No. 5.]

[VOL. VIII.

Syra.

The Journal of the Rev. F. Hildner, up to the close of the year 1836, had not been received when we gave our Readers extracts (pp. 53-57) from his account of the first three months of that year. The following portions, relative to the remaining nine months, will show, with much minuteness of detail, the

Progress of Scriptural Education in

Greece, amidst many Difficulties. April 29, 1836-Yesterday we found a Pentateuch cut into a hundred pieces, at the door of our Boys' School; and today, at the staircase of our house, we found pieces of Korai's Catechism of Scripture History.

April 30-I visited the Governor; who made great exertions to persuade me that he was our friend; but he said, also, that there existed, throughout Greece, a very strong feeling against the Missionaries and their Schools; and that, therefore, we should rather yield something, in order to pacify the people; by hanging up, for instance, pictures in our schools; employing a Greek Priest to catechize the children, &c. I replied, that in order to save our influence, and the Schools from being dissolved, we would certainly yield as much as we conscientiously could; but that they could never expect us to go a single step further.

If the agitators of the late disturbance should be found out, we might soon hope to have tranquillity in the place; but it seems probable, that those who are at present in office are either hostile to us and our cause, or, at least, indifferent about the matter. A petition from a number of parents, who have children in our Schools, was sent to day to the Demarch, that he might make inquiries, respecting those who disturb the peace of the place, and thus procure security to their children.

May 1: Lord's Day.-The School went RECORD, May 1837.]

on in regular order, and the different classes had their lessons in Biblical Instruction. Mr. Leeves preached in Enpeople continue to annoy us when we pass glish, and Mr. Wenger in German. The through the streets; but we trust that the Lord will soon put a stop to the Wicked-one.

But

May 2-The number of children in our different Schools is, unexpectedly, again about 300 in attendance; a circumstance which, at the present time, speaks strongly in favour of us. something else now seems to threaten us. A great number of people flock from hence to the Island of Naxos; where, according to the prediction of the old shepherd Geromanoles, who is said to have had visions from the Virgin Mary, pictures are to be found, and all sorts of sicknesses to be healed. When these fanatics return, they will probably cause some excitement. the evening, we had a highly encouraging monthly meeting. The sixth chapter to the Ephesians was read, and made a great impression on us all. Mr. Leeves prayed more fervently than ever. It became rather late before we separated; so that our servant, when I returned home, told me that he had been much concerned about me.

In

May 3 There is still some terror among the children of our school. This morning, at the beginning of school, a window was accidentally broken, and the pieces fell into the yard: the children, who were assembled there, became frightened, and began to run away. The boys, however, were kept in their places; and the girls were soon put to order. Any little thing may make the little-ones afraid, and they require, therefore, the utmost attention.

We ought to have had the celebration today, in our school, of the Sixth Anniversary. The present time, however, makes it advisable to have as little noise as possible. However, at the end of the afternoon school, I first assembled all the

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girls in the large room up stairs, and spoke a few words adapted to our present circumstances; and exhorted them to offer prayers and praises to the Lord, who had upheld us hitherto, and who alone could preserve us in future. After this, we sung the hymn, "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, &c." The Mistress, Koresi, then read the portion of the Eighteenth Psalm, which I had pointed out to her, and which seemed most suited to our present circumstances: and finally, A. Parparía read a suitable prayer, which the children closed by singing, "Amen, Hallelujah." I now went down stairs to the boys; assembled them, in like manner, in the large room of the boys' department; and there we had the same solemnity as we had had with the girls. Mr. Kritikides read a portion from the Psalms, and the prayer; after which, a hymn was sung by us all. There was nobody present, besides Mrs. Hildner, myself, and the Teachers: and thus we celebrated, silently, indeed, but in a solemn and edifying manner, the Sixth Anniversary of this School Establishment. Our present critical circumstances seemed to cause our hearts to be touched the more. May our gracious Lord grant, that in future, also, His blessing may rest upon this Institution, and that every member of it may bear manifold fruits to His glory, through generations to come, and through eternity!

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May 11, 1836-Mr. obviously much afraid, came early this morning to our house, and expressed great fears respecting our affairs. I endeavoured to tranquillize his mind; and he went to the School, where I soon repaired also. I expected, to-day, only a few children; but, to my great surprise, there were not fewer than yesterday, which encouraged me not a little. About eleven o'clock, a friend came to our School, called me out, and told me, that, in the Bazaar, it was believed that some would be sent, by the Demarchy, to seal up our School; and that I had better send the children away before, in order that no noise might occur. None of these things, however, took place. In the afternoon, the girls of the lower classes, as usual on Wednesday afternoon, had no school. I went into the large room of the Girls, much concerned respecting our Establishment; and finding myself alone, and profound silence around me, I fell upon my knees, with a contrite heart, praying to the

Lord: "Here, O Lord! with hundreds of children assembled, we have so oftena hundred, nay, a thousand times--sung together and prayed, The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all. But if, out of these hundred and thousand times, only one time, and this one time, only one anong us, or the children, have heartily and sincerely prayed this prayer, Thou, O Lord, who sittest on the right hand of the Father, and who art mighty to help, wouldst hear, showing Thy mercy further upon us, and keeping us and this Establishment longer, in spite of those enemies who endeavour to destroy it; that many, young and old, may hear and learn thy Word, and thus thy name be glorified! Amen!"

May 11-Mr. Leeves told me, that, last night, a copy of the Pentateuch had been burnt near his house. People continue to annoy us, and our Teachers, in the street.

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May 12-An English corvette, the Favourite," coming from Tripoli, has providentially been driven in here by contrary wind. This has made an impression on the people, in favour of us. It is generally thought that she has come on our behalf; and, indeed, the Commander is willing, at the British Consul's request, to stay some days, if he can be of service in establishing tranquillity. will stay here at least till Sunday, when an eclipse of the sun will take place; which might easily give occasion to the superstitious and the wicked to create disorder.

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At eleven o'clock I was called to the Demarchy, where I found the Demarch and several Members of the Municipal Council assembled. The former began, in a friendly tone, to speak to me about the present excitement in town; and, after some preliminaries, proposed to me, in order to tranquillize the people, the following points :

1. That I should close my School for four or five days.

2. That I should allow a picture of the Virgin, with her Infant Child, to be hung up in my School.

3. That a Priest should come to consecrate the School.

4. That a Priest should come every Sunday, to give religious instruction to the children.

I refused all relative to the first three points; and as to the last, it being according to law, I could propose no other way

than that they should appoint some public building, as, for instance, the Church or the Gymnasium, where the children of the Schools might be taught the Church Catechism by a Priest, and where the children of my Establishment should also be permitted to attend. They made no objections to my remarks; but, as it seemed, thought them reasonable. May 23,1836-Pretty good attendance of children in the School. Another Pentateuch has been burnt. Mr. Kritikides found a Latin Catechism partly burnt, in one of the school-rooms: it was thrown in at the windows.

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July 18-We have spent about five days in Tino with our children. Our little boy is better; but not quite well. In our absence, the British Ambassador had been in Syra, and visited our School, in the progress of which he had manifested great interest. The Demarchy seems to be unwilling to appoint a public place, where the children of my School, and other private schools, might go to be taught the Catechism by a Priest. Commission appeared in our School, who intended to introduce a Priest to teach the Catechism every Sunday. This I refused to permit. I immediately wrote a letter to the Nomarch, stating the reasons why I could not permit such a thing; but having received no satisfactory answer, I thought it best to go myself to Athens, and to bring the case before Government. I left, June 30th, for Athens; and had the satisfaction to find there the British Minister, the Minister of Instruction, and several others in authority, acting much in favour of our School Establishment; and after having got the assurance that the new Governor in Syra should receive instructions to favour the continuance of our School, I left on the 15th July for Syra, and arrived there in safety last night from my tour in Athens. I perceive that every thing here is again assuming a quiet aspect. The new Governor, who is expected soon, is reported to be a friend to Schools. The new pamphlet, written by one of the higher Clergy, against the Missionaries, has had little or no effect in Syra, though its contents might easily excite the Greeks against us.

Sept. 5-The Eighth Number of the "Evangelical Trumpet," a religious periodical, edited by a Greek Priest, who of late has begun to attack the Missionaries and their work severely, has ap

peared; and contains, 1st, An Answer to Professor Bambas's Reply to the Anonymous Pamphlet against the Americans; 2dly, An Answer to the Smyrna Reply to the same Pamphlet; and 3dly, A Pastoral Letter from the Patriarch to the Bishops, Clergy, and Magistrates of Smyrna, desiring them to burn all the books of the Missionaries; to prevent, by all means, the parents from sending their children to our schools; and to have, if possible, no connexion whatever with them. Those who act otherwise are threatened with ecclesiastical and civil punishment. This letter seems to have been the chief means of putting a stop to the Schools in and near Smyrna. A good many copies were sent here also; and a person was ordered by some priest to sell them in the Bazaar; but the man and his pamphlets were generally looked upon with contempt, and no evil effect has been produced here: the Schools go on quietly and prosperously, and new children apply for admission.

Oct. 12-The Work-Society of Ladies for the Poor of Syra has been kept up: though this institution also stood in jeopardy for some time, from the intrigues of our enemies. The Ladies assemble now at our house, till a more commodious place be found. Six Ladies were working to-day for the poor.

Oct. 24-Several new scholars were received to-day. There is, however, not much opportunity for the sale and distribution of our books. The Hydra scholar in our Female Seminary left today, to take charge of the newly-established Female School in her native island: thus Syra has provided also for that island. One among the causes for our being thankful to God, is, that all the Teachers of our Pædagogion enjoy good health; that they do their work, with very rare exceptions, cheerfully; and that one of the distinguishing features of our Schools continues to be, the perfect harmony and peace which pervades them, as also the Christian conduct of the Teachers. This is certainly a strong consolation, among trials of another nature, and the temptations which sometimes trouble us, as though our labour and the contributions of Christian friends were in vain. Good seed is sown in the Schools: they stand, and are conducted on Scriptural principles. Scripture continues, as from the beginning, to be richly taught: Scripture is expounded to the children, and brought near to their

hearts; and is also committed by them to memory. We try to have a watchful eye upon them, in every respect; and all this, I trust, will not remain without some fruit for the Kingdom of our Lord.

Nov. 17, 1836-I received a letter from the Mistress in Crete; by which I learn that the Girls' School there is going on, and that she would be exceedingly sorry if I were to withdraw the small support which I have hitherto allowed for the school. I learned, from some persons with whom I am acquainted, and who came from Scio, that, in consequence of the late Circular Letter of the Patriarch, the School of Mr. Houston, American Missionary, was closed. The Demogerontes, indeed, wished to keep it up, but the Bishop threatened them with excommunication and the Turkish Government; and thus the school was not opened again. The people are not pleased with this change; and some have sent their children here, that they may be sent to school. Alas! the enemy has nevertheless succeeded very far. By letters from our Scio friends in the Piraeus, they wish me to send them a Female Teacher, in order that they may establish a good Girls' School there. I hope to succeed in getting one.

Dec. 3-Several Sciots, who have gone from hence to settle in the Piraeus, have sent on here to get a Female Teacher from our school: indeed they wish very much to have my Second Teacher, A. Parparía, and I have consented to make the sacrifice. They have, accordingly, applied to her, and have offered her more than double the salary she gets here; but she is not willing to leave Syra. It is always difficult to make young females go to another place from hence, if they have not particular inducements or facilities.

Mr. Hildner closes his account of this trying yet prosperous year, with the following cheerful remark :

:

I must, indeed, be very thankful, that, under the most difficult circumstances, our School Establishment has been kept up, in so gratifying and respectable a condition. People from other places, when they visit our Schools, are highly surprised, that, after a time of such disturbance, our school should remain in existence.

We select from the Journal, of which the chief part refers to the Schools, the following brief notices of

Superstitious Observances and Alarms.

May 4-People continue to take their sick to Naxos. (See May 2, in the preceding Journal.) Fifteen hundred passports, it is said, have been given for Naxos, in Syra alone.

May 9-The people are now nearly all back from Naxos. Respecting the miracles, however, we have no certainty yet; some begin to be ashamed; and others are entirely silent about them. Our School has gone on quietly, and with the regular number of children; viz. about 300. We are not without hope, that many more will come back, if our enemies only keep quiet, and refrain from inducing ignorant or superstitious parents to withdraw their children.

May 10-Every body here appears now much more afraid than before, on account of a slight earthquake that has recently happened here; and many charge us as being the cause of it. Toward evening, some women, who had been to fetch water, frightened the people, by saying that the world, or at least Syra, would be destroyed. It is said, that a priest, who met them on the way, had told them to say so. In consequence of this, a crowd of people went to the churches; and asked the priests to open them, and to ring the bells, that people might assemble for prayer. The priests prevailed, however, and the bells were not rung; but they could not withstand respecting the opening of the churches. A great concourse of people was assembled in both the churches, after a few minutes; and prayers were read. A soldier, who was sent from the Nomarchy to prevent prayers being read at such an unusual hour, was immediately beaten, and also some other person, so that the noise became very great; yet no accident haphowever, went to throw stones into Mr. pened, and the people dispersed. Some, Leeves's windows; and others went to Mr. R.'s house, to break open the doors, or, at least, to frighten them: they were, however, prevented from doing so, and nothing else happened.

us.

May 14-The Mistresses dined with

When I told them about the eclipse of the sun, which was to take place to-morrow, our female servant, who had listened to it, fearing for Syra, went immediately, after dinner, to procure a passage for Tino, her native island, not far off from this. We had great trouble in convincing her of her mistake.

Baddagame.

The Rev. Messrs. Trimnell and Faught have continued labouring at this Station; though the health of Mr. Faught has of late suffered so much, as to occasion his return to this country. Under date of Nov. 9, 1835, he briefly reports on the Progress of Christian Labours at this Station.

Our Schools are now regularly attended; our Schoolmasters are better acquainted with the Scriptures; our congregations hear with greater attention our message of love and mercy; but yet Satan never appeared more active, more busy, than at present: perhaps he sees his kingdom in some degree tottering to its fall. Within about a mile of our dwellings, a foot-mark has lately been cut in a rock, a fac-simile of the reputed miraculous one at Adam's Peak, for Buddhu; to which the people in crowds resort to worship, and to present their offerings.

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I went to see a planetary ceremony some time ago; but the performer would not tell me what he was doing, nor would the people allow him; for when I asked him a question, they said to him, Do not attempt to answer; for you will not be able to argue with him." They gave me a hearing; and I briefly proclaimed to them the Gospel, which they told me they understood, but, however, should follow their ancient custom; stating at the same time, that theywere neither Christians nor Buddhists. In fact, the most of the poor Heathen know not now what to follow, and consequently they are of no religion. Perhaps it is something to have effected even so much among them.

Mr. Trimnell, in a Letter of Dec. 23, 1835, describes the influence of Idolatry as being still very great. He gives the following account of the

Prevalence of Satanic Superstitions. The absurd practice of devil-worship prevails to a dreadful extent. In my last, I sent an account of some of the demons to whom offerings were made

and ceremonies performed. Shortly after that, I was informed that a devil-ceremony had been performed for a poor sick woman, whom I had several times visited, and to whom I had given medicine. She was a relation of a young man who, several years ago, was dismissed from the Seminary for bad conduct; and I requested him to give me some account of the ceremony; which, as it shows the depth of superstition into which this poor people are sunk, I think it may be well to send. The woman died the morning after the performance.

Ceremony for discovering the Causes of Sickness, &c.

Near the house of the sick person, three enclosures are made with common sticks; and over each enclosure a white cloth is spread, for a covering. The enclosures are decorated with cocoa-nut leaves and areca-nut flowers; and within each there is a kind of platform or altar, made also with sticks, on which a piece of plantain-leaf is spread. The devil's priest offers on it various kinds of flowers and sandal-wood, ground with water; and sprinkles water over them, which has been previously consecrated, by putting it into a new vessel with saffron-leaves. The devil's priest then takes some powdered rosin; and having charmed it, i.e. repeated over it charms or incantations, sprinkles it on live coals taken from the fire, in a vessel which is then placed under the altar; so that the smoke rises up around the offerings of flowers and sandalwood. After this, he repeats several charms, and begins to sing and dance, while tom-toms are played by others. The priest is dressed in a clean white cloth and a woman's jacket.-In Ceylon, the upper garment of a respectable woman is a jacket. Some small bells are tied round his legs, to make a noise when he dances; and he has a white turban on his head. Thus dressed, he dances and sings, and occasionally repeats charms or incantations, having a lighted torch in his hand. After this, the people tie a small bag of paddy (unhusked rice) to one end of a stick, and a cocoa-nut to the other; and the priest offers them to the gods in the