unless he 
 would be put under excommunication. Assad 
 delayed for some time but finally went to him 
 at the convent of Alma,* where the Patriarch 
 inflicted all kinds of trials upon him. From this 
 place he wrote the following letter to the mission- 
 aries at Beirut : " I pray God the Father, and His 
 only Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, that He will 
 establish me in His love, and that I may never 
 exchange it for any created thing, but that neither 
 death, nor life, nor things present, nor things to 
 come, nor height, nor depth, nor riches, nor honour, 
 nor dignity, nor office, nor anything in creation, may 
 be able to separate me from His love. I beg you 
 to pray to God for me." 
 
 * Alma is a convent a little north of Brummana.
 
 Assad's Account of Himself. 229 
 
 After some time Assad ran away in the night 
 from his prison in the convent at Alma to the 
 missionaries at Beirut, and at their request he 
 gave them the following report of his sufferings, 
 which is taken from a book called " The Martyr of 
 Lebanon : " 
 
 " Since many have heard that I have become 
 insane, and others that I have become a heretic, I 
 have wished to write an account of myself and let 
 every reader judge whether I am mad or slandered, 
 whether I am following after heresy or after the 
 truth of the orthodox faith. Every serious man 
 will confess that true religion is not that of compul- 
 sion, nor that which may be bought and sold, but 
 that which proceeds from believing the Word of 
 God, and endeavouring to walk according to it to 
 the glory of God ; and that those who are conten- 
 tious, and do not obey the truth, but obey un- 
 righteousness, are far from true religion. This is 
 the standard by which I would be judged by every 
 one who may read this narrative. 
 
 " I had been at Beirut no long time when the 
 Patriarch's brother, Priest Nicolas, arrived, and 
 requested me to grant him an interview, which I 
 hastened to do. Priest Nicolas then began to con- 
 verse with me in the way of reproof for having any 
 connection with Protestants. I replied that as we 
 ought not to deny the unity of God because Mos- 
 lems believe it, so we ought not to hate the Gospel 
 because Protestants love it. He then began to tell 
 me of the Patriarch's wish that I should come out 
 to him to the convent of Alma, and of his great 
 love to me. He said that the Patriarch had heard 
 that I had received thirty or forty purses of money 
 from the Protestants, and he assured me of his 
 readiness not to suffer this to be any hindrance to 
 my coming out from them. Now if my object were
 
 230 Summoned before the Maronite Patriarch. 
 
 money, as some have seemed to think, I had then a 
 fair opportunity to tell him a falsehood, and say, ' I 
 have indeed received that sum from the Protestants, 
 and cannot leave them unless I restore the whole.' 
 In this way I might have contrived to take what I 
 wished. But I did not so answer him, but told him 
 truly how much wages I had received, which was 
 no extraordinary amount. 
 
 " He then gave me a paper from His Holiness, 
 in which he says, ' We request that when we come 
 to Alma you will come up and see us. We expect 
 your presence, and, if God please, we will provide 
 you with some proper situation, and with an income 
 that shall be sufficient for your support. Delay not 
 your coming, lest the present happy opportunity 
 should pass by/ Knowing as I did that many 
 people supposed that my object in continuing with 
 the Protestants was worldly gain, I did not delay 
 to fulfil his request, hoping thus to remove this 
 impression, and to enjoy an opportunity of speaking 
 the truth without the suspicion of being hired to do 
 it. On the 6th of January, therefore, I left Beirut 
 with Priest Nicolas, and reached Deir Alma the 
 same night. His Holiness was not there, but the 
 next day as he came I met him, and saluted him 
 in the road. In the evening he called me to his 
 chamber and began to ask me questions, that he 
 might discover what I was ; and I told him the 
 whole truth, although this course was against my 
 own advantage. At this he seemed surprised, for 
 he must have perceived that it was contrary to 
 what he had been accustomed to see in me. After- 
 wards, when I declared to him that I had never 
 before been a believer with true living faith, he was 
 probably more astonished still. He then asked me 
 if I believed as the Romish Church believed. I 
 told him that I did not. He asked me then what
 
 Threatened with Excommunication. 231 
 
 my faith was, and I answered, 'True and living 
 faith must be divine, and connected with hope, love, 
 and repentance, and all these virtues are the gift of 
 God. I believe the truth as God has inspired it, 
 and it would be but a lie if I should say that I 
 believe as the Romish Church does, while in fact I 
 cannot without fuller evidence of its truth.' After 
 some further conversation of this sort, he told me 
 that this doctrine of mine was heretical, and that if 
 after three days I did not give up this belief, I 
 must no more enter the church, and that for as 
 long as I remained of that opinion he would suffer 
 no one to have intercourse with me in buying, 
 selling, etc. This prohibition reminded me of the 
 words in Revelation xiii. 16, 17 : ' And he causeth 
 all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and 
 bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in 
 their foreheads ; and that no man might buy or sell, 
 save he that had the mark, or the name of the 
 beast, or the number of his name.' 
 
 " At other times he pressed me to swear by the 
 Eucharist and by the Gospel that my faith was like 
 the faith of the Roman Catholic Church. He asked 
 me if I was a Bible-man. I replied, ' I do not take 
 the opinions of the Bible-men as my guide ; but 
 if you think me a Bible-man on account of the 
 opinions I have advanced, so be it.' 
 
 " Some time passed before the Patriarch again 
 asked me concerning my faith. I then explained 
 to him what I believed respecting the Unity and 
 Trinity of God, and that the Messiah was one per- 
 son with two natures, and that the Holy Spirit 
 proceeds from the Father and the Son. Then arose 
 a dispute about who is the vicar whom Christ has 
 appointed to explain His law. I answered in sub- 
 stance, as I afterwards did in writing, that by 
 reason, and study, and prayer to God, with purity
 
 232 Offers of Money and Preferment. 
 
 of motive, we may know from the Holy Scriptures 
 everything necessary to our salvation. My reply, 
 perhaps, was not expressed with sufficient clearness, 
 or perhaps I was not able to say it in the manner 
 that was appropriate, for such a tumult and storm 
 was excited in the company who were then present, 
 that they seemed to me to be intent on overcoming 
 me by dint of vociferation rather than by argument, 
 and on drowning my voice rather than understand- 
 ing my opinions. 
 
 " Some days after, Bishop Abdallah Blabil and 
 Padre Bernardus of Ghazeer, came to the Patri- 
 arch, who one day called me to them into his 
 chamber, and asked me what I wished, whether 
 money or office, promising to gratify me, whatever 
 it was ; at the same time speaking of his love to 
 me, and of his deep interest in my welfare. These 
 professions I believed to be sincere, but they were 
 according to the world, and not according to the 
 Gospel. I assured him that I wanted none of the 
 things he had mentioned ; that I was submissive 
 and obedient to him, and that if he thought I had 
 taken money of the Protestants, he was welcome 
 to shut me up in my chamber as in a prison, and 
 take from me everything I possessed ; that I wished 
 from my superiors nothing but my necessary food 
 and clothing, and that I was ready to give them a 
 written assurance to this effect. The bishop and 
 priest then begged me in presence of the Patriarch 
 to say that my faith was like that of the Romish 
 Church. I replied that I feared to tell a falsehood, 
 by saying I believed a thing which I did not. 'But,' 
 said they, ' the Patriarch here will absolve you from 
 the sin of falsehood.' I then turned to the Patri- 
 arch, and put the question whether he would so 
 absolve me. He answered that he would. I said, 
 1 What the law of nature itself condemns, it is out
 
 Conversations at the College of Ain War oka. 233 
 
 of the power of any man to make lawful.' He 
 then again asked me what I wished to do. I said 
 I wished to go and see the Armenian Patriarch, 
 Gregory, and inquire of him what I ought to do. 
 He gave his consent, and requested me, when I had 
 done this, to return to him, to which I also agreed. 
 " I was accompanied by a priest from the Patri- 
 arch to the college of Ain Waraka, where I found 
 Priest Yoosef of Shaheen, with whom I conversed 
 for a considerable time with great pleasure, be- 
 cause I found that he did not believe that the 
 Pope was infallible in matters of faith, unless 
 he was acting in concert with the Church as- 
 sembled in council. I then began to confess to 
 him. But soon I saw that he steadfastly held 
 some opinions for no other reason than that the 
 Church believed them, and this without bringing 
 any proper evidence from councils or from the 
 Fathers with regard to their truth. On my asking 
 for evidence he burst out upon me with exceedingly 
 bitter words, saying, ' Know that the Church 
 neither deceives nor is deceived, and be quiet.' I 
 wished him to instruct me according to the Word 
 of God, and with the simple object of glorifying 
 God and fulfilling His will, for I saw that he was 
 not disposed to support any opinion because it was 
 according to the Word of God, but because the 
 Church thought so. I saw him also ready to main- 
 tain these opinions, although I should adduce the 
 strongest evidence against them from the Holy 
 Scriptures. He told me it was impossible for him 
 to teach anything contrary to the Council of Trent. 
 So I found I could not receive his system, because, 
 even if it were shown him that it was wrong, he 
 would not give it up, lest he should be obliged 
 to give up his office. I therefore told him, ' You 
 are bound, and shut up between walls, by the
 
 234 Visit to the Armenian Patriarch. 
 
 doctrines of the Pope and the Council of Trent.' 
 " About this time I heard that a certain Armenian 
 priest, who was accustomed to come on Sabbath 
 days to Ain Waraka to learn Arabic grammar, 
 wished to converse with me about religion. I was 
 much rejoiced to hear it and was impatient for an 
 interview. When he came we had a short talk 
 together about works unlawful on the Sabbath day, 
 and on some other subjects, but he excused himself 
 from further conversation at that time for want of 
 leisure. I continued at Ain Waraka the whole 
 week, reading with the rest at prayers, and confess- 
 ing to Priest Yoosef. When the Armenian priest 
 came again, he said that he wished the discussion 
 carried on in writing, and to have an assistant with 
 him, besides other conditions. On the whole I was 
 more inclined than before to receive the doctrines 
 of the Romish Church, since the priest had pro- 
 mised to bring his evidence on all points from the 
 Word of God, and had assured me that they were 
 walking in the light and not in the darkness. 
 
 " At this time word was brought me that Bishop 
 Jacob, superior of the convent of B'zummar, wished 
 to see me. Priest Yoosef had told me that this 
 state into which I had fallen was a temptation of 
 Satan, and that it was usual for persons when they 
 came to manhood to be tempted on the subject of 
 their religion. At another time he assured me that 
 it was a state of delirium, and because I had heard 
 that Bishop Jacob had himself been delirious, and 
 that he was a man of good information, I wished 
 very much to see him. On the same day I went to 
 Priest Yoosef and disclosed to him my intention of 
 going to the convent of B'zummar, where were the 
 Patriarch Gregory, Bishop Jacob, and the Armenian 
 priest before spoken of. 
 
 " I set off the same day, and on my arrival saluted
 
 Bishop Jacob's Advice. 235 
 
 the Patriarch, and the same night we reasoned 
 together on the subjects of faith, hope, and charity. 
 In the course of our conversation it appeared to 
 me that he was not a true believer, and from that 
 time forward I could not confide in him as I would 
 confide in a real Christian, but I was willing to hear 
 his arguments. On the following day I asked him 
 how it could be said that the Pope was infallible if 
 there were no proofs to be brought to show it. 
 After a good deal of conversation on what is the 
 real Church of Christ, on pardonable ignorance, etc., 
 he tried to prove that if the Pope is not infallible, 
 then there is no religion, and even no God. To me 
 all his proofs seemed so weak that I could not be 
 convinced, and I fell into deep perplexity as to 
 what I should do, for sometimes I greatly en- 
 deavoured to submit my judgment to his rules and 
 opinions, and I made these efforts until my very 
 head would ache. 
 
 " From this time I was with Bishop Jacob every 
 day for three or four hours, and his best advice to 
 me was, to pray to St. Antony of Padua, together 
 with one repetition of the Lord's prayer, and one 
 of Hail Mary, every day for three days. While I 
 was thus in doubt on account of the weakness of 
 their reasons, one of the monks said to me, ' The 
 Patriarch knows well what is good tobacco,' and 
 intimated that he knew little else. 
 
 " I hoped that the priest would explain to me 
 those doctrines of the Romish Church which I could 
 not believe, so I went into his chamber, and ques- 
 tioned him very particularly on all points. He 
 expressed his wish that we might discuss together 
 all the points, one by one, but only on condition 
 that the Maronite Patriarch Joseph Habeish should 
 appoint him to do so. He told me he had in his 
 possession a book refuting the opinions of Luther
 
 236 Reads the New Testament to his Visitors. 
 
 and Calvin. I begged permission to read it, but he 
 refused, telling me, however, that the doctrines of 
 the Church all remained unrefuted. He wished me 
 to go down to the Patriarch Joseph on this busi- 
 ness. So after a stay of four days I departed for 
 Ain Waraka, as I had promised to return to Priest 
 Yoosef of Shaheen. 
 
 " Here I found one of my friends of whom I had 
 heard that he had been very much astonished at 
 my connection with the Bible-men. When we met 
 and had conversed a little on some points, he would 
 no longer hear me, fearing, among other things, 
 lest he too should be crazed. I then finished my 
 confession to Priest Yoosef, and about sunset the 
 same day went down to the Patriarch to the con- 
 vent of Alma. His Holiness once more urged me 
 to declare in writing that my faith was according 
 to the faith of the Romish Church. From this 
 I excused myself, begging that such a thing might 
 not be required of me, for the Council of Trent 
 had added nothing to the creed which was estab- 
 lished by that of Nice, which begins, ' I believe in 
 one God,' etc. A short while after this I offered 
 him my thoughts, with modest arguments and mild 
 suggestions, on his duty of causing the Gospel to 
 be preached in the Maronite churches, intimating 
 that it might be done by the priests in the language 
 of the people for one or two hours every Sabbath 
 day ; and if this should seem to the people too 
 much of a burden, then let them be relieved of 
 some of the feast days. 
 
 " After this I remained silent in my chamber, 
 which was near his own, and as there came to me 
 a few of the Patriarch's deacons and some others, 
 I read to them, at their request, from the New 
 Testament printed in Rome. A short time after- 
 wards, I entered my room and found in it none of
 
 Ready to Die for the Faith of Jesus Christ. 237 
 
 the books that had been there, neither New Testa- 
 ment nor any other. I knew that the Patriarch 
 had given the order for their removal, for he re- 
 proved me for reading the Gospel to those persons, 
 but he could accuse me of no false or erroneous ex- 
 planations, or of teaching them anything heretical. 
 
 " One day after this the Patriarch called me to 
 his presence and began to threaten me in a most 
 unusual manner. I said, ' What do you wish from 
 me, your reverence ? What have I done, and what 
 would you have me do ? What is my sin except 
 that I conversed with some individuals, and showed 
 them the errors of the Church of Koine V Then 
 again he requested me to say that I believed as 
 that Church did, and added in an exceedingly loud 
 and threatening voice, as he grasped his own beard 
 firmly in his hand, ' See how I will take you if you 
 do not repent.' I begged him to appoint some one 
 to show me the truth, and he would not, but con- 
 tinued to express his own sentiment that we are 
 bound to hold fast to the Church even to such a 
 length, that if she should reject the Gospel, we 
 should reject it too. Soon after this I rose to de- 
 part, but on reaching the door I turned and said to 
 him, ' I will hold fast the religion of Jesus Christ, 
 and I am ready, for the sake of it, to shed my 
 blood. Though you all become infidels, yet will 
 not I.' And so I left the room. 
 
 " One of my friends told me he had suggested to 
 the Patriarch that the grand reason why I did not 
 believe in the Pope was, that among other doctrines 
 he taught that he could not commit an error. The 
 Patriarch wondered how I could pretend that I 
 held the Christian religion, and converse in such 
 abusive terms against it. And I also wondered 
 after he saw this, that he should not be willing so 
 much as to ask me, in mildness and forbearance,
 
 238 Discussion and Conversation Forbidden. 
 
 for what reasons I was unwilling to receive the 
 teaching of the Pope. But so far from this, he 
 would not suffer the Armenian priest to discuss 
 the subject with me, and he laid every person, even 
 his own brother, under excommunication if they 
 should presume to dispute or converse with me on 
 the subject of religion. Under an entire bereave- 
 ment of books, and shut out from all persons that 
 might instruct me, from what quarter could I get 
 the evidence necessary to persuade me to accept 
 the Patriarch's opinions ? 
 
 "Another cause of wonder which I had was, 
 that no one of all with whom I conversed, after he 
 saw me to be heretical and declining from the truth, 
 thought proper to advise me to use the only means 
 of becoming strong in the faith, namely, prayer 
 to God alone, and searching His Holy Word, 
 which even a child may understand. I wondered, 
 too, that they should ridicule me abroad as one mad, 
 and after all be so fearful of engaging in a dispute 
 with the madman lest he should vanquish them in 
 argument, and turn them away from the truth. 
 
 " After some time, there came to our convent the 
 Bishop of Beirut. I gave him the usual salutation, 
 and was greatly rejoiced to see him. I knew the 
 excellency of his understanding, and his quickness 
 of apprehension, and I hoped that, after some dis- 
 cussion between us, he would explain the truth, 
 and that he would bring forward clear proofs in 
 support of his views. Once more I was disap- 
 pointed, for one day I asked him a question, and, 
 during the whole of the short conversation which 
 followed, whenever I began to bring evidence 
 against him he grew angry, and he finally drove me 
 from the chamber in a fury, for no other cause, as 
 he pretended, than that he did not wish to converse 
 with a heretic.
 
 Discussion with the Bishop of Beirut. 239 
 
 " By and by Priest Yoosef of Shaheen came 
 down to us from Ain Waraka, and I endeavoured 
 to get him to unite with me in persuading the 
 Patriarch to send out some evangelists to preach 
 the Gospel among the people, or that there should 
 be preaching in the churches by the local priests. 
 But he would not co-operate with me in this, and 
 so I again failed of my purpose. 
 
 " When the Patriarch and the Bishop of Beirut 
 wished to dispute with me, I expressed the hope 
 that the discussion might be without anger. It 
 was concluded that it should be in writing, that no 
 one should afterwards be able to alter what he had 
 once said. They then began to ask me questions. 
 The first was, ' Has the Messiah given us a new 
 law V When I found that by a new law they 
 meant the Gospel, I answered, ' Yes.' They then 
 asked me if there were not to be found in this 
 new law some obscurities, and again I answered, 
 ' Yes.' They said, ' Suppose any difference of sen- 
 timent should arise between the teachers of Chris- 
 tianity, how are we to distinguish the truth from 
 error V I answered, 'We have no other means of 
 arriving at the truth than by searching the Word 
 of God, and inquiring of spiritual teachers, with 
 purity of motive and with disinterestedness of in- 
 clination. If the obscurities of the Word of God 
 cannot be understood by these means, our ignorance 
 is excusable, and will not prevent our salvation. 
 But if the obscurity respects our practice, so that 
 any practice seems to us doubtful, desist from it ; 
 but if it is not forbidden, do it ; and blessed is he 
 that condemneth not himself in that thing which 
 he alloweth.' When I had given them this answer 
 they brought no evidence to prove any error in it. 
 
 " One evening as I was walking with the Bishop 
 of Beirut, he began to tell me how much they all
 
 240 Infallibility of the Pope. 
 
 felt for me, and how unwilling they were to put me 
 in chains, and that, if it were not for their sym- 
 pathy and love to me, there were men who were 
 ready to take my life. After some time I said, 
 ' But how can we believe in the Pope's infallibility V 
 He quoted for proof, ' Thou art Peter, and upon 
 this rock will I build My church, and the gates of 
 hell shall not prevail against it.' He then resorted 
 to another mode of proof, saying, ' It is desirable 
 that the Pope should be infallible.' I answered, 
 ' But your reasoning with regard to the Pope may 
 be applied to all the bishops of the Church, for it is 
 desirable that all should be infallible.' He said, 
 ' No, for the bishops in that case feeling less their 
 need of the Pope, would not look to him, nor sub- 
 mit to him as their head, and thus there would be 
 divisions and contentions in the Church.' * But 
 why,' I said, ' did not divisions and contentions 
 arise among the apostles ? Were they not all in- 
 fallible as well as Peter?' And when he would 
 not admit that they were infallible, I told him it 
 was a thing incredible that the Pope was in- 
 fallible and the apostles were not. We conversed 
 further, when the bishop concluded by saying, 
 ' You have a devil and should be killed.' I asked 
 the bishop his reason for wishing to kill me, and 
 what evil I had done ? Then was he filled with 
 high and bitter wrath, saying, ' What ! shall we let 
 you go about to corrupt the people ? ' Then I said 
 to him, * God is with me,' and went away. 
 
 " One day the bishop reproached me with having 
 blasphemed against the Eucharist, the Virgin Mary, 
 and the pictures, because he pretended I had said 
 before one of the deacons, that were it not for fear 
 of the Patriarch I would tear all the pictures in 
 pieces and burn them. I told him that the pictures 
 were not gods, and that I wished to tell all the
 
 Escape and Re-capture of Assad. 241 
 
 common people so, that they might understand it. 
 To this, however, he would not consent. Then he 
 talked to me further about the Eucharist, and not 
 being able to substantiate his accusations against 
 me, he again fell into a rage. 
 
 " Their treatment of me grew worse, and being 
 so much troubled by them, I resolved to leave the 
 convent at midnight and commit myself to the pro- 
 tection of God." 
 
 But while Assad then succeeded in escaping to 
 the missionaries, he did not long enjoy his liberty. 
 The priestly despot used every means to get him 
 again under his cruel clutches, and was successful. 
 He took him first to Alma, and from there he 
 brought him to the convent of Kanobin, where 
 poor Assad was beaten by the fanatics every day, 
 and smitten by their hands upon his face. Yet as 
 often as they struck him on one cheek, he turned 
 to them the other. They then threw him on the 
 ground, and smote him with sticks. The Patriarch 
 ordered also that he should be bastinadoed for 
 several days, m order to effect his recantation. 
 Through all this Assad stood steadfast as a rock, 
 which exasperated the clerical tyrant, so that he 
 was more cruelly tortured than before, laid in heavy 
 chains, and cast into a dark prison. As he was 
 brought out several times a day to be bastinadoed, 
 he often sank senseless to the ground, but when he 
 came to his senses again, he began to pray for his 
 persecutors. Finally the Patriarch determined to 
 wall the poor martyr entirely up, with only a little 
 loophole at the top, through which he was to be 
 fed. This dungeon was only four feet square, and 
 scarcely high enough for the prisoner to stand. In 
 this fearful condition he often cried aloud, and said, 
 " Oh, think of me, ye that pass by ! Have pity 
 upon me, and deliver me from these sufferings ! "
 
 242 Death of Assad. 
 
 His mother, his brother, and other compassionate 
 people did their utmost to entreat the Patriarch to 
 grant Assad his liberty, or at least to ameliorate 
 his sufferings. The heartless monster did not com- 
 ply, but left the poor martyr as he was, loaded with 
 heavy iron chains, and walled up in that dark 
 dungeon until he breathed his last, when his 
 earthly remains were whirled over a precipice, and 
 covered by a heap of stones, while his noble spirit 
 was set free in the glory of the kingdom of God. 
 This took place at Kanobin, the residence of the 
 Maronite Patriarch, Joseph Habeish, in October, 
 1830. 
 
 Since that year a number of Maronites have be- 
 come Protestants, and some of them were eminent 
 and learned men ; but, on the whole, the Maronites, 
 and especially their clergy, remain obstinate and 
 fanatical opposers to the Gospel of Christ.
 
 MOSLEM CALL TO PRATER.
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 THE ISMAILIYEHS AND NUSARIEHS. 
 
 AS there are few Mohammedans in the district 
 of Brummana, and their religion is already 
 well known, it is not needful for me to de- 
 scribe it. But in the northern part of Lebanon we 
 still meet with two religious sects which have sprung- 
 out of Mohammedanism. The first are called the 
 Ismailiyehs, and the second the Nusariehs. Both 
 sects are quite opposed to the Koran and Islamism, 
 as well as to each other and the Druses. The Is- 
 mailiyehs originated in Alamout in Dilem, and 
 Mazenderan in Persia ; where they were influenced 
 by the religious principles of Persia and India. 
 Their originator, who was called Hassan, lived at 
 the end of the eleventh century at Alamout. He 
 regarded himself as a descendant of Fatimah, the 
 daughter of the prophet Mohammed, and tried to 
 trace his descent to Ishmael, the son of Abraham. 
 As a descendant of Fatimah, he was related to the 
 Egyptian king, El Hakem, whom the Druses regard 
 as God. But in spite of this relationship, the Is- 
 mailiyehs are opposed to the Druses on account of 
 some religious differences. At first the Ismailiyehs 
 increased rapidly. Hassan was himself regarded as 
 their Grand Master, to whom unconditional obedi- 
 ence was due. His religious system was and is 
 still kept severely secret, but, from what can be 
 learned, it appears to be nothing but a secret 
 ignorance and superstition.
 
 24G Their Creed and Murderous Propensities. 
 
 Like the Druses the Ismailiyehs believe in the 
 transmigration of souls. They consider Ali, the 
 son-in-law of Mohammed, as an incarnation of God, 
 and all the important good men of their sect as in- 
 carnations of the spirits who were connected with 
 him. They reject Mohammed as a prophet, and 
 say with the Druses that he was a devil. They 
 consequently reject the Koran and all that pertains 
 to Mohammedanism : in fact, their religion is 
 mainly one of negation and opposition to all other 
 religious principles, and to all laws both human and 
 Divine. In this they seem to possess the same spirit 
 as the Commune of Paris, the Nihilists of Russia, or 
 other social Democrats. They reject heaven and 
 hell, and believe in the eternity of the world. 
 
 Abulfetah, a relative of Hassan, transplanted 
 the Ismailiyehs from Persia to the north of Mount 
 Lebanon, where the fortification of Massiyad be- 
 came the centre of their operations in that district. 
 Their number was at that time very large and 
 powerful. The most terrible thing on earth is man 
 in his folly, and to this the Ismailiyehs formed no 
 exception. They were the worst of all human 
 creatures, and fearful enemies to peace and order. 
 In the time of the Crusades, when Baldwin I. occu- 
 pied Jerusalem, the Ismailiyehs, who were already 
 well known throughout the East as robbers and 
 murderers, became notorious to the Europeans also 
 under the title of assassins. In the East they had 
 gained the name of Hashshashin* from their habit 
 of eating cakes of Oriental hemp, or hashshash, which 
 excited them to bloodthirstiness and massacres. 
 When passing recently through Egypt I was aston- 
 ished still to see these hashshash dens in which the 
 people smoke opium and eat cakes of hashshash, and 
 
 * The Crusaders could not pronounce the word " Hashshashin," but said 
 "Assassin," which is the origin of the word in our language.
 
 Origin of the Nusarieha. 247 
 
 I was frightened to look at their distorted faces. 
 In consequence of the fearful readiness of these 
 Ismailiyehs for murder, they were often used 
 by usurpers and other unscrupulous men to kill 
 persons in high position who stood in the way 
 of their ambitious or revengeful intrigues. They 
 were engaged in warfare against the Abassides or 
 Orthodox Mohammedans of Bagdad, as well as 
 against the Crusaders and other religious denomi- 
 nations. In the year 1148 they murdered Ray- 
 mond of Tripoli, in the church of Antartus ; and 
 they afterwards killed the Marquis Conrad of 
 Monserrat. They tried repeatedly to kill the noble 
 Saladin, and also Prince Edward, the son of Henry 
 III. of England, but could not succeed. Sultan 
 Bibar conquered the Ismailiyehs and took posses- 
 sion of all their fortified strongholds in 1269, but 
 the greatest judgment against them was carried out 
 by the destructive and powerful Tamerlane, in the 
 year 1391. 
 
 At present we find only a few thousand Is- 
 mailiyehs in the north of Lebanon, and their politi- 
 cal influence has died out, though they are still 
 regarded as an obnoxious and dangerous people. 
 They dwell in eighteen villages, and are mostly 
 occupied in the cultivation of their land. 
 
 The Nusariehs are much more numerous than 
 the Ismailiyehs and Druses. They number about 
 200,000 souls, and dwell on the mountains between 
 the Orontes and the Mediterranean, and from 
 Gebal to Alexandretta. This sect sprang from 
 Kufa on the Euphrates, in the year 890 A.D., and 
 were called after the birthplace of their leader, who 
 came from the city of Nasrana. Being persecuted 
 in that neighbourhood they took refuge in Syria, 
 and settled down on the northern part of Mount 
 Lebanon.
 
 248 The Greed and Worship of the Nusariehs. 
 
 Though they hate the Ismailiyehs there is great 
 similarity between their religious principles. They 
 differ greatly from the Orthodox Mohammedans, 
 and acknowledge the divinity of AH Ibn Aby 
 Taleb, son-in-law of Mohammed. They reject the 
 Koran and curse Mohammed, Aby Baker, Omar, 
 and Othman. They practise circumcision, generally 
 when the children are eight years of age. Their 
 prayer consists in the glorification of Ali, and they 
 say, " There is no God but Ali, and Mohammed el 
 Hamed is the prophet and beloved of God." They, 
 too, believe in Metempsychosis or the transmigra- 
 tion of souls, and say that the good men among 
 them become stars, but others must wander from 
 body to body until they are purified for trans- 
 formance into stars also. The souls of very bad 
 men, they say, become Jews, Christians, and Mo- 
 hammedans, while some enter into swine and other 
 unclean animals. They call Jesus Christ a great 
 prophet or Spirit of God. Like the Mohammedans 
 they like the Old Testament and the Gospels, and 
 when asked why they do not become Christians, 
 they reply, "We are Christians, we like Jesus 
 Christ, and celebrate the Christmas feast." 
 
 They are divided into two sections, the Shemsieh, 
 or sun- worshippers, and the Kamarieh, or worship- 
 pers of the moon. These practices they must have 
 adopted from the ancient Arabs, who worshipped 
 the heavenly luminaries. The places of worship of 
 the Nusariehs are generally upon the top of high 
 mountains in solitary wildernesses. They keep their 
 religion severely secret, and if one of them reveals 
 the least of it to others, he endangers his life. 
 Solomon of Adana, a Nusarieh who became a 
 Christian some years ago, wrote a little book con- 
 taining a full description of their religion, but they 
 did not rest till they had killed him.
 
 Manner of Marriage among the Nusariehs. 249 
 
 They practice Polygamy. Each man is allowed 
 to have four wives whom they treat as slaves, and 
 regard as animals, saying women have no souls and 
 consequently for them there is no such thing as 
 Metempsychosis. If a Nusarieh wants to have a 
 wife, he makes the bargain with her father, and pays 
 him for her a hundred piastres, or about 5 10s. 
 If he has no money the bridegroom presents his 
 future father-in-law instead with a cow, donkey, 
 camel, or horse, in exchange for the bride. When 
 this has taken place, the friends of the bridegroom 
 go up to the top of the bride's house with sticks 
 in their hands, while the friends of the bride 
 likewise arm themselves with sticks to protect her. 
 The bridegroom fights his way through with a stick 
 or sword until he reaches her. Then he beats her 
 so hard that she howls and weeps aloud so that the 
 people on the roof can easily hear her melancholy 
 lamentation. This is the signal of their engage- 
 ment, after which all the people retire, and the 
 bridegroom takes his bride home with him. 
 
 The Nusariehs indulge in intoxicating drink, but 
 do not smoke tobacco. They observe the law of 
 Moses in regard to clean and unclean animal food. 
 Their dress consists simply of a white cotton shirt 
 and a white turban on their heads. They never 
 button their shirts, as they say that it is a sin to cover 
 the heart, because God must always look into it. 
 They are ruled by their respective Sheikhs, who 
 are also their religious leaders under the name of 
 Mukaddin. They are tributary to the Turkish 
 Government, which treats them often with cruelty 
 and injustice. The result of this is that the Nu- 
 sariehs often kill the Turkish officers, for which 
 they are punished by strangling. To them this is 
 the most fearful punishment which the Turks can 
 ever inflict, because they believe that usually the
 
 250 Great Need for Missionary Effort. 
 
 soul goes out of the mouth, but that when people 
 are hung or strangled it is obliged to depart from 
 below, which makes it unfit to enter into a superior 
 body or to become a star in heaven. 
 
 The Nusariehs have never become so warlike or 
 so notoriously bad people as the Ismailiyehs. For 
 the most part they peacefully work the land in 
 their wild regions, but when exasperated or excited 
 to warfare by their neighbours the Ismailiyehs, 
 they bravely defend their country. The Ismailiyehs 
 and the Nusariehs, as well as the Druses, are an 
 outgrowth of the Batenites or Gnostical Shiites, 
 who went astray through their speculative inter- 
 pretation of their old religious teaching. 
 
 The American Presbyterian Mission have opened 
 some schools among the Nusariehs in the neighbour- 
 hood of Latakiah. They are doing a good work, 
 but it is very needful that it should be extended, 
 or that some other Protestant society should 
 take up the Ismailiyehs as the object of their 
 Christian interest and sympathy, and organize an 
 evangelical mission among them. The Ismaili- 
 yeh and Nusarieh converts to Christianity are not 
 exposed to the penalty of death by the Turkish 
 Government like the Mohammedan converts. These 
 two sects never had a good example in the 
 Oriental Christian Churches, which themselves had 
 lost their first love, and without love everyone was 
 against them, and they were against everyone. If 
 some Protestant Mission, like those carried on by 
 the Moravians, could be established among them, 
 they would soon learn to appreciate and love the 
 true principles of Christianity, and become Chris- 
 tians themselves ; but hitherto, except the few 
 schools already referred to, nothing has been done 
 for these poor deluded sects, which are so truly 
 heathen.
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 OUR REMOVAL TO BRUMMANA. 
 
 THE summer holidays fell during the few 
 months between my resignation and the con- 
 clusion of my service in the British Syrian 
 Schools. At that time people generally go to the 
 mountains, in order to escape the burning and re- 
 laxing heat of Beirut. On the 3rd of July, 1873, 
 my luggage was packed, and two horses and one 
 donkey were ready to convey us to the mountains 
 of Lebanon. Before starting I took my dear wife 
 and four children into one of the emptied rooms of 
 the house we had occupied in the past, and there 
 we knelt before the Lord God, our Saviour and 
 Father in heaven, and poured out our hearts before 
 His mercy seat in thanksgiving and prayer for His 
 protecting care and Divine guidance. While many 
 tears flowed from our eyes we seemed to hear the 
 Lord's voice saying, " Go forth with joy ; fear not, 
 for My grace is sufficient for you." We left Rosa 
 in the school at Beirut, and the three smaller child- 
 ren, one of whom was a baby, we took with us. 
 The journey was rather hard for my poor wife, be- 
 cause the road along the precipices was very bad. 
 The servant, who went with us, could not ride the 
 donkey, and fell off with one child. Both began to 
 cry aloud. My wife was frightened and the other 
 children too, and they joined in the chorus of 
 lamentation. I could not move, as I was on horse-
 
 254 Arrival at Brwnimana. 
 
 back with the baby in my arms, but just at this 
 moment a man came down from the mountain, who 
 helped us along until we were right again. In the 
 evening at eight o'clock we reached Brummana 
 safely, but no kind friends were waiting there for 
 us, and no refreshing cup of tea or other food was 
 presented. Our arrival was gloomy and melancholy, 
 but we slept soundly and sweetly on the floor of 
 the empty and humble house. A few days after 
 we were in a better condition, for our furniture and 
 kitchen utensils were brought up. We had many 
 visitors from the Druses, Greeks, and Maronites, 
 whose wild looks seemed to indicate some truth in 
 the reports which had been told us of them in 
 Beirut. Our first and best friend was Semaan el 
 Koury, who helped us in many difficulties. He 
 was a native of Brummana who had been educated 
 at the American Mission School at Abeih, in the 
 southern part of Lebanon, under the venerable Dr. 
 Calhoon. 
 
 Among the people who came to visit us were 
 some nice looking old men, who said, " The Ameri- 
 can missionaries, Mr. Bird, author of ' Bible 
 Works in Bible Lands/ and Dr. Thomson, author 
 of 'The Land and the Book,' once came here 
 and distributed many Bibles and Testaments, but 
 the Emirs (princes) and the priests expelled the 
 Bible-men, and diligently searched for the Holy 
 Scriptures, and burnt them in the public place at 
 Brummana." This was done by order of the 
 Maronite Patriarch, Joseph Habeish, who killed 
 Assad Shidiak, the first Protestant and martyr of 
 Lebanon. The princes, Emir Besheer and Emir 
 Mansour of Brummana, worked hand in hand with 
 the fanatical clergy, and opposed every good work. 
 
 I went to work and explained the simple Gospel 
 truth to the people. We had many visitors from
 
 Short of Funds. 255 
 
 all classes and denominations, and returning their 
 calls gave me plenty of opportunity to teach these 
 benighted people the pure Gospel. For this work 
 I used nearly day and night. But though we 
 read that those that preach the Gospel should also 
 live of the Gospel, I saw nobody coming forward 
 with something substantial for our daily need. My 
 little money was coming to an end. What was to 
 be done ? My wife and four children needed daily 
 bread. I came to Brummana in connection with 
 no missionary society, and with no promise from 
 anyone to bear my temporal support, but I came up 
 with faith, well knowing that our heavenly Father 
 will care for those who put their full trust in Him. 
 I was also aware that faith has often been tried 
 whether it is a real faith or an empty imagination. 
 I laid my pressing condition in fervent prayer before 
 the Lord, and prayed on, and believed on, and 
 worked on, that the mission might grow and be 
 blessed. I asked some of the American mission- 
 aries at Beirut whether they would take up this 
 new mission field, but they refused. Then I brought 
 my work and my own circumstances before Bishop 
 Gobat at Jerusalem, but he said that he was too 
 old to undertake new mission work, and thought I 
 had made a mistake in leaving the British Syrian 
 Schools. After this I wrote to Inspector Rappard 
 of the St. Chrischona Mission, and explained to him 
 my work on Mount Lebanon, as well as my own 
 condition. He replied that he sympathised very 
 much with me, but was too short of funds to take 
 upon himself the responsibility of a new mission 
 station. Then, just when my funds were exhausted, 
 I received offers from two other missionary societies 
 to leave Mount Lebanon and join them in other 
 countries, but I felt I must refuse them. 
 
 The people at Brummana and other villages asked
 
 256 Opening of Boys and Girls Schools. 
 
 me for schools, and I thought it good to comply 
 with their wishes. I therefore wrote to my friends 
 at Berne in Switzerland on the subject, and they 
 sent me at once the means for opening a Girls' 
 School at Brummana, which was done in the sum- 
 mer of 1873. The first teacher was Hanni Ferah, 
 a native girl, who was a friend of Sybil and Eli 
 Jones. Before the year closed means were sent from 
 Canton de Vaud and from Lausanne, in Switzer- 
 land, by Madame Clara Monneron, for opening 
 Boys' Schools at Brummana and Beit Mary. But 
 for the maintenance of my family nothing was yet 
 done. So I wrote to Hannah Stafford Allen in 
 London, and to Eli Jones in America, about the 
 Brummana Mission, and they sent me some pecuni- 
 ary assistance in order to support my family ; but 
 there was nothing fixed, and no society was yet 
 organized to support this Mission. I looked very 
 sharply and prayerfully for the guidance of our 
 Divine Master, in whose hands people and circum- 
 stances are the instruments and means by which 
 He manifests His holy will to His children ; and as 
 I was very much afraid in my greatest need to be 
 tempted by dependence on men, I was the more on 
 the look-out to keep my eye single, and my faith 
 pure from any dust of this world. I did not yet 
 know what Church or Society would be ready to 
 take up this Mission, but I was at ease through 
 knowing that our Father in heaven always cares 
 for us and shows us the way, and I had only to 
 follow Him. 
 
 About this time Hannah Stafford Allen wrote : 
 " Most heartily do I thank our Father in heaven if 
 in any way He has permitted us to be instrumental 
 in helping and cheering you in the rough and thorny 
 paths of the pioneer Christian's life. I assure 
 you we embrace every opportunity for interesting
 
 Help and Sympathy from England and America. 257 
 
 Friends in the Lord's work at Brummana." Eli 
 Jones, too, wrote from America : " I am glad to be 
 able to say that our Friends in New, as well as Old 
 England, seem much interested in thy work on 
 Mount Lebanon. I think that thyself and dear 
 wife and your helpers may be encouraged to give 
 yourselves to the work of the Lord there with full 
 trust that your temporal wants will be supplied. I 
 am highly gratified that thou art able to give so 
 good an account of Hanni Ferah." All these mes- 
 sages of love and Christian sympathy I hailed 
 with intense interest, as proofs of the good will 
 of our heavenly Father, and I desired to follow 
 them as signs of the Lord's will. 
 
 In the autumn of 1873 H. S. Allen again 
 wrote : 
 
 " My dear Theophilus, I am very wishful to reply 
 to thy last letter without delay, for I feel sure thou 
 hast need of sympathy amidst the many difficulties 
 just now pressing upon thee. It cheers me to feel 
 thou art in our Father's hand, and art looking unto 
 Him for direction. He will not leave thee nor 
 forsake thee. Hope on. Trust on. Rest on His 
 gracious promises. Thine eyes shall see thy 
 Teacher, and thine ears shall hear the voice behind 
 thee, saying, when thou turnest to the right hand 
 or to the left, ' This is the way, walk thou in it/ 
 and in so doing thou wilt have peace. Day by day 
 you will be led along, and though the paths may be 
 chequered, and the way seem long and often dark 
 and gloomy, yet may the weary heart find composure 
 in the simple yet grandest source of it, ' The Lord 
 reigneth.' It is not for us to dictate whether the 
 paths shall be smooth or rough by which He leads 
 His children unto the city of habitation. It seems 
 to me, that if so permitted, thy talents, abilities, 
 and experience, and thy knowledge of the Arabic
 
 258 A Meeting for Worship Commenced. 
 
 language can be best turned to account on 
 Mount Lebanon. Affectionately thine, 
 
 " HANNAH STAFFORD ALLEN."* 
 I had to begin the Mission in Brummana under 
 many trials and perplexities, but such encouraging 
 letters from England, America, and Switzerland 
 were the means in the Lord's hand to uphold me 
 and my dear wife in the time of sorrow. In the 
 autumn of 1873 George Hessenauer, a young 
 German, with whom I had Christian fellowship 
 while at Beirut, came to Brummana for the pur- 
 pose of studying Arabic, and preparing himself for 
 mission work. About this time I began to open a 
 meeting for worship on Sunday, which caused no 
 little excitement among the priests, but we went on 
 in the name of our Divine Master, preaching to old 
 and young the simple Gospel of the love of God in 
 Christ Jesus. The winter began to set in, strong 
 tropical rains poured down, and fearful thunder- 
 storms and hurricanes discharged themselves with 
 hailstones and falls of snow. The house in which 
 we lived was not good enough to shelter its inmates 
 against such fearful weather. The rain not only 
 poured into our room through the flat roof, but it 
 forced its way through the badly made shutters. I 
 can never forget one night when the water stood 
 four inches deep upon the earthen floor of our 
 room. I put all the children into their mother's 
 bed and covered them all with an Abyssinian cow 
 skin, while I cried out to the neighbours for help, 
 and the whole night I was engaged with other 
 people in carrying the water from our room. In 
 spite of all these uncomfortable circumstances, 
 however, we all continued in good health. The 
 
 * And it was H. S. Allen who sent me the first pecuniary assistance for 
 my family.
 
 HANNAH STAFFORD ALLEN.
 
 Occupations of the People. 261 
 
 winter passed away and the warm spring began to 
 set in. I took another house for my family, but it 
 did not prove a good one, and most of my family 
 suffered much in it because it was damp. We 
 could not get another at that time because the 
 people were threatened with excommunication if 
 they let their houses to Protestants. 
 
 Winter on Mount Lebanon begins at the end of 
 October, and lasts to the end of March or middle 
 of April. The rainfall reaches an average of 30 to 
 35 inches. In the mountains, 3,000 feet above the 
 level of the sea, we have often heavy snowfalls 
 with rain, while below 2,000 feet we have only 
 strong tropical rain. We often see the sea along 
 the Syrian coast of a yellowish brown colour 
 because the mountain streams from the heights of 
 Lebanon carry with them the fertile brown and 
 yellow soil which tints the water. It is so especial- 
 ly with the Adonis, Damur, and Lycus rivers, 
 which have for thousands of years been carrying on 
 this process. With the cutting down of the forests 
 the soil has been still further exposed to the action 
 of the weather, till sterile rocks stretch their bare 
 heads towards heaven and give to the mountains 
 a melancholy appearance. The strip of land be- 
 tween the mountains and the sea is extremely fer- 
 tile. Many of the people are employed in rearing 
 silkworms. 
 
 In ancient times the silk manufacture was not 
 yet introduced into Syria. The population of 
 Lebanon was then not so great as it is now, and 
 most of the people were employed in cultivating 
 the fertile plain and parts of the mountain, while 
 others were engaged in ship building and merchan- 
 dise along the Syrian coast. As the pine and oak 
 wood was so near at hand the people of Gebal 
 were noted, in early times, for their skill in ship
 
 262 Introduction of the Silk-worm into Syria. 
 
 building, and this we find mentioned in Joshua xiii. 
 5 ; 1 Kings v. 18 ; Ezek. xxvii. 9. Though silk 
 was known to the Greeks, Persians, and Romans, 
 it was a long time before it was introduced into 
 Syria. 
 
 Aristotle mentions silk in 330 B.C., as an article 
 imported from China through Persia. Pausanius of 
 Caesarea in Cappadocia, in the second century A.D., 
 gave a full description of the rearing of the silk- 
 worm. In the middle of the sixth century we find 
 that Beirut, Sidon, and Tyre in Phoenicia, provided 
 the Greeks and Romans with silk which they had 
 previously obtained from China through Persia. 
 But the Phoenicians were also clever enough to 
 procure the means of rearing the silk-worm them- 
 selves in their own country. About the beginning 
 and middle of the sixth century the persecuted 
 Nestorians settled down in the Western District of 
 Shansi in China. There the mulberry tree (Morus 
 alba) was at home, and the silk manufacture was 
 in a flourishing condition. The Nestorians, there- 
 fore, engaged in the silk business, and it is generally 
 reported that two Nestorian monks from Shansi 
 brought the eggs of the silk-worm in hollow walk- 
 ing sticks to Constantinople, where they were 
 hatched by the heat of a dunghill, and fed on mul- 
 berry leaves. These leaves did not belong to the 
 Morus alba, because this tree was not yet intro- 
 duced into Syria or Europe, but to the Morus 
 nigra, which bears the black eatable berries so 
 well known by Persians, Greeks, and Romans. 
 The leaves of a certain mallow may also be used as 
 a substitute for mulberry leaves. In the time of 
 the Greek Emperor Justinian, the manufacture of 
 silk was introduced into Beirut, Sidon, Tyre, and 
 Byblus, but it needed a good deal of time before it 
 took hold of the people.

 
 Description and Rearing of the Silk-worm. 265 
 
 In the time of the Crusades Jacob de Vitriaco 
 informs us that the silk manufacture was a con- 
 siderable business at Beirut and other places along 
 the Syrian coast. It is also related by Makrizi and 
 Brocardus that no less than 4,000 looms for silk 
 weaving were found in the year 1283 at Tripoli 
 in Phoenicia. At this time the white mulberry 
 tree (Morus alba) with its white berries and large 
 lustrous leaves was already introduced into Syria, 
 as it gives the best leaves for feeding the silk-worms, 
 but no one is able to say exactly from whence this 
 tree was brought to Syria and Europe, though it is 
 thought that it must have come from China or 
 Kashmir. From Beirut the mulberry tree and the 
 rearing of silk-worms w^as introduced on Mount 
 Lebanon, where it became a perfect success. The 
 silk business caused a great change for the better 
 in the agriculture on Mount Lebanon, as the moun- 
 tains became rapidly terraced, and every fertile 
 spot was converted into a mulberry garden. The 
 quality of the silk was very good, and consequently 
 paid well, on which account the manufacture of 
 silk is still the principal business of the people of 
 Mount Lebanon. 
 
 The bombyx mori, which is the real silk-worm, 
 belongs to the family of Lepidoptera or moths. 
 The seed, or egg, of the silk-worm is as small as 
 mustard seed, and its colour is darkish grey. It 
 was produced plentifully in Syria, but when it got 
 corrupted the people of Lebanon got their seed 
 from France, Italy, Corsica, and China. The seed 
 from Corsica is the very best, and gives the most 
 beautiful silk. 
 
 During the winter the eggs of the silk-worm are 
 kept in airy and cool rooms. Most of the people 
 hang them in small bags made of unbleached calico 
 inside the arched roof of their churches. In the
 
 2GG Feeding the Silk-worms. 
 
 spring, when the mulberry trees are beginning to 
 spread out their leaves, the eggs of the silk- worm 
 are removed, and placed in a room full of smoke in 
 a temperature of 17 (Reaumur). In about a fort- 
 night's time out of every egg comes forth a little 
 worm. The natives of Lebanon make large round 
 trays, about two feet in diameter, from reeds, and 
 plaster them well with cow dung, but before use 
 they must be well dried. Then the leaves of the 
 white mulberry tree are brought, well minced, and 
 spread on these trays, after which the little worms 
 are strewn over the fine and tender leaves. In the 
 mountains the silk-worm has to be fed in the 
 houses, while on the plain the whole process is 
 carried on out of doors, under little reed huts in 
 the mulberry garden. 
 
 The little silk-worms are eating away day and 
 night, and after five days they begin to lift up their 
 heads above the leaves and cease eating for twenty- 
 four hours, which is called by the natives the first 
 fasting. After this the worm begins to eat again 
 for six days and nights, during which time they 
 must be supplied with fresh leaves continually. 
 After these six days the silk-worms lift up their 
 heads again off the leaves and fast for another 
 twenty-four hours, which is the second fasting. 
 Then they eat again for seven days and nights, after 
 which time they have another fast of twenty-four 
 hours, and eat again for eight days and nights. 
 Then they fast for the fourth and last time for 
 twenty-four hours, after which they eat nine days 
 and nine nights. By this time the worms have 
 grown to a length of two inches, and are as thick 
 as a thick lead pencil. During these last nine days 
 they consume an enormous quantity of mulberry 
 leaves, and men and women, boys and girls, are 
 engaged day and night in feeding them. Then each
 
 *?S >" '"-'X 
 
 A LEBANON SHEPHERD.
 
 Feeding Sheep on Mulberry Leaves. 269 
 
 worm begins to spin his own silky shroud, which 
 takes him two days to accomplish. During this 
 process the silk-worm decreases in length. It be- 
 comes quite torpid, and soon changes its skin and 
 becomes a chrysalis, the whole cocoon being about 
 as large as a pigeon's egg. It remains in this state 
 for fifteen days. By means of a fluid which comes 
 out of its mouth it then penetrates the cocoon, and 
 emerges as a kind of moth. The male then unites 
 with the female, which lays about three hundred 
 eggs, and these become the seed for the coming 
 year. The cocoons which are to be spun for good 
 silk must have the chrysalis suffocated in hot air, so 
 as to preserve the whole length of the silk thread 
 on the cocoons. The length of the silk thread of 
 one cocoon is 400 yards. 
 
 On Mount Lebanon the people make shelves of 
 reeds and straw along and around the inside of 
 their houses from top to bottom. These shelves are 
 about two feet wide and look just like the berths 
 in steamers. The silk-worms after the second fast- 
 ing are taken off the trays and placed on shelves 
 where they are fed until their spinning time, when 
 the people put little bushy shrubs, such as heather, 
 everywhere about them, into which the silk-worm 
 creeps and spins his cocoon. This is generally at 
 the end of May. At this time all the mulberry 
 gardens look very bare as they have been stripped 
 of all their leaves, but during the next two months 
 they put forth new branches with another crop of 
 leaves, not for the feeding of silk-worms this time, 
 but for the feeding of sheep. This is likewise the 
 business of the women. By stuffing the sheep 
 night and day with mulberry leaves they become so 
 fat that they are hardly able to walk. In Septem- 
 ber they kill these sheep and preserve their meat 
 for the winter time. The new branches of the
 
 270 Profitableness of Silk Cult tire. 
 
 mulberry trees are not cut off, but are left for the 
 next year's crop of leaves for the silk-worms. 
 
 The following average account will show how 
 profitable the silk business is. One drachm of 
 silk-worm eggs will produce 768 drachms of co- 
 coons, which will produce 70 drachms of pure silk, 
 the value of which will be 60 piastres, or 9 shil- 
 lings. One drachm of silk- worm eggs requires 160 
 pounds weight of mulberry leaves, and ten middle- 
 sized mulberry trees are needed to produce this 
 quantity. These ten trees require 230 square feet 
 of earth. Here we see that each 230 square feet 
 of land will bring an income of nine shillings. The 
 land must of course be well manured and ploughed 
 from time to time, and as all mulberry trees raised 
 from seed are wild, they must be grafted by good 
 ones, which must be done in the beginning of July. 
 It is calculated that this part of Syria produces 
 180,000 Ibs. of finished silk, which is mostly con- 
 veyed to the silk-weaving factories of Lyons in 
 France. From twelve pounds of cocoons the silk 
 factors obtain one pound of finished silk.
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 SECOND VISIT TO ENGLAND. 
 
 AFTER earnest and prayerful consideration, it 
 was thought best that I should go to Eng- 
 land and plead the cause of the Lebanon 
 Mission personally. On the 21st of April, 1874, 1 left 
 my dear family and George Hessenauer at 
 Brummana, and travelled by Trieste to Switzerland. 
 I had several meetings in Switzerland with my 
 friends in Berne and the Canton de Vaud, who 
 supported the schools at Brummana and Beit Mary. 
 I then went on to England where a cordial welcome 
 was awaiting me at my English home with Stafford 
 and Hannah Allen in Upper Clapton. 
 
 I consulted several friends prayerfully about 
 the condition of the Mount Lebanon Mission, and 
 I brought specially before them the building of a 
 mission house and training school for boys at 
 Brummana. Though I was not yet a member of 
 the Society of Friends outwardly, I was in my 
 heart, and I was allowed to attend all the sittings 
 of their London Yearly Meeting, which strengthened 
 my religious convictions as a Friend, as well as my 
 faith and confidence in Jesus Christ. It refreshed 
 my soul and kindled my zeal for more devotion to 
 the Lord's work. I soon felt that it was the will of 
 our Father in heaven that the Society of Friends 
 should take up the Mission on Mount Lebanon, and 
 on the 21st of May I pleaded its cause at their 
 Foreign Mission Meeting in London, before a large 
 auditory, and left it in the hands of the Lord.
 
 272 Visit to Sweden. 
 
 Then having received an urgent invitation from 
 the Swedish Missionary Society to be present at 
 their Annual Meeting, and give them information 
 with regard to Abyssinia, I felt it my duty to go to 
 Stockholm, where I arrived on the evening of the 
 8th of June. Next day I went to the Johannaloun 
 Mission Meeting where several thousand people 
 were gathered together. I addressed the meeting 
 in German which was translated into Swedish, and 
 the next day I had another large meeting in another 
 part of the city, when more than two thousand 
 persons listened with interest. 
 
 As the Swedish Missionary Society was just at 
 that time going to take up Abyssinia as one of their 
 Mission fields I was asked to explain the circum- 
 stances of the country and give my advice and 
 opinion about various matters connected with the 
 new Mission. This I did to the best of my ability 
 in accordance with the experience gained in my ten 
 years of mission work, suffering, and captivity in that 
 land. In the various meetings I had in Sweden I 
 also pleaded for the Mission on Mount Lebanon. 
 
 Having much work in England, I left Stockholm 
 on the 16th, with the young missionary, John 
 Aspling, who was going to Stepney College. On 
 the 24th, in company with Stafford and Hannah 
 Allen, I was present at the Ackworth School 
 examination, which greatly interested me, and 
 gave me the opportunity of addressing those 300 
 boys and girls. I then went to Manchester and 
 to many other places up and down the country, 
 trying to interest Friends in the mission work on 
 Mount Lebanon. It was a hard task for me, 
 especially before Friends who were unknown to me, 
 and I to them. I was often trembling while first 
 breaking the ice, and I had to hold fast my heaven- 
 ly Father's hand which I was able to recognise even
 
 Admitted a Member of the Society of Friends. 273 
 
 in my greatest perplexity. It was not only very 
 hard, but sometimes discouraging also, through 
 feeling the want of interest and sympathy in this 
 Foreign Mission work ; but I was often made 
 ashamed, for our Father in heaven blessed my weak 
 endeavours and gave me many friends. This was 
 a sign to me that the Mission at Brummana should 
 in future be taken up by the Society of Friends in 
 England and America, though Friends generally 
 hesitate long before they take upon themselves 
 any responsibility in supporting new mission work. 
 During my visit a central and local committees were 
 organized. William C. Allen of London, Edward 
 Pearson of Manchester, and George Howland of 
 the United States, were appointed treasurers ; and 
 Hannah Stafford Allen of London, and Alfred Lloyd 
 Fox of Falmouth, in England, and Eli Jones of 
 South China, Maine, U.S.A., were appointed secre- 
 taries. After my long journeys and meetings I had 
 a sweet and blessed resting time at my English 
 home, where the dear mother, Hannah Stafford 
 Allen, took much care of the young Mission, and 
 worked hard in it. She had a clear head, a good 
 heart, a strong mind, and a sound judgment for the 
 organization of plans, and much practical power to 
 bring them into execution. 
 
 Some time before this I applied for membership 
 with Friends, to Devonshire House Monthly Meet- 
 ing of Friends in London ; and on the 14th of July, 
 1874, I was received a member of that society. 
 
 As I saw the way clearly, I presented the follow- 
 ing petition for a Boys' Training Home before the 
 friends of the Mount Lebanon Mission : 
 
 "Dear Friends, Having been engaged for several 
 years in mission work in Syria, I have had much 
 opportunity for seeing and learning the general 
 degradation and misery of the people. I was sur-
 
 274 Petition for a Boys' Training Home. 
 
 prised to find that the very nation which was the 
 means in the hands of God for conveying the glori- 
 ous Christian religion to the European continent, is 
 now so deeply debased that the people are unable 
 to help themselves, because they have lost those 
 spiritual faculties by which a nation is elevated from 
 its low estate. The repeated civil warfare, the 
 miserable Turkish Government, the multitude of 
 priests, and the large number of monasteries and 
 convents, have ruined both country and people. 
 The land is barren, and it is only with great diffi- 
 culty and trouble that the people can build terraces 
 on the steep mountain slopes for the mulberry trees, 
 which are their principal means of subsistence. 
 When these fail, as not unfrequently happens, the 
 people are exposed to starvation. Brummana, on 
 Mount Lebanon, where I have already commenced a 
 new mission work, is most in want of help. I found 
 the Maronites, Greeks, and Druses there all very 
 ignorant. The Christians have the name of Christ 
 but deny Him by their deeds. In their numerous 
 churches we do not find Gospel truth but a Chris- 
 tian mythology and idolatry, which surprises the 
 most careless observer. Under these circumstances 
 generation after generation of the people, with 
 their blind leaders, are going down to misery. 
 
 "I especially pity the children, who are under such 
 poisonous influence. Even their own parents are 
 not able to bring them up properly, either for the 
 present or future world. They are early going 
 astray, like sheep without a shepherd, and often 
 they find an early grave. Some day-schools already 
 established on Mount Lebanon, and supported by 
 Christian friends in England, America, and Switzer- 
 land, are doing good work, but they do not exercise 
 full power over the children, and often the impres- 
 sions we give at school are banished by the evil
 
 Estimated Cost of the Training Home. 275 
 
 example and conversation of their families at home. 
 I therefore propose to build a Training Home for 
 Lebanon children, where we can have them under our 
 entire control, and where there will not be so many 
 hindering influences to interfere with our teaching. 
 The expense for such an undertaking would be 
 moderate, as most of the materials are to be found 
 on the spot. The cost of the land and the erection 
 of such an Institution with the necessary accommo- 
 dation for thirty or forty children would not much 
 exceed 500. The premises for the Mission family 
 and the annual support of such an Institution, 
 including teachers, would be about the same 
 amount. We might commence with a smaller 
 number at a cost of about 200, and the number 
 might gradually be increased as funds are received. 
 The pupils ought to be brought up, as much as it is 
 in man's power, in the way that will best promote 
 their temporal and eternal welfare. Besides good 
 elementary knowledge, they ought to learn some 
 trade if possible, which would enable them to earn 
 an honest living in the future. This is not the 
 place to enter into details of this proposed work, 
 which I leave for another time. I simply say, with 
 many others who have a thorough knowledge of the 
 wants of the Syrian Mission fields, that such a 
 refuge would be a great blessing to the country, 
 and the surest and most powerful agency for en- 
 lightening the benighted regions of Mount Lebanon 
 with a sound Christian education. But where will 
 the needed help arise ? Who will take an interest 
 in the cause ? Those who are interested in Foreign 
 Mission work have already so much to do, that I 
 am rather unwilling to bring new claims before 
 them. I have brought, and still intend to bring, 
 the cause before my heavenly Father, to whom 
 belongeth all the silver and gold. Before Him I
 
 270 Return to Mount Lebanon. 
 
 am pleading for the little ones upon those goodly 
 mountains, and I believe that He will move some 
 of His people's hearts to help us with their prayers 
 and substance. Therefore I feel it is not needful 
 further to press this matter, but will leave it all for 
 our Father's hands. THEOPHILUS WALDMEIER. 
 
 " August, 1874." 
 
 News from Mount Lebanon caused my return to 
 Syria sooner than I expected. Enemies rose 
 against the Mission, and when I arrived at Brum- 
 mana in the middle of September, I found my dear 
 family, George Hessenauer and Ibrahim Tasso, the 
 teacher of the boys' school, all in deep sorrow. 
 They all greeted me with streams of tears, so that 
 I exclaimed, " What is the cause of this sorrow, 
 when we should be glad and thankful for meeting 
 each other once more ? " Then my wife said, 
 " Since you left we have all been ill, and yesterday 
 we buried my dear sister's child, Dora Saalimiller, 
 who was with us during the summer. Theophilus 
 is still ill in bed ; and besides all this, we have suf- 
 fered much on account of the enemies of the Gos- 
 pel." I said, "Be of good cheer now, and all will 
 be right, because the Lord has done great things 
 for us and for His work on Mount Lebanon." Then 
 I told them all my experiences, and how the Lord 
 had led me step by step among His people, and 
 how Friends had become interested in the Lebanon 
 Mission, and a good amount of funds had been 
 collected for the Mission House and Training Home. 
 
 While I was in London I was on the look out for 
 a place where George Hessenauer could qualify 
 himself for missionary work. Mr. H. Gratton 
 Guinness promised to take him into his College, so 
 after my return to Mount Lebanon he studied 
 English very hard, and finally left Brummana for 
 London in February, 1875.
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 THE PURCHASE OF AIN SALAAM. 
 
 ON the 17th of October, 1874, I bought a plot 
 of land at Brummana, which was called 
 Berkat Ghanem (the pool of the . conqueror), 
 but is now known as Ain Salaam (the fountain of 
 peace), for 72, for the purpose of building the 
 Training Home upon it. I settled the title deeds 
 legally at the local and central courts, and also con- 
 sulted the Consul at Beirut, and showed him the 
 title deeds, which he said were all legally right 
 according to the law of the country. I told the 
 Committee in England what I had done, and at the 
 end of the year they wrote : 
 
 " We have heard with much pleasure of the pur- 
 chase of a suitable site for the proposed Training 
 Home at Brummana, and we hereby officially 
 authorise thee to commence the building. We 
 have been deeply interested in thy letter, and 
 heartily wish the divine blessing on thy labours, 
 and that the Lord's presence may go with thee to 
 direct and strengthen thee for every good work. 
 "ALFRED LLOYD Fox, 
 " HANNAH STAFFORD ALLEN, 
 " ELLEN CLARE PEARSON, 
 " Secretaries of Friends' Syrian Mission." 
 Before the year closed I was enabled to open 
 a fourth school at Dar Bsaleem. At the end of 
 1874 I wrote my first report of the Brummana
 
 278 The First Report of the Brummana Mission. 
 
 Mission to the Committee of the Friends' Syrian 
 Mission : 
 
 "It is now one year and a half since the Lord 
 first used me as an instrument in opening a mission 
 station at this place. The outset was very hard, 
 not on account of the privations we had to contend 
 with, but more especially on account of the opposi- 
 tion of the clergy. I felt quite sure, however, that 
 it was the Lord who brought me here. I did not 
 come before asking His will, and believing His 
 guiding hand directed us. This assurance gave me 
 strength to meet the counteracting influences from 
 every direction, and though I am well aware that 
 difficulties, persecutions, and sorrows are not entirely 
 overcome, I feel glad in my heart that we have 
 taken possession of this part of Mount Lebanon. In 
 the first place it is the most needy mission field in 
 Lebanon, except the district of Kessrawan, where 
 no Protestant missionary has been able to abide on 
 account of the power and fanaticism of the Maronite 
 Church. In the second place this station, eighteen 
 months ago, was unoccupied mission ground, so that 
 we do not come in collision with any other mis- 
 sionary agency. The Lord is leading His people, 
 and enabling them to do the right work in the right 
 time. My many years' residence in Abyssinia gave 
 me an experience in mission work which is very 
 useful to me now. My dear wife and myself had 
 to learn many lessons of patience in the hardships 
 and trials of that time. Those who feel the value 
 of a saved soul, and what a blessed work it is to 
 be instrumental in the hand of God to lead souls 
 to Jesus, will not be cast down when they meet 
 with trouble ; neither will they look nor seek for 
 their pleasure so much in outward circumstances, 
 because their highest aim and joy is to proclaim to 
 poor sinners the heavenly message in Christ Jesus.
 
 Thankfulness for Blessings Received. 279 
 
 There are thousands of souls here like sheep with- 
 out a shepherd, and others who are being led away 
 by false shepherds, who feed themselves, but not 
 the flock (Ezekiel xxxiv). These we must strive to 
 lead to the good Shepherd who shed His precious 
 blood for them. 
 
 "In looking back upon the past year, I very 
 thankfully remember my visits to England, Stock- 
 holm, and Switzerland. Especially did the Lord 
 bless me in England amongst the Society of Friends. 
 Led step by step by His gracious loving hand, He 
 brought me through many years of trouble, and 
 taught and prepared me to join this section of His 
 Church. Attending the Yearly Meeting of Friends 
 in London was a great blessing to me, for on several 
 points I was informed and strengthened, and I felt 
 the overshadowing power of the Holy Spirit in 
 some of those assembles more than I have ever 
 felt it in my whole life, or in any other religious 
 meeting before. Surely there were many sighing 
 and pleading for the inspiration and teaching of 
 the Lord's Holy Spirit, and His power is the secret 
 strength of the Society of Friends. Just as the 
 Lord had led me to Mount Lebanon, so has He 
 led me and helped me to become a Friend. I can 
 be no other, for I feel it was the Lord's own doing, 
 and if, even yet, much trial and affliction should 
 come upon me on this account, I cannot help it, for 
 the Lord put it into my heart and conscience, and 
 His will be done ! 
 
 " During my visit to England I was privileged to 
 make acquaintance with many dear Friends, the 
 remembrance of whose words is still a comfort 
 and blessing to me. The fellowship of the chil- 
 dren of God will ever be helpful and strength- 
 ening. It gives power to know and feel that 
 we are not standing isolated and desolated, but
 
 280 Extent of Land belonging to the Mission. 
 
 are marching along through our pilgrimage hand 
 in hand, united in the love of Jesus, our King, 
 Priest, Prophet, Commander, and Leader, who 
 will, in His own time, bring us safely to our 
 eternal home. 
 
 " I am thankful to tell you respecting the Training 
 Home at Brummana, that the Lord has thus far 
 greatly blessed our weak efforts for this special 
 cause and labour of Christian love. The land has 
 been bought and measures about 20,000 square 
 yards. There are a number of fir or pine trees, 
 mulberry and fig trees, with two fountains of water. 
 The foundation ground for the proposed building is 
 not entirely level. The western front towards 
 Beirut will have three stories, while the eastern 
 front towards Brummana will only have two. The 
 kitchen will be placed under the dining-room, whilst 
 the store-rooms, wash-rooms, and workshops will be 
 under the class-rooms and sleeping rooms. I have 
 endeavoured to make the plan as best adapted to 
 the convenience and climate of the mountain. The 
 length of the house will be eighty feet, and the 
 breadth forty-three feet. Pecuniary encouragement 
 we hope, may justify our commencing the building 
 before long. It will be an altar upon which many 
 spiritual sacrifices may be offered up for the glory 
 of our God, and I feel sure that even this proceeding 
 will bring a blessing upon the Society of Friends, 
 and more especially upon those who have taken 
 closest interest in it. Such an Institution which is 
 built upon our own ground will much strengthen 
 our missionary efforts in these Bible lands. ' It 
 shall be to the Lord for a name, and for an ever- 
 lasting sign that shall not be cut off' (Isaiah Iv. 13). 
 
 " The four day-schools of our Mission are partly 
 at the central station, Brummana, and partly in 
 villages in its neighbourhood. They are getting on,
 
 Day Schools, and Bible Woman. 281 
 
 though under much opposition and difficulty from 
 the Maronite clergy. In these four schools there 
 are about 110 boys and girls, from five to fifteen 
 years of age. They belong to the Druses and to 
 the Greek Orthodox, Maronite, and Greek Catho- 
 lic Churches. All these children get instructed 
 from the Holy Scriptures, as well as in elementary 
 knowledge, and we try as far as it is in our power 
 to lead them to their Saviour, the Lord Jesus 
 Christ. The schools are free, being supported by 
 my friends in Switzerland. It would lead me too 
 far to enter much into detail, but it is only right to 
 give you a general knowledge and account of all the 
 business, and expenses, etc. A Bible woman came 
 to us lately as an additional help to our Mission. 
 She was recommended by the American mission- 
 aries, and seems a good and zealous labourer. Her 
 work is of great importance, for the native women 
 need especial care and attention here, because they 
 are so deplorably degraded and ignorant. My 
 friends at Neuchatel promised to pay all her ex- 
 penses. The mission field, which we directly occupy, 
 comprises seven villages, of which Brummana is the 
 centre. Three of these villages are located on the 
 north-western side of Brummana, and in one hour- 
 and-half I can reach the furthest of them. It is 
 much better to have the work thus concentrated 
 than to be scattered more widely, and thus lessen 
 the immediate influence. 
 
 " About a year after I began to occupy the wes- 
 tern part of the district of Meten, it came to pass 
 that Mr. Rae, the clerical superintendent of the 
 schools of the Scotch Mission on Mount Lebanon, 
 began to occupy the eastern part of this district, 
 and I am very glad that I am not working alone in 
 this field, for it needs many labourers. 
 
 "For our own edification and strengthening in
 
 282 Village Work; Weekly Meeting. 
 
 spiritual things, we have a weekly meeting every 
 Friday at my house, where all our teachers, and 
 others who may incline, gather together in order to 
 wait upon the Lord and to seek for fresh strength 
 and wisdom, of which we feel our need very much. 
 We know that without a close walk with our 
 heavenly Father, through Christ Jesus, we are un- 
 fit to work aright in the kingdom of God, and 
 until self is brought low, the Lord will not en- 
 tirely use us as His servants for the welfare of our 
 fellow-men. May the Lord bless us individually 
 and unitedly throughout the Society, and enable us, 
 each in our several allotments, to bring forth fruit 
 unto His glory. THEOPHILUS WALDMEIER."
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 PRIESTLY OPPOSITION. 
 
 EARLY in the spring of 1875, I was much en- 
 gaged upon the newly- acquired land. I 
 planted fruit trees, digged for a larger quan- 
 tity of water with great success, and began to ex- 
 cavate the foundation of the new building according 
 to the plan, and all was going on very briskly and 
 satisfactorily. I had always a large number of 
 visitors at the place, among whom were many priests, 
 who went away muttering curses and perdition to 
 the Protestants, for having taken the nicest spot 
 on Mount Lebanon for their own building from the 
 hands of one of their adherents, in order to under- 
 mine the good old Maronite religion, by planting 
 the new Protestant heresy. Bishops and priests 
 sat together consulting about ways and means to 
 expel us from Mount Lebanon. The ecclesiastics 
 instigated a process against me, by means of some 
 of the relatives of the seller of the ground, who 
 made claims upon the plot of land which was sold 
 to me lawfully, and on the 3rd of February, 1875, 
 I received an official order from the local governor, 
 Emir Joseph (by whom the title-deed had been 
 legally completed, sealed, and signed) to stop all 
 operations upon the land, as a law-suit had been 
 raised. This was like lightning from a cloudless 
 heaven, and great perplexity took hold of my heart, 
 while I reluctantly ordered a temporary cessation of
 
 284 A False Oath. 
 
 the work. I had to appear at the law-courts of 
 Mount Lebanon, where unjust claims were made 
 upon Friends' property by the mother and sisters 
 of Daibes Safrawy, who sold me the land, and to 
 whom I paid the price before many witnesses. 
 This was one side of the difficulty ; but the other 
 side was much more stinging and provoking, be- 
 cause Daibes Safrawy accused me also at the same 
 time of not having paid the price of the said land. 
 I was told that the Maronite bishop induced Daibes 
 Safrawy to accuse me thus, and that he had said to 
 the bishop, " But is this not a sin ?" when the 
 bishop replied, " The sin shall be upon my head I" 
 
 One day Daibes Safrawy and I stood before the 
 Lebanon central law-court, and I shivered with 
 awe as I heard him swear an awful oath before 
 the tribunal, saying, " I have not received the 
 price of the land." The judges knew that I paid 
 him, and that Daibes Safrawy was guilty of a 
 false oath, but nothing could be done ; and this 
 dreadful law-suit, with the other in regard to the 
 unjust claims upon the land, encamped like dark 
 and heavy clouds around me ; but these were not 
 all, for more trials were still in store for me. 
 
 " Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take, 
 
 The clouds ye so much dread 
 Are big with mercy, and shall break 
 In blessings on your head." 
 
 Meanwhile I went on with my mission work, 
 teaching the young in the schools, and preaching 
 the Gospel to the old, in season and out of season, 
 publicly and privately. I also opened a school at 
 Roomy and another at Neby, so that we had now six 
 schools in operation ; and one Bible- woman and one 
 Scripture-reader were engaged. While in great 
 perplexity on account of these dreadful law-suits, 
 I received many encouraging and comforting letters
 
 Muallim Semaan, the Scripture Reader. 285 
 
 from England and America, which cheered me not 
 a little in my many trials. 
 
 About this time I succeeded in hiring the house 
 of Emir Ameen, before which the Holy Scriptures 
 had been burnt, and which was now converted into 
 the residence of a Protestant missionary. The 
 Maronite priest Boutrus, of Brummana, said, " I 
 have seen many bad things in this world, but I 
 have never before seen the palace of a Lebanon 
 prince converted into the lodging of a heretical 
 imposter." 
 
 Muallim Semaan el Koury, the Scripture-reader, 
 was one of the first true Protestants in Brummana. 
 He was educated at Dr. Calhoon's School at Abeih, 
 and there began to love the Lord Jesus sincerely. 
 He was afterwards engaged as teacher by Elijah 
 Saleeby, and was already advanced in age when he 
 returned to his native village of Brummana, where 
 he desired to do something in the Lord's service. 
 In 1874 I engaged him as teacher of our Boys' 
 School at Brummana, where he worked faithfully 
 for the first year ; but he afterwards desired to go 
 among the people to preach the Gospel, to which I 
 gladly agreed. He taught the people the salvation 
 which is in Christ Jesus alone, by conversation as 
 well as by preaching, and proved himself, both in 
 words and conduct, a faithful, humble, and sincere 
 Protestant Christian. He was hated by all his 
 relations because he had left the Greek Church. 
 He was known as a Protestant in the whole district, 
 and persecuted as such. In June, 1875, he fell sick, 
 and in spite of medicine his sickness daily became 
 more serious, so that I had but little hope for his 
 earthly life. On the 17th of September he sent for 
 me to pray with him, after which he made his last 
 will, in which he desired to die as an Evangelical 
 Protestant Christian, and to be buried accordingly
 
 286 Semaaria Joy at the prospect of Death. 
 
 in our new burial ground, by the side of his two 
 children, who had been buried there within the 
 previous twelve months. This caused a great com- 
 motion, for the fanatical priests and superstitious 
 inhabitants of Brummana did not like to have a 
 Protestant burial ground there, but were obliged 
 to yield. 
 
 Muallim Semaan also intrusted to me his infant 
 son Naseem with all that he possessed of earthly 
 things, which, however, was little indeed. All this 
 was written down, sealed with his own signet ring, 
 and witnessed by seven witnesses, who signed their 
 names at the end of the writing. Muallim Semaan 
 said further, " Now my soul is going to Jesus. I 
 am ready to depart from this wicked world, to be 
 with my Saviour. Please pray with me." After 
 we had prayed he asked us to sing to him in Arabic, 
 
 " Joyfully, joyfully, onward we move, 
 Onward to meet the dear Saviour we love." 
 
 I watched dear Muallim Semaam closely from that 
 time, and prayed often with him. He grew gradu- 
 ally weaker, but had his full reason to the last. 
 On the 20th September he called for me, and I 
 soon saw that his life was drawing to its close. He 
 said, " Be glad, for there is great joy and great 
 glory 1 Oh, how delightful it is to go to heaven I 
 how wonderful it is there I be glad with me 1 " His 
 countenance was like an angel's, and beamed with 
 the heavenly peace which rested upon him. The 
 people were solemnly affected. I said to them, 
 "You see now how beautiful it is to behold the 
 departure of a faithful servant, who rests fully in 
 Jesus." 
 
 But what followed ? Muallim Semaan's fanatical 
 brother Kaleel, who had no idea of the religion 
 which made his brother so happy, brought the
 
 Cruelty of Semaan's Brother. 287 
 
 Greek priest Tanius to perform a prayer over him. 
 When Muallim Semaan saw the Greek priest he 
 said to me, " They have brought me this Greek 
 priest against my will. I do not like such things ; 
 take him away. I do not wish to see the Greek 
 priest here, because I am now a Protestant Chris- 
 tian I Let all the people know I am a true Chris- 
 tian ! Jesus is my priest alone." 
 
 Georgius Aid asked Muallim Semaan, " Into 
 whose hands will you commend your body ? into 
 Mr. Waldmeier's hands, or into those of the Greek 
 priest Tanius ? " 
 
 Muallim Semaan replied, " I commend my body 
 to Mr. Waldmeier, but my soul I give to Jesus." 
 He was asked the question twice, and twice he 
 returned the same answer, which all the people 
 present heard distinctly. The fanatical brother 
 took his place near Muallim Semaan, who, when he 
 saw him, looked very sharply upon him and said, 
 " Kaleel, you belong to the Greek Church, but I 
 belong to the true Protestant Church of Christ." 
 
 After this, Kaleel became excited, and troubled 
 his dying brother greatly by saying, " You are not 
 a Protestant, you are a Greek, and the priest shall 
 bury you, not Mr. Waldmeier." 
 
 When Muallim Semaan heard this, his soul was 
 fearfully grieved, and gathering up his remaining 
 strength, he said, " I am not a Greek, but a Pro- 
 testant Christian. I do not wish to be buried by 
 the Greek priest." 
 
 His brother replied in anger, " I do not allow 
 you to die as a Protestant ; you must die as a 
 Greek." 
 
 Poor Muallim Semaan could no longer endure 
 this cruel treatment. A few tears fell from his 
 eyes, and shortly after he breathed his last. Then 
 Kaleel said to the priest, " Please to pray over my
 
 288 Semaan wishes to be burned by Protestants. 
 
 brother and anoint him." The Greek priest then 
 commenced his performances, threw our Bible 
 away, and began to scold us in a most dreadful 
 manner. 
 
 After being assured that his spirit had really 
 passed away, I read the will of Muallim Semaan, 
 which referred also to the burial of his body, when 
 Kaleel exclaimed in the wildest manner, " Let all 
 the Protestants go out of the room. If they re- 
 main here we shall beat and kill them on the spot." 
 In order to prevent any commotion we went out for 
 a time. After about two hours John Effendy 
 Abcarius, Secretary of the English Consul-General 
 at Beirut ; the Rev. John Rae, Superintendent of 
 the Scotch Lebanon Schools ; William Staiger, 
 Director of the Scotch School at Beirut ; Rev. 
 William Tor ell from Sweden, M. Knobel from 
 Switzerland, and all the native Protestants went 
 with me to the house where Muallim Semaan had 
 died. When all the people were gathered together 
 we declared in a friendly way that he had died as a 
 Protestant, before which he made his will and had 
 expressed his desire distinctly and repeatedly that 
 Theophilus Waldmeier should bury his body. 
 
 His brothers and some of his fanatical relations, 
 together with the Greek and Maronite priests, 
 replied, saying, " We cannot allow Theophilus 
 Waldmeier to bury Muallim Semaan because he 
 died as a Greek Christian, in consequence of which 
 we shall bury him in our own churchyard." 
 
 In order to prevent any further confusion we 
 bade them good-night and went away. We tried 
 to carry out the will of the deceased, and wrote a 
 letter to the Governor of Meten, who sent word 
 that the body of Muallim Semaan should not be 
 buried until a thorough examination had been 
 made. One man from each side was, therefore,
 
 Semaaris body taken by the Priests. 289 
 
 sent to the Governor to explain the full truth as 
 witnessed by many witnesses. Before the Governor 
 had decided about the matter the Greek and 
 Maronite priests took the body by force and carried 
 it openly through the village into the Greek church, 
 and then into their adjoining churchyard where 
 they buried it amid fearful tumult and disorder. 
 It can easily be imagined what terror this act of 
 force and injustice produced upon the other 
 members of our little Church, not on account of 
 the handful of dust, for it does not matter very 
 much where that is buried, and I did not come to 
 this dark fanatical place to gather the dead bodies 
 of the people, but to be used in my heavenly 
 Father's hand in saving immortal souls ; but on 
 account of the violation of that order by which the 
 will of a dying man should be carried out faithfully. 
 The Protestants became much afraid, for they 
 thought and said, " If we die it may be thus with us 
 and ours. The Greek and Maronite priests may 
 come and pray over us by force, and bury our dead 
 in their churchyards, which it is against our will 
 even to think of. Whatever any liar may choose 
 to say against us is accepted by the Government 
 which is under priestly influence. Our opposers 
 can easily engage all sorts of evil against us, how- 
 ever cruel and unjust it may be, while we, as true 
 and simple Christians, cannot employ anything but 
 the truth. We cannot swear as they do, for they 
 will swear at any instant with all readiness, whether 
 it is true or false, just or unjust, if they only see 
 silver or gold before them." 
 
 During the summer of 1875 water was very 
 scarce at Brummana. More than fifty women were 
 one day impatiently waiting at the fountain until 
 each one's turn came. Our servant was there, but 
 instead of allowing her to stay they sent her back 
 
 u
 
 290 Increased Persecution by the Priests. 
 
 saying, " The priest told us that Protestants have 
 no right to drink from the water of Brummana." 
 
 All the ecclesiastical craftiness was now system- 
 atically opposed against me, for the clergy said, " If 
 we trouble the Protestant heretics as much as we 
 can, they will leave the place, and go away." The 
 Maronite clergy paid all the expenses my opposers 
 incurred in raising and carrying on the law suits 
 against me, over the land I bought from Daibes 
 Safrawy. For a whole year I was bitterly tried by 
 the maliciousness and injustice of litigation in this 
 country. It seemed as if I was bombarded in all 
 directions, by excommunication, by their preaching 
 against Protestants in the Maronite churches, by 
 their working against me in the Government, and by 
 their trying to unite members of the Greek Ortho- 
 dox Church, Greek Catholics, and even Druses, with 
 the Maronites to expel me from the country. One 
 morning all the Brummana roads were overstrewn 
 with thousands of little and large papers upon 
 which was written in Arabic, "Waldmeier is a 
 devil; run away from him. He is not sent from 
 God, but from hell. He is a devil ; flee from him." 
 My dear wife often said, " I thought we had suffer- 
 ed enough in Abyssinia, but it seems that we are 
 made for trials." When my friends in Beirut heard 
 all this, they said to me, " Did we not tell you 
 before that the inhabitants of Brummana are the 
 worst people in the world ?" But I said, " I have 
 not regretted coming here because I see daily more 
 clearly, by the very wickedness of the people, and 
 chiefly of the clergy, that it is the Lord's will I 
 should be at Brummana." 
 
 " The path of sorrow, and that path alone, 
 Leads to the land where sorrow is unknown ; 
 No traveller ever reached that blest abode 
 Who found not thorns and briers on his road."
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 WELCOME VISITORS. 
 
 EARLY in 1876 we had the great pleasure of 
 welcoming our dear friends Eli Jones from 
 America, and Alfred Lloyd Fox and Henry 
 Newman, from England, who remained with us for 
 three months and strengthened our hands and 
 hearts. Alfred Lloyd Fox wrote about his journey 
 to Brummana as follows : " We left Beirut Decem- 
 ber 1st, 1875, under the guidance of Theophilus 
 Waldmeier, with each a good horse under us. As 
 we slowly rode out of the town we saw the camels 
 and mules, and the women with faces quite con- 
 cealed as at Damascus with green and flowered 
 handkerchiefs ; and the weavers of silk, each sitting 
 on the floor of his room ; and the blacksmiths at 
 their forges, with a woman between two bellows 
 alternately pushing them outwards and pulling them 
 inwards ; and the kibaub sellers with their long 
 skewers of meat grilling over little charcoal fires. 
 Then there were the handsome faces of the Syrian 
 women who walk erect without veils ; and the 
 crippled dwarf carried on the back of a stout fellow 
 that he might keep pace with us and beg ; and the 
 fat middle-aged beggar who had made himself an 
 arbour to shade him from the hot sun. These, with 
 the thousand picturesque sights of the East, all 
 interested us. At last we got rid of the suburb, 
 and our way lay through cultivated fields ; but the
 
 292 Visit of Friends to Brummana. 
 
 path being bounded by tall reeds we could see 
 hardly anything of the agriculture. Then we took 
 to the shore and rode along the edge of the waves 
 where the sand was rather harder, until we turned 
 inland up the dry bed of a torrent. Presently our 
 clever little nags scrambled out of the river way 
 and began to climb the rocky sides of Lebanon, up 
 steep stony rocks, or over smooth surfaces of stone 
 where even a Syrian horse could hardly keep his 
 footing. You must fancy us led by Theophilus Wald- 
 meier on a slight grey mare, and Eli Jones following 
 on a brown cob. There is no possibility of going 
 faster than a walk, up, up, up always. We stopped 
 at Dar Bsaleem and were glad to relinquish our 
 horses and stand on our feet. Here is a mixed 
 school for boys and girls with an attendance of 
 about forty. They rose to greet us and then sat 
 down again cross-legged on the mats, with their 
 backs to the wall, against which hung good English 
 maps. This school is supported by Neuchatel in 
 Switzerland, and is called after that town. The 
 reading was fluent. The oldest in the school was 
 fifteen, the youngest six. A register of attendance 
 and progress is kept, and the former appeared 
 creditably regular. 
 
 " This was our first glimpse at the work of the 
 Brummana Mission. Another hour up the moun- 
 tain brought us near our journey's end, and we 
 could see a crowd of villagers and a long line of 
 children standing on a terrace to greet us. The 
 children waved branches of evergreen, and shouted 
 ' Welcome, dear friends I ' The suggestion of dis- 
 cretion that we should leave our terrified steeds 
 and enter humbly on foot was promptly acted on. 
 The villagers greeted us with the graceful courtesy 
 of the East, which we clumsily returned by shaking 
 hands. I also spoke to and shook the hand of
 
 A Friends' Meeting Established at Brummana. 293 
 
 everyone who could say a word of English. Then 
 we slowly wound up amongst the houses accom- 
 panied by a somewhat excited but perfectly well- 
 behaved crowd. Mrs. Waldmeier met us in the 
 courtyard of their house which she and her husband 
 begged us to consider our home. The house is 
 situated at the edge of the mountain range on 
 which the village stands, so that we look out into 
 the deep valley on one side, and across to the higher 
 range of rocks beyond. They say it would take 
 one hour and more to reach the bottom of the 
 ravine, which looks just below and quite near. We 
 also, by a slight change of position, look up to the 
 snow-clad summit of Jebel Sanneen, and by another 
 change see over the Great Sea with the port of 
 Beirut on its jutting headland. Truly the Lebanon 
 is glorious. They tell frightful tales of the savage 
 inhabitants of the district. Close by this house is 
 a small ruin where the Emir formerly invited forty 
 people whom he did not like and then blew them 
 up by gunpowder, so that all horribly perished. 
 Red stones are abundant in our path everywhere as 
 we walk through the village ; each is a token of the 
 devastation by fire of the houses of the Christians 
 at the time of the Lebanon massacres, for fire turns 
 this stone red." 
 
 On the 4th of December a meeting was held in 
 my house, when Eli Jones, Alfred Lloyd Fox, 
 Henry Newman, and some native brethren were 
 present. Eli Jones read an epistle from the Foreign 
 Mission Committee appointed by New England 
 Yearly Meeting of Friends held in Newport, Ehode 
 Island, expressing the belief that it was now time 
 that we should become an organized Meeting of 
 the Society of Friends. After serious deliberation 
 and prayerful consideration, such a congregation 
 was organized according to the Evangelical princi-
 
 294 Daibea Safrawy's Repentance. 
 
 pies and the customs of Friends, with its special 
 meetings for the transaction of Church affairs every 
 month. Six members from the native Christians, 
 with ourselves, at first constituted the little Church. 
 
 The Lord made our friends a great blessing to 
 the whole work. While they were staying at 
 Brummana we bought the beautiful hill of Rooisee 
 for the purpose of building our Mission House 
 there if our opposers succeeded in depriving us of 
 the first piece of land. 
 
 On the 1st of January, 1876, we opened the 
 Training Home for Boys in the house of Emir 
 Ali, until we succeeded in building our own 
 premises for this purpose. After having examined 
 the branch schools, Eli Jones, Alfred Lloyd Fox, 
 and Henry Newman left Syria for England on the 
 4th of March. It was very hard for us to say 
 "farewell," because we had received from them 
 great comfort, encouraging sympathy, and very 
 present help in need ; and a dark cloud still troubled 
 all of us in the unfortunate law-suit about the land, 
 which was not yet settled at our friends' departure. 
 
 Late one evening, soon after their departure, 
 somebody knocked at my door. I opened it, and, 
 to my astonishment, my bitterest enemy, Daibes 
 Safrawy, came in and said, "My conscience has 
 troubled me all the time since I denied the payment 
 of the land. Please forgive me." 
 
 I said, "That I will gladly! But as you denied 
 my payment before the Government, you must also 
 confess before them that you told a lie." 
 
 He said, "I will do so." 
 
 Next day my other adversaries who had made 
 unjust claims upon the land, came and confessed 
 that they had done wrong and proposed peace. I 
 said, " I am ready for an amicable arrangement of 
 the long law-suit, but as the matter is at the law
 
 The Feast of Reconciliation. 295 
 
 court you must go with me to the tribunal, and 
 there we will arrange the matter." To this they 
 agreed. 
 
 On the 15th of March, 1876, the whole party, 
 including Daibes Safrawy and myself, went to 
 Ghazeer, the seat of the Government for Mount 
 Lebanon at that time, and there the whole law-suit 
 was brought to an amicable conclusion, which was 
 cause for great thankfulness. After we had return- 
 ed to Brummana as friends, Daibes Safrawy and 
 our other opponents made a feast of reconciliation 
 on the piece of land about which they had made 
 the law-suit, and invited me and my fellow- workers. 
 They killed a sheep and roasted it, and we sat down 
 as brothers on the ground together, in the open air, 
 and feasted on the lamb of reconciliation. It was 
 at this time that I changed the name of the place 
 from Berkat Ghanem (the pool of the conqueror) to 
 Ain Salaam (the fountain of peace). About this 
 time also we had the pleasure of welcoming at 
 Brummana Mr. and Mrs. Richard Allen, of Dublin, 
 who became much interested in Mount Lebanon, 
 and assisted the Mission a great deal by their 
 prayers as well as by their substances. It was 
 therefore a cause of great sorrow when the Mission 
 last year (1885) lost in dear Richard Allen one of 
 its faithful supporters by death. 
 
 During the spring and summer I was busy in 
 preparing for the building, and on the 4th of 
 August, 1876, we were enabled to lay the founda- 
 tion stone of Friends' Training Home for Boys at 
 Ain Salaam. Many people from different denomi- 
 nations were present, and friends and enemies min- 
 gled with each other on the occasion. Emir Ali, 
 John Effendy Abcarius, Joseph Abdelnour, William 
 Staiger, Sister Louisa Kaiser, and other friends from 
 Beirut were with us. The three former took an
 
 296 Foundation Stone of the Training Home. 
 
 active part on the occasion, and the speeches they 
 delivered were most interesting. A small tin box 
 was prepared, into which I put the holy Bible, a 
 description of the history of the Mission, with the 
 names of the Committees in Old and New England, 
 and some current coins of the present time. The 
 box was then hermetically closed and placed under 
 the north-western corner-stone.
 
 -V 
 
 BEIRUT MERCHANT.
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 THE BOYS' TRAINING HOME. 
 
 WITH the laying of the foundation stone of 
 Friends' Mission House and Training Home 
 at Ain Salaam, the period of founding the 
 Mission came to its close. From that time the 
 work entered upon a state of steady progress 
 through the opposition and trials which always 
 accompanied it. 
 
 While I was energetically proceeding with the 
 building during the summer and autumn of 1876, 
 I saw one day some priests standing near it, and 
 soon heard their curses against the harmless build- 
 ing, and the workmen who were engaged on it. 
 Next day a number of workmen failed to come, 
 and when I asked about the cause, I found that 
 some of them had run away for fear of excom- 
 munication. The Training Home for Boys on 
 Emir Ali's premises went on very satisfactorily, and 
 we had thirteen boys in the Home and sixty day- 
 scholars besides. 
 
 In the spring of this year I opened a girls' 
 school at Mansourieh, and in the autumn a school 
 for boys at the same place. Scander Kattar, the 
 son of the mayor at Mansourieh, was studying 
 theology at the schools of the Greek Orthodox 
 
 Ot/ 
 
 bishop at Beirut. He had nearly completed his 
 studies, and was going to become a priest, for which 
 purpose he was already clothed in dark priestly
 
 300 Establishment of School of Industry. 
 
 robes, with a long ecclesiastical cap on his head ; 
 and to their mind nothing was wanting but his con- 
 secration. By means of the girls' school at Man- 
 sourieh, he came in contact with our religious 
 principles. I invited him to Ain Salaam, and in a 
 long conversation with him told him plainly that 
 he was on the wrong way. His heart was touched 
 by the Spirit of God, and after earnest considera- 
 tion he laid down his priestly clothes and dressed 
 himself like other men. He then wrote to the 
 bishop to say that he had given up the idea of 
 becoming a priest, which enraged the bishop fear- 
 fully. Scander Kattar afterwards became the 
 schoolmaster of the boys' school at Mansourieh, and 
 was subsequently engaged as a Scripture reader, 
 chiefly for Mansourieh and the plain. 
 
 Near the Training Home was an old silk factory, 
 which was purchased about this time, and converted 
 into a School of Industry, where the boys could 
 learn carpentry and other useful handicrafts. 
 
 At the close of 1876, the Christian population of 
 Syria was in great uneasiness on account of the 
 Russo-Turkish war, especially in the interior of the 
 country, and at Jerusalem, Damascus, and Aleppo, 
 where the Mohammedans threatened the Chris- 
 tians with a massacre. 
 
 During 1877 all the branches of the Mission were 
 carried on with energy and enjoyed the Divine 
 blessing. All the religious meetings were regularly 
 held and well attended. The branch schools con- 
 veyed Evangelical light and instruction into the dark 
 villages of Mount Lebanon. The Maronite and 
 Greek priests saw the progress of the Mission, and 
 the very Mission House which they cursed brought 
 under a nice tiled roof, with no accident or misfor- 
 tune, in spite of their curses and excommunications. 
 I often had meetings in the open air at the side of
 
 Visit from George Hessenauer. 301 
 
 the new building, where many fanatical priests and 
 monks went by, as the road passed near our new 
 building. A Maronite priest once said to the work- 
 men, "It is a punishment from God that the English 
 are able to build here. It is a sign of the end of 
 the world. Waldmeier, who is the Antichrist, takes 
 away our most holy religion, and the English engin- 
 eers down at the Dog river (Lycus) take away our 
 water." The head of the convent said, " Since the 
 English Mission was established at Brummana, we 
 have lost a great deal of our income, for people do 
 not like to pay us any more." 
 
 When the building was nearly completed I 
 began to look out for someone to take charge 
 of the Training Home. I went to Beirut and 
 searched diligently and prayerfully. I saw a num- 
 ber of young men, but my heart felt that the 
 Lord had not chosen them for His work at Ain 
 Salaam. When engaged in the British Syrian 
 Schools, I met a young man, Beshara Manasseh, 
 whom I recommended to Rev. Mr. Frankel of the 
 Jewish Mission at Damascus, as a teacher for his 
 school. After taking charge of the Jewish mission 
 school for some time to Mr. Frankel's satisfaction, 
 Beshara Manasseh returned to the Syrian Protes- 
 tant College at Beirut to study medicine, and took 
 his diploma as M.D. in the summer of 1877. I 
 met him at Joseph Abdelnour's house and asked 
 him whether he would like to take charge of our 
 new Training Home for Boys at Ain Salaam, until 
 we should be in condition to open a regular medical 
 mission. He said that he would think about the 
 matter and let me know or come himself to Ain 
 Salaam. 
 
 During the summer we had a nice visit from 
 George Hessenauer, who was engaged in temporary 
 Christian work in Bulgaria after the desolating
 
 302 Opening of the New Training Home. 
 
 Russo-Turkish war, in connection with Mr. 
 Mackenzie, the Scotch philanthropist. George 
 Hessenauer remained for some weeks with us at 
 Brummana, and I then encouraged him to pursue 
 the study of medicine if possible in order to become 
 a medical missionary; and he soon after went to 
 England for this purpose. 
 
 During the summer and autumn of 1877 I was 
 still much occupied with the new building, as I had 
 no architect, and was obliged to carry out my plans 
 by the help of stupid workmen and simple masons. 
 In spite, however, of all disadvantages the new 
 premises were completed in September, and on the 
 12th of November I and my family left the old 
 house of Emir Ameen to lodge in the upper story 
 of the new Training Home. At the beginning 
 of December Dr. Beshara Manasseh, who had 
 accepted the post of teacher in the new Training 
 Home, came up to Ain Salaam to help to prepare 
 the new Institution, and on the 1st of January, 
 1878, the new Home was opened and dedicated to 
 the Lord's work. 
 
 The length of the house is twenty-seven, and its 
 breadth is fifteen English yards, externally. The 
 walls are two feet six inches thick. The building 
 contains nineteen spacious rooms, besides one large 
 meeting room, and a stable. Towards the west 
 front is the basement floor, before which a large 
 plateau is levelled for a play ground for the children. 
 Then come the first floor and the upper story. 
 Towards the east we have only the first floor and 
 the upper story, because the building is on a 
 declivity from east to west. The situation is a most 
 healthy one, and subsequent experience has proved 
 that in all sanitary matters connected with the 
 building everything has been well calculated and 
 arranged. The view which it commands is one of
 
 Medical Work. 305 
 
 the finest on Mount Lebanon. It is 2,600 feet 
 above the Mediterranean Sea, and three hours dis- 
 tant from it. On the slope of the mountain, between 
 the sea-shore and Ain Salaam, are the different 
 villages in which our branch schools for boys and 
 girls are doing a great work. Down in the plain is 
 the city of Beirut, with its 100,000 inhabitants, to 
 which we have daily to send down our donkey to 
 bring us the needful things for our Mission. From 
 Ain Salaam we see the steamers coming in and 
 going out from the harbour of Beirut. The adjoin- 
 ing wood-cut will give an idea of Friends' Mission 
 House and Training Homes. 
 
 At the opening of the new Training Home we 
 took ten new pupils, in addition to ten who had 
 already been under training for the previous two 
 years, and Dr. Beshara had much to do because he 
 also opened a Dispensary in one of the rooms of 
 the new building. Many poor patients from near 
 and far came to us for help, because our Dispensary 
 was the only one on Mount Lebanon. The open 
 place in front of the Training Home was crowded 
 daily by sick people, and Dr. Beshara had to work 
 too hard to take charge both of the Home and 
 Dispensary. I saw that we must make better 
 arrangements, and soon found another teacher in 
 the person of Lotfallah Rizkallah. From this time 
 Dr. Beshara gave only one lesson daily, for the 
 Medical work increased so much that he could no 
 more take part in the teaching of the Home. As 
 it was undesirable to have the patients hanging 
 round the Boys' Training Home, we were forced to 
 make special accommodation for the Medical work. 
 The upper story of the old silk factory, or School 
 of Industry, was therefore raised, and before the 
 year closed four nice rooms could be made use of 
 there for the purpose of the Medical Mission, while
 
 306 Abu Joseph's Conversion. 
 
 Lotfallah Rizkallah and Ibrahim Tasso took charge 
 of the Training Home. All seemed to work well 
 together, though we had always many trials and 
 discouragements, for it could not be otherwise in 
 such a Mission station. Our little Church was 
 blessed of the Lord, and several young men and 
 women asked for admission to membership in it, 
 but after prayerful consideration we found it better 
 to tell them to wait still longer until their convic- 
 tion had become surer and stronger, and their con- 
 duct more improved. The people in this country 
 are often able to comprehend the truth by their 
 minds, but their hearts remain unchanged, and what 
 we prayerfully desire is true conversion. 
 
 This year we lost Abu Joseph, a member of our 
 Church, by death. He was about sixty years of 
 age when he was summoned from his earthly pil- 
 grimage. He belonged formerly to the Greek 
 Church, but when I came to Brummana and 
 preached the Gospel, his heart was opened to the 
 influence of the Holy Spirit, and he received the 
 Gospel with pleasure, even under many trials, while 
 his life bore witness from that time that he was 
 really converted. He was a bright, good, and simple 
 follower of Jesus Christ, and the Gospel showed its 
 renewing and enlightening powers upon his heart 
 and mind. A short time before his death, his son, 
 who was an enemy to the Gospel, said to his dying 
 father, " I shall not let you die as a Protestant, and 
 you shall not be buried in the Protestant burial 
 ground. I shall not only bring the priest but the 
 Greek bishop to make you recant and return to the 
 Greek Church." 
 
 Poor Abu Joseph said : "I do not know any 
 priest or bishop. I know only Jesus. In Him I 
 will die ; and my body shall be buried in the 
 Friends' burial ground at Ain Salaam."
 
 Opposition of his Son. 307 
 
 Abu Joseph wrote a paper concerning his burial, 
 but his son Georgius snatched it from the trembling 
 hands of his dying father, and said, " I shall do with 
 you as I like. Let the Protestants go out from my 
 house, or else I shall fire upon them." Abu Joseph 
 wept. All this passed in the night. When I saw 
 that it was not Georgius alone who opposed us, but 
 that there were with him a large number of oppo- 
 sing Greeks and Maronites, who do not like each 
 other but unite to oppose our Mission, I wrote 
 letters to the local Governor, Emir Joseph, and 
 to the Governor-General of Mount Lebanon, Rus- 
 tem Pasha, asking them to help me against the 
 unjustifiable interference of Abu Joseph's son with 
 our carrying out his father's wishes. I sent the 
 letters off in the middle of the night. Next day 
 before noon came the first delegates from the local 
 Governor, Emir Joseph. A crowd of people gath- 
 ered at Abu Joseph's house while the delegates went 
 in and inquired as to his intention and religion. The 
 crowd expected that Abu Joseph would return to 
 the Greek Church, but he said to the delegates, " I 
 am a Protestant Christian. I do not recognise any 
 priest. I look only to Jesus who is the Saviour of 
 my soul. I want to die in the arms of Jesus like a 
 true Evangelical Christian ; and I want to be buried 
 in the Friends' burial ground at Ain Salaam." 
 
 Many questions were put to him by the delegates. 
 They asked him : " How old are you ? What was 
 your profession ? What is your religion ? When did 
 you enter the Protestant Church at Ain Salaam ? 
 Did you become a Protestant from your own free 
 will, or did anyone force you ? What is your will in 
 the event of your death ? Where do you want to 
 be buried ? " 
 
 Abu Joseph answered : "I am sixty years of 
 age. My trade was a dyer. My religion is Evan-
 
 308 The Authorities on our aide. 
 
 gelical. I have been a member of the Protestant 
 Church of Brummana for two years. I became a 
 Protestant from my own conviction and free will, 
 and no one forced me ; and I want to die as a 
 Protestant Christian, and be buried as such in the 
 Friends' burial ground at Ain Salaam." 
 
 All this was written down by the delegates and 
 sealed by the local authorities. When the crowd 
 knew that their expectations were disappointed 
 they began to break out in fearful alarm, especially 
 those who belonged to Georgius' party, but the 
 authorities rebuked them and made them silent. 
 
 In the afternoon some more delegates arrived 
 from the Governor-General of Mount Lebanon, and 
 Emir Haider came himself and rebuked those who 
 caused opposition to the will of Abu Joseph. A 
 second paper was written, signed and sealed by the 
 Sheikh of Brummana and the Emir himself, and 
 sent to the central Government. The delegates of 
 the Governor-General said to the people that no- 
 body was to interfere with other people's religious 
 convictions, because there is liberty of religion and 
 of conscience ; and he who causes opposition, like 
 Georgius, to the will of a dying man, shall be 
 punished by imprisonment. This caused great 
 silence at once, and all were astonished, saying, "We 
 never thought that the Protestants had so much 
 power, or that Abu Joseph would remain so faithful 
 to his new religion." Then Abu Joseph rejoiced, 
 and said, " Now I am at rest, for which I am glad. 
 Thanks to God, the matter has been settled very 
 well indeed. Let me depart in peace." 
 
 On the 18th of November he entered into his 
 heavenly rest. His end was glorious indeed. 
 Before he closed his pilgrimage he said : "I feel 
 myself as a stranger who has been a long time in a 
 far-off country and is going home to his native land.
 
 Death and Burial of Abu Joseph. 309 
 
 I am so glad that my soul will now be delivered 
 from this bodily prison. It is wonderful how my 
 heavenly Father deals with me. He never deals 
 with His children according to their transgressions 
 but according to His great mercies in Christ Jesus. 
 Oh, how sweet it is to feel His presence at the hour 
 of death. Some people are afraid to die, but I 
 rejoice in Him who conquered death for me. I do 
 not need a priest or any other mediators or cere- 
 monies, because Christ has completed His work in 
 me and for me." 
 
 He then asked me to pray ; after which he asked 
 Hanni Ferah to read from the nice tract, " Come to 
 Jesus." He then wished us to sing a hymn ; and 
 after this he fell asleep in Jesus. While he was 
 sleeping Georgius came and asked his blessing and 
 pardon, but Abu Joseph could no more hear or 
 answer. I made arrangements for his funeral, 
 which we were enabled to perform in all devotion, 
 silence, and peace. More than seven hundred per- 
 sons attended the funeral, and we had a very good 
 opportunity to witness for the truth and preach the 
 glorious Gospel of Jesus both in the house of Abu 
 Joseph and at the Friends' burial ground at Ain 
 Salaam. 
 
 After the death of dear Abu Joseph, my own 
 son, Theophilus, fell ill with malarial fever, which 
 brought him nearly to the shore of death, but it 
 pleased our Father in heaven to give him back 
 to us anew. Soon after his recovery, our young- 
 est child, Lily, fourteen months of age, was taken 
 ill, and after ten days suffering, she died on the 19th 
 of December, which caused us deep sorrow, and 
 it was, indeed, hard for us to say, "Thy will, O 
 God, Thy will be done." Despite many a tear 
 and sigh, however, we could but thank our 
 Divine Master, at the close of 1878, for all His
 
 310 Mission Station at Ramallah. 
 
 blessings, and, not least, for the growing interest in 
 our Mission work, which had led to the establish- 
 ment of another station at Ramallah, in Palestine. 
 When the Lord blesses, He blesses abundantly, and 
 to Him alone is due all the glory for ever and ever. 
 
 While these Mission stations in Bible lands were 
 welcomed by the people, they were looked upon 
 with contempt by the priests of the Oriental 
 Churches. Some of the ecclesiastics said to me one 
 day, " Though we do not like your way of preach- 
 ing the Gospel, we respect your great zeal for 
 teaching the world, but we cannot understand why 
 you endeavour to preach the Gospel among our 
 Christian people. Go and teach the heathen and 
 the Druses, and leave our people alone. They used 
 to be at perfect ease, but since you came we have 
 found their minds disturbed." I told them, " Christ 
 said He was sent to the lost sheep of the house of 
 Israel, otherwise He would have gone straightway 
 to the heathen ; and in like manner we have to 
 look for lost sheep among nominal Oriental Chris- 
 tians. If I were not perfectly sure of my work 
 here being appointed by the Lord, I should prefer 
 to leave this place and omit the difficulties, oppo- 
 sition, and trials which I have had and still have 
 to endure ; but as I am sure that my mission to 
 these mountain people is not my own, but the 
 Lord's, I must stand faithfully in my place until 
 the end." So the priests said nothing more then, 
 but were always working against me secretly. 
 
 Another important point which gladdened my 
 heart was that our Divine Master showed me also 
 very clearly, step by step, the spirituality of the 
 Gospel ministry. As the people of Israel failed 
 through looking too much upon outward ordinances, 
 so the Oriental Churches lost their spiritual life by 
 outward show, religious ceremonies, and useless
 
 Need of the Simple Gospel. 311 
 
 forms. The more I learned to know the corruption 
 of the Eastern Churches, the more I was glad and 
 thankful in my heart that our heavenly Father 
 prepared me in the school of the Holy Spirit for 
 this needy Mission field, which does not need the 
 introduction of other ecclesiastical forms, however 
 few and improved they may be, but the simple 
 preaching of Gospel truth, and I could say with the 
 Apostle Paul (1 Cor. i. 17), " Christ sent me not to 
 baptize but to preach the Gospel." I will not 
 judge others, but as for me, coming out from the 
 worst of the ritualistic Churches, I do not like 
 religious ceremonies, and hold that God must be 
 worshipped in Spirit and in truth (John iv. 23). 

 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 THE PROGRESS OF THE MISSION. 
 
 ON the 12th of April, 1879, we had the joy of 
 welcoming Henry Newman and George Sat- 
 terthwaite from England, who had been 
 visiting the Mission station at Ramallah as a 
 deputation from the English Committee. They re- 
 mained only twelve days with us, but during that 
 time they were present at all the examinations of 
 the branch schools in the different villages, besides 
 that at the Boys' Training Home, and they saw all 
 that was being done at the dispensary, and at- 
 tended all our religious meetings, in which George 
 Satterthwaite's ministry was greatly blessed by the 
 Lord. Thus, though their stay was so short, it 
 was a precious time, which never will be forgotten. 
 They were much pleased with the progress of the 
 Mission, both with regard to its outward extension 
 and spiritual growth. They became acquainted 
 also with all the great difficulties and opposition 
 to which a Mission like this is exposed in the 
 midst of a superstitious population and fanatical 
 priesthood. The Committee thought that I should 
 have a change of air and accompany the deputa- 
 tion to England, to which I agreed with pleasure. 
 We left on the 24th of April, and arrived in 
 London a few days before Friends' Yearly Meeting. 
 It was an indescribable joy to go to my English 
 home and meet Hannah Stafford Allen, the mother
 
 Death of Hannah Stafford Allen. 313 
 
 of the Mount Lebanon Mission, once more. The 
 Yearly Meeting also was a time of refreshing and 
 blessings for my thirsty soul. I afterwards visited 
 Heading, Plymouth, Brighton, Bristol, Birmingham, 
 Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, York, Bradford, Ken- 
 dal, Liverpool, Sunderland, Darlington, and many 
 other places, and was thankful to see how the 
 interest in the Friends' Mission in Syria and 
 Palestine had spread and increased. I then re- 
 turned to London, and took leave of dear Hannah 
 Stafford Allen. " Farewell dear Theophilus," she 
 said, " thou wilt see my face no more in this world, 
 but in the better land we shall meet again." Then 
 we committed each other in fervent prayer to the 
 loving care of our heavenly Father, and with deep 
 and holy emotion I left the dear mother, but 
 through the small opening of the door I looked 
 back once more upon her bright angelic counte- 
 nance. This was my last glance upon one who 
 was a true mother in Israel, for the following year 
 she passed through death unto eternal life, and her 
 labours follow her. 
 
 'Twas well that she did live. 
 
 Thank God ! Praise God alway 
 That He such good did give ! 
 He gives ; He takes away ; 
 And bids us yield the treasure that He keeps 
 In perfect peace, for she in Jesus sleeps. 
 
 I should have liked to have paid a visit to our 
 dear Friends in America, but circumstances pressed 
 me to go back to Mount Lebanon. On my way I 
 went to Germany and Switzerland, where I had 
 meetings at Stuttgart, Bale, Lorrach, St. Chrischona, 
 Berne, and Lausanne ; and my dear friends in 
 Switzerland promised me anew to support four 
 schools in our Mission field. At the end of August 
 I arrived at Ain Salaam.
 
 314 A Christmas Tree at Ain Salaam. 
 
 During the autumn I purchased, for a reasonable 
 price, a good house in the middle of Brummana, to 
 he used for the day schools for boys and girls and 
 the residence of the teachers ; and also for the 
 mothers' meetings, and as a place of worship. On 
 the 21st of December, 1879, we had our first meet- 
 ing there, when the whole house was dedicated to 
 the Lord's service. More than 200 people of dif- 
 ferent denominations were present in the large 
 room, and all listened with great attention to the 
 various speakers who explained the texts, that God 
 does not dwell only in temples made by men's 
 hands, but with him also who is of a contrite and 
 humble spirit (Acts vii. 48 ; Is. Ivii. 15). 
 
 This year we had a Christmas tree at Ain Salaam, 
 as our dear English friends had sent enough 
 woollen clothing and other presents to supply all 
 the poor children under our instruction, about 300 
 in number. All these, with their parents, were 
 present, and also the Governor with his whole 
 court. The children repeated the texts which they 
 had learned, prayers were offered, and addresses 
 delivered. For the time all the differences be- 
 tween Greeks, Maronites, Druses, and Protestants 
 were forgotten, and lost in the love of God through 
 Christ Jesus. The Governor made a speech, in 
 which he said, " I am exceedingly pleased to see 
 all the good which is done for our country by this 
 Mission. May God richly bless this house and its 
 inhabitants. I feel it my duty not only to protect 
 this most interesting Mission, but also to help by a 
 subscription." 
 
 In order to complete the agencies which com- 
 pose a well-furnished Mission-station, I felt that a 
 Girls' Training Home was greatly needed. I there- 
 fore addressed the following appeal to our American 
 friends :
 
 Appeal for Girls' Training Home. 315 
 
 " No nation can be civilized, no country can be 
 elevated, unless good and educated women take 
 a share in it. I am sure you love the Bible 
 lands, and you have already done much for their 
 welfare ; but I want to direct your attention to that 
 which is still lacking in this Mission field. We 
 have a Training Home for Boys, a Medical Mission, 
 an Industrial School, nine Branch Day Schools, 
 and four Sabbath Schools. Much has been accom- 
 plished by our Divine Master's blessing, but there 
 is one thing still left out, which has long rested on 
 my heart, and I cannot but bring it before you, so 
 that my conscience may be at rest. We need a 
 Training Home for Girls for this part of Mount 
 Lebanon. In day schools only we cannot have 
 sufficient control over the girls to enable us to 
 mould and form their young hearts and minds ac- 
 cording to our desire. It is really very sad to 
 see them go every evening to their dark miserable 
 dwellings, where they get influenced by bad exam- 
 ple, and often the impressions of school are quite lost 
 at home. Besides this there is another evil, which 
 is, that girls of nine or ten years of age get married 
 before they are able to learn or become useful. . If 
 these children were taken away from their relations, 
 and trained in a Boarding School, where we could 
 keep them till fifteen or eighteen years old, they 
 might become, by Christ's blessing and our efforts, 
 well educated, good, and pious women. We must 
 sympathise with the poor women of Mount Leba- 
 non, for they are despised, ill-treated, and regarded 
 as having only so much understanding as a hen. 
 We need a Training Home in which we can have 
 about twenty girls to train in such a way that the 
 people on Mount Lebanon may have good mothers, 
 who will bring up their children in the fear of 
 God, and take an active part in the elevation of
 
 31 G Answer to the Appeal. 
 
 the social and religious life of their people. When 
 there shall be good mothers here then we can say 
 that our victory over degradation and superstition 
 is won, and the day-break of better times will be 
 at hand. Some young girls were taken up by one 
 of the very first American missionaries, Dr. Eli 
 Smith, and trained in his house. These have all, 
 without exception, become good mothers, and are 
 good examples to those around them. This shows 
 the power of training. It will be a great blessing 
 if our American friends will take up this matter 
 and look upon it as their own. 
 
 " The land is already in our possession, and we 
 only need the building, which will cost, when com- 
 pleted, 600, and the current expenses of twenty 
 girls, which will cost 350 a-year. Now this is a 
 large sum I know, but remember, dear friends, that 
 one good woman and pious mother is a thousand 
 times more precious in this and the other world 
 than this sum of money, and we trust by our 
 heavenly Father's help not only one pious woman, 
 but many will come forth out of a Training Home 
 like this. I ask you earnestly to look upon this 
 matter with prayerful consideration, and please 
 let me know your conclusion. 
 
 " THEOPHILUS WALDMEIER. 
 
 " April 14, 1880." 
 
 Not long after this appeal arrived in America I 
 received the following information from Eli Jones : 
 " At the Yearly Meeting of Friends in New Eng- 
 land thy appeal for a Girls' Training Home was 
 read, and elicited a ready and remarkable response. 
 Soon after the close of the meeting we found that 
 the subscription had reached eleven hundred dol- 
 lars. The women Friends of New York Yearly 
 Meeting also raised two hundred dollars, thus mak- 
 ing thirteen hundred dollars in the hands of the
 
 WOMEN GRINDING CORN ON MOUNT LEBANON.
 
 The Girls Training Home is commenced. 319 
 
 Treasurer, George Rowland, for the purpose of 
 erecting a Home for girls on Mount Lebanon." 
 
 The Western Yearly Meeting of Friends in 
 America in their Epistle to the Brummana Monthly 
 Meeting, expressed themselves in the following 
 words : " The appeal forwarded to this meeting by 
 Eli Jones has been read by men and women 
 Friends. We have been touched with a deep feel- 
 ing of sympathy in the desire to have a Girls' 
 Training Home on Mount Lebanon. Woman's 
 elevation to her proper place in society is an object 
 that should never be overlooked in any system of 
 Mission work, or of Christian civilization. We 
 cordially appreciate your earnest appeal in her 
 behalf, and desire to extend to you our warm and 
 earnest encouragement, and our united contribu- 
 tions. Signed by AMOS DOAN, Clerk. 
 
 " September 23, 1880." 
 
 Our Father in heaven blessed this part of the 
 work so much, and funds were so rapidly collected, 
 that Eli Jones could authorize me in the name of 
 the Committee to begin the building of the Girls' 
 Training Home on the 4th of February, 1881. In 
 this we see again how the Lord blesses all that is 
 undertaken in His name for the welfare of His 
 poor. 
 
 During the spring of 1880, Dr. Beshara Manas- 
 seh went to England to visit hospitals and increase 
 his theoretical and practical knowledge of medicine 
 and surgery. He also attended the Yearly Meeting 
 of Friends in London, and tried to increase the 
 interest in the Mission. Meanwhile, we had had 
 the privilege of a short visit from Anna Maria Fox 
 of Falmouth, and Caroline Tangye of Birmingham. 
 In November, 1880, we had the great pleasure of 
 welcoming Maria Feltham of Hitchin, and Ellen 
 Clayton of Chelmsford, who came to visit us in the
 
 320 Opening of the Girls' Training Home. 
 
 love of the Gospel. They were with us for three 
 months, and helped in the Mission with their 
 hearts and hands. 
 
 After Dr. Beshara Manasseh came back from 
 England, the old silk factory which had been used 
 for the School of Industry was converted into a 
 Hospital, and on New Year's day, 1881, it was 
 opened, and dedicated to the Lord's sick and 
 suffering people. The upper story of this building 
 was occupied by the dispensary and out-patients, 
 while the ground-floor was converted into a hospital 
 with fifteen beds. At the end of February the 
 foundation-stone of the Girls' Training Home was 
 laid, in the presence of a large number of people. 
 
 During the summer of 1881 we had an extra- 
 ordinarily great and depressing heat, and the labour 
 of superintending the building of the Girls' Train- 
 ing Home, in addition to the ordinary work of the 
 Mission, was often too much for me. The building, 
 however, was safely roofed before the first rain set 
 in, which in this country is at the end of October. 
 During the year 1882 the Girls' Training Home 
 was completed and furnished, and on the 27th of 
 October it was opened with fifteen promising girls. 
 It was a day to be remembered always. Dear Eli 
 Jones, in spite of his old age, came from America 
 to be present, and to assist us in the various 
 branches of the Mission. Three hundred persons, 
 among whom were Princes and Princesses and the 
 members of the Tribunal, were waiting in the large 
 arched room on the ground-floor by ten o'clock, 
 when the opening ceremony began. Eli Jones read 
 Proverbs xxxi., and spoke for one hour and fifteen 
 minutes on the subject of female education, his 
 address being translated into Arabic. Dr. Beshara 
 and I also spoke, and the Judge of the Tribunal 
 expressed his hearty thankfulness to the Society of
 
 The Ramallah Mission Station. 321 
 
 Friends in England and America for their help, and 
 much earnest prayer was offered. The fifteen girls 
 sat in a semi-circle on chairs before Eli Jones, and 
 stood up and sang a hymn at conclusion of the 
 meeting. After a little refreshment the people dis- 
 persed, rejoicing. Miriam Abu Nasser, who was 
 educated at Miss Lucy Hicks's school at Shemlan, 
 in connection with the Society for Promoting 
 Female Education in the East, was appointed 
 teacher of the Girls' Home, under the superinten- 
 dence of Maria Feltham, who came back from 
 England, leaving her comfortable home and friends, 
 in order to help us in the mission work. 
 
 In the spring of 1883, Eli Jones paid a visit to 
 Ramallah, Friends' Mission station in Palestine, 
 three hours north of Jerusalem, and tried to en- 
 courage and improve the work there. Meanwhile, 
 I finished the preparation of the transference of 
 the whole Mission estate into the names of three 
 English and three American trustees. 
 
 In April it was found needful for Friends' 
 Medical Mission that Dr. Beshara Manasseh should 
 go to Constantinople to pass his official medical 
 examination, in order to obtain his doctor's diploma 
 from the Imperial Government at Constantinople. 
 Having passed his examination successfully and got 
 his diploma he came back at the end of July, and 
 resumed his medical duties at Ain Salaam. We 
 also had the pleasure of welcoming Ellen Clayton, 
 who lived at first with Maria Feltham at the Girls' 
 Training Home until the alterations of the building 
 were completed, when she took her position as 
 lady superintendent in the Friends' Hospital at Ain 
 Salaam, where her faithful service is being blessed 
 by the Lord. 
 
 Dr. George Hessenauer and his young wife also 
 paid us a visit on their way to Kamallah. After
 
 322 Marriage of Rosa Waldmeier. 
 
 George Hessenauer had obtained his needful dip- 
 loma in medicine and surgery in London, he desired 
 to work as a medical missionary in connection with 
 the Society of Friends, of which he is a member. 
 Their Syrian Mission Committee received him with 
 gladness, and sent him out as medical missionary 
 to the Mission station at Ramallah. It is very 
 interesting to see how our heavenly Father leads 
 His children and qualifies them for His service. 
 
 Towards the end of 1883 we had the gladness 
 of welcoming Joseph Bevan Braithwaite, who 
 comforted and encouraged us all by his knowledge, 
 humility, and brotherly love. I regard his pre- 
 sence and prayerful interest at the solemnization 
 of the marriage of Dr. Beshara Manasseh with 
 my daughter, Rosa Waldmeier, which took place 
 on the 23rd of November, 1883, as an especial 
 blessing and privilege for us. J. B. Braithwaite 
 was accompanied by Rev. R. Weakly, and Rev. 
 C. E. B. Reed of the British and Foreign Bible 
 Society, and by Charles E. Gillett and William C. 
 Braithwaite. The brief visit of Rev. Charles E. B. 
 Reed, Secretary of the British and Foreign Bible 
 Society, son of the late Sir Charles Reed, M.P., 
 has left a lasting memory of sunshine in the hearts 
 of the mission circle on Mount Lebanon. He sub- 
 sequently made a tour through Palestine in com- 
 pany with J. B. Braithwaite and party, and returned 
 to England early in 1884. In the spring of that 
 year an affection of the throat caused him almost 
 entirely to lose his voice, and he was ordered by 
 his physician to the bracing air of Switzerland, 
 where he lost his life by an accident. In the spring 
 of 1884 we enjoyed a long expected visit from the 
 Treasurer of the Mission, William C. Allen. 
 
 In the autumn Sheikh Akel, who had been a 
 Scripture-reader for many years in our Mission,
 
 Death of Alfred Lloyd Fox. 325 
 
 was taken seriously ill, and lost his mental powers. 
 At that very time his fanatical brother Georgius, in 
 connection with some other superstitious people, 
 called the Greek priest Ibrahim, who forced the 
 Elements of the Communion, with which he had 
 come prepared, into Sheikh Akel's mouth, and 
 declared him to have returned to the Greek Church. 
 We sent to the Pasha for justice in this affair. He 
 delegated Emir Haider to investigate the case, but 
 as Sheikh Akel was not in his senses, the investiga- 
 tion was unsatisfactory, and the fanatical priests 
 and fiercely excited mob turned the matter to their 
 side. After greatly disturbing the poor man's mind 
 during his last days, they buried Sheikh Akel in 
 the Greek graveyard, as they did with Muallim 
 Semaan years before. Sheikh Akel was a good 
 advocate of Christ's cause. He grew in grace, and 
 his words at our meetings were blessed to many, 
 while his Christian conduct was an example to all. 
 
 During the year 1885 the Mission lost one of 
 their Secretaries, Alfred Lloyd Fox of Falmouth. 
 He was indeed a man of God in whose heart self 
 had no longer place. His delight was to work for 
 Jesus, and to do good to his fellow-men at home 
 and abroad. His presence was like that of an 
 angel, and his correspondence was an uninterrupted 
 stream of blessing and love. 
 
 Living epistle of God's love, was he ; 
 On all mankind his clear blue eyes, like heaven, 
 
 Beamed charity. 
 In him God's love reflected, shone most clearly, 
 
 Love, sunny, human, never waxing dim ; 
 God must be love, who to His blessed likeness 
 So fashioned him. 
 
 It only remains to say a few words with regard 
 to the present condition and future prospects of 
 our work on Mount Lebanon.
 
 320 Review of the Agencies of the Mission. 
 
 The various agencies of Friends' Mission on 
 Mount Lebanon all show steady progress. The 
 accompanying sketch shows the different Mission 
 buildings. On the left, stretching westward, are 
 the blue waters of the Mediterranean. In the 
 background are some of the higher ranges of 
 Mount Lebanon. High up on the right stands 
 the Mission House, comprising the Boys' Training 
 Home. Below it, in the centre of the picture, is 
 the wind-motor from America, which forces up the 
 water from Ain Salaam to the reservoirs which 
 supply the Mission Houses. Further to the left, 
 on the spur of the hill which descends so rapidly 
 towards the sea, is the Girls' Training Home. In 
 the foreground is the Hospital and Dispensary. 
 
 In the village day schools, as well as in the 
 Training Homes and in the Medical Mission, we 
 now have Druses, Greek Catholics, Maronites, and 
 members of the Greek Orthodox Church under our 
 influence, and we preach Jesus Christ freely to 
 every one of them. Many, both old and young, 
 rich and poor, have learned to know the truth, and 
 have received salvation as it is in Jesus Christ 
 alone. We cannot put down here a statistical 
 account of all the converts of our Mission, but 
 that account is correctly kept in our heavenly 
 Father's hand. We have to sow the seed in faith 
 and patience, and often with sorrow. The Lord 
 gives the increase, and He will finally gather His 
 sheaves. We can truly and thankfully say with all 
 those who know Mount Lebanon, and who have seen 
 Friends' Mission station at Ain Salaam, that the 
 Lord has clone in a short time great and wonderful 
 things. More than 700 children have learned to 
 read and write in our branch schools, and, what is 
 more than that, they have learned to know the 
 Holy Scriptures, which are able to make them wise
 
 3 2 
 
 t; <: 
 
 T X 
 
 II 
 l-l
 
 Improvement of the Condition of the People. 329 
 
 unto salvation. In our Training Homes we are 
 training boys and girls by a thorough Christian 
 and practical education, to be good Christians, 
 faithful citizens, and leaders of others. Some of 
 the boys who have gone forth from our Training 
 Home are already occupying most useful positions. 
 More than 500 poor sufferers have been healed 
 from their bodily diseases in the Friends' Hospital, 
 and we trust that many were cured of their super- 
 stitions also. More than 30,000 out-door patients 
 have been treated in the Dispensary, to whom the 
 Gospel has been preached. Two Scripture-readers 
 and two Bible-women are engaged to carry the 
 good message of the Gospel into the dark houses of 
 Mount Lebanon. Mothers' meetings are held to 
 lift the poor degraded women to a higher standard 
 in Jesus Christ, and through the preaching of the 
 Gospel we try to build up a spiritual temple of 
 God in opposition to the lifeless Eastern Churches. 
 Surely the Lord is to be praised for all His good- 
 ness, and for His wonderful work among the 
 children of men. Though we have to struggle with 
 many unfavourable circumstances and oppositions 
 we will yet rejoice in the Lord who giveth us the 
 victory. We cannot, of course, expect that all the 
 people of this country will come out at once from 
 their respective churches and declare themselves 
 Protestants. But if we compare the condition of 
 the country fifty years ago, when the American 
 Presbyterian Mission began their work in Syria, in 
 the midst of horrible darkness and superstition, and 
 unlimited fanaticism, with its state now, we find a 
 conspicious and wonderful change for good among 
 the Syrian people, which is due mainly to the 
 Protestant Missions. To guage results only by the 
 handful of Protestants who have come out from the 
 Oriental Churches would be a mistake. We must
 
 330 Fanaticism, and Superstition Giving way. 
 
 look rather to the general regenerating and elevat- 
 ing influence of Protestant Mission work among the 
 Syrian nation. It has given them good examples 
 and strong impulses for higher life, and they are 
 imitating the good work of the missionaries, by 
 opening high and common schools, by organizing 
 benevolent societies for the poor and needy, by 
 opening hospitals and dispensaries for the sick, 
 and by taking more care in general for the wel- 
 fare of the people. Many of these Oriental Chris- 
 tians express themselves very freely on religious 
 matters. I have heard them say, " We know very 
 well that there is no salvation but through faith in 
 Jesus Christ. The Virgin Mary and all the saints 
 and priests cannot save us. If we die without 
 Jesus all the many outward ceremonies in our 
 churches are a mere farce." I know a good number 
 of people of sound Evangelical principles, whose 
 names are as yet in the list of their Oriental 
 Churches, while many more have already left this 
 world whose faith was completely resting on Jesus 
 Christ and His atoning blood, and on Him alone. 
 The power of priestcraft is no more that which it 
 was before, fanaticism is greatly weakened, and 
 superstition and ignorance are giving way to the 
 light of the Gospel, and to spiritual liberty. A 
 member of the Greek Church at Brummana thus 
 expressed his opinion in their church before the 
 people, on the text : " Behold the veil of the temple 
 was rent in twain from the top to the bottom ; and 
 the earth did quake and the rocks were rent " (Matt. 
 xxvii. 51). " Why should our churches be separated 
 into two places, one for the people, and the other, the 
 sacred and secret place, for the priests, while we see 
 that the veil of the temple was rent from the top to 
 the bottom, so that everyone could look into the most 
 holy place which was no more a secret ? Through
 
 Signs of an Awakening. -S31 
 
 Christ the way is ever open to the throne of God 
 for penitent sinners. Another mistake of our 
 church is that the walls thereof are full of pictures, 
 which is forbidden by God." 
 
 Such voices in the Greek Orthodox Churches are 
 not a little thing. We see by them how the lever 
 of Gospel truth is working among people who are 
 under the blessed influence of Protestant Missions 
 in this country. I am sure that the time of a great 
 revival in this interesting Bible land is not far off, 
 when our heavenly Father will gather in a great 
 harvest for His glory ; and until that time comes, 
 we must run the race which is set before us with 
 power and patience, and not get weary in well- 
 doing. 
 
 In the spring of 1886 I visited Switzerland and 
 England in order to increase the interest in the 
 Mission on Mount Lebanon. I attended many 
 meetings in different towns, and greatly enjoyed 
 the Christian fellowship of God's people in England. 
 At the Yearly Meeting in London, I missed a 
 number of dearly beloved friends who have entered 
 their eternal home. Faithful supporters of the 
 Mission are being called one after another to rest 
 from their labours, and we ourselves will have 
 soon to lay down our pilgrim's staff', and go to the 
 better land. Others will go forth and work in the 
 vineyard, and may they with us remember the 
 words, " Be thou faithful unto death, and I will 
 give thee a crown of life " (Rev. ii. 10).
 
 INDEX. 
 
 A. 
 
 Abassides, 247. 
 Abbadie, M., 45. 
 Abcarius, John, 288, 295. 
 Abd-el-Kadir, 183. 
 Abd-el-Malek, 155. 
 Abdelnur, J., 120, 295. 
 Abeih, 190, 254, 285. 
 Aberha, 26, 27, 190. 
 Abu Hamed, 7. 
 Abu Harres, 7. 
 
 Abu Joseph, 306, 307, 308, 309. 
 Abu Runii, 59. 
 Abuna Salama, 12, 26, 28, 46. 49, 
 
 109. 
 
 Abulfetah, 246. 
 Aby Baker, 194, 248. 
 Abyssinia 
 
 Agriculture, 15. 
 
 Chronology, 29. 
 
 Climate, 8, 13. 
 
 Fauna, 14. 
 
 Flora, 14. 
 
 Geology, 13. 
 
 Government, 15, 16. 
 
 History, 22, 27, 30. 
 
 Houses, 21. 
 
 Money, 21. 
 
 Religion, 22, 27, 30. 
 
 Roads, 73, 102. 
 
 Temples, 29, 66. 
 
 Trades, 21, 73. 
 
 Treaty with Shoa, 133. 
 Abyssinians 
 
 Character, 15. 
 
 Dress, 18. 
 
 Habits, 15, 18, 21. 
 
 Origin, 22. 
 
 Ackworth School, 272. 
 Adonis, 161. 
 Adra Bille, 41. 
 jEdesius, 26. 
 
 77, 
 
 Afa Negus, 17. 
 
 Agatho, 209. 
 
 Agau people, 37. 
 
 Ahriman, 195. 
 
 Am Arrar, 153. 
 
 Ain Salaam, 277, 295, 305. 
 
 Ain Waraka, 233. 
 
 Ain Zahalta, 147. 
 
 Akkals, 198, 199, 200. 
 
 Alamayu, 43, 103, 118. 
 
 Alamout, 245. 
 
 Alamy, 111, 116. 
 
 Aleppo, 300. 
 
 Alexandria, 26, 215. 
 
 Allen, H. S., 179, 256, 273, 277, 313. 
 
 Allen, Richard, 178. 
 
 Allen, Stafford, 178, 272. 
 
 Allen, W. C., 273, 322. 
 
 Ali Dahir, 188. 
 
 Ali Ibn Aby Talib, 194, 199, 246, 248. 
 
 American Mission, 169, 216, 226. 
 
 Presbyterian Mission, 178, 250. 
 Amhara, 125, 130. 
 Amharic Alphabet, 60, 61. 
 
 Bible, 7, 59, 69, 138. 
 
 Dictionaries, 41, 62. 
 
 Language, 59. 
 
 Prayer-book, 41. 
 Anglo-Abyssinian War, 97, 102, 109, 
 
 Causes, 81, 82. [110,119. 
 
 Cost, 120. 
 
 Results, 118, 120, 129. 
 Anti Lebanon, 156. 
 Anti Slavery Society, 12. 
 Antioch, 215, 219. 
 Apheca, 161, 162. 
 Arnot, Miss, 146. 
 Arogie, 109. 
 Asbeha, 27. 
 Ashtoreth, 25, 153. 
 Assad Shidiak, 228. 
 Assar, 7.
 
 334 
 
 Index. 
 
 Asseline, M., 59. 
 Atbara, 125. 
 Athaiiasius, 26, 28. 
 Auricular Confession, 215. 
 Axuiu, 22, 67. 
 
 B. 
 
 Baakleen, 193. 
 
 Baalhec, 157, 161, 179, 219. 
 
 Baal Berith, 153. 
 
 Bab-el-Mandeb, 13. 
 
 Bahyloii, 25, 161. 
 
 Bagdad, 187. 
 
 Bahet Mountain, 126. 
 
 Bale Mission College, 2. 
 
 Baly Gallas, 137, 141, 146. 
 
 Banias, 189. 
 
 Bardel, M., 79, 80, 81, 82. 
 
 Barouk, 167. 
 
 Basilides, 193, 194, 197, 198. 
 
 Basso, 34. 
 
 Satellites, 189, 190, 250. 
 
 Battle of Waldiba, 68. 
 
 Beha Eddeen, 194, 195, 198. 
 
 Beirut, 25, 146, 150, 154, 169, 219, 262, 
 
 Beit Hor, 98, 125. [291. 
 
 Beit Mary, 153, 161, 173, 256. 
 
 Bell, John, 11, 12, 63, 68, 85. 
 
 Bender, Mr., 46, 56, 63, 115, 146. 
 
 Benton, Mr., 147. 
 
 Berber, 7. 
 
 Berkat Ghanem, 277, 295. 
 
 Berne, 256, 313. 
 
 Beshara, Dr., 301, 302, 319, 321, 322. 
 
 Bashielo, 101, 109, 121. 
 
 B'hamdoun, 147. 
 
 Bible- women, 281, 284, 329. 
 
 Bishop Gobat's Charge, 4658. 
 
 Blackheath College, 179. 
 
 Blanc, Dr., 87. 
 
 Blue Nile, 7, 126. 
 
 Boggos, 80. 
 
 BoUeau, Col., 179. 
 
 Boudah, 64, 65, 66. 
 
 Braithwaite, J. B., 322. 
 
 Brandeis, Mr., 77, 85, 95. 
 
 Bridge of Zobeida, 153. 
 
 British and Foreign Bible Society, 59. 
 
 British Syrian Schools, 146, 170, 171, 
 
 175. 
 Brummana, 120, 153, 184,2-54,277,290. 
 
 Dispensary, 305, 326, 329. 
 
 Hospital, 320, 321, 326, 329. 
 B'sherry, 167. 
 Burning of Bibles, 254. 
 Byhlus, 25, 153, 161, 262. 
 
 C. 
 
 Cairo, 4, 129, 145, 187, 188, 205, 206. 
 
 Calhoon, Dr., 254, 285. 
 
 Cameron, Captain, 79, 80, 85. 
 
 Candace, 26. 
 
 Canton de Vaud, 256. 
 
 Capuchins, 226. 
 
 Cedars of Lebanon, 158, 167. 
 
 Chamberlain, Major, 109. 
 
 Cholera, 89. 
 
 Christianity in Abyssinia, 26. 
 
 Arabia, 27, 190. 
 
 Nubia, 27. 
 
 Soudan, 27. 
 
 Shoa, 134. 
 
 Christopher de Gama, 33. 
 Church Missionary Society, 38. 
 Circumcision, 25, 26, 248. 
 Claudius of Abyssinia, 33. 
 Clayton, E., 319, 321. 
 College at Beirut, 169, 301. 
 Collegium Maronitamm, 225. 
 Confession of Augsburg, 212. 
 Conrad of Montserrat, 247. 
 Constantine Pagonatus, 209, 222. 
 Constantinople, 208, 215, 262. 
 Convent of Alma, 228. 
 Council of Chalcedon, 27, 209, 218. 
 
 of Florence, 225. 
 
 in Shoa, 134. 
 
 of Trent, 233, 236. 
 Crawford, Mr., 184. 
 Crossing the desert, 7. 
 Crusades, 188, 200, 212, 225, 246, 265. 
 Cuneiform inscriptions, 163. 
 Cyprus, 150, 156. 
 Cyrillus Lukaris, 212. 
 
 D. 
 
 Daibes Safrawy, 284, 295. 
 
 Damascus, 161, 174, 183, 187, 189, 219, 
 
 Damm Vouse, 109. [300. 
 
 Damur, 154. 
 
 Dar Bsaleem, 277, 292. 
 
 Darna, 77. 
 
 Debra Lebanos, 134. 
 
 Tabor, 63, 89, 92. 
 Debtera Sahaloo, 91. 
 Debtera Sanneb, 11. 
 Deimler, J. G., 2. 
 Deir-el-Kalla, 153. 
 Deir-el-Kamar, 172, 174. 
 Dembea, 93. 
 Desert of Nubia, 4. 
 
 of Samhara, 13, 126. 
 Dioscoros, 27, 218. 

 
 Index. 
 
 335 
 
 Docetus, 193. 
 
 Dog River, 163, 301. 
 
 Dokah, 7. 
 
 Danakeel, 34, 129. 
 
 Dossa, 34. 
 
 Druse character, 198. 
 
 history, 189, 193. 
 
 massacres, 171, 173, 200. 
 
 origin, 188, 190. 
 
 religion, 186, 193207. 
 
 E. 
 
 Earthquake, 154. 
 
 Edd, 13. 
 
 E ! Dorazy, 188, 195. 
 
 Edward L, 247. 
 
 Egypt, 4, 161. 
 
 Egyptian hieroglyphics, 4, 163. 
 
 El Azeez, 187. 
 
 El Hakem, 187, 193, 199, 204, 206,245. 
 
 El Mansour, 187. 
 
 El Meten, 190, 281. 
 
 El Muezz, 187. 
 
 El Obeyed, 118. 
 
 Elyon, 154. 
 
 Emir Ali, 295. 
 
 Ameen, 285, 
 
 Besheer, 254. 
 
 Haider, 308, 325. 
 
 Joseph, 283, 307. 
 
 Mansour, 254. 
 Eserhaddon, 163. 
 Ethiopic Bible, 59. 
 
 Lexicon, 62. 
 
 Eucharist, 211, 215, 220. 
 Extreme Unction, 215. 
 
 F. 
 
 Facilidas, 30. 
 
 Fala, 108. 
 
 Falashas, 22, 26, 27, 56, 68, 82, 145. 
 
 Famine, 93. 
 
 Fasting, 211. 
 
 Fatimah, 187, 245. 
 
 Fatimite Dynasty, 187. 
 
 Feast of Orthodoxy, 210. 
 
 Feltham, M., 319, 321. 
 
 Fetana Negest, 16. 
 
 Fladd, M., 8, 25, 26, 45, 63, 68, 70, 77, 
 
 89, 110, 115, 117. 
 Fladd, Mrs., 46, 68, 85. 
 Fox, A. L., 273, 277, 291, 325. 
 Fox, A. M., 319. 
 Franciscans, 226. 
 Frankel, M. 183, 301. 
 
 Free Church of Scotland Mission, 43, 
 
 146, 170, 281. 
 
 Friends' Syrian Mission, 170, 273. 
 Frumentius, 26, 28. 
 
 Gaffat, 63, 66, 69, 89, 91. 
 Galla tribes, 27, 34, 73. 
 
 Languages, 37. 
 
 Missions, 49, 125. 
 Gebal, 150, 161, 162, 163, 261. 
 Gerang, 30. 
 Ghuzir, 169. 
 Giblites, 161, 162. 
 Gnostics, 197, 198, 200. 
 Gobat, Bishop, 3, 38, 45, 145, 147, 255. 
 Godjam, 70. 
 Gondar, 70, 79, 85. 
 Gordon, General, 43, 44. 
 Great gun, 93, 94, 102. 
 Greek Catholic Church, 218221. 
 Greek Orthodox Church, 208, 211, 215. 
 
 Patriarchs, 215. 
 Gregory L, 209. 
 Gregory XIIL, 225. 
 Gun-founding, 73. 
 Guys, M. H., 155, 163. 
 
 H. 
 
 Hailu Mariam, 125. 
 
 Hamse, 188, 193206. 
 
 Hanni Ferah, 256, 309. 
 
 Hasbaya, 174, 180, 186, 189. 
 
 Hashshash, 246. 
 
 Hauran, 13, 189, 193, 205. 
 
 Haussa Gallas, 142. 
 
 Herod Agrippa L, 154. 
 
 Hessenauer, G., 258, 276, 301, 321. 
 
 Hesba Kedoos, 26, 27. 
 
 Hewitt, Admiral, 43. 
 
 Hicks, Lucy, 321. 
 
 Hicks, Pasha, 118. 
 
 Hiram, 162 
 
 Hodeidah, 8, 34. 
 
 Honesty rewarded, 17. 
 
 Hoffman, Dr., 146. 
 
 Rowland, G., 273. 
 
 Hymyarites, 189. 
 
 I. 
 
 Ibrahim Pasha, 157, 172, 186, 203. 
 Industrial Missions, 54, 64, 146. 
 Intercession of Saints, 215. 
 Isenberg, Mr., 38, 45. 
 Islamgie, 103. 
 Ismailiyehs, 245247, 250. 
 Ispahan, 189, 206.
 
 336 
 
 Index. 
 
 J. 
 
 Jacob Baradoi, 209. 
 
 Jacobites, 210. 
 
 Jaffa, 146. 
 
 Jebel E'Sheikh, 156. 
 
 Jerusalem, 25, 142, 145, 162, 215, 219, 
 
 Jesseen, 174. [300. 
 
 Jesuits in Abyssinia, 30, 38, 45. 
 
 in Syria, '169, 219, 226. 
 John, 33, 42, 118, 129, 133, 138,204, 
 John Yejunator, 209. [206. 
 
 Jones, Eli, 178, 256, 273, 292, 316, 320, 
 Jones, Sybil, 178. [321. 
 
 Jordan, 157. 
 
 Joseph Habeish, 228, 254. 
 Josephus, 154. 
 Juhhals, 198, 199. 
 Justinian, 155, 222. 
 
 K. 
 
 Kalwat, 186. 
 Kamarieh, 248. 
 Kana Zobeida, 153. 
 Kanobin, 226, 241. 
 Kara-Haimanot, 134. 
 Karnak, 4. 
 Kassala, 8, 34. 
 Kedarif, 34. 
 Reran, 80. 
 
 Kessrawan, 209, 226, 278. 
 Khartoum, 7, 8, 34. 
 Kienzlen, G., 46, 63. 
 Kingras, 161. 
 Knobel, M., 288. 
 Kolla, 13. 
 Koran, 189, 245. 
 Kornail, 157. 
 Korosko, 4. 
 Krapf, Dr., 38, 45, 46. 
 Kugler, Mr., 38. 
 Kunama, 34, 125. 
 Kurfa, 141. 
 
 L. 
 
 Lake Tzana, 87. 
 Latakiah, 250. 
 Lausanne, 256, 313. 
 Lawsuits in Abyssinia, 16. 
 
 in Syria, 284. 
 Lazarists, 226. 
 Lejean, G., 81. 
 Liberated slaves, 70. 
 Lions, 43, 74. 
 Lloyd, Miss, 177. 
 
 London Society for Promoting Chris- 
 tianity among Jews, 68, 145. 
 
 Lorrach, 2, 148, 179,313. 
 
 Lotfallah Riskallah, 305. 
 
 Ludolf, H , 62. 
 
 Luther, 212. 
 
 Luxor, 4. 
 
 Lycus, 154, J63, 301. 
 
 M. 
 
 Mackenzie, Mr., 302. 
 
 Magdala, II, 12, 63, 69, 85, 97, 103, 
 
 Magoras, 153, 154. [117, 118. 
 
 Mahdi, 44, 119. 
 
 Makarius, 209. 
 
 Mani, 195, 205. 
 
 Manicheism, 190. 
 
 Mansourieh, J53, 299. 
 
 Marcian, 27, 193. 
 
 Marcian, Emperor, 218, 225. 
 
 Mardi, 222. 
 
 Maricha Warka, 41. 
 
 Mariolatry, 215, 220. 
 
 Maronites, 155, 171, 200, 216,222,242, 
 
 Maroon, 222. [254. 
 
 Massiyad, 246. 
 
 Massowah, 8, 30, 97. 
 
 Maximus, 183. 
 
 Mayer, J., 26, 46,63, 115, 137, 141, 146. 
 
 Mecca, 204. 
 
 Medical Mission, 305, 320, 326, 329. 
 
 Medinet Abu, 125. 
 
 Melchites, 218. 
 
 Menelek, 12, 130, 133, 134, 138. 
 
 Mensa, 80 
 
 Mentor Mott, Mrs. 147, 150, 177. 
 
 Meroe, 125. 
 
 Merry weather, General, 117. 
 
 Metempsychosis, 196, 248. 
 
 Methemmeh, 8, 34. 
 
 Mines, 150, 157. 
 
 Miriam Abu Nasser, 321. 
 
 Mohammed, 194, 196, 206. 
 
 Mohammed Ali, 172. 
 
 Mohammedans, 204, 206, 210, 222, 245, 
 
 in Abyssinia, 30, 33. [300. 
 
 Monks in Abyssinia, 25, 67, 70, 137. 
 Monophysites, 27, 209, 219. 
 Monothelites, 209, 219, 222, 226. 
 Mothers' Meetings, 329. 
 Mount Lebanon, 156 158. 
 
 Climate, 261. 
 
 Geology, 156. 
 
 Flora, 156, 158. 
 
 History, 189. 
 Mucktara, 172, 180, 193. 
 Mulberry, 157, 164, 262, 265, 269. 
 Mushaka, Dr., 183, 221. 
 Musyka, 189.
 
 Index. 
 
 337 
 
 N. 
 
 Nahr-el-Kelb, 163. 
 
 Nalir Ibrahim, 154. 
 
 Napier, Lord, 42, 101, 115, 129. 
 
 Address to soldiers, 121. 
 
 Letter to King Theodore, 112. 
 Napoleon III., 80. 
 Nebuchadnezzar, 163. 
 Neby, 284. 
 Nestorians, 262. 
 Neuchatel, 281. 
 Newman, H., 291, 312. 
 Nile, 4, 7, 125. 
 Nubia, 4. 
 Nusariehs, 247250. 
 
 0. 
 
 Omar, 194, 248. 
 Ophites, 26. 
 
 Ordination of priests, 28. 
 Origin of Small -pox, 27. 
 Orit, 25. 
 Othman, 194, 248. 
 
 P. 
 
 Palmyra, 161. 
 Pamphilus, 155. 
 Papal Infallibility, 240. 
 Parsis, 195. 
 
 Pass of Kameylea, 125. 
 Patriarch Gregory, 233. 
 Pearson, E., 273. 
 Pearson, E. C., 277. 
 Pelagius II., 209. 
 Persian Philosophy, 195, 245. 
 Pharaoh Necho, 163. 
 Phoenicians, 22, 150, 262. 
 Phoenician temple, 161. 
 Picture Worship, 210, 220, 240. 
 Population of Beirut, 155. 
 
 of Syria, 171. 
 Portuguese Mission, 30. 
 Prendergast, Major, 109. 
 Prideaux, Lieut., 87, 111. 
 Priestly absolution, 215. 
 
 opposition, 283. 
 Pritchard, Major, 109. 
 Pucheria, 218. 
 Pirn, Captain, 178. 
 
 Q. 
 
 Quarata, 87. 
 Queen of Sheba, 22. 
 
 of Shoa, 133. 
 
 Terrowork, 79, 118. 
 
 Touabetch, 79. 
 
 Victoria, 44, 80. 
 
 Zenobia, 153. 
 
 R. 
 
 Rae, J., 281, 288. 
 
 Rahat, 7. 
 
 Ramallah, 310, 312, 321. 
 
 Ramses, 4, 163. 
 
 Rappard, II., 145, 255. 
 
 Rassam, H., 86, 88, 90, 97, 103, 104, 
 
 Rasheya, 174. [Ill, 118. 
 
 Raymond of Tripoli, 247. 
 
 Reed, C. E B., 322. 
 
 Religious feasts, 25, 30, 66, 67. 
 
 River Adonis, 161, 163. 
 
 Rochet, M., 45. 
 
 Roman Catholic Church, 209, 210, 221. 
 
 Roman Catholic Mission in Shoa, 138. 
 
 Rosenthal, Mr., 82, 85, 103. 
 
 Roomy, 284. 
 
 Rustem Pasha, 307. 
 
 s. 
 
 Saalmiiller, C., 3, 46, 63, 115, 146. 
 
 Sagie, 89. 
 
 Sahela Salassa, 12, 38, 45. 
 
 Saladin, 247. 
 
 Said Beg Jumplatt, 173, 183. 
 
 Salassie, 117. 
 
 Saleeby, E., 285. 
 
 Salt, 21, 126. 
 
 Sanbathoo, 25. 
 
 Sanchoniathon, 154. 
 
 Sanneen, 13, 161, 163, 293. 
 
 Sapeto, 38, 45. . 
 
 Satterthwaite, G., 312. 
 
 Scander Kattar, 299. 
 
 Schneller, Mr., 145. 
 
 Schools, 170, 321. 
 
 Abyssinian, 66, 77, 92 
 
 Friends' Mission, 170,281,312,326. 
 
 Industrial, 300, 315. 
 
 Sabbath, 315. 
 
 at Brummana, 256, 285, 314 
 
 at Beit Mary, 256. 
 
 at Dar Bsaleem, 277, 292. 
 
 at Mansourieh, 299. 
 
 at Neby, 284. 
 
 at Roomy, 284. 
 Schroth, Mr., 3, 8, 46. 
 Scripture Readers, 284, 329. 
 Sea of Asal, 142. 
 Seil el Arim, 189. 
 Selihites, 189. 
 
 Seniaan el Koury, 254, 285. 
 Senafie, 126. 
 Sesostris, 163. 
 Shalmaneser, 163. 
 Shehab Princes, 171. 
 
 Z
 
 338 
 
 Index. 
 
 Sheikh Akel, 322. 
 
 Shemlan, 321. 
 
 Shemsieh, 248. 
 
 Shoa, 12, 28, 38, 130, 133. 
 
 Sidon, 25, 153, 219, 262. 
 
 Silk manufacture, 262. 
 
 Silk-worms, 262, 266. 
 
 Sitt-el-Mullook, 188. 
 
 Sitt Naaify, 174, 180. 
 
 Slavery, 37. 
 
 Slave markets, 8, 34. 
 
 Slave trade, 34, 43, 80, 141. 
 
 Smith, Dr. Eli, 316. 
 
 Smith, Susette, 176, 179. 
 
 Solomon of Adana, 248. 
 
 Sosneos, 30. 
 
 Soudan, 7, 8, 80, 126. 
 
 Staiger, W., 77, 85, 95, 146, 288, 295. 
 
 St. Chrischona, 3, 137, 145, 313. 
 
 Staveley, General, 117. 
 
 Stepney College, 272. 
 
 Sterne, Dr., 68, 82, 85, 103, 115. 
 
 Stockholm, 272. 
 
 Suakim, 8, 34. 
 
 Swedish Missions, 138, 141, 272. 
 
 Syria 
 
 Agriculture, 261, 274. 
 
 Climate, 261. 
 
 Flora, 164, 167. 
 
 Geology, 156. 
 
 Trade, 261, 265, 270. 
 
 T. 
 
 Tabot, 29, 67. 
 Tajurrah, 141. 
 Takkassie, 125, 130. 
 Talanta, 101, 121, 125. 
 Tamerlane, 247. 
 Tammuz, 161, 162. 
 Tannoukhites, 189, 190. 
 Tasso, I., 276. 
 Tau, 163. 
 Tchenta, 68, 77. 
 Temple of Venus, 161. 
 Terr, 14. 
 Theodora, 210. 
 Theodore 
 
 Address to soldiers, 108. 
 
 Attempts suicide, 113. 
 
 Conquers Ubie, 45. 
 
 Cruelty, 90, 93, 94, 95, 102, 107. 
 
 Expels Jesuits, 45. 
 
 Favours civilization, 70, 73. 
 
 Fires at T. Waldmeier, 101. 
 
 Frees slaves, 70. 
 
 Gives like a king, 74. 
 
 Theodore, continued 
 
 Insanity, 107. 
 
 Intercourse with Rassam, 88, 103, 
 
 Kills himself, 117. [115. 
 
 Letter to Lord Napier, 112. 
 
 Liberates the prisoners, 114. 
 
 Listens to T. Waldmeier, 85, 95. 
 
 Marries Terrowork, 79. 
 
 Permits Protestant Mission, 46. 
 Thompson, Mrs., 146, 147, 150, 175, 
 Tiglathpileser, 163. [176, 177. 
 
 Tigr6, 13, 38, 125, 130. 
 Tirhakah, 125. 
 Titus, 154. 
 Torell, W., 288. 
 
 Training Home for Boys, 273, 280, 295, 
 299, 302, 305, 326. 
 
 for Girls, 314, 319, 320, 326. 
 
 Institution for teachers, 175. 
 Transubstantiation, 215, 220. 
 Tripoli, 153, 219, 265. 
 Trullo Synods, 209. 
 Tshitta, 101, 125. 
 Tyre, 25, 153, 219, 262. 
 
 Ubie, 45, 79. 
 
 U. 
 
 V. 
 
 Valentinus, 193. 
 Venus, 161. 
 Vespasian, 154. 
 Volcanoes, 13. 
 Von Widdenbruck, 190. 
 
 W. 
 
 Wachnee, 8. 
 
 Wady e' Tyme, 189, 193. 
 Waitos, 37. 
 Wakefield, C., 178. 
 Waldmeier, T. 
 
 Arrives in Abyssinia, 11. 
 
 Becomes inspector of British Syrian 
 Schools, 149. 
 
 Birth, 1. 
 
 Conversion, 2. 
 
 Death of children, 92, 96, 309. 
 
 Determines to be missionary, 3. 
 
 Fired at by King Theodore, 101. 
 
 Friendship with King Theodore, 
 
 Illness, 97. [73. 
 
 Imprisonment, 101. 
 
 Invitation to Shoa, 138. 
 
 Leaves Abyssinia, 129. 
 
 Marriage, 12.
 
 Index. 
 
 339 
 
 Waldmeier, T., continued 
 
 Plotted against, 94, 110, 112, 113. 
 Removes to Magdala, 97. 
 
 to Brummana, 254. 
 Saves lives of prisoners, 85, 95. 
 Settles at Gaffat, 63. 
 Starts for Abyssinia, 3. 
 Studies at St. Chrischona, 3. 
 Takes leave of King Theodore, 1 16. 
 Visits England, 179, 271, 312, 331. 
 Jerusalem, 145. 
 Sweden, 272. [313, 331. 
 Switzerland, 148, 179, 271, 
 Withdraws from B. S. Schools, 185. 
 Waldmeier, Mrs., 12, 90, 92, 98, 149, 
 
 276. 
 
 Waldmeier, Rosa, 91, 147, 178, 253, 
 Wanza tree, 14, 34, 164. [322. 
 
 Weakly, R., 322. 
 Wilson, Dr. John, 41. 
 
 Wolff, Joseph, 41. 
 
 Wollo Gallas, 13, 33, 41, 79, 133, 137. 
 
 Wright, Dr., 183. 
 
 Y. 
 
 Yearly Meetings 
 
 London, 271, 312, 319, 331. 
 
 New England, 316. 
 
 New York, 316. 
 
 Western, 319. 
 Yemen, 27, 189, 190. 
 
 z. 
 
 Zachleh, 174, 183. 
 Zend A vesta, 194. 
 Zeno, 209. 
 Zoroaster, 194. 
 Zullu, 97, 125, 126. 
 
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