that she gradually understood and profited by what she heard. About three months ago she became worse, so as to be unable to come to the station. As her body and strength wasted away, her mind became more clear and her faith and hope more strong. She often expressed a wish to join the church. About the middle of February, she sent to me, saying, “I shall not live: I shall soon die: I wish you to baptise me, and give me the sacrament before I die." Her uniform feelings at that time may be learned from a single expression. When asked if she loved Christ she replied, "Yes. He is my trust, my only trust;" and reaching out her withered hands, she added, "I have laid hold of him: I will not let him go." When asked if she did not sometimes think of the idols, and feel inclined to trust to heathen gods, she said, “No, don't want, don't want," shaking her hands and head in disgust. On February 22d she was baptised and admitted to the ordinance of the Lord's supper. As she was unable to come to the church, or even to rise from her mat, we went to her house. Some mats were spread under a tree, and on them were seated a few of the neighbors, most of the boys in the preparatory school, and some of the church members. The old woman was then brought out by two females, one her daughter, and the other a member of the church, and supported in a sitting posture while we asked her of the hope which she had, and administered to her the ordinances. To all our questions she gave such attention and answers as showed that her heart was most deeply engaged and interested in what she was doing. She gradually wasted away until she was little more than an animated skeleton, but her mind was filled with the hope and anticipated joy of seeing her Savior and of being like him. The last time I called on her before she died, her mind seemed to be in a very happy state. Before I left, she took hold of her daughter's hand and put it into mine, wishing me to teach her the way to heaven. On inquiry she said she brought rice and milk to the amount of three pence, for which she was indebted, and that she had nothing to pay. I found that all her expenses for different articles of food amounted to one penny a day. She died on the 1st of April, and was interred in the burying ground belonging to the church. Beyroot. EXTRACTS FROM THE JOURNAL OF MR. WHITING. THE case of the Jews who were baptised by the Armenian mentioned by Mr. Whiting has been repeatedly noticed in former volumes of this work, especially vol. xxiii, p. 239; vol. xxiv, pp. 70 and 317. One of the three has recently visited Mr. Brewer at Smyrna. Yoosef, whose name occurs in these extracts, is the Yooseph Leflufly, who was so frequently mentioned in the communications from this mission previous to the removal of Messrs. Bird and Goodell to Malta. His standing and character may be learned from the journal of Mr. Bird which follows this article, as may that of Wortabet also. An Armenian Priest. April 14, 1831. Wortabet has had several interviews with an Armenian priest, who is now visiting Beyroot; and to-day he brought him out to dine with us, in company with Mr. Bird and Jacob Aga. The history of this man is rather interesting. He is the man who baptised the converted Jews, John Baptist and his companions, some years ago, in opposition to the order of the Armenian patriarch; for which act the patriarch procured his banishment. A considerable number of Jews in Constantinople at that time had embraced Christianity, and some of them began to preach the gospel so zealously among Jews and Armenians, and to expose the prevailing corruptions of the church and priesthood with so much effect, that the patriarch was alarmed. When they applied to him for baptism, he refused it, and advised them to continue Jews. He doubtless perceived that such Christians as they bade fair to be, were not likely to add much to the strength and stability of his church. He moreover issued an order, prohibiting the baptism of Jews by any of his clergy, and procured a firman from the Porte, making it unlawful for any Jew to enter the Armenian church, and compelling the few who had already done so, together with the priest who had baptised them, the same who was with us to-day, to flee from the capitol. He accordingly left Constantinople, and took up his residence at Smyrna. He now seems disposed to leave the Armenian church altogether, after the manner of the Armenians here. He is a respectable man in his appearance, and is something more than fifty years of age. Growing Spirit of Inquiry. Yoosef tells me there is some encourag ing excitement in regard to the gospel, in Hadet and some other places; and that many are desirous to hear and read it. Numbers would come to his house to hear the Scriptures read, were they not expressly forbid den to do so. But the case of poor Assaad is a standing and awful beacon to warn them of the danger of transgressing the laws of their ecclesiastical rulers. Yoosef has adopted an expedient for reading portions of scripture in their hearing, which may be useful. He invites them to his house of an evening, and reads with them the bishop's "Reply to Mr. King's letter." In this book is embodied the whole of the letter of Mr. King, with his scripture proofs and references-each of his arguments being stated in full, and separately discussed by the bishop. The letter itself, like the Bible, is one of the prohibited books; but the reply to it the people are expressly required to read by the order of the patriarch himself. The priest at Hadet, Yoosef says, is somewhat concerned on account of the excitement the subject has produced; but he cannot open his mouth in complaint, either against Yoosef or the people; for they are obeying their orders, while at the same time they are reading or hearing read, the whole of the execrated letter, which contains a great deal of gospel truth, stated in a very clear and convincing manner, and well adapted to cut up the corruptions of popery by the roots. Whereas the reasoning of the bishop in answer to Mr. K.'s arguments is so extremely weak and frivofous, for the most part, that people who have even a moderate share of discernment are not likely to be much impressed by it. Sometimes they will acknowledge that the truth is with Mr. King, and the bishop is wrong, and on some of the topics discussed they think the bishop has the best of the argument. They are afraid, however, to express their opinions very freely, lest their own reputation for orthodoxy should be brought in question. Thus, as was remarked on another occasion, Satan seems to have overshot his mark, by setting the bishop to write a reply to Mr. King, and is likely to do serious injury to his own cause. We wish that every intelligent Maronite on Mount Lebanon would read this reply; and we should be quite willing to see many other bishops and priests attempting to refute Mr. King's letter. It was while thus engaged that Assaad was first convinced that the peculiar doctrines of the church of Rome are anti-scriptural. 15. Yoosef says that in every part of the mountains, the people are inquiring about the gospel, and desiring to hear and read it. Some complain that the Bible is withheld from them, and ask why they cannot have the privilege of reading the whole of it, in their own houses, instead of hearing only selected and brief portions of it in their churches. Yoosef is firmly of the opinion that thousands would renounce popery immediately, if the fear of persecution and reproach were taken away. On representations of this kind, however, we cannot rely. But surely it will not be possible to shut out forever from this land liberty of conscience and the light of heavenly truth. The way of the Lord is preparing. 17. Sabbath. A number of Armenians being in Beyroot, Wortabet spent most of the day in conversing and reading the Scriptures and tracts with them. He came home at evening, quite exhausted. He preaches with all his might, and never grows weary of the subject or the employment, even when the people answer him with ridicule and scorn, as was the case in some instances to-day. EXTRACTS FROM THE JOURNAL OF MR. WORTABET, who is so often mentioned in the extracts that follow, is one of the Armenian ecclesiastics who broke away from their church and came to reside in the families of Messrs. Bird and Goodell, at Beyroot, in 1826. While there they became convinced of the errors of their own church, professedly embraced the gospel in its purity, and with their wives were received to the mission church. When the missionaries removed to Malta, these two ecclesiastics accompanied them, as translators, in which capacity they had rendered themselves highly useful. While at Malta Wortabet did not fully sustain the Christian character; and owing to this, and to a partial failure of his sight, he left the employment of the missionaries, and returnSince that ing to Syria, settled near Sidon. time he has generally, so far as has been ascertained, maintained a good Christian character, and manifested much courage and zeal in defending and propagating the truth, in spite of the obloquy and persecution he has been obliged to encounter from the ecclesiastics and the people. He appears actually to have assumed the character of a missionary, and to have been as、 siduously engaged in preaching the gospel. Journey to Sidon. For a considerable time past our friend Wortabet, at Halalia, near Sidon, has been urging us to pay him and his neighborhood a visit. From the moment of his arrival there from Malta, he seems to have been laboring hard to instruct the people about him in the way of the Lord. In this work he has of course been entirely alone. He has thought, therefore, that it would add weight to his instructions, if the people could hear the same from other mouths. The desired visit was accordingly made by myself a few weeks ago; and although attended with few very important circumstances, you may not dislike to be furnished with some short account of it. I set off from Beyroot in the decline of the day (May 4th) in company with a single attendant and two young Druzes, muleteers. In about three hours we reached Khan El Khuldi, where we were to spend the night. It was sunset. Our prospect on the left for the last hour having been entirely shut up by the vicinity of the mountains, I was desirous of obtaining a momentary view of the surrounding coun try from some neighboring height. Immediately on leaving the Khan I found myself in the midst of a multitude of tombs, hewn in the high hard rocks that cover the margin of the mountain. A massive lid of the same kind of rock, and well fiited to its place, first by the chisel and afterwards by cement, formerly closed each of these khan called Nabi Yoonas (the prophet Jonas) most forcibly and agreeably reminded me of the stormy night I spent there in January 1823, in company with Mr. King. My Druze muleteers were hired for Sidon, and to Sidon they would carry me, though it was my intention to go directly to Halalia, whose distance from Beyroot is just the same as that of Sidon, and whose distance from Sidon itself is about 25 minutes. I offered to pay them well for the additional trouble of turning aside to the village, but they were sullenly obstinate. Stay at Sidon and Halalia. Passing on from the tombs, I found the height, to which I had expected to arrive very soon, keeping at a distance. I was, therefore, obliged to quicken my pace as much as possible, or lose the advantage of daylight for my view and my return. As I We stopped at the gate of the city and was climbing up in this hasty manner, my sent for Yoosef Leflufly, whose shop was eye, which was of necessity much upon the near at hand, and who in the most friendly ground to pick my way among the rocks, manner took me to his house. This man struck upon something that appeared like a will be recollected as the brother-in-law of whitish colored stick. Two steps more Wortabet, and the former agent for our would have placed my foot beside or upon schools. While he continued with us and it; but before they were taken I had traced for a consideralbe time previous, he was a the stick to its termination in a triangular, bold assertor of the doctrines of the gospel living head. It was a little elevated from in opposition to the prevailing corruptions the ground, and with a steady fearless look, of his church; yet we never saw in him seemed to challenge my approach. I had that prudence or that humility and sense of certainly no wish, without weapons, to ensin which are the necessary indications of a counter such an adversary, and weapons I saving faith in the Redeemer. For some had no time either to search for or use. I time after he left us, he appears to have contherefore turned aside and passed on, leav-tinued to follow the decisions of his undering the reptile to destroy or be destroyed by some future passenger. Without making any important observation I moved over the remaining rocks with a light step, and reached the Khan with affecting views of the nearness of death and the necessity of constant preparation for it. On subsequent inquiry I have been told that serpents are found in these mountains whose bite has proved, to the dogs of hunters, almost in stantaneous death. During the evening I made it my business to inquire of the young Druzes and others of their sect who were present, some things relative to their religion. They could give us no information; for none of the common people or uninitiated have any knowledge of the secret principles and ceremonies of their own religious system. This is reserved as the peculiar privilege of the Aakils or knowing ones. I pressed them with the unreasonableness of professing a religion which they knew nothing of, and blamed their aakils for hiding their light under a bushel, and then begged the privilege of explaining to them the nature and doctrines of Christianity, and that peculiar point in which it differs from all other religions in the world, viz: the pardon of sin through the atoning sacrifice of the Son of God. They listened with attention and I trust not without profit, but, as is very common, expressed their regret that shekh such a one was not present to carry on the discussion in their behalf. Next morning we resumed our journey before sunrise. The sight once more of the standing in regard to the gospel, in opposi tion to his worldly interest, suffering a good deal of papal oppression, being obliged to flee from his native city and seek an asylum from place to place in the mountains. Friendless and pennyless, and out of employment, it is no wonder that his mere sustain him in such a vagabond life, and worldly principles were found unable to that he sought a restoration to his home and comforts by a partial submission to prevailing religious customs. This sacrifice has evidently been attended with a falling off in his morals. Truth has lost with him much of her sacred character. Yet there is little doubt that his understanding remains as thoroughly convinced as ever of the errors of his church, nor does he hesi tate in some situations to expose them without mercy. As we entered the gate of the city we saw a youth of distinction sitting in a chair, surrounded by attendants, one of whom was fanning from his face the flies and heat. He was dressed in small clothes, in full like a European, with the single exception of the red skull-cap upon his head instead of a hat. He is a nephew of the pasha. The Moslems, as they pass and see him "sitting in the king's gate" in his new dress, gaze at him with astonishment, and curse the sultan anew. All that is now wanting, they say, is the berneyta (the hat,) and the beg, as he is called, will be a complete Frank. And this article they expect will soon be added, for the report is, that the sultan has forwarded a large supply of hats to Acre to be stuck upon the heads of the pasha and all his servants and connections. In the evening I had a visit from the agent of the papal Greek church, who sat and conversed, for nearly an hour, in a mild and agreeable manner. In fact the primates of the church at Sidon, and even at Beyroot, appear to be actuated by far less of sectarian jealousy than their more powerful and vigilant brethren, the Maronites. They even say their masses here in the same church with the Greeks, and have till lately lent the poor Greeks their mass books. Next morning went up to Wortabet's at Halalia.* It was pleasant once more to meet him and his family under their own roof, and partake of their free but humble hospitality. Wortabet, on losing the use of his eyes at Malta, and leaving the business of translation, came back to Syria with the intention of supporting himself by the labor of his own hands. He succeeded but poorly. The return of the ophthalmia, also, not only made further destruction of his eyes, but kept him many weeks, if not months, out of all business. He has, of course, been reduced almost to his last penny. Except a few chests, a mirror, two bedsteads, and a brass lamp, they had scarcely an article of furniture in the house. A box with a loose covering or lid upon it was their table, two niches in the wall held their books and cups, and their clay floor, with a flag mat in one corner, served them instead of chairs and sofas. In addition to these privations, they had, as heretics, borne the coldness and reproaches of the village as well as of their connections and relations at Sidon. But so far from denying the faith, Wortabet, in particular, by all we can learn, has never ceased to warn every one around him night and day, and to exhort them to repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. I had opportunity to see that he conversed much in a spiritual manner, that his words were listened to with deference, and that he was held in good estimation by the most respectable families of the village. One old man and one youth appeared under the strong influence of the truth, and two or three others listened with pleasure and attention. These persons acknowledged that, before Wortabet came there, they had no more knowledge and no more thought about religion than the beasts. One of them has lately opened a little school under our inspection in the village. As to Susan, W.'s wife, she enjoys the reputation of being a model of humility and patience, meeting all events as dispensations of her Father in heaven. I found this report of her to agree very well with what I saw; and, indeed, it well accorded with This village is situated about a mile and a half east of Sidon. It is inhabited by about fifteen papal Greek families, among which are those of three respectable Sidonian merchants. VOL. XXVIII. what we had formerly known of her character. She was taken seriously ill the very evening of my arrival, and so continued through nearly the whole of my visit. Perhaps it was on the whole a desirable providence, as it afforded me an opportunity of witnessing a trial of her submission, and of introducing with increased effect religious conversation. I was happy to see in her whole demeanor proofs that we have not been deceived in her character, but that the gospel has indeed made upon her its permanent and saving impression. Visit to Sarepta. The next day (Friday) rode out with Yoosef three hours towards Tyre, to visit the heights of Sarepta. This rather interesting village seems still to exist from the days of Elijah, but is now called Sarefand. Standing on the cape of Beyroot, and looking up and down the coast, the view is terminated at nearly equal distances by two very similar promontories. That on the north, this side of Tripoli, the Greeks called by the remarkable name of OUT, or Cape of the Divine Countenance. That on the south is the promontory of Sarepta. We were favored with a most excellent natural road along the sea-shore, and as I looked abroad over the wide plain, in front and on the left, I could not help figuring in my imagination the thousands of chariots which probably rolled here in clouds of dust, when Tyre and Sidon were in their glory. But now, notwithstanding the invitations of nature, such a vehicle is known here only in story. It was now the time of the return of the pilgrims from Jerusalem, and we were constantly meeting large companies of them. They were nearly all Armenians, who spoke nothing but Armenian and Turkish. Women and children were among this number. Their appearance was dirty and squalid, and as the plague was reported to be among them, we were doubly inclined not to approach too near them. As one comes near the promontory of Sarepta, which, at a distance, seems to overhang the sea, a plain rises up between the foot of it and the sea, of considerable width, which now presents fields of barley, wheat, and pulse, all whitening to the harvest. Nearly opposite to the village of Sarepta, on the sca shore, are also ruins of a former city, which some travellers have suggested might be the site of the ancient Sarepta; and a little south of the ruins you see a modern building, with a low dome, which is reported to be, or to point out, the house of the widow who entertained Elijah. It is called El Khoodr, the name by which Elijah is generally called among the Moslems. On a near approach to this place, also, that which appears at Beyroot to be a single height or promontory, is discovered to be divided into two. From the further 15 of these two only can be seen the city and || environs of Tyre. To this height we therefore paid our first visit. We discovered upon it an old well nearly filled up and the evident remains of a large wine-press. In regard to the distant prospect, we were disappointed of it, as is very often the case in this country, by the foggy appearance suddenly assumed by the atmosphere. We did, however, discover Tyre and some other villages. favorable atmosphere, we might have discovered Mount Carmel. Having staid out our time, we descended by an easy pathway on the north side of the height, and reached Sidon just in time to escape being shut out of the walls. Greeks at Sidon. In the evening we had a long conversation with the young Greek priest, the only one in Sidon. The Greek population here is small, and can by no means afford to build a separate house for worship. They, therefore, worship in the house their fathers built when they were orthodox, but of which their brethren who have turned pa At a little distance from the brow of this height, we passed, on our way to Sarepta, the small village of Seksekia. We asked for a little water. They readily brought it; but we were careful to pour it into our own tin cup for drinking, for this sect of Mos-pists have, by an overwhelming majority, lems very generally break the jar, if it be their own, out of which a person of another religion has drank or eaten. What might have been the case here, had we chosen to make the experiment, must be left to conjecture. It rather appeared from what followed that their superstition was not so strong as that found in some other districts; for, being told by my companion that I had some knowledge of medicine, they flocked around us with their sick, and suffered themselves to be handled and bled and prescribed to, as if we had been no less Metawalies than themselves. Among other things they expressed an earnest desire to receive vaccination, acknowledging that for that valuable antidote they were indebted to the Franks. For want of time we forced ourselves away from them, but they would obtained almost entire control. They were too poor to possess their own prayer-books, but, as has been remarked, used those of their copartners in the place of worship. Very lately, however, something has fallen out between them which has influenced their indulgent brethren to discontinue their indulgence. The books are removed and the poor priest is in a sad dilemma. It is just as if some rude foot had trod upon his watch, and crushed every wheel in pieces. He has no more idea of public worship without his books, than of telling the time of day without his watch. He has, therefore, written to the bishop at Beyroot, and not obtaining help, afterwards wrote to the patriarch himself. Here the matter rests. But if the patriarch should feel as poor as the bishop, and say with him, "If I send you Damascus books, what will Damascus do?" then must the light of the church of Sidon remain extinct; the candlestick must be removed; the angel must quit his charge and quit the worship of God, because, forsooth, he has no machine to work with. I endeavored, though I think without success, to convince the priest that however useful prayer books might be, the want of them could be no good reason for abolishing the worship of God, or breaking up a Christian assembly. The painful state of ignorance in which most of these so called-spiritual guides are, grows more and more apparent, the more we extend our acquaintance among them. This man's attempts to quote scripture were distressing. He said it was one of the ten commandments that we should hate our enemies. He brought the text "shew thyself to a priest" as a proof of the necessity of auricular confession. He, moreover, asserted that some kinds of ceremonial uncleanness ought to prevent a man from engaging in the public worship of God. Some time ago he expressed his desire to have us open a school among his people, but now he says he shall probably leave the place altogether. Tombs near Halalia. Took the opportunity to enter some of the ancient tombs that appear in the hills of |