a long communication for you, yet I cannot refrain from giving you additional information, which has just come to hand from Constantinople.

It seems, that Mr. King's Farewell Letter, which, (with considerable additions by myself, having special reference to the Armenians,) we had translated into Turkish, found its way to Constantinople in Signor Wortabet's hand-writing, and produced an amazing excitement among the one-hundredthousand Armenians of that capital. A council was immediately held, consisting of all the Armenian monks, and priests, and bishops, and patriarchs, of whom several happened at that time to be at Constantinople; also of all the principal Armenians of the laity; together with two of the Greek patriarchs, viz. the Greek patriarch of Constantinople, and the patriarch of Jerusalem.

Mr. King's letter, with the Scripture proofs, which I had furnished abundantly in the margin, was then read, with a suitable pause after each section; and the question was solemnly asked, "Are these things so? Are the facts, stated in this letter, true? And is the letter itself agreeable to the word of God?"

The Bible, yes, the holy, blessed, long neglected Bible, was produced, and examined; and when they could not make it speak a different language from the letter, they called for the original Greek, in order to be sure that their translation was a faithful one. In the end, they were forced to acknowledge, that the letter was agreeable to the holy Scriptures.

The monks and priests and bishops then said to the patriarchs:-"Three of your principal men have, agreeably to this letter, and to the Bible, married wives; and are now overturning the whole system of our church. If they are doing right, we will all go and do likewise; but, if they are not doing right, we insist upon your putting an immediate stop to their proceedings, and bringing them to justice."

Here they were all in a perfect dilemma, and the council was divided. At last, the principal Armenians said to their ecclesiastics;-"This business does not belong to us; it belongs to you. We know very well that you are all bad men; that, with all your professions of purity, you are the most impure among the defiled; that you have in your cloisters both women and children; and that you annually pay much money, which all comes from our pockets, for this abominable purpose. But this is not our business, it is yours; and we

VOL. XXIII.

leave it with you to act as you please." After much disputation and recrimi nation, the following resolutions were finally agreed upon.

1. That all the former deacons, and priests, and bishops, in the convent at Jerusalem, be required to leave the convent immediately, and that the patriarch put in their place a few persons, whom he may choose; provided they be persons once married, but now widowers.

2. That, from this day, until twentyfive years have expired, no individual be allowed to become a monk, or to be ordained a priest.

3. That boys and women be not permitted to go hereafter on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem; and that if men go, they be not allowed to remain more than four days in Jerusalem, and that they never be again permitted to witness the pretended miracle of the holy fire.

pa

To this last resolution, the Greek triarchs made many objections, and earnestly besought that it might not pass;-"For," said they, "if we now let it be known, that the miracle of the holy fire was all an imposition, we shall be ridiculed by our enemies, and shall lose all credit with our own people, many of whom will become Turks.'

But all the resolutions passed, and the patriarch of Constantinople sent letters, officially, through all his patriarchate, to put them in execution.

The first resolution was passed in consequence of the low state of the convent, the decline of which is attributed, in a great measure, to the influence of the Armenians, who are with me.

The second resolution was in consequence of the universal complaint of the ignorance, profligacy, and numbers of the clergy. The high probability at present is, that not another Armenian will ever take the monastic vow.

To this plain statement, which was made to me yesterday by an Armenian, who was present at the council, and saw and heard all that passed, I need add no comments. You yourself will perceive, that the Armenians are evidently ripe for a moral revolution.

Importance of an Armenian Press.

Now for an Armenian press. I most ardently wish to pour fifty-thousand Tracts upon Armenia next year, and to bring all her numerous, enterprising, interesting population under the influence of heavenly truth. Is it too much to hope, that, before the expiration of the twenty-five years, we shall be instrumental in raising up for her a holy priesthood, and of making, even

15

her, a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

and perhaps Smyrna and Constantinople would be no better. But it can go into immediate operation at Malta, and I can send either my archbishop, or my priest, (both of whom, I hope, have become truly regenerated, though the change is more marked in the latter,) to correct the proof sheets under the general direction of Mr. Temple, or Mr. Smith.

The Firman.

As to the firman, one was obtained, for about fifteen hundred dollars, of the Reis Effendi, at the time of that council, for certain Armenians; but it seems it was intended for two of their deacons, who had become papists. The patriarch afterwards endeavored to take them, but they fled for protection to the French ambassador, who refused to give them up, and so the matter ended. He then commenced his journey to regulate the affairs of the convent at Jerusalem, and has arrived at Damascus, three days from this. Signor Wortabet has written him a very interesting and pious letter, which, it is hoped, will be the means of leading him still farther to a knowledge of the truth.

When the marriage of these men was first reported at Constantinople, it was supposed that they had altogether renounced Christianity, and the general impression was, that, like Judas, they had betrayed their master. When it was afterwards reported, that they still believed in the Christian religion, and were attentively reading the Bible, it produced some astonishment. But when Mr. King's letter arrived, and it was ascertained what views they had adopted, and in what labors they were actually engaged, it was like an electric shock, making a sudden and powerful impression upon all.

the

utter impossibility of moulding things according to our wishes, without much help from the churches, and from the Most High. Nothing, apparently, will save multitudes of the halfenlightened, from falling from the grossest superstitions into the rankest infidelity, but the most extensive and powerful missionary effort, accompanied by an extraordinary degree of divine influence..

But in such a country, and at such a time, as this, we cannot do all that benevolence would prompt us to do. The elements of government here, so strangely mixed, so strangely unconnected and discordant, and so terrible from the beginning hitherto, are, at present, also strangely convulsed; and the whole seems more like the ravings of despair, or the struggles of the dying, than like the well directed and gigantic efforts of the living. We have fears, but our hopes preponderate.

It was only four days ago, that we received official notice to provide for our personal safety; as the report of the sudden departure of the British ambassador from Constantinople, gave reason to suspect, that a rupture had already taken place between England and the Porte. Mr. Abbott, who is now upon the mountain, has since written to us, that, in anticipation of events, he had provided a secure retreat for us all, where we can contemplate, without danger, the raging of the storms below, should they arise.

Let not these threatening dangers discourage the Committee. In case even of an open war, let missionaries come forth as God's host. They can take from Malta, or Smyrna, French or other passports, as the case may require; and we have much confidence, that all these political commotions will bring into contact with us, new and important points of observation and labor, and will introduce us to untried and unthought of fields of usefulness. What benevolent eye would be bathed in tears, unless it were in tears of holy rejoicing, to see the beast

Country.

these ancient fabrics of superstition and of political despotism, which seem to have sprung up from the bottomless pit, crumble to atoms, and be found no more at all?

Willstown.

On the 8th of December, Mr. Hoyt thus wrote to the Treasurer.-"I think attention to the ordinances of God's house is not diminishing here. Last Sabbath, which was the regular period for celebrating the Lord's Supper, was indeed a season of great interest. At the preparatory lecture on Saturday, there were nearly twice as many as our little house could contain. The Sabbath was a very stormy day. Some who could not get into the house, went away, while others stood in the wind and drenching rain, during a long service. We scarcely knew where they all came from, for the population is very sparse in this vicinity. The sacrament was doubtless the cause of so large a collection." As long ago as 1825, the church at Willstown contained no less than sixteen adult Cherokees.

Thermometrical Observations.

The readers of the Herald will readily perceive the reason, why notices of the climate in countries which are the fields of missionary operations, are occasionally given. Such notices are often important helps to the candi date for missionary employment, in determining how well adapted his constitution is to a residence in those fields. They are also interesting to philosophic minds, which delight in comparative views, physical, as well as moral, intellectual, and social, of different places and

towns, and finally printed at Philadelphia. Boudinot was educated at the Foreign Mission School in Connecticut. The extracts contain facts, which are important, as they show the progress of civilization among the Cherokees.

In 1810, there were 19,500 cattle; 6,100 horses; 19,600 swine; 1,037 sheep; 467 looms; 1,600 spinning wheels; 30 waggons; 500 ploughs; 3 saw-mills; 13 grist-mills, &c. At this time (1826,) there are 22,000 cattle; 7,600 horses; 46,000 swine; 2,500 sheep; 762 looms; 2,488 spinning wheels; 172 waggons; 2,943 ploughs; 10 saw-mills; 31 gristmills; 62 blacksmith-shops; 8 cotton machines; 18 schools; 18 ferries; and a number of public roads. In one district there were, last winter, upwards of 1000 volumes of good books: and 11 different periodical papers both religious and political, were taken and read.

Most of the schools are under the care and tuition of Christian missionaries, of different denominations, who have been of great service to the nation, by inculcating moral and religious principles into the minds of the rising generation. In many places, the word of God is regularly preached and explained, both by missionaries and natives; and there are numbers who have publicly professed their belief and interest in the merits of the great Saviour of the world. It is worthy of remark, that in no ignorant country have the missionaries experienced less trouble and difficulty, in spreading a knowledge of the Bible, than in this. Here, they have been welcomed and encouraged by the proper authorities of the nation; their persons have been protected, and in very few instances, have some individual vagabonds threatened violence to them.

The Cherokees have had no established religion of their own, and perhaps to this circumstance we may attribute, in part, the facilities with which missionaries have pursued their ends. They cannot be called idolaters; for they never worshipped images. They believed in a Supreme Being, the Creator of all, the God of the white, the red, and the black man. They also believed in the existence of an evil spirit, who resided, as they thought, in the setting sun, the future place of all who in their life time had done iniquitously. Their prayers were addressed alone to the Supreme Being, and if written, would fill a large volume, and display much sincerity, beauty, and sublimity. When the ancient customs of the Cherokees were in their full force, no warrior thought himself secure, unless he had addressed his guardian angel; no