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 THE LIBRARY 
 
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 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
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 Andrew Watson. D. I). 
 
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 The 
 
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 American Mission 
 
 IN Egypt 
 
 18^4 to 1896 
 
 BY 
 
 ANDREW WATSON, D. D. 
 
 SECOND EDITION 
 
 PITTSBURGH 
 UNITED PRESBYTHRIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION 
 
 209 Ninth Street
 
 Entered accnrdiiig to Act of Congress, in the year 1897, by 
 
 ThK UniTKD PRESIiYTEHIAX BoAlil) OK Tf ISI.ir ATIOX, 
 
 In the Ottiee of the Librarian of Congress, at Wa.^hington, T). C.
 
 35" 7n 
 
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 30S0959
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 The General Assembly at its meeting in May, 1889, 
 adopted the following resolution : 
 
 " That the Rev. Andrew Watson, D. D., be requested to 
 undertake the preparation of a history of our Egyptian Mission, 
 and that, when the same shall be prepared, the Board of Publi- 
 cation is duly directed to publish it." 
 
 On reading this Resolution in the Minutes of the General 
 Assembly, my first impulse was to inform the subsequent 
 Assembly that I must decline to accede to the request ; prefer- 
 ring in an humble way to make history rather than to write it. 
 This purpose continued with me until near the time for the 
 meeting of the General Assembly in 1890, when some of my 
 acquaintances in the ministry in America, where I was at the 
 time on furlough, and some members of the Board of Foreign 
 Missions dissuaded me from carrying it out, and urged me to 
 undertake the work contemplated in the resolution. Late in the 
 year 1890 I returned to Egypt, and for seven months was fully 
 occupied in the Theological Seminary and other Mission work, 
 so that I found no time to do anything more than to begin to 
 gather material. Mrs. Barnett kindly lent me the daily jottings 
 of Dr. Barnett and the copies of his letters written during the 
 period from 1855 to 1859. Dr. McCague also supplied me with 
 a few items. Mrs. Hogg also put into my hands the journals 
 and copies of letters belonging to her husband, as well as part
 
 of a memoir which she had begun to prepare at the request of 
 the Missionary Association in Egypt ; to which I am indebted 
 for many pages of this history. I also received from my 
 colleague, Dr. Lansing, valuable letters ; and after his death, 
 his son, Dr. J. McC. Lansing, gave me other documents which 
 were found among his father's papers. 
 
 I have made use of valuable matter taken from Hughes' 
 Dictionary of Islam, Raton's History of the Egyptian Revolu- 
 tion, and Khedives and Pashas, the American Encyclopedia and 
 other books. 
 
 Rev. J. R. Alexander, D. D., kindly furnished me with 
 various Mission Reports and other papers connected with earlier 
 efforts to bring the Gospel to Egypt. I am also under great 
 obligations to my colleague, the Rev. W. Harvey, D. D., for 
 reading the whole manuscript and giving me valuable aid. 
 
 It was not until the vacation of 1893 that I was able to 
 make a beginning of the work of writing during the month I 
 spent in Ramleh. The following year the Mission allowed me 
 to go to a cooler climate for a few months and thus I was able 
 to make considerable progress. Little, however, was added 
 during the brief vacation of 1895. The past summer, however, 
 I spent about four months with slight interruptions at the 
 History and brought it down to the end of 1894 — the copying 
 being done mostly by my wife, in the course of which she was 
 often able to make important suggestions. It is due to her to 
 say that without her stimulus and aid I doubt if the work had 
 ever been finished. 
 
 The reader will notice that I have kept very closely to the 
 duty imposed on me by the General Assembly, viz.: to prepare 
 a "History of our Egyptian Mission." I have avoided almost 
 every other subject connected with Egypt, however interesting 
 it might be to the reader. Besides, so much has been written 
 about this interesting country, its ruins, its climate, its products,
 
 etc., and so mucli is known about them that there seemed to be 
 no necessity to write concerning them for the information 
 of my readers. 
 
 I wish to add, before concluding these preliminary remarks, 
 that I make no pretension to literary merit. I have never 
 written a book, and perhaps ought not to have written this. 
 My excuse, however, is that others have urged me to do so, 
 and in compliance with their persistent request, and that of the 
 General Assembly, 1 have done the work. It has been my 
 sole aim to give a true history of the work of the Lord in 
 Egypt as carried on by the missionaries and agents of the 
 United Presbyterian Church of North America, not for the 
 praise of men but for the glory of God ; while it is my earnest 
 prayer that the book may be blessed as a means of increas- 
 ing the interest of God's people in the spread of the Gospel, 
 and the salvation of souls in the Nile valley in which my lot 
 has been cast for the past thirty-six years. None will so readily 
 notice mistakes and omissions as my co-laborers. Whenever 
 either has been made it has been done unintentionallv, and 
 therefore may I not look for that charity that covers a multi- 
 tude of sins ? 
 
 ANDREW Watson. 
 
 Cairo, February 15, 1897.
 
 Regulations for Pronouncing Proper Names. 
 
 1. The vowels are pronounced generally as in Italian. 
 
 2. Every letter is sounded. 
 
 3. A vowel followed by two consonants is short. 
 
 4. Consonants are pronounced as in English. 
 
 5. S is always as s in this, and g is always hard. 
 
 6. The accent is always on the long vowel. Where there is 
 
 no long vowel the accent is on the first syllable, or on 
 the closed syllable nearest the last.
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. Pp. 11-18. 
 
 Introduction of Christianity into Egypt — Its extension up the Nile valley — 
 Persecutions under Diocletian — The Egyptian Church and its leaders — the 
 Royalists and the Jacobites — The introduction of Islam — The persecution of the 
 Christians by the Muslims — The domination of Islam and gradual decline of 
 Christianity — Destruction of Christian Churches and cruel treatment of Chris- 
 tians — The sad condition of the Coptic Church, and its need of spiritual enlight- 
 enment and evangelical truth. 
 
 CHAPTER II. Pr. 19-34. 
 
 Various attempts in modern times to preach a pure Gospel in Egypt— and to 
 secure a friendly intercourse with the Christians of the Nile valley from 1752- 
 1854 — The Moravians — The Church Mission Society Missionaries, and others. 
 
 CHAPTER III. Pp. 35-60. 
 
 Condition of Egypt at the time our Mission began in 1854 — Government — 
 Society— Muhammadans— Copts— Jews— Morals— Slavery. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. Pp. 61-71. 
 
 Establishing of our Mission— Circumstances leading thereto— When and by 
 whom. 
 
 CHAPTER V. Pp. 72-96. 
 
 From the beginning of the Mission up to December 31, 1857. — A\r. Leider, of 
 the Church Missionary Society, still in Cairo— His chief work— Mr. Lawrie, mis- 
 sionary to the Jews— House secured by Messrs. Barnett and McCague— English 
 service and Arabic also commenced — Also prayer meetings — Missionaries visiting 
 places and persons— Cholera in 185s— Mr. Barnett's prayer— Rebellion in upper 
 Egypt— Crimean War— Assassination of Abbas Pasha— Opening of Boys' School 
 — Ibisappointments— Mr. McCague ill— Mr. Barnett in Syria, 1856 — Arrival of 
 Mr. Lansing— Determination to occupy Alexandria— Description of a Sirocco- - 
 Messrs. Lansing and McCague go up the Nile to Asyut— Visit the Faiyum— 
 Death of Mr. McCague's child— Messrs. Lansing and McCague go to Syria. 1857 
 — Work opened in Haret-es-Sakkain harbor— Mr. Lansing takes up his residence 
 in Alexandria on Ras-el-Tin— Other Mission efforts in Alexandria— Boys' School 
 and Mr. Hogg— Girls' School and Miss Pringle— Proposals for united effort. 
 
 5
 
 CHAPTER VI. Pp. 97-121. 
 
 ■ i8>8 to December 31, i860— Transfer of Girls' School, Alexandria, to our 
 mission— A\r Hogg ill. visits Cairo, and then in company, with Mr. Lansing 
 visits Jerusalem— Sabbath schools commenced in Alexandria— Evening meetings 
 in Haret-es-Sakkain, Cairo— Salih Awad— Mr. Martin leaves for America— Father 
 Makhiel and a copy of the Bible— Sickness in 1858— Times of fear and trembling 
 —Sickness in 1859— Mr. McCague goes to Tunis— Mr. Lansing to Sinai— Mr. 
 Hogg leaves for Sc<4lland— Bovs'School inW^andria under A\r. Lansing's care 
 —Bible depots opened in Ale>{andria and Cairo— Dr. Abbat dies^Dr/Paterson 
 goes to Cairo— First communion in Arabic-<86o— Mr., John Hogg appointed 
 missionan,', marries,. and is shipwrecked in Bav pf Bisca\LAnd loses all— Refur- 
 nished in 'Scotland and comes in bv ^^Paris— Organization of Presbytery— Mr 
 Hoggordained— Refugees in ATexandria-Work among them— Visits to the Arsenal 
 —Work among the English-speaking commuhity in Cairo— Bible distribution. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. Pp. 122-136, 
 
 1861— Distribution of missionaries— Visitation of hospital and galleys in 
 Alexandria— School work and preaching— New school for girls in Cairo— Mr. and 
 Mrs. McCague leave for America— Also Mr. Barnett six months later— Reducing 
 the forces in Cairo— Transfer of Mr. and Mrs. Lansing and Miss Dales to Cairo 
 in the autumn— Trip of Mr. Lansing on the Nile— Lord Aberdeen and Bible dis- 
 tribution— Faris-el-Hakim inAsyut— His cruel treatment by the Muslims— Their 
 prompt punishment— Influence on mission work— Arrival of the writer in 
 Alexandria. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. Pp. 137-148. 
 
 1862— Jewish parents in Alexandria alarmed for their girls and open a school 
 for them and take them away from our school — Mr. Hogg in Alexandria half the 
 year— Then Father Makhiel— Sale of books— Premises in Cairo presented by Said 
 Pasha — Large repairs at great expense — Beneficial effect on the work — Mr. 
 Hogg's successful trip on the Nile— Interesting discussions. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. Pp. 149-160. 
 
 1863 — Sickness among the missionaries — Fears of Muslim uprising — Occur- 
 rence in Alexandria and summary punishment — I. Gowdy's imprisonment for 
 writing against Islam — Active opposition of Coptic hierarchy on the election of 
 new Patriarch — Overruled for good — Bad times on account of American war — 
 Order to reduce salaries and wages one-fourth — Timely aid from English friends 
 — V^isit of Dr. Dales' party — Organization of the Cairo congregation — Action in 
 regard to training young men for Christian work — Visit of Mr. Ldn"Sing to Sitt 
 Damienna and exposure of Coptic visions — Sale of Scriptures — Conversion of 
 Bamba and her associates — Evening mgetings in various parts of the city — 
 Murrain among the cattle. 
 
 CHAPTER X. Pp. 161-174.. 
 
 1864 — The missionaries on the ground at beginning of 1864 — Writer alone in 
 Alexandria — Purchase of Alexandria premises— Prayer-meetings in the Girls' 
 School, Cairo — Efforts of the Coptic clergv to keep girls awav from our schools — 
 The story of Bamba's courtship and marriage with his highness, Dhulup Singh 
 — His gift of S;.ooo and promise of 52,500 annually — Work on Nile in new small 
 boat— Tour of Rev. and Mrs. Ewing in "Ibis" to Aswan— And of Mr. Hogg to 
 Faiyum— Formal opening of the theological seminary.
 
 CHAPTER XI. Pp. 175-188. 
 
 1865— The distribution of forces— Visit of the Maharajah and the Maharaneh— 
 Sale of " Ibis" to them— Their visit to Faiyum— Decision to open new station— 
 Asyut selected and Rev. J. Hogg and Miss McKown appointed— Reached Asvut 
 February 21, lodged with Mr. Wasif Khavat— Mr. Hogg attends Coptic church, 
 and then conducts his own services— Muslim saint in Gow— His acts of violence 
 —Great danger Speedy retribution— Mr. Hogg's third Sabbath in Asvut, manv at 
 service, some moved to tears— School opened March ^— Opposition begins— Sick- 
 ness and death of Mary Lizzie Hogg— Sicl<ness and restoration of Hope— Terrible 
 cholera epidemic— Panic in Alexandria— Mrs. Lansing and child die and others— 
 Dr. Lansing and boys go to Ramleh— Rev. S. C. Ewing remains jn Cairo to min- 
 ister to the sick and mourning— Asvut missionaries go north— Return of mis- 
 sionaries to their stations— Arrangements for next year— Reading God's Word in 
 the homes — Arrival of new missionaries, and return of others. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. Pp. 189-195. 
 
 Arrangements for 1866 carried out— Large company leaves Cairo on " Ibis"— 
 Dr. Lansing and Dr. and Mrs. Harvey leave at Zawiyah— Dr. Barnett and wife 
 and Miss McKown at Asyut— Writer and wife go up to Esna and return, visiting 
 places and selling books— At Girga hear of death of Mrs. Currie— Hurry back to 
 Alexandria — Work begun in Faiyum— Opening of schools— Dr. Lansing leaves 
 and Brother Ewing takes his place April i— Dr. Barnett leaves Asvut in summer 
 and Mr. Currie takes his place— Dr. Lansing visits Asyut— Mr. Strang's arrival 
 from America to take charge of press — Marriage of Dr. "Lansing and Miss Dales, 
 who go up the Nile and visit the stations— Work at Kus— Work in Alexandria. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. Pp. 196-211. 
 
 1867— Distribution of forces— Return of Mr. Hogg— Meeting of presbytery- 
 Rev. Messrs. Ewing and Watson go to America— Ordination of Makhiel el- 
 Belyani— Attempt to train converted monks— Theologues at Asyut— High-handed 
 measures of persecution — Viceroy and patriarchate unite in a determination to 
 exterminate Protestants and drive out of Egypt the missionaries— Patriarch at 
 Abnub— At Asyut— Burning of books and Bibles — Threats— Bold and tyrannical 
 action at Ekhmin— Efforts to intimidate Protestants at Kus— Priest Feltois afraid 
 of Fam's argi4ments— Persecution in Nakadah. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. Pp. 212-224. 
 
 Fam Stephanos— His character— Attempted banishment— Deliverance and 
 return home. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. Pp. 225-238. 
 
 Resumption of stciry of troubles in Asyut school — Forced labor described — 
 Pupils in schools exempted— Duty of seeing exemption carried out impartially— 
 Case against the sheikhs of Sahil Salem — Boys frightened, except Iskaros — Iska- 
 ros plied by flattery and threats in turn — Stands firm — Is bastinadoed — Finally 
 set free — Case of Bishetly taken up — Crooked action of local authorities — Con- 
 sular interference accomplished little in the case, but good effect in the future — 
 Opposition in various places — God's Word not bound — Meetings in Mutiah — 
 Work in Alexandria, Faiyum, Cairo— Great credit due to Dr. Lansing.
 
 CHAPTER XVI. Pp. 239-261. 
 
 1868— staff of missionaries and their movements— Affairs in Kus — Spread of 
 the truth— Sickness of pastor-elect Fears and forebodings— Encouraging acces- 
 sion— Dr. Johnston arrives at Asyut— Theological class— Names of inquirers at 
 Asyut— Cause of their fears— Power of the priests— Dr. Hogg's exhortation before 
 leaving for Cairo—" The Kus Winnowing Fan "—Meetings in Father Paul's 
 house— The boy ShenooJa Hanna, the reader— His advice— Meetings at house of 
 Athanasius— At the bishop's — Shenooda's troubles and the result Large meet- 
 ing on Dr. Hogg's return— E.xcommunications— Counterblast on intemperance pro- 
 posed bv Mr. Hanna Buktor— Attempt to read it in Coptic church— Altered tactics 
 of the Patriarch — Hanna Buktor and others make open profession — Case of the 
 carpenters and the marriage ceremony— Clerical plans frustrated— Visit of Metro- 
 politan—Work in places near Asyut — In the Faiyum— Cairo— Alexandria; — Return 
 of Brothers Ewing and Watson from America. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. Pp. 262-278. 
 
 1869 — Mr. Schlotthaur, colporteur evangelist — Changes and appointments of 
 missionaries— Rev. S. C. Ewing chosen by lot pastor in Cairo — Writer sent to 
 Monsurah— Character of people there — Work in Cairo— Tragic death of Miss 
 Hart— Influence on the work— Book department— Work in Minya — In Asyut — 
 Encouraging accession — Family persecution — Breaking of pictures in Coptic 
 church — Great excitement — Confession and imprisonment of the perpetrators — 
 Copts rejoice — Unexpected release — Re-imprisonment and banishment to Esna — 
 Release after a time — Beginning to build a church at Asyut— Change of Asyut 
 market day — Visits to villages — Brother Currie in Kus, then Iskaros — Rev. B. F. 
 Pinkerton becomes a Plymouthite and spreads his views— Strange actions — 
 Anxiety among the missionaries— Mr. Pinkerton's views spread — He resigns and 
 goes to America — Dr. Lansing for a time in Alexandria — Press and Brother 
 Strang removed to Alexandria— Sickness and death of Brother Currie — Grief of 
 the brethren in Kus. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. Pp. 279-301. 
 
 January i, 1870. to January i, 1B75— Comparative statistics^^A\issionaries, 
 their locations and movements — New missionaries — Organization of Missionary- 
 Association — Necessary for abbreviation — Alexandria, work, accessions, death of 
 Said— Monsurah, work, little encouragement— Cairo, work, accessions, defections 
 —Sickness in Dr. Barnett's family and absence in Europe — Death of Elder Salih 
 and others— Sale of old premises to the government, characteristic negotiations 
 — Faiyum. work, little encouragement in Medinah— Headquarters transferred to 
 Sinoris, encouragements and opposition — Asyut church erected, dedication ser- 
 vices, organization of congregation — Nakheila'h congregation organized, and pas- 
 tor ordained and installed, and death of chief member — Organization of Mutiah 
 congregation, members working, reasons for rapid spread of Gospel— Kus. visit 
 of Brother Harvey and others, brethren prevented by government from meeting 
 —Coptic and governmental opposition and evidence of growth— Medical depart- 
 ment. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. Pp. 302-326. 
 
 January i, 1875, to January i, 1880— Comparative statistics— .Wissionaries 
 ^, and stations— New missionaries— Alexandria, work, accessions— Monsurah, work 
 ^ r and workers— Cairo, Dr. Lansing pastor— Work in Ezbakivah, Haret-es-Sakkain 
 J and Bulac— Accessions— Case of Ahmed Fahmy, conversion, kidnapping— Means 
 
 '^ employed to have him recant— Return to Dr. Lansing's— Departure for Scotland 
 
 with Lord Aberdeen— Attends Universitv of Edinburgh— Goes to China— Laving 
 foundation of new premises in Cairo, interesting exercises— New cemeterv in 
 Cairo— Faiyum— Opening of a new church— Departure of Mr. and Mrs. Harvey 
 to America— Election of pastor in Sinoris— Asyut, unsatisfactory state of congre- 
 gation—Places occupied in the neighborhood and work done by zealous mem- 
 bers—The millwright— Work in Upper Thebaid— Mr. Harvev'strip on "Ibis," 1877- 
 78— His visit to Kosair— Mr. Giffen's visit to same with Rev. G. Raphael— New 
 pastorates— New organizations, etc. 
 
 8
 
 CHAPTER XX. Pp. 327-337. 
 
 January i, 1875, to January i, 1880, finished — Appointment of secular head of 
 Protestant sect — intolerance and persecution — Opposition of government and 
 refysal to grant permission to erect churches in Kus and Mutiah — Cruel treat- 
 ment of Protestants in Nagada— No redress — Dr. Hogg in England— Secures the 
 aid'of the Evangelical Alliance — Successful issue of the cases of Mutiah and Kus 
 — Failure of Nagada case— The Khedive Ishmael and his deposition and departure 
 — Accession of Muhammad Tawhk. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. Pp. 338-366. 
 
 January i,- 1880, to January i, 188 s— Comparative statistics— Location of 
 missionaries — New missionaries — Death of Mrs. Mary E. Giffen — Unsettled 
 state of the government — Exciting times in Cairo — Massacre and pillage in 
 Ale.xandria — Stampede of foreigners — Missionaries leave Cairo and go on board 
 U. S. frigate— All leave the country except Dr. Ewing and the writer— Bombard- 
 ment of Alexandria— Burning of part of the city— Gathering of British troops- 
 Sudden change of base — Entrance into the canal— Writer ill and leaves for Italy 
 — Returns by first boat — British troops victorious, enter Cairo — Grand review 
 —Joy of non-Muslims— Writer visits the mission stations on " Ibis"— Visit of 
 commissioners— Spread of Plymouthism— Removal of two pastors— Nile work by 
 Drs. Lansing and Hogg— Deaths— New organizations— New pastorates— Move- 
 ment among Muslims — The cholera in 1883. 
 
 CHAPTER XXll. Pp. 367-385. 
 
 From January i, 1885, to January i, 1890— Comparative statistics— Mission 
 force — New missionaries — Political condition — Fanatical manifestations — Sick- 
 ness and death of Rev. Dr. Hogg— Great loss to the mission— Departure of his 
 wife and family to Scotland— Weakened forces— Arrival of Rev. G. Anshalian and 
 installation as pastor in Kus— Other pastorates and organizations— Accessions 
 —Fruits— Nile boat work bv Rev. C. Murch. Rev. J. Giffen and Rev. J. K. Giffen 
 —English services in Cairo— Mission premises in Cairo open for British soldiers 
 for temperance and religious meetings— Mrs. S. B. Lansing's sickness and death. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIIl. Pp. 386-407. 
 
 From January i, 1890, to January i, 1895— Comparative statistics— .Missionary 
 staff, January i, 1890, and location— Movements of missionaries during the 
 period— New missionaries— New pastorates and new installments— New organi- 
 zations—Work on the Nile bv Rev. J. K. Giffen. Rev. C. Murch, Dr. Harvey, 
 Rev. J. O. Ashenhurst, Rev. T. J. Finney— Interesting spiritual movement at 
 Nakheilah— Effect of mission work on Coptic sect— Special efforts at reform in 
 the period — Division in Coptic sect— Banishment and return of the Patriarch 
 —Religious newspaper started— Medical department— New premises— Death of 
 Uncle Fam— Death of Mrs. W. M. Nichol— Death of Dr. G. Lansing, his character 
 and work— Death of Dr. J. B. Dales— Departure of Miss McKown— Her 
 work— New missionaries in 189'^ and 1896— New pastorates— New organizations 
 —These vears remembered in connection with Turkish atrocities in Armenia- 
 Murder of Rev. Girgis Anshalian— Breaking out of cholera and its widespread 
 ravages— Death of Rev. Iskaros Masud and Mrs. Strang— Division of the field 
 into six districts -Statistics en January i, 1897— Other missions in Egypt. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. Pp. 408-419. 
 
 Workers and converts— Division of workers— Presbvterial workers— Pastors, 
 their work and character— Licentiates— Local preachers— Theological students- 
 Wages paid to each class— Workers under Missionary Association— Teacliers— 
 
 9
 
 Salesmen in bookshops— Colporteurs — Zenana worker.^— Teachers of mission- 
 aries — Their pay — Church members — Gospel preached to all — Converts mo'^.tly 
 from Copts — Copts need the Gospel — Character of church members — How led to 
 conversion — Deep conviction of sin often wanting — Many cases of marked change 
 of conduct — Interesting examples. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. Pp. 420-426. 
 
 Foreign Missionaries— Their position — Their work— Their qualifications— The 
 work of each missionary on the field. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. Pp. 427-441. 
 
 The Book Department— Its agents and operations— The Sabbath Schools — 
 Work among the women. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. Pp. 442-460. 
 
 Educational — Parochial schools — Mission day schools — Boarding school at 
 Asyut and Cairo — Asyut training college— Theological seminary. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. Pp. 461-466. 
 
 Present Political Status €f Fgypt— The Khedive— Change of succession — 
 Parties claiming political power— Provinces— Ministry — British control — Debt — 
 Three classes of courts — Agriculture — Taxation — Irrigation — Products — Exports 
 ^Imports— Education— Railway system— Telegraphs— Postoffice — Influence of 
 British occupation. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. Pp. 467-470. 
 
 Special friends and helpers — The Ladies' Society of Paisley, Scotland — Stu- 
 dents' United Presbyterian Seminary at Edinburgh — Maharajah Dhulup Singh — 
 Mr. and Mrs. Peter Mackinnon — Turkish Aid Society — Ludwig Muller, Esq. — Dr. 
 J. S. Grant Bey and wife. 
 
 lO
 
 The American Mission in Egypt. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Introduction of Christianity into Egypt — Its extension up the Nile valley — 
 Persecutions under Diocletian — The Egyptian Church and its leaders — The 
 Royalists and the Jacobites — The introduction of Islam — The persecution of 
 the Christians by the Muslims — The domination of Islam and gradual decline 
 of Christianity — Destruction of Christian Churches and cruel treatment of 
 Christians — The sad condition of the Coptic Church, and its need of spiritual 
 enlightenment and evangelical truth. 
 
 The Christian religion was carried to Egypt only a few 
 years after the ascension of its Founder. The contiguity of 
 Egypt to Palestine, the intimate connection between the Jew- 
 ish portion of the inhabitants of both countries, and the im- 
 portant commercial relations existing between them, facili- 
 tated the spread of the Gospel of Jesus of Nazareth to the 
 Nile valley. Nothing is said in the New Testament about the 
 persons who first related the story of the Cross in Egypt. 
 it might have been that some of those from Egypt, who were 
 present in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, went back to 
 Alexandria filled with the Holy Spirit and told the wonders of 
 that glorious day to their fellow-countrymen. We learn, at 
 least, from Acts i8: 24, that a certain Jew, named Apollos, 
 born at Alexandria, and most likely resident there for a long 
 time, "was instructed in the way of the Lord," being 
 " mighty in the Scriptures." He had doubtless received his 
 knowledge of Christ and the way of salvation from a person 
 or persons who were not fully acquainted with the doctrines 
 of the evangelical faith; for it is said that when Aquilla and 
 Priscilla heard him they took him unto them, and " expounded 
 unto him the way of God more perfectly."
 
 12 The American Mission 
 
 By an almost universal tradition, the Evangelist Mark is 
 said to have gone down to Egypt and preached the Gospel 
 with great success until he was beheaded. His head is 
 believed by the Copts to have been buried in the place where 
 the Coptic Church in Alexandria now stands. It seems .more 
 than probable, too, that the Apostle Peter spent a short time 
 in Egypt, and went south as far as Old Cairo, from which, it 
 is thought by some, that he wrote his first epistle, in which 
 at the close he says : " The Church that is at Babylon, elect 
 together with you, saluteth you, and so does Marcus, my 
 son." It is entirely inadmissable to suppose that he refers 
 to spiritual Babylon or Rome. In a sentence closing where 
 he is speaking of persons in historic language, it is against 
 the plainest rules of interpretation to understand him as re- 
 ferring to Rome. There is no evidence, either, and it is 
 entirely improbable that he ever went to ancient Babylon, so 
 far away in the East. To make a visit there would have 
 taken a long time and would have been a great event in 
 his life. Besides, there is not the slightest tradition that 
 Marcus was ever there. But what can be more probable 
 than that Peter made a visit to his relative Mark, who lived 
 in an adjoining country, distant only a few days from Pales- 
 tine, and with which there was daily and easy intercourse? 
 It is well known that a part of Old Cairo, in which was the 
 Roman garrison, was called " Babloon," and there exists to 
 this day at that place a Coptic Church called the Church of 
 Babloon. To me, then, it seems more than probable that the 
 Apostle Peter was an important factor in establishing the 
 Christian Church in Egypt. 
 
 When the Gospel was first promulgated in Egypt there 
 was a large and influential colony of Jews in Alexandria, and 
 considerable numbers in Old Cairo and at other points of the 
 Delta, especially in the vicinity of El Mahalla El Kubra. As 
 the first person to teach Christian truths in Egypt must have 
 ■been Jews, they would naturally find hearers more easily 
 among their kinsmen; and more especially as there seems to 
 have existed there among the Jews a freer spirit of inquiry
 
 p 
 
 ^
 
 IN Egypt. 
 
 13 
 
 than among the same people in Palestine, we may naturally 
 conclude that the first converts were from the descendants 
 of Abraham. Howsoever this may have been, it is clear 
 from the records of history that the Christian religion was 
 accepted by many in Egypt before the close of the first 
 century, and the numbers rapidly increased among that natur- 
 ally religious people until the Egyptian nation became Chris- 
 tian, and Christian churches filled the Nile valley far above 
 the First Cataract. Abyssinia, too, whether through the 
 Ethiopian eunuch's return to his country after his baptism or 
 through others filled with a love of the truth, also accepted 
 the Christian faith, and many of her people retain the Chris- 
 tian name and boldly defend a form of Christian doctrine to 
 this day. 
 
 The Egyptian Church in Egypt passed through the fires 
 of persecution as other Christians in the Roman Empire, and 
 many suffered martyrdom for their unwillingness to deny 
 Him who bought them with his precious blood. The perse- 
 cution in Egypt was especially severe during the reign of 
 Diocletian. Of this Milner says, on the authority of 
 Eusebius: "Egypt suffered extremely. Whole families 
 were put to various kinds of death; some by fire, others by 
 water, others by decollation, after horrible tortures. Some 
 perished by famine, others by crucifixion, and of these, some 
 in the common manner, others were fastened with their 
 heads downwards, and preserved alive, that they might die 
 by hunger. But the torments in Thebes exceed all descrip- 
 tion. Women tied by one foot were raised up on high, and 
 exposed naked, monuments at once of the inhumanity and 
 \ndecency of the persecutors. Others were torn by the dis- 
 torted boughs of trees ; and these scenes continued some 
 years. Sometimes ten, at other times thirty, sixty, and 
 once a hundred men and women with their little ones, in one 
 day, were murdered by various torments. The Christians 
 suffered with the greatest faith and patience. There was 
 even the appearance of joy and triumph among them, and to 
 their last breath they employed themselves in psalms and
 
 14 The American Mission 
 
 thanksgiving. In vain did relations, friends, magistrates, 
 even judges, exhort them to pity themselves, their wives and 
 children. They loved Christ above all, and bravely as well 
 as humbly met death for His sake." 
 
 From the close of the second century of the Christian 
 era to the time of the Muhammadan conquest, the history of 
 the Egyptian Church is the history of the land itself. She 
 had a large share in the controversies that interested, excited 
 and rent the Christian Church into various sects and parties, 
 and she had great influence in settling some of the most im- 
 portant doctrines of our common faith. She has honorable 
 names on the roll of Church history. 
 
 Who has not heard of Athanasius, Macarius and Cyril .-* 
 In the Nicean Council there were Saras, a Presbyter from 
 the Lybian province ; Euzarus, a deacon from Egypt ; Achil- 
 las, a reader; Secundus, Bishop of Ptolemais; Pottamman, 
 Bishop of Heraclespolis, and Paphmatius, Bishop of the Upper 
 Thebaid. Dean Stanley, in "The Eastern Church," says 
 concerning the Egyptian Church soon after the time of the 
 Nicean Council: " The Alexandrian Church was the only 
 great seat of Christian learning. Its Episcopate was the 
 Evangelical See as founded by the Evangelist Mark. The 
 Chair of St. Mark was and still is the name of the Patriarchal 
 throne of Egypt. Its occupant was the only potentate of the 
 time who bore the name of Pope. After the Council of Nicea 
 he became the ' Judge of the World,' from his decisions re- 
 specting the celebration of Easter; and the obedience paid to 
 his judgment in all matters of learning, secular and sacred, 
 almost equaled that paid in later days to the ecclesiastical 
 authority of the Pope of the West." "The head of the 
 Alexandria Church," says Gregory Nazianzen, "isthe head 
 of the world. Athanasius was not only in name but in fact 
 the representative of the Egyptian Church." So mucn can 
 be said of the position, influence and learning of Athanasius, 
 the head and representative of the Christian Church in 
 Egypt, which still continued in many respects evangelical. 
 Gradually, however, like other Eastern churches, she fell
 
 IN Egypt. 15 
 
 from the gospel purity of doctrine and simplicity of worship 
 into a greatly corrupted faith, and a gaudy, worldly ritual. 
 Great importance came to be laid on fasting, hermitage and 
 monasticism ; and the merits of Christ's life, sufferings and 
 death, as the only justifying righteousness for the sinner, 
 were little by little set aside or lost sight of. From the fifth 
 century the controversy between the Royalists, who adhered 
 to the creed of the Greeks, and the Jacobites, who were 
 Eutychians, was vehemently maintained for more than a 
 hundred years, the victory inclining more and more to the 
 latter. The pacific policy of Zenos for a time restrained open 
 warfare, but, in the succeeding reigns, the strife of arms was 
 added to the strife of words, and bloody persecutions were 
 carried out in manifest opposition to the true spirit of Chris- 
 tianity. Without success Appollinarius, at the same time 
 Patriarch and Prefect, attempted by threatening and massacre 
 to convert the Jacobite masses; but they, on the contrary, 
 roused by their zealous bishops, returned defiance and hatred; 
 and early in the seventh century all Christian faith in Egypt 
 not Monophysite was regarded as heresy from Alexandria to 
 Aswan. To quarrels with the Greeks succeeded quarrels 
 with one another on various points — especially bitter on 
 account of being among one another and in reference to mat- 
 ters not essential to salvation. Theodore and Themistius 
 discussed the question concerning the wisdom of Jesus, the 
 latter expressing the belief that Jesus was not omniscient. 
 John, the Grammarian, affirmed that there were three Gods, 
 and rejected the word unity from the doctrine of the being of 
 God. In the fifth year of his administration as Patriarch 
 from 611 A. D., John, the Almsgiver, made more converts 
 by his activity in good works than by his zeal against the 
 * * Greek heresy' ' ; yet he was not acknowledged as a genuine 
 Patriarch, because he was appointed to the office by the 
 Emperor, and followed the Imperial party when it was driven 
 from Alexandria by the invading Persians. In the tenth 
 year of Persian rule, the Patriarch was a true Jacobite. 
 When the Romans regained power the Jacobite Benjamin
 
 i6 The American Mission 
 
 was displaced, and for a time tlie Church of Egypt had a 
 ruler whose opinions were a compromise between the two, 
 maintaining two natures in Christ but only a single will. 
 
 When the great strife between the Greeks and the Arabs 
 took place, the Egyptians eventually, but secretly, inclined 
 to the Muslim party — I do not say Muslim faith. It was 
 doubtless their aim to get their revenge on the Greeks, with 
 no intention, however, to put themselves under the Arabs. 
 Yet it has been charged against them, with apparent justice, 
 that their connivance with Amru and his army decided the 
 contest in favor of the domination of the religion of Muham- 
 mad. But if they were promised amnesty, immunity and 
 protection, the promise was not long kept. Within a century 
 from the fall of Alexandria the hands of monks were branded 
 and heavy annual imposts exacted from them, and such as 
 refused to pay were scourged, outraged or beheaded, while 
 many of the churches were plundered and destroyed. In 
 the reign of the Kalif Hashim (724-743) the Jacobite dispute 
 was revived by the restoration of some of the Greek bishops 
 to their ancient Sees in Nubia, and bribes by one and the 
 other as usual swayed the authorities in either direction. 
 In 755 it was forbidden to any Copt or Egyptian Christian to 
 hold any public office, even if he should embrace Islam. In 
 the reigns of the succeeding Abbasside dynasty, the humili- 
 ations of the Christians were multiplied. The Kalif Muta- 
 wakkil compelled them to wear disgraceful articles of dress, 
 and to fasten on their doors pictures of devils; and a century 
 afterwards, the mad Fatimite Kalif, Hakim, prescribed for 
 them the black robe and turban, a[nd ordered them to wear 
 suspended from their necks a heavy wooden cross; he also 
 confiscated their churches and finally decreed their banish- 
 ment. To save themselves from these cruel penalties, great 
 numbers apostatized. No new proselyte was permitted to 
 return to his family unless the members thereof should accept 
 the Muhammadan faith; and, as many of the conversions 
 were known to be feigned, the greatest strictness was required 
 in the observance of Muhammadan forms. In succeeding
 
 IN Egypt. 17 
 
 centuries the number of Christians steadily decreased. 
 Many churches were converted into mosques. In 1301 A. D. 
 the rage of the Mogreb ambassador at seeing a Christian 
 riding through Cairo with all the state and retinue of a 
 Muhammadan Effendi, led to the issue of an edict requiring 
 all Christians to wear blue turbans, and forbidding them to 
 ride on horses or mules. Fresh conversions to Islam were 
 the result of this edict, hi 1321 A. D., by a sudden and 
 
 •■ cruel conspiracy, the Muslim zealots destroyed simultaneously 
 nearly all the Egyptian churches, many of which were 
 razed to the ground. The Christians retaliated by burning 
 in Fostat and Cairo a large number of houses, palaces and 
 mosques. The punishment for these outrages, though it fell 
 upon some of the Muslim fanatics, came with cruel severity 
 upon the Christian offenders. Some were hanged, some 
 burned alive, and permission was given to all Muhammadan 
 
 ^subjects to rob and murder any Christian who might be found 
 wearing the white turban. No government official was per- 
 mitted to employ a Copt. At the public baths they were 
 distinguished by a bill hung from the neck. As might be 
 expected, many changes of faith resulted from this persecu- 
 tion, and at the end of the fourteenth century the condition 
 of the Egyptian Christians reached its lowest point, at which 
 it remained with but little variation up to the middle of the 
 eighteenth century, when the Moravian missionaries began 
 their work in the valley of the Nile. 
 
 When we consider the unjust and often cruel treatment 
 endured by the Egyptian Christians for so many centuries 
 at the hands of their Muhammadan conquerors, we are sur 
 prised that any remained to preserve the Christian name 
 along the banks of the Nile. We cannot but extol their 
 patient endurance and their tenacious adherence to a faith, 
 which, though greatly changed since the fourth century, still 
 had in it some of that truth which sprang from Calvary and 
 was proclaimed abroad by the Apostles of our Lord. A peo- 
 ple who had such tenacity of faith and such power of patient 
 suffering for the Christian name, must have had some glimpse
 
 i8 The American Mission 
 
 of the light that illumines the soul and leads up to the throne 
 of God. To help such a people to loosen themselves from 
 the chains of superstition, and to come out of the dungeon of 
 darkness into which their surroundings had imprisoned them, 
 and lead them forth into the light and liberty of the Christian 
 faith, is surely a duty and a precious privilege.
 
 Great Pyramid, Seen Thronoh Palm Trees.
 
 IN hGYPT. lo 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Various attempts in modern times to preach a pure Gospel in Egypt — 
 and to secure a friendly intercourse with the Christians of the Nile valley 
 from 1752-1854 — The Moravians — The Church Mission Society Missionaries, 
 and others. 
 
 The first recorded efforts to introduce into Egypt the 
 pure Gospel, viz., that salvation is to be obtained through 
 the merits of Jesus Christ alone, and that communion with 
 Him by the agency of the divine Spirit is the source of life 
 and all true happiness — were made by the Moravians, whose 
 living faith has been attested in so many distant places of 
 the earth by their works of humility. Christian endurance 
 and brotherly love. They acted then, as ever, on the maxim, 
 "The world for Christ," and having felt the deep obliga- 
 tion resting upon them in consequence of the Lord's commu- 
 nication to his Church to go into all the world and preach 
 the gospel to every creature — they, according to the meas- 
 ure of their ability, and often as compared with others, far 
 above it, sent forth missionaries of the Cross to the East, 
 the West, the North, and the South. Not only did they 
 seek the conversion of the non-Christian population, but 
 they stretched out their arms of loving sympathy towards 
 their suffering brethren in Christ. It was through impulses 
 of brotherly love and sympathy that Count Zinzendorf 
 cherished the desire of a better acquaintance and a closer 
 spiritual communion with Christians of other divisions of 
 the Church of Christ on earth, and specially longed to know 
 more of the conditions of believers in Christ, residing in the 
 Nile valley and away in the distant wilds of Abyssinia. 
 He had heard of their trials, their temptations, and tenacious 
 steadfastness in professing Christ in the midst of constant
 
 20 The American Mission 
 
 ridicule and severe bodily suffering. He longed to know 
 more about them, and, if possible, speak a word of comfort 
 to them, and encourage them to a higher and holier walk 
 with God. At his earnest initiative the Brethren appointed 
 Frederick William Hooker, M. D., with the primary object 
 of opening up missionary communication with Abyssinian 
 Christians. He was directed to remain some time in Cairo 
 for the purpose " of acquiring a competent knowledge of the 
 Arabic language ; to collect all possible information relative 
 to the actual state of Abyssinia, and the best mode of visiting 
 it, and to seek to obtain the good will ar^d confidence of the 
 Patriarch of the Coptic Church." He had already endured 
 hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ in missionary 
 campaigning in Persia, and could be trusted both as to pru- 
 dence and zeal to carry out the desires of his Society and 
 brethren, as well as to obey the last command of his divine 
 Master. On the 8th of May, 1752, he embarked at London 
 for Genoa, thence to Leghorn and Alexandria. Considering 
 the circumstances of the time and place, we are not surprised 
 at his feelings, as expressed by himself : " As we approached 
 the Turkish provinces lying on the north coast of Africa, 
 a sensation of horror came over me, and I felt my courage 
 begin to fail ; in my distress I fled for refuge to my gracious 
 Lord and Master, beseeching Him to strengthen my faith, 
 and to restore my confidence in Him; whereupon my com- 
 posure and cheerfulness immediately returned." On the 
 ist of August, 1752, he landed at Alexandria, found a kind 
 friend in a Mr. Brown, then English consul, who insisted on 
 his making his house his home during the two weeks of his 
 sojourn in the city. Of his visit to the Coptic Church in 
 Alexandria he wrote: "One day I visited the Church of St. 
 Mark, the only one which the Copts possess in Alexandria. 
 It is without the walls of the city, adjoining the Jewish 
 synagogue, and not far from the Greek convent. Its 
 external appearance is unsightly, the structure being mean 
 in itself and quite surrounded by other buildings so that the 
 interior cannot be seen without artificial light, and, even
 
 IN Egypt. 21 
 
 with the help of a couple of wax candles, the view, as may- 
 be imagined, is gloomy in the extreme. It brought power- 
 fully to my recollection the subterranean caverns in which 
 the first Christians were compelled to celebrate their religious 
 rites. Portions of the church, which would however scarcely 
 accommodate sixty persons, are railed off and provided with 
 two pulpits of wood, and without steps up to them, so that, 
 whenever it is deemed necessary to use them, a stool has to 
 be brought to enable the preacher to ascend. My guide did 
 not fail to point out to me the place in which no less a relic 
 than the head of the Evangelist Mark is said to be kept." 
 
 In order to reach Cairo at that time Dr. Hooker had to 
 ride along the sandy shore of the Mediterranean to Rosetta. 
 This he accomplished in two days, where he engaged passage 
 in an open boat which carried him to Bulac — the boat being 
 sometimes carried forward with the wind, and sometimes, 
 that failing, it was dragged by the sailors. On August 27, 
 1752, he entered Cairo for the first time, the pioneer mis- 
 sionary from the West. He thus describes what he saw and 
 how he himself was dressed: "The dress which I had mean- 
 while assumed, in compliance with the fashion of the- 
 country, consisted of a flowing cloak of silk, under which 
 was a colored vestment of camlet, loose red trousers reach- 
 ing to the ankles and rendering stockings needless, yellow 
 slippers and leather socks of the same color. My head was 
 covered with a great fur cap, and my mustaches had already 
 assumed a respectable appearance. Thus accoutred I rode 
 into the city of Grand Cairo upon an ass. All this is pre- 
 scribed by positive law ; none but Muhammadans are allowed 
 to ride on horseback, and they too, as well as Jews and 
 Christians, are subject to particular legulations according to 
 their rank and occupation, especiall)/ in regard to the cover- 
 ing of the head." 
 
 Dr. Hooker busied himself for some time in the study of 
 the language, in medical practice, and in gaining a knowledge 
 of the country, and the manners and customs of the people. 
 He found several opportunities also of learning something of
 
 22 The American Mission 
 
 Abyssinia, and the best route to be taken to reach it. He 
 made the acquaintance of the Coptic Patriarch, who received 
 him kindly and listened to him attentively while he related 
 to him the efforts of the Moravians to spread the Gospel and 
 to hold out the hand of fellowship and sympathy to Christ- 
 ians in various parts of the world. The Patriarch also gave 
 him, a few days later, a letter in reply to the one he had 
 delivered him from Count Zinzendorf. Subsequently, Dr. 
 Hooker attended divine service at the Coptic Church, which 
 he thus describes: "I found the congregation listening to a 
 passage from the life of some saint. This was followed by 
 a hymn, and this again by a performance of instrumental 
 music, which consisted in the somewhat ingenious gingling 
 together of two metallic plates accompanied by the strokes 
 of two little wooden hammers upon some boards. Hereupon 
 a young deacon, about ten or twelve years old, read a portion 
 of S. S., after which one of the ecclesiastics chanted some 
 words which the Patriarch, rising from his seat, read aloud 
 to the people. The station of this dignitary during the 
 greater part of the service was in a chair, in which he sat 
 with his crozier in his hand and surrounded by the priests 
 and deacons. Another passage having been read out of the 
 Bible accompanied by a short comment, mass was performed 
 in Coptic in the altar-room of the church, and this was fol- 
 lowed by music of the kind already described. At the 
 conclusion of the service all the church members passed 
 by the chair, each one kissing the hand of the Patriarch who 
 had stationed himself at the door of the 'Heikal,'* he in turn 
 stroking everyone upon the face." 'Dr. Hooker also visited 
 Constantinople in December, 1753, returned to Alexandria 
 in July, 1754, and to Cairo in December of the same year, 
 to find the city and suburbs in a state of anarchy and 
 danger. Returning to Germany in 1756, and being joined 
 by a Brother, Pilder by name, they came back to Cairo in 
 1756; and after two years' travel, during which Mr. Pilder 
 studied Arabic, and they were joined by Mr. Cassart, they 
 *Teinple, or Altar room.
 
 IN Egypt. 23 
 
 left for Abyssinia but were shipwrecked on the Island of 
 Husein, and came back to Cairo in July, 1759, and returned 
 to Europe in 1761. From the year 1768 the, Brethren gave 
 special attention to the Copts. In this year J. Henry Danke 
 was appointed to labor among them. He reached Cairo, 
 March 5, 1769. The next year he went to Girga where, 
 he says, he found the hearts of the Copts like stone. Hence 
 he went to Behnessa, where he gained access to the hearts of 
 the people and was blessed to the conversion of some of the 
 Copts by the power of the Holy Ghost. He visited many 
 villages between Benisuef and Minya, and was kindly treated 
 generally by priests and people, though occasionally ignor- 
 ance and superstition stirred up opposition against him. A 
 certain Abd El Malak and Bishai Bashara were his fast 
 friends and greatly enjoyed religious intercourse with him. 
 He was a most godly, prudent and zealous man, and by his 
 humble pious life, did much to recommend the simple, 
 saving Gospel of Jesus Christ. 
 
 Mr. John Antes, another Moravian missionary, joined 
 the Egyptian mission, reaching Bulac on February 10, 
 1770. He made several visits to Behnessa, somtimes alone 
 and sometimes in company with other brethren, strengthen- 
 ing the faith and encouraging the hearts of those who had 
 been the faithful friends of the late Mr. Dante. His head- 
 quarters were in Cairo, which then was governed on the 
 principle of power and plunder. To show the state of things 
 at that time he relates the following personal experience : 
 " On taking a walk outside of the city one day, in 1779, I 
 had the misfortune to fall into the hands of a Bey, who, in 
 hope of extracting a large sum of money from me, treated 
 me in a most cruel manner. On returning from a walk in 
 company with the Venetian consul, we were observed by 
 some Mamelukes belonging to Osman Bey. Two of the 
 Mamelukes immediately came in full gallop towards us with 
 drawn swords, followed by some footmen. They immedi- 
 ately stripped us of our fur coats, shawls, and whatever 
 else we had about us of any value, demanding forty pounds
 
 24 The American Mission 
 
 (;S200) and threatened to take us before their master unless 
 we instantly gave them money. I told them we had no such 
 sum about us, and taking out my purse offered it to them. 
 They at first took it, but finding it contained only twenty- 
 five shillings. ($6.25) threw it back with disdain, saying, 
 'dahab, dahab,' i. e., gold, gold. I told them I had no 
 gold with me, but if they would go with me to my house I 
 would give them some. Upon this they cursed me, and 
 being joined by ten m.ore of the gang, they again demanded 
 gold. I again answered that I had none with me. At last 
 their chief accosted me, ' Go, you, home and fetch the gold, 
 but we will keep your companion here as a hostage, and if you 
 do not soon return I will cut off his head.' When I saw the 
 poor man crying and trembling all over I could not think of 
 leaving him in the hands of the tigers and escaping myself. 
 I therefore told him to go, and fetch the money, and I would 
 stay with them. He had scarcely advanced a few steps 
 when the servants fell upon him and stripped him of the few 
 remaining pieces of clothing he had left, so that he escaped 
 nearly naked to the town. By this time the sun had set, 
 and it began to grow dark ; and as the Mamelukes durst not 
 stay away from their master" till my companion returned, 
 one of them rode up to the bey and told him they had seized 
 some Europeans from whom something might be got. The 
 man soon returned with orders that I should be brought 
 before the bey ; and taking me between their horses they 
 dragged me to the place where he was sitting. When I 
 came near to him I addressed him with the usual phrase : 
 'I am under your protection,' to which, if they are not 
 maliciously inclined they answer : ' You are welcome.' 
 But instead of answering at all he stared furiously at me, 
 and said ' Who are you?' I replied, ' I am an Englishman.' 
 'What are you doing here in the night? You must be 
 a thief. Aye, aye, most likely the one that did such 
 and such a thing the other day.' I replied, ' I was entering 
 the city gates half an hour before sunset when I was taken 
 by your Mamelukes and detained till now— and still it is not
 
 4) 
 1—1 
 
 •rH 
 
 <a 
 
 d 
 o 

 
 IN Egypt. 25 
 
 an hour after sunset, which is the regular time for shutting 
 the gates.' Without replying he pointed to one of his offi- 
 cers to take me to the castle, a building at some distance out 
 of town. Having given his orders for my removal I wanted 
 to say a few words more, but was prevented by a horde of ser- 
 vants who are always glad to insult a European. One gave 
 me a kick on one side, another on the other side, one spat 
 in my face, while another put a rope round my neck made 
 of the filaments of the date tree, which are much rougher 
 than horse-hair. By this rope a fellow in rags was ordered 
 to drag me along, and another on horseback armed with 
 sword and pistols to guard me. Arriving at the castle I was 
 put into a dungeon half under ground, a large chain was put 
 around my neck, secured by a padlock, and the other end 
 fastened to a piece of timber. Nothing could induce the 
 servant to give me pen and ink to write to my friends in the 
 city, though they furnished me with drinking water. In 
 about half an hour the bey arrived with his retinue, lighted 
 flambeaux being carried before him. He alighted, went up 
 stairs into a room, sat down in a corner and all his people 
 placed themselves in a circle around him. I was then sent 
 for, unchained, and led upstairs by two men. On the stans 
 I heard the instruments for the bastinado rattle, and guessed 
 what I had to expect. Upon entering I found a small Per- 
 sian rug spread for me. This was a mark of civility only 
 due to a gentleman, for the common people when about to 
 receive the bastinado are thrown upon the bare ground. 
 The bey again asked me who I was. ' An Englishman,' 
 was my reply. 'What is your business?' 'I live by 
 what God sends,' I said. He exclaimed, 'Throw him 
 down.' 1 asked 'What have I done.?' ' How, you dog,* 
 answered he, 'dare you ask what you have done.?' 
 'Throw him down.' The servants then threw me flat on 
 my face, and with a strong staff about six feet long, having 
 a piece of iron chain fixed to both ends, confined my feet 
 above the ankles, when the two men — one on each side — 
 twisting staff and chain together turned up the soles of my
 
 26 The American Mission 
 
 feet, and being provided with wnat is called a ' corbaje ' 
 (or strap of hippopotamus skin), waited for their master's 
 orders. When they had placed me in this position an officer 
 came and whispered in my ear : ' Give him a thousand dol- 
 lars and he will let you go.' I reflected that should I now 
 offer anything he would probably send one of his men 
 with me to receive it, and that I should be obliged to open 
 my strong chest, where I kept not only my own money 
 but that of others, and that all that was in it would be 
 carried away. Being determined not to involve others 
 in my misfortune, I answered : ' I have no money to 
 give' — upon which he ordered them to begin. This they 
 did at first pretty moderately, but I immediately gave up 
 myself for lost, well knowing that my life depended entirely 
 on the caprice of an unfeeling tyrant, and, after the many 
 instances of unrelenting cruelty which I had heard of and 
 seen, I had therefore no refuge but the mercy of God, and 
 commended my soul to Him, and felt His support so power- 
 fully that all fear of death was taken from me, and I could 
 cheerfully resign my life into His hands. After beating me 
 for some time, the officer again whispered the word ' money.' 
 I again answered, 'I have none.' Then they laid on more 
 roughly, and every stroke felt like the application of a red 
 hot poker. The officer, thinking that though I had no money 
 1 might have some valuable goods, once more whispered to 
 that effect. Knowing that elegant English firearms were at 
 a premium with such persons, I offered a valuable blunder- 
 buss mounted with silver, which I could get at without open- 
 ing my chest. The bey observed me speaking to the officer 
 and inquired what I said. On learning, he exclaimed with a 
 sneer: 'Only a blunderbuss.? Beat the dog.' Now they 
 began to strike with all their might, and I thought they would 
 beat me to death, and commended my soul to Jesus Christ, 
 my Saviour. When at length the bey saw that no money 
 could be extorted from me, he thought probably that, after 
 all, 1 might in reality be a poor man, and, as I had done 
 nothing to deserve such punishment, he ordered them to let
 
 IN Egypt. 27 
 
 me go. I was now obliged to walk down to my prison, the 
 chain being again put on my neck. Upon my asking the 
 servant the reason for this precaution, since in the present 
 state of my feet there was little danger of my running away, 
 their reply was : ' The bey will have it so.' In about half 
 an hour the messenger came with orders to bring me up 
 again. The servants then took the chain off and carried me 
 till I was near the door, when I was told to walk in, else the 
 bey -would beat me again. When I came before the hey 
 he asked one of his officers : ' Is this the man you told me 
 of ? ' The officer, stepping up to me and staring me in the 
 face, as if narrowly to inspect my features, on a sudden lifted 
 up his hands and cried out: 'By Allah, it is! Ah! this is 
 the best man in all Cairo, and my very particular friend I 
 Oh! how sorry I am that I was not here before to tell you so,' 
 with other expressions of the same kind. The bey answered : 
 ' Then take him. I give him to you, and if he has lost any- 
 thing see to get it restored.' 1 had never in my life seen the 
 officer, and soon perceived it was altogether a deception in 
 order to get rid of me. Once more I was obliged to walk till 
 I was out of the bey's sight, when the servants of my pre- 
 tended friend took me up and carried me to his house, at a 
 considerable distance. Here he offered me something to eat, 
 and made up a tolerably decent bed, which was the more 
 welcome to me as the greater part of my clothes had been 
 torn off my back and I felt very cold. All I got returned was 
 an old cashmere shawl. I asked him whether what hap- 
 pened to me was the boasted hospitality of his countrymen 
 to strangers. I got nothing for answer but: ' Min Allah! 
 Maktoob! Mukaddar! ' i. e., 'It is from God; it is written; 
 it is in the Book of Fate.' He however took nothing amiss, 
 but anointed my feet with some healing balsam and tied rags 
 about them. I then lay down and spent a very uncomfort- 
 able night, in great pain. In the morning he asked me 
 whether I was acquainted with the master of customs, and 
 when I informed him that he was my good friend he offered 
 to bring me to him, and setting me upon an ass, himself
 
 28 The American Mission 
 
 mounting a horse, we proceeded towards tlie city, accom- 
 panied by another soldier. On approaching the gate he told 
 me to take off those rags, as it would be a disgrace for me to 
 ride into town in such a condition. * No disgrace to me,' 
 said 1, ' but to him who has treated me so shamefully.' ' Min 
 Allah! Mukaddar,' was the answer again. When wearrived 
 at the master of the customs house, he was shocked to see 
 me in such a condition. I requested him to settle everything 
 for me with my pretended deliverer, and summing up the 
 fees, found I had to pay about twenty pounds ($ioo) for 
 this piece of service; the whole farce being intended to play 
 a little money into the hands of the bey's officer. His serv- 
 ants then carried me home and put me to bed. It was six 
 weeks before I could walk on crutches, and for full three 
 years after, my feet and ankles, which had been much hurt 
 by the twisting of the chain, often swelled. I cannot refrain 
 from mentioning, however, the great comfort I enjoyed from 
 the texts appointed for the day on which the foregoing event 
 occurred. * 1 am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor 
 angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor 
 things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, 
 shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in 
 Christ Jesus our Lord.' " 
 
 George Henry Wieniger, another of the Moravian breth- 
 ren, reached Cairo August 28, 1774. At first he found 
 great difficulty in learning the Arabic language, and on one 
 occasion gave it up in despair. Dr. Hooker asked him 
 whether he had laid the matter before the Saviour " Often," 
 he replied. "Well," said he, "do it once more and I will 
 pray with you. Our Saviour has said : ' If two of you shall 
 agree on earth as touching anything that they ask, it shall 
 be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.' " He 
 ^^ays he followed Dr. Hooker's advice, and then made rapid 
 progress, and in nine months from that date he was sent to 
 Behnessa and was able to hold conversations with the breth- 
 ren there, and was rejoiced to see the "Word of the Cross 
 finding entrance into the hearts of not a few among the
 
 IN Egypt. 
 
 29 
 
 Copts." He spent eight years alternately at Behnessa and 
 Cairo, and whenever h.e left the former place he was accom- 
 panied at a considerable distance by over two hundred people, 
 who seemed deeply attached to him. He relates an interest- 
 ing incident of his experience v^'ith a Muslim. It was then 
 strictly forbidden to converse with Muhammadans on religious 
 subjects. " But one day," he says, "we were walking in a 
 large garden on the banks of the Nile, when we met the pro- 
 prietor, a man of high rank, who accosted us in a very 
 friendly manner and asked us whether we were all brethren, 
 and whether we had the same religion. On our replying in 
 the afifirmative, he turned to me and said : ' Why do you 
 wear a beard, whereas your brethren do not.? You must be 
 a priest.' He would not believe me when I told him it was 
 merely a matter of convenience, but replied : ' You are a 
 priest; do not detain my soul. I have prayed to Almighty 
 God to make me acquainted with a man who could tell me 
 what 1 must do to be saved, and I have received the answer 
 from Him that a man would come into my garden who would 
 satisfy my desires on the subject. You are that man, I am 
 convinced; tell me frankly whether I am right.' I inquired: 
 ' Why not, as you are a Muhammadan, consult the priests of 
 your own religion.'' ' To this he rejoined : ' I am firmly con- 
 vinced that we followers of Muhammad are not in the right 
 way; there must be another way leading to salvation, and 
 you must point it out to me. I am well aware that our lives 
 are forfeited if our present conversation were known, but you 
 have nothing to fear; 1 am an honest man; never a word 
 shall escape my lips.' While making this urgent appeal to 
 me he was so deeply affected that 1 was moved with the 
 deepest compassion. 'Well,' said I, ' I will tell you what a 
 Christian must do to be saved,' He then walked with me 
 under a fig tree and said : ' Come, O man of God, here 
 where I have so often prayed unto God; you must tell me 
 what I must do.' With fervent prayer to the Lord for His 
 blessing, 1 related to this benighted man what God had re- 
 vealed to us in His Holy Word, dwelling at large on the
 
 30 The American Mission 
 
 redemption which Christ wrought out for us by dying for our 
 sins on the cross. The agha listened to me with much atten- 
 tion, and when I told him that Jesus had ascended up into 
 Heaven before the eyes of His disciples, he lifted up his hands 
 and exclaimed : ' O Jesus, who sitteth on the right hand of 
 God, have mercy upon me; be also my Saviour.' This 
 prayer he repeated several times, with tears of deepest emo- 
 tion. Our Saviour graciously favored him with the assurance 
 of pardon, and gave him a sense of peace. He frequently 
 exclaimed with much fervor: ' Lord Jesus, I see Thy wounds. 
 Thou art also my Saviour.' The following morning before 
 daybreak we were not a little alarmed on seeing this Turkish 
 nobleman with a numerous train before the door. I hastened 
 to meet him, and asked him why he had brought so many 
 people to our house. He replied : ' They are my Mame- 
 lukes; they know nothing; they are merely awaiting my 
 orders in the street. I could not resist the impulse which I 
 felt to come and see you and your brethren, nor could I sleep 
 the whole night for joy! ' We then had some very edifying 
 conversation with him, and united in fervent thanksgiving to 
 our Saviour for this signal proof of his mercy. As long as 
 we remained in Egypt the man continued to approve himself 
 a consistent follower of Jesus." 
 
 Besides the Brethren already mentioned, there were also 
 a Mr. Herman and a Mr. Roller. Their work was of a 
 desultory character — only two points seem to have been 
 occupied, Cairo and Behnessa. But they visited Farshut, 
 Benisuef, Manfalut, Ekhmim, Girga, Samalut, Kolassani, 
 Kus, Abu Girgha and other places. Their instructions were : 
 " Not to interfere with the ecclesiastical relations of the 
 native Christians, nor to enter into discussion of polemical 
 subjects ; but in all their intercourse to endeavor to direct 
 attention to the essence of Christianity, and to impart advice 
 to such as listened to them according to the Scriptures and 
 their own experience ; and teach them how, by means of 
 Jesus' merits, they might obtain rest for their souls, true 
 holiness of life, and evangelical liberty, which leave the
 
 IN Egypt. 31 
 
 conscience unfettered by human tradition." They strictly 
 adhered to these instructions, and earnestly sought to turn 
 the hearts of those who heard them to the Saviour for pardon, 
 peace, and eternal life. How far they were successful is 
 only known at present to Him who sees and knows all, but 
 will be revealed to the praise of the glory of His grace at 
 •the last day. Surely if faithfulness and zeal have their 
 reward, these Brethren who labored in Egypt during those 
 troublous times will not be forgotten. They made no 
 attempt to organize those who accepted their teaching for 
 mutual edification or for work in the Master's cause, and, 
 therefore, to the human eye, after half a century, nothing 
 remained of their work. Whether it would have been pos- 
 sible then to have succeeded in effecting any sort of organi- 
 zation for the service of Christ, and for mutual profit, we 
 cannot say. Their efforts began about 1752 and ended 
 about the close of the century. 
 
 The second recorded effort to do foreign mission work 
 in Egypt was in connection with the Church Mission Society. 
 I cannot do better than to quote from the " Gleaner," pub- 
 lished by that Society, the following account of its labors in 
 Egypt from 18 19 to the year 1849 : 
 
 " After the overthrow of Napoleon, the Mediterranean 
 seemed an open highway for missionary effort, and in less 
 than three months, after the battle of Waterloo, the Rev. 
 W. Jowett was on his way to Malta. He was to visit and 
 to correspond with the ecclesiastics at the head of the differ- 
 ent communions, Greek, Armenian, Coptic, Maronite, etc., 
 with a view to the spread of education and the circulation of 
 the Holy Scriptures. Among other places visited by Mr. 
 Jowett was Egypt. He was there for some months in 18 19, 
 and in 1820, and again in 1823, and had much intercourse 
 with the priests and monks of the Coptic Church, the 
 Patriarch giving him letters of introduction to several of the 
 convents, and he distributed many copies of the Arabic 
 Scriptures. One of the most interesting results of his visits 
 was the purchase of a remarkable manuscript translation of
 
 32 The American Mission 
 
 the Bible in Amliaric, tlie vernacular language of Abyssinia. 
 This translation had been made a few years before by the 
 French consul at Cairo, M. Asselin de Cherville, assisted 
 by an aged Abyssinian monk named Abu Rumi. The manu- 
 script consisted of no less than 9,539 pages, the whole writ- 
 ten out by Abu Rumi in the Amharic character. It was 
 purchased by Mr, Jowett for the Bible Society ; and portions 
 of it were printed, many thousands of copies of which were 
 afterwards circulated by Gobat, Kraff, and other Church 
 Mission Society missionaries in Abyssinia. The revision of 
 this version for the Bible Society was one of the tasks of 
 Kraff's old age, and it was finished only three years ago, 
 (i. e., in 1879), and printed at the St. Chrischona Mission 
 Press, near Basle." 
 
 At the end of 1825, five missionaries were sent by the 
 Society to Egypt. Tliese were : Samuel Gobat (after- 
 wards Bishop of Jerusalem), J. R. T. Leider, Theodore 
 Muller, William Kruse, and Christian Kugler. All five were 
 Germans from Basle Seminary. Gobat and Kugler after- 
 W'lrds went to Abyssinia ; the rest traveled up and down 
 Ecypt, visiting the Coptic schools, distributing portions of 
 the Scriptures, and making known the true Gospel. 
 
 Subsequently they opened schools in Cairo — one for 
 gills and one for boys. In 1833, a boarding school for boys 
 was opened with ten pupils in attendance. In 1834, a small 
 chapel was erected. In 1835, the mission was interrupted 
 on account of a terrible visitation of cholera. In 1840, the 
 mission reported six places in the city where religious ser- 
 vices were held among the Copts, for the reading of God's 
 Word, with the sanction of the Patriarch — who remarked 
 on one occasion that it was better for his people to meet to 
 read the Scriptures than to drink arak and commit sin. 
 
 In all these Eastern missions the Society's ultimate 
 object was to reach the Muhammadans, but the difficulties of 
 such a work at that time are illustrated by an incident 
 recorded by Mr. Gobat: " A Turkish woman having mar- 
 ried a Greek, had the mark of the Cross made on her arm.
 
 
 o 
 
 1-i 
 
 t-b 
 
 O 
 
 3 
 
 ft) 
 
 o 
 
 
 *
 
 IN Egypt. 33 
 
 She was on that account arrested, and on confessing herself 
 a Christian, was put into a boat on the Nile, and her clothes 
 and ornaments having been stripped off and her hands tied 
 behind her back, was thrown into the river and drowned." 
 
 In 1835 Muller retired, but Lieder and Kruse remained 
 for many years. Little, however, was accomplished by the 
 Church Mission Society at that time except the distribution 
 of many copies of the Holy Scriptures, or portions thereof, 
 and a beginning made in the education of the young. An 
 attempt was also made to establish a theological school for 
 the training of Coptic priests, but it is said that only one of 
 the young men who were under training entered the service, 
 he being the young priest who was subsequently appointed 
 bishop of Abyssinia. The chief reason for want of success 
 was stated by Bishop Gobat himself in 1850, just four years 
 before our mission was begun : 
 
 "The missionaries seem to follow almost too strictly the 
 plan on which the mission was begun, to seek tlie friendship 
 of the clergy, especially the higher clergy, of the Eastern 
 Churches, with a view of influencing them gently, in the 
 hope that by slow degrees they would become convinced of 
 their errors and themselves reform their respective Churches. 
 But the system has failed, and I am convinced that it will 
 ever fail with the several Eastern Churches, as well as with 
 the Church of Rome. Individual conversions must be the 
 aim, as the only means of prosecuting reformation." He 
 further says, in regard to the results of the Church Mission 
 Society's efforts in Egypt: 
 
 "Besides the dissemination of the Word of God and 
 other good books in all parts of Egypt, and the scriptural 
 though imperfect education of youth, the results of the mis- 
 sion are the conversion of a few individuals, some of whom 
 have died in the faith, a few enlightened young men 
 dispersed through Egypt — while many members of the dif- 
 ferent communities have been led to doubt the truth of 
 their superstitions and traditions. Yet upon the whole it 
 must be confessed that the Egyptian Mission has not had the 
 success which might have been expected." 
 2
 
 34 The American Mission 
 
 Notwithstanding these observations of Bishop Gobat, I 
 believe that through the circulation of copies of the Word 
 of God by the Church Mission Society missionaries through- 
 out the Nile valley, hundreds of persons had their knowledge 
 of the way of salvation corrected, their faith directed away 
 from their own works, to the death and suffering and 
 obedience of the Son of God as the reason and ground of 
 salvation from sin and its consequences; and much good seed 
 was sown which afterv/ards brought fruit unto eternal life. 
 In the great day when all secrets shall be revealed it will, 1 
 have no doubt, be found that our mission has in not a few 
 places reaped where the Church Mission Society formerly 
 sowed. 
 
 About two years before Brothers McCague and Barnett 
 reached Egypt, Dr. Jos. P. Thompson, of New York, visited 
 Egypt, and wrote in his book entitled "Egypt; Past and 
 Present," as follows : 
 
 "Rev. Mr. Lieder has done good among the Copts, and 
 the young men whom he has instructed refuse on conscien- 
 tious grounds to enter the priesthood of this corrupt Church. 
 His school for boys is abandoned for want of means and 
 helpers, though Mrs. Lieder continues that for girls, which 
 embraces both Copts and Muhammadans. The way is open 
 then for new agencies without infringing upon other men's 
 labors or undervaluing their work. I am happy to state that 
 Dr. Paulding, the esteemed missionary of the Associate 
 Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, now at 
 Damascus, contemplates an early removal to Cairo, and also 
 that the American Missionary Association has resolved to 
 establish a Mission among the Copts."* 
 
 * Dr. Paulding was married to the sister of Dr. Barnett, who, with Dr. 
 McCague, founded our American Mission in Egypt.
 
 ^[iiliamad Ali.
 
 IN Egypt. 35 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Condition of Egypt at the time our Mission began in 1854 — Government — 
 Society — Muhamiriadans — Copts — Jews — Morals — Slaver>-. 
 
 Before entering upon the actual history of our Mission in 
 Egypt, it seems necessary to say something about the state 
 of the field and the character of the people, in order to under- 
 stand the need for mission work, and the difficulties as well 
 as duties of the missionary in this particular field. 
 
 I. The Government. Egypt had passed through 
 many changes of rulers since Christianity entered in the first 
 century. The Romans as pagans dominated Egypt until 
 Constantine the Great, about 325 A. D. Then the Romans 
 as Christians governed it until 395 A. D., wlien the Byzan- 
 tines ruled it until the Persians invaded and took it in 619, 
 only to be expelled by Heraclius after ten years' possession. 
 In 638 A. D. Amr-Ibn-El-As conquered it for Muhammadan- 
 ism, which from that time to this has continued to be the 
 prevailing religion. There have, however, been various 
 dynasties and families holding the reins of government : The 
 Abbasides until 969, the Fatimites until 1171, the Ayyubides 
 until 1 3 19, the Bahrite Mameluke Sultans until 1361, the 
 Circassian Mamelukes till 15 17, the Turks and their Mame- 
 lukes until 1771, then the French invasion and occupation 
 from 1798 to 1 80 1. After this the dynasty of Muhammad 
 Ali, which remains until the present time. Muhammad All 
 was born at Kavalla in Roumelia in 1769, and became col- 
 onel of an Albanian corps in Egypt. He was put forward 
 by the French as a man suited to counteract English influence 
 in the country. In 1807 he frustrated an attempt of the 
 English to take possession of Egypt. After having succeeded
 
 36 The American Mission 
 
 in remcving most of his enemies, Muhammad Ali was ap- 
 pointed by the Sultan governor of Egypt. On March i, 
 1811, he treacherously assassinated all the Mameluke beys 
 who thwarted his efforts and prevented the progress of the 
 country. He sent his son to the Hajaz and humbled the 
 Wahhabii'n. Though a thorough-going despot, Muhammad 
 Ali greatly improved the government of Egypt, repressedj 
 brigandage and robbery, introduced many reforms in the S)'S- 
 tem of administration, and though often severe, was on the 
 whole a just ruler, especially as compared with those who 
 preceded him for many centuries. Egypt, firmly and moder- 
 ately governed, enjoyed " under him a state of peace and 
 good order, to which it had been a stranger for generations, 
 and attained a commanding position among the surrounding 
 nations. The pasha was not, however, without ambitious 
 aims in the direction of independence," So great were his 
 resources that he waged a highly successful war with his 
 sovereign, the Sultan of Turkey, took Syria and a great part 
 of Asia Minor, and might have taken Constantinople had not 
 the European powers unjustly arrested his progress. He was 
 obliged to give up his conquests, which he was far better 
 qualified to govern than the Turk, but he had secured for 
 himself and his natural heirs the pashalic of Egypt. "He 
 was succeeded while yet alive by his son Ibrahim Pasha for 
 a few months. This son was the able commander of the 
 Egyptian army in the war with Turkey. After him, in 
 1849, Abbas Pasha, a grandson of Muhammad Ali, governed 
 Egypt. He is said to have been a vicious, brutal and rapa- 
 cious ruler, who tried to undo all the good his grandfather 
 had accomplished. He died not without suspicions of vio- 
 lence — indeed, it is said that he was strangled by his own 
 Kavases." Abbas Pasha was succeeded by Said Pasha in 
 the year 1854 — the very year in which Brothers McCague 
 and Barnett entered Egypt and commenced mission work in 
 Cairo. He was a kind and enlightened prince, and had a 
 decided taste for European civilization. " He equalized the 
 incidence of the taxes, abolished monopolies, improved the
 
 IN EG^'PT. 
 
 37 
 
 canals and completed the railways to Cairo and Suez, which 
 had been be^i;un in 1850." In view of his liberal mind and 
 just rei^n, there had been no such favorable time for com- 
 mencing missionary work during the previous 1200 years. 
 How different from the time when the Moravian missionaries 
 were seeking to lead the Coptic people to purer views of 
 Christian doctrine and a higher plane of Christian life; for 
 they were in constant dread of the ruling powers and in con- 
 tinual danger of being robbed or killed; but in 1854 the li\'es 
 and property of Europeans were almost as safe as under 
 European governments, and the natives of the country had 
 the fullest freedom to hold the religious beliefs in which they 
 were born and trained ; or, if they belonged to a Christian 
 sect, to change their views and unite with any other Chris- 
 tian sect. It was still unlawful, however, for a Muslim to 
 become a Christian, but anyone born and brought up as a 
 Christian was, before the law, on an equal it\^ with the 
 Muslim — only the executors of the law, being Muslims, very 
 frequently favored the followers of Islam, and the kali's 
 court was still the nursery of Muhammadan pride and the 
 conservatory of anathemas against Christians and Jews. 
 Native Christians and Jews were, notwithstanding, quite 
 free to choose and conduct any business in any department, 
 while the houses of foreigners could not be entered, nor their 
 persons touched, by any olficial, without the consent of their 
 own consular authority. Compared with Great Britain or 
 America, it might be said that much oppression still existed 
 in Egypt, for government officials carried on a system of 
 petty plunder in the collection of taxes, and accepted bribes 
 in the decision of questions connected with crimes of every 
 degree and character. Still, as compared with the state of 
 things before the days of Muhammad Ali, there was much 
 improvement in the administration of the government and 
 the execution of the laws. Here I will quote from the first 
 annual report of the missionaries who first occupied Cairo on 
 behalf of our Church — nay, but on behalf of Him who said : 
 ** Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every
 
 38 The American Mission 
 
 creature." It is signed by James Barnett and Thomas Mc- 
 Cague, and is dated April, 1855 : 
 
 "In introducing you and tlie Church to our field of labor 
 we wish you to look at the whole of Egypt, and all the region 
 which is contiguous, especially the northeastern part of the 
 spacious continent of Africa. This vast compass embraces 
 an area of three millions (3,000,000) of square miles, 
 blessed with a great variety of climate and every quality of 
 soil, from the richest loam deposited by the Nile, to the ever 
 shifting sands on the vast barren desert, and covered more 
 densely or sparsely with eight millions (8,000,000) of inhab- 
 itants in every stage of civilization, from the most refined 
 inhabiting great cities to the most rude and savage wandering 
 in the howling wilderness — all are marked in their great 
 outlines by a uniformity of character, customs and manners, 
 where under regular government, oppression and rapacity 
 prevail on the part of the rulers and a stubborn submission 
 with an indolent careless life on the part of the ruled. This 
 state of things has exerted itself so long that all individual 
 ■enterprise and self-respect are reduced to the lowest ebb, 
 wherever the paralyzing influence of despotic power has 
 been felt, and the traveler wanders over the ruins of vast 
 cities at every stage of his progress, exciting his pity as he 
 reflects on the sad changes which 'man's inhumanity to man' 
 has wrought during the history of his race. Among the 
 uncivilized and wandering tribes a love of independence is 
 the chief feature, and war and plunder are the principal 
 pursuits of life. Cairo itself in point of importance is the 
 second city in the Turkish Empire. It is the capital of Egypt, 
 containing from 250,000 to 300,000 inhabitants. It is situated 
 near the Nile, a hundred miles inland, south of Alexandria 
 and seventy miles west of Suez at the head of the Red Sea. 
 With the former place it has communication with railroad 
 and steamboat, and there is an excellent turnpike to the 
 latter which ere long will give place to a railway; while the 
 Nile affords ready facilities for easy and rapid intercourse to 
 the north and south with the multitudinous inhabitants set-
 
 IN EGYPT. 
 
 39 
 
 tied In cities and villages all along its fertile banks. The 
 central position which this city occupies and the extensive 
 influence which it exerts on all the surrounding region, 
 makes it an important advance post to the missionaries m 
 looking to regions still beyond and further inland. Situated 
 between Western enterprise and Oriental listlessness and 
 inactivity, it has become a resort for hundreds of the more 
 adventurous Europeans and of refugees from despotic 
 oppression; since for foreigners there is perfect freedom of 
 opinion under the government of the Turk. Being on the 
 great thoroughfare between the Eastern and Western 
 worlds, twice a month crowds of passengers on their way to 
 and from India are detained a day or two — and every winter 
 great numbers of travelers seeking pleasure, wealth or 
 knowledge spend whole months in the country. The inter- 
 course which the natives are compelled to have, by mere 
 force of circumstances, with foreigners, many of them of the 
 highest character; the passing events of every day; the stir 
 and active bustle of business which they continually witness; 
 all this is materially affecting them, and many are beginning 
 to awake to a sense of the changes that are coming over the 
 inhabitants of the land. Among these, infidelity to long- 
 established systems of false religion, if not universal scep- 
 ticism, is becoming a prominent feature, which, though it 
 exerts for the time being a deleterious influence, seems to be 
 the only road, by which the long-abused faculties of the 
 human mind can be brought back to the truths of a pure 
 Gospel. In all this wide-spread region so interesting in its 
 associations, and among this vast number of inhabitants at a 
 time so important, when everything is in a transition state 
 there are, including ourselves, only eight* Protestant mis- 
 sionaries all settled in lower Egypt, and only feebly sustained 
 by fivef different societies. Most of the missionaries have 
 only newly arrived on the field, and only one is sufficiently 
 
 * Lieder, Laurie, Kruse, Martin, Barnett, McCague, Dr. Philip and his 
 colleague. 
 
 t Church Mission Society, Jewish Mission. American Mission So- 
 ciety, United Presbyterian Mission, and Scottish Mission.
 
 40 The American Mission 
 
 acquainted with the vernacular to maintain the formal 
 preaching of the Word."* 
 
 The chief religious beliefs of the Egyptian at the time 
 our mission began were practically the same as at the pres- 
 ent time — the Muhammadans, the Orthodox Coptic and 'the 
 Jewish? There were, besides, a few Catholic Copts, and 
 some Orthodox Greeks, and Armenians, but missionary 
 work was, and has been, generally restricted to the followers 
 of the three chief beliefs mentioned. The Muhammadans 
 formed, perhaps, nine-tenths of the native population of 
 Egypt, while they held the reins of government, and all the 
 offices of administration — the Copts being employed only in 
 subordinate positions, chiefly, in the capacity of clerks and 
 tax-gatherers. Islam had dominated the country so long 
 that it had given to the whole population its social customs 
 and habits, moulding the whole body politic — even the hated 
 Christians and Jews had, perhaps unconsciously to them- 
 selves, adopted in their homes and in business much that 
 was Muhammadan in its origin. 
 
 Soon after Muhammad's death a difference arose as to 
 his successor. By the great majority Abu Bakr was regarded 
 as the one whom the Prophet himself intended to succeed 
 him ; but some considering that the succession should be in 
 the family of Muhammad himself held that Ali, the husband 
 of the Prophet's only surviving daughter Fatima, had the 
 right to the Khalifat. This gave rise to two parties and to 
 subsequent strife and wars. Those who adhered to Abu 
 Bakr's claims were called Sunnis : those who recognized 
 Ali's claim were called Shiahs. The Sunnis, called the 
 Orthodox party, afterwards divided into four chief sects, or 
 Schools of interpretation, called, respectively, the Hanafiyah, 
 the Shafiiyah, the Malakiyah, and the Hambaliyah. The 
 Muhammadans in Egypt are for the most part Shafiiyahs. 
 Besides these, there are many other divisions among the 
 followers of Muhammad ; some say as many as seventy- 
 three different sects, but in all dealings with Christians they 
 are practically one. 
 
 *Rev. James Barnett.
 
 /•' 
 
 
 Sheikh Es Sadat.
 
 IN Egypt. 
 
 41 
 
 11. MUHAMMADANISM IN EGYPT. In our day it has 
 become the custom in some quarters to sound the praises of 
 Islam, sometimes even at the expense of Christianity : just 
 as a hundred years ago it was impossible for the people of the 
 West to see anything in it except license to plunder, oppress, 
 and gratify the lowest of human passions. Some people 
 look at it in the light of some of its great doctrines, such as 
 the unity and spirituality of God ; rewards and punish- 
 ments ; obligations of children towards their parents ; the 
 duties of prayer and almsgiving, and the requirements of 
 justice ; and regard it as the rival of the Christian religion. 
 Others look at it through the "Suras"* of the Koran, 
 and find it a heterogeneous collection and agglomeration of 
 facts and fictions, superstitions, and wild rhapsodies, with a 
 few moral precepts pertaining to man's relation to God ; 
 and special regulations for the subordination and treatment 
 of women ; and for the division of estates, etc.; with many 
 uncharitable declarations, ejaculations, denunciations, and 
 threatenings upon infidels — the whole, the production of a 
 brain unbalanced and a heart full of zeal and hate. Others 
 look at it in the events of history, in the moral character and 
 actions of its founder and its primal promulgators, propa- 
 gating its tenets, and establishing its power by the sword ; 
 and sweeping with irresistible force over the East, the West, 
 the North and the South, until it threatened the total extinc- 
 tion of the nominal religion : such generally look upon it 
 as a plague and a punishment to evil-doers, a fierce messen- 
 ger of God to take vengeance on those who in the name of 
 the meek and lowly Jesus had changed the truth into a lie, 
 and converted the religion of divine grace into a means of 
 lording over men's consciences and getting possession of 
 their money. 
 
 The missionary naturally inquires less about its origin 
 and past history than about its present ability to save the 
 individual, and to regulate and purify society. The mis- 
 sionary leaves his home with the desire to save men from 
 
 * Chapters.
 
 42 The American Mission 
 
 the power, pollution, and the condemnation of sin both in 
 this world and the next; and he naturally asks. Does Islam 
 save the sinner, and how does it propose to save him? 
 What is in it to restrain the wicked, to help the penitent, to 
 relieve the oppressed, to lift up the downcast, to aid the 
 weak, and to encourage the sincere struggler after a higher 
 life to remain steadfast unto the end? What examples does 
 it give of purity of life, of crucifixion of self, and of deliv- 
 erance from unholy and worldly ambition? The missionary 
 inquires. What is its teaching concerning God, man's relation 
 to God ; the way to secure pardon and eternal life and hap- 
 piness ; the obligations laid upon him towards the Creator, 
 and his fellow-creatures in tlie various relations of human 
 existence ; and what is the present effect of Islam on the 
 human heart and life, in the home, in the bazaar, in the 
 courts of justice, and in the palace? On inquiry and by 
 observation he finds that Islam like Christianity has its 
 doctrines to be believed and its duties to be performed. It 
 has six chief articles of belief: the unity (and spirituality) 
 of God, the angels, the inspired books, the inspired proph- 
 ets, the day of judgment, and the decrees of God. 
 
 Tlic Unity of God is the foundation of the Muiiammadan 
 belief. The conception of the one God filled the soul of the 
 Prophet of Arabia and inspired him with an unquenchable 
 enthusiasm. It impelled him not only to determined and per- 
 sistent opposition to all systems of idolatry and polytheism, 
 but also to the Trinity of persons in the one God of the 
 Christians. As the crucifixion was a stumbling-block to the 
 Jews, so the Trinity ever has been a stumbling-block to the 
 Muslim. 
 
 TJic Spirituality of Ct^*^ • necessarily follows his unity. 
 In the Muslim's conception of God everything material is 
 eliminated. In this respect he is quite on a par with the 
 Christian, and quite superior to many Christians, for he 
 cannot endure any pictures or images of the Deity ; and he 
 shrinks from the use of figurative language in which human 
 organs are applied to God, such as arms, eyes, ears, etc., of
 
 • IN Egypt. 43 
 
 which there is much in the Old Testament Scriptures. A 
 Muslim never says, "God is in every place," but rather, 
 " His knowledge embraces every place," — they do not wisli 
 to locate Him even in every place, lest they might be setting 
 bounds to the Almighty. 
 
 Ang-els. The Muhammadans believe that the angels 
 are formed of a substance resembling litiht, and are endowed 
 with life, speech and reason. Four of them are archangels. 
 Every believer is attended by two recording angels, one 
 keeps a record of his good deeds, and the other of his bad 
 deeds. There are also two angels, the one called Munkir, 
 the other Nakeer, who examine all the dead in their graves. 
 The chief angel who has charge of the place of torment is 
 called Malik; nineteen others are associated with him. 
 Eight angels support the throne of God. 
 
 The Inspired Books. These are the Torah (the Penta- 
 teuch), the Prophecies, the Psalms, the Gospels, and the 
 Koran. The Muslim professes to believe in all these, but 
 insists that the latest, i. e., the Koran, contains all that is 
 necessary for man for this life, or the life to come — while 
 most of them assert that the other books have been tam- 
 pered with by the Jews and Christians, and cannot be relied 
 on to decide any question on which there may be difference 
 of opinion between the Muhammadans and the adherents of 
 other religions. 
 
 The Inspired Prop/iets. A prophet, according to Muham- 
 madan parlance, is any one inspired of God. Muhammad 
 is related to have said that there w^ere 124,000 prophets and 
 315 apostles — the names of twenty-five are given in the 
 Koran. It is said there were three prophetesses : Sarah, 
 Abraham's wife, the mother of Moses, and Mar_\-, thQ 
 mother of Jesus. 
 
 The Day of Judgnie)it. This is called by various names, 
 such as the day of the resurrection, the day of separation, 
 the day of reck'oning, the day of awakening, the encompass- 
 ing day, and the hour, it is the general belief among them 
 that at the resurrection the body will be raised up and united
 
 44 The American Mission 
 
 to the soul, and that one part of the body, os sacrum, will 
 be preserved as a basis for the future bodily edifice. The 
 time of the resurrection is known only to God, but the ap- 
 proach of the day may be known from certain signs, some 
 called greater and some less; among the latter are the decay 
 of Islam, the low and ignorant occupying high places, tumults 
 and seditions; among the former, the sun rising in the West, 
 the appearance of the beast of sixty cubits high, the coming of 
 the antichrist, the descent of Jesus on earth the second 
 time, war with the Jews, the appearance of Gog and Magog, 
 and the beasts of the field speaking human language. The 
 resurrection will be general, extending not only to men, good 
 and bad, but also to angels, genii, and animals. Mankind in 
 the judgment will be in three classes — those going on foot, 
 those riding, and those creeping. The first is composed of 
 those whose good deeds were few, the second those who are 
 in great honor with God, and the third the infidels, who will 
 then be blind, deaf and dumb. 
 
 The Decrees of God, or Predestination, is the sixth article 
 of the Muhammadan faith. By this it is taught that what- 
 ever has been or shall be in the world, whether good or bad, 
 proceeds entirely from the divine will, and has been irrevo- 
 cably fixed and recorded on a tablet by the pen of fate and 
 preserved on high. This is the plain teaching of the Koran. 
 Among its sayings on this subject are the following: " No 
 one can die except by God's permission, according to the 
 book that fixes the term of life." ** God slew them, and 
 those shafts were God's, not man's." "By no means can 
 aught befall us but what God has destined for us." " God 
 misleadeth whom He will, and whom He will he leadeth." 
 "All sovereignty is in the hands of God." It is related also 
 that Aluhammad taught that "God hath preordained five 
 things in regard to his servants — the duration of life, their 
 actions, their dwelling place, their travels, and their portions." 
 " The first thing that God created was a pen, and He said 
 to it, 'Write.' It said, 'What shall I write?' God said, 
 ' Write down the quantity of every individual thing to be
 
 The 112th Coptic Patriarch.
 
 IN Egypt. 45 
 
 created,' and it wrote all that has been and all that will be 
 to eternity. ' ' Many are the treatises and books in the Muham- 
 madan literature on this subject. 
 
 There are three well-defined schools on the decrees. 
 First, the Gahrians, or compulsionists, who deny all free 
 agency in man and assert that he is ever impelled by the 
 force of God's eternal and immutable decree to act as he 
 does, without the least choice in the matter; and that God, 
 as the absolute Lord and Master, can, if He will, admit all 
 men into Paradise, or cast all into everlasting fire. Second, 
 the Kadrians, who deny absolute decrees, and say that evil 
 and injustice ought not to be attributed to God, but to man, 
 who is practically a free agent, for God has endowed him 
 with the power to reason, choose and act according to what 
 is pleasing to himself. Third, the Ash'arians, who maintain 
 that God has one eternal will, which is applied to whatsoever 
 He wills, both of His own actions and those of men and 
 angels — that He wills that which He knows and what is writ- 
 ten on the preserved tablet, whether it may be good or evil. 
 The common belief in Egypt approaches fatalism, the free will 
 of man and angels being practically denied. Often have I 
 heard the Muslim excuse an evil deed in himself .or another 
 by saying : " It was written ; it was decreed ; it had to be." 
 
 I have given this brief summary of the articles of the 
 Muhammadan faith without any attempt at approval or dis- 
 approval, but solely to give the reader some idea of the 
 system. 
 
 I will now mention briefly the chief observances required 
 of those persons who profess the faith of Islam. The most 
 important duties required of the Muhammadans are five, viz. : 
 
 1. The recital of the creed. 
 
 2. The observance of the five stated seasons of prayer 
 every day. 
 
 3- The fast of thirty days. 
 
 4. The giving of the legal alms. 
 
 5. The pilgrimage to Mecca.
 
 46 The American Mission 
 
 I. The Creed. This is very brief. It is literally trans- 
 lated, " There is no God but God, and Muhammad is the 
 Apostle of God " It is said by Muhammadans that the first 
 part of the creed has been held and recited by all true 
 believers from the beginning of the woild; but the second 
 part of it has been different in different ages of the world and 
 chancres in accordance with the circumstances of each dis- 
 pensation. At the time of Moses until the coming of Christ 
 it was, " and Moses is the servant of God." At the time of 
 Christ and until the appearance of Muhammad it was, "and 
 Esa (Jesus) is the Spirit of God." From the time of 
 Muhammad until the end of the world it is, "and Muham- 
 mad is the Apostle of God." No one is considered to be 
 converted to Islam until he formally and religiously repeats 
 the creed in the following form : "I testify that there is no 
 God but God, and Muhammad is the Apostle of God." 
 Whenever this testimony has been thus made by anyone, 
 he is regarded as a true Muslim. This is the initiatory 
 ordinance in the Muhammadan system, just as baptism is the 
 initiatory ordinance of the Christian religion. Whenever a 
 Christian is about to declare himself a Muhammadan this 
 initiatory ordinance is attended with public manifestations of 
 joy, such as marching through the streets, chanting passages 
 from the Koran, and making opprobrious ejaculations con- 
 cerning the faith of the Christians and Jews. 
 
 2. TJie five stated seasons fcv prayers everyday are 
 the early dawn of the morning, when the sun has just began 
 to decline at noon, in the middle of the afternoon, immed- 
 iately after sunset and an hour and a half after sunset. The 
 greater number of Muslims do not, however, observe all these 
 times, prayer at the early dawn being often omitted by many 
 who observe the other stated hours. Many also seldom pray 
 at all, unlesss it may be during the month of fasting when 
 it is most generally observed by the men. Not many women 
 ever pray. Prayer, with the Muslim, is for the most part 
 mere repetition of the first chapter of the Koran, and other 
 passages from their Scriptures ; and that, too, in a fixed
 
 IN Egypt. 47 
 
 order, and with certain bodily inflexions and movements cor- 
 responding to the passages repeated. No deviation from the 
 prescribed order of bodily movements is allowed. Prayer 
 must be preceded by ablution in water, if possible, otherwise 
 with clean sand. The hands, feet, face, mouth and nostrils 
 are carefully washed. No doubt this requirement has a 
 refreshing influence in these hot countries and prepares a 
 man for tlie enjoyment of the devotional exercises. 
 
 There is nothing like secret prayer in the Muhammadan 
 system — prayer in their own homes is quite common, but it has 
 nothing of the characteristics of secret prayer in the Christian 
 religion. It is not the uprising of the hungry soul towards 
 Him who can fill it with what it needs, it is not secret com- 
 munion with the Heavenly Father, it is not the soul pouring 
 out its tale of sorrow, or trial, or sin, or gratitude to Him 
 who since He was in all points tempted as we are, is able to 
 succor them that are tempted. In the estimation of the 
 Muhammadan prayer in the congregation is of much more 
 virtue than prayer in the home, or in retirement. The out- 
 ward form, too, must be rigidly observed in secret as wx-ll as 
 in public, and all the appointed preliminaries carefully 
 observed in the one as in the other. The value of prayer is 
 considered to be very great, and this act of devotion is 
 punctiliously performed by the many, but as Dean Stanley 
 says: " The ceremonial character of prayer is carried to a 
 pitch beyond the utmost demands of Rome or Russia. It is 
 reduced to a mechanical act as distinct from a mental act, 
 beyond any ritual in the West. It is striking to see the 
 figures along the banks of the Nile going through their pros- 
 trations at the setting of the sun with the uniformity and 
 regularity of clockwork, but it resembles the worship of 
 machines rather than of reasonable beings." If form and 
 regularity be the essence of prayer, then the Muhammadan 
 stands very high ; but if it be the freedom of loving com- 
 munion, then he stands very low. He needs the injunction 
 of the Saviour as much as did the Jews : " But thou when 
 thou prayest enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut
 
 48 The American Mission 
 
 thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret ; and thy 
 Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." 
 
 3. The montli of fasting is a very important part of 
 practical religion with the Muslim. As lunar months make 
 the Muhammadan year, the month of fasting comes earlier 
 every year and in the course of about thirty years v^'ill 
 again begin at the same period of our solar year. When 
 the fast falls in summer it is a heavy trial, especially on 
 those who are compelled to work or to be in the sun all day, 
 since it is unlawful to eat, drink, or smoke, or do anything 
 for the ease or gratification of the body from early dawn 
 until the sun goes down. Even cold water is denied them. 
 This in summer is a very difficult prohibition to observe, and 
 1 have no doubt that many suffer from the want of water ; 
 while others are driven to break their fast in secret while 
 they make an outward appearance of observing it. The value 
 of fasting is held to be very great. It becomes practically the 
 ground of forgiveness with God. "The five stated prayers 
 erase the sins which have been committed during the inter- 
 vals between them if they have not been mortal sins." 
 " Every good act that a man does shall receive from ten to 
 seven hundred rewards, but the reward of fasting is for God 
 alone and he will give its rewards." 
 
 Although they pretend to be fasting during the thirty 
 days of Ramadan, yet during this month Muhammadans eat 
 more, drink more, revel more, and indulge all bodily passions 
 more, and quarrel more than during any other month in the 
 year ; for night is turned into day, and feasting and revelry 
 continue until the night is far spent ; and yet this is consid- 
 ered to be a service of God, the pure Spirit ! 
 
 4. The giving of alms is the fourth duty of Muham- 
 madans. It is greatly extolled in the Koran and in all 
 Muhammadan literature. The proportional amount to be 
 given in alms is said to be one-fortieth part of the person's 
 income. Many give much more than this, but little dis- 
 crimination is made in the giving of alms. The public beg- 
 gars, many of whom are not needy, but conduct their begging
 
 Coptic Catholic ]\Ictropolitan.
 
 IN Egypt. 4g 
 
 as a business, which is often more profitable than work ; 
 these through their importunity get the largest share, while 
 the needy and suffering are neglected. Homes for the 
 widows and the orphans and the aged are unknown, and 
 though this want is partially supplied through the kindness 
 of relatives, who according to the customs of the country 
 feel obliged to render assistance, still in many cases there is 
 great suffering among these unfortunates whom the public 
 * alms never reaches. 
 
 5. The fifth duty incumbent upon the Muslim is the 
 pilgrimage to Mecca, their Holy City. This is a sacred 
 duty binding on all. Only ill health, slavery, or inability 
 to bear the expense of the journey can release the Muslim 
 from this obligation. The pilgrimage is to be made during 
 the last month of the Muhammadan year or during the feast 
 of the sacrifice, two months after the month of Ramadan. 
 Very strict injunctions are to be observed as. to the dress and 
 conduct during the pilgrimage. Great merit is acquired by 
 performing this journey in the prescribed manner ; but the 
 omission of this duty, while the man has the ability to per- 
 form it, is a mortal sin. The Prophet is reported to have 
 said that " He who makes the pilgrimage for God's sake and 
 does not talk loosely, nor act wickedly by the way, shall 
 return as pure from sin as the day on which he was born. 
 Verily it puts away poverty and sin as the fires of a forge 
 remove dross. The reward of a pilgrimage is paradise. 
 When you see a pilgrim, salute and embrace him, and 
 request him to ask pardon of God for you, for his own sins 
 have been forgiven and his supplication will be accepted." 
 
 Such were the chief tenets and religious requirements 
 of the religion of nine-tenths of the inhabitants of the Nile 
 valley when our first missionaries, McCague and Barnett, 
 arrived in Egypt, near the close of 1854. In looking at this 
 religion, whether in the pages of the Koran or the lives of its 
 devotees, they could not help instituting a comparison 
 between it and the Christian religion. They found that 
 there are many points of contact between the Muhamma- 
 
 3
 
 50 The American Mission 
 
 danism of the Koran and the Christianity of the scriptures 
 of the Old and New Testaments, and it was a matter for 
 thankfulness to find such close resemblance between the 
 Muhammadan's conception of the unity and attributes of 
 God and that of the Christian. But it seemed strange to 
 them, as it does to us to find such utter incompatibility 
 between that conception of God and the kind of service 
 which is required by the Koran to be rendered to this God, 
 who is all spirit. The utter formalism and evident want of 
 spirituality in the Muhammadan worship of a spiritual God 
 are patent to every one. Our first missionaries could not 
 help seeing, also, two conspicuous omissions in the Muhamma- 
 dan teaching : There is no mention of the fall of man and 
 the corruption of his nature through sin, and no mention of 
 any atonement. The doctrine of the Incarnation is missing, 
 and indeed with the denial of the Trinity there is no pos- 
 sibility for its existence. Therefore the Muhammadans 
 know nothing of the Saviour who is able to save the sinner 
 from his sins, whether as to their legal and just penalty, or 
 their actual widespread power and pollution in his heart and 
 in his life. The missionaries soon learned that whatever 
 might be the doctrines and injunctions of Islam, it did not, 
 notwithstanding that all the officials were Muslims, either 
 produce good government or restrain unholy passions among 
 the people, or despotic and unjust acts among the rulers. 
 They found that society was utterly corrupt, and business 
 carried on by deceitful practices, and the courts characterized 
 by corruption and bribery. They soon discovered that 
 whatever virtues were fostered by Islam they were not of 
 the humble and tender kind. It might boast of valor and a 
 kind of hospitality and justice, but it knew little of tender- 
 ness, humility, and philanthropy. It shut up in their homes 
 one-half of the inhabitants, taught them that they are a 
 lower order of beings, created by God for the convenience, 
 the pleasure or the profit of the other half. They found Islam 
 utterly opposed to the idea of religious liberty. With it the 
 Muslim was everything, before God, before the kadi, and
 
 IN EGYPT. 
 
 51 
 
 before the civil ruler. Christianity and Judaism only existed 
 by a kind of sufferance, and thtir professors were the 
 objects of opprobrium, hate and ridicule. As a system, 
 unrestrained, Islam fosters pride, passion, and hate towards 
 those who profess another faith. Education in its schools 
 rather increased this feeling, while the ignorant populace 
 were taught by their learned men to regard themselves as 
 infinitely better than any Jew or any Christian. The 
 mosques were generally the hotbeds of fanaticism, and the 
 sheikhs and the learned men were the foremost in opposing 
 the kind treatment of other religionists. The usual manner 
 of speaking of the Christian then was to call him "that 
 Christian pig"; and the Jew, "that dog of a Jew," The 
 title deed of property bought by either Jew or Christian in 
 its description of the buyer used to run thus : "So and so, 
 the damned, the son of So and so, the damned." Since the 
 days of Muhammad Ali Pasha, this and similar manifestations 
 of hate, were gradually discontinued, however ; but our first 
 missionaries found in many places the traces of it remaining. 
 In early times foreigners were especially liable to ill-treat- 
 ment and all manner of extortion. It was this that forced 
 the European powers to exact from the Porte special treaties, 
 known as the Capitulations, by which foreigners are 
 exempted from amenability to Muhammadan courts, and are 
 allowed the privilege of being judged by their own consuls; 
 an arrangement, which, in the course of time, gave rise to 
 many irregularities, and to the oppression of many natives 
 in the interest of rapacious foreign money lenders and 
 unscrupulous consuls — until the Khedive Ismaeel, through 
 his far-seeing minister, Nubar Pasha, secured the establish- 
 ment of the Mixed Tribunals. The Muslims, however, were 
 the persons to blame at the outset. 
 
 Slavery was a legal institution in Egypt when the mis- 
 sionaries came, and the slave trade, with all its horrors, was 
 in active operation. Slave markets for blacks and also for 
 whites were to be found in Alexandria, and were in a nour- 
 ishing condition in Cairo ; except that those for whites were,
 
 52 The American Mission 
 
 by the government orders, kept more secluded, so that the 
 vulgar throng could not see the Circassian beauties, from 
 whom the pashas and beys recruited their harems. But 
 those for the blacks were open to all, and at all hours of the 
 day would-be purchasers might look around among the human 
 chattels, who, though in filth and half-naked, yet in their 
 ebony-skinned bodies had souls that felt their oppression and 
 yearned for friends and native land. The American mission- 
 ary, however, at that time could say little against that system 
 of iniquity, since it was still flourishing in the boasted land 
 of liberty, under *' the stars and stripes." Slavery, though 
 perhaps in a milder form in Egypt than in America, not only 
 was the cause of great wrong to the enslaved, but the occa- 
 sion also of great corruption in the homes of the people, and 
 made female domestic labor a disgrace. Even to this day it 
 is next to impossible to secure the services of an unmarried 
 woman to do housework. The disgrace is not in doing the 
 work, but the system of slavery has left the impression in 
 the community that girls in domestic service cannot be vir- 
 tuous, and therefore all chances of their securing a home to 
 themselves are lost. 
 
 Polygamy, the twin sister of barbarism, was of course 
 practiced, then as now, by all who could afford this means of 
 gratifying their desires, and where this was impracticable, 
 many men resorted to frequent divorces, a practice which 
 Islam allows almost without any restriction. Still, 1 have no 
 doubt that some, then as now, retained their first wife until 
 her death, if she was blessed with male offspring. There 
 are often so many difficulties in the way of divorcing a wife 
 with children that the practice is somewhat restricted ; yet 
 one has only to visit the kadi's court occasionally to become 
 aware of the fact that women have no rights that can stand 
 in the way of the rage, or the passion, or the pleasure of the 
 lords of creation. It not unfrequenly happens that a man 
 gets angry over a trifle, and declares to his wife, "I have 
 divorced thee." Sometimes he is sorry for it within a few 
 hours, and takes advantage of the privilege allowed him by
 
 Ai'ininiaii ratriareb.
 
 IN hGYPT. 
 
 3 
 
 his religion to take her bacl< once, and again the second 
 time, after divorce. \n nothing does Islam appear worse 
 when compared with Christianity than in its treatment of 
 women. It is true that many of them know of nothing better 
 for them than to be the slaves of the men. But there are 
 many, too, who see the vast difference between themselves 
 and Christian women, and freely confess it to the missionary 
 ladies who visit them. While there are some noble excep- 
 tions, the number of which I would fain hope is increasing, 
 yet in ninety-nine out of every hundred homes the women 
 occupy the position of menials, and are addressed and treated 
 as such, with no regard to their bodily comfort or their feel- 
 ings. Being liable to be divorced at any time, it is not their 
 interest to preserve the property and economize the means 
 of their husbands, but rather to secure as much as possible 
 and pass it over secretly to their own relatives, in case of 
 future necessity ; for the divorced wife is always thrown 
 back upon her own relatives. Peace, harmony and happiness 
 in the homes of the Egyptians were and are, of a very 
 transitory nature. From the missionary standpoint then, 
 McCague and Barnett saw the Egyptian field a very needy 
 one, and whether in regard to the present life or the future, 
 saw the Muhammadans in great need of the Gospel of Jesus 
 Christ, which is a gospel of pardon, peace, purity, righteous- 
 ness and true wisdom — a gospel whose angelic message rang 
 out the words at the birth of the Saviour, "Glory to God 
 in the highest and on earth peace, good will toward men." 
 No wonder the pioneers of our mission worked and prayed, 
 and urged the Church at home to send to Egypt this gospel 
 of love, pardon and eternal life. 
 
 III. The Copts. The other important religious body of 
 natives in Egypt when our missionaries arrived was the 
 Coptic Church. The Copts themselves are, beyond all 
 doubt, the purest representatives of the ancient Egyptians. 
 The race has not, however, been preserved very pure, for, 
 with all the precautions and prejudices against marriage with 
 foreigners, the blood of the Egyptians has for ages been
 
 ^ 
 
 54 The American Mission 
 
 mingled more or less with that of the darker-skinned tribes 
 of the upper Nile, as well as with that of their whiter con- 
 querors. Yet it cannot be denied that in the general outlines 
 of features, and in disposition and temperament, the Copts 
 are more like that people whose profiles are carved on the 
 temple walls, or who followed in the processions in the days 
 of Cleopatra, than any other class of people in the valley of 
 the Nile, whether above or below the first cataract. It is 
 also to be remarked, however, that the physical difference 
 between the Copts and the Muhammadans, outside of the 
 large towns where intermarriage with other tribes has taken 
 place, is very small indeed, almost imperceptible. This is 
 to be expected, because the Egyptians, who were all Copts 
 at the time of the Muhammadan conquest, left their Chris- 
 tian faith in large numbers, through oppression and promises 
 of favor, and professed Islam ; so that the great majority of 
 Muslims in the Nile valley are the descendants of the ancient 
 Egyptian race, almost as much as the Copts themselves. At 
 the time our missionaries arrived, the dress of the Copts was 
 generally of dark colors, either brown, blue, or black, whether 
 it was the turban or the long-flowing robe. No respectable 
 Copt in the large towns would then allow himself to be mis- 
 taken for a Muslim by wearing a white turban, even had he 
 been allowed to do so ; but in the villages there were no 
 such distinctly marked lines. Indeed, the dress of the Coptic 
 women was not distinguishable from that of their Muham- 
 madan sisters. Generally, the Copt had the cross tatooed 
 on the back of his hand or his arm. Of course, the names 
 of the Copts were, for the most part, distinguished clearly 
 from those of the Muslims, except in a few cases, such as 
 Abraham, David, Moses, Joseph, etc., which are common to 
 both. A larger proportion of Copts than Muhammadans 
 could read and write, the position of scribes in the various 
 , departments of the government being generally held by the 
 '' Copts. Unlike the Muhammadans, who seldom in those 
 days tasted intoxicants, the Copts almost universally drank 
 freely of spirituous liquors ; a habit which still prevails among
 
 IN Egypt. 55 
 
 them, but not to such an extent as formerly — while the op- 
 posite is true of the Muslims, who, I am sorry to say, are 
 becoming more and more addicted to the use of alcoholic 
 drinks. The following description of the Coptic Church is 
 compiled from articles written about the year 1855 : 
 
 " The Copts are very proud of their ecclesiastical 
 system. They boast that their ritual is the most ancient 
 Christian ritual in existence. They reckon in their list of 
 saints an evangelist, with many of the most celebrated of 
 the fathers and doctors. They stigmatize as heretical the 
 communions of Greece and Rome, and they regard with 
 intense hatred those of their countrymen who recognize the 
 authority of the Pope or the Byzantine Patriarch. They 
 attend with zeal upon the celebration of their sacred rites ; 
 are careful that their children shall be early trained to the 
 practice of prayer in the Church, and esteem the orders of 
 the clergy very highly. The Church though it has fallen 
 from its former greatness and become sadly diminished in its 
 numbers, yet it must embrace not less than 250,000 in its 
 communion. Historically it is a monastic church. The 
 beginnings of monastic life we-e in the deserts on the borders 
 of Egypt, and the hermits and cenobites of the Thebaid and 
 the Red Sea coast gave the example and the impulse to all 
 subsequent developments of Christian asceticism. The head 
 of the Coptic Church is the Patriarch of Alexandria, but he 
 spends the greater part of his time in Cairo. He has a large 
 revenue from the numerous houses and estates which have 
 in the course of many generations come into the possession 
 of the Church through purchase or gift. He holds office 
 for life and is selected from monks designated by the Superior 
 Df the Convent of St. Anthony, near the gulf of Suez. He 
 must, of course, be unmarried, and must continue his monastic 
 customs and habits even though occupying this exalted posi- 
 tion. The Patriarch's authority is supreme and often 
 dospotic. He appoints the Metropolitan of the Abyssinian 
 Church, and compels him to go to that distant region whether 
 he wills or not. Next in rank to the Patriarch are the
 
 56 The American Mission 
 
 bishops ; who, when their number is full, are twelve. Below 
 the bishops, who also must be monks, are the arch-priests ; 
 who are sometimes at the head of the convents, and are 
 sometimes chosen directly from the order of the priesthood. 
 Their functions correspond to those of archdeacons in the 
 Episcopal churches of the West. Next to these are the 
 priests, who may be married, provided the marriage has 
 taken place before their ordination. If the wife of a priest 
 should die he is not allowed to marry again, in accordance 
 with their interpretation of i Timothy 3:2. The priests 
 are not compelled to abstain from secular labor. Many 
 supplement their income by engaging in some trade or pro- 
 fession. Under the priests are the deacons, who are chosen 
 to serve the priest and aid in the chanting. They are 
 generally mere boys. Both priests and deacons receive 
 ordination from the hands of the bishop or the Patriarch. 
 The Coptic convents were formerly very numerous, 
 numbering 336 according to their tradition. At present their 
 number is comparatively small, and the monks have lapsed 
 into secular habits. None of them care for learning, and 
 few of them are noted for piety. They are generally ignor- 
 ant, dull, stupid and addicted to the free use of alcoholic 
 drinks, which they manufacture from the date. The Copts 
 attach the greatest importance to baptism, and perform the 
 rite by dipping the child three times into water which has 
 received a few drops of consecrated oil. Though immer- 
 sionists, they perform infant baptism, and have no sympathy 
 with what the Baptists of the West call believers' baptism. 
 They think and teach that a child dying without baptism 
 will be blind in the next world, in accordance with their 
 understanding of John 3:3: ' Except a man be born again 
 he cannot see the kingdom of God.' They also practice 
 circumcision on children on reaching the age of seven years, 
 though this practice is not universal. The Psalms of David 
 are committed to memory by the young, and are repeated in 
 the form of prayers by adults. Some of the more pious are 
 said to repeat the whole 150 Psalms once every day. Their
 
 Greek Patriarch Sophronius.
 
 IN EG^•PT. 57 
 
 church service is long, lasting about three hours, and con- 
 sists of reading, chanting, praying, accompanied with the 
 burning of incense, the beating of cymbals, and the proces- 
 sion of the liost around the church. The cross is conspicuous 
 everywhere, and before it the people bow and mutter cer- 
 tain expressions of adoration. The language used is for the 
 most part the old Coptic — the mass being always conducted 
 in this sacred language. The dress of the clergy officiating 
 is gayly ornamented, and the vestments and head-dress 
 seem to be imitations of those worn by the Jewish priest- 
 hood. The confessional is nearly as important in the Coptic 
 Church as in the Roman Catholic, and transubstantiation is 
 the universal belief-. The Copt is taught to say, ' I believe, 
 I believe, 1 believe that this bread is the very flesh and blood 
 of the body of Christ, that was born of the blessed virgin.* 
 The most important of all duties with the Copt is fasting. 
 Practically this is the ground of pardon, and the necessary 
 means of salvation. The regular seasons of fasting occupy 
 more than half of the year. There is the great fast in the 
 spring, which instead of occupying forty days, as in the 
 other Christian sects, has been lengthened to fifty-five days. 
 Then there is the fast of the nativity, the fast of the apostles, 
 thefastof the virgin, the fast of Jonah, etc. During these fasts 
 there is daily service in the Church. Fasting with the Copts 
 does not, however, consist in total abstinence from all food 
 or drink', either during the day or during the night, but only 
 the avoidance of certain kinds of food or drink, especially 
 animal flesh and milk and butter. Different fasts have their 
 special injunctions in this respect. Strange to say, intox- 
 icants are among the drinks allowed ; on what principle I 
 cannot conceive. There are seven principal festivals, those 
 which commemorate respectively the nativity, the baptism, 
 the triumphal entry, the resurrection, the ascension, pente- 
 cost and the annunciation of the virgin. The clergy are 
 almost all ignorant, there being no means for instructing 
 them. They are chosen on account of a fine voice, or high 
 stature — the thought of mental or religious qualification has
 
 58 The American Mission 
 
 seldom any place. Many of them drink to excess, and 
 whenever a feast is made for the entertainment of a bishop 
 or a priest it is always a time for the liberal use of Arab 
 whiskey. The Copts have a convent in Jerusalem and a 
 chapel in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Pilgrimage to 
 Jerusalem is regarded as highly meritorious, and the Copts, 
 generally, are firm believers in the holy fire. Coptic 
 churches are generally decorated with gaudy colors, and 
 numerous pictures of saints adorn the walls. The most con- 
 spicuous are St. George and the Dragon, St. Paul, St. 
 Anthony, and St. Macarius. In general the Copts are a 
 simple-minded, devout, religious people, with great reverence 
 for the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. The 
 Church Mission Society missionaries have done something 
 towards giving them the Scriptures in the vernacular. They 
 greatly needed it, for they know almost nothing of the way 
 of salvation by faith in a crucified Saviour, or of the necessity 
 of a change of heart through the Holy Spirit, or of Christian 
 life in union with the risen Saviour. The mass is the aton- 
 ing sacrifice, the priest is the forgiver, the saints, and 
 especially the virgin, the intercessors, fasting the mortification 
 of the flesh, baptism regeneration, the consecrated oil the 
 Holy Spirit. In many respects the Copts know as little of 
 the true way of salvation as the Muhammadans, and need 
 the Gospel just as much." * 
 
 Such was the Coptic Church and such were the Coptic 
 people when the American missionaries landed in Egypt in 
 1854. Christian in name, Christian in form, it was well 
 typified by the mummied human body taken out of the 
 tombs. Externally a perfect body, but no intelligence in the 
 head, no motion in the limbs, no life in the heart, wound up 
 in memories of fathers and councils, waiting for the Lord to 
 say to some earnest souls, " Prophesy upon these bones, 
 and say unto them, O ! ye dry bones, hear the Word of 
 the Lord. * * * Come, O breath, and breathe upon 
 these slain, that they may live." 
 * American Cyclopedia, &c. 
 
 I
 
 IN Egypt. 59 
 
 As will appear further on, the condition of the Coptic ( 
 people was not caused by any want of aptitude to learn, or 
 unwillingness to attend to religious services, but arose from 
 their environments during centuries of oppression. Perse- i 
 cuted, despised, forbidden or denied the means of education ! \ 
 for themselves and their clergy, obliged to employ all sorts ' 
 of shifts, and often cunning and deceit, to save themselves 
 from the malice of their enemies, they, year by year, gave 
 themselves up to formalism, adding to what they considered 
 the crucifixion of the flesh, imitating, though unconsciously 
 it may be, the Muslims in their ideas of practical religion, 
 and forgetting the fruits of the Spirit. But they were ready, 
 as the sequel will show, to learn this duty from the Word of 
 God, and to turn from dead works to serve the living God. 
 As late as 1882 I visited a place on the side of the desert in 
 the southern provinces, and found one of our enlightened, 
 earnest Coptic workers teaching the men the little book 
 which begins, " Who made you .'' " "Who redeemed you ? " 
 etc. I expressed to him my surprise. He replied that they 
 knew just as little about the Christian religion as little chil- 
 dren, and therefore must be taught in the same way. Yet 
 they had been born and baptized in the Coptic Church, and 
 kept its fasts and feasts, and attended its services all their 
 lives. To carry the Gospel to such a people was like carry- 
 ing it to the lost sheep of the house of Israel — it was a duty, 
 and came to be a pleasure. 
 
 The other sects in Egypt at tlie time our mission was 
 established were the Greek Orthodox, the Roman Catholic, 
 the Coptic Catholics and a few Armenians, all holding to the 
 traditions and the prayer-books, doing nothing to circulate 
 the Scriptures, either among their own people or others. 
 
 The Jews, who might number a few thousands in Cairo 
 and Alexandria, had a missionary working among them, but 
 v/ith great discouragement, and it was not many years till 
 the Society gave up the effort as fruitless. 
 
 From this brief sketch of the character and religions of 
 the Egyptians in 1854, the reader will see the necessity for 
 
 ^
 
 6o The American Mission 
 
 establishing a Christian mission in the Nile valley, and will 
 be prepared to understand some of the difficulties with which 
 the missionaries have had to contend, and to appreciate the 
 measure of success with which their labors have been 
 blessed.
 
 Eonian Catholic Patriarch.
 
 IN Egypt. oi 
 
 CHAPTER 1\'. 
 
 Establishing of our Mission— Circumstances leading thereto— When and 
 by whom. 
 
 There does not seem to have been any tliought in the 
 minds of the members of the home Church, or of the Board 
 of Foreign Missions itself, of establishing a new mission in 
 Egypt, or extending the limits of the Damascus mission so 
 as to include Egypt, until the reception of a letter from Dr. 
 Paulding of the mission just mentioned, addressed to the 
 General Synod of the West, at its annual meeting in 1853. 
 The writing of this letter was in consequence of a visit he 
 made to Cairo in the winter of 1851-52. This visit appears 
 to have been made entirely in the interest of his own health 
 which was then beginning to fail him. Thus in the provi- 
 dence of God, who overrules all things for good, and directs 
 the movements of his people, whether in sickness or in 
 health, for the promotion of His own glory, it was after Dr. 
 Paulding had visited Egypt and been benefited by its mild 
 climate, and seen with his eyes the needy field and open 
 door, that he returned to Damascus and wrote a forci- 
 ble letter to the General Synod of the West, urging the 
 Church at home "to open a new station in Cairo"; for thus 
 the missionaries then in Damascus seem to have put it, at 
 any rate it is thus stated in all Rev. James Barnett's letters, 
 written about that time. Thus it appears that Dr. Pauld- 
 ing's sickness was the incipient cause that led to the estab- 
 lishing of the American Mission in Egypt. So true is it that 
 God uses our sickness and our health, our weakness and our 
 strength, our joys and our sorrows, to work out His own 
 purposes of mercy or judgment as may seem pleasing to
 
 62 The American Mission 
 
 Himself. How ready then should we be to do or to suffer, 
 to abide or to go away, as we may be directed by His Word, 
 His Spirit or His providence. The chief reasons urged by 
 the missionaries for the opening of mission work in Cairo 
 can be gathered from the following extract from a letter to 
 the Board, signed by Messrs. Barnett, Paulding, and Frazier, 
 dated at Damascus, 1853 : 
 
 " It is with great thankfulness that we record that his 
 (Dr. Paulding's) health has been much better during the 
 past winter than any previous one. It is, in fact, to be 
 attributed to his absence during the previous winter in 
 Egypt and its thorough re-establishment during the past 
 summer, but especially to the unexampled mildness of our 
 present winter. But the latter part of the winter has again 
 brought back an attack of the same disease of the chest. 
 This, with previous experience, has determined him to 
 leave the mission in this city at as early a date as the 
 necessary arrangements can be made, with the design of 
 commencing a new station in Cairo, Egypt, should the 
 Synod concur in our views of establishing a new mission 
 in that place. It is supposed that the climate of Cairo 
 will agree with his constitution, and that by his remaining 
 there he may avoid the necessity of leaving the Mission 
 field altogether, by going to America. He has drawn 
 up a letter on the subject and forwarded it to the Board, 
 with the request that they bring the letter or the subject 
 of it before the Synod. Our number here is increas- 
 ing, and now we are all capable of taking an active part in 
 the public preaching of the word of everlasting life. Mr. 
 Porter has taken part in the services during the past year. 
 The two new missionaries, Messrs. Frazier and Lansing, 
 have so successfully prosecuted their studies that they are 
 also now ready for occasionally taking part in the public 
 exercises. But the openings of the door in this city at 
 present are not sufficient for us all to do all we are able, 
 and all we ought to do on missionary ground. We are say- 
 ing, ' the place is too strait for us, give place to us that we
 
 !N Egypt. 63 
 
 may dwell and work more efficiently for the great purpose 
 of the Church of God.' * * * Por the advantageous 
 position at Cairo and its prospects as a mission station, we 
 would refer to the letter already alluded to. Frequent 
 illusions have been made to other places at different times as 
 points for a new station, but the preponderating sentiment is 
 now in favor of Cairo above all others. 
 
 " There is another circumstance also. The commotions 
 of the people and the government which have been occurring 
 in our immediate neighborhood are events with which we, on 
 account of their frequency, are becoming familiar, and they 
 do not fill us with that alarm which people at a distance, and 
 unaccustomed to the like and unacquainted with our rela- 
 tions, might suppose. But while we write we are daily 
 hearing of the disturbed state of the Turkish empire at the 
 north. All look for its dismemberment or some great com- 
 motion as just at hand. We have not seen a week for a 
 month past without some new, more stirring and more for- 
 tuitous rumors and revelations respecting the doings of 
 councils and cabinets in reference to Turkey, ever vague, 
 exaggerated and contradictory, and most tantalizing to any 
 lover of the truth. All may be settled in the council cham- 
 bers of nations, but most consider war as inevitable, and a 
 war involving the whole of the great Powers of Europe. 
 This, if it does come, may last for some years before all 
 matters are settled. Rather than be called home, we would 
 prefer to make a stay in Egypt, which will not likely be the 
 scene of battle — a kind of refuge to the Church in troublous 
 times — if Providence should call us to * hide ourselves as it 
 were for a little, until the indignation be overpast,' while 
 'the Lord cometh out of His place to punish the inhabitants 
 of the earth for their iniquity.' " 
 
 From this lengthy extract it appears that there were sev- 
 eral reasons actuating the missionaries in asking the Church 
 at home to commence mission work in Cairo, (i) to retain 
 the services of Dr. Paulding in the Lord's work on the for- 
 eign field ; (2) to secure another place of labor for a part of
 
 64 The American Mission 
 
 the missionary force then in Damascus, as there were too 
 many workers for the work that could be undertaken there ; 
 (3) to afford a refuge for the missionaries during the impend- 
 ing troubles in Turkey. (4) It was also urged that the field 
 in Cairo was open, and was needy, and that the state of 
 Egypt was favorable for missionary operations. Which was 
 the strongest reason in the minds of the missionaries, or 
 which had the greatest force with the Church at home and 
 the Board, cannot, perhaps, be known ; but the General 
 Synod at its meeting in Allegheny, May 21, 1853, took the 
 following action : "That our missionaries be instructed to 
 occupy Cairo at their earliest possible convenience." The 
 Synod authorized the Board also to send out additional mis- 
 sionaries. 
 
 For some reason the missionaries at Damascus did not 
 immediately respond to the action of the Synod by sending 
 some of their number to Egypt, though they must have 
 received the authorization of the Synod in the autumn of 
 1853. It might have been that the efforts to establish special 
 schools for training young men and young women occupied 
 their time and required all their force, so that no one for the 
 time could be spared ; or it might have been that the gather- 
 ing cloud of war in the northern horizon made them feel like 
 sticking together as long as they safely could, for self-protec- 
 tion and encouragement. Their number, too, was reduced 
 by the return to America of Mr. Frazier with his motherless 
 babe. Be the reasons what they may, it was not until late 
 in 1854 that one of their number reached Cairo, and not 
 until after the Board of Foreign Missions, in obedience to the 
 instructions of the Synod, had appointed a new man and 
 sent him out to this field. This new appointee was the Rev. 
 Thomas McCague. He was born in Ripley, Brown county, 
 Ohio, on December 25, 1825. He was left motherless at 
 the early age of two years and fatherless at seven, but as he 
 himself says : " Psalm 27 : 10 had its fulfilment in my case : 
 ' When my father and mother forsake me then the Lord will 
 take me up.'" A good home was provided for him on a
 
 0) 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 ■^ 
 
 OX) 
 
 >
 
 IN Egypt. 65 
 
 farm in Adams county, Ohio, with an uncle and aunt, 
 "whose names, Oliver and Margaret Miller," he says, 
 "will never be forgotten by me." Here were spent the 
 happy days of his youth, away from the temptations of city 
 or village life. Here he was taught regular attendance at 
 divine worship, under the ministry of Rev. Robert Stewart. 
 Here first began the deep longings and concealed breathings 
 after the Saviour, a public profession of lo\-e to Him and the 
 work in the foreign field. This last desire was, perhaps, 
 vague at first, and perhaps mingled with a touch of romance, 
 but it culminated in the realistic and joyful experience. He 
 prosecuted his studies one year at Ripley, Ohio, three years 
 in the Academy of South Salem, Ohio, and three years in 
 Jefferson College, Pennsylvania. From Jefferson he went 
 to Oxford Theological Seminary and studied theology under 
 the Rev. J. Claybaugh, D. D. He made a public profession 
 of his faith in and love for Christ under the Rev. James 
 Caskey. While he was still in the Theological Seminary, 
 his preceptor informed the Board of Foreign Missions that he 
 would probably accept an appointment to the foreign field if 
 it were offered to him. Soon after he received a communi- 
 cation from the Board on the subject, and after mature and 
 careful consideration he answered favorably. The Board 
 then formally appointed him, but without determining at the 
 time to what particular field they would send him. Towards 
 the end of August, 1854, he came on to Pittsburgh, and there 
 met with the Board, under the presidency of Rev. J. T. 
 Pressly, D. D. The president said to him, " Mr. McCague, 
 we will give you your choice of fields ; either you may go to 
 Syria, where we have our missionaries already at work, or 
 you may go to Egypt, to a new field." To this he responded 
 at once, "Then I will go to Egypt." In his "Egypt 
 Revisited," he says, " I have never had reason to regret 
 my choice, but every reason to praise God for the privilege 
 of beginning the foreign mission work in Egypt, especially 
 when we see its wonderful growth and development through 
 others." 
 5
 
 66 The American Mission 
 
 Mr. McCague was accompanied by his wife, Henrietta 
 M., daughter of John .and Mary Ann Lowes, of Warren 
 county, Ohio, She was born in the county just mentioned 
 on May 20, 1832. Her father was an elder in the Presby- 
 terian Church. The earlier part of her life, whether in 
 school, or in the home of her parents, or in teaching, was 
 well spent as preparatory to a life work in the mission field, 
 at home or abroad. Her education, beginning at Oxford, 
 Ohio, was completed at the academy in South Salem, Ohio. 
 The foreign mission work was brought to her attention in 
 early youth, and continued to press itself upon her till she 
 was called to enter upon it, in 1854. She made a public 
 profession of her faith at the age of fifteen, and united with 
 the Presbyterian church at Somerset, under the pastoral care 
 of the Rev. Jonathan Edwards. 
 
 I have not been able to obtain any account of their 
 leaving their homes and their friends in Ohio — the parting 
 with dear ones, to take what then was considered a journey 
 to the ends of the earth, to spend their lives among an un- 
 educated and non-Christian people. They reached Pitts- 
 burgh on their journey east about the middle of August, 1854, 
 and met with the Board of Foreign Missions. The following 
 sketch of the farewell meeting held in Dr. Pressly's church 
 will be interesting : " On the afternoon of the 22d of 
 August, 1854, the female missionary societies connected 
 with our congregations in and about the two cities (Allegheny 
 and Pittsburgh) met in Dr. Pressly's church, and, after 
 religious exercises suited to the occasion, were introduced to 
 the missionaries. All hearts were touched by the exercises 
 and intercourse of that day, and lively interest was excited 
 in the missionaries personally, as in the great cause to which 
 they have consecrated their lives. 
 
 " The exercises on the 23d, in the same place, were more 
 particularly to set apart to his work the newly-appointed 
 missionary, Rev. Thomas McCague. After an appropriate 
 sermon by the Rev. Alex. Young, from Acts 28: 7, last clause 
 (" Who received us and lodged us three days courteously "),
 
 IN Egypt. 67 
 
 Mr, McCague came forward and publicly avowed his desires 
 and aims in engaging in the missionary work, in answer to 
 questions proposed by the chairman of the Board of Agency, 
 and by him was solemnly set apart to the work by prayer. 
 The exercises were closed with a brief and impressive address 
 by Rev. Robert Gracey." 
 
 A similar meeting was held in Philadelphia on September 
 14, at which were present also other missionaries, Rev. 
 James A. Frazier and his second wife returning to Damascus, 
 and Miss S. B. Dales, a volunteer and the pioneer lady mis- 
 sionary of our Church, going to the same place for the first 
 time. On September 30, 1854, these, with Rev. and Mrs. 
 McCague, were accompanied to the steamer " City of Man- 
 chester " by a few relatives and friends, where a parting 
 service was held, of which a contemporary paper says : 
 
 " Dr. Dales commenced the exercises by a reference to 
 the solemnity of the occasion, and two verses of the 67th 
 Psalm were sung. Rev. T. H. Beveridge, of the Third Associ- 
 ate church, Philadelphia, engaged in prayer ; after which Rev. 
 Francis Church, missionary of the Free Church of Scotland 
 to the Island of Trinidad, addressed the missionaries in an 
 appropriate and feeling manner. After a few pertinent and 
 interesting remarks by Rev. M. Wylie, of the Reformed Pres- 
 byterian Church, and a parting prayer by Rev. J. T. Cooper, 
 of the Second Associate church, the meeting was closed by 
 singing the 23d Psalm, and the benediction. Parting saluta- 
 tions were then received by the missionaries as their friends 
 left the cabin for the shore, and they departed, followed by 
 the prayers, hopes and expectations of the many friends 
 whom they left behind." 
 
 The steamer left the same day, and the missionaries 
 soon saw the hills and dales of the dear land, in which so 
 many friends and relatives were left, fading away from their 
 view in the dim distance. A few hours after their departure 
 Mrs. McCague came near losing her life. The incident, as 
 related by Miss Sarah B. Dales to her brother, is as fol- 
 lows :
 
 68 The American Mission 
 
 "When walking out to tea and selecting our seats at 
 table, we were directed by the steward to pass round the 
 lower end of the table and take seats on the opposite side. 
 I had been forward, but stepped back a little and Mrs. Mc- 
 Casue led us. Just as she turned the corner and looked so 
 smilingly at us, she plunged into the open hatchway, and 
 fell a depth of twelve feet, or two stories. An unseen Eye, 
 however, was there, and an unseen Arm to preserve. A 
 man, just at the moment of her falling, was passing the spot 
 where she descended and caught her in his arms. Had he 
 not been there she must have been killed by falling on the 
 timbers, or going to the bottom of the hold. Was this not a 
 special and remarkable interposition of Providence } Imag- 
 ine, if you can, our feelings as we stood waiting to see her 
 brought up ! All were in perfect consternation and agony. 
 In a few minutes she was brought up in perfect safety, with 
 the exception of some bruises. We took her to the ladies' 
 cabin, and wept tears of ioy that she was yet ours. That 
 scene as we encircled her wirl not soon be forgotten." 
 
 After a rough passage across the Atlantic, they reached 
 Liverpool on October 13, 1854. On Sabbath, the i6th,they 
 attended the Reformed Presbyterian Church, heard Rev. 
 McMullan preach "a most excellent gospel sermon," and 
 accepted his in\'itation to commemorate the death of the 
 Saviour with his people by participating in the ordinance of 
 the Lord's Supper. They sailed on the steamship "Orontes" 
 on the 19th of October for Alexandria, Egypt, which they 
 reached on November 10. Here the company parted. Mr. 
 and Mrs. McCague, kindly met by a Scotch missionary by 
 the name of Brown, sent out to work among the Jews, wi.ere 
 taken by him ashore, and found a temporary home with Dr. 
 Philip, of the Scotch Missionary Society for the conversion 
 of the Jews. With him they remained a few days and then 
 left for Cairo, taking the railway as far as Kafr-el-Zeyyat, 
 on the Rosetta branch of the Nile, for that was the terminus 
 of the railway at that time ; thence they went by steamer 
 on the Nile to Bulac, the port of Cairo, reaching it on Novem
 
 IN Egypt. 69 
 
 ber 15, 1854. Mrs. McCague says: " It was just a little 
 after sunrise when we landed at Bi.ilac. Consul de Leon 
 was on the steamer with us. At Bulac Mr. McCague put 
 me on a van in the care of the consul, with instructions to 
 leave me at Shepheard's hotel. When we reached the hotel 
 we found it full, so I was taken to Williams' hotel and intro- 
 duced by the consul to Mr. Williams' mother and aunt. The 
 latter always took a kind interest in our welfare, and brought 
 Mr. Williams' daughter and a Mary Page to our English 
 service. A front room, looking on the Ezbakiyah, was given 
 me, and I sat down at a window, watching for Mr. McCague, 
 who had stayed at the boat-landing to get off our trunks and 
 boxes. It seemed to me I watched and waited a long time, 
 but when he did appear in sight it made such a deep im.pres- 
 sion that I can see him still coming up the street, walking 
 beside a long, low bullock cart, on which was piled our lug- 
 gage. We ate our breakfast, and then Mr. McCague took a 
 donkey and went out to find Mr. Lawrie, to whom he had a 
 letter of introduction from Dr. Philip, of Alexandria. Mr. 
 Lawrie gave him a kind welcome. His wife had gone back 
 to England, with no intention of returning. His invitation 
 to lodge with him we were glad to accept, as we did not want 
 to pay hotel bills. We removed to his house next day. A 
 few days after we heard that Rev. James Barnett was on his 
 way from Damascus, to take up his residence in Cairo, so 
 we spent the interval in making a beginning at the study of 
 the language." 
 
 I regret that I have not been able to secure any of Mr. 
 and Mrs. McCague's letters, written at that time to their 
 friends at home. It would be interesting to know something 
 of their feelings in crossing the great Atlantic and steaming 
 along the Mediterranean, where Paul was tossed about for 
 many days, and then shipwrecked on the island of Malta. 
 Especially satisfying would it be to know something of their 
 thoughts during the three weeks the)' spent in Cairo before 
 they were joined by Rev. James Barnett. Were the}' dis- 
 appointed ? Did they feel sad, and lonely, and helpless ?
 
 70 The American Mission 
 
 One can imagine them thankful to a kind Master who had 
 cared for them all along their journey by sea and by land, 
 and raised up for them friends at various places, and finally 
 brought them in safety to the place which they had been led 
 to choose as the field of labor for the salvation of souls. 
 Lonely, as they thought of the dear relatives and Christian 
 friends and acquaintances far away, intercourse with whom 
 would now be impossible for many years, perhaps forever, 
 except by the slow and tedious mode of letter-writing ; 
 helpless, as they found themselves in the midst of a people 
 of strange customs, strange manners, strange religion and 
 strange language, and in a city in whose narrow, filthy, 
 crooked streets they had never trod before, but would have 
 to tread for how long they could not tell. How dear ! how 
 near ! how precious was the Saviour to them that first 
 night in Cairo as they communed with Him alone of all 
 friends they had known before, and poured out their hearts 
 to Him before they retired to rest. Was it not in view of 
 such circumstances, as well as others, that the Saviour 
 coupled with the great commission, binding to the end of 
 time, that precious promise, " Lo ! I am with you alway, 
 unto the end of the world" .-' On the 24th of November, 
 1854, just nine days after Mr. and Mrs. McCague reached 
 Cairo, Rev. James Barnett, of our Damascus mission, left 
 the scene of his labors in that ancient city and set out for 
 Egypt to enter upon the Lord's work there. He, accompanied 
 by a talented Syrian, called Gabrian Shahat, arrived in 
 Cairo, according to his own statement, on December 5, 
 1854, and was also kindly received by the Rev. Mr. Lawrie. 
 Thus it appears that Mr. and Mrs. McCague preceded Mr. 
 Barnett only twenty days. The former had the honor of 
 being first on the ground ; but of course they were ignorant 
 of the language, as well as the manners and customs of the 
 people, and were unable to do any missionary work for a 
 considerable time. The latter came to the Egyptian field 
 with over ten years' experience and with a knowledge of the 
 /anguage, so that he could, and did, immediately enter upon
 
 
 <1 
 
 
 o 
 
 a
 
 IN EGYPT. 71 
 
 the work for which the mission was established. Rev. 
 (afterwards Dr.) James Barnett, then laid the first stones in 
 the spiritual edifice and sowed the first seeds of divine truth 
 in Cairo, in connection with the American Mission. By these 
 two brethren and Mrs, McCague the work of our mission 
 was begun in Cairo — a work which has now, by the blessing 
 of God, extended to many places all through the Nile valley, 
 and has been the means of saving many souls, gathering 
 many companies of believers, establishing many schools, 
 diffusing secular as well as religious knowledge far and wide, 
 and aiding in giving the Egyptian nation a start on the road 
 to enlightenment and freedom.
 
 72 The American Mission 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 From the beginning of the Mission up to December 31, 1857.— Mr. Leider, 
 of the Church Mission Society, still in Cairo — His chief work — Mr. Lawrie, 
 missionary to the Jews— House secured by Messrs. Barnett and McCague — 
 English service and Arabic also commenced — Also prayer meetings — Mission- 
 aries visiting places and persons — Cholera in 1855 — Mr. Barnett's prayer — 
 Rebellion in upper Egypt — Crimean War — Assassination of Abbas Pasha — 
 Opening of Boys' School — Disappointments — Mr. McCague ill — Mr. Barnett 
 in Syria, 1856 — Arrival of Mr. Lansing — Determination to occupy Alexandria 
 — Description of a Sirocco — Messrs. Lansing and McCague go up the Nile to 
 Asyut — Visit the Faiyum — Death of Mr. McCague's child — Messrs. Lansing 
 and McCague go to Syria. 1857 — Work opened in Haret-es-Sakkain — Mr. 
 Lansing takes up his residence in Alexandria on Ras-el-Tin — Other Mission 
 efforts in Alexandria — Boys' School and Mr. Hogg — Girls' School and Miss 
 Pringle— Proposals for united efforts. 
 
 In the preceding chapter we have seen how the Lord 
 in His providence directed the Church at home to undertake 
 work for the Master in the Nile valley ; and how the Church, 
 following the leadings of Providence, sent a new man with 
 his wife from America, and transferred an experienced mis- 
 sionary from the Damascus field ; and how they reached 
 Cairo within three weeks of each other; the former on 
 November 15, 1854, and the latter on December 5, of the 
 same year. There were in Cairo at the time of their 
 arrival the Rev. Lawrie, of the English Mission to the Jews, 
 and the Rev. J. R. T. Leider, of the Church Mission Society. 
 The latter had been in Cairo for many years, and had done 
 something in the way of circulating the Scriptures in Arabic 
 throughout the Nile valley, and encouraging education for 
 both males and females. His chief employment, however, 
 at the time our missionaries appeared on the field, was the 
 holding of an English service on Sabbath morning for the 
 benefit of the few English residents and the English-speaking 
 travelers, baptizing their children, and burying their dead. 
 His house was visited by many of the travelers for the
 
 IN Egypt. 73 
 
 purpose of obtaining information about the country from 
 him and his wife, and directions as to places of interest to 
 be visited in the city and suburbs. 
 
 How long the missionary to the Jews had been in the 
 city I have not been able to ascertain, but his work con- 
 sisted chiefly of visiting Jews in their offices and shops, 
 receiving occasional visits from them in his house, and dis- 
 tributing among them tracts and portions of the Scriptures, 
 especially the Old Testament. Work among them, then as 
 now, was very discouraging. Mr, Lawrie was succeeded by 
 Mr. Reichhart, who reached Cairo on February 4, 1855, 
 Mr. Lawrie leaving on March 7, of the same year. The 
 friendship shown by Mr, Lawrie to our missionaries on their 
 arrival in Cairo continued until he left, and was gratefully 
 reciprocated by them. Unfortunately, the intercourse be- 
 tween them and his successor was not as cordial. 
 
 For some weeks the chief business of our missionaries 
 was to secure a home for themselves and the work which 
 they intended to carry on in the great and wicked city of 
 Cairo, This was no easy matter ; not easy even now though 
 thousands of houses are rented to foreigners every year. 
 But at that time the suitable houses in healthy localities 
 were very few, and the prejudice against Protestants was 
 even greater than against any other Christians and for- 
 eigners. However, by the blessing of God, they secured a 
 house in a narrow street, looking out on a pile of rubbish, 
 in the quarter called Darb-el-Ganeineh. This was large 
 enough to accommodate them all, Mr. and Mrs. McCague 
 takinti the third floor and Mr, Barnett the second. 
 
 Before the end of December, but not until after the 
 arrival of our missionaries, the Rev, O. F. Martin and his 
 wife reached Cairo, He was sent to Egypt by the American 
 Missionary Society to labor among the Copts, and was 
 accompanied by a ^\r. Murad, a S_\'rian, who had visited 
 America, and came as assistant to Mr. Martin. Mr. Martin 
 was on friendly relations with our missionaries, took his turn 
 with them in conducting English services, and made one trip
 
 74 The American Mission 
 
 up the Nile. He originated no special work among the 
 natives. Mr. Murad spent his time holding conversations 
 with the people. In 1858, Mr. Martin and his wife went to 
 America, and did not return to Egypt on account of his own 
 and his wife's state of health. Subsequently he had charge 
 of a Congregational church in Peru, Illinois, then was sent 
 by the American Tract Society to labor among the soldiers 
 in the American Civil War and died at Chattanooga in 
 March, 1864. 
 
 No sooner had the missionaries got partially settled than 
 they concluded to open an English service for their own 
 edification and the profit of any others who might prefer the 
 simple forms of Presbyterianism to those of Episcopacy. It 
 was, however, with some hesitation at first, lest it might 
 give offence to those who had been a long time on the field, 
 and had conducted divine service every Lord's Day for the 
 British community for many years. In order to avoid any 
 appearance of collision, it was arranged that the Presbyterian 
 service would be held in the afternoon, our missionaries 
 themselves often attending the Episcopal services in the 
 morning. They met in one of the rooms of Mr. McCague's 
 apartments. The first service was held on the last Sabbath 
 of 1854, and was conducted by a Rev. Herschel, a passing 
 traveler. On the first Sabbath of January, 1855, Mr. Bar- 
 nett led the services, taking for his text 2 Corinthians 
 13 : 14, and from that time onwards they were kept up, being 
 conducted in turn by Messrs. Barnett, McCague and Martin. 
 According to Mr. Barnett' s diary, from five to thirty attended, 
 as there might be few or many travelers of Presbyterian 
 proclivities in the city. On one or two occasions there were 
 only the missionaries themselves present, but they needed 
 the encouragements and instructions of God's Word as much 
 as any others. On January 21, 1855, services in Arabic 
 were commenced by Mr. Barnett in one of the rooms of his 
 house, and kept up by himself during the year, no one being 
 able to render any assistance. From three to eight attended 
 during the first year, and these, for the most part, had some
 
 IN Egypt. 
 
 IS 
 
 connection with the missionaries, either as servants or 
 teachers. Generally one or more strangers were present, 
 coming out of curiosity or by invitation. During the first 
 nine months as many as twenty different persons had 
 attended the services at least once. Discouraging as this 
 would appear to all who have not had such experiences, yet 
 Mr. Barnett never hesitated or showed any signs of dis 
 couragement, but continued faithfully to proclaim the truth 
 in its various phases and relations to human belief and 
 practice every Sabbath morning, whatsoever might be the 
 number of persons present. Often, however, in his diary 
 he expresses his views of the difficulties to be surmounted, 
 the immense work to be done, and his own weakness and 
 unfitness for it. However unmoved and even cheerful he 
 appeared to others, he was not without deep feelings, and he 
 had many moments when the vastness of the undertaking 
 overcame him, and he cried to the Lord for help. 
 
 Besides these two services, one in English and the other 
 in Arabic, on Sabbath, and a prayer-meeting in English on 
 Wednesday evening, the time of the missionaries was spent 
 during the first year in studying the language. This, of 
 course, was Mr. McCague's chief work, but Mr. Barnett 
 also had his teacher every day. They also visited the 
 various denominational schools — the Coptic, with an attend- 
 ance of one hundred or more ; the Greek Orthodox, with a 
 somewhat smaller number ; the Armenian with about half 
 that number. They called on the Coptic Patriarch, and got 
 acquainted with a Hakakin bey, a learned Armenian, who 
 continued friendly to them and their successors until he died, 
 many years after. They made the acquaintance of several 
 men of position and" influence ; and a few of the Coptic 
 priesthood ; and sold Scriptures* and other books printed 
 in Arabic at the Malta or the Beirut press — especially books 
 on Church history and Christian life and discussions on the 
 differences between the corrupt churches of the East and 
 
 * Scriptures had previously been distributed gratuitously. They sold 
 in four months portions at looo piastres.
 
 76 The American Mission 
 
 Protestantism. They visited places of special and historic 
 interest, such as the pyramids, the petrified forest, Heliopolis, 
 the nilometer, the Azhar (the celebrated school of Muham- 
 madan learning), and took occasion to see the various public 
 gatherings, such as the mahmal, the cutting of the canal at 
 old Cairo, and funerals of the various sects. On passing 
 through the streets they were often pained at the disgusting 
 sights and obscene language ; and not unfrequently were 
 called Nazarenes, dogs and pigs. They had no little trouble 
 with the servants, who took advantage of their ignorance of 
 the habits of the people and customs of the country, and 
 prices of the various articles of food. Some of them would 
 get drunk and had to be dismissed ; some of them would 
 stay out in the cafes till after midnight, leaving the outside 
 door open ; all took a liberal commission on every article 
 purchased, whether large or small. Sometimes one, out of 
 pretence of great need, would borrow money in advance and 
 then suddenly disappear. Gabran Shahata, whom Mr. Bar- 
 nett brought with him from Damascus, on account of a ten- 
 dency to pulmonary diseases, though a good man and of 
 bright intellect, was very discontented in Egypt, and was 
 continually in hot water with the door-keeper or the cook, 
 and was very exacting in his demands on Mr. Barnett for 
 means to add to his personal comfort, so that it was a great 
 relief to have him depart for Damascus, about the beginning 
 of April, 1855. 
 
 The year 1855 was a time of excitement and terror. 
 That terrible scourge, cholera, broke out in Cairo about the 
 beginning of June, and continued during the whole of that 
 month, cutting down in the city alone more than 10,000 
 persons. Mr. P. Tod, of the firm Tod, Rathbone & Co., 
 was among the first who fell a victim. The people were 
 terror-stricken ; a gloom rested upon the whole city; business 
 was to a large extent suspended ; many fled from the city or 
 left the country altogether, thus helping to spread the disease ; 
 others kept themselves in quarantine in their own homes. 
 The missionaries continued at their posts, daily visiting the
 
 IN Egypt. -j-j 
 
 sick, burying the dead, comforting the mourning and bereaved, 
 and giving what aid they could to the needy. Their kind 
 offices and Christian sympathy made for them many friends. 
 Mr. Leider's iihiess at tliat time, and at other times also, was 
 the means of bringing them into prominence and giving them 
 an opportunity of showing their sympathy with the suffering 
 and the bereaved. The cholera was specially severe among 
 the British who were in the employment of the Egyptian 
 government, no doubt on account of their drinking habits. 
 There were some cases which seemed to be direct divine 
 judgment. One man at a funeral 'was making light of the 
 cholera and was struck down next day, and buried alongside 
 of the body of the man at whose funeral he had been jesting. 
 For a time, however, some of the careless began to be seri- 
 ous and attended divine services, or welcomed the mission* 
 aries in their homes and accepted their Christian ministra- 
 tions. But as soon as the pestilence was over, the same 
 carelessness and worldliness reappeared in most of the 
 people ; so that Mr. McCague, in writing at the time, sa\-s : 
 " But what effect does it have upon the morals of the people.? 
 We perceive no change. They will lie, blaspheme, steal, 
 dissipate, just as before." Whatever effect this terrible dis- 
 ease had on the people generally, it seemed to have brouglit 
 the missionary nearer to God and make him more devoted to 
 Him, filling his heart with gratitude for His protecting care 
 and strengthening grace. Under the influence of those 
 scenes, when the realities of eternity were patent to the 
 Christian, I find Mr. Barnett writing in his diary, June 15, 
 1855, the following meditations in the form of a pra_\-er : 
 
 " Lord God Almighty, the God and Father of our Lord 
 and Saviour Jesus Christ, Thy tender mercies have been 
 exercised over me in a special manner all the days of m}' 
 life, in all my wanderings at home in America, and in these 
 eastern lands. Often, full often, had 1 noticed them, must I 
 have said, ' This is the doing of the Lord towards me, and it 
 is marvelous in mine eyes'; often must 1 have said, ' Tliis 
 place and that is none other than the gate of heaven'; and 
 often must I have said, ' Now is a time of loving-kindness to
 
 78 The American Mission 
 
 me.' I bless and praise Thy great name for the token of 
 Thy grace and love. I confess my unworthinessof the least 
 of Thy kindnesses. I lament my oft-repeated transgressions 
 of thy holy law, my defects at coming short at all times of 
 Thy glory, that I sin against Thee in thought and word and 
 deed daily, and hourly, secretly and publicly. I acknowledge 
 that 1 deserve Thy wrath and curse. If Thou hadst been 
 strict to mark iniquity, Thou wouldst have cut me off as a 
 cumberer of Thy ground. If thou hadst called me to judg- 
 ment I could not answer for one of a thousand of my trans- 
 gressions, for my sins are more in number than the hairs of 
 my head ; and they are highly aggravated in Thy sight, hav- 
 ing committed them against light and knowledge, notwith- 
 standing vows and promises, and contrary to the strivings of 
 Thy Spirit and the admonitions of conscience, and the terrible 
 rebukes of Thy providence, seen whilst at present thousands 
 are falling on the right hand and on the left ; and while the 
 pestilence walketh in darkness and the destruction wasteth 
 at noonday; and the terrors of the unmanageable and awful 
 disease with which Thou art chastising this city are making 
 all afraid, causing men's knees to tremble and their hearts to 
 fail within them, an awful panic pervading all. Great God, 
 my thoughts wander from Thee ; my love is cold towards 
 Thee ; my gratitude, though probably expressed, is inade- 
 quately felt, and things of time and sense divert me even in 
 my formal services. But I bless Thee that, by Thy provi- 
 dence. Thou art still granting me time for repentance and 
 opportunity to turn unto Thee and live. I would recognize 
 Thy special goodness for my present security, for the con- 
 tinued health and strength which Thou hast granted unto me, 
 and to all associated with me in the missionary work in this 
 city; and that Thou art thus encouraging us by Thy provi- 
 dence to trust in Thee, to serve Thee reverently and faith- 
 fully, to dedicate ourselves to Thy service, and to the best 
 interests of our fellowmen. And now, Oh ! God, do Thou 
 graciously for Christ's sake be pleased to pardon all my sins, 
 my shortcomings in Thy service, and prevent any evil con- 
 sequences from arising to me or to the cause in which I am 
 engaged ; and may I be renewedly devoted to Thee and to 
 that work which is Thine own ; and if it please Thee, may 
 my spared life be the instrument of doing much good to those 
 perishing around me. And, gracious God, if it please Thee, 
 do Thou stay the plague, and may it soon leave the city — 
 may it be blessed to the spiritual and eternal welfare of 
 all who have been afflicted by it in their families and rela-
 
 IN HGYPT. 79 
 
 tives ; and while Thy judgments are abroad on the earth, 
 may the people learn righteousness. Thou seest the iniquity 
 of this city that it is very great ; Thou seest that here are 
 many precious souls ; we have come from a far country to 
 do them good ; do Thou open up doors of usefulness to us 
 Do Thou here revive Thy work, which is Thine own, and 
 may the time soon come when nominal Christians, Jews, 
 and Muhammadans will all turn to Thee, and love and serve 
 Thee from a pure heart fervently. Oh ! may the judgments 
 of war and pestilence be heeded by all. Great God ! 1 com- 
 mit myself to Thee with all of mine. View me ever in Christ 
 Jesus, Thy Son. Pardon, sanctify and bless me as Thou 
 seest I need, both in body and in spirit. Give me tokens 
 for good, and make the path of duty plain, and give me 
 strength to walk therein continually; accept of me in person 
 and in service for Christ, my great Redeemer's sake. 
 Amen." 
 
 In the wake of the cholera there came another excite- 
 ment, a rebellion in Upper Egypt. The city was filled with 
 the wildest rumors. It was reported that the peasantry had 
 refused to pay the taxes, and had risen in rebellion against 
 the local authorities ; that the bedouins, seeing their oppor- 
 tunity, were banding together and enriching themselves with 
 public plunder. Thirteen steamers, laden with soldiers and 
 material of war, were hurriedly sent off up the river to put 
 down the rebellion before it should extend through the 
 country, and perhaps imperil the then existing government. 
 For a time there was great fear, as there was no means of 
 getting reliable reports. The missionaries, like the rest, 
 knew not what might happen, but they knew that the earth 
 and all therein are under the control of God, and He would 
 direct all things to His own glory. The petty rebellion was 
 soon put down, and it was discovered that there had been 
 great exaggeration in the reports that reached Cairo. 
 
 This also was the year of the Crimean war, in which 
 both Muhammadans and Christians were deeply interested. 
 As most of the Christian sects of Egypt sympathized with 
 Russia, while the Muhammadans sympathized, of course, 
 with Turkey, so the elements of strife and hatred existed in 
 Egypt as everywhere else in the Turkish empire, and no one
 
 8o The American Mission 
 
 knew at what moment might occur an open collision between 
 the opposing parties. The greatest interest was taken in the 
 war by both sides, and petty victories and defeats were 
 magnified according to the proclivities of the parties. There 
 was the greatest anxiety for news. One day the Turks and 
 their allies were victorious, on another the Russians. News 
 came of the death of Emperor Nicholas, and the Muhamma- 
 dans rejoiced at the report that the Russian warships were 
 burned lest they should fall into the hands of the allies. It 
 was difficult in such circumstances to do active mission work 
 in a country largely Muhammadan, and among the Christian 
 sects which sympathized secretly with Russia ; while the 
 missionaries, as Protestants, were supposed to sympathize 
 with the side to which England lent her aid. 
 
 This was the year also of the assassination of Abbas 
 Pasha, under circumstances too revolting to be recorded, 
 but in perfect keeping with his well-known and vicious 
 character. It was during this year, too, when telegraphic mes- 
 sages were first sent through to Cairo, and when the railway 
 traffic to Cairo was opened. Previously it was necessary to 
 make half of the journey by steamer on the Nile. A begin- 
 ning was made during the year in the work of education. 
 Persons, both native and European, had asked the mission- 
 aries to afford them facilities for the education of their 
 children. Dr. Abbat, the resident physician, a relative of 
 Brown Brothers, had two sons. The mother was an ignorant 
 native, who had had no opportunities herself, and was 
 unable to do anything to educate the children. Out of 
 sympathy for the boys, and under a sense of obligation to 
 their father, the missionaries consented to give them private 
 lessons in the mission house ; but they would attend one day, 
 and absent themselves the next, making all sorts of excuses 
 to deceive the missionaries as well as their own father, so 
 that little could be done for them. I met the boys many 
 years after in Monsurah, and felt that with sore eyes and un- 
 tidy habits in consequence of neglect when they were young, 
 they were objects of pity, indeed. After completing necessary
 
 Jewish Babbi.
 
 IN Egypt. 8i 
 
 arrangements, a school for boys was opened on November 
 29, 1855, with Mr. Awad Hanna as teaclier. He was a 
 young, enlightened Copt of considerable ability, afterwards a 
 church member, and when the church in Cairo was ortian- 
 ized he was chosen deacon. He was also for a time in charge 
 of the mission bookshop, was fond of discussion, very sharp 
 at repartee, delighted to pull down and root up, but had no 
 gift or inclination for the better work of spiritual edification. 
 He has in later years become disaffected and ceased to attend 
 the services. It is sad to see one, who was so active once, 
 losing at last all interest in the Gospel and its diffusion, and 
 its influence on his own life and the lives of others. May 
 the backslider be restored. The school opened with five 
 boys and soon increased to twenty. 
 
 There was little encouraging in the experience of the 
 missionaries with the people during 1855. Some came to 
 them pretending to be inquirers, and after a time, and per- 
 haps after fond hopes had been entertained, their worldly 
 motives were discovered ; and, not being able to secure 
 their ends, they withdrew from all intercourse with the mis- 
 sionaries, and dissuaded others from coming near them. 
 Some would come and show an interest in the trutli by pro- 
 pounding questions, and listening attentively to the answers 
 and explanations patiently given by the missionaries ; but 
 for some reason, not apparent, would suddenly cease coming 
 to the mission house, and avoid contact with the mission- 
 aries. There was one case which occurred this year in 
 which all, for a time, took special interest, but it ended, as 
 too often in other cases, in disappointment to their expecta- 
 tions. It was the case of a young woman whom Mr. and 
 Mrs. McCague met at the house of a certain Iskaros Effendi. 
 They were delighted with her appearance and earnest man- 
 ner. She was a European, said she was brought up a 
 Roman Catholic, but hated Catholicism and wished to t)e a 
 Protestant. But first of all she desired to get away from 
 the country and secure a passage to England, in order to get 
 out of the clutches of the priests, who annoyed her. Her 
 
 6
 
 82 The American Mission 
 
 parents and other relatives watched her closely, and would 
 not let her go out of the house without a companion to act 
 as a guard. Arrangements were made for her to visit the 
 McCagues on a certain day, and as she knew Arabic, Mr. 
 Barnett was to act as interpreter. She came at the time 
 appointed, and Mr. Barnett was called in to interpret. She 
 vvas described by one of the missionaries after this interview 
 as follows : 
 
 " She is of middle size, a brunette, with dark eyes, fine 
 teeth, a small mouth, a high and polished forehead, intelligent 
 countenance, of noble bearing, as if the daughter of a prince, 
 and withal apparently simple in her manners ; with a fine 
 form, bending slightly when seated, but like an arrow when 
 standing ; and all life and animation as she engages in con- 
 versation. Her parents are from Paris and Marseilles. 
 She speaks French and Italian, and Arabic much better than 
 Europeans generally." 
 
 Her story was that the was pestered with the priests on 
 account of her Protestant proclivities, and that she would 
 do anything in order to get out of their country and reach 
 England or Malta. The missionaries told her they could do 
 nothing to help her to leave the country ; that she had better 
 bear as patiently as possible, read her Bible, and the Lord 
 would guide her ; that she might be very useful in Cairo if 
 she became an honest and earnest Protestant Christian. 
 They proposed to teach her more about the Evangel, and 
 also to make her useful in giving instruction in some of the 
 languages she knew. But she was apparently bent on 
 leaving Egypt. Mr. Barnett had some suspicions in regard 
 to her ; indeed, he always appears to have been exceedingly 
 cautious, and perhaps slightly suspicious in his nature, 
 especially, as he noticed some evidence of affectation on her 
 part, and saw her one day looking out of the window as he 
 passed. She was frequently at Mr. McCague's, and some- 
 times brought with her some of her relatives. It occurred 
 to Mr. Barnett to mention her case to Mr. Leider, who, it 
 turned out, knew her and her history, and so was able to
 
 IN EGYPT. 83 
 
 put our missionaries on their guard ; and opened their eyes 
 to the fact that she was deceiving them and trying to enlist 
 their sympathy on the false plea that she was an honest 
 Protestant in order to get out of the country and join a young 
 priest, with whom she had fallen in love, and who had been 
 sent out of Egypt for his undue attentions to her. This was 
 a great disappointment to tlie missionaries, but was an 
 experience and a training to prepare them for similar exper- 
 iences in their missionary life. How often the cloak of 
 deception is put on and the pretense of the love of God's 
 truth put forward to secure from the missionaries help to 
 accomplish personal and worldly ends. 
 
 At the close of a very carefully-prepared report of the 
 year 1855, sent to Rev. J. T. Pressly, D. D., and signed by 
 Messrs. Barnett and McCague, they say : 
 
 "We have now laid before you a specimen of our 
 labors, prospects, and wants. Immediate and extensive 
 success must not be the index of our duty. Especially is this 
 true in this field, where there are so many retarding cir- 
 cumstances attending the work ; but while the field is large 
 and we have room to work, while it is open and we can 
 enter in, we must listen to the command, ' Go forward, 
 occupy till I come,' 'Go, go, go into all the world and 
 preach the gospel to every creature.' " 
 
 The Lord had thus brought them to the close of their 
 first year. .They had commenced the dissemination of divine 
 truth through the distribution of the Scriptures, through 
 education in the schools, through preaching on ihe Lord's 
 .day, through visitation of the people in their homes and 
 'n their places of business. They had varied experiences, 
 some to gladden and some to discourage. They all had some 
 experience of bodily sickness, and notably Mr. McCague, 
 who had several severe attacks of bilious troubles, which 
 Mr. Barnett tried unsuccessfully to convince him were 
 caused by his habit of chewing tobacco. They all had dur- 
 ing the cholera epidemic premonitory symptoms of this 
 terrible disease, yet they were brought to see the close of
 
 84 The American Mission 
 
 their first year in health and comfort, and were enabled tc 
 look forward with faith and hope, while Mr. McCague's 
 home was enlivened with the music of a son, who was 
 baptized by Mr. Barnett, and named John L. McCague, now 
 the president of the McCague Bros, banking establishment, 
 in Omaha, Neb. 
 
 The history of the work and personal movements of 
 the missionaries during 1856 can be briefly told. The ser- 
 vices in English were continued all the year with the excep- 
 tion of three months during the summer, when few residents 
 remained in the city, and some of the missionaries were 
 absent. The number present varied from the members of 
 the mission families only up to fifty persons, ^according to 
 the season of the traveling public. Had the place of meet- 
 ing been more conveniently situated and better fitted up for 
 such purposes, doubtless more of the tourist class would have 
 attended. 
 
 The services in Arabic, too, were conducted during ten 
 months of the year, Mr. Barnett being absent the other two 
 months, and neither Mr. McCague nor Mr. Martin being able 
 then to use the Arabic with sufficient ease to enable them to 
 lead public worship. From three to eight natives attended 
 pretty regularly. A second Arabic service was commenced 
 in Haret-es-Sakkain, the southern part of the city, on July 
 2^ , which was attended by from four to eighteen natives. 
 This was subsequently converted into a Bible class, which 
 seemed more in accordance with the desires of the younger 
 portion of the congregation. A prayer-meeting also was 
 held weekly in this part of the city for a few months. 
 
 The school was continued with an increase in theenrol'- 
 ment and attendance. The chief studies were reading and 
 writing in Arabic and English, Arabic grammar, arithmetic, 
 Brown's Catechism, with the usual devotional exercises in 
 the morning, consisting of a lesson in the Scriptures, a few 
 remarks thereon, and prayer. Several persons were induced 
 to attend the services on Sabbath day on account of their 
 children being in the school. Mr. McCague generally spent
 
 IN Egypt. 85 
 
 two hours in teaching, and Mr. Barnett took also a share in 
 the work. 
 
 Book Distribution. The actual number of volumes 
 distributed is not reported, but it is said that " many copies 
 of the Word of God and other religious books were disposed 
 of." These were sold, and therefore we have an assurance 
 that they were read, for few Egyptians will convert their 
 cash into a book without reading it. 
 
 It is very evident from the report to the Board for 1856, 
 and from the letters and diaries of the missionaries, that 
 their acquaintance with the people had widened, and that 
 they had begun to have frequent intercourse with many 
 persons ; and thus had opportunities for imparting religious 
 truth and answering questions put to them on the various 
 topics of difference between the missionaries and the old 
 Christian churches. No conversions, however, were reported, 
 although there were several apparently earnest inquirers. 
 
 The chief movement on the part of the missionaries 
 was that a house was taken in Haret-es-Sakkain for a sum- 
 mer resort, and Mr. and Mrs. McCague occupied it, finding it 
 cooler by several degrees than in the other center. This 
 afforded the means for opening a new center for mission 
 work in the city, and is the origin of the work in that quar- 
 ter. Mr. Barnett made a trip to Syria in the spring in order 
 to bring from there various appurtenances which he left 
 behind, and he was absent about two months, returning to 
 Egypt about the end of May. He had his usual good health, 
 althouo;h towards the end of the hot summer months he 
 complained of lassitude and weakness, and felt that the long 
 service in the East without a change to a cool climate was 
 beginning to tell upon his robust constitution. Mr. McCague 
 was still frequently troubled with his billions attacks, and in 
 addition suffered much from sore eyes, but he made excel- 
 lent progress in the language. 
 
 The mission was greatly strengthened by the arrival of 
 the Rev. G. Lansing from America, about the end of Novem- 
 ber, on his way to Damascus, intending, however, to spend
 
 86 The American iVlissiON 
 
 the winter in the mild climate of Egypt. But, as it turned 
 out in the providence of God, he became from that time a 
 permanent addition to the mission, and an important factor 
 in all its history thenceforth till his death. As he had already 
 been five years in Damascus and had acquired a good knowl- 
 edge of the Arabic language, he immediately took his share 
 in all the departments of the work. Of his arrival, Mr. 
 Barnett wrote to his brother-in-law, Dr. Paulding, as follows : 
 
 " In my last I told you of Mr. Lansing's arrival. It 
 was to me like a lost one found,* or like one that had been 
 restored from the dead. During the last month I spent a 
 part of almost every day in acting as his cicerone in sight- 
 seeing, and in visiting friends, so that he is fully introduced 
 to them all, and better acquainted with the localities of the 
 objects of greatest interest than I was six months after my 
 arri\al. He is living with me. We live very simply and 
 keep regular hours. Mr. Lansing has been improving in 
 health and spirits ever since he came, and the play-like 
 business of donkey riding has been very seasonable to me. 
 I, too, have sensibly improved. He has been really, to all 
 appearance, wholly restored to health " 
 
 On Mr. Lansing's arrival the question of occupying 
 Alexandria was brought up and discussed, and the work 
 decided upon, should the Board give its consent. Of this 
 Mr. Barnett says : " Mr. Lansing's arrival was most oppor- 
 tune for the interests of our mission. In consequence of his 
 restored health and the encouraging progress made by Messrs. 
 McCague and Martin in the acquisition of the language, and 
 the imperious demands of our mission in Egypt to have a 
 branch in Alexandria, I design to go down there within the 
 present month (January, 1857) to open and establish a new 
 station. We need an agent in Alexandria as we enlarge our 
 operations in the book distribution throughout the interior." 
 And in their report to the Board for 1856, the missionaries 
 say : " It is thought proper by us, with your consent, to 
 occupy Alexandria. Mr. Barnett wishes to go as soon as 
 
 * They had been associated together in Damascus.
 
 IN hGYPT. 87 
 
 possible, as the field needs cultivation, and as it is an im- 
 portant station for the advancement of our work in Egypt. 
 Mr. Lansing's remaining here will depend on his health, 
 which is now good." 
 
 With encouragement in the various lines of mission work, 
 through the gradual opening of doors of usefulness, and with 
 an eye to the wide extension of it in the future, they felt 
 that, with the advent of the new workman thoroughly equip- 
 ped for the work, they could, as they ought to, spread out 
 to other places. Thus closed the year 1856. 
 
 1857. This year commenced with encouraging prospects. 
 The missionary force, as we have seen, had just been 
 strengthened by the arrival of the Rev. G. Lansing. He 
 was young, hopeful and pushing, had a liking to be among 
 the people rather than to shut himself up in his study, and 
 by nature was endowed with an attractive manner in con- 
 versation. Mr. McCague was progressing rapidly in acquir- 
 ing a practical knowledge of the Arabic language, and hoped 
 soon to be able to use it in preaching the Word. New life 
 and spirit had been given to Mr. Barnett by the genial com- 
 panionship of his Damascus colleague. Preparations were 
 being made for his removal to Alexandria, but Providence 
 had other designs. Mr. Lansing early in January took a 
 severe cold, which was followed by a cough, causing some 
 fear that his old malady was about to return. Mr. Barnett 
 and he, therefore, proposed going up the Nile a short dis- 
 tance for a change of air and exploration of the-field, intend- 
 ing to go over to the Faiyum on a flying visit. Just then, 
 however, a distant relative of Mr. Lansing's from Albany, 
 N. Y., reached Cairo and wished to ascend the Nile for a 
 short distance. He pressed Mr. Lansing to accompany him 
 and his party, which he consented to do, Mr, Barnett re- 
 maining at his post to carry on the work in conjunction with 
 Mr. McCague, who had several ^classes in the school, and 
 was engaged daily with his teacher in his study of the lan- 
 guage. On the ist of February, 1857, Mr. McCague con- 
 ducted his first service in Arabic. It was a day of joy and
 
 88 The American Mission 
 
 thankfulness. In about two months more he preached again, 
 and soon after, when not prevented by sickness, was able to 
 take his turn in the Arabic services, as he had been doing 
 in the English. After the return of Mr. Lansing with his 
 friends, Mr. Barnett was exposed to a severe sandstorm, 
 which he thus describes in a letter written at the time to one 
 of his relatives in America: 
 
 " This has been one of those awfully windy days which 
 frequently happen in Egypt about this season of the year. 
 The wind began to blow early. Then a hazy appearance 
 filled the whole atmosphere, which increased as the day ad- 
 vanced. I was out several times during the day. By lo 
 o'clock it was beginning to be so dark that I could not see 
 the mountains east of the city, nor the mosques and minarets 
 of the citadel, nor half across the city. The haziness con- 
 tinued to increase, and then a fine small dust and yellow 
 sand were borne in the air and carried into the house through 
 every crevice, however small. I have heard a saying that 
 the dust and sand are endowed with such a power of pene- 
 tration that they will go through the shell of an egg and affect 
 its contents, leaving the shell unbroken. This is, of course, 
 an exaggeration ; but it shows how the people regard the 
 effect of such storms. The rooms exposed to the strength 
 of the storm, although kept as close as possible, are so filled 
 with sand and dust that it is with the greatest discomfort one 
 sits in them. In a few minutes after sweeping and dusting, 
 everything is covered the same as before. While out of the 
 house I got my nose, eyes, ears and mouth full of this dust, 
 so that I was almost suffocated, and the wind drifted the sand 
 into eddies and currents like snow." 
 
 Soon after being thus exposed, Mr. Barnett was laid 
 aside with fever, from which he did not recover for some 
 weeks, and then he was weak and unable for duty. It was, 
 therefore, thought best that he should have a change, and in 
 order to unite means of recuperation with mission work, Mr. 
 Lansing and he hired a boat for a month and made a trip up 
 as far as Asyut, improving every opportunity to converse 
 with the people. Among other places visited was Colosana, 
 where they spent a Sabbath. Going to the Coptic church, 
 they were warned by one of the priests not to enter, on 
 account of the multitude of fleas. They showed more Ameri-
 
 t:i^ 
 
 Water Carrier — Alexandria.
 
 IN Egypt. 89 
 
 can pluck than prudence, however, and entered, but only to 
 be obliged to beat a precipitate retreat, and to learn a lesson 
 which served them well for years afterwards. They then 
 sat down at the door of one of the priests' houses, where 
 the following conversation took place, as related by Dr. 
 Lansing : * 
 
 " About the first question put to us was, ' Are you 
 fasting the holy fast ?' 
 
 " ' No,' we replied. 
 
 "'Why not?' 
 
 " ' Because we have not been commanded to do so,' we 
 answered. 
 
 " ' Did not the Saviour fast forty days .'' 
 
 " 'Yes, but we have not been commanded, neither are 
 we able to do as He did ; and besides you do not follow His 
 example. We are told that during the forty days he neither 
 ate bread nor drank water, whereas you do both. That 
 which you call fasting is a simple exchange of one kind of 
 food for another, of which we read nowhere in the Scrip- 
 tures.' 
 
 " ' Do you never fast then ?' they said. 
 
 " ' Yes,' we replied ; but thus and thus, and on such 
 and such occasions, we added. 
 
 "'But the fathers have commanded us to fast; and 
 surely there is merit in thus humbling and weakening the 
 body for the strengthening of the soul.' 
 
 "'But,' we said, 'God has not commanded us to 
 weaken our bodies, but has given us our powers of body and 
 mind, and commanded us to love and serve him with them 
 all ; and as for the commands of the fathers, we know that 
 the apostles and evangelists and early Christians who lived 
 before the fathers were saved on the strength of the things 
 written in the Word of God, and independently of the tra- 
 ditions which were afterwards added, and we by the grace of 
 God hope to be saved in the same way.' 
 
 " ' But do you acknowledge nothing but the Bible ? Do 
 you have no monks ?' 
 
 " We replied that we were not commanded to be 
 monks. 
 
 " ' But, did not the Saviour retire to the mountains and 
 deserts for prayer and meditation with God .-" 
 
 * Christian Instructor, vol. 13, p. 383-
 
 90 The American Mission 
 
 " ' Yes,' we said, ' but only temporarily. He spent His 
 life in going about doing good, and commanded His apostles 
 to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every 
 creature, and this should be our business it we are true 
 successors.' " 
 
 Then, as for many years after, the subject first brought 
 up by the Copt was that of fasting, because this, in fact, 
 was the sum and substance of piety in his estimation, the 
 ground of his salvation, the one thing on account of which 
 he pleased the Most High and received from Him the pardon 
 of all his sins. 
 
 On their way down the river they made a short trip to 
 the Faiyum, after which they returned to Cairo at the end 
 of the month for which they had hired the boat. During 
 their brief tour they discovered that there were many Copts 
 in the villages, and especially in the province of Asyut. 
 On reaching Cairo they found Mr. and Mrs. McCague in 
 deep concern over the severe illness of their second child. 
 He had taken the smallpox. His vaccination had been post- 
 poned on account of the want of vaccine matter, and being 
 exposed to the loathsome disease had fallen a victim. For 
 some days the child became better and worse, causing alter- 
 nately hope and fear, until though he had safely passed 
 through all the stages of the disease, yet he died of ex- 
 haustion on May 2, the first death in the mission circle, little, 
 but none the less, perhaps all the more, dearto the mourning 
 parents. He was laid to rest in the English cemetery, 
 where he was joined later on by other members of the mis- 
 sion families, to await the sound of the last trumpet. 
 
 Soon after this Mr. Lansing was attacked with varioloid, 
 but recovered after a short time, though somewhat weak- 
 ened and unfit for work for sorr^e weeks. All meetings were 
 suspended for three weeks, to allow time for sanitation 
 measures to prevent the spread of the disease. 
 
 It was not long after the loss of his child that Mr. Mc- 
 Cague had a severe attack of ophthalmia, and the health of 
 his remaining child gave way. Fearing serious consequences 
 in both cases by remaining in Cairo, the doctor ordered
 
 IN Egypt. 91 
 
 them to seek a change of climate in Syria. As Mr. Lansing 
 was going on to Damascus, for the purpose of bringing his 
 household furniture to Egypt, Mr. and Mrs. McCague and 
 their little one accompanied him. They left on June 5, 
 taking the boat at Alexandria for Beirut. Mr. Barnett 
 remained at his post in Cairo all summer, but on prudential 
 grounds he suspended the Arabic services in the Haret-es- 
 Sakkain quarter during their absence. He was still intend- 
 ing to remove to Alexandria on their return, and in the mean- 
 time commenced a correspondence with Dr. Philip on this 
 subject, and as to the advisability of union in the mission 
 work there as a means of making it more successful. It 
 was also the desire of the missionaries in Egypt to induce 
 the Board at home to allow the new missionary for Damas- 
 cus, the Rev. John Crawford, to be transferred to Egypt, 
 and for this purpose they corresponded with the Board, sug- 
 gesting that he land at Alexandria and remain there on his 
 way out from home, hi this, however, they were not 
 successful, as the Damascus mission had, at that time, a 
 large place in the hearts of the people in America. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. McCague and child, all much improved in 
 health, returned to Egypt early in October, much to the 
 relief and joy of Mr. Barnett, whose vigor had been some- 
 what weakened by the heat of the summer, together with 
 the extra work that had fallen on him on account of the 
 absence of his colleagues. From this time to the end of the 
 year the work was prosecuted with energy and persever- 
 ance. 
 
 The owner of the house in which the services were 
 held threatened to increase the rent, and this induced the 
 missionaries to look around for other quarters, and led them 
 to consider the question whether it would not be better to 
 divide their forces, and occupy two points in Cairo instead 
 of one. This division was agreed upon, and Mr. McCague 
 rented a house in Haret-es-Sakkain. To this house he 
 removed, and the boys' school was also transferred to that 
 center, and for a time continued to grow in numbers and
 
 92 The American Mission 
 
 efficiency. Mr. McCague had also in this way an independ- 
 ent field of labor in which to use his talents and employ his 
 time in the school and in mingling with the people. Mr. 
 Barnett rented another house near his former headquarters, 
 and the only Arabic service was held in it, Messrs. McCague 
 and Martin giving their assistance. The English service 
 also was conducted, as usual, by the three in turn, but the 
 book department was in the hands of Mr. Barnett. The 
 proceeds of sales of Scriptures for the year 1857 amounted 
 to 2000 piastres, and other books to 6000. 
 
 Mr. Lansing, returning from Damascus, landed at Alex- 
 andria on October 17, and was joined by his family (who 
 had been in America for about eighteen months) on the 6th 
 of the following month. Almost immediately it was decided 
 that Mr. Lansing instead of Mr. Barnett occupy Alexandria, 
 and so under date of October 19, 1857, Mr. Lansing wrote 
 from Alexandria, saying : " I sit here this evening in what 
 I hope will be my future home. The sea, which comes up 
 to within twenty paces of the house, is roaring beneath my 
 window, and I sit with my gloomy light in one end of a 
 room, nearly eighty feet in length, in which I expect on 
 next Sabbath to commence declaring the truth as it is in 
 Jesus. May it be said, when the Lord counts and writes 
 the people, that this man and that man were born here." 
 On November 19, he wrote, saying: "The week after 
 coming here we gave notice that on the following Sabbath 
 we would hold Arabic services if any wished to attend. 
 None came, however, and so I had a Sabbath of rest. The 
 next Sabbath two natives attended, and we could claim the 
 fulfilment of the promise given to two or three, and I trust 
 it was fulfilled. The following Sabbath seven were present, 
 and last Sabbath ten. This is very encouraging." 
 
 The attendance remained about ten during the month of 
 December. Mr. Lansing was not, however, the only worker 
 in Alexandria at that time, hideed, efforts had been made 
 and were being made by several others on various lines. 
 With some of these Mr. Lansing soon was on the most
 
 IN Egypt. 
 
 93 
 
 friendly terms, and proposals for united effort were made on 
 both sides. 
 
 This would seem to be a suitable place for giving a brief 
 statement in regard to what had already been attempted in 
 missionary work in Alexandria, and how far success had 
 crowned these efforts, and what were the proposals for 
 united action for the future. 
 
 The first recorded attempts made in Alexandria to 
 spread the light of the Gospel in that ancient city in modern 
 times were through tlie personal efforts of Rev. Dr. Her- 
 mann Philip, father of the present editor and proprietor of 
 the "Egyptian Gazette," and the Rev. R. Grant Brown, 
 who came out under the auspices of a Scotch society for 
 the conversion of tlie Jews. Little, however, was accom- 
 plished by them among that ancient people, except to explore 
 the field, become acquainted with its needs and difficulties, 
 and suggest what seemed to them the best means for 
 reaching the people and obtaining opportunities to teach 
 them Gospel truth. As a result of their investigations and 
 deliberations, they proposed to their society the establishing 
 of a Protestant college in Alexandria, and to secure the 
 realization of this proposition local committees were formed 
 in Alexandria, Edinburgh and Glasgow, for the purpose of 
 collecting the necessary funds. Failing in their efforts to 
 raise sufficient means for carrying into effect this project, 
 and "learning that the teacher whose services had been 
 secured for the initiation of the college scheme was willing 
 to begin a school on a smaller scale, the committee deter- 
 mined to open a school of humbler pretensions than that 
 which was originally proposed. \n this they were encouraged 
 by the grant of ^50 annually from the Scottish society for the 
 conversion of the Jev^/s, whose honorary secretary, the 
 Rev. J. L. Sikman, D. D., had taken a leading part in the 
 movement from the beginning." In consequence of this 
 arrangement a Mr. John Hogg (afterwards Dr. John Hogg of 
 our mission), a graduate of Edinburgh, who had already 
 taken three years in the Dixinity Hall in that cit_\-, came
 
 94 The American Mission 
 
 to Alexandria under engagement for three years. He 
 reached Alexandria on December 6, 1856, and opened the 
 school on December 1 5 of the same year in a most unsuit- 
 able center, and in a most uncomfortable room on the ground 
 floor of Dr. Philip's house. While conducting the school he 
 prosecuted the study of Italian and Arabic, and in a few 
 months was able to speak the former with acceptance and 
 profit. During 1857 the school was removed to an old 
 palace in the Abu Abbas quarter. Dr. Phil'p went to Malta 
 during the summer and returned to Alexandria for only a 
 short time, the Rev. R. Grant Brown having already left. 
 Mr. Hogg thus found himself in full charge of the school, 
 though under the nominal direction of the local committee. 
 The school did not improve in the new house to which it had 
 been removed, because it v/as too far away from the quarter 
 from which pupils would be expected to come. This was 
 the state of this effort at mission education when Mr. Lan- 
 sing arrived. Efforts had been made, as I have already 
 intimated, to effect a union with Dr. Philip in the educational 
 and other departments of mission work in Alexandria, but 
 nothing had been accomplished. On the arrival of Mr. 
 Lansing, Mr, Hogg gave up his house to him and his family 
 and became their guest. The Scottish Mission to the Jews 
 gave up that year all its work to the United Presbyterian 
 Church of Scotland, and the Board of Foreign Missions of 
 that Church proposed at first to concentrate its missionary 
 efforts in Alexandria, but on Dr. Philip asking a sum of 
 ^1,600 for the work there, which they considered more 
 than they could collect, they therefore refused to give their 
 consent. Dr. Philip then withdrew, and the mission, as far 
 as the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland was con- 
 cerned, was abandoned. Negotiations were still carried on 
 by the local committee in Alexandria, with this one result, 
 that a promise of aid to the amount of ^,^50 a year was 
 secured towards the support of the boys' school. 
 
 In addition to the boys' school under the direction of 
 Mr. Hogg, there was also a girls' school in Alexandria at the
 
 IN Egypt. 95 
 
 time our missionary took up his residence there. The origin 
 of this school was in consequence of Dr. Philip and Rev. R. 
 Grant Brown's visit to Scotland after they had been some 
 years in Alexandria. In their efforts to stir up the people of 
 Scotland to take an interest and share in female education in 
 the East, they succeeded in having a ladies' association 
 formed in Paisley * for the promotion of the Christian educa- 
 tion of girls in Alexandria. A young woman, of pejuliar 
 linguistic qualifications for conducting an educational institu- 
 tion in that city of many creeds and tongues, was secured in 
 the person of a Miss Pringle. A house was rented in a nar- 
 row, dark alley, called the street of the Ropemakers, situated 
 about three minutes' walk from the Grand Square, and a 
 school was opened in the month of December, 1856. The 
 rapid growth of this school surprised everyone. Dr. Hogg, 
 in " Times of Blessing," wrote of this effort as follows : "I 
 do not recollect, after twenty years' experience, to have seen 
 any similar attempt crowned with such success in the same 
 space of time. In the course of one year Miss Pringle found 
 herself in a crowded school-room, surrounded by eighty or 
 ninety girls of various ages and attainments, and of different 
 religions and nationalities, although the majority were Jew- 
 esses. Her very success, however, threatened the effort 
 with early failure, for, having no efficient assistant, she was 
 tempted, as most of our missionaries frequently are, to over- 
 task her strength, and in the autumn of 1857 she was con- 
 strained to return to Scotland. The local committee carried 
 on the school for a short time by means of such teachers as 
 could be obtained in the country." This was the condition 
 of this enterprise when Mr. Lansing commenced mission 
 work in Alexandria on behalf of our mission. 
 
 The year 1857 closed with Mr. Lansing and Mr. Hogg 
 occupying the same house in Alexandria, and assisting each 
 other in the mission work. Mr. Hogg, for the most part, en- 
 gaged in the educational department, in which few, ' may 
 
 * This society continued to send its annual liberal contribution for the 
 school long after it was transferred to our mission.
 
 90 The AMERICAN Mission 
 
 say none, ever surpassed him ; while Mr. Lansing spent the 
 most of his time and strength in the evangelistic department, 
 both in English and Arabic. There was yet no formal union, 
 but negotiations had already been opened looking to a union 
 between the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland and 
 the Associate Reformed Church of North America, for the 
 prosecution of mission work in the maritime city of Egypt. 
 There was, however, a union of kindred spirits in the Lord's 
 work, which continued till first the one and then the other 
 were called up to be with their Master. 
 
 The year closed in Cairo with Messrs. Barnett and Mc- 
 Cague both on the ground. Mr. McCague was just begin- 
 ning to convalesce after a severe attack of fever, and Mr. 
 Barnett was more and more feeling the effects of a long resi- 
 dence in the East without any change. The attendance at 
 Arabic service had increased, the school continued to grow 
 in numbers and efficiency. Through the book department 
 the Scriptures and other religious books were being put into 
 the hands of the people. Thus the seed was being sown for 
 a future harvest.
 
 IN EGYPT. Q7 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 1858 to December 31, i860— Transfer of girls' school, Alexandria, to our 
 mission — Mr. Hogg ill, visits Cairo, and then in company with Mr. Lansing 
 visits Jerusalem — Sabbath schools commenced in Alexandria — Evening meet- 
 ings in Haret es-Sakkain, Cairo — Salih Awad — Mr. Martin leaves for Amer- 
 ica — Father Makhiel and a copy of the Bible — Sickness in 1858 — Times of fear 
 and trembling — Sickness in 1859 — Mr. McCague goes to Tunis — Mr. Lansing 
 to Sinai — Mr. Hogg leaves for Scotland — Boys' school in Alexandria under 
 Mr. Lansing's care— Bible depots opened in Alexandria and Cairo— Dr. Abbat 
 dies — Dr. Paterson goes to Cairo — First communion in Arabic — 1860 — ^\r. 
 John Hogg appointed missionary, marries, and is shipwrecked in Bay of Bis- 
 cay and loses all — Refurnished in Scotland and comes out by Paris — Organ- 
 ization of Presbytery — Mr. Hogg ordained — Refugees in Alexandria — Work 
 among them — Visits to the Arsenal — Work among the English-speaking com- 
 munity in Cairo — Bible distribution. 
 
 1858. This year opened with doors of usefulness widen- 
 ing, missionary opportunities multiplying, but the workers 
 reduced by sickness or weakened through long residence in 
 an enervating climate. For some time Mr. McCague re- 
 mained in a weak state in consequence of the fever, and on 
 partially recovering strength was attacked by a severe form 
 of rheumatism, from which he suffered excruciating pain, 
 and was thereby rendered unable for work for some time. 
 At the annual meeting of the missionaries, held early in 1858, 
 they did not appear, however, to be in any sense discouraged, 
 or to have any intention of restricting their field of labor, 
 but rather looked hopefully into the future and determined to 
 push onward the work and e.xtend it to other towns and vil- 
 lages. In their annual report they say: " Asyut ought to 
 have at least two married missionaries, one of whom ought 
 by all means to be a physician. Girga and Luxor are the 
 next in importance as main stations. We ought to have, and 
 must have, and that speedily, at least another family in 
 Cairo, especially in view of Mr. Barnett's immediate return 
 to America."
 
 98 The American Mission 
 
 As to Alexandria, the girls' school formerly conducted 
 by Miss Pringle was formally transferred to our mission, by 
 order of the ladies' society of Paisley. Dr. Philip was very 
 desirous to have it passed over to Mr. Yule, who had recently 
 arrived on the field under the auspices of the Established 
 Church of Scotland, to labor among the Jews, but the ladies' 
 committee of Alexandria said they had received orders from 
 Scotland to deliver it over to Mr. Lansing, of the American 
 mission, and that they had already carried out these instruc 
 tions. Miss Sarah B. Dales, who had been connected with 
 our Damascus mission, was transferred to the Egyptian mis- 
 sion and put in direct charge of this school. Writing on July 
 17, 1858, she said : " I reached Alexandria on May 28, and 
 on the following day was introduced by Mr. Lansing to the 
 female Protestant school, and have since been most actively 
 engaged in the discharge of my favorite duties. This school, 
 you are aware, was under the patronage of a society of 
 Christian ladies in Scotland, and in charge of a teacher sent 
 out and supported by them. Her health, however, failing 
 during the last year, and thus obliging her to return home, 
 the school gradually declined for want of permanent and 
 efficient teachers. Unable to continue it longer under such 
 unfavorable auspices, it was urged by the committee in Alex- 
 andria, and cordially sanctioned by the society of Paisley, 
 that it be given under the direction of our mission here, they 
 still pledging their continued patronage and interest in the 
 undertaking, which they had so tenderly and prayerfully 
 fostered. During the month and a half of our connection 
 with it, we have received more than eighty girls, with a daily 
 average of thirty-five, large numbers being kept at home on 
 account of ophthalmia. It is quite a Jewess school, there 
 being only a few Christian girls, and but one Muslim." 
 
 Thus in the providence of God our mission entered 
 upon the result of Miss Pringle's arduous labors, and was 
 permitted to build on the foundation she laid so well. God 
 in this way was telling our missionaries to go forward and 
 occupy in the name of His Son, to whom he has promised
 
 IN Egypt. 
 
 99 
 
 to give the " heathen for an inheritance, and the uttermost 
 parts of the earth for a possession," and Miss Dales, with 
 her natural vivacity, tact, intelligence, and Christian earn- 
 estness, v/as a fitting successor to Miss Pringle, and under 
 her management and instruction the school soon became an 
 important agency in training the girls of Alexandria, among 
 them many Jewesses, in branches "of education calculated 
 to make them useful in the world, and happy in eternity. 
 
 The boys' school remained under the care of Mr. Hoo^a. 
 who, however, through intense application to the study of 
 the language, and instruction and management of the school, 
 got into such a condition of sleeplessness that for six weeks 
 he was not conscious of having slept any, and in addition 
 was tormented with violent headache and toothache, and in 
 consequence became utterly unfit for duty. His physician 
 imperatively insisted on his leaving Alexandria for a time, 
 and friends in the city constrained him to obey his orders as 
 the only means of preventing more serious consequences. 
 So in company with a Free Church licentiate from Scotland, 
 he visited Cairo during the months of January and February. 
 Mr. Lansing and a Syrian, by name Khalil Sidawi, carried 
 on the school during his absence. During the month of 
 April, Mr. Hogg and Mr. Lansing made a short visit to Jeru- 
 salem and its surroundings, leaving the school in charge of 
 the same Syrian, but the attendance greatly decreased until 
 only twelve remained. However, after a new home was found 
 for it near the Square, the attendance gradually improved 
 until it reached thirty-five in November. From this time 
 the school was practically, though not nominally, connected 
 with the American Mission, and it was then that a fee for 
 tuition was imposed on those who were able to pay, es- 
 pecially in case they were learning some foreign language. 
 About this juncture, too, a Sabbath school for girls was com- 
 menced in the morning, and another for boys in the after- 
 noon. The two were subsequently merged into one ; a 
 simple gospel address being given to the scholars just before 
 the morning service by Mr. Hogg.
 
 100 The American Mission 
 
 Services in English and Arabic were conducted bv Mr. 
 Lansing in his house at Abu Abbas until the arrival of Mr. 
 Yule, to whom Mr. Lansing proposed that the English ser- 
 vice be taken in turn. Mr. Yule, however, secured the use 
 of the Prussian chapel, in the European quarter of the city, 
 and for the most part conducted the English service himself. 
 The attendance at the Arabic service was about seventy^-' 
 from fifty to sixty of whom were scholars who attended the 
 schools during the week. At this time, Mr. Khalil Sidawi, 
 already mentioned, was a regular attendant, and bright 
 hopes were entertained of his future, as he was a studious 
 and intelligent young man, and had expressed a desire to 
 study for the ministry, and Mr. Lansing commenced to give 
 him some preparatory instructions; but parties advised him 
 to go to England or Scotland and prosecute his studies. This 
 plan he greatly desired to carry out, but the way and means 
 not being secured as he expected, he finally lost his interest 
 in religion, and ceased to attend the Arabic services, causing 
 much disappointment to those who entertained bright hopes 
 in regard to his future usefulness in the Lord's vineyard. 
 
 Turning to Cairo, we find that the work in its various 
 departments was carried on without interruption, except that, 
 on account of Mr. McCague's severe illness, the services on 
 the Sabbath in Haret-es-Sakkain were not resumed until 
 April II. The attendance until the end of the year varied 
 somewhat, but generally consisted of from ten to twelve 
 adults, in addition to the school children. An evening read- 
 ing class was opened by Mr. McCague, at which a few 
 attended, among them Mr. Saleh Awad, a grain merchant, 
 whose house was just across the narrow street from Mr. 
 McCague's residence, and who was a man of good character, 
 but very zealous in defending the doctrines and practices of 
 the Coptic Church. When any statement was made that 
 seemed to clash with the tenets or ritual of his mother 
 Church, he would immediately object and ask for proofs to 
 establish the truth of the declaration. This gave Mr. Mc- 
 Cague the opportunity to read passages of Scriptures bearing
 
 IN EGYPT. 101 
 
 on the subject, which would for the time bring him to silence. 
 But next day he was sure to go to his priest and ask him to 
 produce proofs from the Word of God to establish the truth 
 of the teachings of his Church, and finding him utterly- 
 unable to produce any such proofs, he would at first sullenly 
 brood over the subject, and then at last unwillingly assent 
 to Mr. McCague's position, hut gradually was led to adopt it 
 as his own and defend it against the members of his own 
 Church. Every question of difference between the Coptic 
 doctrines and evangelical Christianity he fought out in detail 
 in this way with Mr. McCague, until he became thoroughly 
 rooted and grounded in the faith. He would receive no proof 
 except from God's Word, and when his priest would take 
 him to the sayings of the fathers and the councils he would 
 say, " I do not want these ; I want the chapter and verse in 
 some book of the Old Testament or the New." No wonder 
 he developed into a Christian of strong character, and 
 became one of the elders in the first session of the Cairo 
 congregation. 
 
 The school for boys in Haret-es-Sakkain was still 
 taught by Mr. Awad Hanna, and had an attendance of thirty- 
 five, Mr. McCague giving the Bible lesson and instruction to 
 some boys in the English language. 
 
 Mr. Barnett remained in the Darb-el-Ganeina district, 
 and conducted the Arabic services on the Lord's day. It 
 appears from his diary that he often visited the English resi- 
 dents, and was especially attentive and faithful in the 
 visitation of the sick, the suffering, and the mourning. 
 Messrs. Martin, McCague and he continued to conduct the 
 English service in turns, until the former left for America 
 with his helper, on April 17. 
 
 Among those who frequently called on Mr. Barnett at 
 that time was a Coptic monk, called Makhiel, from Belyana, 
 a small town in the upper country, not far from Girga. He 
 was of an inquiring turn of mind, with a fair knowledge of 
 the Scriptures, a very unusual thing among Coptic monks 
 at that time. He had a great love for reading when
 
 102 The American Mission 
 
 he was in the monastery, and had acquired a remarkable 
 knowledge of Eastern Church history and the history of his 
 own branch of the Church in particular, and was able to give 
 useful information on many points connected with Chris- 
 tianity and its various phases in the Nile valley. When he 
 first went to the convent he had never seen a complete copy 
 of God's Word. He was anxious to get possession of a copy 
 in his own tongue, and he realized his wishes in the follow- 
 ing manner. A brother monk returned to the convent one 
 day bringing with him a large book which had been given to 
 him, most likely by an agent of the Church Mission So- 
 ciety, which was accustomed to distribute the Scriptures 
 gratuitously in the Nile valley. Makhiel asked him to let 
 him look at the book. To his great delight he found it was 
 a complete copy of the Old and New Testament in Arabic, 
 printed for the British and Foreign Bible Society. After 
 reading in it awhile he determined to try and buy it from 
 his brother monk. Fortunately the monk did not have much 
 love for reading, but was in great need of a pair of shoes. 
 So Makhiel proposed to give him a pair of new shoes in 
 barter for the Bible. The monk readily agreed to this, and 
 Makhiel secured the long-wished-for book. In this he read 
 constantly until he became quite familiar with its contents, 
 and was able to refer to any passage without the use of a 
 concordance. In after years, when I was brought in con- 
 tact with him in mission work in Alexandria, Monsurah and 
 Cairo, I often envied him his readiness in locating passages 
 of Scripture. Of him, Mr. Barnett wrote, in the annual 
 report for 1858, when he was enumerating and describing 
 those who were regular attendants at Divine worship : " A 
 third is a priest of the Coptic Church. He is to all appear- 
 ances sincere, and is well acquainted with the principles of 
 our Church. He has been a constant attendant at our ser- 
 vices for more than a year, and we have known him much 
 longer ; but he has no means of livelihood, and as he has little 
 education we can make but little use of him. He has been 
 of some use, however, in conversing with the people, and in
 
 IN EGYPT. 103 
 
 inducing a few to attend our meetings." This priest will 
 often appear in the liistory of the mission, and proved to be 
 of much more use in the Lord's work than Mr. Barnett at 
 first supposed, hi 1858 he interfered more than was agree- 
 able with Mr. Barnett's time for study and preparation, and 
 often intimated that he would like to give himself to the 
 service of the mission provided he could get even a bare 
 living ; but Mr. Barnett, with his natural cautiousness and 
 conservatism., gave him no encouragement. Mr. Barnett 
 lived, however, long enough to think better of his qualifica- 
 tions, and to acquiesce in his being set apart to the ministry 
 of the Word. Among others who attended regularly was an 
 Armenian, by name Menas Yacob, who afterwards made a 
 public profession of his faith and united with our Church, 
 and subsequently became an elder in the Cairo congregation. 
 
 The year 1858 had its trials and anxieties. Mr. Mc- 
 Cague was ill for more than three months. Mr. Barnett, 
 too, was often troubled with weakness and dizziness. On 
 one occasion he was in such a serious condition that twelve 
 leeches had to be applied to his chest and blisters to his 
 head. Mr. Hogg, as we have seen, was laid aside for two 
 months. Mr. Barnett was anxious to take a change by going 
 to America for a year or two, but he thought he could not 
 leave until some one came out to aid Mr. McCague, who was 
 seldom in vigorous health. 
 
 For a time all the missionaries were in great anxiety. 
 1858 was the year during which the English and French took 
 Canton, the year of the terrible mutiny in India, and the 
 year of the fanatical and brutal massacre in Jedda. The 
 news of revolts, wars and massacres had its influence on the 
 Muslim population. Their natural hatred to Christians 
 showed itself more and more every day. Past experience 
 had taught the Christians and Jews to be suspicious. The 
 Muslims threw out hints and threats. They had heard of 
 the uprising in India, and of the riots and murders in Jedda. 
 They were known to be meditating an uprising in Cairo and 
 Alexandria. They were suspected of making preparations
 
 104 The American Mission 
 
 to carry out their intentions. The air was full of rumors ; 
 many lived in great terror night and day. The Muhamma- 
 dans became aware of the fear that fell upon the Christians, 
 and they intentionally, by looks, gestures and words, in- 
 creased that fear. The missionaries were quite aware of 
 their own danger, and were prepared to hear of an uprising 
 at any time, night or day. They prayed together and com- 
 mitted themselves to the care of Him whose glory they came 
 to Egypt to promote. The missionaries in Alexandria lived 
 in the Muhammadan quarter, and every day had opportunity 
 to notice the threatening demeanor of the Muslims, and knew 
 that there was real cause for fearing the worst. Miss Dales 
 had to be accompanied to and from the school by one of the 
 gentlemen, for not only the populace threatened her, but even 
 the soldiers on duty had insulted her in various ways, and 
 on one occasion attempted to push her off her donkey as she 
 was riding along. \n tiieir residence, too, the missionaries 
 were in great danger, because they were surrounded by the 
 most fanatical persons in the city, and their house would 
 most likely be the first to be attacked. Mr. Yule, of the 
 Scotch mission, kindly offered them the use of a house in the 
 European quarter. As they did not wish to show any evi- 
 dence of fear, they remained in their house and continued at 
 their usual duties ; but they were kept in such a state of 
 perturbation on account of what they heard and witnessed 
 in the neighborhood, that they were ready to put the worst 
 construction on anything that might occur. One night 
 (before the action of Sa'id Pasha in Cairo), after retiring to 
 rest, and when the greatest fear possessed the non-Muslim 
 population of Alexandria, they were aroused from their repose 
 by a violent knocking at the door, and on looking out at the 
 window they saw a motley crowd with torches, guns and 
 swords standing around the door, as if they were intent upon 
 entering. The missionaries thought, "This, now, is the 
 beginning of i^ie threatened religious riot. As we expected, 
 we are the first to be attacked." For a few minutes they 
 were at a loss what to do, but finally concluded they would
 
 CD 
 
 6 
 e 
 
 ^ 
 
 o
 
 IN EGYPT. 105 
 
 remain silent and see wliat would be the result. By and by, 
 the person of their own servant was discovered among the 
 crowd, and from various expressions, which were caught in 
 the general din and confusion, it became apparent that there 
 was no intention on the part of the crowd to injure any one. 
 On account of the resistance of the servant to the police, 
 who wished to put him in ward for the night and fine him 
 for breaking the law by being out after a certain hour with- 
 out a lantern, the people had collected and accompanied the 
 policemen to the house. The servant reckoned on being 
 preserved from the consequences of his act by pleading he 
 was in the service of a Frank. The missionaries thought 
 best not to interfere with the execution of the law, but allowed 
 the servant to make the best terms he could with the 
 police. 
 
 in Cairo the excitement was even greater than in Alex- 
 andria. It was reported that thirty craft full of Bedouin 
 Arabs were coming up the Red Sea to attack Suez. The 
 Christians there became very uneasy, especially as their 
 Muslim servants became very insolent and threatening. 
 Arabs from the desert were hovering about the town, wait- 
 ing for the expected opportunity of plunder. At this juncture 
 an application was made to the governor for more troops, 
 and, thanks to the promptitude of the government, the addi- 
 tional force soon arrived, and then the Arabs disappeared 
 from the neighborhood In Cairo a Christian merchant 
 asked a Muslim to pay a debt due to him. This he refused 
 to do. At this a war of words commenced between them, 
 and the Muslim who had always before acted in an honest 
 and quiet manner, angrily called out that he would never 
 pay, but would, before many days passed, find an opportu- 
 nity of putting him out of the way. Others who presented 
 notes for payment had the notes snatched from their hands, 
 and torn to pieces before their eyes. Many petty mis- 
 demeanors were perpetrated by the Muslims, until almost a 
 reign of terror was produced. Some twenty names of guilty 
 persons were reported by the English and French consuls,
 
 io6 The American Mission 
 
 and the pasha had them apprehended and imprisoned. 
 Information was communicated to the pasha that arms were 
 concealed in the Azhar mosque, and, on searching, it was 
 found to be true and they were removed to the citadel. The 
 Greek consul ordered his people to prepare to defend them- 
 selves in case they were attacked, and they were not slow 
 in taking advantage of his orders to provide themselves 
 with various weapons, which they are too ready to use even 
 in an unlawful manner. Other Europeans supplied themselves 
 with guns and ammunition, and put their dwellings in a 
 state of defence. Christians living ii. the suburbs moved 
 into the city for greater safety. The Muslims became 
 bolder day by day, and cursed the Christians and Jews as 
 they passed along the streets. Matters were evidently 
 coming to a crisis, and had not the pasha opportunely inter- 
 vened with a strong hand, the horrors of Jedda would have 
 been repeated on a large scale. The consuls having made 
 representations to the viceroy, and he, knowing where to 
 apply the remedy, called into his presence the Muhamma- 
 dan sheikhs, especially those of the Azhar, and said to 
 them, " I am not the governor of Jedda. I am Sa'id Pasha, 
 the viceroy of Egypt, and if there should be any uprising 
 against the Christians in Cairo you will be held responsible 
 and your heads cut off." The viceroy's words had the 
 desired effect, for in a very short time tranquility and con- 
 fidence were restored. If a less energetic and less liberal- 
 minded man had been commander of the ship of state there 
 would have been fearful massacres, both in Cairo and Alex- 
 andria. But the Lord, who turns the hearts of kings as the 
 rivers of waters, and rules in the councils of the nations, j 
 
 raising up one and overthrowing another, ordered that such 
 a one as Sa'id Pasha occupy the chair of state at such a i 
 
 juncture, that by his justice and energy the threatened revolt | 
 
 against those who bear the Christian name should be pre- ^ 
 
 vented, and a time of tranquility should be given for the 
 spread of divine truth. Foreigners and Christians owed 
 much to Sa'id Pasha's impartial, intelligent, and firm rule,
 
 IN Egypt. 107 
 
 and during his reign our mission laid tlie foundations of that 
 work which afterwards could not be overthrown by the 
 bitterest opposition from civil and reli'^ious rulers combined 
 against it. 
 
 The year 1859 was one of hard and steady work on the 
 part of those who were on the field and able for duty. 
 There was, however, no little sickness among the mission- 
 aries. Mr. Lansing was laid aside for a time. Miss Dales 
 was not as vigorous as usual. Mr. Barnett was unfitted for 
 work for some weeks with an ugly abscess, which troubled 
 him more or less for some months until he got relief by the 
 help of an English doctor. Besides, he was still troubled by 
 the dizziness, which I have already mentioned, and was very 
 anxious for reinforcements, that he might be able to take 
 his change to his native land. Mr. and Mrs. McCague were 
 both ill, the former quite frequently, and at one time dan- 
 gerously, so that his life was despaired of, and as a last 
 resort he was ordered to leave the field for a time. He 
 made a trip by the sea to Beirut, and then to Tunis, and 
 was greatly benefited by it. He was so much pleased with 
 the climate of Tunis, and was so much impressed with the 
 religious needs of the people there and the openings for mis- 
 sion work, that he proposed to the Board to open a station 
 there. Mr. Barnett, in company with Dr. Ta\ior, of the 
 British and Foreign Bible Society, made a trip to Sinai in 
 June for the purpose of regaining his strength after his 
 illness, and to look for a summer resort and a place for a 
 sanitarium for the Egyptian missionaries. He returned 
 much improved, but learned that he had gone there at least 
 a month too late for comfort in traveling, and came to the 
 conclusion that the fatigue to be endured in getting to Sinai, 
 on account of the distance and the character of the travel- 
 ing, would effectually eliminate it from the number of places 
 as possible sanitariums for the mission. The viceroy, even 
 after making a carriage road for a distance and commencing 
 the erection of a house on one of the mountain summits, 
 came to the same conclusion.
 
 io8 The American Mission 
 
 Mr. Hogg, after a fruitless attempt to prevail upon the 
 United Presbyterian Church of Scotland to resume work in 
 Alexandria, or at least support him there, and learning that 
 the committee at home were unsuccessful in raising the 
 funds necessary to meet their past obligations to him, finally 
 requested permission from the local committee to return to 
 Scotland for the purpose of finishing his theological studies 
 and receiving licensure. This permission was granted, 
 with the expression of a strong hope that God would open 
 up the way for his return. Before he left the country all 
 the missionaries met in Cairo about the Easter holidays and 
 spent some days in deliberation on the necessities of the 
 mission work, and the best ways and means of diffusing the 
 knowledge of Christ among the people, and closed their 
 meeting with religious services, at which they commemorated 
 the love of their common Lord and Saviour in the solemn 
 ordinance of the Supper, It was a season of joy and spirit- 
 ual refreshment, and served to strengthen the bonds which 
 bound them together, and to lead them to a higher consecra- 
 tion to Him whose they were and whom they came to Egypt 
 to serve. Soon after this Mr, Hogg visited Suez. On 
 returning he heard of the serious illness of his sister, and 
 in consequence left immediately by the steamship "Araxes" 
 for home, and reached in time to spend a fortnight at her 
 bedside before she fell asleep in Jesus, in the bright hope of 
 a glorious resurrection. 
 
 Notwithstanding all these changes and movements in the 
 missionary staff the work itself was carried out with vigor 
 and success. The boys' school in Alexandria came under 
 the sole management of Mr, Lansing, and the girls' school 
 under the efficient direction and instruction of Miss Dales, 
 The services in Arabic were, of course, conducted by Mr. 
 Lansing, but the English and Italian were for the most part 
 taken by Mr, Yule and his staff of helpers. A new depar- 
 ture was taken in the opening of a book depot for the sale 
 of Scriptures and other religious and useful literature. Many 
 people resorted to the depot to meet one another, get the
 
 IN Egypt. 109 
 
 news of the day, and discuss religious topics. A similar 
 depot was opened in Cairo, in whicli Mr. Awad Hanna, for- 
 merly teacher in Haret-es-Sakkain school, was detailed to 
 the duty of salesman, a position for which he proved to be 
 highly qualified. These depots for many years were the 
 centers of attraction for inquirers, and many earnest discus- 
 sions of religious doctrines and practices were held in them. 
 The Arabic services in both quarters of Cairo were con- 
 tinued with an increased number of worshipers. The even- 
 ing class by Mr. McCague was also kept up except during 
 the time of his sickness, and the English service by the mis- 
 sionaries as in former years. 
 
 Two or three matters of special importance may be 
 noted : 
 
 1. Persistent efforts were made by the missionaries 
 during the early part of the year to collect a sum of money 
 for the purchase or erection of permanent mission premises 
 in Cairo. Mr. Barnett spent a large part of his time for 
 some months following up the travelers and soliciting their 
 help in the much-needed project. Friends of the mission 
 suggested the preparation and presentation of a petition to 
 his highness the viceroy, for the gift of a house or lot to the 
 Protestants, as he had already done to the Roman Catholics. 
 A good deal of writing and consultation took place in regard 
 to this matter, with no definite results up to the end of the 
 year. Considerable money was subscribed, however, and 
 some collected. 
 
 2. Dr. Abbat, who had always been a friend of the 
 missionaries, and had been very attentive to them in times 
 of sickness, died on March 30. For a time they were in 
 great perplexity in regard to what was to be done to supply 
 his place, and the missionaries even contemplated making an 
 application to the Board for a physician to be sent out from 
 America. This necessity was, however, obviated by the 
 removal of Dr. Paterson, an English physician, from Alex- 
 andria to Cairo, who proved to be a kind friend and an 
 intelligent and successful practitioner. The missionaries
 
 HO The American Mission 
 
 greatly appreciated his professional services as long as he 
 remained in Cairo. 
 
 3. As an evidence of the increasing influence of the 
 missionaries and the success attending their labors, it is 
 worthy of note that the Coptic Patriarch and hierarchy 
 became very active in their opposition, and as a means of 
 preventing intercourse with the missionaries and their 
 helpers, and avoiding the necessity for sending the children 
 of Copts to American schools, they determined to open at 
 different points in Cairo twelve Coptic schools, a policy that 
 has frequently been adopted by them, out without success. 
 
 4. In September, after careful consideration and appro- 
 priate preparatory exercises, the sacrament of the Lord's 
 Supper was administered in the Arabic language for the first 
 time, and four persons were received into the fellowship of 
 the Church and enrolled as members. These were the first 
 fruits of the mission work. Their names were : Father 
 Makhiel el-Belyana, the Coptic monk already mentioned, 
 Menas Jacob, an Armenian, Awad Hanna, and a Syrian, by 
 name Nusr. It was the day of small things, but yet it was 
 a day of joy to those who had left home and country and 
 friends for Christ's sake, and labored and prayed in tears 
 for the salvation of souls in this land. Though they were 
 not ignorant of the deficiencies of these persons, yet they 
 gave evidence of sufficient knowledge of the truth, and 
 sincerity of profession, and uprightness of conduct, to war- 
 rant them in admitting them to Christian fellowship. They 
 hoped, too, that by coming out and separating from their 
 corrupt Churches and taking a stand on the Lord's side, and 
 on the principle that God's Word is the only rule of faith 
 and practice, they would be the means of doing much good 
 to doubting minds and faltering hearts. The ties of family 
 relationship, the bonds of early training, and the bondage to 
 customs agreeable to corrupt human nature, were immense 
 obstacles in the way of a ready acceptance and profession 
 of Protestant principles. The utter abasement of self, and 
 the rejection of any dependence on work done by self, are
 
 IN Egypt. m 
 
 not principles easy of adoption by liuman nature ; indeed, 
 never will be adopted except under the influence of Divine 
 grace. There v/as nothing in the character of the Egyptians, 
 nothing in their social habits and training, nothing in their 
 inclinations and desires, to encourage the hope that the Gos- 
 pel would be accepted by them ; nothing but the promise of 
 God that His Word would not return void. In this confidence 
 those men of faith labored on in a quiet, sincere, and prayer- 
 ful manner, believing that the time would come when the 
 Egyptians would give up their dependence on self and its 
 merits and accept the obedience, sufferings and death of 
 Jesus of Nazareth as the only ground of salvation, and there- 
 fore they rejoiced in the public profession of the four persons 
 just mentioned as the first fruit of a glorious harvest. 
 
 i860. The missionaries on the field in i860 remained 
 the same as in the previous year, except that Mr. John 
 Hogg, having been appointed by our Foreign Board as a mis- 
 sionary to Egypt, and having been lincensed by the United 
 Presbyterian Presbytery of Edinburgh in November, 1859, 
 and married on January 10, i860, left Liverpool with his 
 wife on the steamship " Salamander," on January 27, i860, 
 to join the mission. They had scarcely left Liverpool before 
 they experienced rough weather, which continued for some 
 days. In the Bay of Biscay the steamer sprang a leak and 
 foundered on January 31. The passengers were with great 
 difficulty saved by getting into the boats. In the good provi- 
 dence of God, who watches over His people by sea as well 
 as by land, they were picked up by the steamship 
 " Cornelia,"* bound for Rotterdam, and landed at Plymouth. 
 They lost everything, papers, clothes, books, presents, fur- 
 niture, and many precious mementos. Friends of the cause 
 of Christ and sympathizing brethren in Christ in Edinburgh, 
 Glasgow and Paisley more than made up the money value 
 of what was lost, and they started afresh on their journey 
 to Egypt, with zeal nothing abated, on February 28, i860, 
 via London, Paris, Marseilles and Malta, reaching Alexandria 
 
 * See the United Presbyterian and the Christian Instructor, March, i860.
 
 112 The American Mission 
 
 on March 19, i860. They were received in Alexandria with 
 special demonstrations of joy and thanksgiving — joy at meet- 
 ing with a former friend, instructor and brother in Christ, 
 and a successful worker in the vineyard of the Lord, 
 recouped for the same service and accompanied by a 
 cultivated and earnest Christian helpmate ; thanksgiving to 
 God for their preservation, first from death by drowning 
 and second from death by exposure to cold and hunger. 
 
 Towards the close of the year another addition was made 
 to the mission in the persons of Rev. S. C. Ewing and his 
 wife, and Miss M. J. McKown. They sailed from New York 
 on Saturday, October 6, in the steamship " Edinburgh," of 
 the himan line, landed at Liverpool on Thursday, October 
 18 ; sailed from Liverpool on October 28, on the steamship 
 "Danube," of the Bibby line, and reached Alexandria in 
 safety on Tuesday, November 13. Mr. Ewing and his wife 
 spent a few days in Alexandria, and reached Cairo, their 
 field of labor, on November 17, welcomed by brothers Bar- 
 nett and McCague as the much-desired and long-looked-for 
 recruits. Mr. Ewing immediately afforded assistance to the 
 weary and overtaxed brethren in various ways, and more 
 especially in taking his share in the English department. 
 Miss McKown remained in Alexandria and aided Miss Dales 
 in the girls' school there. 
 
 In 1859, the secretary of the Foreign Board had been 
 authorized by the General Assembly to inform the brethren 
 in Egypt that they might, in conjunction with the mission- 
 aries in Damascus, form a presbytery whenever in their 
 judgment it seemed necessary or desirable. Much consulta- 
 tion and some discussion orally and in writing had taken 
 place among the missionaries on this subject, some favoring 
 the formation of a presbytery, and others seeing no immedi- 
 ate necessity for it. But as Mr. Hogg came out without 
 ordination, and his ordination appeared to all not only desir- 
 able but almost necessary for successful work as a mission- 
 ary, it was decided to organize the presbytery. This 
 organization took place in Cairo on April 15. Mr. Barnett,
 
 
 *" 
 
 •i 
 
 
 ' 
 
 ?l 
 
 #' 
 
 C3 
 
 (D 
 
 pi 
 
 (72 
 
 '^ 
 
 J-J.
 
 IN Egypt. 113 
 
 being the oldest member, preached a sermon and made the 
 opening prayer. He was then chosen moderator, and Mr. 
 Hogg clerk, Mr, McCague to act for Mr. Hogg until after the 
 latter's ordination. The presbytery adjourned to meet in 
 Alexandria on May 22, to hear Mr. Hogg's trials, and to con- 
 duct the ordination services. These plans were carried out 
 in accordance with the rules of the General Assembly. The 
 organization of a United Presbyterian presbytery in Egypt 
 and the ordination of Mr. Hogg as its first official act, make 
 the year i860 memorable in the history of our mission. 
 
 If the personal history of the missionaries in Egypt during 
 i860 were written, it would contain a long recital of sickness 
 and suffering, borne with Christian patience, and causing 
 many removals, changes and disappointments. Suffice it to 
 say that Mr. and Mrs. McCague were frequently ill, suffering 
 much from ophthalmia and other diseases incidental to the 
 climate. The former sought restoration by taking a change 
 to Syria and to Tunis ; the latter to Alexandria. Mr. and 
 Mrs. L. Muller, then residing in Cairo in winter and in Ab- 
 basiya in summer, invited Mr. and Mrs. McCague to enjoy 
 their hospitality, if perchance they might be benefited 
 thereby, and did many acts of kindness on various lines to 
 the missionaries stationed in Cairo. 
 
 The hearts of Mr. and Mrs. McCague were again filled 
 with grief at the loss of their dear Mary Barnett, on May 31, 
 the second child whose little form was laid in Egyptian soil, 
 waiting for the resurrection, and making the very dust of 
 Egypt dear to the parents. Mr. and Mrs. Lansing, too, were 
 laid aside from work for a time Both suffered intensely 
 with ophthalmia for many weeks, while they, too, were called 
 upon to give back to God -a little girl whom they dearly 
 loved. It was with the greatest difficulty that Miss Dales 
 kept up and carried on the work among the girls and women. 
 Mr. Hogg was also brought to feel the necessity of being 
 more careful in the use of his strength, as his earnest nature 
 often led him to overtax it. I find him at that time noting in 
 his diary : " Let me take warning in the future ; more good 
 8
 
 114 The American Mission 
 
 will be done in the end by a constant, persevering and de- 
 voted effort in the work than by killing ourselves outright at 
 the outset." Mr. Barnett, too, often felt his strength waning 
 during the year, and on the advice of the missionaries at 
 their meeting in April, he determined to go home early in the 
 summer, and in this sense he wrote to his father and his 
 mother and other relatives ; but he afterwards changed his 
 mind, in view of the demands of the work, and on account 
 of a long-cherished desire to make a missionary tour on the 
 Nile in the interests of Bible distribution, and for exploring 
 the field and locating native agents at important points. 
 
 The mission work was carried on during the year on 
 various lines, as the strength and health of the missionaries 
 permitted. \n Alexandria both the schools were more numer- 
 ously attended than formerly, chiefly on account of the influx 
 of Syrians, who had fled from the atrocities perpetrated by 
 the Muslims and Druzes in their own land. To these the 
 missionaries, and more especially Mr. Hogg and Miss Dales, 
 gave much of their time in ministering to their bodil.y wants 
 and imparting religious instruction. Children of all the faiths 
 represented in Alexandria and in Syria, and of several 
 nationalities, were on the roll of the pupils, and all received 
 lessons in the Christian religion and attended mornino; 
 prayers. Very often complaints were made by parents, 
 especially the Muslims and Jews, abouttheir children learning 
 Christianity ; but as the schools were opened and supported 
 for that very purpose, the missionaries did not desist from 
 performing their duty in sowing the precious seed in the 
 hearts and minds of the pupils, whatever might be the ob- 
 jections of the parents and guardians. As an example of 
 what occurred, I may relate the following, taken from Mr. 
 Hogg's diary : 
 
 "The teacher tells me of an instance of Muhammadan 
 interference. The father of Mustafa sent by his boy to say 
 that he did not wish his son to study the Bible and the 
 Catechism. The teacher said, ' Tell your father to come and 
 see me on the subject.' The father came a few days after, and
 
 IN Egypt. 
 
 115 
 
 entering the school quietly, took his seat for a little, and 
 then, in the presence of the school, stood up and in a rage 
 asked the teacher, ' Who authorized you to change people's 
 religion ?' The teacher replied that it was not his business 
 to change the religion of the boys, but, by the grace of God, 
 he wished to make them good, adding : ' How do you think 
 we could get along with so many boys of different classes 
 unless we were to teach them how to behave ? They were 
 all accustomed. to curse and swear, etc. Do they do so now? 
 Is it wrong to teach them to obey their parents, to speak the 
 truth, and be obedientto their teacher?' Then, reading the first 
 question and answer in the Catechism, he said : ' Is it wrong 
 to teacli the boys that there is a God, and that it is our dutv to 
 glorify him ? ' Wlien he touched on the duties of children 
 to their parents the father smiled, and then the teacher knew 
 he had gained his point, and said : ' Tell me, does not }-our 
 boy make progress in his studies?' The father replied, 
 ' Yes ; better progress in English and Arabic than other boys 
 in school.' ' Well,' said the teacher, ' if he gets on in these, 
 can you not leave the other matters ?' ' Yes, yes,' he an- 
 swered, * and I will give you a present, too, for all your 
 trouble,' and away he went, as pleased as possible." 
 
 The effect of the incident was good on the whole school. 
 The introduction of singing into the school by Mr. Hogg re- 
 lieved the monotony of study and enlivened the pupils, and 
 made the school popular. He opened a class in vocal music, 
 in which he was a master and an enthusiast, and some of 
 the pupils seemed to catch the spirit of their teacher. 
 
 The Arabic services were conducted by Mr. Lansing during 
 the first half of the year, but from the 24th of June, when 
 Mr. Hogg preached his first discourse in this language, he 
 was occasionally relieved by him, and in the absence of 
 Mr. Lansing in Cairo in the autumn, the whole burden fell 
 on Mr. Hogg. On May 27, the sacrament of the Lord's 
 Supper was dispensed in Arabic in Alexandria for the first 
 time. Eleven persons sat down at the table of the Lord and 
 partook of the emblems of the Saviour's broken body and
 
 ii6 The American Mission 
 
 shed blood, viz., Mr. and Mrs. Lansing, Mr. and Mrs. Hogg, 
 Kanna Grace, Father Makhiel, Khalil Sidawee, Wurdy Bar- 
 akat, Habib Gharzoozi, Fad! Alia Gharzoozi, and a man by 
 name Iskander. 
 
 During the summer months, when the missionaries were 
 in Ramleh, they conducted an English service in Mr. Robert 
 Fleming's tent. 
 
 Much of the time of the missionaries, as I intimated 
 above, was taken up with the needy Syrians who had been 
 driven from their homes by the cruel Druzes and treacherous 
 Muhammadans. Many of them were in the greatest want, 
 having lost their all, and in many cases the head of the 
 family had been butchered in cold blood, and their houses 
 destroyed and plundered. Among these was the Barakat 
 family, some of whom had been trained in Mr. Lansing's 
 family in Damascas. The father was the last one killed in 
 the terrible massacre. He had stealthily left his hiding place 
 and gone to see if any of his worldly goods had been spared 
 by the plunderers. Being seen, he was killed without 
 mercy. All the family, except the eldest, came to Egypt — 
 Warda, who many years after went to Monmouth, and died 
 there ; Katrina, Aneesa, Elias and Mohanna. The last two 
 mentioned also went to America, and are known to many 
 there. Many other similar cases calling for immediate assist- 
 ance were met with by the missionaries, who found it 
 necessary to enlist the interest and solicit the help of resi- 
 dents and travelers on their behalf. Lord Haddo, who was 
 in Egypt at the time, and who was spending a few weeks in 
 a Nile boat on the canal, headed the list with twenty pounds 
 sterling. 
 
 During this year the hospitals and galleys were visited 
 regularly by the missionaries, and Father Makhiel was untir- 
 ing in his round of visitation to the latter, in which he met 
 with many cases of rank injustice and cruel oppression, in- 
 flicted for the most part on Coptic scribes for petty offences or 
 religious hate, or no cause known whatever. As these scribes 
 were generally able to read, copies of the New Testament
 
 IN EGYPT. 117 
 
 were distributed among them. On one occasion (a Friday, 
 tlie rest-day of the Muhammadans) Mr. Lansing accompanied 
 Father Makhiel to the galleys, which were near the arsenal, 
 near the harbor. The chained occupants were employed on 
 other days in dragging long, heavy stones for building the 
 docks, but on that day they were resting their weary limbs 
 after six days' severe toil, reclining in the grateful shade of a 
 large acacia, which grew and spread its branches in the court 
 of the prison. One had a book, the New Testament, which 
 Father Makhiel had given him, and the rest were lying 
 around him listening to the words of truth. The men were 
 mostly Muslims, but all held the reader in great esteem for 
 his talents and character. Mr. Lansing took the book, read 
 in it, explained and enforced the lesson. Coffee, as usual, 
 was brought, also a cigarette. Even the ofificer on duty 
 treated Mr. Lansing with great respect, and hinted to him 
 that if he could do anything to liberate the man who was 
 reading, it would be a kind and deserving act. Various 
 efforts were made to secure his release, but all failed. At 
 last he enjoyed the benefit of a general order to set free a 
 certain class of offenders at the time of the circumcision of the 
 viceroy's son. Many had their days of prison life bright- 
 ened by the visits of the missionaries, and some of them had 
 their time in the galleys shortened. Much credit was due to 
 Father Makhiel for his attention to the poor suffering, and 
 oppressed. He seemed to know of everything that was 
 going on. 
 
 \n Cairo, the boys' school at Haret-es-Sakkain was 
 closed for two reasons : First, to encourage the effort being 
 made in the Ezbakiyah quarter of Cairo to develop a school in 
 which the pupils attending should pay for their instruction, 
 as up to that time education had been given free. Second, 
 to afford facilities to open a girls' school, an undertaking 
 upon which Mrs. McCague had set her heart for some time. 
 This school was opened in June, and was really the begin- 
 ning of female education in Cairo in connection with our 
 mission. By the month of August the number of girls
 
 ii8 The American Mission 
 
 attending numbered twenty-five. A Coptic woman was 
 secured to assist Mrs. McCague, but the burden of tlie in- 
 struction devolved on tlie latter, as the former was ignorant, 
 inefficient and inexperienced. 
 
 An afternoon service in Arabic in the Ezbakiyah quarter, 
 in addition to the morning one, was commenced during the 
 year, but for a time the English service was discontinued. 
 The second celebration of the Lord's Supper was held in 
 Arabic on June lo, at which time four new members were 
 admitted to Church fellowship. These were Awad Hanna's 
 wife, Girgis Hanna, Ibrahim Yusif and Spiro Toma. The 
 third is he who afterwards studied theology under Messrs. 
 Lansing and Hogg, served the Master in various places as 
 licentiate, and at last became the first native pastor of the 
 Asyut congregation. The fourth was afterwards elected 
 deacon at the organization of the Cairo congregation, was a 
 consistent member of the Church, attentive to the duties of 
 his ofifice, punctual in his attendance at all religious meet- 
 ings, and a very successful Sabbath school teacher. He 
 became in after years salesman in the bookshop, and died 
 while serving the mission and his Master in that capacity. 
 
 The year i860 was a year of Bible distribution. Mr. 
 McCague and Mr. Awad Hanna visited the Delta for that 
 purpose and disposed of $110 worth of books, most of them 
 Scriptures. The sales were for the most part at Tanta and 
 Convent of St. Damiana. Subsequently Father Makhiel 
 visited Tanta during the great fair and sold Scriptures to the 
 value of $20. A Mr. Crosby-Brown and a Mr. Butcherly, 
 passing travelers, wishing to do good as well as to visit the 
 ruins of ancient Egypt, took with them to the upper country 
 a supply of the Word of God, and disposed of at least $100 
 worth. Seeing that the Nile afforded the easiest and quick- 
 est means of reaching a large number of villages, the mis- 
 sionaries Lansing, Hogg and McCague, purchased from 
 Messrs. Robert Fleming & Co., a Nile boat, called the " Ibis." 
 In this Mr. and Mrs. McCague went up the Nile, leaving 
 Cairo on October 2, and taking four native brethren, Messrs.
 
 IN EG^TT. 119 
 
 Ibrahim Yusif, Mansoor Shakoor, Buktor Fam, and Awad 
 Hanna, also twelve boxes of books. They were absent 
 only five weeks and in that time they distributed books, 
 mostly Scriptures, for which they received $125. Mr. 
 Ibrahim Yusif was left in Asyut as teacher, Buktor as 
 colporteur. Mr. Mansoor Shakoor was left in Luxor with 
 instructions to open a school. 
 
 On tliis trip many villages were visited, many conver- 
 sations held with the people on religion, many Scriptures 
 distributed, and two important stations occupied in the upper 
 country as centers of light to the surrounding localities. In 
 these towns Mr. Awad Hanna was very useful in holding 
 discussions with the natives, as he was thoroughly acquainted 
 with the thoughts and manners of his own people, and very 
 ready in setting aside their specious arguments and illustrat- 
 ing their absurdity by some familiar proverb or appropriate 
 story. No one connected with the mission has done more to 
 expose the rottenness and ruin of the Coptic Church than he. 
 Mr. McCague, in his letters called " Egypt Revisited," says 
 of this trip: "There was much work done in several 
 places between Cairo and Luxor — but not having taken 
 notes at the time, I am unable to recall the particulars at 
 this date. But at Asyut we filled a satchel with Scriptures 
 and put it on a donkey and passed through the streets, call- 
 ing out, * The Holy Bible for sale.' It tried our moral courage 
 to begin this kind of work, but we soon became used to it. 
 I was greatly encouraged in this hand-to-hand work, as it 
 brought us so directly and constantly in contact with the 
 people." The work of Bible distribution was continued by 
 Mr. Lansing after Mr. McCague's return, but as his trip 
 reached into the spring of 1861, I will leave it until I take 
 up the events of that year, as w^ell as the noble work of that 
 true nobleman, Lord Aberdeen. 
 
 Egypt had for a long time been the resort for invalids 
 from the West who were troubled with pulmonary com- 
 plaints. Its mild climate and dry air will always attract 
 refugees from the damp and cold regions of Western ci\-ili-
 
 120 The American Mission 
 
 zation. In the early days of the mission, before Cairo was 
 occupied permanently by an English Church clergyman, the 
 American missionaries had to spend a part of their time visit- 
 ing these invalid travelers; ministering to their varied wants ; 
 giving them encouragement and counsel ; sometimes watch- 
 ing with them until the spirit took its flight to a purer clime. 
 During the springtime of i860 the missionaries in Cairo and 
 Alexandria, but especially in the latter, were called upon to 
 do more than usual of this Christian work. While it added 
 much to their labors, it was of great spiritual benefit to 
 them, because it brought them into the midst of great and 
 solemn realities, and thus prepared them to follow or accom- 
 pany their converts to the " valley of the shadow of death," 
 An interesting case occurred in which the missionaries were 
 able to afford aid and comfort in various ways. 
 
 A Rev. Samuel Lyde, who for a long time had been work- 
 ing in the service of the Lord in Latakia, and had come to 
 Cairo to spend a few months, was suddenly attacked with 
 hemorrhage of the lungs, by which he was in a brief time 
 brought near to death, but rallied for a little. Mr. Barnett 
 visited him frequently while in Cairo, and ministered to his 
 bodily and spiritual wants. Fearing lest he might not re- 
 cover, and wishing to convey a last loving message to his 
 relatives at home, he dictated to Mr. Barnett the following 
 letter: " Dearest and best of mothers, adieu ! I am sure 
 your salvation is safe in Christ's hands. Dearest and most 
 loving of brothers, live wholly to God, and let not the cares 
 of this world hinder your salvation. Very kind sister, God 
 bless you for all your kindness. Dearest Kate and Malcolm, 
 give your young hearts to God. These are the last words 
 of a dying uncle, most dear nephew, do live to God." On 
 another occasion he said, " Tell my brother to give the house 
 and premises to the missionaries at Latakia, also sixty pounds 
 a year as long as they use it properly." He recovered 
 slightly and went to Alexandria for a change. He was fre- 
 quently visited there by Mr. Lansing, who was of great help 
 to him during a brief time of spiritual darkness, aiding him
 
 ^^ative Wonican on Donkey,
 
 IN bGYPT. 121 
 
 in coming to the liglit, and in meeting death rejoicing in 
 Jesus in the full assurance of faith. 
 
 Though the missionaries were sent out to Egypt for the 
 Egyptians, yet they have been of great benefit to many 
 American and other English-speaking people. An interesting 
 case of conversion v/as reported to me. It was of a young 
 English woman who, after having been brought up under 
 religious influences in England, had gone to India and become 
 careless, thoughtless and giddy, throwing off most of the re- 
 straints of her early training. She, on her return from India, 
 spent a few days in Cairo, as Indian passengers were then 
 accustomed to do, was led on Sabbath day to attend divine 
 service at the American Mission, where she heard a sermon 
 by Mr. Barnett, which aroused her to a sense of her state 
 and danger, and was blessed by the Spirit to her conversion. 
 How many others have been helped in their Christian life or 
 led to the Saviour through these English services, conducted 
 by the missionaries for all these years, only can be known 
 on that great day when all shall stand before the Lamb, and 
 all secrets shall be revealed.
 
 122 The American Mission 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 1861— Distribution of missionaries— Visitation of hospital and galleys in 
 Alexandria— School work and preaching— New school for girls in Cairo— Mr. 
 and Mrs. McCague leave for America— Also Mr. Barnett six months later- 
 Reducing the forces in Cairo— Transfer of Mr. and Mrs. Lansing and Miss 
 Dales to Cairo in the autumn— Trip of Mr. Lansin;^- on the Nile— Lord Aber- 
 deen and Bible distribution— Faris-el-Hakim in Asyut— His cruel treatment 
 by the Muslims — Their prompt punishment— Influence on mission work — 
 Arrival of the writer in Alexandria. 
 
 At the beginning of 1861 the missionary force consisted 
 of Rev. J. Barnett, Rev, Thomas McCague and wife, the 
 Rev. Gulian Lansing and wife, the Rev. S. C. Ewing and 
 wife. Miss S. B. Dales, and Miss M. J. McKown. Miss Dales 
 was ill nearly al summer, took a trip up the Nile in the 
 autumn for her health, and before the end of the year was 
 transferred to Cairo. Miss McKown was not yet able to use 
 the language, and therefore her labors were restricted to 
 teaching some classes in the English language and superin- 
 tending the needlework. Practically, Mr. Hogg was the only 
 person in Alexandria who was prepared to do efficient service 
 in the strictly missionary sense. Even the native help 
 wiiich he had in the schools was very unsatisfactory. The 
 chief master in the boys' school left the service and changed 
 his profession. Another had to be dismissed. In the girls' 
 school the Italian teacher left for Italy at the very time he 
 could least be spared. No qualified persons could be found 
 to fill the vacancies. In the absence of Miss Dales, Miss 
 McKown took the direction of the girls' school, while Mr. 
 Hogg conducted the opening exercises and gave the Bible 
 lesson to both schools. During Mr. Lansing's absence in 
 the upper country and at Cairo, Mr. Hogg had to conduct 
 both Arabic services on Sabbath and a prayer-meeting during 
 the week. He was, moreover, the chief mover in establish-
 
 IN Egypt. 123 
 
 ing an English prayer-meeting for Anglo-Saxon residents, 
 which was held at the house of Mr. Rankin every week, and 
 was continued many years, becoming a means of spiritual 
 refreshment and growth to both missionaries and people. 
 
 It appears from Mr. Hogg's papers that many conver- 
 sations were held with the natives and the Italians in their 
 homes, their shops, and especially in the Bible depot. The 
 galleys and the hospitals were also visited. These conwr- 
 sations were with Muslims and Christians of the various 
 sects, such as the Catholics, the Greeks and the Copts, and 
 often developed into warm discussions rather taxing to Mr. 
 Hogg's nervous temperament. Among the questions which 
 formed the subiect of conversation was the obligation to keen 
 the Sabbath day holy unto the Lord. On one occasion Mr. 
 Hogg says: " A Copt asked me, ' What should a Christian 
 do who is obliged to labor on Sabbath in order to obtain 
 daily bread and cannot find a situation ? Should he abandon 
 his present one ?' The question came from an uneasy 
 conscience. I answered, ' It is his duty to seek differ- 
 ent employment, and ask God's help to find it, and even 
 that was not sufficient ; but if he had strong faith in the 
 promises of God, he should, first of all, leave his present 
 position, trusting in God to help him find another.' I ex- 
 plained my meaning by referring to the crossing of the 
 JortJan. The command was, * Speak unto the children of 
 Israel that they go forward,' while the waters overflowing its 
 banks rolled on before them in mighty force, and it was onl}' 
 when the priests bearing the ark entered the river that tlie 
 waters were stayed. I also enforced my remarks by 
 describing the disruption in Scotland, v/hen the ministers left 
 their churches and their stipends, not knowing how they 
 would be supported in future. When I left the depot the 
 questioner grasped me firmly by the hand." 
 
 During the year three persons professed their depend 
 ence on Divine grace for their salvation, their sincere love to 
 the Saviour, and their names were added to the roll of the 
 members in the visible Church. The proceeds from the sale 
 of books in Alexandria were ^640.
 
 124 The American Mission 
 
 In Cairo the work continued on the same lines as last 
 year. The attendance at the services in Arabic increased 
 to an average of thirty-five adults, besides a few boys and 
 girls. Five new members were added to the roll of the 
 native church. A Sabbath school for girls was opened, at 
 which most of the pupils at the day school attended. The 
 pay system introduced into the boys' school during the past 
 year had to be given up, on account of the opening of other 
 free schools in the city. A second school for girls was 
 opened in October in the Ezbakiyah quarter, and as Mrs. 
 Leider's school for girls was closed about that time, three of 
 her teachers were engaged, who also brought with them 
 many of their former pupils, so that our girls' school in the 
 Ezbakiyah was the successor of Mrs. Leider's. Miss Hart, 
 previously in the employ of the mission to the Jews, and 
 herself a converted Jewess from England, having joined our 
 mission early in the year, spent one-half of every day in 
 the girls' school in Haret-es-Sakkain, and one-half in the 
 one in Ezbakiyah for a time. Miss Dales, on her transfer to 
 Cairo late in the autumn, also labored in the Ezbakiyah school, 
 and later on took entire charge of it. Before the end of the 
 year there were over a hundred names on the roll, and the 
 school became a power for good in that part of the city. 
 The sales from books from the shop in Cairo during 1861 
 amounted to ^880. 
 
 On account of protracted illness, which threatened to 
 make them unfit for mission work in the future, Mr. and 
 Mrs. McCague and family were compelled to return to Amer- 
 ica, and on the 14th of March they left Cairo in the expec- 
 tation of returning to resume the work in which they took a 
 deep interest ; but the Lord had ordered otherwise, for their 
 severe illness of varied kinds had permanently injured the 
 health of some of their number so they were never able to 
 rejoin the mission forces. Mr. McCague, however, made a 
 visit to Egypt after an absence of about twenty-six years. 
 
 Six months after Mr. McCague left for America, Mr. 
 Barnett followed him. He had for many years contemplated
 
 iN Egypt. 125 
 
 taking a respite in his native land, but had been delayed by 
 one cause and another, but chictly on account of the weak- 
 ness of the force on the field. He had been seventeen years 
 in the East without a home presided over by a sympathizing 
 consort. He made no secret of the fact that he Iiad two 
 objects in view in going to America, to gain bodily strength, 
 and to find a helpmate. 
 
 The departure of these two missionaries left, for a time, 
 Rev. S. C. Ewing and his wife and Miss Hart in charge of 
 the various departments of missiDn work in Cairo, though 
 they had been less than a year on the field. In the autumn, 
 they were reinforced by Mr. Lansing and wife and Miss 
 Dales, from Alexandria. 
 
 The missionaries did not restrict their labors to the two 
 cities mentioned, but, understanding the meaning of their 
 Lord's commission, they contemplated the occupation of the 
 Nile valley, and the conversion of the Egyptian people to 
 Christ. As a means for the accomplishment of this end, 
 they had planned the continuance of the evangelistic work 
 on the Nile begun during the previous year, and Mr. Lansing 
 to this end left in the " Ibis " towards the close of i860 with 
 a large supply of Scriptures and other useful books, and on 
 reaching Luxor, made that ancient town his headquarters 
 until March 6, and spent his time sowing the seed of the 
 Word there and in the neighboring towns and villages, both 
 by the sale of religious literature and by friendly conversa- 
 tions with the people. In company with Lord Aberdeen, 
 he made a trip to Esna, where they pitched a tent and for 
 ten days met with many of the people, speaking to them of 
 the salvation offered to all through faith in a crucified Saviour 
 and selling a large number of Testaments. Returning to 
 Luxor, Mr. Lansing and family left for the north on March 6, 
 1861, in company with his lordship. A government steamer 
 met them next day, sent up by the viceroy to tow down 
 Lord Aberdeen's dahabia,* in which a cabin was kindly 
 given to Mr. Lansing and his family by this Christian noble- 
 
 * Nile boat with sails.
 
 126 The American Mission 
 
 man, and every facility was offered for selling Scriptures on 
 the way down the river. 
 
 Mr. Lansing says, in one of his letters, written at this time : 
 " Of this interesting trip we cannot even attempt a sketch. 
 We can only say that there were sold, during the winter, 
 books to the value of $625, and seventy villages betwen 
 Luxor and Cairo were visited. As to the manner of doing 
 the work, it was our custom to stop every few miles, and at 
 places where the Coptic villages in the neighborhood would 
 be most accessible, and then I would visit those at a distance 
 from the bank of the river, those nearer being visited by 
 Father Makhiel or Mr. Mansoor Shakoor, accompanied by 
 one or two boatmen. We have great joy in mentioning that 
 at several places we met individuals who had long been dili- 
 gent students of the Word, and who gave good evidence of 
 living piety." Lord Aberdeen had on his own account taken 
 from the depot a large supply of Scriptures for distribution 
 on his trip up the Nile. He took a deep interest in their dis- 
 tribution, and, until the day of his death. Father Makhiel, who 
 accompanied the noble lord to the villages with a supply of 
 books in the saddlebags, was accustomed to expatiate on the 
 untiring zeal and humble character of that nobleman. Dr. 
 Lansing well said, in a letter written some time after : " The 
 memory of Lord and Lady Aberdeen will long be fragrant 
 to the mission in Egypt for tlie noble part which they took 
 in the great work of Bible distribution in the Nile valley, and 
 the liberality and self-sacrifice which they displayed while 
 personally engaged in its prosecution, might well stimulate 
 other Christians to go and do likewise. I have seen people 
 at home in our democratic America vv^ho scout at aristocracy, 
 and think thattitled people must necessarily be proud, and that, 
 even though good Christian people in their way it may be, 
 are yet above distributing tracts or other such humble methods 
 of serving Christ, and must do what they do in a certain 
 conventional style, with so much eclat and circumstance as 
 to destroy the effect of Christian effort. Would that such 
 persons could have seen this Earl of Aberdeen, though too
 
 IN Egypt. 127 
 
 weak to walk, riding through a dirty Arab village and selling 
 Testaments to the astonished natives who crowded around 
 him and his good lady day after day ; keeping our book ac- 
 count; filling our colportage bags ; selling our penny tracts ; 
 and administering to the ailments and bodily wants of the 
 little, dirty, sore-eyed Arab boys and girls who crowded the 
 banks to which the boats were tied. Such, be they titled or 
 not, are heaven's aristocracy." 
 
 Before leaving Luxor, Mr. Lansing thought it expedient 
 to close the school which had been opened the previous 
 autumn. This was done because the bishop, v/ho at first 
 favored the school, had, after seeing what influence the truth 
 would have on his people, used his power to break it up ; 
 also because the teacher's health was in a precarious condi- 
 tion, and because his services were needed elsewhere with 
 more promising prospects. When Mr. Lansing reached 
 Asyut, he found that Faris-el-Hakim, an enlightened S\'rian 
 priest who had been sent there by the missionaries to open 
 a school, had not been able to do so on account of the oppo- 
 sition of the clergy, and was spending his time in holding 
 discussions with the people and in selling books from a small 
 depot which he had opened. The fact that he was a S\"rian 
 and had broken his monastic vows, made him a persona noii 
 grata with the Copts, though he was a man of some talent 
 and rather more scholarly in his own tongue than most 
 monks. About the end of July, Paris undertook, at the re- 
 quest of the Copts, to defend a woman who had embraced 
 Islam and then wished to return to the faith of her fathers. 
 The defection of a Muhammadan from that faith is, in Islamic 
 law, punishable with death, and those who aid in leading a 
 Muslim astray are also liable to punishment. But the spirit 
 of religious liberty had commenced to spread about the time 
 the following incident happened ; at least it was then thought 
 that perhaps the proclamation of religious toleration which 
 had been wrested from the Sultan might cover the case ; but 
 the sequel will show that the Muslims in Asyut did not so 
 interpret the proclamation, and were determined that Chris-
 
 128 The American mission 
 
 tians should not be allowed to so interpret it. The facts of 
 the case are as follows : 
 
 Paris had frequently been visited by some of the prom- 
 inent Muslims in Asyut, who questioned him as to who sent 
 him, what was their object in sending him, and how he was 
 able to sell his books at so low a price. He replied that 
 people in the West, knowing what ignorance prevailed among 
 many of the Eastern peoples, had freely contributed of their 
 money, and printed these books and offered them for sale at 
 a price much below the cost, because the people were not 
 able to pay more. 
 
 As Paris was a master in the use of the Arabic lan- 
 guage, a qualification then restricted in Egypt to Muslims, 
 and withal of more than ordinary intelligence, some of the 
 Muslims seem to have suspected that he was really a Muslim 
 at heart, but entered the service of the Christians simply as 
 a means of livelihood ; so they were rather disposed to 
 be friendly with him at first. One day, in the absence of 
 the Coptic bishop, a woman, who was by birth a Copt, but 
 had embraced Islam for worldly gain, went to the bishop's 
 house in order to tell him that she wished to return to her 
 former religion. The bishop's agent brought her to Paris, 
 because he himself did not know what to do, and because he 
 was afraid to take the woman into the house, knowing that 
 the return of the woman to Christianity made her liable to 
 be punished with death, while severe punishment might 
 also be inflicted on any Christian implicated in helping her. 
 Paris, having a knowledge of the Sultan's recent decree 
 giving religious liberty to his subjects, and having some 
 knowledge of legal procedure, offered to become the woman's 
 attorney if she so desired. So a paper was prepared to 
 which she attached her name, and it v/as attested by wit- 
 nesses. By this document she committed her case into 
 Paris' hands, and gave over the care of her person to the 
 bishop until such time as the court might summon her, for it 
 was expected that her Muslim husband would soon present a 
 complaint on account of her defection, and demand her res-
 
 Camel Driver. 
 
 f
 
 IN Egypt. 129 
 
 toration to him, or her punishment. The case, however, 
 did not come up for some months, as tlie Muslims were not 
 sure of being able to carry it through to a successful issue. 
 But on the death of the Sultan, Abd-el-Majid, in whose reign 
 the proclamation of religious tolerance had been promul- 
 gated, and the accession of his successor, who it was 
 supposed would not be bound by the decree of his predeces- 
 sor, the Muslims of Asyut advised the man to bring up the 
 case, especially as by this time they had changed their mind 
 about Paris, and wished to have him silenced or removed 
 from the place. 
 
 Accordingly, the Muslim husband presented a petition to 
 the governor of the province of Asyut, complaining of the 
 detention of his wife in the bishop's house at the instance of 
 Paris, and that she had been enticed by him to return to the 
 infidel Christian sect. On the receipt of the petition by the 
 governor, he v/rote to the chief of the police to summon 
 Paris to appear before him, and to demand him to deliver up 
 the woman to the government for the purpose of adjudging 
 the case. When Paris received the summons he immed- 
 iately obeyed, and appeared with the woman, and was sent 
 to the police court. What happened there I now give in a 
 translation by Mr. Hogg, of Paris' own words : 
 
 . "On entering I found about sixty men present, among 
 them a number of learned men, with the kadi* and the 
 mufti, t 1 seated myself on the lower end of the divan (the 
 lowest place), upon which the kadi's scribe approached me 
 and said, ' Sit upon the ground.' Prom this remark, and 
 from it being so different from their ordinary treatment of 
 me, and especially from the irrelevant questions put to me, 
 I suspected their evil purpose, and therefore answered them 
 to the best of my ability in the most civil and respectful 
 manner. Pinding they had not accomplished their object of 
 exciting me to say something rash or improper, they stir- 
 red up the ignorant crowd to revile me and curse my religion. 
 On this 1 attempted to leave the court, which, when they per- 
 ceived, they prevented me from doing, and the kadi said, 
 ' Why have you come here.? ' 1 replied, ' If your honor will 
 have the goodness to read the petition and the order of his 
 excellency the governor, thereto annexed, you will under- 
 
 * The chief judge. f A doctor of law-
 
 130 The American Mission 
 
 stand the reason for my appearing before you.' The scribe 
 then read the petition and the order, and said, ' Why do you 
 detain the woman with you?' I remained silent, whereupon 
 the kadi said, * Why do you not answer the scribe?' I 
 replied, ' May it please your honor, I am the attorney of the 
 woman, not her detainer, and therefore I abstained from 
 answering, since the petition which is in the hands of your 
 honor orders the appearance of her attorney, not her keeper.* 
 The kadi then replied, ' We do not acknowledge your right 
 of attorney.' On this I thanked him for relieving me of my 
 obligation. He then said, ' It is not for this that we reject 
 your right of attorney, but because you are an infidel, and 
 have occasioned infidelity in our town.' I then said to him, 
 with all respect, ' I should think your honor cannot believe 
 that a person like me is able to originate either infidelity or 
 faith, seeing this prerogative belongs to God alone.' There- 
 upon the mufti said, *0 thou accursed one, thou infidel, 
 thou son of pig, thou polluted one ! dost thou revile the religion 
 of the kadi?' He then stirred up some of the ignorant crowd, 
 who had increased to about two hundred, to beat me ; where- 
 upon the brother-in-law of the kadi came forward, spat in my 
 face, and struck me on the head. The kadi then called out, 
 ' Beat him ;' and upon that a man called A}'ub Tashif came 
 forward and said, * O thou accursed infidel ; dost thou think 
 that Abd-el-Majid* still lives? He is dead, and with him has 
 died the Christian religion, and also the reproach of Islam, 
 and in his place has arisen Abd-el-Aziz, who has brought 
 back to the religion of Islam its ancient glory.' So saying 
 he struck me with his cane on my head, and spat in my 
 face, and knocked me in the stomach. At this the crowd 
 rushed upon me and commenced beating me one after the 
 other with sticks, spitting upon me, and throwing earth on 
 my head. As, however, I did not shed any tears nor utter 
 any cry of pain, they imagined that this kind of beating did 
 not affect me much. So the kadi then ordered the instru- 
 ments of torture to be brought from the police office, and 
 then said, * Throw him down. Put on him the falagah,' a 
 species of foot-rack for raising and holding the feet tight for 
 the bastinado. He then arose and commenced beating me 
 on the thighs. Ayub Kashif, already mentioned, came for- 
 ward also and beat me, then the mufti, and his scribe, and 
 then the learned men in turn. They then sat down and 
 said, * Let every one who loves the Prophet beat this 
 
 * The former Sultan.
 
 IN Egypt. 131 
 
 accursed one !' This continued for about half an hour, when 
 the crowd bej^an to desist a little, on seeing that I was in a 
 fainting condition. Then one of them kicked me on the 
 head to arouse me. Ayub Kashif came forward again and 
 commenced beating me on my bare feet, saying to those 
 who held the falagah, * Screw it tight.' The kadi also came 
 forward again, together with those aforementioned, and took 
 their turn in beating me, saying to the crowd, * Why have 
 you quit beating him?' One replied, ' We fear he will die.* 
 Whereupon the kadi and Ayub Kashif called out, ' Kill him ! 
 Let him die and there will be no blame on any of you, and 
 if any investigation be made concerning this dog, we will be 
 responsible for the affair.' This encouraged them to come 
 forward and continue tiie beating. 
 
 This second bastinadoing lasted about a quarter of an 
 hour, when I swooned away, and they began to think 1 was 
 dead. On reviving 1 said to A)'ub Kashif, * For God's sake 
 have pity on me.' He replied, * Become a Muslim, O 
 accursed one! and thou shalt be delivered.' I then cried, 
 * O Jesus, save me.' Upon this he exclaimed, 'Kill him, 
 and let Jesus come and save him.' At this juncture the 
 kadi got up, went out and mounted his horse, ordering me 
 to be brought along with him. They caught me and dragged 
 me along on the ground, a pitiable spectacle, and pulled me 
 along, all the time the crowd beating me and spitting at me 
 and on me, and throwing dust upon me, screaming all the 
 time at the top of their voices, * There is no God but God, 
 and no religion but Islam,' until we reached the palace of 
 the governor. There we met the chief of city police, and 
 when he saw me in such a pitiable state, together with the 
 instruments of torture, he ordered me to be released, and 
 immediately left. The governor not being at home, they 
 remanded me to the police court, and I feared e\'en worse 
 treatment on going back than when coming. On entering 
 there I found Sheikh el Casi, and with him all the learned 
 men. As I was on the point of sitting down, before 1 had 
 touched the ground he raised his cane and called out with a 
 loud voice, * Beat him, kill him, burn him ! ' Thus, after I 
 thought my life was to be spared, I again lost all hope, and 
 appealed to one of them, saying, * Pity me, for God's sake, 
 and give me a drink of water.' He replied, ' Turn Muslim, 
 O accursed one ! and you shall be freed from all you'' tor- 
 ments.' 
 
 " At this juncture several Christians came in to ascer- 
 tain what was the cause of the Muhammadans crowding
 
 132 The American Mission 
 
 together in the streets adjoining the police offices. They 
 were immediately driven out with the remark, ' If you wish 
 to know what has happened, it is that Paris, your champion, 
 has been beaten ahnost to death, and when we have done 
 with him we shall finish up with you, O ye infidels, ye ac- 
 cursed ones ! ' The crowd then recommenced to beat me, 
 by order of the kadi. Then he took me out to the street, 
 while the crov/d shouted and yelled more than when I was 
 taken to the governor's house, until I v/as brought to the 
 door of the prison, into which they thrust me, putting me 
 into the criminal cell, binding my feet and hands with chains. 
 This was about the fourth hour of the day (ii a. m.), July 
 25, 1861. About an hour after this, Mr. Wasif-el-Khayat, 
 the United States consular agent, sent off a telegraphic dis- 
 patch informing the United States consul in Cairo of my 
 having been beaten and imprisoned. Next day a reply came 
 that the consul had been removed from office. Mr. Wasif- 
 el-Khayat also sent full particulars in a letter to the mission- 
 aries. 
 
 " About the middle of the afternoon I fell apparently 
 into a dying state, and as the governor and the chief doctor 
 were absent, the head of the police sent a note to the kadi, 
 in which he said : * In reference to the man Paris, whom 
 you have bastinadoed and sent to be imprisoned, we have 
 imprisoned him according to your command, and he is now 
 dying. What, therefore, is your decision, and what shall I 
 further do in the case ? ' To this the answer came, ' Send 
 him to his house.' Being in a helpless state, almost uncon- 
 scious, they carried me on a wooden litter. After resting 
 some time in the house, and by the use of various restor- 
 atives given to me by kind friends, I recovered somewhat. 
 The officials then demanded bail, and because I could not 
 afford any, they took me back to prison, carrying me on their 
 arms. In the meantime a letter was written by some of my 
 friends to his excellency the governor, informing him of 
 what had occurred, and expressing their strong fears for their 
 own safety, as there might take place in Asyut a repetition 
 of the massacres at Jedda and Damascus in the present ex- 
 cited state of the Muslims. His excellency immediately 
 ordered Muhammad Effendi to have me set at liberty, and 
 also sent his physician to attend to my wounds. He reached 
 me at 2 a. m., July 24, 1861, and brought a kind message 
 from the governor, removed me from prison, and took me to 
 my house. The governor arrived in town in the morning, 
 and summoned into his presence the kadi, the mufti and
 
 IN Egypt. 133 
 
 other learned men, Ayub Kashif, and a number of Europeans. 
 He reproved the kadi, reviled Ayuh Kashif severely, and 
 also strongly blamed the rest of the Muslims who were pres- 
 ent, on account of their cruel and seditious proceedings. He 
 also sent out a crier to proclaim in the town that no further 
 outrages be committed, and that whosoever should transgress 
 this order would be sent to the galleys. He also sent the 
 physician, who examined my whole body carefully and re- 
 ported on the case, hi that report he says: ' Concerning 
 Paris, I found him with his thighs swollen and blue, as well 
 as his back, while his feet have on them wounds, and on one 
 of them a deep gash, caused by the bastinado.' " 
 
 In answering an order for an official statement of the 
 case, the kadi attributed to Paris language which he did not 
 use, and misrepresented the origin of the trouble and the 
 cause of the beating inflicted, to which the governor replied, 
 practically substantiating all that Paris had written, and 
 showing wnerein the kadi had exceeded the limits of his 
 authority, since it was only in his province to give his opin- 
 ion as to the religious law pertaining to the case, as a guide 
 to the governor in deciding the questions at issue. 
 
 The case being reported by the missionaries to Hon. W. 
 S. Thayer, agent and consul-general of the U. S. A., he im- 
 mediately took it up with all the energy and tact of which he 
 was master, fust with the minister of foreign affairs, Zulficar 
 Pasha, and finding there the usual Turkish delay, he re- 
 quested an audience with the viceroy himself, and after 
 various propositions, which the consul-general rejected as 
 being entirely inadequate, he secured the following reply : 
 " Order has been sent to Asyut to fine the thirteen men 
 whose names you gave me this morning, each according to 
 the degree of his responsibility, to the amount of 100,000 
 piastres [$5,000]. Order has been given to the governor 
 of Alexandria to send that sum to your consulate, with the 
 request that you will give it to Paris. Order has been sent 
 to Asyut to put these thirteen men in prison for one year." 
 
 The successful issue of such a glaring case of Muslim 
 hate and persecution effectually prevented, for a long time, 
 any outward and unlawful opposition to the mission work in
 
 134 The American Mission 
 
 the region of Asyut, and gave notoriety to the work of the 
 American missionaries in the Nile valley. The decision was 
 given just as the viceroy was on the point of leaving Egypt 
 to go to Constantinople to pay his respects to the new Sul- 
 tan, Abd-el-Aziz, and on his return, after about a month and 
 a half, the consul-general, in accordance with a tacit under- 
 standing between him and the viceroy when the order was 
 issued, interceded with his highness for the release of the 
 prisoners, which, of course, was granted. In the meantime 
 Mr, Lansing and family and Miss Dales, who was just 
 recovering from a severe illness, had left Cairo on the 
 " Ibis " and arrived in Asyut just the day after the prisoners 
 were set free. The friendly intervention on their behalf and 
 their release, after such a short term of imprisonment, aston- 
 ished them beyond measure, and they attributed it to Mr. 
 Lansing's intercession with the consul-general ; and in 
 consequence the ringleader, Ayub Kashif, a wealthy mer- 
 chant in Asyut, made a great feast the next day after the 
 arrival of the "Ibis," at which Mr. Lansing and Mr. Paris 
 were the guests of the evening, and about fifty of the leading 
 Copts at whose instance Paris had undertaken to plead in 
 the case of the woman, were invited to share in the festivi- 
 ties. As the ladies were prevented by sickness from being 
 present at the feast, all the courses, of which there were 
 upwards of forty, were on their removal carried down to the 
 boat, a distance of more than a mile, so that the missionary 
 harem had the pleasure of seeing at least what in other cir- 
 cumstances they would have heartily aided in discussing. 
 Ayub Kashif expressed to Mr. Lansing his surprise at being 
 released so soon. " Know, sir, that your Koran imprisoned 
 you and our Gospel released you," the missionary replied, 
 thus indicating the spirit of each of these systems of religion. 
 Thus the Lord made the wrath of man to praise Him, and 
 the remainder of wrath he restrained, for had not that out- 
 rage been punished, the fanaticism and hate of the Muslims 
 for the Christians would have been a mighty obstacle to mis- 
 sionary work in all the upper country ; even the lives of the
 
 IN Egypt. 135 
 
 missionaries and native Christians might have been in 
 danger. The Copts from that time, too, learned the rising 
 influence of Protestantism, and it is not difficult to believe 
 that the news of the Paris case and its issue, as it spread 
 abroad among the people started in them a desire to know 
 something of that religion which the Americans were 
 teaching. 
 
 Subsequent to the case of persecution just mentioned, 
 Paris opened, with prospects of success, a boys' school, and 
 Mr. Lansing put in it on his last trip a young man by name 
 Iskander from Alexandria, taking Paris with him when he 
 returned, in order to give him an opportunity of going to 
 Syria to bring his family. 
 
 Mr. Lansing and Mr. Hogg made a trip together in the 
 "Ibis" down the eastern branch of the Nile in the delta, 
 visiting as many villages as they could reach, selling books, 
 holding conversations with the people and conducting ser- 
 vices on the boat. They visited Mit Ghamr, Zifteh, Sem- 
 inud, Monsurah, Shirbin and Damietta, besides other small 
 towns and villages. They visited the Coptic church at 
 Damietta, and had the usual experience, the effects of which 
 they tried to remove afterwards by taking a bath in the Nile. 
 They were kindly treated and generously entertained in 
 Damietta by Mr. Saroor. 
 
 The writer and his wife accepted the appointment of the 
 General Assembly of i860 as missionaries, to be located at 
 Cairo, Egypt. They left Philadelphia on September 27, 
 1861, and reached Alexandria on November 27. On the 
 way out they spent a few days with relatives in Scotland, 
 and had a long, tedious voyage from Liverpool, being com- 
 pelled to go to Alexandretta and Beirut after touching at 
 Malta. On arrival at Alexandria, they found that the mis- 
 sionaries had made a redistribution of their forces, Mr. 
 Lansing and family and Miss Dales going to Cairo ; while 
 they were to remain in Alexandria instead of Cairo, with 
 Mr. and Mrs. Hogg and Miss McKown. They commenced 
 housekeeping the second week after arrival, in a most
 
 136 The American Mission 
 
 unhealthy part of the city already selected by the mission- 
 aries, called Sikket-el-Habbalin. 
 
 This ends the record of the year 1861, during which 
 much good seed had been sown along the Nile valley in 
 many places, and there was much evidence that the Gospel 
 of Jesus Christ, in the nineteenth century as in the first, is 
 the power of God and the wisdom of God unto salvation.
 
 Mission at Month of the Muski
 
 IN Egypt. 137 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 V1S62— -Jewish parents in Alexandria alarmed for their girls and open a 
 school for them and take them away from our school — Mr. Hogg in Alexan- 
 dria half the year — Then Father Makhiel — Sale of books — Premises in Cairo 
 presented by Said Pasha — Large repairs at great expense — Beneficial effect 
 on the work — Mr. Hogg's successful trip on the Nile — interesting discussions. 
 
 The movements of the missionary force during 1862 
 may be briefly noted. Rev. A. Watson and wife and Miss 
 McKown remained all the year in Alexandria ; Rev. J. Hogg 
 and wife spent in Alexandria January and February ; then 
 March, April and part of May on the Nile as far as Aswan ; 
 returned to Alexandria May 10 and remained there till 
 August, when, Mr. Lansing being very ill, Mr. Hogg took 
 his place in Cairo, and from that time remained there. Rev. 
 S. C. Ewing and wife, Miss S. B. Dales and Miss Hart were 
 in Cairo all the year, Mr. and Mrs. Lansing until October 7, 
 when they left Cairo and spent the remainder of the year 
 on the Nile. 
 
 The work in Alexandria was carried on with vigor and 
 success while Mr. Hogg was there, but during his absence, 
 which was for more than half the year, being left in the 
 hands of raw recruits who knew little of the language, the 
 various branches of missionary work were merely kept up ; 
 except in the case of the girls' school, in which such good 
 missionary influence was exerted among the Jewesses, who 
 formed two-thirds of the scholars, that the Jews became 
 alarmed lest their daughters might become Christians ; and 
 so were moved to open a school on their own account, in 
 which were offered to those who would attend such induce- 
 ments in the shape of free instruction and handsome prizes 
 at the close of the year, that the larger number of them left 
 our school and went to their own. j 
 
 n
 
 138 The American Mission 
 
 During the absence of Mr. Hogg the Arabic services 
 were conducted by Father Makhiel-el-Belyani, but with little 
 acceptance or profit ; partly because he had no training for 
 public speaking, and partly on account of natural prejudice 
 on the part of the audience, which was mostly Syrian, while 
 he was a Copt. The volumes sold in the city during 1862 
 were 1,236, at ^380. 
 
 Soon after the beginning of the year 1862, his highness, 
 Said Pasha, presented the mission in Cairo with large and 
 central premises, at the " mouth " or opening of theMuskee, 
 which is, and was then, the main street of Cairo. As far 
 back as 1859 Mr. Muller had suggested to one of the mission- 
 aries to petition his highness for a lot, or a house ; and a 
 petition was then prepared and signed by Messrs. Lansing, 
 Barnett and McCague. The plea made in the petition was 
 the fact that the American Mission had opened schools in 
 which young men and women were prepared for usefulness 
 which would be a benefit for the state, and the mission de- 
 sired to extend its energies more and more in that direction-, 
 and since his highness had shown his favor in this line of 
 work to others, it was hoped that he would also lend a help- 
 ing hand to the Americans While a lot or house in Cairo 
 was at first thought of, yet, on negotiations taking place, 
 various houses in Alexandria were talked of. Finally, how- 
 ever, Cairo was agreed upon as the station to v/hich the 
 grant should be made. 
 
 After long and persistent efforts through the vice-consul 
 and the consul-general, urged on for the most part by Mr. 
 Lansing and his colleagues, and after an offer of the Bulac 
 printing press house, finally the premises mentioned above 
 were presented, and thankfully received on February 17; 
 and on the 3d of March active operations commenced to 
 rearrange and repair the building to make it suitable for the 
 purposes intended. By the i8th of the same month the 
 boys' school was removed into it, and the girls' school on 
 June 21. Messrs, Lansing and Ewing spent most of their 
 time for half a year in directing the repairs. Apartments
 
 IN Egypt. 139 
 
 were fitted up for the missionary families besides the 
 schools, and the church and apartments for a third famil\' 
 were added afterwards. The dust and the worry of the 
 work of watching and directing masons, carpenters, stone 
 cutters, plasterers, flaggers and common laborers, in the hot 
 weather, were a terrible strain on the missionaries, and in 
 consequence Mr. Lansing broke completely down, and his 
 life was for a time despaired of, but the gracious Father 
 heard the prayers offered for him and blessed the remedies 
 employed and the attention given, so that he entirely recov- 
 ered and was able to do efficient work on the Nile before the 
 year closed. The total expenses for repairs on the building 
 amounted to over ^11,000, but it saved more than $1,000 
 rent to the mission every year, and the benefit of a perma- 
 nent location in the center of the capital soon appeared in all 
 departments of the work. When the boys' school was 
 transferred to the new rooms the attendance did not exceed 
 sixty. It was not long, however, until there were 200 names 
 enrolled. This excited the jealousy of the leading Copts, 
 and they used their utmost efforts to influence the parents to 
 withdraw their children from the schools, and were success- 
 ful for a few days, but the boys soon began to return, and 
 the number again went up. Mr. Hogg, on account of the 
 illness of Mr. Lansing, went to Cairo to take his place and 
 remained there during his absence. Being by nature a 
 teacher and organizer, he took great deliglit in the school, 
 and before long made it a mighty power for good, in the 
 missionary sense of the term. The girls' school, too, pros- 
 pered on being transferred to the new premises, the 
 enrollment for the year being 250, but the daily attendance 
 was only about ninety. The school in Haret-es-Sakkain 
 continued to increase in its usefulness, the attendance being 
 much more constant than that in the Ezbakiyah. 
 
 The Arabic services were attended at the close of the 
 year by three times as many as the number at the beginning, 
 chiefly on account of the commodious and central premises, 
 but also on account of the increased notorietv of the mission
 
 140 The American Mission 
 
 and the growing interest in Bible truth. The new premises 
 offered facilities also for meeting with people, and the mis- 
 sionaries found their time largely taken up with native callers, 
 not all, it is true, making inquiries about the interests of 
 their souls, but still giving the missionaries opportunities for 
 exerting an influence upon them for good. By the close of 
 the year twenty-four members were added to the roll of 
 membership, a very encouraging accession, considering the 
 attention of the missionaries had been so much taken up 
 with brick and lime during the year. The sales at the shop 
 amounted to ^605. 
 
 The work on the Nile continued to occupy the attention 
 of the mission. Mr. Hogg made his first missionary tour, 
 leaving Cairo on March i, on the " Ibis," having with him 
 Mrs. Hogg and his daughter Mary Lizzie, and Abdulla Wesa 
 to act as colporteur, hi this tour, which lasted until his 
 return to Cair.o, May 8, he had sailed 1,160 miles in 70 days, 
 less the number of Sabbaths intervening, visited 63 villages, 
 sold books in 40, walked or rode donkeys 200 miles, had 
 conversations with 62 priests, 45 monks, two bishops and 
 over 600 common people, such as scribes, farmers and teach- 
 ers. The principal topics of conversation and discussion 
 with nominal Christians were : The one Sacrifice, the one 
 Intercessor, the perfect atonement, the true nature of fasting 
 and prayer, the reasonable service, the fullness of Gospel 
 revelation, innovations of fathers and councils, confessions 
 to priests, baptism and the Lord's Supper, the true nature 
 and design of church discipline, spiritual worship, picture 
 worship, praying and talking in an unknown tongue, the 
 nature and designs of the ministerial office, the necessity of 
 the new birth. 
 
 The usual mode of procedure on the Nile boat tours was, 
 on going south, not to stop anywhere except on Sabbaths 
 and when the wind failed. Prominent places, such as Beni 
 Suef, Minya, Asyut, Girga, Luxor and Esna were generally 
 exceptions to this rule, as the missionaries and the boatmen 
 might need a supply of bread, and letters or news from the
 
 IN Egypt. 141 
 
 north were always welcome. Ha\inu reached Aswan, the 
 missionary began work. The people would come on board 
 to buy books, conversation was begun and continued a longer 
 or shorter time, as the case might be, a portion of Scripture 
 might be read and prayer offered. The government offices 
 were visited, and a call made on the chief government offi- 
 cial, even though he was a Muslim. In the evening the 
 people either came on board, when a free conversation on 
 religious topics took place, or a short service was conducted 
 in some private family on shore. When all left, the captain 
 of the boat was told to untie the boat and let her float down 
 to the next town. In the morning the missionary would 
 find the boat tied to the bank at some town. The news had 
 most likely gone before that he would be there, or if not the 
 news soon spread, and most lilcely some inquirers or pur- 
 chasers of books were waiting to be received as soon as the 
 missionary got his breakfast. Then the work of the day 
 began, selling books, answering questions, discussing doc- 
 trines, attacking vices, enforcing obligations, setting forth 
 the way of salvation through a crucified Saviour — the sub- 
 jects often changed through a change of callers, or the intro- 
 duction of new questions. Whenever an opportunity offered, 
 the missionary left the boat and visited the government 
 offices, called at the schools, at any shops where there ap- 
 peared a desire to purchase books or to enter into conversa- 
 tion, especially those occupied by Copts. In the evening 
 services were held in the boat, or in the school room, or in 
 the court of some private house. Visits were also made to 
 towns at a distance from the river, the missionary going 
 either on a donkey or walking. Thus the work v\ent on 
 from day to day without intermission or rest, from early 
 morning till late at night. On one occasion the writer was 
 so worn out by the constant visitation and conversations, and 
 conducting of services, that he had to order the captain to 
 anchor in mid-stream between two villages in order to rest 
 for a day, having preached sixty times in as many days. 
 As a specimen of the character of the work done in these
 
 142 The American Mission 
 
 towns, I quote from Mr. Hogg's diary various instances of 
 his visits among tlie people. First, at Beni Suef, on liis way 
 up, lie says in his diary : 
 
 " We called at a Coptic church and were superbly re- 
 ceived by the priests there, the chief of whom, a kummus,* 
 is a warm friend of our teacher there. We then visited the 
 school in company with several of the priests and fathers of 
 the children. Thirty-seven children were present, all of 
 whom were Copts. The room is very small, without win- 
 dows, the children sit on matting spread on the earthen 
 floor, and they vary in age from six to fourteen. The con- 
 sular agent has promised to build suitable school rooms on 
 his own property at his own expense, but the late inundation 
 destroyed much of his property, which has to be repaired 
 first. We spent most of the day examining the school in 
 presence of Mr. Fanus, the consular agent and the parents, 
 and at the close promised to see them again on our return, 
 and ordered a day's vacation to the pupils. The brother of 
 the teacher and a number of the scribes in the government 
 offices went with me to Mr. Fanus' house, where we were 
 entertained with pipes, sweet drinks, and coffee. Had for 
 subject of conversation Christ, the power of God unto sal- 
 vation to every one that believes. From there we went to 
 the divan, t were introduced to the scribes, and had conver- 
 sations with them on the Scriptures. Then called on the 
 governor, a Muhammadan, and found him busy with lists of 
 men to be forwarded to the Suez Canal works, as 950 are 
 required from this province, and boats are ready at the 
 wharf to take them to Cairo in chains, like those doomed to 
 the galleys. If any one should escape all his family are 
 seized, and all the males are sent in his stead, and when he 
 is found he is sent to the galleys. The whole land is groan- 
 ing with this burden. The French name is execrated in the 
 whole of the upper country. After the governor got through 
 with his work he entered with me into conversation about 
 the Prince of Wales, t the history, laws, and religion of 
 England. He was pleased to find a European who could 
 intelligibly converse in Arabic, and asked how long I had 
 been in Egypt, why I had come here, what we taught in our 
 schools, where our religion differed from that of the French, 
 whom he seemed utterly to detest. I had a good opportu- 
 
 * Archdeacon. 
 
 t Government offices. 
 
 X He had just visited Egypt.
 
 IN Egypt. 
 
 143 
 
 nity to lay before him the general plan of salvation, and 
 contrast it with the many inventions v/hich had been imposed 
 upon it, and he fmally admitted that he had a very different 
 idea of the Christian religion now than what he had got 
 from what he had seen of its influence on the Copts and 
 other sects around him. He then turned to Fanus, and said, 
 ' Is this what the Bible teaches.?' The latter was obliged to 
 answer, ' Yes.' * Then,' added the governor, ' why have the 
 Copts so mutilated and marred it?' He was then again obliged 
 to answer that the Copts had perverted and changed the sim- 
 plicity of the Gospel by following the commandments of men. 
 ' Then,' said he, ' I must declare the Americans are right and 
 you are wrong.' He then asked, 'How is it that learned peo- 
 ple such as you allow yourselves to believe the old fable of God 
 having a Son, and letting him be crucified by wicked men ?' 
 Upon this 1 endeavored, as distinctly as I could, to show him 
 from the nature of sin and from the justice of God, and from 
 Moses and the prophets, that Christ must needs suffer in 
 order that man, the sinner, might be saved. By the time 
 I was done the large hall had got full nearly to the door, 
 and seeing that the governor had little time left to attend to 
 business, I rose, informing him that some of his arguments 
 required more time to answer than I had to gi\'e or he to 
 listen, but I had a book on the boat which took up the whole 
 subject, and I would be glad to give it to him if he would 
 read it. He said he would be glad to do so, and accordingly 
 in the evening, I gave Fanus a copy of Alexander's ' Evi- 
 dences of Christianity,' translated into Arabic, and when I 
 returned two months afterwards, I found that he had been 
 reading it and had spoken of it so favorably to others that 
 the scribes in attendance on him came immediately on our 
 arrival and bought all the remaining copies of it." 
 
 At Deirut, Mr. Hogg's little girl was suffering from a 
 severe attack of sore eyes, so he sent out Mr. AbduUa Wesa 
 to invite people to come to the boat. After a time he came 
 back with two priests and six or seven men, none of whom 
 could read. Mr. Hogg says of his interview with them : 
 
 "As AbduUa had been discussing with them the subject 
 of the Scriptures being the only rule of fajth and practice, I 
 resumed the subject on their arrival. I had three hours' 
 discussion on confession, fasting, and transubstantiation. 
 One of the men, about fifty years of age, though he could 
 not read, yet was more intelligent than most of the Copts,
 
 144 The American Mission 
 
 declared that the Bible was all on our side, and blamed the 
 priests for not teaching the plain truth of God, adding, ' We 
 only wish to know what God says, and if we are in fault as 
 to our belief our priests are to blame, for we cannot read, 
 and have not the means of learning elsewhere, but only 
 from those whom God has given us as spiritual guides. 
 We don't want to follow human inventions. We want to 
 learn the truth as contained in the Bible.' Poor people! 
 they know nothing as they ought to know, and all we can 
 do during these passing visits is to make them hear the 
 truth, in the hope that some of them may be stirred up to a 
 spirit of inquiry, and such of the priests as can read may be 
 forced to search the Scriptures for the good of their people, 
 if not for their own." 
 
 At Manfalut, a Coptic priest, by name Butros, whom 
 Mr. Lansing recommended, came to the boat accompanied 
 by a kummus, the agent of the bishop in his absence, both . 
 intelligent men. Mr. Hogg says : 
 
 " Butros is one of the few Copts met by us who are 
 total abstainers. He is evidently one of a thousand ; clear 
 in thought and bold and fearless in speech. He does not 
 hesitate to declare openly that the Coptic Church is corrupt 
 to the core, and through him many have ceased to kneel 
 before the pictures in the churches. He has also frequent 
 discussions with the Muslims on the divinity of Christ. Re- 
 cently the Muslims of Manfalut, finding that he was more 
 than a match for them in argument, sent to a neighboring 
 village for a noted disputant. Butros adopted the Socratic 
 mode of cross-questioning his opponent, and in a short time 
 sent him off self-condemned and abashed. He pressed me 
 strongly to remain a fortnight with them at Manfalut. He 
 said the time will pass so quickly that it w ill seem like so 
 many hours. He declared that the Copts in Manfalut would 
 rejoice if we would start a school there and supply them 
 with a teacher. I replied that w^e hoped soon to be able to 
 spare one of our own number to labor in Asyut, or some- 
 where in the 'Said.' * 'Oh, that will be best of all,' he 
 said. ' We did not dare hope for such a good thing.' " 
 
 At Asyut, Mr. Hogg was kept for some time investi- 
 gating the reason for the falling off in the attendance of the 
 scholars, and learned after full investigation that it arose from 
 * Upper country.
 
 IFncle Fam on a Donkev.
 
 IN Egypt. 145 
 
 the too strict rult-s of the teacher, and the disappointment of 
 the parents that their children were not protected from work- 
 ing on the dykes and canals. 
 
 On Sabbath he had service in Mr. Wasif-el-Khayat's 
 reception room. There were present eighteen men, of whom 
 four were Coptic priests and three of the leading men, one 
 the chief scribe of the government. Some of them are en- 
 lightened men who know the errors of the Coptic Church, 
 but for various reasons are afraid to take a stand. " I en- 
 deavored," said Mr. Hogg, " to show them the sin and folly 
 of such a course from a discussion of Mat. 12: 30, ' He that 
 is not with us is against us.' It did not seem to have struck 
 them before that their stated neutrality is practical hostility 
 to the cause of Christ, but as I proceeded with my discourse 
 the truth seemed to flash upon the minds of some of them, 
 and the chief scribe cried out, in a voice loud enough to be 
 heard by all in the room, * Oh ! Lord, be merciful to me a 
 sinner,' One of them endeavored afterwards to justify him- 
 self and the rest for their time-serving conduct, by repre- 
 senting the difficulty of their position in strong terms ; but it 
 was clear that he felt ill at ease and dissatisfied with him- 
 self." 
 
 "At Aswan," Mr. Hogg says, "we v/ent to the Coptic 
 church at six and got out at seven. From thirty to forty 
 present, but how empty the services ! There was one priest 
 six feet three inches in height, and half a dozen little boys. 
 All went into the altar room. The communicants were the 
 priests, one boy and three infants. The latter partook of 
 the wine only, and that from the fingers of the priests. 
 After finishing the cup, the priest washed his hands in the 
 dish and then drank the contents. A loaf was distributed 
 among the people at the close of the service. A few women 
 were present. After the service we drank coffee and had 
 pipes, and had conversations on the subject of the patriarch- 
 ate, when I said it was not known in the days of the apostles. 
 1 invited all to come to worship in the ' Ibis.' Nearly all 
 came except the women. 1 accompanied the reading of the 
 10
 
 146 The American Mission 
 
 lesson by a running commentary, and dwelt much on the 
 Gospels, There was marked attention, with audible expres- 
 sions of concurrence with the thoughts expressed. All were 
 surprised that I had no priestly robes. After the service, 
 had coffee and cigarettes. I then referred to i Corinthians, 
 14, and spoke of the utter uselessness of reading or speaking 
 in an unknown tongue. None attempted to justify it, but 
 they replied that they had no one able to preach to them. I 
 told them they ought to train men as soon as possible, and 
 if they would give sufficient salary to their priests, educated 
 men would soon offer themselves to the priesthood. 1 read 
 for them Paul's description of the preacher, and also of the 
 deacons, contrasting the former with their priests and the 
 latter with their little boys." 
 
 On reaching the harbor for Kus, Mr. Hogg says : 
 
 " Ibrahim and I walked all the way, which is about two 
 and a half miles, the former carrying the books and the 
 Bible. Fam Stefanos, an enlightened Coptic scribe, is resi- 
 dent here, and for him we made inquiries at a shop. The 
 people there offered no coffee, and looked at our books, and 
 bought all the Psalms we had and one Testament, and then 
 accompanied us to the door of the church. There they 
 spread a mat and Persian rug and cushions, and asked us to 
 be seated, while they sent for Fam. He soon arrived, and a 
 crowd in the meantime had gathered around us. We 
 showed our stock of books. They consulted Fam as to what 
 books they ought to buy, and he showed by his answers that 
 he was entirely acquainted with the contents of each, and 
 indicated several which suited the several purchasers. 
 We remained till after nightfall and had a truly interesting 
 season. It was evident that a good work had been going on 
 there for a long time ; a little leaven was leavening the 
 whole of the community. I asked them about their ideas 
 on fasting ? Is he an unbeliever who refuses to observe the 
 fasts of the Church.? * No, no,' was the answer given; 
 ' we are at one with you here ; we believe that every man 
 is left to his own free choice.' Does the man who prays and 
 fasts merit anything from God on that account ? ' No. Sal- 
 vation is wholly of God's free grace, but his faith in Christ 
 must be accompanied by good works, else his faith is dead.' 
 1 was also asked : ' What was the original constitution of the
 
 IN Egypt. 147 
 
 Chmch ?' 'No kummus, no bishop, no matran, no Pa- 
 triarch.' ' How can a believer obtain peace when he daily 
 commits s. n?' 'By looking away continually to Christ, 
 and not into his own evil heart.' 'If I believe it to be a 
 sin to confess to the priest, and confess only to God, and if 
 the priest therefore refuses to admit me to the Lord's table, 
 may I still hope to be accepted by God, thouijjh expelled from 
 the visible Church ?' ' Tell the priest freely what your 
 sentiments are on the subject of confession, and if he per- 
 sists in refusing to allow you to partake of the Sacrament, 
 he shall have expelled you as the Pharisees did him who was 
 born blind ; but remember the Master afterwards met and 
 blessed him who had been cast out, and He will accept you 
 if your heart is right in His sight, and you are walking in His 
 ways, or suffering patiently for His sake.' 
 
 • " ' But how can the priest know who to accept or agree 
 to admit to communion if there is no confession ?' 
 
 " ' If he is a faithful shepherd of the flock, he will have 
 little difficulty in knowing who are and who are not possessed 
 of the necessary qualifications. His knowledge of the outward 
 conduct of his people will enable him to exercise a strict and 
 wholesome discipline, while he who lives in secret sin will 
 not always confess it even to the priest.' 
 
 " ' How can the priest admonish his people privately if 
 they do not confess to him ? How can he administer to each 
 the special medicine suited to each case ?' 
 
 " ' By carefully studying the Bible and his own heart, 
 and being intimately acquainted with the habits and practices 
 of the people through frequent intercourse with them.' 
 
 " About forty were present all the time, and they made 
 us promise to come back in the morning, saying they would 
 have donkeys waiting for us on the river bank. Upon this 
 we left, riding back to the boat and accompanied b>- men 
 with lanterns. Soon after sunrise next morning, April 8, we 
 returned, taking with us two boxes of books. The donkeys 
 were awaiting us, according to promise, and on our arri\-al 
 we found the people waiting for us in a large court in Fam's 
 house, and there we spent the whole day. Abdullah sold 
 while I did the talking. Fam and others had evident!)- been 
 preparing for the occasion a set of questions which kept me 
 for three hours, and embraced a small course of divinity. I 
 got so fatigued by mid-day that I was obliged to have a short 
 respite. We then visited the bishop, who was ill. We 
 returned and dined at Fam's house, and remained till near
 
 148 The American Mission 
 
 night, and before leaving had a regular service attended by 
 about fifty persons — subject, the parable of the sower, with 
 special reference to the seed which had just been sown 
 there. I prayed for the Spirit to do His work, and cause the 
 seed to grow up and bear fruit. All left about sunset, with 
 cordial greetings and hearty well wishes. Oh ! that I could 
 remain here all summer ! The field is white, almost ready 
 for the sickle, but where are the reapers ?" 
 
 I have made these selections from Mr. Hogg's diary, in 
 which he records more fully than any other his intercourse 
 with the people ; and from these the reader will have an 
 idea of the Nile work then. At the present time the sale of 
 the Scriptures is dispensed with in these towns, because the 
 whole country is apportioned to colporteurs, who visit every 
 town and village. The advanced state of the work, too, 
 requires more time for preaching, directing and encouraging 
 the many workers at the numerous stations occupied, and 
 giving a new impetus to professed Christians in their spiritual 
 life. The number of volumes sold on Mr. Hogg's tour was 
 430, at $11^ ; the number on Mr. Lansing's 501, at $135. 
 
 Schools were continued at Beni Suef, Ibrahim Yusif as 
 teacher, and at Asyut with Iskander.
 
 IN EGYPT. 149 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 1863 — Sickness among the missionaries — Fears of Muslim uprising — 
 Occurrence in Alexandria and summary punishment — I. Gowdy's imprison- 
 ment for writing against Islam — Active opposition of Coptic hierarchy on the 
 election of new Patriarch — Overruled for good — Bad times on account of 
 American war — Order to reduce salaries and wages one-fourth — Timely aid 
 from English friends — Visit of Dr. Dales' party — Organization of the Cairo 
 congregation — Action in regard to training young men for Christian work — 
 Visit of Mr. Lansing to Sitt Damienna and exposure of Coptic visions — Sale 
 of Scriptures — Conversion of Bamba and her associates — Evening meetings 
 in various parts of the city — Murrain among the cattle. 
 
 The year 1863 was a year of sickness, trial, and perse- 
 cution. Towards the beginning of the year Mrs. Watson 
 was confined for two months to a sick chamber, part of the 
 time in a critical state, and scarcejy hau she become conva- 
 lescent when the writer, was seized with a severe attack of 
 ophthalmia, which lasted for seven months, reducing him to a 
 state of utter prostration, and rendering it necessary for him 
 to leave the country for a time, in order to preserve his eye- 
 sight from permanent injury. For days and weeks he suf- 
 fered the severest pain, had to remain in a dark room and 
 wear a thick bandage over his eyes, on account of Extreme 
 sensitiveness to the light. He left for Syria with his family 
 about the end of June, and returned early in October, with 
 his general health quite restored, and his eyes greatly im- 
 proved, though he was still obliged, from fear of a return 
 of the disease, to use them with great care and precaution. 
 They had only been home two months when their beloved 
 and only child, George Andrew, was taken from them, at 
 the age of eleven and one-half months. 
 
 About the end of March Mrs. Hogg was attacked with 
 smallpox, and had to be put in quarantine in the mission 
 house in Cairo, her husband choosing to act as her nurse.
 
 150 The American Mission 
 
 He remained in seclusion with iier for a month, and then, 
 with hearts full of thankfulness and voices ready for praise, 
 they were both allowed to mingle again in the society of 
 friends, and take part in the Lord's public worship and 
 work. 
 
 Mr. Lansing, in reduced health, left Cairo for America 
 with his family about the beginning of June, while Mr. 
 Hogg's health was in an uncertain state. Mr. Ewing and 
 family went to Alexandria, and took charge of the work 
 there in the writer's absence in Syria, returning to Cairo 
 early in October. 
 
 On account of the terrible civil war in the United 
 States, the contributions of the home Church fell off, and 
 the board ordered that the salaries of the missionaries be 
 reduced one-fourth, at a time, too, when the prices of every- 
 thing in Egypt had largely increased on account of the influx 
 of gold from the great advance on the price of cotton and 
 the quantity raised. The United States currency had depre- 
 ciated to a great extent, and the premium on exchange bills 
 had increased in consequence. The treasury in Egypt was 
 not only empty, but largely overdrawn, and the treasurer 
 was ashamed often to ask the patient banker for a further 
 advance. Rents became due and could not be paid promptly, 
 while the landlords were put off with promises, which some- 
 times, much to the chagrin of the missionaries, could not be 
 fulfilled. On one occasion Mr. Hogg said to Mr. Lansing 
 that he had nothing with which to get dinner. Mr. Lansing 
 had a dollar, which he gave him, saying, "The Lord will 
 send more in due time," and sure enough a letter came in 
 the afternoon with a small remittance. 
 
 On the death of Sa'id Pasha, early in the year, and the 
 belief of the Muhammadans that his successor, Ishmael 
 Pasha, was a bigoted Muslim, an uneasy feeling showed 
 itself among all the Christian sects, and especially among 
 the Copts and Syrians. Threats were openly made by the 
 Muhammadans that their time had come to show their power, 
 since the Christian Sa'id had died and the Muslim Ishmael
 
 IN Egypt. 151 
 
 had come to power. All sorts of rumors were afloat, in- 
 creasing and extending day after day. The Christians were 
 advised to keep to their houses at night for fear of disturb- 
 ances. Letters written by the missionaries show that they 
 felt they were living on the edge of a crater, which might 
 burst forth with all its destructive force at any moment. 
 This feeling continued until there came an occasion for pun- 
 ishing the arrogance and hate of the Muhammadans in Alex- 
 andria. Some Frenchmen, or French proteges, were walk- 
 ing along in a narrow street. in the city where the rain had 
 made it difficult for two pedestrians to pass each other. 
 They were met by some Muhammadans, and a quarrel 
 ensued about the right of way, and the French were mal- 
 treated by the Muhammadans.. The news spread abroad in 
 the city, and men were afraid of an uprising and massacre 
 like that in Damascus. The Frenchmen, however, betook 
 themselves to their official representative, who took up the 
 matter energetically and carried it to a successful conclusion, 
 so that the parties were apprehended and punished in such a 
 way as to teach the low-class Muhammadans that the new 
 viceroy would lend no assistance to persons prompted by 
 fanaticism to injure others. From that time the Muslims 
 remained perfectly quiet, a fact that proves what is well 
 known in Egypt, that Egyptian Muhammadans never plan 
 any uprising without being assisted by some person possess- 
 ing the symbol of power. 
 
 In the early part of the year a young Muslim, educated 
 in France, and imbibing the spirit of freedom of thought, 
 with more zeal than prudence, commenced a series of articles 
 on the East and its religions, and had two or three published 
 in a European sheet in Alexandria. In one of these were 
 severe strictures on the Prophet of Islam. The articles 
 soon came to the notice of the mosque party, at whose 
 instance he was apprehended and thrown into prison, and 
 put into a filthy apartment. Some of the native brethren 
 heard of the case, and reported it to the missionaries. Mr. 
 Lansing made inquiries concerning it, and on learning the
 
 152 The American Mission 
 
 particulars, sought to interest the United States consul-gen- 
 eral in the matter. He consented to join the English consul- 
 general in making representations to the viceroy, on the plea 
 that it was an age of liberty, and it would injure the name 
 of the viceroy to allow imprisonment in such a manner on 
 account of such an offense. While negotiations were going 
 on, the man was suddenly sent to Cairo, imprisoned there, 
 and visited by some of the native brethren. But he sud- 
 denly disappeared from the prison, and no one could discover 
 his whereabouts for some time. It was concluded that he had 
 been thrown into the river or disposed of in some summary 
 manner. The good offices of the consuls were, however, 
 crowned with success at last, and the man was brought back 
 from Minza, whither he had been sent on the way to the 
 White Nile, which meant death from drowning on reaching 
 the limits of Egypt. The man still lives in Cairo, and is 
 grateful to this day for the interest and action of Mr. Lans- 
 ing in his case. He considers his spared life as due to his 
 efforts. I find two of the articles he wrote in the papers 
 now in my possession. I am sorry to add, however, that 
 the man does not seem to have any religion, though he is a 
 man of good moral character, and occasionally pays a visit 
 to our Cairo bookshop. 
 
 The various departments of the mission work were 
 carried on with varying success during the year. The addi- 
 tions to tlie church were only nine, one in Alexandria and 
 eight in Cairo. Various causes operated to influence the 
 people and prevent their attendance at religious meetings, 
 and from uniting their interests with the missionaries. The 
 chief among these was that so clearly set forth in the mis- 
 sion report for the year, and is as follows : 
 
 ' ' It was not to be expected that the tide of success 
 which had set in on the Cairo mission during 1862 would be 
 allowed to flow without interruption, if it were in the power 
 of the Coptic priesthood to check it. The wonder is that 
 they permitted the tidal wave to grow into such threatening 
 dimensions before at least attempting to stem it. Their 
 neglecting to do so sooner can only be accounted for by the
 
 IN Egypt. 
 
 153 
 
 leading dignitaries of the Coptic sect being ignorant of the 
 real extent to which evangelistic opinions had spread through- 
 out their churclies, or else too deeply engrossed with otlier 
 matters of their own to admit of their watching very care- 
 fully the movements of their neighbors, or perhaps they 
 might have been so much divided among themselves that 
 they could not take united action against us. All these 
 causes seem to have co-operated to some extent in prevent- 
 ing them organizing any general or decisive measure of 
 opDOsition, until the second week in June, when circum- 
 stances nad become peculiarly favorable for combined action 
 against us. A new Patriarch had just been elected, after 
 two years' angry discussion and altercations on the subject 
 between the monks and the bishops. These latter had then 
 returned to their dioceses and soon found that the American 
 missionaries had been there in their absence two and three 
 times a year, and had disseminated ' heresy' wherever they 
 went. The Patriarch shortly after his election made a tour 
 in person throughout lower Egypt, and even there he had 
 seen enough to convince him that his new-born dignity 
 would not be worth much to him long, unless his people 
 were brought into stricter obedience to the faith delivered to 
 them by tlieir ancestors. On his return from this pastoral 
 visit, he had an audience with the new viceroy, who it is 
 said received him very kindly, but warned him to ha\-e 
 nothing to do with the Franks (Europeans and Americans), 
 and therefore urged him to educate the children of his sect 
 himself, and finally made him a gift of 1500 acres of land 
 to enable him to carry out more effectually his highness' 
 wishes in this matter. 
 
 " It was under such a combination of influences — when 
 thus stirred up from within, and urged on from without — 
 that a general convention was summoned of the leading 
 men of the sect, in order to devise measures for accomplisli- 
 ing the double object of weakening the influence of our 
 mission, and carrying out the desires of the viceroy — for they 
 knew th.at they would doubtless incur the displeasure of their 
 sovereign if they failed to assume the responsibilities which 
 his grant had imposed upon them. Everything seemed 
 favorable, even the season of the year, for it was now mid- 
 summer, and there was sickness in the only remaining 
 family of the mission (for Mr. Lansing and family had left 
 for America), and consequently it was resolved to adopt no 
 half measures, but to seize the opportunity, and b_\- one 
 grand effort break up our schools, and thus weaken if not
 
 154 The American Mission 
 
 destroy our influence as a mission. The first thing they tried 
 was to buy off our teachers, by offering them greatly in- 
 creased salaries. Failing in this, lucrative posts were offered 
 them in the service of the government ; and this succeeded, 
 at least, in one instance. Strange means were then resorted 
 to. Chrysostom's Homilies were laid aside, and the Pa- 
 triarch mounted the pulpit for once with a piece of original 
 composition, in which he denounced us as * ravening wolves,' 
 proselvterians, heretics, etc., and branded with the ' haram ' 
 (threat of excommunication) all who should persist in hold- 
 ing any further intercourse with us. Dissatisfied with the 
 partial success with which even this was followed, the priests 
 were next ordered to visit the families of the contumacious, 
 and the servants of the Patriarch began to scour the streets, 
 seizing the books, and in other ways annoying the children 
 on their way to the schools. At length they grew so bold as 
 to seize the more refractory of them, and carry them off by 
 force to the school of the Patriarch. When matters reached 
 this point, Mr. Hogg waited on the Patriarch, in company 
 with the consul, and requested him to put a stop to such 
 doings, or otherwise he would be obliged to take legal steps 
 against his employes for kidnaping our children. 
 
 " This remonstrance proved effectual in stopping the 
 seizures of boys in the streets, and, indeed, from that time, 
 partly owing to this, but chiefly to the efforts of our teachers 
 and church members among the parents of the children, we 
 observed a marked change in the general demeanor and 
 bearing of the Coptic clergy towards us and our converts. 
 Several cases have occurred in which individual priests have 
 insulted some of the members and office-bearers of the 
 Church, and they have been always reprimanded by the 
 Patriarch or the bishop of Cairo. Thus ' Man proposes, while 
 God disposes.' The blast which was meant to blow right 
 ahead of our tiny bark, and, perchance, to sink it under the 
 waves, became, at last, a side wind which drove her more 
 rapidly along in her course than an ordinary, though more 
 favoring, breeze could have done. Thus God makes the 
 wrath of man to praise Him, for it is our firm conviction that 
 the infatuation of the Coptic clergy has done more to further 
 the objects of our mission during the past year than any 
 ordinary efforts of ours could have accomplished in three 
 times that period. One young man owes his conversion to 
 his having been forcibly v^ithdrawn from our service, and 
 hundreds are now daily discussing our doctrines, who a year 
 ago were ignorant of our very existence."
 
 IN EGYFL 155 
 
 While there was much to try the faith and endurance of 
 the missionaries during 1863, there were many things to 
 prove the faitlifulness and loving-kindness of the Lord, and to 
 encourage the workmen to pursue, even though they might 
 be faint and weary. While the usual source of human 
 supply for the support of the mission failed to a large extent, 
 and bankruptcy stared the mission in the face, the Lord 
 raised up friends in various directions. Mr. Rankin, an 
 English merchant in Alexandria, on hearing that the appro- 
 priations were reduced one-fourth, immediately sent a 
 cheque for $500, to be used in keeping up the salaries of the 
 missionaries. He also promised to secure half the amount 
 necessary to purchase a small boat for evangelistic purposes 
 by means of the Nile and larger canals. Other friends, also, 
 were moved to send their contributions, especially friends of 
 the cause in Scotland, through the personal appeals of 
 Brother Hogg. Again and again, when we knew not how 
 teachers' salaries were to be met, rents paid, and the daily 
 bread of the mission staff secured, the Lord in His mercy 
 raised up friends, who acted as stewards in the distribution 
 of the Lord's money committed to them. 
 
 It is worthy of note, also, that it was during the first 
 months of this year that Dr. J. B. Dales, his family, and 
 Dr. James Prestley, visited Egypt, and while Drs. Dales and 
 Prestley came at their own expense, yet they were requested 
 by the Board to look into the work of the mission and report 
 thereon. They visited Alexandria and Cairo, and in com- 
 pany with Mr. Lansing, made a trip up the Nile as far as 
 Aswan, and saw the field and the operations of the mission 
 fairly well. They were present at the meeting of presby- 
 tery at which the secretary of the board made various 
 suggestions in the line of counsel and aid to the workers. 
 The writer can never forget the pleasure afforded to him and 
 his wife in having Mrs. Dales with them, while the rest of 
 the party made a trip to the Holy Land. With that visit 
 began a friendship that continued as long as she li\-ed — a 
 friendship which on her part showed itself in many ways to
 
 156 The American Mission 
 
 them and their children, by many acts of kindness sponta- 
 neouslyr endered. During the presence of Drs. Dales and 
 Prestley then in Cairo, the native members of the Cairo 
 station met in accordance with the directions of presbytery, 
 Dr. Lansing being in the chair and proceeded to elect suit- 
 able persons to be elders and deacons. The election resulted 
 in the choice of Makhiel Nakhiel, Salih Awed, Minas Yacoob, 
 and Girgis Bishetly as elders, and Girgis Hanna, Spire Toma 
 and Awad Hanna, as deacons. On the 15th of February, 
 these persons were solemnly set apart to their respective 
 offices by prayer and the laying on of the hands of presby- 
 tery, Drs. Dales and Prestley assisting. Thus the first 
 native congregation of the United Presbyterian Church in 
 Egypt was organized in faith and hope. It was the day of 
 small things, but it was the beginning of an institution that 
 has grown and extended under the blessing of God, and the 
 quickening power of His Spirit. 
 
 To this year also must be attributed the formal initiation 
 of a class for the training of young men for Christian work 
 in Egypt. Presbytery, at its meeting in Cairo, February 
 15, 1863, passed the following preamble and resolutions : 
 
 " Whereas, there are now six individuals in full com- 
 munion with us who desire to study theology, and who are 
 judged by presbytery fit persons to be admitted to that study ; 
 and, whereas, the support of four of these persons; — three 
 of them being ex-priests — is provided for independently of 
 the mission, and the other two being partially employed by 
 the mission, have left to them sufficient time for this pur- 
 suit ; and, whereas, presbytery judges it of great importance 
 that a commencement should be made in this work, and thus 
 a nucleus be formed to which others may come for whose 
 support provision may be made by the Board, or otherwise ; 
 therefore. 
 
 Resolved, i. That the missionaries at Cairo be directed 
 to organize at once these classes, and make arrangements 
 for giving lessons in systematic and pastoral theology and 
 Church history. 
 
 Resolved, 2. That the teachers in the boys' school, 
 who are also members of the Church, be encouraged as far 
 as this present arrangement will permit to attend these lee-
 
 IN Egypt. 157 
 
 tures, in order the better to prepare them for their duties in 
 the school. 
 
 Resolved, 3, That, in conducting these exercises, 
 reference be also had to the preparation of materia} for pub- 
 lication, in order to meet the great and' increasing demand 
 for a sound literature. 
 
 Resolved, 4. That Rev. G. Lansing be directed to 
 make application to the American Tract Society for a grant 
 of money to defray the expenses of the publication of such 
 of their works as may be translated, and to supplement any 
 appropriation that may be made by our Board of Foreign 
 Missions or Board of Publication for the purpose." 
 
 It appears from these resolutions, that the mission not 
 only contemplated the institution of a class for preparing 
 young men for the Lord's work, but also means by which 
 useful literature could be secured to meet the increasing 
 demand for evangelical reading matter. At the same meet- 
 ing it was resolved to purchase another and smaller boat for 
 the distribution of books by the means of the Nile and the 
 canals, since the "Ibis" was too large to enter the canals, 
 and cost too much to run her. In this way the mission was 
 preparing for widening and extending its agressive work in 
 obedience to the Master's command, to " Go, and preach the 
 Gospel to every creature." 
 
 In the month of May Mr. Lansing visited the Delta on 
 the Damietta branch of the Nile, accompanied by Mr. Awad 
 Hanna, and found an open door for the distribution of relig- 
 ious books, and conversations with the people on Gospel 
 truth, their obligation to receive and obey it. It was on 
 this tour they visited Sitt Damienna — "famous throughout 
 Egypt for the visions of celestial riders that are to be seen 
 within its doors, and the wonderful cures from demoniacal 
 possessions effected within its walls " — and, although unable 
 to remain until the end of the annual festival held there, 
 he remained a sufficient time to enable him to detect and to 
 "threaten the priests with a public exposure of the lying 
 signs and wonders by which the temple of the baptized 
 heathen goddess Diana is kept up, and the fetters of a 
 debasing superstition are riveted upon generation after gener-
 
 158 I'HE AMERICAN MISSION 
 
 ation of an ignorant and credulous people." Mr. Awad, how- 
 ever, entreated him not to mal<e a public exposure of the 
 imposture until he had got all his books disposed of. " Had 
 the people found next day," writes Mr. Lansing in his 
 "Egypt's Princes," "that their shadowy gods had disap- 
 peared, there would have been found a crowd like that of 
 Ephesus to cry out by the hour ' Great is Damienna, pro- 
 tectress of the two seas and the two lands.' And had it 
 become known that Awad and I had spirited away the 
 shadows by closing the aperture which acted like a camera 
 obscura, they would have been ready to tear us in pieces." 
 Mr. Lansing's threat to expose the fraud stirred up the 
 Patriarch and the bishop of Cairo, who were present at the 
 festival, to put a stop to the further sale of books. Awad 
 went to the tent next morning with just apprehensions as to 
 the reception which he and his would meet with from Abuna 
 Makar (the abbot) and his friends. He opened and arranged 
 his wares, but no one came to purchase. He waited, still 
 no one came. Awad, however, whose wonderful tact had 
 proved him equal to any emergency of this kind, easily 
 understood that the execution of Mr. Lansing's threat would 
 be worse for the priests than the sale of his books. Accord- 
 ingly, he shut his tent and went directly to the Patriarch, 
 and asked him why he had prohibited the people from buy- 
 ing books. The Patriarch called God to witness that he had 
 done no such thing ; but Awad insisted that he must have 
 done so, as all the people had suddenly stopped buying. 
 Dreading an exposure of their lucrative imposture, the 
 Patriarch, accompanied by the bishop of Cairo, went down 
 to Awad's tent, each of them bought a Bible, and paid the 
 price before all the people, and holding them up said, " See, 
 we have bought books; come all of you and buy." There 
 was a rush for the book stall forthwith. All the Bibles and 
 Testaments on hand, and most of the other books, were 
 
 sold. 
 
 Other trips were made in the new boat, " The Morning 
 Star," to upper Egypt, so that the whole sales from the
 
 IN Egypt. 
 
 159 
 
 boats, the shops, and colporteurs during 1863, were 5,794, at 
 $1,464. Thus the Word of God was published abroad 
 through the valley of the Nile, carrying light, and joy, and 
 peace to many of its inhabitants, in accordance with what 
 has been predicted, " The Word of the Lord shall have free 
 course, and be glorified." 
 
 It was during this year, too, that Bamba Muller made a 
 public confession of her faith in Christ, and sat for the first 
 time at the Lord's table to commemorate the death of her 
 Saviour, whom she so dearly loved — a love which never 
 grew less even when transferred from her humble little 
 room in the Ezbakiyah, Cairo, to the palace of a prince in 
 England, where she sat as princess at her own table and 
 commanded a retinue of servants. One of the missionaries 
 in writing to the secretary of the Board (about the commun- 
 ion season at which she was received) says : 
 
 " We found on examination that for more than a year 
 she had been under serious impressions, and that after 
 spending several months under deep conviction of sin she 
 had at last given herself wholly up to Jesus, and found 
 peace ; and that ever since then she has been teaching her 
 mother and praying with her morning and evening; now her 
 only wish was to be used by Him in bringing her, all her fel- 
 low teachers and pupils to a saving knowledge of the 
 truth. On Sabbath morning she and three young men were 
 publicly admitted into the fellowship of the Church. There 
 were wet eyes that morning among her female companions. 
 One of the verses read at the opening of the service 
 (Romans 8:13, first clause) went as an arrow to the heart 
 of one of the teachers, who had hitherto been trusting in her 
 own piety and prayers, rather than in Jesus, Helena, one 
 of Miss Hart's teachers, wept by her side, and several others 
 seemed deeply impressed. These were called together after 
 service was over, and solemnly urged to give themselves at 
 once to Jesus. After passing several days and nights in deep 
 conviction of sin, first one, then another, and then a third, 
 were enabled to say that they had found Him ; and now they 
 meet together daily during the intermission for prayer along 
 with several of the girls who are also seeking the Saviour." 
 
 It was during the latter part of 1863, also, that several 
 evening meetings were started for prayer and the study
 
 i6o The American Mission 
 
 of the Bible, both in the Ezbakiyah and the Haret-es-Sakkain 
 quarters of the city. And the Copts, on the principle of 
 starting one fire to put out another, opened a meeting in the 
 patriarchate, to prevent those wishing to study the Bible 
 from attending the Protestant meetings. Several of our 
 prominent members thought best to attend it ; and when 
 called upon would express their views or lead in prayer, 
 until on account of the occurrence of warm discussions, and 
 the evident spread of the truth, the meeting was broken up. 
 An evening class was organized by the missionaries for the 
 regular study of the Scriptures, and this was practically, 
 though not formally, the beginning of the theological class 
 ordered by presbytery. 
 
 This was the year of the terrible murrain among the cattle 
 in Egypt. It is said that about 300,000 cattle died. Many 
 of these were thrown into the Nile and the canals, polluting 
 the water, and causing widespread sickness in the land, and 
 preparing the conditions necessary for the terrible visitation 
 of cholera in 1865. At one time the whole coast of the Med- 
 iterranean, in the region of Damietta and Rosetta, where 
 the Nile flows into the sea, was piled up with carcasses of 
 cattle in all stages of putrefaction.
 
 bo 
 
 > 

 
 IN Egypt. iCi 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 1864— The missionaries on the ground at beginning of 1864— Writer alone 
 in Alexandria — Purchase of Alexandria premises — Prayer-meetings in the 
 girls' school, Cairo— Efforts of the Coptic clergy to keep' girls away from our 
 schools— The story of Bamba's courtship and marriage with his highness, 
 Dhulup Singh— His gift of Ss,ooo and promise of 32,500 annually— Work on 
 Nile in new small boat— Tour of Rev. and Mrs. Ewing in " Ibis" to Aswan— 
 And of Mr. Hogg to Faiyum — Formal opening of the theological seminary. 
 
 At the beginning of the year Revs. Barnett, Lansing, 
 McCague, and families, were all in America, so that the only 
 missionaries on the field were Rev. and Mrs. Watson and 
 Miss McKown, in Alexandria ; Rev. and Mrs. Hogg, Rev. 
 and Mrs. Ewing, Misses Dales and Hart, in Cairo: a small 
 force, considering the two cities in which they labored, and 
 the length of the valley in which they were seeking to 
 extend the work. The force was further reduced by the 
 departure of Miss Hart for England on March 24, on account 
 of ill-health. She took with her Mary Lizzie Hogg, the eld- 
 est daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Hogg. But Mr. and Mrs. 
 Lansing returned to the work on April 20. The health of 
 the missionaries was better than usual all the year, although 
 nearly all were laid aside at one time or another, and the 
 year was one during which much sickness prevailed among 
 the natives. 
 
 The work at Alexandria continued as usual, with a 
 smaller attendance at both schools, and a larger attendance 
 at the Arabic services, which were now conducted entirely 
 by the writer, Father Makhiel having been removed to 
 Cairo early in the year, and used as a means of gathering 
 the people to the services, visiting the sick, and preaching 
 occasionally when the missionaries were busy. One of the 
 Cairo missionaries was accustomed to visit Alexandria at 
 II
 
 i62 The American Mission 
 
 the communion season. Two new members were added in 
 Alexandria during the year. The most interesting item con- 
 nected with the Alexandria station was the purchase of the 
 premises there for the sum of $16,500. The location was 
 central to the natives, but the premises are rather contracted, 
 the streets around it narrow and the approaches to it 
 unpleasant, but at the time there did not seem to be any- 
 thing else available at a reasonable price. The constant 
 annoyance from the renting of houses made the missionaries 
 glad to get anything that would be at all suitable and would 
 be a permanent home. It did good service for many years, 
 but it is desirable to find a better position now, and more 
 commodious rooms, both for the health of the workers and 
 the interests of the work on evangelistic and educational 
 lines. Alexandria, with its mixed population, many of the 
 lowest classes of southern Europe, and most ignorant, fana- 
 tical Muslims, is a very difficult field, and • needs special 
 facilities for reaching and influencing the people. 
 
 At Cairo, the services were well attended, and there 
 were added to the membership of the Church fourteen, nine 
 of whom were females. This large accession of females 
 was chiefly due to a very interesting religious movement in 
 the girls' school, begun in 1863 and continued for some time 
 in 1864 Meetings for prayer and conference were held at 
 which the teachers and others took part. Miss Dales, under 
 whose direction these were held, often expressed her sur- 
 prise at the earnest and simple prayers offered, and remarked 
 the facility with which they expressed themselves in prayer, 
 Bamba and her mother being specially mentioned. Per- 
 sistent efforts were made by the priests in several cases to 
 prevent the girls and young women from attending school 
 or religious meetings, and in some instances these succeeded 
 only too well, on account of the threats of these religious 
 leaders to use their influence against the girls on occasions of 
 proposals of marriage, a subject on which the mothers feel 
 deeply, as early marriages are greatly desired, and the dis- 
 grace of being unmarried is universally feared. The parents,
 
 IN Egypt. 163 
 
 then, are always anxious to have their daughters married, 
 and often depend on the priests for furthering thtir efforts to 
 carry out their plans, and fear greatly the active opposition 
 of the priests in this matter. 
 
 The sales of books in Cairo during the year were 4,275 
 volumes at $1,057.50. 
 
 The great event in the history of the mission for 1864 
 was the espousal and marriage of Bamba to his highness the 
 Maharajah Dhulup Singh. The prince was the son of the 
 renowned Runjit Singh, late king of the Punjab in northern 
 India, and also heir to the throne of his father. He was at 
 the date of his visit to Cairo, passing a short time in Egypt 
 on his way to India to consign the body of his deceased 
 mother to her friends, to be buried according to the rites of 
 the religion in which she lived and died, this being her dying 
 request. He, himself, was a Christian, having lived in 
 England since his boyhood. He had a liberal pension from 
 the English government, and had estates both in England 
 and Scotland. Though not permitted to return to the Pun- 
 jab, he was treated with the honors of royalty when in 
 India, and ranked next to the royal family in England, being 
 a particular favorite with her majesty, Queen Victoria. He 
 called at the mission house in Cairo on the lothof February, 
 and made many inquiries about the state of the mission, its 
 various operations, and especially its schools, from which 
 the missionaries gathered that he was very much interested 
 in missions. Two days later he made another visit, and 
 spent nearly a whole forenoon in the schools, and before he 
 left he presented $100, to be spent in providing prizes for the 
 most deserving among the children. " From the first," says 
 one of the missionaries in a letter written in September, 
 1864, " we were much struck with his modesty, simplicity 
 and humility, and the genial, loving, genuine tone of his 
 Christian character. We subsequently learned from himself 
 that though he broke caste when but six years of age, yet it 
 was only about three years ago that he was truly converted, 
 under the ministry of Rev. Jay, an evangelical clergyman of 
 the Church of England."
 
 i64 The American Mission 
 
 A few days after the second visit he made a third to the 
 mission, and spent an hour and a half in the girls' school, 
 which was under the management of Miss Dales. He talked 
 freely with her, and asked many questions about the instruc- 
 tion given to the pupils and the aid she received from the 
 native teachers. On this visit he had the first sight of 
 Bamba, who from her sweet face, quiet, dignified manner, 
 always attracted the attention of everyone. Miss Dales 
 informed him that she was the first, and only one, from the 
 schools who had up to that time made a public profession of 
 her trust in Jesus for salvation, and had been admitted to 
 membership in the Church. Before leaving that day he pre- 
 sented $250 for the general purposes of the mission, and it 
 was agreed that the ^100 should be appropriated to a 
 library for the use of the pupils. He bought the necessary 
 books and secured from the missionaries a teacher to aid him 
 in the study of Arabic, as he said that he thought of taking 
 a house in Cairo, and making it his headquarters in the 
 winter season hereafter. For about a week he was absent 
 at the Pyramids, and on his return he paid us several visits, 
 dropping in as an occasional visitor, and having conver- 
 sations on general as well as religious topics. 
 
 He generally wore European dress, but occasionally 
 came in half hidian costume, profusely adorned with gold, 
 diamonds, and other jewels. " On Sabbath, February 28, 
 he came early, dressed in Indian style, to attend our religious 
 services, and was present at Miss Dales' Sabbath school and 
 stayed during the whole of the morning service. One even- 
 ing soon after he sent a note to Mr. Hogg, the contents of 
 which overwhelmed us with mingled feelings of pleasure, 
 astonishment, and perplexity. The substance of it was 
 briefly this, that he had come over with the intention of 
 having a private conversation with Mr. Hogg, but had not 
 found the opportunity. His intention in this was to ask the 
 advice of the missionaries in the matter of getting a wife. 
 He stated that from his peculiar position he was liable to 
 many temptations as a young unmarried man, and he had
 
 IN Egypt. 165 
 
 determined, therefore, to marry, and had been making it for 
 some time past a matter of special prayer that the Lord 
 would raise him up a suitable wife, for he had determined to 
 marry in the Lord. Her majesty Queen Victoria had advised 
 him to marry an hidian princess, who had been educated in 
 England, but he wished one who was less acquainted with 
 the gaieties and frivolities of fashionable aristocratic life. 
 His preference was decidedly for an Oriental, and as he 
 knew of no lady of rank in India who had been converted 
 to the truth he had concluded to inquire in Egypt if haply 
 there might be one found here whom the Lord had been 
 preparing for him in special answer to his prayer. Rank 
 and position in life were nothing to him; what he desired was 
 a voung girl who loved the Lord in sincerity and in truth. 
 
 The letter was scarcely read before Bamba at once 
 occurred to our minds, as not merely the only one who could 
 be proposed to his highness — she being our only young 
 female converted at the time — but as also uniting in herself 
 all the qualifications which the prince desired in his future 
 wife. We felt, however, very heavily the responsibility of 
 being in any way instrumental in transplanting a young, 
 tender flower like this from its native soil, in which it was 
 growing in vigor and beauty every day, to a region and 
 climate where it might pine away and die from exposure to 
 withering blasts, and the want of the careful culture and 
 genial atmosphere which in its infancy it had been fos- 
 tered. The tone of the Prince's note, however, strength- 
 ened the deep impression we had formed of his high Chris- 
 tian character ; and the prayerful attitude in which he 
 seemed to have been looking, and still looked, on the whole 
 subject made us thankful that the matter was of the Lord, 
 and we believed that he would guide us, and all concerned, 
 to do what in the end would most advance His glory. 
 
 Mr. Hogg, therefore, after consultation with Mr. Ewing 
 went over to the prince's, and had a long conversation with 
 him, during which he repeated what he had said in his note 
 about his anxiety to secure a helpmeet who could both sym-
 
 i66 The American Mission 
 
 pathize and c - r - :r with him in all good works. This 
 visit to the East, he said, was not of his own seeking ; he 
 :i --t ' — - when "e ~'r".t have another opportunity ; if 
 r :^ : : : ?. ^^ '-'r : : '. - Orient, now was his chance. 
 ?.: -.u:.--- : = .,;.;.:: .._ .--i prefer that she should be a 
 ^2r!^•e of Errt. He, of course, expected he would have 
 : - : ; - : r r - : : : sition, but with youth on her 
 5 , : f^ ,; ;r r. - , : i with grace in her heart she 
 
 v : r : ^: : r : _. Bamba was then mentioned, 
 
 and Mr. H: __ : - was a girl of very pleasing exter- 
 
 : _ ' . :r _ : ^, of the most transparent 
 
 ^ . i :'---- -c, devoted Christian. We 
 
 _ . r,f her humble mode of life 
 
 - , : it she had a very limited 
 
 c r r ::". :". ' _ : :'jth of our holy religion. 
 
 T: r 7: r:r '-"..: t-: _ seen her, and he had 
 
 n \^ith her personal appearance, and 
 es of her birth were con- 
 ".ing if in every other way 
 s as a truly Christian girl. He 
 i'--' - - : : ■- T '' S.ez probably early in 
 
 :. .= _ : . : s absence we would 
 
 pray - : i v.e \%ould be pre- 
 
 pare: : J J : -dint: ::er. 
 
 Ne :: r : _ ..ever, came a telegram announcing 
 
 t: : : r : : -z : - steamer w as not yet 
 
 cert: : : r : :. He called at the mission 
 
 : ■ : J ' -ght and prayed much 
 
 T- : - r :_ _ : : _'ht, he had come to the 
 
 - : - - - L i -^s in it, and he was 
 
 ■ ~ - - V-. H 022 had knelt 
 
 ' : . _ ; :ual guidance 
 
 '•'iiss Dales was dep: make the 
 
 7 - - - eceived it w:: -nost com- 
 
 ' er life to God in 
 
 - M^is ] ana was ^ rpy in His 
 
 Sr r - : -:''... rijwever. '-". . sbed to Hiink 
 
 .-^r 
 
 ■^ ...-_ ._ ^ . Li like Aivru
 
 IN Egypt. 167 
 
 of it as a matter of serious import, she then wished to refer 
 the matter to her father and mother. We strongly endorsed 
 this idea. This was to be expected, as the father has in 
 the East the sole right to give the final decision as to the 
 disposal of his daughter. The father, being in Alexandria, 
 could not be consulted at once, so the prince, having to em- 
 bark that afternoon for hidia, left the matter to be settled in 
 his absence, the conclusion to be transmitted to him by the 
 first opportunity. He did not go, however, without leaving 
 for her a very handsome bracelet and ring, which he desired 
 she should wear for his sake, even though she should even- 
 tually decide not to accept his offer. The father, on being 
 informed of the matter in all its details, and consulted as to 
 his wishes, replied that she was free to judge for herself as 
 to the answer to be given to the prince's proposal. 
 
 This reply left her in a very trying position, especially 
 considering her limited knowledge of the world and of 
 the sphere of Christian duty. She knew nothing up to that 
 time of any other sphere of work for Christ, but the school 
 in which she herself had learned the way of salvation. 
 The truth that there are other and larger spheres of useful- 
 ness never occurred to her mind. She had never mingled in 
 European society, nor e\'en natix'e society. From her little 
 room where she li\'ed with her mother to the school in the 
 morning and back again in the evening, this was her daily life. 
 Both Miss Dales and Miss Hart tried to enlarge her ideas of 
 the bounds and fields of Christian usefulness, and gave her 
 information of the various ways and means in high, middle, 
 and humble life of serving the Master, that she might be in 
 a position to decide the question of duty in an intelligent 
 manner. Mr. Hogg drew out for her in her own language at 
 length the ways by which the rich and the poor could serve 
 the Lord in their several spheres, showing her how it was 
 her duty at all hazards to live a life of faith and good works. 
 This much was clear, for the Word of God enjoined it. 
 Yet, while Jesus ordered her to serve Him, He had not told 
 her that she must remain in any particular sphere in order
 
 i66 The American Mission 
 
 pathize and co-operate with him in all good works. This 
 visit to the East, he said, was not of his own seeking ; he 
 did not know when he might have another opportunity ; if 
 he was to find a wife in the Orient, now was his chance. 
 For various reasons he would prefer that she should be a 
 native of Egypt. He, of course, expected he would have 
 to train her for her new position, but with youth on her 
 side, this would be easy, and with grace in her heart she 
 would not spoil in the training. Bam.ba was then mentioned, 
 and Mr. Hogg told him she was a girl of very pleasing exter- 
 ior, graceful, winning manners, of the most transparent 
 simplicity, and above all a true, devoted Christian. We 
 told him also of her parentage, of her humble mode of life 
 with her Abyssinian mother, that she had a very limited 
 education except in the great truth of our holy religion. 
 The prince remembered well having seen her, and he had 
 been very much taken with her personal appearance, and 
 said that as far as the circumstances of her birth were con- 
 cerned he would count that nothing if in every other way 
 she commended herself to us as a truly Christian girl. He 
 then said that he had to leave for Suez probably early in 
 the morning, and that he hoped during his absence we would 
 pray for him, and that when he returned we would be pre- 
 pared to advise him how to proceed in the matter. 
 
 Next morning, however, came a telegram announcing 
 that the time of the departure of his steamer was not yet 
 certain, as it had not arrived. He called at the mission 
 house, and stated that having thought and prayed much 
 over the matter during the past night, he had come to the 
 conclusion that the hand of the Lord was in it, and he was 
 ready at once to make proposals. After Mr. Hogg had knelt 
 with him at his request, and implored the spiritual guidance 
 of God in the matter, Miss Dales was deputed to make the 
 proposal to Bamba. She received it with the utmost com- 
 posure, but said that she wished to devote her life to God in 
 the school, like Miss Dales, and was supremely happy in His 
 service in the school. However, on being pressed to think
 
 IN Egypt. 167 
 
 of it as a matter of serious import, she then wished to refer 
 the matter to her fatlier and mother. We strongly endorsed 
 this idea. This was to be expected, as the father has in 
 the East the sole right to give the final decision as to the 
 disposal of his daughter. The father, being in Alexandria, 
 could not be consulted at once, so the prince, having to em- 
 bark that afternoon for India, left the matter to be settled in 
 his absence, the conclusion to be transmitted to him by the 
 first opportunity. He did not go, however, without leaving 
 for her a very handsome bracelet and ring, which he desired 
 she should wear for his sake, even though she should even- 
 tually decide not to accept his offer. The father, on being 
 informed of the matter in all its details, and consulted as to 
 his wishes, replied that she was free to judge for herself as 
 to the answer to be given to the prince's proposal. 
 
 This reply left her in a very trying position, especially 
 considering her limited knowledge of the world and of 
 the sphere of Christian duty. She knew nothing up to that 
 time of any other sphere of work for Christ, but the school 
 in which she herself had learned the way of salvation. 
 The truth that there are other and larger spheres of useful- 
 ness never occurred to her mind. She had never mingled in 
 European society, nor even native society. From her little 
 room where she lived with her mother to the school in the 
 morning and back again in the evening, this was her daily life. 
 Both Miss Dales and Miss Hart tried to enlarge her ideas of 
 the bounds and fields of Christian usefulness, and gave her 
 information of the various ways and means in high, middle, 
 and humble life of serving the Master, that she might be in 
 a position to decide the question of duty in an intelligent 
 manner. Mr. Hogg drew out for her in her own language at 
 length the ways by which the rich and the poor could serve 
 the Lord in their several spheres, showing her how it was 
 her duty at all hazards to live a life of faith and good works. 
 This much was clear, for the Word of God enioined it. 
 Yet, while Jesus ordered her to serve Him, He had not told 
 her that she must remain in any particular sphere in order
 
 i68 The American Mission 
 
 to be able to serve Him. It was, therefore, her duty to say 
 like Paul, "Lord, what wilt Thou have me do?" When 
 once a sphere of usefulness had been found for her she should 
 remain in it till called by God to leave it. God addressed 
 his people in various ways — in His word and in His provi- 
 dence. She would learn from the Word of God that when 
 an opening occurred by which she could become a means of 
 doing greater good to the world and forwarding more effec- 
 tually the cause of Christ, that should be regarded as a call 
 from God for her to enter by it, unless there should be 
 serious objections in the way, and God's providence seemed 
 to point in another direction. Could she discern any such 
 counter-current, or think of any serious objections.? If she 
 could, let her indicate them, and balance them in her own 
 mind, according as God might give her grace to do so impar- 
 tially. If she could not mention any, then let her look at 
 the course of providence as indicated in the history of the 
 prince, and also in her own, and let this help to strengthen any 
 convictions that might have begun to dawn upon her mind. 
 A few of the more striking providences were mentioned, and 
 then when the matter was laid plainly before her she was 
 asked to take her leisure, and pray over it again and again 
 until the Lord sent light. After four days and nights of 
 anxious thought, and almost constant prayer, light broke in 
 upon the darkness. She felt the call was from the Lord, 
 and she declared herself willing to obey it, and wrote the 
 following note to her father, which translated reads thus : 
 
 " To my beloved and revered father, greeting ! I wished 
 at first that the answer should be given by yourself about 
 this matter, and when you referred the thing wholly to my- 
 self, I was in darkness and did not know what to do, on ac- 
 count of my ignorance and youth. So I committed the matter 
 and all my anxieties to God, that he might direct me and 
 make his will evident to me, for I did not wish to follow 
 mine own. After praying for a long time, waiting for an 
 answer to my petitions, the light of His countenance dawned 
 upon me, and it has now become clear to me that it is His 
 will that I should leave the school and serve Him in this new 
 position, and if it please God, I wish to live for Christ and
 
 
 a"
 
 IN Egypt. i6g 
 
 glorify His name all the days of my life, for He loves me, 
 and He even died for me. This 1 send with many salaams, 
 and love to you and all who love you, and that the Lord may 
 be with you forever, is the earnest prayer of your loving 
 daughter. 
 
 "Bamba. 
 "Cairo, March 3, 1864." 
 
 in the meantime, while this was going on, the following 
 letter was received from the prince, bearing date Suez, Feb- 
 ruary 29, 1864 : 
 
 " Dear Mr. Hogg : I send you with this note a ring for 
 Bamba, which kindly make over to her for me, and tell her 
 it will give me very much pleasure if she will always wear 
 both the presents I have sent her, whether we should be 
 married together or not. Tindly tell her that she must pray 
 to God for guidance, and entirely commit herself to Him, 
 believing that 'all things work together for good to them that 
 love God,' and He who loved her, and gave Himself a ran- 
 som for her, will guide her in the right path. She does not 
 know how much more anxious I am to possess her now since 
 1 heard yesterday of her determination to be entirely led by 
 Him, and to live for His glory only. I pray God that if it be 
 His will her father may give his consent. I think (should 
 everything go on all right) that Bamba should have one or 
 two maid-servants, in order that she may learn to gi\'e her 
 own orders about different things about herself, for should 
 she become my wife, she will not very well know how to 
 get on at first, as I keep a large number of servants, and she 
 must behave herself like a proper mistress before them. 
 
 " Thanking you all for the kind interest you take in the 
 matter, 
 
 " I remain very truly yours, 
 
 " Dhulup Singh." 
 
 As soon as Bamba had given her consent, Mr. Hogg 
 communicated the information by letter to his highness, in 
 Bombay, and received in reply the following letter : 
 
 "BOMBAY, March 28, 1864. 
 
 " Dear Mr. Hogg : Many thanks for your kind, long let- 
 ter, giving me an account of what occurred since your de- 
 parture, and the happy and most welcome nevvs. 1 feel 
 thankful to God for this His fresh act of loving-kindness and 
 mercy to me. The Lord knew my want, and has supplied 
 it in His own good way and time. 1 have been praying now
 
 170 The American Mission 
 
 tor a long time that I may be blessed with a Christian wife, 
 and the Lord has given me the desire of my heart. It is 
 marvelous how everything connected with the affair has 
 gone on, and how Bamba's father had been led to fulfill his 
 long-neglected duties towards his child. May the Lord give 
 him grace to take the Lord Jesus, as his daughter does. I 
 thank you most sincerely for the kind interest and the 
 trouble you have taken about this affair, and as long as I 
 live that shall be a debt of gratitude that I owe you. 
 
 " You, and Miss Dales, have been acting in such a way 
 that it is useless for me to say as to how Bamba's education, 
 etc., should be carried on till my arrival. I think it desirable 
 that she should learn English and music, and to give her own 
 orders. Do you not think it would be rather a good thing 
 that she should go out driving a little, so that she may be 
 accustomed to going unveiled ? But her own feelings should 
 be consulted as to this. 1 am having a pair of earrings made 
 for Bamba, which I hope she will be able to wear. I think 
 she should wear a half Eastern and half Western dress, like 
 myself. This I will be able to arrange later, when I come. 
 Pray tell Bamba's father that it is very kind of him to desire 
 to pay all expenses connected with her education, etc., but 
 that 1 shall be equally happy to do the same. 1 must con- 
 clude, as I have very little time more to write to Miss Dales 
 and Bamba herself. Therefore, again thanking you, 
 
 " I remain yours very truly and gratefully, 
 
 "Dhulup Singh." 
 
 Immediately on Bamba's decision being made, prepara- 
 tions for her future position had to be begun and carried on 
 with tact and vigor. As I have said, she had been brought 
 up in a very humble way, though never in want of sufficient 
 food, clothing and other comforts. Her mode of life had 
 been entirely in the native style. The room in which she 
 lived with her mother, though small, v/as neat and clean, 
 and arranged with tact. Her food was prepared by her 
 mother and eaten in the native style, sitting on a mat, or 
 rug, at a low table ; so that she was entirely unaccustomed 
 to sit on a chair at table or use a knife and fork. Now she 
 had to be prepared to sit down with princes, and sit at the 
 head of her own table and give orders in their presence. To 
 begin the work of training her was now the duty of the
 
 IN Egypt. 171 
 
 missionaries. She and her mother were brought to the mis- 
 sion liouse, and occupied one of the empty rooms in Mr. 
 Lansing's house. Mrs. Hogg wrote two months after the 
 marriage, saying : 
 
 " We ladies then had to set about getting her wardrobe 
 stocked, for we thought that slie ought at once get a Frank 
 outfit, so that she might know how to wear such things, and to 
 move gracefully, which she could not well do in her native 
 costume. What could be bought ready-made was procured, 
 but dresses had to be sent to a dressmaker and fit*-ed, so that 
 after two months have elapsed she has only got a limited 
 supply of dresses, although we did all we could to hurry up 
 matters. Meanwhile we all tried to help her on in studying 
 English. Mr. Ewing gave her writing lessons, and I began 
 her with music. Table linen and all other necessary things 
 having been procured, a servant was engaged, and AAiss 
 Dales and she began housekeeping. She, of course, had a 
 great deal to learn, how to sit, how to eat, how to handle her 
 knife and fork, etc., and many an aukward thing happened 
 before she got accustomed to Frank ways. Still, all things 
 considered, it was wonderful how easily and naturally she 
 moved about. Her health, however, gave way, and she was 
 confined to bed a week with an attack of jaundice, and 
 as she did not seem to regain her strength it was thouiiht 
 advisable that she go to Alexandria for a change of air. 
 When the prince returned she had been in Alexandria (with 
 her father) for about two weeks ; so he also went to Alex- 
 andria and spent the six weeks required by law enjoying her 
 society and studying Arabic. Her character developed amaz- 
 ingly fast after she got out of the narrow sphere to which 
 she had hitherto been bound, and she very soon acquired a 
 dignity and quiet, easy grace that well became her new posi- 
 tion. She did not seem either to lose any of the graces of 
 her Christian character, and the love which she showed for 
 her Bible, and conversation on religious themes knit the 
 heart of the prince every day in still closer affection for her. 
 
 " At length, on the 7th of June, the marriage was 
 celebrated, first by observing the legal formalities in the 
 British consulate at 11 A.M., and religiously in the afternoon, 
 the services being conducted by Mr. Hogg in the presence of 
 the missionaries, the parents, and a few friends of the 
 family, while the prince's Hindustani servants, and a Mu- 
 hammadan servant who had known Bamba from her child- 
 hood, gathered around the door to witness the celebration.
 
 1/2 The American Mission 
 
 After the marriage service the invited guests sat down to a 
 repast of princely character and served in princely style 
 given by the father. The dress of the bride was white 
 moire antique, trimmed with Brussels lace, and made in 
 French style, with all the usual et cetera of bridal attire. 
 The bridegroom wore a plain dress suit. Bamba was calm 
 and self-possessed, and listened with marked attention to the 
 address, while the prince was so nervous that, as he after- 
 wards confessed, he knew little of what was said. After 
 the sumptuous repast, and a little music and conversation, 
 the bride and bridegroom took their leave of the company, 
 and drove off to their home in Ramleh. 
 
 " Two weeks after the wedding, they came up to Cairo, 
 and we had the pleasure of seeing them every day for a 
 fortnight. Bamba spent the greater part of the day in 
 school, perfectly happy among her former companions, as if 
 she were still one of them. The last Sabbath day they 
 were with us we had the pleasure of sitting together with 
 them at the Lord's table. Before they left Cairo and Egypt, 
 he presented the mission with ^i.oooin Bamba's name as 
 a tliank-offering to the Lord, and has also undertaken to give 
 ^500 to support two missionaries during the remainder of 
 their lives." 
 
 Such, in brief, is the story of the Marajah Dhulup Singh's 
 marriage to Bamba — a romance of actual life — very interest- 
 ing in itself, and fraught with important results to the 
 mission. Just when the mission was in great straits for 
 funds to carry on its work, just when the doors were open- 
 ing in all directions inviting the occupation of the land for 
 Christ and His kingdom, the Lord, in His wise and kind 
 providence, brought about this union, and put into the treas- 
 ury of the mission a sum sufficient to blot out the debt and 
 provide the means for supporting two additional missionaries 
 for an indefinite future, hi closing the letter on the subject 
 to the secretary of the Board — from which we have taken 
 a large part of the foregoing— Mr. Hogg very fittingly said : 
 " And now, in the review of these wonderful dealings of 
 God with us in His providence, have we not reason to 
 rejoice and take courage to go forward in the future with a 
 firm faith to the work to which God has cajled us in this 
 rapidly widening field .?" "He has been showing us that it
 
 IN EGYPT. 173 
 
 is His work, and that He will provide the means for accom- 
 plishing it." " And now that the way is opened, and the 
 means at our disposal for the support of two additional mis- 
 sionaries, shall no one be found ready to come, to put his 
 hand to the sickle and help us to gather in the whitening har- 
 vest ?" " Literally, there are thirsty souls calling from ail 
 parts of Egypt, ' Come over and help us.' " " Now while 
 so many thousands* are running eagerly to fight the battle 
 of their country at home, shall not two willing champions be 
 found ready at a prince's call to buckle on their armor and 
 come out speedily to the help of the Lord against the mighty 
 in Egypt .? " 
 
 The work of distributing and visiting places outside of 
 Cairo and Alexandria was continued, and conducted with 
 vigor and success during 1864. The small boat, " The 
 Morning Star," was going up and down the Nile almost con- 
 stantly with its cargo of books, with one of the natives in 
 charge. Many Scriptures and other religious books were 
 distributed. The large boat, the "Ibis," went down the 
 Delta twice and up the Nile as far as Aswan once. In the 
 early summer Mr. Ewing and family made the visit to Sitt 
 Damienna, at the annual feast, and Mr. Lansing and his 
 family went as far as Damietta in August. Rev. S. C. 
 Ewing and family made the trip to Aswan in September, 
 October, and November, visiting forty towns and villages, 
 and disposing of a goodly number of books. A Mr. Smith, 
 from the north of Scotland, also made a tour of the Nile, 
 with Girgis Hanna as his assistant. Rev. J. Hogg made a 
 visit to the Faiyum, and found a wide door open both in the 
 Medinah and in Sinoris, and on return felt that that part of 
 the country should be occupied by a missionary as soon as 
 possible. He found the truth at work in the hearts of many, 
 and the opposition of the priests and others very strong and 
 active, a good evidence that the Lord's work was being 
 done. Some most forward then in favor of evangelical truth, 
 though they ran well for a time, were not able to withstand 
 
 * It was in 1864, during the civil war.
 
 174 The American Mission 
 
 the opposing and corrupting influences around them, and 
 bear the heavy burdens of the narrow way, and the Medinah 
 was found afterwards to be a very difficult field. 
 
 Much time was spent in Cairo during the last half of the 
 year in repairing the building and making arrangements for 
 the establishing of a printing press, which the Maharajah 
 promised to present to the mission. 
 
 On September 26, the formal opening of the theological 
 seminary was made by Rev. Messrs. Lansing and Hogg, the 
 latter having as an invaluable aid in this work completed the 
 translation of Patterson on the Catechism. It was during this 
 year, too, that Rev, G, Lansing brought out his book entitled 
 " Egypt's Princes," as a means of eliciting and stimulating 
 interest in the mission work throughout the home churches. 
 
 Notwithstanding the terrible civil war in America, and 
 the demands made on the Church at home, the Lord had 
 interposed for His work in Egypt and made the outlook for 
 the coming year a bright one.
 
 IN Egypt. 
 
 175 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 1865— The distribution of forces— Visit of the Maharajah and the A\aharaneh— 
 Sale of " ibis " to them — Their visit to Faivum — Decision to open new station — 
 Asyut selected and Rev. J. Hogg and Miss McKown appointed— Reached Asvut 
 February 21. lodged with Mr. Wasif Khayat— Mr. Ho^g attends Coptic church, 
 and then conducts his own services — Muslim saint in Gow — His acts of violence 
 —Great danger Speedy retribution— Mr. Hogg's third Sabbath in Asyut. many at 
 service, some moved to tears— School opened March ^— Opposition begins— Sick- 
 ness and death of Mary Lizzie Hogg — Sickness and restoration of Hope — Terrible 
 cholera epidemic — Panic in Alexandria — Mrs. Lansing and child die and others — 
 Dr. Lansing and boys go to Ramleh — Rev.S. C. Ewing remains in Cairo to min- 
 ister to the sick and mourning — Asyut missionaries go north — Return of mis- 
 sionaries to their stations— Arrangenients for next year — Reading God's Word in 
 the homes — Arrival of new missionaries, and return of others. 
 
 The missionary force at Alexandria remained as during 
 1864 until the end of January, when Miss McKown was trans- 
 ferred to Asyut ; but Rev. E. Currie and wife, new missionaries 
 from Ohio, left New York on March 4, and arrived at Alexan- 
 dria just a month from that date. At Cairo, the year 1865 
 began with Revs. Lansing, Hogg and Ewing, and Miss Dales at 
 that station. Miss Hart returned from her change in England 
 on January 9, and Miss Dales, completely worn out, sought 
 means of recruiting in America, leaving Egypt March 18. There 
 was no suspension of any part of the work in Alexandria, or 
 Cairo, or on the Nile, during the year ; but everything went 
 forward in a quiet, orderly manner, except during the time the 
 cholera prevailed, and in the work itself in the two stations 
 mentioned nothing of unusual moment occurred either in the 
 church or school work, A boarding department was opened in 
 the girls' school in Cairo, and sixteen boarders attended, and 
 Dr. Lansing reopened the theological class. 
 
 The maharajah and maharaneh returned to Egypt on Jan- 
 uary 9, purchased the mission boat and fitted it up for their 
 comfort on the Nile. Their interest in the work of Christ was 
 unabated. The maharajah visited the Faiyum in company- with 
 Dr. Lansing. On his return attended meeting of presbytery
 
 176 THE AMERICAN MISSION 
 
 in Cairo, and was present at Dr. Lansing's birthday dinner 
 (which by miscalculation, and much to the amusement of the 
 company, turned out to be not his birthday, but that of his son 
 Carrell), and afterwards visited the Delta on the " Ibis," doing 
 some missionary work on his own account, with the assistance 
 of the maharaneh. 
 
 The great event in the history of the mission in 1865 was 
 the opening of a new station at Asyut. This large town was 
 then, and is now, the capital of upper Egypt, both as regards its 
 central position and the character and wealth of its inhabitants. 
 It was then the entrepot of merchandise from the Oasis and 
 Darfur. Gums, ivory, and above ail, slaves in large numbers 
 entered Egypt at Asyut. It is even said that it takes its name 
 from "Siut," referring to the castigation of slaves witnessed 
 every day. As has been already mentioned, Asyut had been 
 visited for a number of years, and a school for boys, conducted in 
 succession by several of the mission agents, had waxed and 
 waned and died. Many Scriptures had been sold there, as well 
 as other useful books ; and many intelligent men were found in 
 it and the villages around. One man of wealth, Mr Wasif 
 Khayat, had united with the Church in Cairo, but this fact was 
 not known in his own town up to that time. Much had already 
 been said and written about the duty of opening a new center, 
 and distributing the mission forces rather than having so many 
 in Cairo. It was the opinion of some that the one was begin- 
 ning to stand in the light and in the way of the other, and they 
 were in danger of stepping on one another's toes. The matter 
 came up before the presbytery at its meeting the first week of 
 January, 1865. On account of a great want of funds, it had 
 been generally thought best that Mr. Hogg get leave to go to 
 Great Britain, and try to raise contributions in aid of the mis- 
 sion, but on consultation and prayer together at the meeting it 
 was finally agreed to go forward and reach outward, depending 
 on Him whose are the gold and the silver, to support His own 
 work. The Faiyum and Asyut were the two points mentioned 
 at which a missionary should be located ; but who should go, 
 and which one of these places should be selected for immediate 
 occupation ? Mr. Hogg mentioned his readiness to go wherever
 
 The Sphinx, with recent Excavations.
 
 IN EGYPT. 177 
 
 it was thought best, and after much discussion and prayer, it 
 was resolved that Asyut should be the first place to be occupied, 
 and that Mr. Hogg be appointed to go there with his family. 
 As Miss McKown had shown a great desire to be in a strictly 
 native field, it was also decided that she accompany them, and 
 that they leave as soon as they could conveniently get ready. 
 It was thought best, also, that the matter be kept as quiet as 
 possible, so that the Coptic hierarchy should not know anything 
 about it, else many difficulties might have to be overcome 
 through obstacles thrown in the way of finding rooms for the 
 school, and a place for holding services and a home for the 
 family. Having made all necessary preparations, they had 
 their boxes and furniture put in an open boat and sent off in 
 charge of Father Bashai, and they themselves took a native 
 dahabiyah, with no glass in the windows, and started on the 
 4th of February, 1865. 
 
 The party consisted of Rev. J. and Mrs, Hogg, their daugh- 
 ter, Mary Lizzie, and son, Hope Waddel, and Miss McKown. 
 There was also Girgis Hanna, a deacon of the Cairo church, 
 going as a general assistant in the work, a Coptic girl, called 
 Mariam, accompanied by a small orphan brother, also Mr. 
 Hogg's cook, Saad, with his family. To economize funds, this 
 native boat was taken, and though it was changed on the way 
 for one a little better, yet there was considerable annoyance by 
 night from the Egyptian vermin, and trouble by day from the 
 contracted quarters. They arrived in Asyut on February 21, 
 and the boat containing the furniture three days later. They 
 were kindly entertained by Mr. W. Khayat until the 2d of 
 March, when they moved into a house which had been secured 
 for them through his efforts. As new floors had to be laid in 
 some of the rooms, and these floors were of brick and mortar, 
 there was great dampness, and both children took croup, and 
 were ill with it for several days, the little girl quite severely; 
 and as there was no doctor, the parents were very anxious for 
 a time, but the Lord in his mercy removed the cause of their 
 fears. 
 
 On the first Sabbath Mr. Hogg attended service in the 
 Coptic church and then conducted service in Mr. Wasif's house 
 12
 
 178 The American Mission 
 
 in the presence of several Copts and Greeks. The Coptic 
 bishop came in just as he was beginning and remained about a 
 quarter of an hour. The next Sabbath Mr. Hogg again went to 
 the Coptic service, as it was held early, and then returned and 
 conducted services in his own house, in the presence of ten 
 adults and as many boys. 
 
 Rumors of troubles among the peasants south of Asyut 
 reached Asyut about the 6th, and soon after the particulars of 
 what but for the prompt action of the government might have 
 been a serious insurrection, and caused a bloody massacre of 
 the innocent with the guilty. A crack-brained Muslim of Gow 
 conceived the idea that he was raised up specially by God to 
 aid the Muslims, and had begun to gather around him a com- 
 pany of followers. This was easy to do at that time, as the 
 viceroy had taken thousands of people away from their homes 
 at the season their work was needed on their own lands, and 
 especially as during the previous year their cattle had nearly 
 all died of the murrain, and the work had to be done by manual 
 labor, and all were groaning under terrible oppression. Gain- 
 ing followers and boldness, day by day, it was not long before 
 he commenced to perpetrate acts of violence. On such occa- 
 sions, the venom and hate of the Muslims are always directed 
 against the so-called Christians, no matter howsoever innocent 
 they may be. Passing along the street one day in the month 
 of Ramadan, Ahmed, for such was his name, saw a Copt 
 smoking. This stirred his holy zeal to curse the Christian dog, 
 and he ordered his servant to give him a beating. The Copt 
 fled and concealed himself in his house, but they quickly fol- 
 lowed him, entered and plundered all his goods and valuable 
 effects. The Copts in Gow immediately sent a complaint on 
 the subject to the governor of Asyut, who ordered the sheikhs 
 of Gow to make inquiries on the subject and report. They 
 replied that Ahmed was a " waly" (a holy saint), and could do 
 no one any harm. A few days after, he and his followers laid 
 hold of some Coptic girls and carried them off, a very common 
 habit with Muhammadan saints. A second petition was pre- 
 pared, and sent this time to the inspector-general of Egypt. 
 He sent orders to the governor of Girga to try and get Ahmed
 
 IN Egypt. 179 
 
 quietly into his hands, and take him bound to Asyut. Upon 
 which he ordered the nazir* of the district to take some sol- 
 diers and go and seize him. The nazir replied that he had no 
 master but the viceroy, and that he had no orders from him yet. 
 Then the governor went himself, with a small company of sol- 
 diers, but Ahmed's followers had now increased to such an ex- 
 tent he was obliged to wait for the governor of Asyut to go and 
 help him, who, however, first sent a telegram to Cairo asking 
 for instructions. The reply came immediately that he should 
 join the governor of Girga at once, and that Fadel Pasha and 
 Shahin Pasha were on their way with seven steamers and 
 several thousand soldiers from Cairo. Before these troops 
 arrived an engagement took place between the insurgents and 
 a small body of troops sent by the governor of Girga, in which 
 the latter were badly beaten. This emboldened the insurgents, 
 and they then contemplated a sudden descent on Asyut, and 
 arranged with their friends to aid the prisoners in Asyut jail to 
 effect an immediate escape, cut the telegraph wire, and take 
 possession of the town awaiting their arrival, when they would 
 kill all the Turks, Copts, and Franks, and divide their personal 
 effects among themselves. Files had been secretly furnished to 
 some of the prisoners, with which they had actually removed 
 some of their chains, a part of the wall of the prison was almost 
 dug through, three doors had been forced and there only remained 
 the outer door to break through, when the cavalry from Minya 
 entered Asyut on their way to Gow. The ruse which the 
 prisoners practiced in order to escape the observation of their 
 keepers was this: a large number spent their time in making 
 "zikrs," i. e., reciting with a loud voice sundry parts of the 
 Koran, or bawling out the name of God at the top of their 
 voices, at the same time going through certain bodily evolutions 
 and genuflexions. This prevented the sound of the files being 
 heard, so that the keepers had no idea of what was going on ; 
 but by the timely arrival of the troops on the way to Gow, 
 the escape was prevented. Of course the large body of troops 
 reaching Gow made short work of Ahmed and his infatuated 
 followers. Ahmed was found among the dead, killed b\- a 
 
 * Overseer of the district.
 
 i8o The American Mission 
 
 shell, while the town which harbored them was razed to the 
 ground, and quiet was restored in all the neighborhood. On 
 learning the particulars a few days afterwards, the mission- 
 aries saw in what danger they had been, and how God in His 
 providence had averted the dangers, and they sang with hearty 
 emotion a psalm of praise. 
 
 On the third Sabbath after Mr. Hogg went to Asyut, he 
 again attended the Coptic service, and on returning to his own 
 house he held service, with sixty present, many of whom were 
 moved to tears. In the afternoon he also had service, and there 
 were present twelve men, five women and twenty boys. The 
 school was opened on March 5, v*.'ith six boys and two girls, 
 which by March 13 had increased to eighteen boys and thirteen 
 girls. On the igth of March, Mr. Hogg, as usual, attended 
 Coptic service and found an unusual number present. During 
 the service public warning was read aloud against heretics and 
 their teaching. On returning home, some friendly Copts urged 
 Mr. Hogg to go back to the Coptic church and defend himself, 
 which he did, and the bishop pretended that he did not mean 
 him. In the afternoon he had services in his own house as 
 usual, and there were twenty present, among them the man 
 who was supposed to have written the public warning. On 
 the 24th again he went to the Coptic church, when he noticed 
 that all the people stared at him. At tlie Protestant service 
 only eight or ten were present. On calling at Mr. Wasif's^ 
 Mr. Hogg found the Metropolitan drinking Arab whisky, and 
 soon left him. From this time Mr. Hogg seems to have discon- 
 tinued attending the Coptic service. At the mission service 
 the attendance varied very greatly, sometimes forty, half of 
 them boys, sometimes not half that number, and sometimes only 
 four adults, besides the missionaries, and a few boys. The boys 
 enrolled were thirty-five up to June 12. Thus began that work 
 which, by the blessing of God, after many trials, and great per- 
 secution, and many discouragements, has filled upper Egypt 
 with light and Christian life. 
 
 Mr. Hogg was greatly assisted by Ibrahim Yusif, who with 
 his aunt, an excellent woman, arrived at Asyut from Cairo on 
 April 27, with the intention of staying three months. His father
 
 IN Egypt. i8i 
 
 and mother, after persistent entreaty on the part of the son, 
 had consented to his being absent from tliem that length of time. 
 He had previously been in As}'ut and Beni Suef, and was an ex- 
 cellent assistant in many ways. From this time people began 
 to visit the mission house in constantly increasing numbers. 
 Mr. Wesa Buktor voluntarily gave fifteen napoleons to aid in 
 paying the expenses of the mission, and the people began to 
 know that he was a Protestant. 
 
 Mr. Hogg began to visit the neighboring villages, among 
 them Wasta and Benub, and in his spare moments prepared a 
 commentary on Matthew. In June that year there was great 
 heat, from 94° up to 108", which was very debilitating on the 
 workers. On one occasion Mr. Hogg wrote in his diary (June 
 21), " Tired, tired, tired." The air about that time often feels 
 as if it came from a heated oven, it is so hot, dry and scorching 
 in its effects. On the 25th of June the news reached Asyut of 
 the outbreak of cholera in the Delta ; and about the same time, 
 with this fear from vv'ithout, Mary Lizzie Hogg's illness began 
 to cause anxiety in the hearts of her parents. She gradually 
 got worse. During the day she was generally better, but as 
 night came she always became worse again, as is generally the 
 case in croup, with which she was attacked. There was no 
 doctor in the place, and no possibility of getting one from Cairo 
 or elsewhere, as there was no railway. What simple remedies 
 they knew they used, but above all they poured out their hearts 
 to the dear Saviour. Had they not gone away up there for His 
 sake ? Would not the Great Physician hear their ci'ies and be 
 moved by their heart pleadings? God's wa>-s, however, are 
 not as our ways, His thoughts not as our thoughts. She was 
 to be taken from earth and transplanted in the garden of heaven. 
 On the last day of her life, near sunset, she suddenl>-, without 
 any allusion to the subject by anyone, turned to her mother, 
 and said quite distinctly, " Mamma, I am going to die." Though 
 the end was anticipated some hours before, "the abruptness of 
 her address," wrote the mother, "at the time quite stunned 
 me, and I could only answer by an uncontrolled burst of an- 
 guish. It was but for a moment or two; when I recovered 1 
 said, ' And if you die, darling, where will you go? To heaven?'
 
 i82 The American Mission 
 
 * Yes,' she answered, ' to Jesus. Jesus is coming for me.' I 
 tlien, in a simple way, tall<ed about lieaven, and how she was 
 going to be an angel, and to all of which she calmly and quietly 
 attended. We all then kissed her, even little Hopie and 
 Mariam, while she held out her little hand and mouth, evidently 
 quite aware of what she was doing. We then sang some 
 simple verses suited to the occasion, and waited quietly, expect- 
 ing every moment to see her breathe her last. She revived a 
 little, and fell asleep again. It soon became evident that the 
 relief was only temporary. She could not rest but a few min- 
 utes at a time in one position. Several times during the night 
 she seemed to be going. At last, a little before her end, she 
 asked us to sing, and we sang, * Here we suffer grief and pain.' 
 ' Sing,' was the last word she uttered, except, perhaps, * moyeh ' 
 (water), of which, in her last hours, she drank incessantly. 
 After the last terrible struggle she breathed two or three gentle 
 breathings, and she was with Jesus. Oh ! the relief of that 
 moment. With full hearts, we said, ' Thanks be to God, she 
 is safe home at last' — on June 29, 1865." She was laid 
 away in a vault on the edge of the Nile valley, the first-born 
 and beloved child of her parents ; the first ingathering, but not 
 the last, from the missionary families of Asyut. Thus the 
 dust of that quiet retreat was made dear to the parents, and 
 early in their life in Asyut a new and unexpected tie bound 
 them to that field. Their only remaining child, Hope, was also 
 laid low with the disease, but a kind and merciful Father 
 spared him and restored him to health and strength. 
 
 While the friends in Asyut were passing through the 
 waters of affliction and learning to kiss the hand that holds the 
 rod, that terrible scourge, cholera, was increasing and extend- 
 ing day by day in the north. Foreigners of all countries fled 
 to Alexandria from all parts of Egypt, in the greatest fear, 
 intent upon getting out of the country as soon as possible. All 
 the steamers leaving Alexandria for the north and west were 
 crowded ; even sailing crafts were hired to take the frightened 
 population to various points in Europe and the islands of the 
 Mediterranean. The Khedive left for Constantinople. Some 
 of the Egyptians hired boats and went up the river to the first
 
 IN EGYPT. 183 
 
 cataract, as the disease seldom goes so far up the river. In 
 Alexandria, where the writer was at the time, all the banks 
 and nearly all the public offices, and many of the European 
 shops, were closed. Few people were seen in the streets, as 
 there was a rush to get away out of the country. As passes 
 for leaving were obligatory, the custom house was crowded, 
 and those in authority were besieged Vvith applications. Their 
 greed, notwithstanding the judgments of the Lord were abroad, 
 saw that this was the time to make money, so they gave passes 
 fust to those who presented them the largest bribes, while 
 others had to wait for days, and the officials of the sanitary 
 department, in Cairo, Alexandria and elsewhere, took the oppor- 
 tunity to enrich themselves at the expense of the panic-stricken 
 and afflicted people, as they presented their applications for per- 
 mission to bury their dead. Immediately on the appearance of 
 the pestilence most of our members in Alexandria, who were 
 Syrians, fled to their mountain homes in Lebanon. Onl}- two 
 families were left. The schools had to be closed and the book 
 shop was shut. Believing that our safety would perhaps be 
 greater outside of the city, and haxing secured a small wooden 
 house in Ramleh at a moderate rent, we moved out there. 
 This we were the more anxious to do, as Brother Currie had 
 been suffering for some weeks, and the pestilence was increas- 
 ing every day in the city, and increased until it was reported 
 that from 600 to 900 died in one day. When it was at the worst, 
 Mrs. Watson and I had to go to Alexandria for a day, and all 
 that day there was almost a continuous tramp of funeral com- 
 panies passing along the street with their mournful refrain. 
 An awful gloom rested on the city, a dread appeared in every 
 face. In the meantime the pestilence fell with its heavy hand 
 upon Cairo, and entered the homes of the church members, 
 nay, but also into the mission house, cutting down here and 
 there its victims with its sharp edge. Old Mr. Leider was 
 taken, Bamba's mother, and one of the teachers. Mrs. Ewing 
 and Mrs. Lansing were both attacked in one day ; the former 
 recovered, but the latter, weakened by watching over her 
 children, who, one after the other, had been sick with measles, 
 succumbed, and soon after her her year-old child, Vischer, a
 
 i84 The American Mission 
 
 beautiful boy, died ; and mother and child were laid in the same 
 coffin and in the same grave in the English cemetery. Dr. 
 Lansing, with his motherless children, came down to Ramleh. 
 There he was attacked by the disease, and became very low. 
 The writer went to Alexandria to get the doctor. All the doctors 
 were run off their feet, and at first ours thought he could not go ; 
 but on pleading with him, he said, " Yes, I will go for Mr. 
 Lansing." When he saw the patient he evidently thought 
 there was little hope, but he gave him medicine, a dose of 
 chlorodyne, which, in my experience, has often been blessed for 
 the restoration of patients even in the last extremity. From 
 the time Dr. Lansing took it he commenced to get better, and 
 soon recovered. Mr. and Mrs. Ewing remained at their post 
 through the whole time of the prevalence of the pestilence in 
 Cairo, and he, aided by Father Makhiel, visited the sick and 
 buried the dead. The writer went up for a day or two to be 
 with him. In writing of the pestilence to Dr. Dales, August 4, 
 it was said: "This evening finds Mrs. Watson and myself 
 back in our old home. We came in from Ramleh this morning, 
 to make room for our Cairo and Asyut friends, who we expect 
 will come in a few days to breathe for a little the cool, pure air 
 of Ramleh. I assure you they need it after the scenes of sor- 
 row, suffering and death they have either experienced or 
 witnessed. Thanks to a kind Father, no more of our number 
 have been stricken down, and now I think we can safely say 
 that the storm is past. Terrible was the scourge while it lasted. 
 It is estimated by our physician that upwards of 50,000 died in 
 one month alone, but as it lasted more than a month in some 
 places — and indeed still continues in not a few places — not less 
 than 70,000 or 80,000 have been swept down by the destroying 
 angel. Here, it may be said to have ceased, though, perhaps, 
 three or four deaths occur from it daily. We have opened the 
 book shop and boys' school. Some of the boys have been cut 
 down by the mowing scythe, and their names with sadness we 
 remove from the school roll." 
 
 The schools in Alexandria having grown since entering 
 the new premises, it was seen that more room was needed to 
 allow expansion; so the fourth story, a part of which was
 
 
 K* 
 
 :' ■ ',« 
 
 
 O 
 
 CD 
 .— * 
 
 o 
 
 a; 
 
 '~^MC\-
 
 IN Egypt. 185 
 
 already built, was seen to be required for a residence for the 
 missionary ; and then a part of the third story could be set 
 aside for a chapel and the rest for the schools. This work was 
 begun and carried out to near its completion before the end of 
 the year, entailing much care and labor upon the writer in addi- 
 tion to the other duties of the station, since Brother Currie was 
 yet unable to do any mission work, and, indeed, was living in 
 Ramleh with his wife, pursuing the study of the language. 
 
 The attendance at the services in Alexandria continued to 
 improve, and there were two accessions to the membership 
 during the year. 
 
 After the death of th?ir daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Hogg, with 
 Miss McKown, remained in Asyut for more than a month, re- 
 ceiving almost daily missives from Cairo and Alexandria giving 
 particulars about the cholera, and marking its upward March 
 through the valley to Asyut. For a time Mr. Hogg was very 
 ill, but rallied and recovered. He and his family and Miss 
 McKown remained until the schools were closed, and nearly all 
 the native helpers had left, and cholera had reached that place. 
 Leaving the station in care of Abdullah Weesa, they came 
 down the river during the last week in August in the " Ibis," 
 which had been sent up for them. It was a hot and tedious 
 passage of eleven days down the river. They remained in 
 Cairo and Ramleh until September, and then returned to Asyut. 
 A week before they reached Asyut the boys' school was opened 
 by ex-priest Bashai, Ibrahim Yusif's parents refusing to allow 
 him to return to Asyut. Abdulla Weesa was put in charge of 
 the school, while Mr. Hogg taught three or four hours a day 
 until he was laid aside with an attack of ophthalmia, which con- \ 
 tinned two weeks, and then left him in a state of great weak- 
 ness, from which he only partially recovered, until he went 
 home the next spring. Services on Sabbath at Asyut were 
 attended by a few adults in addition to the employes and 
 scholars. The attendance at the boys' school reached forty- 
 five. On the Copts opening a school, for the sole purpose of 
 breaking up ours, a number of town boys left, but the village 
 boys, some of them young men, hoping for protection from the 
 corvee, more than filled their places.
 
 i86 The American Mission 
 
 Through the diffusion of religious knowledge acquired from 
 the Scriptures and other books, distributed and read, many 
 came about the mission in Asyut, and a great movement among 
 the monks in Dir el-Maharrak occurred, in which several of the 
 monks proposed leaving the monastery and going to Asyut to 
 study theology. Everywhere was manifested the spirit of 
 inquiry, and doors were opened to the north and to the south. 
 Feeling his own health failing, and seeing at the same time 
 the field v/idening, Mr. Hogg proposed for the consideration of 
 the presbytery a distribution of forces, present and prospective, 
 to strengthen the mission staff at Asyut, and prepare the way 
 for his taking a vacation the following year. On account of 
 his own health and for the health of his family, he went to 
 Cairo in December and remained there till he left for Scotland. 
 
 In Cairo Rev. S. C. Ewing remained alone, on account of 
 Dr. Lansing's absence at Ramleh through illness, but the work 
 continued in all its departments ; Dr. Lansing going up occa- 
 sionally on Saturday to assist Mr. Ewing in the Sabbath ser- 
 vices. Dr. Lansing returned to Cairo with his three boys on 
 November 28. A meeting of presbytery was held in Cairo the 
 27th of November, at which the following action on the division 
 of forces was taken : 
 
 (i) That Mr. Currie be located in Asyut, Dr. Barnett, 
 accompanied by Miss McKown, to go thither at once and remain 
 there till Mr. Currie's arrival, when he will return to Cairo and 
 become pastor of the native church there. 
 
 (2) That, in view of the report of Bros. Lansing and 
 Ewing, who have recently visited the district of the Faiyum, 
 it appearing to presbytery that Madinet el-Faiyum at present 
 offers a more encouraging field for missionary occupation than 
 Monsurah, the occupation of the latter place, as resolved upon 
 by last presbytery, be for the present postponed ; and that a 
 similar course be observed in reference to Haret-es-Sakkain, 
 and that Mr. Harvey be located in Madinet el-Faiyum, Dr. Lan- 
 sing to introduce him to his field of labor, and to remain with 
 him till the next meeting of presbytery, Mr. Ewing to join him 
 after Mrs. Swing's departure to America, and to remain with 
 him until further arrangements are made.
 
 IN Egypt. 187 
 
 (3) That Mr. Pinkerton remain in Cairo fur tlie present, 
 and iiave the superintendence of the boys' school, and charge 
 of the accounts of the Cairo station, and that Mr. How assist 
 at this station until Dr. Lansing's return from the Faiyum. 
 
 (4) That Mr. Currie remain in Alexandria until he can 
 make the necessary preparations for his departure to Asyut. 
 
 It was on December 19, just before this meeting of presby- 
 tery, that Rev. W. Harvey and wife, Rev. B. Pinkerton and 
 wife, arrix'ed at Alexandria as new missionaries, and at the 
 same time Dr. Barnett and wife and Miss Dales returned from 
 their vacation. The arrival of these new recruits and tried 
 workers brought joy to all hearts, and was an evidence that 
 the Church at home was determined to carry on the work of 
 the Lord in Egypt with the activit}', energy and zeal which the 
 Master required, while it promised to the worn out and weary 
 ones on the field th.e help and encouragement they all then re- 
 quired, at the close of a year full of trial, bereavement, and 
 hard work. The Lord had thus heard the prayers that many 
 had been offering, to send laborers into his vine}-ard. The dis- 
 tribution of books by means of depositories, colporteurs, and 
 the two Nile boats, continued with little interruption all the 
 year. A desire to read the Bible and controversial books 
 became quite general. The Scriptures were searched by some 
 for the confirmation of their Church doctrines, and read by 
 many for a knowledge of God and His truth, which they con- 
 tain. The great reverence of the Copts for the Word of God 
 prevented their listening to the warnings of some of their lead- 
 ers not to read it. One day the Coptic Patriarch was calling 
 at the house of an uncle of a monk who had espoused the 
 cause of the missionaries and was proposing to study for the 
 ministry in their service. He saw the man's son reading out of 
 the new translation of the Bible, and burst out with these words, 
 "Why do you read such a book as tliat? Don't you know 
 that the Americans have corrupted the Word of God and made 
 it teach heresy ? " The young man turned round and replied, 
 "How do you know that it teaches heresy? Where are the 
 Bibles that \-ou ha\-e caused to be printed for your people ? 
 Bring us a copy, and then we shall compare it with that printed
 
 i88 The American Mission 
 
 by the Americans, and see whether the latter teaches heresy 
 or not. Meanwhile, we intend to read and study this til! you 
 furnish us with a better." The next night the Patriarch on 
 entering the patriarchate found his own brother, whom he was 
 intending to consecrate as a bishop before long, busy reading 
 the new translation of the Bible, which he had just bought from 
 our shop for 1^2.50. He fell at his brother, saying, "What! 
 Am I to believe my eyes ? Is it not enough that the people out- 
 side are buying and reading these heretical books, but my own 
 brother must show them the example I Out with you ! You 
 are disgracing me before the whole Church. Send this book 
 back at once, or I will burn it before your face." His brother 
 got angry in his turn and accused the Patriarch of blasphemy 
 in saying that the Word of God taught heresy, and he refused 
 either to give it up or send it back to the shop. 
 
 Mr. Hogg writes also on the same subject the following : 
 " We were very much interested one day in the case of a poor, 
 half-blind Coptic woman, who came into our school in Asyut 
 and asked for a copy of the Bible. She said that she had come 
 walking all the way from Manfalut, about twenty miles distant, 
 in order to buy one for herself. She had learned to read when 
 quite young, and had had a Bible for several years, but one of 
 the areefs having lost his book, had taken hers away, saying 
 that he had more need of it than she had, as he had to teach the 
 children in the school from it. She had heard that we had some 
 to sell, and she had gathered up eighteen piastres (ninety cents) 
 and had hoped we could let her have a copy for that amount, 
 as she had with difficulty gathered it out of her hard earnings. 
 She took a Testament out of the hands of one of the boys of 
 the school, at the teacher's request, and read almost a whole 
 chapter, and was able to give sensible answers to the questions 
 put to her as to the meaning of what she had read. Poor crea- 
 ture, her eyes were so weak that it was painful to look at her 
 while reading, she had to hold the book so close to her face. 
 We gave her a copy of the Bible and one of the small books 
 besides, and she went away with the air of one who felt that 
 forty miles' trot barefooted was fully rewarded."
 
 IN Egypt. 189 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Arrangements for 1866 carried out— Large compan) leaves Cairo on " ibis "— 
 Dr. Lansing and Rev. and Mrs. Harvey leave at Zawiyati— Dr. Barnett and wife 
 and Miss McKown at Asyut— Writer and wife go up to Esna and return, visiting 
 places and selling books— At Girga hear of death of Mrs. Currie— Hurrv back to 
 Alexandria— Work begun in Faiyum— Opening of schools— Dr. Lansing leaves 
 and Brother Ewing takes his place April i— Dr. Barnett leaves Asvut in summer 
 and Mr. Currie takes his place— Dr. Lansing visits Asvut— Mr. Strang's arrival 
 from America to take charge of press— Marriage of Dr. "Lansing and A\iss Dales, 
 who go up the Nile and visit the stations— Work at Kus— Work in Ale.xandria. 
 
 The division of the laborers, in accordance with the resolu- 
 tions of presbytery mentioned, was carried out. Rev. B. F. 
 Pinkerton took up his residence in Haret-es-Sakkain, Cairo, and 
 pursued the study of Arabic. Rev. J. Hogg remained in Cairo 
 until he left for Scotland in the early spring. Rev. E. Currie 
 remained in Alexandria for a time. Misses Dales and Hart re- 
 mained in Cairo, where they had been before. On January 
 17, Rev. Dr. Lansing, Rev. Dr. Barnett and wife, Rev. W. 
 Harvey and wife. Miss McKown, the writer and his wife, to- 
 gether with Mr. Awad Hanna and some other native friends, 
 left Cairo on the " Ibis " for the work to which they had been 
 appointed. It was the month of Ramadan. Dr. Lansing had 
 sent his servant to take his horse to Zawiyah, the point on the 
 Nile at which he intended to leave us. On Saturday the "Ibis" 
 ran on a sandbank and the sailors tried in vain to get her off 
 until late at night. As the river was falling rapidly, it was 
 feared it might be next to impossible to get her off if left till 
 Monday. A gang of men from a village near by was secured, 
 who after some trouble got her afloat again, and there we waited 
 till the Sabbath was past, having got " the ass out of the well." 
 On reaching Zawiyah about the first objects we saw were Dr. 
 Lansing's black horse and Seyyed, the servant, and on coming 
 up close to them Dr. Lansing remarked that from the appear- 
 ance of the horse and his groom, the former must have done al
 
 iQo The American Mission 
 
 me fasting and the latter all the praying ! Here Dr. Lansing, 
 Rev. W. Harvey and wife and Father Makar left us for Madinet 
 el-Faiyum to open a new station. The rest of us proceeded up 
 the Nile as fast as the wind would carry us. At Asyut, Dr. 
 Barnett and his wife and Miss McKown left us to occupy that 
 station, in accordance with appointment. We then continued 
 our progress up the Nile, only visiting towns and villages when 
 the wind was unfavorable, until we reached Esna, and from 
 that point we began the return journey, in order to reach home 
 again in time to relieve brother Currie and allow him to fill his 
 appointment in Asyut. 
 
 Oncoming north we visited Luxor, Kurnah, Nakadah, Kus, 
 Kena, Belyana, Girga, where we learned by telegram of the 
 death of Mrs. Currie, which caused us to hasten back to Cairo. 
 When we left her and her husband in Alexandria, and were 
 going downstairs, she called out to us, " D'^n't carry us away 
 on your shoulders," referring to our disposition to be unduly 
 anxious. Little did we then know that we should never see her 
 again, nor hear any more her sprightly, cheery voice. It was 
 a terrible blow to her bereaved husband, left without her direct- 
 ing hand, and with the care of his motherless babe. Never 
 have I met with a couple who enjoyed each other's company 
 more, and between whom true affection ruled v/ith greater 
 mutual admiration. The Lord, whom Brother Currie loved and 
 served, gave him grace to bear patiently his affliction, and to 
 send his dear child to America to be cared for by his mother. 
 She was confided to the care of Mrs. Hogg, who was expected 
 to take her to America, but on reaching Liverpool it was decided 
 that she and her husband v/ould not go to America at that time, 
 so Mrs. Ewing took her in charge and delivered her to loving 
 friends waiting to receive her. 
 
 In the early part of the year Mrs. Ewing had become se- 
 riously ill, and continued so for some time, so that a change of 
 climate was ordered, and it was decided that she return to her 
 native land, but she had become so prostrated that a brief trip 
 up the Syrian coast was thought necessary to prepare her for 
 the long journey to America. About the beginning of April she 
 and her daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Hogg, and their two children,
 
 IN Egypt. 191 
 
 with Mr. Currie's babe, left for the home land, followed by the 
 prayers of all for a safe voyage and a speedy and happy return. 
 
 The party already mentioned as going to the Faiyum, to 
 open a new station, reached Medinah on January 23, 1866. 
 They found a house vacant, and occupied it after making some 
 necessary repairs. They rented it for the space of five years. 
 The writer visited Mr. Harvey the following year, and was con- 
 vinced from the appearance of the building that it required no 
 little grace to be willing to live in such a house. 
 
 Missionaries coming to Egypt now know little what the first 
 missionaries had to endure in this respect, even in Cairo and 
 Alexandria, and how much more in Asyut and the Faiyum. 
 Thanks to Him, whose we are and whom we serve, for making 
 residence in Egypt much more comfortable for the missionaries 
 than it used to be, thereby securing for them better health, and 
 enabling them to continue longer on the field without the fre- 
 quent changes which formerly were required on account of ill 
 health. 
 
 As the Faiyum had been visited before several times, and 
 Scriptures and evangelical books had been sold and read there, 
 the missionaries were not long in finding inquirers. Indeed, 
 their house was filled every evening with men coming for 
 religious discussions and to attend evening prayers. From the 
 first week after their arrival services were conducted twice 
 every Sabbath in what they called the upper room, until Dr. 
 Lansing left, on the 7th of March, for Cairo, and they were 
 resumed on the arrival of Mr. Ewing, April i, and continued 
 by him through the year, with an average attendance of 
 twenty-seven. The evening meetings were well attended dur- 
 ing the week until the Coptic priests, afraid of the influence 
 exerted upon the people, secured from the Patriarch a document 
 denouncing the American missionaries, and threatening with 
 excommunication all who should affiliate with them or attend 
 their meetings. This paper was publicly read on the 4th of 
 March, and had considerable effect for some time in keeping 
 the people away. 
 
 A school for boys was opened as soon as a room for it 
 could be secured, and by the end of the year there was an at-
 
 192 The American Mission 
 
 tendance of twenty-five. A girls' school, also, was opened 
 about the ist of July, and forty-five names were enrolled up to 
 the end of the year, but not more than twenty-five or thirty 
 attended regularly. Among these were eight Muhammadans. 
 
 Thus was begun in the Faiyum that work which after- 
 wards (though not in Medinah itself) was blessed by the Lord 
 to many as we shall see as we proceed in recording the work 
 of the mission. 
 
 At Asyut the work was carried on after Mr. Hogg left by 
 Mr. Abdullah Wesa and Father Bishai. When Dr. Barnettand 
 Miss McKown reached Asyut there were only twenty scholars 
 in the boys' school. The number increased or diminished dur- 
 ing the year according to the severity of the threats made and 
 the persecutions carried on by the priests of the Coptic church 
 against the scholars, or as the boys were needed by their 
 parents to help them in manual labor on the farms. The girls' 
 school, which was suspended during Miss McKown' s absence 
 since December i, 1865, was also resumed and about twenty 
 attended. The Sabbath services, v/hich had also been sus- 
 pended, were immediately resumed and regularly maintained 
 up to the time of Dr. Barnett's departure to Cairo, about the 
 middle of July, he having remained in As}ait about two months 
 beyond the time of his appointment. The station was again 
 left in the hands of Mr. Abdullah Wesa, and ex-priest Bishai, 
 but they do not seem to have had the full confidence of the 
 people, and with the departure of the missionaries the interest 
 in their work grew much less. The station was visited twice 
 during the last half of the year by Dr. Lansing and Mr. Cur- 
 rie, and on their last visit the sacrament was dispensed for the 
 first time, at which one of the teachers in the school and three 
 persons from Beni-Aleig were received to church fellowship on 
 profession of their faith. Mr. Currie remained in charge of 
 the station till the end of the year, and was able to conduct the 
 services in Arabic, though in a stammering tongue, and by his 
 presence, piety, and Christian conversation, he gave character 
 to the work, because he was personally highly esteemed by 
 all who knew him. 
 
 In Cairo the usual services were conducted on the Lord's 
 day by Mr. Hogg and Mr. Ewing, except during the time Mr.
 
 IN Egypt. 193 
 
 Ewing accompanied his wife to Syria and back. The theological 
 class was taught by the former, while the secular work of the 
 mission was divided among the three missionaries. It was dur- 
 ing the spring of this year that brother Hogg, with more zeal 
 than prudence, in view of his weak state of health, resumed the 
 study of Turkish and preached a few times in that language, 
 after six weeks of study the year before at Asyut. Dr. Lan- 
 sing returned to Cairo early in March, and Mr. Ewing left for 
 the Faiyum early in April, while Mr. Hogg, with his family, left 
 about the same time for Scotland. Mr. D. Strang, with his 
 family, arriving in April, took up his residence in Cairo in the 
 mission building, and assumed direction of the press, to which 
 he was appointed, and also in the course of the year became 
 general treasurer to the mission. Rev. B. F. Pinkerton having 
 charge of the book department of Cairo. Dr. Barnett joined 
 the missionary force in Cairo about midsummer, and became 
 practically the pastor of the church there. 
 
 The year 1866 was one of quietude in the mission in Cairo 
 and elsewhere, till the end of the year. The regular work in 
 Cairo was carried on without much opposition and with encour- 
 aging success. A Turkish service in addition to the two Arabic 
 services was conducted on the Sabbath, and there was an acces- 
 sion of ten to the membership of the church during the year. 
 The schools continued to do their work of educating the young, 
 and two evening services for prayer and conference were held, 
 one every night in Haret-es-Sakkain, and the other in the 
 Ezbakiyah. 
 
 Dr. Lansing and Miss Dales were married in Ramleh on 
 August 9, in the presence of the mission circle. They made a 
 trip on the " Ibis " in the autumn, sowing the seed of the Word 
 wherever they went. It was during this tour that they spent 
 some time at Kus, where Father Makhiel had been laboring 
 since the beginning of May, and by his activity and zeal had 
 supplemented in an encouraging manner the work that had been 
 done by Fam Stephanos during many previous years among his 
 own townsmen. They found a large number of applicants for 
 communion, and after examination, such as seemed necessary, 
 twenty-five persons (fourteen males and eleven females) were 
 
 13
 
 194 The American Mission 
 
 admitted to the Lord's table on Sabbath, November 4, 1866. 
 On the following day a church organization was instituted by 
 the election of three elders, and at the same time Father Makhiel 
 was elected pastor, and left for Cairo a month later to be or- 
 dained by presbytery. Subsequent manifestations showed that 
 these doings were too precipitate, for though he was ordained, 
 on account of opposition he never became pastor in Kus, while 
 years passed before the election of the officers was confirmed 
 by their ordination. 
 
 Monsurah was visited by some of the missionaries during 
 the year. Barsum Salib, the head of a prominent family there, 
 declared himself a Protestant, and others also showed decided 
 leanings to the evangelical religion. Mr. Awad Hanna, who 
 had served the mission in various capacities, was sent there in 
 the autumn, and schools for boys and girls were opened. He 
 conducted services in Arabic on Sabbath, but it is feared that 
 his religion was too much of the militant kind to be useful ; his 
 conversation partook too much of jesting and cutting innuendoes, 
 and his Christian walk failed to conform to his teaching. He 
 did something to tear down the old tottering walls of the Coptic 
 system, but he does not seem to have done much to build on 
 the true foundation, the spiritual temple of the Lord. For 
 worldly ends some of the people, who cared nothing for our re- 
 ligion, lent some assistance, which in an outward way was bene- 
 ficial, but it may be doubted whether it really helped the cause. 
 
 The work in Alexandria continued to move onward in all 
 the departments. During the writer's absence on the Nile the 
 services were conducted in turn by Mr. Hogg and Mr. Ibrahim 
 Yusif, who went down from Cairo in turn every Saturday. 
 Brother Currie looked after the boys' school, and gave instruc- 
 tion to some of the classes ; while Miss Gregory, a Syrian, edu- 
 cated by the missionaries in Beirut, conducted the girls' school 
 in an efficient manner until she was obliged to go to England for 
 her health. As Miss McKown was then unable to return to 
 Asyut, she consented to take care of the girls' school, and made 
 it an efficient means for good to the girls. She is reported to 
 have said that she never knew girls in America take a deeper 
 interest in their studies or make better progress. From the
 
 IN Egypt. 195 
 
 time Mr, Currie left for his field of labor in Asyut, in company 
 with Dr. and Mrs. Lansing, on the " Ibis," to the end of the 
 year, the writer was the only male missionary in Alexandria. 
 In the absence of Mr. Hogg in Scotland, and Mr. Ewing in the 
 Faiyum, a large amount of secular business fell to his share, 
 and in trying to accomplish it, the constant use of his eyes in 
 writing letters and making up accounts greatly increased their 
 chronic weakness. The work, however, in the church pros- 
 pered more than any previous year. Six were added to the 
 church membership, and proved by their walk and conversation 
 the sincerity of their profession. One a converted Muslim, a 
 freed slave, made a simple and earnest profession, and was 
 faithful in the performance of his Christian duties, and in trying 
 to learn to read, so as to peruse the words of the Saviour in his 
 leisure moments. One member was suspended for immoral 
 conduct — it was a solemn occasion — but this act of discipline 
 seems to have been blessed to the offender. 
 
 Thus the work went on and the seed was sown in 1866, 
 with encouraging evidences of the Master's approbation and de- 
 sire that we should go forward still more and preach the Gospel 
 to every creature.
 
 196 The American Mission 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 1867— Distribution 0. forces— Return of Mr. Hogg— Meeting of presbytery- 
 Rev. Messrs. Ewing and Watson go to America— Ordination of Makhiel el- 
 Beivani— Attempt to train converted monks— Theologues at Asyut— High-handed 
 measures of persecution— Vicerov and patriarchate unite in a determination to 
 exterminate Protestants and drive out of Egvpt the missionaries— Patriarch at 
 Abnub— At Asvut— Burning of books and Bibles— Threats— Bold and tyrannical 
 action at Ekhinin— Efforts to intimidate Protestants at Kus-Priest Feltois afraid 
 of Fam's arguments — Persecution in Nakadah. 
 
 The year 1867 began with Rev. E. Currie in Asyut; Rev. Dr. 
 Lansing, Dr. Barnett, and Messrs. S. C. Ewing, and B. F. Pinl<- 
 erton, Mr. D. Strang, and Miss Hart in Cairo ; Rev. W. Harvey 
 in Madinet el-Faiyum ; Rev. A. Watson and Miss McKown in 
 Aie.xandria. Early in the year Rev. J. Hogg returned from his 
 vacation in Great Britian, during which he had, in accordance 
 with the direction of presbytery, endeavored to elicit the inter- 
 est of the British Christians in the establishment of an institu- 
 tion in Egypt for the training of young men for preachers and 
 evangelists ; and so far succeeded that he raised the sum of 
 $2,500, and obtained the promise of annual contributions for 
 the same object. This success was obtained at no small sacri- 
 fice of time to which he was entitled for recuperating his own 
 health and strength, and his efforts were greatly aided by his 
 highness the Maharajah Dhulup Singh, who, in addition to his 
 annual gift of $5,000 to the mission on the anniversary of his 
 marriage, headed the subscription paper mentioned with the sum 
 of $500 against his name. 
 
 In February there was held in Cairo a meeting of Presby- 
 tery, at which it was decided that Rev. S. C. Ewing leave for 
 America as soon as possible, and on reaching England, put him- 
 self in the hands of the secretary of the Turkish Mission Aid 
 Society, for the purpose of making addresses on the conditions 
 and wants of the Egyptian field, in order if possible to secure 
 from that society larger grants in aid of our mission. It was
 
 !N Egypt. 197 
 
 also decided that Rev. A. Watson, after visiting the Faiyum, 
 leave for America in order to prevent, if not too late, permanent 
 injury to his eyesiglit which, in consequence of chronic con- 
 junctivitis, had been seriously impaired for some time. Rev. 
 Makhiel el-Belyani was ordained at that meeting and Dr. Lans- 
 ing and Mr. Currie were appointed a committee to induct him 
 into the pastorate of Kus whenever it might be convenient. 
 
 Dr. Hogg, of course, was allowed to return with Miss 
 McKown to Asyut, with instructions to pay special attention to 
 the training of young men for the Master's work. Writing on 
 February 25, to Mr. Currie, who did not attend this meeting 
 of presbytery. Dr. Hogg says : 
 
 ** Abdullah Wesa expects to return with us. We are now 
 waiting for a favorable wind. The men have been engaged for 
 the trip, and we hope to take our things down to the 'Ibis' 
 to-morrow. Mr. Ibrahim Yusef and his aunt are also to come 
 with us. We had great difficulty in getting Ibrahim's parents to 
 consent to his accompanying us, but we convinced them that it 
 would be best for them and him, in the long run, to allow him 
 to prosecute his studies for the ministry. Father Girgis will 
 follow in a few days. He is also to study for half a year, and 
 by that time we hope he will have found a field of labor in the 
 neighborhood of Kena or Sidfa. Father Buktor and his friend 
 Yacoob are also to study with us for one session just now. We 
 also expect one student from the Faiyum, and another to be his 
 alternate next session. We think of taking possession of 
 Ibrahim Hallag's part of our old house for one family, and giv- 
 ing up the part we formerly occupied to the girls' school. 
 
 " Mr. Strang is to accompany us to Asyut, in the hope that 
 I shall be able during the voyage to assist him in putting the 
 accounts in shape for the past year. He will return by steamer, 
 and the ' Ibis ' will remain in Asyut till we see what is to be 
 done about Rev. Makhiel's induction." 
 
 It will be seen from the above that the subject which occu- 
 pied the minds of the missionaries at that time was the training 
 of natives for the Lord's work. They thought that it would be an 
 act of kindness to the monks who had attached themselves to 
 our cause to use them in the work, especially as they were 
 disqualified by their past lives for securing a living in any other 
 way. It was, indeed, doubtful whether they would e\'er 
 become the most useful pastors on account of their lack of early
 
 iqS The American Mission 
 
 training, but it was hoped that they would for a time do good 
 and acceptable work for the Master among the Copts. Money 
 was raised from travelers interested in the work and from 
 friends in Great Britian and America for their partial training 
 in the theological seminary, and so we see from Mr. Hogg's 
 letter that several of them were to attend the classes during 
 the year, and some for one session in the hope that thus a few 
 native workers might be prepared to aid in the work which 
 was opening up in all directions. In the end, however, it 
 turned out that, with few exceptions, these converted monks 
 had learned habits of idleness, beggary and pride, which, with 
 the natural aversion of the people to an excommunicated per- 
 son, and a person who had broken the vows of celibacy, ren- 
 dered them generally unfit for teaching others the way of sal- 
 vation, and for work of any kind in the service of the mission. 
 After a prosperous voyage Brother Hogg and company 
 reached Asyut on March 9, and next day, being Sabbath, he 
 conducted the usual public worship. He found an audience of 
 more than fifty with five or six standing outside. After spend- 
 ing a few days in getting his house in order, and making local 
 arrangements, the girls' school was reopened, and the second 
 week Miss McKown had seventeen girls in the school. The 
 theological school was also organized, and consisted of thirteen 
 persons, "six of whom," says Mr, Hogg, "are schoolboys. 
 Two, viz., Abdullah Wesa and Makhiel from Temeh, are teachers 
 in the boys' school; three are monks, viz., Aboona Bashai, 
 Aboona Girgis and Aboona Yacoob. Then add Ibrahim Yusef 
 and Aboona Butros, They are not the brightest that ever sat 
 at the feet of Rabbi Gamaliel, but few Gamaliels since Paul's 
 time ever had apter pupils in the Hebrew tongue than mine ane, 
 I assure you. We meet at half past two, Arabic time. Since 
 Mr. Currie left, I spend th^ first half hour in the boys' school, 
 explaining the chapter with a special view to a Muslim sheikh 
 who is present, and is under deep religious impressions. We 
 take a rest for a few moments at the end of each second lesson, 
 and keep at work till about midday. We have worship at an 
 hour after sunset, attended by from twenty to thirty. Those 
 belonging to the theological class remain for half an hour or
 
 IN Egypt. 199 
 
 more after their Arabic grammar. I intended tnat the sheikh 
 should teach this class, but some of them know grammar better 
 than he does, so I have to take it myself." 
 
 Scarcely had the missionaries begun work at the various 
 stations after their return from the meeting of presbytery in 
 February at Cairo, than a bitter persecution, planned by the 
 Coptic hierarchy, with the aid and connivance of the highest 
 government authorities, began to be carried out through the 
 Nile valley, with the object of rooting out, once for all, Prot- 
 estant heresy and preventing the spread of Western ideas of 
 liberty, and driving from the land all those who had been sow- 
 ing its seed broadcast during the preceding years. The viceroy, 
 Ishmael, was too intelligent a man not to know that religious 
 teachers coming from free countries such as America and Scot- 
 land would teach doctrines and principles and practices whose 
 direct or indirect effects would be to set in a more glaring light 
 the injustice and cruelty with which he treated his ignorant and 
 patient subjects. He knew well, also, that these teachers were 
 not blind to what was practiced by his subordinates, in order to 
 wrest from the people the fruit of their labors, and they would 
 not be restrained by personal fear from the use of their pens in 
 describing what they heard or saw every da\', in the letters 
 they wrote to their friends and supporters in the west. Any 
 direct attack upon them was, however, impossible, as he knew 
 the power of the consuls, and their desire to get an opportunity 
 to show that power and gain favor at home by the protection of 
 their countrymen abroad. He found, therefore, in the very 
 natural opposition of the Coptic hierarchy, and their ignorant 
 and superstitious followers, the opportunity to use governmental 
 power against the work of the missionaries, in a manner that, 
 while sufficiently guarded to protect liim from consular inter- 
 ference, would, through the bigotry and animosity of the 
 Coptic priests, be sufficiently effective to accomplish the end 'n 
 view. Two years before he had attempted to put a stop to 
 their work, and partially succeeded. " In the order from the 
 head of the government then to the sub-officials throughout 
 upper Egypt for a sweeping levy of laborers for the railway 
 works, it was set forth that his highness had been informed
 
 200 The American Mission 
 
 that numbers of the Copts had been drawn by the burdens 
 imposed on them to take refuge in the protection of foreign 
 sects, and that this was not his highness' pleasure. This was 
 understood by all to be a blow to the mission : and the exemp- 
 tion from the government levies which had been enjoyed by the 
 pupils of all the schools since the days of Muhammad Ali was 
 withdrawn from the mission schools in upper Egypt. The 
 school in Asyut was in consequence almost depleted. Com- 
 plaint was made of the proceedings to the viceroy's govern- 
 ment, but no redress was obtained."* Now, however, through 
 the hatred and jealousy of the Coptic priests towards the 
 American mission he found the circumstances favorable, and so 
 he lent his aid to the execution of more stringent measures. 
 On the nth of March, the Coptic Patriarch, accompanied by 
 the eloquent, but crafty priest, Feltios, and other clergy, left 
 Cairo in a government steamer lent to him by the viceroy, 
 ostensibly to visit his people in upper Egypt, but really, and as 
 all his attendants averred, to crush out the Protestant heresy. 
 Letters were sent to the governors of the provinces to supply 
 the Patriarch with an escort of soldiers. 
 
 After leaving Cairo his retinue made no secret of the 
 object of his errand, and everywhere used the great argument 
 that all who became Protestants incurred the ill will of the 
 viceroy, who might send them to the galleys, and seize their 
 children for soldiers, the latter being the greatest fear of the 
 Egyptian parents. Stories were told of his having visited the 
 viceroy and the viceroy having visited him when on the eve of 
 parting, and of their spending several hours together, and also 
 of the viceroy's mother having sent 1^1,250 to him and asked 
 him to pray for her son. Though the Egyptian government in 
 an official communication connected with the Patriarch's doings 
 at that time, represented this as a periodical tour, it is certain 
 that the Copts themselves did not so regard it. Undertaken as 
 it was in the beginning of the great Coptic fast, the whole pro- 
 ceedings seemed so strange to the Coptic bishop of Asyut when 
 first he heard it, that he is said to have exclaimed, " What are 
 w e drifti ng to ? Which of the no Patriarchs who preceded 
 * Mission Report for 1867.
 
 4 
 
 Q 
 
 P3 
 
 
 
 CO 
 
 CM 
 
 f •■ ' ./:. /
 
 IN EGYPT. 201 
 
 him was ever known to travel during the holy weeks of Lent ? 
 This unholy journey bodes no good to him nor us." 
 
 Nothing of special importance to the mission occurred on 
 the Patriarch's tour until he reached the towns of Abnub and 
 El Hammam, about eight miles below Asyut. Here he summoned 
 before him the leading Copts and addressed them, saying he 
 had been recently informed that some of the agents of the 
 American Mission were in the habit of visiting their towns in 
 order to disseminate amongst them their abominable heresies, 
 and as this was not only prejudicial to the interests of the Cop- 
 tic Church, but was also displeasing to the viceroy, he hereby 
 gave them warning not to bring injury, nor pain upon them- 
 selves, by giving any further countenance* to such persons. 
 
 As the Patriarch is regarded by all devout Copts as the 
 vicar of Christ upon earth, and is called by them "the earthly 
 Christ," or "present" Christ, or the living Christ, so on 
 reaching Asyut, where there is a large Coptic population, the 
 procession from the steamer to the town was arranged in imita- 
 tion of our Lord's triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Seated on 
 a donkey and preceded by priests and boys bearing crosses, 
 flags, palm branches, lighted candles, and burning censors, 
 beating on cymbals and chanting in Coptic as they went along, 
 " Hosanna to the Son of David, blessed is He that cometh in 
 the name of the Lord," the procession moved slowly alongfrom 
 the river up to the town, the gathering crowd increasing in 
 length and in density every minute, until it had all the propor- 
 tions of a royal cortege, armed soldiers marching in front and 
 in rear by order of the government. 
 
 After arriving at the Coptic church, and receiving the con- 
 gratulations of the officials and the leading men of the town and 
 the pillars of the Coptic church, he set about the execution of 
 his plans for intimidating those who had in any way affiliated 
 with the missionaries, and of using all the means within his 
 power of rooting out their heresies and scattering the little 
 flock. For some time past the government had adopted active 
 measures in aid of the Coptic priesthood in their endeavors to 
 break up the mission schools. The certificates of attendance 
 given to the children of the fellahs on entering the Coptic
 
 202 THE AMERICAN MISSION 
 
 school, which had previously borne the signature of the head 
 master only, were henceforth vised by the governor ; and as a 
 natural consequence the sheikhs of the villages who had hith- 
 erto respected the missionaries' certificates refused to do so any 
 longer, as they were merely stamped with the mission's seal. 
 When three-fourths of the boys had gone off to the Coptic 
 school, and the efforts of the missionaries to obtain the official 
 visa to their certificates proved fruitless, Mr. Hogg called upon 
 the deputy governor of Asyut, accompanied by Mr. Wasif 
 Girgis, and asked him if it were true that an order had come to^ 
 the governor authorizing the making of this distinction between 
 the mission school and that of the Copts. His excellency 
 denied that any such order had come to the governor. 
 
 "We have no difficulty," said Mr, Hogg, "in convincing 
 his excellency that we know his statement to be false, Mr. 
 Wasif having seen him attach his official visa to the certificates 
 of the Coptic school pupils, which he had refused to do for us. 
 He then admitted that at the intercession of the Patriarch, the 
 governor had signed the papers of some boys, but added that 
 out of personal respect to Mr. Wasif, as well as to show that 
 he made no distinction between the two schools, he was willing 
 thereafter to vise the mission certificates also ; and in fact two 
 days after, Mr, Wasif obtained his official visa to the certificates 
 of all our boys, only nineteen, who then remained at the mis- 
 sion school. Such was the state of matters in regard to the 
 school when the Patriarch reached Asyut, 
 
 " One of his first acts after reaching Asyut was to summon 
 before him the Coptic priest of Beni Aleig, who had been in the 
 habit of permitting his brother, one of our theological students, 
 to conduct the evangelistic service in his church at the close of 
 the Coptic mass on Sabbaths, and after having him severely 
 beaten, by one of the government soldiers, he degraded him 
 from his priesthood and drove him out of his presence. Several 
 persons interceded for him, but the Patriarch said he was a 
 Protestant at heart, and that he had already corrupted the minds 
 of many of the people of the place. 
 
 " The mission station at Asyut was still in its infancy, and 
 we had to struggle from the first against the determined opposi-
 
 IN Egypt. 203 
 
 tion of the bishop and the clergy of the town. Many persons 
 knew the truth, but only one in the town had dared, up to that 
 time, to make an open profession of his faith by joining the 
 Evangelical church. This individual, Mr. Wasif Khayat, being 
 a man of high position and influence, the Patriarch did not think 
 it wise to adopt towards him the measures which he freely usid 
 with others, but, after upbraiding him for having embraced the 
 religion of the foreigners, he offered to secure for him the title 
 of bey from the viceroy if he would return to the Coptic Church. 
 Mr. Wasif replied that the truth was dearer to him than empty 
 titles or earthly honors. 
 
 "Although the Patriarch could do little to injure the infant 
 church, he could do much to injure the schools, the nurseries of 
 the church, and these he determined to break up at once and 
 forever before proceeding any further. These were then three 
 in number : A theological academy, for the training of native 
 pastors and teachers, attended, as we have seen, by thirteen 
 young men ; a boys* school, which before the Patriarch's arrix-al 
 had seventy-five names enrolled, the pupils being chiefly the 
 children of peasants in the neighboring villages, whose sole am- 
 bition, as far as the love of learning was concerned, was to be 
 taught to read and understand the Scriptures, but whose princi- 
 pal aim in coming to school was to be exempted from the gov- 
 ernment levies ; and a girls' school, under the direction and 
 instruction of Miss McKown, attended by Coptic and Muham- 
 madan girls from the town of Asyut, to the number of twenty 
 or more, with a few girls from the villages around, who boarded 
 with friends in the town. 
 
 " Most of the students being from distant provinces, out of 
 the jurisdiction of the Asyut authorities, the intrigues of the 
 Patriarch with the latter failed to touch them. Three of these 
 belonging to the province of Asyut had been publicly cursed by 
 the bishop on the Sabbath before the Patriarch's arrix-al, \^'ith 
 a view, perhaps, of obtaining his paternal benediction for his 
 forwardness and zeal in the common welfare. One of the three, 
 the brother of the Coptic priest already mentioned, had often 
 been cursed before, and cared little for this new curse. The 
 other two had never been publicly cursed, and, though they
 
 204 The American Mission 
 
 took the matter lightly, their friends, who were still bigoted 
 Copts, took the public disgrace, brought upon themselves thereby 
 and at such a time, so much to heart, that they laid hold of one 
 of them and consigned him to the hands of the Patriarch on his 
 arrival, and obliged him to accompany the Patriarch during the 
 rest of his tour, and back to Cairo. They waylaid the other also, 
 but he escaped by taking refuge in the mission house, and con- 
 cealed himself there until the Patriarch's departure. All three 
 of them were formerly Coptic monks. The theological seminary 
 was only opened the week before the Patriarch's arrival in 
 Asyut, and he was probably not aware of its existence before 
 leaving Cairo ; but it was quite different with the boys' school, 
 of which he had known for a long time, and which he had been 
 making special efforts to break up for some months previous, so 
 that on reaching Asyut he was surprised that even nineteen 
 boys remained in it. 
 
 " Messengers were sent to the different villages to which 
 the boys belonged, and their parents were summoned to appear 
 in Asyut before his outraged holiness. After upbraiding them 
 for their ingratitude to him for having, through his influence 
 with the viceroy, secured a grant of land which had enabled 
 him to open a school in Asyut, which his highness had, at his 
 instance, taken under his special patronage, by granting exemp- 
 tion from the government levies to all children of the peasantry 
 attending it ; he told them that if they persisted in the obstinate 
 opposition to his desires in this matter, they would ha\-e cause 
 to repent when repentance would avail them nothing ; their 
 sons would be sent to the army or the railway works, and they 
 tliemselves v/ould be put in shackles and sent to the galleys, or 
 banished to the White Nile. Some of the parents of the boys 
 belonging to the village of Mutiah had the courage to say that 
 their boys were taught not only to read but to understand the 
 Bible in our school, whereas in the Coptic school they merely 
 repeated their lessons in parrot fashion, without getting any 
 benefit from them, and that for this reason they desired that 
 their children might be allowed to remain where they were. 
 This brought out a volley of vituperation against the mission- 
 aries and their doctrines, which led to a discussion between the
 
 IN EGYPT. 205 
 
 Patriarch and a peasant, named Antonius Shams, as to what 
 was the teaching of the Word of God on the questions under dis- 
 pute between the missionaries and Copts. Finding himself 
 sorely pressed in the presence of a large assembly of the leading 
 Copts of the town, the Patriarch was going to end the parley 
 by sending him and his companions off to prison, when the 
 brother of the American consular agent for Kena interposed and 
 advised him to use lenient measures. He then addressed An- 
 tonius, and said that he had no doubt he was a .very learned 
 man, but much learning might do him harm, adding that if any 
 Protestant movement took place in Mutiah (the town in which 
 he lived), he would hold him and the blind schoolmaster respon- 
 sible, and they would be summoned to answer for their conduct 
 in Cairo. 
 
 "Such threats and intimidations, coming from one who 
 was regarded as the envoy of the viceroy, could not fail to 
 strike terror into the hearts of the poor fellahs ; but if the 
 government officials of the province had not given force to the 
 threats of the Patriarch by commencing from that time to take 
 special pains to persecute and annoy the parents of the pupils 
 of our schools, this effect would have been but temporary. 
 No one knew this better than the Patriarch himself, and there- 
 fore he laid his plans accordingly, the results of which will be 
 related after following him through his tour. He remained in 
 Asyut about eight days, dined every day in succession at the 
 houses of the richest Copts. The Sabbath before he left he 
 ordered a patriarchal haram, or bull of warning and denuncia- 
 tion, to be read in the hearing of the people assembled in the 
 church, and its reading to be repeated as occasion might re- 
 quire." 
 
 A copy of this remarkable document lies before the writer. 
 It was composed, it is supposed, by a young priest named Fel- 
 tios, who received some training in Rev. Lieder's school in 
 Cairo. It is full of misrepresentations and violent vitupera- 
 tions, but it is well conceived and well calculated to effect the 
 end intended. Speaking of Miss McKown's girls' school, it 
 says: "But the girls, bring them up in fear, modesty, and 
 humility in your own homes, and deliver them not into the
 
 2o6 The American Mission 
 
 hands of those ravenous ones who cause them to drink cups of 
 wickedness instead of morality." And again, in referring to 
 our allowing converted monks to marry, it says : " They de- 
 ceive the priest v/ho has become a soldier for Christ, and has 
 vowed chastity and celibacy, and strip from him the honor of 
 his priesthood, and take from him the robe of chastity and 
 plunge him into a sea of lusts, offering him certain women in 
 the semblance of marriage of those women whom they have 
 caught in their snares, in which, as we have before said, we 
 fear they may entrap some of your own daughters. Judge, 
 Oh ! my wise children, whether they are enlighteners, or 
 rather preachers of darkness of their own lusts." It also en- 
 joined the burning of all books issued by the Beirut mission 
 press. " Shall we burn this one too ? " said one, showing him 
 a large copy of the new translation of the Bible. " Heap up 
 the fire," was all the reply. The afternoon of that Sabbath 
 was spent in collecting and examining and burning Protestant 
 books, including portions of the Holy Scriptures, an act done, 
 perhaps, for the first time in Egypt, and done in the nineteenth 
 century. 
 
 These proceedings ended, the Patriarch left Asyut and 
 sailed south, not, however, before making arrangements for 
 having the work he had begun carried out to its fullest extent, 
 which will appear after we have followed the Patriarch and 
 related his doings. 
 
 The Patriarch left Asyut on the 13th of April, accompanied 
 by the bishop of Abutig, a notorious drunkard and despoiler of 
 his people. The only person known to be tinged with Protes- 
 tant views in the neighborhood of Abutig was a Coptic farmer 
 of some influence in the district. Knowing that he would not 
 obey the summons if they sent one, the Patriarch and bishop 
 sent a special envoy in the person of a monk named Makar, 
 with orders to overtake them in the upper country and report. 
 The monk remained a week with Mr. Wahabeh, day by day 
 without intermission arguing with his host, but finding his efforts 
 at converting him entirely futile, he said to him before he left 
 that the Patriarch on hearing of his obstinacy would report 
 him to the viceroy, and he would be banished to the White 
 Nile without any trial.
 
 IN Egypt. 207 
 
 " On the 22d of April, the Patriarch and party arrived at 
 the town of Ekhmim. This town is situated about half way 
 between Asyut and Luxor, and ranks next to Cairo and As\'ut 
 in the number of Christian inhabitants, chiefly Copts. It had 
 been occupied as an out-station by Girgis Bishetly, one of the 
 elders in the native church at Cairo, and himself a native of 
 Ekhmim. He had opened a day school for children, and an 
 evening Bible class for adults. A few weeks before the Patri- 
 arch's arrival he had over fifty boys in attendance at tb.e 
 school, and was so fully occupied with it and his evening class 
 that he had not been beyond the walls of his house for several 
 weeks. Soon after the arrival of the Patriarch, a soldier and 
 two Coptic sheikhs were sent to summon him into the presence 
 of his holiness. It was then about two hours before sunset. 
 He knew that they were prepared to enforce the summons if 
 necessary, and he therefore obeyed without asking explana- 
 tions or offering any resistance. On entering the bishop's 
 house, where the Patriarch and party were assembled (the 
 prefect of police being among them), Bishetly, according to the 
 custom of the country, stepped forward to kiss the Patriarch's 
 hand, when the latter gave him a smart slap on the cheek, and 
 then thundered out at the top of his voice, * Seize him ! Away 
 with him, drive him out of the town this very night ; and if 
 you suffer him to enter again I will excommunicate every one of 
 you. If he refuses to go, then beat him till he dies, and cast 
 his body into the Nile, and if anyone, even if the viceroy him- 
 self calls you to account for doing so, say the Patriarch ordered 
 it.' I need not tell all that was done to the poor man, but this 
 much I may add, that the door of his house was broken open, 
 and if it had not been for the intervention of the resident Cop- 
 tic chief and the head of the local police, the latter part of the 
 Patriarch's orders would have been carried out to the very 
 letter. By the intervention of these parties, however, he was 
 allowed to remain in the town over night, and next morning he 
 and his son voluntarily left for Asyut to give information to the 
 missionaries of what had taken place. His case, and matters 
 connected therewith, will be taken up after completing the 
 story of the Patriarch's movements."
 
 2o8 The American Mission 
 
 The Patriarch thought he had thus succeeded in striking a 
 deadly blow at the root of Protestantism in Ekhmim, and pro- 
 ceeded on his journey up the Nile, breathing out slaughter and 
 threats against the little band of disciples that had been gath- 
 ered together in Kus. In Asyut he often vowed over his cups 
 of Arab whisky, which were neither few nor far between, 
 that he would make an example of the heretics of Kus to all 
 their brethren in the country, and boasted that he could put a 
 score of them to death with perfect impunity. On his arrival 
 in the town of Kena, the chief town of the province to which 
 Kus belongs, he was informed by the agent of the American 
 consul, himself a Copt, that the American consul-general had 
 sent him orders by telegraph to take notice of what might 
 transpire during the visit of his holiness and report. The 
 Patriarch pretended to feign utter indifference to what the 
 American or any other consul-general might think of his pro- 
 ceedings, yet there is little doubt that this and the news, that 
 reached him at the same time, of Mr. Hogg's visit to Ekhmim, 
 had the effect of materially altering his proposed line of con- 
 duct towards the Protestants of Kus. He was more easily 
 induced to forbear the use of ultra measures, as the consular 
 agent referred to, along with the agent of the French consulate, 
 engaged to exert all their influence, which was by no means 
 small, to bring before him one by one the leading men of the 
 Protestant church of Kus and to induce them peacefully to 
 comply with his desires. Accompanied by them, and other 
 leading men of the Coptic sect in Kena, he steamed up to the 
 town of Nakadah, which is on the western bank of the Nile, 
 Kus being about a mile inland from the eastern bank. After 
 two days had been spent in vain attempts on the part of the 
 consular agents referred to, to induce the leading men of the 
 evangelical faith in Kus to appear before the Patriarch in Naka- 
 dah, the latter crossed the river with a retinue of several hun- 
 dred persons and proceeded to Kus, where he was received 
 with great honor by the government officials, as at other places 
 on the way up the country. The chief of these officials had 
 two weeks previously taken the names of all the Protestants 
 and forwarded them to the Patriarch by order of the governor
 
 John Hogg, D. D.
 
 IN Egypt. 
 
 209 
 
 of tlie province of Kena. He had also put four of tliem in 
 prison on the pretence that they were subject to the govern- 
 ment levy for laborers to work on the railway, although they 
 had enjoyed exemption from all previous levies. On arri\'ing 
 at the 'Coptic church a council was formed, and the American 
 consular agent went in person to the house occupied by Rev. 
 E. Currie and the native pastor-elect, where most of the evan- 
 gelical party were assembled at the time, engaged in fervent, 
 united prayer, and used every argument he could think of to 
 induce Mr. Fam Stefanos, the father of the sect, to pay a visit 
 to the Patriarch. He pressed specially this view of the matter, 
 viz., that Fam would have an opportunity of discussing his re- 
 ligious views with the Coptic boanergis, Priest Feltios of Tanta, 
 and if he (Fam) gained the day, then all the people would join 
 his church. 
 
 Fam objected that that was not the way to preach the 
 Gospel, and at first refused to go, but on his being assured that 
 he would be allowed equal rights with the champion of the 
 Coptic faith, and that no disrespect would be shown him, he at 
 last consented to enter into a discussion with Priest Feltios in 
 the presence of five members of either sect. Fam, accompan- 
 ied by Mr. Currie, Father Makhiel, and three or four others, 
 repaired to the bishop's house at the hour agreed on, i. e., four 
 P. M., but Priest Feltios had not yet made his appearance. A 
 messenger was sent to call him, and he returned and stated 
 that he was asleep. Another man was sent, who brought back 
 a message from him stating that as Father Makhiel was to be 
 present during the discussion, and he had been often anathe- 
 matized by the Patriarch, he could not enter the same house 
 with him without drawing on his o\\-n head the Patriarch's 
 anathema. Thus he backed out of a discussion in which he had 
 but little chance of adding to his laurels. Our friends then 
 left. 
 
 " Shortly afterwards, messengers came to summon four 
 Protestants by name to appear before the Patriarch in council. 
 Two of those summoned being in the employ of the French 
 consular agent of Kena, were informed that if they refused to 
 obey the summons, they would be put out of their situations 
 
 14
 
 2IO The American Mission 
 
 and cast into prison. They all declared their readiness, as 
 loyal subjects of the viceroy, to obey any legal summons to 
 appear in a government court, but denied the assumed jurisdic- 
 tion of the Patriarch over them, and claimed full religious 
 liberty. Some people of the baser sort attacked the house of 
 one of the four persons alluded to, and kept throwing brick- 
 bats at the door and windows, etc., until nine or ten o'clock in 
 the evening. Thus ended the first day." 
 
 " On the following day, which was the Sabbath, May 12," 
 says Mr, Currie in his report of the proceedings, "several 
 acts of violence were perpetrated against Protestants. After 
 the usual religious services in the mission house, and when the 
 people were returning to their homes, one of the soldiers 
 attending the Patriarch on his steamer attacked two young men 
 on learning that they were Protestants, striking one of them 
 two severe blows, and seizing the other tore his clothes and 
 thrust him to the ground. About the same time two friends of 
 the Patriarch went to the house of Fam Moosa, a member of 
 the Evangelical church, and told him tliat all the members of 
 his society had gone to tlie Patriarch, and that he must go too, 
 and when he refused they took hold of him, pushed him along, 
 and threw him on the ground twice, and so took him to the 
 Patriarch against his will. Others were taken before the Pa- 
 triarch in a similar manner, contrary to their own will or 
 through fear, and compelled to renounce Protestantism." 
 Then again, on the evening of the same day, Antone Matta 
 was passing the house where the Patriarch was, when one of 
 the attendants, having a green palm stick, struck him a severe 
 blow with the stick. On the following day a servant of the 
 Patriarch came to the very door of the mission house and 
 struck a young man who was about to enter, and then seized 
 him by the throat, when Mr. Currie, being in the house and 
 hearing the noise, ran down and drove the Patriarch's servant 
 away, and brought the young man into the mission house. 
 
 The following day the Patriarch left Kus, having failed in 
 his ambitious design to crush the Evangelical church and to put 
 an end to Protestantism in that town, but vowing his deter- 
 mination to obtain an order from the Egyptian government that
 
 IN Egypt. 211 
 
 the leading Protestants there should be banished to the White 
 Nile. 
 
 It is not necessary to follow the patriarchal party any fur- 
 ther, but we will resume the recital of measures continued 
 after his departure from Kus, in execution of his threats against 
 the Protestants. 
 
 Two turners belonging to the Evangelical church of Kus 
 were repeatedly driven out of the weekly market of Nakadah 
 by the sheikhs of the town, and a woman who had recently 
 professed her faith in Christ alone for salvation was beaten by 
 the same personage with a whip of hippopotamus hide when 
 on a visit to her daughter in the same town, and about 200 of 
 the friends and retainers of this sheikh attacked our mission 
 house in Kus with brickbats and other missiles, endangering the 
 lives of the agents of the mission. These things, however, 
 are insignificant when compared with the deep-laid conspiracy 
 which was formed and would have been put into full execution 
 had not the Lord in His mercy restrained the remainder of 
 wrath.
 
 212 THE AMERICAN MISSION 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Fam Stephanos— His character— Attempted banishment— Deliverance and 
 return home. 
 
 The chief man in the Evangelical church in Kus was Mr. 
 Fam Stephanos, an old man and the father of a large family. 
 I will never forget him as he appeared to me the first time, on 
 the banks of the Nile in the winter of 1866, whither he had 
 come with animals to meet Mr. Awad Hanna and myself, when 
 making an evangelical tour up the river. He was rather tall, of 
 broad shoulders, fine physique, large head, long beard, and 
 almost kingly bearing. He has always been my ideal of an 
 Eastern patriarch. He had from early youth been in the service 
 of the Egyptian government, and as tax-collector of the town 
 and district, his integrity and fidelity, in a land where such 
 qualities are rare, were matters of wide notoriety ; so that his 
 name had become a household word in all upper Egypt among 
 those who loved truth and righteousness. While the patriarchal 
 party was in Kus, the most strenuous efforts were made to cor- 
 rupt this man, but proved ineffectual. The Patriarch caused 
 the Copts of the town to write a paper against him, as a cor- 
 rupter of the public morals, with the intention of presenting it 
 to the viceroy, in order to have Fam banished to the White 
 Nile. It was for a time supposed that this petition had been 
 destroyed, but it afterwards appeared that the design had not 
 been abandoned. On his return journey the Patriarch had a 
 meeting with the government inspector of provinces, and the 
 result of a consultation as to the best way to get rid of this old 
 man, was the inspector's declaring that a petition from the in- 
 habitants could easily procure his dismissal from his present 
 ■office, and that then the government could be easih' induced to 
 include his name in the list of scribes to be sent to the White
 
 IN EGYPT. 213 
 
 Nile. At this interview it was understood that Fam's banish- 
 ment was arranged, and the missionaries were secretly informed 
 of this at the time. Then, however, it was difficult to believe 
 that the government could, or would, bind itself to such meas- 
 ures, and as some time passed without anything being done, 
 this incredulity seemed to be warranted. About the end of 
 August, however, this same inspector-general visited Kena, and 
 immediately after his departure it became the general belief, 
 and was the subject of ordinary talk among the scribes of the 
 provincial court and the town, that Fam of Kus was to be sent 
 to the Sudan. A fortnight after this, he was summoned to the 
 provincial court at Kena, on the occasion of a periodical redis- 
 tribution of appointments. He at once obeyed the summons, 
 but while all the others in the province got their appointments 
 at once, and were sent off to their new posts without delay, he 
 was kept from day to day in the utmost uncertainty as to his 
 future location. 
 
 In the good providence of God, it happened that both Mr. 
 Hogg and Mr. Currie were on the Nile in the neighborhood of 
 Kus at this juncture of affairs, and on hearing of the probability 
 of the immediate banishment of Fam and his friends, they at 
 once hastened to Kena, to watch the progress of events and to 
 do all in their power to prevent the outrage. The following 
 letter, penned by Mr. Currie, who was with the Kus brethren 
 all through that time of trial, gives a graphic description of the 
 sequel of this narrative. Writing under date of October 7, 
 1867, he says : 
 
 " While we were in Luxor, word was brought to us that 
 Uncle Fam and two others of our brethren were to be sent away 
 to the Sudan, still we hoped it might be prevented. Upon our 
 arrival in Kena, Brother Hogg presented a written remonstrance 
 against the plot to the governor of the province. The governor 
 denied that any such order had come, but that the government 
 would do as it pleased with its own subjects, and that he was 
 just the servant of the government, and could only execute 
 whatever orders might be sent. It seemed most probable from 
 his manner that he knew very well that it was the design of 
 the government to grant the request of the Patriarch, especially
 
 214 The American Mission 
 
 concerning the banishment of Uncle Fam, and only awaited 
 orders as to the time. Brother Hogg replied that, however ab- 
 solute might be the control of the Egyptian government over its 
 subjects, there was one thing it dare not do, viz. : it could not 
 act directly contrary to its declaration of religious toleration, 
 and that we only asked that Protestants should be treated as 
 the Copts were, and that if the government should attempt to 
 send Fam to the Sudan, it would be for no other reason than 
 that he had become a Protestant. Our visit to the governor 
 was on Saturday, the 27th of September 
 
 " Brother Hogg remained till the following Wednesday 
 evening, to see what might transpire, but the wily governor 
 and his corrupt Coptic scribes, children of the man of sin, gave 
 out that Uncle Fam was appointed to Esna, only about sixty 
 miles above Kus, and the two others in towns near to Esna. 
 Some of our friends actually saw the written order to that effect. 
 Hoping that this might be true, we felt somewhat relieved. 
 Uncle Fam went to the governor and asked him again where he 
 was to be sent. The governor replied that he was appointed to 
 Esna, and told him to bring men to be his securities for a certain 
 amount, and he would seal the letter of his appointment to 
 Esna. Uncle Fam, so long known for his integrity, had no 
 trouble in getting two of the most prominent Muslims in Kus 
 (who happened to be in Kena) to give their names for the re- 
 quired security. This was done on Wednesday morning, but 
 the day passed and no word from the governor. Brother Hogg 
 thought he could not remain longer away from Asyut, as there 
 seemed to be nothing more to accomplish, except it were to delay 
 the action of the governor, and so to gain time that our letters 
 might reach the brethren in Alexandria, if the telegrams which 
 we had sent from Luxor had not done so. 
 
 " 1 had been very comfortable with Brother Hogg and his 
 family on the ' ibis.' After they left 1 went up to the Wakaleh 
 in order to spend the night. We could have choice of sleeping 
 on the roof or in the open court, or outside in front of the door. 
 We chose the last of these, which is comfortable or uncomfort- 
 able according as one is determined to be pleased and contented, 
 or allows himself to fret and be discontented. Fortunately, I had
 
 IN EGYPT. 215 
 
 before spent five days in this dingy old khan, and knew how 
 to make the best of it. Soon after we had spread our mats and 
 laid down under our bright-jeweled canopy, the clear, starry 
 heavens, Suleiman, our book colporteur, came to the khan, 
 having arrived with his wife and little girl in the small boat 
 called ' The Morning Star.' His coming so soon after the de- 
 parture of Brother Hogg seemed to be a favorable providence 
 to us. I requested him to remain a few days and then per- 
 haps we could go with him to Kus in the little boat. 
 
 " On the next day, Thursday, we hoped the governor 
 might seal Uncle Fam's appointment to Esna, according to his 
 promise, but he did not come from his house to the divan (or 
 place of business) at all, and as the next day was Friday, the 
 Muhammadan Sabbath, no business is supposed to be done. 
 On Thursday evening, while Uncle Fam and 1 were sitting 
 with Suleiman on ' The Morning Star ' after sunset, word came 
 to us that the scribes who were to be sent to the Sudan from 
 the province of Asyut had arrived in Kena, and that one of 
 them was the brother of Yacoob, accompanied by Yacoob thus 
 far. He noticed ' The Morning Star ' and came to us, and also 
 his brother, as he had given the soldiers a present to have his 
 irons taken off to enjoy some liberty. We had prayers with 
 them on the boat, and then Yacoob's brother was called back 
 by the soldiers to their boat. Soon after we had gone up to 
 the khan, word came to us that they were to be sent off that 
 night, and Yacoob had only time to run and bid his brother 
 good bye before the boat mo\'ed off, but the agents of the 
 French and American consulates went to the governor and 
 obtained for them permission to return and remain till the next 
 day ; so a runner was sent to call them back and they were 
 allowed to remain until about noon on Friday. Still no word 
 to Uncle Fam from the governor respecting his appointment to 
 Esna, so we were thus left in doubt about it, but thought that 
 if it had been the intention to send him to the Sudan he would 
 have been imprisoned, and sent with the others on the same 
 boat. He had finished his business, his books had passed a 
 satisfactory examination, and he v\-as only waiting to receive 
 the seal of the governor to the letter appointing him to Esna,
 
 2i6 The American Mission 
 
 and as he was not ordered to remain, he said he would proceed 
 to Kus, and there he would be more comfortable until the gov- 
 ernor sealed his appointment and sent it to him by mail. As 
 we were to go at midday, it would be well known to the 
 officers, and then if they wished him to remain they could say 
 so. In the meantime, while the other scribes for the Sudan, of 
 \\'hom I have spolcen, were again sent off, and no effort was 
 made to send Uncle Fam with them, we all went into ' The 
 Morning Star,' and the soldiers said nothing to us. 
 
 " When we were two or three miles from Kena we met 
 the boat in which the scribes for the Sudan were. They had 
 been ordered back again. They spoke to us and said, ' Good 
 news has come ' (that they were ordered back to Asyut), 
 but they were deceived. It proved that they were ordered 
 back for a supply of bread, as they had not been furnished by 
 the government nor allowed an opportunity to supply them- 
 selves with necessary provisions. The wind failing us, we 
 only went half way from Kena to Kus that evening. We tied 
 our little boat to the shore, and spread our mats on the bank to 
 give Suleiman and his family room to sleep in the boat. We 
 slept sweetly till the wind came up. About four o'clock in the 
 morning we arose, and got into the boat to take advantage of 
 the breeze. After we had gone only a few miles, a runner 
 from the governor of Kena overtook us and asked, * Is Fam 
 with you .'*' The sailors replied, ' No,' but I said it was of no use 
 to deny it. Uncle Fam said, ' Tell him I am here, and ask him 
 what he wants.' After the usual custom, he had a good many lies 
 to tell in few words ; that he had left Kena at two o'clock at 
 night, and had run all the way to Kus and thus far on his way 
 back to bring Uncle Fam, and that two soldiers v/ere coming 
 behind him. His fabrication was so glarino; that we did not 
 believe him, but asked if he had a letter from the governor for 
 Uncle Fam, to which he replied that he had. When the runner 
 came near the boat he assumed authority, and said to Fam to 
 take his baggage out that he might go back at once to Kena. 
 Seeing that he was simply the bearer of a letter to Uncle Fam, 
 1 replied, decidedly, ' No,' to his command, and demanded the 
 letter to our friend, which was a simple summons to him and
 
 4^3 -^r -/J j 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 
 s 
 
 ci 
 
 X 
 
 iZ2 
 
 P4 
 
 C5
 
 IN Egypt. 
 
 217 
 
 the two others, Antone Matta and Easily Basada, to appear in 
 the divan in Kena ; but it gave the runner no such authority as 
 he assumed over their persons. I said we would go on to Kus 
 and return to Kena that evening, for it seemed most probable 
 that it would be the last opportunity of seeing their families 
 that our friends would have. The runner consented to this and 
 took a seat, and went with us. 
 
 "We arrived in Kus about noon. 1 had agreed to go with 
 them in case they should be banished, if I would be allowed to 
 get into the boat in which they were to be sent. Upon our 
 arrival in Kus I proceeded to pack my trunks with some choice 
 books and necessary things for the journey. Uncle Fam and 
 the others made similar preparations, and then we assembled in 
 the usual place, and had a very solemn season of prayer. 
 After this the people of the town, of all classes — Muslims as 
 well as Christians — crowded around the honest old man to 
 honor him before his departure. The chief sheikh of the town 
 gave his fine white donkey for him to ride upon down to the 
 Nile. Many of the people followed us down to the ri\-er on 
 foot, weeping. Our friend entreated them to restrain their feel- 
 ings, return to the town, and be manly and cheerful, but many 
 came all the way to the boat. Then, besides the exhortation 
 which he had given already to all of the brethren, that they con- 
 tinue steadfast in the faith of the Gospel, before he came on the 
 boat he made a most earnest and eloquent appeal to them not 
 to fear, nor to be cast down, and not to be silent, but to be 
 more earnest than ever in preaching the Gospel to others, 
 assuring us that the Lord would bless his cause among us in 
 Kus, and closed by repeating with great emphasis, ' The Lord 
 will never, never forsake those who trust in Him.' It was after 
 sunset when we were ready to go. As there was no other boat 
 going to Kena, some who wished to go had to stay, and the 
 rest crowded into our little boat. Suleiman had taken his fam- 
 ily up to our house in Kus to give us the use of ' The Morning 
 Star.' There were eighteen of us, including the boatmen. 
 
 " The runner who had told us such glaring lies thought to 
 take a place in the boat with great importance, as if it were a 
 matter of course ; but his airy dignity was brought down when
 
 2i8 ' The American Mission 
 
 he was informed that as the penalty of his lying he was allowed 
 to choose between two alternatives, either to exercise his un- 
 derstanding in a starlight walk to Kena, or to exercise his 
 patience in waiting to take a boat next day. He, however, 
 pleaded very humbly, and was allowed to go with us. We 
 arrived at Kena at ii P. M. Some went to sleep on the bank 
 of the river, and the rest on the boat. 
 
 "The next morning (Sabbath) after prayers, our three 
 friends went to the divan to report themselves, according to the 
 summons of the governor. Those of us who remained on the 
 boat enjoyed the reading of the Scriptures, religious conversa- 
 tion, and prayer. The scribes of the divan already knew 
 the sentence of the banishment of the three brethren, and 
 gloried over it, but for the purpose of deriding them feigned 
 the opposite. The chief scribe came to Uncle Fam as though 
 he had good words for him, and asked him for a present, say- 
 ing, ' The price of good news,' and told him that an order had 
 come by wire that he should not be sent away, but remain in 
 his former position. It was put in such a plausible way that 
 we were led to believe what we fully desired might be true. 
 We were much surprised, therefore, when the nephew of Uncle 
 Fam came to our boat and told us to move down with all haste 
 in front of the divan, for they were to be sent off immediately. 
 We pushed our boat at once, and soon came alongside of the 
 boat in which they had been placed, and were guarded by 
 three soldiers. While the rest of our friends were busy taking 
 the things from our boat to the one in which Uncle Fam and 
 his companions were to be sent away, he stepped over on ' The 
 Morning Star,' and came in to talk with me a minute, but the 
 soldiers ordered him back in a very brutal manner. Uncle Fam 
 then requested of the principal soldier that I might be allowed 
 to accompany them, but his request was refused. After this, I 
 stepped over on their boat and asked, as politely as I could, per- 
 mission of the guard to go in and talk to Uncle Fam. He did 
 not refuse. This gave us time to exchange a few words, spell- 
 ing out the words we did not wish the soldiers to understand. 
 Uncle Fam renewed his request to the principal soldier that I 
 might be allowed to go with them if only to Kus, but he sul-
 
 IN Egypt. 219 
 
 lenly refused, and went away into tlie next room, as if lie were 
 impatient at my presence. The governor iiad observed me 
 when I went into the boat, and sent for Fam to go to the divan, 
 where he asked him why I had come on to the boat. He re- 
 pHed that I was a friend who wished to go with them. The 
 governor said I could not be allowed to do so, that the boat 
 must move off immediately, and sent three more soldiers, mak- 
 ing a double guard. It was my intention to take my trunks 
 out of ' The Morning Star,' put them in the first boat to Kus, 
 and allow Yacoob, the second son of Uncle Fam, and another 
 of our brethren to proceed with all haste to Aysut in our boat, 
 that word might be given to Brother Hogg, who would inform 
 the English consul-general and the brethren in Alexandria, that 
 they might also inform the American consul-general of this out- 
 rage upon Protestantism and cowardly tyranny towards an 
 honest man. Yacoob and his companions were then to go on 
 to Cairo by railway from Minya to present the case to the 
 viceroy. So when the boat in which our friends were mo\'ed 
 off, we also moved up the river with equal haste, that I migiit 
 get into another boat and go on to Kus to allow Yacoob and his 
 companions to proceed down the river as soon as possible. The 
 governor seeing that we were keeping alongside of their boat, 
 sent another squad of soldiers along the bank to watch our 
 movements, as though a tall, slender missionary, without 
 sword or staff, were likely to attack and overpower six Turkish 
 soldiers armed to the teeth. Such is the cowardice of fearful 
 tyranny. Soon, however, we saw a little grain boat going to 
 Kus and hailed it. While I was getting my things into the 
 grain boat, the boat in which the prisoners were had time to 
 get some distance ahead of us, and the soldiers on the bank 
 proceeded no further. But Uncle Fam, having noticed them, 
 feared that if I did not remain in ' The Morning Star ' with 
 Yacoob and his companions the government might stop them, 
 and not allow them to go to Asyut. He managed to get per- 
 mission for his eldest son, who was going with him, to land and 
 run back to speak a word with us. He came to tell me that 
 his father requested that I should remain in ' The Morning Star' 
 and proceed in it to Asyut. Suleiman had then to run and
 
 220 The American Mission 
 
 overtake the other boat, which with a light wind was moving 
 slowly up the river. I soon had my things put into ' The Morn- 
 ing Star ' again, and not having much wind against us, our light 
 boat, with the current and the oars of two sturdy boatmen, soon 
 glided down the river past and out of sight of Kena. 
 
 " It was about two o'clock P. M. when we left the grain 
 boat, in which the rest of our friends returned to Kus to their 
 homes, to tell the sad news to many who had long looked to 
 dear old Uncle Fam for counsel and instruction. Though it 
 was, perhaps, not more than half an hour from the time the word 
 reached us that our friends were to be sent away till the treach- 
 erous deed was accomplished, instead of being discomfited at 
 the sudden change from the report that the falsehearted, drunken 
 scribe had told our friend, to the order for his banishment, it 
 only afforded an opportunity for the moral heroism of his strong 
 trust in God to rise to its true grandeur. So full was the sup- 
 port granted to him that his calm Christian courage both aston- 
 ished himself and abashed his enemies, and seemed prophetical 
 of the triumph of moral courage against brute force — the token, 
 too, of the triumph of the kingdom of righteousness and peace 
 over the powers of darkness. His resignation to this seemingly 
 adverse dispensation of Divine providence seemed to be as full 
 as though the Master had chosen him to be a martyr to the 
 truth, and so to finish his testimony." 
 
 The boat containing the prisoners of the Lord moved up 
 the river until it reached the bank near to Kus, and there it was 
 met by a large company of the friends and acquaintances. 
 What a scene there was then ! The pastor-elect in describing 
 it said, in a letter written at the time : " The women were 
 weeping, and the men were lamenting, and the enemies were 
 mocking, cursing and blaspheming, threatening the people of 
 the church with certain destruction, saying, * Your mainmast 
 has gone, and now your boat will be broken into pieces.' " 
 
 They continued their lamentations for many days, and on 
 account of the extreme fear, many of the people did not eat or 
 drink or sleep at night. They heard from their enemies, and espe- 
 cially from the priests of the Coptic Church, that " Our lord the 
 Patriarch had spoken to the effendina [the viceroy] for him to
 
 IN Egypt. 221 
 
 send soldiers to the town under an officer, and that they would 
 give the women to the soldiers, and the men they would send 
 to the White Nile, and the young men they would put into the 
 army. When they heard these frightful rumors they were 
 frightened almost to death," 
 
 Mr. Currie and his party hurried down the river in "The 
 Morning Star," saw Mr. Hogg in Asyut, then hastened on to 
 Ramleh, where m.ost of the missionaries were at the time, and 
 immediate action was taken to secure the good offices of tlie 
 American and British consular authorities. Application was 
 made to Mr. Hale, the consul-general for the United States, and 
 a full statement of the case presented to him. Indeed, he had 
 all along been kept informed of the character of the persecution, 
 and he had lodged a protest immediately on receipt of the intel- 
 ligence from the missionaries that the banishment of Fam and 
 his companions was designed and arrangements for its execu- 
 tion were being made. This protest was sent by wire to the 
 viceroy, and is known to have reached him on the 23d or 24th 
 of September. It was expressed in very strong terms, and was 
 to the effect that if the men were actually sent, the Egyptian 
 government would thereby incur the displeasure of the govern- 
 ment he represented. 
 
 This protest seemed to have little or no effect, for, in spite 
 of this, nearly a week after, Fam and his party were actually 
 sent off. Upon hearing this, Mr. Hale informed the viceroy 
 that it would be his duty to lay the whole case before the go\'- 
 ernment in America and ask for instructions. Taking up the 
 case in its bearing on religious toleration, and on that account 
 falling as much within the jurisdiction of Great Britain as of the 
 United States, Mr. Reade, the acting consul-general of her maj- 
 esty, on having a statement of the facts put before him, at once 
 made it the occasion of a personal interxMew with the viceroy 
 himself. This was after the men had been sent away and in- 
 telligence of the fact had reached Cairo. His highness seemed 
 to know of the case, and at once denied that they had been 
 sent to the Sudan, reserving all considerations of his rights to 
 send them there or elsewhere if he so desired. He further dis- 
 claimed the presence of any religious moti\-es in their treatment ;
 
 222 The American Mission 
 
 all religion, he said, being the same to him, and therefore he 
 would have no interest in their mutual differences. Still the 
 case was undergoing investigation, and Raghib Pasha, in whose 
 department it lay, would, his highness did not doubt, be able to 
 give him all the explanations he desired. In the course of a 
 few days, Raghib Pasha was visited, but with him it was the 
 old story on the general question of religious toleration, hut no 
 propagandism. In this particular case there was no such thing 
 as persecution in it. There might be hardships, but it was 
 being looked into, and justice would eventually be done. In 
 the meantime, and while the boat carrying the brethren slowly 
 moved up the Nile, there was continuous and united prayer to 
 the God of providence and the King and Head of the Church to 
 deliver His prisoners from their imminent peril, it being dis- 
 tinctly understood that in their case banishment to the White 
 Nile meant either death as soon as they got beyond the limits 
 of civilized society, or separation for life from their homes and 
 families. 
 
 Mrs. Lansing, writing from Ramleh at the time, says in 
 one of her letters : " Such days as the present we have never 
 seen in Egypt. So largely have we hitherto shared the Divine 
 favor, and so greatly have we been blessed in every depart- 
 ment of our work, that we had fondly hoped the spirit of bitter 
 persecution would not be so aroused as to excite alarm or anx* 
 iety, nor could we feel that any of God's hidden ones will be 
 hunted out with cruel hands, torn from family and friends, and 
 all that is dear, and exiled to the burning sands of the interior 
 of this dark continent. No ! we could not feel this, although 
 from the wrongs and oppressions and repeated outrages of the 
 last few months, there had been abundant reason to fear that a 
 severe ordeal awaited all who had left their mother Church and 
 assumed the Protestant name. As impending troubles increased 
 we, however, have often been cheered at the faith and courage 
 of our dear brethren and sisters, and their willingness to suffer 
 for the master's sake. Brother Currie came the day before 
 yesterday from Kus, and to-morrow sets his face again towards 
 the upper country, and thence to the White Nile to overtake, if 
 possible, our poor brother Fam and his party to comfort them
 
 IN Egypt. 223 
 
 in their exile, and to share their tribulations. A native friend 
 will accompany him, and we trust his mission may be success- 
 ful. So great was the affection of Uncle Fam's sons for their 
 revered father, that the eldest left his home and went with him, 
 lest some evil should befall him, and another came here with 
 Mr. Currie, with a petition to the viceroy, bringing a relative 
 with him. They have been staying with us here in Ramleh, 
 and our hearts have been greatly drawn out to these poor, tried 
 men in sympathy and prayer, and, although the tear often 
 moistens the eye as they think of the loved one so cruelly borne 
 away, and fear a terrible fate, still it is amazing to see how 
 wonderfully they are sustained, and how faith and grace tri- 
 umph." 
 
 While the missionaries were doing their utmost with con- 
 sular and other authorities to secure the liberation of the ban- 
 ished party, and they and the whole company of believers were 
 wrestling with the Lord in prayer without ceasing for His bless- 
 ing upon the efforts, or for the manifestation of His will for 
 their deliverance in some other way, and for grace to sustain 
 them and the infant Protestant Church in Egypt in all their 
 trials, the boat carrying the prisoners was on its way up the 
 valley. " It left Kena," says Mr. Currie, " on Sabbath, Sep- 
 tember 29, but owing to adverse or insufficient winds, it did not 
 reach Esna, eighty miles off, until the following Frida}-. On 
 reaching that town the officers in charge objected to stopping, 
 but the captain of the boat insisted that it was necessary, in 
 order to buy bread, which the unusual hurry of their departure 
 had prevented them from providing at Kena. No sooner was 
 the dahabia moored, than the wharf inspector communicated an 
 order that it was to proceed no farther in the meantime. The 
 soldier in command was by no means satisfied with such a com- 
 munication, and not e\'en the confirmatory repetition of it by the 
 chief magistrate, then in Kena, reconciled him to yield obedi- 
 ence." The explanation of this hesitancy was simply the fact 
 that the governor of Kena had charged him before his departure 
 that on no account was he to stop till he reached Aswan, where 
 the first cataract forms a natural break in the river navigation, 
 and not until he had telegraphed to Kena and receix-ed a coun-
 
 224 The American Mission 
 
 termand from the same quarter, would he yield up his charge. 
 When the answer did arrive, the prisoners were transferred to 
 the court of the prison, and after a day or two the boat was 
 ordered back. The party were not literally put into the prison 
 itself, but there is not much difference between that and con- 
 finement in a court, without permission of egress, even though 
 it be modified by the admission of friends. Here they remained 
 for twenty da}'S. 
 
 About the end of October appeared the practical issue to 
 the efforts made by the consular authorities, and more especially 
 by the earnest efforts of Mr. Reade, acting consul-general, and 
 the answer to the incessant prayer, in the liberation of the 
 men from prison and liberty to return to their homes. Great 
 was the joy in the hearts of their families and relatives on their 
 return, earnest and hearty were the thanksgivings offered to 
 the merciful Lord, who had this time also heard the cries that 
 had arisen to heaven on their behalf. 
 
 It seems proper here, however, to add that all through this 
 case, contrary to the usual practice of the government, there 
 had been a persistent avoidance of written orders or directions, 
 so in the return of the friends to their homes no explanation 
 was given, and the same policy of non-committal was followed. 
 Nothing was done or said which gave them the slightest security 
 against being taken and sent away the ne.xt day.
 
 Mission Building at Mansoura.
 
 IN Egypt. 225 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Resumption of story of troubles in Asyut school— Forced labor described- 
 Pupils in schools exempted — Duty of seeing exemption carried out impartially — 
 Case against the sheikhs of Sahil Salem — Boys frightened, except Iskaros — Iska- 
 ros plied by flattery and threats in turn— Stands firm — Is bastinadoed — Finally 
 set free — Case of Bishetly taken up — Crooked action of local authorities — Con- 
 sular interference accomplished little in the case, but good effect in the future- 
 Opposition in various places — God's Word not bound — Meetings in Mutiah — 
 Work in Alexandria, Faiyum, Cairo— Great credit due to Dr. Lansing. 
 
 Having thus finished the story of Uncle Fam and his com- 
 panions, I will take up the persecutions continued at Asyut and 
 Kus after the departure of the Patriarch's party from these 
 towns. 
 
 Shortly after his departure from Asyut, the boys returned 
 to school and informed the missionaries thatthe sheikhs of their 
 villages now refused to respect their certificates even though 
 vised by the governor, and that they had asserted that unless 
 they left the mission school and went to that of the Copts, 
 they would be sent off forthwith to work on the new railway. 
 Now, as most of these sheikhs were Muslims, and had there- 
 fore no reason from religious motives to interfere between two 
 Christian sects, it was clear that they were acting at the insti- 
 gation of the government. 
 
 Mr. Hogg then wrote a letter on the subject to the head 
 official in the Abutig district, to which one of the sheikhs be- 
 longed, and made a personal call on Hamman Bey, from whose 
 village half the boys came. By both these officials the sheikhs 
 were reprimanded, and orders were given to allow the bo^'s to 
 go to which ever school they chose. Mr. Hogg then having to 
 leave for Ekhmim, on account of the persecutions there, and 
 being absent three weeks, found on his return the mission 
 school completely broken up, all the boys having gone off to 
 the Coptic school 
 15
 
 226 The American Mission 
 
 " To understand the following narrative, it must be 
 remembered that the system of forced labor existed then to a 
 large extent in Egypt. Marvelous at that time was the rapid- 
 ity with which public works were executed, and particularly 
 the railway system developed ; so that within a few years the 
 whole land of Egypt was intersected with main lines, to which 
 ever since new branches have been added. All these works 
 before the British occupation were constructed by forced labor, 
 and the rapidity of execution is rendered conceivable by the 
 fact that at some places no fewer than 16,000 persons were 
 employed at one time." The manner of collecting these work- 
 men was simple and effective. The order was sent to the 
 governor of a particular province for a certain number of men, 
 then transmitted by him to the inspectors of the various dis- 
 tricts under his jurisdiction. They in turn allotted to particular 
 villages the numbers demanded from them, and if the prescribed 
 quota was not forthcoming at the appointed time, the sheikhs, 
 or chief men, of the delinquent villages were compelled to 
 show good reason, or woe to their liberty and their lives, and 
 sometimes good reasons were taken little into account. Old 
 men and young were thus compelled to go, no matter what their 
 circumstances or the nature of their employment. Persons 
 might be in the midst of their harvesting when the dread order 
 from the government was received, and every able-bodied male 
 was obliged to turn out, even though their own crops might be 
 left to waste under the burning rays of a tropical sun. More 
 than this, they were not only unremunerated for the labor they 
 were thus forced to perform, but they had to provide their own 
 food, and sometimes these poor people were under the neces- 
 sity of begging, and when that failed of stealing whatever 
 they could to make up their needed supplies. In many cases 
 the very baskets and picks had to be brought by the men from 
 their homes. 
 
 Under a despotic system like this, which was carried out 
 in the most cruel manner, and often with great partiality, it 
 will readily appear that if by attendance at school the poor 
 peasant could have his boy exempted from such servitude, he 
 would eagerly avail himself of such means of deliverance, and
 
 IN EGYPT. 
 
 227 
 
 it will be evident that a school that could not offer such protec- 
 tion would have had slender chance of success (compared to 
 one which could promise it), however great might be its educa* 
 tional advantages. It v/as, therefore, essential to the prosperity, 
 if not to the very existence, of the mission schools that they 
 be placed on an equal footing in this respect with all other 
 educational establishments in the country, and if the status was 
 verbally conceded, it behooved the missionaries to insist on the 
 privileges therein implied being faithfully respected. Finding, 
 therefore, that during his temporary absence at Ekhmim, even 
 the few boys who had remained in the school up to the time of 
 the Patriarch's visit, and had been provided with regular gov- 
 ernment certificates, had been refused the privileges which these 
 ought to have secured to them, Mr. Hogg lodged a complaint 
 before the local authorities. The remainder of the narrative 
 will be given in Mr. Hogg's own words, as presenting a vivid 
 picture of the manner in which judicial investigations were con- 
 ducted in Egypt in those days, and affording abundant proof cf 
 the complicity of the government in the opposition which the 
 mission then encountered on every hand. 
 
 Mr, Hogg says : "Instead of lodging a general complaint 
 against all the sheikhs who had ostensibly disobeyed the orders of 
 the governor and frightened the boys away from the mission 
 school, I thought best to take up one particular case, and 
 selected that of the boys from the Sahil Salem village. This I 
 did, not because the sheikhs of that village were more culpable 
 than the others, but because one of the boys, named Iskaros 
 Masood, belonging to the village, had been a member of m)- 
 class in theology, and being a young man of piety and an earn- 
 est student, and possessed of considerable firmness withal, I 
 was sure that, when confronted with the sheikhs in the pre- 
 sence of the governor of the province, he would not suffer him- 
 self to be browbeaten and intimidated by the frowns of the 
 sheikhs, and would be able to prove the truth of his charges 
 were an opportunity granted him. He, moreover, having noth- 
 ing to learn in the other school, was the more anxious to return 
 to ours, in proof whereof I may state that when he left the 
 Coptic school and returned to his theological studies, and the
 
 228 The American Mission 
 
 sheikhs of his village resumed their threats to send him 
 off to the railway works or the army, his father, though 
 a poor man, gave one of them 150 piastres and half an 
 ardeb* of grain in order to induce him to allow his boy to pros- 
 ecute his studies. This young man wrote out, at my request, 
 a brief statement of the reasons why he and the other boys 
 from Sahil Salem had been compelled to leave our school and 
 enter that of the Copts. I sent this statement along with a 
 short note to the American consular agent, requesting him to 
 present the case to the governor, and ask him what he thought 
 proper in the circumstances. After a few days the four boys and 
 their fathers were summoned before the governor, but on 
 announcing their presence in the court next morning they were 
 told to remain outside until sent for, which was not until noon, 
 and they were only brought before the deputy-governor. The 
 American consular agent had gone, at my suggestion, in order 
 to be present while their case was being investigated, and his 
 presence was doubtless the sole reason why it was not taken 
 up that day. Iskaros returned and told me that the scribes of 
 the divan and the director of the Coptic school had besieged 
 him the whole forenoon, and had sought — by flattery and offers 
 of a situation with a large salary as a teacher, and when this 
 failed by threatening to send him off to the army — to induce 
 him to leave our school. He, and the other boys returned to 
 the divan next morning, and at his own request they went 
 unaccompanied by anyone. He returned about ten o'clock, and 
 reported that the deputy-governor instead of investigating the 
 truth of the charge made by him against the sheikhs, de- 
 manded of him in an angry tone why he had written to me as 
 he had done against the sheikhs, and that on his replying that 
 the sheikhs had disregarded the orders of the government, he 
 cut him short by saying, ' Out upon you, you son of a dog ! off 
 with you !' whereupon he had come away, leaving him in a 
 towering rage. 
 
 " Owing to sickness in my family, I had to leave Asyut 
 on the 24th of June. The day after our departure Iskaros and 
 the other boys were summoned to appear before the provincial 
 * An ardeb is equal to five bushels.
 
 IN Egypt. 229 
 
 authorities, and I have an account written by hkaros himself 
 of what took place during that and the following days. From 
 this account, as supplemented by Mr. Abdullah Wesa and Mr. 
 Ibrahim Yusif, both of whom, though not present while he was 
 being bastinadoed, saw his bleeding feet a few minutes after as 
 he was being led to prison, and visited him on Friday morning 
 in the prison. From these sources I drew up the following 
 statement : 
 
 " When the boys appeared before the deputy-governor on 
 the morning of the 26th of June they were made to stand in a 
 row before him. He then made some remarks that frightened 
 the smaller boys, so that when he proceeded to ask them one 
 by one which of the two schools they wished to go to, they 
 said they were willing to go to the Coptic school. When the 
 question was put to Iskaros he gave no answer, but on its 
 being repeated he replied that he wanted to go to the mission 
 school, and that he would rather go home and herd cattle than 
 go to the Coptic scliool. Finding Iskaros resolved to maintain 
 his rights, the deputy-governor tried to intimidate him by 
 ordering him off to prison ; and when Hamman Bey, the pro- 
 prietor of the village to which he belonged (and a near relative 
 of the head sheikh of the village) interposed to prevent this, 
 the deputy, with the same end in view, rose, and after examin- 
 ing the eyes and arms of one of the boys said that he would do 
 for the army. They were then sent to the clerk's office, 
 where they were actually coerced and compelled to sign a 
 deposition stultifying themselves and exculpating the sheikhs. 
 The statements, however, though dictated by the private sec- 
 retary of the governor, did not fully satisfy the deputy, who 
 gave orders that they should be made to add to it that the letter 
 which they had written to me complaining of the interference 
 of the sheikhs was written at my dictation, or that I had writ- 
 ten it for them. At this juncture, Iskaros obtained leave to go 
 out for some refreshments, and before returning he went to 
 the mission house and reported what had taken place. A few 
 minutes after his return the agent of the American consulate, 
 who had been apprised of what was going on, entered the 
 divan and found Iskaros surrounded by a number of scribes,* 
 
 * These were Copts.
 
 230 The American Mission 
 
 who were trying to coerce him to write such a statement as 
 the deputy had desired. Mr. Wasif interposed, and told them 
 to allow the boy to write as he pleased ; whereupon he wrote 
 that the letter in which he had complained to me of the con- 
 duct of the sheikhs was written by himself in his own house, 
 when the other boys were present, and added that the deposi- 
 tion which he had been made to write in the morning was writ- 
 ten under coercion and against his will, and that he still wanted 
 to go to the mission school. The scribe then took him before 
 the deputy, and informed him that he had refused to write as 
 he bid him. Seeing Mr. Wasif, the consular agent, enter the 
 divan, and suspecting, 1 suppose, that Iskaros had gone and in- 
 formed him of what was going on, his excellency said to him 
 in an angry tone, ' Where have you been ? ' and at once or- 
 dered the cawass * to administer the bastinado. When Mr. 
 Wasif interposed, Iskaros was ordered off to prison, but on 
 reading the paper which he had written the deputy ordered 
 him back, and on his re-entering the divan cried out in a rage, 
 
 * What is this you have written, sir ! Who coerced you ? Did you 
 not vvrite with your own hands .'' ' Iskaros replied that he did, but 
 that the scribes had compelled him, upon which the deputy 
 ordered him to be bastinadoed. Mr. Wasif again interposed, 
 but in vain. Thirty lashes or so were administered on the 
 soles of his bare feet, and then he was put in prison. He was 
 visited next day by the deputy and his private secretary, and 
 the latter was instructed in his presence to write down his 
 name, that he might be put in shackles and sent off to the rail- 
 way works. Instead of this being done, however, he was 
 summoned on Saturday morning into the deputy's private room, 
 who kept him there until the afternoon, visiting him every now 
 and then and trying through dint of coaxing and flattery to in- 
 duce him to give in. At length, after the deputy had modified 
 tiib demands again and again, so as to make them as light as 
 possible on the boy's conscience, and yet secure his object, 
 Iskaros, fairly worn out and afraid of further outrages, con- 
 sented to write that he had no means of proving that the 
 scribes had coerced him to vvrite what he had deposed on Thurs- 
 
 * buidier in. atteridante.
 
 IN Egypt. 231 
 
 day morning ; after which he was set at liberty. So far as 
 the boys or their parents vvere concerned, not one question was 
 asked concerning the conduct of the sheii<hs, and nothing 
 appeared to show that any investigation had been made." 
 
 Some days after, however, an answer was received by 
 Mr. Wasif to Mr. Hogg's complaint, declaring that the boys 
 were subjects of the government and therefore liable to be 
 taken for the works when necessity called, and denying in the 
 « most haughty manner the right of Mr. Hogg to interfere, or the 
 consular agent to mediate. It was added also that the charge 
 against the sheikhs had been investigated and found to be un- 
 true. Not a word was said about the certificates sealed with 
 the government seal in the hands of the boys. Thus ended 
 these strange proceedings in Asyut, in entire keeping with the 
 despotic, cruel, and partial practices of the government of 
 those days, when Ishmael Pasha held in his own grasp the 
 lives, property, and liberty of the fellah for his own profit and 
 gratification. No wonder, on going up the Nile and stopping at 
 a small town on the banks of the river until the Sabbath was 
 past, and spending the day reading the Scriptures, talking with 
 some of the people, one of them said, "O! khawaja, only 
 deliver us from Ishmael Pasha and his slavery and despotism, 
 and we will accept any religion you like, and worship any God 
 you mention, even the stones." 
 
 Having followed up the persecution in Asyut, and shown 
 how it was carried out by the aid of the government authorities, 
 and no doubt with the entire approbation of the viceroy, I will 
 now take up the case of Elder Bishetly, who with his son was 
 driven out of Ekhmim at the time of the Patriarch's visit, and 
 came down to Asyut, reaching that town on the morning of the 
 26th of April. Learning the facts of the case, Mr. Hogg re- 
 turned with Elder Bishetly at once to Ekhmim and tried to gain 
 redress in the court of the district. At the first interview, the 
 magistrate, after hearing his statement of the case, expressed 
 much astonishment at the narrative, and seemed inclined to 
 doubt that things so outrageous had taken place. "Such a 
 thing," said he, "could not be allowed," and asking Elder 
 Bishetly to write a statement of his case, he promised to inves-
 
 232 The American Mission 
 
 tigate it. Before their return with the statement, however, a 
 change had passed over the spirit of his dreams. The Coptic 
 scribes, by whom he was surrounded, had succeeded in talking 
 him over to their side, and now delay became the order of the 
 day. After several vain attempts to get the case gone into, the 
 magistrate informed them one morning that there had been in 
 the court for the last fortnight a petition against Girgis Bishetly, 
 signed by eighty-nine of the notables of the tov/n, and praying 
 for his removal on the ground of being a public nuisance, and 
 the sheikhs of the town, who were now present, were called 
 upon for their case. They accordingly presented a paper, which 
 proceeded on the principle of denying point-blank everything 
 Elder Bishetly had said, and asserting everything possible 
 against him. Mr. Hogg, thereupon, v/ith the view of bringing 
 out the truth, or at least exposing their contradictions, asked to 
 be allowed to put some questions, but was rudely interrupted 
 by the magistrate telling him that he had nothing to do with the 
 case, as this was a question between subjects of the Egyptian 
 government, and that therefore he could not be allowed to ap- 
 pear. The case then went on for a day or two without any 
 result, and ultimately the magistrate left the town for the rail- 
 way works, leaving the case in the hands of his deputy; in 
 other words, laying it upon the shelf. It was not to be expected 
 that the missionaries would sit still under such treatment. As 
 soon as the news of Bishetly's case reached Cairo, Dr. Lansing 
 and his colleagues of the mission resident there, addressed a 
 communication to the American consul-general, and through 
 him to the government of his highness, setting forth the pre- 
 tensions of the Patriarch to governmental authority and the use 
 he was making thereof, and for the purpose of eliciting the pol- 
 icy of the government, concluding with asking three questions, 
 which were as follows : 
 
 "(i) Have the heads of the Christian sects a right to use 
 upon the people, for spiritual offences, corporal punishments, 
 such as beating, imprisonment and the like ? 
 
 "(2) When members of these sects use their liberty in 
 transferring their allegiance from one sect to another, have the 
 heads of sects so left any authority over them ? 
 
 "(3) Does there exist any distinction in the matter of
 
 IN Egypt. 233 
 
 government exemption from government demands between the 
 pupils of tlie American schools and those of the other schools ?" 
 
 The paper containing these questions was presented in the 
 beginning of May, and although the minister to whose depart- 
 ment such questions belong, in an interview with the consul- 
 general immediately after the presentation of the paper, ex- 
 pressed himself willing and ready to answer the questions 
 satisfactorily, week after week passed without any reply. 
 
 A document containing the details of the Bishetly case, 
 the proceedings before the district court and some observations 
 thereon, was afterwards drawn up and presented to Mr. Hale, 
 the United States consul-general, to lay it before the govern- 
 ment. Its transmission, however, was stopped by the receipt 
 of an answer to the above questions, although subsequent 
 events showed that it might have been better had the document 
 been presented even then. In the beginning of June this 
 answer was received from his excellency, the minister of for- 
 eign affairs, and as being an interesting specimen of Turkish 
 diplomacy, as well as of some importance in the case, we give 
 it in extenso : 
 
 "We have received your communication of the past month 
 of May in reference to the complaint of certain persons against 
 the Patriarch of the Copts, and you declared in that communi- 
 cation that the government of the viceroy shows in most of its 
 actions that it allows freedom of religion, and therefore would 
 not allow v/hat has been done by the Patriarch of the Copts. 
 'Yes,' the Egyptian government has allowed the toleration of 
 religions like the rest of the civilized kingdoms, and it has given 
 every assistance in facilitating and accomplishing certain things 
 necessary to them ; therefore, with the due respect of the gov- 
 ernment to the duties of the aforementioned toleration, it sees 
 it to be its duty also to avoid all official intermeddling and inter- 
 ference in the matter of deciding religious cases, and especially 
 as, from the existence of many religions in Egypt, the annoy- 
 ance which would result from such interference is to be feared. 
 We must therefore answer you on the ground of friendship, 
 informing you of our regret at the interposition of the com- 
 plainants, according to the demands of their relations to the
 
 234 The American Mission 
 
 government, that they should have addressed the local authori- 
 ties. We have, however, out of respect to yourself written a 
 communication directly to his honor the inspector of the 
 provinces, making necessary inquiries concerning the state of 
 the case complained of, and that he should give notice for the 
 prevention of what would hinder the above-mentioned tolera- 
 tion." 
 
 A few days after the receipt of this letter, the viceroy, 
 accompanied by Ragib Pasha, left Egypt for Europe, and the 
 affairs of state were left in the hands of his excellency Sharif 
 Pasha. Mr. Reade, the acting Brittish consul-general, in- 
 structed by a communication from the British embassy at Con- 
 stantinople, took up the case of these persecutions, and espe- 
 cially of Elder Bishetly, and made representations thereon, and 
 the result was a long document from his excellency to the 
 United States consul-general, in one part of which he claimed 
 that the Egyptian government was determined to give the 
 fullest Christian liberty, and in another declared that it was 
 determined not to allow religious propagandism, meaning such 
 discussion and teaching as might lead a man to change his 
 religion. It was what Turkey gives to-day, full liberty to any 
 one to believe in the religion in which he was born, but no 
 liberty to change it for another. Such was all that could be 
 secured from the Egyptian government in official declaration, to 
 remove the wrongs which had been done, and put Protestantism 
 on the same footing with Catholicism and Copticism, but the 
 practical result was better than the official declarations, and 
 never again did the Egyptian government take such decided 
 action in favor of the Copts against the Protestants, though 
 there is no doubt that it continued to prefer the principles and 
 practices of the former to those of the latter. 
 
 The impetus given by the Egyptian government to the 
 Coptic persecutions, while it led, as we have seen, to open and 
 determined and active opposition to all evangelistic efforts in 
 the upper country, also affected in a greater or less degree the 
 operations of the mission throughout the whole of Egypt. 
 Outrages were perpetrated and wrongs done in the Faiyum and 
 \n Monsurah, as well as in the region of Asyut, Ekhmim, and
 
 IN EGYPT. 235 
 
 Kus, Special efforts were made by the priests, both in the 
 Faiyum and in Monsurah, to break up the schools. The parents 
 were visited and entreated, and even threatened with excom- 
 nrinication from "the inheritance of the just." The result 
 for a time was the loss of about one-third of the bo}-s in 
 attendance and a few of the girls. But while opposition to the 
 missionaries and their work had been stirred up in all parts of 
 the field, it was evident, too, that the Lord's Spirit was at 
 work moving many to inquire about the way of salvation, and to 
 search for the truth in the Word of God, and in evangelical 
 books. The colporteurs everywhere found intensified opposi- 
 tion on the part of many, but others were not wanting who 
 eagerly seized the opportunity of securing a copy of the Scrip- 
 tures in order to quietly read them in their own homes. The 
 very intensity of the opposition aroused and stirred up the ad- 
 versaries of the truth to search for arguments in the Scriptures 
 in support of their positions, since many of them could not but 
 believe that their spiritual leaders were right, and especially 
 that the Patriarch himself must have good reason for calling the 
 American missionaries heretics and waging a fierce warfare 
 against them. So that some from one motive and some from 
 another read the Word of God as they had never done before, 
 and thus were being prepared by the providence of God, as 
 well as by personal aims, for times of refreshing in the future. 
 Persons from neighboring villages hearing, perhaps for the first 
 time, of the Protestant mission through the active opposition 
 and conversations of the Coptic clergy, had their curiosity 
 aroused, and on visiting the central stations would drop in to 
 witness a Protestant service, or call on the missionary and 
 hear what he had to say, and perhaps in the hope that they 
 mifibt be able to overcome him in argument. Others from a 
 real love of the truth which they had already tasted, would 
 seize the opportunity of being in Cairo, Asyut, Medinah, Mon- 
 surah or Kus, and would secretly attend the services on Sabbath, 
 or the meetings in the evening, for the refreshing of their souls 
 and the strengthening of their faith. In some places, too, the 
 people began to meet together for mutual profit and to aid one 
 another in learning the real truth in regard to the differences
 
 236 The American Mission 
 
 between the Copts and Protestants. A few of the enlightened 
 Copts in the village of Mutiah, a small village at a little dis- 
 tance south of Asyut, commenced in June an evening meeting 
 for prayer and the study of the Scriptures, in the house of the 
 father of one of our junior students of the theological class. 
 The blind Coptic schoolmaster was the leader in the movement, 
 although he and another man, Antone el-Shams, as we have 
 seen, had been summoned before the Patriarch and informed 
 that they would be held personally responsible for any Protest- 
 ant movement that might take place in the village. 
 
 After several weeks, when the nightly audience had in- 
 creased to about twenty persons, Antone, who had kept aloof, 
 took fright at the growing proportions of the movement, and 
 not daring to oppose it openly, he employed some " lewd fel- 
 lows of the baser sort," who endeavored to break up the meet- 
 ings by throwing dust and brickbats into the court of the house 
 in which it was held. The attempt failed, however, for blind 
 Makhiel and his friends retired into an inner room beyond reach 
 of the missiles. Upon this being known, they, with diabolical 
 cunning, directed their missiles into the court of an influential 
 Muslim whose house was adjacent, and they did so in such a 
 way that they appeared to come from the court of the house in 
 which the meeting was held. In consequence those who 
 attended the meetings were accused of holding nightly conven- 
 ticles for the purpose of disturbing their neighbors. Their 
 exculpatory statements were not listened to. The Muslim 
 sheikh of the village informed them that their pretense of 
 meeting for the worship of God rather aggravated than lessened 
 their offence, and that they would not be allowed to meet for 
 such a purpose unless they could produce a legal license to that 
 effect from the government. But, though thus compelled to 
 give up their formal meetings for a time, they often spoke one 
 to another. 
 
 From Asyut visits were occasionally made by the mission- 
 ary to some of the villages in the immediate neighborhood, and 
 Mutiah, Bagore and Waladiah were visited from time to time 
 by some of the theological students, when religious services of 
 a more or less formal character were held. From Medinah
 
 IN Egypt. 237 
 
 visits were made by the missionary to Sinoris and other places, 
 as well as to the homes of the people, while it was quite a 
 common occurrence for people to call on the missionary and his 
 assistants to discuss religious principles and practices, or to ask 
 questions and proofs for certain of our doctrines. 
 
 The work at Alexandria was perhaps affected less by the 
 general persecution than at any other station. The attendance 
 at the Sabbath service was encouraging, and the schools kept 
 up their numbers and efficiency, especially the girls' school, 
 which was under the efficient instruction of Miss Gregory, 
 who, though for a time her life was despaired of, was, through 
 the mercy of God, raised up again. 
 
 Much anxiety and labor fell upon the missionaries in upper 
 Egypt, and especially in Cairo, during the year, on account of 
 the latter being the headquarters of the government, and the 
 whole treatment of the difficult questions arising out of the per- 
 secutions, and their presentation to the consular authorities and 
 the government, had to be managed by them. Many letters to 
 the consular authorities, and some through them to the Egypt- 
 ian government, had to be carefully prepared, long Arabic letters 
 had to be translated, almost daily interviews with some official 
 had to be held, and the greatest tact had to be displayed in all 
 official interviews, so as to keep up friendly relations with all 
 concerned, and still make the arguments in favor of the action 
 desired as powerful as possible. It was on occasions such as 
 these, and in business of such a character, in which it was 
 necessary to appear before the "powers that be," that Dr. 
 Lansing's talents and personal qualities were especially valu- 
 able. In looking over the copies of letters written by him to 
 the American consul-general, to her Britannic majesty's consul- 
 general, to Ragib Pasha, to Sharif Pasha, to the secretary of 
 state at Washington, and to the secretary of the Board of For- 
 eign Missions, on those persecutions, I am convinced he must 
 have spent many an anxious hour writing with the midnight 
 lamp in order to bring about a favorable issue. 
 
 Unhappily, the policy of the United States government has 
 seemed often to be to afford American missionaries as little pro- 
 tection as possible, and at the time of the Coptic persecution of
 
 2 38 The American Mission 
 
 native Protestants, some of whom were in the employ of the 
 mission, the reason for the indifference of the Egyptian govern- 
 ment to the communications of the United States consul was to 
 be found, either in knowing tl^at he had no interest at heart in 
 the issues involved, or that his government would not sustain 
 him in enforcing his opinions upon the Egyptian government. 
 The feeling that there was a want of sympathy either on the 
 part of the representative of the United States in Egypt, or 
 that the home authorities would not sustain any vigorous policy 
 he might attempt to pursue, did, I know, weigh heavily upon 
 Dr. Lansing's mind while conducting the negotiations, and added 
 quite naturally to the burden, the chief part of which he had 
 to bear. 
 
 Notwithstanding these anxieties and duties, which fell 
 heavily upon the missionaries in Cairo, the work at the station 
 went forward in all its departments, Mr. Strang having charge 
 of the school for boys, Mrs. Lansing the boarding school for 
 girls and the girls' day school in the Ezbekiyah, and Miss Hart 
 the girls' school in Haret-es-Sakkain, and Dr. Barnett in charge 
 of the native church, in which Dr. Lansing also took his turn 
 in conducting religious services, both in Arabic and English, dur- 
 ing the winter months, and in Arabic during the summer. 
 
 At Asyut; also, even in the midst of all the excitement and 
 opposition, the work went forward on its various lines. It is 
 true the schools suffered, as far as the number of pupils was 
 concerned, the attendance at the girls' school being greater than at 
 the boys'. Miss McKown became convinced, too, during the year, 
 that what was needed then for the girls v^-as a place in which 
 those from the country could find a Christian home during the 
 night as well as during the day. Private lessons were given 
 by Mrs. Hogg to some of the women, and the blind girls com- 
 menced to learn to read in Mr. Moon's books in embossed 
 characters. In the theological class instruction was given in 
 various branches, such as evidences, systematic theology, 
 church history and the Hebrew language. Brother Hogg was 
 fortunate in having with him for a few months Mr. Muir, a 
 theological student of the Free Church of Scotland, who ren- 
 dered him efficient aid for a time.
 
 IN tGYPT. 239 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 1868— staff of missionaries and their movements— Affairs in Kus— Spread of 
 the truth— Sickness of pastor-elect -Fears and forebodings— Encouraging acces- 
 sion— Dr. Johnston arrives at Asyut— Theological class— Names of inquirers at 
 Asyut— Cause of their fears— Power of the priests— Dr. Hogg's e.xhortation before 
 leaving for Cario— "The Kus Winnowing Fan "—Meetings in Father Paul's 
 house— The boy Shenooda Hanna. the reader — His advice— A\eetings at house of 
 Athanasius — At the bishop's — Shenooda's troubles and the result- Large meet- 
 ing on Dr. Hogg's return— E.xcommunications— Counterblast on intemperance pro- 
 posed by Mr. Hanna Buktor— Attempt to read it in Coptic church— Altered tactics 
 of the Patriarch — Hanna Buktor and others make open profession — Case of the 
 carpenters and the marriage ceremony— Clerical plans frustrated— Visit of Metro- 
 politan—Work in places near Asyut— In the Faiyum— Cairo— Ale.xandria— Return 
 of Brothers Ewing and Watson from America. 
 
 At the beginning of this year, Rev, B. F. Pinkerton and 
 Miss S. Gregory were in Alexandria ; Rev. J. Barnett, D. D., 
 Rev. G. Lansing, D. D., Mr. D. Strang and Miss Hart in Cairo ; 
 Rev. W. Harvey in the Faiyum ; Rev. J. Hogg, D. D., Miss 
 McKown in Asyut, and Rev. E. Currie in Kus ; the Revs. S. C. 
 Ewing and A. Watson were still in America. 
 
 At the meeting of presbytery, held in Cairo in January and 
 February, it was arranged that, should Dr. Lansing be compelled 
 to take a change, either to Syria or Great Britain, on account 
 of ill health, Dr. Hogg would take his place in Cairo, chiefly for 
 the purpose of preparing matter for the press, and performing 
 the duties of editor, and such other work as he might be able to 
 do. Accordingly, we find Dr. Hogg in Cairo in April, where he 
 remained, except for a few weeks in Ramleh, until he left for 
 Asyut, about the istof September, for, on Dr. Lansing's return 
 from Syria in May, he found his health in such a precarious 
 state that he left almost immediately for Great Britain, where 
 he spent the rest of the year. His wife and three sons accom- 
 panied him to Liverpool, the two eldest going home to America 
 to be educated, while the youngest remained with his parents. 
 For a short time during the summer, Mr. Strang was absent in 
 Syria, on account of the illness of his wife. Such, in brief,
 
 240 The American Mission 
 
 were the "locale" and movements of the missionaries during 
 the year. 
 
 Beginning with Kus, the station then farthest to the south, 
 it appears that after the safe return of Uncle Fam and his com- 
 panions from their threatened banishment, the work of the Lord 
 went forward with quiet and steady progress. The restoration 
 of the persecuted brethren to their homes had a very great 
 moral effect in favor of the spread of the evangelical truth, both 
 in Kus itself and in all the country. It was seen that they who 
 were for the Protestants, if not more numerous, were at least 
 more powerful than those who were against them, and it was 
 generally agreed that the Lord Himself had interposed on behalf 
 of those who had so implicitly put their trust in Him. 
 
 On account of the troublous times through which the con- 
 gregation was passing, when the committee of presbytery for 
 the induction of Rev. Makhiel as pastor visited Kus, it was 
 thought best to delay the installation to a more favorable time, 
 and the pastor-elect, being laid aside by sickness about the be- 
 ginning of the year, left for Cairo, where he remained during 
 the following seven months. In his absence. Uncle Fam, who 
 had not been re-employed by the government, spent his time 
 in going from house to house, reading and explaining the Word, 
 day after day, and was always ready to take part in conducting 
 the public religious meetings, whether held in the evening, dur- 
 ing the week, or on Sabbath day. The attendance also contin- 
 ued to improve, and persons from neighboring towns began to 
 drop in frequently at the services, and made calls on Uncle Fam, 
 on the teacher in the school, or on Mr. Currie. 
 
 » An attempt was made by the Coptic priests to prevent the 
 parents of some of the children from sending their children to 
 the Protestant school, and when they did not succeed — on ac- 
 count of the parents' insisting that the American school was 
 much better than that of the Copts, especially because of its 
 decidedly religious character — ^then they conceived the strange 
 plan of introducing some of the Protestant text-books into the 
 Coptic school, and began with Brown's little book of " Questions 
 and Answers on the First Principles of the Christian Religion," 
 purchasing the book of the mission until the supply ran out.
 
 IN EGYPT. 241 
 
 They also introduced the Westminster Shorter Catechism. 
 One man produced a copy of Brown's question-book, and on 
 being asked where he got it, he said, " Oh, when the Patriarch 
 was here he commanded all such books to be burnt ; I took the 
 precaution to bury mine in the ground, lest it might be taken 
 and burned." But while the work in general prospered, and 
 the brethren were generally allowed to live in peace and quiet- 
 ude, every now and then some rumor would be spread abroad 
 of approaching trouble, or some movement made which indicated 
 that the dangerous elements were still at work. 
 
 " One day a policeman came from the governor of Kena," 
 says Brother Currie, " and took Malaty Khalil, one of our best 
 young men, in great haste, not allowing him to go to his house 
 after the summons. This gave us much anxiety, as we could 
 get no clue as to the design of such a sudden seizure. When 
 Malaty arrived and reported himself to the governor, he was 
 told by his excellency that he was to be sent as a scribe to the 
 Sudan. The governor proceeded to ask concerning his knowl- 
 edge of the work of a government scribe, but as he had never 
 been in the service, he assured the governor that he was not 
 acquainted with it. To our great joy, he was allowed to return 
 home the next day. Upon the heels of this came the informa- 
 tion that the names of all our men were written down for the 
 forced labor of the government, i. e., to go in the hottest season 
 of this hot climate to make the grading of the railway, where 
 they fill baskets with earth, carry them on their shoulders and 
 dump them down on the embankment. This, to many, would 
 be equivalent to a sentence of death." 
 
 It afterwards came to light that the names were taken for 
 the purpose mentioned, but the government inspector-general, 
 Abu Sultan, an intelligent, upright man, hearing of it, revoked 
 the unjust order of the governor. A case of the government 
 against the scribes of Kena for embezzlement (the very same 
 scribes who had conspired against Uncle Fam and his friends, 
 and had urged on the governor to banish them), was also exam- 
 ined into by the same inspector-general, and finding that there 
 was danger of a failure of justice if left in the hands of the gov- 
 ernor, he took it out of his hands, and by the testimony of Fam 
 16
 
 242 The American Mission 
 
 and others, found them guilty, and they were punished. " The 
 issue of the case," says Mr. Currie, " has not only silenced the 
 Coptic scribes of Kena, who were the great enemies and perse- 
 cutors of all in the province who professed Protestantism, but 
 also had a cheering influence on all our friends, and many, be- 
 fore silenced by fear, now give expression to an evangelical 
 belief." 
 
 Writing from Kus, on August 14, Brother Currie says : 
 ** The evangelical work in Kus, and in the towns and villages 
 around, has been making cheerful progress ; there have been 
 some special tokens of tlie Divine blessing upon our people in 
 Kus. Especially in the matter of personal and family religion 
 has there been cheering progress, besides their attendance at 
 our family prayer-meeting and our regular preaching on the 
 Sabbath. In many cases the husband and wife were not both 
 enlightened persons, and of course in such cases the hindrances 
 of family worship are very great But, O ! how true it is that 
 there can be no true and permanent success in any congrega- 
 tion, at home or in foreign lands, unless the pure religion of our 
 blessed Saviour has its vital growth in the family. On July 5, 
 the members sat down at the table of the Lord for the first tim.e 
 after these days of persecution, and there were added to the 
 twenty-five received by Dr. Lansing, thirteen more on profes- 
 sion of their faith in Christ, and determination to live for his 
 glory in acknowledgment of the grace given them in Christ 
 Jesus for the salvation of their souls. It was," wrote Mr. Cur- 
 rie, " a solemn and delightful communion season. There were 
 many present as spectators who are enlightened in the great 
 truths of the Gospel, and were much interested in witnessing 
 the observance of this memorial of the death of our dear Re- 
 deemer, and some of them expressed their desire to be received 
 into fellowship at the next communion season." Rev. Makhiel 
 returned to Kus in time to care for the congregation, in the ab- 
 sence of Brother Currie in the Delta, until the end of the 
 year. 
 
 Coming down the river to Asyut, the next central station 
 after Kus, we find in the history of the work there during 1868 
 so much that is interesting and encouraging, and so different
 
 IN EGYPT. 245 
 
 from the condition of tilings in 1867, tiiat, as it martcs the be- 
 ginning of the work which from that time grew and widened in 
 many directions, we will have to give it considerable more 
 space than we can afford to any other station, but I think tiie 
 reader will be glad to have me do so. The various missionary 
 operations carried on in 1867 continued, with the exception tliat 
 the theological class was suspended from March to September, 
 during Dr. Hogg's absence in Cairo, and the girls' school was 
 closed for tv/o and a half months during the heat of summer, 
 Miss McKown venturing to stay on without the presence of a 
 missionary family till midsummer. Girgis Malaik had charge 
 of the evangelistic work, and Mikhail Bishai of the boys' school 
 during Dr. Hogg's absence. 
 
 Dr. D. R. Johnston and wife, under appointment of the 
 Board for medical work in Asyut, sailed from New York on May 
 21, and from Liverpool June 13, reaching Alexandria July i. 
 They remained in Alexandria July and August, and reached 
 Asyut near the end of September, and were warmly welcomed, 
 not only by the mission family, but also by the natives in gen- 
 eral, who were glad to have near them a Christian physician to 
 whom they could apply in case of need. 
 
 Twenty-three persons attended the theological class, which 
 was reopened on September 15. Not more than half of these, 
 however, could be regarded as theological students in the west- 
 ern sense of the term — some, on account of their youth, others 
 on account of the deficiency in their early training, and some 
 from the fact that they were not expected to become nati\-e 
 pastors. It was hoped, however, that all would receive such 
 profit that in the incipient state of the work they would be 
 useful in various and in different circumstances. 
 
 The attendance at the boys' school increased to forty, half 
 of whom were from Asyut, an encouraging sign of the progress 
 of the work in the town. These went home at night, but those 
 from the villages were practically boarders, so they were under 
 the immediate eye of the missionaries night and day, only they 
 were supported by their friends. 
 
 The attendance at the girls' school was never higher than 
 eighteen, but there was greater regularity than during any
 
 244 The American Mission 
 
 former year. Ten of them had learned to read in the New Tes- 
 tament, and three were accustomed to go out and teach women 
 who desired to learn to read. At the end of the year there 
 were twelve married women learning to read, four of whom at- 
 tended school as boarders. They provided their own bread, 
 other expenses being charged to the mission. This was, in 
 fact, the beginning of the boarding school in Asyut. 
 
 In giving an account of interesting incidents in Asyut for 
 1868, Dr. Hogg writes as follows: " Although often dejected 
 and grieved in spirit at the blindness of mind and hardness of 
 heart of the so-called Christian population of Asyut, we never 
 entirely lost heart concerning them. In a city with a popula- 
 tion of 35,000, one-fifth of whom are Copts, there could not 
 fail to be a few inquiring minds who, having heard an evangel- 
 ical sermon, would like to hear another, even at the risk of 
 exposing themselves to the animadversions of the Coptic clergy. 
 Until the present year the number of such has been small, but 
 there have always been a few. Marcus Habl, the carpenter 
 who made the school forms when the mission was first opened ; 
 his cousin Athanasius, the wheelwright ; Kheir, the miller ; She- 
 nooda Hanna, the dux of the Coptic school ; Feltus, the gold- 
 smith ; Hanna and Fakhr, the sons of the * disciple ' of the 
 bishop of Asyut — these, and one or two others, including our 
 friend Mr. Wasif Khayat, and some of his employes, have 
 attended our meetings more or less openly from the first. Even 
 during the Patriarch's visit last year, when the storm raged so 
 strong that even Mr. W. Khayat was afraid to accompany me 
 to Ekhmim to assist in investigating Elder Bishetly's case, 
 several whose names I have mentioned came daily to the mis- 
 sion house to inform us of what was going on in the enemy's 
 camp. If we had held only one or two religious services a 
 week, it would have been impossible for these timid Nicode- 
 muses to elude the vigilance of the clerical spies ; but having a 
 meeting every night and three on Sabbath day, it was impos- 
 sible for the priests to watch them so strictly as to prevent them 
 from attending at least occasionally. Some of them came by 
 different streets on different nights, and when questioned as to 
 where they were going they pretended they were going to call
 
 IN Egypt. 
 
 245 
 
 on friends. The number of those who came by stealth is 
 greater at present than it has ever been before. It is not the 
 priests they fear so much, but their own relatives and friends, 
 in a country where it is almost a sin for a young man to marry 
 out of his own family connections, and he, though perhaps the 
 father of a large family, has no power of independent action 
 while his father lives. The priests by stirring up the clan feel- 
 ing against the parents of the delinquent are able to wield an 
 almost unlimited influence. The existence of perhaps nearly 
 half a million Copts in Egypt after twelve centuries of oppres- 
 sion, under a government which holds an opposite creed, is a 
 tangible proof of this, and it is our present hope that the Spirit of 
 God may yet serve Himself of these close clan relationships, by 
 which a whole family of ten or twenty is made responsible for 
 the acts of one of its members, and transform these iron fet 
 ters into cords of love, by which to draw not only individuals 
 but v/hole families into the fold of the Saviour. 
 
 " When we left for Cairo on the 7th of March, it was cur- 
 rently reported in Asyut that we had taken our final departure. 
 You need not marvel at this, for it had been their constant wish 
 ever since we came, and their idea has been that if they could 
 only empty our schools for a time, we would pick up our goods 
 and leave for a more promising field. Even at this late date, and 
 with all our recent success, the bishop of Asyut still cherish.es 
 this forlorn hope. Two days ago, Shenooda Hanna's* mother, 
 when rebuked by him for telling a falsehood, gave the follow- 
 ing retort : * Out with you, and your Protestant notions. 
 Khawaja Hogg is going away soon, and then you and your 
 father will be as good Copts as the rest of us. You will think 
 no more then of telling a lie than I do.' 
 
 " A night or two before our departure for Cairo, I had a 
 long conversation with Marcus, Athanasius and Kheir. I told 
 them that I believed God had called us to go to Cairo in order to 
 give them the opportunity of carrying forward the work. It 
 had now arrived at a stage at which they could forward it more 
 effectively than we. Many had become so far interested as to 
 have begun to read the Scriptures. Nothing but deeply-rooted 
 
 * Now Rev. Shenooda Hanna, of Sinoris.
 
 246 The American Mission 
 
 prejudice was preventing these from receiving and embracing 
 the truth. It was in their power to do much to remove this 
 prejudice. They were still Copts, and although their frequent 
 visits to the mission house had occasionally brought them under 
 suspicion, there would be no cause to suspect them during our 
 absence. Many would attend an evening meeting at one of 
 their houses, who would not dare to come near us. The Spirit 
 of God would be their teacher if they asked His aid. They 
 made no promise, but they were evidently impressed. 
 
 " About a month, or six weeks, after our departure, Rev. 
 Makhiel passed by Asyut on his way up to Kus. He had in 
 his possession a copy of the new tract called * The Kus Win- 
 nowing Fan,* a discussion which took place in writing between 
 the evangelicals of Kus and Priest Feltios of Tantah. Father 
 Buktor got the copy from him and gave him money to buy 
 another when a supply should come on. He took the book to 
 a house occupied by some evangelical monks from the Deir el- 
 Moliarrak, and which during their stay is a place of rendezvous 
 for all inquirers who had not boldness enough to come to the 
 mission house. One of these monks, Priest Boulas, the 
 brother of the late abbot of the convent just mentioned, and 
 who had said to me in the presence of twenty or thirty of the 
 monks, when I visited the convent in 1862: * We pray much 
 for you missionaries. We believe you to be the angel men- 
 tioned in the Apocalypse, Revelation 14:6.' When Father 
 Buktor presented ' The Winnowing Fan ' to the company 
 assembled at Priest Boulas' home, it was handed to the boy 
 Shenooda, who read it aloud while Kheir turned up all the pas- 
 sages, and Athanasius gave explanations. All who were pres- 
 ent on the first day were more or less enlightened men, and 
 Athanasius could speak out his mind freely without any dan- 
 ger ; but the affair got noised abroad and on the second or third 
 day several strangers called to hear the readings, and amongst 
 others Mr. Abd el-Malak Surian, whom the Patriarch had re- 
 cently appointed superintendent of the Coptic school and lay- 
 head of the sect. On the entrance of this dignitary Athanasius' 
 power of exposition suddenly failed him, Shenooda, however, 
 continued to read, but Athanasius withdrew to a distant cor-
 
 IN EGYPT. 
 
 247 
 
 ner of the room. Shenooda knew very well what ailed him, 
 and he twitted him so mercilessly that he was fain to return to 
 his post, and continue his explanations. Point after point was 
 brought up : transubstantiation, the worship of the virgin, 
 etc., etc., and though Athanasius did his utmost to conceal his 
 own views when attempting to balance the arguments of the 
 disputing parties, he could do so no longer when the question 
 was put to him point blank, * What do you believe.? Which of 
 the two has the truth with him?' In a few days fifty copies of 
 ' The Winnowing Fan' arrived from Cairo and simultaneously 
 with the sale of the book was the news spread through the 
 town, * Athanasius says the people of Kus have beaten Feltios 
 in the argument. Our champion has deserted us, Athanasius 
 is in league with the Protestants.' 
 
 " The news of the defection of Athanasius caused great talk 
 and stir in the town. All kinds of absurd stories were gotten 
 up to account for it, but that which gained most currency was 
 that he had been bought over by the mission for the respecta- 
 ble sum of $750. One afternoon the conversation fell upon 
 this subject at Priest Boulas' house, where Shenooda, the 
 youngest present, addressed the party somewhat as follows : 
 'Since the people will have it that we are Protestants, and 
 give it out that some of us are in the pay of the American mis- 
 sion, what do we gain by attempting to keep up false appear- 
 ances ? If we are to be persecuted, let us be persecuted for 
 Christ's sake and the Gospel's, and then we shall have the 
 Master's blessing.' Priest Girgis, who was present, suggested 
 that they should lay the matter before God. When he had 
 prayed a paper was drawn up to the effect that the under- 
 signed would make it their endeavor to meet every night at the 
 house of Athanasius for the purpose of studying together the 
 Word of God, and inviting all who chose to join with them. 
 It was signed by ten or twelve at once, and the meeting began 
 that same night. Numerous attempts were made by the 
 priests and Abd el-Malak Surian to induce Athanasius to lea\'e 
 off, but he steadily refused to do so. He maintained, more- 
 over, that he was no more a Protestant than they, and that it 
 was as much the duty of the priests as it was his to meet
 
 248 The American Mission 
 
 together for the study of the Scriptures. Other members of 
 the laity spoke in the same strain. A public meeting was 
 called and a resolution was passed to the effect that a meeting 
 would be held every night in the bishop's house from two hours 
 before till one after sunset for the purpose of studying the 
 Word of God in the vernacular, and that any priest who should 
 absent himself without cause from the meeting would be re- 
 ported to the Patriarch and degraded from his office. Athana- 
 sius and his associates (about fifteen in number) agreed to 
 attend these meetings on condition that the Scriptures alone 
 should be read, a condition which at first was agreed to by all. 
 Although it had been agreed to avoid all discussions on contro- 
 verted points at the evening meetings, one of the priests the 
 very first night asked Shenooda to read the sixth chapter of the 
 Gospel by John, his object being to establish the doctrine of 
 transubstantiation. This led to a discussion and gave the tone 
 to all subsequent meetings. Large numbers were drawn 
 together for a number of nights in succession from pure curi- 
 osity. At one time as many as two hundred were present. 
 Priest Hanna conducted the meeting, i. e., he selected the chap- 
 ters to be read and called upon any whom he chose to read and 
 expound. He was afraid to read himself, or call on any brother 
 priest to do so, for the young men of Athanasius' party had 
 Bibles and candles in their hands, and they corrected most un- 
 mercifully even the slightest mistake made by any priest in 
 reading or explaining the lesson. They took particular pains 
 to show off the ignorance of the spiritual guides of the people. 
 This indeed was no difficult matter. ' Who is meant. Father 
 Hanna, by the headstone of the corner ?' asked one of them 
 of the leader of the meeting. ' Now you like to pose us with 
 your difficult questions,' was his reply, 'and I don't choose 
 to give you any answer.' 'Because you can't.' ' If I can't, 
 you can; then what was the use of asking me?' Athanasius 
 was very averse to these squabblings, and they became rarer 
 after a time. Then those who came for curiosity's sake drop- 
 ped off by degrees, until after three weeks from the time the 
 meetings began, not more than fifteen on an average attended 
 it. During this period they had read through the Gospels and
 
 Mummies in Wood.
 
 IN EGYPT. 249 
 
 the Acts of the Apostles. On opening the epistle to the 
 Romans, the priests rebelled and said they would only consent 
 to read the epistles on condition that the commentaries of 
 the fathers were read at the same time. They argued that 
 those who attended the meetings were still weak and needed 
 milk. ' True,' was the rejoinder, 'and therefore you wish us 
 to leave the true milk of the Word and go munching hard 
 crusts.' They refused to yield, and therefore Athanasius and 
 his party left in disgust and the meeting was shortly afterwards 
 broken up. Athanasius resumed his meeting, but with a some- 
 what smaller attendance than formerly. Shortly afterwards he 
 had to go to do some work in the town of Mutiah, and he was 
 still absent when we returned from Cairo in the beginning of 
 September. 
 
 " Meanwhile, Shenooda had got into trouble. The causes 
 of his trouble were chietly these three : Firstly, he had taken a 
 prominent part in all the discussions and had invariably de- 
 fended the Protestant doctrines on every point brought up. 
 Secondly, he had been meeting with some of his companions in 
 the Coptic school, for the study of the Scriptures and prayer, 
 and this not only during week days in one of the school rooms, 
 but also in his own house on Sabbath afternoons. Lastly, he 
 had written a long letter to Father Paul after the hatter's de- 
 parture from Asyut, and in the letter he htxl said of the people 
 in Asyut, in general, that they seemed to have stopped their 
 ears with clay, in orLijr not to hear the voice of God speaking 
 to them in His holy Word. The letter was taken out of his 
 pocket while he slept one night at a convent outside of the 
 town. A copy of it was sent to the Patriarch of Cairo, and ^ 
 nearly twenty copies are now in circulation among the priests 
 and people of Asyut. His story is a long and very touching 
 one. From being the pet of the Coptic school, nay of the 
 whole town, he was made the laughing stock of all. 'Make 
 way for the young bishop !' * Here comes the grave confessor !* 
 * Have I, too, got clay in my ears, Shenooda ?' By these and 
 similar taunts he was assailed on every side, in the school and 
 out of it, until he was obliged for a time to remain at home to 
 escape from his tormentors. If we had returned a week sooner 
 
 y
 
 250 The American Mission 
 
 his father would have allowed him to come to our school at once, 
 but the teachers of the Coptic school being aware of this, got 
 his uncles, who are bigoted Copts, to interfere, and Shenooda 
 was sent back to school just two days before our return. He 
 called on us almost immediately after our arrival, and told me 
 the story of his trials. He called again next day, and we 
 prayed together, and I never heard a boy of fourteen years of 
 age make such a prayer. A fortnight after our return the 
 excitement ran so high that Shenooda's father forbade him com- 
 ing near us, and threatened to punish him severely if he 
 accosted any of us even in the street. Meanwhile, Dr. John- 
 ston had arrived, and Shenooda, when debarred from coming to 
 us, contrived to visit him every day in order to have the bene- 
 fit of his counsels and prayers. Shenooda, having learned a 
 little English, took his younger brother, who had sore eyes, 
 and thus saved appearances for a time. One day, however, 
 his brother went alone, taking the following note from She- 
 nooda : 
 
 " ' D. R. JOHNSTON, 
 
 "' Dear Sir — 1 am very sorry that 1 was hindered from 
 coming to you by my parents' relatives, and all our neighbors, 
 but I hope that all this enemy will finally do better. Please 
 give my brother some medicine for his eyes, and send me a 
 little piece of paper to tell me about the price of the former 
 ones and the latter that they may be sent. Pray that God 
 may encourage us. 
 
 " ' S. Hanna.' 
 
 " It was more than a month after this ere ' all his enemy ' 
 commenced 'to do better,' but Shenooda's prayers and ours 
 were answered at last and in a way not anticipated by us. A 
 commission was sent by the viceroy to examine the schools in 
 upper Egypt connected with the government. The Coptic 
 school was examined with the rest. The head teacher of the 
 school tried to prevent Shenooda from being examined, and 
 when challenged by Mr. Weesa Buktor for attempting to de- 
 grade the cleverest boy in the school, replied that Shenooda was 
 clever in preaching and praying, but in nothing else. She- 
 nooda had meanwhile gone out, and Mr. Weesa caused him to 
 be sent for and examined like the rest of the class. The gov-
 
 IN Egypt. 251 
 
 ernor of the province of Asyut, who was present, told Mr. 
 Weesa afterwards that Rafia Bey had marked Shenooda No. i. 
 Shenooda's father had never believed the boy's report of his 
 treatment in the Coptic school, but now he doubted its truth no 
 longer, and from that day till now Shenooda has been in attend- 
 ance at the theological class, and his father has been a constant 
 attendant at all our religious services. At the instance of Mr. 
 Hanna Buktor, the latter at one time gave up drinking Arab 
 whiskey, to which he was greatly addicted, but he resumed it 
 again because his friends accused him of joining the Protes- 
 tants ! Now, however, he glories in total abstinence and also 
 in his Protestantism, and when the governor of Asyut ordered 
 him to send his boy back to the Coptic school he answered the 
 pasha that the thing was impossible. If obliged to take him 
 away from the seminary, he would send him to learn a trade, 
 but he would not send him back to the Coptic school. A special 
 thanksgiving service was held by the brethren in Mr. Wasif's 
 house on the Sabbath after Shenooda's deliverance. Hanna 
 Buktor had asked him what he would do if the Lord answered 
 his prayers, would he preach a sermon .? * Yes,' said he, ' I 
 will,' and he did so, choosing for his text the great burden of 
 all our preaching : * God so loved the world,' etc. 
 
 " We arrived in Asyut on Wednesday forenoon, September 
 9, and commenced an evening service that same night. The 
 attendance was nearly twice as large as it was previous to our 
 departure for Cairo. The number of lanterns moving along 
 the street in all directions three hours after sunset, as the 
 worshipers dispersed and returned to their dwellings, soon made 
 the clergy aware of what was going on, and having suborned a 
 young man, the bishop's nephew, who came one night and 
 wrote down the names of the Asyutians present, they drew up 
 a roll which was read in church on Sabbath, September 26, de- 
 nouncing all who attended our meetings, but without mention- 
 ing any names. This had a threefold effect, it drove away 
 some- ; it brought others who had not heard of our meetings ; it 
 made some take a bolder stand than they had iiitherto done. 
 Among the last-mentioned was Athanasius and his brothers, 
 Marcus and his brothers, and Mr. Hanna Bulctor, brother of Mr.
 
 252 The American Mission 
 
 Wesa Buktor, the American consular-agent at Kena. These 
 were singled out and a special curse was issued against them, 
 except Mr. Hanna Bulrtor, whom they dared not mention by- 
 name on account of his high position. This took place on Fri- 
 day, October 2, the feast of St. Badir, the patron saint of the 
 church at Asyut. Mr. Hanna Buktor called on the bishop, and 
 asked him why he had omitted his name, since he was as great 
 a defaulter as the poor carpenters. *I know that quite well,' 
 replied the old man, * but you and your brother and Mr. Wasif 
 got a special dispensation from the Patriarch last year.' Hanna 
 replied that he did not want a special dispensation from the 
 Patriarch or anyone else. If it was a sin for the carpenters to 
 attend Dr. Hogg's meetings, it was a sin for him to do so, too, 
 and no dispensation of the Patriarch would alter the moral char- 
 acter of his action in the matter. * I am ready, moreover,' he 
 added, ' to give over attending the night meetings at the mission 
 house upon two conditions, viz.: That you read a haram * next 
 Sabbath against all who use intoxicating drinks ; and, secondly, 
 that you open a night meeting in the church for the study of the 
 Scriptures, and grant permission to all of every creed to attend 
 it, even the American missionary, if he chooses to do so.* The 
 bishop actually gave Mr. Hanna permission to read a paper 
 against the drinking of arrack, t and the latter, satisfied v\-ith 
 this concession, and hoping that the other would be granted ere 
 long, came straight to the mission house along with Mr. Wasif 
 and another man, and begged of me to draw up as strong a paper 
 as possible against the use of arrack, as a counterblast to the 
 haram of the previous day. I set to work at once and prepared 
 an article such as Mr. Hanna Buktor wanted, exposing the vice 
 of drunkenness, especially in those who held the sacred office of 
 the ministry of the Gospel. It was written chiefly in the words 
 of Scripture, and there was added to it at the close the orthodox 
 apostolic haram : ' If any man that is called a brother be a 
 fornicator, or covetous, or an idolator, or a railer, or a drunk- 
 ard, or an exi:ortioner, with such a one, no, not to eat.' Next 
 day at the close of the mass, Mr. Hanna Buktor called out aloud 
 to the officiating priest that he had an address which he wished 
 * Excommunication, t Whiskey.
 
 IN Egypt. 253 
 
 to be read to the congregation, and that the bishop had given 
 his consent to its being read. 
 
 " ' We know what you wish to be at,' the priest replied, in 
 great dudgeon ; ' you wish to lower us in tlie eyes of the people, 
 in order to lead them astray at your will. We know our duty 
 without asking you to come and teach us.' 
 
 "Mr. Hanna replied that if he did perhaps others did not. 
 * The paper I wish to read would do no harm to you or to any- 
 one else who wanted to lead a Christian life.' Only two da\s 
 ago the people had been publicly reproved for the sin of reading 
 the Bible. There was another sin of which a much greater 
 number of them were guilty, the sin of drunkenness. ' The 
 paper which I hold in my hand exposes this sin, and 1 am re- 
 solved that it shall be read.' 
 
 " * It shall not be read,' was the curt reply. 
 
 " * Then you hold it is unlawful to read the Bible, and law- 
 ful to drink arrack.? ' 
 
 " ' Yes, it is lawful to drink arrack,' replied the priest. 
 
 " A scene of indescribable confusion followed, some calling 
 out one thing and some another. An attempt was made to read 
 the paper, but not a word of it could be heard ; and at length, 
 seeing the uselessness of persisting in the attempt, Mr. Hanna 
 Buktor called out to his companions to come off with him to the 
 mission house, 'and leave Ephraim to his idols.' 
 
 " The priest then became thoroughly alarmed at the aspect 
 of affairs. With Mr. Hanna Buktor and Mr. Wasif Khayat at 
 their head (two of the richest men in Asyut), the Protestant 
 sect would become a power in the city. Something must be 
 done. Several attempts were made to bring about a compro- 
 mise, but Mr. Hanna Buktor stuck to the second condition men- 
 tioned above, to wit., that a meeting be opened in the church 
 for the study of the Bible, to which all, even the Muslims, be 
 invited to come if they wished. 
 
 " ' I am quite willing,' he said one day to a deputation of 
 the leading members of the laity, who called upon him to try 
 and bring him round, ' I am quite willing to allow you to decide 
 for yourselves as to the propriety or impropriety of allowing the 
 Protestants to attend our meetings, and 1 am prepared to abide
 
 2 54 The AMERICAN Mission 
 
 by your decision. Let us invite Dr. Hogg to any place you 
 may fix upon, and ask him to read and explain a chapter of the 
 Bible. If his exposition please you, invite him to our meetings. 
 If it does not please you, I v/ill not press my proposal.' ' He 
 will be with us,' was their reply, * No,' said he, * the Gospel 
 hook will lay hold of you.' 
 
 " This negotiation failed. Hanna continued to attend all 
 our meetings, and he never came alone. In their perplexity, a 
 special messenger was sent to Cairo to inform the Patriarch of 
 Mr. Hanna Buktor's defection, and asking him to do whatever 
 his wisdom might direct in the premises. The Patriarch's re- 
 ply was very different from what the priests had expected. 
 Not a word of reference was made to the ' White Nile ' or to 
 the viceroy's wrath. The priests were blamed for having acted 
 foolishly, and charged to try what they could do to win him 
 back. He apostrophized his dear son, Hanna, and told him he 
 never expected this of him, and concluded by beseeching him 
 to beware of causing his weak brethren to offend, and bringing 
 upon himself the woes mentioned in the Gospel. 
 
 " Before this letter arrived, Mr. Hanna had expressed his 
 desire to unite with us in church fellowship, and the arrival of 
 the epistle in no way altered his desire. A message had been 
 sent him the previous Sabbath, October i8, from the Saviour 
 Himself, in a sermon preached by me from Luke 14: 15-24, in- 
 viting him to the sacramental feast, and although he saw himself 
 to be the chief of sinners and unworthy of the lowest seat at 
 such a feast, neither bishop nor Patriarch would prevent his 
 accepting his Saviour's invitation. 
 
 " But what of the carpenters? The haram of October 2 
 had been mainly directed against them, and indeed they were 
 mentioned in it by name. Their case was very different from 
 Mr. Hanna Buktor's. He, as the elder of two brothers whose 
 parents are dead, and who have risen from poverty to the 
 highest position in the town, was free to act as he chose. They 
 (Marcus and Athanasius) have each a number of brothers and 
 sisters older and younger than themselves, and three of their 
 parents are still alive, and all their relatives were brought 
 under the haram, as well as they. To complicate matters still
 
 IN Egypt. 
 
 255 
 
 more, there was a proposal of marriage between one of Marcus' 
 brothers and a sister of Athanasius, and the wedding had been 
 fixed to take place on the evening of the 4th of October. Tb.e 
 bishop was aware of tliis, for he had been asked to perform the 
 ceremony and had intimated his willingness to do so at the 
 time. The priests saw the opportunity, and obliged the bishop 
 (who is a mere tool in their hands) to issue the second haram 
 before the marriage would take place, and to state distinctly at 
 the close of it that if any priest should venture to marry them 
 until Marcus and Athanasius had recanted their errors and re- 
 turned to the bosom of their mother Church, he would be de- 
 graded from his holy office and reported to the Patriarch. 
 Marcus, uho had previously invited us all to the marriage, and 
 had consented, at my request, that it should take place on Sat- 
 urday afternoon instead of Sabbath evening, did his utmost to 
 persuade his parents and brothers to allow me to conduct the 
 ceremony, and have the priests to bite their fingers in impotent 
 despair. His brothers were all willing, except the one most 
 deeply interested, i.e., the bridegroom, but the old folks would 
 not hear of it, and his father went off to the bishop on Saturday 
 morning, accompanied by Athanasius, the brother of the bride, 
 and several of the leading members of the Coptic sect, in order to 
 compound matters, if possible. Marcus followed them, deter- 
 mined in his mind thatthey should not bind him over to any course 
 of conduct which his conscience disapproved. ' You must give 
 your solemn promise,' said the bishop to him, 'that you will cease 
 henceforth to frequent the meetings at the American mission 
 .house, otherwise the haram shall continue in force against you 
 and all your relatives.' ' Here is my answer,' Marcus replied, with 
 great spirit, while some of those present tried to pre\-ent him from 
 speaking. ' Though your haram stretched from hea\-en to 
 earth, I trample it under my feet. You have no right to pre- 
 vent me from reading God's Word, nor from hearing it 
 expounded by those who can explain it to me. Athanasius and 
 the rest may compromise matters as they choose, but l,for one, 
 shall not hold myself bound by their engagements.' So saying 
 he left the hall and came and told me what he had done. This 
 example, doubtless, had a great effect upon his timid cousin.
 
 256 The American Mission 
 
 for even he refused to give over attending our services. If 
 they could prove that our doctrines were contrary to the teach- 
 ino;s of the Bible, he would cease all communications with us 
 forthwith, but on no other condition. It was accordingly agreed 
 upon, after a long and fruitless discussion, that Priest Gabriel 
 should be sent for from Tahta, a town about thirty miles south 
 of Asyut, and that Athanasius should receive him into his 
 house and listen to his instructions. The said Gabriel is a one- 
 eyed monk of considerable mental acumen, who is regarded by 
 the Copts of upper Egypt as a very Solomon. Even Athana- 
 sius, up to date of his visit, regarded him with great respect. 
 1 met him one night in Mr. Wasif s house. Like all true Copts, 
 he stoutly denied the possibility of Christ being God, and yet 
 interceding for us in heaven, and in the course of a friendly 
 conversation with him on this subject I asked him if he would 
 not believe this doctrine, on which hangs the very life of every 
 true Christian, if I were to read six or seven passages in which 
 it was taught in so many words. ' No,' said he, ' I will not. I 
 cannot believe it. How can He be judge and intercessor in 
 one .-" He came when sent for by the bishop, and took up his 
 quarters at the house of Athanasius, but after two or three 
 weeks he found his own faith wavering on this very point. 
 Athanasius made several attempts to bring him to the mission 
 house, but, failing in this, some of the brethren called repeat- 
 edly on him and spent the evening in long discussions with him, 
 until they fairly drove him out of town. 
 
 " And what of the marriage ? Well, when Athanasius 
 promised to place himself under priest Gabriel's instructions 
 the bishop felt inclined to yield the point, and gave a kind of 
 half promise to perform the ceremony next Sabbath evening, 
 on his return from marrying two other couples that were to be 
 married the same night. On the strength of this promise the 
 preparations were proceeded with, and the bride was conducted 
 to the house of the bridegroom. It became apparent, however, 
 in the course of the day that the priests had resolved to pre- 
 vent the bishop from performing the ceremony, and when 
 evening came they sent to the governor for a bodyguard to 
 protect the bishop from being seized by the carpenters and
 
 IN Egypt. 
 
 257 
 
 obliged to perform the ceremony by force. As the hours of the 
 night advanced and no bishop appeared, Marcus repeated his 
 previous proposal that I should be sent for, but still the old peo- 
 ple held out. At last, when it was near the midnight hour and 
 all hope had vanished, it was agreed upon by all that ex-priest 
 Buktor who, before he became a Protestant, had occupied 
 nearly as high a position in the Coptic Church as the bishop 
 himself, should.be asked to marry the forlorn pair. In twenty 
 minutes they were one. 
 
 " The bishop, accompanied by the lay head of the Coptic 
 Church at Asyut, called on the governor next morning and 
 accused ex-priest Buktor of insubordination, but the governor 
 pretended not to hear them, and turned the conversation to 
 something else, thus giving them to understand that they must 
 settle their ecclesiastical quarrels among themselves. An effort 
 was made by the priests to induce the married pair to allow 
 them to perform the cermony over again, but it failed. Only 
 one resource was left them — the inevitable haram — but this 
 bugbear had lost its powers in the family of the carpenters." 
 
 I have quoted thus largely from articles written by Brother 
 Hogg, and published soon after the events took place, to show 
 the intense excitement, the opposition of the clergy, the great 
 obstacles that true inquirers met with at the beginning of the 
 wcrk in Asyut, and the mighty influence of Gospel truth to im- 
 part moral courage and carry the lover of it onward to over- 
 come every opposition and obstacle. hideed, these same 
 scenes were enacted over and over again at the beginning of 
 the work in every new place. As evidence of the change of 
 policy the Patriarch was obliged to use towards mission work 
 in Asyut, as soon as such public men as Mr. Hanna Buktor and 
 Mr. Wasif Khayat came out boldly on the side of Protestant- 
 ism. 1 will quote from a communication of Dr. Hogg's, written 
 at the time, concerning a visit of Amba Butros, the metropoli- 
 tan bishop of Cairo: "This important personage arrived in 
 Asyut on a health tour through upper Egypt when matters had 
 fairly reached a crisis. The clergy of the town rejoiced greatly 
 at his opportune appearance on the scene, and naturall\' ex- 
 pected that he would call the delinquents, even Mr. Hanna 
 
 17
 
 258 The American Mission 
 
 « 
 
 Buktor, to account, and put all things straight in a very short 
 time. They were doomed to be grievously disappointed. He 
 remained here (Asyut) over a fortnight on his way up the 
 river, and spent several days at the landing-place opposite the 
 town on his return. Mr. Hanna Buktor was in his company 
 nearly all the time, and indeed he was his guest, or Mr, Wasif 
 Khayat's, during the whole of his stay. When a large com- 
 pany was present, he generally was chary of committing him- 
 self, but when only two or three persons were present he 
 spok'e out freely. On such occasions he would say it is only 
 an affair of three or four years and the whole Coptic church 
 will be Protestant. Even now we say in Cairo, ' The Lord 
 build up the houses of the simpletons ! for it is all that is left to 
 us.' He refused to interfere in the troubles that were agitating 
 the sect, on the plea that he could not do so without instruc- 
 tions from the Patriarch, adding that if the Patriarch had given 
 him authority to interfere he would have removed the present 
 head of the sect and appointed Mr. Hanna Buktor or Mr. Wasif 
 Khayat in his stead ; that he would have given the latter per- 
 mission to open an evening meeting in the church for the study 
 of the Scriptures, and to bring the cleverest Protestant that 
 could be had, especially one who knew enough English to con- 
 sult the commentaries in that language (as they did at the 
 meeting of the patriarchate in Cairo), and the priest that was 
 too proud to learn would have to choose another calling, for he 
 was unfit to be a teacher of the people. He was Hanna Buk- 
 tor's guest when the latter joined in communion. Hanna Buk- 
 tor told him what he had done. ' May the Lord give you grace 
 to act up to your profession,' was the matran's reply. ' I 
 would have done the same myself,' he added, 'were I as free 
 as you are.' 'Then why do you not do so?' Hanna Buktor 
 instantly said, ' Think of the thousands of souls which your 
 present conduct is leading astray to their destruction.' * Silence, 
 sir !' he replied, ' to my own Master I stand or fall.' 
 
 " On the Sabbath evening a large company was assem- 
 bled in Mr. Wasif's house, where the metropolitan was then 
 staying. Speaking of the Bible, the old man said, ' My own 
 friends, read the Bible. It is a good book. 1 never tire of
 
 IN EGYPT. 
 
 259 
 
 reading it. I have read it nearly five hundred times from 
 beginning to end, and yet during my present voyage on the 
 Nile 1 have done nothing but read it from morning till ni^iht, 
 and I never enjoyed it so much before.' Mr. Hanna Buktor re- 
 peated this speech to me next day, and there v\'ere gathering 
 tears, both in his eyes and mine, ere he had done. He plead 
 with Hanna and Wasif on the morning of his departure not to 
 leave the Church of their fathers altogether. A reformation 
 was coming on in the Church itself. They could do much to 
 forward it by keeping up some connection with it. It was a 
 saddening sight to him to see the best men leaving it, though he 
 could hardly blame them. As I said before, the metropolitan 
 was generally careful to conceal his true sentiments when 
 in a large, promiscuous company, but they soon became 
 known to all in the town, and the effect of his late visit had 
 been very different from that of his former one, in March, 
 1865, when he came as the Patriarch's envoy to warn the 
 people of Asyut against us and our doctrines. During his 
 first visit none dared to come to our house or to be seen 
 accosting us in the streets. During his second visit thirty- 
 nine natives sat down with us at the Lord's table, seventeen of 
 whom had never done so before, and this was done in the pres- 
 ence of seventy or eighty witnesses. So mightily did the Word 
 of God prevail, and so powerfully did God make all things 
 work together for good." 
 
 The ingathering from Asyut in the form of numbers added 
 by profession during 1868 was thirteen, and those from the 
 neighboring towns and villages were fifteen. Some of these 
 towns and villages : Mutiah, Sahil Salem, Ekhmim, and Nak- 
 hailah. Of those from the latter place was Girgis Abeid, who 
 afterwards became pastor in Ekhmim, and of those who came 
 from Mutiah was Girgis Rephail, afterwards pastor in Mellawi, 
 but through the influence of Mr. Pinkerton he became a Ph'm- 
 outhite, and is now the leader of that schismatic body in the 
 region of Asyut. The leaven of Divine truth continued to 
 work mightily in Mutiah and Bagore during 1868, but not 
 much was done in the other places on account of the absence cf 
 workers by their attendance at the theological seminary.
 
 26o The American Mission 
 
 Coming down to the Faiyum, where Brother Harvey 
 labored, it may be said that the year 1868 had its record of 
 joys, sorrows, and encouragements. The hearts of the work- 
 ers and the friends of Gospel truth were made sad by the death 
 of Makhiel Hanein, who from the first was one of the most 
 regular and attentive at all the meetings for the study of God's 
 Word and prayer. Possessed of a superior mind, which seemed 
 to be under the sanctifying influences of divine grace, he had 
 made rapid progress in religious knowledge and Christian ex- 
 perience. His severe afflictions and numerous trials were the 
 means, under Divine direction, of preparing him for his depar- 
 ture from this world of sin and trial. On the other hand, it 
 was during 1868 that Ibrahim Moosa, though brought up as a 
 Muslim in his father's house, received all his instruction in the 
 mission school in Alexandria and had been a Christian at heart 
 for many years, made an open profession of his faith in Christ 
 as the divine Saviour, while assisting Brother Harvey in the 
 capacity of a teacher and evangelist in this district. He has 
 since become widely known to many in Egypt and America, 
 and justly esteemed for his quiet earnestness and Christian 
 character. Two others made a public profession of their faith 
 and were admitted to church fellowship. 
 
 During the year the people of Sinoris had furnished a house 
 for religious services and for a school, and agreed to bear one- 
 fourth of the expenses of the school for the present, and prom- 
 ised to increase their share of the expenses as the number of 
 scholars increased, hoping at an early date to assume the 
 whole. 
 
 Coming down to Cairo, we find that Dr. and Mrs. Lansing 
 were absent in Syria and then in Scotland from early spring 
 until the end of the year. Dr. Hogg spent a half year there, 
 from March to September, taking Dr. Lansing's place in the 
 work of collecting and preparing matter for the press, while he 
 also aided Dr. Barnett in the work of the congregation. Mr. 
 Strang had charge of the boys' school and the business depart- 
 ment. 
 
 Among the nine persons who united with the church on 
 May 26, was Makhiel Abd-es-Seyyed, who, with Abdulla Zaki,
 
 m Egypt. 261 
 
 has been a teacher for many years in the boys' school. The 
 various departments were carried on during the year — the 
 preaching and evening meetings in Arabic, the Turkish and 
 Armenian service, the boys' and girls' schools. 
 
 There was no special interest manifested except that the 
 natives commenced a girls' school on their own account in 
 Bulak and employed Miss R. Gregory to take charge of it for 
 a time. At a meeting of the Cairo congregation, Mr. Ibrahim 
 Yusif, one of the students of theology from Cairo, was elected 
 pastor, and a committee was appointed to lay the call before 
 him, and in case of his acceptance to assign him trials for 
 license. 
 
 Coming down to Alexandria, it is to be noticed that the 
 native congregation there was organized with one ruling elder 
 and two deacons, and there was an addition of fifteen new 
 members on confession of their faith. The members also 
 showed their faith by their works and their liberality, for they 
 contributed of their small means over one-third of the salary 
 of the native evangelist who labored among them. 
 
 The girls' school under the management and instruction of 
 Miss S. Gregory was in an encouraging state. The tuition fees 
 amounted to $147. The boys' school had 100 on the roll and 
 brought in $117 of tuitions. Books were sold for $210. 
 
 Thus, at every station, there was sufficient ingathering to 
 encourage the hearts of the workers, and the opportunities of 
 sowing the seed were everywhere multiplying and were being 
 improved. 
 
 It should be added that the Rev. S. C. Ewing and family- 
 sailed from America on September 16, and reached Egypt about 
 the middle of October, remaining in Ramleh for some time 
 after. The writer and his wife left America November 12, on 
 the steamship " TerrifFa," and arrived in Egypt about the 
 middle of December.
 
 262 The American Mission 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 1869— Mr. Schlotthaur, colporteur evangelist— Changes and appointments of 
 missionaries— Rev. S. C. Ewing chosen by lot pastor in Cairo— Writer sent to 
 Monsurah — Character of people there— Work in Cairo— Tragic death of Miss 
 Hart— influence on the work— Book department— Work in Minva — In Asyut- 
 Encouraging accession— Family persecution— Breaking of pictures in Coptic 
 church — Great excitement — Confession and imprisonment of the perpetrators — 
 Copts rejoice — Unexpected release — Re-imprisonment and banishment to Esna — 
 Release after a time— Beginning to build a church at Asyut— Change of Asvut 
 market day— Visits to villages— Brother Currie in Kus, then Iskaros— Rev. B. F. 
 Pinkerton becomes a Plymouthite and spreads his views— Strange actions- 
 Anxiety among the missionaries — Mr. Pinkerton's views spread — He resigns and 
 goes to America— Dr. Lansing for a time in Alexandria— Press and Brother 
 Strang removed to Alexandria— Sickness and death of Brother Currie— Grief of 
 the brethren in Kus. 
 
 Presbytery met in Cairo January 5, 1869, in annual ses- 
 sion. All the members were present except Dr. Lansing, who, 
 with his family, was still in Great Britain. At the meeting, 
 Brother Currie, on behalf of the committee on colportage, re- 
 ported that he had communicated with Mr. Schlotthaur (a man 
 from Holland), recommended to the mission, informing him of 
 the proposal of the mission to employ him as an evangelist and 
 colporteur, and to give him the use of the " Morning Star " for 
 itineracy and colportage; and Mr. Schlotthaur had accepted 
 the proposal and entered upon his worl<, and was giving 
 monthly reports of the same. At the meeting Miss McKown's 
 request to return home in the spring was heartily endorsed by 
 presbytery. She had been in the country since the autumn of 
 i860, and in Asvut most of the time since the beginning ot 
 1865, and not only needed, but deserved a change. It was re- 
 solved also at this meeting to detach Dr. Barnett from cne 
 charge of the native congregation at Cairo, and appoint him in 
 charge of the whole department of book supply and distribution 
 in Egypt, and also to the special charge of the English preach- 
 ing in Cairo and the duties connected with the visiting of those 
 who attended such services. As Brothers Ewing and Watson
 
 IN Egypt. 263 
 
 had just returned to the mission field from America, the ques- 
 tion of their assignment to work came up for consideration. 
 Tiie pastorate of the native church in Cairo now beina vacant, 
 on account of the appointment of Dr. Barnett to other work, 
 the question as to which of these two should be appointed to 
 the place was considered. After a little it became apparent 
 that there was a difference of opinion on the subject on the 
 part of some of the members, and others expressed their in- 
 ability to vote on the subject at all. The subject was consid- 
 ered at some length and to allow the members freedom in the 
 expression of their opinions the two persons interested retired. 
 On being called back after a time, it was, at the second sitting 
 after the introduction of the question, resolved that, inasmuch 
 as the members of presbytery did not see their way clear to 
 vote on the subject, the casting of the lot be used for the decis- 
 ion of the question. Presbytery was then led in prayer by 
 the acting moderator. Rev. W. Harvey, and the lot was drawn, 
 and it was found to have fallen upon Rev. Ewing. At his re- 
 quest, presbytery was then led in prayer by Rev. B. F. Pinker- 
 ton, that divine grace and help might be given to aid the brother 
 chosen in this solemn manner to take charge of the Cairo con- 
 gregation. It was then resolved to appoint Rev. A. Watson to 
 the Monsurah station. 
 
 The division of laborers then, as arranged for the year, was 
 as follows: (i) Alexandria, Rev. B. F. Pinkerton and Miss 
 Gregory; (2) Monsurah, Rev. A. Watson ; (3) Cairo, Rev. 
 Dr. Barnett and Dr. Lansing, Rev. S. C. Ewing, and Da\'id 
 Strang, Esq., and Miss Hart; (4) Faiyum, Rev. William Har- 
 vey; (5) Asyut, Rev. John Hogg, D. D.; (6) Kus, Re\'. E. 
 Currie. With the exception of Dr. Lansing, who was still in 
 Great Britain on account of his wife's illness, all the members 
 of presbytery betook themselves to their work and their fields 
 as soon as presbytery adjourned, all anxious to do something 
 for the extension of the Redeemer's kingdom and the saK-ation 
 of the elect. Everyone had his or her work to do, and the fields 
 were so far apart as to give ample scope for individual energy 
 to be exerted without any interference with one another, and 
 the fields were at such central points as to show that the end 
 in view was the taking of the valley of the Nile for Christ.
 
 264 The American Mission 
 
 Monsurah, the new center to which the writer was ap- 
 pointed, had been visited by several of the missionaries, and 
 had been occupied by one of the deacons of the Cairo church 
 for more than a year. It was a town of about 25,000 inhab- 
 itants, situated on the east bank of the eastern branch of the 
 Nile, between Cairo and Damietta. It is the center of a cotton 
 growing country, and during the season a good deal of business 
 is done in this Fine. At the time indicated there were six or 
 seven large steam cotton-ginning establishments in the town. 
 Besides the native population, there was quite a number of 
 Greeks, Syrians, Maltese, and two or three families of English. 
 But these Europeans had no influence for good upon the people. 
 The majority of them regarded the native Egyptians as legiti- 
 mate persons upon whom to practice their cupidity, and in their 
 manner of doing business, and loose moral habits, were a bad 
 example every way. There were three small Christian churches: 
 the Roman Catholic, the Greek Catholic and the Coptic. The 
 rest, being more than nine-tenths of the population, were Mu- 
 hammadans, most bigoted, ignorant and superstitious ; many of 
 all sects were the slaves of various sins, especially drunkenness 
 and impurity. Our schools had been opened for some time, 
 and were found to be in a state of great confusion and ineffi- 
 ciency. With a few exceptions, I found the so-called Protest- 
 ants not unlike those who formed David's band in the wilderness. 
 If they had changed their beliefs, certainly they had not changed 
 their practices. After removing there and getting settled in our 
 house, we invited those who were accustomed to meet at the 
 Sabbath services to dine with us one evening, in order to make 
 their acquaintance and form closer friendships. One of their 
 number, a scribe in the governmen'", was the first to come. In 
 looking over my Arabic books, he found among them an algebra, 
 and as he had never seen a book of that kind before, he looked 
 at it in several places and asked me various questions about the 
 contents. While we were looking at it some one knocked at 
 the door, and the entrance of some of the guests took up my 
 attention for a few moments, but on returning to the room I 
 missed my algebra, and commenced to search for it but could 
 not find it. 1 then remarked to the scribe that we were just
 
 IN Egypt. 265 
 
 looking at it when I got up to open the door, and it could not 
 have left the room. Upon this he coolly took it out of the inside 
 pocket of his great-coat, remarking that he was only taking it 
 home to look through it. I afterwards learned that he had a 
 habit of appropriating the books of others to his own use, and 
 that even the Bibles and Psalm books in the place of meeting 
 had become fewer on account of his pilfering habits. This oc- 
 currence, among other irregularities, rather lowered my regard 
 for the so-called Protestants of Monsurah. There were some, 
 however, who, though far from our ideal of Christianity, bore 
 a good character among their neighbors. Abdulla Weesa was 
 chief teacher in the boys' school. I was accustomed to spend 
 one or two hours in it every day, conducted the services in Arabic 
 twice every Sabbath, and visited the people in their homes. 
 Mrs. Watson had charge of the girls' school, which was held in 
 one of the rooms in our house. Blind Werdy was her assistant 
 and did very well with those who had already commenced to 
 read and had not advanced too far. But whenever Mrs. Wat- 
 son was absent from the school-room for a time, she would be 
 almost sure to get into trouble with the girls, and not knowing 
 for certain who the mischief-makers were, she would go round 
 the row of girls with a little switch and beat all of them, so that 
 the culprits might not escape. 
 
 There was little to encourage us except the promises of 
 God. The hearts of the people were hard as adamant, their 
 consciences seared as with a red-hot iron, and their minds 
 darkened with ignorance, and, what was worse, superstitious 
 stories of the lowest kind. Rev. Makhiel, pastor-elect of Kus, 
 who for various reasons was not installed there, spent half a 
 year in Zakazik, and then was removed to Monsurah on Decem- 
 ber I, just a little before the writer left for Asyut to assist in 
 giving lessons to the theological students, according to appoint- 
 ment at summer meeting of presbytery. 
 
 Passing on to Cairo, where we have seen Rev. Dr. Barnett 
 and Rev. S. C. Ewing labor nearly all the year, and Mr. Strang 
 and Miss Hart the first half, there is little of special interest to 
 record. In a quiet and regular manner the work on all its lines 
 was carried on, with spasmodic efforts on the part of the Coptic
 
 266 The American Mission 
 
 clergy to prevent the children from attending the mission schools. 
 Mr. Ibrahim Yusif, one of the theological students, rendered 
 aid in the work during the vacation in the theological seminary. 
 Only one person was added on profession of faith. The schools 
 remained as in former years, except that on account of the 
 opening of a girls' school by the Copts in Haret-es-Sakkain, 
 and the employment of two of our teachers in it, many of the 
 girls left ours for a time. This, with the tragic death of Miss 
 Hart and servants, with the attendant circumstances, almost 
 broke it up entirely. 
 
 Early on the morning of the 28th of June, Miss Hart, who 
 was then living in the school in Haret-es-Sakkain, met as usual 
 with some of her teachers for prayers and mutual encourage- 
 ment. They continued together till about the time for school 
 to be opened. She then called the school servant to assist her 
 in pouring kerosene from the large tin into a small can, and 
 the kitchen girl was standing near them. After filling the small 
 can she was proceeding, according to what seemed a custom 
 with her, to seal the large tin with wax. The burning wax 
 ignited the oil in the tin, which then exploded with great force, 
 throwing the burning oil all over her ani the two servants and 
 setting fire to the house. The teachers, hearing the explosion, 
 ran downstairs and found Miss Hart lyi-'g at the door of the 
 stairway, and the flames enveloping her body and rising to such 
 a height that they could not approach her. Yusif, the servant, 
 had run down the stairs in fiames, and the girl had run across 
 a large room and fallen on the mat, with the flames rising from 
 her body. Miss Hart must have died in a few minutes. The 
 girl died about noon, and Yusif, the servant, about the middle 
 of the afternoon. This tragic occurrence was regarded by the 
 ignorant people as a plain proof of God's displeasure with the 
 work of the American mission, and the priests were not slow 
 in confirming this opinion. It was not surprising, then, that it 
 was some time before the influence of it upon the work in that 
 quarter was overcome, hideed, the missionaries thernselves 
 were stunned by its occurrence, although it was only one of the 
 severe trials through which the mission passed during the year. 
 There was no doubt, however, of Miss Hart's preparation for
 
 IN Egypt. 267 
 
 death, for she was an earnest Christian, and was truly seeking 
 to serve Christ with all her heart, and was greatly enjoying 
 His fellowship during the months preceding. Mrs. Hogg, who 
 visited her a week before the event, says of that visit: " 1 
 was much struck with the great change which had come over 
 her. She seemed to care to speak of nothing but Jesus and 
 His love, and the delight she had in constant communion with 
 her Saviour. How sweet to be called away from the mercv- 
 seat below straight to the sanctuary above ! Yet, how un- 
 fathomable are the ways of God to man, even to those who 
 love Him most." 
 
 Dr. Barnett entered upon the new work to which he was 
 appointed and spent some time endeavoring to arrange the 
 stock of books on hand in Cairo, which, from the frequent 
 changes in the management of that department was in great 
 disorder. The colportage carried on by Mr. Schlotthaur on the 
 Nile was also under his direction, hi this work 209 towns and 
 villages were visited, and 1,956 books distributed at about 
 $500. By removal and death the roll of communicants in 
 Cairo was reduced to thirty-nine, but the contributions amounted 
 to $325, which is evidence of their interest in the work. The 
 members, as has always been the case, were widely scattered 
 in the large city of Cairo and suburbs, and therefore it was 
 difficult to gather them together during the week for religious 
 meetings. 
 
 Passing on to Faiyum, it may be said that the work in the 
 Medinah was of a discouraging character, but the opening in 
 Sinoris became more and more encouraging. Two persons pro- 
 fessed their faith in the Saviour and became members of the 
 church ; one, Mr. Fanoos Shakshook, of Sinoris, and the other, 
 Miriam, the wife of Ibrahim Moosa. The school continued to 
 prosper, and the night meetings gave promise of good things to 
 come. 
 
 During the year the work in Minya was begun ; rather the 
 work already begun was recognized by the appointment of ex- 
 priest Buktor to that large town and his remowal there in the 
 month of May. 
 
 Passing on up the river to Asyut, we have to report great 
 activity, earnest work, encouraging ingathering, injudicious
 
 268 The American Mission 
 
 zeal and severe trials. In Asyut itself three services were held 
 on Sabbath — in the morning, in the afternoon and in the eve- 
 ning. Meetings were also held during the week, sometimes 
 twice, and during the session of the theological seminary more 
 than that number. Small reunions were held in various places, 
 sometimes by the Copts themselves for reading the Word. On 
 Sabbath afternoon some of the members of the congregation 
 and the theological students went out two by two to the 
 suburbs and neighboring villages to read and converse with the 
 people. Reports from these light-bearers were given at a meet- 
 ing held on Saturday night. Many interesting incidents were 
 related and much good resulted from these efforts. Nineteen 
 members were admitted on profession of their faith. Of these 
 ten were from Asyut, five from Nakheilah, two from Bedari, 
 one from Mutiah, and one from Sahil Salim. Four were women. 
 Some of the most active persons in teaching Protestant doc- 
 trines had not united formally with the church, chiefly from 
 opposition from various members of their families. One, a 
 Coptic priest of note in Asyut, was cursed in the church, sep- 
 arated from his wife, driven out of his mother's house, and 
 compelled for a time to take a room at a public khan. He bore 
 all meekly and without flinching. He would have joined the 
 Protestant church a year before, but he hoped to bring his wife 
 and mother along with him. He had, however, joined the 
 theological class, and was decided to throw in his lot with 
 Christ's people 
 
 But, while prosperity seemed to follow the preaching of the 
 Word, and the daily life of the Protestants was commended by 
 many, even by Muslims, so that they were accustomed to say 
 that the difference between them and the Copts is, the former 
 believe the Bible and obey it, while the latter believe it and 
 obey it not, yet the good name of the Protestants was brought 
 into disgrace by an injudicious act of a few, which brought 
 upon themselves severe consequences and upon the cause they 
 represented just reproach. The incident is as follows : 
 
 After the evening meeting on March 12, a few members of 
 the Protestant church and a number of enlightened Copts met 
 in the house of Mr. Hanna Buktor, and, as the custom was,
 
 IN Egypt. 269 
 
 they were reading the Bible and came upon the story of Gid- 
 eon's throwing down the altar of Baal and cutting down the 
 grove that was by it. Some one brought up the subject of pic- 
 tures, and how to get them out of the Coptic church, and the 
 conversation ended in an agreement to go that night to the 
 church and destroy them. They prayed together three times 
 before going to the seat of action. They thought that nothing 
 but good would result from this act. Mr. Hanna Buktor tore 
 off the pictures as the others brought them out, and they made 
 a fire and consumed the shreds, and threw the frame work into 
 a little room. While they were thus engaged three acquaint- 
 ances passed by, and Mr. Hanna Buktor called to them to en- 
 gage in prayer for a blessing on the work they were at. Mr. 
 Wasif, with Mr. Weesa, were spending the evening at tlie gov- 
 ernor's house, and chanced to be returning home and passed 
 them as they were leaving in a body, some of them carrying 
 some of the spoils under their arms. He asked them if they 
 had taken leave of their senses altogether, and then sent them 
 off, one by one, in different directions, in order, if possible, to 
 escape suspicion. Next morning the news spread like wild-fire 
 throughout the town, and the whole Coptic sect, summoned 
 under the threat of a haram by the bishop, marched down to 
 the office of the governor, with the bishop, priests, and chief 
 men of the laity at their head, and laid their complaints before 
 the governor. The latter handed the case over to the chief of 
 police, who sent the sheikhs of the carpenters, smiths, etc., to 
 report. They found that the church could be entered, without 
 being broken open, from the neighboring houses. One of these 
 and the farthest distant, was the house of Athanasius, the car- 
 penter. He, though innocent, and his two brothers, were 
 seized forthwith. All who had a share in the act became com- 
 pletely stunned at the turn the incident had taken. Dr. Hogg 
 urged them all to confess. At first they were loath to do so, 
 but finally made a complete breast of it, and told all and were 
 all thrown into prison, even Hanna, Mr. Weesa's brother. Mr. 
 Weesa did his utmost to conciliate the enraged Copts, The 
 chief Muslims, who at heart approved of the breaking of the 
 pictures, also used every effort to effect a conciliation, but the
 
 270 The AMERICAN Mission 
 
 Copts, naturally, were furious as well as jubilant. What they 
 had been praying for, and thinking it almost an impossibility to 
 secure, they now saw at their very feet, viz., an opportunity 
 of yv'reaking their vengeance on a man who for months had kept 
 them in hot water, and were they to be coaxed by a compro- 
 mise? Assuredly, no! Meanwhile, the prison became the 
 gathering-place of the brethren, where they read, sang Psalms, 
 and prayed— prayed as they perhaps had never done before. 
 The governor kept them in jail, but delayed passing sentence on 
 them, as he understood that parties had left for Cairo to pre- 
 sent the case to the Patriarch that he might lay it before the 
 viceroy and have the iconoclasts severely punished. 
 
 Some time after the deed was committed the governor re- 
 ceived a telegram from Cairo inquiring about the case. It was 
 said that he gave a simple account of the affair — that the Prot- 
 estants had gone into the Coptic church and destroyed some of 
 the pictures, and that the reason for their doing so was that the 
 Word of God forbade their use, and that the persons who had 
 done so were not persons of bad character, but respected in the 
 town. Next day, or soon after, a telegram was received from 
 the viceroy ordering the release of the persons. On receiving 
 this the governor called the leading men of the Coptic sect and 
 informed them that the prisoners were to be forthwith released 
 by order of the viceroy, and urged them to make up matters 
 with Mr. Hanna Buktor, as he had himself suggested and 
 strongly urged from the first. They agreed to do so, seeing 
 they could do no better. He then sent for Mr. Weesa and also 
 for the prisoners, and addressed all parties, urging upon them 
 the necessity of respecting each other's opinions, and let 
 bygones be bygones. Hanna Buktor then asked pardon of the 
 Copts for what he had done, and they reluctantly and coldly 
 gave the hand of reconciliation. The news of their release 
 spread rapidly in the town, and several hundred Muslims, 
 Copts, and Protestants met in Mr. Weesa's court to welcome 
 his brother Hanna back, and Dr. Hogg, of course, was there. 
 He says in a letter written at the time : 
 
 " We sent for the singing books, and I preached a sermon 
 suited to the occasion, stating in the course of it that if six
 
 IN Egypt. 
 
 271 
 
 months in the galleys or up the White Nile were to be the 
 means of awakening an interest in religion among the people 
 of Asyut, I for one would be willing to bear the imprisonment, 
 and 1 urged on all the importance of breaking the idols that 
 were set up in their own hearts, and to seek henceforth to win 
 their brethren by words and deeds of love. We do not yet 
 understand liow the release was brought about. The Copts 
 attribute it to the influence of the consuls in Cairo, and believe 
 that Messrs. Wasif and Weesa and I wrote as many as twent)-- 
 four letters, while the fact is that none of us had the heart to 
 write to anybody, and we all felt from the first that this was 
 not a matter for human, and particularly for consular, interfer- 
 ence. All that was known at the time was that the Copts had 
 written to their Patriarch, and the Patriarch had seen the vice- 
 roy on the subject, and communications had been sent between 
 the viceroy and the governor. The Protestants regarded the 
 release of the offenders as almost miraculous — certainly not in 
 accordance with their deserts. The Copts, however, did not 
 allow the matter to rest. The bishop of Asyut and the priests 
 are reported to have told the Patriarch that with such an issue 
 of the case they would no longer remain in As}-ut. In the 
 meantime, however, many faltering ones felt that the Lord was 
 with the Protestants, and became stronger. Many who had 
 taken no interest in Divine truth became apparently anxious 
 inquirers. The open doors widened, and doors which before 
 were locked and barred were opened. Many copies of the 
 Scriptures were sold to Muslims, when they learned through 
 the action of the Protestants that they condemned picture wor- 
 ship, as they had always thought .before that Christians were 
 idolators. But the efforts of the leading Copts, through their 
 Patriarch and other dignitaries interested in the case, were suc- 
 cessful in having it reviewed by the court, and the court 
 decided that Mr. Hanna Buktor be imprisoned for three years ; 
 the three who entered the church and did the work for two 
 years ; and the remaining four for one year — all in the peniten 
 tiary ; that the value of the property said to be stolen should 
 be paid, and that the pictures either be replaced or their value, 
 appraised by non interested parties, paid. A slight change was
 
 2/2 The American Mission 
 
 afterwards made by substituting Esna for the penitentiary. 
 They spent about five months in prison, the last month of 
 which in the penitentiary at Esna. They were compelled to 
 pay $350 for the property they were unjustly charged with 
 stealing, and ^1,350 the value put upon the pictures, which 
 were not worth one-tenth of that amount. They were denied 
 the privilege of replacing the pictures, which the sentence of 
 the court gave them. They were finally pardoned by the vice- 
 roy on his return from his European trip in the autumn, at the 
 intercession of the Spanish and American consuls-general. 
 The lessons the prisoners had learned did not in any sense les- 
 sen their hold on Divine truth, or cool their ardor in teaching it 
 to others. Before the year closed Mr. Weesa and his brother 
 commenced the erection of a place of worship for Protestants, 
 which was finished the following year. They also, in conjunc- 
 tion with Mr. Wasif Khayat, took up a matter of the greatest 
 importance and carried it through to a successful issue. For 
 over a thousand years the great market day of Asyut had been 
 on Sabbath. Only on this day could traders in cattle, sheep, 
 camels, grains and farm produce, and manufactured articles of 
 all kinds, find opportunity to buy and sell. Thousands of peo- 
 ple from the villages around visited Asyut on that day for trade, 
 and the people of Asyut bought their provisions for a week on 
 that day. No man whose business was large or small could 
 make a living without exposing for sale the articles of his trade 
 on the Sabbath. With the progress of Protestantism, it became 
 a necessity that the market day be changed, but it seemed at 
 first sight next to impossible. The Muslims had no interest in 
 changing it. Many of the Copts preferred to let it remain as 
 it had been. A petition was prepared, and Messrs. Wasif and 
 Weesa got it signed by many leading Muslims, .and also by 
 many Copts who were shamed into signing it, because if they 
 did not they might be said to deny the Christian religion. The 
 officials were visited and their good will secured. The gover- 
 nor, however, whose favor to the change was assured, was 
 removed just as the petition was being circulated, but the 
 brethren, believing the thing to be of God, resolved to go for- 
 ward. On its being presented to the new governor, he gave
 
 IN EGYPT. 
 
 273 
 
 his consent, and public criers were sent througii all the other 
 markets of the district to notify the change of the Asyut mar- 
 ket from Sabbath to Saturday. Perhaps on the first Saturday 
 more came because of the novelty of the thing, at any rate 
 everybody seemed to have been pleased with his business that 
 day, and the change of an institution, which was by many con- 
 sidered sacred, was established. The idea of the common 
 people for a time was not that the market, but that the day, 
 had been changed, and some of them were heard exclaiming, 
 " What will these Protestants do next.? They have actually 
 changed Saturday into Sunday !" 
 
 Wliile these things were going on in Asyut, the good work 
 was extending in the villages around. During the session of 
 the theological seminary, visits were made on Sabbaths as fol- 
 lows : Tv^'O to Waladiyah, ten to Dronka, two to Shutb, two to 
 Rifa, one to Mushy, fourteen to Mutiah, four to Bagore, fifteen 
 to Nakheilah, one to Azziyah, one to Busrah, one to Wasta, eight 
 to Beni-Aleig, five to Abnub, one to Hammara, eight to Sahil 
 Salim, one to Nawamen and one to Kom Saadah. From May to 
 October, Badari, Nakheilah, Bagore, Mutiah and Beni-Aleig 
 were occupied by junior members of the theological class. In 
 Nakheilah and Mutiah, the work was specially promising. 
 
 A word about Kus will end the record of upper Egypt for 
 1869. Brother Currie remained at his post faithfully laboring 
 until the middle of July, though the thermometer sometimes 
 marked 105° in his room, and perhaps never less than 100° for 
 two months. He remained too long, as the sequel proved, be- 
 fore the year closed. One reason for his staying over and 
 above his time was his love for the little flock in Kus, and iiis 
 desire to comfort their hearts, and help bear the burdens of tiie 
 prisoners from Asyut who were in Esna, a neighboring town. 
 After Mr. Currie left, Iskaros Masood remained until the theo- 
 logical seminary opened, and from that time the people there 
 were left to themselves and the Great Shepherd. 
 
 During 1869 Alexandria was subjected to some startling 
 
 and very trying changes, and "the little church there had for a 
 
 time the appearance of a ship struggling under bare poles, with 
 
 adverse gales coming upon her successively from every point 
 
 18
 
 274 '^HE AMERICAN MISSION 
 
 of the compass." On the writer's return from America, about 
 the middle of September, 1868, and during his stay of a few 
 days with Mr. Pinkerton, he noticed evidences of his adoption 
 of strange views and practices, some of which almost led to the 
 belief that his mind had lost its balance. He had been reading 
 an account of the exercise of the healing power by the laying 
 on of the hands and prayer in some places in Germany, and 
 had moreover come in contact with some Quaker brethren who 
 were visiting various places in the East, and had from them 
 imbibed some deep mystical notions. In order to get into com- 
 munion with Christ he thought it was only necessary to retire 
 into a solitary place, shut the eyes, meditate, and wait for the 
 "power " to come from on high by the Holy Spirit. He pro- 
 fessed also to have the power of healing by the laying on of his 
 hands and prayer, and avowed that he had abundant proof of 
 his possession of this power. Miss S. Gregory, who had some 
 serious internal disorder, was then under his treatment. He 
 averred that he had been assured that he was to cure her of 
 her malady, howsoever serious it might be, and he described to 
 me how he was affected when upon her having a violent attack 
 of pain he put his hands upon her head. He said he could feel 
 the disease entering into himself through his fingers, passing 
 up his arms, and filling his own body. In order to throw it 
 off he was accustomed to take a cold bath in the wash-room on 
 the roof ! As my eyes had not yet become very strong, he 
 proposed to try his healing powers on me, but I did not care to 
 encourage him in his vagaries. He had also at the time of our 
 arrival in Alexandria been holding a prayer-meeting every morn- 
 ing with a few of the brethren, for the space of a month, for a 
 Pentecostal outpouring of the Spirit, but 1 knew nothing about 
 it until one morning, after taking a sip of plain coffee, without 
 eating anything, he suddenly left the table, and soon after I 
 heard singing downstairs; and on asking his wife what it was, 
 she told me of the prayer-meeting. I remarked that it was 
 strange he did not inform me, as I, too, would attend most 
 cheerfully at any hour of the day. I left the breakfast table 
 and went down and found a few persons assembled. Thev 
 continued praying and singing for some time, but there was no
 
 IN Egypt. 
 
 275 
 
 reading from the Scriptures or remarks for edification. The 
 prayers were earnest, and the central idea in them all was the 
 outpouring of the Spirit in an outward, visible form, according 
 to their expectation. Many of Mr. Pinkerton's motions, ex- 
 clamations, remarks, sighs, and groans at family prayers, were 
 not only new but often startling, and certainly led both Mrs. 
 Watson and myself to conclude he was losing his mind. As we 
 knew nothing. before we came of his change of views and his, 
 to say the least, eccentricities, and as he and I had been partic- 
 ular friends before I left for America, I was not in the least 
 prejudiced against him, and learned of his strange actions and 
 his new views from intercourse with him in his own house. 
 
 This state of things continued during the first half of the 
 year 1869, and up to the time of the summer meeting of pres- 
 bytery, and was the subject of conversation among all who knew 
 him, and especially among the missionaries. Some friction had 
 arisen between him and Miss Gregory, so that she had to leave 
 Alexandria about May and go elsewhere. Miss Hart had be- 
 come a convert to many of his views, and occasionally ran 
 down from Cairo to Alexandria to consult with him. The mis- 
 sionaries were in great anxiety about what was to be done 
 with him, if anything, at the summer meeting of presbytery. 
 The tragic death of Miss Hart, already related, seemed greatly 
 to affect him, and some hoped it might wake him out of his 
 wild reverie. Dr. and Mrs. Lansing had returned from Great 
 Britain, and took up their quarters for a time in Ramleh, and 
 therefore had every opportunity of knowing what was trans- 
 piring in Alexandria, and indeed saw and heard much them- 
 selves. They felt that something must be done. Dr. Lansing 
 tried to set right some of those who had been led astra_\-, but 
 with little success, and with the result that Mr. Pinkertoii 
 greatly resented what he termed his interference with his work. 
 Dr. Lansing, however, was not a man to neglect his dutv for 
 personal reasons, but of course he had no right to remove Mr. 
 Pinkerton from his place and pulpit. Thus matters remained 
 up till the time the presbytery met in Ramleh. All felt some- 
 thing must be done, but just how or when no one had deter- 
 mined.
 
 276 The American Mission 
 
 At length at one of the sittings, and much to the relief of 
 the members of the mission, Mr. Pinkerton asked leave to read 
 the following paper: 
 
 " It has pleased God, whose I am, and whom I serve in the 
 Gospel of His dear Son, to assure me that He has accepted the 
 services that I have been enabled to render Him in this land, 
 and also to show me clearly that He does not require me to 
 serve Him any longer in this field. I, therefore, respectfully 
 resign to this presbytery the station of Alexandria, for the pur- 
 pose of proceeding home at once to resign my connection with 
 the Board of Foreign Missions. I also ask a certificate of min- 
 isterial standing and character. 
 
 " B. F. Pinkerton. 
 
 "August 4, 1869." 
 
 Several members of the mission had an interview with Mr. 
 Pinkerton, and tried to learn his reasons for the step he had 
 taken, but he declared that, while his relations to his brethren 
 and other external conditions had their influence, yet these did 
 not move him to hand in his resignation, but it was the unmis- 
 takable guidance and direction of the Lord. An attempt was 
 also made to have him take time to reconsider the matter, and 
 also the questions of difference of belief between him and the 
 church; but his mind was fully made up. After much deliber- 
 ation and prayer, the following resolutions were unanimously 
 adopted : 
 
 "Whereas, Presbytery has heard Brother Pinkerton's 
 reasons, as above stated, for the request which he has pre- 
 sented ; and, 
 
 "Whereas, All efforts to induce him to abandon or defer 
 his request have been ineffectual, therefore, 
 
 " Resolved (i), That presbytery does not concur with 
 Brother Pinkerton in the conviction that the Master does not 
 require him to serve any longer in this field, to which he has 
 been called in the providence of God and by his Church. 
 
 " Resolved (2), That, as he still presses his request, and 
 in view of the fact that a man cannot be retained with profit in 
 any spliere of duty against his own convictions, presbytery ac- 
 cepts his resignation. 
 
 " Resolved (3), That the clerk be directed to give him a 
 certificate of ministerial standing and character. 
 
 " Resolved (4), That the members of presbytery will fol- 
 low with their prayers and best wishes the brother who is thus
 
 IN EGYPT. 2-jj 
 
 leaving them, and that, while feeling that his action in this mat- 
 ter must prove a stumbling-block and offense to many, they 
 pray the great Head of the Church that this may not be laid to 
 his charge." 
 
 At this same meeting the press was removed to Alexandria 
 and Mr. D. Strang directed to set it up in the mission house 
 there, and take up his residence in the house vacated by Mr. 
 Pinkerton, and have charge of the schools. Mr. Currie was 
 appointed to take care of the congregation and the evangelistic 
 work in Alexandria, but as Brother Currie had to take a change 
 to Syria on account of his health. Dr. Lansing was directed to 
 take his place till his return. Some of the members of the con- 
 gregation who had thoroughly imbibed Mr. Pinkerton's views, 
 and with whom he had entered into solemn covenant, left the 
 church and opened a service conducted on Plymouth Brethren 
 lines. This continues still, supported as it has been to some 
 extent by some Englishmen of that sect. This was the begin- 
 ning of the Plymouth Brethren controversy which has caused 
 division and disorder in several villages in the region of Asyut 
 and other places. 
 
 Mr. Currie returned from Syria, October 4, and was seized 
 with Syrian fever on the 9th, and died a triumphant death on 
 the i8th of the same month, and was laid beside his wife in the 
 English cemetery of Alexandria. Dr. Lansing, in his report for 
 1869, says of him : "He was a good man, full of faith and of 
 the Holy Ghost, meek and lowly in spirit, earnest in labor, and 
 firm and unflinching in principle. In his departure we feel as 
 a mission band that we have lost a brother and a true yoke- 
 fellow, and that the church in Kus have lost an affectionate 
 father." The feelings of that church are best expressed by an 
 extract translated from a letter received from two of its mem- 
 bers soon after they heard the sad news of his decease : " Oh! 
 how sad to us all is the news which your letter has brought. 
 It becomes each of us to say with Jeremiah, the prophet, ' Oh, 
 that my head were "waters and mine eyes a fountain of tears 
 that 1 might weep ' over this sad news, not on account of the 
 death of that righteous one, for his death is precious in the eyes 
 of the Lord, but for our loss ; for he was in a peculiar degree a 
 teacher in the faith and truth, an example in good works, and
 
 278 The American Mission 
 
 our comfort in sorrow. Nay, more, he always sincerely cared 
 for us in all our affairs like a tender father for his loved children, 
 and diligently labored for the edification of us all. Oh ! how- 
 heavy are these tidings, and how bitter to our hearts the remem- 
 brance of them ! But since it has been the Divine will to re- 
 move him from this fleeting world to that which is abiding, and 
 we can never again see him here, we beseech you to pray God to 
 grant us patience and comfort, and not leave us orphans, but 
 manifest Himself to us, and fill our hearts with joy, lest we be 
 swallowed up of the great grief." 
 
 Among a superstitious people these sad events, regarded 
 by the outside world as calamities, exerted an injurious effect 
 upon the work in Alexandria for the time, but the presence of 
 Dr. Lansing at that juncture, and the timely arrival of Miss 
 McKown from her visit home, and her assistance in the work, 
 both in school and in the homes of the people, served to keep 
 the greater number of professors together, and bring them 
 through the troublous times.
 
 iN Egypt. 279 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 January i, 1870, to January i, 1875 — Comparative statistics — A\issionaries. 
 their locations and movements — New missionaries — Organization of Missionary 
 Association — Necessity for abbreviation — Alexandria, work, accessions, death of 
 Said — Monsurah, work, little encouragement — Cairo, work, accessions, defections 
 — Sickness in Dr. Barnett's family and absence in Europe — Death of Elder Salih 
 and others — Sale of old premises to the government, characteristic negotiations 
 — Faiyum, work, little encouragement in Medinah — Headquarters transferred to 
 Sinoris, encouragements and opposition — Asyut church erected, dedication ser- 
 vices, organization of congregation — Nakheilah congregation organized, and pas- 
 tor ordained and installed, and death of chief member— Organization of Mutiah 
 congregation, members working, reasons for rapid spread of Gospel — Kus. visit 
 of Brother Harvey and others, brethren prevented by government from meeting 
 — Coptic and governmental opposition and evidence of growth — Medical depart- 
 ment. 
 
 COMPARATIVE STATISTICS. 
 Jan. I, i8yo. Period of Jive years. /an. i, i8yj. 
 
 6 Ordained missionaries, 7 
 
 2 Other male missionaries, 2 
 
 2 Unmarried lady missionaries, 6 
 
 8 Married lady missionaries, 9 
 
 1 Native ordained ministers, 2 
 8 Other presbyterial workers, 15 
 4 Book depots, 5 
 
 2 Organized churches, 6 
 180 Church members, 596 
 
 4 Sabbath schools, 14 
 
 118 Sabbath school scholars, 733 
 
 12 Week day schools, 24 
 
 17 Teachers, 40 
 
 633 Pupils — boys 350 and girls 826, 1,176 
 
 6,446 Volumes sold books, 10,176 
 
 1^2,052 Income from sales, $2,541 
 
 $566 Church contributions, $3,106 
 
 $596 Tuitions, $567 
 
 438 Average Sabbath morning attendance, 986
 
 28o The American Mission 
 
 From the beginning up to the close of i86g, I have given 
 in successive years a sketch of the operations and important 
 events in the history of the mission. To continue this plan to 
 the end would lengthen this history far beyond what is proposed, 
 and would, as we have seen, lead to the useless record of work 
 that goes on from year to year without anything of special in- 
 terest occurring. I have been led, therefore, first, to group 
 together, hereafter, five years in each chapter, and record the 
 important events in the congregational and evangelistic depart- 
 ment together with incidents connected in various ways with 
 the field or with the work ; and second, 1 have concluded to 
 exclude from this record all mention of the book department, 
 the Sabbath schools, the harem work and the educational de- 
 partment, and append brief sketches of these at the close. 
 
 The names and stations of the missionaries during the 
 greater part of these five years were as follows : 
 
 Alexandria. David Strang, Esq., and wife, throughout all 
 the period ; Rev. G. Lansing, D. D., and wife during first half 
 of 1870 ; Rev. S. C. Ewing and wife from the middle of 1872 on- 
 ward ; Miss T. M. Campbell, Miss McKown only half of 1870. 
 
 Cairo. Rev. G. Lansing, D. D., and wife, from middle 
 of 1870* until they left for America in 1873 5 Rev. J. Barnett, 
 D. D., and wife until they left for Europe in 1872 ; Rev. S. C. 
 Ewing and wife until they left for Asyut and Kus in the autumn 
 of 1871 ; Rev. A. Watson and wife from April, 18/3 ; Miss E. 
 F, Johnston from the middle of 1870 onward. 
 
 Faiywn. Rev. W. Harvey and wife in Sinoris from Jan- 
 uary 24, 1870, throughout the period. 
 
 Asyiit. Rev. John Hogg, D. D., and wife ; Dr. D. R. 
 Johnston and wife ; Rev. A Watson two months in 1871 : 
 Rev. S. C. Ewing two and a half months in 1872 ; Miss Mc- 
 Kown from middle of 1870 ; Miss Johnston first half of 1870. 
 
 MonsiiraJi. Rev. A. Watson and wife until April, 1873, 
 except when absent in Asyut. 
 
 New missiGuaries. Miss A. Y. Thompson arrived near the 
 close of 1871 and was assigned to Monsurah, and in September, 
 1873, was located in the Faiyum. Miss M. A. Smith came to 
 the field in 1872, went to Sinoris for a time, and then was trans-
 
 •fim-' 
 
 i ■ 
 
 %4 
 
 CO 
 CD 
 
 ft 
 
 O
 
 IN Egypt. 281 
 
 ferred to Cairo and labored for the most part in Haret-es-Sak- 
 kain. Rev. A. M. Nichol and wife arrived in 1874, and were 
 assigned temporarily to Asyut. Rev. A. H. Rule and wife 
 arrived in 1872, and were assigned to the Faiyum ; withdrew 
 from the mission, and went home in 1873. Miss M. G. Lock- 
 hart arrived late in 1874, and was assigned to Asyut. 
 
 THE ORGANIZATION OF THE MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION. 
 
 Up to the end of the year 1870 all the business pertaining 
 to the work in the field or to the relation of the missionaries to 
 the Board of Foreign Missions and the Church at home was 
 transacted by presbytery, but it became evident that with the 
 progress of the work, the multiplication of native agents, the 
 organization of the churches, and the establishment of native 
 pastorates, presbytery must be restricted to its own ecclesias- 
 tical business, and there be created another authoritative body 
 to which should be referred all matters pertaining to the rela- 
 tions of the foreign missionary to the Church at home. The 
 Board, therefore, proposed to the members of the mission in 
 Egypt that they form an organization for the transaction of all 
 business that was not strictly of a presbyterial character. In 
 accordance with this request, the missionaries drew up and for- 
 warded to the Board, to be laid before the General Assembly, a 
 draft of a constitution for this purpose: 
 
 Reasons for Missionary Association. 
 
 ** The committee of the presbytery of Egypt appointed to 
 mature a plan for the formation of an association for the trans- 
 action of the financial business of the mission, according to the 
 recommendations of the Board of Foreign Missions, respectfully 
 report that, in their judgment, the work in this land has now 
 arrived at a stage of development when the formation of such 
 an association lias become very desirable, in order to avoid com- 
 plications both at home and in the mission field, and to enable 
 presbytery in a free and untrammelled manner to devote itself 
 to the discharge of its proper ecclesiastical and religious func- 
 tions. As the subject may not fully be understood by all, 
 especially in its relations to the peculiarities of the work in tlie 
 foreign field, the committee, before proceeding to suggest a plan 
 for the proposed association, take the liberty of briefly stating 
 the following reasons which strongly recommend such action :
 
 282 The American Mission 
 
 "(i) There are now, and probably always will be, lay 
 members connected with the mission who, not being members 
 of presbytery, are not entitled to a vote in its decisions, but 
 who, as regularly appointed missionaries from the Church at 
 home, have an equal right with their clerical brethren to a voice 
 in the management of all matters which are secular and mis- 
 sionary, as distinguished from ecclesiastical and presbyterial, 
 whose counsels and aid are particularly valuable in all such 
 matters. 
 
 " (2) The blessing of the great Head of the Church upon 
 our labors has brought us to begin ordaining native pastors and 
 elders. These have full right to the official exercise of their 
 functions, not only in reference to the churches over which they 
 have been ordained, but also in the higher courts of the Lord's 
 house, and we recognize their full official equality with ourselves 
 and consequent right to a seat with us in all church courts. 
 
 " (3) On the other hand, besides the relations we bear to 
 the native community as evangelists, and to the partially organ- 
 ized native churches as temporary pastors — relations which 
 make it our duty and right to sit in all church courts in the mis- 
 sion field, and to unite with native presbyters in the administra- 
 tion and management of all purely ecclesiastical and presbyterial 
 matters — we at the same time sustain other well-defined relations 
 to our Church in America, as its representatives and the responsi- 
 ble almoners of its funds — relations from which arise duties and 
 responsibilities which we cannot transfer to native presbyters. 
 The foregoing considerations indicate the necessity of a clear 
 distinction between those functions which belong to foreign 
 missionaries as such, whether lay or clerical, and those which 
 belong to presbyters both native and foreign, and to effect this 
 distinction and secure the rights and facilitate the performance 
 of the duties of all concerned, we recommend to presbytery the 
 following resolutions : 
 
 "Resolved (i), That the Board of Foreign Missions be 
 requested to ask the next General Assembly to authorize its 
 missionaries in this land, lay and clerical, to organize themselves 
 into an association for the transaction of all business arising out 
 of our relations to the Church as its foreign missionaries. 
 
 "Resolved (2), That the following constitution for the 
 association be recommended to the Assembly for its approval : 
 
 ' * Constitution of the Egyptian Association of the Missionaries of 
 the United Presbyterian Church of North America. 
 
 "Article i. There shall be an association of all the mis- 
 sionaries in Egypt, both lay and clerical, of the United Presby- 
 terian Church of North America.
 
 IN Egypt. 283 
 
 " Article 2. This association shall be known by the name 
 and title of the Egyptian Association of the Missionaries of the 
 United Presbyterian Church of North America. 
 
 " Article 3. This association shall be amenable to the 
 General Assembly through its Board of Foreign Missions, oranv 
 other agency which the Assembly shall authorize to communi- 
 cate with the association. 
 
 " Article 4. The association shall have the following offi- 
 cers : A president, a secretary and a treasurer, all of whom 
 shall be elected at the annual meeting of the association, by a 
 majority of the votes of the members present at that meeting. 
 
 " Article 5. This association will have power to fill vacan- 
 cies in these offices whenever they occur. 
 
 " Article 6. It shall be the duty of the president to preside 
 at all meetings of the association and discharge all other duties 
 usually incumbent on such an officer. 
 
 "Article 7. It shall be the duty of the secretary to keep a 
 record of the transactions of the Association, and to conduct all 
 its official correspondence except such as belongs to the treas- 
 urer. 
 
 "Article 8. It shall be the duty of the treasurer to hold in 
 the name of, and in trust for the Board of Foreign Missions 
 afore-mentioned all lands, tenements, permanent funds, libra- 
 ries, printing press, and apparatus, and all property whatsoever 
 pertaining to the mission, and he shall give such legal security 
 for said property as shall be demanded by the Board of Foreign 
 Missions. It shall be his duty also to receive, hold, and, ac- 
 cording to the direction of the association, dispose of all moneys 
 received for missionary purposes by the association from the 
 Board, or from any other source whatsoever, and he shall ren- 
 der a full annual report to the association. 
 
 "Article 9. In conducting its business the association shall 
 be governed by the general rules of similar bodies, and shall 
 have power to enact such by-laws as any peculiarities in its 
 circumstances may demand. 
 
 "Article 10. The association shall meet annually pursuant 
 to its own motion, and shall, besides, meet as often as the cir- 
 cumstances of its work may require, and special meetings may 
 be called by the president when requested by two of the mem- 
 bers of the association. 
 
 "Article 11. A majority of the members of the association 
 present in Egypt shall constitute a quorum for the transaction 
 of business. 
 
 "Article 12. It shall be the duty and exclusive right of the 
 association to dispose of a'.l funds committed to its trust, and to 
 transact all missionary business arising out of the relations of
 
 284 'The American Mission 
 
 its members to the home Church, and it shall report all its pro- 
 ceedings to the Board of Foreign Missions for its consideration 
 and approval. 
 
 "Article 13. This association shall be organized and go 
 into operation as soon as practicable after the necessary author- 
 ization and approval of this constitution shall have been re- 
 ceived from the General Assembly. 
 
 "Article 14. This constitution may be altered or amended 
 by a majority of any future association, with the concurrence 
 of the General Assembly. 
 
 The first meeting of the Missionary Association was held in 
 Cairo, March 17, 1871, and the first meeting of the presbytery 
 at v/hich native members took part, and in which the business 
 was transacted in the Arabic language, was held in Nakheilah 
 on October 31, 1871, on the occasion of the ordination and in- 
 stallation of Tadros Yusif over the congregation of that town. 
 From that time all purely mission matters, such as property 
 owned by the mission, schools established and carried on by it, 
 location of missionaries, care and disbursement of funds, other 
 than those collected from churches in Egypt, have been under 
 the control of the association ; but all ecclesiastical matters, 
 such as the admittance of students of theology, their licensure, 
 ordination, organization of churches, appointment of native 
 religious workers, and the use of money collected in the native 
 churches, belong to presbytery. So far the system has worked 
 
 admirably. 
 
 To give a detailed account of the spread of evangelistic 
 
 work in the Nile valley during this period, and a description of 
 
 the means and agencies employed, would take up a whole 
 
 volume. 
 
 The religious services at Alexandria, both on Sabbath and 
 
 during the week, were conducted by the missionaries located at 
 the station, assisted during 1870-71 by the licentiate Mr. Ibra- 
 him Yusif. Special meetings were held for a time at Kermuz, 
 a suburb of Alexandria. As there was no suitable place for the 
 Sabbath services in the mission premises, the use of the chapel 
 belonging to the Established Church of Scotland was secured 
 for a money consideration, and this arrangement continues up 
 to the present time. The only serious objection to it is the 
 necessity of meeting so early on Sabbath morning that some of 
 the people find it difficult to attend.
 
 IN Egypt. 285 
 
 In 1874, six men and five women were received on profes- 
 sion of their faith. " One of these," Dr. Ewing then wrote, 
 " is a soldier, who has for two years attended the services on 
 Sabbath morning with a good deal of regularity. At our recent 
 meeting of presbytery, the elder from Nakheilah asked me if I 
 had ever met this soldier in Alexandria. I replied, ' He is one 
 of the new members just now reported. Do you know him ? ' 
 The elder replied, ' He is from one of the towns near our place, 
 and some years since a number of us were accustomed to select 
 one of our acquaintances who was not a member of the evan- 
 gelical church, and make his conversion a special subject of 
 prayer. This is the one 1 had selected. I had not heard of 
 him for a long time, but thanks be to God for what I now 
 know.' " 
 
 Of those who died at Alexandria was Sa'id Abdulla, which 
 translated means " happy servant of God." He was one of 
 the many who were stolen away from the Sudan in their boy- 
 hood through the wicked slave traffic. After many sad exper- 
 iences, he ran away from his master and took refuge with a 
 French consul, who refused to restore him. He afterwards 
 found employment, which took him to Liverpool, where he 
 learned some English, and, what was better, the Christian 
 religion. He came afterwards to Alexandria and was taught to 
 read by the writer, and instructed more fully in the way of 
 life, and made a clear and earnest profession of his faith in 
 Jesus, his Saviour, and united with the church in April, 1866. 
 He remained a consistent member until the day of his death, 
 February 2, 1871. His death, which occurred at the German 
 hospital, from heart disease, came at last suddenly, but during 
 his last illness and a previous one about a year before, he ex- 
 hibited rare patience, cheerfulness, and resignation. Coming 
 to the joys of the Gospel of freedom from the sorrows of slav- 
 ery, he was a witness to God's goodness overruling man's 
 avarice and cruelty. His case, too, was a proof of the fact, 
 denied by many nominal Christians in Egypt, that God's Word 
 and Spirit can convert a Muslim into a meek and lowly Chris- 
 tian. He lived beloved of all who knew him, and his funeral 
 was attended by many who occupied much higher positions in 
 society than himself.
 
 286 The American Mission 
 
 In Monsurah the means of grace were used on the Sabbath 
 and during the week. Meetings for prayer and the reading of 
 the Word, visitation of people at their homes and in their 
 shops, Sabbath day services and Sabbath school lessons, yet 
 the success was small. The people in that town and vicinity 
 were steeped in corruption and wickedness. Visits were made 
 to Mit Assas, Saminud and Mahalla. The Coptic clergy were 
 alert in the use of means to prevent every approach to their 
 people. 
 
 A great amount of work was carried on in Cairo. Ser- 
 vices in Arabic were held regularly twice every Lord's day — 
 in English once, and in Armenian or Turkish. During the 
 winter of 1871-72, fourteen services were conducted in Cairo 
 every Lord's day by our mission workers, and several evening 
 meetings were held during the week in the Ezbakiyah quarter 
 and also in Haret-es-Sakkain ; while the Sabbath schools and 
 meetings for women were well attended. Encouraging acces- 
 sions to the membership of the church were made, but there 
 were several sad cases of backsliding. The temptations in this 
 city are so many that it seems everything exists to pull down 
 and nothing to build up. Dr. Lansing, and the pastor-elect, Mr. 
 Ibrahim Yusif, were both so ill at one time that there was little 
 hope of either being restored. So deeply was their critical 
 condition felt by the church that a day of fasting was kept with 
 earnest prayers, and both were restored. 
 
 In 1872, Dr. Barnett and family were compelled to seek a 
 change in Europe, and Dr. Barnett only returned in 1873 to 
 pick up his household goods and go home to America, Mrs. Bar- 
 nett in the meantime remaining in Europe under medical treat- 
 ment for severe ophthalmia, which for a time, if not perma- 
 nently, destroyed the sight of one of her eyes. The same year 
 Dr. and Mrs. Lansing also returned to America on a visit, and 
 the congregational work was left to Mr. Ibrahim Yusif, pastor- 
 elect and the writer. On learning that many of the women did 
 not understand a formal discourse, I asked them to remain after 
 the sermon on Sabbath morning, and went over the subject 
 with them in a simple conversational way, which proved of 
 much profit to them as long as it could be carried out.
 
 IN tGYPT. 287 
 
 It was with deep regret to all that the pastor-elect rejected, 
 in 1874, the call of the congregation, though he had formerly 
 given it some reason to believe that he would accept it. Per- 
 haps the uncertain state of his health had something to do with 
 it. He also withdrew for a time from mission work and entered 
 into business, but remained a member of the concrrec'ation. 
 Another man, of whom we all had high hopes, and who had 
 taken an active part in evangelistic movements, became 
 affected with the Plymouth notions, and denied the obligations 
 of Christians to keep the Sabbath, ceased to attend the meet- 
 ings of the congregation, and entered into business requiring 
 him to work on the first day of the week. During this period 
 the Cairo congregation had to mourn the death of Mr. Salih 
 Awad, one of the first converts and an elder. He was brought 
 to a knowledge of the truth through Brother McCague, as I 
 have already mentioned, and he remained steadfast to the last. 
 He was liberal, but peculiar in his contributions to the work of 
 Christ, regular in his attendance at religious meetings, upright 
 in his conduct, faithful in the performance of his family duties, 
 and we have good reason for the assurance that he was happy 
 in his death. Many a time I visited him in his sickness, and 
 very sorry 1 was that I was in Ramleh at the time of his death, 
 and only reached Cairo to offer a prayer at his gra\'e. Pre- 
 vious to his death he left a contribution of $750 for the mission, 
 which was spent to aid in the erection of the premises in Cairo. 
 
 Another worthy and prominent member died the same 
 year, Khalil Effendi. For several months he watched at the 
 bedside of one of his sons until he was taken away. Soon 
 after, he himself was taken ill and followed the son to the 
 spirit world. 
 
 it was in this period that the old property given to the mis- 
 sion in Cairo was finally sold to the viceroy. This property 
 was at the opening (mouth) of the great street of Cairo, called 
 the Moosky. It was iii a most central position, and was gix'en 
 to the mission, as we ha\'e seen, by Sa'id Pasha, in perpetuit\' 
 for school purposes. The mission, though able to hold it against 
 the government as long as it was used for the purpose for which 
 it was given, yet had no clear title-deed for it, and therefore
 
 288 The American Mission 
 
 could sell it only to the government. Ishmael Pasha, the suc- 
 cessor of Sa'id Pasha, had exalted ideas about the improvement 
 of Cairo, and had new and wide streets opened here and there 
 through the thickly populated parts of the city, and perfected 
 plans for a new part to be added to the city around the fme 
 garden of the Ezbakiyah, which he had laid out in an artistic 
 manner, with trees, flowers, grotto, restaurants, fountains and 
 a small lake, and surrounded all by a large iron fence. Our 
 mission house, however, interfered somewhat with his plans, 
 on account of its commanding the entrance to the Moosky, where 
 he wished to erect a government building, but he had a wonder- 
 ful capacity for executing what he took in hand, sometimes by 
 fair means, but often by foul. About the year 1870, he com- 
 menced to reconnoitre in order to discover some means of ap- 
 proaching the missionaries and securing the premises. On the 
 plea of making a survey, a man, at the instance of the govern- 
 ment, got permission to enter and look through the house, and 
 measure the court, and told the missionary in charge that the 
 premises were worth ;2{^2,ooo. Later on, an offer of ^^3,000 
 was made. Later still, ^4,000, and after a longtime, ;^5,ooo. 
 The Missionary Association, informed of the propositions, and 
 not wishing to stand in the v\ay of any improvements which 
 the Khedive might wish to make in that quarter ; knowing, too, 
 that in many ways he might in the end force the mission to re- 
 move, since it had no legal title-deeds, it appointed a committee, 
 consisting of Drs. Barnett and Lansing. This committee was 
 afterwards discharged, and L. Muller, Esq., of the firm of Messrs. 
 Tod, Rathbone & Co., was requested to act as the mission's 
 agent. It soon became apparent that Mr. Muller needed the co- 
 operation of the mission staff, and therefore Dr. Lansing and 
 Rev. S. C. Ewing were appointed to advise with him and em- 
 powered to close the negotiations if a sufficient offer was made 
 by the government of his highness. 
 
 All such business moves very slowly in the East, and this 
 dragged on, adding much to the cares and vexations of the resi- 
 dent missionaries, and although the assistance of Hon. R. 
 Beardsley was heartily given whenever it seemed proper, still 
 it was not finished up to the time of the annual meeting in the
 
 IN EGYPT. 289 
 
 spring of 1873. At this meeting the writer, who was then re- 
 moved from Monsurah to Cairo, was added to the committee. 
 Active negotiations were immediately resumed on the writer's 
 removal to Cairo, and frequent interviews were held with the 
 authorities, who had raised their offer to ^6,000, or $ 30,000. At 
 this juncture, our ambassador at Constantinople, then the vice- 
 president of the American Bible Society, visited Egypt and took 
 a deep interest in the mission and the negotiations. The com- 
 mittee hinted to him that he might, in an interview with the 
 Khedive, prevail upon his highness to give an additional ;^i,ooo, 
 in view of the fact that the money would be used in the interests 
 of education. This he succeeded in accomplishing. It remained, 
 however, to secure a lot on which to build. Lots were very 
 high just then, and had we been obliged to buy a lot, it would 
 have taken at least ;!^2,ooo of the £7,000. So the committee 
 put on a bold face and secured the intervention of friends to lay 
 before the Khedive a request for a lot on which to erect new 
 premises. He was informed that the mission did not wish to 
 carry the £7,000 to America, nor to spend it on their general 
 work in Egypt, but they wished to erect premises in the city of 
 Cairo that would correspond with his ideas of what was befit- 
 ting the great capital of Egypt. At first he demurred somewhat, 
 but finally consented to give us the lot immediately to the north 
 of the one on which the mission building now stands. 
 
 Up to this point the negotiations were only verbal, and it 
 was then proposed to make a written contract between the com- 
 mittee, on the part of the mission, and the governor of Cairo, 
 on the part of the Egyptian government, in the meantime, 
 however, the government gave uS;^i,ooo to bind the bargain. 
 The committee drew up the form of the contract, in which it 
 was agreed to deliver up the keys of the old premises within 
 forty days from the date of the contract, and on deli\'ering up 
 the keys they should receive the sum of ^6,000 and the title- 
 deed for the lot. We left the contract with the governor, and 
 returned next day to have it signed if he agreed to it. On re- 
 turning, we found that one or two changes had been made, one 
 of which made the payment of the ;!^6,ooo at the time of giving 
 up the keys of the old premises, to our mind, at least doubtful. 
 
 19
 
 290 The American Mission 
 
 As we understood it, it might mean that the payment might be 
 made then or any time after, and so we would not agree unless 
 the matter was made clear that at the time of giving up the 
 keys the money should then and there be paid. The governor 
 also pleaded that he could not give the legal deed at the time of 
 his receiving the keys of the old premises on account of a point 
 of law. As he might have been right on this point, we waived 
 that condition and, instead, asked the governor to give us his 
 promise in writing, sealed with his seal, that he would give us 
 the title-deed ten days after getting the keys. He demurred, 
 saying, "Cannot you take my word of honor ? I am governor 
 of the city of Cairo, and cannot you believe my word ?'* We 
 said we were a committee appointed by a society, and were re- 
 sponsible to that society, and must do business on business 
 principles. The interview broke up without the contract being 
 sealed, and the governor went down to Alexandria to consult 
 with his superiors. After a few days he sent for us and agreed 
 to our conditions. We received also an order to take possession 
 of the lot immediately, but on reading it, we found it gave only 
 possession of half the lot, so the next day we went back to the 
 governor and returned this order, saying our agreement was for 
 the whole lot, and we could not take half of it. Then we went 
 home and kept quiet. We had in our hands ;^i,ooo already 
 paid, and still had possession of the old premises, and so we 
 were perfectly safe. Hitherto we had run about the business ; 
 now we thought the other side should make the first move. 
 We, however, let our consul-general know how the matter 
 stood. After a few days he was sent for and asked why the 
 missionaries would not accept the lot. He replied that as the 
 contract was for the whole lot, they would not very likely take 
 a half. 
 
 When the government saw it could get no assistance from 
 the consul-general, a message was sent to the committee to 
 look out for some other lot belonging to the government, as the 
 half of the one promised had become the property of another 
 individual. So we looked around and found the one on which 
 our premises now stand, and agreed to take it, although it was 
 not quite as good. The forty days given us to find houses for
 
 IN Egypt. 
 
 291 
 
 the families, for the schools, and book department were none 
 too much. With great difficulty houses were rented for the dif- 
 ferent objects of the mission. On the fortieth day we put in an 
 appearance at the "governorat." Dr. Barnett, who had re- 
 turned from Europe, accompanied us. To him was given the 
 big key of the old premises, which he was not to deliver up 
 unless the other conditions were fulfilled. The governor gave 
 up his sealed promise to hand to us after ten days' the title- 
 deed, the usual charge of five per centum for expenses being 
 remitted. Dr. Barnett handed to the governor the key, and 
 the treasurer of the governor brought in the ^6,ocxd in gold and 
 paid them over to our bankers. In counting them over two 
 twenty franc pieces were found instead of two pounds sterling, 
 making a difference against us of two dollars. This I made 
 good to the mission. So thus ended the negotiations with the 
 government. Had the matter been delayed another two months 
 we would likely be still in the old premises, for the Egyptian 
 government got into financial difficulties almost immediately 
 after, and had no money left for such operations. It is scarcely 
 necessary to add that we were glad to receive the deed at the 
 time specified, for we did not know what the Turk might do in 
 the matter. 
 
 In the district of Faiyum the door continued to open wider 
 and wider in Sinoris, while the prospects were not cheering in 
 Medinah. Brother Harvey considered it his duty to remove his 
 headquarters to the former place, which he did on January 24, 
 1870, and soon after Mrs. Harvey opened a school for girls. 
 Eleven adults were received to membership on profession of 
 their faith during the first year of their residence there, and 
 meetings for prayer and study of the Word were held every 
 night, besides the regular services on Sabbath, also prayer- 
 meetings for women, and a Sabbath school. The blessing of 
 God accompanied the use of the means of grace and encourag- 
 ing numbers professed their evangelical faith year by year. 
 The work in Medinah was continued on a smaller scale on 
 account of the more urgent demands from other places. Rhoda 
 was visited, and as a door was opened there, a worker was 
 sent to it for a time, and his labors were not in vain. Visits
 
 292 The American Mission 
 
 were also made to Fiddemin and Tamiyah. At the last named 
 place two persons were beaten for listening to Protestant doc- 
 trines. 
 
 In 1871, Brother Harvey hearing of a partially enlightened 
 Copt residing in Suft, visited him and found that the man was 
 far in advance of his countrymen in intelligence. A school was 
 opened there and continued for a short time, then an evangelist 
 was sent, and before long the nucleus of a congregation was 
 formed during this period. Other places were visited, such as 
 Sanhur, Agamien, Nazely, Minyet-el-Hist. The congregation 
 of Sinoris was organized in March, 1873, by tha election of 
 elders and deacons during the session of presbytery there. 
 
 Much opposition was stirred up in Medinah and Sinoris to 
 the building of a house of worship in the latter place, but God 
 heard the prayers of His people, and formal permission was 
 granted by the government, and the foundations were laid on 
 May 6, 1874. By the end of the year the walls were finished 
 and enough money had been secured, chiefly through Brother 
 Harvey, to finish the building. A good deal of persecution and 
 determined opposition were often experienced in the work in 
 the Faiyum, both from the Copts and the government oificials, 
 the latter at Coptic instigation. As a specimen of what not 
 unfrequently occurred, 1 record the following : During this 
 period services were being held in Sinoris one Sabbath day by 
 Brother Harvey when an order came from the seat of the pro- 
 vincial government at Medinah for six Protestants to appear be- 
 fore the governor, the names being given, and among them Mr. 
 Fanus Hanna and one of the teachers. They obeyed the sum- 
 mons, though they had no knowledge of what they were 
 accused. On reaching the government offices they were 
 brought before the sub-governor, who thrust them into prison 
 without giving any reasons. After some hours they were 
 recalled and accused by the Coptic priests of talking against 
 their religion. They replied that they were only trying to lead 
 the people back to their original faith. They were then, after 
 attempts were made to intimidate them, kept until the gover- 
 nor arrived, and while waiting for him persons tried to induce 
 them to sign a paper promising not to agitate any more on the
 
 IN Egypt. 
 
 293 
 
 differences between the Copts and Protestants, but they firmly- 
 refused. After the governor came they were questioned about 
 their conduct, and the chief scribe, a Copt, tried to influence 
 the governor against them, but he, seeing they had committed 
 no offence against the law, released them. It afterwards hap- 
 pened, however, that in other cases the brethren found it not 
 easy to convince the authorities of their innocence, for Muham- 
 madan rulers generally have a strong hatred to Protestantism, 
 because it makes men intelligent and gives a love of freedom, 
 and undermines Islamism effectually, and is more likely to 
 make converts than the sects that worship pictures and pray 
 to saints. 
 
 The period from January i, 1870, to December 31, 1874, 
 was one of great importance in the history of the work in the 
 town of Asyut and the great district attached to it, whether to 
 the north or to the south. Brother Currie, who had his head- 
 quarters at Kus, had, in the mysterious providence of God, 
 been taken home to receive his eternal reward, and the super- 
 intendence of the work in that region naturally fell upon the 
 missionaries at Asyut. Of the things worthy of note (and 
 perhaps no more worthy than many others), I would mention 
 the following : 
 
 Beginning with Asyut. The building, the site for which 
 was bought in December, 1868, but which, for various 
 reasons, was not commenced until the 29th of November, 1869, 
 was so far advanced by the time presbytery met in 1870 that it ■ 
 was resolved to meet in it thenceforward, in preference to the 
 open court in which for several months the religious services 
 had been conducted, and to make the occasion memorable, it 
 was agreed that the first meeting should be held in the new 
 church on the first Sabbath of March, when all the missionaries 
 of Egypt would be present. A preliminary meeting was held 
 on the previous evening, at which the retiring moderator de- 
 livered a carefully prepared discourse on 2 Corinthians 10 : 4, 
 and constituted the presbytery with prayer in the presence of 
 an attentive and interested audience, who had never witnessed 
 such a ceremony, affecting in its very simplicity. At an early 
 houi next morning an audience of above two hundred assembled
 
 294 The American Mission 
 
 to witness the dedication services in which all the other ordained 
 missionaries took part. Dr. Barnett presented the dedicatory 
 prayer, Dr. Lansing preached the opening sermon. Dr. Hogg 
 baptized two children and admitted eight new members, then 
 the Lord's Supper was celebrated, at which the Rev. Messrs. 
 Ewing and Harvey officiated, and Brother Evving preached 
 also in the evening. Special services were held in the new church 
 every night during the meeting of presbytery, the most impor- 
 tant of which was that held on Wednesday, March i6, when 
 after a careful examination, lasting for several nights, two of the 
 students of the seminary were formally lie ensed by the presby- 
 tery to preach the everlasting Gospel. The beautiful commun- 
 ion service presented to the Asyut congregation by the Second 
 United Presbyterian church of Monmouth, 111., was used for 
 the first time, and formally presented to the congregation at the 
 interesting communion season just referred to, so that nothing 
 was wanting to make it a day long to be remembered. Early 
 in the following April the organization of the Asyut congrega- 
 tion was effected by the election and ordination of three elders 
 and two deacons who took a deep interest in the spread of the 
 truth in their own town and elsewhere. The year 1870 was 
 remarkable, too, for the large accession to the membership, 
 viz., forty in one year, of whom nineteen were from Asyut. 
 During the absence of Dr. Hogg for more than a year, the con- 
 gregational work was carried on five months by missionaries 
 from the northern stations and eight months by licentiates and 
 other native workers. The many changes of workers, some of 
 whom were but poorly qualified, had an injurious effect upon 
 the congregation, and the evening meetings and Sabbath schools, 
 but after the return of Dr. Hogg and during the following two 
 years there was a marked improvement. 
 
 After the organization of the congregation of Nakheilah on 
 April 22, 1871, sixteen of the members of the Asyut congrega- 
 tion were transferred to its roll because they resided in that 
 locality. A call was made out by the Nakheilah congregation 
 for Mr. Tadros Yusif, who had been laboring there for some 
 time, to become their pastor, and was by him accepted, and at 
 a meeting of presbytery held October 31, 1871, he was sol-
 
 IN Egypt. 
 
 295 
 
 emnly set apart to the ministry of the Word and installed pas- 
 tor over the Lord's people there. This was the first meeting of 
 presbytery at which the business was transacted in the Arabic 
 language, and in which Egyptians were members, and this was 
 the first pastorate which was formed in connection with our 
 mission in Egypt. It has been on the whole a successful one. 
 Few Egyptians have a better head and better heart than Rev. 
 Tadros Yusif. The amount of hard work he has done, with no 
 grumbling, with no mercenary spirit, with no seeking after 
 qlory, is only known to the Master Himself. The growth of 
 the evangelical church in the neighborhood is largely due to his 
 energy and perseverance, tact, and unselfish labor. He has 
 now lost his sight, but still serves the Lord with all his strength 
 and power. Nakheilah is a large town, on the west bank of 
 the Nile, about four hours' ride south of Asyut. Half or more 
 of its inhabitants were Copts. It had been visited by all the 
 missionaries who made trips on the Nile. In the early histor\' of 
 the mission many copies of the Scriptures were sold there. The 
 theological students or other workers were accustomed to go 
 there from Asyut in turn on Saturday and spend the Lord's 
 Day. Dr. Hogg went there for the Sabbath as often as he could. 
 The rich family of Ez Zaglamah had become enlightened 
 and its members gladly entertained the workers, and for a time 
 allowed their meetings to be held in their large court. During 
 the year before the installation, Mr. Tadros Yusif labored there 
 v/ith great acceptance. Fifty-five were added to the member- 
 ship during the year 1871, so that success followed his labors 
 from the beginning of his ministry. Tadros Abu Zaglamy 
 was one of the leading men of Nakheilah and the head of the 
 laity of the Coptic sect in the whole region. It was no easy 
 matter for a man in his position to renounce the love of 
 honor and join himself to the small despised evangelical party. 
 But God who had called him by His grace and resolved to use 
 him, not as Saul the persecutor, but as Paul the preacher and 
 apostle, opened his heart to the reception of tlie truth when it 
 was first proclaimed in the town by the evangelists from 
 Asyut, and, like Lydia of old, he opened his house to the 
 preachers, and then opened his mouth to speak in their defence
 
 296 The American Mission 
 
 and to silence their opponents. After searching the Scriptures 
 with great zeal and attending the services with unfailing regu- 
 larity for some time, he made a public profession of his faith 
 and was admitted to the membership of the church. From that 
 day to the day of his death his zeal in the work of the Lord was 
 ever on the increase. He always carried a copy of the New 
 Testament in his pocket, and wherever he went and with 
 whomsoever he was he never lost an opportunity of reading 
 from it and conversing with all who would listen to him on the 
 great doctrines of the Gospel of salvation. His example was 
 greatly blessed in stirring up the rest of the brethren, espe- 
 cially on the night when volunteers were asked for village 
 work. Besides his earnest Christian zeal, he was distinguished 
 by many amiable traits of character. Notable among these 
 was his humility, by which he often won over to him men of 
 the basest description who sought to prevent him reading aloud 
 in the market place, or in the streets where he generally spent 
 a portion of every Lord's day. His singleness of purpose and 
 sincerity in the performance of his duties were also very 
 marked, and also the faithful manner in which he endeavored 
 to minister to the spiritual wants of his own household. His 
 labors were owned of God in the spiritual enlightenment of all 
 the members of his large household, a matter which caused him 
 unfeigned delight during the whole of his Christian career, and 
 which also p'-oved a solace to his family after decease. On 
 the day of his death two of the brethren called on him. He 
 had been confined to the house for only a fortnight, and was 
 still able to sit up on the divan, and none of us imagined that 
 his illness was anything very serious. He himself seems to 
 have felt otherwise. He asked them to sing the eighty-fourth 
 Psalm, in which David gives utterance to his fervent longings 
 for his heavenly home. After they had sung it once he asked 
 them to sing it a second time. Shortly after their departure 
 one of the elders visited him and read to him a portion of the 
 Scripture, and then engaged in prayer, and in the course of his 
 prayer he besought the Lord to remove his sickness and re- 
 store him to his wonted health and strength. When he had 
 finished Mr. Tadros said, "Why didn't you say, thy will be
 
 IN Egypt. 297 
 
 done ? " He then called his son (who is superintendent of the 
 Sabbath school in Nakheilah), and charged him to prepare 
 rooms for the accommodation of the pastor and also of the boys' 
 school, until the church, etc., should be built, hi a few hours 
 he had left us. Quietly, calmly, and without a struggle he fell 
 asleep in Jesus. 
 
 The congregation of Mutiah was organized on December 
 16, 1 87 1, by the ordination of elders, by a commission of pres- 
 bytery consisting of Rev. Tadros Yusif, Elder Athanasius and 
 the writer. During the examination of the oificers-elect it came 
 out that the chief man in the congregation and one of the elders- 
 elect had a slave. I took him aside and had a solemn talk with 
 him, and tried to shov/ him the sin of slavery and the incon- 
 sistency of a Christian holding a human being in bondage. He 
 said he had never thought of it before ; that he would think 
 about it and pray over it that night and let me know in the 
 morning what he would do, for I had told him we could not go 
 on with the ordination until he liberated his slave. In the morn- 
 ing he announced that he had come to the conclusion that it was 
 wrong for a Christian to hold a human being in bondage, and 
 that he would publicly announce the emancipation of his slave 
 in the meeting of the congregation in the evening, which he did 
 in all sincerity. He always thereafter treated him as a son, and 
 not as a slave. This congregation of Mutiah grew rapidly. 
 Twenty-two who were on the Asyut roll were transferred to 
 this new organization. Supplies were sent as often as possible 
 from the seminary, to conduct the services on Sabbath day, but 
 the elder just mentioned was able in the Scriptures, very fluent 
 in speech and earnest in prayer, and therefore was capable of 
 edifying his brethren. By February 18, 1872, the membership 
 had become forty-five. These two congregations, with that of 
 Asyut, became centers and sources of light to all the villages in 
 the district around. Every Sabbath afternoon the more earnest 
 and enlightened members were accustomed to visit the villages 
 in the neighborhood, or sought out people in their own towns, 
 and it might literally be said that "they went everywhere 
 preaching the Word." The almost sole subject of conversation 
 then was the doctrines of grace, the new religion of the Protest-
 
 298 The American Mission 
 
 ants as being in accord with or a republication of the old re- 
 ligion of the Apostles. A very large part of the success around 
 Asyut was due to these native volunteers, who were led on and 
 fired up by Brother Hogg. 
 
 It is worthy of remark that one reason for the rapid spread 
 of evangelical views at this period was the custom of meeting 
 every night at the various centers for religious services, a cus- 
 tom that still prevails in many places. I believe it was origin- 
 ated by Dr. Hogg, and, at least in the beginning of the work, it 
 served as a means to keep up the interest and zeal of those who 
 had already professed their faith, while it afforded a daily op- 
 portunity for inquirers to learn more of the doctrines of the new 
 sect, and to become acquainted with the teaching of the Lord in 
 His own Word in contrast with the commandments of men which 
 they had been taught from their youth. Dr. Hogg reported 
 thirty-nine meetings for prayer, singing and the study of the 
 Word each week throughout the year in Asyut, Mutiah, Bagore, 
 Daweir and Naklieilah, with an average of twenty at each 
 meeting. In Sinoris, the same year, meetings were held on the 
 nights of Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. 
 
 Meetings were also held in Haret-es-Sakkain and the Ezba- 
 kiyah, Cairo, but varying in success, on account of the diffi- 
 culties of fixing an hour suitable to all. 
 
 In Asyut there were 624 night meetings in 1873, 313 in 
 Mutiah, 391 in Nakheilah, 373 in Kus ; the average at each was 
 thirty persons. Some of these meetings were held during the 
 day, i. e., those expressly for women, as very few women at- 
 tend the night meetings, it being contrary to their ideas of pro- 
 priety, as well as an interference with their domestic duties, to 
 go out at night. 
 
 A movement was started by Mrs. Lansing, by which a 
 number of the members went out on Sabbath afternoon and 
 distributed tracts in Cairo. This continued for some time, and 
 was a means of great good. 
 
 Irregular visits were made by missionaries, or by native 
 pastors and other workers, to many places in the district of 
 Asyut, such as Beni-Aleig, Walidiyah, Dronka, Shutl, Mooshi, 
 Bagore, Azziyah, Busrah, Bedari, MelIawi,Wasta, Abnub,Tahta,
 
 IN Egypt. 
 
 299 
 
 Hammin, Jawily, Es Sahil, Nawamus, Kom Saadah and Minya, 
 and evangelical literature was freely circulated and read, espe- 
 cially the controversial works of Dr. Mashaka, of Damascus, 
 and schools were opened in various places. 
 
 Brother Harvey visited Kus in the spring of 1870 and spent 
 a few weeks in that region. Brother Ewing, with his family, 
 spent over two months there about the beginning of 1871, butthe 
 people were still in mourning over the death of Brother Currie, 
 to whom they had been greatly attached. There had been a 
 good deal of alienation of feeling between some members, but 
 some of this was removed. All for a time took great interest 
 in the erection of a place of meeting on a lot favorably located 
 and freely given to the congregation. The Coptic clergy, how- 
 ever, reported to the government that the Protestants of Kus 
 had commenced to build a church without a license, and on peti- 
 tioning for such license, though the good offices of various 
 influential parties had been secured, they had not received a 
 favorable reply when Brother Ewing visited them again in 
 November and December. This, with the absence of stated 
 supply, was the cause of some discouragement and coldness. 
 The visits of some native workers, as the Rev. Tadros Yusif 
 and others, had a reviving effect on them and a quickening in- 
 fluence on the inquirers at Luxor and Kurnah, as also did a brief 
 tour of Mr. and Mrs. Strang. But not only did they not receive 
 license to build up to the end of 1874, but they were compelled 
 to promise that they would desist from holding religious meet- 
 ings altogether, until they got formal permission to build a 
 church for themselves. From the beginning of the mission 
 work, and especially as soon as success seemed to follow the 
 mission efforts, the enemies of the cause used every means to 
 oppose and annoy them. The Coptic clergy ordered their 
 people not to rent houses or sell lands to Protestants. The 
 government, too, in all its departments was against us and car- 
 ried out a system of petty persecutions against the new sect, 
 which was said to be led on by foreigners, who had the secret 
 design of taking the country. Sometimes the most outrageous 
 acts of injustice were perpetrated on the native evangelists in 
 the way of imposing forced labor on them or their children.
 
 300 The American Mission 
 
 This made it necessary sometimes for the missionaries to ask 
 for the good offices of the English or the American consul. 
 This indirectly served to confirm the officials in the idea that 
 the missionaries came to extend the influence of foreign powers 
 in the valley of the Nile. The greatest opposition was shown 
 by the government to giving permission to the Protestants to 
 build places of worship. However, notwithstanding the opposi- 
 tion of the Coptic clergy, and the acts of injustice of the Egypt- 
 ian officials, the Word of God continued to show its power over 
 the hearts and lives of many, for during these five years there 
 united with the Protestant Church in Egypt 435 on profession 
 of their faith in Christ as their only Saviour. They also con- 
 tributed of their means towards the spread of the Gospel or the 
 erection of places of worship during this period the following 
 sums as near as I have been able to gather : Alexandria, $264 ; 
 Monsurah, $260; Cairo, ^2,775; Asyut, $3,503; Mutiah, 
 $458; Mellawi, $483; Sinoris, $862; Nakheilah, $1,750; 
 Kus, $367. 
 
 MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 
 
 Soon after the beginning of 1870 the anathema of the 
 Coptic bishop in Asyut was pronounced against any Copt who 
 should visit or receive medicine from the Protestant doctor. 
 At first this had some effect, but it was of short duration, for 
 before the year ended Dr. Johnston was called to visit the 
 bishop's sister in his own house. Besides the clinic held at the 
 surgery, at which many attended, frequent calls were made in 
 the homes of the people in Asyut itself, as well as the villages 
 around. During 1871 the doctor's practice extended more to 
 the Muslims than formerly, while from thirty to fifty persons 
 applied at the clinic for treatment every day. The doctor's 
 experience was often discouraging, because his best efforts were 
 often rendered useless through the disregard of his patients to 
 his orders, and their ready belief in any suggestion of a stray 
 caller, or a want of confidence in the use of means, the in- 
 fluence of the almost universal belief in the dogma of fate being 
 very great. Dr. Johnston's duties in the academy took up a
 
 IN Egypt. 301 
 
 good part of his time from the year 1872 onward. In 1873, Dr. 
 Johnston was compelled to be away from Asyut for eight 
 months. He was detained in Cairo by the illness and death of 
 his son in March, and on account of his own health and the 
 necessities of the station at Monsurah, he was requested to 
 labor there and take charge of the work during the summer. 
 Mr. Rule, who had been appointed to Monsurah, afterwards 
 resigned and went home to America, on account of a change of 
 views in doctrine and practice. Dr. Johnston returned to Asyut 
 in September and immediately left on the small boat to make a 
 trip on the Nile as far as Esna. He found many opportunities 
 for helping the suffering and giving them medicine for body and 
 soul. During 1874, patients numbering 4,500 were treated 
 either medically or surgically, more than half of them for dis- 
 eases of the eyes. The charge of the academy prevented the 
 doctor from making any trips on the Nile afterwards.
 
 302 The American Mission 
 
 CHAPTER XIX, 
 
 January i, 1875, to January i, 1880 — Comparative statistics — Missionaries 
 and stations — New missionaries — Alexandria, work, accessions — Monsurah.work 
 and workers — Cairo, Dr. Lansing pastor — Work in Ezbakiyah, Haret-es-Sakkain 
 and Bulac — Accessions — Case of Ahmed Fahmy, conversion, kidnaping — Means 
 employed to have him recant — Return to Dr. Lansing's -Departure for Scotland 
 with Lord Aberdeen — Attends University of Edinburgh — Goes to China — Laying 
 foundation of new premises in Cairo, interesting exercises — New cemetery in 
 Cairo — Faiyum — Opening of a new church — Departure of Mr. and Mrs. Harvey 
 to America — Election of pastor in Sinoris — Asyut, unsatisfactory state of congre- 
 gation — Places occupied in the neighborhood and work done by zealous mem- 
 bers— The millwright — Work in Upper Thebaid — Mr. Harvey's trip on Ibis, 1877- 
 78— His visit to Kosair — Mr. Giffen's visit to same with Rev. G. Raphael— New 
 pastorates — New organizations, etc. 
 
 COMPARATIVE STATISTICS. 
 
 Jan. ly iSjS- Five years period. Jan. /, 1880. 
 
 7 Ordained missionaries, 8 
 
 2 Other male missionaries, o 
 
 6 Unmarried female missionaries, 6 
 
 9 Married female missionaries, 8 
 
 2 Native ordained ministers, 6 
 
 15 Other presbyterial workers, 25 
 
 6 Organized churches, 11 
 596 Church members, 985 
 986 Sabbath morning average attendance, 2,083 
 
 $3,106 Church contributions, 
 
 14 Sabbath schools, 
 
 733 Sabbath school scholars, 
 
 24 Weekly schools, 
 
 40 Teachers in same, 
 
 1,170 Pupils in same, 
 
 $567 Tuitions, 
 
 5 Book depots, 
 
 7 Salesmen and colporteurs, 
 10,176 Volumes sold, 
 
 $2,541 Income from sales.
 
 IN Egypt. 303 
 
 MISSIONARY STAFF— 1 874- 1 879. 
 
 Alexandria. Rev. S. C. Ewing and wife, and Rev. John 
 Giffen, till July, 1877. Miss Theresa M. Campbell until May, 
 1876, and Miss M. A. Frazier from November 25, 1877. 
 
 Cairo. Rev. G. Lansing, D. D., and wife, Rev. A. Watson 
 and wife, Rev. W. Harvey and wife, from April i, 1878. 
 Misses E. F. Johnston, A. Y. Thompson and M. A. Smith. 
 
 Asyiit: Rev. J. Hogg, D. D., and wife. Dr. D. R. John- 
 ston and wife till April of 1875, Mr. D. Strang and wife until 
 they left for America, Rev. J. R. Alexander, Rev. John Giffen 
 from July, 1877. Miss M. J McKown, Miss M. G. Lockhart 
 until April, 1878, when she returned to America. 
 
 MonsitraJi. Rev. A. M. Nichol and wife. Miss M. E. Gal- 
 loway until her marriage with Rev. John Giffen, on June 5, 
 1876. Miss Isabella Strang from the spring of 1879. 
 
 NEW MISSIONARIES IN THIS PERIOD. 
 
 Rev. Messrs. J. R. Alexander, John Giffen and Miss M. E. 
 Galloway reached Egypt March 13, 1875. Miss Carrie Elder 
 came out in the autumn of 1876, and on her arrival was married 
 to Rev. J. R. Alexander. Miss Isabella Strang reached Egypt in 
 the spring of 1879. ^'ss M. A. Frazier from Damascus, Novem- 
 ber, 1877. 
 
 Whenever the various departments of mission work at any 
 central station have been established and the workers have en- 
 tered upon their duties, each one his own or her own place, 
 whether as teachers, or preachers, or Bible readers, or colpor- 
 teurs, they may all be performing their duties earnestly and v 
 faithfully, and yet there may be nothing of special interest to 
 place on record. Just as in the history of congregations in the 
 home field, quiet, steady work may be carried on and yet there 
 be nothing of unusual importance. There may be only small 
 results for some years, but if the seed is being sown in faith 
 and prayer, there will come a time of ingathering. Indeed, it 
 often happens that for a period faithful work is done, protracted 
 sufferings endured, great obstacles overcome, and yet the mis- 
 sionary feels unwilling to put it on paper for the public eye.
 
 304 The American Mission 
 
 These remarks are specially applicable to some of the central 
 stations during this period of the history of the mission. 
 
 Brother Ewing had charge of the congregational and evan- 
 gelistic work in Alexandria as well as the book department. 
 He was assisted part of the time by ex-priest Buktor. The 
 morning services continued to be held in the Scotch church 
 and in the afternoon in the mission house in connection with 
 the Sabbath school. Fifteen members were added during these 
 five years on profession of their faith, and six by certificate. 
 More than half as many removed to other places, so that at 
 the close of 1879 the total number reported on the roll was 
 forty-one. Services were conducted on Sabbath and prayer- 
 meetings held also at Kermuz, a suburb of Alexandria, part of 
 the time. 
 
 Monsurah was left during 1875 in the care of native agents, 
 Rev. Makhiel El-Belyani conducting the religious services on 
 Sabbath day and prayer-meetings during the week, with the 
 help of the teachers. Ex-priest Yacoob took his place in 1876. 
 \n the succeeding years Brother Nichol was assisted by Mr. 
 Habib Zakhir and others, as he was never in very robust 
 health. Little progress was made in this most difficult field, 
 but the seed was being sown by books and by the living voice 
 and Christian life. 
 
 In Cairo, Dr. Lansing was in charge of the Arabic congre- 
 gation and the services were continued without interruption. 
 Brother Harvey and the writer took their turns with Dr. Lans- 
 ing in conducting services, both in Arabic and English, and 
 occasionally Rev. Makhiel El-Belyani. The lower chapel of the 
 new premises was used for the first time on the first Sabbath 
 of June, 1876. Special services were conducted by Dr. Lansing 
 in Arabic and by the writer in English. From that time the 
 attendance continued to improve ; from three to five evening 
 meetings were kept up at different times and places in the city. 
 Services were continued also in Haret-es-Sakkain in the after- 
 noon by Mr. Harvey and for a time in the morning. A service 
 was commenced also at Bulak by Rev. Makhiel. The Sabbath 
 schools and prayer-meetings for women, as well as all the day 
 schools, continued. The services in Armenian and Turkish
 
 Mission House;, Cairo.
 
 IN Egypt. 
 
 305 
 
 were suspended, and the Armenians from that time attended 
 either the Arabic or the English services. During these years 
 there were added to the church by profession fifty-five persons 
 and six by certificates Some fell into open sins and were sus- 
 pended. Others were taken away to the world of spirits. 
 The membership at the close of 1879, including Haret-es-Sak- 
 ^ain and Bulak, was loi. 
 
 THE CASE OF AHMED FAHMY. ' 
 
 He and his two brothers, Muhammad and Mahmud, had 
 all been pupils in the boys' school in Cairo. Dr. Lansing once 
 made this remark to a friend who visited the school, pointing 
 to Muhammad, the older, "That young man is near the king- 
 dom of God." He had such faith in him that he encouraged 
 him to open and conduct a school in the name of the mission in 
 Bulak, and subsequently in Geeza. The boys were sons of 
 parents of good position and some wealth, the father being chief 
 clerk in the Muslim court of appeal. While Ahmed was attend- 
 ing the mission school he also took lessons in El Azhar, the 
 chief school of Muhammadan learning in Cairo. He did not 
 seem to have been much influenced, however, by what instruc- 
 tion he received in our school, hi it he learned English as well 
 as French, and thus a world of reading matter was opened up 
 to him. He got possession of various books that seemed to 
 exert an influence upon him. In the autumn of 1875 he was 
 employed as teacher of the new missionaries, and continued in 
 that capacity until his conversion. In performing these duties 
 he had Miss Smith as one of his pupils. She says : " Besides 
 other books, we read every day a chapter from the Bible. Of 
 this, he afterwards said, he tried hard not to think of the mean- 
 ing, and if any argument was brought forward in favor of 
 Christianity it irritated him very much, so much so that he be- 
 came angry and requested that nothing more be said on that 
 subject." The only recourse was prayer. The chapter each 
 day was read without comment. After several months he 
 began to ask questions, and finally he became satisfied as to the 
 truth of Christianity, but did not dare to mention it to any one. 
 20
 
 3o6 The American Mission 
 
 Prejudice, too, was hard to overcome. He afterwards expressed 
 his feelings in this way : "1 was like a man tossed about by 
 the raging waves of the sea and in danger of being drowned ; 
 near me was a ship in which I knew I could find safety, but I 
 felt I would rather perish than be saved by that ship." He 
 would arise at night and pray when all were asleep, and he 
 would imagine some of the family looking at him. At this time 
 he had great conflict of soul. On one side was the honor of 
 his family and friends, and the terrible disgrace he would bring 
 upon himself and his loved ones (for he dearly loved his 
 parents, brothers and sisters). On the other hand, the terrible 
 persecution and death that, perhaps, would follow ; the hate 
 that would take the place of fond love in the hearts of .his rel- 
 atives. Then there was the love of Christ and the promise of 
 salvation through Him alone. After a long and fierce struggle, 
 the decision was made, encouraged thereto by the assurance 
 that he would receive a hundred-fold more in this life with per- 
 secution and in the world to come life everlasting. He wrote 
 out a confession in Christ v/iththe Scripture reasons for becom- 
 ing a Christian, but he carried this confession in his pocket for 
 many days before he gained strength and courage enough to 
 hand it over and thus make known that he was a Christian. 
 Finally, he announced his determination to profess the Christian 
 faith and sent a letter on October i6, 1877, to that effect to 
 Miss Smith, and she communicated the news to the rest. He 
 came to this deliberate conclusion after much thought and 
 prayer, and knew well that it meant separation from parents 
 and other relatives. Miss Smith says : "He had gath- 
 ered quite a little library of English books, which he 
 prized very much indeed, and he was loath to leave 
 them behind in his father's house, so he would bring 
 some of them every day when he came to give the lesson, 
 sometimes bringing one of his father's slaves to carry them. 
 When he had brought all away, he then wrote a letter to his 
 father, telling him that he had become a Christian, and giving 
 him his reasons for so doing, and urging him to examine into 
 the truth of the Christian religion. As Ahmed could no longer 
 stay at his father's house, nor with any of his relatives or Mus-
 
 IN Egypt. 507 
 
 lim friends, and would not be safe in the house of any native 
 Egyptian, Dr. Lansing took him into his family on November 
 12, 1877. On the 26th of the same month he received the 
 solemn rite of baptism. Never had so touching a scene been 
 witnessed in our little congregation. All felt that he had given 
 up much, nay, all, for Christ, and that he was thoroughly 
 sincere. Joy, mingled with fear for his safety, was in every 
 heart, and earnest prayers were offered to the Lord of Joseph 
 to protect him. He continued to give lessons as usual. The 
 news of his defection from the religion of his fathers spread 
 rapidly through the city. His relatives and Muslim friends were 
 allowed to visit him. Several of them did so, and brought 
 learned men to discuss with him the various questions of differ- 
 ence between Islam and Christianity. They tried every means 
 to influence him to go back — arguments, entreaties, tears, and 
 threats were all employed to induce him to recant, but in vain. 
 Failing in this, they watched his movements and laid a plan for 
 kidnaping him. He was accustomed to come from Dr. Lansing's 
 house at a certain time to give a lesson and return towards sun- 
 set. So, on Thursday, December 20, 1877, towards sunset, his 
 brother Muhammad and other relatives, dressed as fellaheen, 
 watched for him on his return from the mission house, which 
 was situated only a few yards from Dr. Lansing's house, pounced 
 upon him, thrust him into a closed carriage, one of them keep- 
 ing his hand on his mouth to prevent him calling out, and carried 
 him off to his father's house. Perhaps in less than half an hour 
 he was missed, and the missionaries were thrown into the 
 greatest sorrow and consternation. What had become of him ? 
 Had he gone back to Islam ? We could not believe it, though 
 some of the natives were ready enough to support it. Had the 
 government spies been on his track and seized him ? Inquiries 
 were made of persons in the neighborhood, but nothing definite 
 could be discovered. Evidently there had been some occurrence 
 at the time, but those who witnessed it were afraid to tell what 
 they knew. What suspense that night ! Which one o^"' us will 
 ever forget it ? The missionaries immediately applied to the 
 American and English consuls-general, and they, without hesi- 
 tation, interceded with the government of the Khedive in his be-
 
 3o8 The American Mission 
 
 half, and obtained information and assurances that he was safe 
 in his father's house. He remained there under the most strict 
 surveillance of his relatives for five weeks. Every effort was 
 made to secure his return to Islam. Promises of a lucrative 
 position, threats of torture and death, the tears of his mother, 
 the entreaties of his father and brothers, were all used, but in 
 vain. A noted arguer, more of an infidel than a Muhammadan, 
 who has since become notorious in Persia, England and Con- 
 stantinople, Gamal ed-Deen, was brought to argue with him, 
 but, although eight hours were spent in the discussion one day, 
 and six hours the next, and Ahmed was wearied and worried so 
 that he could not speak any longer, yet he would not recant. 
 A sheikh noted for writing enchantments for protection and for 
 injury, came and handed the relatives a little silk bag containing 
 a sheet of paper written in Arabic in a mystic form, and folded 
 in a triangular shape, and told him to put it under his fez, say- 
 ing it would either cure him of his infidel tendencies, or, if he 
 insisted on going back to the infidels, it would produce in him 
 the wildest insanity. He was told that a house had been se- 
 cured in which he would be killed, according to the Muhamma- 
 dan law, which enjoins the death of every backslider. His 
 mother, who was so affected and ill that she seemed to be dying, 
 sent for him and begged him with tears to say for her sake, 
 with his lips if not with his heart, the Muhammadan creed : 
 "There is no God but God, and Muhammad is the apostle of 
 God." This he did for her sake. Then, when they saw he 
 had gone so far, they prepared a recantation and made him sign 
 it. Then they took him to the chief of the police and made him 
 sign a similar document there. After this a messenger from 
 the English vice-consul came to the mission, saying: "Ahmed 
 and his relatives are at the English consulate wishing to see 
 you." We suspected, in part, the state of the case immediately, 
 that he had been brought there in order to declare in our 
 presence and the presence of the consul that he had gone back 
 to Islam, but we did not know the preparations made previously 
 to frighten him. Dr. Lansing and the writer went there, and 
 found Ahmed sitting between his two brothers, and his father 
 on the other side of the room. After the usual salutations, we
 
 IN hGYPT. 309 
 
 asKed him if he had gone back to Islam. He replied, in a hesi- 
 tating manner, " Yes." We told him he need fear nothing, he 
 was now in a place where there was absolute freedom, and 
 asked him again, and he replied in the same manner. This 
 astonished us. We could scarcely believe our ears. Still, we 
 noticed that there was no appearance of joy in the faces of the 
 brothers or the father. We left immediately, and on their de- 
 manding his books and clothes, we said they were at their dis- 
 posal at any time. Both Miss Smith and the writer prepared a 
 few lines, in the shape of a letter, and put them in two books 
 of his that were taken to him, saying that we were sad at his 
 having denied his Saviour, but he was no worse than Peter, and 
 on repentance and a new life Jesus was ready to forgive him. 
 We learned afterwards that the day before, Mr. Awad Hanna 
 got a chance to speak to him, and learned from him that he was 
 yet a Christian at heart, so we anxiously waited to hear from 
 him again. Next day, to our delight, we found a letter in the 
 postoffice from him, telling us that he was still a Christian, and 
 that he would come to us soon and tell us his story. The next 
 day, while I was preparing my lecture for the theological stu- 
 dents, Mrs. Lansing rapped at the door and said, with a beam- 
 ing face, "Ahmed is here." Jumping up, I rushed into the 
 next room and grasped him as I ne\-er did anyone before, so de- 
 lighted was I. He told all his storv. It was his brother 
 Muhammad (of whom Dr. Lansing had said, " He is near the 
 kingdom") disguised, who seized him and witli others forced 
 him into the closed carriage, and took him to his father's house, 
 where what I have already written took place. Before he was 
 taken to the English consulate he was threatened by his brother 
 Muhammad, who showed him the weapons he had on him, and 
 told him that even though he himself should be killed for killing 
 him, that was better than to have a brother disgrace the famil\- 
 by becoming a Christian. For a time it was proposed to put 
 him in an office in the police court, where he could be watched. 
 He continued to call occasionally, and he attended tht English 
 service when General Grant was present, and Dr. Lansing, in 
 his sermon, made an allusion to him which caused many inquir- 
 ies to be made. On Januar\' 16 he again escaped from his
 
 310 The American Mission 
 
 father's house and took refuge a second time in Dr. Lansing's 
 house. The government then assured the consuls that orders 
 had been given to the officials and to the relatives that no harm 
 should be done to him, and should the threats of assassination 
 which had been freely vented by them be executed, they would 
 be held responsible, but at the same time we were informed 
 " that they could not assure his safety, for they could not send 
 with him a company of soldiers whenever he should go out in 
 the streets." In the report of the mission for 1877, it is added 
 that " this, together with the failure of the government to punish 
 those guilty of his abduction and forcible retention for several 
 weeks, and also to secure his rights, such as the restoration of 
 his books and clothes, and other developments which we cannot 
 mention, made him feel that it would not be safe to venture out 
 in the streets alone, and at length, unnerv^ed by five months 
 confinement with us and in his father's house, under circum- 
 stances of peculiar trial, he was glad to accept the kind offer of 
 the Earl of Aberdeen to take him to Scotland, far away from 
 his persecutors, and also to give him an opportunity to pursue 
 his studies in the university, in preparation for future useful- 
 ness. He sailed from Alexandria on March 24, 1878, and, 
 much endeared to us all by our intercourse with him, he has 
 gone accompanied by our hearts' affections and prayers on his 
 behalf. Though his case has not secured all that could be de- 
 sired on the question of religious toleration, we feel that it is 
 a great advance on the past. First, it may be considered as 
 settled that under the rule of his highness the Khedive, it is not 
 possible that a man can be judicially exiled on account of defec- 
 tion from Islam. Second, the fanaticism of many of the com- 
 mon people, and the feelings of family and caste pride are yet 
 so strong that even the government is unable to take the firm 
 position on the side of toleration that would secure for converts 
 from Islam perfect safety." Ahmed was allowed by Lord Aber- 
 deen to pursue his studies in the University of Edinburgh until 
 he took the degree of M. D., all expenses being met by the 
 noble earl. Difficulties on the line of mission policy prevented 
 his being employed in the Lord's work in Egypt, as well as some 
 doubts as to the safety of his person. He, therefore, accepted
 
 IN Egypt. 31 i 
 
 an invitation from the London Mission as medical missionary, 
 and has been very successful in the superintendence of a hos- 
 pital at Chang Chev/ Amoy, China. 
 
 THE NEW PREMISES IN CAIRO. 
 
 As no Christian church can be erected in Egypt without a 
 license (though no permission was then required to build grog 
 shops or houses of ill-fame), application was made through the 
 consulate-general for the necessary authorization. The gov- 
 ernor of the city called on the consul-general and presented 
 various objections to the erection of a house of worship at that 
 particular place, chief among which was that it would be dis- 
 agreeable to the inhabitants and visitors at Shepheard's hotel to 
 have the continuous ringing of a bell so near them. The con- 
 sul-general replied that he did not suppose there would be much 
 annoyance on that score, as Protestants of their kind did not 
 indulge in that kind of display, as some other sects. Not find- 
 ing any encouragement from the American consul-general, after 
 the usual eastern delay, the permission came. Plans having 
 been drawn up and approved by the Missionary Association and 
 the Board of Foreign Missions, ground was broken for the foun- 
 dations of the new premises on February 22, 1875. The foun- 
 dations had to be sunk on an average, sixteen feet below the 
 surface of the ground to the bottom of the old lake existing 
 there long ago. Over three thousand cubic yards of solid 
 masonry were put under ground for two-thirds of the building, 
 at a cost of ^10,000. Subsequently, when the other one-third 
 was built it cost $5,000, so that the whole cost of the 
 foundations up to the surface of the lot was $15,000. On the 
 26th of November, 1875, a select company of Americans and 
 English, and other nationalities, some of them travelers and 
 some residents, together with a large concourse of Eg)'ptians, 
 Copts, Protestants, Muslims, Greeks, Catholic-Armenians, and 
 Jews assembled on the lot to witness the laying of the corner- 
 stone in accordance with United Presbyterian (not Masonic) 
 rites. A large tent had been erected, covering what was in- 
 tended to be the basement chapel, and was fumistied with
 
 312 The American Mission 
 
 sofas, chairs and benches. The stone, with the hole cut in it 
 for the reception of the tin box containing various articles, was 
 suspended over the spot where it was to rest, and a young 
 buffalo was provided, according to custom, to be slaughtered 
 for the benefit of the workmen. By three P. M. the tent was 
 filled with people, while on either side and in front stood a large 
 interested crowd, from the fairest Circassian to the darkest 
 African, attired in costumes as diversified as their nationalities. 
 Our worthy consul-general, Hon, R, Beardsley, from Indiana, 
 occupied the chair, supported on the right by Hon. Bancroft 
 Davis, U. S. ambassador at Berlin, and on the left by Rev. G. 
 Lansing, D. D., the oldest missionary of our church in Egypt. 
 The exercises were opened with an appropriate prayer by the 
 Rev. S. C. Ewing, of our mission in Alexandria. Then Hon. 
 Bancroft Davis read in English an historical account of the 
 mission, from which it appeared that the mission was begun in 
 1854 by the arrival of Mr. Thomas McCague.and 20 days after 
 him the Rev. James Barnett, and that at the time of the cere- 
 mony there were in connection with the mission : 8 male mis- 
 sionaries with their wives ; 2 male missionaries, unmarried ; 
 7 female missionaries ; 12 native evangelists and pastors; 63 
 teachers, male and female; 6 Bible women ; 12 colporteurs ; 14 
 primary schools for boys; 7 primary schools for girls ; 2 board- 
 ing schools for girls ; i training college ; 4 boys' schools of 
 medium grade ; i presbytery ; 6 organized churches ; 9 un- 
 organized churches ; 600 members of native Protestant churches; 
 3,000 Protestant community. 
 
 Mr. Davis made a few pointed remarks about the results 
 already attained by the mission, and the duty of all lovers of 
 the cause, and especially Americans, to give their sympathy 
 and aid towards the completion of the accommodation needed 
 in Cairo for chapel and school purposes. Then followed Dr. 
 Lansing, reading the same historical sketch in Arabic, then 
 speaking of the importance of suitable school-rooms and com- 
 modious, comfortable accommodation for church purposes, and 
 remarking how appropriately the church was related to the 
 schools in the plan of the premises, because it was supported 
 on the one side by the girls' school, and on the other by the
 
 IN Egypt. 
 
 313 
 
 boys', proclaiming to the world that our cause prospers not by 
 keeping the people in ignorance, but by pouring in the light of 
 science and Divine truth. Then the tin box, containing the 
 records of the mission and congregation, copies of the Christian 
 Instructor, the United Presbyterian, and the Evangelical Repos- 
 itory, some American, English, Turkish, and Arabic secular 
 newspapers, a copy of the title-deed of the lot, a copy of tlie 
 Bible in Arabic, the Shorter Catechism, and a number of Amer- 
 ican and Egyptian coins, were put into the place hewn for thtm 
 in the stone, the stone laid into its place in the wall, just under 
 the doorstep of the lower chapel, and with a knock with a small 
 hammer the consul-general declared it well laid, in which he 
 was followed and imitated by the governor of Cairo, his excel- 
 lency Omar Pasha Lutfi. Then followed Dr. Potter, of New 
 York, with an impromptu but eloquent address, in which he spoke 
 in congratulatory terms of the work of the American Mission, and 
 referred to the peculiar gratification which the day's proceed- 
 ings must give to the senior member of the mission, and in the 
 most earnest manner declared, that though of another branch of 
 the Christian Church, which perhaps Dr. Lansing would 
 scarcely consider orthodox, still he could heartily ask the bene- 
 diction of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost on this 
 Christian enterprise. Then Judge Batcheller, member from 
 America of the mixed tribunals in Cairo, made an appropriate 
 and stirring address in the way of encouragement to the mis- 
 sionaries and appeal to the friends of the work to aid it to the 
 extent of their ability. Rev. Mr. Poe, British chaplain, also 
 added his congratulations. The exercises were then brought to 
 a close and the audience dismissed with prayer and the bene- 
 diction in Arabic by the writer. It was a day long to be re- 
 membered by all present, and of great importance in the history 
 of the mission in Cairo and Egypt. The stone, the laying of 
 which was accompanied by the exercises described, was 
 not laid at the bottom of the foundation, which I have said is 
 from fifteen to seventeen feet below the surface, but at the top, 
 immediately under the doorstep, according to the eastern cus- 
 tom. Indeed, the greater part of the walls were already a 
 yard above the ground. The lower chapel and two stories of
 
 314 The American Mission 
 
 the east wing were occupied in the winter 1876-77. The third 
 story of the east wing was finished later on and occupied by 
 Dr. Lansing. Towards the close of 1881 the west wing was 
 finished and occupied by Mr. Harvey and the writer. There 
 were added afterwards a few additional rooms for the comple 
 tion of the premises, a view of which is taken from the south- 
 west corner, and is given opposite page 305. 
 
 NEW CEMETERY IN CAIRO. 
 
 It may seem strange to mention such an item in a report of 
 mission work, but the matter of having a place where a man 
 may bury his dead without opposition or distraction, often has 
 had a strong influence in determining the action of an inquirer 
 after the truth. Seldom can one be buried in a Coptic ceme- 
 tery except after a Coptic funeral service, whereas much of 
 that service is directly opposed to Protestant principles. The 
 Catholics are even more strict, while the Greeks are not much 
 less so. Some of our converts have had not only vexatious but 
 harrowing experiences in times of death in their families. At 
 such times the Coptic priests are generally very persistent in 
 opposing any application from a Coptic convert to bury his 
 dead, even in a tomb that belongs to the family, if within the 
 bounds of a Coptic cemetery. Of course, where the towns are 
 near the mountains, there is no difficulty, as the graveyards 
 are, in that case, on the edge of the desert and without walls ; 
 but in the delta, and in places where the cemetery is near the 
 town itself, and surrounded by a wall, there is serious trouble 
 in the case of a death among any of our people. It is on this 
 account that Protestant converts often secure the possession of 
 a piece of ground in which to bury their dead about as soon as 
 they look out for a lot on which to erect the house of prayer. 
 The heat, the laws, and the customs of the country all combine 
 to hasten the burial of the dead. The law makes it obligatory 
 to be done before the second sunset and the custom founded on 
 the proverb, " Do you wish to honor your dead, bury them," 
 secures the burial often within a few hours after decease. In- 
 deed, I have known many instances where preparations for 
 burial were made before the breath had departed. Any dif-
 
 IN Egypt. 315 
 
 ficulty, then, delaying the burial is exceedingly harrowing. I 
 know one case where a sincere and earnest Christian had to 
 take his dead child and go to a town twenty miles away to 
 have the body put in its resting place. We have not had 
 experiences as severe as that in Cairo, yet there were several 
 unpleasant occurrences with our Coptic and our high church 
 Episcopalian neighbors which prompted us to secure an Amer- 
 ican cemetery, where the dead of any nationality and any 
 religion may be interred without opposition. A petition was 
 presented to his highness Ishmael Pasha, begging him to give us 
 a free grant of a piece of desert land in the region of Old Cairo. 
 We supposed that he would raise no objections to such a 
 request, as he would be willing to have all the Frank population 
 buried out of his way as soon as possible, and he had a gener- 
 ous disposition which prompted him to bestow favors when such 
 bestowal did not interfere with any of his financial or political 
 projects, and might bring him the praise of which he was 
 fond. It was not long before, he, through our counsul, informed 
 the mission that the request was granted, and that the proper 
 papers would be given by the department of public works. 
 This was at a time, when to secure promptitude in that depart- 
 ment, depended on the amount of bribes given to the chief 
 clerk and the civil engineer. We had never been in the habit 
 of securing prompt action in government offices in that way, 
 and there:fore the matter was not pushed for a long time. I 
 was the only male missionary present in Cairo at the time, and 
 I am sure I must have gone to that particular office twenty 
 times before the order was issued and permission was given to 
 erect the walls. The plot is fifty by one hundred metres. A 
 subscription paper was prepared and money gathered from resi- 
 dents and travelers to the amount of over $1,500, and with this 
 and some additional sums a wall around the lot and two rooms 
 were erected. Trees have been planted which give grateful 
 shade from the burning sun, and some other improvements 
 have also been made to make the place appear less desolate 
 looking. Many, at the date of writing, have been buried in it, 
 Americans, Germans, French, missionaries, Egyptians, Armen- 
 ians and others. In the centre rest the ashes of Dr. and Mrs.
 
 3i6 The American Mission 
 
 Lansing, Mrs. John Giffen and other members of the mission 
 families. 
 
 Passing on to the Faiyum we fmd Brother Harvey visiting 
 many of the out-stations once, and sometimes twice, and he 
 also made a pastoral visitation of all the families of the Sinoris 
 congregation during the first half of 1875, and pushed on the 
 work of the new church so that it was formally opened for 
 Divine worship on May 28, 1875. ^o^h Dr. Lansing and Dr. 
 Hogg were present on that interesting occasion, and took part 
 in the exercises. The death of Mr. and Mrs. Harvey's little 
 daughter Annie, so beloved by all, only twelve days before, 
 and her new-made grave by the north wall of the church, cast 
 a certain sadness over the large company that met to witness 
 the dedicatory services. Mr. Harvey and family left the Fai- 
 yum on a visit to America on the first day of June, 1875, being 
 accompanied on their way for a distance by their sorrowing 
 parishioners, whom they had been the means of leading to the 
 Saviour. After their departure the evangelistic work was car- 
 ried on in the Faiyum by native evangelists. Dr. Lansing and 
 Miss Thompson visited that district twice during the last half of 
 1875, and on the last visit Dr. Lansing moderated in a call for 
 a pastor over the Sinoris congregation. Mr. Shanooda Hanna, 
 one of the licentiates, was unanimously chosen, and the sum 
 of twenty dollars monthly pledged towards his salary. After 
 his ordination the evangelistic work of the district was carried 
 on under his direction. On Brother Harvey's return from 
 America he visited this, his old field of labor, and did some 
 evangelistic work according to appointment of association. 
 The increase of membership by profession in that district dur. 
 ing the five years was 103, showing the fulfilment of God's 
 promise that His word shall not return to Him void. 
 
 Passing to the south, we find that the Asyut congregation, 
 being without a pastor, had the services of Dr. Hogg and Mr. 
 Strang during the first part of this period, and Mr. Ibrahim 
 Yusif during the greater part of the following three years. Of 
 course the former were unable to attend to pastoral work, and 
 the congregation suffered to some extent in consequence. 
 Special circumstances also conspired to retard the progress
 
 IN Egypt. 
 
 317 
 
 which was desired in that important center. There were, how- 
 ever, fifty-nine additions to the membership by profession dur- 
 ing this period, but the spiritual condition of the congregation was 
 far from being satisfactory. The missionaries, besides being so 
 fully engaged in the educational work, naturally left the care of 
 the congregation to the session, but the members of session had 
 not yet learned their duties, or did not have time to attend to 
 them. The field, in connection with the Asyut station, was at 
 that time still very extensive, comprising the valley of the Nile 
 from Minya as far as the first cataract. It is true that the prov- 
 inces of Kena and Esna, were, by order of the association, 
 attached to the Cairo center for a time, and Brother Harvey 
 made evangelistic tours in these provinces in i^jj-j^ -.xvi^l 
 1878-79, yet the proximity of Asyut to the several stations 
 there, where work was carried on, and the previous acquaint- 
 ance of people with Dr. Hogg, were sufficient reasons 
 for the uninterrupted correspondence which was carried 
 on between him and the inquiring minds of that region. Per- 
 haps only few places were visited by the missionaries, between 
 1875 and 1879, which had not been visited before, but the work 
 was continued and energetically followed up, both by them and 
 the native workers, who were being trained in the Asyut col- 
 lege and the theological seminary, and many places were 
 occupied during this period that were not occupied before, in 
 1875 the places occupied were: Azziyah, Abnub, Mlshta and 
 Kosair ; in 1876, Minya, Zarabi, Nakadah, Erment and Esna ; 
 in 1877, Baiyadiyah, Masarah, Tenia, Daweir and Maris ; in 
 1878, Menfalut, Beni Adi, Sanabu, and Ekhmim a second time 
 in 1879. 
 
 The work was carried on through this extensive field by 
 means of tours rnade by the missionaries up and down the Nile 
 on the mission boat, visits over Sabbath to the villages in the 
 neighborhood of Asyut, made both by the missionaries stationed 
 at Asyut and by zealous members of that congregation and the 
 neighboring congregations of Nakheilah and Mutiah, or students 
 in the training college, or continuous work by native workers 
 appointed to various important centers. An interesting condi- 
 tion of the work then was, that as soon as a man adopted evan-
 
 3i8 The American Mission 
 
 gelical views, he was zeaJous in spreading the truth among 
 others. Everyone who could read was possessed of a copy of 
 the Bible, or at least of the New Testament, and was very ready 
 to read from it in the hearing of others. The Protestant car- 
 penters of Asyut were not only noted as able and honest work- 
 men at their trade, but also as Christians zealous in the defence 
 and dissemination of evangelical truth. At a certain stage of 
 the work, perhaps no person was as successful as Athanasius, 
 the millwright, in leading people away from their confidence in 
 fastings, feasts and forms, and bringing them to trust alone in 
 Jesus' death and sufferings for their souls' salvation ; and he 
 was the most successful, too, while he remained at his trade, 
 erecting sakias* throughout the country. It was a great mis- 
 take to take a man of his age and want of early training and put 
 him in the theological class and attempt to make a preacher of 
 him. Similar mistakes, though not so patent, were made during 
 the past history of the mission in the province of Asyut and 
 elsewhere. 
 
 Dr. Hogg visited the upper Thebaid in 1875, and conducted 
 evangelistic services in Esna, Erment, Luxor, Karnak, Bedari, 
 Mutiah, Bagore, Jawily and Azziyah. At Esna he met blind 
 Yusif, whom he called a righteous man in a filthy Sodom. He 
 begged Dr. Hogg to dismiss his boatman and stay at least two 
 months, but the great heat (112° in the shade) and nervous 
 prostration forbade the acceptance of such a proposition. Mr. 
 Strang, Mr. Nichol and Mr. Tadros also in 1875 visited the The- 
 baid, and Mr. Hogg, with the theological class, in 1876; Mr. 
 Alexander and Mr. Giffen in 1878. Mr. Harvey made two trips 
 during 1877-79. I have thought it would be interesting to give 
 some of his notes, taken from his journal, kindly furnished me, 
 to enable the reader to understand the Nile work at that time. 
 The change in the work will be noticed from the time Dr. Hogg 
 made his trip, of which I gave a sketch in the chapter for 1862. 
 Then the missionary took with him books and made large sales, 
 and had more discussions, but Dr. Harvey found little companies 
 of believers, whom he addressed along with many other hearers. 
 Dr. Harvey says : 
 
 * Wheels for raising water
 
 IN EGYPT. 319 
 
 " October 15, 1877. At 4:26 P. M. we left Asyut, the wind 
 being from the north, and we sailed up the river beautifully, 
 under the mellow light of the half moon." 
 
 " October 16, 1877. We continued sailing, with a good 
 wind until about 4 A. M., when there arose quite a squall from 
 a mountain we were passing. It was with difficulty the sailors 
 took in the sails. We lay to for a short time, and set sail again 
 about sunrise and reached Ekhmim about 5 P. M." 
 
 " October 18, 1877. We arrived at Kus at 9 P. M,, making 
 the trip, inclusive of stoppages, in three days and four hours, 
 or in sixty hours of actual sailing." 
 
 " October 19. This morning I rode up to the town, don- 
 keys having been sent down for us. I went to the school house 
 with Areef Girgis and Mr. Bishai, and met a number of the 
 brethren. After spending some time in conversation with them 
 we dined at Mr. Bashara's. When we returned Messrs. Fam 
 and Malati came down to the boat with me. Fam has not 
 changed, still firm, and even obstinate. My impressions of 
 Mr. Bashara are as formerly, he is a very nice man." 
 
 " October 22. Yesterday we all went up to the town. 
 The meeting was held in the house of Butros. I preached from 
 Romans i : 16, * For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ,' 
 etc. The interval was spent in the house of Bashara. At 4 
 P. M. a few assembled and we held a second service. I com- 
 mented on the first part of the first chapter of Acts. I was dis- 
 appointed in finding so few present in the afternoon. My first 
 impressions are that there are very few here who have the work 
 at heart. We returned to the boat at sunset, accompanied by 
 three or four on their way home to Nakada, and with them I 
 talked, read and prayed. Girgis Lozy and Ghibrial, son of Job 
 of Kosair, called to-day and spent some time with me, and 
 afterwards I went up to Kus with them. Mr. Bish::; opened 
 the school to-day with forty-five pupils. I was present to close 
 it and to conduct a meeting before sunset ; subject, first part of 
 John I." 
 
 " October 25. Yesterday 1 called at the house of Ayoob 
 and afterwards conducted a meeting at the school house ; sub- 
 ject, second paragraph John i."
 
 320 The American Mission 
 
 " October 26. Luxor. We reached this place last night 
 at sunset. After tea I went up to the house of Mr. Giorgios 
 and after a little, ten or twelve came and I read and commented 
 on Romans 8: i, 'There is, therefore, now no condemnation,* 
 etc. After the meeting the brethren accompanied me to the 
 boat. This morning the consular agent called. Hanain Effendi 
 and Mr. Giorgios spent part of the forenoon in the boat. After 
 dinner we sailed to the front of Karnak ; were not as much im- 
 pressed with the ruins as when we were here before. Returned 
 before sunset and held a meeting in the house of Giorgios — sub- 
 ject, John 3 : 14. There were upwards of twenty persons." 
 
 " October 27. Conducted services in the house of Gior- 
 gios. Subject, prayer. Twenty or over present." 
 
 " October — . Yesterday in the morning I preached in 
 Luxor from John 9:5. There were present forty men, seven- 
 teen women, and fifteen boys, and four girls. They seemed 
 to listen with attention. The audience certainly was encourag- 
 ing, and had there been a regular place of worship no doubt it 
 would have been much larger. At noon to-day we crossed the 
 river and walked to the two great statues, and from there we rode 
 on donkeys to the house of Ayoob. It struck me as strange to 
 fmd the house in that place of ancient tombs and departed glory 
 of Egypt's most renowned monarchs, in which God is wor- 
 shiped with the morning and evening sacrifice, and where the 
 glad tidings of salvation are proclaimed from time to time. 
 The little congregation here is composed of sixteen persons, 
 all but two from two families. I preached from Psalm 42: i, 
 and baptized a child on the profession of its mother; the father, 
 who was present during the first part of the service, left before 
 the baptism took place. An hour and a half after sunset 
 reached a point near Erment, and from there walked up with 
 Lozy and the captain to the house of Mr. Garas. We found 
 sixteen persons assembled reading the Scriptures. After the 
 usual salutation, I addressed them on the subject of adoption 
 from I John 3:1. After the benediction was pronounced, one 
 of them proposed that we sing a Psalm, which ended the meet- 
 ing, when a number of them came with us to the boat." 
 
 "October 31. Esna. We arrived here about four hours 
 after sunset last night. This morning Kaddis made his appear-
 
 IN bGYPT, 321 
 
 ance and after him Yusif. By and by the doctor, the kadi, the 
 mufti, and the engineer of the province called and spent some 
 time with us. I tried to talk with them for their profit, Yusif 
 and Lozy helping me. Read and explained part of Romans 10 
 and prayed with them. The conversation still continued to 3 
 P. M. when they left." 
 
 " November i. Yusif and Kaddis were with us nearly the 
 whole day, and I spent some of the time talking with them on 
 matters of doctrine, etc. Books have been sold, and I pray 
 that the good seed may bring forth good fruit." 
 
 " November 4. Still at Esna. This morning 1 held a ser- 
 vice in the house of Yusif Kaddis; text, 2 Timothy i: 12. After 
 sermon we observed the sacrament of the Supper. The com- 
 municants were Lozy, Kaddis, Yusif, his wife, his sister, and 
 my wife, and myself — seven persons. While 1 was speaking 
 Yusif's father and uncle came in. The latter did not remain. 
 The audience numbered fourteen. The rest of the day 1 spent 
 reading and talking with Yusif and Lozy. In the evening 
 Sidaros, Shewaz, Kaddis, and a young man from Kus came to 
 the boat and I read i Kings 18, and talked from Romans i : 16. 
 Books were sold in the evening for 607 piastres." 
 
 " November 10. Aswan. Only two persons called and 
 remained for prayers to-day." 
 
 "November 12. Yesterday morning (Sabbath) five or 
 six Copts came to the boat and spent an hour or so asking 
 questions on the points of difference between their Church and 
 ours. It was a favorable opportunity of presenting some scrip- 
 tural proofs of our doctrines. I wished to preach a sermon and 
 pray with them, but they suggested new questions until a 
 steamer arrived and they had to leave at once. I sent the 
 * Kus Gleaner ' to Khalil, the overseer's scribe, and a Bible to 
 Ghaly. There was not much chance to sow seed in this town, 
 but we pray that the little that has been sown may be blessed 
 for good to some souls." 
 
 " November 16, Erment Factory. We arrived here this 
 morning and were soon visited by Mr. Garas and Mr. Bukiior. 
 Letters from Rev. Messrs, Watson and Ewing and Mrs. Gif- 
 fen were received. After dinner I went to the di\'an and spent 
 
 21
 
 322 The American Mission 
 
 until sunset talking and arguing with the scribes. We then 
 went to the house of Garas for supper. About forty assembled 
 and I preached to them from Romans i : i6. Before sunset 
 several Muslims called on us in the boat. I have been talking 
 the greater part of the time since we arrived. Held a meeting 
 to-night — subject, the marriage feast, Matthew 22 : 1-14. 
 Present, about sixty, and generally very attentive. Among 
 the hearers were some Muslims. The kadi called again to-day 
 and took us to the garden." 
 
 " November 19. Yesterday we met in 's house, 
 
 and I preached from Isaiah 53:7. After the service I received 
 Elias to church fellowship on the profession of his faith. Be- 
 fore dispensing the Lord's Supper, I explained what is not the 
 design and then what is the design of the Supper. The day 
 was a busy one, and 1 hope a profitable one to myself and 
 hearers." 
 
 " November 20. Called upon the mufettish,* who was in 
 company with the governor and a bey. After talking on gen- 
 eral matters, the ruins, temples, etc., the subject of religion 
 was touched upon. What is Protestantism ? Was Jesus really 
 crucified ? Will He come again ? The conversation was with- 
 out any heat or bitterness, while each party stated his belief 
 and the other dissented or assented. The mufettish said he 
 believed Christ would come again. I told them yes, and the im- 
 portant matter for us was to be his friends then, so that we 
 might be on his right hand. My text to-night was James 5 : 19, 
 20. The number present was two less than last night. After 
 meeting, a number of persons came down to the boat and talked 
 with us." 
 
 " November 21. Maris. We came here this morning and 
 went up to Malati's house, where I spent several hours 
 talking with them. I went back three hours before sunset and 
 read and explained to them Hebrews 2, 3 and 4 chapters and 
 after that made an address on the new birth." 
 
 " November 24. Luxor. Preached A. M. on Romans 10: 
 9, 10; P. M., from Acts 10:43, and in the evening from John 
 3 : 14. At the afternoon service I received on profession of 
 * Inspector.
 
 IN Egypt. 
 
 323 
 
 their faith Tadros Girgis, Malati, Abd el Malak, Mahrus, Musa 
 and Mankarius Shahata. My wife and Lulu have been suffer- 
 ing for some days from sore eyes." 
 
 " November 26. Yesterday A. M. I preached and dis- 
 pensed the Sacrament to eleven men and nine women. There 
 were present about forty men and fifteen women. This morn- 
 ing we went over to Tarnak, and 1 preached from i John i : 6, 
 and dispensed the Sacrament to eight men and ten women. I 
 was very much annoyed by the noise of the chickens, dogs and 
 turkeys. I could not get my mind fixed on a text until I com- 
 menced the service, when i John i : i came to my mind. I 
 talked to the women after the meeting and left for the boat after 
 sunset. As we were passing the two stations, two of the 
 brethren started the thirty-fourth Psalm, and Mennon became 
 vocal with a Psalm of David." 
 
 " November 28. Luxor. This morning the brethren met 
 on the boat and agreed that Makhiel act as elder and that Gior- 
 gios be his alternate. They subscribed $41 towards buying 
 land tor a church." 
 
 " December 3. Kus. Yesterday I preached from John i : 
 17 in the morning, and in the afternoon from Romans 5 :6-io. 
 I spent the interval at the house of Mr. Bashara Nakhleh with 
 several of the brethren. After tea to-day I crossed the ri\er 
 and spent an hour with Santaos Malati and Makhiel at Nakada." 
 
 From this date until February 5, 1878, Mr. Harvey gave 
 all his time to Kus and Nakada, conducting services and visiting 
 the people, except during ten days or more when he was laid 
 aside by ophthalmia. Mrs. Harvey and Lulu were ill part of 
 the time. On February 5, 1878, he started with camels for 
 Kosair, on the Red Sea. 1 again quote from his journal : 
 
 " At five o'clock Arabic time (9:30 A. M.) I left Kus, tak- 
 ing with me the sailor Mahmud. I mounted a camel for the 
 first time in my life and tried reclining on it, but could not re- 
 tain my position very long at a time. For three hours the road 
 lay across the fields; after that we entered the desert, on the 
 edge of which we met a company of camels returning from 
 Kosair. We rode on through a wide valley with scarcel}- a 
 single object of interest to arrest our attention, until 3 P. M.,
 
 324 The American Mission 
 
 when we arrived at Legata. Here we encamped for the night, 
 made a fire of sticks, and made the tea and coffee for supper. 
 I was tired and stiff, and after walking about for a few minutes 
 I lay down and listened to the talk of the camel drivers." 
 
 "February 6. This morning rose before sunrise, took 
 breakfast and started at two o'clock, traveled all day through a 
 wild desert, with scarcely a sign of either animal or vegetable 
 life except a few black crows. About half an hour before sun- 
 set our cameleers wanted to stop for the night, but I insisted on 
 going on to this place, El Hammamat." 
 
 " February 7. Traveled through a narrow defile to El Sid 
 in four hours, where we took breakfast. Here is a well, the 
 water of which is pretty good. It seems to be a cistern for rain 
 water that falls on the rocky hills around. Here the hills come 
 together to within a few feet of each other, so that the passage 
 is almost closed. The cameleers here baked bread. They put 
 flour on a piece of leather, which by being pressed down into the 
 ground forms a small basin ; into this they poured water and 
 put flour and kneaded it. In the meantime a fire was kindled 
 with sticks (sometimes with camel dung), on the heated ground 
 the cake was laid, and then it was covered with the red coals. 
 After being baked it was broken into pieces and butter poured 
 over it, and then it tasted pretty good." 
 
 Mr. Harvey reached Kosair on the 8th, three hours before 
 sunset. This place is on the Red Sea, and formerly did a large 
 business in the pearl fishing trade. Mr. Harvey remained ten 
 days, meeting every day, and several times a day, with the few 
 Copts who resided there. He found several of them slave- 
 holders, and got them to promise in writing neither to buy nor 
 sell any more, and also prevailed on some of them to sign papers 
 emancipating the slaves they had. On the 17th he administered 
 the ordinance of the Supper to five persons, perhaps the first 
 time it was ever administered in that town ; at least it was the 
 first time for many centuries. Just before leaving the town, on 
 February 19, Basilius handed Mr. Harvey a package containing 
 his tithes, saying that it could be used for any purpose he thought 
 fit. Mr. Harvey reached the " Ibis" on February 21. 
 
 Mr. Giffen also visited Kosair six months later, and from 
 his notes we quote the following:
 
 IN Egypt. 325 
 
 " The special purpose of our journey was not so much to 
 sow the seed as to gather the sheaves. At the time of the 
 wheat harvest at home the little church of Kosair, which Brother 
 Harvey organized with prayer and fasting the winter before, - 
 sent an urgent request that some one be sent to administer the 
 Lord's Supper to them, and formally write down on the church's 
 book the names additional to the four already there of those 
 who believed themselves * of such as should be saved.' Accord- 
 ingly, Rev. G. Rafael, pastor of the church at Melawi, and 1, 
 being appointed to the service, set out from Asyut in the ' Ibis * 
 July 9." 
 
 After describing the principal events of their journey from 
 Asyut to Esna and back to Kus, Mr. Giffen writes as follows of 
 their visit to Kosair : 
 
 "Tuesday morning we began the long camel-ride across 
 the desert from the Nile to the Red Sea. Kosair was reached 
 after four wearisome days of travel. But it was refreshing to 
 see the little band of brethren there dwelling together in unity. 
 They seem to have few of the cares of this world— being in a 
 manner cut off from it — living eighty miles from either green 
 field or crowded city. Every evening at half an hour before 
 sunset they gather together for conference and prayer. They 
 then go to their homes for their evening and principal meal, and 
 reassemble to memorize Psalms and learn to sing them, read 
 Scripture and talk over it. On our second Sabbath there one 
 man and six women were added to the four men received into 
 the church by Brother Harvey six months before, making eleven 
 members besides the blind Areef in that little church in the wil- 
 derness. On our return to Kus, two more belonging to the 
 Kosair families also professed their faith. They were only 
 temporarily at Kus, and their membership is to be counted with 
 the eleven already mentioned at Kosair." 
 
 Mr. Harvey returned to the South on the " Ibis " in 1878- 
 79, and found during this visit tlie doctrine of the Plymouth 
 Brethren disturbing the thoughts of the Protestants, and much 
 of his time was taken up discussing the questions pertaining to 
 the Church and its offices, the second coming, the dispensing of 
 the sacraments, and the mode of worship, etc.
 
 326 The American Mission 
 
 new pastorates.* 
 
 New pastorates were established during the period as fol- 
 lows: At Sinoris, February 13, 1876; at Asyut, October 17, 
 1879; at Abnub and Masarah, October 17, 1879; and at Me- 
 lawi, April 26, 1876. 
 
 NEW ORGANIZATIONS. 
 
 New organizations were made as follows : In Jawily, Jan- 
 uary 23, 1879; in Bagore, December 28, 1879; in Suft, Novem- 
 ber 23, 1879. 
 
 * See chapter on pastorates.
 
 '0 
 
 Giro-is Bey Barsum.
 
 IN tGYPT. i-y 
 
 7 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 January i, 1875, to January i, 1880. Finished. 
 
 Appointment of secular head of Protestant sect— Intolerance and persecution 
 —Opposition of government and refusal to ;irant permis5.on to «rect churches in 
 Kus and Mutiah— Cruel treatment of Protestants in Nagada— No redress— Dr. 
 Hogg in England— Secures the aid of the Evangelical Alliance— Successful issue 
 of the cases of Mutiah and Kus— Failure of Nagada case— The Khedive Ishmael 
 and his deposition and departure— Accession of Muhammad Tawtik. 
 
 According to the laws of the land, the different religious 
 sects enjoy the privilege of performing, through their own or- 
 ganizations, certain acts in other countries performed by the 
 civil authorities, such as appointing guardians, administering 
 estates, legalizing marriages, and granting divorces, etc. 
 Though the Protestant sect in the Turkish empire was ac- 
 knowledged by firman from the Sultan Abd el-Magid as possess- 
 ing equal rights with other sects, these rights were never for- 
 mally recognized in Egypt until about the year 1878, and many 
 annoyances in consequence resulted. After years of earnest 
 negotiation, the acknowledgment was formally made, and the 
 native churches were called upon to elect a man to represent 
 them in all matters connected with the government, and in 
 matters known in the courts as matters of "personal status." 
 The vote resulted in the election of Girgis Bey Barsum, of 
 Suft Meidum, and he was formally recognized by the Egyptian 
 government by decree of his highness the Khedi\'e Ishmael, 
 under the date of June 4, 1878. The Hon. E. E. Farman used 
 his best offices, given cheerfully, to secure the result, for which 
 the missionaries were deeply grateful. 
 
 INTOLERANCE AND PERSECUTION, AND THEIR RESULTS. 
 
 Though open opposition and persecution on the part of the 
 Egyptian government ceased some time before, yet it was well
 
 g28 The American Mission 
 
 known, not only to government ofificials, but to Muslims in gen- 
 eral, and to the Copts and Catholics also, that the Khedive 
 was greatly pleased at any lawful means being used to prevent 
 the spread of Protestant principles in his dominions. The local 
 government officials, with their natural Muhammadan antipathy 
 to an active Christianity, and urged on, too, by the Coptic 
 scribes in the various departments of public service, were very 
 slow in according to native Protestants the same rights they 
 would have enjoyed if they had remained in the Coptic church. 
 In nothing was the secret opposition of the government carried 
 out more continuously and determinedly than in the matter of 
 petitions from the native Protestants to the government for 
 permission to build places of worship. As has already been 
 said, it is the law of the country that no place of worship can 
 be built without government license. The general antipathy 
 of the Muslims to any evidence of the extension or progress of 
 Christianity, and the special enmity towards Protestantism, 
 have been the cause of the persistent and manifest determina- 
 tion of the government to give no such license to Protestants if 
 any possible reason could be adduced to refuse it. The very 
 form of questions asked by the department of the interior of 
 the authorities in the place in which it was desired to have a 
 place of worship erected, often showed that objections to the 
 petition were expected to be made. For a considerable time in 
 many cases the opposition proved very injurious to the cause 
 of true religion, and was very discouraging to the workers. 
 At no period in the history of the mission was the opposition so 
 obstinate and so long continued as during the period of which 
 we are now writing, in the cases of Mutiah and Kus. In 
 1871-72 the congregation of Mutiah presented a petition to the 
 Khedive for license to build a church. Exception was taken to 
 one site after another — four different sites having been selected 
 and all rejected — so that the brethren almost lost hope, during 
 these five years, of ever securing the approval of the govern- 
 ment to any site, for they at last prayed the government to 
 appoint a person to select any site within the precincts of the 
 town and they would accept it. Up to the end of 1876 they were 
 still worshiping in a private house. The Protestants of Kus
 
 Tlie KlicdivG Tsliinael.
 
 IN Egypt. 329 
 
 had been accustomed for seven years to meet in the house of 
 one of the members for religious worship, and in the meantime 
 had purchased a lot in the midst of the town, and commenced 
 to erect thereon rooms for a school in which they hoped to meet 
 for worship until such time as they would be able to build a 
 church. In consequence of accusations made to the governor 
 of the province by the Copts, that the Protestants were build- 
 ing a church under the pretense of building school-rooms, the 
 work on the building was stopped, and subsequently, as we 
 have seen, the brethren were interdicted from meeting together 
 in any of their houses for divine worship, and for a long time 
 they were thus denied the right of worshiping God as a con- 
 gregation of his people. This was subsequent to the attempt 
 to banish the leaders to the White Nile. 
 
 The Copts, seeing how the government treated the Prot- 
 estants, were emboldened to resent the entrance of any Prot- 
 estant agents into the towns were the power lay in their hands. 
 Nagada, opposite Kus, being inhabitated largely by Copts, had 
 over it a Coptic sheikh, who ruled the town with a rod of iron. 
 He forbade the Protestants of Kus from selling their wares in 
 Nagada on the market day, and from lodging over the night in 
 the town, lest they might spread their principles among the un- 
 suspecting people. He even went so far as to bastinado in a 
 brutal manner two Protestants who were returning from the 
 house of a friend. One of them was so cruelly beaten that he 
 died of his injuries after a few weeks. 
 
 These grievances were repeatedly brought to the notice of 
 the Egyptian government at various times by the American 
 agent and consul-general, all to no purpose. The correspond- 
 ence connected with them in various languages, and the trans- 
 lation of lengthy documents entailed a heavy amount of work 
 and worry on the older missionaries at Asyut and Cairo, so 
 that they were often on the point of breaking down. Dr. 
 Hogg, being at home in Great Britain, in 1876, brought these 
 matters before the notice of the Evangelical Alliance, earnestly 
 appealing to the members of the council for their interposition 
 in order to obtain redress for the wrongs complained of. A me- 
 morial, embodying the facts already mentioned and signed by
 
 330 The American Mission 
 
 several noblemen and members of the council of tb.e Alii mce, 
 was forwarded in December, 1876, to his highness the Kiiedive 
 of Egypt, with a request that the grievances might be inquired 
 into and full protection obtained for the Protestant Christians 
 throughout the whole land of Egypt. This memorial was 
 graciously received by his highness. The facts were also com- 
 municated to the British government, and its kind offices solic- 
 ited, and in reply to their solicitations the following letter was 
 received from the Earl of Derby on the subject : 
 
 " Foreign Office. 
 " Sir — With reference to the letters from this office of the 
 8th instant and 12th ultimo, respecting complaints which 
 have been made of acts of intolerance committed against Prot- 
 estants in upper Egypt, I am directed by the Earl of Derby to 
 transmit to you herewith a copy of a report from the British 
 consular agent at Kena to her majesty's agent and consul-gen- 
 eral at Cairo, giving the exact answers of the witnesses in this 
 matter, and 1 am at the same time to state that Mr. Vivian will 
 be instructed to use his good offices with the Khedive on behalf 
 of those persons to obtain the required permission for them to 
 build schools and chapels, and for the free exercise of their 
 religion. 
 
 " 1 am, sir, 
 
 " Your obedient humble servant, 
 
 " (Signed) TenderDEN. 
 " To the secretary of the Evangelical Alliance." 
 
 Thanks to the indefatigable efforts of the Hon. C. Vivian, 
 her British majesty's agent and consul-general at Cairo, who 
 accompanied the petition mentioned above with his own energetic 
 representations, two of the cases were satisfactorily settled 
 during the period in question. After sunset June 8th, 1877, 
 the governor of Asyut, under the pressure of stringent orders 
 from the Khedive, dispatched a messenger to Mutiah with 
 orders to bring the sheikhs of that town to Asyut forthwith. 
 At midnight they appeared before his excellency the governor, 
 and were told that " they must there and then declare their will- 
 ingness to allow th.e Protestants to build their church on one of 
 the sites selected by them; and after they had made in writing 
 a formal declaration to that effect, the kadi, by his orders, took 
 them to witness that the site selected was in every way eligible
 
 IN Egypt. 331 
 
 for the purpose intended, and no possible objection could be made 
 to the erection of a Protestant church on that spot." 
 
 Seven months later a special messenger was sent to Kus to 
 deliver to the Protestants, free of all expense or charge, a plot 
 of ground for schools and church. It appeared that Brother 
 Harvey was there at the time, and therefore 1 quote from his 
 diary, which he has kindly put into my hands : 
 
 " 'Ibis,' January 4, 1878. On the 2d a messenger came 
 from Kus to inform me that the deputy governor had come to 
 give the plot of ground to the Protestants. When I reached 
 there to-day I found the brethren sitting in consultation, the 
 deputy governor having told them to select a plot of ground and 
 point it out to him. After looking at a lot, it was agreed that 
 we ask 1,500 daras * of it. Fam, Bashara and I then went to 
 the divan, where the deputy was, also the Muslim sheikh, kadi, 
 dallal, surveyor and the chief priest of the copts ; all of whom 
 accompanied us to the plot of ground which we had selected. 
 The deputy then asked how much we wanted, to which Fam 
 replied 1,500 daras. The deputy then asked where he would 
 get money to build so much. Fam said, * We will beg it from 
 Asyut and Cairo.' The land was then measured off thirty by 
 fifty daras. The deputy then asked the parties present if the 
 land belonged to the government, to which they replied, * Yo,' 
 but that it was near their houses and their mosques. To this 
 the deputy answered, * I do not ask you if it is far from or near 
 to your houses ; I only ask you, does the land belong to the 
 government ? ' He then addressed them, saying, ' I now state 
 in your presence that his highness the Kliedive has graciously 
 given this plot of ground to the Protestants of Kus, for the pur- 
 pose of erecting a church thereon.* We then went to the divan, 
 and the deputy gave orders to the scribe to write out the proper 
 papers and have them signed by the leading men. Some dela}' 
 took place in the writing of the paper, but when a copy had 
 been prepared by the scribe it was shown to the deputy, who 
 altered it to suit himself. While this was going on, the kummus 
 of the Coptic church made an objection to saying in the pap^r 
 that the land was bounded by government lands, averring that 
 
 * Cubits.
 
 332 The American Mission 
 
 a Copt owned land on one side of it. In order to set aside his 
 objection, the judge and others went with the brethren and had 
 it measured, when it was found that there were seventeen daras 
 between the boundary of the lot and the land of the Copt. The 
 Muslims in their turn tried to hinder the matter, saying, ' The 
 land is near an old tomb of a noted sheikh.' To this the deputy 
 replied, ' Is not the sheikh dead.? What harm will a church do 
 him.? Isn't it better to have a church than a grog shop.? Is it 
 not better to have a church there than have it as now, a dung- 
 hill for dogs? What is the difference between you.? Does not 
 the one say Kerulason,* and the other Ya Rub.? ' f He set aside 
 all their objections better than I could. When they saw that 
 the matter was to be finished in spite of them, they said they 
 did not care how many churches were built. 1 sat by the 
 deputy all day, until the papers were written and signed. We 
 then went to the school room and read the i i6th Psalm and 
 offered a prayer of thanksgiving for this triumphant issue of the 
 case." 
 
 The manner in which these two cases were finished fur- 
 nishes two specimens of how Ishmael the Khedive carried out his 
 pleasure when he ruled Egypt. What he wanted done was 
 done, no matter what objections were offered, no matter whether 
 the objections were real or imaginary. The third case, that of 
 the bastinadoing of the men in Nagada so that one of them died 
 of his wounds, fell through, chiefly because it was taken up as 
 a case of murder, which in this country cannot be proved by 
 any amount of circumstantial evidence. The fact that the man 
 lingered for three or four weeks gave opportunity for collecting 
 false evidence as to other causes bringing about his death. 
 Besides, no doctor would testify that the bastinadoing was the 
 real cause. The happy issue of the two cases, however, pro- 
 duced good results all through the country, as it gave evidence 
 of the increasing influence of Protestantism. The influence on 
 the two congregations more immediately interested was good, 
 and from that time they took courage and made plans for erect- 
 ing places of worship, and were more regular in their endeavor 
 to gather in living stones for the spiritual temple. 
 * " Lord, have mercy." t " O ! Lord."
 
 IN Eg^pt. 333 
 
 THE KHEDIVE AND HIS DEPOSITION. 
 
 it was said by some one that Said Pasiia was the 
 patron saint of the American Mission, It is true that the mis- 
 sion was established during his rule, and he gave it a place 
 which it transformed into a home for more than eleven years. 
 He also gave the mission swift and full redress for the injury 
 done to its agent and representative in Asyut. His successor 
 Ishmael, certainly never showed much inclination to favor the 
 American Mission or its work. His underhanded, but no less 
 powerful, aid given to the Coptic hierarchy in their efforts to 
 root out every vestige of Protestant principles, and scatter 
 the members of the Protestant sect, showed that the work of 
 the mission was at the same time hated and feared by him. It 
 not unfrequently happens that persecutors of God's Gospel and 
 haters of the truth, and workers of wickedness in high places, 
 reap in this world some of the seed they have sown. For a 
 long time, however, Ishmael floated on the top wave of political 
 opinion among the western nations. The grand ovation which 
 he prepared with such lavish magnificence for those dignitaries 
 and others who came east to witness the inauguration of the 
 Suez Canal had been the means of spreading his fame all 
 through the world, and giving him a name for energy and gen- 
 erosity, and kingly opulence, that nothing could efface, not- 
 withstanding that the canal was dug and the provisions for cele- 
 brating its opening and entertaining the tens of thousands of 
 guests were made at the expense of the lives of many 
 thousands of peasants, and the unpaid labor of tens of thous- 
 ands, 1 might say hundreds of thousands, of others, it was 
 the Egyptian fellah who dug the canal, and furnished the beef, 
 the mutton, the eggs, the butter, the fowls, the vegetables, the 
 fruits, the sugar, and nearly everything else which served to 
 please and satisfy the crowd on that occasion. One would 
 have thought that the correspondents who described the occa- 
 sion would have said not only. What a generous host I but also, 
 What a successful despot ! What he did on that occasion was 
 only what he had been doing through all his reign, oppressing 
 others to enrich himself, or give himself renown. Ishmael
 
 334 The American Mission 
 
 Pasha never did anything with the intention of benefiting his 
 people. True, they might have been benefited, but he intended 
 it not, for self was the only person he thought of. He built 
 palaces, laid out gardens, extended railways, made fine har- 
 bors, but it was all for self-interest or self-glory. In doing so 
 he made large loans and raised the indebtedness of the country 
 from a few millions to about ;^ 108,000,000, the interest of 
 which he was unable at last to meet. The English and French 
 governments pressed him for payment of his debts. They 
 told him the country was able to pay it if extravagance was 
 prevented, and then succeeded in inducing him to give two 
 positions in his cabinet, one to an Englishman and another to a 
 Frenchman. These men put the Khedive on a fixed salary 
 allowance, got him to give up a large amount of the lands he 
 had stolen from the people, and attempted to restrain him from 
 despotic acts. These things he endured for a short time, 
 though he was all the while scheming and concocting a plan by 
 which he could get back his liberty. During the winter of 
 1878-79 he fomented discontent among the fanatical Muslims, 
 who naturally hated to see even nominal Christians among the 
 high functionaries of the state. He found a ready field for his 
 devices among parties who had been removed from office for 
 incapacity or rascality, among officers and soldiers of the 
 army on account of their dismissal from the service for 
 economy while twenty months' back pay was due to them. 
 On asking for their pay, the Khedive would say. Ask the 
 finance minister, the Englishman, to pay you, I am helpless 
 now. They were not slow to take the hint, and the o^icers 
 made a demonstration against the foreign ministers. Petitions 
 were prepared, at the instance of the Khedive himself, asking 
 him to form a cabinet of natives. He called the consuls to- 
 gether, showed them the petitions, deceived some of them, and 
 while they were consulting together, he issued a new decree 
 removing the foreigners from office, and appointing natives, and 
 suspending the payment of interest on the debt. From this 
 time the European powers commenced pourparleys, looking to 
 arranging some plan by which economy and order might be im- 
 posed upon Egypt under Ishmael, or his removal secured by
 
 IN Egypt. 335 
 
 order of the Sultan, on the plea of misgovernment. These 
 negotiations were understood to be approaching a conclusion 
 when M. Tricon was appointed as French consul-general in 
 Egypt. " On the night of June 25, 1879, Mr. Lascelles, the 
 British, and M. Tricon, the French, consuls-general, made a last 
 effort to induce Ishmael to abdicate in favor of his son, but Ish- 
 mael had pinned his faith on Constantinople, and professed to 
 be able to do nothing without the Porte's consent. M. Tricon, 
 loud and noisy as he was, said, ' But you have acted twenty 
 times in defiance of the Sultan.' It was perfectly true, but Ish- 
 mael knew his man, and he turned on his bully, ' I defy you to 
 name one instance,' said he, and the fierce M. Tricon, whose 
 strong point was not presence of mind, looked confounded, and 
 he was silent. Lascelles, gentlest and yet best of consuls- 
 general, tried in turn. ' But your highness, would it not be 
 well to show some independence of Constantinople, since the 
 Porte may deceive you ?' Ishmael had answered the bully after 
 his kind. He replied to Lascelles with the quiet humor that he 
 knew would awaken a responsive echo, ' Seeing now, cher 
 monsieur, that the first use you wish me to make of my inde- 
 pendence is to abdicate all power, I hardly see the advantage to 
 be gained.' "* 
 
 The 26th of June came, and at about 10:30 A. M. there was 
 a curious little drama proceeding in the Abdin palace. Upstairs 
 was Ishmael Pasha, vigorously remonstrating with a newspaper 
 correspondent, who was trying to induce him to abdicate, to 
 escape deposition, which the correspondent knew to be immi- 
 nent. " * I can tell you,' said the little man, ' that no decision 
 has been taken. I do not deny that we are on the cue of an \ 
 important one. I have here,' and he fumbled with difficulty in 
 his pockets, ' a telegram from Ibrahim Bey. Nothing will be de- 
 cided till after the imperial council at four this afternoon. If 
 you will come to lunch we will await the telegram together.' 
 And while this was going on upstairs, there was much excite- 
 ment below, for ministers and courtiers were busy examining 
 the envelope of a telegram inscribed-' Ishmael Pasha, ex-Khedive 
 of Egypt.' Each one, as he took it up, dropped it like a hot 
 
 * " Khedives and Pashas."
 
 336 The American Mission 
 
 cinder, and found that he had important business elsewhere. 
 ' Oh, Khairy Pasha,' said the master of ceremonies to the 
 keeper of the seals, ' it is clearly your business to take this 
 telegram to his highness.' 'I?' said Khairy Pasha; 'it is 
 manifestly a matter which pertains to the ministry,' and he 
 shuffled off. At last came Cherif, a bluff, blunt old man, with 
 no great intelligence indeed, but caring as little for Khedives as 
 for commissions of inquiry. With a little hesitation, he took 
 the telegram and entered the room as the correspondent left. 
 Ishmael's face changed, I am told, very slightly as he read it. 
 The two eyes closed for a moment, then he opened them and 
 repeated, ' You will obey his august majesty the Sultan by re- 
 signing the khediviate into the hands of Muhammad Tawfik, 
 Khedive of Egypt.' He then folded up the telegram very care- 
 fully and placed it on the table by his side. ' Send for his 
 highness Tawfik Pasha at once,' was all he said, and he sat still 
 and waited. Meanwhile, at the Ishmaelia palace, where Tawfik 
 lived in quiet obscurity, another telegram had arrived, addressed 
 ' Muhammad Tawfik, Khedive of Egypt.' To be sure there was 
 no hesitation in delivering this telegram ; it had been brought 
 full pelt from the office, and the competition had been as to who 
 should present it. So it happened that Tawfik had got the news 
 a little before his father. When Cherif came with his message 
 the carriage was already at the door, and the two started to- 
 gether for Abdin Palace. On the way, Tawfik showed to 
 Cherif in silence the telegram he had received. ' Your High- 
 ness will take measures to have yourself proclaimed Khedive of 
 Egypt at the citadel this afternoon,' said Cherif. He returned 
 the telegram, and with unbroken silence they arrived at the 
 palace. ' How will he be received.? ' was the question. Terri- 
 ble were the hints as to Ishmael's vengeance against the son 
 that he already loathed. Ishmael was waiting in the long north 
 room of the palace, seated moodily at the farthest end from the 
 door. As the door opened he arose, walked across to meet, 
 raised Tawfik's hand to his lips, and said, ' 1 salute my effen- 
 dina.' Then placing his two hands on his shoulders, he kissed 
 him on both cheeks, with the words, ' that he may be more 
 successful than his father,' and without another word he crossed
 
 
 w fSf 
 
 \ 
 
 The Khedive— Tewfik Pasha.
 
 IN Egypt. 337 
 
 from the room to the harim, and Tawfik I, Khedive of Egypt, 
 stood alone."* 
 
 During the following three days the ex-khedive was making 
 his preparations for leaving, and on Monday, the 30th of June, 
 1879, the departure took place. Carriages with his wailing 
 harim, all the way from the palace, drove to the station. 
 Soldiers were drawn up on the square, and arranged in a long 
 line on either side of the road from the gate of the door of the 
 palace. The band played some air which could scarcely be 
 heard for the loud wailing of the harim and servants, who had 
 been sharers in his luxury, as they now saw their generous 
 lord and lavish benefactor driven away from the country. No 
 one who knew Ishmael and was not one of his special favorites 
 doubted that day that there is a God of righteousness who rules 
 the world, and that what a " man sows that will he also reap," 
 Thus ended the rule of one who despised, oppressed, and plun- 
 dered his people, who lived a life of regal magnificence and un- 
 bounded lust, and who had many an innocent person imprisoned, 
 bastinadoed, banished, or thrown into the Nile. Notwithstand- 
 ing the wailing of the harim and the regret of those who enjoyed 
 his favors, Egypt breathed a sigh of relief on that Monday 
 morning. 
 
 * " Khedives and Pashas."
 
 338 The American Mission 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 From January i, 1880, to January i, 1885. 
 
 Comparative statistics— Location of missionaries — New missionaries — Death 
 of Mrs. Mary E. Giffen — Unsettled state of the government — Exciting times in 
 Cairo— Massacre and pillage in Alexandria — Stampede of foreigners — Missiona- 
 ries leave Cairo and go on board U. S. frigate — All leave the country except Dr. 
 Ewing and the writer — Bombardment of Alexandria — Burning of part of the city 
 — Gathering of British troops — Sudden change of base — Entrance into the canal — 
 Writer ill and leaves for Italy — Returns by first boat — British troops victorious, 
 enter Cairo — Grand review — Joy of non-Muslims — Writer visits the mission 
 stations on " Ibis" — Visit of commissioners — Spread of Plymouthism — Removal 
 of two pastors — Nile work by Drs. Lansing and Hogg — Deaths — New organiza- 
 tions — New pastorates — Movement among Muslims — The cholera in 1883. 
 
 COMPARATIVE STATISTICS. 
 Jail. /, 1880. Per' od of five years. Jan, i, 188^. 
 
 8 Ordained missionaries, 10 
 
 o Other male missionaries (medical), i 
 
 6 Unmarried lady missionaries, 6 
 
 8 Married lady missionaries, 11 
 
 6 Ordained natives, 6 
 
 25 Other presbyterial workers, 30 
 
 11 Organized churches, 19 
 985 Church members, 1,688 
 
 2,083 Average attendance Sabbath morning, 3,114 
 
 $4,726 Church contributions, 1^3, 911 
 
 30 Sabbath schools, 45 
 
 1,575 Sabbath school scholars, 2,521 
 
 44 Week day schools, 59 
 
 85 Teachers in same, 105 
 
 2,218 Pupils in same, 5,005 
 
 5 Book depots, 8 
 
 12 Shopmen and colporteurs, 21 
 20,720 Volumes sold, 37,615 
 $4,694 Income from sales, ' $8,385 
 $3^225 Tuitions, etc., collected, $10,916
 
 IN Egypt. 339 
 
 MISSIONARY STAFF. 
 
 Alexandria — Rev. S. C. Ewing, D. D., and wife and Miss 
 Frazier. Dr. Ewing took a change to America in 1880-81. 
 Rev. J. Giffen took his place three months, Dr. Hogg three 
 months, and Mr. Harvey the rest of the time. 
 
 Monsurah — Rev. A. M, Nichol and wife until they left for 
 America, 1884, and Miss I. Strang until her return to America 
 in 1884. 
 
 Cairo — Rev, Messrs. Dr. Lansing, Dr. Watson, and W. 
 Harvey, and their wives. Miss E. F. Johnston till December 
 I, 1881, and Misses Smith and Thompson. 
 
 Asyut — Rev. J. Hogg, D. D., Rev. Messrs. J. Giffen, J. R. 
 Alexander, and their wives and Miss M. J. McKown. 
 
 New missionaries dnring this period — Rev. J, Giffen and 
 wife arrived in Egypt on September 28, 1881, and were as- 
 signed to Asyut. Rev. T. J. Finney and wife arrived Novem- 
 ber 2, 1882, and were assigned to Cairo for a time and then 
 located in Monsurah. Rev. Chauncey Murch and wife arrived 
 on October 31, 1883, were assigned to Cairo for a time, and 
 then located in Luxor. Dr. E. E. Lansing and wife arrrived in 
 the spring of 1884, and were located in Asyut. Miss E. O. 
 Kyle arrived January 18, 1883, and was located in Asyut. 
 Misses E. E. Newlin and H. M. Connor arrived in the autumn 
 of 1880, and the former was assigned to Asyut and the latter to 
 Cairo. 
 
 Death of Mrs, Mary E. Giffen. This earnest, able and 
 talented worker died in Cairo on October 16, 188 1. She came 
 out to Egypt as Miss M. E. Galloway, the first foreign mission- 
 ary of the Associate Reformed Synod of the South, and landed in 
 Egypt on March 16, 1875, in company with Rev. Messrs. J. R. 
 Alexander and J. Giffen, new missionaries from our Church. 
 She was located in Monsurah, where she was to study the lan- 
 guage and make herself as useful as much as possible in the 
 Lord's work. \n both duties she was apt and diligent. On 
 June 5, 1876, she was united in marriage with Rev. J. Giffen 
 of Alexandria, and was a true helpmeet in the house and in the 
 Lord's work there, in 1877 she accompanied her husband to
 
 340 The American Mission 
 
 Asyut, to which he was appointed for college and other work. 
 A comfortable house could not be found to rent, and they con- 
 tented themselves with contracted, unhealthy quarters for 
 several years. She gave valuable assistance to Miss McKown 
 in the boarding school, and had the care of a small school in her 
 own house, and the oversight of another for a time. She was 
 inclined to overtax her bodily strength in the work of Christ. 
 She lived beloved by all, and died universally lamented. Her 
 grave is under the shadow of a flourishing acacia tree in the 
 American cemetery in Cairo, and we have no doubt her spirit 
 is ascribing praise and glory to the Lamb in the heavenly man- 
 sions. 
 
 In looking back to this period the most conspicuous events 
 concerning Egypt were those that led to and embraced Arabi's 
 rebellion. These events affected all classes of the people. 
 For a long time before the actual breaking out of the military 
 conspiracy there were rumors of differences between the Khe- 
 dive and the European powers, and whenever the head of a 
 Muslim state shows opposition to a Christian power or Chris- 
 tian powers there is always generated among the people a cer- 
 tain amount of Muhammadan fanaticism. The ignorant classes 
 only need a word or a sign from those in power in order to 
 commence a course of terrorizing and persecution. For the 
 sake of many who have had no means of knowing the causes 
 and developments of the insurrection in Egypt, I give below a 
 brief account thereof, for which I am indebted to a large extent 
 to the excellent work of Mr. Charles Royle, called " The 
 Egyptian Campaigns, 1882-85, and the Events which Led to 
 Them." I have also made quotations from a work called 
 ** Khedives and Pashas." Being in the capital during the time 
 these events were taking place, except from the middle of June 
 to the end of September, I was cognizant of nearly all that 
 transpired at the time. 
 
 THE ARABI REBELLION AND ITS CAUSES. 
 
 It has already been stated that Muhammad Tawfik, the 
 oldest son- of Ishmael Pasha, succeeded his father by order of
 
 IN Egypt. 341 
 
 the Sultan on June 26, 1879. He came to the khediviate in 
 trying times and in difficult circumstances, and, though possess- 
 ing a kind heart, and unlike his father, had the good of his peo- 
 ple in his mind, yet he was weak in his character, inclined 
 rather to submit to adverse circumstances than to overcome 
 them. His position, however, was anything but an enviable 
 one. He found his country groaning under a heavy debt, 
 which had been contracted by the extravagance and energy of 
 his father, and the creditors grappling the throat of his country 
 and demanding that interest should be paid on their money. 
 An Englishman and a Frenchman, as joint comptrollers, watched 
 over the finances, dismissed superfluous and inefficient native 
 assistants and clerks, increased the number of efficient Euro- 
 peans and kept the keys of the treasury, so that lazy and use- 
 less pashas and beys or courtiers might not by some means 
 reduce its contents. No longer was money being borrowed 
 and distributed in one way and another among those who less 
 than others deserved it; but the time for payment had come 
 and every means was being used to meet the claims of the 
 creditors. The Khedive was put on an allowance as well as the 
 other princes. The rich man had to pay a share of the taxes 
 as well as the poor. The opportunities of bribing the officials 
 were much fewer than before. The disappointed harpies, the 
 dismissed clerks and other employes, the rich land-owners, 
 the bigoted mosque party, all combined in creating discontent. 
 The officers in the army had a grievance. The majority of the 
 officers up to the rank of colonel were of Egyptian origin, while 
 the officers of highest rank and holders of the staff appointments 
 were of Turkish or Circassian extraction. The latter, as be- 
 longing to the same race as the existing monarch, naturally 
 constituted the dominant caste. When there was a campaign 
 in the Sudan or other unpleasant duty to be performed, the 
 Egyptian officers were selected for it, but when it was a ques- 
 tion of garrisoning Alexandria or Cairo, the Circassians were 
 employed. Naturally a good deal of jealousy and i'l feeling 
 was thus created, but as long as the strong-minded crafty Ish- 
 mael was holding the reins, these were suppressed and dis- 
 cipline maintained except when it answered his own purpose
 
 342 The American mission 
 
 that it should be otherwise, as in the instance of the military 
 demonstration against the European ministers with their chief, 
 Nubar Pasha. 
 
 With the weak and inexperienced Tawfik it was quite dif- 
 ferent. A spirit of insubordination developed, and the two 
 sects of officers entered upon a struggle for the mastery. The 
 Khedive Tawfik had selected one of the Egyptian officers and 
 put him in command of his bodyguard. In this position he was 
 frequently called upon to convey orders to Osman Pasha Rifki, 
 the minister of war. Osman was a Circassian, and felt hurt at 
 receiving orders from a fellah officer, and secured the removal 
 of Ali Fehmy, the fellah, who thereupon joined the party of 
 discontented officers and increased their discontent. Chief 
 among these were Abd el-Al and Ahmed Arabi, afterwards 
 known as Arabi Pasha. These were afterwards joined by 
 Mahmud Sami, a plotting, shrewd, unscrupulous man. A 
 proposition having been made for the reduction of the army in 
 the line of economy, petitions were prepared, at the instance of 
 the dissentients, objecting to the reduction and stating all their 
 grievances, and demanding that an Egyptian should be appointed 
 minister of war. These petitions were presented not only to 
 the minister of war, but also to the Khedive. Osman, the 
 Circassian, could not brook this, and therefore, at a meeting of 
 the cabinet, the three army leaders were ordered to be arrested, 
 and it was reported that a steamer was to be in readiness to 
 take them away to the White Nile. Mahmud Sami warned 
 them of what was going on, and had it arranged that if the 
 three officers did not return to their places at a certain hour, 
 their regiments were to go to Kasr el-Nil barracks and liberate 
 them. It happened exactly as expected. The colonels were 
 brought before a court-martial, but before the proceedings were 
 ended a turbulent crowd of soldiers appeared on the scene, 
 upset the tables and the chairs, ill-treated the members of the 
 court and carried off their own officers in triumph. The three 
 colonels demanded of the Khedive the appointment of Mahmud 
 Sami as minister of war, the increase of the army to 18,000, 
 and the establishment of a new system of promotion. Having 
 no means of resistance, the Khedive yielded.
 
 IN Egypt. 343 
 
 From that time on the Circassian officers plotted against 
 the Egyptians, and vice versa. The Khedive got tired of Mah- 
 mud Sami, and appointed his own brotlier-in-law in his stead. 
 Soon after another demonstration was made, on the 9th of 
 September, 188 1, by tlie military, and the demands were : (i) 
 The dismissal of the ministry, which had sold the country to 
 the Europeans. (2) A representative chamber. (3) The 
 raising of the army to 18,000. In consequence of the demon- 
 stration and after much hesitation, a cabinet was formed with 
 Cherif Pasha as prime minister, and Mahmud Sami, minister 
 of war. Events followed one another in quick succession. 
 Envoys from Constantinople came and harrangued the troops, 
 and met with the Khedive, and with the officers, and discontent 
 increased throughout the country, caused largely by the native 
 press. Further military insubordination took place. Arab! 
 was appointed sub-minister of war, and not long after the 
 Cherif ministry fell, and Mahmud Sami was asked to form a 
 new one, in which he made Arabi minister of war. Fifty Cir- 
 cassian officers were arrested, among them the former minister 
 of war, Osman Rifki. They were tried in secret, tortured, and 
 sentenced to be banished to the furthest limits of the Sudan. 
 The Khedive commuted the sentence to simple banishment 
 from Egypt, and thus incurred the displeasure of Mahmud Sami, 
 who threatened that unless the Circassian officers were struck 
 off the rolls by the Khedive there would be a general massacre 
 of foreigners, a premonition of what actually took place in 
 Alexandria. 
 
 The comptrollers, seeing their power gone under this min- 
 istry resigned, but the Englishman was requested by his gov- 
 ernment to remain and maintain a passive attitude. Recruiting 
 was actively carried on. Krupp guns were ordered from 
 Europe. The Sultan made Arabi a pasha, and played a double 
 game. Mahmud Sami wanted to secure the deposition of the 
 Khedive and the exile of all the family of Muhammad Ali. 
 Ships of war from England and France arrived at Alexandria, 
 and at this juncture the English and French consuls-general ad- 
 vised the Khedive to seize the opportunity and dismiss the 
 existing ministry. The Khedive saw that it was useless to ask
 
 344 The American Mission 
 
 the ministry to resign, as Arabi would neither resign nor leave 
 the country. On May 25, 1882, the consuls-general of France 
 and England handed to Mahmud Sami, as president of the coun- 
 cil, an ultimatum demanding three things : i. The temporary 
 retirement of Arabi Pasha from Egypt. 2. The retirement 
 into the interior of Ali Fehmy and Abd el-Al. 3. The resig- 
 nation of the ministry. The ministers, on the receipt of this 
 note, waited on the Khedive, and asked what was to be done ? 
 He replied that he had already accepted its conditions. They 
 urged a reference to the Sultan. He replied that this was a 
 matter of internal policy with which the Sultan had nothing to 
 do. The ministers resigned, and Cherif was called, but he re- 
 fused to form a new cabinet, while the military assumed to 
 rule the country. On May 27, the officers of the regiments 
 and the police in Alexandria had a secret meeting and 
 telegraphed to the Khedive direct that they would not accept 
 the resignation of Arabi Pasha, and giving the Khedive twelve 
 hours to reply, after which the officers declared they would not 
 be responsible for public security. On receipt of this the Khe- 
 dive called together the high personages of state, of the cham- 
 ber and the merchants. The same day Arabi Pasha, at the 
 head of 100 officers, met the chief notables and demanded the 
 deposition of the Khedive. The officers only assented to the 
 proposition, but Sultan Pasha warned the Khedive that his life 
 was in danger unless he reinstated Arabi in the ministry of war. 
 In the afternoon a deputation, consisting of the Coptic pa- 
 triarch, the chief rabbi, the notables, and others waited upon 
 the Khedive and begged him to reinstate Arabi, as he had 
 threatened them all with death unless this was done. To 
 calm their fears and to insure order, he consented, but excite- 
 ment ran high. The wildest rumors were afioat. When we 
 retired at night we did not know but that the Khedive and his 
 little party and the foreigners would be attacked before morn- 
 ing. Indeed a party came to us one night very late and told us 
 he knew from Arabi's friends that plans were laid to kill the 
 Khedive before morning. 
 
 Affairs in Alexandria were in a very uncertain state. The 
 troops and the police there were bitterly opposed to the for-
 
 / 
 
 3 
 
 o
 
 IN Egypt. 345 
 
 eigners They learned that the six ships of war in the harbor 
 had not a sufficient number of marines on board to make even 
 a military demonstration. The presence of the ships irritated 
 them, and their weakness made them despise them. Under 
 such circumstances it is only force, not a show of it, that does 
 any good. By the end of May the foreign residents, learning 
 that the fleet was utterly unable to defend them from any up- 
 rising that was likely to occur, became thoroughly alarmed. 
 The English appealed, through their representative, begging 
 that means for their protection might be provided immediately, 
 as they had not even the means of flight. In the meantime, at 
 the instance of Arabi, petitions were being signed in Cairo and 
 in all the large towns for the deposition of the Khedive and the 
 appointment of Halim Pasha. In some cases that came under 
 my notice, persons were waited upon in their homes late in the 
 night and compelled to sign these petitions. It was a reign of 
 military terror, and no one thought of refusing to do anything 
 asked of him. On June 7, Dervish Pasha, the Sultan's com- 
 missioner, arrived in Alexandria and was received with approp- 
 riate honors. On his arrival at Cairo he was met at the sta- 
 tion, among others, by a crowd of the lowest class of street 
 Arabs, who ran before his carriage half nude, praising Arabi 
 and denouncing the Christians. They were hired for the 
 occasion by the chief of police. The commissioner, upon 
 his arrival, showed marked favor to the Arabi party. 
 It was arranged that all the petitions should be presented 
 to him by deputations. Dervish received them and placed them 
 in a pile. Mahmud then presented his colleagues. Dervish 
 remained seated and continued his conversation with Labib 
 Effendi, and begged the latter to repeat to him the story of the 
 massacre of the mamelukes. When it was finished the com- 
 missioner, with one of his pleasantest smiles to Arabi, remarked, 
 " The one who escaped was a lucky dog," and then dismissed 
 them. But Mahmud and Arabi had not yet played their last 
 card. They would yet teach Dervish that they were indispens- 
 able. For a week or more threats of injury to the foreigners in 
 Alexandria had been made ; some even had been warned to 
 take care of themselves on the afternoon of the nth of June.
 
 346 The American Mission 
 
 Arabi's special agent arrived in Alexandria on the night of the 
 loth, and had a secret interview with the prefect of police. 
 Large quantities of thick clubs were distributed amongst the 
 lowest of the fanatical Muslims of Alexandria. The forenoon 
 of the nth passed off without any unusual accident. Some 
 went to their places of worship, others to their business, others 
 to Sabbath recreation. None of the Christians apparently 
 dreamed what would occur before the day passed. 
 
 Between two and three in the afternoon loud shouts and 
 yells were heard rising from a crowd swarming up the Rue des 
 Soeurs and adjacent streets. The cry, " Death to the Chris- 
 tians ! " was the chief expression. The crowd rushed on, beat- 
 ing every European met with. Many fled to the police stations, 
 only to be butchered there. No policeman protected anyone. 
 Many of them even aided in the massacre. Messengers had 
 been sent to the various consuls for them to meet at the gov- 
 ernor's at a certain hour, as a means of exposing them to the 
 crowd. Mr. Cookson, the English consul, was stoned and 
 beaten and his carriage was overturned. The Greek consul, 
 the Italian and the Russian, were all severely beaten. Many 
 hundreds of people were killed, others injured for life. Some 
 bodies were pounded and stamped upon until death ensued. 
 While this was going on, others broke open the shops and 
 plundered them. Officers of the fleet and others who happened 
 to be on shore were beaten, and some of them killed. The 
 brutality of the mob proved the truth of what an Egyptian once 
 said of his countrymen, " They may have fear, but they have 
 no shame." While this was going on, troops to the number of 
 7,000 were at the several stations in the city and in the bar- 
 racks, waiting for orders. The governor, about 4 P. M., asked 
 the commandant to put at his disposal a batallion of the Fifth 
 regiment, but the messenger returned, saying the colonel re- 
 quired an order in writing ; and they refused to march without 
 orders from the minister of war, plainly showing that the whole 
 affair was arranged by his knowledge. How many were killed, 
 and how many were wounded, and how much property was 
 stolen on that afternoon, no one will ever know, as those in 
 power at the time were unwilling to make any serious investi-
 
 IN Egypt. 
 
 347 
 
 gations of the horrible massacre. From that time terror seized 
 upon the foreigners in Alexandria, and throughout the whole 
 valley, as the news spread, and they fled to the ships as quickly 
 as they could in thousands, and left for other lands. The Mus- 
 lims in other towns, hearing what their brethren had done with 
 impunity in Alexandria, became insolent everywhere, and were 
 liberal in their threats of vengeance upon any foreigner who 
 came in their way. 
 
 In Cairo the stampede commenced and increased day by 
 day by the increasing intensity of Muslim hate that was mani- 
 fested. Turks and foreigners crowded the trains. Trunks and 
 boxes in great piles at the Cairo station awaited an opportunity 
 of shipment to Alexandria or Ismailia. The missionaries in 
 Cairo were threatened in the streets, and were informed pri- 
 vately that they were especially hateful to the Muslims. The 
 Muhammadan children ceased coming to school. Miss Conner 
 was insulted in the street as she was returning from school. 
 On the 1 5th of June many things and reports from various 
 quarters itidicated that there might be an outbreak in Cairo. 
 News came from Alexandria, too, from the American frigate, 
 that we should not remain longer in the interior. We had a 
 meeting together in the mission house, and concluded to go 
 down by the night train and take the ladies and children to a 
 place of safety, Mr. Harvey and I to return and remain at our 
 post. We all went to the station and I got tickets for all, the 
 Lansings, the Harveys, the unmarried ladies, and the Watsons. 
 After getting them all in the train, I returned to the mission 
 house to get some papers and valuables and remained all nigiit. 
 1 followed them next day. After placing our families on board 
 of the American frigate, and remaining with them until Monday, 
 the 20th, Brother Harvey and I returned to Cairo, intending to 
 stay, but, in a few hours, receiving an urgent telegram to hasten 
 back, we went down by the night train and went on board the 
 "Galena," where our families were. I slept nights on the 
 deck on my shawl, there being no place in the cabin. Captain 
 Batchellor was very kind, but of course the accommodation was 
 very limited, and, however hospitable he might be, there was 
 little ability to exercise it. A consultation was had with the
 
 348 The American Mission 
 
 captain as to the intentions of the powers, and what was best 
 for the missionaries to do. He strongly advised them to get 
 away to a place of safety as soon as possible. Knowing that 
 the feeling prevailing among Muslims was not so much against 
 Christians as against foreigners, and that our own people would 
 perhaps be safer without us, it was decided that all leave the 
 country except Dr. Ewing and myself, and as soon as any kind 
 of accommodation could be secured on any steamer, all left, 
 some for England, some for Italy, and Brother Giffen, with his 
 motherless children, for America. Dr. Ewing and I continued 
 to lodge on board the United States frigate at night, and go 
 ashore in daytime. We attended services on Sabbath, July 9, 
 two days before the bombardment. Next morning the ships in 
 the inner harbor commenced moving outside the breakwater, 
 and by night on Monday, the loth of July, all were at anchor 
 in the open. Early next morning all persons on board were up 
 early, and on looking around we saw the English fleet distributed 
 at various points ready for action. Five o'clock passed and 
 nothing was done ; six o'clock all was quiet ; six and a half 
 and some anti-English persons on board began to say that 
 the admiral was afraid to open fire. "He is a coward, or 
 Gladstone has countermanded the order." At seven A. M. a 
 shot rang out from the "Alexandra," and all were on the 
 qui vive. In a minute or two the whole English fleet commen- 
 ced to belch forth its showers of shot and shell, and continued 
 nearly all day until one fort after another was silenced and two 
 magazines were blown up. It was a grand sight. I watched 
 it from a good position all day. The second day there was 
 some firing, but it was evident that the work was practically 
 done. During that afternoon and night great flames and smoke 
 commenced to rise from the city, and increased hour by hour. 
 It was said, " Arabi has carried out his threat; he is burning 
 the city," and so it proved. Marines were landed in the eve- 
 ning to put out the flames, and protect the city from being 
 looted any more. 
 
 On Friday our frigate returned to the inner harbor, and in 
 the afternoon Dr. Ewing and I went on shore, and found the 
 city deserted, dogs and men dead and dying, and cats in the
 
 IN Egypt. 349 
 
 windows mewing for something to eat. Now and then we met 
 an Arab carrying a bit of white cloth as a flag of truce. We 
 went up to near the square and found that the fire had destroyed 
 nearly all the houses on the square, and along Cherif Pasha 
 street and in the region of the British consulate. The following 
 Sabbath (i. e., July 16) we went ashore to conduct services, 
 but only one or two came and the church was not open, so we 
 told the two to tell any others they knew that there would be 
 services the following Sabbath. A few days afterwards Dr. 
 Ewing and I took up our abode in the mission house in Alexan- 
 dria. Nothing had been injured in the house. The bookshop, 
 in another street, had been opened and a few of the secular 
 books taken, but the Bibles and Testaments and such books as 
 Baxter's Call to the Unconverted were untouched ! We re- 
 mained in the city extending our investigations and renewing 
 our acquaintances. It was not easy getting proper food for 
 some days, and after a while Arabi polluted the water in the 
 canal and made us take to cistern water. Often we were 
 startled with noises and false alarms that Arabi was threaten- 
 ing the city. He might easily have overcome the handful of 
 marines, not more than 800 all told for some time. I remember 
 when the first kilted regiment came and marched through the 
 streets and was seen by some Muslims. One of them said, 
 " Didn't I tell you the English had no soldiers. See, for want 
 of men, they have sent their v/omen." Another remarked that 
 they were very many. " Ah ! brother," he replied, " they are 
 marching round and round to deceive us." I longed to hear 
 from the native brethren in Cairo. After a few weeks some of 
 them came to Alexandria via Port Said and reported all well, 
 and the services continued as usual. Gradually the troops 
 were gathering in and about Alexandria. There was occasional 
 skirmishing in the direction of Mallaha, and once quite a little 
 fight, but, as it turned out, nothing serious in the line of fight- 
 ing was intended. At last when the soldiers and needed pro- 
 visions had arrived, it was whispered about that a flank move- 
 ment was to be made by a landing at Abu Kir. The day was 
 fixed, the troops were going on board the steamers, and all prep- 
 arations were being made to leave in the afternoon. A steamer
 
 350 The American Mission 
 
 was chartered by some parties to go to Abu Kir and see the 
 bombardment and landing. The steamers and troopships and 
 men of war nearly all left about five P. M, and reached Abu 
 Kir after dark, some of them tossed about a while to produce a 
 false alarm, and then steamed off to Port Said to enter Egypt 
 by the back door. Arabi had put all confidence in Lesseps that 
 he would shut the canal against the English fleet, but Admiral 
 Seymore cared nothing for Lessep's objections and protests, but 
 calmly took possession of the canal, and used its facilities for 
 furthering the end he had in view. 
 
 In the meantime, my health failed me and I was ordered 
 off to Europe. I took passage to Naples, intending from there 
 to join my family in Scotland, but on reaching southern Italy 
 the news of the battle of Tel el-Kebir and the occupation of 
 Cairo by the British army was brought on board. On reach- 
 ing Naples the first thing I did was to engage return passage to 
 Alexandria by first French steamer, and wired my wife in 
 Scotland not to expect me. Having a few days in Naples be- 
 fore the sailing of the steamer I went by rail to Cassel Amara 
 to see Mrs. Ewing and her son and daughter, and spend a day 
 at the ruins of Pompeii. Mrs. Ewing and family accompanied 
 me back to Alexandria, which we reached on the morning of 
 September 27. Next day I started by railway to Cairo at 8:30 
 A. M., and on passing saw the deserted camp and intrench- 
 ments of Arabi at Kafr Doweir. On reaching the switch out- 
 side of the Cairo station our train was stopped for a little until 
 another train in the station could be got out of the way. While 
 looking out of the window towards the station, there burst 
 forth a tremendous black cloud from the track close by the 
 landing, then lurid flames of immense volume, and then crack 
 after crack. I immediately concluded there was an explosion 
 of ammunition. I waited for a quarter of an hour for it to stop 
 but seeing no evidence of the abatement of shells bursting, I 
 got my valises and handed them to a porter who took me to the 
 canal which we crossed in a boat and struck the A-bbasiya Road 
 near the house of Mr. Nasr Alia Luka, where a native gentle- 
 man in his private carriage took me in and drove me to the 
 mission house. In passing through the narrow streets to avoid
 
 IN EGYPT. 
 
 351 
 
 getting near the railway station 1 could hear the Muslims curs- 
 ing the English and expressing the hope that their ammunition 
 would all be destroyed, and then they would rise against them. 
 The fire continued for more than an hour and a half. On 
 reaching the mission I found that Brothers Harvey and Alexan- 
 der (who had reached Cairo a few days before) had gone with 
 my servant to the station to meet me. They soon returned 
 and reported several persons killed. My servant had his tar- 
 boosh blown off several times and his hand wounded. Had not 
 our train been detained at the switch, we would have been on 
 the landing when the explosion occurred. The Lord in His 
 great mercy preserved us. This happened on September 28. 
 Two days after there was a grand review of the British troops, 
 General Wolseley and his staff and native and foreign dignita- 
 ries occupied a stand in the Abdin Square, and the troops 
 marched past them in grand style, and divided, marching 
 through the most prominent streets of Cairo, evidently with 
 the intent of impressing the people with the power of the Brit- 
 ish army and the futility of any uprising. 
 
 The following few days were spent in receiving friends and 
 hearing their various reports of the condition of Cairo during 
 our absence. It was the general testimony of the natives that 
 it was better for them that the missionaries left, as the hatred 
 to foreigners became very intense. Towards the last, it is true, 
 it extended to all non-Muslims, and we found that it was the 
 universal belief among native Christians that unless the British 
 troops had reached Cairo before Friday, September 15, on that 
 day there would have been a general massacre of them, and a 
 division of their property among the *' believers." This opinion 
 was also held by the native Christians I met with on my mis- 
 sionary tour, made asfar as Aswan, during the following winter. 
 From what is known of Muhammadan fanaticism and hatred in 
 such circumstances, that is what might have been expected. 
 Many reported that they could hear their Muhammadan neigh- 
 bors talking together about the division of the property of the 
 native Christians. By the timely arrival of a few troops at 
 Abbasiya and the citadel on Thursday evening, the city of Cairo 
 was preserved from the fate of Alexandria, and its non-Muslim
 
 352 
 
 The American Mission 
 
 inhabitants from butchery. The delight of these was evident 
 on the day of the grand review, when tiie Christian and Jewish 
 population lined the streets and cheered the troops as they 
 passed. One of our native members, a woman from Bulac, 
 jumped up and down in the crowd, calling out, " Dank you ! 
 Dank you !" (the only English words she knew). Before the 
 end of the year the missionaries returned with their families 
 and found everything just as when they left. The meetings 
 had been continued at all the stations. The native brethren 
 had shown their faithfulness to the cause of truth in the most 
 trying circumstances, and the Lord had preserved them so that 
 not one of them had received personal injury, though many had 
 been compelled to aid the rebellion in various ways. Rev. John 
 Giffen returned from the United States early in 1883, leaving 
 his children in care of their maternal aunt. On March 15, 1883, 
 he was united in marriage to Miss E. E. Newlin, of the Asyut 
 staff. Miss Kyle, who had a few months previously arrived 
 from America as a new recruit, did what she could to supply 
 the vacancy thus made in the girls' boarding school in Asyut. 
 On the return of the missionaries to Egypt, it was decided 
 that I make a missionary tour on the ** Ibis " as far as Aswan, 
 for the purpose of meeting with the native brethren and of get- 
 ting a knowledge of their condition and wants after the trials 
 through v.'hich they had passed, and of uniting with them in 
 giving thanks to our heavenly Father who had protected those 
 who went away by sea and land, and brought them back again to 
 their work, and had preserved from the rage of their enemies 
 those who were daily threatened and cursed, and were in con- 
 stant dread of the treatment which the Armenians have just 
 received, in the years 1894-95. After collecting a few stores 
 and making such other preparations as were necessary for our 
 comfort, Mrs. Watson, Charlie and I started from Old Cairo on 
 Wednesday, November 15, 1882. I think I never felt so much 
 in need of rest as then, and there is no place in the world more 
 restful than a dahabeah on the Nile, provided there is no stop- 
 ping at the towns and villages. For days we rested and thanked 
 the Lord for the repose. On the way south we stopped at Bibi 
 and Minya. At the latter place v^'e were delayed for some days
 
 Sailors in Holiday Costume.
 
 IN EG^'PT. 35 3 
 
 on account of a leak in the boat, and every night I conducted 
 services and had large audiences. We stopped at Asyut for a 
 day or two to receive and dispatch letters. Reached Kena on 
 December 7, and spent the rest of the week and Sabbath there, 
 conducting services every evening. There are some good men 
 in the place, but there is great need of patient, continuous, 
 earnest work among those who are willing to listen. Reached 
 Aswan on December 21, and after visiting Phil^e and the ruins, 
 I commenced the work for which I took the trip. I spent Sab- 
 bath, the 24th, at Edfu, received inquirers and read and 
 talked and prayed with one company after another all day. 
 Spent a week at Esna, and a few days at Azaimah, a few days 
 in Erment and Maris. Had a profitable time at Luxor. In the 
 daytime had meetings with the women, a large number of whom 
 assembled, through my wife's efforts, and I read, talked, and 
 prayed with them, and in the evenings conducted meetings with 
 the men. We also visited Kurnah, and stayed all night at Mr. 
 Tadros' house and conducted religious services. There was 
 there a family of intelligent people serving the Lord with sincer- 
 ity and simplicity. Coming down to Kus, we spent more than 
 a week there, and visited several houses and conducted many 
 meetings. A large number of men and women professed their 
 faith in Christ and attended the services on Sabbath, but though, 
 taken as a whole, they are in better circumstances than many 
 others, we found them very backward in contributing of their 
 means for the support of the Gospel, even among themselves. 
 At all the places where we stopped we received a hearty wel- 
 come, and a wide door was open for preaching the Gospel to 
 saints and sinners. In speaking to the people about their ex- 
 periences during the Arabi insurrection and the result, they all 
 expressed their delight at the occupation of the country by the 
 British, and the hope that they would never leave it to be gov- 
 erned by •' those who have no fear of God nor sense of justice 
 in their hearts." 
 
 THE CHOLERA IN 1883. 
 
 Towards the end of June, 1883, all Egypt was startled by 
 the report that cholera had broken out in Damietta. A com- 
 23
 
 354 The American Mission 
 
 mission of doctors was sent to examine into the truth of the 
 report. They were not long in unanimously confirming it. In 
 a few days the disease appeared atMonsurah. A sanitary cor- 
 don was placed around the infected districts, and all ingress or 
 egress was prevented. Scores were dying daily. Food and 
 provisions became scarce in Monsurah, and starvation seemed 
 about to add its horrors to tliose of the dread disease. The 
 doctors were unable to relieve those afflicted, or even to attend 
 to all the cases. A relief society was formed at Alexandria, 
 which forwarded physicians and provisions. Fear fell upon all 
 classes, and thousands, choosing the hardships of quarantine 
 and exposure, took passage for other lands. In twenty days 
 from its commencement the disease appeared in Cairo. It was 
 very fatal in the suburbs, especially in Bulak. Over four hun- 
 dred deaths were reported some days for the city and suburbs. 
 Trade was paralyzed. Gradually the disease went down the 
 western branch of the Nile towards Alexandria, and up the 
 Nile towards the Upper Thebaid, but the doctors began to 
 understand how to cope with the disease, and it gradually 
 assumed a lighter type. By the middle of September the viru- 
 lence of the epidemic had ceased, though cases occurred as 
 late as December. The official reports place the total deaths 
 at over 40,000. 
 
 The missionaries at Asyut had gone, as usual, to Ramleh 
 before the disease appeared. Rev. J. Giffen joined his family 
 when it was feared he would be cut off by the cordon. Dr. 
 Hogg had gone on a visit to Scotland. Mr. Nichol and his 
 family, on account of his sickness, had left Monsurah and gone 
 to Ramleh only a few days before the telegraph reported the 
 disease at Damietta. The brethren in Cairo and Alexandria 
 remained in their places, and were able on many occasions to 
 give aid and comfort to the afflicted. None of the missionaries 
 was attacked. In their case was fulfilled the promise, " Thou 
 shalt not be afraid for the terror by night ; nor for the arrow 
 that flieth by day ; nor for the pestilence that walketh in dark- 
 ness. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at 
 thy right hand, but it shall not come nigh thee."
 
 iN Egypt. 355 
 
 THE VISIT OF THE COMMISSIONERS. 
 
 During this period the mission was visited by a commission 
 appointed by the Board of Foreign Missions, consisting'of Rev. 
 W. W. Barr, D. D., and Rev. Robert Stewart, D. D. They 
 arrived in Egypt on the yth of March, 1881, and spent forty- 
 four days in the country. During that time they attended the 
 sessions of the presbytery and the annual meeting of the Asso- 
 ciation. They visited all the principal stations of the mission, 
 and many of the out-stations. They saw something of the 
 rough side of missionary life, and something of the comforts 
 and enjoyments of the missionaries. They saw many of the 
 natives in their homes and in their meetings, and had inter- 
 views with many of them, sometimes through interpreters, and 
 sometimes directly with those who knew the English language. 
 As was to be expected, they manifested a deep interest in the 
 work, and made intelligent inquiries about various matters that 
 were not patent to their observation. The missionaries were 
 glad to have them become intimately acquainted with the work 
 in all its departments, so that they might on their return home 
 be able to give light on various questions which might come up 
 in the meetings of tlie Board or the General Assembly; while 
 the commissioners made us all feel that they were our true 
 friends, and wished to promote the best interests of the cause 
 for which we are laboring. On several occasions they ad- 
 dressed the congregations through interpreters, and at the 
 meeting of the presbytery they addressed the ministers and 
 elders on their duties r.nd responsibilties. Their visit was a 
 pleasure and an inspiration, and I have heard the hope expressed 
 that such visits might be repeated. I accompanied them to 
 Tanta and Monsurah, from there on a short excursion to Zoan, 
 near the northern boundary of Egypt. We left Monsurah 
 early on Wednesday, April 20, 188 1, on Mr. Alfred Dales' 
 small steamer, going by the large canal, called by the natives 
 " the little sea." We stopped at Basarat and had a bountiful 
 repast in the evening at the house of Sheikh Sheleby Shahin. 
 From there we got an open fishing boat in which we were towed 
 for about two hours. The fish were so numerous in the canal
 
 '356 The American Mission 
 
 that, frightened by the boat, they jumped out of the water and 
 many of them fell into the boat. That reminded us of what 
 the Jews said about their eating fish in Egypt "freely," i. e,, 
 without paying anything for them. Reaching a farmhouse 
 belonging to the sheil<h already mentioned, we rested for a few 
 hours as best we could without beds. From that place we rode 
 on animals over the fields of Zoan, some of which were so 
 rough that the horses had difficulty in passing over them, and 
 on one occasion one of the horses fell and rolled over on its 
 rider. Dr. Barr. For a few moments we were in great fear 
 lest he had sustained serious injury, but after resting half an 
 hour he was able to mount another animal less frisky and pro- 
 ceed on the journey. We reached the temple of Zoan in a 
 heavy sirocco, and could with difficulty look over the ruins, 
 and had no time for making personal investigations. We re- 
 called the story of the plagues, the marvellous things done in 
 Egypt in the land of Zoan many centuries ago. I valued the 
 trip especially for the opportunity it gave me for pleasant inter- 
 course with my old friends, Drs. Barr and Stewart. 
 
 In this connection it may be mentioned that the visit of the 
 commissioners resulted in one of our best unmarried ladies 
 being led away a willing captive by one of them and taken to 
 our sister mission in India. Of course we all knew of his 
 lonely condition and his need of a helpmeet, but, coming as he 
 did in official capacity, we did not suspect that he would take 
 advantage of that circumstance to spy out the land on his own 
 personal account ! We were loth indeed to part with our sister 
 but we had to comfort ourselves as best we could. It was no 
 small honor to the Egyptian mission to furnish a life partner to 
 a member of the Board. The union was consummated in 
 the large Cairo church on the evening of December i, 1881. 
 Refreshments were prepared by the ladies of the Cairo 
 station, to which all the missionaries and a few special 
 friends were invited. Among the guests were the American 
 consul-general, Judge and Mrs. Batcheior, Dr. and Mrs. 
 Grant, and others.
 
 fN Egypt. 357 
 
 THE SPREAD OF PLY.MOUTHIS.M. 
 
 As stated in the history for 1869, Rev. B. F, Pinkerton re- 
 signed and returned to America. Subsequently he proposed to 
 come back to Egypt. Our Board of Foreign Missions commu- 
 nicated with the mission on the subject, and were informed that 
 unless he came back in full sympathy with the doctrines of our 
 Church, there could be no harmony in the work. Finding it 
 impossible to return under our Board, he came out under the 
 auspices of the Plymouth Brethren, and made his headquarters 
 in Syria. After preparing tracts on various subjects, such as 
 " The One Man Ministry," " The Law," " The Duty of With- 
 drawal from the Modern Churches," etc., he was accustomed 
 to come to Egypt every winter and scatter these broadcast 
 among the churches and workers. He had already among the 
 natives and English afew who adhered strenuously to his views, 
 and aided him in disseminating his tracts. Under the plea of 
 special sanctity, as well as personal indigence, because unsup- 
 ported by any mission, and being already acquainted with many 
 of our people, he readily secured an entrance and a hearing 
 wherever he went, and his tracts, so well written and in;j,e- 
 niously arranged, and the points advanced apparently so well 
 confirmed by passages of Scripture, were eagerly read and de- 
 voured by the Egyptians, whether Protestants or Copts. He 
 generally timed his visits so as to be in our important centers 
 when the native pastors and workers were at the annual meet- 
 ing of presbytery, and never hesitated to bring forward his 
 peculiar notions concerning the Church and its ordinances, 
 offices and gifts, and the rights of all believers to baptize and 
 dispense the Lord's Supper, etc. During the winter of 1878-79 
 Mr. Harvey found at several places f>ersons making inquiries 
 about the Plymouth doctrines and usages, and from that time 
 forward for several years, many were influenced more or less 
 by Mr. Pinkerton and his tracts, while the difference between 
 the teachings of our Church and the Plymouth Brethren became 
 in many places, especially in the upper country, the chief sub- 
 ject of religious discussion. Dr. Hogg, thinking to restrain him 
 from sowing the seeds of dissension in As>-ut and neighborhood,
 
 358 The American Mission 
 
 invited him, on one of Iiis trips, to stay with him, but this only 
 increased his popularity and led others to invite him to their 
 homes, where, instead of teaching the great doctrines and truths 
 held in common, he did not hesitate to disseminate his peculiar 
 tenets. 
 
 The movement spread rapidly among all our little congre- 
 gations in the Asyut, Sohag and Esna provinces, and several of 
 our most hopeful young men were affected by it. On account 
 of his views, it was only after much hesitation that Butros Dy- 
 onesius was passed for ordination and installation in the joint 
 charge of Luxor and Gurnah. His blind brother, a man of more 
 than ordinary talent, was carried away by the new doctrine. 
 Rev. Girgis Raphail and his church at Mellawi, and the little 
 company of believers in that region, were filled with it. A 
 Plymouth congregation was gathered in Nakheilah, and not a 
 few of our number joined it. Rev. Girgis Raphail ceased to 
 attend the meetings of presbytery, and in March, 1883, he and 
 the other two brothers from Kus held a Plymouth revival in 
 Nakheilah during the absence of the pastor at presbytery. They 
 sent a paper to presbytery containing their views, and threat- 
 ening that, if these views were not refuted by proofs from 
 Scripture, they would publicly teach them. Dr. Hogg was ap- 
 pointed to reply, but they did not desist from disseminating their 
 views until they received the reply. When the reply was pre- 
 pared and spread abroad among the people, it had a salutary 
 effect upon them, but the leaders had gone too far to retreat. 
 At last it was decided to cite the two pastors. Rev. G. Raphail 
 and Rev. Butros Dyonesius, to appear before the presbytery. 
 Only the former appeared, but he showed no disposition to 
 withdraw from any of the positions he had taken. Dr. Lansing 
 and Rev. Shanooda Hanna were appointed to write a brotherly 
 letter of admonition and reproof to the two, and six months 
 were given them to reconsider their whole position, and give up 
 their divisive courses. At the end of this time a very respect- 
 ful paper was received from Rev. Butros Dyonesius, written 
 with so much apparent sincerity that presbytery decided to bear 
 with him six months longer, and requested Dr Hogg, who was 
 to visit upper Egypt that year, to do what he could to convince
 
 IN Egypt. 
 
 359 
 
 him of his errors. Rev. Girgis did not condescend to reply, but 
 on the contrary continued with the greatest zeal to pursue 
 divisive courses. Presbytery, therefore, felt constrained to dis- 
 solve the connection between him and the congregation of Mel- 
 lawi, and to suspend him from the exercise of the ministry and 
 from Church communion. He immediately commenced going 
 from church to church, and from station to station, accompanied 
 sometimes by a Mr. Asaad Shadudi, from Syria, and sometimes 
 by Mr. Pinkerton. 
 
 Their attempt to produce a serious schism failed. Even in 
 the Mellawi church only five or six persons seceded and met to- 
 gether in Plymouth fashion to break bread. The decisive 
 action of presbytery brought matters to a sharp issue, and the 
 people generally, with few exceptions, and these in the region 
 of Nakheilah, said, " We will stick to the Church that gave us 
 the Gospel." The extreme lengths to which the leaders had 
 gone on certain points, such as non-ordination and lay adminis- 
 tration of the sacraments, and the falling out of the leaders on 
 certain doctrines and practices were among the causes that pro- 
 duced a reaction against the movement. The effect of the 
 movement, however, was to produce a manifest spiritual 
 coldness in all the communities where the excitement 
 had been the greatest ? It was some time before this condition 
 was removed and a renewal of interest in spiritual service and 
 religious work took place. Subsequently presbytery passed 
 the same sentence upon Rev. Butros as it had upon Rev. 
 Girgis, and thus two congregations were left without pastors, 
 and the names of two of our most promising young pastors 
 were removed from the roll of presbytery. Great efforts were 
 made by the suspended pastors and Mr. Pinkerton and other 
 leaders to take away our members, but in most cases without 
 success. Although the movement lingered on in several places, 
 and took a fresh start in others for a time, yet its followers 
 became fewer and fewer, and with the death of Mr. Pinkerton 
 and the death of Rev. Butros, and the occurrence of dissension 
 and division among the rest, there is little left at this time but 
 a community of perhaps one hundred in Nakheilah, fifty in 
 Asyut, and a few persons at other points.
 
 36o The American Mission 
 
 MOVEMENT AMONG MUHAMMADANS. 
 
 It is well known that the work of our mission has been 
 largely among the Copts, not because the mission was estab- 
 lished for them only, but because their need of a knowledge 
 of the scriptural plan of salvation was seen to be almost, if not 
 entirely, as great as the need of the Muhammadans, and be- 
 cause the door of the Copts was opened wide, while the door to 
 the Muhammadans was generally closed and double barred. 
 Much, however, has been done by our mission among the 
 Muh.ammadan children, much more than by all other agencies 
 combined. There has always been a large number of these 
 children in our schools, and the missionaries and the native 
 teachers and other workers have often had discussions and con- 
 versations with adults, while many copies of God's Word have 
 been sold to them. Several important works were also pre- 
 pared and published on the Muhammadan controversy. As 
 many as seventy-five Muhammadans have been baptized, most 
 of them of the lower strata of society. Some, however, were 
 of intelligence and position. The great difficulty was the non- 
 recognition of the principle of religious liberty by the govern- 
 ment officials, except when compelled by pressure from a Chris- 
 tir.n power through its consul-general. Besides these, there 
 has always been, and there still is, the Muhammadan esprit de 
 corps, that is so strong that a brother will kill his brother and a 
 father his son rather than see them become Christians. Besides, 
 the idea of personal liberty has no place in the Muhammadan 
 system, whether religious or civil. To this very day, relatives 
 will bring about by secret poisoning or other means the death of 
 those whose Christian proclivities cannot be removed by argu- 
 ments or by promises. I presume every American missionary 
 has a personal acquaintance with Muhammadans who in secret 
 avow their disbelief in Muhammadanism and their belief in 
 Christianity, and are restrained by fear from making a profes- 
 sion. During the period covered by this chapter, i.e., between 
 1880 and 1885, there were many Muhammadan inquirers. 
 The reason for this was that their brightest hopes, raised by 
 the speeches of the mosque party and the pretensions of Arabi
 
 IN EGYPT. 361 
 
 and his colleagues, were utterly blasted by the result of the 
 battle of Tel el-Kebir and the occupation of the country by a 
 Christian power. Muhammadan inquirers began to think that 
 there would be no more official persecution, and, with that re- 
 moved, that the social persecutions would disappear also. 
 They counted on the Christian power which occupied the coun- 
 try doing for Christianity what a Muhammadan power would 
 do for Muhammadans under similar circumstances. They did 
 not know that political ends are of greater importance with the 
 so-called Christian powers than Christianity itself, and that 
 the power occupying the country would take no special care of 
 the Christian population, nor manifest any special interest in 
 converts from Islam. The presence of troops of a Christian 
 power in Egypt, and the exercise of supreme authority in the 
 country by its representatives, doubtless convinced many of the 
 people that no obstacle existed to anyone becoming a Christian. 
 Be that as it may, this period of five years was a time when 
 all through Egypt Muhammadan inquirers appeared in consid- 
 erable numbers, and my late colleague was very sanguine then 
 that the time for a general exit from Islam to Christianity had 
 come. 
 
 In the evangelistic report for 1883, the writer said : " Dur- 
 ing and immediately after the rebellion we heard of persons in 
 different places making inquiries ; but during the past year the 
 most important events have t.iken place in connection with 
 this movement. Often those applying have been of the lowly 
 and ignorant — they seemed to be able to see where light and 
 knowledge were and came ; but this year some of the middle 
 and higher classes, in the face of great opposition and persecu- 
 tion from friends and government, have joined themselves to 
 God's people. The first case was that of Muhammad Habeeb. 
 He had been educated at the government college at Cairo. He 
 was a stationer, and had a shop in the capital. He had become 
 acquainted with some Protestants in Monsurah a few years be- 
 fore, and had there learned something of the truth. After- 
 wards moving to Cairo, he continued to study Christian books, 
 getting a reference Bible and a Catechism from our shop. He 
 frequently talked with his co-religionists on the subject of
 
 362 The American Mission 
 
 Christianity, and soon it became known that he was rejecting 
 the Muslim faith. Efforts were made to reclaim him, but the 
 learned men of his former religion could not stand before his 
 clear reasoning and strong arguments. Force was then resorted 
 to, and he was seized by a mob and dragged to the kadi's court. 
 There he was not only maltreated, but, contrary to law, im- 
 prisoned. His goods were seized, his wife divorced, and he 
 himself sent to the government hospital on the plea that he was 
 insane. His arrest was promptly brought to the attention of 
 her British majesty's representative in Egypt, but Charif 
 Pasha, the prime minister, persuadea her majesty's consul- 
 general that ti^.e young man's presence as a converted Muslim 
 would be the cause of excitement and disturbance and a pos- 
 sible religious mob, and he consented to a temporary removal 
 of the young man from the country, or to what was in reality 
 his banishment from his native land, and all because he had read 
 the Bible and became convinced of its truth, and dared to say 
 so. He was at once removed from the hospital and sent by train, 
 in the care of two officials, to Alexandria to be conveyed to 
 Cyprus. He was seen on the train by one of our people, who 
 informed the mission of what had taken place. He spent the 
 journey in explaining Bible doctrine and the Catechism to his 
 guards. The next day he was sent on board a vessel, and since 
 the middle of July, 1883, he has been an exile in a foreign 
 land, without a single companion or previous acquaintance, in 
 an island where the customs, language and climate are different 
 from those of his own country. It is true he is under the ^gis 
 of the English government and was consigned to the care of the 
 
 too o 
 
 governor of Cyprus, and his immediate wants have been pro- 
 vided for, but he has been torn from his family and deprived of 
 the means of gaining a livelihood, beaten by the mob and spat 
 upon, imprisoned and expatriated because he had become a 
 Christian and that with the cognizance of the highest author- 
 ities in the land." 
 
 After over a year's banishment he was permitted to return 
 to Egypt, on condition that he should not reside in Cairo. He 
 was put in the mission bookshop in Zakazik, and was very zeal- 
 ous for a time, but, being a novice, and having no opportunity
 
 IN Egypt. 363 
 
 for growth in knowledge and Christian character in Zakazik, he 
 gradually became cold, then careless, fell under the influence of 
 bad men, became discontented with his one wife, and at 
 last went back, nominally, to Islam. I have seen him many 
 times since, and am sure he does not believe in Islam, but only 
 keeps up an appearance of belief, partly from fear, and partly 
 for the means of getting a livelihood. His departure, after en- 
 during so much, was a sad disappointment to us all, and a 
 severe trial to our faith in any real conversion from Islam. 
 
 Another young man, the friend of the above, also announced 
 his belief in Christianity, and was imprisoned and then allowed 
 free exit from prison. He did not remain long a professed 
 Christian, but returned to his former faith. His case was never 
 an encouraging one, and we had lost all confidence in him for 
 some time before he left us. 
 
 Two other persons from the upper country, on its becoming 
 known that they were attending Christian assemblies, were 
 seized, beaten and imprisoned. Still persisting in their adher- 
 ence to the Christian faith, they were sent to Cairo and kept 
 in prison until, through representations made to the government 
 through Sir Evelyn Baring (now Lord Cromer), they were 
 brought to the American mission in Cairo. These, as far as I 
 know, remain steadfast in the Christian belief. Others, seeing 
 the difficulties attending the renunciation of Islam and the pro- 
 fession of Christianity, even in Egypt under the British occupa- 
 tion, are content to come to the missionaries, Nicodemus-like, 
 by night. At this day there are many known to us, and some 
 of them graduates of the El Azhar, who utterly reject the claims 
 of Muhammad and his religion, and are only deterred from em- 
 bracing Christianity by what they know they would have to 
 bear of social persecution and family alienation. Scarcely a 
 year passes, however, without one or two converts from Islam, 
 and we cease not to labor and pray that the time ma\- st^on 
 come when, under the mighty power of God's Spirit, many will 
 embrace Jesus Christ as their Saviour. 
 
 NILE MISSION WORK. 
 
 This work was carried on during this period, for the most 
 part, by Dr. Hogg and Dr. Lansing. In 1880 the former took
 
 364 The American Mission 
 
 the " Ibis" and spent some time at Minya teaching the theolog- 
 ical students during the day and conducting special evangelistic 
 meetings in the evenings, and remained there a month after the 
 students left. Strong opposition from the Coptic hierarchy, 
 and also from the government officials and their subordinates, 
 was encountered. The young men who had asked the mission- 
 aries to come, had for a time to keep away from them, but, not- 
 withstanding the opposition of the enemies of the truth and the 
 timidity of the inquirers, the audiences in the evenings increased, 
 and the truth spread rapidly through conversations with the 
 people in their homes and in the Nile boat. After Dr. Hogg's 
 departure, the place was visited occasionally by the pastor at 
 Mellawi, and then, as often as possible, a licentiate or other 
 native worker was sent there. 
 
 In 1883 Dr. Hogg visited the stations between Mellawi 
 and El Kom Akhdar, and addressed large audiences in many 
 places. He was followed by Dr. Lansing, who, with Mrs. 
 Lansing, made a visitation of the stations in the Upper Thebaid 
 and found doors wide open everywhere, and many ready to hear 
 the word of the Lord. 
 
 In 1884, also, Dr. Lansing and Dr. Hogg spent a time in 
 the "Ibis," visiting and strengthening the brethren. These 
 visits, though entailing much hard work, and often unpleasant 
 and severe personal experiences, were of immense importance 
 in strengthening the faitii of the weak, and in stimulating the 
 activities of the members and bringing outsiders to hear the 
 preaching of the Word. Many v/ho came out of curiosity, heard 
 something that set them to thinking and to searching the Scrip- 
 tures. The number of members received on profession of their 
 faith during these five years, in the native pastorates and mis- 
 sion stations, was 939, and the contributions for church and 
 evangelistic purposes was ^22,779. 
 
 DEATHS OF PROMINENT MEMBERS. 
 
 Mr. Wasif El Khayat, of Asyut, the first fruits of that city, 
 was among the number of those who died during this period. 
 He was one of the richest and most influential men of his native 
 city. Humble and unobtrusive, he commanded the respect of
 
 IN hgypt. 365 
 
 those without, as well as of his fellow Christians. He was 
 ordained elder over the Asyut congregation March 23, 1879, and 
 took an interest in the work of the Lord, both within his native 
 city and in other parts of the country, and this interest he mani- 
 fested by his liberal contributions. When the girls' boarding 
 school was established in Asyut, he assumed the expense of 
 the day school, providing a house and paying all the other ex- 
 penses. Asyut congregation and the whole Evangelical Church 
 of Egypt has sustained a great loss by his death, but we doubt 
 not that " our loss is his gain." " Blessed are the dead which 
 die in the Lord, from henceforth. Yea, saith the Spirit, that 
 they may rest from their labors : and their works do follow 
 them." 
 
 Rev. Makhiel el-Belyani — familiarly known as Father 
 Makhiel Belyani — was a man of 64 years of age. The story 
 of his life is briefly but clearly told in Dr. Scouller's Manual, and 
 only a reference here is necessary. He was brought up a monk ; 
 was sent with the Metropolitan to Abyssinia ; returned after 
 undergoing many hardships and dangers, and spent some time 
 in learning from the Rev. Mr. Kruse, a missionary from the 
 Church Missionary Society. He then became acquainted with 
 the American missionaries, and after some time was received 
 into the Protestant church in Cairo, being the first member of 
 that church, and the first member of the native Protestant 
 Church of Egypt. He was afterwards employed in the mission 
 work. He did much as colporteur in Bible distribution, and 
 spent a winter or two with the late Earl and Countess of Aber- 
 deen in their work on the Nile. He was afterwards (1866) 
 called by the congregation of Kus to become its pastor, and at 
 his own request was reordained February 10, 1867, but before 
 he was installed, circumstances, persecutions, and afterwards 
 divisions in the church arose which prevented his installation. 
 He was stationed as preacher in connection with the church 
 at Cairo. He had an excellent memory, and was very well 
 read in history, especially church history. He was a faithful 
 worker and friend, and a man full of faith and zeal for the truth. 
 He died May 24, 1883. He was the first native moderator of the 
 presbytery of Egypt, and his sermon the following >-ear was a
 
 366 The American Mission 
 
 fine exhibition of the old man's historical acquirements. Rev. 
 Mal\hiers name was the first name of a native pastor placed on 
 presbytery's roll, and for sixteen years he seldom failed to 
 answer to the call of the clerk. 
 
 Rev. Girgis Abeid, who was a graduate of Asyut college 
 and the theological seminary, and a classmate of Rev. Shanooda 
 Hanna, was licensed March 26, 1875. He was ordained and 
 installed over the Ekhmim congregation April 7, 1882. He had 
 previously labored at various places, and among them Cairo, 
 Alexandria, Bedari, Mutiah and Tahta. Before the first 
 year of his pastorate was finished, he was compelled to seek 
 medical advice, and came to Cairo to one of the hospitals, 
 where, after lingering for a time, he died March 16, 1883, in 
 the faith which he preached unto others. He was an acceptable 
 preacher of the Gospel, and gave promise of being useful to his 
 people, but the Lord took him to Himself, from a field in which 
 he was greatly needed. 
 
 Others were noted for their piety, among them Makhiel 
 Tadrus, of Erment, one of the most pious and consistent mem- 
 bers of the church. 
 
 Another was Mancarius Shehata, who was held in high es- 
 teem by the brethren in Luxor on account of his piety and 
 good judgment, and who was their first choice as elder when 
 the church would be organized. 
 
 New church organizations from January i, 1880, to January 
 I, 1885: Azziyah organized March 7, 1880; Abnub, Decem- 
 ber 4, 1880; Mishta, 1881 ; Luxor and Kurnah, March 30, 
 1882; Kus, April 3, 1882; Ekhmim, April 7, 1882; Zarabi, 
 July 18, 1882 ; Meir, April 8, 1883 ; Beni Adi, April 9, 1883. 
 
 New pastorates formed : Ekhmim, Rev. Girgis Abeid, 
 April 7, 1882 ; Luxor and Kurnah, Rev. B. Dionysius, May i, 
 1882 ; Jawily, Rev. M. Mazeeki, April 9, 1882.
 
 IN liGYPT. 367 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 FROM JANUARY I, 1 88 5, TO JANUARY I, 1890. 
 
 Comparative statistics — Mission force — New missionaries— Political condition 
 — Fanatical manifestations — Sickness and death of Rev. Dr. Hogg — Great loss to 
 the mission— Departure of his wife and family to Scotland— Weakened forces — 
 Arrival of Rev. G. Anshalian and installation as pastor in Kus — Other pastorates 
 and organizations — Accessions — Fruits — Nile boat work by Rev. C. Murch, Rev. 
 J. Giffen and Rev. J. K. Giffen — English services in Cairo — Mission premises in 
 Cairo open for British soldiers for temperance and religious meetings — Mrs. S. B. 
 Lansing's sickness and death. 
 
 COMPARATIVE STATISTICS. 
 January i, /88j. January i, iSgo. 
 
 10 
 
 Ordained missionaries, 
 
 14 
 
 I 
 
 Other male missionary, 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 Unmarried lady missionaries, 
 
 9 
 
 II 
 
 Married ladies, 
 
 12 
 
 6 
 
 Ordained natives, 
 
 12 
 
 30 
 
 Other presbyterial workers, 
 
 36 
 
 19 
 
 Organized churches, 
 
 29 
 
 1,688 
 
 Church members. 
 
 2,971 
 
 3,114 
 
 Average attendance Sabbath morning, 
 
 5,654 
 
 ;?3,9ii 
 
 Contributions of churches, 
 
 57.097 
 
 45 
 
 Sabbath schools, 
 
 98 
 
 2,521 
 
 - Sabbath school scholars. 
 
 4,427 
 
 59 
 
 Week day schools. 
 
 100 
 
 105 
 
 Teachers in same. 
 
 152 
 
 5,005 
 
 Pupils, 
 
 6,304 
 
 $10,916 
 
 Tuitions and boarding, 
 
 $13,87^ 
 
 8 
 
 Book depots. 
 
 8 
 
 21 
 
 Shopmen and colporteurs 
 
 23 
 
 37,615 
 
 Volumes sold, 
 
 31,067 
 
 $8,385 
 
 Proceeds of sales, 
 
 36,384
 
 368 The American Mission 
 
 the missionary staff on january i, 1 88 5. 
 
 Alexandria. Rev. S. C. Ewing, D. D., and wife, and Miss 
 Mary A. Frazier. 
 
 MonsiiraJi. Rev. T. J. Finney and wife, and Miss Isabella 
 Strang. 
 
 Cairo. Rev. Messrs. Dr. Lansing, Dr. Watson and W. 
 Harvey, and their wives, Miss M. A. Smith, Miss A. G. Thomp- 
 son and Miss H. M. Connor. 
 
 Asynit. Rev. J. Hogg, D. D., and wife, Rev. J. R. Alex- 
 ander, Rev. John Giffen, and Rev. J. K. Giffen and their wives, 
 Miss M. J. McKown, Miss E. O. Kyle and E. E. Lansing, M. D. 
 
 Luxor. Rev. C. Murch and wife. 
 
 Nczv missionaries from January i, 188 j, to January i, 
 i8go. Miss A. A. Brown and Miss Matilda Strang arrived in 
 Egypt, November i, 1885. Located, the former at Luxor and 
 the latter at Alexandria. Miss Jessie J. Hogg was appointed 
 July I, 1886, to the boarding school, Asyut. Rev. H. W. Hogg, 
 son of Dr. Hogg, reached Egypt on December 29, 1887, and 
 was located at Asyut in the college. Rev. J. O. Ashenhurst 
 reached Egypt November 7, 1887, and was located in Cairo. 
 Rev. W. M. Nichol and wife arrived in Egypt November 19, 
 1889, and were located in Monsurah. Rev. E. M. Giffen and 
 wife arrived in Egypt November 19, 1889, and were located in 
 Cairo. Rev. J. Kruidenier and wife arrived in Egypt on Decem- 
 ber 12, 1889, and were located in Asyut. 
 
 Movements of missionaries. Miss Frazier left August 2, 
 1886, for America, and returned July 25, 1888. Miss Isabella 
 Strang returned from America October 15, 1886. Rev. J. R. 
 Alexander and family went to America June 24, 1885, and 
 returned November i, 1886. Rev. J. Giffen and family left for 
 a change in America, March 16, 1888, and returned October 9, 
 1889, and were located in Cairo. Rev. A. Watson and family 
 left Egypt for a vacation in America on May 4, 1889. 
 
 FROM JANUARY I, 1 88 5, to JANUARY I, 1890. 
 
 This period of five years commenced with the political ho- 
 rizon under the dark cloud of war with the Mahdi. Gordon
 
 Ill 
 
 ft
 
 ' IN EGYPT. 369 
 
 Pasha, not realizing the great change which had taken place 
 during his absence from the Sudan, and thinking that he could 
 easily overcome by his presence the rebellious elements at 
 Khartum and the neighboring country, had gone up there early 
 in 1884, in opposition to the opinion of some who had better 
 opportunity to understand the true situation. His first design 
 was to deliver the Egyptian garrisons, to relieve Egyptian 
 officials of their functions, and to put Sudanese in their place, 
 to lay the foundations of a Sudanese government, and thus 
 draw away from the Mahdi those who were flocking to his 
 standard. He thought that the chief cause of the uprising in 
 the Sudan was the oppression of the officials. He did not at 
 first know, or he did not sufficiently take into account, the relig- 
 ious element that had arisen, strengthened, and extended during 
 his absence, so that it became the all-prevailing influence that 
 fired the souls of those who annihilated Hicks Pasha's army, 
 and fought like demons at Abu Klea, Mettummah, El Teb and 
 Tamai. He had not been long in Khartum, however, before he 
 became aware of the gravity of the situation. To appease the 
 wrath of the Sudanese against himself for his previous vigor- 
 ous policy of punishment of the slave traders, he announced in 
 a proclamation " henceforth nobody will interfere with you in 
 this matter " (meaning dealing in slaves), " but every one for 
 himself may take a man into his service. No one will interfere 
 with him." Subsequently Gordon Pasha asked for Turkish 
 troops to be sent to settle the Sudan and the Mahdi forever. 
 He also wanted his bitter enemy, Zubeir Pasha, to be sent up 
 to quiet the Sudan. Attempts to rout the Mahdi's forces at 
 some points were made by him and the Egyptian troops, but 
 with great loss, Colonel Stewart, Gordon's right hand man, 
 being wounded. On the 25th of June, 1884, Berber fell into 
 the hands of the Mahdi, thus removing the last link between 
 Gordon and the outer world. From that time the question be- 
 came how to save Gordon, not how to rescue the Egyptian gar- 
 risons, and it was clear he could not be delivered except by a 
 British force. This, after much hesitation, was determined 
 upon, and the relief expedition was led by General Wolseley 
 himself. 
 24
 
 370 The American Mission 
 
 It is out of my province to follow the expedition up the 
 Nile and describe its vicissitudes and hardships and hard-earned 
 victories. This can be read in the Egyptian Campaigns, by Mr. 
 Charles Royle. I would, however, briefly say that before the 
 beginning of 1885 the expedition had reached Korti, and about 
 the 8th of January a strong column, under the command of 
 Colonel Stewart, set out for Gakdul, which was reached on the 
 1 2th. Thence they advanced, fought and gained the battle of 
 Metummah, and then made a rush on to Khartum in a few 
 steamers, as information had been received that Gordon was in 
 a desperate condition. Various accidents occurred, destroying 
 some of the steamers, and delaying others, and on the 26th of 
 January those on board heard from parties on shore that Khar- 
 tum had fallen and Gordon was killed, and two days later Sir 
 Charles Wilson came to the conclusion, on approaching the 
 place, that the news was, alas ! too true. So all the hardships, 
 all the battles, all the expense failed to secure the end in view. 
 If the relief party had been five days earlier it might have been 
 otherwise. But it is my humble opinion, that had Sir Charles' 
 party reached Khartum and seen Gordon, it would not have 
 helped matters ; they would all have fallen into the Mahdi's 
 hands. The news of the fall of Khartum and the fate of Gor- 
 don were not the only incidents that engaged the thoughts of 
 the public in Egypt in 1885. How would the English troops 
 secure a safe return ? Would they be annihilated by the vic- 
 torious hordes of the Mahdi .-* And then, would not these same 
 hordes come rushing down on the rich valley of Egypt.? And 
 what made the matter much worse was the fact that many in 
 Egypt among the mosque party, the government officials, the 
 merchants, and the common people, were believers in the relig- 
 ious claims of Ahmed Muhammad. Bitter anti-Christian senti- 
 ments where everywhere heard, and although there was a strong 
 garrison in Cairo and another in Alexandria, yet many feared 
 another uprising and massacre. By means of a pretended 
 advance of British troops from Suakin on the Berber road 
 towards the Nile, the safe return of the Nile expeditionary 
 force was effected, but the Mahdi and his dervishes continued 
 to threaten Egypt from time to time. Such was the condition of
 
 IN EG^PT. 371 
 
 Egypt politically during the period of five years of whwh I 
 am now writing. 
 
 The missionary campaign, however, continued and its 
 forces grew year by year. All the departments of the service 
 were better equipped at the beginning of 1885 than they had 
 ever been before. There were twenty-eight American mission- 
 aries, married and unmarried. Six native pastors not only 
 watched over and ministered to their own special flocks, but 
 also from time to time were going out to the villages in their 
 neighborhood to sow the seed of the Word. There were thirty 
 other workers, comprising licentiates and theological students 
 and others, some during the whole year and some during 
 the vacation of the seminary for five months, acting the 
 part of local preachers, many of them with evident accept- 
 ability. There were 105 teachers in the fifty-nine schools, 
 giving instruction to 5,005 pupils every day. There were 
 the two boarding schools for girls, one in Cairo and the 
 other in Asyut, under the management of missionary ladies, 
 the Asyut training college, with its strong force of missionaries 
 as instructors, assisted by efficient natives affording the best 
 facilities for training young men ; the theological classes in 
 Cairo and in Asyut ; the eight book depots and the twenty-one 
 shopmen and colporteurs pushing the distribution of a purify- 
 ing, enlightening, and evangelizing literature. 
 
 Besides all these agencies and influences there was the 
 work among the girls and women carried on in the schools and 
 in the homes of the people by foreign and native workers, and 
 the evening meetings at almost every station where there were 
 regular laborers. All these were in active operation from the 
 beginning of 1885, and continued and increased during this 
 period of five years until they became, at the end of 1S89, 
 what appears in the table of comparative statistics at the be- 
 ginning of this chapter. Opposition there was at many points, 
 but it was generallv an evidence of success and a stimulus to 
 workers. Persecution was the lot of some of the workers, but 
 it was overruled for good to the cause and to the persons. 
 Three new pastorates were formed in 1885, two new church 
 organizations completed, and many new stations opened. The
 
 372 The American Mission 
 
 facts and figures for 1885 were being gathered and arranged 
 and the reports being written in preparation for meetings 0^ 
 presbytery and Association when God's heavy hand fell upon 
 the mission as never before. 
 
 THE SICKNESS AND DEATH OF DR. HOGG. 
 
 At the winter meeting of Association in 1885 Dr. Hogg 
 was granted permission to spend the following summer in Scot- 
 land, with the intention that he use as much of his time as pos- 
 sible in preparing for publication a greatly needed Christian 
 literature. He returned to Egypt early in October and was 
 present at the meeting of Association held in Ramleh on Octo- 
 ber 14. The winter of 1885-86 he spent in Asyut giving in- 
 struction to the theological students and members of the senior 
 class in college on religious subjects, going out on Sabbaths 
 occasionally to the villages, as was his custom, or preaching to 
 the students of the college. His last public address to them 
 was a stirring appeal on the question of personal duty to work 
 for the Master from the text i Timothy 3:1, " If a man desire 
 the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work." During later 
 years he had not been feeling as vigorous as formerly, and on 
 about February 10 he was taken ill with the malady that car- 
 ried him off. He suffered intense pain during his illness. The 
 reports we received in Cairo from day to day were varied. 
 One day he was better and another worse. It never once oc- 
 curred to us that there could be a fatal termination to his dis- 
 ease. He had been very ill several times and recovered, he 
 had a strong constitution ; he was so necessary, in our estima- 
 tion, to the work of the Lord in Egypt, that it never entered 
 our minds that he might be taken from us. Only when a tele- 
 gram came to send up a doctor from Cairo for consultation did 
 we begin to feel uneasy. On the night of the 26th of February, 
 on our return from performing a marriage ceremony, a telegram 
 awaited us saying, "Dr. Hogg's condition beyond hope," but 
 we still clung to the idea that he could not be spared, that as 
 long as there is life there is hope, in this case especially. A 
 consultation was held and it was agreed that Brother Harvey
 
 IN EGYPT. 
 
 373 
 
 and I should go up to Asyut the next day. This we did. It was a 
 long, dusty ride at any time, and that day the eleven hours 
 seemed like twenty-four, and we arrived at Dr. Hogg's home 
 just two hours before his spirit took its flight to that glory of 
 which he had spoken so often. I do not think he recognized us 
 at all. When he breathed his last, Mrs. Hogg asked that one 
 of those present should offer prayer, which was done ; but how 
 difficult to pray under such circumstances ? How difficult it was 
 for his co-laborers to say, "Thy will be done." How much more 
 difficult for her who was left a widow with a large familv to 
 say, " The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away, blessed 
 be the name of the Lord." Yet no one among all who were 
 present bore up under the affliction as Mrs. Hogg did. She was 
 wonderfully sustained by divine grace. The question came up, 
 "Where shall he be buried.?" Some suggested, and e\en 
 urged, that the body be taken to Cairo and laid in the American 
 cemetery. On consulting with the prominent native brethren 
 they all wished the body to be kept in the place where it had 
 labored so long and so successfully. The widow readily fell in 
 with this idea, and the rest, though preferring the other alter- 
 native, made no objections. We were then informed that Mr. 
 Wesa Buktor, a warm personal friend of the deceased, and a 
 rich man, would prepare the tomb, and bear all the expenses 
 of the funeral, and erect a monument. The death occurred on 
 Saturday night, at about 8:15. At the regular services of the 
 Sabbath morning a great multitude gathered. Perhaps nearly 
 a thousand people crowded into the chapel, while a large num- 
 ber remained outside. In the midst of the services the gov- 
 ernor of Asyut with his suite entered, and seats were given up 
 to them. The funeral services in the afternoon were conducted 
 by the pastor, Rev. Ibrahim Yusif, assisted by some of the 
 missionaries. The governor and his suite were again present. 
 The church was packed full, and the large open space at the 
 door and the streets on each side were crowded with people of 
 all religions and nationalities, Copts, Muslims, Greekf, vieing 
 with Protestants in showing their respect to one whose good 
 deeds had reached men of every class and condition. At the 
 close of the sermon, and by request, opportunity was given to
 
 374 The American Mission 
 
 the people to look for the last time on the placid face of the 
 great and good man who had done so much and labored so long 
 in their midst. As the throng passed by in order, the governor 
 was heard to say to one of his attendants, " How they loved 
 this man ! " As the procession formed in front of the church a 
 company of British soldiers, detailed for the purpose by the 
 commander of the garrison in Asyut, aided in keeping order and 
 prevented the crowd from wholly blocking the narrow streets. 
 The governor and his attendants showed their respect for the 
 deceased by walking to the city limits. They were followed 
 by a long procession of the most intelligent and wealthy resi- 
 dents of Asyut, and many from the surrounding villages. He 
 was buried in a tomb in the midst of a sandy desert, just be- 
 tween the rich valley of the Nile and the western hills, and a 
 fine mausoleum of white marble was erected over it by his gen- 
 erous friend, already mentioned. Dr. J. G. Bliss, in writing 
 to the New York Evangelist of Dr. Hogg, shortly after his 
 death, said : " It is not too much to say that the whole land is 
 in mourning for this eminent servant of God. He was the prince 
 of Bible workers in this land of darkness. Few are the places 
 on the Nile valley, from Aswan to Cairo, where his voice has 
 not been lifted up for God and Bible truth. For more than 
 twenty years he was identified, more than any other one, with 
 the work of evangelism in upper Egypt. Thousands heard his 
 earnest words and were moved to examine the Scriptures to 
 see if his teachings were true. One cannot contemplate his 
 work in its various characteristics and relations without being 
 deeply impressed with the fact that his was a large faith, 
 always looking upward to the face of the Master, and getting 
 cheer from his smiles. No self-seeking surely prompted his 
 long journeying up and down the Nile in the well-known Bible 
 boat." 
 
 His death came upon us all suddenly. The whole mission 
 was astonished, stunned, and dismayed. The native brethren, 
 from one end of the country to the other, wept as for a father, 
 while many were so disheartened that they began to think 
 that the cause of truth was lost. \n some places the people 
 were saved from utter confusion and despair by the historic
 
 IN EGYPT. 375 
 
 saying, '' God is not dead." Some of the older members of 
 the mission, who had labored with him for many ytars, felt the 
 blow very keenly, notably Dr. Lansing, who was taken seriously 
 ill and was obliged to take a change to England for a few months. 
 Dr. Hogg was ever in the front ranks of the mission army — nay, 
 but he was one of the commanders-in-chief ; not that he took a 
 comfortable and safe position and only issued orders to others, 
 but he led them into the thickest of the fight. Possessed of an 
 iron constitution, he did an amount of work with his tongue and 
 with his pen that would have in a short time killed most other 
 men. Yes, he was a bright and shining light in all the depart- 
 ments of missionary life. In versatility of talents he had no 
 equal : as an instructor he was a prince ; as a preacher, earnest 
 and eloquent ; as a writer he had a wonderful flow of language, 
 and a rich abundance of precious truths, in the defence of the 
 truth and Christianity his tongue was never silent, nor his pen 
 dry. Foremost in the controversy with the Pl}'mouthites, yet 
 the best of them felt when he died that they had lost a Christian 
 brother and a noble fellow worker for Christ and the salvation 
 of souls. The churches, especially those in upper Egypt, felt 
 they had lost their spiritual father. During later years he was 
 relieved almost entirely of the responsibility of the Asyut train- 
 ing college, through the intelligent and efficient labors of his 
 colleagues, and therefore was free to visit and strengthen the 
 small as well as large companies of believers at various places, 
 and preach the Gospel at new places whenever the Lord opened 
 the door. For that reason he was ever among the people, and 
 the people were ever looking to him, and, therefore, when he 
 was taken away, they felt like sheep without a shepherd. 
 
 At the time, Dr. Lansing wrote as follows to Dr. Dales : 
 " I have a very heavy burden of news to communicate to you. 
 Our dear brother, Dr. Hogg, is no more with us — he has gone 
 to his everlasting reward. He has entered into the joy of the 
 Lord. * * * And what shall I say more? To our covenant 
 God 1 wish to say, M am dumb, because Thou didst it.' We 
 know that all His judgments are right, and that it is onl>- in love 
 and infinite wisdom that He afflicts His people, in reference to 
 the Church at home and the mission work in this land, I cannot
 
 376 The American Mission 
 
 attempt to describe what seems to us the irreparable loss. His 
 praise is in all the churches. For more than thirty years it has 
 been his privilege and delight, with indomitable energy and de- 
 votion, to hold up the standard of the Cross in this dark land. 
 We all said, ' Truly, God's ways are not as man's ways, nor 
 His thoughts as man's thoughts.' We take comfort, however, 
 from the assurance that God makes no mistakes, and what we 
 know not now we shall know hereafter. We thought that per- 
 haps the Lord wished to show what He could do through the 
 weak ones that were left, for all felt it would be a long time 
 before there would be another on the field possessing so many 
 qualifications for the work — of great mental ability, scholarly, 
 of strong faith, earnest, fearless, self-denying, able to do any- 
 thing, ready to do anything, willing to bear anything and to go 
 anywhere in the Master's service. Oh ! how we missed him 
 and continue to miss him." 
 
 After the funeral the people from the town of Asyut, and 
 from many places on the Nile valley, called to show their sym- 
 pathy with the widow and the children. Often they could say 
 nothing, they were so deeply affected ; but she was ever ready 
 with a word of comfort to them. They learned to admire, almost 
 to adore, her for her resignation and piety. It soon became clear 
 to herself that with such a family to rear and train up for useful- 
 ness she must return to her native land, where opportunities for 
 Christian education were abundant. The natives greatly pre- 
 ferred that she remain in Asyut, and some of the wealthy ones 
 would have undertaken her support. The decision, however, 
 was taken wisely, and she left the scene of her husband's labors 
 and his resting place with regret, and took up her residence in 
 Edinburgh, Scotland, in order to give her children'the advantages 
 of education and Christian training which this metropolis 
 abundantly affords. 
 
 Presbytery met at Sinorisfour days after Dr. Hogg's death. 
 A feeling of irreparable loss filled the heart of every member, 
 and a sense of utter helplessness manifested itself in every 
 prayer. A sense of duty to Christ and His Church and cause, 
 and God's special grace, gradually aided them in overcoming 
 their deep sorrow, and in trying to do their utmost to aid the
 
 GO 
 
 O 

 
 IN Egypt. 377 
 
 native brethren. A circular letter was prepared in Arabic and 
 sent to all the stations. The principal thought in this circular 
 was taken from God's command to Joshua upon the death of 
 Moses, " Moses my servant is dead, now therefore go over this 
 Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do give 
 to them. * * * Be strong, and be of good courage, be not 
 afraid, neither be thou dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with 
 thee whithersoever thou goest." 
 
 The missionary force, at first stunned, and then weakened, 
 by the death of Dr. Hogg, was still further weakened by the 
 illness of Dr. Lansing, in 1886, and his increased inability for 
 work from that time ; also by the illness of the writer, during 
 two months in the autumn of 1887, and the absence of Rev. 
 J. R. Alexander, during the greater part of 1885-86. Rev. J. 
 Giffen was absent also from the field for a year and a half in 
 1888-89. Notwithstanding the weakness of the veteran forces, 
 there was a large addition of new recruits during this period, 
 who, though unable to use the Arabic language for some time, 
 yet all of them were helping in various ways and preparing for 
 active service in evangelistic work in the near future. The 
 native forces continued to increase year by year. Rev. G. 
 Anshalian, for twelve years a pastor in eastern Turkey, and 
 subsequently for a time a student in Xenia Seminary, arrived 
 in Egypt in November, 1885, spent the winter of 1885-86 in 
 visiting the native churches from Alexandria to Esna, and was 
 everywhere warmly received by the people. Several of the 
 congregations expressed a desire to have him as pastor, and a 
 call being made out for him by the large congregation of Kus, 
 he accepted it and was installed there April 27, 1886. After 
 making a short visit to his native land, he brought back his 
 family with him in the autumn of that year, and entered upon 
 his duties in the large field to which he had been chosen. Rev. 
 Ibrahim Tanyus was called by the congregation of his own 
 village, Mutiah, and the neighboring village, Bagore, in March, 
 1885, and was ordained and installed pastor in March of that 
 year. Rev. Bashai Makhiel was called by the congregation of 
 Beni Adi, and was ordained and installed pastor in March, 1885. 
 Rev. Hanna Bishai was called by the congregation of Minya,
 
 378 The American Mission 
 
 and was ordained and installed pastor in November, the same 
 year. Rev. Gabrail Yusif accepted a call from the congregation 
 of Sanhore, in the district of the Faiyum, and was ordained and 
 installed in 1887. Rev. Aweida Abd es-Shahid was called to 
 the united congregation of Luxor and Kurnah, and was ordained 
 and installed on March i, 1889. Rev. Benjamin Famm was 
 ordained and installed pastor of Abutig congregation in 1889, 
 and Rev. Tadros Hanna, over the congregation of Mellawi, on 
 September i, 1889. 
 
 New organizations were effected as follows : Minya and 
 Azaimah, in 1885 ; Sanhur, in 1886; Beyadia, in 1887; Abutig, 
 in 1888; Hore, Dair el-Ganadleh, Sanabu, in 1889. Many new 
 stations were opened during this period, among them Zakazik, 
 Bilkas, Mit Ghamr, Suft el-Laben, Zawiyet el-Amwat, Sarak- 
 nah, Dakuf, Kena, BeniShakeir, Beni Mohammad. It was then, 
 too, that many villages in the neighborhood of El-Kom el-Akhdar 
 were opened to the Gospel. On one occasion the writer 
 preached in El-Kom to over 450 persons, from over thirty towns 
 and villages, and seventeen new members were received at one 
 time. Later, Dr. Harvey visited the same place, and had a 
 very interesting time. There were present at the morning 
 . service 694 persons, and 600 in the afternoon. Eleven men 
 and five women were received into church fellowship. Sharunah, 
 in which our faithful worker was beaten, and from which he 
 was expelled and forbidden to return two years before, was re- 
 opened to the Gospel in 1885. Very interesting and encourag- 
 ing work was carried on at that time, too, at Abu Kerkas and 
 Menhari, where the Lord opened a wide door. Into it the Ply m- 
 outhites tried to enter, but were compelled to withdraw after a 
 public discussion between their leader, Rev. Girgis Raphail, and 
 one of our blind evangelists. Marked success followed the 
 preaching of the Word, and an increasing number was added to 
 the Church throughout Egypt year to year, viz.: In 1885, there 
 were added 103 : in 1886, 246 ; in 1887, 384 ; in 1888, 379 ; in 
 1889, 464. Total, 1,576. The contributions of the native 
 churches were: In 1885, ^4,726; in 1886, ;^ 5,043 ; in 1887, 
 $6,422; in 1888, $6,974; in 1889, $6,495. Total in five 
 years, $29,660.
 
 IN UGVPT. 
 
 379 
 
 It was during this period that Rev. Dr. T. McCague, one 
 of the founders of the mission, visited Egypt and made a tour 
 through the Nile valley up as far as Aswan His visit was un- 
 dertaken in consequence of an intense desire to see the mission 
 work after an absence of twenty-six years. He stopped at 
 most of the chief stations, and became an eye-witness of the 
 various operations of the mission. He addressed some of the 
 congregations through an interpreter, and sometimes as best he 
 could, after twenty-six years' absence, in Arabic. All were 
 delighted to see him. His impressions were given to the Church 
 at the time in letters published in Tlie United Presbyterian, and 
 entitled " Egypt Revisited," from which 1 have taken some of 
 the facts of this history. It evidently gave him great pleasure 
 to see what the Lord had done since he left, and how much 
 Egypt had improved in many ways. We would all ha\-e re- 
 joiced to have had him remain and help in the work, but no one 
 felt like urging him, at his advanced age, to attempt to re-master 
 the difficult language. All honor to him and his colleague, who 
 laid the foundations of the mission at a time when to be a foreign 
 missionary meant much more sacrifice than it does now. 
 
 NILE BOAT WORK. 
 
 This work was still continued during this period, but the 
 older missionaries gradually gave place to younger men in 
 carrying it on. Dr. Hogg made his last trip during the winter 
 of 1884-85. Nothing seems to have been done in 18S6 except 
 by Brother Murch in the district of Upper Thebaid. The 
 '• Ibis," having become unseaworthy, was thoroughly o\-er- 
 hauled by means of contributions from the Sabbath schools of 
 our Church in America. The writer of the report for 1887 
 very briefly said, "We know of no investment in mission 
 property which has been more profitable than the money in- 
 vested in this boat. For about twenty-seven years it has car- 
 ried the missionaries up and down the river as they distributed 
 the Scriptures and preached the Gospel. It formed at once the 
 means of transportation and dwelling for the missionary and his 
 family, and a place of worship in which meetings were held.
 
 38o The American Mission 
 
 It has now renewed its youth and did good service last year. 
 Rev. John Giffen, by its means, scattered the seed in April and 
 May between Asyut and Aswan, a distance of about 324 miles, 
 and from September to December between Feshn and Kena, a 
 distance of about 164 miles. On these two journeys he visited 
 sixty-four towns and villages, in sixty of which he conducted 
 from one to five meetings. In fourteen he dispensed the Lord's 
 Supper and received fifty-two persons into church communion 
 on profession of their faith. He also baptized thirty-six 
 children." No one, who has not had an experience of a trip 
 of that kind, can imagine the trials and annoyances connected 
 with it, nor can he measure the amount of good done by it. 
 Brother Harvey went down the river in the " Ibis " during the 
 summer of 1887 and visited many places on the banks of its 
 eastern branch. Opportunities for religious conversation and 
 friendly discussion were had at various towns and villages. 
 The chief places visited were : Abu el-Ghait, Benha, Tanta, 
 Mit Ghamr, Zeifta, Tafahany, Samanud, Monsurah, Belamun, 
 Faraskur, Shirbin and Damietta. Seldom had the ** Ibis " gone 
 down the Nile, and therefore the places visited were very 
 needy. Doubtless some seed was then sown that took root 
 and produced the harvest now being reaped by Brother Finney 
 in that region. In August, 1888, Rev. J. K. Giffen was 
 appointed to special evangelistic work, and the latter part of 
 September he took the Nile boat and went to Ekhmim, visiting 
 on the return trip all the places in which there was any work 
 going on at that time, until he reached Asyut. Then from 
 Asyut he went north to Sharunah, opposite Maghagha, and vis- 
 ited all the towns and villages in close proximity to the river as 
 far as Asyut. After the meeting of presbytery at Kus, in the 
 spring of 1889, he went to Luxor and assisted in the ordination 
 and installation of Rev. Aweida Abd el-Shahid as pastor over 
 the united congregations of Luxor and Kurnah. From there, in 
 company with Mr. Murch, he went to Aswan and visited all the 
 stations between that place and Luxor. He visited eighty- 
 three towns where mission work was being carried on ; 
 preached 238 times ; dispensed the Lord's Supper thirty-nine 
 times ; baptized sixty-one children and married seven couples.
 
 IN Egypt. 381 
 
 Rev. Chauncey Murch, on leaving Luxor for the north during 
 1889, spent a considerable time in visiting a number of places 
 on the passage down the river to Cairo ; and on his return trip 
 in October he revisited some of these places, and visited 
 others. Much good was accomplished among the women by 
 Miss Smith's and Mrs, Murch's visits to them at the various 
 places at which they stopped. 
 
 ENGLISH SERVICES IN CAIRO. 
 
 Very little has been said in this histur)' of the work done 
 in Cairo among the English-speaking people, whether residents 
 or travelers. An English service has been kept up during 
 nearly the whole history of the mission, entailing a good deal of 
 labor on the missionaries, as they were obliged to make special 
 preparation for add*ressing the intelligent audiences generally 
 present, for both residents and travelers are generally those 
 who have received a liberal education, and are accustomed to 
 listen to well-prepared discourses. These services have also 
 been conducted in turn by the missionaries in Cairo, with the 
 assistance of any ministers of the Word who could be secured. 
 In this way the missionaries have often been permitted to enjoy 
 and profit by the services of many noted workers for Christ 
 passing through Egypt. Since the Arabi rebellion the need of 
 English services in Presbyterian forms became more pressing. 
 Soon after the British troops entered the city many of them 
 called upon the missionaries, by whom they were welcomed as 
 strangers in a foreign land needing Christian help, sympathy 
 and counsel. The temperance men early sought out our prem- 
 ises, desirous of finding some center in which they could meet 
 to continue their campaign against the greatest enemy of the 
 Christian race. The Presbyterian and Wesleyan chaplains also 
 sought a place in which to conduct religious services on the 
 Lord's day. Arrangements were made by the Presbyterian 
 chaplain to the British forces and the missionaries to h.ive the 
 parade servi':e of the Forty-second Highland regiment held in 
 the mission church at eleven o'clock A. A\. Soon after this a 
 voluntary service at six P. M. was commenced, which has been
 
 382 The American Mission 
 
 continued ever since. Both tliese services were conducted in 
 turn by the chaplain and missionaries. Civilians, officers and 
 men from different regiments, representing the three denomina- 
 tions, Presbyterian, Episcopalian and Wesleyan, have attended 
 the evening service. But the morning service was attended by 
 only civilians and Presbyterian troops. It was a grand sight to 
 see those strong-bodied Highlanders, in their parade kilts, march 
 into the church, and when they joined in singing the twenty- 
 third Psalm or the one hundredth, or some other well-known 
 Psalm, the sound was like the resounding sea. A weekly 
 union prayer-meeting was started in July, 1883, in Mrs. Har- 
 vey's parlor, at which from twenty to forty soldiers for several 
 years attended, as well as many civilians. This prayer-meet- 
 ing is remembered by hundreds who are now scattered over the 
 face of the earth, as letters from them testify. It continues to be 
 a blessing to the missionaries, as well as to many others. Mrs. 
 Harvey has left her parlor open for Christian soldiers all these 
 years, and she. Miss Thompson, and others, have had a good 
 influence over them, and have been the means of keeping some 
 of them from the paths of sin, and leading them in the way of 
 godliness and purity. Only the last day can reveal the amount 
 of good done in this quiet way. 
 
 The last year of this period brought its burden of sorrow 
 to the mission. Early in the year Mrs. Watson was in ex- 
 treme danger from illness, but recovered sufficiently to be able 
 to leave for America in the spring, where she was completely 
 restored. 
 
 In the spring of 1889, Rev. Ibrahim Yusif passed through 
 Cairo on his way to the German hospital in Alexandria, to be 
 treated for a malady from v/hich he had been apparently cured 
 some years before, but which returned with increased severity 
 He seemed utterly broken down, and spoke hopelessly about 
 his trouble. In a brief time his disease increased and he fell 
 asleep in Jesus, and was delivered from long bodily pains. He 
 became pastor of the Asyut congregation in 1879, ^fter having 
 served it as stated supply for some years. He was often 
 spoken of as like the beloved disciple John. He was among the 
 first converts and first workers, and served the Lord as teacher.
 
 IN Egypt. 383 
 
 evangelist, and preacher about thirty years. He was con- 
 verted in 1859, under the ministration of Rev. Drs. Barnett 
 and McCague. He was very intimate with Dr. and Mrs. Lan- 
 sing. 
 
 It seems appropriate, in this connection, to record Mrs. Lans- 
 ing's death. This occurred at half past eight o'clock on the even- 
 ing of Tuesday, November 26, 1889. During the last years of 
 her life she was a great sufferer, tliough the church and general 
 public knew little about it, yet during all her affliction, which 
 was intensified by her delicate, nervous constitution and gen- 
 eral bodily debility, she never lost her interest in the mission 
 work. In April, 1889, in passing along the hall of the board- 
 ing school, and not noticing a step that was before her, she 
 suddenly fell, was taken up helpless from a severe bruise or 
 fracture of the hip-bone, and for months lay upon the bed, the 
 calm and uncomplaining victim of much excruciating pain. 
 At length she rallied and became able to move around with a 
 crutch, and then with only a cane. In this condition and in the 
 enfeebled state of health of both her husband and their son, 
 Dr. J. McC. Lansing, she went to Alexandria, saw them sail 
 (at the urgent advice of their physicians), for Constantinople 
 and then she returned to Cairo. On the next day, the 9th of 
 November, she was attacked with catarrh of the bowels, and 
 thence for seventeen days endured the severest sufferings as 
 the disease ran its fatal course. Her great desire was to li\e 
 until her husband and his son (who had been summoned by 
 wire) would arrive. Her desires and prayers were wonder- 
 fully granted. Twenty-four hours before she departed they 
 reached her. " Bless the Lord, bless the Lord," was her re- 
 peated cry as they came in. Most tender and touching were 
 the hours that followed. Calmly, though in great weakness, 
 she talked of her departure, disposed of many objects of inter- 
 est, sent parting messages to dear ones far awa>', and ga\-e 
 loving and faithful exhortations to natives around her. To a 
 young missionary she said, " Live for the Lord, li\-e for Christ, 
 dear brother. Preach Christ in a plain, simple manner to these 
 poor people." As the last \'erse of the twent>'-third Psalm 
 was sung, and a portion of the Revelation 21 read, and a fervent
 
 384 The American Mission 
 
 prayer offered by one of the missionary brethren, she softly 
 but distinctly said, "Amen." This was her last word. The 
 struggle was over. All was peace. The spirit had flown to 
 realms of light and joy. On the following day a large company 
 gathered at the mission house. Persons of various nationalities, 
 religions, and conditions assembled to pay their respects to the 
 honored dead. Services were conducted partly in Arabic and 
 partly in English by Rev. Messrs. Wm. Harvey and J. K. Giffen, 
 and then the funeral throng followed the last remains of Mrs. S. 
 B. Lansing, nee S. B. Dales, to the American cemetery at Old 
 Cairo, where she was laid, at her own request, under the 
 acacia tree and by the side of Mrs. Mary E. G. Giffen to await 
 the glorious resurrection morn. 
 
 She will never be forgotten by those who knew her. She 
 was in heart and soul a missionary, and toved the mission cause 
 and the mission work. Whether entertaining travelers, whom 
 her attractive manners and wide acquaintance through long 
 connection with the mission drew to her house, or making re- 
 turn calls on them at the hotels, or meeting with people during 
 her sojourn in Great Britian, which she had several times visited, 
 the subject of her conversation was the work of Christ in 
 Egypt. To secure their interest in it, their support, good 
 wishes and prayers for it, was her great aim. Sometimes, 
 when scarcely able to drag herself from one room to another, 
 she would receive callers and entertain them with glowing ac- 
 counts of the mission work carried on in the Nile valley, while 
 they would never suspect how feeble she was, but would go 
 away charmed with her conversation, and often influenced to 
 do something to help on the good cause. In the missionary 
 tours up and down the Nile valley, in company with her hus- 
 band, she was always deeply interested, and whenever her 
 health would permit she was accustomed to search out the 
 women, read and talk to tliem, and pray with them, while he 
 was engaged with the men. She was a true helper to her hus- 
 band, taking a deep interest in all his plans and work, and aid- 
 ing him often beyond what her physical state permitted. We 
 will remember her as an earnest pioneer missionary, whose 
 letters, so fervent and graphic, roused the Church in those
 
 FN EGYPT, ^85 
 
 early days to a deeper interest ana larger participation in toi- 
 eign mission work ; we will remember her as a life-long mis- 
 sionary, whose intense interest in Egypt's evangelization 
 and the salvation of the Egyptians remained unabated to the 
 last.
 
 j86 The American Mission 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 FROM JANUARY I, 1890, TO JANUARY I, 1 895. 
 
 Comparative statistics — Missionary staff, January i, 1890, and location — 
 Movements of missionaries during the period— New missionaries — New pastor- 
 ates and new installments — New organizations — Work on the Nile by Rev. J. K. 
 Giffen, Rev. C. Murch, Dr. Harvey, Rev. J. O. Ashenhurst, Rev. T. J. Finney — 
 Interesting spiritual movement at Nal<heilah — Effect of mission work on Coptic 
 sect — Special efforts at reform in the period — Division in Coptic sect — Ban- 
 ishment and return of the Patriarch— Religious newspaper started — Med- 
 ical department — New premises — Death of Uncle Fam — Death of Mrs. W. M. 
 Nichol — Death of Dr. G. Lansing, his character and work — Death of Dr. J. B. 
 Dales — Departure of Miss M. J. McKown — Her work — New missionaries in 1895 
 and 1896 — New pastorates — New organizations — These years remembered in con- 
 nection with Turkish atrocities in Armenia — Murder of Rev. Girgis Anshalian — 
 Breaking out of cholera and its widespread ravages — Death of Rev. Iskaros 
 Masud and Mrs. Strang— Division of the field into six districts— Statistics on 
 January i, 1897 — Other missions in Egypt. 
 
 COMPARATIVE STATISTICS. 
 
 Jan. /, i8go. Period of five years. Jan, i, 18^5. 
 
 14 Ordained missionaries, 15 
 
 o Other male missionary, i 
 
 9 Unmarried lady missionaries, 8 
 
 12 Married ladies, 16 
 
 12 Ordained natives, 19 
 
 36 Other presbyterial workers, 39 
 
 29 Organized churches, 33 
 
 2,971 Church members, 4»554 
 
 5,654 Average attendance Sabbath morning, 8,886 
 
 $7,0^7 Contributions from churches, $11,431 
 
 98 Sabbath schools, no 
 
 4,427 Sabbath school scholars, 5*365 
 
 100 Week day schools, 119 
 
 152 Teachers in same, 195 
 
 6,304 Pupils in same, 7.975
 
 IN EGYPT. 387 
 
 1^13,872 
 
 Tuitions and boarding, collected, 
 
 ^15.725 
 
 8 
 
 Book depositories, 
 
 7 
 
 23 
 
 Shopmen and colporteurs, 
 
 33 
 
 . 31,067 
 
 Volumes sold, 
 
 49,397 
 
 $6,384 
 
 Proceeds of sales. 
 
 $10,313 
 
 
 
 Attendance, night meetings. 
 
 3.722 
 
 151 
 
 Number of stations. 
 
 167 
 
 MISSIONARY STAFF ON JANUARY I, 1890. 
 
 Alexandria. Rev. S. C. Ewing, D. D., Miss M. A. Frazier. 
 
 Cairo. Rev. G. Lansing, D. D., Rev. W. Harvey, D. D., 
 and wife, Rev. John Giffen and wife, Rev. J. O. Ashenhurst, 
 Rev. E. M. Giffen and wife ; Misses A. A. Brown, H. M. Con- 
 ner, M. A. Smith, A. Y. Thompson. 
 
 Asyut. Rev. Messrs. J. R. Alexander, J. K. Giffen and J. 
 Kruidenier and their wives, and Rev. H. W. Hogg; Misses E. 
 O. Kyle, J. J. Hogg and M. J. McKown. 
 
 MonsuraJi. Rev. T. J. Finney and wife, Rev. W. M. 
 Nichol, and Miss M. Strang. 
 
 Movements during the period. Rev. G. Lansing, D. D., 
 and Rev. W. Harvey and wife, and Miss Thompson went 
 to America for a change in 1890, and returned in 1891, 
 in the autumn. Rev. A. Watson, D. D., and wife returned 
 to Egypt in the autumn of 1890. Rev. J. K. Giffen and 
 family went to America for a furlough in the spring of 1891, 
 and returned in the autumn of 1892. Misses M. A. Smith, 
 E. O. Kyle and H. M. Conner went to America on furlough 
 during the summer of 1891, and the first two returned to 
 Egypt in the autumn of 1892. Rev. Chauncey Murch and wife 
 went to America on furlough in the spring of 1893, and returned 
 to Egypt in the autumn of 1894. Rev. T. J. Finney and family 
 went to America on furlough in the spring of 1892, and returned 
 in the autumn of 1893. Miss M. A. Frazier resigned in the 
 autumn of 1893, on account of ill health, and immedialel>- left 
 for America. Rev. H. W. Hogg resigned under date September 
 23, 1893, and left the mission at the end of May, 1894. Miss 
 Matilda Strang resigned her connection with tiie mission, and
 
 388 The American Mission 
 
 returned to America in the spring of 1894, and was soon after 
 united in marriage with Rev. Mr. Hyde. Rev. J. O. Ashen- 
 hurst and wife left Egypt on furlough on April i, 1895. 
 
 Nczu missionaries duriiig i8go-g^. Miss Mary E. Work 
 joined the m.ission in the autumn of 1890, and for a time was 
 located in Cairo, and subsequently in Asyut. L. M. Henry, M. 
 D., and wife and two children joined the mission in the autumn 
 of 1891. Revs. S. G. Hart and K. W. McFarland and their 
 wives, and Misses A. E. Jamieson and L. J. McDowell joined 
 the mission forces about the end of 1892. Miss Carrie M. Bu- 
 chanan joined the mission in the auturpn of 1893. Rev. J. P. 
 White, M. D., and wife, and Misses Minnehaha' Finney and 
 Grace Biown joined the mission towards the close of 1894. 
 
 During this period three new mission centers were estab- 
 lished in the delta. One at Tanta, in 1893, with Rev. J. K. 
 Giffen as missionary; the other two in 1894, viz., Benha, with 
 Rev. Chauncey Murch as missionary, and Zakazik, with Rev. 
 J. Kiuidenier as missionary. These three centers and Monsu- 
 rah, formerly occupied, if properly manned, by additional mis- 
 sionaries, male, female and native assistants, for work in the 
 surrounding towns and villages, will sufficiently supply the 
 needs of the delta as mission centers for some time to come. 
 
 New pastorates and installations. Rev. Boulas Makhiel, 
 over Hore in 1890, Rev Bulus Abd es-Shahid over Ekhmim, 
 1893 , Rev. Shahata [Abd es-Shahid over Mellawi, 1893 ; Rev. 
 Maawid Hanna over Asyut, 1893 ; Rev, Makhiel Takla over 
 Abu Kerkas, 1893; Rev. Sueres Makhiel over Daweir, 1894. In 
 the autumn of 1893, Mr. Moosa Ibrahim, one of the mission con- 
 verts, who had been in America several years and attended 
 Xenia Seminary and was licensed by Xenia Presbytery, returned 
 to Egypt and joined the native forces of the Lord, and immedi- 
 ately began successful work under direction of presbytery. 
 
 Nezv organizations. Suft el-Laben was organized in 1891, 
 and Daweir in 1893. 
 
 NILE MISSION WORK. 
 
 The Nile work carried on by Rev. J, K. Giffen up to the 
 end ot 1889 was continued by him through 1890 and into 1891
 
 IN Egypt. 389 
 
 up to a short time before he left for America. At Ainabis he 
 found 150 persons gathered to hear the word of God, and was 
 told that over a hundred met every night for prayer and con- 
 ference. Rev. C. Murch spent a large part of the beginning of 
 the year 1891 visiting places on either side of the Nile, until 
 the weather became too hot for such work. Rev. Dr. Harvey 
 and family took possession of the *' Ibis " towards the end of 
 November, 1891, and continued in it till about the end of May, 
 1892, visiting ninety places, holding from one to three services 
 in each place, and conversing on religious subjects with hun- 
 dreds of people. In the organized and unorganized congrega- 
 tions he made special efforts to develop in them the spirit of 
 giving to the Lord, a grace in which we all feel our churches 
 are not growing as they ought to do. 
 
 From September i, 1892, Rev. J. O. Ashenhurst and wife 
 entered upon this work, and during the last four months of that 
 year and twenty days in January, 1893, they visited eighty 
 towns and villages. There were present at the ser\'ices held 
 2,683 women and 1,502 men. Of the women 140 could read. 
 They visited 927 homes, dispensed the sacrament of the Sup- 
 per in nine places, received nineteen to church membership on 
 profession of their faith, baptized thirty-four children, and \'is- 
 ited thirty-seven boys* schools and girls' schools. In about 
 every home they visited they either read from the Scriptures or 
 prayed, and generally both. They worked hard, and went to 
 places far away from the river as well as near, and sov\-ed 
 largely and prayerfully, in the hope that the Lord in His own 
 time will cause the seed to grow and mature to the glory of His 
 name. They continued this same self-sacrificing and greatly 
 useful work south of Feshn to Asyut into the month of May, 
 and from Deirut to Beni Suef the last four months of 1893. 
 
 Brother Finney and family, on their return from America, 
 were appointed to this work, and spent the first months of 
 1894 between Luxor and Nazali Ganoob. Great good was 
 accomplished by Brother Finney's visit, not only to members 
 of the churches, but also to the pastors, who needed encourage- 
 ment and help in their most difficult work of building up the 
 members and their congregations in spiritual life.
 
 390 The American Mission 
 
 The latter part of 1894, Rev. J. O. Ashenhurst and wife 
 again took up Nile work and visited all the places in theit dis- 
 trict, i. e , from Wasta to Nazali Ganoob, except Beni Suef and 
 Semalut. 
 
 Rev. W. M. Nichol visited the stations in the district of 
 Luxor in 1894 and reported the work in Bahgurah and Naka- 
 dah as very encouraging, though in the latter place much opposi- 
 tion still continued. The licentiates and other presbyterial 
 workers and missionaries conducted services more or less reo[u- 
 larly in about ninety stations during every year of this period, 
 while the native pastors, with their congregational organizations 
 and societies, looked after the spiritual interests of at least 
 thirty places in addition to their own charges. Every month 
 during 18904,124 meetings were held, and more in subsequent 
 years. The accession to the membership by profession during 
 these five years was 2,165. O^ these, twenty were Muslims. 
 And the contributions of the natives were nearly ^50,000, 
 which sum includes amount paid for salaries, for general ex- 
 penses, for repairs, for building and aid in evangelistic and 
 benevolent works. 
 
 During the year 1891 there was an interesting religious 
 movement in Asyut and the stations south of it. Meetings 
 were attended by large numbers of people, and marked atten- 
 tion was given to the preaching of the Word, earnest prayers 
 were offered, and the services of praise were heartily and joy- 
 fully rendered. Deep seriousness rested on the congregations 
 and a quiet work of grace was accomplished. Over fifty were 
 added to the congregation of Nakheilah, and a goodly number 
 to three places in its immediate neighborhood. Forty in Asyut 
 and nineteen in a new place called Nezlet Hers, and twenty in 
 Zarabi, while many of those who had previously been profes- 
 sors were refreshed and strengthened. The old Coptic Church 
 was stirred up to put forth efforts for her own resuscitation dur- 
 ing this period more than ever before during the existence of 
 our mission. It is true that the work done by our mission has 
 all along had an indirect but good effect on the old Coptic 
 Church. The clergy had been compelled to encourage a greater 
 use of the Arabic language instead of the dead Coptic, to keep
 
 IN Egypt. 391 
 
 silent on the duty of worshiping pictures, and in some places 
 the pictures had actually been removed from the church proper 
 to some private room. They had been compelled to establish 
 schools and use the Bible as a text book, to imitate the Protest- 
 ants in organizing religious and literary societies, and in gather- 
 ing the people together on week evenings for prayer and con- 
 ference. During 1891 nightly meetings for the study of the 
 Bible were opened in many places, preaching even was intro 
 duced into some places, and the use of our Psalm book in the 
 praise service. One of our best licentiates was employed by 
 the Coptic church of Asyut to conduct religious services for a 
 whole year. He used our Psalter and preached the simple, 
 pure Gospel every Sabbath and week day evenings often* to 
 nearly a thousand people. 
 
 The movement extended to many places, but it did not 
 have elsewhere such a religious character as it had in Asyut. 
 In Cairo it appeared as an effort in favor of education and 
 modern civilization in their effect upon the outward forms of 
 worship. The reformers formed themselves into societies, 
 with the chief society located in the Coptic cathedral in Cairo. 
 The schools were to be organized, young men were to be edu- 
 cated for priests, the church property was to be described and 
 controlled and its proceeds accounted for, the priests were to 
 have a salary, the poor were to be cared for, etc. The Patri- 
 arch and his clergy generally did not approve of these ideas, 
 because the control was to be taken from them and put in tlie 
 hands of a committee of laymen, and the discussion between 
 the two cliques became sharper and sharper every day. The 
 reform party had the influence of Butros Pasha, a member of 
 the cabinet, who swayed his colleagues, and got them first to 
 threaten the Patriarch if he did not acquiesce in the reform 
 movement, and finally to banish him to his convent. In self- 
 defence, bulls of excommunication were issued by the Patriarch 
 against any bishop or priest who would officiate in the mar- 
 riages or funerals of the reformers. The women, nearly all 
 friendly to the Patriarch, ceased attending the churches, and 
 many of the men too, and finally with a change of the govern- 
 ment ministry the Patriarch was brought back with great rejoic-
 
 %, 
 
 392 The American Mission 
 
 ing and the reformation stopped. It was even considered prudent 
 to have our licentiate withdrawn from the service of the Copts 
 in Asyut. He received a call from our own congregation there, 
 and many who first heard him in the Coptic church followed 
 him to the Protestant church. The movement, as far as Cairo 
 is concerned, accomplished nothing, except that it gave rise to 
 a discussion among the Copts that has driven some to the 
 Catholits, others to the Protestants, and the greater part have 
 drifted off to indifference to all religion, and are satisfied with 
 being members of a society that is really a feeder to the lodge. 
 The condition of the Coptic church is very sad. The Patriarch 
 has no ability, the bishops and priests, in general, are very 
 ignorant, and for fear of losing their power discourage the edu 
 cation of young men for the offices of the church. The so- 
 called reforming party have no piety, and care nothing for a 
 spiritual reformation. The Coptic people are like sheep having 
 no shepherd. Oh ! that the Great Shepherd of the sheep 
 would raise up for them under-shepherds who would bring them 
 back to his own fold, and feed them on the rich pastures " of 
 his grace and love." 
 
 RELIGIOUS NEWSPAPER. 
 
 For many years the mission had thought of using the press 
 for evangelistic purposes, not only in the way of printing and 
 publishing books, but also in issuing a monthly or weekly per- 
 iodical. An attempt was made by Dr. Lansing, perhaps twenty 
 years ago, to issue a monthly magazine, and for several months 
 one appeared called "The Treasury of Christian News," but 
 for some reason it had only a brief existence. During the year 
 1887, at the instance of my colleagues, I presented a petition to 
 the government for permission to issue a weekly paper in the 
 interest of the cause which the American mission in Egypt rep- 
 resents, promising to observe the requirements of the press 
 law. For weeks and months the government delayed giving 
 any reply, and at last when pressed to do so replied in the neg- 
 ative. Another petition was presented, but this time through 
 the consulate of the United States. Considerable delay, ac- 
 cording to eastern custom, was experienced, and the consul-
 
 The Klicdivc — Abbas Hclmi.
 
 IN EG^■PT. 
 
 393 
 
 general had several interviews with those in power on the sub- 
 ject, with the same result, except that the consul-general told 
 us to go on and publish the paper, and he would stand by us. 
 At the time this was received I was in America, and my col- 
 leagues had enough to do without entering upon such an enter- 
 prise. On my return to Egypt another consul-general was in- 
 stalled and the promise of the former one was not binding on 
 him. Besides, we understood that the native government 
 really was opposed to the appearance of a weekly paper in the 
 interests of Christianity, and the Catholics, who had great in- 
 fluence with many official Muslims, would, if we published the 
 paper without permission, very soon fmd reasons for making 
 complaints against us. 1 determined not to be baffled a third 
 time, so I prepared a third petition and presented it to the Eng- 
 lish head of the press department. On receiving the petition 
 he expressed the opinioa that there would be no objections. I 
 did not say to him that I did not share in his opinions. He re- 
 quired of me the fulfilment of certain conditions imposed by 
 law. Some of these were, not to attack the government or 
 the established religion (meaning Muhammadanism), and to 
 give a bond for good behavior, amounting to $250 for a year. 
 All which 1 was ready to accept. I returned after two weeks 
 to inquire about the answer to my request, and he told me 
 that he could not understand it, but certain parties whose con- 
 sent was necessary could not be prevailed upon to give it. I asked 
 him then what I had better do, remarking that there were 
 several papers published in Egypt without permission, and that 
 I supposed Americans had as good a right as those of other 
 nationalities. "Yes," he replied, " we cannot prevent you." 
 "But," I said, "we missionaries came to Eg\-pt to obey the 
 laws, not to break them, and we do not wish to publish a paper 
 except in accordance with the law." " Well," said he, " you 
 had better see Lord Cromer." That was just what 1 wanted 
 him to say. I then went directly to his lordship and stated the 
 case to him. He asked me who were the parties who opposed 
 the publishing of the paper. I said, "I do not know," as 1 
 thought perhaps Baron de Malortie would not care to tell me if 
 I asked him. "Well," said he, " I will see." After two days
 
 394 The American Mission 
 
 I received a registered letter from the baron, who was then chief 
 of the press bureau, granting me permission to publish the 
 paper. The first number was published on December 14, 1892, 
 and it has been issued weekly ever since. It is a small sheet 
 of eight pages, and is now called "The Guide." it has at 
 the time of writing about seven hundred subscribers. It is 
 growing in favor among our own people, and circulates to some 
 extent in Syria. Several copies go to Aden, Bosra, etc. The 
 subscription price is one dollar. 
 
 THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 
 
 Dr. Henry and family reached the mission in the autumn 
 of 1 89 1, and he began work in Asyut on December i of the 
 same year. He has labored early and late, as his colleagues at 
 the station testify. During the first four months he treated 
 4,343 patients, performed forty-one surgical operations, and 
 visited 402 patients in their homes. In his report for 1892, he 
 states that 12,398 patients were treated, 688 visits made to 
 houses, and 128 surgical operations performed. During 1893 
 he treated 13,641 patients, visited homes 617 times, and per- 
 formed 108 surgical operations. During 1894 the number of 
 patients treated were 14,267; visits to homes, 1,200; surgical 
 operations, 100. The fees collected in three years amounted to 
 ^4,085. For Muslims, for nominal Christians, and for profes- 
 sors he had always an appropriate word on religion. If he only 
 took as much delight in telling what he did and what he said as 
 he takes in doing and saying, his reports would be long and in- 
 teresting, but his natural disposition restrains him from speak- 
 ing of his own work. There are thousands of natives, how- 
 ever, who testify to the benefit he has been able to confer upon 
 them in tlie way of relieving bodily pain, and calling their 
 attention to the necessity of seeking the healing of the soul 
 through the balm which the Great Physician freely gives. 
 
 NEW PREMISES. 
 
 In 1890 the property previously purchased in Haret es- 
 Sakkain was remodeled and a large hall made in it on the sec-
 
 IN HGYPT. 
 
 395 
 
 ond story, suitable for Iiolding religious services on the Sabbath, 
 and for the opening services of the girls' school during the week. 
 The largest part of the money used for this purpose was given 
 by Mrs. Martin, Mrs. Harvey's sister, and therefore it has in- 
 scribed on its outer wall, "The Martin Memorial Hall." The 
 new pastorate formed in Haret es-Sakkain a year ago has this 
 hall for its religious services, and unless the growth of the con- 
 gregation should be more rapid than at present appearance, it 
 will be large enough for the congregation for some years to 
 come. 
 
 The building purchased in Monsurah some years ago was 
 rearranged and to a large extent rebuilt in 1890, so as to give 
 room for a school for boys and another for girls, and a neat 
 little church sufficient for present uses. The opening services 
 were held on December 27, 1890, and a large number of per- 
 sons were present. The members and adherents there, unJer 
 the instruction and direction of Mr. Finney, contributed liber- 
 ally towards the erection of the building, and the writer, who 
 spent several years there in their days of small things, and ad- 
 mitted to church membership the first convert, rejoiced with 
 them at the progress they had made, and congratulated them 
 on the beautiful little church they had built. The prospects of 
 a large spiritual temple being reared in that needy field are 
 encouraging. 
 
 hi 1893 a house was erected in Asyut for a residence for 
 Dr. Henry, no suitable house being eligible in the town. It is 
 situated near the Asyut training college and the Pressley Me- 
 morial Institute, so that his services for the missionaries, and 
 the teachers and pupils, can be readily secured. 
 
 DEATH OF UNCLE FA.W STEPHANOS. 
 
 All who have followed the histor}- of the United Presb>-- 
 terian Mission in Egypt, and read its reports from year to year, 
 will recognize the name of Fam Stephanos. The first time he 
 was brought to the notice of the missionaries was in i860, as 
 related in " Egypt's Princes." Rev. Makhiel el-Bel>-ani re- 
 turned to the dahabiah one da\-, and, as Dr. Lansing says,
 
 396 The American Mission 
 
 " was in ecstacies about a man named Fam Stephanos whom 
 they had found at Kus. He said he had spent a day and a 
 night with him in most interesting conversation, that he had got 
 beyond the A B C of controversy about images, confession, 
 etc., and that they had spent the time in discussing the high 
 mysteries of religion, and in investigating and explaining dif- 
 ficult passages of Scriptures." * He was a man of fine phy- 
 sique, of strong mind, of wide reading and close thinking. He 
 was bold, fearless, had a clear perception of what is right, and, 
 what was rare then, was honest in the service of the govern- 
 ment. He was enlightened by the reading of God's Word, 
 through the guidance of the Spirit. His zeal for the truth broke 
 out sometimes in acts that common men could not perform, and 
 if they did, they would have been apprehended for them. 
 Once the bishop and his clergy were about to march through 
 the church with the cross and the picture of Christ. He 
 ordered them to stop, and as they showed themselves refrac- 
 tory, he drove bishop, priests and people out of the church. 
 This is the man whose persecution in the days of Brother Cur' 
 rie takes up nearly a whole chapter of this history. " He was 
 the father of the congregation in Kus, z. man of great firmness 
 and decision of character, a born leader of men. His heart 
 was set on religion, and it was his greatest delight to read the 
 Bible and be told about its precious truths. The writerf of this 
 well remembers spending a communion Sabbath in Kus in 1881, 
 and being entertained at the hospitable home of Uncle Fam. 
 As we parted he literally fell on our neck and embraced us after 
 the true Oriental style. He was then seventy years old, and 
 must have been eighty when he died." 
 
 DEATH OF MRS. W. M. NICHOL. 
 
 She, with her husband, both in the best of health, with 
 prospects before them of long life and usefulness in the Master's 
 work, arrived in Egypt in the autumn of 1889. In less than a 
 year afterwards she was taken to her eternal home, leaving a 
 mourning husband and a sweet little babe. Strange, Indeed, 
 
 * Page 235, " Egypt's Princes." t Dr. W. W. Barr.
 
 a 
 
 xn 
 
 03 
 
 i=l 
 
 be 
 
 CO 
 
 d 
 
 p 
 
 o 
 
 CO 
 
 O
 
 IN EG^PT. 
 
 397 
 
 that one so bright and promising, and so necessary to her hus- 
 band's happiness and her babe's comfort, should be taken away 
 when just entering upon life's work. But we are His, and He 
 can do with us what He will, and we bow in humble recognition 
 to His will. 
 
 DEATH OF REV. GULIAN LANSING, D. D. 
 
 By an unpardonable oversight, nothing more than the fol- 
 lowmg appeared in the mission report for 1892 about the de- 
 cease of this veteran missionary: " On September 12, Dr. G. 
 Lansing died. For thirty-five years he had served the Lord in 
 Egypt. He has rested from his labors, and his works do follow 
 him." 
 
 That the loss to the mission by Dr. Lansing's death was 
 less felt at the time, both by the Egyptian Church and his col- 
 leagues of the mission, was largely due to the fact that for se\-- 
 eral years he had been laid aside from active work. But 
 anyone acquainted with the history of the American Mission in 
 Egypt, from 1856 to the time of Dr. Hogg's death, need not be 
 told how large a place Dr. Lansing occupied in the administra- 
 tion and the active work of the mission. He and Dr. Hogg were 
 always the chief factors. Differing widely in their dispositions 
 and in their talents, the one seemed necessary to the other, as 
 both seemed to the writer indispensable to the work. The Lord 
 has taught us, however, that no one is indispensable to Him. 
 He can carry on His work by the weakest as well as by the 
 strongest. A few weeks before Dr. Hogg's death. Dr. Lansing 
 was obliged to go to Helwan for his health. The news of Dr. 
 Hogg's sudden death greatly increased his illness, and he was 
 compelled to seek a change in Great Britain during the summer. 
 He returned considerably improved, but not completely restored. 
 He was able, however, for work during the following winter. 
 During the summer of 1887 he again visited Great Britain, 
 partly for his health and partly to assist in arranging the fami!>- 
 affairs of his highness, the Maharajah Dhulup Singh. On his 
 return he took part in the mission work as usual, made a trip
 
 398 The American Mission 
 
 in the " Ibis" as far as Asyut, and afterwards gave instruction 
 in Hebrew to the theological classes of the third year. He be- 
 came less and less able for duty, however, and in 1890 went 
 home to America, returning but little improved in 1891. From 
 that time till his death he was unable to take any part in 
 mission work. He gradually became weaker. I was his col- 
 league, and enjoyed his genial companionship for many years, 
 and have many reasons for cherishing his memory. Being 
 away in Ramleh during the summer of 1892, and hearing of his 
 increasing weakness, and the likelihood that it would not be 
 long before his end would come, I went to Cairo on Saturday, 
 September 10, wishing to see his face once more, if possible, 
 before his departure from earth. I called on him in company 
 with Dr. Harvey the same afternoon, and I found him stronger 
 than I expected, and quite able to recognize me and answer any 
 questions put to him. Among other things, I asked him if he 
 had any message to the native brethren, and he replied, " Give 
 them my love." I thought that day that he would remain with 
 us for several days. But next day we learned that he had 
 grown worse. Dr. Harvey went out to see him about two P. M. 
 on Sabbath, and remained with him until nearly six, when, having 
 conducted the afternoon services in Arabic, I relieved him and 
 he returned to the mission house and conducted the English 
 service in the evening. Dr. Carrell Lansing accepted my offer to 
 remain with his father all night. I hardly thought then it would 
 be his last night on earth. His mind was wandering occasion- 
 ally when left to himself, but whenever anyone spoke to him, 
 he generally recognized the voice and replied intelligentlv', 
 though briefly. On the whole, he seemed much worse than 
 the day before. Dr. Grant, his physician and fast friend, made 
 his usual visit a little after sunset, and soon after he left his 
 symptoms became worse, and between ten and eleven o'clock 
 he had a violent paroxysm of pain. This, however, gradually 
 passed off, and he rested quietly until the end. A little after 
 this he turned himself on his right side, put his right hand over 
 his left shoulder, and his left on the edge of the bed next his 
 son, and remained in that position until he peacefully breathed 
 his last, at 4.40 A. M., on Monday, September 12, in the pleasant
 
 IN Egypt. 399 
 
 home of his second son, where he had the most assiduous atten- 
 tion paid to him, and the most tender affection shown him by 
 his son and his daughter-in-law. 
 
 The funeral services were held in the American church on 
 the afternoon of the same day on which he died. A large num- 
 ber of people came to pay their last honor to the beloved mis. 
 sionary. Some of the native women, before whom he had so ofter 
 preached, came forward and kissed the cofifm, which was cov- 
 ered with beautiful wreaths of flowers. Those who had known 
 Dr. Lansing best, mourned most for him. At the funeral serv- 
 ices, Dr. Harvey, Rev. J. Giffen, Rev. C. Murch, the Venerable 
 Archdeacon Butcher and the writer occupied the pulpit, and all 
 except the archdeacon took part, either in English or Arabic. 
 Rev. Messrs. C. Murch, E. M. Giffen, J. S. Kruidenier and W. M. 
 Nichol acted as pall-bearers. The American and English consuls 
 were present, and nearly all the English community, hi honor 
 of the deceased, the men walked behind the hearse for some 
 distance before getting into their carriages. The body was laid 
 beside other loved ones, where it awaits the resurrection of the 
 blessed. 
 
 Of Dr. Lansing's character it may be said, he was a man 
 who had strong faith in God. Until late years, when bodily 
 weakness afflicted him, his faith seemed equal to any circum- 
 stances. During the American war, when the funds of the 
 mission were low, and sometimes the missionaries knew not 
 the one day whence they would get means for the support of 
 their families for the next, his faith did not fail him. One day 
 his colleague. Dr. Hogg, entered his room in Cairo and said, "Dr. 
 Lansing, I have nothing with which to get dinner." Dr. Lans- 
 ing, taking the last dollar out of his purse, gave it to him say- 
 ing, "Take that." " But what will we do for to-morrow.?" asked 
 Dr. Hogg. " Never mind to-morrow ; the Lord will provide," re- 
 plied Dr. Lansing, and so He did, for the next day a letter 
 came inclosing a small remittance. When one of his colleagues 
 was putting the upper story on the mission house in Alexan- 
 dria and the means available for the purpose were all expended 
 he asked Dr. Lansing, who at the time was in Alexandria, if 
 the work should be stopped. He replied, ** No, go on, have
 
 400 The American Mission 
 
 faith in God." And when the present mission house in Cairo 
 was in course of erection, and the funds for that particular 
 work were tied up in Egyptian bonds, which had gone down to 
 45 per cent, below par, that same colleague proposed to dismiss 
 the workmen for a time. He said, " No, let us go on, the 
 Lord will provide." The next day he came in with a check 
 for ;^250, which a lady interested in the mission work had 
 just contributed to aid in the erection of the building. In Mul- 
 ler's " Life of Trust" we learn that with all his faith he never 
 commenced a work requiring a large sum of money without 
 having the money already in hand, but Dr. Lansing did not 
 wait for the money to come ; he commenced the work believing 
 that, if it was a good work, the Lord would send the means. 
 
 Dr. Lansing had a strong persistency of purpose. Once 
 convinced and his mind made up on any subject or undertaking 
 he could not be moved. He lent all his energies to convince 
 others, and to carry out the purpose which he had formed. 
 It is not meant that he was always right, but that there was 
 nothing of vacillation, or doubt, or hesitation about his char- 
 acter. 
 
 Dr. Lansing was, until the last few years very cool and 
 keen in argument. He could in a moment brush away the 
 subterfuges and expose the fallacies of his disputants. Like 
 his Master, he sometimes used the arguvientum ad Jiominem 
 with telling effect. Like Elijah, he believed that a little irony 
 was allowable to humble a proud, supercilious opponent. If he 
 sometimes failed in convincing, he seldom failed in silencing 
 him. 
 
 He was a fine Hebrew scholar. His Hebrew Bible was al- 
 ways on the table near him, and in it he read and studied every 
 day. Often till after the middle of the night would he be found 
 with his oriental dictionaries and Hebrew Bible before him. He 
 had no sympathy with the higher critics, and wrote several arti- 
 cles to prove that no one but a man who lived in Egypt, and 
 was intimately acquainted with its ancient language and cus- 
 toms, could have written the Pentateuch. 
 
 He took a deep interest in all Eastern questions, often crit- 
 icizing severely the British policy of upholding the Turkish em-
 
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 IN EGYPT, 
 
 401 
 
 pire, and for this purpose affiliating with the enemies of the 
 Christian religion. He believed in the British occupation of 
 Egypt, and hoped it might continue long enough to root out cor- 
 ruption and oppression. He did not believe, with Lord Dufferin, 
 that Egypt was a child which needed to be helped till it learned 
 to walk, but rather a full grown man who knows well enough 
 the right from the wrong, but has become so accustomed to do 
 wrong that he loved it and was bent upon doing it. 
 ' He was very genial and sociable. All who knew him were 
 charmed with his social qualities. Yet he entered little into 
 what is known in social parlance as "society." His study 
 was always open to the reception of friends. He was always 
 ready to receive any native inquiring the way of salvation, or 
 asking even for advice or assistance in secular matters. 
 The educated and intelligent travelers came to him for infor- 
 mation about the country and the people. He had many 
 friends, not only in this country, but in Great Britain and 
 other lands. Many in Egypt looked up to him as a father, and 
 many here and elsewhere have pleasant memories of profitable 
 hours spent in his company. He was laid under the shade of 
 the beautiful acacia, in the middle of a cemetery which was 
 secured in great part by his exertions. " Blessed are the dead 
 
 which die in the Lord, that they may rest from their labors, 
 
 and their works do follow them." 
 
 DR. J. B. DALES. 
 
 I cannot help mentioning here one who died during the 
 period of which this chapter treats. He was not a missionary, 
 but he might be called the father of the United Presbyterian 
 missions. I mean our late corresponding secretary of the 
 Board of Foreign Missions, the Rev. J. B. Dales, D. D., LL.D. 
 Always kind, always considerate, whose voice was never 
 silent, and whose pen was never still in behalf of the work of 
 Christ in foreign lands. When I was yet in college I was ac- 
 customed to read his stirring appeals in the Christian Instructor 
 on behalf of foreign missions. His last public address was an 
 earnest presentation of the conditions and wants of the foreign 
 26
 
 402 The American Mission 
 
 mission cause to the Synod of New York. He died at Chau- 
 tauqua, N. Y.. August 21, 1893. By his death the foreign 
 missionaries of the United Presbyterian Church lost a sym- 
 pathizing friend, the Church an eloquent preacher and earnest 
 worker, and the writer along with many others, a personal 
 friend. By his admittance into the company of the glorified 
 ones above, heaven is nearer and dearer. 
 
 THE DEPARTURE OF MISS McKOWN. 
 
 I cannot close this chapter without speaking of the with- 
 drawal of our sister, Martha J. McKown, from the mission. 
 For several years she had felt her eyesight gradually growing 
 dim. She had the advice and treatment of one of the best 
 oculists in the world. He took a deep interest in her case, but 
 no amount of skill, and no kind of treatment prevented the 
 result which we all feared, viz., total blindness. For some time 
 after her sight was nearly or entirely gone she was taken to the 
 houses of the people in a small carriage drawn by a donkey, 
 and did good service among the women, reading to them from 
 the Scriptures in raised type, and conversing and praying with 
 them. She was highly respected, widely known, and greatly 
 beloved by those among whom she had so long labored. On 
 her departure the natives showed her great kindness, giving 
 material evidence of the regard in which she was held by them. 
 She had done a noble work, had broken up the fallow ground in 
 upper Egypt, and sown much good seed which the Lord had 
 blessed and permitted her to see maturing into a rich harvest. 
 She had a strong constitution and an active, clear mind, a won- 
 derful talent for making plans and carrying them out. Many 
 women and girls in Egypt, and some men too, owe to her the 
 inspiration that impelled them to seek to live a better life. She 
 deserves the sympathy and regard of the Church at home. 
 May her last days on earth be days of rest and joy, in fellow- 
 ship with those who love the Saviour.* 
 
 * Since this was penned she has joined the company above.
 
 IN Egypt. 403 
 
 It was my intention not to bring up the history and statis. 
 tics beyond the close of 1894, but, on account of other duties 
 intervening, I was compelled to delay until the present time, 
 and therefore I have thought best to add a few pages and give 
 a brief summary of events transpiring during 1895 and 1896 in 
 order to bring up the record to the beginning of 1897. 
 
 The new missionaries arriving during these two years were 
 as follows : 
 
 Rev. Ralph E. Carson and Miss Adelle McMillan, in 1895 ; 
 Rev D. Strang, reappointed in 1896 ; Rev. G. A. Sowash, Miss 
 Cora B. Dickey, Rev. W. H. Reed, Miss Lizzie D. Teas, Miss 
 Anna B. Watson, M. D., Miss Caroline C. Lawrence, M. D., 
 came out in 1896. 
 
 The new pastors ordained and installed were : 
 
 Rev. Suiris Garas, over Suft el-Laban, Rev. Salih Han- 
 nalla, over Haret es-Sakkain, in 1895 5 R^v. Garas Grace, over 
 Meir, Rev. Makhiel Ahadir, over Monsurah, Rev. Hanna Grace, 
 over Deir Abu Hinnis, etc., in 1896. The new congregations 
 formed were : 
 
 Haret es-Sakkain, Monsurah, in 1895 > Deir Abu Hinnis, 
 etc., Sharunah and Feshn, in 1896. 
 
 In 1895 Rev. J. O. Ashenhurst and wife went to America on 
 furlough and have not yet returned. In 1896 Rev. J. Kruid- 
 enier and family returned to America for a change, and in the 
 autumn of the same year Rev. S. C. Ewing, D. D., and wife 
 also returned to America on furlough, after having remained in 
 Egypt several years beyond the usual time. 
 
 The years 1895 and 1896 will long be remembered in the 
 East as the time during which Muhammadan hate and Turkish 
 cruelty revelled in deeds of darkness in Armenia, and thousands 
 were slaughtered in the most barbarous manner, and tens of 
 thousands had their property stolen and their homes destroyed 
 for no other reason than that they bore the Christian name, 
 while the number of deaths from cold and hunger exceeded 
 many times the number of those who were killed outright. 
 The unwillingness of the so-called Christian powers of Europe 
 and America, either to prevent the massacres, the lust and the 
 cruel outrages, or to inflict punishment on the guilty parties after
 
 404 The American Mission 
 
 the dark deeds were done, will no doubt be laid to their account 
 by the God of nations, and a just recompense of reward im- 
 posed upon them. Those who, from fear of causing a European 
 war, were afraid to help the needy and oppressed, who were 
 calling for aid, may fmd that for much less worthy ends they 
 may have to sacrifice thousands of lives and millions of money. 
 The curse of Meroz may fall upon them in an unexpected hour. 
 
 It was a time of terror to all who lived in Muhammadan 
 lands. Even in Egypt we could hear the rumblings of the rag- 
 ing elements, and knew from past experience what would have 
 taken place were it not for the protection afforded by the 
 arrangements of divine Providence. 
 
 Among the victims of Turkish cruelty and Muslim intoler- 
 ance was our brother in Christ, the Rev. Girgis Anshalian, late 
 pastor of the congregation of Kus, who, with his wife and her 
 brothers, went for a visit to their native land in the autumn of 
 1895, ^"d only two or three days after he reached Diarbekr he 
 was cruelly murdered at the door of the Gregorian church, after 
 ha\'ing paid a ransom in gold, and after refusing to deny his 
 Lord and Saviour, We doubt not that he is now wearing the 
 martyr's crown. 
 
 Towards the close of 1895 the cholera appeared on the 
 northeastern borders of Egypt, spread slowly during the winter 
 months, and increased in virulence during the spring and sum 
 mer of 1896, until it extended throughout the Nile valley even 
 as far as Wadi Haifa, a thing unknown before. Perhaps as 
 many as 30,000 persons died of the dreaded disease. Among 
 them were several members of our evangelical churches. We 
 also lost one of our best pastors, Rev. Iskaros Mas'ud of Abnub, 
 who, when a boy at school at Asyut, so nobly stood up for the 
 truth before the rulers of that province, and was severely bas- 
 tinadoed for its sake. He leaves a widow and several children 
 with nothing to support them. Up to the present time the con- 
 gregation of which he was pastor has shown its Christian spirit 
 by supplying their wants. Rev. Iskaros Mas'ud was an earn- 
 est and faithful worker. He will be greatly missed in the dis- 
 trict in which he resided. He was specially successful in his 
 ■efforts to enlighten and lift up the female portion of his flock.
 
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 IN Egypt. 405 
 
 Just when it was thought that the scourge had about passed 
 away, and after some of the missionaries had left Ramleh for 
 Asyut, Mrs. Strang was seized with a violent attack of cholera, 
 from which she died within eighteen hours, although she had, 
 from the beginning, the best medical advice and the most care- 
 ful nursing. She was buried by her sorrowing comrades the 
 following day in the English cemetery at Alexandria. Neither 
 her husband nor her daughter was able to reach home before 
 the funeral. Her death was a severe blow to them, coming as 
 it did after other similar afflictions in their family during the 
 past few years. They mourn, however, not as those who 
 have no hope. Mrs. Strang was one of the excellent of the 
 earth, beloved by all who knew her. Her Christian life spread 
 a sweet fragrance wherever she lived. In her case death was 
 shorn of all its terrors, for the Lord lighted up the dark val- 
 ley for her. hito other homes death entered during these 
 years and took away to Jesus of those whom He blessed and 
 of whom He said, "Of such is the kingdom of heaven." 
 Eunice Giffen, Alice Alexander and Val. Henry are now follow- 
 ing the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. 
 
 No missionary tours were made on the Nile during 1895 
 and 1896. Brother Nichol visited his district by means of the 
 postal steamers. In this way, however, it was impossible to do 
 as efficient work as he could have done on the " Ibis." There 
 are now so many native pastors that the character of the work- 
 needed to be done by the Nile missionary differs greatly from 
 what it used to be. The pastors care for the vacancies within 
 their districts as much as their time and strength will admit. 
 But they themselves need the help and counsel of men of 
 experience. The congregations too need the visits of the mis- 
 sionaries to stir them up to be faithful in performing their duties 
 to their pastors and to the world of sinners who have not yet 
 had the Gospel sent to them. 
 
 In the evangelistic department a new departure was made 
 by presbytery, for the purpose of bringing the whole valle_\' 
 from the Mediterranean to the first cataract, under proper super- 
 vision. Some had proposed a division of presbytery, but the 
 majority considered this as still inopportune. Most of the
 
 4o6 The American Mission 
 
 native pastors and some of the missionaries are yet inexper- 
 ienced, and tiie benefits of united counsel were felt to be very- 
 great. So a scheme was worked out by which the whole 
 country is divided into six districts. Each district is put under 
 the care of a special committee of superintendence, with a per- 
 manent committee as a connecting link between the district 
 committees and the presbytery. This scheme is now being car- 
 ried out, and it is hoped may bring all the outlying stations 
 under stricter supervision, and be a means of stimulating 
 Christian activity and benevolence, and, in time, prepare the 
 pastors and the people for a division of the field into as many 
 presbyteries. 
 
 The native churches continued to grow in members and in 
 good works during these two years, perhaps even more than 
 during any similar period, and new stations were opened in 
 several places. The following table will enable the reader to 
 see the working force of the mission and the presbytery, as 
 well as something of the good accomplished up to the present 
 time, and the fruit gatiiered by the blessing of the Lord: 
 
 United Presbyterian Mission in Egypt on January /, i8gy. 
 
 17 Ordained foreign missionaries. 
 
 1 Otlier male missionary (medical). 
 10 Unmarried women missionaries. 
 
 2 Unmarried women doctors. 
 17 Married women missionaries. 
 21 Ordained native ministers. 
 42 Other presbyterial workers. 
 39 Organized churches. 
 
 5,355 Church members. 
 
 10,497 Average attendance at Sabbath morning service. 
 
 816,609 Contribution from native churches during 1896. 
 
 127 Sabbath schools. 
 
 6,849 Sabbath school scholars. 
 
 168 Weekday sdiools. 
 
 272 Teachers in the same. 
 
 11,014 Pupils in these schools. 
 
 822,945 Collected for board and tuition. 
 
 7 Book depositories. 
 
 34 Shopmen and colporteurs. 
 
 62,344 Volumes sold in 1896. 
 
 S11.127 Proceeds of sales. 
 
 4,441 Attendance at night meetings. 
 
 197 Number of stations.
 
 in: Egypt. 407 
 
 other missions in egypt. 
 
 From the year 1858, the Established Church of Scotland 
 has had in Alexandria a mission to the Jews, with schools for 
 boys and girls and services in English, both in the city for resi- 
 dents and in the harbor for sailors. They have no services in 
 the vernacular. 
 
 For about twenty years there has been a small Dutch mis- 
 sion at Galiub, a small tov/n about eight miles north of Cairo. 
 In connection with it there are schools for boys and girls in 
 Galiub and in Fam el-Bahr, and services in A''abic on the Lord's 
 day. 
 
 A few years ago the North Africa Mission, which had sta- 
 tions at various points on the northern coast of Africa, opened 
 work in Alexandria, with the avowed object of extending its 
 operations to other points in the delta. It has a small school 
 for girls on Ras et-Tin, Alexandria, not far from the spot where 
 Dr. Lansing commenced his work in Egypt. This mission re- 
 stricts its efforts to the Muhammadan portion of the population. 
 
 The Church Mission Society opened work in Cairo soon 
 after the British occupation of Egypt, with special reference to 
 the conversion of Muslims. It has in Old Cairo a flourishing 
 medical department and schools for boys and girls. In Cairo it 
 has a boarding school for girls and a day school for boys, with 
 divine services in Arabic. 
 
 The entrance of the C. M. S. and the N. A. M. into a field so 
 long occupied by us, has been regarded as a breach of mission 
 comity, and some correspondence has taken place on the subject 
 between them and our Board, the result of which has not yet 
 transpired.
 
 4o8 The American Mission 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 Workers and converts— Division of workers— Presbyterial workers— Pastors, 
 their work and character — Licentiates — Local preachers — Theological students — 
 Wages paid to each class — Workers under Missionary Association — Teachers — 
 Salesmen in bookshops— Colporteurs — Zenana workers — Teachers of mission- 
 aries — Their pay — Church members — Gospel preached to all — Converts mostly 
 from Copts— Copts need the Gospel— Character of church members— How led to 
 conversion — Deep conviction of sin often wanting — Many cases of marked change 
 of conduct — Interesting examples. 
 
 WORKERS UNDER PRESBYTERY. 
 
 The workers naturally divide themselves into two classes 
 with reference to the body from which they receive their ap- 
 pointments, and unto which they are responsible. Some are 
 appointed by the presbytery, and some by the Missionary 
 Association. Presbytery is composed of all the ordained min- 
 isters of the Word, whether foreign or native, and one elder 
 from every congregation. The Missionary Association is com- 
 posed of all foreign missionaries, lay and clerical, on the field. 
 The workers who are under the appointment and direction of 
 presbytery are the pastors, unsettled ministers, licentiates, 
 and what our Methodist brethren would call local preachers, 
 and theological students during their vacations. These workers 
 are entirely under the control of presbytery. Their appoint- 
 ments are made by presbytery, and their wages or salary is 
 fixed by presbytery. They are accountable to presbytery, not 
 only for their teaching, but for their conduct and their work. 
 No missionary has any control over them unless he has been 
 authorized to do so by presbytery ; even the part of their 
 wages or salary coming from the Missionary Association cannot 
 be withheld by the mission treasurers for any cause whatever, 
 unless by order of presbytery, of which the large majority of 
 the members at present are natives.
 
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 IN Egypt. 
 
 409 
 
 The native pastors at present are twenty-one. A goodly- 
 number of them are earnest ministers of the Word. Their \vorl< 
 resembles the work of the pastors at home. Most of them con- 
 duct evening meetings five or six times during the week, a cus- 
 tom which, though there is something to be said in its favor, 
 yet is a heavy drain on the pastor's strength, and interferes 
 greatly with his making thorough preparation for the Sabbath 
 services. He is driven, for want of time, to the habit of speak- 
 ing on a verse or passage of Scripture without having under- 
 stood its bearings or its full meaning. Egyptians are generally 
 gifted with a readiness of expression and a rich flow of words, 
 and this enables the pastors and other preachers to conduct 
 these daily meetings and preach tv/ice on Sabbath, a task which 
 the western perhaps could not, and certainly would not per- 
 form. In most cases, however, the consequence of the custom 
 is seen in the meagreness of the thought and the illogicalness 
 of the arrangement. Besides, the custom takes the men away 
 from their homes until about two hours after sunset, and thus 
 prevents the observance of family prayers, for the children will 
 have retired, and sometimes tlie women, too, before the men 
 return to their homes. Some of the pastors are trying to re- 
 duce the number of evening meetings for their own sakes and 
 the sake of family religion, but habit is so strong in Egypt that 
 as one has said, "If only the Egyptians got into the habit of 
 being good for a few years, they would continue to be good 
 out of sheer force of habit." 
 
 On account of the small number of native pastors and the 
 large number of villages in the immediate neighborhood of their 
 pastorates, in which Protestant families reside, the pastor's > 
 services are often required for funerals and marriages, and 
 cases of sickness and dissensions. He is expected to go any- 
 where at any time, not only on religious business, but also im- 
 portant secular matters, for those who profess his Protestant 
 faith. The preacher is every person's servant, indeed every 
 one's slave. Their faithfulness in the performance of the 
 duties of the pastorate deserves great praise. They faith- 
 fully attend all meetings of presbytery, and take a deep and 
 intelligent interest in its proceedings. In general, they compare
 
 410 The American Mission 
 
 favorably with the pastors at home. On account of their many 
 and arduous duties in behalf of others, I think they are in dan- 
 ger too often of neglecting personal piety, and therefore a cer- 
 tain want of spirituality is manifest. In fact, all workers, in 
 Egypt, both foreign and native, need to remember that they 
 can best perform their duties to others by rising higher in the 
 divine life, and getting more and more under the power of the 
 divine Spirit. 
 
 The licentiates at present are twenty-two. Some of them 
 have a long time been going about among the churches and 
 Protestant communities, and have not received any call to be- 
 come pastors. They have all done some good work for the 
 Master, even those whom we no longer expect will become 
 pastors, hi new places the least qualified oftentimes are very 
 useful. It is a matter of thankfulness that the Lord some- 
 times blesses the weakest instrument, as well as the strongest, 
 but it is very evident that the native communities are no longer 
 satisfied with those who are wanting in natural talent and in 
 intellectual training. The best young men generally find a 
 settlement soon after completing their course of study. Not 
 unfrequently one cause of the licentiate's want of success and 
 acceptability is the ignorance and imprudence of his wife. The 
 majority of the workers, whether pastors or licentiates, formed 
 family alliances without any reference to anything besides 
 " bread-making" and other domestic qualifications. It is to be 
 hoped that in the future young men looking forward to the 
 ministry will marry those who will be an example of cleanliness 
 and order in their homes, and of intelligence and piety in their 
 intercourse with the women of the churches. 
 
 The local preachers are eleven. They are men who have 
 had little or no training in our educational institutions, but who 
 on account of their activity and usefulness in Christian work in 
 their own towns gave evidence of being useful and acceptable 
 for a time in new places. Some of them had been teachers, 
 some had been colporteurs, and for lack of trained men presby- 
 tery employed them to supply in part the ever-increasing 
 demands of the field, for every year the paucity of laborers has 
 been deeply felt.
 
 IN Egypt. 411 
 
 The theological students are nine. These attend the theo- 
 logical seminary from the first of November to the end of Ma)-, 
 and are employed by presbytery as local preachers from the 
 first of June to the end of October. In using them in relisious 
 work during their vacation, they are thus being trained in and 
 for the work, and a trial of their talents and capabilities is being 
 made before they advance too far to be withdrawn without 
 difificulty. 
 
 The salaries of the pastors are fixed by their congregations 
 and presbytery. No congregation is allowed a pastor unless it 
 pays at least one-half of the salary. Nearly all pay more than 
 half, two are self-supporting, and several more are almost so. 
 The whole salary ranges from twenty to fifty dollars a month, 
 according to circumstances. 
 
 The licentiates receive from fifteen to twenty dollars, and 
 the local preachers and theological students from $11.50 to fif- 
 teen dollars a month, according to the places where they labor. 
 Part of the wages are paid by the Protestant communities in 
 which they minister. 
 
 WORKERS UNDER THE MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION. 
 
 These are teachers in schools under mission control, sales- 
 men in book depots, colporteurs, zenana workers and teachers 
 of missionaries. The teachers are, with few exceptions, mem- 
 bers of the Church, and are thoroughly in sympathy with the 
 aims of the mission. Most of them have been trained in our 
 own schools. They receive a fixed monthly wage from the 
 mission, and the tuitions collected go into the mission treasurv. 
 Their wages differ greatly, and range from eight to forty dollars 
 for males, according to their talents and their ability to teach 
 the higher branches of education. The wages of the female 
 teachers range from two up to twenty dollars a month. Sales- 
 men's wages range from $12.50 up to twenty dollars ; colport- 
 eurs' wages from $8.50 up to fifteen dollars ; zenana workers, 
 from four up to twelve dollars. 
 
 CHURCH MEMBERS. 
 
 Our mission in Egypt was established in obedience to the 
 command of the Lord to preach the Gospel to every creature,
 
 412 The American Mission 
 
 no matter what may be his nationality or religious faith. The 
 Gospel is for sinners of every clime and profession. It has 
 been the aim of our mission to proclaim the Gospel in Egypt to 
 all, whether Jews, Muhammadans or nominal Christians. Our 
 schools have been open to all. The printed Word has been 
 carried throughout the length and breadth of the land and offered 
 to all alike. Many Muslims have purchased copies of the whole 
 > book, or of parts of it. Many learned sheikhs have bought 
 copies of it from our shops and our colporteurs. From the very 
 beginning many Muslims have been in our schools, where direct 
 Christian instruction is openly given. In 1896 there were en- 
 rolled in our Protestant schools 2,280 Muslim pupils. In our 
 four schools in Cairo there were during the same year 411 Mus- 
 lim pupils, who every morning attended the opening exercises, 
 at which a plain Gospel address is made and a Christian prayer 
 offered, and every day forty-five minutes were spent in the 
 class-room with the pupils, giving them a lesson in Christian 
 ^: ^ doctrines and life in the study of the scriptures. We have had, 
 
 and now have, far more Muslims under Christian training and 
 ' influence than all the other mission agencies in Egypt, and their 
 salvation is just as earnestly sought as that of the Jews or the 
 Copts. We are just as glad, too, to enter the door of a Muham- 
 madan as the door of a Copt, and rejoice just as much at the 
 conversion of the former as of the latter, and use just the same 
 means to convert the one as the other. Yet it will have been 
 gathered from what I have written, that by far the larger num- 
 ber of our church members are converts from the corrupt East- 
 ern Churches, and especially from the Copts. The reason for 
 this is not difficult to find. Their great spiritual destitution, as 
 learned from personal contact with them, sympathy with those 
 who bear the Christian name, and their love for and readiness 
 to receive the Word of God and follow its teachings, are the 
 chief reasons for our efforts being put forth and success being 
 achieved among these " lost sheep of the house of Israel." It 
 is all very well for our high church friends to look through his- 
 tory with reverence upon the old Eastern Christian Church, to 
 look superficially and approvingly at her gaudy ritual in some 
 of the great centers of the Nile valley, and then to write regret-
 
 IN Egypt. 413 
 
 fully and censoriously about the sacrilege of the American Mis- 
 sion in breaking up the Holy Eastern Catholic Church ; but if 
 they are in real earnest about the salvation of the Coptic peo- 
 ple, and will accompany me to their homjs in the cities, towns, 
 and villages, and even into the houses of the priests and the 
 monasteries, whose inmates are supposed to spend their time in 
 worshiping God, I am sure that a month would not pass before 
 they would acknowledge that the great majority of the Copts, 
 up to the present time, are utterly destitute of the knowledge of 
 the way of salvation. They know little more of true religion 
 than the Muhammadans. Christ is not their Saviour, the Holy 
 Ghost is not their sanctifier, the commandments of God are not 
 their rule of life. Jesus of Nazareth is" not their example, and 
 is not now their Mediator. They know nothing of justification 
 by faith in the death and suffering of Christ; nothing of the 
 new birth and divine life in union ^vith Jesus through the in- 
 dwelling Spirit. Their family and social life are utterly corrupt, 
 and the influence of most of their spiritual leaders is bad to the 
 last degree.* We have seen them in their homes, we have 
 talked to them in their own language, we have seen them in 
 their joys and in their sorrows, we know them in all relations 
 of life, we know their habits, their modes of doing business, 
 and the character of their amusements. The)' ha\'e freely told 
 us their thoughts. We care not what men mav sav about our 
 work among them, to our own Master we stand or fall. We 
 are only sorry that we have not been able to do more for this 
 interesting people, for it is our heart's desire and prayer to God 
 that they may be saved. And we know that salvation is not 
 by gaudy ritual, nor by an ancient priesthood, nor by the inter- 
 cession of saints, nor by worshiping pictures, nor by the con- 
 fessional and transubstantiation, nor by a hoary antiquit)', but 
 by the precious blood of Christ. It has been, and will be, tha 
 endeavor of the American Mission to bring Coptic people, as 
 well as others, to a knowledge of the Christ and the Saviour, 
 and to a believing, loving, reliance upon His blood for the sal- 
 vation of their souls, whatever critics may say of us. We are 
 
 * I mean those who have not come under the influence, directly or indirectly, 
 of missionaries.
 
 414 The American Mission 
 
 glad that so many Egyptians have been ah'eady led to take 
 Jesus as their Saviour, and depend on His work, not their own, 
 for their salvation. 
 
 We rejoice to be able to say that the members of our 
 churches belong to all classes of society, all trades and all pro- 
 fessions. Some of them are rich, some poor, some highly edu- 
 cated, some cannot read — inhabitants of cities and towns as well 
 as country villages. Though few of them are model Christians, 
 and many of them but dimly reflect the image of their Lord and 
 Saviour, yet perhaps as large a proportion of them, as profess- 
 ing Christians at home, have the root of the matter in them. 
 Some there are who, regarding their relations to the mission, 
 might be supposed to have been, and perhaps to be, influenced by 
 worldly motives ; and yet to assert this in regard to them might 
 also be doing them a great wrong, for their being in the service 
 of the mission cannot surely be a conclusive proof of the exist- 
 ence of worldly motives, as it naturally has been the custom of 
 the mission, in employing native agents, to select the men best 
 qualified for the work. Besides many of those in the employ 
 of the mission would get better pay in other departments. 
 That worldly motives often operate to bring the native in con- 
 tact with the missionaries may be admitted, but is not this the 
 case in any land, and are not worldly movements and inten- 
 tions of men often used by God as the means for bringing them 
 under the influence of the Gospel ? That there are persons 
 among them that have the spirit of worldlings, I readily admit ; 
 but this is not restricted to Egypt, or Egyptians and Syrians. 
 
 In most instances, however, I think that the change from 
 Copticism to Protestantism has been an intellectual change, a 
 change founded on the principle that the Word of God is the 
 only rule of faith and practice. The sincere inquirer accepting 
 this principle has taken up the Scriptures of the Old and New 
 Testaments and read them, and found in them nothing to con- 
 firm the distinctive doctrines and practices of the Coptic Church, 
 but much to show their opposition to God's revealed will, while 
 at the same time he has found the doctrines and practices of the 
 Protestants abundantly confirmed. Gradually he has been led 
 to clear views of faith, repentance, the new birth, true spiritual
 
 IN Egypt. 415 
 
 life, and the necessity for tiieir existence and exhibition in his 
 own personal history. Generally, conversion has come on these 
 lines, and not on a sudden conviction of great sinfulness, or a 
 time, long or short, of deep agony of soul, leading almost to 
 despair, and then a revelation within of the love and saving 
 grace of Jesus Christ. 
 
 It is a remarkable fact that few of our converts in Egypt 
 have apparently had such clear conceptions of the exceeding 
 sinfulness of sin, and such deep conviction and spiritual agony 
 almost leading to despair, as is often seen in the West. Seldom, 
 indeed, have any of the missionaries seen persons in the church 
 weeping over their sins, or met in practice persons deeply con- 
 cerned for themselves on account of their sins. Conscience 
 does not seem'^to be as tender, as clear and as decisive in its 
 judgments as in those who have been brought up in Christian 
 lands. And yet cases are not wanting, though they are few, 
 where there has been deep conviction, and where copious tears 
 have been shed from the sense of sinfulness. In many, too, 
 the change wrought in their lives is so manifest that there can 
 be no doubt of a real change having been effected in their 
 hearts. Some have, in spite of the opposition of near relatives 
 or of the loss of their position, left their former religious con- 
 victions. Some have had to give up habits very strong and very 
 dear to them. There are some in our Church at the present 
 time of whom Paul's words written to the Corinthians are 
 strictly applicable (i Corinthians 6:9-11): "Know ye not 
 that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be 
 not deceived ; neither fornicators, nor idolators, nor adulterers, 
 nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind. * 
 * * Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, 
 nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. * * * 
 And such were some of you : but ye are washed, but ye are 
 sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, 
 and by the Spirit of our God." Drunkards have become total 
 abstainers, and liars have become truthful, thieves have become 
 honest, the impure of thought and vile of action have become 
 chaste, and the proud have become humble. Some have con- 
 tributed liberally of their means, others have given up much of
 
 4i6 The American Mission 
 
 their time for the spread of the Gospel. The opposition of 
 ignorant relatives, especially females under the power of the 
 priests, has often been very strong. One man, by name 
 Ekhnookh, a reformed drunkard in Asyut, was so pestered by 
 his wife for years, that at last he said to her, as if in despair, 
 " 1 will go back to the Copts, but mind you I will go back to 
 drinking whiskey, squander the money, come home drunk, and 
 beat you and the children as formerly." When she heard this 
 and remembered what she formerly had to endure, she begged 
 him to remain a Protestant, and ever after kept quiet. Very 
 often those who had been the strictest iii keeping all the Coptic 
 fasts, feasts and traditions of the fathers, have beeri\ after con- 
 version, the most upright, earnest and godly evangelicals. A 
 man in the delta, formerly known far and wide as the saint of 
 the Coptic Church, who a long time deplored the state of his 
 brother because he had ceased to keep the Coptic fasts and had 
 embraced the evangelical faith and joined the United Presby- 
 terian Church, and who was a very Paul in his zeal for the 
 traditions of the fathers, was brought to a saving knowledge of 
 the truth and to a humble reliance on the death of Christ for 
 the pardon of his sins, instead of .depending on his fasting and 
 prayers as formerly, and is now as faithful and zealous in his 
 Christian life in keeping the commands of God as he was in 
 the observance of the commandments of men in regard to eat- 
 ing and drinking and other outward acts. Though in the ser- 
 vice of a Muhammadan government, he has for years so de- 
 ported himself in his work that his superiors allow him to keep 
 his Sabbaths wliile the other scribes have to work on that day. 
 One of our most zealous and upright members was once a 
 highway robber. His name is Khalil Makhail, and now lives 
 in Dakuf, a small town on the edge of the western desert, 
 about half way from Cairo to Asyut. He was born in 1850, 
 and lived with his relatives twenty years, then went across to 
 the east side of the river and joined a band of Bedouin Arabs 
 who lived by plundering, and especially by stealing from 
 boats going up and down the Nile. He became an active par- 
 ticipant in all manner of crimes, and the fearless and dreaded 
 leader of the band for about fifteen years. He was a violator
 

 
 IN EGYPT. 417 
 
 of all the commands of the Decalogue, except perhaps the sixth, 
 which he also broke in intention if not in deed. One night he 
 went out on a plundering expedition at the time of high Nile, 
 and succeeded in taking some valuable booty, which he carried 
 with him on the float on which he was crossino;. The wind 
 was strong and drove the sand in his eyes like sharp needles, 
 so that he had to close them, and therefore he lost his bearings 
 and was driven about on the water. In the darkness of the 
 night and in the midst of the great river he was turned about 
 until he nearly lost all hope. His conscience accused him of 
 his sins, but he made no vow of repentance, though he was in 
 the greatest danger. Another time he heard that a boat filled 
 with valuable goods coming from Cairo was wrecked near the 
 place where he resided, and that divers had been secured to 
 save as much of the cargo as possible. They succeeded in 
 taking out thirteen bales of cotton goods and left the rest, eigh- 
 teen bales, until the next day, setting a watch lest wreckers 
 should come by night and steal them. Khalil made a pretence 
 of getting into the river to bathe near the place of the wreck, 
 in order that he might make a survey and see if he could seize 
 some of the goods. He discovered that there was a good oppor- 
 tunity to enrich himself, and so after dark he came down to the 
 wreck and managed to get out a quantity of the cotton goods 
 and carried them to a place of concealment. Next day the 
 owner of the goods came down to the wreck with a number of 
 persons to take out the rest of the bales, and Khalil went down 
 also to see whether there was any chance to make a penny by 
 stealing or otherwise. When Khalil reached the scene he 
 found the merchant sitting on the bank eating bread and cheese 
 although it was the season of fasting. Horrified at the sight 
 Khalil commenced reproaching him for his irreligion. Excus- 
 ing himself a little the merchant, looking Khalil steadily in the 
 face, asked him, " Don't you steal?" "Yes," replied Khalil, 
 "I have stolen a bale from this wreck containing 120 webs of 
 cotton goods." "Is that all?" "Yes," replied Khalil. 
 " Then," said the merchant "don't you swear ?" " Yes," re- 
 plied Khalil, "Then," said the merchant, "put my eating 
 bread and cheese against your swearing and stealing, and strike 
 27
 
 4i8 The American Mission 
 
 a balance." This led to a long conversation between the two, 
 during which it came out that they had mutual acquaintances 
 in Minya, where the merchant resided. That night Khalil in- 
 vited the merchant to his house and made a big supper for 
 him. After supper the merchant took out of his pocket a New 
 Testament (for he was a member of our church at Minya) and 
 asked Khalil if he might read a passage from God's Word in 
 the hearing of himself and family. This request was to Khalil 
 a very strange one, but to please his %uest he brought out his 
 old mother to hear. The rest of the family would not come, as 
 they understood the request to have been made as a means of 
 gratifying evil thoughts. The merchant read a portion of i 
 Peter 2. Khalil listened with the closest attention and greatest 
 astonishment, as this was the first time he had ever heard the 
 Word of God read in that way, although he was a Copt. Then 
 the merchant led in prayer. In the morning they went to- 
 gether to Maghagha, and a bargain was struck between the two 
 for getting out the rest of the goods from the boat, Khalil was 
 to receive five dollars and one web of the goods for every bale 
 he got out. Notwithstanding this agreement, Khalil managed 
 to conceal one or two webs from each bale and kept them for 
 himself, and the rest he delivered to the merchant, who re- 
 ceived the goods with expressions of thanks and paid the 
 amount agreed upon, half of which Khalil took to himself and 
 the other half he gave to his comrades, without telling them 
 anything about what he had stolen. After this Khalil visited 
 Minya and called upon the merchant there, who took him to 
 Mr. Bashai Hanna, who was then preaching there as a licen- 
 tiate. Mr. Hanna read and explained to him the fifteenth 
 chapter of Luke and asked God's blessing upon him. This 
 awoke his conscience and touched his heart so that he could not 
 sleep all night from the thought of his awful sins. Then Khalil 
 fell in with Ibrahim Marzook, of El Kom el-Akhdar, and intro- 
 duced himself to him. Ibrahim said, "Are you the man that 
 intended to kill me at such and such a time ?" " Yes," he re- 
 plied, " I am he." Ibrahim then took him to his house, where 
 a number of Protestants were collected, who talked with him a 
 long time on religion and the way of salvation, and from that
 
 IN Egypt. 419 
 
 time he was accustomed to meet with them frequently in spite 
 of the opposition and curses of his father and other relatives, 
 who saw a great change had come over him and said to him, 
 " What has come over you ? They have turned your head, 
 those cursed Protestants. You were better than them all." 
 They then threatened him and cursed him, and entreated him not 
 to bring disgrace upon the family by meeting with these "ac- 
 cursed people." But the grace of God was given to him, and 
 the Spirit wrought in him until he was brought to the light and to 
 peace in believing in Jesus for the saving of his soul. He made 
 an open profession of his faith at El Kom on the occasion of a 
 visit there from Dr. Harvey, then he moved his residence to 
 another town away from his wicked comrades, and has become 
 a power for good to many and a means of promoting God's 
 glory in all that country. I visited him and his brethren two 
 years ago on a Sabbath during the meeting of presbytery at 
 Suft el-Laben, and I never spent a happier Sabbath. How the 
 people listened ! How they sang ! It was good to be there 
 among such an earnest simple-minded people.
 
 420 The American Mission 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 FOREIGN MISSIONARIES. 
 
 Their position — Their work — Their qualifications — The work of each mission- 
 ary on the field. 
 
 In the previous chapter 1 have spoken of the native workers, 
 and I now wish to add a few pages about the foreign workers 
 of the American Mission in Egypt and their work, that those 
 who have not had the means of knowing what they are doing 
 and what they are expected to do may be informed and the 
 Church at home better understand the foreign mission problem. 
 
 The presence of the foreign worker in any mission field is 
 temporary, and his work initiatory. How long he is to remain 
 depends on circumstances, but it should be only so long as may 
 be necessary for laying the foundations of the native Church, 
 setting in motion the various departments of Christian work, 
 and raising up and training native workers to carry on the work 
 of these departments. If properly qualified for the work, the 
 sooner the natives are left to grow in Christian manhood and 
 develop in Christian activities, without leaning upon or looking 
 up to foreigners, the better. Foreign missionaries are never, in 
 this mission, eligible to the pastorate of native congregations. 
 They may act as stated supply for a time, but if the time be 
 long, general injury is done to the congregation on some lines. 
 It should always be remembered by the Church at home, and 
 by the missionaries themselves, that foreign missionaries, 
 whether male or female, are beginning a work which sooner or 
 later is to be turned over to the natives, and that the great aim 
 of their labors and prayers should be to bring the natives to feel 
 their responsibility, to appreciate the importance of the work, 
 and to understand the necessity for thorough preparation for it.
 
 IN EGYPT. 421 
 
 The efforts of the foreign missionary should be put forth in 
 training natives for the work and in the work. If they only do 
 themselves, and fail to teach natives to do, they fail in doing 
 their duty. Foreign missionaries, however many may be sent 
 to Egypt, can never be the chief means of evangelizing and con- 
 verting the inhabitants of the Nile valley. It must be done by 
 natives trained under the influence of zealous educators and 
 Christian institutions, and filled with the Spirit of God. The 
 Church of Christ in Egypt, in order to be a power for influenc- 
 ing the nation, must become indigenous and assume an Egyptian 
 garb in everything that is lawful, and its permanent workers 
 must be those whose nationality, as well as religious life, ap- 
 peals to the sympathies of those among whom they labor. 
 
 The missionaries assembled in accordance with the con- 
 stitution given in Chapter XVIII, form the body which 
 appoints and governs the missionaries on the field. Each mis- 
 sionary, whether old or young, experienced or inexperienced, 
 lay or clerical, has a vote in this association. All questions are 
 decided and all appointments made by a simple majority of the 
 votes cast. Each missionary receives an appointment to a par- 
 ticular work, for which he or she is responsible to the associa- 
 tion alone, not to any other missionary. No missionary has 
 any superintendence over another on the field, though friendly 
 consultations are often held by workers at the same stations. 
 Unlike some other missions, ours has no head. Of course there 
 
 * 
 
 will always be a senior member, but he has no authority over 
 the rest, except that on certain occasions he may take the lead, 
 in accordance with custom and etiquette. The secretary of the 
 association is the only means of communication between the 
 association and the Board, and vice versa. 
 
 The missionaries on the field are twentv-seven, not includ- 
 ing the married ladies. Not more than two-thirds of these are 
 yet able to use the language with profit to the people. Some 
 are on'y beginning to learn it, and cannot be expected to make 
 much practical use of it on spiritual lines for several years to 
 come. Without a fair knowledge of the language and compara- 
 tive facility in speaking it, a man or woman is of little use. 
 Except under unusual circumstances, little good can be accom-
 
 422 The American Mission 
 
 plished through an interpreter, and no one of our number has 
 ever proposed to preach the Gospel in that way. As the Arabic 
 language is very difficult, both in its construction and its pro- 
 nunciation, and is very extensive in its vocabulary, and differs 
 so widely from all Western languages, the number of mission- 
 aries who acquire a thorough knowledge of it is very few. Not 
 one of the missionaries at present on the fiel-^ican be called an 
 Arabic scholar, and no one has any right to boast in this matter, 
 though most of the older ones speak it profitably and acceptably. 
 Perhaps some of the younger missionaries may yet become 
 scholars, but if they do it will be after much study and practice, 
 even if they should have considerable linguistic talent. 
 
 I fear that the Church at home, the young men who come 
 out, and the Board do not sufficiently appreciate the importance 
 of this subject. I wish I could make the Church at home and 
 the Board feel that it is not quantity we need now, but quality. No 
 matter how devoted, pious, zealous and full of the Spirit a young 
 man may be, if he has not some ability for learning languages 
 and is studious in his habits, so as to persevere year after year 
 until he masters the Arabic, he will be a failure as a missionary. 
 The Spirit of God does not confer upon a man the ability to 
 speak in a language he has not learned. Much of the Church's 
 money may be wasted in this way. But this, perhaps, is not 
 the greatest part of the injury done. At the present stage of 
 the work in Egypt, there are many educated and acceptable 
 native preachers, so that the people no longer care to listen to 
 the Gospel spoken in "broken" language. Besides, they 
 do not respect a man who has been a sufficient time in the 
 country, and is not able to express himself intelligibly in the 
 vernacular. They speak freely of the waste of money in sup- 
 porting him on the field, while other interests are suffering for 
 want of means to support them. Generally, the man who suc- 
 ceeds best is he who has in college given evidence of having a 
 talent for languages, and has close habits of study, and comes 
 fresh from the seminary to the mission field while still under 
 the influence of these habits. Of course, earnest piety is in- 
 dispensable, but it is not enough. Piety without utterance soon 
 dies, zeal without speech burns itself out. Let the zealous who
 
 IN Egypt. 423 
 
 have no talent for languages and little love for study stay at 
 home, where there is much appropriate work to do, and send to 
 the foreign field the best scholars, the closest students, those 
 most filled with the Spirit ; then, by the blessing of God, grand 
 work will be done for Him who deserves our best services. 
 These remarks apply to both male and female workers, though, 
 as the latter are not expected, in this country, to make public 
 addresses, it is not necessary that they acquire such an exten- 
 sive knowledge of the language as the men. 
 
 New missionaries now have abundant opportunity for learn- 
 ing the language. They have the best aids in the shape of 
 books and teachers. They have all their time for two years, 
 except two hours a day, which are given to teaching or doing 
 some other easy work that will not interfere with their study 
 of the language. It is so different from the state of things when 
 the older missionaries began, when neither grammars, nor 
 voweled Testaments, nor good teachers could be found, and 
 when, on account of the fewness of their number, they were 
 obliged to take charge of accounts, schools and bookshops al- 
 most immediately. But, no matter what may be the facilities, 
 the Arabic language is a hard nut to crack, and cannot be cracked 
 except by hard, stiff and persistent application during three, 
 four and five years, according to the measure of linguistic abil- 
 ity of the missionary. 
 
 The work of the foreign missionary is largely educational, 
 i. e., instructing and training the young for future usefulness 
 among their own people. On this account it is very desirable 
 that new missionaries have a talent for teaching, and all the 
 better if they have some experience in it. All missionaries at 
 one time or other in their lives are called upon to teach, and 
 nearly all the missionaries on the Egyptian field at present are 
 spending less or more of their time in teaching. Some do it 
 with evident pleasure to themselves and profit to their pupils. 
 Next, after a gift for languages, comes the gift for teaching. With- 
 out pretending to give in extenso the qualifications of a mission- 
 ary, I would say, in addition to the above, that to be possessed of 
 the power of God's Spirit, to have an ex-tensive knowledge of the 
 Holy Scriptures, and to have a good measure of common sense.
 
 424 The American Mission 
 
 are indispensable. While it is very desirable that the mission- 
 ary be sociable, agreeable, a singer, patient, inclined to optimism 
 rather than pessimism, what is needed is a sound mind and a 
 sound body, both at the service of the indwelling Spirit. 
 
 I have thought tliat my readers would like to know just 
 what the various missionaries on the field at the present time 
 are doing, so, beginning at Alexandria, I will indicate each one's 
 work. 
 
 Alexandria.* Rev. K. W. McFarland, came to Egypt in 
 1892 ; has charge of the local book department and boys' school, 
 in which he gives some lessons, while he is still studying the 
 language. 
 
 Miss L. J. McDowell, came to Egypt in 1892 ; has charge 
 of two girls' schools, teaches in one of them and has the over- 
 sight of the zenana work, v/hile she is still learning the lan- 
 guage. 
 
 Miss A. McMillen, came to Egypt in 1893 ; gives her time 
 and strength to Arabic, and teaches one or two classes in the 
 girls' school. 
 
 Rev. George A. Sowash, came to Egypt in 1896; studying 
 the language and aiding in the work as opportunity offers. 
 
 Tanta. Rev. J. K. Giffen, came to Egypt in 188 1 ; has 
 charge of the boys' school and local book department ; teaches 
 some, and preaches nearly every Sabbath, either in Tanta or in 
 some of the neighboring towns, and has charge of a large dis- 
 trict in which are several schools and colporteurs. 
 
 Drs. Lawrence and Watson, came to Egypt in 1896; are 
 studying the language and practicing their profession with much 
 success. 
 
 Mojisurah. Rev. T. J. Finney, came to Egypt in 1882 ; 
 has charge' of th.e local book department with its depots and col- 
 porteurs, the boys' school, in which he gives lessons, and has 
 supervision of a large district, with its schools and preaching 
 stations, at one or other of which or in Monsurah he preaches 
 every Sabbath. 
 
 Miss M. Finney, came to Egypt in 1894 ; is prosecuting the 
 study of Arabic and has charge of the girls' school, in which 
 she spends some time in teaching. 
 
 * Rev. Dr. Ewing and wife are at present in America
 
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 IN EGYPT. 
 
 425 
 
 Benha. Rev. Chauncey Murch, came to Egypt in 1883 ; 
 has charge of all the work at this station and at Zakazii< and 
 the district around ; is general treasurer of the mission, and 
 preaches either in Benha or in Zakazik. 
 
 Zakazik. Rev. W. H. Reed, came to Egypt in 1896; is 
 studying the language and aiding in the school. 
 
 Cairo. Rev. Andrew Watson, D. D., came to Egypt in 
 1861 ; is editor of a small weekly paper in the Arabic language ; 
 gives two hours a day to the theological students during the 
 session of the seminary ; takes his turn with Dr. Harvey and 
 Rev. J. Giffen in preaching in Arabic and conducting evening 
 meetings, and takes his turn with the brethren named and Dr. 
 White in preaching in English and conducting the English 
 prayer-meetings. 
 
 Rev. W. Harvey, D. D., came to Egypt in 1865 ; gives two 
 hours to the theological students and the large boys in school 
 every day ; is responsible for the pastoral work in the Cairo 
 congregation ; takes his turn in preaching in Arabic and in 
 English, and in conducting the evening meetings, and is local 
 treasurer. 
 
 Rev. J. P. White, M. D., came to Egypt in 1894 ; is study- 
 ing the language ; takes his turn in conducting all the English 
 services ; teaches a class ; is president of and prime mover in 
 the Christian Endeavor Society ; has the medical charge of the 
 pupils, and gives instruction in vocal music, and two lessons a 
 week to the theological students. 
 
 Miss M. A. Smith, came to Egypt in 1872 ; has charge of 
 the girls' school in Haret es-Sakkain, which she opens daily, 
 and in which she teaches two or three hours every day ; has 
 charge of the zenana work of that part of the city and the 
 southern suburbs, and makes occasional trips to the villages. 
 
 Miss A. Y. Thompson, came to Egypt in 1871 ; has charge 
 of the work among the women in Bulak, as well as in the 
 Ezbakiyah quarter of the city. 
 
 Miss E. O. Kyle, came to Egypt in 1883 ; has charge of 
 the girls' boarding and day school in the central mission prem- 
 ises.
 
 426 The American Mission 
 
 Miss Grace Brown, came to Egypt in 1894 ; is studying 
 Arabic and teaches in the boys' school in the Ezbakiyah, and 
 has charge of the Bulak girls' school 
 
 Asyut. Rev. J. R. Alexander, D. D., came to Egypt in 
 1875 ; Rev. S. G. Hart, in 1892, and Miss Carrie Buchanan in 
 1893, and are in charge of the Asyut training college, each 
 spending several hours in teaching daily. Mr. Hart is college 
 treasurer, and Dr. Alexander is president and superintendent of 
 the primary schools in the upper country and conducts the 
 Arabic services in the chapel on Sabbath day. 
 
 Rev. E. M. Giffen, came to Egypt in 1889 ; has charge of 
 the book department of Asyut and district ; is station treasurer, 
 and has charge of the evangelistic work up as far as Belyana. 
 
 Dr. Henry, came to Egypt in 1891 ; has, of course, charge 
 of the medical department. 
 
 Miss J. J. Hogg has charge of the girls' boarding school and 
 zenana work. 
 
 Miss Cora B, Dickey, came to Egypt in 1896; is studying 
 the Arabic and aiding in the school. 
 
 Miss Dorcas Teas, came to Egypt in 1896; is in charge of 
 the hospital and studying the language. 
 
 Magliagha. Rev. D. Strang, came to Egypt in 1866, re- 
 tired in 1876; returned in 1895, and has supervision of the 
 evangelistic work from Beni-Suef to Meir, and preaches every 
 Sabbath. 
 
 Luxor. Rev. W. M. Nichol, came to Egypt in 1889; has 
 charge of the schools and evangelistic work from Farshoot to 
 Aswan. 
 
 Rev. Ralph E. Carson, came to Egypt in 1895 ; is spend- 
 ing his time at the Arabic language, and giving what aid he can 
 without interfering with his studies. 
 
 Married Ladies. The married ladies are all doing some- 
 thing in the mission work, some in teaching, some in house to 
 house visitation, etc., but no special work is assigned to them 
 by the Association.
 
 o 
 
 •I— i 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 
 o
 
 IN Egypt. 427 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 THE BOOK DEPARTMENT. 
 Its agents and operations — The Sabbath Schools — Work among the women. 
 
 The existence of the Board of Publication in the home 
 field proves that the Church recognizes it as her duty to pro- 
 vide a pure and stimulating supply of reading matter for her 
 members, and to make use of a powerful means for the dissemi- 
 nating of Gospel truth throughout the land. It might have been 
 thought that in a country like America, where, in consequence 
 of the general intelligence of the people, books of all descrip- 
 tions can be obtained in stock in almost every small town, or 
 obtained from the larger cities through book agents resident in 
 the country villages, there would be no necessity for the Church 
 to engage in the publication and sale of books on her own 
 account. But it seems that almost every denomination of 
 Christians of moderate size has regarded the diffusion of relig- 
 ious truths by means of books and periodicals as a part of her 
 Christian duty. The pastor has found it in practice a most 
 valuable help in developing and sustaining an interest in relig- 
 ion and producing a healthy esprit dc corps among the members 
 of his congregation. 
 
 In a country like Egypt, in which, with the exception of 
 Cairo and Alexandria, there is not now, and never has been in 
 the past, outside of the missions, a shop fur the sale of even 
 educational books, or a colporteur from whom to obtain a cop)' of 
 the New Testament there is special necessity for the creation 
 of some means by which those who can read can be provided 
 with useful reading matter. Besides, it is an admitted fact 
 that the Gospel pure and simple can be preached by means of 
 the distribution of books almost as well, and under man\' cir-
 
 428 The American Mission 
 
 cumstances even better, than by the living voice. I have no 
 doubt that had the press been in existence in the days of the 
 Apostles, they would have made use of its facilities for sending 
 the Gospel to the ends of the earth. 
 
 Our missionaries in Egypt, from the very beginning, rec- 
 ognized the value of this means of disseminating divine truth. 
 They knew that a book in the family did not speak with a 
 stammering tongue. They know that a book does not 
 become heated by discussion, and say some sharp things 
 that hurt the feelings, rather than produce conviction. 
 They know that a copy of the Scriptures in the vernacular, 
 read by the earnest seeker after truth and the serious inquirer 
 for the way of salvation from the burden of his guilt, had often 
 been, and would often be, the means of bringing the reader to 
 the Saviour ; and therefore, from the very first year of their 
 residence in Egypt, and before some of them could put many 
 words of Arabic together grammatically, they sought for oppor- 
 tunities to put the printed Word in the hands of the Egyptians, 
 until by degrees and to an extent they never dreamed of, this 
 arm of mission service developed and grew, sending streams of 
 blessings, intellectual, moral, religious and spiritual, through 
 the Nile valley, away down the shores of the Red Sea, and 
 over into the oases of the great Sahara. 
 
 Indeed, during the very first year of Messrs. Barnett and 
 McCague's missionary life in Cairo, 950 volumes of the Scriptures 
 and other religious books were disposed of in Cairo and vicinity. 
 The Scriptures had been distributed before in Cairo and along the 
 Nile valley, but they were given away gratis, and therefore 
 were not highly appreciated. Dr. Barnett, in his dairy, says 
 that they had come to the conclusion that it was better, from 
 several points of view, to offer the books at a price, and this 
 principle has been adhered to by our mission all through its 
 history. Much money has been wasted and the value of God's 
 Word has been lowered in the estimation of the people by dis- 
 tributing it gratis. I have found in some houses three or four 
 copies of the whole or parts of the Bible, covered with dust in 
 a hole in the wall, and never read because they cost them noth-
 
 IN Egypt. 429 
 
 ing. When, however, anyone was found anxious to get a 
 copy of the Scriptures, and was unable to pay anything for it, 
 the missionary gladly gave him one. 
 
 hi the year 1856, there were distributed 1,200 volumes of 
 The Scriptures and other religious books, and 1,262 volumes in 
 1857. Depots were opened in Cairo and in Alexandria in 1858, 
 and in them were sold the same year 2,291 volumes. These 
 items, which perhaps have never been collected before, I ha\'e 
 obtained from private papers of Drs. Barnett, Lansing and 
 McCague, kindly furnished me. 
 
 From the year i860 commenced a system of colportage in 
 the Nile valley, directed by one or other of the missionaries, 
 which was carried on with marked success for many years. 
 By this means and the two depots, there were sold in the delta 
 and up as far as Luxor that year 4,818 volumes, most of them 
 of a religious character, and during 1861 as many as 4,290; a 
 goodly number of those were sold through the efforts of Lord 
 Aberdeen. At that time there were no congregations of believers 
 to whom to minister, except in Cairo and Alexandria, and there- 
 fore the whole time of the missionary on these trips on the Nile 
 was taken up in disposing of the books ; sometimes selling them 
 to purchasers who came to the boat, and sometimes on the 
 streets, and at the Coptic churches or schools in the towns on 
 the edge of the Nile ; sometimes the saddlebags were filled and 
 a journey made to villages at a distance of an hour or two from 
 the Nile, and the Gospel wares there offered for sale. Frequent 
 discussions also were had with the people in their little shops, 
 or under the trees, or in some of the houses. Subsequently, a 
 small boat was purchased by the mission, capable of being run 
 by two men. \n this the work of colportage was carried on, 
 sometimes by a missionary, and sometimes by a native agent. 
 For two or three years a Mr. Schlotthaur was engaged for this 
 work, and disposed of many books. There were, however, 
 many towns far away from the Nile and many smaller villages 
 which had never been visited, and it became evident that to 
 reach these some other plan must be adopted, so the Nile col- 
 portage was g:\-en up, and a S)-stem of book distribution by 
 means of a number of colporteurs attached to each central sta-
 
 430 The American Mission 
 
 tion was adopted, which system prevails up to the present 
 time. 
 
 The book department then, as now, consists of a central 
 storage depot, previously located at Alexandria, under the care 
 of Dr. Ewing, but now in Cairo, under the direction of Rev. J. 
 Giffen. Besides this, there are smaller depots or sale rooms 
 located at Alexandria, Tanta, Benha, Zakazik, Monsurah, Cairo, 
 Luxor, Asyut. At these places supplies of Scriptures and other 
 books are kept and sold to local purchasers or to colporteurs. 
 These depots afford a place of meeting for Protestants, where 
 they hold intercourse with one another and inquire for news of 
 friends, and a resort for those who are seeking after the truth. 
 In each one of these there is a native who acts as salesman and 
 keeps an account of books received and sold, reporting monthly 
 to the missionary. Each colporteur purchases his supplies at 
 these depots, and is required to visit every town and village in 
 the bounds assigned to him a certain number of times every 
 year. The whole valley of Egypt is thus divided into districts, 
 with a depot in the center of each, and these districts subdivided 
 between colporteurs in proportion to the density of the popula- 
 tion. In Egypt at the time of writing (1897) there are eight 
 shopmen and twenty-six colporteurs. It should be understood 
 that these colporteurs are members of the Church, and generally 
 earnest workers, and do not limit their efforts to the selling of 
 books, but are ever ready to give a reason for the faith that is 
 in them, and to take a part in conducting evening meetings and 
 discussions with opponents. 
 
 Many places have been opened by means of colporteurs, 
 and at the last day I have no doubt it will be seen that many 
 souls have been saved by the books they have distributed, and 
 the words of truth they have spoken, and the Christian life 
 they have manifested in their visits from place to place. The 
 field covered by their operations includes all the valley of Egypt 
 up as far as Wadi Haifa, the district of the Faiyum, some of the 
 oases, and one or two trips were made on the Red Sea coast, 
 which is now visited by the British and Foreign Bible Society's 
 agents. 
 
 The two Bible societies — the British and Foreign and the 
 American have been liberal in their grants in aid of Bible dis-
 
 IN Egypt. 431 
 
 tribution. In the early history of the mission the missionaries 
 were indebted mostly to the British ; but from the time of the 
 Arabic translation of the Bible by the American missionaries in 
 Syria, the mission gradually became the agency through which 
 the American Bible Society circulated its Scriptures in the Nile 
 valley. Generous help has been rendered by it to keep up the 
 colportage, and in some cases to aid the shops or depots. The 
 missionaries who knew the late, but now sainted Dr. Bliss, will 
 not soon forget his occasional visits to Egypt in behalf of the 
 American Bible Society's work, and often accompanied by his 
 wife. Those visits were looked forward to with very great 
 pleasure. 
 
 Up to the present time we are greatly indebted also to the 
 British and Foreign Bible Society for aid in Bible distribution 
 and in the work among the women. 
 
 The tract societies of London and America have also, from 
 time to time, bidden us God-speed in a practical way. 
 
 The Gibson trust fund has also afforded us the means of 
 free distribution of the Bible where it seemed fitting. 
 
 This department entails a vast amount of work upon some 
 of the missionaries in keeping up the necessary amount of 
 stock, and in exercising a supervision over the books so that 
 they may not be soiled, and in controlling and directing the 
 salesmen and colporteurs, and recording the various kinds and 
 numbers of books distributed. The missionary who has charge 
 of the general storeroom, where a considerable stock is kept, 
 has a big work to do, as all orders for supplying the other 
 depots and some of the colporteure are filled under his super- 
 vision, and volumes to the number of more than 49,000 
 annually, in perhaps fifteen different languages, are brought 
 from various countries and societies, kept in stock, and put in 
 circulation. A missionary at each central station also directs 
 and superintends the work of the shop and the colporteurs 
 there, taking an account of sales every month and an inventory 
 of books remaining unsold at the end of the year — all of which 
 is reported to the association annually. 
 
 The books sold are classified under three heads : Scrip- 
 tures, Religious Books and Educational. Some stationery
 
 432 
 
 The American Mission 
 
 is also kept for sale. The number of volumes of the Scriptures, 
 or parts thereof, distributed through the mission from November 
 20, 1854, to November 30, 1896, was 248,386, and the pro- 
 ceeds were $53,820. The number of volumes of religious 
 books was 192,794, at $29,085. The number of educational 
 and. miscellaneous books 374,358, at $84,800. The total num- 
 ber of volumes of all kinds and their price: 815,548 at $167,- 
 705. God alone knows what good has been done to Egypt in 
 general and to individual souls in particular, through these 
 volumes sown broadcast in the Nile valley. We sow in 
 faith and leave the result to Him whose is the prerogative to 
 give the increase. 
 
 STATISTICS OF BOOK DEPARTMENT FROM THE BEGINNING TO 
 
 DECEMBER 31, 1896. 
 THE SCRIPTURES. RELIGIOUS BOOKS. ED. & MISC. BOOKS. 
 
 YEAR. 
 
 VOLS. 
 
 DOLLARS 
 
 VOLS. 
 
 DOLLARS 
 
 VOLS. 
 
 DOLLARS 
 
 1855 
 
 250 
 
 50 
 
 700 
 
 50 
 
 
 
 1856 
 
 300 
 
 62 
 
 900 
 
 120 
 
 
 
 r857 
 
 240 
 
 48 
 
 1,022 
 
 120 
 
 
 
 1858 
 
 1,191 
 
 221 
 
 1,100 
 
 135 
 
 
 
 55-58 
 
 1,981 
 
 381 
 
 ?,722 
 
 425 
 
 
 
 i860 
 
 3>472 
 
 681 
 
 996 
 
 198 
 
 350 
 
 153 
 
 1861 
 
 2,500 
 
 775 
 
 1,280 
 
 411 
 
 510 
 
 540 
 
 1862 
 
 1,879 
 
 501 
 
 2,722 
 
 490 
 
 845 
 
 172 
 
 1863 
 
 3,022 
 
 752 
 
 2,275 
 
 550 
 
 495 
 
 162 
 
 1864 
 
 3,800 
 
 821 
 
 3,120 
 
 680 
 
 1,234 
 
 673 
 
 60—64 
 
 14,673 
 
 3,530 
 
 10,393 
 
 2,329 
 
 3,434 
 
 1,700 
 
 1865 
 
 1,868 
 
 729 
 
 1,524 
 
 200 
 
 1,507 
 
 674 
 
 1866 
 
 1,000 
 
 225 
 
 500 
 
 100 
 
 519 
 
 95 
 
 1867 
 
 1,756 
 
 403 
 
 777 
 
 132 
 
 498 
 
 140 
 
 1868 
 
 2,107 
 
 499 
 
 960 
 
 200 
 
 589 
 
 133 
 
 1869 
 
 I 
 
 3,000 
 
 600 
 
 2,000 
 
 200 
 
 1,446 
 
 225 
 
 j 
 65—59 i 
 
 9.731 
 
 2,456 
 
 5.761 
 
 832 
 
 4,559 
 
 1,267
 
 IN Egypt. 433 
 
 THE SCRIPTURES. RELIGIOUS BOOKS. ED. & MISC. BOOKS. 
 
 YEAR. 
 
 VOLS. 
 
 1 
 
 DOLLARS 
 
 VOLS. 
 
 DOLLARS 
 
 VOLS. 
 
 DOLLARS 
 
 1870 
 
 2,176 
 
 429 
 
 2,106 
 
 268 
 
 1,224 
 
 341 
 
 1871 
 
 1,765 
 
 580 
 
 2,697 
 
 426 
 
 1,566 
 
 479 
 
 1872 
 
 1,830 
 
 568 
 
 2,420 
 
 406 
 
 1,320 
 
 379 
 
 1873 
 
 2,452 
 
 808 
 
 4.347 
 
 647 
 
 2,254 
 
 606 
 
 1874 
 
 3,115 
 
 979 
 
 4,705 
 
 606 
 
 1 1,306 
 
 650 
 
 70—74 
 
 11,338 
 
 3,364 
 
 16,275 
 
 2,353 
 
 7,670 
 
 2,455 
 
 1875 
 
 2,8s8 
 
 817 
 
 5,380 
 
 895 
 
 3,652 
 
 1,256 
 
 1876 
 
 2,574 
 
 661 
 
 4,9=;-' 
 
 831 
 
 1 4,057 
 
 1,272 
 
 1877 
 
 3,911 
 
 1,115 
 
 4,771 
 
 681 
 
 5,003 
 
 1,476 
 
 1878 
 
 5,138 
 
 1,499 
 
 7,552 
 
 985 
 
 6.471 
 
 1,631 
 
 1879 
 
 6,117 
 
 1,692 
 
 4,838 
 
 605 
 
 8,918 
 
 2,362 
 
 75—79 
 
 20,598 
 
 5,784 
 
 27,498 
 
 3,997 
 
 28,101 
 
 7,997 
 
 1880 
 
 7,337 
 
 1,898 
 
 5,511 
 
 968 
 
 11,686 
 
 2,675 
 
 1881 
 
 8,288 
 
 2,291 
 
 6,004 
 
 1,028 
 
 I2,8s8 
 
 2,924 
 
 1882 
 
 7,526 
 
 1,800 
 
 5,244 
 
 694 
 
 12,638 
 
 2,780 
 
 1883 
 
 7,622 
 
 1,938 
 
 6,168 
 
 746 
 
 16,953 
 
 4,295 
 
 1884 
 
 10,659 
 
 2,597 
 
 7,811 
 
 1,256 
 
 19,145 
 
 4,533 
 
 80—84 
 
 41,432 
 
 10,524 
 
 30,738 
 
 4,692 
 
 73,280 
 
 17,207 
 
 1885 
 
 9,962 
 
 2,577 i 
 
 8,866 
 
 1,107 
 
 19,324 
 
 4,687 
 
 1886 
 
 9,651 
 
 2,552 
 
 8,993 
 
 1,149 
 
 19,179 
 
 4.406 
 
 1887 
 
 10,269 
 
 2,496 
 
 6,929 
 
 955 
 
 i 16,411 
 
 3.979 
 
 1888 
 
 11,773 
 
 2,371 
 
 7,764 
 
 1,217 
 
 16,054 
 
 3,004 
 
 1889 
 
 10,184 
 
 1,859 
 
 6,231 
 
 851 
 
 14,652 
 
 3,233 
 
 85-89 
 
 51,839 
 
 11,855 
 
 38,803 
 
 5,279 
 
 85,620 
 
 t 
 
 19,909 
 
 1890 
 
 12,123 
 
 2,175 
 
 5,948 
 
 875 
 
 14.705 
 
 3.322 
 
 1891 
 
 13,281 
 
 2,371 
 
 5,427 
 
 1,088 
 
 18,118 
 
 4,104 
 
 1892 
 
 12,747 
 
 2,116 
 
 6.482 
 
 972 
 
 19,226 
 
 4,120 
 
 1893 
 
 14,309 
 
 2,287 
 
 6,169 
 
 1,110 
 
 21,679 
 
 4.013 
 
 1894 
 
 13,845 
 
 2,324 
 
 9,823 
 
 1,747 
 
 25,729 
 
 4,010 
 
 1895 
 
 14,079 
 
 2,274 
 
 14.141 
 
 1,825 
 
 33,917 
 
 6,906 
 
 1896 
 
 16,410 
 
 2,369 
 
 10,614 
 
 1,561 
 
 38,320 
 
 7.190 
 
 90 — 96 
 
 96,794 
 
 1 
 
 15,926 
 
 1 
 
 60,604 
 
 9.178 
 
 171,694 
 
 34,265
 
 434 The American Mission 
 
 THE SCRIPTURES. RELIGIOUS BOOKS. ED. & MISC. BOOKS. 
 
 YEAR. 
 
 VOLS. 
 
 DOLLARS 
 
 VOLS. 
 
 DOLLARS 
 
 VOLS. 
 
 DOLLARS 
 
 55—59 
 
 1,981 
 
 381 
 
 2,722 
 
 425 
 
 
 
 60 — 64 
 
 14,673 
 
 3,530 
 
 10,393 
 
 2,329 
 
 3,434 
 
 1,700 
 
 65—69 
 
 9,731 
 
 2,456 
 
 5,761 
 
 832 
 
 4,559 
 
 1,267 
 
 70—74 
 
 11,338 
 
 3.364 
 
 16,275 
 
 2,353 
 
 7,670 
 
 2,455 
 
 75—79 
 
 20,S98 
 
 5,784 
 
 27,498 
 
 3,997 
 
 28,101 
 
 7,997 
 
 80—84 
 
 41,432 
 
 10,=; 24 
 
 30,738 
 
 4,692 
 
 73,280 
 
 17,207 
 
 85—89 
 
 51,839 
 
 11,855 
 
 38,803 
 
 5,279 
 
 85,620 
 
 19,909 
 
 90—94 
 
 66,305 
 
 11,283 
 
 35,849 
 
 5,792 
 
 99,457 
 
 20,169 
 
 95—96 
 
 30,489 
 
 4,643 
 
 24,755 
 
 3,386 
 
 72,237 
 
 14,096 
 
 Grand To'I 
 
 248,386 
 
 53,820 
 
 192,794 
 
 29,085 
 
 374,358 
 
 84,800 
 
 815,548 volumes at 8167,705. 
 
 SABBATH SCHOOLS. 
 
 It is evident, from a review of the reports, that the mis- 
 sionaries in Egypt from the time they were able to use the lan- 
 guage with any degree of profit to others, established Sabbath 
 schools wherever they were located. When the writer reached 
 Alexandria, late in 1861, he found a flourishing Sabbath school 
 there, the girls being superintended by Miss Dales and the boys 
 by Rev. John Hogg. At the close of the class exercises, Mr. 
 Hogg made a brief address to the girls and boys assembled to- 
 gether. The same thing could be said of Cairo, I suppose, 
 although 1 have not been able to fmd any reference to Sabbath 
 schools there until late in 1861, when it was reported one was 
 formed for the girls. Almost as sc-on as Asyut was occupied as 
 a station. Sabbath schools for boys, girls and adults were 
 established. The customs of the country then, as now, did not 
 allow girls and boys in the same class, but they occupied dif- 
 ferent sides of the same room at the opening and closing 
 exercises. As soon as work at any new station was begun by 
 a missionary, the Sabbath school was among the first institu- 
 tions to be established. But, outside the central stations, little 
 was done in this line for many years. As pastorates were 
 formed, however, and as young men trained in the college at 
 Asyut and the theological seminary entered upon the work,
 
 IN Egypt. 435 
 
 something more was accomplished on Sabbath school lines. 
 Few, however, of our young men, or of our native pastors, have 
 shown special aptitude for tliis branch of Christian work, 
 though I believe at the present time every congregation with a 
 native pastor, and many other organized and unorganized con- 
 gregations, have their Sabbath school. In not a few cases, 
 however, there are but two, or at most four classes — if two, 
 one will be for males and the other for females ; if four, one 
 will be for girls, another for women, another for boys, and the 
 fourth for men. There is great difficulty in finding teachers 
 who can keep up the interest of the pupils in the lesson. 
 There are many who, perhaps, can deliver a discourse full of 
 Gospel truth, but one who can teach in a simple, familiar, and 
 interesting manner, illustrating Christian teaching by the affairs 
 of every-day life, is a thing rarely found. In 1880, when the 
 presbyters took up in earnest the question of improving and 
 developing the Sabbath schools in Egypt, there were forty-two 
 Sabbath schools, 130 teachers, and 1,494 pupils, of whom 706 
 were adults and 788 were children. More than half of these 
 schools were nothing more than the meeting for afternoon ser- 
 vices, at which, in most cases, the passage for the Sabbath 
 school lesson for each day was taken as a text for the discourse. 
 In 1881 the scholars increased to 1,574, with about the same 
 proportion of adults. Lesson helps had been prepared by 
 Messrs. Giffen and Hogg, and distributed week by week. In 
 1882 the schools numbered forty-six, and the pupils 1,634. 
 The contributions had increased from $39 to $78. In 1885 
 there were sixty-two schools and 2,649 pupils. The Sabbath 
 school collections also increased that year, as they reached 
 $107. From that time until the end of 1896 there was a steady 
 growth in the number and efficiency of the schools. 
 
 The statistics for 1896 were: Number of schools, 127; 
 number of pupils, 6,849 ! number of teachers, 300 ; lesson 
 papers distributed weekly, 4,000; contributions, $581. 
 
 ZENANA WORK. 
 
 In nothino is there a greater difference between the United 
 States of America and Egypt than in the moral, intellectual and
 
 436 The American Mission 
 
 social status of women. The greatness of this difference, too, 
 is not ascertained by a flying visit, nor even by a temporary 
 residence in the Nile valley; but it is revealed more and more 
 as one's residence is prolonged, and the more extensive and 
 exact his knowledge of the situation becomes. The intelligence, 
 the patience, the culture, the self-denial of the western women, 
 have their exact contrast in the ignorance, the superstition, the 
 irritability, the boorishness and the selfishness of the Egyptian 
 women. I am speaking in general of both sides. 
 
 In the West, woman is honored ; in Egypt, she is de- 
 spised. If a man should fmd it necessary to refer to his wife, 
 he will seldom say " My wife," or call her by her name, Mariam, 
 or whatever it may be, but will say "the family," or "the com- 
 pany," and if he should say, "My wife," he will likely add, 
 "May God preserve thee from dishonor." Indeed, it is quite 
 the general opinion in Egypt that a woman has a lower nature 
 than a man, and I have often heard the expression from men of 
 intelligence and position, " The waman race is all bad ; none of 
 them can be trusted." The men treat them generally as they 
 do menials, or those who are on a lower plane of existence, and 
 as if they were created only for man's comfort and ease. There 
 is little difference in this respect in Egypt between Muslims and 
 so-called Christians. The native Egyptian Christians, such as ' 
 the Copts and Catholics, seem to have adopted in their homes 
 many of the social habits of the Muhammadans, and become 
 thoroughly filled with Muhammadan ideas of woman's inferiority, 
 and woman's special depravity. Again and again, in urging the 
 men to teach their women, they have replied, " They cannot 
 learn ; they are donkeys." Wherever the work of the mission 
 has not reached — and that, I am sorry to say, embraces by far 
 the greater part of the people — the women are utterly ignorant 
 and groping under a dark cloud of superstitions which affect 
 their souls, their bodies, their marital, family and social rela- 
 tions, and at first seem- to shut every avenue of light. Begin 
 to touch their cleanliness, or order, or hygiene, or morals, or 
 religion, and you discover that your efforts are rendered null 
 and void by numerous superstitions accepted on the authority 
 of saints and departed ancestors. They have no opportunity to
 
 ■jyy'^x^vrt^it 
 
 
 
 ^^. -
 
 IN KGYPT. 437 
 
 learn. Not more than two or three in a thousand in the present 
 generation ever were in a school, and practically almost none 
 in the past generation. They never sit in the same room with 
 the men when strangers are present, and very seldom eat with 
 their husbands or brothers even when strangers are absent. 
 What the men leave after being satisfied is sent to the women 
 and servants. Except among the Protestants, even the church 
 services, for the most part, to the women are in an unknown 
 tongue, and although the Coptic women often attend the Coptic 
 services, yet there is no profit, because the services are not 
 profitable, and because the women occupy a place so distant 
 that they cannot hear. Muhammadan women are still worse 
 off than the so-called Christians. 
 
 Indeed, the condition of women in the Nile valley is sad in 
 the extreme. And what makes the case worse is the fact that 
 most Egyptian men take no interest in educating or elevating the 
 women. Many of our educated young men prefer an unedu- 
 cated girl for a wife, because they think she will be more sub- 
 servient to their wishes. They do not yet regard the woman as 
 equal before the law or before God. Few have any idea of a 
 marital union for life with an intelligent, devoted, pious, un- 
 selfish, noble woman, on a plane of social equality, mutual du- 
 ties being performed (without outward constraint) from a 
 mutual affection and interest. The idea of superiority on the 
 part of the man, and the impropriety of doing anything that 
 might, in the estimation of the public, be regarded as conflicting 
 with that idea, influence the conduct of the men in all classes of 
 society. The Khedive never goes from Cairo to Alexandria, or 
 vice versa, on the same train with the Khediviah. Other men, 
 though they may go in the same train with their wives, yet do 
 not generally ride in the same compartment. When a man 
 walks from one place to another in the city with his wife, he 
 marches on ahead of her, and she follows at a distance of a few 
 yards. In the country you may see any day the woman car- 
 rying the burden on her head, while the man walks lazily on 
 before ; or the lord of creation rides on a donkey, while his wife 
 tries to keep up with him by walking, but every few minutes is 
 compelled to break into a run. It is true the man mav resent
 
 438 The American Mission 
 
 the slightest insult, by act, word, or gesture, done to his wife, 
 but it is not because she is highly esteemed by him, nor because 
 she is a human being with equal rights with the man, but because 
 she is his wife and the mother of his children, and his silence 
 would be a reflection on Ids character as a man. 
 
 It was some time before the missionaries fully realized the 
 condition of the women in Egypt. They at once saw enough 
 to elicit their sympathy, and to create a desire to do something 
 for them. They did not, however, see the necessity for special 
 work, or perhaps did not see what means could be used to meet 
 the case. I think, for a time, they did not know that the great 
 majority of the women could profit but little from a sermon 
 preached by a missionary, or even by a native. Their vocab- 
 ulary of words is not sufficiently extensive to enable them to 
 understand, and they had never been trained to listen to con- 
 nected discourses, such as the women of the West can compre- 
 hend. It was, of course, seen that the girls should be taught 
 and schools should be established for them, but to reach the 
 women and instruct them and lift them up, seemed a hopeless 
 task, especially when the husbands and brothers cared nothing 
 for such work. Of course, pastoral visits were made to the 
 houses of the church members, and the ladies of the mission 
 kept up social connection with all native acquaintances among 
 the women, and in a general way influenced them along the 
 lines of religion and civilization ; but any systematized attempt 
 to teach the women in their homes was not made in our mission 
 until the year 1869. 
 
 Before that time the ladies of the mission in Asyut, Cairo, 
 Faiyum and Alexandria had, either themselves or through 
 others, done something to encourage some of the women to learn, 
 and to read the Scriptures. Regular prayer-meetings for women, 
 held during the day, were commenced in the Ezbakiyah, Cairo, 
 by Mrs. Lansing in 1866, and in Haretes-Sakkain by Miss Hart 
 in 1867, and four weekly prayer-meetings for women in different 
 parts of Cairo were established in 1868. The presbytery of 
 Egypt in 1868 took up in a systematic way the work among the 
 women, by the following resolution : " That Miss Gregory be 
 sent to Asyut to act in the capacity of a Bible woman until the
 
 IN Egypt. 439 
 
 next meeting of presbytery." She entered upon her work 
 with her natural energy, and reported to presbytery that, from 
 September 28, 1869, to March 4, 1870, she had made 402 visits 
 and given 860 lessons. Thirty-six women were her pupils, and 
 four of them had made special preparation and taken great in- 
 terest in the Bible. They made the same year a public profes- 
 sion of their acceptance of Jesus Christ as their Saviour, and 
 were admitted to the fellowship of the Church. The next refer- 
 ence to this subject 1 find in the report for 1870, where it is said 
 that a native had been employed in Alexandria for the Bible 
 work among the women, and that she was supported by money 
 sent from America for that purpose. In the same year this 
 work was carried on more or less at all the central stations. At 
 Asyut, under the superintendence of Miss McKown, twenty-two 
 visits of one hour each had been made every week, for the pur- 
 pose of teaching the women to read, or of reading to them from 
 the Scriptures and explaining to them the Word of God. 
 
 In 1871, three women were taught in this department in 
 Cairo, under the direction of Mrs. Lansing and Miss Johnson. 
 One of them was blind Warda. In Sinoris, some of the boys 
 from the school were requisitioned for this purpose ; and in 
 Asyut, Malika, the wife of a colporteur, and others, had about 
 forty women to whom they gave instruction. 
 
 In 1872, Mrs. Watson and Miss Thompson spent consider- 
 able time in visiting and teaching the women in Monsurah. 
 Three native women were employed in this work in Cairo in 
 1872, and sixty-five women were under instruction. In this 
 year Mrs. Harvey reported nineteen women, church members 
 in Sinoris who had learned to read ; twenty were taking lessons 
 in their homes, and twenty-three were able to read the Bible. 
 
 In 1873 four women received instruction regularly in Mon- 
 surah from Miss Thompson, besides the Bible class for those 
 who attended the services on Sabbath. In writing about the 
 same work in Sinoris to which she had been transferred, she 
 says that twelve women were enrolled as scholars, and a boy 
 save lessons- to several others in their homes. In Cairo, the 
 same year, the work was extended. In As)ait eighty-eight 
 wom^n were learning. Some of whom had read the whole of 
 the New Testament and were beginning the Old.
 
 440 The American Mission 
 
 In 1874 the reports show a great development in this work. 
 Several women were taking lessons in Alexandria, and in eight 
 other stations. So the work advanced from year to year until 
 in 1896 there were reported as follows : Stations where special 
 work for women is done, 68; native workers in the department, 
 including eleven men and thirty women, 50; regular pupils, 1,255; 
 attendance at women's prayer-meetings, 1,965 ; number of 
 women's missionary societies, 5; members of v/omen's mission- 
 ary societies, 227; contributions of women's societies, ^232. 
 
 The workers in this department are missionaries, whether 
 married or unmarried, and natives. Certain of the former have 
 the charge of the work, and follow up the native teachers and 
 direct their efforts. For many years Mrs, Ewing had the 
 superintendence of it in Alexandria. Generally, however, 
 though not always, the superintendent at the central station is 
 one or more of the unmarried ladies. In Cairo, Miss Smith has 
 had charge of the southern part of the city ; Miss Conner of 
 Bulak while she was here, and Miss Thompson the northern 
 part of Bulak also, since Miss Conner's departure ; Mrs. J. K. 
 Giffen in Tanta ; Mrs. Finney in Monsurah ; Mrs. Kruidenierin 
 Zakazik ; Miss Hogg at Asyut, and Mrs. Murch in Luxor. The 
 native pastors in their own congregations, with more or less in- 
 terest, carry on the work. 
 
 The duties of the superintendent are onerous, and often 
 vexatious, but correcpondingly important: to direct the native 
 teachers ; to see that they are faithful ; to encourage the 
 women ; to share in their sorrows ; to be a peacemaker between 
 parties at variance ; to show them their duty in trying circum- 
 stances ; going from house to house ; ascending long stairs, and 
 breathing polluted air, and sometimes meeting with a cold recep- 
 tion — these form part of her duties and trials. They also take 
 charge of the women's prayer-meetings. Miss Smith and Miss 
 Thompson have had the largest experience in this branch of 
 mission work. They have both sown beside all waters. 
 The natives do the drudgery of teaching the women to read and 
 explain portions of the Scriptures. Some of them are very 
 efficient, and others manifest the spirit of hirelings. Their task, 
 however, is difficult, and sometimes very disheartening. 
 The native teacher often fmds the pupil busy baking or wash-
 
 & 
 
 ^ 
 
 * ^ 
 
 I A^ij 
 
 '^ 
 
 i-^^ 
 
 -' i 
 
 ^ 
 
 X 
 
 i^ 
 
 First Graduates from Cairo Boardincr School.
 
 IN Egypt. 441 
 
 ing, or she may be away at a funeral or a marriage, and thus 
 time and again misses her lesson. The pupils tai<e no trouble 
 to let the teacher know when they are likely to be engaged, and 
 thus much time is lost and the teacher discouraged. Then, 
 again, some of the pupils have no aptitude for learning, and 
 they seem to forget to-day what they learned yesterday, or 
 they do not have interest enough or leisure enough to read alone 
 between the visits of the teacher. In the case of some of them 
 we are not surprised that they do not advance more rapidly, 
 for they have little encouragement from their husbands, or the 
 men of the house, and their household duties are heavy. I am 
 surprised that so many succeed. I cannot say, however, that 
 many women come to have a love for reading, indeed, I think 
 it is only a small proportion of the girls who learn at school 
 who take interest enough in reading in their own homes so as 
 to use it afterwards in acquiring knowledge. All classes are 
 reached by this mission service, but more especially the middle 
 classes. The greater number belong to the Christian sects. 
 There are, however, a few Muhammadans. The increase in 
 the number of females who have been added to the membership 
 of the Church during the past years, in proportion to the 
 males, is, 1 think, in consequence of more attention being paid 
 to this department, though it would be very illogical to attribute 
 their conversion entirely, or even in the largest measure to 
 this work, because the women attend as well as the men the 
 general meetings in the congregations to which they belong 
 and are as much a part of the pastorate and congregation as 
 the males. To connect the whole female membership with 
 zenana work, as is sometimes done, is very misleading. 
 
 It is particularly pleasing to find some of the pastors, per- 
 haps most of them, taking a great interest in the religious 
 advancem.ent and spiritual growth of the women, encouraging 
 them to learn to read the Bible, and holding special meetings for 
 them, where the Gospel is taught in a more simple manner than 
 in pulpit discourse. Though the improvement is slow, yet no 
 one can deny that decided progress has been made in many 
 places in the intellectual, moral and religious condition of some 
 Egyptian women. With a steady multiplication of the means 
 the progress will, we trust, be much greater in the future-
 
 442 The American Mission 
 
 r 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 - EDUCATION. 
 
 Parochial schools— Mission day schools— Boardiiig school at Asyut and Cairo 
 — Asyut training college —Theological seminary. 
 
 EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 This department of our mission work has been an important 
 one during the forty-two years of its existence up to the end of 
 1896. The first school for boys in connection with our mission 
 was opened in Cairo by Rev. Messrs. Barnett and McCague in 
 the year 1855, on November 29, with Mr. A wad Hanna as 
 teaclier, and one for girls in i860 by Mrs. McCague. The mis- 
 sion, as we have seen, fell heir to the boys' school in Alexan- 
 dria opened by Mr. John Hogg, December 15, 1856, and to the 
 girls' school opened there, under the direction of Miss Pringle, 
 in December of the same year. These schools have been con- 
 tinued up to the present time, and wherever missionaries 
 occupied new central stations they have almost uniformly 
 opened a school for boys and another for girls. For some time 
 the mission opened schools for boys at out stations also, and 
 still continues to do so in some places in the delta. All such 
 schools, whether at central stations or otherwise, are under the 
 direct control of the mission. A large number of schools, how- 
 ever, are now opened by the people themselves, with little and 
 often no assistance from the mission. The people alone are 
 responsible for them. The teachers, however, have been trained 
 by the mission, and generally use the mission's books, and fol- 
 low in their teaching the lines of instruction in the mission 
 schools. In the year 1896 the schools of all kinds, either directly 
 or indirectly connected with the mission, numbered 168. of
 
 -»*.'• n 
 
 
 o 
 
 c 
 'o 
 
 be 
 
 \
 
 IN Egypt. 443 
 
 which 133 were for boys, and 35 for girls. The pupils were 
 11,014, of whom 7,976 were boys and 3,038 were girls. 
 These schools are of five classes, viz.: (i) Out-station schools ; 
 (2) mission schools; (3) boarding schools; (4) training col- 
 lege 5 (5) theological seminary. 
 
 (i) The schools at the out-stations are for the most part 
 under the sole control of the native congregations. They are 
 then strictly parochial schools, for the primary education of the 
 children, and take the place of the common schools under the 
 governmental system at home. Being parochial schools under 
 Protestant direction, the Protestant religion is taught in them, 
 and the Bible is used as a text-book. Often the teacher is a 
 church member, and assists in conducting religious meetings 
 during the evenings and on Sabbath days. In this sense these 
 schools are centers of evangelistic effort, and sources of Chris- 
 tian light to young and old. Some of them, however, have been 
 opened and are carried on directly by the mission. The reason 
 for this is to be found in the circumstances of the places. 
 Either because the Coptic clergy had so thoroughly closed the 
 place against the entrance of the truth, or because the inhab- 
 itants were all Muhammadans and no other means of approach- 
 ing them was possible. The missionaries resorted to the use of 
 the school as a key by which to open the door, or as a means of 
 bringing them in contact with the people, and giving them an 
 opportunity of conversing with them, or putting into their hands 
 Christian literature. In many places in the delta at the present 
 time, as in many places in the upper country in the early his- 
 tory of the mission, the schools seem to be the only means by 
 which the missionary can get an entrance into the town. As 
 soon as an entrance is effected and a little community of Pro- 
 testants is formed, then the school is gradually passed over to 
 the natives or dropped entirely. Unless the chief teacher be a 
 thoroughly Christian man, such schools are of little use, and 
 their continuance a waste of mission money. * 
 
 (2) The day schools at the central stations are generally 
 of a higher grade than those at the out-stations. The\- are 
 
 * Great credit is due the house of Mr. Wesa Buktor and the A\essrs. Khazat 
 Bros, for the erection of school premises in Asvut and carrying on, at their own 
 expense, the one a large school for boys, the other a large school for girls. 
 
 -n 
 
 _)
 
 444 The American Mission 
 
 thoroughly evangelical; the missionaries not only having the 
 oversight, but also giving instruction in religion every day, and 
 endeavor to secure the attendance ot the pupils at the Sabbath 
 school and at other religious services on the Lord's day. By 
 means of these the missionaries find access to the homes of the 
 people, and meet with the parents and other relatives of the 
 pupils, and the acquaintance thus formed often leads to their 
 attending the religious meetings, "and to their enlightenment, and 
 sometimes to their conversion, while the children who remain 
 in school for a year or two continue friendly with the 
 missionaries during life, and many of them are lifted up a 
 degree or two in the line of civilization, and some, by 
 the blessing of God on the truth they learn, make a public 
 profession of faith in and love for the Saviour. These 
 mission schools at the central stations have had a great influ- 
 ence in creating an interest in education and diffusing useful 
 knowledge in the community and giving an impetus to the 
 cause of civilization in the Nile valley. Until within fifteen 
 years a large proportion of the employes in the railways, in the 
 telegraphs and government offices received their education at 
 the American schools. The development of the government 
 educational system has made its schools now the chief source 
 of supply for these services. 
 
 A history of these schools in detail, and the good work 
 done in them, would require a volume. Nearly all the mission- 
 aries, male and female, have had some share in the work, and 
 some have for years taught classes in them. The boys' school 
 in Alexandria has been successively under the direction and 
 instruction of Messrs. Hogg, Watson, Pinkerton, Strang, Ewing, 
 and Harvey. The girls' school there under Misses Dales, 
 McKown, Gregory, Campbell, Frazier, 1. Strang, and T. Strang. 
 The boys' school in Monsurah, under the management of 
 Messrs. Watson, A. M. Nichol, Finney, Kruidenier, and Murch. 
 The girls' school under Mrs. Watson, Mrs. Nichol, and Misses 
 Gregory, Thompson, and the two Misses Strang. The boys' 
 school in Cairo, always large, has been under the direction of 
 Messrs. Barnett, McCague, Lansing, Hogg, Strang, Watson, 
 Harvey, Giffen ; the girls' school in the Ezbakiyah under
 
 IN Egypt. 
 
 445 
 
 Misses Hart, Dales, Johnston, Thompson, Brown, and Kyle ; 
 the girls' School in Haret es-Sakkain under Mrs. McCa^^ue, 
 Misses Hart, and Smith ; the girls' school in Kulaly under Miss 
 Conner and' Miss Thompson and now Miss Brown ; the boys' 
 school in Asyut under Dr. Hogg and Dr. Johnston, then devel- 
 oped into an academy. The second day school for girls was 
 for a time under the care of Mrs. Giffen and Miss Lockhart, 
 and is now known as the Khayat school for girls. 
 
 (3) The boarding schools for girls supply a need which ' 
 was greatly felt for many years. These schools, only two in 
 number, one in Cairo and the other in Asyut, are in some 
 sense the outgrowth of the mission girls' day schools at these 
 places. In December, 1865, presbytery took the following J 
 action in regard to Cairo : 
 
 "Resolved, i. That the girls' school at present held in 
 the mission house be removed to the Coptic quarter. 
 
 " 2. That a boarding school be established in the mission 
 house. 
 
 " 3. That Miss Dales have the superintendence of the 
 two schools." ' 
 
 In accordance with this action a boarding school was 
 opened in 1866, and at the end of the year there were in it 
 seven girls; during 1867 these increased to nine, but at the end 
 of the year there were only six. The school was dropped, 
 however, after the second year of its existence, chiefly, I sup- 
 pose, on account of the marriage of Miss Dales and Dr. Lan- 
 sing and their forced absence from their field of labor soon 
 after from ill health. At the annual meeting of the Association in 
 1874 it was resolved : " That we authorize the opening of a 
 boarding school for girls in As)'ut as soon as suitable premises 
 be obtained." In accordance with this action the school was 
 opened on February 23, 1874. At the summer meeting of the 
 Association the same year it was resolved that Miss Johnston 
 and Miss Smith be directed to open in Cairo a boarding school 
 for girls as soon as practicable, and arrange between themselves 
 the details of management. This action was carried out by the 
 opening of the school in the Faggala quarter of Cairo on Octo- 
 ber I, 1874. Various reasons influenced the missionaries to | 
 establish the boarding schools for girls, \-iz.: i. The impossibility
 
 r 
 
 446 The American Mission 
 
 of opening day schools for girls in the villages, or even in the 
 large towns, on account of the paucity of teachers ; the un- 
 willingness of the people to furnish board and lodging for 
 female teachers ; and the unwillingness of the teachers to go 
 away from their own towns among strangers. 2. The customs 
 of the country forbade the girls, after a certain age, appearing 
 in the streets, even going and returning from school, 3. The 
 necessity for providing a place for girls from the surrounding 
 towns and villages, where they could go and be safe, and be 
 under Gospel influence and Christian training for a sufficient 
 number of years, in the hope that some of them would be- 
 come teachers, and all would be better qualified to discharge 
 the duties pertaining to their family relations. 
 
 The boarding school at Asyut was under the management 
 and care of Miss McKown. From the beginning she was sec- 
 onded and aided most willingly and efficiently by Dr. and Mrs. 
 Hogg, whose residence from the first adjoined the school. The 
 number reported for the first year was eleven, eight from Asyut 
 and three from outside of Asyut. From its commencement up 
 to December 31, 1879, fifty-five boarders had been received. 
 Thirteen had engaged in teaching, more or less, nine had mar- 
 ried, and two had died. At the close of 1879, there were in the 
 school twenty-four. The pupils were from Asyut, Jawily, Mell- 
 awi, Benub, Azziyah, Mutiah, Masuda, Nakheilah, Tema, and 
 Alexandria. The opening exercises of the school were con- 
 ducted by Dr. Hogg, in conjunction with the students of the 
 academy, and the girls also attended the evening meetings, car- 
 ried on for the most part by Dr. Hogg, who also gave instruction 
 in vocal music. An addition had to be made to the building to 
 accommodate all the girls. In 1877 a public examination was 
 held in the church in connection with the academy examinations, 
 and before the members of presbytery and the Association. 
 The girls acquitted themselves to the delight of all present, al- 
 though it must have been exceedingly embarrassing to them to 
 appear before a mixed audience of Copts and Muhammadans, 
 some of whom were the notables of the town. Some of the girls 
 who passed through that trying ordeal are now proving by their 
 deportment and intelligence that their training was not in vain.
 
 IN Egypt. 447 
 
 In 1881 Miss McKown, at the beginning of tlie summer va- 
 cation, left for America, and did not return till near the close of 
 1882. During her absence the school was under the superin- 
 tendence of Miss Newlin, at a time when she ought to have been 
 free to study the language. On Miss McKown's return she re- 
 sumed her place in the school, assisted by Miss E. O. Kyle, a 
 new arrival. In consequence of personal interviews with Mr. 
 William Pressly, of Monmouth, while Miss McKown was in 
 America, he donated in aid of female education at Asyut, $5,000 
 to help in the erection of a building, and $5,000 as a fund to 
 assist needy and promising pupils. In recognition of this munifi- 
 cent gift, the Association resolved that the girls' boarding school 
 in Asyut should be called " The Pressly Memorial Institute." 
 
 With the $5,000 donated by Mr. Pressly and $5,000 of the 
 legacy of Mr. Archibald Stewart, of Indiana, and other funds, a 
 lot was purchased near the Asyut training college and a building 
 erected, under the direction of Rev. J. Giffen, having ample ac- 
 commodation for a large number of boarders, with recitation 
 rooms and rooms for the missionary ladies in charge. A resi- 
 dence for a missionary family was also erected as a third story. 
 At the annual meeting held in February, 1887, Miss McKown's 
 connection with the institute ceased, on account of her 
 failing vision, and Miss Hogg was associated with Miss 
 Kyle in charge. A short account of her connection with 
 it is given by herself in the report for 1886. In closing, 
 she there said: "To me the future of the Pressly Memo- 
 rial Institute is bright with success, and by the blessing of 
 God it will become a mighty power for good, and in the ' sweet 
 bye and bye ' they who have supported it by their contributions 
 and prayers, they who have given it its beautiful home, we who 
 have taught in it the way of salvation, and the dear girls who 
 have learned in it the love of the Saviour, will all rejoice to- 
 gether around the throne of God." I may add here that it was 
 chiefly through Miss McKown's careful superintendence that the 
 institute, year by year, grew in the estimation and confidence 
 of the people, and it was chiefly through her representations and 
 appeals that a [^ood share of the money for its support was se-
 
 448 The American Mission 
 
 cured, and it will be a long time before she and her work in the 
 boarding school will be forgotten by the people there. Suffice 
 it to say that the institution continues to grow under the new 
 management. In 1891 Miss Kyle went home to America for a 
 change, and Miss Hogg remained in charge. She was subse- 
 quently assisted by Miss Work. In 1896 there were 149 boarders 
 and 54 day pupils. Its usefulness is increasing year by year, 
 but its present accommodation will not allow of an increase 
 of numbers. It is an institution that has had a wonderful influ- 
 ence in changing thoughts, habits, and customs among the 
 women of Asyut, who are, I believe, advancing along the lines 
 of a Christian civilization more rapidly than women elsewhere 
 in Egypt. 
 
 The girls' boarding school in Cairo was opened October i, 
 1874, in a rented house in the Faggala quarter, v/ith five board- 
 ers. Miss "Johnston and Miss Smith in joint charge. Their pa- 
 tience, wisdom and perseverance were tried to the utmost by 
 the parents of the boarders, who for a time would insist on com- 
 ing to the school almost every day, and often wished to stay over 
 night. They would pry into everything to see what their chil- 
 dren ate, what they drank, and how they slept. They had 
 never been accustomed to have them absent from them for a 
 night, and were governed only by a sort of animal affection for 
 them, being unhappy unless they could either see them or hear 
 them. Their frequent visits and untidy habits retarded the good 
 work of training their children. After a few months these diffi- 
 culties were removed. The number of boarders in 1875 was 
 eleven, and eighteen the following year. From the end of 1876 
 the Ezbakiyah girls' day school was united with the boarding 
 school. Miss Smith, at her own request, and on account of the 
 increasing necessities of the girls' school and women's work in 
 Haret es-Sakkain, of which she had also been in charge, was 
 relieved of her share in the Ezbakiyah boarding school, and 
 Miss Thompson, who had charge of the day school of the Ez- 
 bakiyah was associated with Miss Johnston in the boarding 
 school, at which day pupils also attended. This arrangement 
 continued until Miss Johnston's marriage with Dr. R. Stewart, 
 near the close of 1881, when the responsibility fell upon Miss
 
 t 
 
 CO 
 
 >^ 
 
 l/2 
 
 a 
 =0 
 
 o 
 
 n 
 
 o 
 
 CO 
 
 O
 
 IN Egypt. 
 
 449 
 
 Thompson, aided part of the time by Miss Conner, a new recruit 
 to the mission. That year thirty-six boarders attended the 
 school. In 1884 the average monthly roll was 170, of whom 
 34 were boarders — about as many as could be accommodated. 
 
 In Miss Thompson's report for the year 1884 she said that 
 up to that time from the beginning of the school twenty-six of 
 those who had been or were boarders had made a public profes- 
 sion of their faith. From 1888 Miss A. A. Brown aided Miss 
 Thompson in the school, and had sole charge from the time the 
 latter left on a visit to America in 1890 until her own marriage 
 with Rev. J. O. Ashenhurst, the beginning of May, 1892, 
 when Mrs. E. M. Giffen took charge until the end of the year, 
 at which time Miss E. O. Kyle entered upon her appointment 
 as principal. Through the liberality of Peter McKinnon, Esq., 
 of Scotland, and his wife, and a lady in America, several large and 
 small rooms were added to the dormitories, allowing the school to 
 grow in numbers, as it has also grown in efficiency and useful- 
 ness, as successive examinations prove. At the close of 1896 
 the following were the statistics for that year : Total day 
 pupils enrolled, 360 ; total boarders, 89. 
 
 For the past six or eight years Rev. and Mrs. John Giffen 
 have been associated with Miss Kyle in the general manage- 
 ment, and Mrs. Giffen has had charge of the kitchen accounts. 
 The girls come from thirteen different villages besides Cairo. 
 The school requires an amount of care and watchfulness on the 
 part of the principal that can only be known to those who have 
 been in similar circumstances. Like the sister school in Asyut 
 it is one of the best civilizing and evangelizing institutions in 
 connection with the mission. For several years there was also 
 a boarding school for boys under the care of Dr. and Mrs. Har- 
 vey. Had there been sufficient accommodation in the premises 
 for expansion, and had the mission assisted by a small grant in 
 aid, so that the dues could have been lowered, a large as well 
 as a thoroughly efficient boarding school for boys would have 
 been in existence to-day. The mission, however, insisted on 
 making the boarding department self-sustaining, and there was 
 no room for growth in numbers ; besides the rooms were needed 
 2g
 
 450 The American Mission 
 
 for the theological students, and therefore, after much good 
 work had been done under the fatherly and motherly care of 
 Dr. and Mrs. Harvey, the effort was given up. 
 
 (4) The Asyut Training College. This institution with 
 its fine premises, able corps of native instructors, and its Amer- 
 ican staff, consisting of Dr. J. R. Alexander, Rev. S. G. Hart, 
 and Miss Buchanan, is the outgrowth of a school opened by 
 Mr. Hogg March 5, 1865, when the pupils consisted of six boys 
 and two girls. By the 1 3th of March they had increased to eigh- 
 teen boys and thirteen girls ; by June 12 the number of boys 
 enrolled was thirty-five. Through the intrigues of the Coptic 
 clergy and the connivance of the government officials, the num- 
 ber was reduced during the following two years ; but after- 
 wards it rallied and grew apace, until in consequence the mis- 
 sionaries felt that a high school should be established where 
 young men might prosecute studies of a higher grade than 
 were to be found in the boys' school then existing. Therefore 
 it was resolved, at the meeting of presbytery in Ramleh in the 
 summer of 1870, to institute an academy in Asyut for a more 
 advanced literary training of the candidates for the theological 
 course. 
 
 This was accordingly commenced at the station on Octo- 
 ber 17 of that year. The course of study for the first session 
 was devotional exercises with a lesson in Scripture or the 
 Shorter Catechism in the morning ; ancient history, arithmetic, 
 Arabic grammar and literature by an Arab sheikh, physiology, 
 natural history, geography, and English. Twenty pupils 
 attended the first session. A new building for the academy 
 was finished during the summer of 187 1. The principal part of 
 the funds used in its erection was collected by Dr. Hogg in 
 England and Scotland in 1866, and a contribution of ^240, re- 
 ceived from the young men of St. Clairsville congregation, O., 
 was expended for a small but useful philosophical and chemical 
 apparatus. A graduate of Beirut College was secured in 1871 to 
 aid in the instruction and government of the pupils. The pupils 
 numbered thirty in 1872. Aid to the amount of ^230 was given 
 the same year to poor students, chiefly those who were looking 
 forward to the Christian ministry. The enrollment in 1873
 
 IN Egypt. 
 
 451 
 
 reached 100, and average attendance seventy-five. There were 
 twenty-six from Asyut, twenty-two from Nakheilah, twenty-two 
 from Mutiah, ten from Kus and Luxor, five from Muski, four 
 from Dweir, and seven from other villages. This encouraging 
 condition was in spite of many trials and difficulties, such as 
 Dr. Hogg's forced absence on account of sickness and the 
 change of the head master. About 100 pupils were the average 
 for 1874. Eighty of these located in the academy building. 
 The remainder being pupils from Asyut, boarded at their homes. 
 Eighty-five were sons of converts, four came from the district 
 of the Faiyum. The academy was under the direction of 
 Dr. Johnston from October 15, 1874, when the theological 
 classes began for the winter. On February 8, .1875, Dr. John- 
 ston was elected president, and the institution was called thence- 
 forth " The Asyut Training College," in accordance with the 
 resolutions passed at Asyut on February 9, 1874, by which it 
 was agreed to establish a training college at Asyut, and Dr. 
 Hogg was authorized to lay the claims of this institution before 
 the Christian public of Great Britain and America. Dr. John- 
 ston, president-elect, left in the spring of 1875 ^^^ ^ vacation to 
 America. He did not return. Mr. D. Strang, being appointed 
 to fill the vacancy, entered upon his duties on July i,and 
 remained at his post till March, 1876, when, on account of ill 
 health he got leave to return to America. Rev. J. R Alexander 
 was then appointed in cliarge until the expected return of D;-. 
 Johnston, and the institution was put under a board of control, 
 consisting of Drs. Hogg, Lansing and Watson, and the last 
 named was requested to aid Mr. Alexander at the opening of 
 the session July 5, 1876. At the same time Dr. Hogg was 
 requested to give instruction in mental and moral philosophy 
 and lo(^ic, all of which was carried out. The teachers and course 
 of study then were as follows : Dr. Hogg, mental and moral 
 philosophy, logic, natural philosophy, Bible history, elocution, 
 vocal music ; Rev. J. R. Alexander, English Testament, uni\'er- 
 sal history, English grammar, English reading, algebra ; Mr. 
 Abd el-Noor, geometry, Arabic grammar, English reading and 
 grammar, rhetoric, trigonometry ; Mr. Mohanna Barakat, as- 
 tronomy, Arabic grammar, English reading, Bible history.
 
 452 The American Mission 
 
 English and Arabic writing, analysis and Arabic sentences ; 
 Mr. Makhiel, primary department, assisted by a few of the 
 advanced boys. 
 
 In the report for 1879 Mr. Alexander wrote, saying that 
 "the number of pupils had doubled in four years, and at the 
 same time the institution had greatly advanced in the efficiency 
 of the teachers and in the extent to which it became self-sup- 
 porting. Although many of the pupils possess only a large 
 shirt-like garment and a skull cap as their entire wardrobe, the 
 tuition and kitchen fees amounted to ^860, which a little 
 exceeds the total cost of the boarding department of the insti- 
 tution. The school during the past year has paid the third of 
 its expenses, and if we deduct the interest of the Pressly fund 
 it will appear that our school, with its staff of teachers, a large 
 incidental bill, and boarding expenses for about eighty persons, 
 cost the Church in America only about $1,2^2." Very great 
 credit is due to Mr. Alexander for his persistent efforts in press- 
 ing the parents to pay for their own children's education in 
 accordance with their ability. The number of pupils in 1875 
 was 96; in 1876, 100; in 1877,96; in 1878, 165; in 1879, 
 199. In reference to the results for good which are directly 
 referable to the institution up to December 31, 1879, I cannot 
 do better than to quote from Mr. Alexander's report for that 
 
 year : 
 
 "We are also much delighted by the fruit which our 
 school is beginning to bear, showing itself to be a real training 
 school, a real mission school. During this year a number of 
 our pupils have gone out into the villages to teach. One has 
 gone to Kossair, another to Kus, and another to Sanabu. And 
 the whole junior class, except one member, has been sent out 
 to different places to engage in teaching under the care of an 
 older person, generally the pastor or the evangelist in the place. 
 Two of this class are at Ekhmim, where they have a school of 
 130 members. One was at Suft, another is at Beni Adi, 
 another atNakheilah, and another is in our own school. These 
 all, with one exception, receive their entire support from the 
 people of the place in which they are teaching. Three of our 
 pastors, all of our licentiates, all of our theological students, 
 forty of our sixty-three male teachers, have been trained in it. 
 And now, shall it be told to the Church and to the world that 
 the building in which have been trained these teachers, and from
 
 IN Egypt. 
 
 453 
 
 which have gone forth these influences, is about to fall down ; 
 that only yesterday after a tremendous gale every human being 
 in it fled from it, expecting to be blown over at any moment ? 
 It has done what it could, and although never properly fur- 
 nished, it has been the source of streams which, if God wills, 
 shall revive this land of ancient knowledge, so that once more 
 the wisdom of the Egyptians may be a synonym for the highest 
 culture and education. After five years of repeated disappoint- 
 ments, failures and discouragements, we have been able onlv a 
 month ago to begin to purchase a lot for building. We have 
 now secured two acres of a garden situated but a little outside 
 of the town. We are just on the point of mal<ing arrange- 
 ments for collecting the necessary building materials, and hope 
 during the present year to get at least one story built," 
 
 The foundations of the dormitories were laid in 1880 and 
 finished before the end of 1881 and were occupied by the famil- 
 ies of Rev. J. Giffen and Rev. J. K, Giffen, and eighty-eight 
 boarders. The class rooms in the main building were used be- 
 fore the end of 1883, and the closing exercises of the college in 
 1884 were held in the new chapel. On that occasion the 
 Egyptian Gazette said : 
 
 " The usual semi-annual examinations of the American Mis- 
 sion Training College were held during the week of May 26-30. 
 Over forty classes, in as many different studies, were examined, 
 the subjects ranging from primary reading to geometry and high 
 Arabic grammar and literature. French and English are taught 
 by French and English masters. On Friday, 30th, the general 
 examination was held. It was attended by his excellency the 
 mudir,*the wakeel, the president of the court of appeal for upper 
 Egypt, the heads of all the government services, the ulema, the 
 professors of government schools, and the leading notables of 
 the province. In the evening the literary exhibition was held, 
 the honor students of the various classes delivering declamations, 
 recitations, orations, etc. His excellency the mudir, with many 
 of the leading officials, ulema and notables also attended the 
 evening exercises. A part of the Royal Sussex Band kindly 
 came up from Mangabet and generously furnished music for the 
 evening. The governor had an address, expressing his interest 
 in education and educational work, sent in his name to the plat- 
 form and read. The large new chapel, having some 700 or 800 
 sittings, thus occupied for the first time, was completely filled. 
 The number of pupils enrolled during the past session was 206. 
 This was the happy ending of the first session of 1884, and the 
 first school year in the new building." 
 
 * Governor.
 
 454 The American Mission 
 
 Additional dormitories were afterwards erected, as well as 
 two houses for missionaries above the recitation rooms. Many 
 thanks and much honor are due to Rev. J. Giffen for overseeing 
 the erection of the building, and by his practical knowledge be- 
 ing able to dispense with an architect, thus savmg a considerable 
 sum of money. Although Dr. Hogg, being the senior mission- 
 ary at the station, was therefore the president of the college 
 committee which embraced the missionaries located at Asyut, 
 yet his associates really had the management of the institution 
 for several years before he died, as his time and strength were 
 fully taken up with the theological and evangelistic departments. 
 For some time after Dr. Hogg's death, his son was associated 
 with Dr. Alexander in .the college, and by his learning and 
 special qualifications for educating young men, helped to increase 
 the efficiency of the institution. The statistics for 1894 were : 
 Boarders, 312; day scholars, 100; total, 412. Receipt fees, 
 ^2,644; expenses, $4,i8g. 
 
 The mission college located at Asyut, is the principal 
 school for tlie training of young men who are to become 
 teachers and preachers. Pupils of all classes and religions are 
 admitted. It is of the grade of the government colleges in 
 mathematics, the sciences and the languages. In history. Bib- 
 lical and secular, its course of study is very full. It gives a 
 short course in logic, mental science, the evidences of Christi- 
 anity and practical ethics, explaining the influences of religion 
 on life in the past and on the questions of to-day. All through 
 the course God's Word, in its effects on manners and conduct in 
 individuals, communities and nations, is carefully shown. The 
 great ideal of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, of the kingdom of God 
 on earth, is constantly presented before the pupils as the highest 
 model for a perfect life and a perfect society. Teachers and a 
 ministry, leaders in every good word and work, must be trained 
 for the great moral work to be done in this land. Egypt needs 
 men "who shall be able to teach others also." To prepare 
 such men is the great work of the college. Men not college 
 trained have been put into the ministry; in every case they 
 ha\'e proved inferior to the college trained men. With our 
 present arrangements, the five most advanced classes are taught
 
 IN Egypt. 
 
 455 
 
 in some studies by one of the missionaries. He is able to im- 
 press his personality, spirituality, his ideals, his faith, and his 
 hope, on the pupils' minds. It is delightful to observe the grad- 
 ual expansion of thought, the enlargement of view, the en- 
 nobling of ideals taking place in the pupils from year to year. 
 
 The students are members of a missionary society which 
 carries on regular services in six neighboring villages. They 
 have a weekly prayer-meeting and a tri-weekly communicants' 
 meeting. They conduct, also, weekly literary societies. On 
 the Sabbath the usual services, forenoon and afternoon, are 
 conducted by the missionaries. The pupils of the training col- 
 lege and the girls' boarding school make a congregation of about 
 400. In the dormitories of the boarding department are at 
 present 255 pupils. These dormitories are crowded, and the 
 question of enlarging the premises is forcing itself upon us. The 
 students are from all parts of the country, the delta, the Faiyum 
 and upper Egypt. One hundred and sixteen villages and towns 
 were represented in 1896. During its existence some 2,400 pupils 
 have received instruction in its halls for a longer or shorter 
 period. There are at present 480 pupils in attendance. The 
 enrollment for 1896 was 547.* About 212 of its pupils are em- 
 ployed in the churches and schools under the care of the mission 
 and the native Church, and 106 have graduated. Scores of 
 others. are engaged in other employments, and many of the most 
 active, energetic and progressive young men of this country are 
 sons of this school. The influence of this institution has been 
 great in the past, and no doubt will be greater in the future, it 
 has been the means of dispelling superstition, diffusing useful 
 knowledge, giving an impetus to the desire for education, train- 
 ing young men in the principles of truth and honesty, helping 
 them to overcome their natural inactivity, inspiring them with 
 pure motives and holy ambitions, and preparing suitable material 
 for the various departments of the Government service or pri- 
 vate business, and teachers for schools, and preachers and pas- 
 tors for the Church. 
 
 (5) The Theological Seminary. This is the smallest, but 
 not the least important, of the divisions of the educational de- 
 
 * Of these 447 were boarders and icxi day scholars.
 
 456 The American Mission 
 
 partment of the mission. The idea of training young Egyptians 
 for the Lord's work was entertained almost from the beginning 
 of the mission, and plans to carry the idea into practice were 
 formed very early in its history. As I have mentioned, Dr. 
 Lansing, in the first years of his labors in Alexandria, gave 
 special lessons to a promising Syrian in the lines of training for 
 the ministry. February, 1863, the following resolutions were 
 adopted by the presbytery : 
 
 "Whereas, there are now six individuals in full commun- 
 ion with us who desire to study theology, and who are judged 
 by presbytery fit persons to be admitted to that study ; and 
 whereas, the presbytery judges it of great importance that a 
 commencement should be made in this work, and thus a nucleus 
 be formed to which others may come, therefore, 
 
 " Resolved, (i) That the missionaries in Cairo [they 
 were then Messrs. Lansing, Hogg, and Ewing] be directed at 
 once to organize classes and make arrangements for giving 
 lessons in systematic and pastoral theology, and church history. 
 
 " (2) That the teachers in the boys' school who are also 
 members of the Church be encouraged, as far as their present 
 engagements will permit, to attend these lectures, in order the 
 better to prepare them for their duties in the school. 
 
 "(3) That in conducting these exercises reference be 
 also had to the preparation of material for publication, in order 
 to meet the great and increasing demand for a sound Christian 
 literature. 
 
 In consequence of this action, a theological class was for- 
 mally organized in Cairo on September 26, 1864, with eleven 
 members, four of whom vv-ere Coptic priests. Four hours a 
 day were spent with them giving them lessons in Arabic gram- 
 mar, arithmetic, and systematic theology. It can easily be 
 imagined that some of them were not far advanced in knowl- 
 edge when arithmetic was made one of the studies. The fact 
 was that few of them had had any mental training, and it was 
 thought that nothing would be better adapted than arithmetic 
 for training them to think logically. Subsequently these pupils 
 enrolled were employed during vacation at various places, 
 as Alexandria, Asyut, and Cairo, and as it was considered unwise 
 to take them away from such places where they could be usefully 
 employed, so it was ordered (August 15, 1865) that the mis-
 
 '0- ^-. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Arab School.
 
 IN Egypt. 
 
 457 
 
 sionaries at the various stations sliould instruct those students 
 who are at their stations in tlie various branches of theology, and 
 a course for three years' study was prepared for the guidance of 
 the teachers and the tauglit. This led to the division of the 
 students, and instruction was given, both at Asyut, by Dr. 
 Hogg, and in Cairo, by Dr. Lansing, but the classes were sus- 
 pended during their absence, the one in Scotland and the other 
 in America. In 1867 the united class was taught in Asyut by 
 Dr. Hogg. Nine adults and six boys from the school attended. 
 Some of the original eleven were employed elsewhere in evan- 
 gelistic work. Of the seminary in 1868 Dr. Hogg wrote in the 
 report for that year : 
 
 "The seminary was opened on Monday, September 15. 
 Eighteen names were enrolled the first week, and four have 
 since been added to the list. Nineteen of the students are 
 members of the Church, and thirteen of these are very promis- 
 ing young men who would pass creditably — some of them prob- 
 ably with honors — through some of our western seminaries. 
 Sixteen of them lead in prayer by turn in opening and closing 
 the class, and also when called upon at the evening meeting, 
 and they do so with great freedom and propriety. Besides 
 attending the nightly lectures which are open to all, the class 
 meets four hours daily, two and a half hours with the mission- 
 ary and one and a half with the native tutor. A weekly writ- 
 ten examination is conducted in the different branches of study, 
 and each of the thirteen advanced students is required to prepare 
 and deliver at one of the evening meetings a popular sermon, 
 and a lecture during the course of the session. The junior 
 students write their exercises but do not delix'er them. From 
 want of text-books the progress is somewhat slow, the class 
 having to copy the teacher's notes from day toda\-. Thistht-y 
 do out of class hours, and thus they are kept at work all the 
 time." 
 
 The writer was appointed to assist Dr. Hogg the following 
 year in training the theological students. He fulfilled that 
 appointment and took the department of systematic theology, in 
 the order of the Shorter Catechism. During the summer of 1S71 
 the class was in Ramleh, with Rev. Messrs. Lansing and Hogg 
 as professors, the writer being obliged to take a change to S\-ria, 
 on account of a severe attack of ophthalmia. A^iain in Ramleh, 
 in 1872, under the instruction of Dr. Lansing, Dr. Ewing and
 
 458 The American Mission 
 
 the writer ; then during the winter of 1874-75 'the class was in 
 Asyut, under Dr. Hogg and the writer. For a while theological 
 instruction was determined a good deal by circumstances, such 
 as the state of health of the professors, their presence in or 
 absence from the field, the necessities of other departments of 
 the work, and the result of the examination of the theologues. 
 There was not, either, entire accord on the part of the mis- 
 sionaries as to the place for the permanent location of the 
 seminary. During January and February, 1876, eight of the 
 theological students were with Dr. Hogg at Kus, taking lessons 
 in the daytime and aiding in evangelistic work in the evening 
 and Sabbath days; and in the spring of 1879 six of them 
 accompanied him to Ekhmim and were employed in the same 
 way. Subsequently the same plan was followed once in iWinya. 
 Perhaps this was the best thing to be done at the time, on 
 account of the limited number of workers and the great demand 
 of the evangelistic department, but the opportunity for the 
 proper training of young men in the doctrines and principles of 
 the Christian system was comparatively small, and perhaps 
 was one of the reasons why so many of them afterwards were 
 influenced by the Plymouth Brethren vagaries. 
 
 hi 1879 the association made the following division of the 
 branches of study among the professors for the four years of 
 study : 
 
 FIRST YEAR. 
 
 DR. HOGG — Hebrew language. Church history. Introduction to Old Testa- 
 ment, Canon and excursus on difficult passages, Moral science, Elocution and 
 Composition. 
 
 SECOND YEAR. 
 
 DR. HOGG— Hebrew language. Church history', Introduction to Old Testa- 
 ment, Canon and excursus on difficult passages, Evidences, Elocution and Com- 
 position. 
 
 DR. W^ATSON— Natural theology, Systematic theology. 
 
 THIRD YEAR. 
 
 DR. Lansing— Hebrew exegesis, Apologetics, Hermeneutics of Old Testa- 
 ment, Typology. 
 
 Dr. HOGG — Church history, Introduction to New Testament. 
 
 DR. Watson — Systematic theology, Hermeneutics of New Testament, 
 Theism, etc., etc.
 
 IN Egypt. 459 
 
 FOURTH YEAR. 
 
 DR. LANSING— Hebrew exegesis, Hermeneutics of Oi'd Testament, Prophecy, 
 Pastoral office and duties. 
 
 DR. HOGG— Church history. Introduction to New Testament, Muhammad- 
 anism. 
 
 DR. WATSON— Systematic theology, Hermeneutics of New Testament, 
 Church government. 
 
 Subsequently it was arranged tliat the junior class be 
 taught by Dr. Hogg at Asyut, and the senior classes by Drs. 
 Lansing and Watson at Cairo ; and later on some of the studies 
 pursued in the seminary were put into the last year's course in 
 the training college, and the time of attendance at the seminary 
 reduced to three years of seven months each. After Dr. 
 Hogg's death, Dr. Harvey (March lo, 1887) was elected pro- 
 fessor in the seminary in the department of church history, 
 pastoral theology, etc. 
 
 The seminary has now been located in Cairo for several 
 years, and has suitable dormitories and a recitation room. Tlie 
 following are the names of those who have studied at the sem- 
 inary and have been ordained : 
 
 PASTORS. 
 
 1. Rev. Tadros Yusif, Pastor Nakheilah. 
 
 2. Rev. Ibrahim Yusif, Pastor Asvut (died). 
 
 3. Rev. Shenooda Hanna, Pastor Sinoris. 
 
 4. Rev. Girgis Raphail. Pastor Mellawi (Plymouthite). 
 
 5. Rev. Girgis Abeid, Pastor El<hmim (died). 
 
 6. Rev. Iskaros Mass'ood, Pastor Abnub (died). 
 
 7. Rev. Makhail A\aziki, Pastor Jawily. 
 
 8. Rev. Ibrahim Tanvus, Pastor A\utiah. 
 
 9. Rev. Hanna Bashai, Pastor Minya. 
 
 10. Rev. Bishai Maldiail, Pastor Bern' Adi. 
 
 11. Rev. Ghabrail Yusif, Pastor Sinhore. 
 
 12. Rev. Benvamiii Fam, Pastor Abutig. 
 
 13. Rev. Boulus Makhail. Pastor Hore. 
 
 14. Rev. Aweida Abd es-Shahid, Pastor Lu.\or. 
 
 15. Rev. Maawad Hanna, Pastor Asyut. 
 
 16. Rev. Shahata Aweida, Pastor A\ellawi. 
 
 17. Rev. Makhail Takla, Pastor Abu Kerkas. 
 
 18. Rev. S'lwarus Makhail, Pastor Daweir. 
 
 19. Rev. Sawarus Garas. Pastor Suft el-Laben. 
 
 20. Rev. Boulus Abd el-Shahid, Pastor Ekhmim. 
 
 21. Rev. Tadros Hanna, Pastor Suft A\idoom. 
 
 22. Rev. Salih Hanalla. Pastor Haret es-Sakkain. 
 
 23. Rev. Makhail Abadir, Pastor Monsurah. 
 
 21. Rev. Hanna Grace, Pastor Deir Abu Hiunis. 
 
 2-, Rev. Garas Grace, Pastor Meir. 
 
 26 Rev. Butros Dvanirius (om). He has become a Plymouthite.
 
 46o The American Mission 
 
 LICENTIATES. 
 
 Theophiius Girgis, Salih Feltus, 
 
 Tanyus Abd es-Seyyed, Marcus Ghabrus, 
 
 Girgis Hanein, Makar Girgis, 
 
 Tubia Bishai, Mithak Bakhit, 
 
 Bishara Girgis, Butros Hanna, 
 
 Suleiman Tanyus, Matta Makhail. 
 
 Bashai Fam, " Masa'ud Musaad, 
 
 Bastaros Khali!, Mirgus Abeid. 
 
 Gabra Tadros. Ibrahim Girgis, 
 
 Andraus Wasif, Farah Buktor. 
 
 Makhail Salama, Ishac Khalil. 
 Aeed Tadros, 
 
 It has been the writer's duty and pleasure to have a share 
 in the training of all these pastors and licentiates, with the 
 exception of Revs. Tadros Yusif and Ibrahim Yusif, who were 
 disciples of Drs. Lansing, Hogg and Ewing, and in their 
 younger days of Drs. Barnett and McCague.
 
 IN EGYPT. 4O1 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 PRESENT POLITICAL STATUS OF EGYPT. 
 
 The Khedivate— Change of succession— Parties claiming poUtical power- 
 Provinces— Ministry— British control- Debt— Three classes of courts— Agricul- 
 ture— Taxation— Irrigation— Products— Exports— Imports — Education — Railway 
 system— Telegraphs— Postoffice— Influence of British occupation. 
 
 Since our mission began, several important and some great 
 changes have taken place in the governmental status of Egypt, 
 and as some of these have an important bearing on residents, 
 including missionaries, it seems necessary to add a few pages 
 at the end of this history, that the reader ma}' understand the 
 situation at the present time. 
 
 Up to the rule of Ishmael Pasha, the political status of Egypt 
 remained in accordance with the arrangements made with Mu- 
 hammad Ali by the Sultan and the great powers. Egypt con- 
 tinued to be a nominal part of the Turkish empire. A large 
 tribute was paid to Constantinople yearly, certain restrictions 
 on the army and navy remained, the succession to the \'ice- 
 royalty was in favor of the oldest male descendant of Muham- 
 mad Ali. Ishmael Pasha, through a liberal use of money in 
 Constantinople, and with the consent of the powers, secured a 
 change in the succession, so that his oldest son should follow 
 him in the viceroyalty, and tlie title of Khedix'e was substituted 
 for that of viceroy. The extravagance of the first Khedi\'e 
 brought the government of Egypt into the greatest financial 
 straits, and in his trouble the Khedive unwillingly consented to 
 the admission of two Europeans as members of the cabinet, in 
 order to assist in keeping the ship of state afloat. This arrange- 
 ment, as we ha\'e seen, was of short duration, and events soon 
 led to the dismissal of Ishmael and the accession of the kind- 
 hearted Muhammad Tawfik, who accepted the appointment of
 
 462 The American Mission 
 
 an Englishman and a Frenchman under the name of controllers, 
 and they, with the best intentions and with laudable energy 
 and wisdom, began the good work of preventing extravagance, 
 of practicing economy, and honestly collecting taxation. That 
 meant the dismissal of useless clerks and petty officials, careful 
 watching the public treasury, so that nothing but honest pay- 
 ments should be made. This caused a large amount of discon- 
 tent and friction. Then arose and culminated the conflict be- 
 tween the Circassian and Egyptian officers in the army, and the 
 assumption of the latter of the power of removing and appoint- 
 ing the ministers of state, which terminated, as we have seen, 
 in massacres and rebellion, and brought about the British mili- 
 tary expedition under General Wolseley in 1882, and subse- 
 quently the occupation of the country by British troops. Soon 
 after this occupation, the minister of foreign affairs of Great 
 Britain made known to the Egyptian government that in all im- 
 portant political, financial and administrative measures, the 
 opinion of the British representative in Egypt must be respected 
 so long as the country continued to be occupied by British 
 troops. 
 
 There are three parties claiming the exercise of power in 
 the government of Egypt, (i) the Sultan, nominally the suzer- 
 ain, and receiving a tribute of ^3,500,000 yearly, for which 
 Egypt receives nothing in return, but is ever plotting to increase 
 his baneful influence in the Nile valley; (2) the British repre- 
 sentative, with instructions to watch over and direct in general 
 all the important affairs of state; (3) and the native govern- 
 ment, with the Khedive at its head, supposed to act on the prin- 
 ciple of " Egypt for the Egyptians." Add to this the immense 
 power of the representatives of the foreign governments in 
 jealously guarding the rights granted to foreigners under the 
 capitulations, by v^'hich no foreigner can be apprehended with- 
 out the permission of his consul, and, if charged with a criminal 
 offence, can only be judged in accordance with the laws and by 
 a judge of his own country. 
 
 Egypt is divided into fourteen provinces and five mayorali- 
 ties. These latter are Alexandria, Damietta and Suez, Rosetta 
 and Damietta. Over each province there is a governor and
 
 IN EGYPT. 463 
 
 sub-governor, and over each mayorality a mayor. The prov- 
 inces are subdivided according to their size, and a petty official 
 appointed over each division. The Khedive has a minister of 
 interior, exterior, justice, public works, education and finance. 
 These, with the financial adviser, form the cabinet. All are 
 natives except the financial adviser, who is a Britisher. The 
 sub-ministers, who are generally British, do the work and make 
 the plans, and present these to the ministers for approval before 
 being sent to the Khedive for his seal. There is also a parlia- 
 mentary body, but its decisions are only suggestions, which may 
 or may not be adopted by the ministry. Besides the financial 
 adviser there is also an adviser to the ministry of the interior as 
 well, and to the department of justice ; these are subjects of the 
 Queen of England. Under the department of the interior there 
 is the police, with Englishmen over its chief divisions, and the 
 prisons, with an English chief. The railways, telegraphs and 
 customs are administered in the interests of the bondholders by 
 three commissioners, one an Englishman, one a Frenchman, and 
 one a native, the first being president. The total debt of Eg\-pt 
 afthe present time is about $500,000,000, some of which is 
 guaranteed by the railways and certain provinces, some by 
 certain lands, called the daira, or the domains. The total rev- 
 enue is annually about $52,000,000. The interest on the debt 
 is about $18,000,000. The government requires for adminis- 
 trative and other purposes most of the balance. An)' person 
 desiring to know all the details, intricacies and anomalies of 
 Egyptian finance and administration, should secure a copy of 
 "England in Egypt," by Sir Alfred Milner. 
 
 At the present time there are in Egypt three classes of 
 courts. First, the native courts, where judges are native 
 Egyptians (mostly Muslims), with a few Europeans. In these 
 are tried all cases both civil and criminal, arising between native 
 subjects, also criminal cases between a European plaintiff and 
 a native defendant. Second, the mixed tribunals, whose 
 judges are about equally divided between natives and foreign- 
 ers, the foreign judges being provided by the various go\-ern- 
 ments of Europe and the United States of America, and the 
 native judges being appointed by the Eg\'ptian government.
 
 464 The American Mission 
 
 The code according to which decisions are made is practically 
 the Code Napoleon. The cases which are brought before these 
 tribunals are civil cases between persons of different nationali- 
 ties. Third, the consular courts. These hear all civil and 
 criminal cases arising between persons of the same nationality ; 
 i. e., if any civil or criminal case arise between two English- 
 men, it is adjudicated by the British consular court ; if between 
 two Americans by the American consular court. Criminal 
 cases between persons of different nationalities are brought 
 before the consular court of the defendant. 
 
 The inhabitants of Egypt depend almost entirely on agri- 
 culture for their means of support. The number of acres of 
 cultivated land is about 5,000,000. The tax per acre varies 
 from one dollar up to eight dollars, according to the quality of 
 the land, and in some cases, in consequence of special favors 
 granted by former viceroys. The total land tax is about 
 ^25,000,000. As agriculture in Egypt depends not on the 
 rains, but on the artificial distribution of water from the Nile 
 by means of canals, etc., the department of irrigation is one of 
 the most important. Since the British occupation the best 
 scientific and practical measures have been adopted to secure to 
 the fellaheen an equitable distribution of water. Before that 
 time bribery flourished in this department, and the lands of the 
 poor were often destitute of water. The highest praise is due 
 to Sir Colin Scott Moncrieff and his staff of honest men for 
 working out a marvelous reformation to the benefit and delight 
 of the poor peasantry. Here and there still exist the remains 
 of the old system carried on in secret, but the improvement is 
 so great that, in many places where the poor peasant had to 
 pay five dollars an acre to his rich neighbor for water raised by 
 a steam pump, the water is now supplied to him by the govern- 
 ment, and the steam pumps are silent. The agricultural pro- 
 ducts consist of wheat, millet, maize, rice, melons, sugar, hemp, 
 etc. 
 
 From the department of customs it appears that the chief 
 imports are cotton stuffs, coal, provisions, coffee, tobacco, in- 
 digo, hardware, woolen goods, timber, wines, spirits and 
 machinery. The imports in 1896 equalled $45,750,000.
 
 Dr. (u-iint Bex.
 
 IN Egypt. 465 
 
 The exports consist mainly of cotton and cotto:! seed, 
 beans, wlieat, sugar, maize, rice, gums, hides, wool, barley, 
 cigarettes, ivory and ostrich feathers. Exports in 1896 equalled 
 $66,000,000. 
 
 Education is making advancement year by year. The 
 government has in Cairo schools of various kinds, primary, 
 high, technical, military, normal, law, and in the provinces 
 primary and high schools. The entire number of pupils in 
 1896, under the immediate control of the department of public 
 instruction, was 10,749. I^i addition to these the various relig- 
 ious communities have in proportion to tlieir number smaij 
 primary schools, in which are taught reading and writing, as 
 well as the first principles of their religious faiths, while the 
 Catholics of various designations have some higher schools to 
 which many are attracted by means of the facilities for acquir- 
 ing the French language. The Copts have recently been mov- 
 ing also in the matter of education, but it is more from a desire 
 to injure the mission schools than from a desire to teach their 
 children. It often happens they open a school to draw off the 
 boys from ours, and when ours closes soon after theirs is 
 allowed to drop. They have a high school in Cairo in the patri- 
 archate embracing a higher and lower department. They have 
 lately been trying to organize a theological class, but the clergy 
 are opposed to it, and, though greatly needed, it is not likely to 
 succeed unless more union in Coptic councils prevails. 
 
 The railway system has developed rapidly. When the 
 writer came to Egypt there was only the line from Alexandria 
 to Cairo, and from Cairo to Suez. Now, Alexandria, Rosetta, 
 Damietta, Benha, Zakazik, Ismailia, Suez, Port Said, Cairo, 
 Beni Suef, Faiyum, Minya, Asyut, Girga, Kena and Luxor are 
 connected by railways, and soon the system will include 
 Aswan, Wadi Haifa and Beni Hammid, etc. The number of 
 passengers conveyed by the railways in 1896 was 9,854,000. 
 Telegraphic communication extends to all important places in 
 the Nile valley, and follows the army in the Sudan. The post 
 office department is equal to about the best in the world. 
 
 Many Americans ask what 1 think of the British occupation. 
 Theoretically, it may be compared to a man forcibly taking pos- 
 
 30
 
 466 The American Mission 
 
 session of another's house, and, without consulting his wishes, 
 taking upon himself to arrange his furniture and direct his 
 cuisine, and serve to him his meals in what the intruder con- 
 siders a more orderly manner. Of course the owner of the 
 house could not be supposed to show much affection towards the 
 intruder, even though his rooms be better arranged, his furni- 
 ture be better kept, his expenses be considerably less, and his 
 debts gradually being reduced. The fact is, however, that 
 nations can scarcely be compared to families. Egypt, at any 
 rate, is on the highway to important possessions of European 
 governments in the East, and cannot be allowed to get into a 
 state of anarchy, and thus endanger the Suez Canal route. 
 Besides it was abundantly proved that the native Egyptian gov- 
 ernment either could not, or v/ould not, administer its affairs on 
 the principles of justice and economy, but was year by year 
 becoming more despotic, cruel and extravagant, ending in the 
 insubordination of the military, and then the revolution and the 
 occupation. At no time since the occupation could the British 
 have left without danger of an immediate revolution, and they 
 cannot in the future until there is left in the country such a 
 power, civil and military, as can control and direct a people the 
 large majority of whom are moved only by selfish motives and 
 religious fanaticism. Suffice it to say, that though it would be 
 easy to find fault v/ith individual actions, and even with some 
 administrative and corrective measures adopted since the occu- 
 pation, still none but an Anglophobe will deny the great 
 improvement made in the country since 1883 in almost all the 
 departments of state, in spite of the senseless bigotry and stub- 
 born non-possumus of the natives, and the contemptible jeal- 
 ousy, persistent and annoying opposition of some of the great 
 powers. Those of us who know Egypt and Egyptian ways in 
 the reign of Said and Ishmael can appreciate the change of to 
 day. Still a republican from the West cannot help wishing for 
 the time to come when the Egyptians, with an enlightened 
 patriotism and a love of equal liberty and justice for all, will 
 control and direct their own political destinies. If that time 
 ever comes the present occupation will be acknowledged by all 
 truthful writers to have been one of the means for its realiz- 
 ation.
 
 IN tGYPT. 467 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 SPECIAL FRIENDS AND HELPERS. 
 
 The Ladies' Society of Paislev. ScotLand— Students' United Presbvterian Semi- 
 nary at Edinburgh— Maharajah Dhulup Singli— Mr. and Mrs. Peter Mackinnon— 
 Turkish Aid Society— Ludwig Muller, Esq.— Dr. J. S. Grant Bey and Wife. 
 
 While the larger part of the support of the mission has 
 been borne by the United Presbyterian Church in America, 
 others have lent a helping hand, without which the work would 
 not have extended so quickly or so widely in the Nile valley. 
 
 (i) The Ladies' Society of Paisley, Scotland, is deserv- 
 ing of special mention for their help in support of the girls' 
 school in Alexandria, from the beginning of its existence and 
 during many successive years. Their annual grant, sometimes 
 more and sometimes less, and occasionally doubled, was a 
 great encouragement and help, especially as it was always ac- 
 companied with kind and stimulating words. When I first went 
 to Alexandria, in 1861, Rev. John Hogg, before removing to 
 Cairo, informed me that it would be part of my duty to give 
 yearly a report of the girls' school to the ladies in Paisley. On 
 asking him to whom I should address the report he replied, 
 "Address the Rev. G. C. Hutton."* The name called to my 
 memory a young man who acted as teacher in the country 
 school which 1 attended in Perthshire, Scotland, in my youth. 
 Brother Hogg thought he might be the same, so in my first 
 communication I asked if I had the pleasure of corresponding 
 with one who at such a time taught school at such a place, and 
 if so, did he remember the name of a widow called Watson who 
 had then two daughters and a son with her, the other sons 
 having gone to America ? He replied that he was the person, 
 
 * Now Dr. Hutton, principal of the United Presbyterian Theological Hall. Edin- 
 burgh.
 
 468 The American Mission 
 
 and remembered the family well, and made inquiries about 
 each member of the family by name, although at least eighteen 
 years had passed since he saw them. Suffice it to say that I 
 had the pleasure of afterwards meeting him and some of the 
 ladies in Paisley. 
 
 (2) The mission has been greatly indebted also to the 
 students of the United Presbyterian Seminary at Edinburgh for 
 their successful prosecution of at least two schemes for aiding 
 our mission in Egypt. One of these was carried through by 
 the efforts of Dr. Hogg, and the other inaugurated and pushed 
 by his son, the Rev. H. W. Hogg. By these schemes the 
 finances of the mission were increased about $6,000 each time, 
 the amount realized from the second being used for aiding in 
 the erection of small chapels throughout the Nile valley. Many 
 congregations with church buildings have been aided by this 
 fund to the extent of from $200 to 1^400. 
 
 (3) The annual gift of the Maharajah Dhulup Singh, on 
 the anniversary of his marriage with Bamba, amounting to 
 ;^i,ooo ($5,000), was continued during thirteen years, and 
 greatly relieved the treasury of the mission at the time it was 
 first given, and subsequently enabled it to increase its forces 
 and occupy new centers. It had not only a money value to the 
 mission, but we knew that as long as it was continued his 
 highness had an interest in good things, and when it ceased we 
 feared that bad company had had its influence upon him, which 
 we learned afterwards was the case. This, no doubt, led the 
 British government to reject his claims for additional allowances 
 which in turn reacted upon his proud spirit and drove him to 
 apparent rejection of Christianity and re-acceptance of heath- 
 enism, and open opposition to Great Britain, for all of which 
 he was thoroughly sorry afterwards. 
 
 He was subsequently reconciled to her majesty the Queen, 
 and in a brief visit which Dr. Harvey made him in Paris, some 
 months before he died, it was clear he was trusting in the Lord 
 and in His grace for the salvation of his soul. In 1890 he gave 
 the mission two sums of ;!^2,ooo each. One of these sums, at 
 the suggestion of Dr. Lansing, has been set aside as a fund for 
 the education of young men for the ministry.
 
 IN EGYPT. 469 
 
 The Maharanee Bamha died at her own home in 1887, in the 
 humble and strong faith in which she lived. Mrs. S. B. Lan- 
 sing who had been her teacher and life-long friend, was by her 
 bedside when she fell asleep in Jesus. The Maharajah died 
 suddenly in Paris several years later. They left two sons and 
 three daughters. 
 
 (4) None deserve more honorable mention in this con- 
 nection than. Mr. and Mrs. Peter Mackinnon. For many years 
 they have sent an annual gift to the mission, and on several 
 occasions they have donated much larger sums to aid in special 
 work, and notably for the enlargement of the girls' school in 
 Cairo, and a year ago they sent a cheque for ;^i,ooo as a fund 
 the proceeds of which are to be used for the instruction of girls 
 in Cairo. This sum is invested in America, and is called " The 
 Helen Love Mackinnon Fund," in memory of their dearly be- 
 loved and only child, who died of diphtheria in Egypt. These 
 dear Christian friends use in various ways and in an unosten- 
 tatious manner the means God has given them for doing good. 
 Their many acts of kindness and benevolence can only be 
 enumerated by the Saviour whom they devoutly serve. 
 Wherever they travel they are ever ready to lend a helping 
 hand in any good work that Christian people are carrying on. 
 
 (5) We have also been under great obligations to the 
 Turkish Aid Society for encouraging words and annual contribu- 
 tions, discontinued only during the past two years. 
 
 (6) We are very grateful to our banker, Ludwig Muller, 
 Esq., for many acts of kindness. The facilities he has afforded 
 us in times of need have been of great assistance to the mis- 
 sion, and highly appreciated by all the missionaries, while the 
 friendly intercourse we have had with him and his estimable 
 family is one of the pleasant incidents of our life in Egypt. 
 
 (7) Of personal friends interested in our welfare and our 
 work, none come to our mind sooner than Dr. J. S. Grant Bey, 
 and both his first and second wife. No year ever passed, from 
 1865 until his death in 1896, without our being under obliga- 
 tions to him for professional and material help. His constant 
 attendance at our English services during all these years, and 
 the intimate social relations existing between us as Christians
 
 470 The American Mission 
 
 of the same faith, made his death a special loss to the mission, 
 as, indeed, it has left a blank in Christian circles in Cairo which 
 I fear will not soon be filled. 
 
 Many others might be mentioned did space permit. It is 
 pleasant to note that many passing travelers have spontaneously 
 contributed in aid of the mission, not only those whose ecclesi- 
 astical forms resemble our own, but not a few from the evan- 
 gelical party of the Episcopal Church have encouraged us with 
 kind words and generous contributions, proving that there is a 
 bond stronger than that of outward forms binding Christians to 
 one another.
 
 IN HGYPT. 471 
 
 Appendix. 
 
 NECROLOGY OF THE MISSION. 
 
 Rev. James Barnett, D. D., was the son of Samuel and 
 Mary (Mitchell) Barnett, and was born in Hanover, Dauphin 
 county, Pennsylvania, June 16, 1817. His parents removed 
 to Ohio when their son James was one year old, and con- 
 nected with the Associate Reformed church of Mt. Pleasant, 
 Butler county, of which Rev. S. P. Magaw was pastor. In 
 this congregation James Barnett professed his faith in Christ on 
 April 6, 1836. He pursued his literary studies at Miami Univer- 
 sity, Oxford, Ohio, and was graduated there in 1839. He 
 studied theology at the Associate Reformed Seminary at Ox- 
 ford, attending that institution :^our terms under the Rev. Joseph 
 Claybaugh, D. D. He was licensed to preach the Gospel by 
 the first presbytery of Ohio, April, 1842. He traveled over three 
 thousand miles in Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa in a tour of mis- 
 sionary prospecting. He was chosen missionary to Syria by 
 the General Synod of the Associate Reformed Church at its 
 meeting in the spring of 1844, was ordained by his presbytery 
 July 23 of the same year, and sailed from America in January, 
 
 1845, landing at Beirut, Syria, on February 18, 1845. After 
 some time spent in the study of the language and prospecting 
 the country, he settled down for mission work in Damascus in 
 
 1846. In December, 1854, he removed to Egypt and with Rev. 
 Thomas McCague, D. D., founded the American Mission in 
 Cairo. He returned to America in 1861 and spent nearly
 
 472 The American Mission 
 
 four years among the churches deepening the interest in 
 mission work. In 1863 he received the degree of Doctor of Di- 
 vinity from Monmouth College. On June 20, 1865, he was mar- 
 ried to Miss Margaret L. Duff, daughter of Rev. J. Duff, and with 
 her returned to Egypt in the autumn of 1 865 . With the exception 
 of several months in Asyut, in 1866, he spent the rest of his 
 missionary life in Cairo, Egypt. He remained in the mission 
 till 1875, when, on account of ill health in his family, he with- 
 drew from the mission and returned to America, and took up 
 his residence in Emporia, Kansas, and as opportunity offered 
 and health permitted, he engaged in home mission work until 
 his death, on October 2, 1884, from cystitis. He left a widow, 
 two sons and four daughters to mourn his loss. During his 
 foreign mission career he made several tours through the Holy 
 Land, one trip to Tadmar and one to Sinai. He wrote fre- 
 quently for the Church papers on religious and missionary sub- 
 jects. He left an extensive diary and a large number of personal 
 manuscripts. He was a man of extensive reading, of more than 
 ordinary intelligence, retiring disposition, unflinching adherence 
 to what he considered truth, and indomitable perseverance and 
 persistency. Though his pronunciation of the Arabic language 
 was not the best, nor his knowledge of that language very ex- 
 tensive, his sermons and addresses were full of profitable mat- 
 ter, and much appreciated. He was faithful in visiting the sick, 
 and kind to the poor. In conversation he was interesting, as 
 his love of reading and travels through the East had enabled 
 him to store up in his mind valuable information. Unconcerned 
 about his own personal comfort, and deeply interested in the 
 extension of the Redeemer's kingdom and the salvation of souls, 
 he was well qualified to be a pioneer missionary in the foreign 
 field. 
 
 REV. Ebenezer Currie was born at Massie's Creek, 
 Greene county, Ohio, February 10, 1834; united with the 
 Church when he was fifteen years old ; was graduated at Miami 
 1861, and studied theology at Xenia, Ohio ; was licensed June 
 24, 1862, by Xenia Presbytery, and ordained October 8, 1863, 
 by the same ; accepted an appointment as missionary to Egypt, 
 and sailed with his wife for that field on March 4, 1865, and
 
 IN Egypt. 473 
 
 arrived in Alexandria a month later. He was located in Alex- 
 andria for a time, and after the death of his wife he spent a few 
 months in Asyut. His missionary career, however, was con- 
 nected for the most part with Kus, where he spent several years, 
 and was held in high esteem and affection by the people. He 
 died in Alexandria, October 18, 1869, of Syrian fever, contracted 
 while taking a short vacation in Palestine. He was a man of 
 marked piety, of retiring disposition, of strong sympathy with 
 the persecuted and the suffering, of high consecration to the 
 work of Christ, of a meek and quiet spirit, and yet full of zeal 
 in behalf of truth and right. On one occasion he was on his 
 way up the Nile, and his boat tied up for an hour or two where 
 there were other boats. While sitting on the deck, he noticed 
 the captain of another boat tying a slave girl to the mast and 
 commencing to beat her on her bare body with a stick. His 
 holy ire was aroused at the sight, and he bounded across the 
 boat that lay between them, and with closed fist felled the cap- 
 tain to the deck, and then made him rise and untie the girl. 
 The man, afraid and amazed, instantly obeyed. No one who 
 was acquainted with Brother Currie in his usual circumstances 
 could have imagined that he would do such a thing, he was so 
 humble, peaceful and meek. Does not this act remind us of 
 Him who was meek and lowly in heart, and yet with holy zeal 
 drove out of the sacred enclosure those whose avarice had con- 
 verted the house of prayer into a den of thieves ? Dr. Scouller 
 fittingly says of him : " Nature, culture and grace had specially 
 fitted him for the missionary work." 
 
 Mrs. Nettie Currie, daughter of Walter and Ann Parry, 
 was born March 20, 1837, five miles east of Xenia, Ohio ; united 
 with the Church of Cedarville in 1853; was married to Rev. 
 Ebenezer Currie on July 8, 1863, and accompanied him to Egypt 
 in 1865. She died at Alexandria, March 6, 1866, leaving a de- 
 voted husband and a sweet babe a few days old. She was 
 lively, zealous, intelligent, bright, deeply pious, a woman who 
 was adored by her husband, beloved by all, with bright pros- 
 pects of usefulness. 
 
 Miss S. B. Dales was the daughter of Hugh and Margaret 
 Dales, was born July 20, 1820, near Moscow, Livingston county,
 
 474 The American Mission 
 
 New York ; united with the Associate Reformed Church in 
 Philadelphia 1842, and sailed for the Damascus mission, Syria, 
 September 30, 1854. For a time she was successfully engaged 
 in a girls' school in that ancient city, and then removed to 
 Egypt, reaching Alexandria on May 28, 1858. Here she con- 
 ducted with great success a girls' school, the pupils of which 
 were mostly Jewesses, until the autumn of 1861, when she was 
 transferred to Cairo and worked efificiently among the girls and 
 women of that city for many years. She became the second 
 wife of Rev. Dr. Lansing in 1867, and continued to take a deep 
 interest in the mission work up to her death on November 26, 
 1889. She was a woman of fine mind, warm heart, an inter- 
 esting v/riter, of great zeal in the service of her Saviour and in 
 the work of saving souls. 
 
 Miss Mary E . Galloway was the daughter of Rev. 
 Jonathan Galloway of the Associate Reformed Church of the 
 South; was educated at Due West, S. C; sailed for Egypt 
 under appointment of the Associate Reformed Synod of the 
 South, but to work in union with the United Presbyterian mis- 
 sion ; was located in Monsurah until her marriage with Rev. 
 John Giffen, in 1876; then for a short time she lived in Alex- 
 andria and removed with her husband to Asyut where she took 
 an active share in the mission work until her death, in Cairo, 
 on October 16, 188 1. She was a woman of more than ordinary 
 talent, vivacious, zealous, ever active in the work to which she 
 had consecrated her life. 
 
 Miss Sarah Hart was the youngest of five children born 
 to Jewish parents in Hull, England. Her birth was in 1832. 
 She became a Christian principally through the influence of her 
 sister who had embraced Christianity, and who was earnest 
 and zealous in making known to her friends the only way of 
 salvation through Jesus Christ. Her youngest sister, Sarah, 
 was the only one of the family who gave evidence of being im- 
 pressed by her teaching, and she, after encountering many 
 difificulties, was baptized on June 7, 1857, by the Rev. John 
 Dick, of the Church of England, in Hull. She was immedi- 
 ately turned out of home by the mother, bat through friends 
 she obtained a situation as governess in England, and after-
 
 IN Egypt. 
 
 475 
 
 wards went out to Egypt in connection with a mission to the 
 Jews carried on by Mr. Reichart. While laboring in the work 
 she became acquainted with the American missionaries in 
 Cairo and joined them in April, 1861. She remained in this 
 connection faithful and earnest in her work in the schools and 
 the houses of the people until June 28, 1869, when she was 
 burned to death by the explosion of kerosene oil. She was a 
 woman of earnest piety, of good mental ability, of intelligent 
 activity in her work, and a humble follower of the Messiah 
 whom she loved. 
 
 Rev. John Hogg, D. D., was born April 30, 1833, at 
 Gladsmuir, Haddingtonshire, Scotland, and united with the 
 church at fifteen years of age; was graduated at the Edinburgh 
 University in 1853 ; studied theology in the United Presbyter- 
 ian Hall until 1856, when he went out under a Scottish society 
 to open a school for boys in Alexandria, Egypt; returned to 
 Scotland in 1859 and finished his theological course and was 
 licensed in November, 1859, by the United Presbyterian Pres- 
 bytery of Edinburgh ; accepted an appointment as missionary 
 of the United Presbyterian Church of North America, and re- 
 turned to Alexandria and Cairo for some years. But the field 
 of his active and successful labors was the upper country with 
 Asyut as a center. While living he had a large share in every 
 department of the mission work. Through his energy and 
 tact were laid broad and deep the foundation of primary and 
 higher education in upper Egypt, and the work of evangelization 
 was pushed forward by him with the utmost energy. He left 
 many unpublished manuscripts, a list of which may be found 
 in Dr. Scouller's Manual. He died on February 27, 1886, re- 
 spected by all, beloved by thousands. I have spoken of his 
 character at length in Chapter XXVI. 
 
 Dr. D. R. Johnston, the son of Rev. J. B. Johnston, 
 D. D., was born in Northwood, C, August 21, 1S42 ; was 
 educated at Geneva College ; was the first of his communit>' 
 to volunteer for the maintenance of the Union in Company K., 
 of the 17th Ohio regiment. After the war he studied medicine 
 and graduated at Rush Medical College, Chicago ; was married 
 to Miss Margaret Stewart, and went to Egypt as a medical
 
 476 The American Mission 
 
 missionary in 1868. He was located in Asyut, took a lively 
 interest in the training of young men, and was elected the first 
 president of Asyut College, but went to America the same year 
 and never returned. He spent some years in Mansfield as 
 druggist and physician, and then removed to Aledo, III., and 
 pursued the same profession. He took a deep interest in re- 
 ligious and church affairs and was a member of the school board 
 of Aledo, and a member of the senate of Monmouth College for 
 years before his death. He died trusting in the Saviour, on 
 February 20, 1897, leaving a widow and a son, as well as other 
 relatives to mourn his loss. 
 
 Rev. G. Lansing, D. D., was born on February i, 1825, 
 at Lishaskill, Albany county, N. Y., was graduated at Union 
 College in 1848 and studied theology at Newburgh, N. Y., was 
 licensed May 22, 1850, by the presbytery of New York, and 
 having accepted an appointment as missionary to Syria by the 
 Synod of New York, was ordained August 7, 1850, and sailed 
 on the 12th of the following December ; continued as mission- 
 ary in Damascus until his removal to Egypt 'in 1856, and re- 
 mained in connection with the American mission until his death 
 on September 12, 1892. He was located first at Alexandria, 
 but removed to Cairo in the autumn of 1861, and remained at 
 that station to the end of his life. He was one of the chief fac- 
 tors in the mission whether as preacher, professor, writer, 
 counselor, as will be seen by any reader of this history. The 
 central premises of the mission in Cairo are a monument of his 
 faith and his works, for though others shared in the collection 
 of the funds and in the erection of the building, no one will 
 deny that the plan was his conception, and to his tact and perse- 
 verance we are indebted to securing its completion. His letters 
 in the Church papers and in the monthlies and quarterlies were 
 always interesting and profitable. I have written at length 
 about him when speaking of his death in Chapter XXIII. His 
 mortal remains lie in the American cemetery at Old Cairo, 
 waiting by the side of his co-laborers for the resurrection 
 morn. 
 
 Mrs. Maria Oliver Lansing, first wife of Rev. Guiian 
 Lansing, D. D., was born at Lishaskill, Albany county, New 
 York ; was married to Dr. Lansing in August, 1850, and sailed
 
 IN Egypt. 
 
 477 
 
 with him on December 12, 1850, for Syria ; removed to Egypt 
 in 1856, and died of cholera in Cairo, July 5, 1865. Her 
 youngest son, Vischer, died the same day, and was buried in 
 the same grave. She left three other sons with her bereaved 
 husband. She was a dutiful wife, a devoted mother, a humble, 
 quiet, and unpretentious woman, and a meek and lowly Christ- 
 ian, performing all the duties of her different relations in life 
 with faithfulness and profit. Much beloved by all her friends, 
 and especially so by those who were made orphans by the ter- 
 rible massacre in Damascus in the year i860, and to some of 
 whom she opened her home and cared for them with a motherly 
 love, and some of whom became afterwards useful laborers in 
 the mission service. 
 
 Elmer Ellsworth Lansing, son of the Rev. Dr. Gulian 
 and Maria Oliver Lansing, was born m Cairo, Egypt, on the i6th 
 of August, 1861. He came to this country in 1873. After en- 
 joying the benefit of a common school at Lishaskill, New York, 
 he attended the classical institute at Schenectady, and subse- 
 quently completed a course of study at the Troy (New York) 
 academy. In 1881 he entered the Albany Medical College, and 
 graduated from that institution in March, 1884. About the year 
 1876 he made a profession of faith in Christ and united with 
 the Reformed (Dutch) Church in Lishaskill. Soon after com- 
 pleting his medical studies, he accepted an appointment by the 
 Board of Foreign Missions of the United Presbyterian Church 
 as a medical missionary to Eg\'pt. On the 20th of March, 
 1884, he was united in marriage with Miss Hattie E. Arnold, of 
 West Troy, New York, and on the i6th of April following they 
 iailed from Philadelphia for the mission to which they had been 
 appointed. For a time they were engaged in the medical work 
 in connection with the mission. In 1888 Dr. Lansing ceased to 
 labor especially as a medical missionary, but continued the prac- 
 tice of his profession in the city of Cairo. He died on the ist 
 of June, 1893, ^^'1^''^ returning from Kosair. and his body was 
 laid to rest in the cemeterx' near Kus. 
 
 Miss M. G. LOCKHART was born in New York City, Sep- 
 tember 19, 1852, united with the Church at Andes, New York, 
 when only thirteen years of age ; was educated at the college
 
 478 The American Mission 
 
 institute of Andes ; accepted an appointment as missionary to 
 Egypt and sailed for tiiat field September 26, 1874 ; labored for 
 the most part in the school at Asyut and returned broken down 
 in health in 1878 and resided with her mother at Barboursville, 
 Virginia, until her death, June 6, 1882. She had a delicate con- 
 stitution, was cultured and retiring in her manner, made con- 
 siderable progress in the language, and was beginning to be 
 useful in mission work when she was compelled by ill health to 
 leave the field. " God's ways are in the deep." 
 
 Rev. a. M. Nichol was born March 13, 1846, near Fair- 
 view, Belmont county, Ohio, was graduated at Monmouth in 
 187 1 ; studied theology at Allegheny and Monmouth ; was 
 licensed April 15, 1873, by Rock Island presbytery, and being 
 appointed to the foreign field was ordained by the same. He 
 sailed for Egypt, April 18, 1874, and remained in Asyut for a 
 short time, and then was located in Monsurah until, on account 
 of ill health he was compelled to return to America, where he 
 died on July 20, 1887. On account of bodily weakness, he was 
 not able for vigorous work, but did what he could in the mis- 
 sion field to testify to the Saviour's love and invite sinners to 
 trust Him for salvation. 
 
 Mrs. Laura Katharine Nichol was born in the city of 
 Pittsburg, on the 3d of January, 1865. Ker parents were Simon 
 and Joanna Herget. They were identified with a German 
 Evangelical Church in Allegheny City, the minister of which, 
 the Rev. Mr. Lehman, baptized Laura. Her parents removing 
 to Allegheny, she attended the ward school, and subsequently 
 taught in the public school of the same ward. When quite 
 young she attended the Sabbatli school of the Second United 
 Presbyterian church, and subsequently, at an early age, en- 
 tered that church by a profession of her faith, under the minis- 
 try of the Rev. Dr. W. H. McMillan. On the 12th of Septem- 
 ber, 1889, she was united in marriage with the Rev. William 
 M. Nichol, and having accepted an appointment of the Board of 
 Foreign Missions to the field in Egypt, they sailed from New 
 York on the i6th of October, for their life work in the valley of 
 the Nile. Arriving in due time, they together entered upon the 
 study of the language. Mrs. Nichol was welcomed by all in the 
 mission, but was only beginning to entwine herself in their
 
 IN Egypt. 
 
 479 
 
 affections when the Saviour called her to a higher sphere. She 
 died on the 17th of August, 1890, greatly lamented not only by 
 her devoted husband, but by all in the mission. 
 
 Mrs. GEMELLA Strang was born near Pulaski, Lawrence 
 county, Pennsylvania, January 26, 1836. Her parents were 
 Hugh and Diodena Cotton. In her early life she attended the 
 Neshannock Presbyterian Church, near New Wilmington, Pa. 
 When about eighteen years of age, she made a profession of 
 faith and united with the Free Presbyterian Church, under the 
 pastoral care of the Rev. Wells Bushnell. At the age of twelve 
 she believed herself to be a child of God, and wished to join the 
 Church. She was dissuaded from this by friends, who thought 
 it better for her to delay for a time. Her heart was certainly 
 much occupied with religious things in her early life, and her 
 mind had sometimes been directed to the great subject of mis- 
 sions. Later she spent some time in Westminster College. On 
 the 4th of July, 1861, she was united in marriage with Mr. 
 David Strang. He was for a time in the Union army, and was 
 severely wounded in one of the battles. Mrs. Strang, with 
 heroic devotion, found him and waited upon him in the hospital 
 in Philadelphia. After the war Mr. Strang was appointed a lay 
 missionary to Egypt, to have charge specially of press work in 
 the mission. Mrs. Strang gladly went with him to his field of 
 labor, in 1866. They both became proficient in the Arabic 
 language. In 1876 they retired from the work, and spent some 
 nineteen years in charge of a congregation at Lincoln, Tennessee, 
 Mr. Strang having entered the Gospel ministry. In the provi- 
 dence of God, he was led to return to Egypt in 1895, because 
 of the illness of a beloved son. Mrs. Strang followed her hus- 
 band and son to Egypt, on account of the son's continued ill- 
 ness. She arrived too late. Her son had been laid in the grave 
 ere she reached the country. In just one year from the date of 
 her arrival, she died of cholera, which was then epidemic in the 
 country. Her death occurred on the 6th of September, 1896. 
 The mother is buried at Alexandria, her son at Cairo. 
 
 Mrs. Strang was a noble woman. The whole mission and 
 many who knew her in this country mourned sincerely when 
 she was removed by death.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Abbas Pasha, 36, 80. 
 
 Aberdeen, Lord, 119. 125, 310, 365. 
 
 Abyssinia, 13, 22, 31, 32, 55. 
 
 Agriculture, 464. 
 
 Ahmed Fahmy, 305. 310. 
 
 Alexander, J. R. (and ^Ivs.), 303, 
 318, 339, 368, 377, 387, 426, 450, 
 451, 452. 
 
 Alexandria, 12, 15, 20, 86, 92, 93, 
 94, 98, 102, 103, 105, 106, 108, 115. 
 122, 135, 137. 138, 151, 152, 161, 
 162, 173, 175. 183. 184. 185, 194, 
 196. 237, 239, 261, 263, 273, 277, 
 280, 284, 285. 303, 304, 339, 344-347, 
 354. 368. 387. 424, 430. 438, 440, 
 456. 
 
 American Bible Society, 430, 431. 
 
 "American ^Iission in Egypt," i, 
 
 American ^Mission : founded, 61- 
 71; first missionary. 70; first mis- 
 sion house, 73 ; first English ser- 
 vice, 74; first Arabic service. 74; 
 early experiences, 75. 76 ; rebellion. 
 79 ; general unrest, 80 ; first school, 
 81 ; insincere inquirers, 81-83 ; end 
 of first year, 83; the year 1856, 84; 
 house in Haret-es-Sakkain, 85; 
 Dr. Lansing arrives, 86 ; work in 
 Alexandria. 86; the year 1857, 87; 
 Dr. Lansing's ill-health, 87; ^Nlr. 
 McCague preaches, 87; Mr. Har- 
 nett's illness, 88; driven out by 
 fleas, 88; a conference with Copts, 
 89; Faiyum visited, 90; the first 
 death, 90; missionary movements, 
 91 ; division of forces in Cairo, 91 ; 
 Alexandria occupied, 92; first ser- 
 vice in A., 92 ; earlier missionary 
 work in A., 93 ; the year 1858, 97 ; 
 occupation of Asyut, 97, 98; 
 Alex, girls' school, 98; boys' 
 school. 99; services in Cairo, 100; 
 interesting inquirers, loo; a 
 monk's conversion, 101-103; ill- 
 ness, 103; political unrest, 103- 
 107; the year 1859, 107; illness, 
 107; conference, 108; building 
 fund. 109; medical needs, 109; 
 Coptic opposition, no; first con- 
 verts and communion, no; ship- 
 wreck, III; the year 1S60. in; 
 presbytery organized, 112; illness, 
 
 113; school work, 114, 115; first 
 communion in Alexandria, 115; 
 among Syrians, no; in the gal- 
 leys, 117; a notable communioo, 
 118; first Nile boat, nS: Lord 
 Aberdeen, 119; Rev. S. Lyde. 120; 
 the year 1861, 122 ; lack of work- 
 ers. 123 ; girls' schools, 124 ; Mr, 
 ^McCague leaves E., 124; extension 
 of work, 125; Nile boat work, 126; 
 persecution of Faris, 127-133; 
 school in Asyut, 135 ; the year 
 1862, 137 ; work among Jews, 137 ; 
 mission premises, 138; consequent 
 success, 139 ; Nile boat work, 141 ; 
 conditions in Upper Egypt. 142 ; 
 work in Asyut, 145 ; Fam Stepha- 
 nos, 146-148; the year 1863, 149; 
 lack of funds, 150; Muslim unrest, 
 151; Dr. Dales' visit. 155; first na- 
 tive congregation, 156; theological 
 seminar}', 156; conversion of 
 Bamba, 159; the year 1864, 
 161 ; Bamba and the ^L^harajah, 
 163-172; the year 1865. 175; 
 work at Asyut. 176: Muslim 
 unrest, 178; among Copts, 180; 
 weariness and illness, 181 ; cholera, 
 182-184; Asyut. 185; occupying 
 Faiyum, 186; Coptic opposition, 
 187; the year 1866, 189; Mrs. Cur- 
 rie's death, 190; work at .\syut, 
 192 ; the year 1S67, 196 ; training 
 natives, 197; a campaign of perse- 
 cution, 199-21 1 ; the persecution of 
 Fam. 212-224; persecution of 
 school boys. 225-231 ; case of Bish- 
 ctly, 232-234 ; results of persecu- 
 tion, 235 ; the year 1868, 239 ; fur- 
 ther persecution. 241 : communion, 
 242 ; Athanasius contends with 
 Copts. 246-257; a liberal bishop, 
 257 ; large accessions. 259 ; Moosa, 
 a Muslim convert, 260; the year 
 1869. 262 ; colporteur work, 262 ; 
 deciding by lot, 263; Mon- 
 surah, 264 ; no sin to steal, 
 265 ; tragic death of Miss 
 Hart. 266 : iconoclasm. 269 ; chang- 
 ing market day. 272; Mr. Currie's 
 death, 277; the years 1870-1875. 
 279; Egyptian Missionar>- Asso-
 
 482 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 elation organized, 281 ; a ^Muslim 
 slave convert, 285; Dr. Barnett's 
 retirement, 286 ; sale of Cairo 
 property, 287-291 ; Asyut church 
 dedicated, 293 ; another congrega- 
 tion organized, 295 ; a model pas- 
 tor, 296; slave holding, 297; night 
 meetings, 298; Coptic opposition, 
 299 ; medical v^^ork, 300 ; the years 
 1875-1880, 302; missionaries, 303; 
 case of Ahmed Fahmy, 305 ; new 
 Cairo premises, 311; new ceme- 
 tery at Cairo, 314; new places oc- 
 cupied, 317; Wm. Harvey on the 
 Nile, 319; at Kossair, 323; the 
 years 1875-1880, 327; head of Prot- 
 estant sect, z^"! ; religious liberty, 
 328-332; a political drama. 333- 
 ZZT, the years 1880-1885, 338; mis- 
 sionary staff, 339; death of Mrs. 
 M. K. Giffen, 339; the Arabi rebel- 
 lion, 340; itinerating, 352; the 
 cholera, 353 ; visit of commission- 
 ers, 355; Plymouthism, 357-359; 
 interest among Muslims, 360; a 
 convert and his fall, 361-363; 
 work on Nile, 363 ; death of prom- 
 inent members, 364; the years 
 1885-1890, 367; missionary staff, 
 367 ; events in Sudan, 369 ; prog- 
 ress, 371 ; death of Dr. Hogg, 372 ; 
 reinforcements, zyi \ new organi- 
 zations, 378; visit of Dr. Mc- 
 Cague, 379 ; Nile boat work, 379 ; 
 English services at Cairo, 381 ; 
 Mrs. Lansing's death, 383 ; the 
 years 1890-1895, 386; missionary 
 staff, 387; Nile boat work, 388; re- 
 ligious newspaper, 392 ; buildings, 
 395 ; death of Fam Stephanos, 395 ; 
 death of Mrs. Nichol, 390; death 
 of Gulian Lansing, 397-401 ; Dr. J. 
 B. Dales, 401 ; Martha J. Mc- 
 Kown. 402; the years 1895-1896, 
 403 ; political unrest, 403 ; cholera, 
 404; Mrs. Strang's death, 405; the 
 year 1897, 406; other missions, 
 407 ; Missionary Organization : 
 workers under presbytery, 408; 
 pastors, 409; licentiates, 410; 
 workers under Missionary Asso- 
 ciation, 411; church members, 411- 
 419 ; foreign missionaries, 420- 
 426 ; Book Department, 427-433 ; 
 Sabbath schools. 434; Zenana 
 Work. 435; Educational Work, 
 442-460; Present Political Status, 
 
 461 ; Conditions, 464 ; Helpers, 
 467-470; Necrology, 471. 
 
 Anshalian, Rev. G., yjl, 404- 
 
 Antes, John, 23-28. 
 
 Arabi, 340-3S2. 
 
 Arabic, see Language. 
 
 Armenians, 59, 103, 377, 403, 404. 
 
 AsHENHURST, J. O. (and Mrs.), 
 368, 387, 388, 389, 390, 403, 449. 
 
 Association, early meeting, 118; or- 
 ganized, 281 ; constitution of, 281 ; 
 meetings, 284, 408, 411. 
 
 Asyut, 88, 119, 128, 129, 133, 134, 
 140, 144, 175, 176, 177, 178, 180, 
 181, 182, 185. 186, 188, 190, 192, 
 195, 196, 198, 201, 202, 203, 204, 
 206, 225, 228, 231, 23s, 236, 238, 
 239, 242, 243, 244. 257. 258, 259, 
 263, 267-273, 280, 281, 293, 298, 300, 
 303, 2,^(>, 317. 319, 339, 353, 354, 
 358. 364, 2,^^, 368, 376, 387, 390, 
 395, 424, 430, 434, 438, 439, 445. 
 446, 450, 454, 456. 
 
 Athanasius, 14. 
 
 Aw AD Salih, 287. 
 
 Babylon, of i Pet., 12. 
 Bamba, see Muller. 
 
 B ARARAT, 116. 
 
 Barnett, Jas. (and Mrs.), 34, 36, 38, 
 61 62, 69, 70, 71. 74, 75, -JT, 82, 83, 
 84, 86, 87, 88, 91, 92, 96, 97, loi, 
 102, 103, 107, 109, 112, 114, 121, 
 122, 124, 138, 161, 186, 187, 189, 
 190, 192, 196, 238, 239, 260, 262, 
 263, 265, 267, 280, 286, 288, 294, 
 428, 442, 444, 471, 472. 
 
 Barr, W. W., 355, 356. 
 
 Beneficence, see Financial. 
 
 Benha, 388, 424, 430. 
 
 Beni SuEF. 140, 142, 181. 
 
 Bible, see Book Department. 
 
 Bible Societies, 431. 
 
 Bishetly case, 231-234. 
 
 Boarding Schools, 445, see Educa- 
 tional. 
 
 Book Department, 85. 92, 108, 118, 
 119. 123, 124, 126, 138, 148, 157, 
 158, 159, 163, 187, 188, 235, 246, 
 262, 267, 280, 299, 304, 392, 427- 
 
 433- 
 British, see Great Britain. 
 British and Foreign Bible Society, 
 
 102, 107, 430. 
 Brown, A. A., 368, 387, 445. 449. 
 Brown, Grace, 388, 426. 
 Buchanan, C. M., 388, 426, 450.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 453 
 
 Buildings, 73, 109, 138, 139, 162, 191, 
 287, 310, 3i4> 394- 
 
 Cairo, 21, 32, 38, 61, 63, 64, 69, 71, 
 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 80, 81, 84, 85, 87, 
 90, 91, 96, 97, 99, 100, loi, 102, 103, 
 105, 106, 108, 109. no. 113-118, 121, 
 124, 125, 135, 137, 138, 139, 152, 
 156, 159, 160, 161, 162, 173, 175, 
 181, 185, 189, 192, 193, 196, 199, 
 200, 235, 237, 238, 239, 245, 246, 
 249, 258, 260, 263, 265, 280, 284, 
 286, 287, 289, 290, 291, 298, 302, 
 304, 305, 311-314, 31S, 339, 347, 
 352, 354 368, 381, 387, 391, 394, 
 403, 430, 438, 445, 456. 
 
 Campbell. T. M., 280, 303, 444. 
 
 Carson, R. E., 403, 426. 
 
 Cemetery, 314. 
 
 Central Schools, 443, see Educa- 
 tional. 
 
 Cholera, 76, 77, 175, 182, 184, 354, 
 404. 
 
 Christianity of first centuries, 11 ; 
 its histor}% 12-18; defection, 15, 
 see Coptic, American IMission, 
 Missionary. 
 
 Church ^Missionary Society, 31-34, 
 72. 72, 407. 
 
 Climate, 62, 273; sandstorms, 88; 
 see Cholera, Illness, Murrain. 
 
 College, 450, see Educational. 
 
 Colporteur, see Book Department. 
 
 Commissioners. Visit of. 155, 355. 
 
 Communion, first, no, 115, 118. 242. 
 
 Conditions, in 1854 as to govern- 
 ment, 36-38, 63; religious, 39, 40, 
 59 ; climate, 62 ; in Upper Egypt, 
 142, 176, 245 ; in Protestant com- 
 munities. 414-419; in Egypt. 464; 
 see Government, Muhammedan, 
 Coptic. 
 
 Congregations, 156, 194, 240, 281, 
 293, 294, 378. 
 
 Connor, H. M., 339, 347, 368, 387, 
 440. 
 
 Contents, Table of, 5. 
 
 Contributions, see Financial. 
 
 Coptic Church, tradition as to 
 founding, 12-14; defection. 15; 
 IMuslim invasion. 16 ; ^Muslim per- 
 secution, 17; ecclesiastical system, 
 55; Patriarch, 55: bishops. 56; 
 priests. 56; convents, 56,^; doctrines 
 and practices, 56-58; ignorance of, 
 59 : Coptic Catholics. 59 : condi- 
 tion of, 20, 31, 54. loo-ioi. 123, 244, 
 
 253, 265 ; opposition to mission, 
 no, 139, 153-154. 180, 187, 188, 191, 
 240, 244, 247, 268, 292. 293. 299, 
 326-332; persecution of mission 
 converts, 199-238; pictures in. 269; 
 deception by. 157-158; need of gos- 
 pel, 360, 412 ; influence of mission 
 on, 391, 413; reform movements, 
 391. 
 
 Copts, features of, 54; customs, 54. 
 See Coptic Church doctrines and 
 practices. 
 
 Courts, 465. see Government. 
 
 Crawford, John, 91. 
 
 Cl-rrie, E. (and Mrs.), 175, 185, 186, 
 187, 189, 190, 192, 194, 196, 197, 
 198. 209, 210, 213, 221. 239. 241, 
 242, 263, 272,, 277, 293, 472, 473. 
 
 Dales, J. B., 67, 155, 401, 402. 
 
 Dales, Sarah B., 67, 98. 104. 107, 
 112, 114, 122, 124. 135, 137. 161, 
 162, 175, 187, 189; is married to 
 Dr. Lansing, 193, 195, 222, 298, 
 383. 434, 438, 444. 445, 473, 474. 
 
 Deaths, 90. 190, 266, 339, 364, 272, 
 
 383, 471- 
 
 Departments of Work : see Evan- 
 gelistic, Educational. Medical, 
 Congregations, Book. Woman. 
 
 Dickey, C. B., 403, 426. 
 
 Difficulties, 81-83, 150. 274; see 
 Persecution. Climate. Illness. Gov- 
 ernment. Coptic, Muhammedan, 
 Plymoulhism. 
 
 Districts, see Alexandria, Asyut, 
 Benha, Beni-Suef, Cairo, Faiyum, 
 Luxor, Monsurah, Tanta, Zakazik. 
 
 Ecclesiastical, see Presbjtery. Con- 
 gregations, Missionary Associa- 
 tion. 
 
 Educational, 81, 84, 92, 94, 95, 98, 
 99, loi. 114. 115. 117. 122. 135, 139. 
 153. 156. 160. 163. 184, 185. 193. 194. 
 
 197, 203, 225, 238, 243, 261, 266, 
 291, 442-460. ' 
 
 Egypt, see Government. Religions, 
 
 Missionary. Conditions. 
 "Egypt's Princes." 174. 
 Engl.vnd, see Great Britain. 
 English preaching. 74. I2t, 123. 
 Evangelistic. 74. 84, 92. 100. 101, 
 
 115. iiS. 124, 126. 135. 138. 139. 
 
 140. 160. 162. 173. 177. 180, 185, 
 
 198. 236. 284. 286. 295. 298. .^oj. 316. 
 381, 390, 405. 410; see Itinerating.
 
 484 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 EwiNG, S. C. (and Mrs.), n2, 122, 
 
 1-35, 137, 138, 150, 161, 165, 175. 
 
 183, 184, 186, 190, 191, 195. 196, 
 
 239, 261, 263, 265, 280, 285, 288, 
 294, 299, 303, 312, 339, 348, 350, 
 368, 387, 403, 430, 440, 444, 457- 
 
 Exports, 465. 
 
 Faiyum, 87, 173, 186, 191, 196, 239, 
 260, 263, 267, 280, 281, 291, 292, 
 316, 438; see Sinoris. 
 
 Fam Stephanos, 140, 209, 212-223, 
 
 240, 395- 
 
 Faris, 127-133, 135. 
 
 Financial, Mission's Income, from 
 Book Department, 118, 119, 124, 
 140, 148, 163, 188, 267, 279, 302, 338, 
 367^ 387. 406, 432, 433; fi-om 
 Schools, 261, 279, 302, 338, 367, 
 387, 406, 452, 454; from Native 
 Church, 267, 279, 300, 302, 338. 364, 
 367, 378, 386, 390, 406; from Na- 
 tive Sabbath Schools, 435 ; from 
 Medical Department, 394; from 
 outside sources, 95, 155, 163, 164, 
 172, 196, 288, 289, 400, 468, 469; 
 Expenses, 139, 155, 288, 411; Na- 
 tional debt and revenue, 463, 464, 
 465. 
 
 Frazier. Jas. a., 62, 67. 
 
 Frazier, U. a., 303, 339, 368, 387, 
 
 Friexds, 68, 73, 104, III, 114, 155, 
 196, 467-470. 
 
 Galloway, M. E., 303. 339, 474. 
 GiFFEN, E. M., 368, 387, 426. 
 GiFFEN, John, 303. 318, 324, 325, 
 
 339, 352, 354, 368, 377, 380, 387, 
 
 425, 444, 449, 453. 
 
 GiFFEN, J. K., 368, 380. 387. 388. 424. 
 
 440. 453- 
 
 GiFFEN, AIary E., 339, 384, see John 
 Giffen, Gallowaj-. 
 
 Gifts, see Financial. 
 
 GoBAT, Bishop, 32. 33, 34. 
 
 Gordon, Gen. Chas.. 369. 370. 
 
 Government, early history, 35 ; in 
 l8th century. 23-28, 36-39; rebel- 
 lion, 79 ; Khedive assassinated, 80 ; 
 interference. 133; unrest. 103-107. 
 150, 403: opposition to missionary 
 work, 200-238, 241, 292, 300. 328, 
 393 ; sharp dealing, 287-291 : a po- 
 litical drama, 333-337', Arabi re- 
 bellion, 340; present status, 461. 
 
 Great Britain ; bombards Alexan- 
 dria, 348; occupies Egypt, 349; in 
 Sudan, 369; policy in Egypt, 465, 
 466. 
 
 Greek Orthodox, 59. 
 
 Gregory, 194, 239, 261, 263, 274, 275, 
 
 438, 444- 
 "Guide," 392, 393. 
 
 Habeeb, 361-363. 
 
 Hanna, Awad, Si. 
 
 Hanna, Buktor. 251-259, 268-270. 
 
 Harim Work, 435-441, see Woman. 
 
 Hart, Sarah, 125, 137, 159, 161, 175, 
 
 189, 239, 263, 265, 266, 27s, 445, 
 
 474- 
 Hart, S G. (and Mrs.), 388, 426, 
 
 450. 
 Harvey, Wm. (and Mrs.), 187, 189, 
 
 190, 196, 239, 260, 280, 291, 292, 
 298, 299, 303, 304, 314, 316, 318- 
 
 325, 331, 332, 339, 347, 348, 357, 
 368, 387, 395, 398, 424, 425, 444, 
 459, 468. 
 
 Henry. L. M. (and Mrs.), 388, 394, 
 395, 426. 
 
 Herman, 30. 
 
 Hogg, H. W., 368, 387. 
 
 Hogg, John (and Mrs.), 93, 94, 95, 
 99, 103. 108, III, 112, 113, 114, 115, 
 116, 118, 122, 135, 137, 138, 139, 
 140, 142-148, 149, 150, 154. 161, 165, 
 169, 171, 173, 174, 175, 176, 180, 182, 
 185, 186, 188, 189, 190. 193, 194, 195, 
 196, 197, 198, 202, 208, 213, 214, 225, 
 227, 231, 238, 23g, 244, 245, 263, 
 280, 294, 298, 303. 316, 317, 318, 
 339, 354, 358, 360, 363, 364. 368, 
 372, 377, 379, 434, 442, 444, 445, 
 450, 451, 454. 457, 467. 468. 475- 
 
 Hogg, J. J., 36S, 387, 426, 440, 447- 
 
 Hooker, F. W., 20-22. 
 
 "Ibis," 118. 125, 126, 135, 141-148, 
 173, 189, 193, 195, 317, 319, 352, 
 
 363, 364. 379, 398, 399- 
 
 Ibrahim Moosa, 260. 
 
 Iconoclasm, 268-270. 
 
 Ignorance, 59, 360, 412. 
 
 Illiteracy, 59, 102. 
 
 Illness, 87, 88, 103, 107, 113, 139, 
 149, 161, 181 ; see Cholera, Mur- 
 rain, Climate. 
 
 Imports, 464. 
 
 Individual Cases of Special Inter- 
 est : Early missionary hardships, 
 23-28; an early Muslim convert,
 
 INDEX. 
 
 4S5 
 
 29-30; an insincere inquirer, 81-83; 
 interesting inquirers, 100; Mak- 
 hiel, a monk, 101-103, 138; first 
 converts, no; Barakat, 116; an 
 English convert, 121 ; an English 
 nobleman, 126; the persecution of 
 Faris, 127-133; Fam Stephanos, 
 146, 209, 212-223, 395; Bamba 
 Muller, 159, 163-172, 176, 468; 
 death of IMary Hogg, 181-182; 
 persecution of Iskaros, 225-231; of 
 Bishetly, 231-234; Athanasius, 246, 
 257; the bishop's visit, 257; a 
 slave, 285 ; a model pastor, 296 ; 
 conversion of Ahmed Fahmy, 305- 
 310; liberty to build church, 22S- 
 332 ; the Arabi rebellion, 340-352 ; 
 ]\Iuhammad Habeeb, 361-363 ; per- 
 mission to publish a newspaper, 
 392-394; conversion of highway 
 robber, 416-419. 
 
 Institutional Growth, see Con- 
 gregations, Schools, Educational. 
 
 Iskaros, 225-231. 
 
 Itinerating, 319-325, 352, see Ibis, 
 Morning Star. 
 
 Jamieson, a. E., 388. 
 
 Jews, 12, 59, 137. 
 
 Johnston, D. R. (and Mrs.), 243, 
 
 280, 300, 301, 303, 445, 451, 475. 
 Johnston, E. F. 280, 303, 339, 356, 
 
 445, 448. 
 Jowett, W., 31, 32. 
 
 Khaleel, 416-418. 
 
 Khartum, 370. 
 
 Kruidenier, J. (and Mrs.), 368, 387, 
 
 388, 403, 440, 444. 
 Kus, 193, 194, 212. 
 Kyle, E. O., 339, 352, 368, 387, 42S, 
 
 445, 447, 449. 
 
 Language, 422. 
 
 Lansing, E. E., 339, 368, 477. 
 
 Lansing, Gulian (and Mrs.), 62. 
 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 95, 96. 
 98, 99, 100, 107, 108, 113, 115, 116, 
 117, 118, 119, 122, 126, 127, 134, 
 135, 137, 138, 139, 150, 152, 155, 
 157, 161, 174, 175, 183, 184, 186, 
 189, 190, 191, 193, 195, 196, 197, 23S, 
 239, 242, 260. 263, 275, 277, 278, 
 280, 286, 288, 294, 303, 304, 305, 30;;, 
 312, 313, 316, 339, 363. 364, 368, 
 375, 377, 383, 387, 392, 397-401, 
 444, 451, 457, 476. 
 
 Lawrence, C. C, 403, 424. 
 
 Lawrie, Rev., 72, 73. 
 
 Leider, J. R. T., 32, 33, 34, -2, 77, 
 124, 183, 205. 
 
 Liberty, religious, 328-332. 
 
 Licentiates, 410. 
 
 Lockhart. M. G., 281, 303, 445, 477. 
 
 Lyde, 120. 
 
 Luxor, 97, 119, 126, 127, 137, 1.40, 
 158, 173, 190, 207, 239, 240, 246, 
 273, 318, 319, 366, 352, 353. 358, 
 368, 380, 390, 424, 430, see Kus. 
 
 Mah.\rajah Dhulup Singh, 163, 
 
 171, 176, 468. 
 Makhiel, 101-103, 116, 138, 193, 194, 
 
 365. 
 Mark, tradition re same, 12. 
 Martin Memorial Hall, 395. 
 Martin, O. F., 73, 74, 84, 86, 92. 
 McCague, Henrietta ]\I., 66, 67, 68, 
 
 69, 70, 71, 73, 74, 81, 90, 91, 107, 
 
 113, 118, 124, 445. 
 McCague. Thomas, 34, 36, 38, 64, 
 
 65, 66, 67, 68, 70, 71, 73, 74, 75, 77, 
 
 81, 82, 83, 84, 86, 87, 90, 91, 92, 96. 
 
 97, 100, loi, 103, 107, 109, 113, iiS. 
 119, 122, 124, 138, 161, 287, 379, 
 428, 442, 444. 
 
 McDowell, L. J., 3SS, 424. 
 
 IMcFarland, K. W. (and Mrs.), 
 388, 424. 
 
 McKowN, M. J., 112, 122, 135, 137, 
 161, 175, 176, 185, 186. 189. 100, 
 192, 194, 196. 197, 198, 205. 238, 
 239, 262, 278, 280, 303, 339, 368, 
 387, 402. 404, 447. 
 
 McMillan, 403, 424. 
 
 Mecca, 49. 
 
 Medical W'ork, 109, 243, 300, 394. 
 
 Membership, 411-419. 
 
 Methods of Work, see Departments. 
 
 Ministry, see Pastors, Theological 
 Seminary. 
 
 Missionaries, American, 303, 420- 
 426. 
 
 Missionary Work, Moravian. 19- 
 31 ; Church Missionary Society, 
 early efforts, 31; policy. 33 ; re- 
 sults, 34 ; later efforts, 407 ; L'nitecl 
 Presbvterian Mission. |6i-7r ; see 
 American Mission ; Scotch Mis- 
 sion, 68; American Missionary So- 
 ciet}-, 73 : Paisley ladies. 93. 04, 
 
 98, 407, 467; Dutch. 407; Estab- 
 lished Church of Scotland, 407; 
 North .Africa Mission. J07. 
 
 Mission Districts, see Di;;tricts.
 
 486 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 MONSURAH, 102, I94, 235, 263, 264, 
 
 280, 28s, 303, 304, 339, 354, 355, 
 368, 387, 395, 403, 424, 430. 
 
 Moravian, see Missionary. 
 
 "Morning Star," 158, 173, 219. 
 
 MuHAMMADANiSM, entrance of, 16; 
 conquers Egypt, 35 ; conversion to 
 Christ forbidden, 2)"]; sects of, 40; 
 description of, 41 ; practical effect, 
 42 ; doctrines of, 42-43 ; observ- 
 ances of, 45-49 ; criticism of, 49- 
 53; slavery, fei; polygamy, 52; op- 
 position to Christianity, 114, 128- 
 133, 151, 178-180, 306, 328; Arabi 
 rebellion, 340-352; religious inter- 
 est, 306, 363 ; converts from, 260, 
 280, 361. 
 
 Muhammad Ali, governor, 36; 
 treachery of, 36. 
 
 MuLLER, Bamba, 159, 163-172, 176, 
 183, 46& 
 
 MuRCH, C. (and Mrs.), 339, 368, 
 379, 380, 381, 387, 388, 389, 42s, 
 440, 444. 
 
 Murrain, 160. 
 
 Napoleon, 31. 
 
 Newlin, E. E., 339, 352, 447. 
 
 Newspaper, religious, 392. 
 
 Nicene Council. 14. 
 
 NiCHOL, A. M. (and Mrs.), 281, 303, 
 
 304, 318, 339, 354, 444, 478. 
 NiCHOL, W. M. (and Mrs.), 368, 
 
 387, 390, 396, 405, 426. 
 
 Pastors, native, 296, 409. 
 Patriarch, Coptic, 55, 153, 200, 248. 
 Paulding, J. G., 34, 61, 62, 63, 86. 
 Persecutions, of early times. 13, 16; 
 
 by Muslims, 23-28; of C. M. S. 
 
 convert, ZZ \ of our own converts, 
 
 127, 199-238. 241. 
 Peter, tradition re same, 12. 
 Philip, Hermann, 93, 94. 
 Pinkerton, B. F. (and Mrs.), 187, 
 
 189, 193, 196, 239, 259, 263, 274, 
 
 275, 276, 357, 359, 444. 
 Plymouthism, 274-277, 287, 357. 
 Political, see Government. 
 Polygamy, 52. 
 Population, 38. 48. 
 Prayer, in Muhammadan religion, 
 
 46-48. 
 Preface, i. 
 Presbytery, it 2, 295, 405, 156, 196, 
 
 239. Zl^, 408. 
 Prestley, Jas., 155 
 
 Pringle, Miss, 95, 98, 99, 442. 
 Pronunciation of names, 4. 
 Protestant, 327, see American Mis- 
 sion. 
 
 Providences, in founding mission, 
 61; preservation of life, 68; in 
 cholera, "JJ, 182-184, 354; in small- 
 pox, 90; in shipwreck, lii; in po- 
 litical dangers, 103-107, 177-180, 
 349, 79-80 ; in illness, 139, I77, 181 ; 
 in financial need, 155, 172, 196; in 
 persecution, 199-238, 240, 255, 268, 
 270, Z'i'2'', in over-ruling mistakes, 
 271. 
 
 Provinces, 464, 465. 
 
 Railroads, 68, 465. 
 
 Rebellions, see Government. 
 
 Reed, W. H. (and Mrs.), 403, 425. 
 
 Religions, see Christianity, Coptic, 
 Muhammadanism, Protestant, Ro- 
 man Catholic. 
 
 Roller, 30. 
 
 Roman Catholics, 59. 
 
 Rule, A. H. (and Mrs.), 281, 301. 
 
 Sabbath, a fight for the, 272. 273. 
 Sabbath Schools, 99, 124, 280, 286, 
 
 434, 457- 
 Salaries, of native workers, 411. 
 Schools, 412, see Educational. 
 Scotch Missions, 68, ^2, tz, 94. 
 Sects, 327. 
 Self-Support, school fees, 99, 117, 
 
 300, see Financial. 
 Shenooda, 245-251, 316. 
 Sickness, see Illness. 
 Sinoris, 260, 267, 291, 292, 316. 
 Slavery, 51, 52, 297. 
 Smith, M. A., 280, 303, 305, 306, 309, 
 
 339. 368, 381, 387, 425, 440, 448. 
 Sowash, G, a. (and Mrs!.), 403, 
 
 424. 
 Stations, see Districts. 
 Stewart, Robert, 355, 356, 366. 
 Strang, D. (and I^Irs.), 193, 196, 
 
 197, 238, 239, 260, 263, 265, 277. 
 
 280, 303, 316, 318, 403, 405, 426, 
 
 444, 451, 479- 
 Strang, Isabella, 303, 339, 368, \\\. 
 Strang, ]\Iatilda, 368, 387, 444. 
 Syria, jMission in, 61, 62, 72. 
 Syrians in Egypt, 'J2,. 76, 99, 116. 
 Sudan, 369. 
 Survey of Egypt, 38-39.
 
 INDEX. 
 
 487 
 
 Tadros, Yusif, 294, 295. 
 Tadkos, Zaglanay, 295, 296. 
 Tanta, 355, 380, 388, 424, 430. 
 Teas, L. D., 403, 426. 
 Theological Seminary, 156, 193, 
 
 198, 243, 251, 273, 318, 371, 411, 
 
 455-460. 
 Thompson, A. Y., 280, 303, 339, 368, 
 
 382, 387, 425, 439, 440, 444, 445, 
 
 448. 
 
 United Presbyterian Mission, see 
 American Mission. 
 
 Village Schools, 443. 
 
 Watson, Andrew (and Mrs.), i, 
 135, 137, 149, 161, 183, 184, 189, 
 194, 196, 197. 239, 263, 274, 280, 
 289, 303. 304, 308, 314, 339, 347, 
 3-^8. 3=^0. 352, 353, 355, 368, 378, 
 382, 387, 393, 398, 425, 439, 444, 
 451, 458. 
 
 Watson, Anna B., 403, 424. 
 
 White, J. P., 388, 425. 
 
 Wieniger, G. H., 28-30. 
 
 Woman, condition under Miiham- 
 madanism, 52-53 ; first unmarried 
 woman missionary, 98; first girls' 
 school in Cairo, 117; school in Al- 
 exandria, 122; defence of. 128; 
 girls' boarding schools, 445 ; work 
 for women, 114, 124, 162, 192, 194, 
 198, 238, 243, 261, 266, 280, 291, 
 371, 435-441 ; condition of, 437. 
 
 Work, M. E., 388, 448. 
 
 Years of Work : 1854. 61 ; 1855. 83 ; 
 1856, 84; 1857, 87; 1858, 97; 1859, 
 
 107; 
 
 1860, 
 
 hi; 
 
 1861, 
 
 122; 
 
 1862, 
 
 137; 
 
 1863, 
 
 149; 
 
 1864, 
 
 161 ; 
 
 1865, 
 
 175; 
 
 1866, 
 
 189; 
 
 1867, 
 
 196; 
 
 1868, 
 
 239; 
 
 1869, 
 
 262; 
 
 iS-o- 
 
 ■1875, 
 
 279; 
 
 1875- 
 
 1880, 
 
 302; 
 
 1880- 
 
 1885. 
 
 338; 
 
 1885- 
 
 1890. 
 
 367 : 
 
 ^Sno- 
 
 1895. 
 
 386; 
 
 1895-1896. 403; 1897. ,|o6. 
 Yule, 98, 100, 104, 108. 
 
 Zakazik, 388, 424, 430. 
 Zenana, see Woman. 
 Zinzendorf, 22.
 
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