Page images
PDF
EPUB
[ocr errors]

SCOTTISH MISSIONARY SOCIETY.

THE last Report gives the following intelligence relative to the Society's mission at Astrachan.

"In the preceding Report, it was stated that Messrs. Glen and M'Pherson had directed their attention to the Persians resident in Astrachan; but that their reception, though friendly at first, had afterwards become extremely unfavourable. Discouraged by this, and other circumstances, particularly by the inauspicious aspect which missionary operations had at that period assumed in the Russian empire, the Missionaries were ready to faint, and some of them actually requested permission to return to their native land; when an event occurred which revived their drooping spirits, and gave new energy to their exertions. This was the conversion to Christianity of a young man named Mirza Mohammed Ali, of whose history it may not be uninteresting to give some detail. This young Persian is the only surviving son of Hagi Kasem Bek, a venerable old man, who is descended from one of the principal families in Derbent, and who, until within these few years, held the office of chief kazy, or judge, in that city. Having, on grounds which are not well understood, been accused and convicted of treason, the old man had all his property confiscated, by orders of the Governor-general of Georgia, and was sent, with some other prisoners, to Astrachan. Some months after their arrival, the Governor ordered them all to be sent further into the interior; but the aged Hagi having procured a certificate from a physician, that, owing to sickness, it was impossible for him to perform the journey, was allowed to remain at Astrachan, while his fellow-prisoners were moved to the distance of three hundred versts from that city. Feeling himself lonely in his present situation, he wrote to his son, Mohammed Ali, at Derbent, to come and be the

companion of his exile, a request with which the young man immediately complied. As the Hagi had previously been acquainted with the Missionaries, the son, after his arrival, frequently visited them, and was employed in giving some of them lessons in Turkish and Arabic. Frequent discussions took place between him and his pupils on the subject of religion; but he at first firmly opposed every thing that was said concerning the Gospel. He even at times became quite angry, and gave vent to his feelings in blasphemous expressions against the Redeemer; yet still there appeared a marked difference between him and most other Mohammedans; and within a few days after such ebullitions of passion, he would again renew his inquiries, and endeavour to provoke discussion. Having at length appeared to become a serious inquirer after truth, he was with Mr. M'Pherson and Dr. Ross every day; and these two employed themselves, the one in building him up, the other in pulling him down ;--the former in shewing him the way of God more perfectly, and endeavouring to bring the truth home to his conscience; the latter in pointing out to him the inconsistencies of the Koran, and in comparing the system of religion which it contains with that revealed in the New Testament. now appeared to be deeply impressed with a sense of his sinfulness and misery: he could not even sleep at night, so keenly did he feel the convictions of a wounded spirit; but, after some time, he obtained peace to his conscience through the application, it is hoped, of the peacespeaking blood of Jesus. His father, as may naturally be supposed, was much affected with his apostacy; sometimes he appeared to yearn over him with the tenderness of a parent's heart; at other times he treated him with the utmost severity. One day, having assembled a number of the Persians, he re

He

quired him, in the presence of them all, to renounce the new opinions he had embraced; and when Mohammed Ali refused to do so, the old man, in a great passion, sent for the Persian consul, and told his son that, unless he recanted, he would get him bound hand and foot, and sent to the police. 'Father,' replied Mohammed, I cannot recant: my feelings would induce me to become a Mohammedan; but my conscience will not permit me.' Here his father reminded him that all their controversies about matters of faith were determined by the sword. A sure proof,' replied Mohammed, that your religion is not of God; for God does not need such carnal weapons to decide matters of faith. His father, full of rage, ordered the servant not to give him a particle of food, nor even to allow him to dip his fingers in the saucedish with him, as he was unclean. Mohammed Ali had accordingly to go to bed fasting; but about eleven o'clock, his father, who had been out on business, returned, and coming to his bed side, gently awoke him: My son,' said he, you see I am an old man: have compassion on my white beard: do not grieve me by becoming an infidel.' Father,' replied the young man, you are my parent, and it is my duty to obey you in every thing; but why should you demand of me that obedience which I owe to God only? In this one thing I cannot obey you.'

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

"Mohammed Ali continued to visit the Missionaries daily; but as, for two successive days, he did not as usual make his appearance, they became anxious for his personal safety. They therefore dispatched a person to the Hagi, with a message that they wished immediately to see his son. The messenger saw Mohammed Ali; but the father returned for answer, that he could not come to them; and that, as the great fast of Ramadan was approaching, it was necessary for him to stay

home, and read the Koran. It

afterwards appeared that he was confined as a prisoner by his father; that he had been severely beaten, and was left in a great measure without any food. Conceiving it to be their duty to adopt some means for his protection, the Missionaries called next day on the Hagi, and, after some previous conversation, stated to him that they would have immediately applied to the Governor to protect his son, but that, in order to save him trouble, they had come first to him. The father, in a rage, declared, that neither the Governor nor the Emperor could interfere in a case like the present; that he had power not only to imprison his son, to beat, and to starve him, but even, according to the Mohammedan law, to put him to death. They therefore applied to the Governor to protect Mohammed Ali from the rage of his enemies; and, in consequence of this, he was brought the same evening, by the police master, to the mission-house. On being asked respecting the state of his mind during the time he was confined by his father, he said, that, notwithstanding all the wrangling and abuse to which he had been exposed, he felt quite peaceful and happy. The meekness with which he bore the il usage of the Persians who came to argue with him, was also a pleasing proof of the influence of Divine truth on his heart, and was calculated to make a powerful impression on the minds of his countrymen."

Mohammed Ali having been thus safely lodged in the mission-house by the civil authorities, the anxiety of the Missionaries, with respect to him, was for the present relieved; but their alarm was speedily revived by the interference of the Archbishop of Astrachan, who wished that he should be placed under the charge of a Russian priest, with a view to his being baptized in the Greek Church. The Missionaries represented to the Archbishop the privileges which had been conferred by his Imperial Majesty on the Scottish colony at Karass; and it

was finally settled that their right to baptize him should be referred to the Emperor; and that, in the meanwhile, he should be allowed to remain under their care. Mohammed Ali accordingly addressed a petition to his Imperial Majesty, begging that he might be allowed to receive baptism from those who had been the instruments of his conversion to the Christian faith. With this petition the Emperor readily complied, and he was accordingly baptized by the Missionaries with much solemnity. The mission chapel, and the school-room contiguous to it, were, on this occasion, crowded with the natives of at least seven different countries; Persians, Tartars, Russians, Armenians, English, French, and Germans. The service was conducted in three languages; Persian, Turkish, and English; and the impression which was made on such of the audience as understood it, appeared to be uncommonly animating, while, in the looks of those who did not understand it, there was something indicative of the lively interest which they felt in the sacred services of the day.

"After Mohammed Ali had been taken from his father, the Missionaries were apprehensive that the Persians would be so enraged that they would neither come near them nor admit of their visiting them at their own houses. These fears were, however, happily disappointed. Numbers of the Persians daily visited Mohammed Ali himself, for the purpose of conversing with him as to the change which had taken

place in his views, and some of them to reason with him relative to it. All of them were friendly, and spoke in as mild a manner as if nothing strange had happened. These opportunities were not lost by Mohammed Ali. He stated to them clearly his own views of the Christian religion, and his reasons for embracing it; and, as occasion required, he pointed out to them the futility of that foundation on which they were building their hopes for eternity. He made no distinction between the rich and poor among his visitors, and appeared greatly interested while speaking to them of the wonders of salvation. Messrs. Glen and M'Pherson, at the same time, made frequent visits to the Persians, and were often visited by them in return. Some of them appeared to be candid inquirers, and several of them seemed to be seriously concerned about their souls. More than one of them appeared prepared to renounce, without delay, the delusions of Mohammedanism, and to make an open profession of Christianity. From the manner in which some of them spoke and acted, the Missionaries entertained the most pleasing hopes of their conversion, and earnestly expected that in a short time they would be added to their little church. It is not easy, in short, to conceive any thing more delightful and encouraging than the interviews of the Missionaries with the Persians; but the pleasing anticipations to which they gave birth have not yet been realized."

AMERICAN BOARD OF MISSIONS.

Of

THE Board have now five mission-
aries in the Mediterranean.
these missionaries, Mr. Temple is in
Malta; the other four are in Syria.
From journals transmitted to the
Board, and others to the Bible So-
ciety of Malta, we extract the fol-
lowing memoranda relative to their
proceedings in Egypt. On a future
occasion we hope to give some in-
CHRIST. OBSERV. APP.

teresting extracts from their tour in Palestine and Syria.

"At Alexandria we went together to the tomb of our dear departed brother Parsons. We kneeled on the stone that covers his grave; each successively offered up a prayer, giving thanks for the grace bestowed on him, and for the good which he was enabled to do while 5 P

he lived; and praying that we might be excited to renewed diligence in our Master's work, and fitted to die as our brother died; and supplicating a blessing on his far-distant relatives. We then sung a funeral anthem, taken from the Martyr of Antioch' by the Rev. H. H. Mil

man

'Brother, thou art gone before us,

And thy saintly soul is flown, Where tears are wiped from every eye,

And sorrow is unknown.'

"We visited the Coptic convent. The priest told us that there are only thirteen Coptic families in Alexandria. We inquired about their time of beginning and manner of keeping the Sabbath: he said that they begin it when they rise in the morning, and spend it in prayer and religious exercises. They believe that infants who are baptized will be saved, and that those who are not will perish. The man who sins after baptism must confess to the priest, and receive the communion, which is the body and blood of Christ, and he will be forgiven. We inquired whether they approve of giving the Bible to all the people. He replied, 'Certainly; for all Christians -Copts, Abyssinians, Catholics, Greeks all have but one Bible.' On parting, we gave him an Arabic Genesis, an extract from Grotius on the Truth of Christianity, and a Homily on Reading the Scriptures. "Dr. Marpurgo, the Jewish physician, told us that there is much talk about us in the town. The Catholic priests are violent against us, and are not willing that we should either preach or distribute the Scriptures; but the people are generally in our favour.

"We had taken lodgings in the house of a Jew, opened our boxes of sacred books, and began to distribute them: many came to our apartments to purchase. Sometimes we went abroad, with books under our arms, and sold them in the streets and in the shops: we also employed a man to go about the town and sell for us. During a residence of ten

days we distributed seventy copies gratis, and sold 100 for 440 piastres, with 1000 tracts. Several interesting circumstances occurred. The principal officer of the customs requested copies of the different books: we accordingly waited on him the next day, and gave him a New-Testament, a Psalter, and a copy of Genesis, which he received very favourably. A few Mussulmans purchased copies of Genesis, and to a few others we gave gratis. To Jews we sold a few copies of the Bible and of the New Testament, in Hebrew, French, and Italian. We distributed, however, principally among nominal Christians. The master of a very interesting school purchased fifteen Testaments for the use of his scholars, and we made him a present of fifteen more for the same purpose. A Catholic-Armenian priest called on us, and received very readily an Armenian Bible. Among other applicants for the word of God was a Catholic from Bethlehem, the birth-place of our Saviour. The Greeks, as usual, received the New-Testament readily; but they always ask for the Old as well as for a better translation of the New.

"At Rosetta we first visited the Greek convent: it is a large building, but only one priest now resides in it, nor is there any other in Rosetta: he told us, that there are at present not above ten or twelve Greeks residing in the town-nearly that number called on us for Testaments. From the Greek we went to the Coptic convent: there are two priests in it, both of whom are married. Adjoining this convent was a Coptic school of thirteen boys. We went next, accompanied by the Coptic priests, to the Jewish synagogue: two or three Jews were present; and the great subject of Christianity was discussed with a Jew in the synagogue. One of the Copts shewed us an Arabic Bible, which he bought of Mr. Belzoni. We remained in Rosetta only two days; during which time we gave away six copies of the Scriptures, and sold thirty.

"On the passage from Rosetta to Caïro, there was an eclipse of the moon. The moon's disk was completely obscured for an hour and thirty-seven minutes. The Arabs were dreadfully alarmed. We could hear nothing but the screams and prayers of men, women, and children. They supposed it denoted a revolution, and was in consequence of the pacha's oppressing the Arabs, and taking so much money from them.

"At Cairo, we received from Mr. Salt, the Consul-General, and from Mr. Lee, all those encouraging attentions, which their previous good offices in favour of the Bible Society had given us ground to hope for. In the benevolent efforts of these gentlemen, we see how greatly consuls, merchants, and travellers in foreign countries, have it in their power to assist in the distribution of the Scriptures. Mr. Salt's dragoman has sold 117 of different kinds for 723 piastres, which he paid to Mr. Fisk. It is gratifying to see the work thus advancing, when none of the public agents of the Society are in the country. It shows that such a demand exists for the Scriptures, as requires a constant supply.

"We remained in Caïro only one week; but, during that time, we gave away sixty-two copies of the Scriptures, and sold seventy-seven. In this instance, the proportion of copies distributed gratis is unusually large. This remains to be explained. We in reality gave away only twelve in Caïro; but we gave also fifty to Mr. Warton, an English gentleman, with whom we formed a very interesting acquaintance at Caïro, and who was going to Persia: these fifty were Hebrew New-Testaments, and the Testament and Genesis in Arabic, designed for gratuitous distribution in Persia, and between here and there among Jews and Mussulmans. Mr. Warton has already been several years in Persia, and has given several copies to Mussulmans: he was very glad to receive this supply.

"The Director of the Pacha's Institute shewed us the printing establishment. When Mr. Fisk visited this establishment last year, he found them setting the types to reprint a tract which he had given away a few days before. It was an account of the system of Mutual Education, prepared in Arabic by Professor Macbride of Oxford. The superintendant of the press now told us that 100 copies were printed, which the pacha had given to his friends.

"When we arrived at Caïro, we intended going thence to Suez and Mount Sinai; but, learning that there were some disturbance in that quarter, we relinquished that part of our plan, and resolved on a journey into upper Egypt. We embarked in a small boat; committing our past labours and future proceedings to the Divine blessing.

"At Minie we visited the bishop. Our way to his house was through a dirty narrow lane, and all the people whom we saw looked miserably. Though so old, he can see to read even small print without glasses. He shewed us several Arabic and Coptic books, all manuscripts, except an Arabic Bible. We inquired where he obtained that: he said, ، A friend, like yourselves, brought it to us.' This was no doubt Mr. Jowett, who, during his journey into Upper Egypt, four years ago, distributed upwards of twenty Arabic Bibles, all that he had with him. We offered to purchase some of the manuscripts, but he refused. We shewed him several of our books, and offered them as a present; but he said they had an abundance of books already. When we were about taking our leave, he invited us to remain and dine with him, which we did. It was interesting to see the simplicity of his fare. Of liquor there was only one kind, the water of the Nile; and we all drank from the same brown earthen jug.

"Bladia. This place consists almost entirely of Copts. On entering the village, we saw a boy with

« ՆախորդըՇարունակել »