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SISIt TO THE SYRIANTIACOBITECHURCH,/
OF MESOPOTAMIA;
WITH STATEMENTS AND REFLECTIONS
UPON THE PRESENT
STATE OF CHRISTIANITY IN TURKEY,
AND
~ THE CHARACTER AND PROSPECTS
of The
EASTERN CHURCHES.
BY THE
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P. R. E. F. A. C. E.
THIS little book is introductory to a series which the author has long
had in contemplation, and which, if sufficient encouragement is given to
the undertaking, will in due time appear, according as the pressure of
other cares may allow him to finish them. Their sole object and design
is to set forth the Eastern Churches in their real character, to show their
wants, their condition and their prospects, with a view to engaging a
deeper interest and sympathy in their behalf. He addresses himself to
Churchmen, for they alone will fully appreciate the considerations which
he has to present. To them, and to them only does he believe the work
of restoring and strengthening those Churches to be committed, and they
alone are able to perform it.
As a specimen of the character of the works which he has thus under-
taken, and to supply information on a point upon which some will expect
to meet with it in this volume, the following is subjoined from a treatise on
the Doctrines, Ministry, Worship, Ritual, Usages and Religious Condition
of the Syrian Church,--which is partly ready for the press.
After speaking of the Worship of the Syrian Church, the work pro-
ceeds:
We pass now from the outer shell of the externals of religion to speak
of its kernel; from the forms of public worship we turn to doctrine.
And here the first object which attracts attention is the difference by
which the Syrians are separated from the great body of the Christian
Church, which has made them a distinct people for more than a thousand
years. I allude to their doctrine concerning the nature of Christ. What
they are in common reputation is evident from the names they bear.
They are most commonly called Jacobites' or Jacobite Syrians, from
1) This term is sometimes applied by Western writers to the whole body of the
Monophysites, including the Armenians, Copts and Abyssinians as well as the Syri-
ans.


PREFACE. V
nor have they any day set apart in honor of his memory. The Patriarch
once rebuked me for calling his people Jacobites, and said it was a term
given to them by their enemies. I have often heard it, however, among
the laity, especially as used to distinguish themselves from the seceding
party, and the firmans and other documents issued by Government gene-
rally, not always, contain it." The Latins do their utmost to fix it upon
them, while they call the seceding party Syrian Catholics. Both terms
seem to me unjust, the first because they themselves discard it, and be-
cause there seems to be no more propriety in calling them from the name
of Jacobus Baradaeus, than there would be in calling ourselves Parker-
ites ; the second because the Catholicity of the seceders consists primari-
--
ly in their acknowledgment of Papal supremacy. In these pages I calf”
the first Syrians, which is the name (Syriani) by which they are common-
ly known in the East. The seceders I call Syrian Papists, or Papal
Syrians, not from the desire to convey any reproach thereby, but because -
it indicates most precisely the leading difference between them and the
Church from which they have seceded. A Roman Catholic writer says,
that the Eastern Christians recognize in this the only difference between
themselves and the Church of Rome. “As for you [Roman] Catholics,
they [the Armenians, Nestorians and Jacobites, used to say to us,
‘ only one question divides us—obedience to the same chief. Prove to us
the necessity of this and a reunion will be effected.’” Nothing could
more clearly show the nature of Roman Catholic operations among the
Eastern Churches, and well might the people understand that that was
the only difference which is the only difference insisted upon. There is
no other term than Papist, then, which gives an exact idea of an East-
ern Christian who has seceded from his own Church to that of Rome.
I adopt it, therefore, simply as the most appropriate.
Thirdly, as to the term Monophysites, it seems to me clearly that the
justice of it must depend upon the real belief of the Syrians. Monophy-
1) This, however, has been brought about by the Latins in their controversies
with the Syrians, before the Porte.
2) Correspondance et JMemoires d'un Voyageur en Orient. Par Eugene Boré, I. 343.
—It does not appear from the author’s pages that he ever questioned the truth of this
remark, or gave these Christians to understand that it was farther necessary, in order
to become “Catholics,” that they should recognize the Councils which they reject,
and receive the faith of the Universal Church. And this is in exact accordance with
the teachings of Latin emissaries wherever, throughout the Turkish Empire the pres-
ent writer has witnessed any thing of their operations. The question of Papal su-
premacy is every where thrust forward and made all in all, and the Eastern Christians
universally understand by the word Catoleek simply and solely one who acknowledges
the Pope, Such, however, we must call Papists.


vi Prer ACE.
sitism is the name universally appropriated to the doctrine of Eutyches,
which the Syrians do not hold; in this sense, therefore, they are not Mo-
nophysites, and I think it must create both confusion and needless preju-
dice to call them so.
We proceed now to show what their real doctrine is. And,
1. They do not hold the doctrine of the absorption of the human
_into the divine nature, in Christ. This was the heresy of Eutyches
which was condemned by the Fourth General Council. The Syrians re-
ject this doctrine altogether, not only in their words, but in their standards,
and every Bishop, at his consecration, is required to denounce and anathe-
matize it.
2. They do not hold to the mingling or confusion of the two natures
in Christ, but discard the doctrine and speak most strongly and unequivo-
cally against it, as do also their ancient writers, Bar Hebraeus for example.
Thus I have frequently heard them use such comparisons as these—that
the two natures are not mingled, as we say that wine and water are
mingled; nor does the one pervade the other, as we say that leaven dif-
fuses itself through the lump.
3. To speak affirmatively, they distinctly and clearly hold that there
are two natures in Christ, the divine and the human, and that these two
natures are in the incarnation brought together in one, not mingled, nor
confounded, but united. But,
4. They say that the result of this union is most properly described
as one nature. Up to this point they seem to agree with us, but
here, in words at least, they differ. They do not, however, deny the truth
of our own doctrine—that the two are united in one person—but admit
it. Yet they say, this is not enough, for it does not sufficiently express a
real and indivisible union. To the whole of our second Article those to
whom I have shown it, cordially agree, but they think it stops short of the
full expression, and that it would more exactly describe their own doctrine
if the word nature were substituted for, or added to, the word person. Thus
they say that “the two whole and perfect natures were joined together in
one nature” as well as in one person. What now do they mean by this?
5. And here I will say that I have never been able to discover the
slightest difference between their meaning of the word nature, when
used to express the result of the union of the two natures in Christ, and
our meaning of the word person, when so used. I will not positively
affirm that there is no difference, (for this is a subject on which I feel
extremely diffident of my own judgment,) but I do say that I cannot
comprehend the difference, if it exists. After discussions almost innume-
rable with their Patriarch, Bishops and other clergy, (for it is a matter to


PREFACE. vii
which they frequently recur,) it does seem to me that what they wish to
assert by the oneness of nature in Christ, is precisely what we assert by
the oneness of person. Why, then, do they use a different term Be-
cause they imagine that the word person implies only an outward pres-
ence, as used by us, while the words one nature, with them, imply an
inward and real union, by which the one Christ is spoken of as a single
individual, from whom, as from one, all his words and actions proceed.
Thus they say, (to illustrate this union,) it was the same Christ who per-
formed miracles, and who ate and drank, in both actions the same in-
dividual Christ. Yet they acknowledge that some actions belong to him
as divine, others belong to him as human. For example, they assert, it
was Christ in his humanity who suffered upon the Cross; but to guard,
again, against the notion of a separation of natures, they add, the Christ
who suffered upon the Cross was divine, for he forgave the penitent thief
and promised him Paradise, and the Scriptures also say that God gave
his only begotten Son to die for us. They say, moreover, that generally
the actions of Christ are to be affirmed of him as one,—one by the indi-
visible union of the two natures. Thus they use illustrations like these,
which I have recorded from their own lips: It was Christ who asked
where Lazarus lay; it was also Christ who raised him from the dead. It
was Christ who was sleeping in the storm; it was also Christ who calm-
ed its rage. In each case appear by different acts his humanity and his
divinity. He inquired and he slept as man; he raised the dead and allayed
the tempest as God; for this he did, not as an instrument, like the Apos-
tles, but in his own power. Yet both the one and the other belong to the
single individual Christ. They condemn Eutyches for confounding these
two natures, and Nestorius for separating them, and they refer to the
writings of Cyril of Alexandria, especially his Twelve Letters against
Nestorius, as giving a true exposition of their doctrine.
They think that their mode of stating the union of the two natures is
necessary, in order to guard against the doctrine of their existing dis-
tinctly in the same person, or under the same outward presence, for so
they declare they understand the word person as here used. They sup-
posed our doctrine, or rather the Latin, for of us they had known nothing,
to be nearly the same with that of Nestorius, viz., that the two natures
act separately and independently of each other, as in two individuals.
They were, therefore, agreeably surprised with the definition of our sec-
ond Article, which declares that “the two natures were joined together in
one person, never to be divided, whereof is one Christ;” only they thought
that the word person (past), as used by the Latins, denoted alone the
-- *


viii PREFACE.
outward and visible appearance, and that to say merely that the two
natures are in one person, meant only that they coexist under one out-
ward presence. The statement, therefore, of our Article, that they are
joined together, and never to be divided, and that of this union is one
Christ, seemed to present to them a new view of the Western faith, as
recognizing, under the outward presence, the very union of natures which
they wish to affirm by calling the result nature instead of person. They
seemed never to have looked upon the one person of the Western Creed
as the result of the union of the two natures, but only as the external
form which inclosed or contained them. In other words, they were not
aware of our asserting an actual joining together of the two natures, but
only of their coexistence under one presence. Nor were they at first
willing to take this view of the Western Creed, when I pressed it upon
them, for it led at once to the conclusion that they had been separated
from the great body of the Christian Church for so many centuries cause-
lessly. On the contrary they at first endeavored to show that there must
be a difference, as this alone would justify their separation, but finally in
every instance they came to the conclusion, that if there was any, it was
too subtil to be apprehended. Thus, I was once called upon to act as
arbitrator between a Syrian Papal Bishop and two Syrian Bishops, who
met for a discussion of this subject—the nature of Christ. The conference
continued for three successive days, and at the conclusion the two Syrian
Bishops unanimously declared that they saw no real difference between the
Syrian and Western belief—that it was a mere logomachy—and that they
were ready to assent to and affirm the Western tenet as their own, and to
enter into intercommunion, so far as this was concerned, with the Western
Church. No other difficulty, they thought, remained with regard to the
Church of England and our own; but as for the Latin, they could not
acknowledge the Supremacy of the Pope. This is only one case out of
perhaps fifty which I have been acquainted with, all which seemed to
reach the same conclusion. I say, then, that there is great reason to
believe that the Syrians do not in reality differ from us on the nature of
Christ; and I may add, that the voice of history, to any one who will
carefully consider the circumstances attending the separation in Syria sub-
sequent to the Fourth General Council, must, I think, speak the same lan-
guage. [Upon the historical argument, however, I cannot here enter.] But,
6. The Syrian Church rejects and condemns the Fourth Ecumeni-
cal Council, and also Leo, the Bishop of Rome, whose Epistle was ap-
proved by the Council. Every Syrian Bishop, at his consecration, is
1) This argument is given in the work from which the present extract is taken.
º


PREFACE. ix
required to anathematize both him and the Council. They also defend
Dioscorus, who was condemned by the Council, but not Eutyches, as I
have said, nor his heresy. These they reject as strongly and clearly as
the Council itself. Why, then, do they not receive the Council nor its
Decrees? The reason, they say, is because it acted unjustly and violently
towards Dioscorus, who, they affirm, did not hold the heresy of Eutyches;
and they condemn Leo because, as they say, he was the principal insti-
gator of the proceeding against Dioscorus. Yet they do not pretend to
defend Dioscorus in his violent and intemperate proceedings at the Pseudo-
Council of Ephesus, A. D. 449. They do not approve of that Council
nor the object of Dioscorus in obtaining it, which was to effect a reversal
of the sentence against Eutyches, passed by the Council convened in Con-
stantinople the preceding year. They do not agree with Dioscorus in
his defence of Eutyches, but they affirm that he did not hold the same
doctrine with Eutyches, and that the action of the Council of Chalcedon
against him was excessively severe and unjust, since not for clear heresy,
but for a mere act of imprudence, which they also acknowledge him
to have been guilty of, he was condemned and deposed by a General
Council.
-*
The Syrian rejection of the Council, therefore, does not imply a dere-
liction from the faith, but rather (may we not hope 1) a mere dissatisfac--
tion with the Synod for certain alleged improprieties in its action, while -->
they agree with the Synod in the main object of its proceedings and in
the main action itself, which was the condemnation of Eutyches. The
Syrian Bishops before referred to, entirely approved the declaration of faith
put forth by the Council, and were willing, after reading it, (they had
never seen it or heard of it before,) to declare their assent to it, and also
to recognize the Council, with a single salvo concerning the treatment of
Dioscorus. The Syrians, I may add, receive, without any exception, the
first three General Councils of Nice, Constantinople, and Ephesus, and the
several minor Councils approved by the Council of Chalcedon. They
have also, and use daily, the Nicene Creed, and acknowledge the Apos-
tolical Constitutions and Canons. What more can we ask?
But I must conclude. On such a subject as this my every feeling
prompts me to speak with diffidence and caution. I have no wish for
hurried or forced amalgamations. I have no desire to depart one step
from the position—the truly Catholic position—which our Church main-
tains. But is there nothing in all this to inspire hope 7 May we not
with brighter confidence look forward to the day when strifes shall be
healed, and when the mystical Body of our Blessed Saviour, now rent,


x PREFACE.
distracted, torm, shall be again united in all its parts, and growing up into
Him in all things, shall make its increase to the edifying of itself in love 2*
Come, oh come, that glorious day, when animosities shall cease and faith
shall revive, when the love of many that has waxed cold shall burn again,
and truth, pure as she came from the Apostles' hands, shall unite us once
more in the “Apostles' doctrine and fellowship.” Amen and Amen.
1) Eph. iv. 15, 16. 2) Acts, ii. 42.


C O N T E N T S.
CHAPTER I.
Passage to Trebizond.—Credentials.-Unity of the Church.-Trans-
lations of the Prayer Book.-Their Utility.—Increase of Steam
Navigation.—Its Moral Consequences.—The Conservative Influ-
ence of Mohammedanism on Christianity.—Increase of Infidelity.
— Our Duty.— Trebizond.— Bouyouroultous.-Ecclesiastics.-
Turkish Reform.—Mohammedan Bigotry.—The Greeks.-Rela-
tions of the Clergy to Improvement.—Their proper Position.—
Greek and Roman Churches Compared.—Means of a peaceful
Reformation, . - - - - - - - - . 13
PAGE
CHAPTER II.
Departure from Trebizond.—Greek Bishop.–Timidity of the Clergy.
–Monastery of St. Mary.—Monasteries in Turkey.—Their State.
—Decline of Monasticism.—Character of the Monks.-Religious
Retreats.-Mountain Scenery.—Parting from the Bishop.—Local
Associations.—The Ancient Population.—Remnants of Christian-
ity.—Mussulman Descendants from Christians.—Languages.—
Natural Bridge.—Mountain Passage.—Company at a Khan.—
Gumush Khaneh.-Its Christians.—Posting—Routes.—Change
of Route, - : - - - - 26
CHAPTER III.
The Road.—The Osmanlees and the Turks.-Sunset Scene.—The
Ayan's Palace.—Reception.—Lesson on Hospitality.—Repose in
a Willage.—Kara Hissar.—Its Ancient Citadel.—Preparations for
a Journey.—The Plain of Ashkar.—Ancient Remains.—The
Greek Population of the Interior.—Face of the Country.—The
Day's Stage.—The Armenians—Their Dispersion.—National
Character.—Their Church.—Its Changes.—Its present State.—
Its Necessities, - - - - - - - . 37


xii CONTENTS.
CHAPTER IV.
PAGE
The Ayan of Edrenes.—The Church of Edrenes.—Churches in Tur-
key.—Contrast with Mosqu —Armenian Churches described.—
Altars.—The Font.—Women's Place.—Paintings.—The design
of Pictures in Eastern Churches.—The Greek.-The Armenian.
—Origin of Picture Worship in them.—Present State.—Their
Testimony upon the Subject.—The Greek.-The Armenian.—
The Syrian.—The Nestorian-Bearing of the Testimony upon
the subject of Picture Worship.–Importance of studying the East-
ern Churches for the sake of their Testimony.—The Steadfast-
ness of the Eastern Christians in maintaining their Confession of
Christianity.—The Cause.—Their low Estimate of it practically.
—Our Duty to them, 47
CHAPTER. W.
Departure from Edrenes.—Armenian Monastery.—The Road.—
Kurdish Tents.-The Occupants.—Kurdish Chief—His Recep-
tion.—His Life.—Presents in the East.—Eastern Character.—
Famine.—Espionage.—Emigrants.-Turkish Policy.—The Road.
—Dangers.-How to be met, . - - - - - . 59
CHAPTER WI.
Conflict with the Post-Master at Sivas.—Departure from Sivas.-
Escape of the Guide.—The Escort.—Day's March over an infest-
ed District.—Hassan Tchelebi.-The Kizzelbashes.—Travelling
by Night.—Reflections.—The Euphrates.—Evils resulting from
Changes of Rulers.—Kharpout.—First Sight of the Syrians.—Ar-
menian Monasteries.—Syrian Bishop.–The Syrian Population of
Kharpout, 71
CHAPTER WII.
The Village of Merizah.-Population of Syrians —Change of Cli-
mate.—Day of Preparation.—Kharpout.—The Town.—Churches.
—Fortress.—The Syrian Church of Kharpout.—The Court.—
The Interior.—Pictures.—Miracles.— The Altar.— The Bishop's
Chair.—The Font.—The Books.—Origin of the Church.-Its
History.—The Priest.—Journey resumed.—Place of Pilgrimage.
—Fish–Incident with a Christian.—Argana Maden.— Passage
of the Taurus.—Famine.—Dangers.-Preparations.—New Com-
panion.—The Tatar—The Monastery—Report concerning it.
—Death Abroad, . - - - - - - - - , 82


conte NTs. xiii
CHAPTER VIII.
PAGE
Departure from Argana-Our Company.—The Desert by Night.
—Meeting with Kurds.-Hostile Preparations.—The Event.—
Repose on the Grass.-Famine.—First Impressions.—Scenes from
the Famine.—Causes of it.—A Feast.—Hard Drinking.—Hard-
ness of Heart.—Outrage upon the Christians.—Mussulman Big-
otry.—Justice in Turkey, - - - - - - . 93
CHAPTER IX.
Respect for Franks.-Interposition in behalf of Eastern Christians.
—Greek Hospitality.—Visits from Ecclesiastics.-Relations of
the Native Papal Christians with Rome.—Meeting with an old
Friend.—False Reports and true Reports.—Our Company.—Kurd-
ish Village.—Escort.—Kurdish Bey.—Polite Robbery.—A use-
ful Lesson.—Loose Friends.-Delays.—Present State of Mardin.
—Decay.—Reaction of Reform, - - - - - . 105
CHAPTER. X.
Preparation for the Desert.—A sad Tale.—Arab Village.—Scene at
Evening.— Our Company.—The Desert at Night.—Nisibin, site
of ancient Nisibis.-Its present State.—Guard.—Route over the
Desert.—The Orphan.—Moral Effects of the Famine.—Indiffer-
ence of the Governors.—Journey by Night.—Depredations on the
Villagers.-Search for Water.—Salt Lake.—The Heat, . . 116
CHAPTER XI.
Encampment at Night.—Boar Chase.—Repast.—Night March.-
Search for Water.—The Sinjar Mountains.—Conflagration.—
Sudden Departure.—The Gazelle.—Robber's Watch Height —
Camel caught.—Road lost.—Peasants.-Their Timidity.—Its
Cause.—Abou Maria.—Retrospect.—Last Day.—Reception in
a Sheikh's Tent.—Reach the Tigris.-A Nap.–The City, . 125
CHAPTER XII.
The English Church at Mossoul.—State of the Christians.—Divi-
sions.—State of Learning.—The Nestorian and Chaldean
Churches.—History of their Separation.—Subjection of the latter
to the Pope.—The Nature of Romish Innovations, . - . 135


xiv Cont'ENTs.
CHAPTER XIII.
PAGE
The Tomb of Daniel—The Population of Mossoul—Syrian Villages
near Mossoul.—Localities of the Syrian Population.—Reflections
on my Work-Opposition of Papists.-Their Treatment of us.—
Need of a distinctive Presentation of the Church.—Departure from
Mossoul.—Self-Denial in the Missionary Work-The Pasha of
Mossoul.—His Expedition against the Arabs.—Preparation for
the Journey.—The Plain of Nineveh.—The Tomb of the Prophet.
—The Fast of Nineveh in the Nestorian and Chaldean Churches.
—Telkef—Monasteries of Raban Hormisd and St. Matthew.—
El Kosh, Birthplace of Nahum, the Prophet.—Comparison of
Christians and Mohammedans—Yezidees.—Arab Willage.—Ar-
rival at Zakho, - - - - - - - - . 147
CHAPTER XIV.
Zakho.—Its District.—Taxes—Evils of the Farming System.—Call
from the Agha.—A young Syrian.—Bankers.-Presents.-Guard.
—Provincial Quarrels.—Bridge over the Khabour.—Fording a
River by Night.—Chaldean Village.—Reception at Night.—
Sleeping on Roofs.-Hadid.—Bitouna.-The Province of Jezireh.
—Its Government compared with that of Mossoul.—Harvest.—
Chaldean and Nestorian Villages.—Town of Jezireh.-Reshid Pa-
sha and his Wars.-Attack on Jezireh.-Crossing the Tigris on a
Raft.—A Chaldean Host and Hostess.-Description of Jezireh.-
Chaldean Bishop.–Chaldean and Nestorian Population of the
Province.—Nestorian Bishop.–Syrian Bishop.–Papal Proselyt-
ism, - - - - - - - - - - . 162
CHAPTER XV.
Troubles in the Tour Dagh.-Change of Route.—The Churches of
Jezireh-The Chaldean Church.—Conversation with the Priest.
—His Idea of the English Church.-Romish Falsehoods.-The
Church.—Its Interior.—Quarrel in the Church-yard.—The Syri-
an Church.-Its School.—On the Mode of Circulating the Holy
Scriptures.—Evening Prayers.-Talk in the Evening on Oppres-
sion and Proselytism.—Departure from Jezireh-Death of a Mis-
sionary in the Desert.—Kargo.—Haznaour.—The Syrians of the
Desert.—The Bigamist.—His Excommunication.—Tediousness of
Travelling over a Desert.—The Church of St. James at Nisibis.-
Dara.—Its Ancient State.—Survey of its Ruins –Its Inhabitants.


CONTENTs. xv.
PAGE
—Road to Kherin.—Ancient Tombs.-Reception at Kherin.—
The Value of Selfish Friendship.–Departure.—Sight of Der Za-
fran.-Its Position.—Arrival at its Gate, . - - - . 174
CHAPTER XVI.
Reception at Der Zafran.—Interview with the Patriarch—Bishop
Matthew.—Second Interview.—Abyssinian Monk.—Syrian Mon-
asteries.—Schools—Hours of Prayers—Fasts.—Clerical Celibacy.
—Sunday Service.—Picture Worship.–Compline.—Vespers, . 194
CHAPTER XVII.
Visit to Mardin.—The Road.—Church of Mar Behnam.—Altars.—
Baptistry.—Churches of Mar Shimon and Mar Michael.—Legend
of Mar Michael.–Mar Behnam, his Conversion and Fate.—
Population of Mardin.—The Governor.—Dialogue on Fasting.—
Conversation on the Procession of the Holy Ghost.—The Syrian
Patriarchs.-Their Number.—“Church Annals.”—Passages from
them.—Topics of Conversation at the Monastery.—Misrepre-
sentations of the Western Reformed Churches.-Their Source.—
Character and Object of Romish Efforts among the Eastern Church-
es.—Our Position with relation to them.—The Church of Eng-
land.—How misunderstood.—Confounded with Errors which she
rejects.-Her Proper Mission.—The Library of Der Zafran.—The
Chapel of St. Peter.—Altar Stone from an Ancient Church at
Antioch-The Bell.—Conversations on the Nature of Christ.—
Visitors.-Character of Discussions at the Monastery.—Our true
Position.—Differences.—Our Duty, . 214
CHAPTER, XVIII.
Leaving.—Change of Route.—Farewell to the Patriarch.-Ride to
Mardin.—Illness.- Letters.- Popish Intrigues.— Continued Ill-
ness.—Transfer of Jezireh to the Pashalic of Mossoul.—Romish
Arguments.—Syrian Generosity.—Intrigue Defeated.—New Ser-
vant.—Fever and Ague.—Mussulmans at Church.-The Cross,
how regarded by Mohammedans.—Use of the Sign of it among
the Christians, . 232


xv. 1 contents.
CHAPTER XIX.
PAGE
First day's Journey—Visit to the Patriarch Elect.—Regulations con-
cerning the building of Churches in Turkey.—English Churches.
—The Patriarch Elect.— Pigeon Houses.— Diarbekir.— The
Church of St. Mary.—Visitors.-Fever and Ague on Horseback.—
Sleeping in the Field.—A Kind Mussulman.—Trouble at the
Ferry.—A hospitable Kizzilbash.-Visions of Home.—Warren |
Hastings.-C. J. Rich.-Sivas, - - - - - . 243
CHAPTER XX.
Leave Sivas.-Armenian Monastery.— Entrance to Tocat. —
Trouble with a Post-master.—Expense of Travelling in Tur-
key.—Henry Martyn.—His Grave.—Mussulmans of Tocat.—The
Mosques and Medressehs-Mecca.-The Armenians of Tocat.—
Their Church.-Other Christians.—The Jews.—Serious-minded
Christians.— Evil of the Church Services being unintelligible.—
Objections to translations for Public Use.—Turkish Honesty.—
Effects of Disease.—Leave Tocat.—Guard-House, . - . 255
CHAPTER, XXI.
Amasieh.—Incident at a Mosque.—Medresseh.-Mosque of Bay-
azid.—Mussulman School.—The Christians.—Population of the
Oriental Christians.—Leave Amasieh.-Ladik.-Singular Sights.
—How to act in Doubts.—Interposition of Providence.—Last
Stage.—Arrival at Samsoun.—Steamer.— Kindness of new
Friends.-Constantinople.—Quarantine.—Obligations to Dr. John
Davy.—Narrow Escape.—The End, . - - - - 265


N A R R A TIW E.
C H A P T E R. I.
Passage to Trebizond.—Credentials.-Unity of the Church.-Transla-
tions of the Prayer Book.-Their Utility.—Increase of Steam Naviga-
tion.— Its Moral Consequences.—The Conservative Influence of
Mohammedanism on Christianity—Increase of Infidelity.—Our Duty.
—Trebizond.—Bouyouroultous.-Ecclesiastics.—Turkish Reform.—
Mohammedan Bigotry—The Greeks-Relations of the Clergy to
Improvement—Their proper Position.—Greek and Roman Churches
Compared.—Means of a peaceful Reformation.
I LEFT Constantinople on the 7th of May, 1841, in the
Austrian steamer Metternich, Capt. Clicien. On account
of delay in visiting a steamer which had run upon the rocks
near Amastra, a small town on the shore, we did not reach
Sinope till the 9th. On the evening of the same day we
touched at Samsoun, and arrived at Trebizond on the 10th.
I had supplied myself with proper translations of the cre-
dentials which I had received from my own Diocesan, the
Right Reverend Benjamin T. Onderdonk, D. D., Bishop of
New-York, and from the Presiding Bishop, the Right Rev-
erend Alexander W. Griswold, D. D. By the first I was com-
mended to the Bishops and clergy of the countries in which
I was to travel, and by the second was faithfully instructed
2


14 WISIT TO THE
as to the rules and principles which should govern me in my
intercourse with the Eastern Christians. “In the intercourse
or correspondence which may be allowed you with the
Bishops and other ecclesiastical authorities, be careful to
state explicitly what are our views,” &c., “that we would
scrupulously avoid all offensive intrusion within the jurisdic-
tion of our Episcopal brethren, nor would we intermeddle
in their Church affairs. Our great desire is to commence
and to promote a friendly intercourse between the two
branches [Eastern and Western] of the one Catholic and
Apostolic Church; to impart to our brethren in that country
any knowledge of the Scriptures and of the doctrines of
Christ, which, through the Lord's goodness, we may have
obtained, and gladly to receive any such light from them.
We would unite hand in hand with them, in the great and
noble work of extending the Redeemer's Kingdom, and
saving the souls of men.”
Thus wrote the venerable Presiding Bishop, now gone
to his rest. May his words of wisdom sink deep into our
hearts, and be as a light and beacon to our path ! The reader
will see, as we advance, that my constant aim has been to
act in the spirit of this paternal counsel, which my own
humble experience has taught me to be the words of truth
and soberness.
Hardly less animating was the language of another, now
holding high office in the Church,' with which he cheered
the hour of my departure from my native land. “But who
realizes this truth [of the Church's unity] in its just magni-
tude? Isolated in little and often hostile clusters, the
Bishops of the one Church Catholic are known only as offi-
cers of their distinct communions, many almost as the winds
of heaven or the climes they blow upon. . . . . . Yet they are
* The Right Reverend W. R. Whittingham, D.D., Bishop of Mary.
land.


SYRIAN CHURCH. 15
one—as a tree is one with its thousands of leaves of divers
magnitudes and colors, and many branches, some crooked
and some dead, yet all parts of the same one tree, and all, as
parts of it, still one with each other. The original mission,
as in the tree the sap vessel from the root, is still propa-
gated in the various branches, and though in some little
or no vital juice may flow, connects them with the Fountain
and makes them one in Him.
ONE IN HIM! There is the life and power of the truth
which I rejoice that we are beginning in some faint degree
to realize. One in Him, our invisible and ascended Head
His word made us one. His word, whether we will or no,
still keeps us one. . . . . Let us go, then, to seek Him and point
Him out to those among the walks concealed. Their loss is
ours; for while they make no returns of love and zeal to
the common stock, we suffer by its want. Our faith dwin-
dles by their ignorance and deadness. The props of our
common home and shelter rot and fall away by their negli-
gence and corruption.”
With these animating counsels I took my departure. I
had also with me a few copies of the Arabic translation of the
Prayer Book, intending thereby, when occasion offered, to
make known the doctrines, ritual and worship of my Church.
And I may here say that I found it of the greatest service for
the purpose, presenting as it does in a single view the
order of our Ministry, the administration of the Sacraments,
the Fasts and Festivals, and the daily Service of the Church."
* This translation was prepared and published at the expense of the
Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, and is one of the many no-
ble monuments of their zeal for the cause of the Church and the truth.
Other translations, in most of the Eastern languages, are rapidly follow-
ing. The good which they are calculated to accomplish, in setting forth
the Church in its true character, in correcting the gross misrepresenta-
tions and slanders which have been circulated with regard to it, in pre-
senting a branch of the Universal Church Primitive in its Doctrines, its


16 Visit TO THE
*
-
In my passage to Trebizond I was much struck with the
increase of steam navigation in these countries since 1836.
There was then only one steamer to Trebizond ; there are
now four, while new lines have connected the capital with
Greece, Malta, Italy, Austria, France, England, Egypt and
Syria, to and from all which countries the traveller can go
and come the whole way by steam, and the Atlantic packets
extend the line unbroken to the continent of America.
The moral consequences of this linking together of the
Eastern and Western World, no human conception can
fully calculate. The Ottomans behold in it an example of
European activity and industry of which they had no idea.
They must awake to an imitation of it, or the commerce and
resources of their country will pass into other hands. The
Christian population are already awake. They see in it a
new bond of union with the nations of Europe. The ties
of a common religion are beginning to be felt. An earnest
desire for European protection every where prevails. East-
ern Christians are now wishing for their nations what in-
dividuals have long sought for themselves, the aid and
oversight of foreign Christian powers. The events of the
late war with Egypt, the ease and celerity with which the
power of a Pasha, whose name has been as terrible in the
East as Napoleon's once was in Europe, was destroyed by
a few ships and a fragment of an army from abroad, have
produced a deep and even an extravagant impression of
European skill and power. They have created a new de-
Ministry, and its Rites, yet pure and uncorrupted, and in imparting
sound and valuable religious instruction, can hardly be estimated too
highly. They are the first step towards a better understanding, a deeper
interest, and a holier influence. The good which they have already done,
under my own observation, is an ample return for all the labor and ex-
pense of preparing them. The Society is preparing translations into the
following Oriental languages—Greek, Arabic, Turkish, Amharic, or mod-
ern Ethiopian, and Armenian.


SYRIAN CHURCH. 17
sire to have that skill and power enlisted in their behalf.
The course of things is onward. European nations will
become more and more deeply interested in the East by the
increase of their trade, the colonizing of their people in the
marts of Turkey, and the visits of their men of science and
religion to those countries. Gradually, by the gentle pro-
gress of civilization and the arts, or more quickly by the
shock of some sudden rupture springing out of the compli-
cated relations of the states of Europe with the great Mo-
hammedan power of the East, Christianity will be freed
from her bondage of centuries, and the light of the West
will break in upon the Oriental World. Then will the
Churches of the East, remaining still in their present un-
prepared state, convulsed by the sudden blaze of free in-
quiry and unregulated knowledge, fall into pieces, of which
Infidelity will seize a part, Popery a part, Protestantism a
part, and a part will remain, the only surviving relic of the
ancient Church of Christ in the East. The work of Mo-
hammedanism is but imperſectly understood. Its influence
is not altogether destructive; it is in a measure preserva-
tive. While it degrades Christianity, it preserves it from
unbelief and schism. The Church of Rome has found in
it the greatest opponent of her designs upon the Eastern
Churches. The Turkish government has always looked
with disfavor upon the attempts to seduce its subjects to a
foreign ecclesiastical allegiance, and now secession is abso-
lutely prohibited." In like manner, the spirit of Moham-
medanism is averse to the free introduction of foreign sci-
* About eight years ago the Armenian Patriarch obtained from the
Porte a firman, requiring that every Christian should remain in the com-
munion to which he belonged. The design of the firman was to prevent
secessions from the Armenian Church to the Latin, but in a very recent
instance, within my own knowledge, another community of Christians
have availed themselves of its provisions, to force back certain of their
members who had seceded to Rome.


18 WISIT TO THE
ence, and thus, it has prevented those inroads of infidelity
which commonly follow upon a merely secular civilization.
The truth of this remark will be apparent if we look at those
portions of the Eastern Churches which are already deliv-
ered from the sway of Islamism, or which, from their posi-
tion, have felt something of the influence of the West upon
them. Among the Christians of Constantinople infidelity
has made and is still making rapid strides, while in the free
kingdom of Greece its progress is truly alarming. Both
there and here it is directly traceable to a European origin.
It is the result of that fondness for Frank manners, the
fashions and frivolities of Western life, and still more that
corrupt literature which flows in through the growing know-
ledge of the French. If we are under no other obligations
to the Eastern Christians, we are bound at least to cleanse
the streams which are pouring in upon them from our
Western world. If we are not ready to furnish them with
a sound religious literature, we are at least obliged to pro-
vide an antidote against those corrupting works which go
from us to them."
* Another cause of unbelief among the Eastern Christians is less di-
rect, but equally effectual, and I fear even more pernicious in its effects
than the other. It is, alas! in the Churches themselves. It is the igno-
rance, and, in some instances, the wickedness of the clergy, together with
the low state of religion, both among clergy and people. “Why should
I go to Church 1” said a Greek to me the other day; “the priests rob me
of my money. I can get nothing from them without a fee.” He was a
poor and ignorant man, but he had learned to look upon the whole busi-
ness of public worship as a mercenary system, supported by the clergy for
no better end than to sustain their own influence, and extort money from
the people. This kind of practical infidelity is perhaps more deeply seated
and more widely spread, than even the clergy themselves suppose. In a
more enlightened mind, that is, in one better instructed in human know-
ledge, it takes another form. The man, feeling himself above the super-
stitions so common among the multitude, and seeing them but too often
patronized by the clergy; observing, too, the haste and thoughtlessness,
and sometimes the indecorum with which the public services of religion


sy RIAN CHURCH. 19
But the highest argument for a deep and hearty interest
in their behalf is that to which I have already alluded. They
are unprepared for the light which is dawning upon them.
Religious truth does not keep pace with the progress of civ-
ilization and the influx of secular knowledge. And if the
time shall ever come, which seems indeed to be rapidly ap-
proaching, when the opposing power of Mohammedanism
shall be removed, and the flood-gates of the mighty stream
which is now rolling on from the West shall be lifted up, it
will be too late to stem or guide the torrent which will burst
in upon them. Eastern Christianity has not (with sorrow
we say it) energy and life sufficient to purify the flood of
corrupting influences which such a revolution would bring
upon it. It will be broken by the force of its irruption, or
it will sink beneath it.
It is not, then, by keeping aloof from the Eastern
Churches, as some would seem to argue, but by a wise and
active interference in their behalf, that we are to save them
from schism and ruin. No one would deprecate more ear-
nestly than I the adoption of a system either for openly sub-
verting or secretly undermining these venerable structures
of ancient days, but it is our duty as faithful servants of
Christ, as members of a true branch of His Holy Church,
to save them with God's blessing from the destruction which
is hanging over them, to re-kindle in them the light which
has become dim, and to strengthen the things which remain,
that are ready to die."
are performed; at the same time firmly believing with all the national fer-
vor of a Greek, that no Church is better than his own, beholding no spe-
cimen of one purer or more devout, and conceiving of Protestantism as
a system which degrades both the ministry and the sacraments of the
Church, comes at length to look upon all religion with contempt, as a mer-
cenary priestcraft or an empty form, unfit to hold the sway over free and
cultivated minds.
* Rev. 3: 2.,


20 VISIT TO THE
I spent one day at Trebizond under the hospitable roof of
the Rev. Mr. Johnston, a Presbyterian missionary of the
American Board. I am also indebted to the English Con-
sul, Mr. Suter, for his kindness in procuring for me a bou-
youroultou, or provincial firman, from the Pasha of Trebizond,
the same Osman whom I have described in a former journey."
These bouyouroultous are available only for the province in
which they are given, and the first duty of a traveller is to
obtain one when he comes to the seat of a Pasha. They
are worth more in the interior than a firman of the Sultan,
for the people and the inferior governors think more of their
Pasha than of the royal government at Constantinople,
whose sway and influence they feel only remotely and in-
directly. A Turk's patriotism or loyalty is generally con-
fined to the village or province to which he belongs. It is
rather a love of home than a love of country. Of patriotism
in the last sense he has hardly any idea, and his language
has no word to express it. The best, if not the chief use of
a royal firman in Turkey, is as a means of obtaining the
bouyouroultous or passports of the Pashas. They dare not
refuse protection when they see the royal cipher.
Trebizond is the seat of a Greek Archbishop and an Ar-
menian Wartabed.” At the time of my visit, there was a
conspiracy to remove the latter, and a Committee had gone
to Constantinople to intercede with the Patriarch for the pur-
pose. The charge against him was that he had been guilty
of mal-administration, especially in oppressing the poor, but
it was said that others were secretly opposed to him on
" Narrative of a Tour, &c., Vol. I. p. 153, Am. Ed.
* The Vartabeds among the Armenians are the unmarried priests,
from whom the Bishops are taken. They are almost precisely the same
with the Chor-episcopi (Xoperiakoto) or Country Bishops of antiquity.
They are properly Presiding Presbyters, occupying the seats of Bishops,
but performing no offices distinctively Episcopal. They are sometimes over
single churches, and sometimes over districts.


SYRIAN CHURCH. 21
account of his opposition to the education of the peo-
ple.
The Mussulmans of Trebizond are of the old school, and
virulently opposed to all innovation. Though only three
days distant from Constantinople, no serious attempts at re-
form had been made among them. The rulers said it would
produce an insurrection; others said that the rulers them-
selves were opposed to it. . The famous Khatti Sherif,
which was hailed in Europe as the Magna Charta of Tur-
key, had hardly been heard of in Trebizond, and the new
system of taxation, which was intended to relieve the peo-
ple from illegal exactions, had never been introduced there.
This was in a place only three days' sail from Constantinople.
One may judge from it what has been the success of reform
in more distant provinces.
One or two recent instances of Mohammedan bigotry
were related to me by credible witnesses. The Greek pop-
ulation had undertaken to erect a Church on the site of an
old one in a conspicuous situation, and had obtained a fir-
man for the purpose. The Turks, offended, as it was said,
at its prominence and elevation, took advantage of its being
a foot or two larger than the dimensions prescribed in the
firman, and razed it to the ground. The same population,
animated by a laudable desire for improvement, had erected
another building which they intended to make a Seminary
for Instruction of a high order. The Turks pretended that
it overlooked their houses, and pulled down the upper story
of it. Perhaps there was some truth in the reason which
they gave, and the jealousy, universal among Orientals, of
strangers looking into their domestic quarters, may really
have been one motive for the outrage. But in both cases,
there was evident that radical hatred of the Christians, that
jealousy of any improvement among them, that remorseless
readiness to persecute them upon the slightest provocation,
which is still and ever will be a feature of Mohammedan
2*


22 Visit TO THE
character. Just in proportion that we see it cease in partic-
ular instances, we see the character ceasing to be Moham-
medan. Where the religion has its full influence, as among
the religious orders, this spirit is in general as rife as it has
been since the early ages of Islamism, although its develop-
ments towards Franks are less bold and annoying than for-
merly,–a change which has arisen not from the decline of
bigotry, but from the decline of Turkish power, and conse-
quently the superior protection that Franks enjoy from the
representatives of their own governments.
It was pleasant to see the Greeks of Trebizond, though
but a small community, and laboring under the immense
disadvantages to which I have alluded, still alive to improve-
ment. This is in every situation one of the best traits in
their character, and one that affords high encouragement to
hope and effort in their behalf. As a people they have no
prejudices against education, but the most earnest and ar-
dent desire for it. The difficulty lies higher up among
the clergy, and there indeed it is serious and urgent. I
will not at present go into a subject which will draw me too
far from the course of my narrative, but I may say that it is
altogether a narrow and partial view of it, to suppose that
the apparent indifference of the Greek clergy to the improve-
ment of their people, arises solely from their opposition to
light and knowledge. This is doubtless true of some, while
of others it is the very opposite of truth." Many other
causes combine to produce the same result. The too gen-
eral ignorance of the clergy, especially of the priests to whom
the care of the people is most immediately committed; the
influence of Mohammedanism in depressing the energy of
* The late Patriarch, for instance, was a man of just and elevated
views with regard to the education both of the clergy and laity. He had
in hand, at the time of his death in 1842, extensive plans of usefulness,
which might have resulted in great and lasting good, if his own career
had not been suddenly terminated.


SYRIAN CHURCH. 23
the clergy and intimidating them into inaction, the want of
unity and mutual confidence among the Bishops, are all
powerful causes of the supineness which prevails. At the
same time it must be acknowledged that there appears in
some an evident unwillingness that the people should be in-
structed, especially in religious things—a fear that it may
tend to depreciate the influence of the clergy—and a con-
sciousness that it might strike a blow at the corruptions of
the Church, which are patronized more for their lucrative-
ness than for any serious attachment to them. The policy
is a suicidal one; for while the clergy sleep or oppose,
knowledge is coming in, mere secular knowledge unregu-
lated by religious teaching; the people learn more and more
to look upon the clergy with contempt; infidelity increases;
the priests regard the new learning with aversion, thinking
it to be the cause of the evil, which nevertheless their own
exertions, the proper exercise of the duties of their office,
might have prevented, and the people look upon them for
their opposition, as the foes of learning, the abettors of igno-
rance and superstition. The greatest benefit that could
now be bestowed on the Greek Church, would be to con-
vince the clergy of their error, to show them the fatal conse-
quences of the course which they are pursuing, and to lead
them to some active effort for the religious instruction of the
people. Many will doubt whether this can be accomplish-
ed, whether many of them are not too strongly wedded to
their system to abandon it for one which will lead them
into a path that can only end in the removal of the existing
corruptions, in a thorough change of the spirit and practice
of the Church. But it must come to this, that the clergy
must take the lead in reforming abuses, or at least put
themselves into a line which will ultimately bring them to
it; or they must expect to see the evil consequences of their
neglect, in a widely spreading unbelief on the one hand,
and a deadly schism on the other. There is no other alter-


24 WISIT TO THE
native. Knowledge will come, is coming. It will increase
more and more. No human power can prevent it; and if
they will not regulate it, correct it by sound religious teach-
ing, it will overthrow them. It will be in the East as it
was in the West, contentions and divisions in the Church,
separations from it, the formation of names and sects.
But there is good reason to hope that an evil so great in
itself may be prevented. The Greek Church is not as was
the Church of Rome at the time of the Reformation. It
does not hold the same errors; it is not pervaded by the
same abuses, or to the same extent. It has not the doctrine
of the Infallibility of the Church, or of the Papal supremacy,
or of Transubstantiation in a defined and settled sense, or
of Purgatory, or of the Mass in the Romish sense, or of In-
dulgencies, or of supererogatory works. It has not the prac-
tices of Communion in one kind, or of Private Masses, or of
Clerical Celibacy, nor the ceremonies of Processions, Adora-
tion of the Host, elevating it and carrying it about," which
in the Latin Church are the adjuncts if not the consequen-
ces of the doctrine of Transubstantiation. It does not re-
ceive the Apocryphal books as canonical, nor deny the pos-
sibility of Absolution without the intervention of the
Priest, nor determine the number of the Sacraments as sev-
en ordained by Christ, nor declare the good intention of the
clergy necessary to a valid and efficacious administration
of them, nor prohibit the reading of the Holy Scriptures to
the people, although unauthorized, and, as it was believed,
* There is a procession in the Greek Church, during the service of
the Holy Eucharist, in which the paten and cup are carried round in
the church by the priest and deacon, but it is done before the consecration
of the bread and wine; and there is an elevation of the sacred elements
after consecration, which is done by the deacon, simply as an act of invita-
tion to the people, and is accompanied with the words, “Draw near with
faith and godly fear.” Both are easily distinguishable from the Romish
customs to which I allude.


SYRIAN CHURCH. 25
sectarian translations have been, and are prohibited, and
there certainly are individuals who would restrict the read-
ing of the Scriptures to the original version of the New
Testament, and the Septuagint.
We may hope, then, that the Greek Church will rise
from its depressed condition, without the necessity of a vio-
lent reformation. It certainly may so rise, if the clergy do
not set themselves in opposition to knowledge, and a purer
practice, if they do not commit themselves to floating abuses,
and gather them up and weave them into a system, and
fasten them by creeds and canons upon the Church, as
Rome has done with her corruptions. It is encouraging to
know that there are many, even among the higher clergy,
who long for better things, and their influence will be the
more felt, the work of restoration will be sooner and better
done, if we of the West do not by our hasty zeal hurry it
into a rank and premature growth. If there has been on the
one hand much of painful opposition, there has been on the
other as much of injudicious action. Let us not be high-
minded, but fear.


26 VISIT TO THE
C H A P T E R II.
Departure from Trebizond.—Greek Bishop.–Timidity of the Clergy.—
Monastery of St. Mary.—Monasteries in Turkey.—Their State.—De-
cline of Monasticism.—Character of the Monks.-Religious Retreats.
—Mountain Scenery.—Parting from the Bishop.–Local Associations.
—The Ancient Population.— Remnants of Christianity.—Mussulman
Descendants from Christians.—Languages—Natural Bridge.—Moun-
tain Passage.—Company at a Khan.—Gumush Khaneh.-Its Chris-
tians.—Posting.—Routes.—Change of Route.
I LEFT Trebizond on the 12th of May, and reached Jev-
izlik, a small hamlet on the road, in six hours. On the
way we overtook a Greek Bishop, mounted on a slow-paced
horse, and preceded by a servant carrying his silver-headed
staff. His white beard and venerable appearance attracted
my attention, and I entered into conversation with him.
From my dress he seemed at a loss to determine who I was,
and answered my salutation with evident shyness. When I
told him that I was a Christian, he began to speak more
freely, and at length run on with all the garrulity of age.
He had supposed that I might be a Mussulman, and hence
the timidity of his first greeting. I have often witnessed
the same among the clergy of the interior, and have as often
been grieved by it as a sign and token of their state of
bondage. True, they are generally ignorant, and so far as
personal qualities are concerned, one can seldom find much
pleasure in their society. But who can forget that they are
the representatives of Christianity, and that they are what


SYRIAN CHURCH. 27
they are for their religion's sake? Who can avoid a feeling
of indignation and sorrow when he sees their servile and
cringing demeanor—of indignation at the tyranny which
has reduced them to such a condition, and sorrow at the
low estate of Christ's holy Church in the land of its captiv-
ity ? Alas! when shall the day of its rising and shining re-
turn ?
I soon proposed to leave the aged Bishop, because he
rode too slow for us. But he demurred, and said that he
would exert himself a little for the sake of our company. I
soon found that he was the Superior of St. Mary, a monas-
tery a few miles south of Jevizlik. He had been absent
some time in Russia and was just returning. I afterwards
learned that he was returning from exile, having been ban-
ished by the late Patriarch, and now restored by his suc-
ceSSOr.
St. Mary's is only one of three monasteries in this vicin-
ity, and I remember having heard of another near Trebi-
zond. St. Mary's has fifteen monks; a year or two before, it
had about forty; another, called Hedrilez, has twelve ; and a
third, called Khavan, has, I believe, none. All these monas-
teries are immediately subject to the Patriarch at Constanti-
nople, and of course independent of the Archbishop of Trebi-
zond. The same rule, so far as I have observed, holds with
regard to all the monasteries, Greek, Syrian, or Armenian, in
the Empire. They are independent of the Bishop of the Dio-
cese, excepting when he himself is resident in one of them,
and in this case he is the Superior. The number of monas-
teries in the Empire is greatly diminished in late centuries,
and seems to be still diminishing. The causes have been
war, famine, civil oppression, the increasing poverty and
decreasing population of the Christians. There is also
much less zeal than formerly for the monastic life. There
are fewer disposed to enter it, and the people are less dis-
posed to sustain them in it. This arises chiefly from the


28 VISIT TO THE
decline of learning and piety. The monasteries are no
longer the chief seats of knowledge, and the fame of their
sanctity has departed. The people are alienated by the
idle and sometimes by the wicked lives of the monks. But
this picture is not universally, I am inclined to believe not
generally, true. Some of the monasteries are in better re-
pute both for piety and learning, though none of them are
distinguished in the latter particular. The monks'are often
simple-minded and innocent men, but almost always narrow
in their views, their thoughts and their feelings, grasping
no wide range even of theological knowledge, and pro-
foundly ignorant of the world. They say their prayers, till
their grounds, eat, drink, and sleep. A few of the monas-
teries have a great reputation for sanctity, not from the
character of their inmates, but from the possession of some
relic which makes them places of vast resort. These and
a few others are rich. Some of them have valuable endow-
ments of lands, which are looked upon as the patrimony of
the Church, and a considerable portion of the revenues of
the Patriarchs come from them. Thus the Greek Patri-
arch of Constantinople receives from the monasteries of
Wallachia alone, the sum of 1,500,000 piastres, or about
£15,000, annually.
There seem to have been in former times favorite local-
ities, chosen either from the nature of the country, on ac-
count of the abundance of a neighboring population, or for
some religious association, where monasteries were erected
in great number and where the lonely ascetic built his retired
cell. Such is the country south of Trebizond. Abounding
in the gifts of nature, covered with the wildest and sub-
limest scenery, presenting here and there lofty heights inter-
spersed with fruitful vallies, it was once the abode of hundreds
of those who had retired from the world to seek in contem-
plation and prayer, and secret toil, a nearer access to God.
The traveller still descries here and there, besides the distant


SYRIAN CHURCh. 29
monasteries whose place alone is visible, marked by some
towering height, solitary chapels perched on rugged points
of rock and looking-like the retreats of world-forsaking her-
mits. We noticed three of this description during our first
day’s ride, and the Bishop pointed out to us a mountain-peak
covered with snow, behind which, he said, was the monas-
tery of St. Mary. The others lay, one to the north, and the
other to the southwest from Jevizlik.
Turning short to the right when we reached this hamlet,
we entered the valley of the Yer Keupru (Earth Bridge).
There are two roads, one leading to the left over the barren
heights of Kara Kaban, the other to the right through the
valley, Lone the summer, the other the winter road. As the
mountains were not yet open, we chose the latter, which soon
led us amidst scenes of great natural beauty. The forest
trees were putting on their new dress, and the rays of the
sun darting through their thick foliage revealed to the eye
their fresh and lively green. Sometimes the lofty over-
topping mountains could be descried through the openings
in the woods, and at others we plunged into cool and shaded
thickets, enlivened by the music of numberless rills gushing
from the mountain side.
Our venerable friend, the Bishop, parted from us at Je-
vizlik, where our roads separated. I felt for a moment an
emotion of sadness as I thought of the different ways before
us. Ere nightfall he would be reposing in the quiet of his
monastery; while I was just starting upon a long and tedious
journey, little knowing the things that should befall me, or
whether I should ever return. Basil, my Greek servant and
the only companion of my journey, begged the good man to
remember us in his prayers. He promised to do so, and
commenced his kind offices by giving us his benediction as
we parted.
We spent the night at the little village of Campanos, or
perhaps it was only a cluster of Khans, for we arrived too


30 WISIT TO THE
late and left too early to survey the place. More than arises
from the beauty of Nature's scenery is the interest which
this region excites in the traveller's mind from its association
with the famous retreat of Xenophon, and the romantic dukes
of the Comneni driven from the imperial throne of Constan-
tinople, and founding a new monarchy on the farther shores
of the Euxine. Hardly less is the interest which one feels
in it as an ancient home of the Greeks. After enjoying all
the day the thought of winding through the same vallies by
which the leader of the Ten Thousand conducted his gal-
lant band,' I could not but inquire within myself, as we sat
down upon our carpets at night before a roaring fire in a
smoke-blackened khan, whether the two or three rough fel-
lows who were preparing our coffee or waiting to partake of
it, were veritable descendants of the Greeks of former days.
My interest in them was a little dampened by our guide's
coming in and announcing that one of the children who had
been employed to lead about the horses, according to the
eastern custom after a journey, had run away with the bri-
dle. I told his father, who was one of the men present, of
his misdemeanor, and saw with surprise the coolness with
which he received the information of his youthful son's de-
linquency. He thought it strange, very strange, that the
boy should carry away the bridle, but really he did not be-
lieve that we could find him if we should hunt for him.
It was some consolation for the loss of the bridle to
know that the thief and the thief's father were Mussulmans,
for though dishonesty does not look well in any one, it
always grieves me most to see it in a Christian. It is a
common saying among the Persians, that it is right, lauda-
* The identity of the route with that of the Ten Thousand was first
suggested to me some years ago by James Brant, Esq., H. B. M. Consul
at Erzroum, who well said, that as the army of Xenophon passed in win-
ter, it could only be by this road, which is the only one by which Trape-
zus (Trebizond) is accessible at that season.


SYRIAN CHURCH. 3|
ble, and religious to cheat a Frank, because that in this
way an unbeliever is injured and advantage comes to a fol-
lower of the true faith. Whether it was by some such
logic as this, that the Mussulman at Campanos satisfied his
conscience for the possession of our bridle, I do not know,
but as he appeared sufficiently intelligent in other things,
I gave him a cup of coffee instead of driving him away, and
gradually drew from him all that he knew about the coun-
try. The people, he said, are not of the Laz race, although
they are often called by that name. This appellation prop-
erly belongs only to a distinct people farther to the East,
who have a language peculiar to themselves, and are heathen.
Their tongue is not understood by the people hereabouts,
whose language is Greek and their religion Christianity or
Mohammedanism. The majority in this immediate vicinity
are Christians, but we may judge from their having the
same language with the Mussulmans, that the latter also
are descendants of the ancient Greeks. The change in
their religion is owing doubtless to the persecutions which
the Christians formerly endured from the Mohammedans, to
escape which some abandoned their faith and embraced the
religion of their masters. The same is true of the Mussul-
mans in many other parts of the country; they are descend-
ed from a Christian ancestry, who forsook their religion in
times of persecution. Mussulmans of this sort often retain
not only a traditional recollection of their ancestors, but
even a respect for the religion of their fathers, which they
sometimes carry so far as to practise its rites. Thus the
Mussulmans of Mesopotamia, many of them, acknowledge
themselves to be descendants of the old Assyrian or Chal-
dean Christians, and retain to this day a reverence for the
ancient faith."
* There is also a district east of Trebizond, where there are one thou-
sand families of Mussulmans, who are descendants of Armenians, and still
speak their language.


32 Visit TO The
The mass of the population between Trebizond and
Gumush Khaneh, appear to be of the same sort, descend-
ants of the Greek stock, though now divided into Mussul-
mans and Christians. The effect of persecution is singu-
larly visible in some parts of the region, where those who
profess to be Mussulmans, adhere in secret to the religion
of their fathers. There are several hundreds of this de-
scription in the city of Trebizond, where they are commonly
called Croomlees, from the district whence most of them
come. Though classed as Mussulmans and practising cir-
cumcision, they baptize their children, receive the sacra-
ment of the Eucharist, and entertain priests in their houses.
All this, however, they do secretly, while in public they
wear the white turban of the Turks, and call themselves Mus-
sulmans. Their demeanor, by which they are most readily
known, is said to be even more timid than that of the Chris-
tians, living, as they do, in constant fear of detection and
punishment. Their prevarication in openly professing Is-
lamism, while they secretly deny it, is not to be so severely
condemned as such an act would be among us, for if, on
the one hand, it is, in any circumstances, a fearful sin to
hold the faith of Christianity and yet not to confess Christ
before men ; it is, on the other, matter for wonder, that
Christians so destitute of instruction should retain, at an
imminent hazard, even the least vestige of their religion.
Besides, the priests who administer to them the Sacrament,
allow them to remain in this state of delusion, and there-
fore their own sin, we may hope, is less, if, indeed, they
have any consciousness of it. Are there none among our-
selves who, denying, as they now do in their lives, the Lord
that bought them, would, in such an hour of temptation,
fall entirely away ? It is not for me to judge, but it were
well for such to reflect, whether at the last shall receive
the greater condemnation, the unenlightened Christian on
the shore of the Euxine, or the worldly-minded Christian
on the heaven-illumined soil of England or America.


34 VISIT TO THE
peasant that we met, with instructions to leave him at our
last night's lodging-place. To reward the man for his ser-
vice our guide told him that he might ride when he was
tired,—an arrangement from which he was likely to derive
but little benefit, as the animal would hardly go with lead-
ing. The guide himself, however, had no better alterna-
tive, as he was compelled to go all the rest of the way to
Gumush Khaneh, twenty-five miles, on foot.
We got through the operation of going down stairs in
safety, and pursued our way to Zohana, a cluster of khans,
where after much ado we obtained a breakfast of coarse bread
and yo-oort." The place was abandoned by all but a few
old stragglers, who lingered there until the route over the
mountains should be opened, when this valley road, being
somewhat longer, is deserted for the summer. We wished
to have stopped here, but as the winter stock of fuel was ex-
hausted, and we were drenched to the skin by a shower of
rain which we had encountered in the mountains, we were
compelled to move on to Adaseue, two hours farther on our
way. Here, instead of a group of khans, was only one,
and that was crowded by a throng of hungry men and horses
driven in by a fresh shower of rain, in the midst of which
we arrived. There was nothing to eat, but fortunately
there was a little fuel left, with which we made a fire, and
then seated ourselves to dry. The rest of the company,
who seemed never to have thought of so simple a way of ac-
complishing the object, took advantage of it when it was
made, with all the alacrity with which men avail themselves
of a new idea. To finish our breakfast begun at Zohana,
we prepared our coffee, and, as is usual on such occasions,
every one who thought himself respectable enough drew
near to partake of it. My custom at such times is to be lib-
* I write the word as it is pronounced; the thing is sour curd made
from milk—a wholesome and refreshing food for travellers.


sy RIAN CHURCHI, 35
eral, as the gift of a cup of coffee in a company of this sort
is a sure way to make friends, and entitles one to the privi-
lege of asking questions. But, unfortunately, the number of
those who thought themselves respectable was very great,
and our coffee-pot held only two Turkish cups full, one of
which Basil brought to me, and the other, which I supposed
was going to a Mollah opposite, he poured down his own
throat, in consideration of his having, as he afterwards said,
the first right after his master. Before the mighty coffee-
pot could be replenished the fire had gone out, and there
was no more wood. The expectant company waited till
they saw the apparatus going back into the saddle-bags,
when they arose and dispersed as silently and solemnly as
they came. We made no friends at the khan, and instead of
the showers of “God give you prosperity,” and “May your
journey be propitious,” which would have followed a cup of
the favorite beverage, we mounted our horses and rode away
in a dead silence.
The rest of the way to Gumush Khaneh was along the
side of a stream of the same name. We lodged at a khan
on the road and reached the town the next morning.
About three hours from the place we passed a monastery
situated in the hills above the route we were travelling, and
was told by the people that there is another fifteen hours to
the S. W. We saw also two more chapels like those before
described, and discovered some real ruins of old fortresses
perched on almost inaccessible heights.
Gumush Khaneh looked better than at my first visit in
1837. The gardens below the town were gay with all the
luxuriance of an early vegetation. Among the trees I no-
ticed the pear, the apple, the almond and the walnut, and
the lilac among its flowers.
I had nothing to detain me in the place but the tardiness
of the Governor in providing horses, which he said were
always ready, but which, in our case, did not make their


36 VISIT TO TIIE
appearance till the next morning, and then were taken by
force from some poor villages near the town. For being
always ready in this remarkable manner he proposed to
charge treble for the horses, which I consented to do if he
would find it in the post-order."
There are four Greek churches and one Armenian in
Gumush Khaneh, but no Bishop resident. The place
belongs to the diocese of Trebizond. Most of the Christians
are miners, and as the mines have nearly failed, numerous
families are reduced to a state of utter destitution.
" Post-orders (menzil emri) are given to travellers in Turkey, who
choose to travel with post-horses. Those issued at Constantinople bear
the Sultan's cipher, and specify the number of horses that the traveller re-
quires, and sometimes the post-rates, which were formerly fixed, but now
vary from one to two and a half piastres, in different parts of the empire.
The traveller pays in advance at each post-house from one to two and a
half piastres (two pence to five pence sterling) for each horse per hour, the
hour being a measure of distance, about three miles.
**


38 VISIT TO THE
advised at Keklit to take a guard on account of a recent
robbery on the road, and did so; but instead of meeting
with blood-thirsty men, we were regaled all the way with
the songs of myriads of nightingales. I thought I could see
as we advanced westward the gradual change, which is
more evident at long distances, from the rough and original
Turkish character which prevails in the Eastern provinces,
to the more humane traits of the Mussulmans of Asia Minor.
The contrast in this respect between Erzroum and Tocat
is very striking, but whether it arises from a radical differ-
ence of races, or from those farther West being more affected
by the somewhat civilizing influence of the capital, I cannot
say. Certain it is that the races are different, and that of
the Osmanlees appears to be superior to any other. The
contempt which they have for the Turkish races to the East
shows their own sense of this superiority.
At sunset on the second day we found ourselves about
eighty miles from Gumush Khaneh, in the midst of a fine low-
land country and near the habitation of the Ayan, or governor,
of the district. Our guide told us that he had from fifty to
sixty villages under his control, and spoke so largely of his
hospitality that I determined to partake of it. His house
was a prominent object in all the country around, standing
alone upon an eminence in the midst of the vale, and looking
like a palace in comparison with the log-cabins which we
had every where seen since leaving Gumush Khaneh. The
day was declining, the herds were coming in over the lea,
the boys and girls about the villages were letting loose the
lambs that had been kept in confinement at home, now to
meet their dams and to receive their evening repast. It
was pleasant to see how every little one went bleating about
till it found its mother, and how every mother seemed grate-
ful and happy when she recognized her young. And then
what capering and frolicking and shouts of laughter, when
the youngsters of the village attempted to separate them for


SYRIAN CHURCH. 39
the purpose of returning the lambs to the fold and driving
back the flock to the pasture. Nothing was to be heard
besides their merry laugh and the distant baying of dogs.
The air was calm and still, and the smoke went straight up
from the chimney of the Ayan's palace, giving promise of
good cheer within. It was that quiet repose of nature which
sinks so gently into the traveller's heart, and repays him at
sweet eventide for the toil and labor of the day. How
often have troubled feelings been soothed and loneliness
cheered by sights and sounds like these ! And what stores
of pleasant pictures have been treasured up to beguile
weary hours with grateful recollections of the past !
We approached the Ayan's house, rode up the little hill
on which it stood, and stopped before the door. The build-
ing was not so imposing at close view as it had been in the
distance. The walls were of earth, after the fashion of the
houses in Persia, and the only opening in them was the door
before which we stood. I sent in Basil with my selam, and
a respectful request for a night's lodging. He soon returned
with the information that the house was full. The guide whis-
pered that such an excuse was never made when the guests
were acceptable, but that doubtless the Ayan had no particu-
lar desire to accommodate strangers and Christians. Basil
added that the answer was conveyed to him in a very angry
and unbecoming manner. I did not like the tone of it, and
still less the act which almost immediately followed. While
we were considering what was to be done, a young man
came out, whom, from the style of his dress, I took to be
the Ayan's scribe. He stood at the door and began to
abuse the guide for bringing guests to the house. The
poor fellow did not answer a word, and I undertook to re-
ply for him by a lecture on hospitality. The young man
listened in silence, and I went on to tell him that the lan-
guage which he had used was dangerous for the Ayan, that


40 Visit To The
I had in my pocket a bouyouroultou from his master the
Pasha of Trebizond, with which I could compel him to ad-
mit me if I pleased. At this the young man lowered his
tone, and humbly protested that the house was full, that if I
pleased I might enter and examine every room. I told him
that I had no wish to intrude, and that if he had given me a
civil answer in the first place, I should have gone on my way
without saying a word. He then went in and immediately
returned with a bit of paper with the Ayan's seal upon it.
This he gave to the guide, telling him that by showing it in
the next village, we should receive every thing that we needed
for man and beast. As night had now set in, and the guide
did not know the road, I asked for a servant from the Ayan
to show us the way. The young man demurred, but I in-
sisted upon it, and told him that if he gave me any more
trouble, I would report the matter to the Pasha. This
brought him again to terms, and he ordered a servant to ac-
company us.
It was now quite dark; the evening was chilly; we had
been in the saddle ten hours without dismounting, and had
been drenched by one of those afternoon showers which are
of almost daily occurrence at this season, and which pour
like a torrent upon the traveller. Our way was over a low
meadow ground, cold and damp, and the village, which the
young man had said was close by, proved to be nearly an
hour distant. I attempted to beguile the way by talking
with the servant about his master, and I was not a little
surprised and amused to find that the young man whom I
had taken for a scribe, was the Ayan himself. Perhaps I
should have been more sparing of my advice if I had known
it at the moment, but as he was a very young man, and evi-
dently had not yet learned good manners, doubtless it was
best that he should hear the whole, and his age at least gives
hope of improvement.


syri An Church. 41
Every body was abed when we reached the village. We
called up the kiahya' and showed him the seal. He began to
protest that there was no fodder for the horses, no accommo-
dation for us, and seemed inclined to push us on to the next
village. But this would not do, for I was now stiff with cold,
the night was dark, and the guide having left the post-road
to reach the Ayan's house, did not know how to regain it. I
told the kiahya, therefore, that if he would make no trouble,
I would not use the seal, but would pay him fairly for every
thing which he might bring us. This simple proposal
changed at once the aspect of things. The village, only a
moment before entirely destitute, was by the magical sound
of money converted suddenly into a granary of barley and
straw; there was a nice room ready for us, wood for a fire,
and plenty to eat. The gruff, sleepy kiahya became all
activity and cheerfulness. Even his wife rose at the sound,
and recommenced the culinary operations but just now sus-
pended. A fire was soon blazing in the apartment, carpets
were spread, and master and servant and guide were
stretching themselves to dry. I would not suffer the Ayan's
boy to go back, but made him sit down and partake of our
cheer. His master would repent, he said, of having sent
him, for he had not another like him to present the pipe
and play the fiddle. According to his report the Ayan spent
a great part of his time in hunting. Two noble hounds
had accompanied us from the house, and were now com-
fortably crouched at his side looking over their paws at the
fire. The host's reception verified his promises, and my re-
quital the next morning verified mine. A He was a Mussul-
man, and his green turban marked his descent from Moham-
med. Yet we conversed kindly and parted fair friends,
with many wishes that we might meet again. It is some-
* A village officer, part of whose business it is to provide lodgings for
travellers.


42 VISIT TO THE
thing to conquer the prejudices of a Mussulman, and to
make him think better of Christianity by making him think
well of a Christian.
The approach to Kara Hissar, fifty miles from Sheiran, is
one of extraordinary beauty. The town stands on an ele-
vated ridge or neck, extending from the mountains on the
right, and terminating in a tall, solitary rock on the left of
the town. For miles Eastward the slope is covered with the
richest gardens abounding in every kind of fruit suited to
the climate—the apple, the pear, the peach, the walnut, the
mulberry, and plums of various sorts. The town contains
about 1000 houses, inhabited chiefly by Mussulmans, but the
Armenians and Greeks are sufficiently numerous to have
each a Church. On the summit of the rock, which on one
side towers above the town, and on the other lords it over
the valley below, stands the ancient fortress which gives the
place its name. It is evidently one of those old structures
supposed to belong to the middle ages, and which were erect-
ed by the Genoese when their trade penetrated the far East,
and lines of fortresses were built for the security of traffic.
I found in one part of it the remains of a Church, and in
others wells and cisterns, intended evidently to supply it with
water. The old wells were nearly gone, but the gateway
remained, and over it was the device of the two-headed
eagle. In another part was a subterranean room, called by
the people the Dungeon.
When I left Gumush Khaneh I had intended to strike
down from Keklit to the Euphrates, but the country to the
South of Keklit was infested with predatory Kurds who had
risen in rebellion, and had ravaged the country to the very
gates of Erzingan. I was therefore compelled to turn off
Westward to Kara Hissar. Here I made another attempt
to go Southward, but was again defeated, the Governor of
Kara Hissar declaring that he would afford me no aid for
such a journey. He advised me rather to go direct to


syRIAN CHURCH, 43
Sivas, though that route also was accounted dangerous.
But here he was very prompt and kind in providing every
security in his power for my journey. He ordered a Ka-
vass' to attend me to Edrenes, the first town on the road,
and gave me a letter to the Ayan of that place, requiring
him to furnish two armed men to conduct me to Zara, the
first town in the Pashalik of Sivas. To this he added
another letter addressed to a Kurdish chief under his juris-
diction, living in the mountains six hours beyond Edrens,
directing him to provide two men more, to accompany me
with the others as far as Zara.
We started on the 18th about noon, and arrived that day
at Gheuz Keui, (Eye village,) on the border of the great
plain of Ashkar, five hours from Kara Hissar. The next
morning we crossed the plain to Edrenes, which lies on the
opposite side. This plain is another of those broad levels
extending among the hills, which give support to a large
population, and are the sources of plenty and wealth to the
neighboring districts. That of Ashkar is twenty miles in
length, and is marked by no less than seventy-five villages,
under the government of the Ayan of Edrenes, who is sub-
ject to the Mutselim” of Kara Hissar, who is subject in his
turn to the Pasha of Trebizond, who is subject again to the
Sultan. Below this long line of officers are the Aghas, or
chiefs of villages, who have also under them, Kiahyas, or
chiefs of quarters, and even these have their deputies. The
plain of Ashkar seems to take its name from a place East of
Edrenes, where the people say once stood a great city. I
had not time to visit it, but from their description of the re-
mains, I judged it to be another of the Genoese fortresses,
an outpost probably of the great route above. The people
* An officer attending upon Turkish Pashas and Governors, and
European Ambassadors at the Porte, and Consuls.
* Governor of a city and its dependencies. He is generally below
the rank of Pasha.


44 VISIT TO THE
said that there were massive ruins still to be seen, and graves
sixty asheun long." The place is still occupied by a few
poor families. In Gheuz Keui there were ten Greek fam-
ilies; but not so many more in the whole district. The
Greek population almost entirely ceases South of the lati-
tude of Erzroum, and East of the longitude of Tocat. It is
confined for the most part to Asia Minor and the coast of
the Black Sea, where were also its ancient homes. There
is only one Greek Bishop beyond the same limits, and he
resides at Ergin on the Euphrates, in Western Kurdistan,
and sometimes at Kabban Maden, on the road from Tocat to
Diarbekir. His jurisdiction extends over all the country
from Kara Hissar to Bagdad, and from Kaisariyeh (Caesarea
in Cappadocia) to the borders of Persia, and I presume
that in the whole of his diocese there are not 5000 Greeks.
The inhabitants of the plains of Ashkar are chiefly Ar-
menian, and those of Edrenes exclusively so. Here they
have a Church, and a population of about 500 souls; and,
probably, their whole population, upon the plain alone, is not
less than 4,000. This singularly industrious and frugal
people are to be ſound in all parts of the empire; from the
Caucasus to the Nile, and from the Danube to the Persian
Gulf; and every where they are the same, with those varia-
tions only which differences of occupation, of climate, and
of local government, tend to produce. Simple and indus-
trious; quietly bearing the yoke which the Greeks are so
restive under; given to the honest and useful arts of life,
seeking gain wherever they are, and, for the most part, care-
—fully-preserving it; docile and sober-minded; they are much
more akin to the Turks, both in character and manners,
than any other of the Christian races. Driven out from
their patrimony, or enticed from their ancient lands by the
* An asheum is about 30 inches. The graves would then be 150
feet !


SYRIAN CHURCH. 45
desire of gain, they are to be seen in almost every district
and every city; in Asia Minor, in Kurdistan, in Mesopota-
mia, in Syria, in Egypt, in Turkey in Europe, in the pro-
vinces North of the Danube, and beyond the boundaries of
the empire, in Austria, Russia, Persia, and Hindostan.
Every where in Turkey they are the great producers, whether
they till the soil or engage in traffic. They are the bone
and sinew of the land—at once its most useful and most
peaceful citizens. Were they removed from Turkey, the
wealth and productive power of the country would be in-
calculably diminished."
No less interesting are they in their ecclesiastical cha-
racter, by which I mean their moral dispositions, and the
state and character of their Church. Separated from the
Greek Communion by their rejection of the Fourth Ecumen-
ical Council, they have retained in some respects practices
peculiarly primitive; while by their commingling with so
many different nations, they have, in other respects, singu-
larly departed from their own ancient standards.” No com-
munion of Eastern Christians has been so much affected by
changes from without ; and in none has so large a schism
been created, unless we are to except the Chaldean Church
of Mesopotamia, which has almost entirely acknowledged
allegiance to the Pope. But the whole number of members
in this Church does not much exceed one-third of the Ar-
* Their character and habits are thoroughly Oriental, but in their in-
dustry and spirit of acquisition, they present rather a contrast than a re-
semblance to the Turks. -
* One instance of an ancient custom of the Eastern Churches, which
no other has retained, is the observance of the Nativity and the Epiphany
of our Saviour on the same day, the 6th of January. An instance of de-
parture from the ancient standards is seen in the practice of counting
seven sacraments, which is common among their clergy, whereas their
Church does not recognize seven, and for one at least, extreme unction,
has no rite or service whatever.
3*


46 VISIT TO THE
menians who acknowledge the supremacy of the Pope."
The schism is greater in the Chaldean Church in its ratio,
but less in its aggregate.
The peculiar docility of the Armenians, and their disposi-
tion to learn, lays them open to influences from without, and
makes it more easy to inculcate either good or evil among
them than among any other body of Eastern Christians.
They have also received from Rome most of their religious
literature for many years past, and this has gradually in-
fused the taint of Romish theology, so that many of their
clergy speak in the language of Rome, without understand-
ing that they contravene the standards and practices of their
own Church.” The antidote were as easily applied as the
poison. What they most need is a sound religious literature,
presenting doctrine in a primitive manner, and not after the
speculative and scholastic modes which prevail among us;
recognizing thoroughly the primitive institutions of the
Church, and turning them to their proper use; not condemn-
ing practices which are ancient, but relieving them of their
abuses; cheerfully inculcating duties which are now per-
formed, but restoring to them their religious sense and life;
making what is perfunctorily done, by the blessing of God a
living means of grace; setting forth the duties of the Chris-
tian life, its interior graces, its self-denial and its perfect
obedience. Such a work were worthy of our labors and
our prayers—but who is there to perform it ! It is needed
to save the Armenians from schism, to strengthen the things
that remain, to build them up in their most holy faith.
* “The Catholic Almanac and Laity's Directory,” a Roman Catholic
publication, under the supervision of the Roman Catholic Bishop in Bal-
timore (U. S. A.), states the number of Chaldeans conjecturally at 15,000
and the number of Papal Armenians at 40,000.
* Most of the doctrinal and religious books which have an allowed cir-
culation among the Armenians are from the Armenian presses of Venice
and Vienna.


SYRIAN CHURCH. 47
C H A P T E R IV .
The Ayan of Edrenes.—The Church of Edrenes.—Churches in Turkey.—
Contrast with Mosques.—Armenian Churches described.—Altars.-
The Font.—Women's Place.—Paintings.—The design of Pictures in
Eastern Churches.—The Greek-The Armenian.—Origin of Picture
Worship in them.—Present State.—Their Testimony upon the Sub-
ject.—The Greek.-The Armenian.—The Syrian.—The Nestorian —
Bearing of the Testimony upon the subject of Picture Worship.–Im-
portance of studying the Eastern Churches for the sake of their Testi-
mony.—The Steadfastness of the Eastern Christians in maintaining
their Confession of Christianity.—The Cause.—Their low Estimate of
it practically.—Our Duty to them.
THE Ayan of Edrenes was in bed when we arrived early
on the morning of the 19th of May. He repaid us, how-
ever, for the delay by a good breakfast after he arose. He
was himself so much like an Armenian that I could hardly
believe he was not one, until I reflected that it was a thing
unheard of under Mussulman rule, for a Christian to be
Governor of such a district. His servants told me that he
was a genuine Mohammedan, but I must still think he was
descended from a Christian stock. His looks, his manners,
his whole appearance was Armenian. He received us very
kindly and even deferentially. I thought that perhaps his
constant intercourse with Christians (for his was the only
Mussulman family in Edrenes, and very few of the people
of the district are of that religion) might have given him
something of their temper. He interested himself in my
affairs, and while he was making arrangements for my de-


48 VISIT TO THE
parture, I went out to see the Church. Unfortunately a
Mussulman servant accompanied me. When I reached the
door no one was there, and the people in sight disappeared
at our appearance. There was no one to unlock the door, and
the key was not to be found. We inquired at the neigh-
boring houses, but every body evaded our questions. At
length Ibethought me of a secret spring, and told them that
I was a Christian and had only come to see the Church.
The key was instantly produced, and a priest made his ap-
pearance from one of the houses. The poor people had
been frightened at the sight of the servant, and thought we
had come with some evil intent towards their sanctuary.
The priest, who had the same timid and cringing demean-
or that is so common among the clergy of the interior,
conducted us to the Church, a plain building of humble
exterior, and, like all the Churches I have seen in the East,"
without steeple or tower. Within, it had all the parts usual-
ly seen in an Eastern Church, the porch, the nave and the
sanctuary. On the roof of the porch was a thick plank
hung between two upright posts. This is the bell, which is
beaten with mallets to call the people to Church. I was
surprised to see it in so conspicuous a situation. It is gen-
erally in the Church yard, if there is one. Within the
Church there are three altars, as there always are in an
Armenian Church. In the present instance, as is often the
case, especially in the country, only one is used, namely, the
middle or great altar. The others were in a neglected and
disrobed state. The three stand in a line at the East end
of the Church. Near the Northern altar was the baptismal
font, a rude stone hollowed to the depth of a foot, and sup-
ported by as rude a pedestal of stone and mortar. The
* Excepting one or two in monasteries, which had low towers. Sev-
eral of the mosques which were formerly Christian Churches have towers
still standing, which would seem to show that before the days of Moham-
medanism, such appendages were not uncommon.


SYRIAN Chi URC h. 49
Armenian Churches in the cities have generally a chapel on
each side of the main building, entered by a door from the
chancel of the Church. In each of these chapels is an
altar, and in the Northern one the baptismal font, generally
on the Northern side of the chapel. There are often one
or two altars in the porch also, or in adjoining chapels at
that end. On feast days in the great Churches, and espe-
cially on the day of the Saint for whom the Church is named,
the Holy Eucharist is celebrated at all the altars, (some-
times six or seven in number,) and at all at the same time.
The pavement on which the great altar stands is elevated
from one to three feet above the chancel-floor, and this last
is generally a few inches higher than the nave, and separated
from it by a heavy rail. Not only the Bishop and clergy
but the lay-superintendent of the Church and other con-
siderable laymen sit within the rail, and oftentimes, at great
festivals, the chancel is crowded with people."
The Church at Edrenes had most of the parts which I
have described. A large curtain hanging to the floor con-
cealed the great altar, and without it, but within the chan-
cel, stood two forms, one for the reading of the Gospel and
the other for the Lessons and Responses. At the Western
end of the Church was the females' division, screened from
the rest of the nave by a paling of lattice-work. Almost
always, in the East, this division (which so far as I have ob-
served is every where found among the Eastern Christians)
is at this end of the Church; but in a few Churches I have
seen it at the sides. The custom of separating males and
females in public worship is in accordance with the habits
of the East, and, under existing circumstances, I have no
doubt it is best. The females' place is sometimes on the
lower floor, and sometimes (especially in city Churches) in
* But the presence of any part of the congregation here the Arme-
nians themselves acknowledge to be an irregularity.


50 Visit TO THE
a gallery above. In only one instance have I seen a Church
exclusively for females."
The Church of Edrenes contained a dozen pictures in a
very rude style, hanging in different parts of the edifice.
The priest was unable to inform me whom or what most of
them were intended to represent, and from this I inferred that
no great use is made of them. It is not to be supposed that
whenever paintings are found in an Eastern Church, they are
necessarily intended for worship. They are often no more
than portraits of Saints and scenes from Scripture, repre-
sentations of martyrdoms, and such like, which are hung in
the Church to adorn the edifice, and are placed in an ele-
vated position, as if with the express design to avoid the
danger of their being worshipped. The distinction between
the Greek and Armenian Churches in this respect is very
remarkable. While in the former the walls are almost cov-,
ered with paintings, and these paintings are almost exclusive-
ly representations of persons, (which alone are ever wor-
shipped, for no one would dream of worshipping a picture of
the crucifixion or the resurrection for instance, or any mere
representation of events,) and moreover these are hung low
and are expressly prepared for worship by having attached
to them facsimiles in miniature intended to receive the kisses
of the people, and thus save the more costly originals from
injury; in the Armenian Churches the pictures are few, and
most frequently they are representations of events. These
are hung high in the Church, often nearer the ceiling than
the floor, and are not worshipped. Such was probably the
ancient condition of the Armenian Church, that is, the same
use of pictures that is known among us, merely as decora-
tions of the Church, and instructive representations of events
which live in the history of Christianity. But when the
* Connected with the Armenian Patriarchate in Constantinople are
three Churches, two for males, and one exclusively for females.


SYRIAN CHURCH. 5 |
practice of some portions of the Armenians became cor-
rupt, (which has been chiefly through the influence of Rome,)
and pictures began to be used for worship, those already in
the Churches were not turned to this purpose, (being, as
representations of events, unfit therefor,) but others were
brought in, chiefly pictures of the Virgin, which were
placed, as the custom still is, not in the nave of the Church,
but in the porch or at the door, thus as it were indicating
their extraneous character and the modern origin of the use
of them. Accordingly it sometimes happens, in remote
Churches in the interior, that the traveller will find no pic-
tures of this latter description, and consequently none that
are worshipped, the evil never having entered there; while
in others he will see, besides the ancient paintings, a single
portrait of the Saviour or the Virgin, before which no lights
are burned nor any worship paid.”
The Eastern Churches, indeed, when rightly viewed,
present one of the strongest arguments against picture-wor-
ship. Its establishment in the Greek Church is matter of
history, and we know it to have been as late as A. D. 787.”
* This would seem to have been later than the 12th century, when, as
Nicetas Choniates writes, the worship was forbidden among the Armeni-
ans. The passage is quoted in Palmer's Treatise on the Church, (P. IV.
Ch. X. Sect. iv.) to which I am indebted for it. It reads as follows:
'Appeviots yāp kai 'Apavois trians # rôv ćytov sixóvov ſpookávnats drmyópev
rat. ‘For the adoration of images is forbidden alike by the Armenians
and the Germans.” Among the Armenians it has arisen chiefly within
the last century, and almost entirely, I believe, within the last 150 years.
* In Constantinople the pictures in the porch have lamps burning be-
fore them, and such of the worshippers as please buy tapers at the door,
which they light at the lamp and attach to a frame in front of the picture.
But all do not practise it. º
* By the deutero-Nicene Council, under the Empress Irene. This
Council is recognized by the Greeks as the 7th General Council, but was
formally rejected by a large part of the Western Church, including that of
England, in the Council of Francfort on the Maine, A. D. 794.


syrian Church. 53
the western parts of Turkey. The evil influences that it
has received have come to it chiefly through Syria. Its
practice, therefore, is purer than that of the Armenians,
and very much purer than that of the Greeks. This is true
of morals as well as of worship, for the influence of the
capital is at present every way deleterious. But our atten-
tion is now confined to the use of pictures. I shall have
occasion hereafter to speak more particularly of it in rela-
tion to the Syrian Church. Suffice it at present to say,
that in some few places, and, so far as my observation has
extended, uniformly those which have been most affected
by intercourse with the capital, picture-worship is known,
but this in a more limited degree than among either Greeks
or Armenians, more limited both as to the number of those
who practise it and the extent to which it is carried. I can-
not, for example, recall an instance in a Syrian Church,
though I will not positively affirm there is none, in which
lights are kept burning before a picture during the intervals
of service. But this practice is, I believe, universal among
the Greeks, and not uncommon among the Armenians.
And as to the number of those who practise picture-wor-
ship, the distinction between the three Churches is equally
marked. Among the Greeks one seldom enters a church
without kissing one or more pictures, and bowing and
crossing himself before them. In the Armenian Churches
many enter and depart without taking any notice of the pic-
tures, where there are any. In the Syrian Church I have
never seen one perform this sort of devotion either on en-
tering or departing, although I would not deny that instances
of the kind may in some places be seen.
If we go one step farther into the interior we shall find
the climax of our argument—a Christian community among
whom not a trace of picture-worship is to be found. The
Nestorians of Kurdistan have remained in a remarkable
manner secluded from all other Churches since the early


54 VISIT TO THE
ages of Christianity. No Christians practising picture-
worship have ever penetrated, until these latter days, into
the stern recesses of their mountain homes. They remain,
in point of religious usages, the same that they were
fifteen centuries ago; while in point of intellectual activ-
ity and learning, little or nothing has survived. We
might conceive of corruption creeping in, in an age of
ignorance, but not of its creeping out. If it had ever been
in, the ignorance which has so long enveloped the Nesto-
rian Church would have preserved and strengthened it, or
at least it would have remained, amidst the extinction of
learning, in a stagnant and unchanging state, like flies pre-
served in amber. Had there been life, and movement, and
theological inquiry, subtle reasoning might have marshalled
in the error. But ignorance is obstinate, and stands upon
custom and tradition and established usage. It preserves
error, or if it gives birth, it is only to creatures of darkness.
It does not originate reform. Hence it is impossible that
the Nestorian Church should have lost the use of picture-
worship if it had ever existed, besides that history has
recorded no such change. The time has never been when
it was in vogue. The universal testimony of the Nestorians
is, that their Church was never defiled by it, and no one,
* - I believe, pretends that it has ever been known among
them. The testimony which their Church bears, is the
testimony of the earliest ages, since which they have been
shut up in their mountain fastnesses, unchanging within
and unchanged from without. Interesting as it is in itself,
it is of the greater value as showing the ancient practice of
the Church, and combined with the evidence from the other
Eastern communions, it presents a solid and immovable
argument against the antiquity and lawfulness of picture-
worship. I quote it, moreover, as one instance out of
many, which shows the importance of studying the Oriental
Churches ecclesiastically, for the evidence which they pre-


SYRIAN CHURCH. 55
sent concerning ancient forms and practices. It will
generally be found that where any corruption has been
introduced among them since the rise and prevalence of
Mohammedanism, it is either the progress of changes which
began before, or it has been introduced from without. One
may even venture to affirm, that if the Greek Church had
been subjected to the sway of Islamism at as early a date
as the Syrian, picture-worship would never have been es-
tablished by an Eastern Council, nor would the other great
delinquency of that Church,-the idolatrous worship of
the Blessed Virgin,_have ever come into existence. They
are both the results of a freedom protracted after the age of
purity had departed, when the life of primitive holiness had
declined, and the ears of many had been turned away from
the truth and turned unto fables." The course of that
Church from the seventh century onward was one of dete-
rioration, until the fall of Constantinople in the fifteenth
century sealed the fate of the Eastern Empire and placed
the Church in a state of fixedness. This event occurred at
a time when the Greek Church seemed nearly prepared for
the adoption of errors which would have determined its
character for centuries. Had its independence survived
another hundred years, it would have had its Reformation
and its Council of Trent. Mohammedanism had at least
this beneficent effect—for which, under the guidance of
the Great Head of the Church, it may have been intended
—of saving the Mother Church of the East from commit-
ting itself by the decisions of a Council to manifold and
grievous errors. This happy result was realized at a much
earlier date among the other portions of the Eastern Church
which were severed from Catholic communion about the
middle of the fifth century, and fell under the sway of Mo-
hammedanism within two centuries afterwards. It is to
* 2 Tim. 4: 4.


56 VISIT TO THE
them, therefore, that we are to look for the truest exhibi-
tions of primitive usage and discipline. Nor are we to
be turned aside from surveying them by any suspicion of
their heterodoxy in that matter of faith upon which they
separated from the Orthodox Communion. Even admitting
that they hold a heresy with regard to the nature of Christ,
(which I do not,) this surely does not invalidate their
testimony upon any other point, since in nothing else does
it appear that they have departed from the faith or practice
of the ancient Church. As we proceed we shall find that
this testimony is of great importance and value.
I was struck at Edrenes with the demeanor of the
people towards me after they once found that I was a Chris-
tian. Till that moment most of them avoided me, and ran
away when I called them. But as soon as they learned my real
character, they became very communicative and clung to
me, as if my presence conferred a favor. I have often
observed this feeling among the Christian peasantry of the
interlor. The voice of sympathy and kindness is so strange
to them, that when they hear it from the lips of a foreigner,
whom, because he is a Frank, they imagine to be respectable
and powerful, they seem as if they could never have enough
of it. They feel a kind of security in his presence, a
pleasure mingled with surprise at meeting with one who is
a Christian and yet free from the bondage and oppression
which in their minds are inseparably associated with the
profession of their religion. Why is it that these poor, op-
pressed men, uninstructed as they are in the faith and duties
of Christianity, do not seek a relief from their burdens by
embracing the religion of their masters? I believe that the
true reason is to be found in the preservation among them
of one of the ancient traits of Christianity, viz., the value
which they put upon Baptism as the introduction to the
Christian covenant, to the privileges and hopes of the Gos-
pel, the belief which they have that they were made Chris-


SYRIAN CHURCH. 57
-
tians in this Holy Sacrament, that they were sealed and con-
firmed in the faith of Christianity almost from the hour of
their birth. Mingled with this is another feeling not un-
common among them, and derived like the other from the
ancient Church: I mean a fearful, though, in their unin-
structed state, a vague view of the horrid consequences of
apostacy and excommunication. They think that the state
of no man, Mohammedan or Pagan, is so dreadful as his
who forsakes the faith of Christianity; that for him there
remains only a certain fearful looking for of judgment and
fiery indignation."
These feelings are sufficient to make them contented
with their religion; but the sanctifying influences of that
religion are so benumbed, that it does not make them con-
tented with their lot. Hence it is that they (I speak of the
peasantry of the interior) are generally unhappy, grumbling
and repining at their state, instead of bearing it with holy
fortitude, cringing and despondent, selfish and inhospitable.
They deserve, however, our pity more than our blame, our
sympathy rather than our scorn. The reason why they are
thus degraded in character is that they have persevered in
the faith of their fathers. It is because they are Christians
* Heb. 10:27.-I may here add that in Constantinople, where infi-
delity and neglect of the ordinances of religion abound, this fear of aposta-
cy prevails less than in the interior, and consequently conversions to Mo-
hammedanism are not unknown, though by no means common. In
every instance which has come to my knowledge, the motive was notori-
ously a mercenary one. But, on the other hand, I may say that I have
also in mind cases of a very different character—cases in which Christians
have been accused before Mohammedan magistrates of having promised
to become Mussulmans, and have shown either the falseness of the accu-
sation or their penitence by submitting to repeated torture and finally
to death rather than abjure their religion. There have been at least two
instances of this kind in Constantinople within six years, one of them the
last year (1843). Both the sufferers were young men and Armenians.
The first case was in 1838.


58 Visit TO The
that they are so ground to the dust, for no one can fail to
observe how different in general is the treatment of the
Mohammedan peasantry, though they also suffer severely.
It is because they are Christians, that they have endured the
weight of oppression for centuries, and it is this oppression
which has gradually destroyed in them manliness and
energy of character. Never was there a people to whom,
even for the life that now is, the joys and consolations, the
strength and peace of religion were more necessary; never
was there one who seemed as a body more destitute of these
legitimate blessings of Christianity. And yet I would not
deny that there are some among them who suffer with a
higher sense of the dignity of their calling as confessors for
Christ, who rejoice that they are counted worthy to suffer
shame for his name, and who are sustained by the cheering
hope that, if they are faithful unto death, their reward will
be great in heaven. I believe, I know, that there are men
of this character among them. Let us not then despise
these little ones, though they be as babes in Christ; but
let us rather pray for them that their faith fail not. Let us
strengthen them by our timely sympathy. Let us impart to
them of our fulness. Let us make known to them, by
legitimate modes and efforts, the true nature of the faith
in which they stand. Let us restore to them, if the Lord
will deign so far to bless our means, the joy and hope, the
fulness and strength of the Gospel.


60 VISIT TO THE
He was evidently alarmed at the sight of the Kavass, but
recovered himself sufficiently to bid us welcome. We
entered his tent and seated ourselves on the carpet, while
the old woman, his wife, hastened to bring out her rustic
fare of cream and milk and bread and yo-oort, and spread
them before us. His son, a man of thirty-five, of noble
stature, but of most malign and ferocious aspect, led about
the horses, and his daughters hid themselves behind the
family chattels with which the tent was crowded, and kept
up an incessant tittering whenever any of us caught sight of
their brown faces or bright black eyes. The old man
himself sat near us, and his eye involuntarily glanced at our
weapons and at our luggage with that quick and wild expres-
sion of cupidity which always marks a predatory Kurd.
But he put a restraint on himself and endeavored to appear
as if he were taking no notice of our property. He uttered
some extravagant eulogiums upon the Sultan and the Pasha,
and declared his own fidelity to them in the most obsequious
terms, forgetful apparently that it was only a year ago that
the Pasha marched an army against him and forced him into
submission. The presence of the Kavass gave him an oppor-
tunity of showing his new-born loyalty, which he did not
fail to express by the most earnest protestations. That
worthy officer, however, gave him little credit for his
asseverations, for we had no sooner mounted and rode away
from the tents than he began to relate how this was one of
the most notorious characters of a murderous band of Kurds,
and that he would throw off his allegiance to-morrow if he
dared.
In the afternoon we emerged from the woods, and soon
reached the solitary dwelling of Pasha Oglou, (son of a
Pasha,) the Kurdish chief to whom the Governor of Kara
Hissar had commended me. He was ruler of the country
under the Governor, and had been stationed in this wild
region to keep his refractory brethren in order. Though


SYRIAN CHURCH. 61
an old and tried friend of the Government, he was a Kurd
throughout, free, generous, open, wild, with no idea of the
value of human life and no fear for his own. This, however,
is not the character of Kurds in general, but only of the
better sort, the Kurdish gentlemen. The lower classes, and
especially the nomadic Kurds, are mean, treacherous, and
often cowardly pilferers. Pasha Oglou received us in his
solitary habitation with all his hearty Kurdish hospitality,
and set before us his delicious Kurdish dishes, kaimak' and
honey, mulberries stewed in honey, and other luxuries of a
rural life. In the evening he regaled us with stories of the
mountaineers, and talked of his management of them, in the
same manner that a fearless hunter might talk of chasing
tigers and taming wild boars. He had an evident relish for
the amusement, and was about going into the mountains to
spend the summer months among his unruly subjects. He
seemed to know their habits and their manners perfectly,
and depended upon his own superior possession of them, for
inspiring awe and obedience. When I hinted that his life
might be in danger among such lawless men, he intimated
in reply that it would give him sincere pleasure to have
them try him. The prospect of a little excitement appeared
to give him unmingled gratification, and he laughed heartily
at the thought of it. All this time the fire was burning
brightly on the hearth of an enormous chimney at one end
of the apartment where we were seated, the chief with some
of his followers, occupying one side, and myself with the
Kavass the other. We had no light but the merry blaze of
the fire, which threw its beams around on hardy and sun-
browned men, the blackened roof, the armor on the wall,
and penetrated deep into the recesses of the stable which
formed more than half the apartment. We slept where we
* Coagulated cream, produced by simmering fresh milk over a slow
fire.
- 4


62 VISIT TO THE
sat, excepting the chief, who retired to his family apartments
in another building. As the evening stole on, one after
another stretched themselves upon the carpet, and fell asleep,
and when all but myself had sunk into slumber I seized the
opportunity to make some hasty notes of the adventures of
the day, and after commending myself to the care of Him
who “ compasseth our path and our lying down, and is ac-
quainted with all our ways,” I laid my head upon my
saddle, which served the double purpose of a seat by day and
a pillow by night, and joined the general slumber.
Early the next morning Ibade adieu to the chief, after
putting into his hand enough to remunerate him for his hos-
pitality. , He drew back with an expression of anger when
I proffered it, and asked what it meant. I saw that I had
mistaken my man, and instantly changing my purpose, re-
quested him to divide it among his servants who had waited
upon me. He accepted it at once, and his face, which wore
a terrible frown, cleared up as suddenly as it had clouded.—
Whether he put any part of it in his own pocket after I had
gone, it would perhaps be wrong to conjecture, but such
practices are not uncommon among Eastern gentry, who
would feel it the height of insult to appear to accept pay for
their hospitality. I have often found it best to carry presents
for such casuists, and count as recompense what they re-
ceived as a memento. Sometimes they could go so far as
to ask for a present, and this when the object of their re-
quest was worth ten times all the services they had rendered.
In this way I have often parted with the necessaries of my
voyage for the sake of avoiding offence, and at other times
have kept them concealed lest they should be asked for.—
This polite kind of robbery is especially common among the
Kurds, who cannot overcome their native desire for the goods
of others, even when they do not feel at liberty to take them
by force.
* Ps. 139 : 3.


64 VISIT TO THE
replied that he had abandoned his office and fled. We in-
quired for the Kiahya; he too had disappeared. At length
we found the Kiahya's deputy, but as soon as we came in
sight of him, he attempted to run away from us. One of
our party pursued after and caught him, but neither promises
nor threats could prevail upon him to listen to us. His only
reply was, “There is nothing to eat.” The shops were shut
in the street. We passed a blacksmith's cell which was open.
The implements of his trade were lying about and his ham-
mer was upon the anvil, but no one was there. We knocked
at the doors of several of the most respectable looking dwell-
ings, but no one answered. We attempted to enter, but they
were locked. At length a female voice inquired from a lat-
tice, what we wanted. We replied, “Rest and food.” The
voice answered, “We have nothing to eat.” After travers-
ing the whole town, and inquiring of the few stragglers that
we met skulking along the walls or attempting to run away
at our approach, we came to an Armenian house where the
door was open. Without any ado we walked in and seated
ourselves. When the host appeared, I told him that we were
hungry and must have something to eat. He replied that
they had nothing for themselves, that the town was depopu-
lated by famine, and most of the inhabitants had fled for their
lives. I told him to bring us what he could find and he
should not go unrewarded. After some hours' delay, he
succeeded in obtaining for us a comfortable breakfast. The
ravenous people gathered around us and seemed ready to
seize it by force. The more respectable invited themselves
to partake with us. As we threw down morsels of bone
that we had gnawed, the greedy multitude scrambled for them
and gnawed them again like dogs. We made a light repast,
and distributed the remainder among the expecting crowd.
At Zara I dismissed my guard, the Kavass, the Kurdish
Bey, and the two mountaineers of Edrenes. They had
served me for nothing, but it would have been quite out of
|


SYRIAN CHURCH. 65
order not to have given them in presents more than I would
have stipulated to give them in wages. However, they had
served me well, and had proved themselves pleasant com-
panions, and I would rather hear the hearty benedictions of a
man who feels that he is amply rewarded, than the sullen
farewell which commonly follows a niggardly recompense.
Our last act of intercourse was to prepare letters for Pasha
Oglou and the Ayan of Edrenes, informing them of my
safe arrival at Zara, the first town in the Pashalik of Sivas.
For this purpose we called in the Imam of the place, the
only one in the village competent to perform the duty. He
had remained at his post in spite of the famine, and while
all other business was suspended, still gathered the starving
inhabitants to their five diurnal prayers.' He wrote in my
name, and I afterwards sealed the letters with my Turkish
seal, which I always carried with me for such purposes.
The Ayan of Edrenes had been instructed to send back to
Kara Hissar information of my having passed beyond the
border of the province of Trebizond, which information
must be certified under my own seal. It would then be-
come the duty of the Governor of Kara Hissar to forward
the intelligence to the Pasha at Trebizond, who, in his turn,
must forward it to Constantinople. Beyond Zara the Pasha
of the province of Sivas would be responsible ; and thus,
from one province to another, the Turkish government
laways have it in their power to trace a traveller from
1 The Imam is the minister of Mohammedanism, and his duties are
not unlike those of the Christian Priest. He conducts the services of the
congregation, whence his name of Imam, or leader; performs the rites of
circumcision, marriage and burial; instructs the children of the congrega-
tion, and visits at their houses. The Five Hours of Prayer, viz., at Day-
dawn, Noon, two and a half hours before Sunset, Sunset, and one and a
half hours after Sunset, are evidently imitated from the ancient hours of
the Church, which were first five, and afterwards increased to seven.


66 WISIT TO THE
one end of the empire to the other; a provision as beneficial
for the traveller as for themselves, since he can thereby con-
sole himself with the prospect of being heard of if he should
suddenly disappear. It is, or was, the duty of the provincial
authorities to send their reports of travellers monthly to Con-
stantinople. In some parts of the country this was strictly
attended to ; in others it was almost entirely neglected.
We had time, before the day closed, to leave Zara, and
reach Yarasa, a village four hours distant from Z., and con-
taining about sixty families, Mussulman and Armenian.
The Armenian population in this district is large, and it is
one of the principal foyers from which the capital is supplied
with servants and laborers. The next morning we passed
a village called Godin, where most of the men wore the
dress used by the porters in Constantinople. It seemed as
if I had seen them all before, and perhaps it was not far
from the truth, for they had all served in the city, and had
returned home to enjoy the fruits of their labors. Thirty
of their young men were just about starting for Constanti-
nople in a body, with the expectation of spending a few
years in the business which their fathers had found so pro-
fitable. The old men were, altogether, a fine-looking race,
and evidently well to do in the world. They did not receive
me, however, with all the hospitality that I could wish; and
I had to reproach them with the fact, that they had gained
handfuls of piastres from me at Constantinople, and now
would not give me the poor pittance of a breakfast, which I
was willing to pay for. Their inhospitality arose from the
fear that I might consider the breakfast as thrown into the
account of former payments; and that fear was increased
by the circumstance that I had fallen into company with a
Kavass who had overtaken us on the road, and now appear-
ed in the character of an escort, to the poor villagers. This
class of people are not in the habit of paying much for food


SYRIAN CHURCH. 67
and lodgings, unless it be in cuffs and blows, a currency but
too well known in Turkey. The Christians suffer more in
this way than the Mohammedans, and hence they appear, at
first sight, more inhospitable. The approach of a Kavass
or a Tartar is a signal to close their hearts, and to assume a
gloomy and sullen silence, or to retreat out of sight. The
poor Kiahya's office at such times is no sinecure, for he has
to bear the threats and blows of the great man in behalf of
the whole community. I took care, however, that nothing
of the kind should be administered on the present occasion,
and finally succeeded in obtaining a breakfast through the
gentler mercies of the women, who were here, as ever, more
ready to listen to and relieve the wants of others. The circum-
stance of my having come from Constantinople served rather
to excite than to dampen their interest, for they had innumera-
ble questions to ask about their fathers, husbands, brothers,
and sons who were absent, and seemed deeply disappointed
when they found I had nothing to tell them. They did not
consider that though a man could hardly go from Godin
without carrying news of every body in the place, it was
quite possible for one to come from Constantinople without
taking commands for Godin.
We found the whole country, from Zara to Sivas, a dis-
tance of thirty-six miles, suffering from the effects of famine.
There had been no rain the preceding year, and all the
grain which should have been preserved for seed had been
consumed by the famishing inhabitants. This year the
rains were abundant, but they fell upon uncultivated soil.
The people had no grain to put into the ground. Their
means had been spent in providing for their families and
their cattle, and the price of wheat had increased ten-fold.
The peasants of Godin had fared better, as their gains in the
capital had enabled them to support themselves during
the scarcity, and they were now rejoicing in the prospect of
a luxurious harvest. But the other villages, and Zara es-


68 VISIT TO THE
pecially, seemed likely to become entirely depopulated.
The people were abroad in the fields collecting weeds and
herbs for food. Their wan and haggard appearance was
enough of itself to show that they had suffered severely.
Such instances as this prove most clearly the improvi-
dent spirit both of people and Government in Turkey.
Why were not the waters of the Kizzil Irmak, which
flow close by the famishing villages, and through a plain
country, turned off to irrigate the thirsty land? Or why
did not the Government supply the peasants with the
means of purchasing seed, or, at least, relieve them from
their taxes that they might purchase for themselves? No
one could answer these simple questions. No measures
had been taken to avert or remedy the evil. The people
sat down in despair as soon as the windows of heaven were
closed, and the Government looked quietly on, while the
peasants were starving for want of bread or flying to other
regions. The consequence will be, that those who remain
will be taxed more heavily to supply the deficiency of the
retreating population. This will bring new distresses and
new flights, until the smiling country is left a wasted desert.
Such may not be the fate of this particular district, where
the richness of the soil may attract new settlers, but it has
been the fate of other portions of the country hardly less
favored in climate and productions, and the evil has fallen
upon them under precisely similar circumstances.
Most of our way from Zara to Sivas was over a rich
meadow bordering the Kizzil Irmak. We passed several
villages and saw wild-fowl in abundance, geese, ducks, and
plovers, which seemed never to have been molested in their
quiet retreats. Basil made two attempts to shoot a goose
with his pistols, but although the game allowed itself to be
approached almost near enough to be caught in the old-
fashioned way of putting salt on its tail, the exploit was not
successful, and we might have felt in our own persons the


SYRIAN CHURCH. 69
evil effects of the famine, if there had not been two little
lakes near Yarasa, which, to console us for the loss of our
fowl, supplied us with an excellent dinner of fish. The
only drawback was that the salt which was wanting to catch
the first, was not present to season the latter.
The Kavass who had overtaken us on the road, belonged
to the Pasha of Sivas, and had been to collect taxes from
some of the Kurds of Keuse Dagh who fell within his prov-
ince. If his own story was true, it had proved an unprofit-
able business, for the Kurds had received him in a very cool
manner, and when he spoke of taxes, had pointed their
guns at him and bade him decamp, which he confessed he
thought it prudent to do. He expressed great surprise at
our having come safe through the land, but consoled us with
the assurance that the danger was nothing compared with
that which lay before us; that a part of the road was so be-
set with robbers as to be absolutely impassable, and that for
the rest of it we had about an even chance of life and
death. I suspected at the moment that he was trying to
beguile the tediousness of his own journey by imposing
upon our credulity or our fears, but when we reached Sivas
his stories proved only a faithful narrative of the rumors
that were prevailing there.
These stories for a time tried my courage, or rather my
faith. Slavish fear asked whether it were worth while to
run the risk when all the probability was that I should not
be able to reach Mesopotamia. Faith answered—‘You
cannot turn back without a trial.” So I determined to go
forward. Report said that most of the country between
Sivas and the Taurus, a distance of four or five days’ jour-
ney, was infested by Kurds, who had come up from their
winter quarters, and were feeding their flocks on the high
lands south of Sivas. Direful tales of robberies and mur-
ders were rife, and travelling was almost entirely suspend-
ed. As is common in such cases, the truth was doubtless
4*


syria N CHURCH. 71
C H A P T E R W I.
Conflict with the Post-Master at Sivas.—Departure from Sivas.—Escape
of the Guide.—The Escort.—Day's March over an infested Dis-
trict.—Hassan Tchelebi.-The Kizzelbashes.—Travelling by Night
—Reflections.—The Euphrates.—Evils resulting from Changes of Ru-
lers.-Kharpout.—First Sight of the Syrians.—Armenian Monasteries.
—Syrian Bishop.—The Syrian Population of Kharpout.
Besides the conflict with myself which I had at Sivas,
I had another with the post-master which was still harder
to bear. He thought to take advantage of the state of the
roads to charge me an exorbitant price for horses. I
referred the matter to the Pasha, and sent with my servant
the royal post-order. The Pasha had not yet left his harem,
for it was at an early hour; our sumpter horse was laden,
our guard was at the door, and we were ready to mount.
The Pasha's Deputy (Kiahya Bey) sent for the post-master
and read the order in his ears, filling it up with such exple-
tives as “You son of a dog,” “Ass,” and others unmentiona-
ble. The poor post-master stood trembling till the reading
was finished, made his apology, returned to the post-house,
quietly received his regular dues, and asked me for a present!
I told him that I expected soon to pass that way again, and
if he behaved himself with propriety at our next meeting I
would not forget him, but that under present circumstances
I could show him no favor. I was glad to see him com-
pletely humbled, for he was one of those Mussulmans who
seem to think that they are never doing a better service


72 VISIT TO THE
than when they are abusing a Christian. I should not have
persevered against him if I had not thought that he needed
the lesson. From the moment of my arrival he had treated
me with marked indignity, and had gone out of his way to
insult and revile me. The only reason was, that he had an
evil Mussulman temper, and felt free to exercise it on a
Christian. I observed that it was only native Christians
and myself who suffered in this way, while to Turks he was
civil and sociable. The first word which he uttered when
I dismounted before the post-house and asked a servant to
procure a bed for me, were, “Lie on the floor; that is the
place for you.” I soon found that he was one of those wild
beasts in the shape of men that are sometimes met with
among the Turks, who are sensible to nothing but harshness
and severity, and I determined, when the opportunity offer-
ed, to teach him to treat a Christian with respect. It may
present a melancholy view of human nature, but so it is;
men of this stamp in the East are more easily affected by
fear than by love; their respect is more easily excited by
severity than by kindness. The post-master, instead of re-
senting the course I had taken, seemed to see in it some-
thing which commanded his admiration. He became at
once very docile and attentive, held my stirrup when I
mounted, and bade me farewell with the most profound obei-
sance. Had I not succeeded in conquering him, he would
have been ready to trample me under his feet.
The effect upon the poor Christians who had assembled
to take their morning cup of coffee in the post-house, was
very perceptible. They were evidently astonished at the
sight of a Christian overcoming a Turk, and when I rose to
depart, rose themselves in a body and remained standing
till I had mounted. This was the most painful part of the
scene to me. I would rather they should have rejoiced
over me as a brother.
We left Sivas on the 23d of May, and travelling South


SYRIAN CHURCH. 73
along the great route from Constantinople to Bagdad, reach-
ed the village of Delikli Tash (Cavernous Rock, so called
from holes in the rock on which it stands,) before evening.
Here the Ayan of the village gave us a house for the night,
which, like most of the houses in the village, consisted of a
family apartment and a stable. I was sitting by the fire, and
one of the guard who was stationed in my room for the
night, was saying his prayers, when suddenly the outer door
opened and the postillion went out with his horses. The
guard suspected his design, but, like a true Mussulman,
would not allow his prayers to be interrupted by any sublu-
nary concern. But as soon as he had ended, he sprang to
his feet and darted out of the house. We had hardly recov-
ered from our amazement at his sudden departure, before he
returned leading back all the horses but one, on which the
postillion had succeeded in making his escape. I soon
found that the plot had been concerted beforehand, and
that the postillion had thrown out sundry intimations of his
determination not to proceed beyond Delikli Tash, for fear
of the Kurds. Fortunately, in the darkness of the night, he
missed his way in going out of the village, and the guard
overtaking him just as he was gaining the main road, wrested
the rope with which he led the horses from his hand, and
left him to escape with the one on which he rode. The
Ayan supplied me with a substitute, and provided me with
a strong guard of mounted men, each armed with a sword,
gun and pistols, and some of them carrying spears. The
country between Delikli Tash and Alaja Khan, is a high ta-
ble-land, whither the Kurds resort in summer to feed their
flocks. When I last passed it, in March, 1838, it was cover-
ed deep with snow. Now it was one broad sweep of ver-
dure, in some parts undulating, in others stretching away as
far as the eye could reach, but lonely and desolate from the
want of trees and cultivation, and still more perhaps from
the gloomy associations connected with it. We travelled


74 Visit to the
on in close array and in perfect silence. When we reached
what was accounted the most dangerous part, scouts were
sent out in different directions, and special care was taken
to survey the country from every little eminence that pre-
sented itself. The guards tied the ends of their long taper-
ing sleeves together behind their backs, thus baring the arm
nearly to the shoulder. Guns were unslung, and every man
looked to his flint and priming. How much of this was
done with particular reference to myself and the present
expected at the next village, I am unable to say, and there-
fore will not magnify the danger beyond what it really was,
although all their precautions and manner seemed to say
that it was, in their estimation, very great. It certainly im-
parts a singular interest to a day's journey, to be on the
lookout every moment for nine hours, with the thought that
at any moment a body of murderous Kurds may appear rush-
ing upon you from the brow of a little hill to the right, or
from out a valley to the left. However we met with nothing
of the kind, nor saw any thing to confirm our fears, except-
ing in a few instances a Kurd watching us from some low
height, and when he saw himself discovered, suddenly dis-
appearing. This was enough to show that they were at
their old business, and the result would doubtless have been
different had our number or means of defence been less.
The predatory habits of the Kurds are such that one trav-
eller may pass at one hour without seeing any signs of
them, while at the next a poor passenger, less strongly pro-
tected, may be stripped from head to foot, if nothing worse
befalls him.
We rested at Alaja Khan that night with the Governor of
the village, a pleasant old Turk, who puzzled himself to dis-
cover the machinery of a lead pencil, by which the ink, as
he called it, flowed out upon the paper as soon as the pa-
per was touched.
The next morning we renewed our guard, and marched


SYRIAN CHURCh. 75
to Hassan Tchelebi, and thence continued, after a repast
from the Governor, who bears the same name with his village,
which name has descended from father to son since the days
of Sultan Mourad, who for some favor done him, conferred the
title of Tchelebi (or gentleman) upon the Ayan then ruling
and made the government of the village hereditary in his
family. This man is one of a people who inhabit the coun-
try from Delikli Tash to Kabban Maden, about whom
strange things are told. They are Mussulmans, but are
supposed not to be Turks. Certain it is the Turks regard
them with great aversion, and say that they have abominable
practices which show them not to be true Mussulmans.
They call them Kizzil Bash (Redhead), and as this is the
nickname commonly applied to the Persians, my first con-
jecture was that they are descendants of some colony of
Persians brought hither by a Turkish Sultan. We know
that such colonies were sometimes formed, and this would
account sufficiently for the aversion which the Turks have
for them.' I could learn nothing from themselves, as they
constantly professed that they were Mussulmans and nothing
else. A traveller might pass through their country without
noticing any thing peculiar in their appearance or manners,
unless it might be their rudeness and inhospitality. They
leave their villages in summer and live in tents, and it is re-
ported that the Pashas are obliged to rule them tenderly for
fear of their escaping to the mountains.
The Hassan Tchelebi whom I saw when I passed through
the village in 1838, was dead, and his son, a man with a
beard already grizzled, ruled in his stead. The whole pop-
ulation were in their tents about an hour distant from their
village. The new Hassan Tchelebi appeared to great ad-
vantage, from having spent ten years at Constantinople, the
effect of which was very perceptible in the superiority of his
* The hostility of Turks and Persians is notorious.


76 VISIT TO THE
Turkish over the common jargon of the interior, and in his
peculiar adroitness in asking for presents. Another Hassan
Tchelebi, the heir apparent, about four years old, came in
to peep at us over his father's shoulder.
Hassan gave us two footmen to accompany us through the
valley which extends most of the way from his village to
Hekim Khan. We had had several alarms during the day,
though most of the people whom we met were Turcomans,
who had come up from the parts about Aintab and Karama-
nia to pasture their flocks on the green hills of the upland
country. The Kurds about Delikli Tash were from the
same quarter. *
We saw nothing to attract our attention on the way to
Hekim Khan, (a small town of about 30 Armenian and 150
Mussulman houses,) but a multitude of wild flowers, among
others the yellow rose, on the stony side of the valley, and
almond bushes, whose fruit was bitter.
We slept at Hekim Khan in the same coffee-shop in which
I had breakfasted four years before. Every thing appeared
as if I had left it but yesterday, even to the ship upon the
wall, which some village artist, or perchance some lazy trav-
eller, detained for an hour, had drawn upon the wall.
We sought in vain to obtain a mounted escort for the
dreary mountains beyond Hekim Khan, and two stout foot-
men were all the pedestrians that could be had. Four hours,
over hills covered with oak shrubbery and wild almond trees,
brought us to the populous district of Argaoun, and four
more, over a hilly but more fertile country, to the Kizzil
Bash village of Suleimanieh. Here we were detained till
four P. M. for horses, but my anxiety to reach Kharpout on
the morrow determined me to push on to the Euphrates.
We travelled till midnight across a low country of dry hills
of red and white, with fertile valleys between. As night
set in, we secured the baggage and galloped away in the
light of the moon.


SYRIAN CHURCH. 77
The district of Argaoun contains some 62 villages. We
passed a large one where the governor of the district resides,
about an hour from Suleimanieh. The Kurdish population is
confined to the mountains beyond, and though not, like their
brethren of Aintab, nomadic, are given to the same bad prac-
tices. A day or two before we passed, they had robbed a
poor postillion returning with his horses, and left him noth-
ing but his skin to travel home in, while the horses, being
the property of Government, they allowed to go as they
caine.
The low country between Suleimanieh and the Euphra-
tes has no Kurdish population, and affords no pasturage for
the nomades. We passed over it therefore without a guard,
and reached the post-house on the bank of the Euphrates
just as night was turning its middle point. The river was
rolling its dark waters below, and its rushing sound harmo-
nized solemnly, though not unaptly, with the train of my
thoughts. As we had rode along at full speed, my mind had
been filled with the quiet beauty and the stillness of the
scene. The moon looking so calmly upon the earth, which
seemed (as if bound by her influence) resting for a brief
while from its din and toil; the sense of the presence of God
which at that hour, more than any other, pervades the soul;
the sight of his power in the calm, bright orbs above, and
the feeling of being alone with Him in the midst of his cre-
ation which presses in upon the mind with a vividness that
is seldom realized when the sun is shining and the world is
abroad—all this disposed the mind to reflection, solemn,
calm, and quiet, like the scene around. Happy if at such
times one can see in the same hand which has spread the
heavens, and put their orbs in motion, and sustains and
guides them in their courses, the hand which supports him,
the Being whom he serves, the wisdom, the power, and the
goodness which are his security and strength. Happy if he
can bring home to himself from such a Being, the promise


78 Visit. To The
that not a hair of his head is unnumbered amidst the im-
mensity of created things. Happy if in such an hour he
can see his path to be one of self-denying duty, and his pur-
poses, though compassed with infirmities, yet resting in God.
In my own mind, the thoughts and the consolation which
they brought with them, were associated with the prospect
immediately before me. On the morrow I hoped to reach
Kharpout, where was the first remnant of the venerable
Church to which I was going. My work seemed about to
begin, and the thoughts of my moonlight ride opened sources
of courage and comfort which failed me not in the lonely
trials of many a coming day. They were interrupted only
when we reined in our horses on the brink of the steep and
diſficult descent which led down to the Euphrates.
I was up again at early dawn, and, embarked with horses
and luggage in the ferry-boat, was crossing the deep and
rapid stream of the old river, which here rolls its tide
through a narrow pass between high overhanging cliffs.
The passage is effected by letting the boat drift upward in
an eddy until it strikes the mid-current, when it is carried
rapidly down, the men the meantime plying their oars, until
it strikes the eddy on the opposite side, when it is again car-
ried safely to the landing-place. Ascending the bank, the
traveller finds himself in the town of Kabban Maden, fa-
mous for its silver mine. When I was here in 1838, the
whole country, from near Mossoul to within a few hours of
the Black Sea, was subjected to a single Pasha resident at
Kharpout. Now it was divided into three parts, the East-
ernmost of which, including Mardin, had been annexed to
the pashalik of Mossoul, and the Northernmost, called the
pashalik of Sivas, had been erected into a separate province,
extending Southward as far as Argaoun. Kabban Maden,
with the district of Argaoun, had been placed under an-
other Pasha subordinate to the Pasha of Kharpout, and the
province of Diarbekir, under a Pasha of its own, remained,


SYRIAN Chiurch. 79
as before, subject to the Mushir' of Kharpout. These
changes show how little dependence can be placed upon the
divisions of provinces, or Sanjaks, which are given in some
of the maps. While I was in the country, another change
took place, transferring the district of Jezireh, North of the
Tigris, from Diarbekir to Mossoul. Such changes as these,
and still more the frequent change of rulers, is enough of
itself to retard the progress of civilization, and reduce the
country to poverty and misery. Works begun by one Pasha
are neglected by his successor; the system of government
is changed, at least in its details, by every new incumbent,
and the people are hardly free from the extortions of one
ruler before another, with an empty pocket and a heavy
hand, enters to begin the same system of oppression, which
is always most severe at the commencement of the new
government. Pashas, expecting to retain their place but a
few months or years, are tempted to use all their opportu-
nities for extortion, and this is repeated anew with every
change. The rulers feel but little interest in the welfare of
their provinces, and have no encouragement, even if they
are so disposed, to commence improvements which they
cannot hope to finish. Among all the causes of degradation
and decay which prevail in the interior of Turkey, this is
perhaps the most prominent, and the evil is aggravated, if
not perpetuated, by the recurrence of similar changes in
the heads of the administration in the capital. It is one of
many corruptions which seem too deeply inwrought ever to
be eradicated, and which throw a gloomy shade over the
prospects of Mohammedan domination in Turkey.
I was three hours in making my way through the deep
gorge in which the town of Kabban Maden lies, and three
more over the hills to the plain of Kharpout, one of the
richest and most productive districts in the whole Turkish
! Mushir—a Pasha of the highest rank.


SYRIAN CHURCH. 81
I was at first surprised to find so large a population of
Syrians so far separated from the mass of their community
in Mesopotamia and Syria, for there are none to be found
South of this till you reach Diarbekir, nearly a hundred
miles distant from Kharpout. But when I afterwards
learned the extent of their population in Kurdistan, I saw
that those of Kharpout were only a continuation of that
population from the East, and not, as I had at first sup-
posed, emigrants from the South.


SYRIAN CHURCH. 83
town, which lies at the top of a mountain overlooking the
plain, and is only one hour North of Merizah. I would
gladly have walked, but the heat, which even at this early
season was oppressive, prevented me. We had come sud-
denly from the cool region of the North into this district
infested with fevers and burning with heat. The very fer-
tility which makes it so attractive, arises in part from a
cause which makes it unhealthy. The vast plain is inter-
sected by rivulets in every direction, which are turned off
at short intervals to water the ground. I thought it most
prudent to avoid the heat, which we now felt for the first
time in our journey, and therefore spent the day at the post-
house.
It was Friday, and the 28th of the month. Many faith-
ful ones had promised to remember me on the weekly fast
of the Church, and it was some compensation for the
disappointment of not visiting the town, that I had such a
day for rest and solemn preparation. It seemed appropriate
that this of all days should immediately precede my first
labors in the enterprise which I had in view, and that it
should be so spent. I sat by the side of a fountain in front
of the post-house listening to the gurgling of its waters,
while my thoughts were carried away to the captives of
Judah, who sat down by the waters of Babylon and wept
when they remembered Zion. How naturally and rapidly
my mind reverted to the Church, the daughter of Zion,
which sitteth captive in the land of my pilgrimage, and
knoweth not the time of her deliverance. “If I forget thee,
O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I
do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of
my mouth; yea, if I prefer not Jerusalem in my mirth.” "
The next morning I succeeded in obtaining horses, and
went to the town, which is situated, as I have said, on the
Ps. 137: 5, 6 ; in the Psalms for the 28th day.


SYRIAN CHURCH. 85
glass above the altar, hardly a ray of light found its way
into the interior. We lighted candles and began to explore.
On the east side was the altar, and at the opposite extremity
a gallery for the women. By the light of our candles we
discovered pictures in different parts of the Church,-
rude paintings, one representing the crucifixion, another
the baptism of Christ, a third the Virgin Mary, with little
silver arms and legs, and pieces of money attached to it as
thank-offerings for cures supposed to have been performed
by her intercession." An old priest, who presently made
his appearance from the dark passage, assured us that the
Church was celebrated for its miraculous cures, and in
proof thereof showed us a chain with a collar for the neck.
When any one becomes mad, he is brought to the Church,
and, being confined with this chain, is placed before the
reading desk in front of the chancel. Prayers are then
said over him by the priest, and continued until the collar
unclasps itself and falls to the ground, and the man stands
up before them all, restored and in his right mind!
The altar itself was of the plainest description, and the
vessels and vestments belonging to it, poor and soiled. It
was so far from the wall that one might walk behind, and
on each side of it was a little cell, or oratory, where the
eucharistic service is said in silence. Each was lighted by
a dungeon crevice in the wall. On the north side of the
altar, between it and the oratory on that side, stood the
Bishop's chair and staff; and on the south side the baptis-
mal font of stone. Within the font lay a dirty phial con-
taining the meiron used in chrism. In front of the Bishop's
chair and against the chancel rail stood another desk where
the lessons and some other parts of the service are read.
* This is the only picture of the kind that I have ever seen in a Syrian
Church, and I presume in this instance it was placed there by the Greeks
when they were allowed to worship there, and had never been taken
down.
5


86 Wisit To The
That without the chancel is for the reading of the Gospel.
Upon it lay a copy of the New Testament in Syriac. I
was surprised to find on opening it that it was printed, the
Church books among the Syrians being ordinarily in manu-
script. On looking farther I discovered that it was of the
British and Foreign Bible Society's edition, and great was
my surprise to see it in its curious Oriental dress, for the
covers had been overlaid with plates of silver on which
were embossed figures of Christ and other devices. It is
customary among the Orientals to honor their sacred books
in this way. Another copy of the New Testament was in
MS. and bore the date 1892, referring, doubtless, to the
Alexandrian era, which is still in use among the Syrians.
That era is 311 years older than our own. The volume
was therefore written in 1581 A.D., or 263 years ago.
On the altar lay the Liturgy, a service for Communion,
and another small volume containing the services for Bap-
tism, Matrimony, and Burial. A large folio lay upon one of
the reading desks, in which was contained the order of
services for all the Sundays and great festivals in the year,
and another containing the services for week days, which
are read through once every week, each day of the week
having its own service.
The priest informed me that the Church was built origin-
ally by the Apostle Adi, or Thaddeus, and that it was
afterwards enriched by the munificence of the pious to an
incredible degree, its vaulted ceiling being lined with plates
of gold. When Timourleng invaded these countries, so went
on the story of the priest, he discovered the Church from
the summit of a rock which rises (like that on which the
citadel stands) on the opposite side of the ravine, to the
East. The robber chieftain sent and pillaged it, carrying
away all its vessels and stores of silver and gold. He then
filled it with straw and attempted to set it on fire, but he
succeeded only in blackening its walls. I found no inscrip-


SYRIAN CHURCH. 87
tions about the Church, (the priest said they were all obliter-
ated by the fire,) excepting one in Syriac on a slab in the
pavement, and this was hardly legible. It was doubtless a
grave-stone; the priest knew not of whom, but the woman
said it covered the remains of one Helena, who erected the
present building on the site of the Church built by the
Apostle. -
I endeavored to converse with the old man, but he was
slow to communicate, and answered my inquiries evasively
When I told him that I hoped soon to see his Patriarch, he
unbended a little, and replied, “Say to him, I kiss his
hand.” He assured me that there were no more than 45
Syrian families in the town, and a few in four of the villages,
in all about 150 Syrian families in the district of Kharpout.
Such statements, however, are not to be depended upon, as
the poor oppressed Christians throughout the interior almost
uniformly, through fear, make their numbers to appear as
small as possible. He told me farther, that the Armenians
and Syrians live together on terms of the closest intimacy,
and go to each other's Churches, but do not intermarry.
Their common language in the district is Turkish, in which
language it is that the Athour of the Syriac and Arabic is
converted into Asour, and the Athouri of the Arabic,
(Syriac, Othoroyo,) into Asouri, the common name of the
Syrians.
Immediately on my return to the post-house I mounted
again and pursued my journey. Four hours over the plain,
and nearly as many more over a tedious range of mountains,
brought us to the Lake Gheuljuk, a beautiful sheet of water
reposing among the mountains. At its southern extremity
is an island with a Church upon it, to which the people go
in pilgrimage once a year. They told me a sad tale of a
party of sixty who were drowned by the swamping of a boat
in going to it the year before.
We passed round the southern head of the lake, and


88 VISIT TO THE
purchased a few fish from some poor Christians that were
drawing a net to the shore. They proved a savory morsel
to us, and saved us from going to bed supperless at the
miserable khan where we spent the night.
A little incident had occurred during the day which
pleased me much, and to show that traits worthy of a Chris-
tain people are to be seen even where our holy religion has
lost something of its life and power, I will relate it. While
travelling over the plain of Kharpout, we passed a young
Armenian, who was trudging along on foot in the same
direction with ourselves. He saluted us civilly, and I
entered into conversation with him. When he saw that I
was a Christian, he became communicative and told me all
his story. A few months before, he had had a difference
with another Armenian, a young man and a cousin, living in
the same village. His cousin, in his anger, had brought
several charges against him, and endeavored to put him
into prison. Not succeeding in this, they parted enemies,
and his cousin soon after left the village. Lately news had
reached his home, that the young man had been unfortu-
nate, and for some trifling offence had been thrown into
prison. His cousin immediately set himself to work and
collected money enough to obtain his release. “I thought
I ought not,” he said, “to remember what he did against
me, for we were always good friends, and he did it in a
moment of passion.” He told the whole story in so simple
and unpretending a manner, taking equal blame to himself
for their quarrel, that I did not doubt he told the truth.
He had come two days on foot, and had two more to travel
before he could reach his place of destination. He footed
it so bravely over the hills that he kept in sight of us most
of the day. As night came on, we halted in a meadow
where a herd of horses, belonging to the post-house which
we had last left, were feeding, under the care of two or
three ostlers. We managed to change some of our jaded


SYRIAN CHURCH. 89
animals for fresh ones, and as we had to cross the Taurus
before we could obtain others, I took the precaution to add
two or three led-horses to our retinue, to take the place of
any that might happen to break down on the mountains.
As we were on the point of resuming our march, the young
Armenian overtook us. Seeing that he was faint with
fatigue, and knowing that the country was not safe for a
solitary traveller, I requested him to mount one of the led-
horses and accompany us to the khan where we expected
to spend the night. This little show of attention to a poor
rayah roused the ire of the postillion—a brutal Mussulman,
as destitute of feeling as the horse which he bestrode. He
poured out a volley of execrations on the head of the
astounded Armenian, who, fearing to resist or reply, began to
slink away. I thought it was time to interpose, and riding
up to the postillion I told him that I too was a Giaour, (a
word with which he had plentifully interlarded his speech,)
and that I would not suffer any fellow Giaour to be abused for
his religion, (if the man had been a Mussulman, the fellow
would have been the first to give him a ride,) and finally, that
while he was in my service, which was till we reached the
next post, I should take every insult offered to a Christian
as an insult to me, and deal with him accordingly. The
man made no reply, and the Armenian, who had probably
never heard such language from a Christian to a Mussulman
before, came back at my bidding and mounted the horse
with a half-reluctant air, as if he feared that the enraged
postillion might find an oppportunity for wreaking his
vengeance upon him at some future day.
The night was dark, gloomy, and cold, and as we start-
ed, we heard the cry of a hungry wolf near by, which,
pinched with hunger, was filling the air with his dismal
howl. Right glad were we when we drew up after an
hour's ride, before the door of the khan, which was to be
our resting-place for the night.


90 Visit. To The
The next day we crossed the Taurus, in about eight
hours, to Argana. The pretty town of Argana Maden lies
half way upon the road, in a gorge of the mountains through
which the Tigris pours its discolored waters. It is cele-
brated for its copper-mines, which I judged to be in a pros-
perous state, from the fact, that it was one of the very few
towns in Turkey which seemed to be upon the increase.
New buildings were going up, and the whole wore an air
of newness and neatness, which afforded a delightful con-
trast to the faded and decaying appearance of most Turkish
towns. Here we parted with our Armenian friend, who
had reached the end of his journey. Whether he was suc-
cessful in the object of it I never heard.
The passage of the Taurus, which three years ago filled
me with impressions of the awful and sublime, was now
tame and uninteresting. Whether it was the familiarity of
the scenes, or the want of certain stirring incidents which
added to the impression in the first instance, I will not pre-
tend to say, but certain it was, that the mountains which
seemed before to abound in the picturesque and the grand,
now appeared destitute of both, a mere tedious succession
of ups and downs. It was some relief when we reached the
last height and looked down on the far-spreading plains of
Diarbekir, stretching off in the distance like the sea in a
calm, and descried to the S. E. the well-known range of
the dark Karajah.
Arrived at Argana, lying upon the steep slope beneath a
lofty peak, whose top is crowned with the remains of an an-
cient fortress, the same sights met my eyes which I had
witnessed in Sivas; here, however, aggravated in degree.
Half naked and famishing children, driven from their homes
by hunger, clustered around the door of the little café
where I had taken lodgings, their pallid faces and shrivelled
limbs showing too plainly the extent of their sufferings.
Some were so reduced by famine that the muscular parts


syrian CHURCH. 91
of the body, as the thigh and calf of the leg, had quite
gone, and they appeared like walking skeletons more than
human beings. But these were only faint touches of the
picture which I was to see at Diarbekir in all its frightful
reality.
I was detained two days at Argana for the want of
horses, and falling into company with an Armenian of Con-
stantinople, on his way to Bagdad, we determined, for
mutual security, to join forces. We had heard nothing of
the Kurds since we left Kaban Maden, but frightful stories
were rife at Argana of their depredations upon the desert
between that place and Diarbekir. On account of the
heat, we thought it best to travel by night, and we flattered
ourselves that in this way we should be more likely to
escape observation. The governor furnished us with a
guard, and several poor people of the country, who were
waiting for an escort, joined our company, besides a fat
Tatar, who endeavored to make it appear that his going
with us was intended for our protection instead of his own.
He talked so largely about it that we began to suspect him of
being an arrant coward. If the truth were told, however, there
was probably no one of us who would not have avoided the
twelve hours' journey over the desert, if he could. For my
own part, I am free to confess, that the prospect of such a
journey always excites a peculiar train of sensations, or, in
other words, that I never enter upon it without secretly
wishing it were over. I have never seen the time, however,
when, however pressing the danger might appear, there was
not consolation and strength in the thought that the line of
duty lay straight through it.
There is a monastery near Argana, on the height above
the town, which I would have visited, but the intenseness
of the heat, which I did not care to encounter in any thing
aside from my work, deterred me. The monastery belongs
to the Armenians, and is called Asdvatzatzin, or the Mon-


92 VISIT TO THE
astery of the Blessed Virgin. It is said to be rich, and the
monks were described to me as leading an easy and com-
fortable life, far above (at least in point of local position)
the cares and tumults of the world. I was told that they
have a rich and beautiful Church, and a library well-stocked
with books. An Englishman had died in the monastery
only a few weeks before I passed, and I afterwards saw in
Diarbekir a part of his property, which had been sold in
the bazars by his servant. The thoughts of thus dying
away from one's kindred are not pleasant to the mortal
sense, but they will sometimes force themselves upon the
mind of the lonely traveller, and recall bright visions of
home and all who are loved there; and the many, many
leagues that he is away from it. Happy, then, if Faith can
point him to a better home, and gather around it brighter
visions, and check his love of earth by the hope of its rest
and its reward


SYRIAN CHURCH. 93
C H A P T E R W III.
Departure from Argana.-Our Company.—The Desert by Night.—Meet-
ing with Kurds.-Hostile Preparations.—The Event.—Repose on the
Grass.-Famine.—First Impressions.—Scenes from the Famine.—
Causes of it.—A Feast.—Hard Drinking.—Hardness of Heart.—Out-
rage upon the Christians.—Mussulman Bigotry.—Justice in Turkey.
We started a little before sunset on the 31st of May.
Our party, as we wound our way down from the steep rock
of Argana to the plain, presented a very imposing array.
The Armenian's and my own were five in number. Then
came the Tatar, with his guide; and after him followed a
little troop of men, some on foot, and some on donkeys.
These, however, being chiefly peasants, who had no other
means of defence than a stout cudgel, added little to our
available force. Upon counting our arms there were found
eight pistols, three swords, and a gun. The last-mentioned
implement was in the hands of a Kurd, who talked so know-
ingly of the predatory habits of his brethren, that some sus-
pected him of having had a little practice himself. He was
one of two men who formed my body-guard, and being, for
the present at least, as sent by the Governor, a trusty fel-
low, his supposed experience was regarded by most of the
party as an important recommendation. He was a fine stout
man, in the full dress of his countrymen, frank and sociable,
and, more than all, he was the captain of our forces.
We did not emerge from the hills until twilight was gone,
and the moon was shining in full lustre upon the wide-
5*


94 VISIT TO THE
spread plain. By this time, too, the songs and mirth, and
busy hum of voices, with which the march commenced, had
subsided, and we moved along in gloomy silence, each one
occupied with his own thoughts. After proceeding in this
manner a few hours, the Tatar, who was a few rods in ad-
vance, came back, and reported that a strong party were ad-
vancing towards us from the left. As the guides knew of
no road in that direction, the circumstance seemed a little
suspicious. At least so thought our captain, who imme-
diately ordered us to fall into close order, prepare our arms,
and keep a strict silence. He then unslung his gun, and
took the lead on foot. A few moments of confusion follow-
ed, each one being apparently animated by a desire to march
in the centre of the body, which occasioned considerable
difficulty in forming our van. At length our ranks were
formed, two marching abreast, and the baggage horses in the
centre. Pistols were taken out, swords displayed, every
man's flint and priming examined; and then followed a dead
pause. My Armenian friend found his courage sinking, and
applied himself to a large gourd, which he had taken care to
fill with the choice wine of Argana. When he had drunk
he smacked his lips, and declared himself a braver man.
Others begged for a drop of the courage-giving liquid, but
my worthy friend had emptied the vessel at a draught. I
will only add that the wine was obtained for him by a Mus-
sulman, who brought it to the café under his cloak, and
begged the physician, for such he was, to let no one know
from whom he had it."
The party who had created all this alarm and perturba-
tion, were now in full view, and only a few rods in advance.
They were seven men, well mounted, and our captain re-
ported, in a whisper, that they were Kurds, and robbers.
* The Koran will explain the cause of his timidity, that remarkable
book being “total abstinence” in its precepts, so far as relates to wine.


SYRIAN Church. 95
Just then we discovered that two of our party, whom we had
taken to be Kurdish peasants, were missing. We began to
suspect foul play; and this, coupled with the ominous intel-
ligence from the front, cast a deeper gloom over the party.
What if the missing men had stolen round and communi-
cated with the enemy They must have learned our real
weakness, which we fain hoped the darkness of the night
would conceal. They would also learn the rich prey which
awaited them, for we were come from Constantinople, and
had nine horse-loads, eight of which belonged to the phy-
sician. But there was no time to remedy the evil, for just
as we discovered it, an order came from the captain that no
one should fire until he gave the word, and had fired himself.
This was whispered back from rank to rank, until it reached
my ears. I was in the rear rank, with a travelling compan-
ion of the physician, who complained bitterly that his friend
had left him none of the wine. Before us were the servants,
the baggage-horses, and the men on foot ; in front of them
were the Tatar and the physician, occupying, notwithstand-
ing the bravery of their wine and big words, the safest place
in the company. The van before them was formed of two
or three ranks of armed footmen, and at the head of all
marched the captain. As he uttered his last command he
cocked his gun. The die seemed cast. I uttered a short
prayer, and awaited the result with more quietness as the
danger came nearer. All this passed in a shorter time than
I have taken to relate it. We could now discover that the
enemy had dismounted. They approached, and slowly
crossing our path, moved along to a little hillock on our
right, which they ascended. No hail was given, nor word
spoken. On the top of the hillock they halted, and turning
full upon us, one of them mounted his horse. The others
stood by, ready to spring into their saddles, and we fully ex-
pected they would do so, and the whole body come rushing
down upon us like the whirlwind, after the manner of the


96 VISIT TO THE
Kurds. At this moment our captain ordered us to open our
ranks, so as to display our numbers, which we did ; but
so as to cover our baggage, by keeping between it and the
enemy. The trick seemed to succeed; the party kept their
places, and leisurely surveyed us for a few moments, when
they suddenly disappeared behind the hillock. The captain
thought that they might move round, and attack us in the
rear; and two of our company, of whom I was one, were or-
dered to fall back, and keep a good look-out. For a few
minutes we remained in anxious suspense, when the enemy
no more appearing, our fears gradually subsided, and we
went on our way ; every one of us, I believe, a relieved and
happier man. One or two even attempted to get up a song
in triumph or defiance, but it soon quavered, trembled, and
died away; we were not yet ready for that. In the mean
while our captain quietly returned his gun to its sling, and
resumed his place in the company—the only one who seem-
ed not to have been considerably agitated.
At midnight we had accomplished half the journey, and
concluded, after some discussion, to stop and rest. At the
spot stood a khan, which had been built by Hafiz Pasha,
whose plan it was to make the desert an inhabited place. It
had been neglected by his successor, and was now partly in
ruins. We did not choose to enter it, but, disposing our-
selves upon the grass, unloaded our horses, and, tying
their feet, let them loose to graze. We then set a guard,
and each one lying down by his baggage, we soon fell
asleep. After half an hour I awoke, and on looking round
for the guard, found that they were all wrapped in deep
slumber. What a prey for the Kurds ! I thought of it for
a moment, and then falling back went to sleep again. Hap-
pily no one molested us. We woke at day-break, loaded our
horses, and proceeded to the city.
I had heard of the famine at Diarbekir from the worthy
Governor of Gumush Khaneh, but I did not expect to behold


SYRIAN CHURCH. 97
such scenes as met my eyes as soon as I had entered the
city. We had just passed the Constantinople gate, and were
slowly making our way through the crowded streets, when
my horse suddenly stasted at something lying before him in
the road. On looking down I saw a human being stretched
upon his back with his face upturned to the hot sun. His
eye met mine, and such a look of misery and despair my eye
never encountered. Before I could stop, or make any in-
quiry, we were hurried by, and the crowd closed in behind
us. I put a question to the guide, but he answered only by
that peculiar “don’t know and don't care” shrug of the
shoulders which the traveller is often obliged to take for an
answer in Turkey. Before we reached our lodgings, we
passed four or five others in the same situation. Some had
covered their faces, but we could see by the quivering of
their limbs, and the short, quick breathing which agitated the
thin garments upon their breasts, that they were in the ago-
nies of death. Of the others I cannot now recal, the ex-
pression, for the sight was becoming familiar, with every re-
currence; but the look of that first created a new image in
my mind, which can never be effaced. It was a first, fresh
impression. The picture is as vivid as if I saw it but yes-
terday. I see it now—those glassy eyes, that ghastly death-
struck look, that expression of mingled suffering, despair, and
supplication. May I never look upon the like again!
As soon as we had settled ourselves in our lodgings, I
went out to survey the scene more extensively. I needed
not to go far, the dying and dead were all around—some
lying in the middle of the streets liable to be trod upon by
every passing horse, some at the gates of the rich, some in the
outlets of the city, but most of all in the principal thorough-
fares and bazars. All around, men were buying and selling;
here a cook-shop sending forth its savory odors, and there
a bake-house with its store of fresh bread displayed abroad;


93 VISIT TO The
here a butcher's stall, and there a seller of vegetables, fruits,
water, sherbets, even the luxuries of life; and these poor
emaciated wretches lying in the midst of all, pining, sink-
ing, dying of utter starvation' Who would believe it?
At one corner might be seen one, a squalid child, stretching
out its shrivelled fingers to seize a bone thrown out for the
dogs; there another actually consuming some offal which it
had found in the streets. There, under the eaves of a house,
lies a man of powerful frame, but reduced to the dimensions
of a skeleton, who has resigned himself to his fate and has
covered up his face to die. See how his breast heaves and
his limbs tremble in his last agony. Here is a mother with
one infant at the breast, and another a year or two older at
her knee. What puny, emaciated things! They hardly
seem like human beings. And she who gave them birth,
how piteous and wo-begone she looks, and what a suppli-
cating eye she raises as I pass! Who can resist such an
appeal And yet the busy throng move on, heedless of the
misery in their very paths. They seem not even to notice
the forlorn sufferers, much less to pity them. They would
be more merciful to brutes; what can have steeled their
hearts against men of flesh and blood like themselves? Here
passes a Christian priest. Surely the minister of Him who
taught us to love even our enemies, to do good to all men, to
do to others as we would that others should do to us, will
look with compassion upon these dying wretches. But no;
he appears not to see them or hear their cry. A body ap-
parently lifeless lies before him in his very path. He must
step aside to avoid it. He does so, and passes on. Near
by lies a woman. She has rested her head upon a stone,
but in her agony her head has moved back and hangs over
the stone, which is beneath her neck. In this position she
is uttering the most heart-piercing cry for mercy. The
priest, as he passes, turns his head, for a moment, in that


SYRIAN CHURCH. 99
direction. Who could avoid hearing such unearthly cries?
He will stop and speak to her. No; he has gone by without
deigning a second glance.
“What is the reason of all this " I said to a very respecta-
ble Mohammedan with whom I was walking. He had heard
of our arrival from Constantinople, and having called upon
us to hear the news, went out with me to the bath.
“They are Kurds,” he replied.
“But they are Mussulmans also, men of your own faith;
why do you not take care of them 7”
“Let the dogs die!” was the horridly inhuman answer.
“We have had trouble enough with them. We should like
to see them all, the whole race of them, dying in the same
way.”
The reader must understand that the Kurds of the
province of Diarbekir have always been discontented and
dangerous subjects, and that this feeling has increased
since the late Sultan attempted to subdue them and intro-
duce among them his new military system. They were
taken by force from their villages and enlisted in the army.
I remember having seen, during my first visit to the city,
about two hundred of their young men driven in like cattle,
their aged parents following, weeping and wringing their
hands. The Kurds have a vague, undefined horror of
the Nizami jedid, or “new order,” and doubtless it has been
a great misfortune to them. They have seen their villages
invaded by recruiting officers, and their children wrested
from them and forced into the army. The novelty of the
thing has made the calamity seem more grievous. It was
no wonder, therefore, that on the defeat of the Turkish army
at Nezib in 1839, they arose to wreak their vengeance
upon their oppressors, little reflecting that the anarchy
which then existed must soon pass away, and that by such
acts they were only laying up a long account against them-


100 VISIT TO THE
selves, which they must settle when order returned. The
Mussulmans of the city have contracted a strong aversion
to the Kurds, or rather have strengthened that which has
long existed. During the last two years the rains failed,
and the crops were consequently cut off. The Kurds, driven
from their homes by hunger, were compelled to fly to the
town, and here no one was found who would have pity
upon them. They died by hundreds in the streets, twenty
or thirty dying daily. When the spring returned, many
contrived to live on herbs and berries which they found in
the fields, but still, at the time of my visit, from five to ten
expired daily in the streets. The famine had been so severe,
that they ate the most offensive things, such as dead cats
and dogs, and even human flesh. How beings, in the shape
of humanity, could stand by and see such events passing
before their very eyes, without raising a finger to relieve
them, I am at a loss to imagine. I had it from very re-
spectable authority, that between four and five thousand
had thus perished in the streets of Diarbekir—all of them
Kurds. Some of the depopulated villages contained Ar-
menians, but these had been cared for by their own people.
Thus, at the house where I tarried, whenever the voice of a
beggar was heard at the gate, if it was in Armenian, or
asked alms “in the name of Christ,” a servant was imme-
diately sent out with money or provisions. If it was in
Kurdish, no one took any notice of it. I was astonished at
the hard-heartedness of the Christians. On the evening fol-
lowing that of my arrival, I was invited to dine at the house
of a wealthy Christian merchant, where I met with several
ecclesiastics of different ranks. The dinner was served in
the open air, at ten o'clock, P. M., at the special request (as
to the time) of my Armenian friend and myself, the fashion-
able hour being six o'clock, Turkish time, which would
be, according to our computation, at this season, about one


SYRIAN CH urch. 101
hour after midnight." As we were to start early on the
morrow, we begged our host to show us Constantinople
civility, and give us our dinner at sunset; but this was so
exceedingly vulgar that he could not be brought to consent
to it. With great difficulty we obtained a compromise, and
the dinner was served at ten. The rich of Diarbekir are
well-known for the luxuriousness and richness of their ta-
bles, for the excellence of their liquors, and, I am sorry
to add, their very free use of them. On the present
occasion we assembled soon after sunset, from which time
till ten o'clock there was an incessant round of pipes, na-
ghilehs,” coffee, and wine. The table was spread with a
dozen different kinds of dried fruit, intended as a provo-
cative to the appetite. Interspersed among them were
goblets and vases filled with the rosy liquid. These, how-
ever, were only for show. By the side of the table stood
buckets filled with iced water, and in them stood the vessels
from which, ever and anon, the servants filled the glasses of
the guests. Now and then one would perambulate with a
smaller vessel and a waiter of cups, each holding hardly
more than a large thimble-full of rakkee,” which he
would administer to those who preferred such potent li-
quor. Think of such a ceremony continuing for six or
even three hours. But the Diarbekirlees are said to be ac-
customed to it, of which we had very good evidence on
the present occasion, for the quantity of wine and rakkee
which was sipped without producing any visible effect, ex-
cept perhaps to render the conversation a grain livelier, was
astonishing, almost incredible. For nearly three hours it
seemed to be the only employment of two or three servants
* The Turks, like all the Orientals, begin their day at sunset; that is
to say, sunset is with them twelve o'clock. The hour varies, of course,
with the changes of the sun.
* Turkish water-pipe.
* Turkish brandy, distilled from the juice of the grape.


104 VISIT TO THE
other cause for this infamous outrage than sheer Moham-
medan bigotry, in which the Mussulmans of Diarbekir are
said to abound. While it continued, nearly twenty Chris-
tians ſell a sacrifice to their fury. Among them was a very
respectable Syrian merchant, who entertained me during
my first visit for three days. When the affair came to be
investigated, it was found that the principal leaders were
among the most respectable Mussulmans of the city. One
of them was no less a personage than the Kadi himself.
The Government at Constantinople acted on the occa-
sion in a manner very creditable to itself. Peremptory orders
were sent to Diarbekir that the Christians should be pro-
tected, and the offenders subjected to the punishment which
their crimes deserved. Accordingly the authors of the out-
rage, about twenty in number, were seized and sent off on
foot, under a strong escort, to the Pasha of Kharpout, to
whom the province of Diarbekir is subject, but whether
they ever received the reward which their flagitious conduct
merited, I am unable to say. It is not an uncommon thing
for such culprits in Turkey to escape unpunished, espe-
cially if they are Mussulmans, and the offence is committed
against Christians. There is little of equal justice in the
land, least of all in the provinces, and the Christians are
generally the greatest sufferers. Their testimony is not
taken against Mussulmans, while they are themselves sub-
ject to be harassed without cause, and are commonly the
first objects of oppression. I know that there are excep-
tions to this statement, but I speak of the general order of
things.


SYRIAN CHURCH. 105
C H A P T E R IX.
*
Respect for Franks.-Interposition in behalf of Eastern Christians.—
Greek Hospitality.—Visits from Ecclesiastics.-Relations of the Na-
tive Papal Christians with Rome.—Meeting with an old Friend.—False
Reports and true Reports.-Our Company.—Kurdish Village.—Es-
cort.—Kurdish Bey.—Polite Robbery.—A useful Lesson.—Loose
Friends.-Delays.-Present State of Mardin.-Decay.—Reaction of
Reform.
There was one fact connected with the melancholy out-
rage upon the Christians of Diarbekir, related in the last
chapter, which, if correctly reported to me, as I believe it
to have been, is worthy of mention, as showing the respect
and even fear with which Europeans were at that time
regarded in some of the worst parts of Turkey. While the
commotion was at its height and the native Christians were
secreting themselves from the rage of their enemies, and
Turkish soldiers were flying from the indignation which
their half-Frank garbs brought upon them, several European,
the people said English, travellers were in the city, and went
freely about in their European dresses and hats, no one
venturing to molest them. One or two years before, the
same experiment under the same circumstances might have
been hazardous. But the events of the last year in Syria,
commencing with the bombarding of Beyrout, and ending
with the reduction of Acre and the retreat of a Pasha whose
very name had always been supposed sufficient to strike
terror into the hearts of his enemies, have created a deep


106 VISIT TO THE
and even extravagant impression of the skill and power of
Europeans. It was a feeling of joy and hope to the Chris-
tians, of awe and respect to the Mussulmans. The former
often ask why this power has never been exerted in their
behalf. Perhaps it may yet be. The train of events seems
fast verging towards it. But such an interposition ought
not to be desired, excepting conditionally. The Christians
themselves are not yet prepared for it. They are not yet
ready to appreciate and improve the new state into which it
would introduce them,-a state of greater freedom, of new
responsibilities and privileges, which they only can use
aright whose character is elevated to an equality with and a
fitness for them. Let me not be misunderstood. No
Christian man can look upon the present state of the East-
ern Churches and reflect upon their long bondage of centu-
ries, and see them still trodden down by the feet of Infidels,
and not sigh for their relief. Butlet us not ruin the end by
premature and over-hasty means. It would be vain to say
that our Eastern brethren are fairly prepared to govern
themselves; and as to ecclesiastical freedom, desirable as it
is in itself, it might, if vouchsafed at the present moment,
bring in an endless train of evils, and those evils the very
ones which would most mar, if not wholly prevent, the great
blessings of religious liberty. Many there are who would
abandon their Churches forthwith, if they were now let loose
from the strong hand of power. Ruptures and schisms
without end would arise. Sects of seceders innumerable
would spring up. Men of extravagant zeal and little know-
ledge would commence a destructive warfare upon the
Churches in which they were baptized. Infidels would join
with schismatics in overturning the foundations of the tem-
ple, and the Churches themselves, harassed by oppositions
and embittered by misrepresentations, would be led to defend
errors which now exist without a positive sanction, and to
establish by decrees corruptions which are now floating


SYRIAN Church. 107
without order, without system, in the ignorant habits and
practices of the people. Let philanthropists, then, of every
class, beware. The evil cannot be successfully removed by
the application of political remedies until the Churches are
elevated in themselves by the gradual revival of sound doc-
trine and the restoration of primitive piety. They are the
philanthropists whom the times demand, who are aiming at
these ends, circumspectly, prudently, carefully.
Let no one say that the enslaved state of the Churches
prevents all advancement. The case is not so bad as that.
There is present and active progress, as much perhaps
as can awaken hope without exciting fears, perhaps I
might say, more, for there are some who feel that there is
already reason to fear.
I ought not to quit Diarbekir" without acknowledging
my obligations to a very kind Greek friend, who received me
into his house and showed me every attention in his power.
It was a luxury which I had not known for several weeks,
to go to bed in a civilized manner, for neither expedition nor
the object of my journey, which required me to be as much
as possible among the people, would allow me to avail myself
of such appendages of comfort as a tent, bed, and other
commodities usually esteemed necessary for an Eastern
traveller. My friend's hospitality left me nothing to desire,
excepting that the profusion and richness of his “good
creatures” made more painful the contrast of misery and
starvation in the streets.
Most of the visitors at the house were ecclesiastics.
Some of them were men of grave and seemly manners, with
whom it was a pleasure to converse. One in particular, a
native Papal Bishop, who like myself was a stranger in the
city, quite won my love by his quiet and unostentatious
* For a description of the city I must refer the reader to the Narra-
tive of my first journey, Vol. II, pp. 294–299.


108 VISIT TO THE
manners and the simple dignity of his conversation. He
was one of those, of whom there are not a few among the
native Papal Christians of the East, who understand well the
relations in which they stand to Rome, and make a broad
distinction between a bare acknowledgment of the primacy
of the Pope, beyond which many do not go, and an unreserved
submission to whatever emanates from Rome. He spoke
freely of the conduct of a certain agent of the Pope, an
Italian or French Bishop, whom he evidently knew only as
a Bishop of the Europeans residing in the country, though,
to my own knowledge, he put himself forth as having juris-
diction over all the native Churches subject to the Pope.
Native Bishops acknowledging the Pope have often found
this disposition to domineer, on the part of Latin emissaries,
one of the greatest grievances of their situation. They little
dreamed when they entered upon their allegiance, that they
should ever be cramped in the exercise of their Episcopal
office by the interference of men, sometimes their inferiors
in ministerial rank, professing to act under the commands
of the Pope. Contests and misunderstandings have not un-
frequently risen, although the general policy of Rome has
been of a character peculiarly adapted to prevent suspicion.
We left Diarbekir on the 3d of June, and on the after-
noon of the 4th reached Mardin, nearly 60 miles distant, by
the same route which I followed in 1838. At Argana I had
met a Tatar coming from Bagdad, who gave a most terrific
account of the state of the country between Mardin and
Mossoul. The Governor of Jezireh was at war with the
Pasha of Mossoul, and the Yezidees of the Sinjar moun-
tains, those old plunderers of the desert, were in rebellion.
This was the substance of the story, garnished with so many
particulars of robberies, murders, and hair-breadth escapes,
as gave an air of veracity to the whole. Accordingly we


syrian CHURCH. 109
had left Diarbekir with the expectation of meeting with even
greater difficulties and dangers than I had been led to anti-
cipate from the monstrous stories which I heard at Sivas.
Before we were out of sight of the city, however, we were
met by another Tatar, who had come from the same city
over the same route. The account which he gave was not
exactly opposite to the other, but very near to opposite. The
Bey of Jezireh was not at war with the Pasha of Mossoul,
nor were the Yezidees in rebellion. Travelling in the de-
sert, however, was very unsafe, and he recommended that
I should not attempt it without a strong guard. This Tatar
was an old acquaintance, had been with me in two journeys
in the interior, and was, I knew, a trustworthy man. I had
never known a Mussulman for whom I had formed so strong
an attachment. He had always seemed to me more like an
inquirer into the truth of Christianity, than a hard-hearted
infidel. Often had we conversed together seriously and sin-
cerely about his religion and mine, and he was almost the
only Mussulman that I ever saw, who believed Christianity
more pure and elevating in its moral influence than Moham-
medism. I was almost as glad to see him as if he were a
brother. His honest, open face did me good, and I will
confess the meeting relieved me of some anxiety, and so
tended to make the rest of my journey to Mossoul more
agreeable. Our party, however, was not a small one, for
several Mussulmans from Diarbekir had watched our de-
parture, and knowing that I had an order for guards, had
joined themselves to us. One of them was, or pretended to
be, a Turkish officer, who carried a bottle of brandy at his
side, with which he was wont to arouse his sleeping courage.
Another was a quiet old Mussulman of a very different stamp.
He looked upon the dereliction of his brother in the faith
with a displeased eye, and kept himself aloof from his so-
eiety. Indeed, he was a pest to us all, for his courage, when
aroused, was rather of the stormy sort, and breeded quarrels.





6


1 10 VISIT TO THE
He fell out with one and another, until he had not a friend
left in the company; so he was permitted to ride by himself,
and finding no superior object to pick a quarrel with, he
every now and then fell out with his horse. The poor beast
followed the example of his betters, and did all in his power
to get rid of him. At length he fairly succeeded, and
stretched the superior brute, his master, upon the grass.
There was not one who was disposed to aid in catching the
quadruped and forcing him into such uncongenial society
again. Who would wish to make even a beast companion
to a drunkard?
We stopped the first night at Khanik, where we bought
a lamb and roasted it whole, but the villagers stole it during
the night and sent us off without a breakfast. A ride of
two and a half hours brought us to the village of Avgour,
or as it is sometimes called, Ali Bey Keui. All the people
are Kurds, and, until of late years, they were all robbers by
profession. It is said that their nature has not changed,
and that they have only suspended business from prudential
motives, since they lost their chief by a sudden and violent
death. The physician who was with me was at that time
in attendance on the Pasha who ordered the execution, and
I learned from his account that the act was not precisely
as I have formerly reported it." It was even more sudden
and summary. The Pasha arrived with a strong body of
soldiers, and almost immediately ordered the chief to be
seized and shot, which was done before he had time to
escape, or even to suspect any design against himself.
The people at once fled to the mountains, and returned,
after the Pasha had departed, more peaceful and loyal men.
The chief had left a young wife of fifteen or sixteen, who
had now become the wife of a very young man, and he, in
right of his marriage, chief of the village. We rode up to
" Narrative, &c., Vol. XI. p. 292.


SYRIAN CHURCH. 111
his house, the same where I had formerly spent a night,
and found him sitting in the shade before the door. He
was thin, and slightly made, and beardless as a boy, but
erect in form, and dignified in his manners. He said little,
but was very observant, and his quiet, serious, searching
look was not at all calculated to put one at his ease with
him. He seemed as if he wished to find out who and what
you were, yet doubted and suspected every thing that you
said. We endeavored to engage him in pleasant conversa-
tion, but he looked and answered with the same serious and
retiring manner, as if he suspected some design in it. At
length we opened our business, and told him we wished
for guards to Mardin. He consulted for a moment with
half a dozen old men who had come in and seated them-
selves at his side, and then answered that no guard was
needed. The physician replied very plainly that we would
not leave without one, and that the chief himself must be
of the party. At this he started back and hesitated, but
the physician followed him up and promptly rejected every
other arrangement, throwing out sundry hints of serious
consequences to himself if he refused, and alluding to the
bouyouroultou of the Pasha of Diarbekir, which we had
been careful to obtain. The young man, finding that he
could not escape, ordered his horse to be brought, and re-
tiring into the house, soon appeared again, armed with pis-
tols, sword, and spear. He then ordered two of the old men
to accompany him, and we all mounted and proceeded on
our way. I was not a little astonished at the boldness and
success of the physician's expedient, but it soon appeared
that it was planned and suggested to him by the quiet old
Mussulman in our company, who, while the little con-
troversy was going on, sat still and said not a word. He
well knew that the presence of the young chief would be a
greater security than twenty horsemen, but as he himself
lived in Diarbekir, and was often going to and fro, he did


112 VISIT TO THE
not wish to have his own agency in the matter known to
the chief, who might some day find an opportunity of re-
paying him for the trouble which he had given him.
Under this powerful escort we continued our journey
free from alarm or fears, though we met with several parties
of Kurds, whom, from their appearance, we would not have
wished to meet alone. They all knew Ali Bey, the young
chief, and seemed to have a great reverence for him. He
always had something to say to them in Kurdish, with which
they appeared satisfied, and went on their way. Ali Bey
maintained the same imperturbable manner throughout the
journey, eyeing one and another of us constantly, but say-
ing nothing. Once, however, I detected him in close con-
versation with my servant, with his eye fixed on me. Short-
ly after, Basil rode up and reported that the Bey had been
inquiring into the contents of our baggage, and had asked
particularly whether I had any more such handkerchiefs as
I wore about my head, and whether I had a watch. The
poor boy was quite alarmed by the import of the questions,
but I took them to be, as they doubtless were, only indica-
tions of that almost childish cupidity for pretty things which
is universal among the Kurds. The youthful Bey was only
thinking of begging a present.
When we reached the height two hours from Mardin,
we came to a halt by the cold spring which gushes from the
rock, and which every traveller who has quenched his thirst at
it on a hot summer's day, will long remember. Here we were
to take leave of our guards, the rest of the way to the city
being by them reported perfectly safe. As we sat together
by the spring, our Kurdish friends began, in a civil way, to
ask for one little article and another, and before we parted
from them, every tobacco-bag in the company had been
emptied, my handkerchief had gone, and many other articles
had changed owners. They took them without any thanks,
while their eyes began to glisten with desire, excited rather


114 WiSIT TO The
pedient (that is, for ourselves) is to hurry on as rapidly as
possible to the city.” They all abandoned us, therefore, even
to the quiet old Mussulman. How perfectly Eastern again!
We fared, however, none the worse for being left alone.
As soon as our old friends saw us safely arrived in the city,
those of them who intended to prosecute their journey to
Mossoul began to court our society again, and inquire when
we intended to leave.
I need not detail all the reasons which led me to depart
somewhat from my original intention, and proceed immediate-
ly to Mossoul. The reader has little interest in knowing
them. One was—and it was enough—that the season was
already far advanced, and every day was increasing the dan-
ger of crossing the desert. If I was to visit Mossoul, the
sooner the better. The people at the post-house, however,
did not seem to have the same sense of the value of time.
We were detained three whole days for horses, and
kept on the alert by messages sent every few hours to the
house to inform us that they were ready, and would speedily
be at the gate. This would continue from day-break
till about 9 A.M., when it was too late to start; and again
from 4 P.M. till sunset, after which we could not pass the
city-gates. When we complained, there was always some
plausible reason ready, and when we did not complain,
the next morning or evening would pass without any mes-
sage.
Mardin had been transferred from the pashalik of Khar-
pout to that of Mossoul, since my last visit; the Governor
that formerly ruled it, a son-in-law of Hafiz Pasha, had died
on the field of Nezib, or, as others told me, of grief and mor-
tification at the defeat ; one other Governor had been put to
death by the mob; a third had been deposed; and a fourth
had just entered upon his office. By famine and bad gov-
ernment the town had decayed; houses then standing were
now in ruin ; the population had diminished ; filth, and all


SYRIAN CHURCH. 115
other signs of neglect and decay, had increased. I had be-
fore thought well of the place ; it now struck me most un-
favorably. Then all was contentment and peace ; now all
was complaint and fear. Many of the Christians had fled
from oppression or starvation. The new Governor had just
had a personal combat with his predecessor, in which, in-
stead of appealing to arms, they settled their differences with
their pipe-sticks. In a word, three years before, under the
reforming rule of Hafiz Pasha, Mardin was following fast in
the rapid progress towards European civilization which Sul-
tan Mahmoud created, in appearance at least, all over the
Empire. But that active and innovating spirit has departed,
and Mardin, like many other cities, has felt the reaction.
At the time of my former visit perfect security reigned ;
now stories of midnight robberies and murders were current
among the people ; and it was not thought altogether safe
for foreigners to sojourn there long,


116 WISIT TO THE
C H A P T E R X.
Preparation for the Desert.—A sad Tale.—Arab Village.—Scene at
Evening.— Our Company.—The Desert at Night.—Nisibin, site of an-
cient Nisibis.-Its present State.—Guard.—Route over the Desert.—
The Orphan.—Moral Effects of the Famine.—Indifference of the Gov-
ernors.-Journey by Night.—Depredations on the Villagers.-Search
for Water.—Salt Lake.—The Heat.
We prepared ourselves for the desert with about thirty
pounds of bread, a goat-skin of water, and large felts to
shield us from the sun when we halted by day. Weary of
waiting for post-horses, we engaged the jaded animals of a
muleteer who had just arrived from Mossoul. We were to
depart before daylight, and of course did not depart till aſter
sunrise. If we had told our muleteer we should leave at
midnight, we might have started at the time actually
appointed. It is always necessary, in Eastern travelling, to
predate in this way. -
The horses with which we travelled had brought from
Mossoul a Turkish Bey and his harem. They were from
Bagdad, on their way to Constantinople. At present I had
hardly the curiosity to inquire who they were, but a few weeks
gave me an interest in them which has never ceased. On
my return from Mossoul, while sitting one day in my room
in the Monastery of Zafran, near Mardin, a woman entered,
dressed in the style of a Turkish female of Constantinople.
Her appearance at once attracted my attention, for I had


SYRIAN Church. 117
never seen the yashmak' south of the Euxine. After a very
respectful obeisance, she spoke in the pure and sweet Turk-
ish of the Capital. She said that she was a Syrian by birth,
of the village of —, near Jezireh, that she had been
taken captive six or seven years before, by Rahvandouz Bey,
in his sack and pillage of the country north of the Tigris.
By him she had been sold at Mossoul or Bagdad, and had
finally come into the hands of Ali Pasha, in whose palace
she had served as a maiden of the harem several years, and
was finally released when the Pasha heard that a firman had
been issued for the recovery of all the Christians taken
captive by the Kurdish Bey. Among them, besides herself,
was a young sister of ten years, who had been sold to a Bey
of Bagdad, and had now become an inmate of his harem.
The Bey was the same whose horses I had taken from Mar-
din. As I was now going to the capital, the good woman
begged that I would interpose for the release of her sister,
saying, with many tears, that she was her only surviving
relation, and that if she could not come back to her, she
would herself go to Constantinople for the sake of being near
her. I did not forget the commission, but my efforts were
unsuccessful. The girl had been induced to profess Mo-
hammedanism, and had become the wife of the Bey and a
mother. After this change no firman could be obtained for
her release, nor was there any hope that she would accept
it if it could have been effected. What has become of the
elder sister, I know not. I sent her intelligence of my want
of success. Whether she is still mourning the loss of her
nearest and dearest relative, or has sought her out among
the thousands of the great city, I have never heard; but the
incident of her sudden appearance before me at the monas-
tery, and her message of sadness, have remained in my
* Turkish veil, worn by the Turkish and Armenian women of Con-
stantinople.
6*


118 VISIT TO THE
memory among a long array of similar tales of distress which
I have heard at different times in Turkey, and which often
come back to remind me how many hearts in this broad
world pine in secret, and how many sorrows remain untold
in the history of our race.
At 8 A.M. the heat was so great that we were obliged
to stop at Kherin, a Mussulman village three hours from
Mardin. Along the road the peasants were reaping their
barley, and in one place we passed a field of melons just
transplanted, which covered about ten acres. At Kherin,
which, when I passed three years before, was entirely
deserted, I now found a thriving village of fifty families, all
of which, with the exception of a solitary Chaldean, were
Arabs. The women, as is common in the villages, were
uncovered, and most of them were ornamented with a line
of blue spots from one corner of the mouth to the other,
passing over the chin.
As the day declined, the little village, which had been
quiet under the noontide heat, presented a lively and bust-
ling scene. The herds were driven in from abroad. The
women, with their faces bare, and displaying the tin and
bead bracelets on their wrists, were running to and fro, some
engaged in culinary preparations for the evening meal, some
bringing water from the village well, and some tending the
babies. The old men were assembling on the roofs, where
each family was spreading its beds for the night, for even at
this early season (the 8th of June) it was more comforta-
ble there than within doors. The houses were all of sun-
baked earth, the roof consisting of timber covered with oak-
boughs, straw, and earth, in successive layers. Out of doors
was the oven, lined with burnt clay and heated with straw
and sheep's dung; the baking being effected by plastering
the thin cakes of dough upon the rounded roof and sides
within.
We did not stop to partake of the good cheer which the


SYRIAN CHURCh. | 19
din of preparation promised, but packed up the remnants of
a lamb which we had roasted, and started about an hour
before sunset. Our company was now a large one. A few
had come with us from the city, and others, who had been
watching our departure for several days, followed us as
soon as we passed the gates. Among the company was a
Mussulman family, who marched a very little in our rear,
closely attended by the master in person; and when we
stopped, always encamped a few rods away from us.
Still and quiet we pursued our way over the desert,
saw the sun go down into the plain just as it sinks into the
calm ocean, and the daylight go silently out. Hour after
hour stole by, and still we went on, on, on, with a measured,
sober tread, over the boundless level. Several times
we lost our way, and great was our astonishment when we
came to a village that we thought was far behind us.
Many leagues distant towards the Tigris, the plain was all
on fire, the flames of which now rose and writhed and soar-
ed, and now gave place to a dark cloud of smoke, rising and
rolling away in endless convolutions.
As the day broke, we found ourselves near Nisibin,
where we halted till night came round again. This little
village, the site of the famous city where James of hallowed
memory lived, and the school of Christian sages attracted
students from the distant East, is now a den of thieves.
Kurds, Arabs, Christians, Jews, the offscouring of the cities
and refugees from justice, have all taken shelter in Nisibin.
Its great attraction is that it is free from taxes, (an exemp-
tion established by Hafiz Pasha, for the sake of enticing
settlers,) and is too unhealthy for an honest man to live in.
Such a spectacle of filth and ugliness as its one hundred
and fifty houses presented, I thought I had never seen, even
in the miserable villages of Turkey. Close by our tent lay
a dead man, swollen and rotting in the hot sun, and there,
to all appearance, he was to lie, like the carcass of a


120 VISIT TO THE
horse, till the dogs devoured him. The villagers were pass-
ing to and fro, but no one noticed him. Where he lay
when we arrived, he lay when we left.
We wished to have started at evening, but our guards
were not ready till three hours after sunset. They came at
last, fifteen stout men, armed with spear, and gun, and
sword, and with them an unarmed guide, a black, fierce-
looking Arab, that spoke hardly a word to the end of the
journey. We had come thus far from Mardin alone, but
the rest of the way was accounted dangerous. A quarrel
had arisen between the Bey of Jezireh and certain soldiers
of the Pasha, which compelled us to avoid the road, which lay
in part through the country of the former, and strike for Mos-
soul, straight through the desert, where there was no path,
nor water, nor signs of life. This would carry us into rather
a dangerous proximity to the Yezidees of Sinjar, whose old
habits of plunder it could hardly be hoped, were entirely
abolished and forgotten in four years of professed but very
doubtful loyalty." There was also a report that a famous
Arab chief, Souſouk Bey, had been plundering in that part
of the desert, and might at any moment appear in our path.
I suppose it was reports of this kind which chilled the
courage of our party, for, when we started, not a man of all
who had accompanied us from Kherin made his appearance,
and, like the Pilgrim, we went on our way, and saw them
no more.
We were destined, however, to have female society in
our rude journey over the desert. One of our guards, who
bore only a spear, had, in the place of other accoutrements,
a Kurdish girl of 16, whom he carried behind him on his
horse. He had found her in Nisibin perishing with famine,
* These inveterate robbers of the desert were subdued in their own
mountains by Hafiz Pasha, during the summer of 1837. See Narrative
of a Tour, &c., II, p. 266.


SYRIAN CHURCH. - • 121
and was now taking her to Mossoul to make her his wife.
I was disposed to believe him, for he treated her with kind-
ness all the way, and gave her the best morsel to eat, and
spake gently to her when she was weary. She had no friend
but him in the wide world. Father and mother, brothers
and sisters were all gone; and he, a stranger, had taken her
to him, to protect and comfort her. Sweet everywhere in
this sorrowing world is it to see the kindlier sympathies of
man's nature in exercise, but nowhere more sweet than in
the desert, and among rude and barbarous men. The girl,
too, was modest and well-looking. She rode apart from the
company with her companion, and carefully concealed her
face from the gaze of others. I thought it was also a re-
deeming trait in the rough character of our guards, that
they did not attempt to intrude upon their comrade, but left
him with his charge to pursue their way as they pleased.
It was one dreadful feature of the famine that had lately
depopulated the villages, that it dissolved the ties of nature,
kindred and morality. Parents sold their daughters for a
morsel of food, and girls who had lost their parents sold
themselves for nothing to any body who would support them.
During the whole of these distressing scenes, the Turkish
Governors seem never to have dreamed that they had any
interest or concern in relieving the wants of their starving
people. I thought of appealing to the fat Pasha of Diarbe-
kir, a monster of a man, whose circumference was equal to
his longitude, but every one told me that it would be useless,
so I desisted. In fact, the Turks seemed to think it a good
opportunity to get rid of bad subjects, and it was vain to
urge the claims of humanity against their peculiar views of
state policy.
After a sleepless day at Nisibin, we travelled all night over
the desert, crossing before midnight three little streams, from
one of which we frightened a herd of wild hogs, that scam-
pered away in the dark, while into another we only escaped,


122 VISIT TO THE
by the superior instinct of our horses, from plunging our-
selves. Before 1 A. M. we judged by the baying of dogs
that we were passing near some village, and soon after, we
came upon a field of barley, ready for the sickle. Here our
guide ordered a halt, and every man excepting myself dis-
mounted, and coolly taking off his horse's bridle, let him
loose into the barley. I pleaded, remonstrated, and, as one
must sometimes do with Easterns, stormed, in vain. The
guards coolly replied that the horses would not eat enough
to make the difference perceptible. I remained some time
upon my horse, heartily wishing that the dogs would come
after us. But their barking sounded no nearer, and at last
ceased, when the guards quietly laid themselves down and
went to sleep. Seeing resistance useless, I dismounted also,
and gave my horse to the muleteer, who quickly set him to
work with the others. According to our contract, he was to
provide fodder, and he would not allow me to dictate to him
the mode of doing it. I laid down upon the ground, but
was so vexed that I could not sleep; so I consoled myself as
well as I could, with eating bread and cheese. After an
hour I walked over the ground. There was hardly a stalk
of barley left standing. Thirty hungry horses had been em-
ployed upon it for an hour. What had not been consumed,
was trodden down. I thought of the dismay of the poor
villagers when they should come to look after their harvest;
and yet a kind Providence, that watches over all, had per-
mitted us to come and destroy the hard-earned produce of
their toil. I called up the guards, and pointed to the very
“perceptible difference” that we had made in the appear-
ance of the field. The only conclusion which they drew from
it was that their horses had had enough. I had thought
that they would be frightened when they saw what they had
done, but they appeared so cool about it that I began to
suspect that the villagers who owned the field were Chris-
tians. There are some Syrians in this part of the desert.


SYRIAN CHURCH. 123
We were following no path, and were therefore obliged
to trust solely to the sagacity of the guide. I know not
how he calculated, but I kept my eye ever and anon upon
the stars, fixing the cardinal points by the polar constella-
tion. Judging from that faithful monitor, whose presence,
with that of all his sister constellations, has often in the long
weary nights been to me society, our course was by no
means straight forward. Without any imaginable cause,
our guide led us hither and thither, to the right and the
left, the north and the south. Perhaps he was asleep. I
told him we were wrong, but he was the guide and could
do as he pleased. When morning broke, he looked round
after the tels, or mounds," and professed to guide us by
them. His business was to lead us to water, but he
went to sleep, and his horse went on, and continued for
some time to perform the duties of his master before
we discovered under what guidance we were. He, the
master, was evidently bewildered, and kept us wandering
to and fro with the hope of finding water somewhere.
At length he brought us to a lake, whose waters were saline
and undrinkable. The water had receded, and left a strong
mineral deposit on the shore. All around were tracks of
wild hogs, and a few birds were there. All the rest was
barren, cheerless desert, covered with dry, yellow, prickly
shrubs, scorched and baked by the sun. We stopped here
two hours, for no other purpose that I could discover, but
to look at the lake and wish that we could drink of it.
When we approached it, the guide declared it was the very
water he was looking for, which agreeable announcement
had induced the muleteer to throw off his loads, and when
this was done, it was hard to persuade him that we were
* The desert is dotted in different places with these singular mounds,
which appear to be artificial.


124 VISIT TO THE
not encamped for some hours. But the terrible heat, which
seemed to come down with tenfold intensity upon the light
soil and white deposit about the lake, and the impatience
of the horses for the water which they could not drink,
sickened us all of the thought of staying there till evening.
Indeed, it was only a little less evil to move than to stay,
for the sun poured such merciless rays upon us that it was
hard to bear them any where.


SYRIAN CHURCH. 125
C H A P T E R X. I.
Encampment at Night.—Boar Chase.—Repast.—Night March.-Search
for Water.—The Sinjar Mountains.—Conflagration.—Sudden Depart-
ure.—The Gazelle.—Robber's Watch Height—Camel caught.—Road
lost.—Peasants.-Their Timidity.—Its Cause.—Abou Maria.—Ret-
rospect.—Last Day.—Reception in a Skeikh's Tent.—Reach the Ti-
gris.-A Nap.–The City.
WE left our encampment by the lake, and after various
meanderings and turnings, came at length, perfectly exhaust-
ed, to a little pool of water which the rushes had kept from
drying up. It was all that remained of the spring rains, and a
few more days would have sufficed for its disappearance. We
sat by it for a time after quenching our thirst, and felt it to
be a real luxury to repose in the green fresh grass on the
edge of it. We were loth to leave it, but our way was long,
and we were compelled to travel yet farther in order rightly
to divide our stages. So we started again, and in about an
hour came to the water which the guide had been in quest
of, and which was a little stream running down from
Haznaour on the road from Nisibin to Mossoul. It ran in a
deep gully which it had worn in the soil, and, though narrow
and insignificant in appearance, was not easily approached
with our heavy baggage horses nor easily forded. We suc-
ceeded, however, in crossing it, and in two and a quarter
hours more, came to a green spot where there seemed to be
both grass and water. The one necessity was as great as the
other, for the muleteer, reckoning upon finding grass, had


126 VISIT TO THE
laid in only a small stock of barley, while the guards had
none at all. We thought it best, therefore, to encamp for
the night. The day was far spent, and most of the party
were weary with our long march. Still another circumstance
helped us to form the same resolution. Just before we reached
the place, we started up a herd of swine, some twenty in
number, with nearly as many young. In a moment, the
whole party, excepting only the Kurdish girl, her lover and
myself, started off in pursuit. It was a brisk and stirring
scene. The Mussulmans were intent only upon adventure,
but our party had the nobler purpose of getting a dinner.
The hogs, however, had the advantage of the jaded horses,
and being themselves very fleet of foot, they soon outran
them. Our party were about abandoning the chase, when
they saw that several of the young ones were left behind,
and were running off in another direction. This renewed
the sport, and at length, with much ado, they succeeded in
killing two and taking another alive. The little things ran
and turned with a celerity that quite surprised me, who had
never seen any others of the race than their quiet and sober
brethren of the sty. They proved, however, to be real pigs,
and we promised ourselves the luxury of fresh pork in the
desert. But here a difficulty arose. The guard, being
Mussulmans, would not touch the unclean creatures with
one of their fingers. We next applied to the muleteer, but
he was of the same faith, and quietly turned away, saying,
“What have I to do with pigs tº We were thus left to our
own resources, and with the aid of our servants, completed
the task. The question then arose, how they were to be
cooked. We begged the guards to lend us a ramrod for a
spit, but even this they refused. So we were compelled to
put the meat on the fire, and let it roast as it might. The
guards looked at us with half-averted eyes as we partook of
the delicious morsels. One of the party confessed that he
had drunk wine, “but never,” he said, “have I committed


SYRIAN CHURCH. 127
the abomination of eating a pig.” Some Armenians, though
Christians, are of the same opinion,' but my companion, the
physician, was not one of them, nor did his fellow-traveller
or his servant seem inclined to the Mohammedan dogma,
though they also were Armenians. Basil was a Greek, and
knew of no cause for scruple upon the subject. So we all
ate heartily, although the meat, for want of salt, seemed very
fresh, and we had nothing to supply the place of vegetables
but a crust of our dry bread and a bit of cheese.
The little pig that we took alive was tied by the hind-
leg, and let loose into the reeds, from which he would ever
and anon, at short intervals, make an attack upon our en-
campment, grunting and running headlong into the midst
of us, and biting right and left. I interceded for his re-
lease, that he might go in search of his mother, but the
Mussulmans thought it best to slaughter the unclean crea-
ture; whereupon the physician showed his dexterity by un-
sheathing his sword, creeping up to the pig, and striking his
head off at a blow.
By this time the whole herd had appeared again in the
distance, and we set the guard to watch their movements.
They wandered about as if in quest of their lost ones, and
a straggler from the herd came so near that one of the
guard took a long shot at him without effect. The mon-
strous animal turned leisurely round, and went back to his
comrades. As soon as the darkness set in we began to
load our horses. The place of our encampment afforded
but little water, and we almost drained the reeds dry before
we departed. We had a long march before us ere we could
* This is particularly true of the Armenians of Cappadocia, and, as
among the Syrians, who hold the same, it is doubtless a Judaizing opin-
ion received from Apostolic ages. The Syrians positively prohibit the
use of swine's flesh, and I have known their Patriarch to threaten with
ecclesiastical discipline some who had violated the law. It is singular, if
the Nestorians are of the Ten Tribes, that they have no such scruples.


128 Wis IT TO THE
reach water again, and some of the party were affected with
serious apprehensions that the hogs which, as long as we
could see them, had been gradually approaching us, would
come upon us in the night and wreak their vengeance for
the slaughter of their young ones, whose blood had stained
the grass around us, while one of them lay dead at our side.
We, therefore, started about midnight, and although nothing
was said about hogs as the motive for departure, I have no
doubt that some of us were considerably relieved at the
thought of escaping an encounter with twenty enraged an-
imals as large and powerful as bears, and much more fero-
cious.
It was the night of the 10th–11th of June, and within
a few days of the summer solstice, yet the air, which had
been so oppressive during the day, was now cool and re-
freshing, and towards morning even uncomfortable. There
must have been a change of 50° in the temperature, within
twelve hours. At two or three o'clock P. M. it was al-
most too hot for flesh and blood to endure; before midnight
it began to be cool, and near morning, cold. The heat was
not altogether in the direct rays of the sun, but as much
perhaps in the powerful reflection from the light arid soil
of the desert. To-day (June 11th) it was somewhat mod-
erated by a strong wind. Moreover, we had now reached
higher ground lying out from the Sinjar, and were close at
the foot of those formidable mountains. Our guide had
again mistaken his course, and during the night had been
travelling in a direction due south. At day-dawn we rec-
tified our mistake, and continued until we encamped at two
P. M., making a march of fourteen hours, during which we
did not alight or stop. The heat, though less than yester-
day, was sufficiently intense to be very uncomfortable, and
man and horse were ready to drop with fatigue and thirst.
Scouts were sent out in every direction in search of water,
but returned unsuccessful. We ascended every mound and


SYRIAN CHURCH. 129 *"
went down into every hollow in vain. All around was one
broad, sterile plain, scorched and seared by the rays of the
burning sun. Some of the party wished to stop for repose,
but I would not listen to the suggestion, for fear that if our
horses once laid down, they would never rise again. I rode
forward with one of the guard in the direction prescribed,
and, after some hours' search, succeeded in finding a little
water in a ditch overgrown with reeds. It was warm and
muddy, and full of insects, but nevertheless it was water,
and we hastened back to give the news to our famishing
friends. They received it with exultation, and the poor
beasts, as if aware of what was in store for them, readily
obeyed their drivers, and started off at a new pace. We
were soon at the spot, and, without waiting for precedence,
every man and horse went down on his knees to drink.
But little of the water which had filled the ditch was left,
and this little was fast evaporating in the heat. There was
barely enough to satisfy our present necessity. Had we
come a day or two later, we should have found none. One
heart at least was grateful for the God-send. It was as
timely a blessing as if it had been brought by miracle from
the flinty rock.
We were now close to the foot of the mountains and
near the barley-fields of the Yezidees. Above us could be
descried several villages, and a building which, the guard
informed me, was a place of pilgrimage. The heights were
covered with the vine, the fig, and other fruit-trees, whose
dark green foliage presented a strong contrast with the sun-
burnt hue of the desert. Water abounds in the mountains,
and we had determined, if the desert failed us, to ascend to
the nearest village for a supply. Happily we were saved the
necessity, We quenched our thirst among the reeds, and
ordered our servants to light a fire and prepare coffee. For
this purpose they cleared a spot of the dry herbage, and
proceeded with all due caution lest the fire should commu-


*
130 Visit TO THE
nicate to the desert. But our precautions proved in vain.
A spark in some way caught the adjoining shrubbery and
burst into a blaze. In an instant all was commotion. Our
tents were pulled down, and every man seizing one of the
felts of which they were composed, or a carpet, or a horse-
cloth, began to beat the fire in. We were twenty active
men, working with all our might; when the alarm was
given the fire was not more than a yard or two broad; on
one side too was a ditch it could not pass; and yet with the
greatest ado we succeeded in quelling it. It spread with
the quickness of lightning, and a very few minutes would
have sufficed to carry it into the ripe grain. “If it reaches
the barley,” exclaimed the guard, “the Yezidees will come
upon us and kill every man of us.” This was a very anima-
ting consideration. Another, still more pressing, was, that
before it reached the barley, it would consume our own
baggage. And yet there was one man Mussulman enough
to sit still and say, “It is God's work; I will not interfere
with it.” His fatalism would soon have been put to the
test, for if the fire had advanced a few yards farther, he
would have been excited to activity or burnt where he sat.
The great smoke which rolled off from the burning
brushwood alarmed us so much with the fear of alarming
the Yezidees, that though we had hardly composed ourselves
to rest, we thought it best, with the advice of the guard, to
mount and away. Our horses were speedily laden, and we
were soon marching again in the heat of the day. On the
road, one of the guard found a young gazelle, which was
sleeping on the desert. As we came to it, it turned up-
wards its deep black eyes, and bleated as if expecting its
mother. It was too young to run away, and I carried it
before me on the saddle, having spread under it my cloak
for a bed. Its soft look and timid voice so won upon me
among the barbarous sights and sounds of the desert, that I
determined, if possible, to save it and carry it back to be the


SYRIAN CHURCH. 131
companion of a little boy in Constantinople. But he was
not destined to receive the present. We stopped at sunset
and lighted our fires in a little dell, where we found a spring
of delicious water, which, collecting in a basin hollowed in
the rock, and overflowing its brim, glided off into the valley.
Here we stopped two hours, and when we mounted again I
asked after the gazelle. The guards had killed, cooked, and
eaten it, and now alleged in excuse that it could not have
lived without milk, and we had none to give it. I was
compelled to be content, and we went on our way.
About one hour before we reached this valley, we had
passed a lofty mound on the left, standing out like a solitary
sentinel guarding the approach to the heights. On the top
was an enclosure, intended, as the guards said, to secrete
watchmen or robbers. In former days, when the hills were
independent of foreign sway, news of an enemy or booty
moving over the desert, used to be given by signal from this
mound, and was afterwards repeated from summit to sum-
mit along the heights. Then came the mustering and the
foray, the sudden attack upon the caravan, as if of men
rising out of the desert, the skirmish, the plundering, and
the return. We looked up to the stone wall which formed
the enclosure. All was silent and deserted. We blessed
ourselves that the former times had gone by.
The valley supplied no grass. The water from the rock
gave life only to tall green rushes. Our horses had eaten
nothing since yesternight, excepting a small allowance of
barley, which in Turkey takes the place of oats, a grain
little known. We were forced, therefore, to resume our
march, although we had travelled eighteen hours with only
one brief interval of rest. During the day, one of the party
had caught a camel that had been let loose apparently from
the Pasha's camp, which had lately passed this way on its
route to the Euphrates. The animal still showed marks of
hard usage, but had sufficiently recovered his health and


132 Wisit TO THE
spirits to be very refractory and turbulent. As we left the
valley, he broke loose from his keeper and started for the
desert. The guide must needs join with the others in pur-
suing him, whereby we lost our way, which was of far more
importance than the camel, and wandered about in the dark
until we struck a road going to Tel Afar, an Arab village
south of our route. We had intended to reach Kassi Keu-
pru, on the main road from Mossoul to Nisibin, but having
found a beaten track, we were loth to leave it. After three
hours' ride, we found to our great joy both grass and water,
and stopped till morning.
At early dawn we were on horse again, and keeping the
Tel Afar road, the sight of a cultivated country, with wheat
fields and reapers, soon greeted our eyes. I should rather ex-
cept the latter, for as soon as they saw us they left their sheaves
and fled. I was ready at the moment to pour a lamentation over
their misery. Poor peasants: how sad and insecure their
state | They reap their fields with trembling, and fly at the
sound of the passing traveller. They know no peace. The
hand of civil power oppresses them, or the robber of the
desert wrests from them their hard-earned pittance. But
wait a little, and you will hear another tale. Six months
later and this same village is depopulated, and its inhabitants
carried away by force, on account of their crimes. They
are found to be leagued with the Arab plunderers of the
desert, and their walled village is the mart where the ill-got
gains are bought and sold. By order of government they
are broken up and dispersed like a gang of thieves. Their
fear when we approached, was it indeed the terror of the op-
pressed innocent, or the trembling of conscious guilt 1
From our appearance they might take us to be Pasha's
men, (as in truth three-fourths of the party were,) and
these are the very last people they would wish to meet
with.
We did not visit their village, but, leaving it to the


SYRIAN Church. 133
right, went off over the hills to Abou Maria, a small village
only one hour distant from Kassi Keupru. Here we were
kindly received by the Sheikh, or head-man, who killed a
lamb in honor of our arrival, and set it before us stewed in
onions, with a dish of rich yo-oort for dessert.
This was the fifth day since we left Mardin, and our
journey had been at least more pleasant than we had anti-
cipated. The heat, though severe, had often been moderated
by refreshing winds, and the nights had been deliciously
cool. We had suffered chiefly from want of sleep, (I had
not slept an hour for four days,) and this, with the glare of
the sun upon the desert, had rendered me almost blind. My
face, too, had literally baked; so that it cracked open, and
the blood oozed out of the fissures. To-day there was
no wind, and the air was as the heat of a furnace. We
hung upon our horses like wilted leaves, and as we travelled
on through the noontide hours, drooping and exhausted, no
one had strength or spirit to speak. Silently and sadly,
therefore, we rode up to the Sheikh's tent, (for he with all
his people had abandoned their houses, and were living in
tents,) and dismounted before his selamlik." Here, too, we
sought in vain for sleep. The Sheikh, and half the people
in the village, must be entertained, and when they were
gone, the fleas, whose nature it is to commence their antics
as soon as the traveller lies still to rest, would not give us a
moment's repose.
At sunset we mounted again, cheered by the thought
that it was our last stage. The Sheikh conducted us half
an hour upon our road, and departed with a handsome pre-
sent, slipped into his hand and received as if it were una-
wares. Nothing occurred to interrupt our journey, except-
ing a hurricane of wind and rain, with lightning, which
* That part of a house or tent devoted to men, in distinction from the
harem or place of the women.
7


134 VISIT TO THE
compelled us to dismount and hold our horses by the bridle
for two long hours. The scene was most terrific and sub-
lime. Now we were involved in thick darkness, and anon,
in the twinkling of an eye, the heavens and the desert were
lighted up with a blaze of glory, which as suddenly disappear-
ed, leaving us again in utter obscurity. I had my baggage
horse placed to windward, and sat down under my own
horse's belly till the storm had passed. It continued two
hours, and then subsided. The pale moon began at length
to creep out from the thick clouds by which she had been
completely hidden, and to shed her light upon the ragged
masses of vapor which sped by her with the rapidity of
the whirlwind. At daybreak we were upon the banks of
the Tigris, an hour or two distant from Mossoul. I
could withstand it no longer, but dismounted, threw myself
upon the ground, laid my head upon a stone, and for
one sweet hour slept profoundly. When I awoke, the sun
was up, and its rays were playing upon the breast of the
stream. Most of the party had mounted and gone forward
on their way. The physician was still asleep, and the old
muleteer watching beside us, half asleep himself. We
roused the doctor, mounted, overtook our party, and went
with them to the city.


syRIAN CHURCH. 135
C H A P T E R X II.
The English Church at Mossoul.—State of the Christians.—Divisions.—
State of Learning.—The Nestorian and Chaldean Churches—History
of their Separation.—Subjection of the latter to the Pope.—The Na-
ture of Romish Innovations.
As soon as we entered the city, I went at once to the
British Consulate, and on opening the gate, was greeted by
the Vice-Consul himself. I had written to him early in
the spring, promising to be in Mossoul, Deo volente, by
the middle of June. It was now the thirteenth, and though
my journey had been interrupted and hindered, and I had
been driven out of my way, I was here true to my word.
It was Sunday morning, and every thing within wore that
quiet, Sabath-like appearance which I had always associated
with the holy day. How refreshing to turn from the
sterile desert, the noontide heat, the rude faces of my
Arab guard, to such a scene as this How glad was I to
doff my soiled and stained travelling gear, and be once
more a Frank among Franks | A few hours' repose were
allowed me, and then we gathered in the library, and,
though hardly exceeding the two or three who may claim
the promise, we offered our worship in the faith that our
blessed Lord was in the midst of us. Above us floated the
cross of England, high waving over dome and minaret,
giving at once all the protection that human strength can
afford, and showing far and wide the badge of the faith in
which we worshipped.
-


136 Wis IT TO THE
This is thy glory, England. In hoc signo vinces. What
are the conquests of thine arms if they carry not with them
the conquest of thy faith ? Better far that thy sun go down
in darkness, than that thou be disobedient to Him whose
sign thou bearest. Bind, then, thy strength to the cross.
Wherever the arts of peace or the voice of war lead thee,
bear this thy sacred sign with thee. Let it sanctify thy
victories. Let it guide thy sway. Gather under it thy
children wandering in all lands. Lift it high where idola-
try and superstition reign. So shall there be to thee a
memorial unto many generations. So shall thy name and
thy power be linked with what is enduring and immortal.
All else will perish; be true to thy sign.
When the flag of England was first raised upon the
consulate at Mossoul, the whole city were gathered upon
their roofs to witness the sight, and remained there most of
the day gazing upon the novel spectacle. The Christians
were filled with wonder and admiration at the appearance
of the cross floating in mid air, while the Mussulmans,
enraged at the sight, went to the Pasha and complained
that it was soaring above the crescent on a mosque that
stood close by. Great was the joy of the Christians when
—they saw the emblem of their faith thus exalted, and much
they wondered at the power which could elevate it in the
very midst of Mohammedanism. For many a long age of
oppression their eyes or the eyes of their fathers had not
been cheered by such a sight; the cross had humbled itself
before the crescent; their religion had been associated in
their minds with degradation and captivity; when suddenly
they behold its despised badge unfurling and floating on
the sky triumphantly, in the face of its enemies. Is it to
be wondered that from morning till evening they sat gazing
upon that joyous emblem, and can it be doubted, that when
the sun went down they slept with a new sense of security
and peace?


SYRIAN CHURCH. 137
The state of the Christians in Mossoul is not essentially
different from what it was at the time of my first visit."
Their number has rather diminished than increased. Time
was when their twelve Churches were crowded with wor-
shippers. Half of them are now shut and the grass is grow-
ing at the door-stone. The Syrians have four, the Church
of St. Thomas, which is the Bishop's Church, the Church of
Mahoudeni, and two Churches of St. Mary. Of these, two
only are occupied, and these two are divided between the
two parties, Syrians and Syrian Papists. The walls, which
were built by royal order in 1837, were thrown down by
royal order in 1838, and by royal order built again a few
months after. They now stand in the middle of each
Church, a dividing wall between the two parties, who wor-
ship as enemies under the same roof where their fathers
assembled in peace and love. Then no foreign intruder
had entered their peaceful fold. Now they are divided, torn,
weakened, preying upon and devouring each other. When
they worship it is no longer before one altar, but with a wall
between them, as if jealous of each other's sacrifice. Their
two Bishops grew up together as brothers, read together,
talked together, prayed together. Now they are leaders of
hostile bands. The Syrian Papists are seceders from the
Syrians, and though we must acknowledge that they have
gained thereby, in that they no longer reject the Council of
Chalcedon and receive the orthodox phraseology respecting
the nature of Christ, yet the act of allegiance to a foreign
Bishop is itself a violation of ancient Canons on their part,”
* See Narrative of a Tour, &c. Vol. II. Chaps. XIX. XX. and XXI.
* It is even a violation of the Canons of the Council whose decrees
of faith they have received in contra-distinction from the Syrians, who
reject them. “Let not a Bishop go into another city not belonging to his
jurisdiction, to ordain any one, or to constitute Priests or Deacons for
places subject to another Bishop,” &c. Can. 22 of the Council of Antioch,
A. D. 341, confirmed by the Council of Chalcedon, A. D. 451, Can. 1.


s YRIAN CHURCH. 141
Papal jurisdiction. Later investigations have also shown
that there are still others in the province of Bahdinan, North
of Mossoul. These are quite distinct from the Nestorians
of the Church of Mar Shimon, which still adheres entirely
(excepting a few seceders in the district of Salmas, in Persia)
to the old position which it has maintained since the separa-
tion of the 16th century. There are, then, the Nestorian
Church of Mar Shimon, (sometimes called Chaldean;) the
Chaldean Church of Mar Elias, (sometimes called Papal
Chaldean;) and a remnant of the latter who have never
acknowledged the Pope, and still remain Nestorians." These
last are without a Patriarchal head, but have a Bishop of
their own who resides in the mountains not far from Jezireh.
Upon the demise of the late Patriarch, Mar Elias, who
had held the office more than half a century, and died in
1838, at the age (as was commonly reported) of 120 years,
the office should have descended in regular succession to
his nephew, who was living at Al Kosh, and whose baptis-
mal name was Elias.” But the Pope had otherwise ordered,
and the office was conferred upon another Bishop, who
was a native of Salmas, in Persia, and had never been con-
nected with the Church of Mar Elias until he was elevated
to its Patriarchate. He was one of the few seceders from
the Church of Mar Shimon, and had been educated at
Rome, under the eye of the Propaganda. Immediately
upon the death of the Patriarch he was declared his suc-
cessor by virtue of an order from the Pope, and entered
upon the duties of the office. He is now the only acting
* Some English writers speak of the Church of Mar Shimon as Chal-
dean, and that of Mar Elias as Papal Chaldean. I do not dispute the
justness of the distinction, but prefer to use the terms common in the coun-
try, and call the former Nestorian, and the latter Chaldean."
* Both in the Nestorian and the Chaldean Church, the Patriarchate
has been for ages hereditary, descending from uncle to nephew, the Pa-
triarch himself being confined to a state of celibacy.
7.


142 Wisit TO THE
Patriarch, although the regular successor, Bishop Elias, has
never ceased to claim the dignity. Another act of unjusti-
fiable interference on the part of the Pope has been the
change of the official title of the Patriarch. Until now the
name of Elias has descended from age to age, the hon-
ored appellation of each succeeding Patriarch. It is now
removed, and the present incumbent is dignified with the
title of Mar Nicolas.
These several acts of unwarranted usurpation (for less
they cannot be called), are as contrary to the relations which
the late Patriarch had wished to maintain with the Pope as
they are to ancient canons. He was induced to the alle-
giance by violence. His firman of investiture was taken
away from him secretly, and withheld until he would sub-
mit. He was alternately threatened and promised. At a
later date he was imprisoned and his life put in jeopardy by
the intrigues of his enemies; and finally, in his old age he
was conveyed from his see to Bagdad, and kept in the
house of the Vicar Apostolic, that he might there end his
days, and the charge in the succession be more easily ac-
complished. And yet the Patriarch never acknowledged
the Pope as any thing more than the first Bishop in Chris-
tendom, and never conceded to him the right to interfere
in the internal jurisdiction of his Church. Had he done so,
it could not have been valid against the authority of ecu-
menical Canons acknowledged by both parties, and without
the consent of the other Bishops of the Nestorian Church,
which to this day has never been obtained. On the whole,
the history of this secession forms one of the darkest pages
in the great drama of papal usurpations, and shows but too
clearly that the ancient spirit of Rome can still manifest
itself where there is nothing to check its natural and appro-
priate development. -
The acting Patriarch, Mar Nicolas, was absent from
Mossoul, on a visit to his own country, so that I had no op-


SYRIAN CHURCH. 143
portunity to judge of him from personal acquaintance. By
some of the native Christians, he was represented as devoted
to pleasure; by others, as concealing under this guise an
active and intriguing spirit. He had lately received £500
from the Lyons Society for the Propagation of the Faith,
and some were ready to predict that the money would never
come out of his pocket for any purposes but his own enjoy-
ment. These things were chiefly said by Chaldeans, and
some allowance is to be made for the fact, that many of
them were offended at what they called the obtrusion of a
foreigner upon them. Great differences of opinion were”
prevailing as to the legality of the act and the right of the T’’
Pope to require their submission. Some were ready to
sanction any thing that came from Rome; others acknow-
ledged the primacy of the successor of St. Peter, but pro-
tested against the corruptions of the Latin Church; while
others still rejected the connection altogether. “I de-
nounce him,” cried one in the bitterness of his zeal against
the Pope; “what business of his to send his minions to
break up the ancient order of our Church, and require us
to bow to his pleasure ? Who gave him authority or do-
minion over us? For one, I will none of him.”
Had the Church of Rome been truly primitive and Catho-
lic, there might have been nothing in this change that we
should not have rejoiced in. It were truly a noble design
*-
to restore the Nestorian Church to the communion from
which it has been so long an alien. It were worthy of
Christian men to seek these early wanderers, and, by gath-
ering them again within the fold, to heal the first abiding
breach in the ranks of the Christian army. It were a glo-
rious deed, the brightest triumph in the course of ages.
But has it so been The Roman Church began with no
offer of Catholic union, but with tyranny and usurpation.
Her thought was not to extend the faith or obey the com-
mand of Christ, but to aggrandize the Pope. She spoke


144 Wisit TO THE
not first of the council of Ephesus, but of the supremacy of
St. Peter. She addressed them not as those who might
prove to be brethren, but got possession of the title-deeds
of their Patriarch, and forced him to submission to escape
ruin. Her first and last demand was—Acknowledge the
Pope. This point gained, the wedge was in. Always ad-
vancing, never retreating, sometimes by promise and some-
times by threat, she has succeeded in subjecting the Chal-
dean Church to her unlawful sway.
And how has she used her power Has she trained the
Chaldeans in the primitive faith? Has she filled them with
knowledge? Has she made them upon the whole a more
Catholic and purer Church? They have been taught to re-
ceive the Third Ecumenical Council, and this we acknow-
ledge in itself is well. But even this teaching has been
confined to a few, who give to it no very intelligent assent,
while the mass of the people know of no change from their
former position except that they now acknowledge the Pope.
Beyond this, the Chaldean Church has been made less
Catholic by making it less primitive. The effort has been
to introduce corruptions unknown before. The use of holy
water and the rosary, and a multitude of other ceremonies,
what effect could they have but to turn away the minds of
the Chaldeans from the great truths of Christianity in which
they were already but too imperfectly instructed, and render
them satisfied with an unspiritual and pharisaical service?
There have been introduced among them vain and idle
superstitions, whose only result has been to debase the pu-
rity and simplicity of their worship. They have been taught
to pay adoration to pictures and images, and to convert their
ancient reverence for the Saints into the idolatrous worship
of the Blessed Virgin. The following is only a specimen of
the means resorted to, to degrade their religion and assimi-
late them to the Church of Rome. For several years past,
there have been brought to Mossoul, pictures of the Virgin,


SYRIAN CHUIt UH. 145
printed on calico, and intended to be hung about the neck.
Those who wear them are taught, that the man dying with
one of them upon him will be rescued from Purgatory, and
conveyed to Paradise on the following Saturday, and if he
dies on Saturday he will go immediately to Heaven. There
are intelligent Roman Catholics even who know such things
as these to be wicked superstitions, and who will lament as
well as we that they should be introduced among a simple
and credulous people, to degrade their religion and endan-
ger their souls; for what could be a more effectual patron-
age of sin, than to teach that, whatever may have been the
character of the life, the wearing of this boasted charm will
save the soul ?
It is implied in what I have just said, that the doctrine
of Purgatory is taught, a doctrine formerly unknown to
the Chaldeans, destitute of all title to Catholicity, and
among uninstructed men, like the Chaldeans, destructive to
the self-denying duties of religion. It is unnecessary to
enlarge the list. The Chaldeans, as a body, are as igno-
rant of the Catholic verities, as destitute of an educated .
clergy, and of sound religious instruction, as they were
before their union with Rome, while their worship has lost
its former purity, and their minds are degraded by idle
superstitions. Over these things we mourn. We grieve to
see a Christian Church thus acting towards a wandering
sister, and we wait with patience and hope for the day when
some other more faithful member of Christ's body shall seek
a restoration of unity in the spirit of primitive times.
' A Roman Catholic gentleman, with whom I fell in company in my
travels, said to me one day, “I am a member of the Church of Rome, but
I must say that I am grieved to see the means resorted to by our priests
to extend the sway of our Church in these countries.” He was alluding
to such means as these. I must add that the pictures were sent from
Rome.


146 Visit to The
Note.—In what I have said in this chapter, I do not
wish to be understood as expressing a final judgment upon
the question whether the Nestorian Church of the present
day is guilty of heresy. All the evidence which I have re-
ceived goes to show that it is not, but I will not pretend to
form a judgment on so important a point without maturer
investigation. One thing, however, seems clear, which is,
that they ought not to be received to communion while the
matter remains doubtful. Neither are they to be denounced
as heretics. The subject demands inquiry, and, if it can
be attained, an authoritative decision. The argument of
Palmer' appears insufficient. It is a begging of the ques-
tion to say that they have “never forsaken their errors.”
The very question is, whether they hold the errors imputed
to them. If they “ have never been restored to the com-
munion of the Catholic Church,” it may be that they seek
a restoration. I am inclined to believe that they do. If
they have “never acknowledged the errors of their found-
ers,” and “anathematize the synods of Ephesus and Chal-
cedon,” it may be, as Nestorians have often declared to me,
that they do not believe that Nestorius and his coadjutors
held the error imputed to them, and that, therefore, the
judgment of the Council against them was unjust and ir-
regular. Supposing them to be wrong in all this, it proves
them to be in “error of fact,” but not in “heresy.”
' Treatise on the Church of Christ, Part I. Chap. XIV.
* Ib. Part I. Chap. V. Sec. III.


148 Visit TO THE
a tomb over the remains of the prophet. He replied that
he thought the evidence insufficient, and required that they
should first open the coffin, and see whether there were,
indeed, the remains of a man within. The coffin accord-
ingly was opened, and they found nothing. In the mean-
time, many others began to dream about the matter, and
he who first had the honor of a revelation on the subject
dreamed again, and saw the prophet standing before him,
who informed him that, on account of the unbelief of the
Pasha, he had conveyed himself away from this wicked city,
and would not return. The search was then given up.
The tomb was believed to be Daniel's, on the strength of
three or four letters, which together made his name. One
who saw them, told me that they were in the Hebrew char-
acter, but were not in juxtaposition, being evidently a part
of an inscription which had been obliterated by time. The
Christians were, at first, jealous of this Mussulman honor to
an Old Testament saint; but some among them had heard
that the prophet Daniel was buried at Susa, and that his
tomb is seen there to this day. So they laughed in their
sleeve, at the Mussulmans, and let them go on hunting for
their prophet.
But let us return to the Christians. The Syrian popula-
tion of Mossoul and its district is not large. There may
- be in the city 4000, of whom at least 1500 are Papal Syr-
~ ians. There are also about 2000 Chaldeans, making in all
Tº a Christian population of about 6000. The Mussulmans
probably exceed 12,000, and the whole population, includ-
ing Jews and a few others, may be reckoned at 20,000—a
great reduction, indeed, from the immense population, some
120,000, which was once crowded within its walls. Fa-
mine, the plague, and oppression, have destroyed or scat-
tered thousands. The Syrian villages of Mossoul are, 1,
—Karagosh, containing ten Syrian and one hundred Papal


SYRIAN CHU RC H. 149
Syrian families, besides the monastery of Mar Behnam,
now deserted, and nine Churches, one a ruin, and the other
eight divided equally between the Syrians and the Syrian
Papists; 2, Batoli, formerly a Bishop's see, now contain-
ing a hundred and seventy Syrian and thirty Syrian Papal
families and two Churches, of which each party holds one;
3, the villages of Bahshika and Bahzan, at the foot of the
mountain on which the monastery of St. Matthew stands;
they contain together sixty or seventy families, all Syrian,
excepting one, a Syrian Papal Priest who had lately been
sent thither as a missionary, by the French consular agent
at Mossoul; 4, Kop, a small village on the other side of the
mountain, containing thirty families, all Syrian. These are
all the Syrians in the district of Mossoul, of whom I could
learn. To the South there are none, excepting a few at Bag-
dad, who have removed thither from other places. My old
host, Mutran Isai, the Syrian Papal Bishop of Mossoul, was
now absent in Bagdad, having gone thither, as was report-
ed, to build a Church for his sect. There are probably no
more than four or five Syrian families in that city. The mass
of their population is to be sought for to the West of Mossoul,
in the mountains of Tour and Kurdistan, and to the South,
in the districts of Aleppo and Damascus.
On Sunday, June 20th, I read morning prayers at the
Consulate, and administered the Sacrament of Holy Com-
munion to the family. The objects of my visit were now
accomplished, and I prepared to leave on the 22d. The
day before, I had made the following record in my journal.
“The week has now closed, and my work at Mossoul is
nearly completed. The few days of my sojourn here have
been the most interesting of my life. Great events have
transpired, of which the issue is still in the hand of God.
That issue, I doubt not, will be for his glory, whatever may
be the designs of men. For the humble part which I have
been permitted to bear, I offer my ſervent thanksgivings.
* *-*.


SYRIAN CHURCH. 151
only one likely to suffer from his own folly. It might be
amusing to others to see a whole train of diplomatic agents
set on fire by an idle story, but it could hardly be agreeable
to himself to have it discovered that he had, through over-
haste and youthful zeal, led his employers into a race for a
jack-o'lantern. He and his advisers might have ventured
to reflect that it was possible for a man to be doing good to
others without doing injury to them, and that it was possible
for good to be done from higher than political and worldly
ends. And, on the other hand, those who protect them
must not be surprised if they are sometimes frightened by
the bugbear which their own emissaries have created. I
refer to the Latin priests, who seem to think that their de-
signs among the Eastern Christians cannot be accomplished
without traducing the English Church and nation. My
meaning will be made clear as we advance. I will only
add here, that most of the stories which are so diligently
circulated by Papal missionaries, would have no tendency
to injure us if our ecclesiastical character were better
known. But when the Eastern Christians are suffered to
believe that the “English,” in the comprehensive sense in
which I have just used the word, are, as a body and alto-
gether, destitute of the Episcopacy, reject Infant Baptism,
&c., we must expect to suffer in the estimation of the Ori-
ental Communions. They regard these things as essential
parts in the fabric of Christianity. For us, therefore, the
first condition of usefulness, under God, is to make our-
selves known in our true and distinctive character.
I cannot leave Mossoul, without expressing my obliga-
tion to the excellent Consul and his lady, for the kindness
which made my brief sojourn a season of delightful repose
* I have here and elsewhere in the course of my narrative, used the
term “English” as it is commonly used in the interior of Turkey—to wit,
as including both English and Americans without distinction.


152 WISIT TO THE
from the toil and fatigue of my journey. The comfort and
sweet charities of a Christian home, after so many weeks
of lonely wandering and consorting with rude men, were
like water in the desert to the thirsty traveller, refreshing at
the moment, and ever after fondly remembered. It is when
deprived of our blessings, that we best estimate them, and
it is when they come again after an absence, that we most
enjoy them. I have found, however, that pleasant as are
the good things of earth, and grateful as is the possession of
them when Providence places them in our way, they are by
no means necessary to happiness. On the contrary, the
most calm and quiet enjoyment of life on which I can look
back, has been when most completely divested of them.
Those hours return most gratefully to the memory, as hav-
ing been the most pure in their sources of pleasure; the
most peaceful; the most chastened, subdued, and simple in
their faith and hope. Alone with God; human dependence
forsaken; all persons and things valued on earth, out of
sight; thrown upon the consolations of duty; feeling the
nearer presence of heavenly things, more realized, more
esteemed as they come in to fill the void that earth has left;
all this is the foundation of a peace to which, in after life,
the mind recurs as the most wise, the most satisfying, and
the most profitable of the experiences of life. Would that
we who serve Christ and the Church, might so learn this
that we should not shrink from a higher style of duty than
the world pursues, but be truly more primitive in the self.
sacrificing nature of our obedience. Then might we hope
for conquests also primitive, whether among the heathen,
or in the promotion of knowledge, piety, and unity among
the dissevered members of the body of Christ, or in the
gathering and saving of the scattered sheep of our own
folds. Our reward, though small, is equal to our labor.
The more we carry of our ease and comfort into the battle-
field, the more effeminate will be our efforts, the more meagre


SYRIAN Church. 15:3
our victories. The cross, and nothing but the cross on
earth, the crown, and nothing but the crown in prospect—
would that there were some of us who would enter the strife
with such watchwords as these; free from every thing that
would trammel them in God's service; prepared by holy
discipline and freedom from earthly care, for posts of dan-
ger and toil; with nothing left to sacrifice but their own
bodies, and these presented “a living sacrifice, holy, accep-
table to God.' "
By friends at Mossoul I was well supplied with letters
for Governors and ecclesiastics on the route, as well as to
the Patriarch at Mardin. The Pasha was then absent on an
expedition of which no one knew the object. He had been
heard from, marching towards the Euphrates, and there was
a vague report abroad, that he was going against the Pasha
of Damascus. The whole design appeared afterwards to be,
to punish some of the refractory Arabs of the desert, an ex-
pedition in which, at this season, he was likely to lose more
men of his own, than to kill of the fast-flying denizens of
the desert. It shows, however, the bold and energetic char-
acter of the man. His Divan Effendisi (Chancellor) was
ruling in his absence, and from him I received a letter to
the Governor of Zakho, the last town in the pashalic of
Mossoul, North of the river, directing him to show me
every needed attention, and to forward me on my way to Je-
zireh. He also appointed a Mehmandar (Hospitaller) to
accompany me as far as Zakho.
Every thing being ready, I took leave of my friends at
the Consulate and several of the clergy who had come to
bid me farewell, and rode out of the city late in the after-
noon. We crossed the ruined bridge to the East, and then
pursued our way over the plain of Nineveh, and afterwards
over a low, uneven country, to the village of Batana, four
* Rom. xii. 1.


154 VISIT TO THE
hours from Mossoul. The whole plain of Nineveh, which
is about four miles long and a mile broad, seems hardly
large enough to have been the site of that great city in
which there were “more than 120,000 persons who could
not discern between their right hand and their left,” which
was “an exceeding great city of three days’ journey,” un-
less we suppose it to have extended over the hills to the East
and North. Some of my Syrian friends, to whom I pro-
posed the difficulty, suggested that the three days’ journey
might mean that it required so much time to go through
every part of the city, and that Jonah’s “entering into the
city a day's journey,” meant that he travelled about in its
streets a whole day, proclaiming the awful message intrusted
to him." The plain is now waste and desolate, according to
the prediction of Zephaniah: “He will make Nineveh a
desolation, and dry like a wilderness. . . . How is she be-
come a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in.” (Zeph.
iii. 13, 15.) Excepting a few fields of grain near the river,
it seemed to be entirely barren, and the only signs of life
* Jonah iv. 13.
* Ibid. iii. 3. “Whose merchants were multiplied above the stars of
heaven, and whose crowned ones were as the locusts.” Nah. iii. 16, 17.
* Jonah iii. 4.
* This explanation may have been taken from their own Mar
Ephrem, who says (Commen. in Jon. in loc.) that the three days’ journey
is not to be understood of the circumference of the city, but of the time
necessary for the preaching of Jonah to pervade it. If applied, however,
to the circumference, the account agrees very well with that of Diodorus
Siculus (l. II.) who describes it to be 480 stadia, or nearly 60 miles,
which is three days’ journey for a caravan, the common mode of com-
puting distance in the East. Gibbon, therefore, might have spared his
sneer at the scriptural account. (Decline and Fall, Chap. 46.) The
only difficulty is in finding a place for so large a city in the plain opposite
Mossoul. The difficulty, however, is removed by supposing the city to
have extended to both banks of the river, like Bagdad, and this will also
reconcile the account of those ancient writers (chiefly Mussulman) who
describe Nineveh as standing on the right bank. See also Nahum ii. 8.


SYRIAN CHURCH. 155
were five or six miserable looking peasants who were reaping
the grain. On a mound near the centre of the plain stands
the tomb of the Prophet Jonah, and around it is gathered a
little hamlet, called also from his name, Nebbi Yonan." How
little could the proud inhabitants of the great city have
dreamed that the only relics of their glory should one day
be a few scattered fragments of buildings covered by the
soil, that the only monument to mark its site should be the
tomb of the prophet who denounced its woes, and its only
population a few poor families gathered about his burial
place. The tomb is in the hands of the Mussulmans, by
whom the prophet is greatly revered. They say of him that
he remained forty days in the belly of a fish, and that this
occurred after he had left Nineveh, whence he fled in shame
and confusion, on account of the non-fulfilment of his pro-
phecy.”
The city was destroyed 600 years before Christ, and of
course has no place in the records of the Church, excepting
to give its name to a Metropolitan and an Episcopal see of
the Chaldeans. This was also removed about A. D. 820,
and the see was united to that of Adiabene, or Assyria, by
the Catholicos, Joshua Bar Nun.” There is still a fast ob-
served both in the Nestorian and the Syrian Churches,
which is called the Fast of Nineveh, and which is supposed
by the people, and even by the ecclesiastics, to be commemo-
rative of the great fast of their ancestors, at the time when
Nineveh was to be overthrown. But according to Asseman,”
it was first instituted by Sabarjesus, Catholicos of Seleucia,
at the close of the 6th century, and the original object of it
* Prophet Jonah.
* The prayer of the prophet, which they report him to have made
while in the fish's belly, is given in the Koran, and is esteemed by the
Mussulman Doctors as possessing peculiar sanctity and efficacy.
* Ass. Bib. Or. III. 344.
* Ibid. II. 413, 426.


156 Wisit To The
was to invoke God for the cessation of the plague, which
was then ravaging the land. It was afterwards ordained to
be perpetually observed, and the name of Nineveh was given
to it, as descriptive both of the occasion on which it was
established and the severity with which it was to be kept.
If this is a true account of its origin, which I should be in-
clined to doubt if it were not supported by respectable tes-
timony from ancient writers, we must suppose that it was
adopted by the Syrians on account of their being involved
in the same calamity, and that they, like the Nestorians,
thought it worthy of being perpetually observed. The fast
occurs about two weeks before the Great Fast of Easter,
and continues three days, during which time some of the
people, and still more of the clergy, neither eat nor drink.
Three hours from Mossoul we passed Telkeſ, a large
Chaldean village, containing apparently a thousand houses.
Some of the people reported that it formerly held 3000 fam-
ilies, but it is now partly in ruins. Several large Churches
were visible, more conspicuous in size and position than
they commonly are in Turkey. The country around, as it
is throughout this region, was destitute of trees, and the
soil dry and parched from the summer heat. On our right
was the mountain of Makloub, with the monastery of St.
Matthew (now uninhabited, but formerly the seat of the
Syrian Patriarchs, and still nominally the residence of the
Muphrians) in view. In front of us rose the dark range of
mountains, on which stands the monastery of Raban Hor-
misd,' the patriarchal seat of the Chaldeans. At the foot of
the mountain lies Alkosh, or Elkosh, the birth-place of the
* Built by the Monk (Raban) John Hermes, or Hormisda, a native
of Persia, about A. D. 630–The monastery of St. Matthew is more an-
cient. In 629 certain privileges were granted to it by Athanasius, Pa-
triarch of Antioch. Its Metropolitan was allowed to have the first place
after the Muphrian, whose seat was in the same year established at Tek-
rit, on the Tigris, below Mossoul. Ass. Bib. Or, II. 419.


SYRIAN CHURCH. 157
Prophet Nahum, whose tomb is still seen there. It was he
who predicted the downfall of Nineveh, long after the
preaching of Jonah, and one hundred years before its de-
struction, during the interval between the overthrow of the
monarchies of Israel and Judah. We can imagine what
hope and comfort his predictions must have given to the
captive tribes of Israel, when they heard the words of his
sublime and glowing prophecy, in the land of their conquer-
ors. Others, however, have supposed that he was born at
Elkosh, a small village in Galilee, of which St. Jerome re-
lates that he saw the ruins, and that his tomb was afterwards
seen at Bethogabra, a village near Emmaus. But the ac-
count which I have given, appears to have the best claims to
belief, as it has been from ancient times, and is still the
universal tradition of both Jews and Christians in the land
of Assyria. The title of the prophecy is—“The burden of
Nineveh—The book of the vision of Nahum, the Elkoshite.”
At dark we reached the village of Batana. The people,
who were Chaldeans, received me kindly, spread a bed for
me on the roof of a house, and provided an excellent dinner.
Half of the houses in the village were in ruins and unin-
habited. Their occupants had fled to seek in other districts
a more secure and quiet home. The people said that the
cause of it was oppression, and complained bitterly of the
taxes which they were compelled to bear. I liked the ap-
pearance of these Chaldeans and of all that I saw, more
than of most other Christians in Turkey. They seemed to
have more of manliness and natural intelligence than the
peasantry of Asia Minor, which, however, I attribute not so
much to any intellectual or moral superiority as to the fact
that, until within the last ten or twelve years, the peasantry
of Assyria have been less subject to tyranny and extortion.
This, I believe, is every where the cause of the low estate of
| Nahum, i. 1.
S


158 VISIT TO THE
Christianity in Turkey; and accordingly it will be found that
the degradation of the Christians is in exact proportion to
the civil oppressions which they suffer. Thus the Nestori-
ans of Kurdistan, who have hitherto been free, are superior
in point of character to the Christians of European Turkey,
and these are superior to the Chaldeans, who in their turn
are superior to the Christians of Asia Minor ; and the de-
grees of oppression which these different bodies have suffered
have been generally in the same proportion. The Nesto-
rians of the Mountains have been independent of all foreign
rule; the Christians of European Turkey, composing, as
they do, the majority of the population in that country,
have always been able to maintain a position nearly equal
to that of their Mohammedan masters, while the Chaldeans,
though more oppressed in the main, have been in a far better
condition (both on account of the strength of their popula-
tion and on account of the milder prejudices of Mussulmans
in those parts) than the crushed and down-trodden Chris-
tians of Asia Minor. If things continue as they now are,
the Chaldeans will become as completely degraded as the
latter, and the Nestorians, who have recently come under
Mohammedan sway, will gradually lose those manly qual-
ities which have hitherto distinguished them. In order to
effect a just comparison of the relative influences of Moham-
medanism and Christianity upon a people, the two should be
placed in a state of civil equality. In such a condition, I,
for one, would cheerfully stake the whole character of our
religion upon the result. But as things now are, nothing
can be more unjust than the hasty judgments of some of our
Western travellers, who seeing in certain parts that Moham-
medans are really superior to Christians in dignity of char-
acter, in hospitality, and other social virtues, rashly infer that
their religion is as beneficent as Christianity. It is true,
indeed, that, in its present low estate, the influences of our
holy religion in the East are in a great measure lost through


SYRIAN CHURCH. 159
want of instruction; but even this is owing mainly to the ty-
rannical sway of Islamism, which at once degrades the mind
and cuts off the means of improvement.
June 23. We started again at day dawn. My guard
consisted of only four men. The number was an indica-
tion of the strong-handed government which rules the pro-
vince of Mossoul. Were the same government more atten-
tive to the wants of the people, and more limited in its
exactions, it would be a model of good rule for such a coun-
try, where severity is necessary to curb the lawless spirit of
the people and secure safety. We passed Teleskoſ, a third
and large Chaldean village, one hour from Batana, and in
two hours more we reached Hatara, a village of the Yezi-
dees. They appeared to be one of the most flourishing com-
munities that I had seen in my journey. The men were
stout and well-looking, and the women had an erect and open
bearing, and a free, bold gait, which struck me at once from
its contrast with the Christians, who were evidently fright-
ened at the appearance of men from the Pasha, and whose
women, though, like the Yezidee females, open-faced, were
less comely, and more timid in their demeanor. The men
of Hatara wore dark-colored turbans of striped cloth, and
the women had a covering upon their head, which came
under their chin, and another bound round the forehead.
They treated us with the greatest kindness, and, at the same
time, with an appearance of ease and cheerfulness which was
the more pleasing, because uncommon. The men sat and
talked with us, while the women busied themselves in pre-
paring for us a nice breakfast of bread and milk, eggs and
yo-oort, and other products of their rural toil, for which
they seemed to think themselves amply repaid by a taste of
my Turkish coffee. I did not, however, depart without
remunerating them for their hospitality with something more
substantial, which they received with many expressions of
thanks and wishes for a good journey. I was altogether


160 VISIT To THE
well pleased with my interview with these reputed devil-
worshippers." Their houses also were better built than
those in the villages which I had passed, being thatched and
more regular in their construction. On the outskirts of the
village was their burying-ground, in which I noticed two
large tombs of a peculiar form and appearance.
Our next stage was to Faidah, two and a half hours from
Hatara. Here the people were Arabs, living in their tents
about a quarter of a mile from the village, and a more poor
and miserable population I have seldom seen, even in Tur-
key. They were dirty, their tents were thronged with ver-
min, and their children were running about in the hot sun
entirely naked. Nevertheless they treated me well, and
in particular showed one very acceptable specimen of good
manners in not intruding upon me all the day, by which I
had an opportunity to sleep. The Tigris was visible from
the tents, about one hour distant to the Southwest, and
beyond it a range of hills running parallel with its course.
We had arrived before 9 A.M., when the heat was not yet
intense, but towards moon it increased, and a sirocco from
the Southeast was blowing upon us all the day, like the
hot air of a furnace.
At nine o'clock, Eastern time, that is, three hours before
sunset, we mounted again, and came in four hours to Man-
dan, a Kurdish village, where the people, taking us to be
Pasha's men, were at first disposed to give us a sullen re-
ception. But on learning that I was a Frank, they treated
us hospitably, gave us a good supper and lodgings till mid-
night, when we started again upon our last stage to Zakho.
My Mehmandar, Reshid Agha, had left us at Faidah, and
taken two of the men with him, leaving only one, who told
us as we left the village, that Reshid and his two compan-
* I have given some account of the religion of the Yezidees in my
Narrative of a Tour, &c., Vol. II. p. 317, Am. Ed.
-
ſ


SYRIAN CHURCH. 161
ions would follow immediately. But when we reached
Mandan, we were informed that he had made a diversion to
collect the Pasha's taxes, and would overtake us at Zakho.
Fortunately there was no need of his protection, for we
made our way unmolested to Zakho. Four hours from
Mandan, and just as day was dawning, on the morning of
the 24th, we left the low country over which we had been
travelling, and entered a mountain range where we toiled
slowly on for two weary hours, and then descended to
another plain beyond, where Zakho stands on an island in
the Khabour.


162 VISIT TO THE
C H A P T E R X I V .
Zakho.—Its District.—Taxes.—Evils of the Farming System.—Call from
the Agha.-A young Syrian.—Bankers.-Presents.-Guard.—Provin-
cial Quarrels.-Bridge over the Khabour.—Fording a River by Night.
—Chaldean Village.—Reception at Night.—Sleeping on Roofs.-Ha-
did.—Bitouna.-The Province of Jezireh.-Its Government compared
with that of Mossoul—Harvest.—Chaldean and Nestorian Villages.—
Town of Jezireh.-Reshid Pasha and his Wars.-Attack on Jezireh-
Crossing the Tigris on a Raft.—A Chaldean Host and Hostess.-De-
scription of Jezireh.-Chaldean Bishop.–Chaldean and Nestorian Pop-
ulation of the Province.—Nestorian Bishop.–Syrian Bishop.–Papal
Proselytism.
ZAKIIo, a place famous in the later history of these
countries, stands, as I have said, upon an island in the
Khabour. The entrance is by a narrow bridge at the head
of the island, which is the only means of communication
with the town, and at the same head of the island is the old
citadel, which was once a stronghold, but is now in a ruin-
ous and dilapidated condition. The whole town, indeed, is
--
in a similar state, and the people say is only a remnant of
what it once was. There are not more than one hun-
dred families in the place, and of these only five were Sy-
ºrian. A part of the remainder were Jews. The town,
however, is the head of a district which is said to contain
three hundred villages, but many of these are heaps of ruins.
The Governor, one Ibrahim Agha, farms the district for
300,000 piastres, (about 13,000 Spanish dollars, or £2,775,)
which he replaces with interest, in his own pocket, by such


sy RIAN CHURCH. 163
means as he pleases. This is the curse of the farming sys-
tem. The district of Zakho, with a nominal tax of 13,000
dollars, is doubtless paying one of eighteen or twenty thou-
sand. The town and the whole region afford a sad demon-
stration of the evil of the system, which is gradually reduc-
ing the productive power of the country, diminishing popu-
lation, repressing agriculture, and rendering every year the
burdens more onerous to the people as they come to be
borne (without being themselves diminished) by a con-
stantly decreasing population. The Pasha will expect the
Governor to give as much this year as he did last, and the
Governor is compelled to press each year harder to obtain
the amount and his own gains. A policy more surely end-
ing in ruin could not be devised.
Ibrahim Agha called upon me at my lodgings, which
were, as to their ruinous state, a miniature of his own at the
castle. The whole front of the room in which I sat had
fallen down, and left an uninterrupted view of a cattle-yard
without. The Agha was barefooted, according to the ap-
proved fashion of summer-dress in this country, and his
shirt and drawers had no pantaloons over them. At the
same time his head was bound about with an enormous
turban, fold upon fold of coarse muslin. He sat half an
hour, while I endeavored to instruct him in the rudiments
of geography from a large map which I had before me.
But he could get no idea of its meaning, and was totally
confounded at seeing Constantinople only three feet distant
from Mossoul. He could not discover the art of contract-
ing towns and cities into points, or making seas and rivers
flow on paper. He evidently thought it some species of
magic, and looked from the map at me with a ludicrous air
of bewilderment and suspicion.
Another of my visitors was a very gayly dressed Syrian,
an agent of the Pasha's banker at Mossoul. He was here
to collect his master's debts out of the revenues of the prov-


SYRIAN CIIurch. 165
nary of a high order for the benefit of Armenian youth,
which he was supporting entirely from his private purse.
He too was another eminent instance of an honest, upright,
and benevolent banker, but he has since fallen under the
charge of fraud, from the Pasha of Mossoul, (who probably
took this way of settling accounts with him,) and has been
banished from the city."
The young Syrian at Zakho did all in his power to
make me acquainted with the town, and then inquired what
further he could do for me. I begged him to procure for
me horses that I might get away out of the town, for every
body appeared very miserable in it, and it was only with
great difficulty that I could obtain a single article of food.
The danger of starvation appeared so imminent that I de-
termined to fly from Zakho, and seek for something to eat in
the villages. The Syrian hired mules for me, as there was
no post-house in the place, and when I departed accompa-
nied me out of the town on a noble, spirited horse, which,
besides himself, was the only well-looking creature that I
met in Zakho. Upon our parting, I gave my Syrian friend
a present, in acknowledgment of his kindness. He re-
ceived it with great apparent reluctance, saying that he was
ready to serve me to any extent, for the good I had done to
his people. I had taken care, before leaving, to send a small
present to the Agha in return for his call, by the hand of my
servant. The custom on such occasions is for the receiver
to reward the bearer; but Basil returned, saying, that the
Agha looked so miserable in his tumbling-down castle that
he would not receive the ten piastres which he proffered to
him. Ibrahim Agha gave me a guard of three men to go
as far as a river two hours from Zakho, which forms the
boundary between this district and that of Jezireh. On
* Since this was written, the Pasha has died, and the banker has re-
turned to Constantinople,
8*


SYRIAN CHURCH. 167
struck me in contrast with the rush and bluster of the
stream, and made the scene for a moment singularly im-
pressive. The silver light twinkling upon the fretting wa-
ter, seemed to be wooing it to calmness and peace. So do
the still small voice and the gentle influences from Heaven
fall upon the troubled stream of human life, and seek to
win it to quietness and trust. Would that we might heed
them, and in these days of strife and opposition, learn in
patience to possess our souls :
We crossed the river in safety, and having taken leave
of our village guides, pursued our way for about an hour to
the Chaldean village of Tel Kabin, in the district of Jezi-
reh. The men from Zakho had consented, with some per-
suasion and demur, to accompany me hither, rather than
leave me to find my way alone. When we arrived, the
whole village was drowned in sleep. The guard shouted,
and instantly every roof was bristling with men, and a hun-
dred dogs began to bark furiously.
A strong voice demanded, “What do you want?”
“Lodgings,” cried the men of Zakho.
“We have none,” was the stern reply.
“There is a Balyos' with us,” answered the guard.
In an instant the scene changed. The word passed
from mouth to mouth. Several shouted a hearty welcome.
Some descended from the roofs, all armed, as I observed,
with guns. Some took the horses, others helped me to
alight, and three or four almost took me upon their shoul-
ders, and carried me up to the roof. The chief spread a
carpet and seated me upon it. The young men brought up
the baggage and stowed it nicely about me, while some
twenty gathered round in their shirts and sat down to talk.
They provided me with such food as the hour permitted,
* A title given to official personages, and sometimes to Frank trav-
ellers.


168 VISIT TO THE
and we sat talking until one after another had stolen away
to his bed on some adjacent roof, and I remained alone with
the chief. This fashion of sleeping upon roofs is a great
luxury in a country where the air is balmy and dry, to say
nothing of the deliverance from vermin, which swarm in
the apartments below. A friend of mine used to inclose
himself in a bag and draw up the strings of it about his
neck, and he recommended it to me as an effectual security
against fleas, lice, and other specimens of entomology
which abound in the interior. But I could never bring
myself to forego the use of arms and legs in a country
where they are sometimes necessary upon a sudden. Better
“to bear the ills we have, than fly to others that we know
not of.” The fact of a man's being ready sacked would be
temptation enough in some parts of Turkey for the people
to throw him into a river.
Our meal and our talk done, we lay down and slept
quietly till morning, when the villagers sent me away with
two men on foot, who, they said, would conduct me to the
village of Hadid, an hour distant, where I could find horses
for them. There were no horses at Hadid, a Mussulman
village, and we went to another, called Bitouna, a few
minutes' ride to the East, wheret he Agha resided. He re-
ceived us well, and gave us a good breakfast to begin the
day with, but he laughed at the idea of travelling with
guards in the well-governed district of Jezireh. “Put
your gold on your head and go your way,” he said; “no-
body will injure you.” He gave us, however, a man to show
us the road, who turned out to be a beggar that had left his
wallet to come with us. He was so slow in his motions that
I soon sent him back to his profession, and we travelled the
rest of the way alone. The merry Agha of Bitouna was right;
there was no need of guards. The peasants were scattered all
over the country, reaping their grain. Women and men were
all at work, and seemed happy and cheerful in their labor.


SYRIAN CHURCH. 169
The products of their fields were wheat and barley, with
here and there a patch of Indian corn, not planted in hills,
but growing in single stalks. We passed also two fields
covered with the tobacco plant. Last year there had been
a scarcity in the region, but this year the crops were extra-
ordinarily abundant. The whole land appeared to be re-
joicing in the fruits of its toil. I marked at once the strik-
ing difference between the districts of Mossoul and Jezireh.
There every thing wore an aspect of gloom and decay.
The villages were half ruined, and the people timid and
heart-broken. Here every thing seemed thriving and pros-
perous, the people comparatively contented, and the land
yielding its increase to their willing toil. The sight con-
vinced me that it is possible to combine here the two great
features of government which the country requires, severity
and justice. The Pasha of Mossoul is severe, but his rule
is too exacting and oppressive upon the property of his sub-
jects. The Bey of Jezireh is both severe and ordinarily
just." At least he does not oppress his people with burdens
which they cannot bear, and they in return boast of that
sternness of judgment which makes the province as quiet
and peaceful as any country in Europe. It is only a few
years since it was governed by rebellious chiefs, and the
whole land was a den of robbers. Now, as my good friend
of Bitouna said, one might put gold on his head, and go
where he pleased.
The whole land from Zakho to within about three hours
of Jezireh, a distance of about 35 or 40 miles, is an exten-
sive plain country, and evidently bears a considerable popu-
lation. One of the Christian villages I have already men-
1 I say this, not forgetting his horrid character as a persecutor of the
Christians, for he is the same Bedr Khan Bey who led the Kurds in the
massacre of the Nestorians in 1843. He is a bigoted and ferocious Mus-
sulman, but I have never heard any well-grounded complaints of exaction
upon the property of his subjects.


170 VISIT TO THE
tioned. Two others are Takyan and Ghirkeh Badrou, the
former Chaldean, the latter half Chaldean and half Nesto-
rian. These last were the first of whom I heard as belong-
ing still to the ancient Nestorian Church of Mar Elias, not
having, with the great body of that Church, acknowledged
allegiance to the Pope.
The heat was not extreme until the middle of the day,
when we began to suffer from the rays of the sun. But we
had fortunately entered upon a more hilly and rugged coun-
try, which continued till we reached Jezireh. We first
espied the town from the summit of a ridge about an hour
distant, whence it appeared lying below us on a strip of plain
between the river Tigris, which now burst full in view, and
a range of hills beyond.
On descending to the river, we found in front of the
town, the remains of a handsome stone bridge, which had
been destroyed by the inhabitants in the wars with Reshid
Pasha, in 1835 6. This distinguished chief, who still lives
in the memory of the people, and whose name is still heard
in the songs of the Kurds, was deputed by the Sultan to
bring all these provinces, Mardin, Jebel Tour, Jezireh, and
Zakho, into subjection. They were then held by Kurdish and
Arab Beys, who owned no authority above their own. On
approaching Jezireh from the opposite side of the river, and
finding the communication cut off, the Pasha planted his
cannon and battered it into submission. The terror of the
Kurds when they heard the roar of this new engine, was well
described to me by a chief of their own. “I am ready,” he
said, “to meet any man with a good sword, or to try a shot
with him at a proper distance; but I must confess that when
I heard the sound of those bellowing machines, and saw
them throwing their huge balls to a distance whence we
could send nothing in return, I felt very much inclined to
get behind a stone.” The stone bridge had been replaced
by one of boats, like those at Bagdad and Mossoul, but this


172 VISIT TO THE
there was no post-establishment in the place, and I could
obtain no horses for my journey through the Tour moun-
tains. -
After an hour's repose I went abroad to see the town,
my host accompanying me as guide. I had already been
struck by its ruinous appearance on entering, and the im-
pression was not removed by a closer survey. It was in
truth a melancholy mass of ruins, amidst which a house
was here and there left standing, rather than a town with
here and there a ruined building. There was a low wall
around it, and on the river-side a citadel in ruins, where I
observed nothing worthy of note excepting the figures of
two lions over the gateway. The town contains 200
families, of which 50 are Chaldean and Syrian Papists, (the
two forming one community and worshipping in the same
Church,) 12 Syrian, and a solitary Armenian, who worships
with the Syrians. There is a Chaldean Bishop who came
a year ago from Bagdad, and had now been absent two and
a half months. His flock asked me whether I knew what
had become of him. From the description I judged him to
be the same that I had seen at Diabekir, and thought it not
improper to inform his people where their Bishop was.
They seemed relieved by the information. There are 15
Chaldean villages in the district of which Jezireh is the
capital, and others partly Chaldean. Some of them are
large, containing 100 families or more, others are insigni-
ficant. The whole Chaldean population of Jezireh may be
reckoned at 1000 families, or about 5000 souls.
There are also in the same district about the same number
of Nestorian villages, and probably about the same popula-
tion. These, as I have said, are a remnant of the Church
of Mar Elias, who have not yet learned to call themselves
Catoleek. The people informed me that they have a Patri-
arch of their own at a place called Kilisseh in Jebel Judi,
' The Turkish for Church, a corruption of the Greek, 'Exxxnata.


SYRIAN CHURCH. 173
two hours from Jezireh; but from the description, I judged
him to be the old Nestorian Bishop, formerly Bishop of
Jezireh, who retired into the mountains upon the defection
of his Church, and is the only Bishop of the Church of Mar
Elias who has not acknowledged the Pope.
Jezireh is also the see of a Syrian Bishop, who is now
resident at Azik in the Tour Mountains, six and a half
hours from the town. The district contains, so far as I
could learn, 13 Syrian villages, but I have some reason to
believe that the number was understated. I was told, more-
over, that the last year a Papal Syrian priest from Bagdad
had gone among these villages, and succeeded in making
seven of them Catoleek, not by preaching to them the Catho-
lic faith, but by showing them the temporal advantages of
acknowledging the Pope. This, says a Syrian Bishop to
me, is not Catoleek (Catholic) but Keutuluk.' I believe,
however, that the story is exaggerated, so far as regards the
success of the mission, although it is true that such a mis-
sion was undertaken. It is not a rare thing for the poor
uninstructed people hereabout to allow themselves to be
called Catoleek for a trifling compensation, and to turn back
again as soon as the money is exhausted. If it is melan-
choly to see men thus disposing of their religion by sale and
barter, how much greater is their sin who, better taught as
they are, can use such means for extending their boasted
and exclusive Catholicity. If it is the Catholic faith which
they sell, is this faith a gift to be purchased with money
If it is, as I believe, the name only, with a temporal advan-
tage attached to it, it is still an awful trifling with a sacred
thing. In either case, and with no evil feelings, we desire
that they may repent of this their wickedness, and pray
God if perhaps the thought of their heart may be forgiven
them. Acts viii. 18–24.
* Keutuluk—a Turkish word, meaning rileness, badness.


174 WISIT TO THE
C H A P T E R X W .
Troubles in the Tour Dagh.—Change of Route.—The Churches of Je-
zireh.-The Chaldean Church.—Conversation with the Priest.—His
Idea of the English Church.-Romish Falsehoods.—The Church.-Its
Interior.—Quarrel in the Church-yard.—The Syrian Church.-Its
School.—On the Mode of Circulating the Holy Scriptures.—Evening
Prayers.—Talk in the Evening on Oppression and Proselytism.—De-
parture from Jezireh-Death of a Missionary in the Desert.—Kargo.
—Haznaour.—The Syrians of the Desert.—The Bigamist.—His Ex-
communication.—Tediousness of Travelling over a Desert.—The
Church of St. James at Nisibis.--Dara.-Its Ancient State.—Survey of
its Ruins —Its Inhabitants.-Road to Kherin.—Ancient Tombs.—Re-
ception at Kherin.—The Value of Selfish Friendship.—Departure.—
Sight of Der Zafran.—Its Position.—Arrival at its Gate.
JUNE 26. Intended to have left to day, but morning
came, and there were no horses. I thought the Deputy Gov-
ernor had been in attentive to my wants, and instead of a
present which I had prepared for him, I sent him the Sul-
tan's firman. It had the desired effect of making him active.
He sent hither and thither for horses, but none were to be
had. There were many in the town, and two caravans were
ready to depart, but none of the muleteers were willing to
take the mountain road. I had come to Jezireh with no
other purpose than that of going through the length of Tour
Dagh, which would carry me through the heart of the Syri-
an country. But a story was abroad that the Kurds, who
inhabit a part of the range, were in rebellion against the
Pasha of Mossoul. Some had been taken prisoners by the


SYRIAN CHURCH. 175
Governor of Mardin, and the whole population were in an
excited and dangerous state. But this I thought an insuffi-
cient obstacle, partly because I did not believe the story,
and partly because the object seemed an important one. I
offered, therefore, a considerable sum in addition to the
regular price for horses, to any one who would accompany
me. One at length came and made a bargain, and went
away to bring the animals, but I never saw him again.
The Governor offered to send to the villages and seize
horses, and compel some one to accompany me. But this
I did not like. It was worse than sacrificing my own wishes.
I sacrificed them, therefore, and immediately formed an-
other and better plan for accomplishing the same object
at a later day. The story afterwards proved true, and for a
wonder the circumstances attending the rebellion were of a
more aggravated character than the rumor itself. It is
often hard to submit, and sometimes we can see no way in
which the disappointment can be otherwise than an injury;
but as events develope themselves, we behold what we most
deprecated to have been really the best for ourselves and
for the glory of God.
I was occupied most of the day in these negotiations,
acting through others, as the heat was too great to allow of
my going abroad. Three hours before sunset the business
was settled, and I went out with my host to see the Churches.
There are two in the town, one Syrian, and one Chaldean.
We went to the last mentioned first. My host finding the
Church door locked, went to the house of the priest, which
was close by, for the key, and I followed him in. The
priest, a man of about thirty-five, was sitting in an outer
apartment looking upon the court, on the side opposite to
the house. He was nearly undressed, on account of the
heat, and sat reading an Arabic book when we entered.
Another in Arabic and a third in Chaldaic lay by his side


176 VISIT TO THE
My host, who had never heard of the New World, an-
nounced me as an Englishman, upon which the priest re-
ceived me with marked coldness and incivility. Not appear-
ing to notice it, I took a seat by his side and soon succeeded
in leading him into conversation. I was not long in learn-
ing that he had a strong and deep-rooted prejudice against
the English, and that this was a part of his Catholicism.
We began to discuss differences. He commenced by saying
that in England priests were made by laymen, that the great
men gave them the priestly office and took it away at pleas-
ure. I corrected him, and described the order of the min-
istry in the English Church. My host who stood by, broke
in with an exclamation of pleasure when I said that we had
the same three orders which they acknowledged, and that,
as among themselves, only the first order could ordain the
other two. But the priest promptly declared that he would
not believe it.
“And why will you not believe it?” I asked, “What do
you know of the Church of England?”
“It is all written in this book,” he said, slapping with
his hand the volume he was reading.
“And pray where did that book come from ? I see it is
printed.”
“It came from Rome,” he replied, “and therefore must
be true.” I told him that I was a priest myself, that a
Bishop's hands had twice been laid upon me, and that on
this subject I might claim to know as much as the Pope
himself. Upon this he relaxed a little, and began to show
me some attention, and very soon we were upon as good
terms as if he had been civil from the beginning. I confess,
however, that the incident did not tend to increase my
respect for the Catoleek-ism imported from Rome. Had
the book been a faithful announcement of the great truths
of our Saviour's nature and person, it would have afforded


SYRIAN CHURCH. .77
me unmingled gratification, come from whatever quarter it
might. I was not surprised, however, to find it of another
character, for the same slanders are most diligently propa-
gated every where among the Eastern Churches. I have
met them at every point from Bagdad to Constantinople,
and have found them invariably to have come from the same
source. Why is it that the Church of Rome deems it ne-
cessary to the accomplishment of her own designs that she
should thus speak evil of the Church of England? What
has it to do with the progress of Catholicism, or with those
great truths and duties of religion which every real Catholic
must wish to see disseminated and insisted upon among the
Eastern Christians? These questions we shall answer here-
after, and if the explanation shows that the cause of Rome
favors only ecclesiastical and political ambition, while it
is adverse to Catholic truth and unity, it may at least serve
to teach us our own duty, and stimulate us to the perform-
ance of it.
The Chaldean Priest led the way to the Church, and
showed me its different parts. The outer door opened upon
a court, on one side of which was the Church, a low, plain
building, with a very ancient and decayed appearance. The
interior was in keeping with the outside. The altar and
every thing about it was old, dirty, and neglected, excepting
one large picture of the Virgin, and other smaller ones of
the same Saint. These being, like the Priest's book, im-
portations from Rome, were as new and fresh as the Catoleek-
ism of the Church. My host devoutly crossed and bowed
himself before it. What would his ancestors 150 years
back, have thought of it, could they have beheld the act?
The Bishop's seat was a rude low stool, and before the altar,
a little in advance of it, was a stone post on which the Gos-
pel is read. The farther part of the Church was hidden by
a broken lattice, behind which the women assemble. Be-
tween this and the altar, the whole space was clear, as it


178 VISIT TO THE
always is in Oriental Churches, a custom arising doubtless
from Oriental habits and not from religious considerations.
In those parts of the service where sitting is allowed, the
congregation sit upon the ground, on their carpets, or on
the straw matting with which the best Churches are covered.
In some Churches, I have seen parts of the floor rented to
families, who spread their carpets there and let them remain
as long as they have possession.
While we were in the building a body of muleteers, who
had been to my lodgings in search of me, and not finding
me there, had traced me to the Church, came into the court
and offered their services for my journey. I retired a little
from the Church, and selecting the best-looking among them,
made a bargain with him on the spot. We then returned to
the Church, and the muleteer whom I had engaged came
back with me and remained in the court. Presently a loud
noise was heard, and on going out, I found the muleteer in
the hands of half a dozen men who were carrying him off by
force. It was some time before I could learn the cause of
the uproar, during which a few blows were given and re-
ceived. It turned out at last that the muleteer had been
engaged by another party, and learning afterwards that a
Frank was in the place, he had come and made a second and
better bargain with me. As soon as I ascertained the eause
of the turmoil, I stopped it at once by telling the muleteer
that I would not have him, and then gave them, one and all,
a rebuke for quarreling in the Church-yard. They were all,
or nearly all, Christians. I felt mortified at the occurrence,
although I was innocently and very unwillingly the occasion
of it, and apologized to the Priest for it. Instead of being
offended, he commended me for my mildness, and so we
parted better friends than we met.
From the Chaldean Church I went to the Syrian, which
I found, in respect to uncleanliness and decay, in much the
same condition. The court was large, and there were one


SYRIAN CHURCH. 179
or two low buildings upon it, intended for the priests and
servants of the Church. Under the piazza, a priest was
teaching six or seven boys, one of whom was reading the
Gospel in Syriac, which I observed was printed, and on ex-
amining, found it to be of the British and Foreign Bible
Society's edition. The way in which this edition was put
into circulation among the Syrians is worthy of mention, as
showing the importance of quiet and conservative measures,
and the superior excellence of reorganizing the Eastern
Communions as regularly organized Christian Churches.
The reader will pardon the digression for the sake of illus-
trating a principle. The books were sent by an agent of the
Society, a worthy clergyman of the Church of England, to
the Patriarch, by whom they were duly examined. Finding
no errors in them, excepting some harmless mistakes of the
press, he ordered them to be circulated. They are now to
be found in schools and Churches and private houses, going
freely wherever they list, read, studied, and rejoiced in, re-
lieving the long dearth of the Word of God. Had the mode
of distribution been different, the result would have been diſ-
ferent also. The Patriarch, thinking the surreptitious mode of
their circulation sufficient reason for suspecting their char-
acter and design, might have condemned them without ex-
amination, as I know has been done in other cases. In this,
according to the rules of his Church, he would have been
justified, not that his Church prohibits or restricts the reading
of the Holy Scriptures, but that as head of the family he has
authority to prevent his children from eating pernicious or
suspected food. Whatever we may think of such an ecclesias-
tical censorship, it is, if we cannot view it higher, the part
of prudence to remember that it exists, and to act accord-
ingly. “I am sorry,” said an Eastern Patriarch, “that they
will give themselves the trouble of printing and circulating,
and us of collecting and burning their unauthorized books.”
The remark, which seemed to be said soberly and in earnest,


180 VISIT TO THE
contains matter for grave reflection, especially when we re-
member that the result alluded to has been verified even in
the case of translations of the Bible. A serious examina-
tion may give rise to the question, whether, if there has been
any sin in burning these translations, it does not rest in part
upon those who adopt a mode of circulation which may lead
to this result. It is not enough to say that it is our duty to
make known the word of God, whether men will receive it
or not. This may be true, and it may be true farther that
men are bound to receive it; but it does not follow that they
are bound to receive any version of it which it pleases me
or another man to set forth. We do not acknowledge such
a rule to be binding upon ourselves, and we cannot with
justice enforce it upon others. Nor is it a sufficient plea
that the Eastern Christians are destitute of modern versions
of the Scriptures, and that, therefore, they should receive
what we give them with gratitude. They cannot formally
accept what has never been formally offered, nor is it proba-
ble that they would be predisposed to accept, or even ex-
amine, what has been made, printed, published, and circula-
ted without their knowledge or consent. Neither is it to be
taken for granted that these translations have been prohibited
or burned as the word of God. Horrible thought ! Happy
am I in saying that there is not one, I believe, of the hun-
dreds of Eastern clergy with whom I have associated and
conversed, who would not shrink from it with a shudder of
disgust and terror. There is a manifest difference between
the Word of God in itself considered, and a version of the
Bible known to be unauthorized, and because unauthorized,
believed to be sectarian. If we were to consult our own
feelings, there is perhaps no book which we would be more
ready to burn, none certainly which we would more gladly
see withdrawn from circulation, than a translation of the Bible
which contained, or which we believed to contain, an abuse
or perversion of the true Word of God. The more strongly


SYRIAN CHURCH, 181
we held the Anglican, which is also the Oriental principle,
that “Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to
salvation,” the more dangerous would appear to us any
falsifying thereof, and the more diligently to be striven
against. I must, therefore, enter my earnest protest against
the use which has been made of the prohibition, and, in some
few cases, (confined, I believe, to the Greeks,) of the burn-
ing of missionary translations of the Bible. It is an extrava-
gant inference from the facts, though one which I have seen
repeatedly made by missionaries and travellers, that the
Eastern clergy are opposed to true religion and the Word of
God. The inference might be proved true, or the contrary,
by other evidence, (I think the latter when speaking of them
as a body,) but it is not deducible from the facts now stated.
The threat, therefore, of an English missionary to an East-
ern Bishop, that “if he burned these translations, he should
himself burn in hell,” was unjustifiable in the extreme, to
say nothing of its impropriety on other grounds.
I must again beg the reader's pardon for this long di-
gression in the Syrian Church-yard of Jezireh. I noticed
that in both these Churches there was a sculptured lion on
each side of the main entrance, in the walls of the building,
and that this entrance was not, as is most common in East-
ern Churches, at the west end, opposite the altar, but on the
north or south side, midway of the building. Within,
there was little worthy of note; the three altars as usual,
a picture of the Virgin, rude and torn, another of the cru-
cifixion, and others on religious subjects. The people were
already gathered at the door for prayers. Most of the men
followed me into the Church, and explained every thing ex-
cepting some Syriac inscriptions on the walls, of which they
even said they did not know the language. Among them
was the solitary Armenian, who told me that formerly, when
there were several families of his nation in Jezireh, they
used to have a priest of their own, and occupied one of the
9


182 VISIT TO THE
small chambers on the court, for a chapel, but that now,
being the only one left, he worshipped with his brethren the
Syrians. There are only twelve Syrian families in the town.
Judging from the number waiting before the door for eve-
ning prayers, nearly the whole male population must have been
at Church. It was a pleasant sight to behold them, just as
the labors of the day were closed, assembling to render
thanks for its mercies and to beg protection for the night.
Even though they understand little of the language of the
service, the mere act of gathering thus, day by day, at early
dawn and eventide, must have a good and hallowing influ-
ence. It must remind them constantly of their brotherhood
It must soften asperities, heal or prevent animosities, and
tend to preserve the remembrance and love of their faith.
Even upon myself, a stranger to them, it never failed to
have a subduing and hallowing effect. The associations of
morning and evening, the first thoughts raised to God and
the last hour spent with Him, gave to these sacred duties a
peculiar impressiveness and propriety.
In the evening, a little company of Chaldeans and Syr-
ians came and sat with me upon the roof. We talked of
oppressions and conversions—first of their rulers, and then
of themselves. They all agreed that they had never known
of conversions to Popery, but from mercenary motives. In-
deed, without any such testimony, the fact is plain; for
what can people wholly uninstructed understand of the dif-
ferences between the Church of Rome and themselves.
The stories which they told of their own oppressions and
sufferings, were simple and touching. They told me of the
incursion of Ravandouz Bey some years ago, and of the
great number of Christian females and boys which he car-
ried away captive and sold. Among them was the wife of
the Syrian priest of Jezireh, who was carried to Bagdad,
where she was forced to become the wife of a Mussulman,
by whom she had two children. She was afterwards res-


SYRIAN CHURCH. 183
cued, and had just found her way back to her husband,
leaving behind her her Mohammedan offspring. The good
priest received her with joy as one from the dead. Two
sisters of my fair hostess had been taken in the same way,
and she had lately heard that both were dead. Between
thirty and forty from this neighborhood were still in bond-
age, compelled to serve the pleasure of their Mohammedan
masters. They begged me to do something for their relief,
and I readily promised to do all in my power, a promise
which I have since labored to fulfil.
I left Jezireh on the morning of the 27th of June, and
travelled three hours to a little Kurdish village, where the
people had neither bread nor any thing else to eat, or if they
had, they would not give them to us. Their houses were
too dirty to enter, so I lay under a mulberry tree for several
hours, and at last rose and went away in the heat of the day.
I shall always remember the mulberry tree and its grateful
shade, though it was old and decayed; for a tree of any
kind, excepting in cultivated gardens, is a luxury rarely to
be found in these sun-burnt regions. We passed by two
other villages during the day, and saw several in the distance.
The inhabitants were complaining of poverty and famine,
although their corn, wheat, and barley fields were waving
with a luxuriant harvest. I had heard at Jezireh that a
party of Franks were on the road, and that one of them was
sick at a village not far from the town. I had, therefore,
left the route which I had proposed pursuing, along the base
of the Tour Dagh, and travelled direct towards Nisibin, in
the hope of meeting them and rendering some assistance.
I saw nothing of them during the day, and it was only when
I reached Haznaour the next morning, that I learned they
had taken a road farther to the East, so that we had passed
within a few miles of each other without meeting. I ascer-
tained afterwards at Mardin, that they were American mis-


184 Visit to the
sionaries with their wives, on their way to Mossoul, and that
one of them had died on the road, and it was only after my
arrival in Constantinople, in August, that I learned the name
of the deceased, the Rev. Mr. Mitchell, and heard that his
wife, with their new-born child, had died soon after reaching
Mossoul. The melancholy event gave rise to many sad
reflections, and was perhaps one of many experiences which
have conjoined to settle the conviction in my mind that it is
inexpedient for married females to engage as missionary
pioneers in such lands as Mesopotamia and Kurdistan.
I travelled four hours farther after leaving the mulberry
tree, and stopped at Kargo, a Kurdish village on the border
of the Great Desert, where the Kiahya gave us a good dinner,
to make amends for our long abstinence, and put us to bed
out of doors, with a man to watch over us all night. In the
morning the watchman was found among the sleepers, but
nobody had molested us. We rose, and pursued our way
to Haznaour, six and a half hours distant, where we arrived
at 10 A. M. Here are twenty Syrian families, which form
the largest population of that nation in any one place on the
desert, excepting Kennek, two hours north of Haznaour,
which is purely Syrian, has fifty families and a Church, the
only one in all the plain. There are other villages, exclu-
sively Syrian, on the edge of the desert, under the mountains
of Tour, and most, if not all, of them have Churches. Be-
sides these, there are scattered over the plain between Sin-
jar and the Tour, about forty villages in which there is a
mingled population of Syrians and Mussulmans, but one and
all destitute of a Church. They sometimes come up to
Kennek to worship. A Syrian of Haznaour remarked that
they needed a Church in some central spot where the scat-
tered population of the desert might go up to worship. I
recommended to him to rebuild St. James at Nisibin, and
the man jumped at the thought. Many a long year, I fear,


SYRIAN CHURCH. 1S5
will pass before this venerable relic of ancient days shall
put on robes of newness and beauty."
The principal Syrian at Haznaour was one Marghas,
the Deputy of the Ayan, or Governor. He came and sat
with me most of the day, and told me his history. He had
formerly lived in the mountains, where he had married and
brought up children. But his union was not a happy one.
His wife had ruined his peace by her boisterous temper,
which he endured as long as he could, but finding it grew
worse as she grew older, he had no other remedy than to
separate. He sought for a divorce from the Church, but
the Syrians allowing of this extreme resort only in the
case to which it is confined by the Saviour," he failed in
his request. His next expedient was to take to himself a
second wiſe, to supply the place of the first. He had thus
been guilty of bigamy, and accordingly had been publicly
excommunicated by his Bishop, and driven out of the
mountains. As I was now on my way to the monastery, he
begged me to intercede for him with the Patriarch, that
this terrible curse might be removed. “I am now out of
the Church;” he said, “I am a heathen, and if I die so,
what will become of me?” I was glad to see this sense of
his state, but said to him that there was no hope that the
Patriarch would restore him while he remained in his sin,
as I knew His Holiness to be severe and exact in discipline,
and that to intercede for him in this state, would make me
a partaker of his guilt. He replied with much emotion,
that he would submit to the Patriarch's decision, whatever
it might be, as better than to remain an outcast from his
people, and on this condition I promised to speak to the
Patriarch about it. I took occasion, however, to set before
* I have described the present Church in the Narrative of a Tour,
&c., Vol. II. Chap. 22.
* Matt. v. 32; xix. 9.


186 Visit To The
him the enormity of his offence and the need of hearty
repentance, to all which he gave, apparently, a frank and
cordial assent. I afterwards mentioned the circumstances
to one of the Bishops in the monastery, who said that the
sentence had been approved by the Patriarch, and several
attempts had been made to obtain a reversal, without effect.
The man, he added, was rich and powerful, and the offence
was notorious; it was necessary, in such a case, not to
weaken the bonds of discipline; if the man was truly peni-
tent, he knew very well that he had only to abandon his
unlawful connexion, and come and make confession, and
pray, and fast, and mourn for his sin, in order to be re-
stored. Such being the case, I thought it best to follow
his advice, and say nothing to the Patriarch about it. The
man had been informed of the terms of restoration, and
any intercession of mine would therefore be irregular and
improper.
I left Haznaour three hours before sunset, but our
horses were already so worn out that we were six hours
in going the four which lay between that place and
Nisibin, so that we did not arrive till half past ten in the
evening. The moon was up, and by its light we kept sight
of the new barracks at Nisibin, which first appeared while
we were still about nine miles distant. For several hours
they were the only object in prospect, and the slow motion
of our horses gave us a good opportunity of judging of the
tediousness of travelling over a plain with such an object
in view. There it stands, so prominent and alone that the
eye of the traveller cannot avoid resting upon it. An hour
passes, and still it stands as before, as prominent, solitary,
and apparently as distant. The slowness of your approach
makes the change in its distinctness so gradual as to be
almost imperceptible, and when you are within a mile of it,
it seems nearly the same as when you were nine miles off.
But dragging one foot after another has the effect, however


SYRIAN CHURCH. 187
imperceptible at the time, of diminishing distance, and so
at length we reached Nisibin. A grateful and even a tri-
umphant feeling shot through my heart when I thought of
all which had passed since I left it. And then came the
old ruin of St. James looming up in the moonlight, and I
thought of the faith which was once professed here, and of
the prayers which had been offered, and how that faith
might again rise from its ruins, and those prayers go up
again like incense, when the sway of the oppressor shall be
broken. As we sat under the wall of the Governor's house,
where we took up our lodgings for the night, my servant
said, “You might know that there was no true faith in the
place because no storks build here.” His opinion was
that they were only to be found among Christians. I re-
counted to him what Nisibin had been, and he thought
the storks might have remained there as on hallowed
ground.
We snatched a few hours repose, and started again at
dawn. Instead of taking the main road to Mardin, we
struck off to the right, for the purpose of visiting Dara,
which lies on the border of the desert under the mountains.
We reached it in five hours and a half, without molestation,
although the road was supposed to be dangerous on account
of the rebellious Kurds, who inhabit this part of the moun-
tain. I went directly to the Governor's house, and after a
short repose, went out to survey the ruins. The town was
famous in its day, and still lives in history as one of the
strong places of the Romans. Procopius describes it as
fourteen miles from Nisibis, and four days’ journey from the
Tigris. We had travelled this distance in twenty-six hours,
while the estimated distance is twenty-three hours. It was
fortified by Anastasius, about A. D. 505, and afterwards im-
proved by Justinian. It had two walls, distant from each
other fifty paces. The inner wall was sixty feet high, and
its towers one hundred feet. The outer wall was lower,


SYRIAN CHURCH. 189
w
through the opening, and is lost in the desert. In one
place there is a bridge over it, where you see the round
arches of the Romans, but although small, it appears, from
the size of the arches, to have been made for a much larger
stream than the little rivulet over which it now affords a pas-
sage. On the left of the bridge, as you enter, is a small
round tower, which the inhabitants say was formerly a part
of a Church, and is still used as such by the Christian inhabit-
ants, who are altogether about twenty-five families, Syrians
and Armenians. Here, as elsewhere where the population
is scanty and poor, they all worship together under the same
roof. Beyond the bridge, and in the middle of the basin,
rises a lofty square tower like those attached to the ancient
Churches, (now mosques,) of Diarbekir." It stands at the
corner of a building of which the walls are almost entire.
Tradition says that it was anciently one of the principal
Churches. Its two parts are still distinct, the court and the
ancient Narther, or porch, without, and the nave within.
It is not in the form of a cross, but square, as are most of
the Churches in the East. Its walls are all bare, as if it
had been desolated by fire, but a part of a Cufic inscrip-
tion is still to be seen near the door. As I stood beneath
its roofless walls, in the place of its sanctuary, under the
shade of a wild tree which has been suffered to grow there,
and my thoughts ran back to John of Dara, and the worship-
pers who had thronged its courts and bowed before its
altar, I could well appreciate the feelings of an English
friend who had visited the Church a year before, and, as one
who accompanied him informed me, stood and wept when
he beheld its desolation. Farther on are the walls of an-
other Church of the same description, whose interior is filled
* For a description of one of these mosques, see Narrative of a Tour,
Vol. II. Chap. 24, (p. 298 Am. Ed.) There is a mosque of the same
kind in Constantinople.
9*


190 VISIT TO THE
with wild fig trees, and I was told that there were two or three
others, which I did not visit.
Beyond that last mentioned, the bottom of the basin, or
valley, terminates, and you begin to ascend the hill-side
opposite the opening. On this hill stands the Mussulman
quarter, a miserable hamlet of about twenty-five houses, built
of stones and fragments from the ancient town. To the
right, or Eastward, ascends a ravine, down which the stream
before-mentioned flows. Across the ravine is a large wall
which is a part of the wall of the town, or the façade of
some vast building, for I could not spare time to examine
it. On the hill-side, just before entering the Mussulman
quarter, are ten cisterns in a row, cut out of the solid rock,
and arched with masonry of tile and mortar. Each cistern is
about 150 feet long, 75 feet deep, and 15 or 20 feet broad.
Some of them are still perfect, and have the arches entire.
Others are partly or wholly ruined. They seem evidently
intended to supply the city with water in case the stream
from the hills should be cut off.
The Christian quarter is below, near the bridge, on the
left as you enter, the little Church before mentioned stand-
ing in the midst of it. Here also is another ruin which
is perhaps the most curious in the place. It is now called
the Dungeon. It consists of two subterranean apartments
of great length and height, opening into each other. We
descended by a dark stair way and surveyed the place with
a torch, conducted by the Kiahya of the quarter. I noticed
little to record excepting the size and solidity of the struc-
ture and the great height of the arches, which are, as in the
cisterns, of the round Roman form. From one of the
apartments is a subterranean passage of unknown extent,
but which may perhaps have led to some other apartments.
There were also recesses in the walls, which seemed to be
intended for seats. The people say that treasure has been
found here, but I was disposed to regard the whole as a part


SYRIAN CHURCH. 193
yards, orchards and fields appeared all around, and nearer
the monastery a garden, spread out in terraces on the de-
clivity, covered with vegetable plats and fruit trees, and
watered by a stream issuing from the hills behind. The
front of the monastery was towards the desert, but our mode
of approach brought us to the rear, and then led us around
its walls till we came to the front, which presented no open-
ing through its whole extent but a low iron-sheathed door.
Our guide advanced, pushed it open, and we rode in under
a dark arched way, and dismounted in the court at a quarter
past eight, just three hours from Kherin.


SYRIAN CHURCH. 195
a carpet and cushions were arranged. Here I took my
seat, and calling a servant, requested him to announce to
the Patriarch that a Frank had arrived, and wished permis-
sion to see him. He soon returned, and immediately con-
ducted me up a flight of stairs to the terrace above the por-
tico, and across this to an apartment on the opposite side.
He opened the door, and I immediately recognized the
venerable face and beard which I had seen more than three
years before in Constantinople. The Patriarch was sitting
at the farther end of a long apartment, but change of dress
and travel had so completely altered my appearance, that
he did not at first recognize me. I advanced, dropped on
one knee and kissed his hand, after which, rising and re-
treating a few paces, I drew forth the packet from Mossoul,
approached and presented it. The Patriarch beckoned me
to a seat opposite, and when he had read the address on the
envelope, looked towards me, and laying his hand on his
heart, bade me welcome. He then opened the packet, and
was soon absorbed in reading the epistles. I could perceive
no change in his countenance as he read, although I knew
the letters contained much which might draw a sigh even
from the heart of a stranger. He preserved through the
whole the same calm and placid serenity with which he
began, and when he had finished, which was not till half an
hour had elapsed, he folded them again, and thrust them un-
der his carpet amidst a multitude of other epistles and papers.
I thought he looked even more hale and cheerful than when
I saw him in Constantinople, and he immediately entered
into pleasant conversation. As soon as propriety allowed, I
asked leave to retire, and the Patriarch sent a servant to
prepare a room for me, which proved to be one of the little
chambers of the monks close to his own. Soon after I en-
tered it, the Patriarch sent in a delicious breakfast of eggs,
cream, milk, and fruits. When this was finished, I sent for
one of the fraternity who was the barber of the monastery,


196 VISIT TO THE
and submitted my beard, of a week's growth, to his hand-
ling. Though somewhat of the rudest, it was very kindly
intended. His razor was a piece of iron, thrust longitu-
dinally into a stick for a handle, and kept in its place by a
bit of cord bound round the wood close to the blade. Its
mode of operation seemed to be rather by pulling out than
cutting off. During the exercise of its office, I shed many
involuntary tears, but felt bound to submit when I heard
that the Patriarch and all the brotherhood were shaved with
the same. After this, I laid down, and weary with the fa-
tigues of my journey, in which, for a week, from heat by day
and fleas by night, I had hardly slept at all, reposed quietly
till evening.
I was no sooner awake than Mutran Mattai, (Bishop
Matthew,) one of the residents of the monastery, came in.
He is an assistant of the Patriarch,and performs the Epis-
copal duties of Mardin and the adjacent villages. The Pa-
triarch usually has two or three such assistants resident with
him, who relieve him of many of his minor cares. Bishop
Matthew on this occasion gave me a long account of Der
Zafran, a building which has been famous for ages as the
residence of the Syrian Patriarchs. It is now, he said,
1043 years since the place was purchased from the Greeks
by Mar Ananias, Bishop of Jezireh. It was then a fortress,
but the old Church, in which the monks still worship, was
standing at that time. Mar Ananias converted the whole
into a monastery, extended the walls, and erected cells for
the monks. An outer wall enclosed the whole ground,
which is now improved as a garden, and covers several acres,
and the monastery itself was of twice the extent that it now
is. The old Church and the monastery took the name of its
founder, and hence we often see it called in history, the
Monastery of St. Ananias. At the same time it received
the appellation of Zafran from a singular circumstance,
which the Bishop related as follows: A Persian merchant


syri AN CHURCH. 197
of great wealth loaded a large caravan with the article called
Zafran, (Anglice, Saffron,) and intrusting it to one of his
servants, told him to travel with it until he ſound a man rich
enough to buy the whole ; and if he did not succeed in
finding such a person, to return with it unsold. The ser-
vant departed, and travelling hither and thither for several
months, sought in vain for a purchaser. At length chance
led him to the spot where Mar Ananias was engaged in
building his monastery. The servant offered his article,
and when Mar Ananias heard of the vain boast of the Per-
sian, he bought the whole, and to show his indifference to
riches, mixed it with the mortar employed in the building.
If he had endowed it with the same sum, it would have been
better for the present generation. Nevertheless the monas-
tery hence took the name of Der Zafran, by which it is
commonly known at the present day. It has been twice oc-
cupied by the Kurds, who held it at one time forty years, and
at another ten. It was only about five years ago that it was
rescued the second time. While it was in their hands it
went rapidly to decay, and when it was restored, was little
better than a ruin. The Patriarch repaired it so far as his
means would allow, but it is still in a very dilapidated con-
dition. The buildings round the inner court, are the Church
of St. Ananias, and the Chapel of St. Mary, on the East, and
on the other sides the kitchen, servants' apartments, and two
ranges of cells. These last are small vaulted rooms, some
20 feet by 10. In the upper story, which looks upon the ter-
race, are the Chapel of St. Peter, the Patriarch's apartment,
and another range of cells. The terrace, or gallery, is faced by
a heavy balustrade of stone, and the whole building is of the
same, a light yellow porous stone, roughly hewn. The Church
of St. Ananias is the only part of the building which has any
pretensions to architectural ornament. In this there is some
sculptured work upon the cornices, and around the old Ro-
* Literally, Saffron Monastery.


198 WISIT TO THE
man windows. On the outer court, which I first entered,
are the porter's, gardener's, and shepherd's apartments, the
sheepfolds, granary, and stable.
Being now fairly introduced to the monastery, I will spare
the reader the long detail of all that occurred there during
the two weeks of my stay, and present only a few sketches
of scenes and events which will show the life that I led.
The evening of my arrival, the Patriarch sent for me, and I
spent an hour with him in conversation. The next day I
made a more formal visit, and discussed with him many mat-
ters of interest relating to my mission. He gave me a long
account of the state of his Church, and told me that the
last autumn a messenger had arrived from India with letters
from the Malabar Christians,' requesting that a Metropolitan
might be sent to them to preserve their Episcopal succes-
sion.
The Patriarch made particular inquiries with regard to
the Church in England and the United States, and especially
about the constitution of its ministry, seeking to ascertain
whether it had the three Apostolic Orders, and whether the
power of ordination was vested exclusively in the Bishops.
My explanation, which he afterwards confirmed by an ex-
amination of the Prayer Book, was entirely satisfactory, and
seemed to afford him unmingled gratification. He said that
he regarded these three orders as essential to a right con-
stitution of the ministry, and that they must be derived from
the Apostles in regular succession. All other orders, such
as Archbishops, Archdeacons (Chor-episcopi), Subdeacons,
&c., were merely subdivisions of these, for the sake of con-
venience in the government of the Church. We talked also
of liturgies, and he showed me a volume somewhat larger
than our Prayer Book, which he said was intended to be
used by the worshipper in private. No Church, he affirmed,
* The Syrian Church of Hindostan, visited and described by Buchan-
an. See his Researches.


SYRIAN CHURCH. 199
was so rich in liturgical forms as the Syrian, and he spoke
with glowing eyes of Ephrem and James, and other worthies
of ancient days. Another work that he showed me, was a
large folio volume of Church Annals, which, he said, had
been kept from the earliest ages by the Patriarchs. It was
formerly written in Syriac, but a copy was afterwards made
in Karshoni," or Syro-Arabic, in which language it had ever
since been written. The original, he said, was still exist-
ing in Syria, besides which, this which he showed me was
the only copy in the world. It is always kept by the Patri-
arch, and the records are made as the events occur. He
opened it and read from it a history of persecutions endured
by the Monophysites after the Council of Chalcedon. I
saw that he had reference to the difference between us, for
I had already shown him a copy of the Arabic translation of
the Prayer Book in which the Second Article” had arrested
his attention, but before we could enter upon the subject
we were interrupted by persons on business, and I retired.
The same day arrived a monk from Abyssinia. Four
years had passed since he left his country, and in the mean
time he had been a wanderer in Egypt and Syria. He had
brought no letters from his Church, and the Patriarch hesi-
tated for a time to receive him, saying that the practice of
the Churches from time immemorial, had been, that when a
Christian went into a foreign country, he carried with him
commendatory epistles from his Bishop, or the Patriarch.
He finally, however, suffered him to occupy a room in the
monastery, but could not be persuaded to look upon him
with complacency. “How do I know,” he said, “but that
he has been excommunicated, or has committed some great
sin, or how can I be sure that he is a Christian at all !”
* Arabic written in Syriac characters, Such books are common
among the Syrians, and are the most easily read by them.
* Of the Word, or Son of God, which was made very man.
* To show that the Patriarch reasoned wisely, I may say that since


SYRIAN CHURCH. 201
home went to Church, kissed the pictures, confessed, re-
ceived the Sacrament—and was content. What a dreadful
responsibility that of the priest who is the blind leader of
such blind men The monk, finding that he was no fit sub-
ject for theological discussion, ſell to disputing with the
Syrians, whether the sign of the cross should be made with
the thumb and forefinger, as they make it, or with the
thumb alone, as the Abyssinians practice. All his efforts to
raise a discussion, were unavailing. The Syrians would
not acknowledge that it was of any importance whether it
was made in the one way or the other; and the monk, smi-
ling complacently at having silenced us all, left the room.
The Patriarch was seriously offended when he afterwards
heard from a servant who was present, that the Abyssinian
had been disputing with me about religious matters, and
wished to know how he had ventured to take such liberties
as he did in the discussion.
Bishop Matthew came in twice during the day, and I
had with him much conversation of a more profitable char-
acter upon the state of his Church. In the evening he
gave me a list of all the Bishoprics, with the names of the
present incumbents, from which I learned that there were
only twelve with dioceses, and less than twenty in all. How
different this from the ancient glory of the Church, when
they had one hundred and fifty-nine | Bishops in these re-
gions ! Of the twenty-one monasteries, where Bishops were
formerly resident, only two are now occupied at all, and one
of these is the Patriarchal monastery of Zafran. The other
is the monastery of St. Mary Magdalen, at Jerusalem. Sev-
eral of the present Bishops, however, reside in monasteries
which are not included in the ancient list, and, besides
these, there is an immense number deserted or in ruins,
and a few in the hands of the Papists. Formerly the
* The number given by Asseman, on the authority of ancient writers.


202 WISIT TO THE
mountains of Tour were filled with monasteries, like
Mount Athos in Greece. There were also a few nun-
neries. The ruins of one are to be seen not far from Der
Zafran; but at the present day, nuns are, I believe, entirely
unknown among the Syrians.
There were, at the time of my visit, twenty-five monks
belonging to the monastery of Zafran, but only five of them
were resident; the rest were scattered in the villages, per-
forming the duties of priests in vacant parishes. Of the five
remaining, one only was a priest, the rest deacons and lay
brethren. They were all employed in teaching. Each of
the five had a class of five boys, (twenty-five in all,) who had
been gathered from different and some of them from dis-
tant places, for instruction. They were taught and main-
tained at the expense of the monastery. The origin of the
school was in this manner: When the Patriarch was in
Constantinople in 1838, the Armenian Patriarch expostu-
lated with him on the state of the nation, and among other
things said to him, that a people without schools must in-
evitably decline. The remark sunk deep into the mind of
the Patriarch, and was never forgotten. On his journey
home, he visited most of the places where Syrians are to be
found, and in every place established a school. They are
of course on a very humble scale. That in the monastery,
which was intended to be of a higher order than the others,
provides instruction in ancient Syriac, Arabic, and penman-
ship, but the first is very imperfectly taught from want of
good teachers and text-books, and the whole is not suffi-
cient to supply the first rudiments of knowledge. Neither
of the languages is taught grammatically. The pupil first
" " I will here say that the names Jebel Tour, and Tour Dagh, com-
monly given to these mountains, both imply a tautology. Jebel (Arabic),
Dagh (Turkish), and Tour (Syriac), each mean in their respective lan-
guages, Mountain. The old and proper name is Tour Abdin, or Moun-
tain of Recluses.


SYRIAN CHURCH. 203
learns to repeat the words, which in plain Arabic compo-
sition he understands, because it is the vernacular tongue,
but in Syriac he knows nothing of. He repeats them by
rote, as a parrot talks, and in some instances afterwards
learns a little of the meaning; but; in general, his own
language is an unknown tongue to him. He is thus ena-
bled to join in the services of his Church, and can repeat
the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, the Trisagion, and some other
portions of the services, from memory.
The time which the monks do not spend in instruction
is set apart for devotion. For this purpose, the Seven Hours
of Prayer are observed, viz. Matins, at dawn; the Third
Hour; the Sixth Hour, at noon; the Ninth Hour, three
hours before sunset; the Vespers, at sundown; the Comp-
line, or Evening Service, two hours after sundown; and the
Vigils, at midnight. These hours are regulated (excepting
the Sixth, which is always at noon, and the Vigils, which
are always at midnight,) by the rising and setting of the
sun. Thus, the day beginning at sunset, the Third Hour
is the fifteenth from that time, or three o'clock A. M. East-
ern time. At this season, the sun set about half past seven
of our time, and half past seven in the morning is twelve
o'clock. The Third Hour was therefore half past ten
A. M., and on this account, the Prayers for that hour were
said at Noon. The arrangement of the Prayers was based
upon an equal division of the day and night, which occurs,
however, only at the equinoxes, when the Third, the Sixth,
and the Ninth Hours are nine A. M., noon, and three P. M.,
respectively. The custom in the monastery was to combine
the Matins with the Services of the Church, which occur
at the same hour, and the Prayers of the Ninth Hour with
the Evening Service, occurring at ten o'clock, or two hours
before sunset. The Prayers for the Sixth Hour and Sunset
were said at the door of the Church, under the piazza; the
Compline in the little Chapel of St. Mary, and the Midnight


204 Wis IT TO THE
Prayers by every monk in his room. There was something
in the associations of the hour which rendered these last pe-
culiarly impressive to me. In the dead of night, when no
sound was heard and all nature was sleeping around, here
and there, from the door of each cell, a light began to
twinkle, and presently, where each light appeared, the voice
of prayer began to rise, solemn and slow. It seemed as if
it possessed more power at this silent season. There was
no sound of earth to interrupt it; the mind had rested from
the cares of the day, and there were no moving objects or
glaring sunlight to distract it. It seemed as if it must be
more concentrated upon itself, more easily turned to Heaven,
more free and pure in its aspirations. I thought of the com-
ing of the bridegroom. “While the bridegroom tarried,
they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a
cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to
meet him. Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their
tamps.” I remembered too the words of the Saviour,
“Watch, therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the
hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” “Take heed,
watch and pray; for ye know not when the time is. For
the Son of man is as one taking a far journey, who left his
house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man
his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye,
therefore, for ye know not when the master of the house
will come, at even, or at midnight, or at the cock-crowing,
or in the morning : lest if he come suddenly, he find you
sleeping. And what I say unto you, I say unto all, Watch.”
Friday, July 2. The whole convent is at present keep-
ing the Fast of the Twelve Apostles, which began on Mon-
day and continues thirteen days. Upon due consideration,
I have felt it to be my duty not to join in the observance,
my own Church not being in communion with the Syrian,
* Mat. xxv. 5, 6, 7, * Mat. xxv. 13. * Mark xiii. 33–37.


SYRIAN CHURCH. 205
and it being no design of mine to act as if such communion
were existing. Were it otherwise, there would seem to be
no reason for doubt, inasmuch as such conformity accords
with ancient usage and with Apostolical precepts. As it is,
it seems plainly the course of duty to adhere to the customs
of the Church to which I belong; and I find, on conversing
with the monks, that they regard it as a matter of course
that I should do so. I have determined, therefore, to keep
the regular fasts of my Church, as it has been my custom to
do, and to go no farther. As to the general propriety and
duty of fasting, there can be no question; and the Church
has wisely guarded against its neglect, by appointing times
and seasons for it, which are all most appropriate to the
duty. The duty being plain, no better mode of its observ-
ance can be devised, than to adopt the days appointed by
the Church, especially when we reflect that by acting oth-
erwise, we not only “offend against the common order” of
the Church; (the lawfulness of which in the sight of God
may well be doubted,) but are almost sure to neglect the
duty altogether. Would we but rightly perform it, we
should find that it would add new vigor to our faith, give
new power to prayer, and increase within us all the graces
of the Spirit.
These thoughts were suggested by the return of the weekly
fast. As I am seldom alone in my own room, the Patriarch
had given me, for my private use, the key of the Chapel of
St. Peter, in which no services are at present performed.
There I have spent a considerable portion of the day. May
the prayers offered in weakness, descend in blessings upon
this desolated heritage, and upon my own fondly remembered
Zion, which
In distance, ever true, I love,
And at her altars pray once more to stand.
During the day, one of the monks came in and opened a
10


206 WISIT TO TIIE
conversation on the marriage of our clergy. I contented
myself with stating the grounds upon which we hold the
marriage of a Bishop to be lawful, (to which, being based on
Scripture and primitive evidence, he had nothing to object,)
without feeling called upon to attack the different institu-
tions of his own Church in this particular. I said, more-
over, that if I were a clergyman of the Syrian Church, I
should feel in duty bound to obey its laws, as do those of
its own clergy and even of its Bishops, who are convinced
that it would be better for the Church if the present restric-
tion did not exist.' I thought it, however, perfectly con-
sistent with Christian unity, that there should be, in this and
other respects, different customs in different branches of the
Church of Christ. Even the Church of Rome follows the
same principle, and notwithstanding the absolute prohibition
of marriage to her own clergy, had not insisted upon the
same as a term of communion with the Eastern Churches.”
He assented to the truth of the remark, and I on the other
hand could not hesitate to condemn the conduct of a Priest
of his communion who had lately been deposed for marry-
* As I shall discuss this subject at length hereafter. I will here merely
add that in the Syrian Church, Priests are allowed to be married, but
Bishops not. A priest may, however, become a Bishop after the death of
his wife. Priests are generally married men, and such are always pre-
ferred for parochial cures.
* The Chaldeans, the Papal Syrians, and other Eastern Christians in
communion with the Church of Rome, still retain married priests. It
ought, however, to be added that the whole influence of that Church is
exerted to bring about a conformity with its own practice. The matter
is kept in reserve until union is effected, and then gradually brought for-
ward and inculcated, though never insisted on as essential to union. The
effort has succeeded in some parts where Papal influence is strong; for
example, among the Papal Syrians of Aleppo. In this, as in other re-
spects, the Church of Rome is content to disseminate her own peculiari-
ties, while, in more essential matters, she leaves the Eastern Christians of
her ommunion in ignorance and degradation.


20S VISIT TO THE
monks. Seven candles were burning upon the altar, on
which, besides the chalice and paten, were several small
metallic plates used in the service, which, with the lights,
were arranged upon the steps ascending from the altar.
Pictures were hanging in different parts of the Church, but
all of them in an elevated position, evidently not designed
for worship, nor were any of them so used. No candles
were lighted before them, nor did any one appear to notice
them, excepting my servant Basil, who entered with me,
and after seeking in vain for some one that was familiar to
him, placed himself, at length, before a portrait which may
have been intended for the Virgin, and continued for a
quarter of an hour bowing and crossing himself before it,
while the congregation occasionally turned upon him an
astonished and wondering look. The congregation consist-
ed only of the inmates of the monastery and a few women
from the city, who had come to spend the day at the monas-
tery. As there was no separate place for females in the
Church, they stood behind the rest of the congregation,
near the door. Iremarked, throughout, the great attentiveness
and solemnity of the congregation, which struck me the
more from its being often wanting in Eastern Churches.
Every one, as he entered, bowed thrice towards the altar
and thrice crossed himself in honor of the Holy Trinity.
The priest's garment resembled that of the Patriarch, but
was not so richly decorated. Those of the deacons were
of a plain white material, embroidered in a simple manner,
and each deacon wore a scarf, which was hung only from
one shoulder, in the same manner that it is worn by dea-
cons in the Greek and Armenian Churches, this mode of
wearing it being regarded as the distinguishing mark of
their order. The singers were clothed in white garments,
and stood upon the right of the altar, as you look towards it.
One of them carried cymbals, and two others circular instru-


SYRIAN CHURCH. 209
ments of metal, with small bells attached, and elevated by a
long staff passing through the centre. These instruments
were played in certain parts of the service, especially at the
moment of Invocation. The deacons stood during the ser-
vice, one on each side of the Patriarch, and a little behind
him, each holding a crosier of ebony, crested by a handle
of alabaster. The communion service was preceded by the
morning prayers and reading the Gospel, after which the
veil was lowered for a short time, while the Holy Table was
preparing. The whole service that followed, struck me
from its resemblance to the ancient forms, especially as de-
scribed by Bingham. Incense was used, and Prayer was
offered for the Church Militant, for Apostles, Martyrs,
Confessors, Patriarchs, Bishops, and all Saints. It is at this
part of the service that commemoration is made of the dead
lately departed, when it is requested by friends. The only
requisition necessary is that he have died in the Communion
of the Church. How far the practice is removed from any
recognition of Purgatory, will appear in another place. The
elements were raised after consecration, the Patriarch turn-
ing to the congregation, but there was no bowing to them
by the people, the act being simply an invitation or call to
partake. There was no procession with them. During the
service, the congregation bowed two or three times, and the
sign of the cross was made some five or six times. The
same sign was made over the elements in consecration,
which was done by means of a small silver cross that the
Patriarch held in his hand. The Sacrament was adminis-
tered to two or three of the clergy, at the proper time of
receiving it; and to those of the congregation who were to
partake, after the service was ended. The same is the cus-
tom in the Greek Church, and originated in a day when the
number of communicants was so great as to render it incon-
venient to administer to all during the service. I noticed
moreover this difference—that it was given to the clergy


210 VISIT TO THE
from the chalice with a spoon," while to the people were
given, with the hand, morsels of the consecrated bread which
had been dipped in the wine, and which the people received
from the hand of the Patriarch into their mouths. This
also was perceptible, that the clergy received within the
veil, which was lowered for the purpose, and that the form
of words accompanying the delivery, were not said to the
lay-communicants. All that remained in the chalice after
the clergy had partaken, was carefully eaten and drunk by
the Patriarch, the morsels for the people having been at the
time of consecration laid upon one of the little plates which
stood upon the altar. This, when the service was ended,
the Patriarch took in one hand, while with the other he put
one of the pieces into the mouth of each of the communi-
cants, who received it standing—stooping for the purpose.
The congregation were in the mean time retiring, all hav-
ing first approached and kissed the hand of the Patriarch;
the Bishops, (two being present, but taking no part in the
service, the office of the Patriarch on the occasion being
that of the Bishop,) the priest, and deacons successively.
The deacons kissed the hands of the Patriarch, Bishops and
Priests, the Priests of the Patriarch and Bishops, and the
Bishops of the Patriarch. The departure from the order of
the service, in delivering the elements to the lay-communi-
cants while the congregation were retiring, struck me un-
pleasantly, as seeming to infringe upon one design of the
ordinance, as the Sacrament of Communion and Christian
Fellowship. I was pleased, however, with the slow and
deliberate manner in which the whole service was perform-
ed, so different from the irreverent hurry often visible in
others of the Eastern Churches, and sometimes in the Sy-
r1 all.
* In the Syrian, as in the Greek and Armenian Churches, the bread
and wine are mixed.


SYRIAN CHURCH. 211
After the service was ended, and while the worshippers
were retiring, the women from the city, some holding their
children in their arms, knelt on the steps before the altar,
while the Patriarch, having divested himself of his cope,
threw it over them, and blessed them.
After we had retired, the Patriarch invited me to his
apartment, where we conversed for half an hour. I asked
him how frequently it was the custom among them to re-
ceive the communion. He said once in two or three weeks
it ought to be received; and the longest time for which it
ought on any account to be omitted, was forty days. It
ought, he said, to be received frequently, in order that the
communicant might be able to remember his sins, and make
a thorough and minute confession of them before God.
With regard to the service of Communion, he said that they
had changed nothing from the earliest ages, and that he
did not believe there were any forms more ancient than
their own, existing. With regard to pictures, he said that it
was unlawful to worship them, and that the only use of them
which could be tolerated, was as ornaments of the Church,
and to bring to mind the scenes and persons which they
represented. I inquired whether his meaning might be
illustrated by the use which we make of the portraits of
departed friends, and he replied that it was precisely what
he would say of the pictures of Christ and the Saints. He
blamed the free use that the Greeks, and even his brethren,
the Armenians, make of them, and thought the tendency
of such reverence extremely dangerous.
During our conversation, he put into my hands one of
the little cakes used in the Sacrament. It was a small
round cake about two inches in diameter, and half an inch
thick, impressed with twelve crosses, and pierced in five
places, the former representing the number of the Apostles,
and the latter the five wounds of Christ. It is creased so
as to be broken into twelve pieces, each piece bearing a


212 Visit to The
mark of the cross and intended for one communicant. In
this way it is known at once how many cakes are necessary
for the number who are to communicate. I should have
before remarked, that on the uppermost part of the altar in
the Church, was a small vessel containing the elements
which had formerly been consecrated, intended, after a
very ancient custom, of which we see traces in Justin Mar-
tyr, (A. D. 140,) to be carried to the sick in case of
emergency."
In the evening of the same day, I witnessed the com-
pline service, one and a half hours after sunset. It was
held in the chapel of St. Mary, adjoining the Church of
St. Ananias, on the East side of the court. The apartment
is small and has no altar, being designed rather as a recep-
tacle for dead than a place of worship for the living.
The founder of the monastery, and the Patriarchs and
Bishops who have died in it, are all buried here. Their
tombs are in alcoves, along the sides of the chapel. Be-
fore each alcove a curtain was drawn, and a lamp burn-
ing. I have never witnessed a more affecting scene than
that which followed—the remnant of an ancient Church
(for so it seemed) gathered at the tombs of their fathers,
and chanting in plaintive tones, their evening prayers.
The dimness which prevailed in the apartment, the sub-
dued manner of the worshippers, and the mournful accents
of the chant, all combined to form a scene which moved
me even to tears. At the close, the Bishop who conducted
the devotions, went round the room, bearing a censer, and
slightly drawing aside each curtain, cried aloud. This was
repeated three times. The fourth, the priest and deacons
present joined the procession, and all moved in solemn
march around the tomb. The services continued about
half an hour. The dimissory was pronounced by a deacon,
and all present, after saluting each other, retired.
* 1st Apol. §§ 85, 87.


SYRIAN CHURCH. 213
The next day I attended vespers, which were said out
of doors, under the piazza, in front of the Chapel of St.
Mary. There was here a niche in the wall, precisely like
that for the Imam in a mosque, and intended, like that, to
direct the prayers of the worshipper, although towards a
different quarter. The early Christians prayed towards the
East, and the Kibleh of the Mohammedans is doubtless one
of their numerous imitations of Christianity. The prayers
were said in part by the Patriarch, and in part by the whole
congregation. A portion was responsive, and a portion utter-
ed in silence. The service commenced with an act of
reverence to the Deity, the worshippers bowing, prostrating,
and crossing themselves. The same acts were several times
repeated in the course of the prayers, but the prayers were
offered standing. Incense was also used in the service, and
the whole was closed with the dimissory by the deacon.
At the end of the service, before the congregation retired,
the kiss of peace was given, a Bishop present kissing the
hand of the Patriarch, the Priests that of the Patriarch and
Bishop, the Deacons of the Patriarch, Bishop and Priests,
and the people the hands of all the Clergy and of each other.
It was a pleasant sight, just as the sun was going down, to
behold this little congregation exchanging the ancient token
of love, and preparing to go to their rest in charity, peace,
and good-will.
10%


SYRIAN CHURCH. 215
less than five altars, one of which is exclusively for females.
The Syrian Churches have generally three, and where there
are priests sufficient, the service of the Holy Communion is
performed at all together. The practice is obviously a de-
parture from ancient custom, which allowed but one altar
in a Church, but its design seems to have been to accom-
modate the large number of persons attending the Communion
that all might witness the worship and all partake.
The Baptistry in Mar Behnam is placed, as I have
generally found it in the Syrian Churches, on the South
side near the chancel, in a kind of latticed closet. The
font was a plain stone on a pedestal about three feet
high, and the basin of sufficient size to receive an infant.
As usual, too, it was not clean and in good order. Some
priests' garments were lying in the font, on removing which
I found a nest of young rats nestled in the folds.
I afterwards visited the Churches of Mar Shimon and
Mar Michael, the former within the town, close upon the
walls, the latter just without the city. All these Churches
have legends connected with them, commemorating the
wonderful deeds of their founders, and these are sometimes
illustrated by pictures preserved in the Churches. Mar
Michael, for example, was the son of a Pagan prince of
Iconium. He had been sent away from the court in dis-
grace, mounted on a mule which was suffered to take its
own course, and came to Mardin, where he met with a holy
man, Mar Yououf (St. Joseph), by whom he was converted
to Christianity. His sister, wishing to follow him, and
being prevented, was at her own desire half transformed
into a fish, by which means she was enabled to swim across
the pond or river which confined her, and come to Mardin,
where she embraced the new faith of her brother, who had
founded a Church. Her tomb is still shown in the Church,
and also a picture representing Mar Yousouf, the young
prince, and his sister, the latter half fish and half woman.
Of Mar Behnam, whose name is celebrated among the


21S VISIT TO THE
prosperity of the town evidently declined, owing, as it would
seem, to the combined evils of oppression and famine. The
late governor had been a tyrant, but the new one bore a
different character, and I every where heard his coming
hailed with joy. His good reputation induced me to call
upon him, and I found him a man, judging from his con-
versation, of a very extraordinary character for a Mussul-
man ruler. He had not, he said, wished for office, and
would not have accepted it, had it not been for the misera-
ble, oppressed people about him. He should be happy if he
could do any thing for their relief. He considered, he said,
the most even justice to the people to be the highest pros-
perity of government, and oppression to be the ruin of the
ruler as well as of the ruled. Many other like sentiments
he uttered, which I was willing to believe sincere, both
from the universal reputation for integrity which Kurd Mo-
hammed Bey enjoys, and from the frankness and plainness
with which they were uttered, which had all the apparent
freedom and open-heartedness of a Kurdish gentleman. I
took occasion to commend the poor Christians to his par-
ticular attention. For the purpose of urging this plea, I
had preceded my visit by a handsome present, which my
servant had great difficulty in inducing him to accept, and
when I came in, he had thrown it down on the floor.
“There was no need,” he said, “ of coming to me in that
manner; I am not of that sort,” alluding to the universal
custom in the East—a custom as old as the Patriarchs—of
making favor by means of a present. It was thus that Jacob
approached his brother Esau, whom he was afraid to meet:
“I will appease him with the present that goeth before me,
and afterward I will see his face: peradventure he will ac-
cept of me." A Syrian priest had accompanied me, and was
sitting by my side. The Governor inquired kindly of the
health and welfare of the Patriarch, and said that he in-
* Genesis xxxii. 20.


SYRIAN CHURCH. 219
tended making a visit to the monastery. The priest replied,
that the Patriarch was intending to invite him, but had de-
ferred it on account of the fast. “Why do you fast !”
said the Governor, in a good-humored manner; “can you
prove to me out of the Gospel that Jesus ever prescribed
it 7” The Priest was at a loss for an authority, and I quoted
that of Mark ii. 19, 20: “And Jesus said unto them, Can
the children of the bride-chamber fast while the bride-
groom is with them As long as they have the bridegroom
with them, they cannot fast. But the days will come when
the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then
shall they fast in those days.” The Governor was satisfied
with the authority, if indeed he had any other object in put-
ting the question than to fathom the priest's learning. He
treated him, however, with great civility, although his
cringing and awe-struck demeanor was little calculated to
inspire respect.
At sundown I returned with the Bishop to the monas-
tery. The next two days were spent in inquiries and duties
which need not be detailed here. I cannot omit, however,
one conversation with the Patriarch upon the vexed question
of the Procession. The doctrine of the English Church on
the subject is contained in the Nicene and Athanasian”
Creeds, is incidentally asserted in the Articles,” and is im-
plied in other places" in the Prayer Book. I shall have
1 “And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, who
proceedeth from the Father AND THE SON.”
2 “The Holy Ghost is of the Father AND THE SON; neither made,
nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding.” [This Creed is not retained
in the Book of Common Prayer of the Protestant Episcopal Church in
the United States.]
3 “The Holy Ghost proceeding from the Father AND THE SON,” &c.
Art. 5.
4 “O God, the Holy Ghost proceeding from the Father AND THE SON,
&c. The Litany:
“Teach us to know the Father, Son


SYRIAN CHURCH. 221
doctrine of Scripture and the belief of his own Church, that
if it was also the belief of the Western Church, there was
on this point no difference between us, but he still thought
it would be safer to use the language of the Evangelist,
‘proceeding from the Father, and sent by the Son.” “We
cannot,” he added, “improve upon the Gospel.” I quoted
the passages which bear upon the procession from the Son,”
and stated what had appeared to me, upon careful examina-
tion, to be the opinions of Anglican Divines.” I said,
moreover, that the doctrine of the twofold procession was
plainly a doctrine of the Western Church, but that I was
not aware that the particular mode of interpretation was
prescribed by the Church, or that any could be taken as
authoritative. Upon the historical argument I admitted my
own private conviction to be that the words, and the Son,
were not in the Creed as framed by the Council of Nice,
A. D. 325, and the First Council of Constantinople, A. D.
381; and that the form approved by the Council of Ephe-
sus, A. D. 431, was the same as is now held by the Greek
and other Eastern Churches. This I said was my private
opinion upon a simple historical question which had not
been judged by my own Church. . . . . . . A servant now
came in with the dinner, and I engaged with the Patriarch
to pursue the subject at another time.
July 10. To-day the Patriarch was engaged all the
morning in the rural occupation of superintending the
threshing and winnowing of the wheat. In the afternoon I
called upon him, and commenced the conversation by asking
the whole number of Patriarchs in the line which he repre-
sented. He sent for the Annals, and turning to the list of
* The Patriarch alluded to the passage in John xv. 26; “But when
the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even
the Spirit of truth which proceedeth from the FATHER,” &c.
* E. g. John xv. 26; Gal. iv. 6; 1 Pet. i. 11.
* See, for example, Burnet on the Articles, Art. V.


222 VISIT TO THE
the Patriarchs, counted 141, including St. Peter at the be-
ginning, and himself at the end. I asked to what age the
book reached back. The Patriarch replied, “To Adam,”
It struck me that if it had been kept in the way of annals
from that time, it must be indeed an interesting book. I
requested him, therefore, to turn to the first page. He began
to read an account of the Creation, but soon stopped, say-
ing, “All this was taken from the Bible.” He then turned
into the middle of the book, and read two or three pages
relative to the times preceding the Council of Nice. The
passage contained several curious facts, which I did not re-
member having seen in any history of the period. It con-
firmed the story of the awful death of Arius, and narrated a
deception practised by him upon the Emperor. Arius having
written a statement of his belief, put the paper in his bosom,
and when called upon to testify his assent to a form drawn up
by the Emperor, laid his hand apparently on his heart, but
really upon the paper there concealed, and said, “This is
my belief.”
We then turned to other matters. After conversing for
a time, and seeing that he was evidently wearied from his
labors abroad, I left him to his repose, but the old man rose
with me and went to the field to look after his harvest.
Time would fail me to record even a small portion of
the conversations which I had in the monastery with the
Patriarch, Bishops, and monks, although, if I could relate
them, they might furnish additional illustrations of the
comparative purity of the Syrian Church, and the unusual
strictness of discipline which it still preserves. Upon the
great point of difference—the Fourth General Council—as
well as upon matters of a practical character, they were long
and animated, but free from any bitterness and asperity.
Another and not less frequent topic was the gross misrepre-
sentations respecting the Anglican Church, which had
reached even this quiet retreat. Who would think of going


SYRIAN CHURCH. 223
to the old monastery of Zafran to hear such stories as that in
England priests are not ordained, but are created by the sove-
reign, or that the Sacrament of Holy Communion is given to
the people only once in thirty years, or that when it is given,
the priest says a few words, and all the people rush to the
table, and each snatches a portion for himself? These,
and many others such like, have been diligently circulated,
not only in Mesopotamia, but all over the East. I have met
them every where, and in every instance where I have been
able to trace them, have found them to have come from Pa-
pal emissaries. I was not, therefore, surprised to hear of
them in the Patriarchal monastery of Zafran. The object
in circulating them has manifestly been to keep the Eastern
Christians aloof from the influences of a pure faith and
worship, while the great end of Romish labors has been to
introduce the peculiar errors of the Church of Rome, and
to degrade Christianity by superstitions before unheard of
In the Mesopotamian Churches the utmost jealousy has
been shown of the simple and highly spiritual character of
the ancient worship, and the effort has chiefly been to hang
upon it idle ceremonies and superstitious observances, for
the purpose of counteracting its native tendencies. Its sup-
posed resemblance to Anglicanism, which is in truth no
more nor less than its resemblance to primitive Christianity,
has been watched with the most sensitive suspicion, and
wherever converts have been made to Popery, the first ob-
ject has been to corrupt their religion by introducing such
things as holy water, and rosaries, and bowing to images,
and wearing pictures, and every expedient that could be de-
vised, to turn men's minds from the doctrines, at once pure
and primitive, of a living faith and a self-denying obedience.
When we thus see minds left in all their former ignorance,
and thence plunged to a deeper depth in what that ignorance
will inevitably make a dangerous and soul-destroying super-
stition, there can be no doubt of the aim and tendency of


224 VISIT TO THE
such efforts. Whatever may be the faith of the Church of
Rome, or however different may be the face in which she
appears in other lands, among the Christians of the East
these have been her labors. Hence it is that we can have
no affinity with her; hence she is our enemy, and hence too
our labors must be to assume the ground of genuine Catholi-
cism—seeking to preserve the things that remain and are
ready to die, to infuse the life and vigor of youth into forms
which breathe the spirit and power of ancient days, to stand
upon the undoubted doctrines of the primitive faith, and to
effect their re-establishment wherever they have been weak-
ened or lost, to instruct in what is both pure and Apostolic,
to restore a right appreciation of the Holy Sacraments and
the self-crucifying duties of a holy life. If the Church of
England, or our own, has been misunderstood, it is because
she has not been rightly known, because she is mingled, in
the conceptions of Eastern Christians, with the peculiarities
of those with whom she has no connexion; now represented
as rejecting the divinity of our Saviour, now as having dis-
carded infant baptism, and now as destitute of a duly or-
ganized ministry. And so it must remain until she herself
will make herself known as a Church essentially sound and
primitive, as possessing all the credentials and marks of the
Church of Christ, in her faith, her sacraments, her ministry,
and her worship; as discarding errors which she does not
hold, and as seeking a return to unity upon ancient and
scriptural grounds. Until she does this, the first step in her
high and holy mission will not have been taken.
I was a week at the monastery before I found a leisure
hour for visiting the library. I had heard much of its value,
and expected to find it a rich repository of Syriac literature.
What was my surprise to find that it consisted of no more
than fifty volumes piled together on a shelf in a low, dark
room, and covered thick with dust. Most of them were
works in Arabic, written in the Syriac character and the


226 VISIT TO THE
those which the Saviour addressed to the Apostles: “Upon
this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall
not prevail against it.” They seem to have reference to
the Cross as the sign of Christ, the Son of the living God.
The Patriarch officiated again, and the services were sub-
stantially the same as on the last Sunday. At the close, a
considerable number received the Holy Sacrament.
In the same Church, in a little recess near the door, is
a plank suspended from above, which is beaten by two mal-
lets to call the monks to prayers. Formerly there was a
bell in the little turret which rises above the Church of St.
Ananias, but it has been in some way lost or destroyed.
When the services were ended, I went with the Bishops
to the room of the Patriarch, where the company immedi-
ately broke their fast by a slight repast of bread and cheese,
the custom of the Syrians being to continue fasting until
the Sacrament has been received. We then conversed for
half an hour upon the doctrine of their Church—the one
nature of Christ—which separates them from the commun-
ion of other Churches. In the after part of the day, I re-
sumed the conversation with Bishop Matthew, and the next
day had a long conference with the Patriarch on the same
subject. I will not here record it, as I shall have occasion
to allude to it again when I come to speak of the doctrines
and worship of the Syrian Church.” The view there given
is the result of almost innumerable conversations with Patri-
arch, Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, at different times and in
different places. It is a simple endeavor to show the real po-
sition of the Syrian Church, without “extenuating aught or
setting down aught in malice.” If it presents the question in
1 St. Mat, xvi. 18.
* As the work to which I here allude is not likely to make its appear-
ance for some time to come, I have thought it best to give the substance
of my views on this important topic in the preface to the present volume.


SYRIAN CHURCH. 227
a more hopeful view than that in which it has hitherto been
contemplated, it is, supposing the view to be just, matter for
congratulation and thanksgiving to Almighty God. To
Him let us address our fervent supplications that He will, in
his own good time, heal the breach which remains, and re-
store to the distracted Church of Christ its long-lost unity.
July 12. The Feast continues another day, in honor
of the Holy Apostles. A large number of Syrians, men,
women and children, have come from the city to spend it in
idleness and rejoicing. It is amusing to see how entirely
they make themselves at home. One of the monks acts as
steward, and provides lodgings for the visiters, who go about
as freely as in their own homes, the women pursuing their culi-
nary occupations, washing their linen, and taking care of the
babies, the children scampering about, screaming and play-
ing, and the men smoking their pipes, talking, and lounging
in little knots with as much freedom as if every person had
a fee-simple in the monastery. Indeed this is nearly true,
for it belongs to the nation, and all join in supporting it. It
seems to be an asylum not only for the religious class, but
also for the maim, the blind, the insane, and the destitute,
of all which there are some within its walls. The Patri-
arch and all the nation wish to see it enlarged and its for-
mer grandeur restored, but they are too poor to furnish the
means. The two years' famine has exhausted their re-
sources, and compelled them to wait for better days. It
was the design of the Patriarch to make it include a college
for instruction in theology, to which candidates selected from
the schools might resort to prepare for the holy office of the
ministry, but many long years, I fear, will pass before the
design is carried into execution.
My work at the monastery was now done, and I began
to prepare for leaving. For two weeks I had received kind
and unremitted attention from every one within its walls,
from the Patriarch down to the old porter who growled at


230 VISIT TO THE
more serious subject; but excepting those portions of the
Eastern Churches by which they are abused for purposes of
gain, I have never found a disposition to insist upon them as
really essential, and the reasons for our discontinuing them
have always appeared satisfactory excepting to those to whom
it would be perhaps an advantage if they would discontinue
them also. Those by whom they are not abused, seem to
regard the want of them among us as a deficiency in itself,
but justifiable by the reasons which prevailed at the time they
were removed. Nor have I ever seen such a one disposed
to consider their restoration as a matter of indispensable
necessity, inasmuch as a general commemoration of the
faithful departed is preserved in the service of the Holy
Communion, the order for Burial, and some of the Festivals,
especially that of All Saints. This is sufficient to save us
from the reproach of forgetting those who, though passed
away, belong with us to the Household of God, the Family
in Heaven and Earth;” and more than this, it may safely be
affirmed, was not the original intention of prayers for them.
The position of our Church, then, when judged by the clear
voice of her standards, is one in which, on the whole, I have
ever found reason to rejoice. It is one in which she appears
as chiefly intent upon a unity of faith, and yet as wanting
nothing which is essential to her character as a branch of
the Church Universal. It is one in which we must feel com-
pelled to stand upon the sure basis of what is evidently ne-
cessary to Christian communion,-one in which we have
little temptation to form alliances upon incidental resem-
blances in things of minor importance,—one in which it is
most needful for their own good that we should appear to the
Eastern Churches, one in which we may sustain the exalted
character of seeking a restoration of unity on truly primitive
grounds. May we have grace to understand and improve
-
* Eph. ii. 19. * Eph. iii. 15.


SYRIAN CHURCH. 231
our advantages, turning neither to the right hand nor to the
left; presenting the Church in her pure faith and her unsul-
lied worship to eyes which will not fail, the more single their
vision becomes, to be attracted by the one and love the
other. There is no Church on earth which has the power
for good among the Eastern Christians which the Church of
England and the sister Church in the United States possess.
May we use it as an inestimable treasure, as a precious talent
for which we must give account!
Note.—I must not be understood in this chapter as
speaking on the point of the immediate practicability of
union with the Eastern Churches. That is a great point by
itself. In my judgment it cannot be determined by any data
that we now possess. And besides, it is a question whether,
supposing that no difficulty in matters of faith remained, a
union were practicable under existing circumstances. We
must remember that Mohammedanism, with all its chains
bound around and enslaving Christianity, still survives. We
must remember, too, that our Eastern brethren are hardly
in a state duly to appreciate and earnestly to long for the
blessings of unity. Let us not desire the thing without its
spirit. Let us not strive to bring about a merely formal
connexion, but to base it upon a true union of heart, a
union which cannot be thoroughly effected unless both they
and we are replenished with the graces of the Spirit, and are
alive to the truth and knowledge of God's Holy Word. Let
there be no hasty and unauthorized amalgamations, but let our
first, great effort be to revive, with the divine blessing, in the
hearts of our brethren and in our own, a juster appreciation
of the true faith and a life of holiness and love. So shall
there be a sure preparation for the glorious fabric of Christian
Union, and so shall our fabric rise not on the shifting sands
of human opinion and devices, but upon the Everlasting
Rock of our Salvation, Christ Jesus, our Lord.


SYRIAN CHURCH. 233
wherever he pitched his camp, for the next night the spot
would show a vast sea of flame rolling and raging in every
direction.
I had intended to leave on the 12th, but my business not
being completed, I remained till the 13th, and was then de-
tained another day by a severe cold which I had caught in
the night. On the 14th I was no better, and with difficulty
mustered sufficient resolution to prepare for my journey.
But there was no alternative. The result of my visit was
such as to require the utmost expedition in my movements,
and I determined, at all events, to reach Mardin, and then
shape my plans as Providence might permit. In the course
of the morning I had a farewell interview with the Pa-
triarch, but was too unwell to say much. Fortunately little
remained to be said. He accompanied me down stairs and
to the outer gate, where stood the old porter, now as full of
benedictions as he had before been of complaints. Nearly
every person in the monastery came down to bid me fare-
well, and when I mounted, the Patriarch gave me his blessing
and his prayers. Bishop Matthew could not leave me thus,
but accompanied me to the city. On the road my troubles
were increased by a stroke of the sun, for it was now high
noon; and when I reached the city, my brain was disordered,
and both body and mind in a state of extreme suffering.
Bishop Matthew took me to his house adjoining the Church
of Mar Behnam, and there made me as comfortable as cir-
cumstances would allow. I had ordered horses to be in
readiness immediately upon my arrival, and nothing but
utter physical inability prevented me from mounting. But
it was now quite out of the question ; I could hardly raise
myself from the ground. Hoping that a few hours rest
might relieve me, I ordered the horses to be brought at day-
break, and determined to spend the night; or rather spent
it there in spite of my determination to the contrary.
The next morning my head was somewhat relieved, but


234 VISIT TO THE
otherwise I was more unfit for travelling than before. I had
nothing to do but to submit, and, without knowing what God
would bring out of the delay, leave the future to him and
hope for the best. To my short-sighted wisdom it seemed
only an evil which endangered the best interests of my work,
but all my anxiety was overcome by a last resort—the calm
and deep conviction that it would in some way unknown to
me, and which I could not by any stretch of imagination
conceive, work for good.
The next day, to my great surprise, letters from Con-
stantinople reached me. I had given orders that none
should be sent, as I was to be constantly moving about, and
the danger of losing them great. They were brought by
the young Tatar whom I had met near Diabekir. He was
on his way to Mossoul, and expected to find me there, but
hearing that there was a Frank in the city, he sent the let-
ters to me, with the message that if they did not belong to
me, I would return them within a quarter of an hour. I
saw him some months afterwards at Constantinople, when he
told me that at the time he was riding post-haste to convey to
the Pasha of Mossoul the news that the district of Jezireh
had been given to him. Another Tatar was only a few
hours behind him, and the trial was which should first con-
vey the news to the Pasha, and obtain the expected bak-
shish (present). He had stopped at Mardin only to change
horses, and was just mounting, when he heard that there was
Frank in the city, which induced him to send the letters at
a venture, not knowing whether the said Frank was myself
or some other person. He was himself too tired and too
much encumbered with his travelling dress to come to me
speedily, and therefore sent them by the hands of a messen-
ger. Had the information which induced him to send them
been delayed for a minute or two, the letters would have
gone to Mossoul. When I opened them I found that they
contained news which it was of the first importance I should


SYRIAN CHURCH. 235
receive before leaving Mardin. I was now as glad for hav-
ing been detained, as I had only the day before been tried
by the very same delay. Had I left when I intended, I
should probably have passed the Tatar in the night, or met
him so far upon the road that it would have been difficult
to turn back. I immediately acted upon the information
contained in the letters, and then began again to hope that
I might now be permitted to pursue my journey.
But another still more urgent cause for delay was in pros-
pect. Letters soon arrived from Mossoul which showed that
a plot had been formed to ruin every thing which I had ac-
complished, and these very letters were intended to embitter
the mind of the Patriarch against me. They contained the
most extravagant misrepresentations of my object and of my
Church, conveyed in so insidious a manner that it seemed
to me they could hardly have failed to accomplish their pur-
pose if I had been absent. They were addressed to Bishop
Matthew, who was requested to lay them before the Patri-
arch. But Bishop Matthew thought it his first duty to
bring them to me, saying, as he opened them, ““As ye
would that others should do to you, do ye even so to them.’
It is not right that you should be injured by secret foes.
If, as I believe, the statements contained in these letters are
false, you can easily refute them; and were the case reversed,
I should expect so much justice to be done me, as to make
them known to me.” It proved to be, as the letters fully
showed, a machination of the Papists. The whole history of
the affair was detailed, and authorities given, so that there
could be no mistake about the origin of the plot. The read-
ing of the letters excited me so much, that though burning
and parched with fever, and unable to sit up, I entered into
a long conversation on the subject, which occupied us all
the rest of the day and evening. I succeeded in showing
him by the clearest proofs, that the whole story was a false-
hood, and could have arisen only from a deadly hostility to


240 VISIT TO THE
from the hard living and noxious air of the desert, and which
might, with very little warning, end my days. It was a
comfort, however, to reflect that I was not necessary to any
good purpose, that better and abler men than I could be
raised up to take my place, and that if I fell, it would be as
best became me—with my harness on. In sober thought, it
seemed hardly probable that I should escape unharmed from
the scorching sunbeams, the sleepless nights, the bad food,
and the incessant fatigue of the journey; but I knew of
nothing better to do, and therefore made the best of the
worst, hoped against hope, sought counsel at a source which
has never failed me in such extremities, and started on my
journey with a cheerful if not a joyous heart.
A scene occurred at the Church the evening before I
left, with which I will close my reminiscences of Mardin.
Several Mussulman women came in immediately after pray-
ers, with their children in their arms, which they presented
to the priest, and kneeling themselves in humble attitude,
had prayers read over them. They then left a small charity
for the Church, and departed in a reverent and becoming
manner. The priest assured me that Mussulmans some-
times join in the worship, and go through all the acts of
devotion with the same regularity as the Christians, kneel-
ing, bowing, and prostrating themselves, but never making
the sign of the cross, which is considered as the distinctive
and peculiar badge of a Christian. The Mussulmans hold
the error of the Docetae, and believe, as the Koran declares,
that Jesus was crucified only in appearance. If one argues
upon the plain declarations of the Gospel, they say that our
books are corrupted; and if you attempt to prove their au-
thenticity, they reply that the Koran has revealed the contrary,
and this is a final argument with them. The cross, then,
is to the Mohammedan a stone of stumbling and rock of
offence, and being so, it is not a little to be wondered at
that the Christians have so universally retained it. “Ad


SYRIAN CHURCH. 241
omnem progressum atque promotum, ad omnem aditum et exi-
tum, ad vestitum et calciatum, ad lavacra, ad mensas, ad
lumina, ad cubilia, ad sedilia, quacunque nos conversatio
exercet, frontem crucis signaculo terimus.” This is now
as true as it was in the days of Tertullian, though the sign
is not made upon the forehead simply, nor is it used in so
simple a manner as then. The idea of some miraculous
power and efficacy is very commonly attached to it, al-
though the idea itself is obviously based upon the primary
notion of its being a profession of faith in Christ. The
Eastern Christians often make it with little thought of its
original use, and vainly dispute upon the proper mode of
making it.” Yet as a mark of distinction between them-
selves and the Mohammedans, it is interesting to observe
how universally they have retained it, and how freely they
use it, and the very remembrance of its being a mark of
distinction, has helped to preserve more of a sense of its
original design than they might otherwise have retained.
Its use, in itself, certainly is not to be regretted;" although
* At every going forward or movement, at every entrance and egress,
in putting on clothes and sandals, in washing, at meals, at candle lighting,
at lying down, at seating ourselves, whatever business occupies us, we
mark the forehead with the sign of the Cross.—Tertul. de Cor. Mil. c. 3.
* There are two points of dispute concerning it: First, as to the num-
ber of fingers with which it is to be made ; second, as to the order in
which the parts of the body are to be touched. Thus the Greeks make
it with three fingers, as indicating their belief in the Holy Trinity, and in
making it, touch first the forehead, then the breast, then the right shoulder,
then the left.—The Nestorians make it in the same manner with the
Greeks. The Armenians, with three fingers also, but touching the left
breast before the right. The Syrians, with the thumb and forefinger,
and in the same order with the Armenians.
3 “I must confess that there is something affecting in this simple
outward expression, as practised by the Nestorians. . . May it not be
that the abuse of such symbols by the votaries of the Roman See, has
carried us Protestants to the other extreme, when we utterly condemn
the simple memento of the cross " The Nestorians, by Dr. Grant. p. 68.


242 VISIT TO THE
we could well wish that it might be used oftentimes with
more reverence, and often with a more just sense of the
meaning which it conveys, “By this sign I declare myself
to be a follower of Christ, and my trust to be in His blessed
passion and death. To Him I look for deliverance from
all my enemies, and for direction in all my doings, and in
token of this faith and trust, I do sign myself with the sign
of the cross.”


SYRIAN CHURCH. 243
C H A P T E R. X. I X .
First day's Journey—Visit to the Patriarch Elect.—Regulations concern-
ing the building of Churches in Turkey.—English Churches.—The
Patriarch Elect.—Pigeon Houses.—Diarbekir.—The Church of St.
Mary.—Visitors.-Fever and Ague on Horseback.—Sleeping in the
Field.—A Kind Mussulman.—Trouble at the Ferry.—A hospitable
Kizzilbash.—Visions of Home.—Warren Hastings.-C. J. Rich.-Si-
Vas.
My first day's ride brought me to Khanik, ten hours on
my way, somewhat fatigued, but grateful that I was so much
nearer home. Our rate of travelling was the slowest walk,
and we stopped occasionally to rest. At Khanik, for want of
better accommodations, I lodged under a tree, and at five
P. M. went through my regular process of fever and ague.
The time for it was well arranged, as I could ordinarily ac-
complish my day's journey before that hour, and have a
whole night to recruit in. My object was, if possible, to
reach Samsoun the sixth of August, knowing that the
steamer would pass that day, and if I were an hour too
late, I must wait there a week. To accomplish this, it was
necessary to travel a good stage every day, for fifteen days.
I had no temptation to stop on the road while strength re-
mained to travel, but the contrary every way. Both my
health and my engagements required me to be in Constan-
tinople at the earliest possible moment, and it was some-
thing to have such an object of interest as the reaching
Samsoun on a certain day. The uncertainty of finding


SYRIAN CHURCH. 245
the business comes at the Porte, barely know where the
building is, without knowing what it is. Petitions for re-
pairing Churches are brought in every day, and this passes
as one of them. The necessary fees are paid and a firman
is granted for the repair of such a Church. The old Ibadet
Rhameh is pulled down, and a Church of larger dimensions
is erected on the spot. In some instances, however, the
fraud is detected by the Mussulman neighbors, and I know
at the present moment two Churches in Constantinople
which have been closed by the Turks on account of a pro-
ceeding of this kind. The native Papists have procured
firmans for the erection of chapels wherever any of their
people are to be found, and in several places they have
already been built. One that I have seen was large and
commodious, and had all the appearance of a Church, ex-
cepting that it formed a part of the Episcopal residence.
The Porte acted doubtless in conformity with the laws of
the Empire in refusing a firman for the English Church at
Jerusalem, unless, as I have heard it reported, that Church
is built upon the site of an old one, in which case a firman
ought to have been granted upon proper evidence of the
fact. An attempt was made some years ago to erect an
English Church in the village of Boujah, near Smyrna, but
no firman having been procured, the work was stopped ere
it had risen above the foundation. The English Church in
Smyrna is under the roof of the Consulate, and that in Con-
stantinople is the Embassy Chapel, erected upon ground
belonging to the British Government. I know not whether
there are any other English Churches in the Empire, unless
it be one at Alexandria in Egypt. It were certainly to be
desired that they were to be found at other points, for exam-
ple at Beyrout, Bagdad, and Erzroum; for these, if for no
other reasons: 1, for the benefit of English travellers and
residents; 2, that the reproach of having no religion be-
cause we are not seen to have any public worship, may be


246 WISIT TO THE
taken away; and 3, for the beneficent influence which they
would exert upon the Eastern Christians, (especially if the
services, or sermons, were sometimes in the languages of
the country). A worship uncorrupted by superstitious
usages, yet not devoid of solemn and decent ceremonies,
the propriety and orderly demeanor of the worshippers, the
services in a language understood by the people, and espe-
cially the instructive character of the liturgy, interspersed
with its Psalms and Lessons from Holy Writ, could not
fail to exert a most healthful influence, while they presented
a living example more powerful than words.
The Muphrian, Abdul Ahad, was a middle-aged man,
with a troubled and care-worn expression that made him
appear older than he really was. He sat with me an hour
in the portico of the Church, while I reposed upon a bed
which they had spread for me, and gave me an excellent
breakfast of young pigeons, which refreshed and revived me
a little, so that I was able to sit up and converse with him.
What I had to say, made his eye sparkle with joy, and drove
the sorrowful expression from his features. “I will give
you my prayers,” he said; “it is all that I have to give.”
He had been two years absent from his Diocese, and said
that he could never return while Bedr Khan Bey lived."
The village itself was of most singular construction and
appearance. Most of the houses were very high, and the
whole of the upper part above the first story was given to
* He has since returned, and, I am grieved to add, has recently been
put to death, by order of this Kurdish chief. He had been sent for by
the Bey, and on the road was met by ten armed Kurds, (one of them a
near relation of Bedr Khan Bey,) who immediately shot him down, ripped
him open, and took out his heart, which they carried away, probably as a
token to the Bey of his death. This infamous man, to conceal his own
agency in the crime, immediately charged it upon the Syrians themselves,
and fined the Syrian village nearest to the place of the murder, 15,000
piastres, (about $600,) for having murdered their own Bishop :


SYRIAN CHURCH. 247
pigeons, which are kept for the sake of their dung, which
is sold in the city, and used for the rich fruit-gardens near
the town. Thousands of pigeons filled the air, and at short
intervals we heard the sharp report of a gun which, the
people said, belonged to some sportsmen from the town, who
come here and cruelly deprive them of the fruit of their la-
bors." Both here and in Persia the manure of pigeons is
esteemed the best for the culture of melons, and in both
countries the quality of the fruit fully bears out the recom-
mendation.
Anxious to reach the city at an early hour, that I might
gain strength for the long stage before me on the morrow, I
bade adieu to the Muphrian, and with some difficulty was
put upon my horse, where I had nothing to do but to hold
on. In this way we started, and soon crossing the bridge,
which brought us again to the right-hand side of the Tigris,
reached the city in an hour from Kabbi Keui.
The Patriarch had given me a letter to Diarbekir, which
proved, when it came to be delivered, to contain an order
that his own apartments at the Church of St. Mary should
be opened for my reception. This same Church is a cu-
riosity in its kind, being apparently one of the oldest that I
visited. It does not differ materially, however, from the
common description, excepting that its court and out-build-
ings are larger, and the latter more numerous than I have
seen elsewhere. By its side is the little chapel of St. James,
and on one side of the court is an apartment, where the
Patriarch resides when he is in the city. This was thrown
open for me, and every attention that my state required or
kindness could suggest, was shown to me. Many of the
Priests, Deacons, and principal men came to see me. They
have no Bishop resident, the city being a part of the diocese
* I asked, “Why do you not complain of them " The reply was,
“They are Mussulmans—what can we do?”


SYRIAN Chlu RCH. 249
broad heavens. Besides the nature of the lodgings, there
was nothing to eat; but this also was no great deprivation,
for had there been, it would have been yo-oort, which all
my native friends had strictly charged me not to touch.
Indeed, my first and last concern was to repose. The ſever,
as well as the ague, had passed, and had left me in so weak
a state that any couch was comfortable. My cloak was soon
spread, with my saddle for a pillow, and before my servants
had finished their duty of arranging and securing the bag-
gage, I was fast asleep.
The next morning I arose fresh and bright, with an ap-
petite sharpened by twenty-four hours abstinence, but which
there was no means of relieving until we reached Argana
Maden, four hours on our road. Here we obtained a break-
fast, a most unsatisfactory one however, as the only articles
which the market afforded were eggs, milk, and yo-oort, all
which had been proscribed by my good friends at Mardin.
We spent the whole day in going over the Taurus, and did
not stop again until we reached a village upon the plain of
Kharpout, having rode thirty miles without dismounting.
The day's tribulation came on close by the little lake of
Gheuljuk. I had determined not to endure again what I did
yesterday, but to throw myself upon the ground as soon as
the fit seized me, and lie there until it was over. Fortunate-
.ly, however, it was somewhat lighter, and I found myself,
though still suffering intensely, able to keep my horse. We
stopped at the first village on the plain, where we obtained
admission to a Mussulman house, an excellent dinner, and a
comfortable bed. The master made every effort to please
me, and declined all reward for it, an instance of human-
ity which deserves, at least, a record. He even waited upon
me in person, requested me to make out my own bill of fare
for such articles as I could eat, and attended himself to see
it executed, which was done in a style that did honor to his
hospitality.


250 VISIT TO THE
July 26. We started at dawn and rode to Merizah,
where we changed horses and breakfasted. To keep up
with the plan of my journey, it was necessary to reach Kab-
ban Maden to-day, which we accomplished by another ride
of thirty miles, making about forty for the day. When I
came to dismount at the ferry of Kabban Maden, I found
myself unable to walk, or even to stand without difficulty.
From some cause, at the time unknown, my feet and legs
had gradually swollen, until they became unmanageable and
almost without sense or life. The attack of fever had pass-
ed on the road, but as soon as I touched the ground I began
to feel the most excruciating pains in my back, from which
I could find no relief but by lying down and suffering the
men to carry me into the boat, like a bale of goods, and lay
me down among the cattle. When we reached the opposite
side, I was taken out and conveyed to the post-house near
by, where I was laid upon a bench in the coffee-shop. Sev-
eral old Mussulmans gathered round me, and began to pre-
scribe. One wished to tie a string on my wrist, and say a
prayer or incantation over it; but I rejected the remedy,
although he pronounced it to be a sovereign one. Another
advised me to be kneaded, and feeling within myself that
this would be agreeable, I submitted to it. They then
turned me over on my face, and Michael, taking off his
shoes, mounted upon my back, and jumped up and down
upon me, to my great delight and relief. The operation,
rude as it was, had the desired effect, for until then I could
not stir without putting myself into an agony of pain. It
was followed up by several men kneading me with their fists,
after which I fell into a quiet sleep, which lasted four hours.
When I awoke, day had opened, and it was time to mount.
Upon attempting to rise, I found that though the pain was
not entirely gone, I was able to stand and walk. There
was no profit in remaining there, and I had no doubt that I
could find physicians of the same sort at every stopping-


SYRIAN CHURCH. 251
place. So I made a present to the practitioner who had re-
commended the kneading, bade them adieu, and mounted.
I came before night to a pasturage-ground of the people
of Argaoun, where I found the villagers of Suleimanieh
scattered over the country, feeding their flocks, and among
them the post-master with his horses. He had a tent close
by, to which he invited me for the night, and when he saw
my condition, treated me kindly. Thus it is that in the
rudest state man feels for his fellow, and we never reach so
low a grade of humanity that we do not find at least some
who retain the nobler traits of our nature. He was indeed
very kind, and put himself to much trouble on my account,
and gave me the best of every thing that he had, and tended
me during the fever attack with unceasing assiduity. I have
had to record some harsher reflections, but it gives me more
pleasure to record those which speak well for my kind. My
host was one of the Kizzilbashes, of whom I had always
been taught to think ill. I shall hereafter think better of
his whole race for his sake. One little incident reminded
me of home, and brought to my mind such a throng of teem-
ing recollections that I could not withstand them, but gave
myself up to the pleasing illusions which they created. One
of the dishes which he set before me was veritable apple-
sauce, just such as might have come from the hand of a tidy
New-England country dame. How many sweet visions
grew out of that apple-sauce, and recollections of days gone
by, when with my gun and dog I used to ramble in the
woods and over the farms, and repose at night in some rude
cottage, where the matron would bring out her best stores of
tea, and dough-nuts, and apple-sauce, and when the board
was cleared, would sit down to talk about my old grandfather,
“ the Squire,” as his name went among the country folk,
and tell me stories of the youthful days of “the young
Squire,” my father, which I should never have heard from
his own honored lips. How little the good woman thought


254 VISIT TO THE
and lose the day. The post-master with whom I had the
conflict on my journey Southward, was absent, but the
keeper of the café attached to the post-house, who was
himself a Mussulman, and a descendant of Mohammed,
assured me that there had been a visible improvement in .
his manners since that memorable occasion.


SYRIAN CHURCH. 255
C H A P T E R X. X.
Leave Sivas.-Armenian Monastery.—Entrance to Tocat.—Trouble
with a Post-master.—Expense of Travelling in Turkey.—Henry Mar-
tyn.—His Grave.—Mussulmans of Tocat.—The Mosques and Medres-
sehs-Mecca.-The Armenians of Tocat.—Their Church.—Other
Christians.—The Jews.-Serious-minded Christians.— Evil of the
Church Services being unintelligible.—Objections to translations for
Public Use.—Turkish Honesty.—Effects of Disease.—Leave Tocat.—
Guard-House.
AUg. 1. I did not obtain horses till this morning, and
how I was to reach Samsoun in time for the steamer was
exceedingly problematical. One whole day had been cut
out of the fifteen, and there was left just one day's stage
more than I felt myself able to perform before the 6th.
However I took heart of hope, and determined to do the
best in my power. We left Sivas with a small guard, and
came before night to a small village, where the Mussulmans
treated me well, gave me a good supper, and made a rous-
ing fire for my comfort. About a quarter of an hour from
the city, we passed a large Armenian monastery called
Surp Nishan, Holy Cross, where there is a Bishop resident.
It is a place of great resort for the Christians on Sundays
and other festivals. I was struck with the neatness of
every thing around it, which, with the rich green fields and
waving grain on every side, betokened ease and abundance.
The buildings, too, were apparently new and extensive,
presenting altogether a spectacle which struck me the more
*


256 VISIT TO THE
from the contrast with the pictures of decay and ruin that
generally prevail in Turkey.
The next day we reached Tocat. Both the approaches
to the city from the South are romantic in the extreme.
The one is called the Winter, the other the Summer road.
I had once come in by the former, but we now took the lat-
ter, which is more difficult, and in the winter hardly passable.
It led us through extensive forests and greenwood shades,
by rivulets gushing from the mountains, and along wire-
drawn paths, down, down, down, until we seemed to be going
into the bowels of the earth. There must have been three
hours or more of this descent before we reached the town.
It is the same in the other road, where the traveller descends
ten miles, almost without interruption, through a deep and
narrow ravine, amidst a succession of beautiful scenes
which the windings of the path gradually reveal, until he
emerges, through vineyards and gardens, into the city. I
remember that, travelling this road in the month of March,
the whole country from Sivas to Hassan Tchelebi, excepting
the plain of Ulash, was covered deep with snow. The snow
was lying in drifts in the streets of Sivas, and our course
north of the city towards Tocat, was interrupted by fre-
quent patches, sometimes extending for miles. Yet when
we reached Tocat, every thing wore the appearance of
advanced spring. Trees were putting forth their leaves
and even their blossoms, the town was dry, and the air was
warm and genial.
It was now August, and some of the fruits were ripe,
especially the large and luscious pears, the like of which I
have never seen in Turkey. I could not resist the tempta-
tion to taste them, especially as the good people told me
that it would do no harm. At the post-house I had the
misfortune to hold another altercation with a post-master.
He of Tocat might have been brother to him of Sivas. I
had been fortunate enough to arrive before the ague came


syRIAN CHURCh. 257
on. When I felt it approaching, I asked for a bed. The
post-master, in a most insolent tone, told me to lie on the
boards. I instantly rose upon my feet, and gave him a lec-
ture five minutes long, telling him before them all, that if
he was brute enough to treat me thus, I was not brute
enough to bear it; and if he did not instantly change his
manners, I would have him punished, if there was any power
in the Sultan's firman which I carried. He said not a word,
but the bed was immediately provided. When I rose again,
after three or four hours, he came to inquire after my health,
and from that moment became very obsequious in his atten-
tions. His new friendship, however, did not prevent him
from quietly cheating me the next morning by making me
pay for two hours more than the stage that his horses were
to travel.'
One cannot pass by Tocat without being reminded of
the man whose remains repose there in the hope of a joyful
resurrection, and whose example has done so much to awa-
ken a lively zeal in behalf of the pagan nations, both in Eng-
land and America. On a former occasion one of my first
visits was to the humble grave of HENRY MARTYN, which
lies in one of the Armenian cemeteries, on the East side of
the town, and quite beyond the limits of its population. It
is a lowly grave, even among the thousands which surround
it, and one who was not in search of it, might pass it with-
out observing it. The stone which covers it is in no way
distinguished from the others around it, excepting by the
* In Turkey the stages are marked by hours, and the post-rates are
generally two piastres a horse per hour, the hour being the distance that a
man walks in that time, or about three miles. The piastre is about four
cents, or twopence sterling. The rate, then, is about fourpence for three
miles. A single traveller generally needs, in long journies, one horse for
himself, one for his servant, one for his baggage, and one for the guide,
the expense of which will be about fivepence a mile, and his other ex-
penses, for food, lodging, &c., may be reckoned at a dollar (Spanish) per
diem. -


258 VISIT TO THE
inscription, and perhaps the more than ordinary meanness
of its dimensions, being only about three and a half feet
long, by one broad. It lies flat upon the ground after the
manner of the Armenian grave stones, and bears the follow-
ing inscription:
Rev. vir.
GUG. MARTINo
SACER. Ac Miss. ANGLo
QUEM IN PATR. REDI.
DOMINUs.
HIC BERISAE AD SB. voc.
FIUM. D. FIDEL. G. ser.
A. D. MDCCCXII.
HUNC LAP. CoNSAC.
C. I. R.
A. D. MDCCCXIII.'
The burying-ground lies upon the slope of the hill
which bounds the town on the East, and looks down upon
the city. At the foot of the hill are extensive gardens; far-
ther to the right is a glimpse of the river, which runs through
the valley on the Northern side of the town, while in the
distance on all sides are the mountain heights which inclose
the city. I made inquiries, but could learn nothing more of
the sickness and death of the missionary than has already
been given to the public. One, I remember, an old man,
* The whole form, without abbreviation, I suppose to be as follows:
Reverendo viro, Guglielemo Martino, Sacerdoti ac Missionario Anglo,
quem in Patriam redientem, Dominus, hic Berisae, ad suam beatudinem
vocavit, pium, doctum, fidelemque servum, A. D. MDCCCXII. Hunc
lapidem consrcravit (consacravit) C. I. R. A. D. MDCCCXIII.—There
is a mistake in the Christian name, which should be Henrico. Berisa is
the ancient name of Tocat, and C. I. R. is Claudius James Rich, Esq.,
Late British Resident at Bagdad.


260 WISIT TO THE
Armenians reported the number of their Churches to me to
be seven, but I visited only one, which was a new building,
very neat in construction and arrangement. The simplicity
of the interior almost made me imagine myself in a Church
of our own. There were a few paintings, evidently intended
for decoration only, and placed too high to be used for any
other purpose.
The Armenians of Tocat had a Wartabed resident, and
two monasteries in the neighborhood of the city. They are
altogether the most important part of the Christian com-
munity and by far the most numerous, for while they have
1200 families, the Greeks have only 110, and the Papal
Armenians 100. The Greeks have a Church, and the
Romish Armenians an Ibadet-khaneh, or Chapel, connected
with their Episcopal residence. The Jews, who are alto-
gether no more than 25 families, have a Synagogue in an
obscure lane, where I knocked loud and long at a little iron
door before I could gain admittance. At length it was
opened by a young Jew, who thinking me a Mussulman,
demurred at first, and made all manner of excuses, which
soon vanished when I told him who I was. The synagogue
was a small room, capable of holding about 100 persons, but
exceedingly dingy and filthy. The people had nothing to
show, or would show nothing but a small book of Hebrew
Prayers, with one in it for Charles X. of France. It was
printed at Paris in the reign of that monarch. The stench
of the place, and the odor diffused by a little body of their
people, who followed me in, soon made me glad to escape.
Here, as every where in the East, the quarter of this despised
and outcast race is low and close and miserable, and they,
as every where, filthy and cringing and knavish.
With some of the Christians whom I met I was exceed-
ingly pleased, and especially with one of the Armenian
Priests, who appeared, from his conversation, to be an humble
and truly religious man. It is pleasant to meet with such,


SYRIAN CHURCH. 263
molested within twelve feet of the public street. Such an
incident I imagine to be of rare occurrence in our Western
World, but whether it is because we have less respect for
the powers that be, or are a less honest race, I will not
venture to say. The Turks, generally, in the interior,
have a sort of dogged indifference to gain, lawful or unlaw-
ful, which sometimes stands them instead of more active
virtues, but I doubt whether such things as this can be
traced to any positive moral principle.
I spent the night at Tocat, and left on the morning of
the 3d of August. I speak now of my second visit, during
which, all that I saw of the town was in riding through it;
and of the people, at the coffee-house where I alighted. The
observations which I have recorded, were made in March,
1838, when I spent some days in the town. I had now but
three days in which to reach Samsoun, if I would be there on
the morning of the 6th. My disease had been gaining upon
me throughout the journey, and had brought on a dropsical
swelling which had pervaded all my limbs and almost de-
stroyed their sensation. My legs and feet especially were
so distended that I could hardly use them at all. For sev-
eral days all my efforts at walking were to go from the
place where I lay at night to the door of the house, there
to mount my horse, and again, when the day's stage was
over, from the door where I dismounted to the place within
where my bed was spread. Besides this, I probably did
not walk six rods during all the journey from Diarbekir to
Samsoun,
We reached Turkhal in eight hours from Tocat, and
pushed on to a guard-house in the mountains, two or three
hours beyond, which I reached more dead than alive. The
only eatable to be found there was fresh beans, of which
the guards cooked us a large pot full, and set us to work
upon them without bread, salt, or any accompaniment what-
ever, Late in the evening my fever subsided, and I did


262
stored. Besides,
a corruption of t
language, which
in large provinces
Greek altogether
Armenians in so,
know only Arabic.
should abandon th
where it is retain
its stead. At leas
induced to do so.
as much as possil
and in the mean tin
services for commº
At Tocat, duri
dent which struck i
the honesty of the p
ment. Two Tatars
of specie, destined
were unladen in th
money were thrown
they remained one
sons were in the yº
upon the street, and
No one dreamed of
them. On going
body was abed, the
* I have heard an intº
of Greek with the grea
meaning of a single wo,
tricts the reading of the
while the meaning of it
dern dialect of the ancien
ter, both on account of t
the rapidity and indistinct


SYRIAN CHURCH. 265
C H A P T E R X. XI.
Amasieh.-Incident at a Mosque.—Medresseh.—Mosque of Bayazid.—
Mussulman School.—The Christians.—Population of the Oriental
Christians.—Leave Amasieh.-Ladik.-Singular-Sights.—How to act
n Doubts.-Interposition of Providence.—Last Stage.—Arrival at Sam-
soun.—Steamer.—Kindness of new Friends.-Constantinople.—Quar-
antine.—Obligations to Dr. John Davy.—Narrow Escape.—The End.
WE left the guard-house at day-break, and after a short
but hard day's journey over the mountains and through the
valleys, reached Amasieh, a beautiful town on the banks of
the Yeshil Irmak, (Green River,) which here rolls its tide
between lofty crags, near whose summit, on the left side of
the river, are apartments cut out of the solid rock, said to be
une summer-houses of ancient princes; but I never surveyed
them. My business now was to get to the post-house before
the ague came on, in which happily I succeeded. The post-
master, unlike those of Tocat and Sivas, was most prodigal
of his attentions, and endeavored to make me comfortable
and contented. I will not stay to describe Amasieh, al-
though I had formerly spent a day or two in the place, but
will add here an incident which belongs more properly to my
narrative. I was wandering about the town on the 25th of
March, 1838, looking at the mosques and medressehs, which I
found no difficulty in entering, when we came upon an old and
decayed building which I supposed to be a mosque. Without
were several turbehs, or tombs, which belong, it is said, to


266 WISIT TO THE
members of the royal family, Amasieh having once been an
abode of the Turkish Sultans.
The building itself is a good specimen of the Saracenic
architecture, which is still preserved in some of the old
mosques of Turkey. The flight of steps leading up to it,
was covered with women, whom I at once saw to be Armen-
ians. They were covered, not like the women of Constan-
tinople, with the close yashmak and fertjee, but with a
white robe depending from the top of the head, and by the
aid of the hand brought together so as to conceal the per-
son and most of the features. As the place was retired,
several of them had thrown aside their robe, but hastily re-
placed it when they perceived our approach. The women
of Amasieh are noted for their beauty, and there were
among these some of great loveliness. We were almost
among them before they discovered us, for their faces were
generally turned to the door of the building, while we ap-
proached from behind. There was a great fluster and some
confusion when they discovered us. Robes were hastily
adjusted; faces that were turned about to see who was com-
ing, were as suddenly turned away, and all were in a moment
hidden by the jealous veil, except those which belonged to
some of the younger ones, and which seemed to retire slowly
and reluctantly behind their shroud. Still one eye remained
disclosed, and with this they felt themselves at liberty to look
at us freely. I saw at the first glance, that they were Armen-
ians, for there was no mistaking the fair and lovely features
with which the females of this race who live in cities are
endowed. But I was quite at a loss to imagine why they
had gathered themselves upon the steps of a mosque, and
were so evidently intent upon something within. We
mounted the steps, and were about to enter, omitting to put
off our shoes till we had crossed the threshold. The
* Yashmak and feregee—the veil and cloak of Constantinople,


26S WISIT TO THE
my guide, who was a Mussulman, and like myself, a stran-
ger, refused to descend into such an ugly looking place,
and I attempted the descent alone; not, however, without
some vague apprehension that I might be unable to get out
after I got in, and not knowing exactly where and at what
distance from the opening I should come to the bottom. I
had advanced, however, only two or three steps, when I
caught the voice of one apparently in prayer, proceeding
from the vault. I stopped and strained my eyes, to discover,
if possible, whence it came, but every thing beneath was
merged in thick darkness. Not wishing to disturb what
was evidently an act of devotion, I returned and remained
at the entrance. Presently a woman, also a Mussulman,
came out, her lips still moving inarticulately in prayer.
From her we learned that there was nothing to be seen be-
low, and we very soon retired from the building. As we
lifted the heavy cloth screen which covered the doorway,
the woman who sat by, said, pointing to the group of Chris-
tians without, “Let none of them come in ; it is sin.” I
then understood that it was counted unlawful for a Christian
to enter this, an ancient sanctuary of his religion; and that
in my own case it would not have been permitted, had not
my Turkish travelling dress, without my intending or
dreaming of it, acted as a disguise. I know not how others
may feel at the sight of such scenes, but I could not avoid,
on the present occasion, a burst of deep sympathy for the
poor Christians, thus driven, as it were, from the sanctuary
where their fathers worshipped, and vainly sighing to re-
enter its courts. I knew not with what feeling they had
gathered there, whether it was of reverence for a place of
their ancient worship, or for some Saint supposed to be re-
posing in its vaults. Without stopping to analyze or inquire
into the nature of their coming, I felt myself wounded by
the contumelies which they endured, for these they bore only
because they were Christians.


272 VISIT TO THE
We left Amasieh on the morning of the 5th, and reached
Ladik about noon. The road through the pine-forests was
easy and pleasant at this season, reminding me, by way of
contrast, of a former journey, when we spent a whole day in
going the same distance. Ladik is a Casabah, or small
town, containing about two hundred families, of which only
five are Christian. It has a bazar, a khan, and, strange to
see in such a place, a handsome mosque with two minarets,
erected by a Pasha, and afterwards repaired and improved
by a Sultan. The houses are built of rough timber, much
after the manner of the log-houses in the Western parts of
the United States, and the roofs, strange to tell, were cov-
ered with wooden shingles. A still more novel sight for a
Turkish town were the wooden fences around the neigh-
boring fields and the premises of some of the houses, and
these were made of bars in the style of a New-England farm.
I had never seen such sights in Turkey, and they awakened
emotions which might perhaps at that moment as well have
slept. Sick and alone, the sight of any thing that told of
home brought such a train of sweet remembrances as made
the present hard to bear. It was, however, no inconsidera-
ble consolation that I was near my journey's end, but how
to reach Samsoun before to-morrow morning, when the
steamer would pass, it was impossible to tell. There were
still eighteen hours, or about fifty-four miles, between me
and the harbor. In what remained of the day, I could not
accomplish more than eighteen miles, and if my daily attack
came on, it would entirely incapacitate me for travelling by
night. I could not ride at more than a caravan's rate at the
best,-about three miles an hour, and I was already quite
exhausted by the ride from Amasieh. But I had a strong
presentiment that I should reach Samsoun in time, although
to the eye of sober reason it seemed utterly impossible.
There is no better maxim than that of the Germans—“Do
the duty which lies nearest thee.” In the spirit of this rule


SYRIAN CHURCH. 273
I mounted my horse at Ladik, because it was the next thing
to be done, and rode all the way through the hard-wood
forests to Cavak, a miserable little village of about thirty
houses, built in the same style with Ladik. Here I waited
patiently for the ague to commence, for that was the next
thing to be done, when, to my great surprise, the hour came
and went without any appearance of it. It had never failed
before of coming each day at its appointed hour, and had
been increasing in severity from the beginning. I was
astonished and thankful beyond measure, for I could not
but count it a gracious interposition of Providence, to save
me from the danger of another week's sickness without
medical relief. I waited two hours, and then with a bound-
ing heart ordered my horses. The excitement of the mo-
ment or the temporary relief from the disorder which had
been preying upon me day after day, gave me new strength,
and for the first time since leaving Mardin, we broke into a
trot, and scoured the hills at a good round pace. Never
shall I forget how sweetly the moon seemed to shine that
night, or what grateful emotions filled my breast, as we
rode in its tranquil light over hill and dale, through pine
woods and cultivated fields. We reached Samsoun early in
the morning, and I had just time to put myself in order for
more civilized society, when the gallant steamer made her
appearance in the offing, and fired her gun as a signal for
passengers to come on board. With walking and carrying
I reached the boat, and a few minutes' rowing brought us
to the steamer, where the first whom I met was the worthy
captain whom I had left at Trebizond three months before.
Disease and the hot sun of Mesopotamia had made me al-
most a stranger, and it was with some ado that I could
establish my identity. I am indebted to him for the same
kind attentions as on my former passage, and have to ac-
knowledge my obligations to some of my fellow-passengers,
and especially to two ladies whose interest in one, till then


274 VISIT TO THE
unknown to them, relieved for a few days my hours of sick-
ness, and whose advice was both timely and beneficial.
Thus in every situation woman is found the same tender-
hearted and compassionate being, ever ready to alleviate
distress, ever attentive to the claims of humanity, adorning
virtue while she practices its self-forgetting precepts, and
blessing as much by the gentleness with which she relieves
suffering, as by the good which her friendly interposition
accomplishes, thus fulfilling her high and holy destiny as at
once the ornament and the benefactress of the race.
We entered the Bosphorus on the morning of the 9th of
August, one day after the time when I had promised my friends
in Mardin that I would be there, God willing. The delay
was owing to the steamer's taking a vessel in tow for some
250 miles, by which we lost twenty-four hours. At length
we cast anchor in the harbor of Constantinople, and I was
hoping in a few minutes to be among old friends and in the
bosom of my own family, when an order came that we
should go into quarantine for a single case of supposed
plague in a village six hours distant from Trebizond, which
was reported in our bill of health. There was no remedy
but patience, so we retraced our course to the quarantine
ground on the Bosphorus. As we landed on the quay, we
were drawn up in a line, and every man required to strike
first his left breast, then his right breast, and then his thighs,
to see if he was sound. It was only with extreme difficulty
that I could perform this operation. This and my wretched
appearance made me an object of suspicion, and my good
friend, Capt. C. was compelled solemnly to asseverate that
to the best of his belief I had not the plague. I found still
greater advantage in making myself known to the Director,
in whom I recognized an old acquaintance. His family
had received some important services from American offi-
cers on the coast of Africa, which had made him a great
“friend of our nation.” He repaid it now by taking me


D. Appleton and Co. have just published,
“THE APOSTLES’ DOCTRINE OF FELLOWSHIP. *
F 1 W E S E R Mo N s,
PREACHED IN THE PRINCIPAL CHURCHES OF HIS DIOCESE, DURING
HIS SPRING VISITATION, 1844,
BY THE
RIGHT REV. L. SILLIMAN IVES, D.D., LL.D.,
BISHOP OF NORTH CAROLINA.
ONE ELEGANT VOLUME, 16Mo.
CONTENTS.
I. The Case of the First Converts. II. The Condition and
Means of Justification to Adult Converts. III. Objections to
Baptism as a Condition and Means of Justification, answered.
FIRST PART, as regards the Sacrament generally. SEcond
PART, as regards its application to inſants. IV. Confirmation,
a Means of Grace instituted by Almighty God. V. The Apos-
tles' Fellowship.
The Volume is published by unanimous request of his
Diocese. We quote from the Bishop's reply to the Committee,
the passage which admirably sets forth the leading features of
the publication: “My object, in preparing these Discourses, was
to do what I might, by the help of God, to protect his truth from
harm at this time of extraordinary confusion on matters of faith—
a confusion growing out of unfounded and indiscriminate charges
against the Church—Catholic doctrine as Romish heresy—thus
unsettling the minds of some, and threatening loss to the Church
of Jesus, and to the souls for which he died. Hence I felt called
upon as a Christian Bishop, to attempt something within my
proper sphere to avert the growing evil, by placing before you
in a scriptural light some of those fundamental verities upon
which, as Churchmen, we rest our hopes of heaven.”


D. Appleton & Co. have recently published,
sERMoNs BEARING ON subjecTs of THE DAY.
BY JOHN HENRY NEWMAN, B. D.
One elegant volume, 12mo. Price $1 25.
This volume contains twenty-six Sermons, which are thus entitled:
—Work of the Christian.—Saintliness not forfeited by the Penitent.—
Our Lord's last Supper and his first.—Dangers to the Penitent.—The
Three offices of Christ.—Faith and Experience.—Faith and the World.
—The Church and the World.—Indulgence in Religious Privileges.—
Connexion between personal and public Improvement.—Christian Noble-
ness.-Joshua a type of Christ and his followers.-Elisha a type of Christ
and his followers.—The Christian Church a continuation of the Jewish.-
The Principle of Continuity between the Jewish and Christian Church-
es.—The Christian Church an imperial power.—Sanctity the token of
the Christian Empire.—Condition of the Members of the Christian Em-
pire.—The Apostolical Christian.---Wisdom and Innocence.—Invisible
presence of Christ.—Outward and inward Notes of the Church-
Grounds for steadfastness in our religious profession.—Elijah the prophet
of the latter days.-Feasting in captivity.—The parting of friends.
“A volume of ‘Sermons, bearing on Subjects of the Day, from one
who has done more than any other man to invest these subjects with ab-
sorbing interest, will naturally be sought after by persons of all religious
parties. To us the volume is particularly opportune, as it gives us a
good occasion to renew, in this number of our journal, all that we have
presumed hitherto to say in favor of Mr. Newman's writings; and to add
that since the American issue of the ‘Parochial Sermons' our conviction
of their excellence has been strengthened by an observation of their
practical effects. What influence they may have when they are read in
the temper of cavilling criticism, which tortures particular expressions to
detect heresy, we cannot tell ; but we have reason to believe that many
honest and good hearts have received from them that heavenly seed which
springs up and bears fruit to eternal life. To us they seem to express the
very mind of CHRIST, and the reproaches which are heaped on their
author merely remind us of the words, “If they have called the Master of
the house Beelzebub, how much more they of his household.” Those
who have read the ‘Parochial Sermons' with the desire of spiritual profit,
will not be much moved by the question, “Have any of the Rulers be-
lieved in him 1' but will rather pray that the ‘rulers who denounce so
eminent a saint be not themselves stricken with the judicial blindness of
the Scribes and Pharisees. Thus far we are acquainted with the present
volume, (having read but three of its sermons) chiefly through the pages
of hostile critics; and as their quotations, embracing, doubtless, the passa-
ges deemed by them the most objectionable, have had an effect on us the
opposite of that intended by the critics, we feel that we run no risk, but
do much good, in warmly commending the volume to our readers.”—The
Churchman.


D. Appleton and Co. have recently published,
THE CHRISTIAN INSTRUCTED
IN THE
WAYS OF THE GOSPEL AND THE CHURCH :
A SERIES OF
DISCOURSES DELIVERED AT ST. JAMES'S CHURCH,
Goshen, NEw York.
By THE REv. J. A. SPENCER, A. M., LATE RECTOR.
One elegant Volume, 16mo. $1.25.
“This is a very useful volume of Sermons; respectable
in style, sound in doctrine, and affectionate in tone, they
are well adapted for reading in the family circle, or placing
on the family book-shelf. For the instruction of the young
they are peculiarly fitted, by the admirable arrangement
which has been adopted, and which furnishes, as it were, a
map into which all religious knowledge, afterwards acquired,
may be inserted in its proper place. The shortness of each
individual Sermon is also a recommendation for that use.
Upon the whole, we think it a work of which the circulation
is likely to promote true religion and genuine piety. It is
enriched with a body of excellent notes, selected from the
writings of the dead and living ornaments of the Church in
England and this country.”—True Catholic.
“The Messrs. Appleton have gotten up this volume in
their beautiful style of theological typography. The Ser-
mons are recommended by Bishop B. T. Onderdonk. They
contain much instructive exposition of Scripture, and direct
enforcement of practical truth.”—Christian Witness.


D. Appleton & Co. have just published,
PARO C H |A L SERMONS
PREACHED AT CLAPHAM AND GLASBURY =
TOGETHER With
PRACTICAL SERMONS
FOR
EVERY SUNDAY AND PRINCIPAL HOLYDAY
IIN T H E YEAR.
BY THE REV. CHARLES BRADLEY, A. M.
Four Vol um e s of English edition in One.
PRICE $2. 50.
Opinions of the American Press.
“The style is so simple, that the most unlearned can under-
stand them; the matter is so instructive, that the best informed
can learn something; the spirit so fervent, that the most engag-
ed Christian can be animated and warned by their perusal.”—
Christian Witness.
“They are rich in Scriptural truth, and imbued throughout
with the spirit of deep and earnest piety. Members of every
Evangelical Communion may read them with pleasure and
profit.”—Albany Evening Journal.
“We cordially recommend these discourses to all persons who
are anxious to possess a variety of Sunday reading, equally
adapted to gratify a cultivated taste, a devout heart, and the so-
licitude for the best species of practical instruction.”—Phil. Enq.
“There is a charming simplicity in these Sermons, which
renders them peculiarly appropriate for family use, as well as
for all persons who love truth in its clearness and direct applica-
tion.”—Com. Adv.
“The subjects are among the most interesting that could be
chosen, and they are handled with a mastery, both of method
and style, and expressed with fervor and unction, which appeals
at once to the hearts as well as to the common sense of man-
kind.”— U. S. Gazette.


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EPISCO PAL BOOK ESTABLISH MENT.
CATALOGUE
EPISCO PAL WORKS,
INCLUDING THE
WRITINGS OF ANCIENT AND MODERN AUTHORS.
empis's Imitation.
hon’s Catechisms.
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k of Com. Prayer.
dley's Sermons.
net's Reformation.
XXXIX.Articles.
rton’s E. E. Church.
istmas Bells.
ns's Rectory of
aleh cad.
er on Election.
sley on Preaching.
Eng. Churchman.
-e's Sermons.
fer's Works.
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* Apostolica.
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Palmer on the Church.
Sherlock’s Practical
Christian.
Spinckes's Manual of
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Sutton's Learn to Live.
44 44 Die.
& 4 on Sacrament.
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child.
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fartford, Henry S. Parsons.—New Haven, S. Babcock; Croswell & Jewett —Provi-
dence, Sam. C. Blodget.—Norfolk, R. C. Bºrely.--Richmond, Dunker & Morris;
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Fisher & ( 'o.


D. Appleton & Co. have just published,
PA ROC HIAL SERMONS
PREACHED AT CLAPHAM AND GLASBURY:
TOGETHER WITH
PRACTICAL SERMONS
FOR
EVERY SUNDAY AND PRINCIPAL HOLYDAY
IN THE YEAR.
BY THE REV. CHARLES BRADLEY, A. M.
Four Vol um e s of English edition in One.
PRICE $2.50.
Opinions of the American Press.
“The style is so simple, that the most unlearned can under-
stand them; the matter is so instructive, that the best informed
can learn something; the spirit so fervent, that the most engag-
ed Christian can be animated and warned by their perusal.”—
Christian Witness.
“They are rich in Scriptural truth, and imbued throughout
with the spirit of deep and earnest piety. Members of every
Evangelical Communion may read them with pleasure and
profit.”—Albany Evening Journal.
“We cordially recommend these discourses to all persons who
are anxious to possess a variety of Sunday reading, equally
adapted to gratify a cultivated taste, a devout heart, and the so-
licitude for the best species of practical instruction.”—Phil. Enq.
“There is a charming simplicity in these Sermons, which
renders them peculiarly appropriate for family use, as well as
for all persons who love truth in its clearness and direct applica-
tion.”—Com. Adv.
“The subjects are among the most interesting that could be
chosen, and they are handled with a mastery, both of method
and style, and expressed with fervor and unction, which appeals
at once to the hearts as well as to the common sense of man-
kind.”—U. S. Gazette.


EPISCOPAL BOOK ESTABLISHMENT.
CATALOGUE
* EPISCO PAL WOR KS,
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A Kempis's Imitation. - JMaurice on Kingdom
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chising. Ogilby on Lay Baptism.
Book of Com. Prayer. rºle of the
Pearson on the Creed.
Palmer on the Church.
Sherlock's Practical
Christian.
Spinckes's Manual of
Devotion.
Spencer's Sermons.
Sutton's Learn to Live.
44 44 Die.
& 4 on Sacrament.
Swart's Letters to God-
child.
Taylor's Golden Grove.
“ on Episcopacy.
Wilson's Sacra Privata.
Wilberforce's Eucha-
ristica.
Bradley's Sermons.
Burnet's Reformation.
“ XXXIX.Articles.
Churton's E.E. Church.
Christmas Bells.
Evans's Rectory of
Valehead.
Faber on Election.
tº Gresley on Preaching.
- “ Eng. Churchman.
º
Hare's Sermons.
Hooker's Works.
Kip's Double Witness.
Lyra Apostolica.
.Magee on ..?tonement.
Manning on Unity.
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Fisher & Co.
A LSO FO
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f
Valuable Episcopal Works Published by D. Appleton & Co.
PALMER’S TREATISE ON THE CHURCH.
A Treatise on the Church of Christ. Designed chiefly for the use of
Students in Theology. By the Rev. William Palmer, M.A., of Wor-
cester College, Oxford. Edited with Notes, by the Right Rev. W. R.
Whittingham, D. D., Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the
Diocese of Maryland. Two vols. 8vo., handsomely printed on fine pa-
per. $500.
“The treatise of Mr. Palmer is the best exposition and vindication of Church Principles
that we have ever read; excelling contemporaneous treatises in depth of learning and solid-
ity of judgment, as much as it excels older treatises on the like subjects, in adaptation to
the wants and habits of the age. Of its influence in England, where it has passed through
two editions, we have not the means to form an opinion; but we believe that in this coun-
try it has already, even before its reprint, done more to restore the sound tone of Catholic
principles and feeling than any other one work of the age. The author's learning, and
powers of combination and arrangement, great as they obviously are, are less remarkable
than the sterling good sense, the vigorous and solid judgment, which is everywhere
manifest in the trealise, and confers on it its distinctive excellence. The style of the
author is distinguished for dignity and masculine energy, while his tone is everywhere nat-
ural; on proper occasions, reverential ; and always, so far as we remember, sufficiently con-
ciliatory.
*4 #. our clergy and intelligent laity who desire to see the Church justly discriminated
from Romanists on the one hand, and dissenting denominations on the other, we earnestly
eommend Palmer's Treatise on the Church.”—JW. Y. Churchman.
“This able, elaborate, and learned vindication of the claim of the Protestant Episcopal
Church, to be considered the true Catholic Church, and the exposure which is here made of
the grounds of difference between it and the Romish Church, and of the baseless pretensions
of that Church to be the ‘one Holy Catholic, and Apostolic Church,” will assuredly commend
these volumes to the favor of Churchmen.”—JN. Y. American.
ECCLESIASTES ANGLICANUS;
Being
A TREATISE ON PREACHING
In a Series of Letters by the REv. W. GREs LEy, M. A. Revised, with
Supplementary Notes, by the Rev. Benjamin I. Haight, M. A., Rector
of All Saints' Church, New York. In one handsomely printed volume,
12mo, Price $1 25.
.Advertisement.—In preparing the American edition of Mr. Gresley's valuable Treatise, a few
foot notes have been added by the editor, which are distinguished by brackets. The more
extended notes at the end have been selected from the best works on the subject—-and which,
with one or two exceptions, are not easily accessible to the American Student.
HEADS OF CONTENTS.
Letter 1. Introductory. PART I. ON THE MATTER of A SERMon. Letter II. The
end or object of Preaching. III. The principal topics of the Preacher. IV. and V. How
to gain the Confidence of the hearers –First, By showing goodness of character. VI.
Secondly, By showing a friendly disposition towards them. ...,VII. Thirdly, By showing
ability to instruct them. VIII. On Arguments—those derivable from Scripture. IX. On
Alguments. X. On Illustration. XI. How to move the passions or feelings–First, By
indirect means. XII. Secondly, By direct means. Part II. ON STYLE. XIII. On Style
—general remarks. XIV. Perspicuity, Force, and Elegance. XV. to XVIII. On Style, as
dependent on the choice, number, and arrangement of words. XIX. The Connectives.
PART III. ON THE METHod of Composi N G. XX On the Choice of a Subject. XXI.
On Collecting Materials. XXII. What Materials and Topics should generally be thrown
aside. XXIII. On the Method of Composing. XXIV. On the Exordium. XXV. On Dis-
cussion—Lectures. XXVI. On Discussion—Text-Sermons. XXVII. On Discussion--
Subject-Sermons. XXVIII. On Application. XXIX. On the Conclusion. Part IV. On
DELIveay. , XXX. Management of the Voice. XXXI. Earnestness and Feeling. XXXII.
Gesture and Expression. XXXIII. Extemporaneous Preaching. SUPPLs MENTARY Nores.
A.—Matter of Preaching. B.-Sermons to be plain. C.—Texts. D.—Unity. E.-Exposi-
tory Preaching. F.—Written and Extemporary Sermons.


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THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST;
Hists Respecting the Principles, Constitution, and ordinances,
of the
CATHOLIC CHURCH.
By FREDERick DEN1son MAURICE, M. A.,
Chaplain of Guy's Hospital, Professor of English Literature and History. King's Colle
London. In one elegant octavo volume of 600 pages, uniform in style with JWewman’s §:
mons, Palmer on the Church, &c. $2.50.
The following brief table of contents illustrates the more important topics treated on in this
very able work.
PART I. On the Principles of the Quakers, and of the different religious bodies which have
arisen sance the Reformation, and of the systems to which they have given birth. CHAPTER I.
—QUAKERISM. On the positive doctrines of the Quakers—ordinary objections to these
Doctrines. The Quaker System—Practical workings of the Quaker System. CHAPTER
II.-PURE PROTESTANTISM. The leading Principles of the Reformation—Objections
to the Principles of the Reformation Considered—Protestant Systems—The Practical work-
ings of the Protestant Systems. CHAPTER III.-UNITARIANISM–its History and Ob-
ject Illustrated. QHAPTER IV.-On the TENDENcy of the Religious, Philosophical,
AND Political Move MENts which HAv E TAKEN PLACE IN PRotest ANT Bodies since
the Middle of THE LAst CENTURY. The Religious Movements, Philosophical Move.
ments, Political Movements.
PART II. Of the Catholic Church and the Romish System. CHAPTER I —Recapitulation
CHAPTER II-INdications, or A Spiritual, CoNstitution. CHAPTER III.-The Scrip-
tural view of this Constitution. CHAPTER IV.—Signs of a Spiritual Society—Baptism–
The Creeds—Forms of Worship—The Eucharist—The Ministry—the Scriptures. CHAPTEn
V.—Of the Relation of the Church and National Budies—Introductory—Objections of the
Quakers—The Pure Theocratist—The Separatist—The Patrician—The Modern Statesman
—The Modern Interpreter of Prophecy.
PART III. The English Church and the Systems which Divide t. CHAPTER I.—Intro-
ductory—How far this Subject is connected with those previously Discussed. Do the Signs
of a Universal and Spiritual Constitution exist in England 3 Does the Universal Church in
England exist apart from its Civil Institutions in Union with them : What is the form of
Character which belongs especially to Englishmen To what depravation is it liable 2
CHAPTER II.- The English Systems. The Liberal System—The Evangelical System—
The High Church or Catholic System. Reflections on the Systems, and on our position
generally.
Mr. Maurice’s work is eminently fitted to engage the attention and meet the wants of all
interested in the several movements that are now taking place in the religious community;
it takes up the pretensions generally of the several Protestant denominations and of the Ro-
manists, so as to commend itself in the growing interest in the controversy between the lat-
ter and their opponents. The political portion of the work contains much that is attractive
to a thoughtful inan, of any or of no religious persuasion, in reference to the existing and
sible future state of our country.
“On the theory of the Church of Christ, all should consult the work of Mr. Maurice,
the most philosophical writer of the day.”—Professor Garbett's Bampton Lectures, 1842.
PEARSON ON THE CREED.
An Exposition of the Creed, by John Pearson, D. D., late Bishop of Ches-
ter. With an Appendix, containing the principal Greek and Latin
Creeds. Revised and corrected by the Rev. W. S. Dobson, M.A., Pe-
terhouse, Cambridge. In one handsome 8vo. volume. $200.
The following may be stated as the advantages of this edition over all others.
First—Great care has been taken to correct the numerous errors in the references to the
texts of Scripture which had crept in by reason of the repeated editions through which this
admirable work has passed ; and many references, as will be seen on turning to the Index of
Texts, have been added.
Secondly—The Quotations in the Notes have been almost universally identified and the
reference to them adjoined.
Lastly—The principal Symbola or Creeds, of which the particular Articles have been
cited by the Author, have been annexed; and wherever the original writers have given the
symbola in a scattered and disjointed manner, the detached parts have been brought into a
successive and connected point of view. These have been added in Chronological order in
the form of an Appendix.-Wide Editor. 7


Valuable Episcopal Works Published by D. Appleton & Co.
CHURCH MAN'S LIBRARY.
The volumes of this Standard Series are highly recommended by the Bishops and Clergy
of the Protestant Episcopal Church. The Publishers beg to state, while in so short a time
this Library has incleased to so many volumes, they are encouraged to make yet larger addi.
tions, and earnestly hope it may receive all the encouragement it deserves.
The following works have already appeared:—
THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH.
BY THE REV. HENRY EDWARD MANNING, M.A.,
Arcº deacon of Chichester. Complete in one elegant volume, 16mo. Price
$1 00.
c o N T E N T s.
Part I. THE History AND Exposition of THE DocTRINE of CATHolic UNITY.
Chap. I. The Antiquity of the Article, “I believe in the Holy Church.” II. The Inter.
pretation of the Article, “The Holy Church,” as taught by uninspired writers. III. The
Inity of the Church as taught in Holy Scripture. IV. The Form and Matter of Unity.
Conclusion to the first part.
Part II. THE MoRAL Design of CATHolic Unity. Chap. I. The Moral Design of the
Church as shown by Holy Scripture. II. The Unity of the Church a means to restore the
true Knowledge of God. III. The Unity of the Church a Means to restore Man to the
Image of God. IV. The Unity of the Church a Probation of the Faith and Will of Man.
Conclusion to the second part.
Part III. THE DocTRINE of CATHolic UNITY APPLIED To THE ActU AL STATE or
CHR1st ENDoM. Chap. I. The Unity of the Church the only Revealed way of Salvation.
II. The Loss of Objective Unity. III. The Loss of Subjective Unity. General Conclusion
“This is a profound and eloquent treatise on a most interesting subject–one that has of
late received peculiar attention, and at present exercises the minds of thoughtful Christians,
perhaps more than any other. Thousands are beginning to be convinced that the only true
and real bond of concord is the kingdom of Christ, and to inquire anxiously into the mean-
ing of that article of the Crced—“I believe on E Catholic and Apostolic Church.” All such
will read with avidity the admirable treatise which has been so favourably received in
Fºngland. and whose republication in such beautiful style entitles Messrs. Appleton to the
thanks of American Churchmen. Archdeacon Manning is well known by other theological
works: but his Unity of the Church is the most matured and celebrated production of his
pen, and it has placed him high in the rank of Anglican divines.”—Banner of the Cross.
THE DOUBLE WITNESS OF THE CHURCH.
By the Rev. Wm. Ingraham Kip, author of “Lenten Fast.” One ele-
gant volume, 16mo), of 415 pages. Price 75cts.
Contexts.—I. Introductory. Necessity for Knowing the reasons why we are Church-
men II. Episcopacy proved from Scripture. III. Episcopacy proved from History. IV.
Antiquity and Authority for Forms of Prayer. V. History of our Liturgy. I. The
Church's View of Baptism. VII. The Moral Training of the Church. , VIII. Popular Ob-
jectiºns to the Church. IX. The Church in all ages the Keeper of the Truth. X. Con-
clusion. The Catholic Churchman.
“This is a sound, clear, and able production—a book much wanted for these times, and
one that we feel persuaded will prove eminently useful. It is a happy delineation of that
double witness which the Church bears against Romanism and ultra-Protestantism, and
points out her middle path as the only one of truth rad safety.”—Banner of the Cross.
“Here we have another valuable and learned contribution, though in a populai form
withal, to theological literature, and presented in Appleton's best manner: -
“The Rev. Mr. Kip has embodied in this volume, and somewhat expanded and illustrated
with notes, a series of lectures which he delivered to his congregation in Albany, last
winter, on ‘The Distinctive Principles of the Church.” These lectures, as we learn from the
prefacé, were delivered ‘at a season of strange excitement among different denominations,'
and designed as a safeguard to his own people against the injurious influence ºf such ex-
citement.”—JN. Y. American. - - - -
“This volume deserves a conspicuous place among the numerous publications which the
discussion of Church Principles has called out. The author has a considerable power of
illustration, and has presented some points in a very striking light. His Lectures on the
Antiquities and Forms of Prayer, and the History of our Liturgy, aie exceedingly valuable.”
—Christian Witness and Advocate. 8
|
-
s


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CHURCHMLAN’S LIBRARY.-Continued.
Cijt (tättreſ) matt’s Companton in tiſt CIoget:
OR, A COMPLETE
MANUAL OF PRIVATE DEVOTIONS :
Collected from the writings of Archbishop Laud, Bishop Andrews, Bishop
Ken, Dr. Hickes, Mr. Kettlewell, Mr. Spinckes, and other eminent
o, D ENGL1sh Divin Es. With a Preface by the Rev. Mr. Spinckes.
Edited by Francis E. Paget, M. A. One elegant volume, 16mo. $1 00
The pious reader will require no more recommendation of this volume than that which he
wil find in its title-page. A Manual of Prayers compiled from the devotional writings of
Laud and Andrews, Ken and Hickes, Kettlewell and Spinckes, cannot be otherwise than
acceptable to all who love those principles which they unanimously taught, and for the
maintaining of which, (with the exception of the good Bishop of Wintor, whose lot was cast
in tranquil times,) they suffered according to the measure which God required of each ; to all
who would fain follow them in the paths of self-denial, spiritual-mindedness, meekness, and
obedience. And that this book has been to past generations what it is hoped it may like-
wise be to our own, is evident from the fact that it is one of the few of the devotional works
of the seventeenth century, which continued to be in constant demand during the eighteenth.
Its value was appreciated, and it continued to be reprinted from time to time to the middle
of the last century; and it is presented to the public once more, with the anxious desire
that as it found favour to the last, while Church principles were declining, so it may prove
acceptable to the many, who (blessed be God) seem now to be zealously and faithfully seek-
ing their way back to the “old paths” from which we have wandered.—Editor's Preface.
THE PRACTICAL CHRISTIAN :
Or, the Devout Penitent; a Book of Devotion, containing the Whole
Duty of a Christian in all occasions and necessities, fitted to the main
use of a holy life, by R. Sherlock, D. D.; with a Life of the Author, by
the Right Rev. Bishop Wilson, Author of “Sacra Privata,” &c. One
elegant volume, 16mo. $1 00.
“The Practical Christian now submitted to the reader, from the seventh English edition,
is by far the most important of all Dr. Sherlock's works. It was a work of gradual growth
and progressive enlargement, and we have his biographer's testimony, to the fact, that he
made it the model of his own devotions—‘strictly observing himself what he so earnestly
recommended to others.”. . . . . The following devotions, living impressions, as it were, of the
living mould—bring the tutor of Bishop Wilson again before us, and it may be devoutly hoped
that as their author, when living, succeeded in forming one of the noblest characters in the
Church's Modern Calendar, so now, though absent from us in body, this his work, instinct as
it everywhere is with his own saintly spirit, may tend to produce many more such characters
to the glory of God and the edification of his Holy Church.-Editor’s Preface.
* Considered as a manual of private devotion, and a means of practical preparation for
the Holy Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ; this book is among the best, if not
the best, ever commended to the members of our Church.”—The Churchman.
OF THE IMITATION OF CHRIST :
Four books by Thomas A Kempis. One elegantly printed volume, 16mo
“ The author of this invaluable work was born about the year 1380, and has always been
honoured by the Church for his eminent, sanctity. Qf the many pious works composed by
him, his ‘Imitation of Christ' (being collections of his devotional thoughts and meditations
on important practical subjects, together with a separate treatise on the Holy Communion)
is ºne most celebrated, and has ever been admired and valued by devout Christians of every
name. It has passed through numerous editions and translations, the first of which into
#nglish is said to have been made by the illustrious Lady Margaret, mother of King Henry
vii. Messrs. Appleton's very beautiful edition is a reprint from the last English, the trans-
lation of which was chiefly copied from one printed at London in 1677. It deserves to be a
companion of the good Bishop Wilson's Sacra *-* of the Cross.
w


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CHURCH MAN'S LIBRARY.-Continued.
LEARN TO LIVE.
Disce Wivere—Learn to Live. Wherein is shown that the Life of Christ
is and ought to be an express pattern for imitation unto the life of a
Christian. By Christopher Sutton, D. D. One elegant volume, 16mo.
Price $1 00
“The above work was written by its author after his “Disce Mori,’ and before his
• Godly Meditations on the Lord’s Supper ;' and it may be said to come between them also
in respect to the depth and seriousness of tone in which it is written. The unusually ſer-
vent language of his last work, the Meditations, was suggested by its particularly sacred sub-
ject; the ‘Disce Mori,’ on the other hand, which was his first, treating on a subject which
longs to natural as well as revealed religion, admitted of reflections derived from a variety
of sources, besides those which are especially of a Christian or gospel character. In the
work which came next, the ‘Disce Vivere.” he moulded his materials, after the manner
of a Kempis, into an ‘Imitatio Christi ;’ each chapter inculcating some duty, upon the
pattern of Him who gave Himself to be the beginning and the end of all perfection.—Editor's
Preface.
LEARN TO DIE.
Disce Mcri–Learn to Die. A Religious Discourse, moving every Chris-
tian man to enter into a serious Remembrance of his End. By Chris-
topher Sutton, D. D., late Prebend of Westminster. 1 vol. 16mo., ele-
gantly ornamented. $1 00
“Of the three works of this excellent author lately reprinted in England, the ‘Disce
Mori' is, in our judgment, decidedly the best. It was the favourite book of the Bishop of
Joly, who (the touching incident cannot be forgotten) died with it in his hands. It was this
fact, we believe, which first recalled the book from the oblivion into which it had fallen;
and our readers may remember, that shortly after its republication in England we urged an
American reprint, on the ground that it was a book which would prove universally acceptable
to the Church. Such is still our opinion; we do not believe that a single journal or clergy-
man in the Church will be found to say a word in its disparagement; but that, on the con-
trary, all will unite in commending it as one of the very best of our practical works, ogually
devotional and almost equally rich with the similar work of Taylor, and free from those
features with which Taylor stal les such weak minds as have a morbid dread of Romanism.
Our columns have been, and now that the work is reprinted, will again be. enriched with
extracts which will make the ‘Disce Mori’ favourably known to our readers.”—-Churchman.
MEDITATIONS ON THE SAC RAMENT.
Godly Meditations upon the most Holy Sacrament of the Lord's Supper.
By Christopher Sutton, D. D., late Prebend of Westminster. I vol.
royal 16mo., elegantly ornamented. $1 00.
“We announced in our last number the republication in this country of Sutton’s “Medi.
tations on the Lord's Supper,' and having since read the work, are prepared to recommend it
warmly and without qualification to the perusal of our readers. It is purely practical; the
doctrine of the eucharist being touched upon only in so far as was necessary to guard against
error. Its standard of piety is very high, and the helps which it affords to a devout partici-
pation of the holy sacrament of which it treats, should make it the inseparable companion
of overy communicant. We know indeed of no work on the subject that can in all respects
be compared with it; and for its agency in promoting that advancement in holiness after
which every Christian should stuive, have no hesitation in classing it with the Treatise on
* Holy Living and Dying,” of Bishop. Taylor, and the ‘Sacra Privata,’ of Bishop wilson.
The period at which the book was written will account for and excuse what in the present
age would be regarded as defects of style; but these are fewer than might have been ex-
pected, and are soon lost sight of in the contemplation of the many and great excellencies
with which it abounds, . The publishers have done good service to the country in the publi.
cation of this work, which is a beautifal reprint of the Oxford edition, and we are glad to
learn that it will be speedily followed by the ‘Disce Vivero and ‘Disce Mori of the same
author.—Banner of the Cross 1
0


I
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A MANUAL FOR COMMUNI CANTS;
Or, the Order for Administering the Holy Communion; conveniently
arranged with Meditations and Prayers from Old English Divines,
being the Eucharistica of Samuel Wilberforce, M. A., Archdeacon of
Surry, (adapted to the Amºrican service.) Convenient size for the
pocket. 37; cents; gilt leaves, 50 cents.
“The order of this work is as follows:–First, “The Exhortation;” comprising the two
exhortations which are inserted in the Communion Office; then the “Ante-Communion;”
next, “The Canon of the Holy Communion,” beginning with the Offertory and ending with
the Form of administering the elements; and lastly, the Post-Communion. This part of the
work is the Communion Office as contained in the Prayer Book, slightly altered in its
arrangement, and accompanied with a few short devotional meditations in the margin. After
this is the Introduction by Archdeacon Wilberforce, chiefly on the importance of attendance
at the Lord’s Table, and the causes of the present neglect of the privilege.
“We have next a brief notice of the writers from whose works are taken the extracts
which form the body of the volume. These are Colet, Cranmer, Jewel, Hooker, Andrews,
Sutton, Laud, Hall, Hammond, Taylor, Leighton, Brevint, Patrick, Addison, Ken, Sparrow,
Beveridge, Hicks, Comber, Kettlewell, Wilson, and Potter; whose names are arranged in
chronological order, with a mention in ſew lines of their lives and characters. The remainder
of the work is divided into three parts; of which the first consists of Meditations on the
Holy Communion ; the second of Prayers before and after Communion; to which are added,
Bishop Wilson's Meditations on Select Passages, and Bishop Patrick's Prayer for one who
cannot publicly communicate; and the third of select passages explanatory of the Holy
Sacrament and the benefits of its worthy reception.
“These meditations, prayers, and expositions, are given in the very words of the illus-
trious divines above mentioned, martyrs, confessors, and doctors of the Church; and they
form altogether such a body of instructive matter as is nowhere else to be found in the same
compass. Though collected from various authors, the whole is pervaded by a unity of spirit
and purpose; and we most earnestly commend the work as better fitted than any other
which we know, to subserve the ends of sound edification and ſervent and substantial devo-
tion. The American reprint has been edited by a deacon of great promise in the Church,
and is appropriately dedicated to the Bishop of this diocese.”—Churchman.
THE PRIMITIVE DOCTRINE OF ELECTION:
Or, an Historical Inquiry into the Ideality and Causation of Scriptural
Election, as received and maintained in the primitive Church of Christ.
By George Stanley Faber, B. D., author of “Difficulties of Roman-
ism,” “Difficulties of Infidelity,” &c. Complete in one volume,
octavo. $1 75.
“Mr. Faber verifies his opinion by demonstration. We cannot pay a higher respect to
his work than by recommending it to all.”—Church of England Quarterly Review.
LETTERS TO MY GODCHILD.
BY THE REV. I. SWART, A. M.
One elegant miniature volume. Price 37 1-2 cents.
“The design of this little work—dedicated by permission, to Bishop Onderdonk, and
commended by Bishop Delancey, to whom while in preparation the MS. was submitted—is to
enable those whom distance or other circumstances prevent from adequately dischargi
their sponsorial duties, to place in the hands of their godchildren a treatise which shai
elucidate the relations between the sponsor and his godchild, and supply, as far as may be,
the want of immediate and constant personal supervision.
“The commendation of this Diocesan is an all-sufficient introduction of Mr. Swart's use-
ful little book.”—JN. Y. American.
OGILBY ON LAY BAPTISM.
An Outline on the Argument against the validity of Lay-Baptism. By
the Rev. John D. Ogilby, D. D., Professor of Ecclesiastical History.
Ono volume, 12mo. $0 75.
“We have been favoured with a copy of the above work. From a cursory inspection of
it, we take it to be a thorough, fearless, and able discussion of the subject which it proposes
—aiming less to excite inquiry, than to satisfy by learned and ingenious argument inquiries
already excited.”– Churchman. 14


{
º
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CHURCHMAN'S LIBERARY-Continued. •
THE EARLY ENGLISH C HURCH ;
Or, Christian History of England in early British, Saxon, and Norman
Times. By the Rev. Edward Churton, M. A. With a Preface, by
the Right Rev. Bishop Ives. One vol. 16mo. elegantly ornamented.
$1 00.
“The following delightful pages place before us some of the choicest examples—both
clerical and lay–of the true Christian spirit in the EARLY ENGLISH CHURCH. In
tluth, these pages are crowded with weighty lessons. Here our laity will find that these no-
ble foundations of charity in the mother country—the existence of which they have been
accustomed to ascribe to the credulity of ignorance, on the fears of superstition, successfully.
practised upon by the arts of priests, had a higher and holier origin—that they sprung into
being under the warm impulses of that divine and expansive benevolence of which the con-
straining power of Christ’s love made his early followers such large partakers at the period
while yet Christian men fully recognized their high vocations, as ‘stewards of the manifold
gifts of God,”— lived under the abiding conviction, that we are not our own, but that
bought with the precious blood of Christ,’ we are ‘bound to glorify him in our bodies and
our spirits which are his.’ Here, too, our clergy may learn a lesson of true self devotion to
their Master—may see, strikingly and beautifully illustrated, that love for Christ, and that
zeal for his kingdom, which alone can bear us tranquilly and successfully through the la-
bours and trials of the holy ministry—may see the operation of the true missionary spirit—
the spirit of endurance and self-sacrifice, which shrinks from no obstacles when the salva-
tion of sinners is to be achieved under the command and the promise of the Almighty God—
may see, in short, an impressive and instructive exemplification of that child-like submission
to God, that pure and simple trust in him, which, at his bidding, performs duty, and leaves
the result to his providence and grace.
“But, to read these pages with profit, we must pray to God for a portion of that spirit
which indited them, and which so manifestly control the events which they record—inust
read them with a spiritual eye ; with an eye intent upon discovering, not that which may
help to sustain some preconceived notion, but that which, prompted by the spirit of Christ,
and accomplished through the power of his saving truth, exhibits to us some great principle
of Christian action, and some powerful motive to go and do likewise.”—Pude Preface.
TALES OF THE VILLAGE ;
In which the Principles of the Romanist, Churchman, Dissenter, and In-
fidel are contrasted. By the Rev. FRAN cis E. PAGET, M. A. In three
elegant vols. 18mo: $1 75.
“These three handsome little volumes constitute series of Tales, purporting to be the
record kept by a country clergyman, of scenes passing under his own view, in the discharge
of his parochial duties. They have had great success in England, as, we doubt not, this first
American edition of them will have here.
“They are well contrived s tales to interest the reader, and skilfully used as vehicles
for setting forth the sound doctrines of the Church, which while “protesting against Rome,
remains Catholic, and while protesting against Geneva, is Reformed; whose hand is against
all error, and all error against it.”
“The first series or volume, presents a popular view of the contrast in opinions and
modes of thought between Churchmen and Romanists; the second sets forth Church princi-
ples, as opposed to what, in England, is termed Dissent; and the third places in contrast the
character of the Churchman and the Infidel.
“At any time these volumes would be valuable, especially to the young
when men’s minds are much turned to such subjects, they cannot fail of
•ough; for.”—JNew-York American.
* The first, second, and third series, in as many small volumes, of these popular tales, are
aow offered to the American public. At present, we have only room to commend them, and
we do it most heartily, to all who desire edification combined with amusement.”—The
Churchman.
THE CHRISTMAS BELLS ;
A Tale of Holy Tide, and other Poems. º the Rev. J. W. Brown, au-
thor of “Constance,” “Virginia,” &c. One vol. royal 16mo., elegantly
ornamented. $0 75. -
“Many of the smaller pieces in this volume have appeared from time to time in various
rnals and magazines, and have been received with unqualified favour. The lea-ing poem
was written for the most pant during the season whose enjoyments and happy ind ences it
he designed to commemorate. The plan of it was suggested by the perusal of Washington
Irving's delightful Essays on the Christmas * in the Sketch Book.”—Preface.
... At present,
being eagerly


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MAGEE ON ATONEMENT AND SACRIFICE.
Discourses and Dissertations on the Scriptural Doctrines of Atonement
and Sacrifice, and on the Principal Arguments advanced, and the
Mode of Reasoning employed, by the Opponents of those Doctrines, as
held by the Established Church. By the late most Rev. William
M. GEE, D. D., Archbishop of Dublin. Two vols. royal 8vo. beauti
fully printed. $500.
“This is one of the ablest critical and polemical works of modern times Archbishop
Magee is truly a maleus hereticolum. He is an excellent scholar, an acute reasoner, and is
possessed of a most extensive acquaintance with the wide field of argument to which his
volumes are devo ed—the profound Biblical information on a variety of topics which the
Archbishop brings forward, must endeal his name to all lovers of Christianity.”—Orme.
Tratts on Cſ)ristian Doctrine and 33rattite.
Under this general head it is proposed to publish a series of Catechetical
Works, illustrating the Doctrine, Discipline, and Practice of the Protest-
ant Episcopal Church in the United States. The following commence the
Series :
A HELP TO CATECHISING ;
For the use or
CLERGYMEN, SCHOOLS, AND PRIVATE FAMILIES.
BY JAMES BEAVEN, D. D.
Professor of Theology at King's College, Toronto.
Bevised and adapted to the use of the Protestant Episcopal Church in ºne
United States.
BY HENRY ANTHON, D. D.
Rector of St. Mark’s Church, New-York.
Price—single copies, 61-4 cents—50 copies, $2 50–100 copies, $4 00.
Numerous testimonies have been received of the usefulness of this Catechism, and the
very moderate pree affixed leads the publishers to hope for it a very extensive circulation.
ſts sale has already exceeded 12,000 copies.
CATECH ISMS ON THE HOM ILIES OF THE CHURCH.
I. On the Miseries of Mankind. II. Of the Nativity of Christ. III.
Of the Passion of Christ. IV. Of the Resurrection of Christ.
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