1857.] AND TRIALS OF THE YOUNG CONVERTS. 81 please Thee, and that I assent to nothing, but what I see by demonstration. Wherefore, do Thou teach me what is truth." This became his daily prayer. On being appointed, in June 1855, to be múnshí to the Institution, he became acquainted with the youth to whom we first referred, and, finding him in a state of mind similar to his own, conversed much with him. They determined to regard their conduct with great strictness, recalling each night the faults of the day, and praying thus-" O Lord, do Thou give us grace, that we may not fall into these sins." Meanwhile, the claims of Christianity, in various ways, indirectly and otherwise, were brought before them. At length, the two friends said one to another, "Why should we any further harden our hearts? What peace have we as yet found in seeking an atonement for the sins which strive within us and torment us? For the future, let us see whether Christianity cannot afford us peace." And thus they commenced to read the word of God and other Christian books, looking to God to teach them. In a statement which the múnshí has drawn up, he says "Although at first we could not understand all that we read, yet, in a measure, we found our difficulties removed and our doubts solved, especially with regard to the fact, that while we, by our sins, deserved the punishment of hell, yet that God, by His great mercy, and without violation of His justice, opened a way of salvation, through His Son; and we entertained the hope, that the more we knew of this way the more grace and peace we should obtain." ?" "I am a Dhanakody, the vakeel's son-in-law, in a similar statement, details the answers which he gave to the questions put to him by the collector. "What is your name, and how old are you?" "My name is Dhanakody, and I am eighteen years old." "What are you Christian." "Why did you leave your father-in-law's house, and all your relations, to become a Christian?" "I found Hinduism to be false, and Christianity to be the only true religion. I therefore embraced it." "How do you know that Hinduism is false and Christianity true?" "Because one purana denies what is said in another, and the Hindu shasters assert that the gods are very fond of carnal pleasures, and are given up to all kinds of wickedness, which cannot be the character of the true God. Whereas Christianity teaches that_the_true God is righteous, wise, and merciful, but, above all, that He hates sin; that all men are sinners by nature, and can only be saved by putting their trust in Jesus Christ, who gave up His life to save them." "Did you go to Mr. Sargent of your own accord, or were you persuaded by any one?" "Of my own accord." "Where do you wish to go, to Mr. Sargent or to your father-in-law?" "To Mr. Sargent. In obedience to the collector's order, I was obliged to be in a private room with my father-in-law, who shed many tears, and entreated me to go with him. I felt it much, as he had been more than a father to me, in treating me as one of his own sons. I shall never forget his unwearied kindness to me, but pray God that he may be blessed with all comfort, and the salvation of his immortal soul." The school, as might be expected, is cut down greatly, the numbers in attendance having diminished from 150 to 30. The Hindus are still very furious, and, with unwonted vigour, are adopting measures to crush it altogether. They have established a school into which our former pupils are compelled to enter, although much against their inclinations. We have 82 HOPE FOR TURKEY. [JULY, no apprehensions, however, on this subject. These ebullitions of the natural mind are like the agitation of the sea, but which, violent as they are, do not last. The stormy wind is under the control of God. After a season it subsides, and there is a great calm. But we ask our readers to remember these young converts in their prayers, that they may be so rooted in Christ as to continue in the faith, grounded and settled, and may not be moved away from the hope of the gospel, either by the violence of persecution or the insidious and more dangerous influence of prosperity. HOPE FOR TURKEY. EVIDENCE has been increasing, of late, that the Missionaries at Constantinople were probably much more nearly correct in their anticipations of advantages to flow from the recent hatti-sherif than many have supposed. Fears have been entertained, very extensively, that it would prove at best a dead letter. Some, indeed, have supposed that it would be much worse than this, exciting the fanatical rage of Mohammedans, and directing it specially against Protestant Christians, while no effort would be made, or was ever intended to be made, in good faith, by the Turkish Government, to enforce its provisions in favour of toleration. Mr. Goodell, however, has quite recently spoken of it as "the great Magna Charta, which secures liberty of conscience" in Turkey, as "a great and glorious beginning," which "came exactly at the right time," and from which they "are certainly enjoying great advantages," though it is not to be expected "that all its provisions will be, in every case and in every place, fully carried out." The London "Christian Times" says "Correspondents of the TurkishMissions-Aid Society, at Constantinople and Aleppo, write, describing the state of things relative to religious toleration, from which it would appear, that, in some cases at least, converts from Islamism are now suffered to live among their friends unmolested. The wife, child, and mother-in-law of one convert have rejoined him, and their re-union is likely to lead to conversion also. Their Turkish neighbours do not think of separating the Mussulman members of the family from the rest. This indicates a great change of public feeling, and shows how the authorities, at present at least, view and treat such cases, in honourable observance of the late hatti-humaioun. Another case, illustrative of this improved spirit, is that of a Turk who till of late professed Islamism, but now lives in the city with all his family, professing Christianity, and attending Christian worship at one of the chapels. This man refuses to seek personal protection by removing to a Christian quarter: he thinks it now unnecessary. He has a trade, and earns his bread, and, though often reviled for his new views, only replies with meekness and firmness, and has thus far remained protected by the tolerant spirit of the Government and people." The February Number of "Evangelical Christendom" states, that on this subject "clouds are passing away." "The advent of Redschid Pasha to power, and the apparent restoration of the influence of our (the English) ambassador, has dissipated very much of the gloom that was gathering." Various facts are stated in support of this more favourable view of 1857.] TIDINGS FROM THE AMERICAN MISSIONARIES IN PERSIA. 83 the case, and extracts are given from different letters. Among others, there is a letter from the Rev. Henry Jones, Travelling Secretary of the Turkish-Missions-Aid Society, who has been travelling somewhat extensively in Turkey, and visiting many of the Missionary stations, in which he says— "There is a wide-spread evangelical movement in all these lands; and all classes and communities, civil and ecclesiastical, are connected with it. Very much bigotry and gross darkness still prevail, but, so far as I can learn, not a tenth part of either as compared with the state of things ten years ago. In every direction light is springing up, and chasing away the mists of error of many generations; and let us hope, and trust, and pray, that ere long the whole land may be irradiated with the beams of gospel truth. "When in Constantinople, two or three months ago, I found that the prevailing impression was that the hatti-humaioun, so far as any practical results were concerned, was as yet a dead letter. I am truly thankful, however, to say, that, in passing through the interior of the Turkish empire, and hearing the views by all classes, which I have had every opportunity of doing, I am more and more confirmed in the opinion that the hatti-humaioun is no dead letter, but that the principle of religious liberty is generally approved by men of influence, and is being carried out through the whole empire! I have had many very convincing and satisfactory proofs of this, which I hope to have the pleasure of relating to you and the friends of Turkish Missions on my return to England. It will be no difficult task to prove, that already tremendous barriers of Turkish intolerance and bigotry have crumbled before the power of European influence, which is extending itself on every side, and the aid which England and France have afforded to Turkey in her hour of need has greatly tended to increase this influence. The people of the land, of the various nationalities, and of all grades, delight to hear about the wonderful development of European civilization, to which hitherto they have closed their eyes. "Our chief ground of hope, however, for Turkey, is that the gospel has free course, and is being preached, not by the small band of Missionaries only, but by scores of native preachers and teachers. It has been our delightful pleasure, in travelling from station to station, to meet continually with those faithful and devoted labourers, and to see how wonderfully the Spirit of God has qualified them for their work, and is owning and blessing their labours. We have also had the peculiar satisfaction of being present at the examination, for the Christian ministry, of the first Moslem who has ever aspired to that sacred office, and of witnessing the sanction which was unanimously given to his appointment. He was the first convert from Moslemism, and is now the first licensed preacher from that religion." ["Journal of Missions" (Boston, U.S.), April 1857. www TIDINGS FROM THE AMERICAN MISSIONARIES IN PERSIA. MIRZA MAKLESOOT, a young Mohammedan from Borajerd, in the southern part of Persia, came to us a few weeks since, professing his belief in the Christian religion, and desiring baptism. He seemed fully aware of the danger he was incurring, and said he was willing to profess Christ before the world, at the cost of his life. He is very intelligent, 84 TIDINGS FROM THE AMERICAN MISSIONARIES IN PERSIA. [JULY, exhibiting a good knowledge of Persian literature, and the Mohammedan system, as well as a surprising familiarity with the Scriptures. He gives the following account of himself. About a year and a-half since he was induced to go to Erivan, as a teacher of Persian. There he became acquainted with an educated, enlightened, and, as we suppose from our knowledge of him, a pious Armenian priest, from India. The priest's knowledge of Persian proved a bond of union between them, which prevented the young man, then a bigoted Mussulman, from withdrawing from his society when the priest persistently urged upon him the claims of the Christian religion. He at first combated them, then was induced to listen calmly to evidence, and to examine the Scriptures for himself. He soon became convinced that he had been following a lie all his life, and that in truth Christ was the Son of God, and the only Saviour of men. At this stage he naturally wished to ally himself with the people of God; and the knowledge he had of the Greek and Armenian churches led him to look elsewhere for sympathy, and for instruction more in accordance with the simple word of God. The priest, who had some acquaintance with members of our Mission, and some knowledge of our operations, recommended him to us. A few days since we sent him to Khoy, on his way to Constantinople, in care of a priest, one of our most pious and intelligent helpers. The priest, during his five days of travel, had a good opportunity to become acquainted with the man, and has returned full of wonder and admiration at the zeal, wisdom, and tact he displayed in dealing with his countrymen. He at once took upon himself the odium and hazard of the Christian name, and was often subjected to much inconvenience and reproach. At Khoy he introduced himself to a company of respectable Persians as a Christian from Erivan, and asked permission to discuss the relative claims of the two religions, saying that he was acquainted with the Korán and their other religious books, and knew that their system was false, and that, from the Scriptures and other sources, he could prove the Christian religion true. These declarations were overheard with great dismay by the priest; but he soon became so absorbed by the discussion which ensued, that he forgot his fears in his admiration of the tact the young man displayed in opening to these Persians the Scriptures, and proving to them that Christ finished the work He came to do, and left nothing for a future prophet to perform. The priest says his audience showed no disposition to get angry, but, on the contrary, listened to him like men convinced of the truth he spake. When he left the assembly and returned to their room, which was near, they could hear the company still discussing among themselves, not a few maintaining that the young man had spoken the truth. This is probably the boldest open assault upon Mohammedanism that has taken place in Persia since the days of Henry Martyn. This case, you will conjecture, has awakened our warmest sympathies. And we cannot but hope that, though compelled to seek a refuge else where for the present, he will ere long be allowed to return and preach the gospel to his countrymen without hazard of his life. We trust that an all-wise Providence has raised him up for the occasion which he will soon be called to meet. J. G. C. Oroomiah, Persia, Oct. 25, 1856. [“ Journal of Missions" (Boston, U.S.), April 1857. ww THE TRIBES OF SOUTHERN GUINEA. THE attention of the Church Missionary Society has hitherto been exclusively directed to the tribes along the coast of Africa westward of the Niger. But we should be sorry to think that our own interest, and that of our readers, extended no further than the localities of our own Mis |