106 THE KAREN MISSION. [SEPT reference to the native pastor, Sau Quala, and his labours at Tounghoo and its vicinity, where, during the last three years, there have been as many as 3000 adult converts. This district has been recently visited by the American Missionary, the Rev. Dr. Mason, and the results of his observations will be found in the following communication from him, dated Jan. 15, 1857 I left Shwagyen for Tounghoo by land with two elephants, and reached the borders of the province on the 2d of January. When the Christians heard of my arrival, twenty men started to meet me, and cut a road for my elephants, the bamboo scrub being quite impassable in the interior. I had taken the road to another village, the inhabitants of the village connected with Shwagyen having volunteered their services to prepare the way before me; while the chief and his followers of a third village, were busied at the same time in clearing a path for me to their hamlet. Missing both these parties, I proceeded onwards to the village of Khupghai. The road being exceedingly difficult-mountains so steep, that places for the feet of the elephants to step in had sometimes to be dug in their sides, and gorges so narrow that the animals could scarcely turn aside and pick a practicable track among the rocks with which they were filled-it was not until the morning of the third day we reached the place of our destination. The first night I slept on the top of a paddy crib in an old field, a thousand feet above the plains seen in the distance; and darkness overtook us on the evening of the second day, when the natives proposed to encamp out again; but having no tent, and the north wind at this season blowing very keen over the hills, I refused, determined to go to the village, if we travelled till midnight: so on we went, up and down, down and up again, with a beautiful moon peeping now and then through the trees. We were in a deep dell, when the path required us to ascend a precipitous mountain side; but on turning the heads of our elephants, through weariness they positively refused to go, and, when goaded by their drivers, they made the forest resound with their bellowing, but not a foot onward would they raise. I had to acknowledge myself fairly beaten, and the next best thing to be done was to find the nearest dry spot on which we could spread ourselves down, for in these glens the ground is frequently very wet. After retracing our steps a few hundred yards, I called to a man on foot to feel if the ground were dry in the areca-palm grove through which we were passing, when my attention was arrested by the figure of a stranger in the shade. He announced himself a Christian, and urged us to come and spend the night at his house, which was about a quarter of a mile from the road, on a little hill with a gentle ascent, and the only difficulty in the way, a deep stream, he said he could overcome by leading us to a practicable ford. It appeared that he heard the tinkling of the bells that hang to the necks of the elephants, and, the report having reached him that I was somewhere in the jungles, he came down with his son after us, to see if it were not the teacher. His hospitable home was reached about ten o'clock, where the most comfortable place in it was spread down with mats for my reception. When we had dined-for we had not stopped before from early dawn-I announced prayers, and the only daughter of my host, a pretty girl of sixteen, brought forward a New Testament and hymnbook, joining with her sweet voice in the praise of God. Fancy my 1857.] OPENINGS FOR USEFULNESS AT CONSTANTINOPLE. 107 emotions! Three years ago not a soul in these jungles had heard of the Saviour, when it was my privilege to be first to proclaim His precious name. Now, the first house I am led to enter, in the field of my charge, is furnished with a family Bible and hymn-book, whose owners prize them as a precious treasure, just as the old covenanters did. Surely it is the Lord's doings, and is wonderful in our eyes. Before we could reach Khupghai next morning, the news had reached the village that the teacher had come; and the hill sides were covered with men, women, and children, who had come out to meet him, each anxious to seize his hand before he could descend from the elephant. In one corner of their very neat meeting-house was a place matted off for my sleeping-room, and curtained all around with new Burmese silk, such as the wealthier Karens purchase for their best dresses. My Karen guide wore a lower garment, for which he paid twenty-five rupees, and above it a Shan jacket of considerable value. The native preacher here I found well provided for by the church, without requiring aid from any other sources. The next evening found me at Kholu, in the midst of some of the grandest alpine scenery I ever gazed on. It stands on the mountain side, one or two thousand feet above Yan Creek at the base; and, looking across the valley, mountains are seen piled on mountains as far as the eye can reach, with forms as varied as the pictures of the kaleidoscope. But by far the most delightful part of the prospect to me is, that, while standing in that Christian village, three other Christian villages are visible on the mountain sides beyond. From one, where I observed the smoke curling in a little nook, we could not be distant more than four or five miles in a direct line across the valley, yet I was told it would be as much as my elephants could do to reach it by travelling all day. On the mountain range where I stood, which bounds the valley on the south, are six Christian villages, and on the northern range are no less than fifteen. When I look around me, I find myself in a Christian country, raised up as if by magic from the darkness of heathenism in three brief years. AMERICAN TESTIMONY TO THE OPENINGS FOR USEFULNESS AT CONSTANTINOPLE. THE city and suburbs of Constantinople alone present to us a great field, in a state of much forwardness for the harvest, and yet very inadequately supplied with labourers. One of our native brethren, in speaking of this field recently, remarked, with as much truth as poetry, that "Constantinople was like a broad piece of ground full of springs, and wherever any one dug down to a little depth, he was sure to find water." We have only to open our mouths to preach in any quarter of this city where Armenians are found, and men are ready to come and hear. There are Samatia, and Eyoob, and several other quarters, in each of which there is a people ready prepared for us; but we are not prepared for them. They invite us to come and teach them the gospel, that alone giveth life; but we dare not go. The certainty of succeeding deters us; for we find that we must learn to fear prosperity, more than almost any thing else.... To show you the state of things in the Armenian community here, I will state, that recently one of our Protestant brethren had some busi 108 THE FRENCH AND SIAMESE TREATY. [SEPT. 1857. ness matter that called him to the Patriarchate several times; and on one occasion, one of the persons present, before all the rest, said to him, "Why do not you Protestants challenge us to a public discussion of the points of difference between us? If we are right, then you ought all to return to our church; and if you are right, then we ought all to become Protestants." The individual to whom this proposition was made peared before our Church Committee the other day and stated the case, adding, that the Armenian who suggested this plan acknowledged that the Protestants were likely to have the advantage; "for," said he, "you have in your hands only the sword of the Spirit, while we have nothing but a fragile reed to fight with."... ap It was stated by Mr. Barker, the agent of the British and Foreign Bible Society, in our Bible Committee meeting yesterday, that, during the last two years, more than thirty-five hundred copies of the Turkish Scriptures and parts of the Scriptures, in the Arabic character, have been sold to Turks from the dépôt in Constantinople; while, during the thirty years previous, he doubted whether he had sold thirty copies! This, surely, is a very significant fact. And there are many other significant facts before us here, upon which I cannot now dilate, showing that God's time of visitation to this land has come; and if Christians in America are not ready to enter upon this great and promising field, with open hands and large hearts, the privilege and blessing of such a service will be given to their brethren in other lands. God's chosen instruments, I have no doubt, are ready somewhere, and, from present appearances, they will soon be put in most active requisition. We have just been urged, from a very unexpected quarter, to send Missionaries among the Abbassians, on the Georgian slope of the Caucasus; a tribe of four hundred thousand souls, heathen, literally, in religion, and yet having many interesting traits of character. The Rus sians have nothing to do with the internal affairs of their country, they being governed by their own prince, who, we are assured, wishes American Missionaries to come and settle in his country. How strange! I trust the Lord will soon give you enlargement, in regard to funds. The silver and the gold are His, and He wants us to ask Him for it, and to ask in faith. [Letter from Mr. Dwight, Feb. 27, 1857, in " The Missionary Herald THE FRENCH AND SIAMESE TREATY. THE Treaty between France and Siam was signed Aug. 15, 1856. This Treaty secures what was not stated either in the English or American Treaties the right of priests of the Roman-Catholic church to travel anywhere, to build churches, and to found schools, in any part of the kingdom. The zeal of the French Government for the promotion of religion among heathen nations is worthy of note. In Siam, as in China, the interests of the priests were made a matter of negotiation, as much as those of merchants. Would that Protestant America and England were as much disposed, in their commercial stipulations, to have regard to the advancement of the kingdom of Christ! It is suggested by a Presbyterian Missionary in Bangkok, that the same privileges enjoyed by the French priests will doubtless be conceded also to the Missionaries of England and America. ["Macedonian," April 1857 ( 109 ) ARAB AND CAMELS. THERE are many and remarkable features to be met with in the various arrangements of the earth's surface. Amongst these are the sandy wastes, which are to be found in various portions of the earth. The ocean is a vast extent of water, ever stirring, kept in healthful action by 110 ARAB AND CAMELS. DR. LIVINGSTONE ON E.-AFRICA. [OCT. the winds, and which, instead of obstructing, facilitates communication between land and land. The desert is a vast extent of sand, monotonously spread out in every direction-nothing but sand, sand, sand. Instead of refreshing breezes, there is a hot, oppressive, overpowering sun, which beats unmercifully on man and beast; and when the wind is felt, it is as the hot blast from the furnace, sometimes carrying with it suffocating clouds of sand, beneath which whole caravans have been overwhelmed. Generally speaking, the broad parts of these deserts are tranquil, and the only difficulty experienced in crossing them is from fatigue, want of water, and provisions. Now, one of the points to which our attention ought to be directed, as calculated duly to impress us with a sense of God's goodness and condescension to poor fallen sinners such as we are, is the provision made for the supply of man's wants in every region of the globe. If there be a difficulty, there is something provided which is fitted to meet this difficulty. If the desert is difficult to cross, and thus become a separation between lands, a means of transit is provided for him-the camel, or ship of the desert, as it is justly called. He is made expressly for this special use. His hoofs are tough and pliable, and do not crack with the hot sand, as the hoofs of horses do. If water is scarce, and marches of several days intervene between one well and another, the camel is able to remain longer than any other animal without an external supply. He carries a supply with him-a bag which he fills, when there is an abundance of water to be had, and on which he draws when the supply fails. Moreover, he is strong, and is able to carry the merchandise of his owner, as well as the owner himself: he is patient, docile, and enduring. Some species are remarkable for swiftness, and travel with speed across the burning sands. The value of this animal to the Arab is incalculable, and we cannot wonder that he is much prized by him. The scene of our engraving lies in Egypt, at the edge of the caltivated land, on the borders of the desert. The Arab has stopped to smoke his pipe and rest his camels. There he sits on his bales, which he has taken off the camel's back. The housings of the animal are intended, not only for ornament, but as a protection against the flies. The bell hangs beneath the jaw, and this, in the night-time, directs the footsteps of those who follow. In front of the saddle is fixed a strong piece of wood, over which the rider throws his legs. The gait of the camel, when in motion, to one unused to it, appears awkward and ungainly; and sometimes he forgets the patience for which he has been celebrated, exhibits a sullen and vicious temper, which needs to be corrected by the hippopotamus whip. DR. LIVINGSTONE ON THE CAPABILITIES OF EAST AFRICA. THE following extract from a speech of Dr. Livingstone, delivered on the occasion of the Freedom of the City of London being presented to him, will give to our readers an interesting view of the productions of that portion of the African continent which has been thrown open by his researches, and where, under his direction, Missionary efforts are about to be introduced by the London Missionary Society: The capabilities of Africa are exceedingly great, and I believe |