1860.] ( 113 ) THE MOHAMMEDAN. THAT that peculiar modification of false religion, known by the name of Mohammedanism, has been for centuries, and still is, one of the mightiest engines of Satan for the destruction of human souls, the following sketch of the life of a Mohammedan, his education, his home, and his faith, is given by the Rev. H. Jessup, now for many years a Missionary in Syria. It is a good photographic picture, dark indeed, as it needs must be, but the more fitted to excite in us feelings of compassion towards the various races-Arabs, Turks, and Tartars-who lie spell-bound under the influence of this baneful system. In order to present a more vivid picture of the life of the Mohammedan man, we will take him in his boyhood, and follow his course onward to manhood; tracing his experience step by step; marking the influences which are brought to bear upon him, in business, education, and religion. We say in his boyhood; for in matters of religion, as in every other matter, the Oriental man is the only true representative. To speak of a girl, or a woman, as the religious representative of the East, would be regarded by the people themselves as the most gross impropriety. The assertion that " woman has no religion" meets with almost universal approbation; and, in the picture we propose to draw, the boy and the man, not the girl and the woman, must be the object of attention, and furnish our illustrations. The Mohammedan boy, then, stands before you. Because he is a boy, he must be sent to school; for in every Moslem city or town there is a medrice, or school, for the instruction of the boys in Arabic reading, writing, grammar, and, generally, arithmetic. The religion of Islam is a religion of one book, the Korán; and to read and recite the Korán is the first duty of every believer. Sitting on the floor, with his teacher and his comrades, he learns the Arabic alphabet from a little tablet of tin, or a card of paper, and then labours on, day after day, and month after month, committing to memory chapters and verses, until sometimes it happens that the boy is able to repeat the whole of that book. Many learn to read without knowing the alphabet, simply learning the sounds of words from their appearance, without knowing the constituent elements of which they are composed. A Moslem school is conducted entirely vivâ voce. Each scholar studies aloud, and shouts at the top of his voice, so that a schoolroom is a scene of the greatest clamour and confusion. Let us now suppose this boy to go forth into the streets, among boys of his own age. He meets a group of lads engaged in their sports. They are Greeks, Maronites, Druzes, and Jews. The Moslem boy passes by them in sullen contempt, or, perhaps, greets them with a curse, calling them dogs and infidels, having been taught to regard all persons, excepting those of his own faith, as wretched infidels, and children of perdition. "Love thy He never hears the law of love inculcated upon his mind. neighbour as thyself," is a rule he has never known, "Love thine enemy," he regards as utterly monstrous. It is the duty of the true Moslem to hate and curse all infidels. The boy returns to his home. Is it to the abode of love and peace 114 THE MOHAMMEDAN. [ост. and kindly feeling; of domestic purity and happiness? By one who understands the constitution of the Mohammedan family, this is hardly to be expected. Perhaps the father was united in marriage to a woman whom he had never seen until the hour of marriage; and a union commenced without a basis of affection is continued in distrust, alienation, and growing bitterness and strife. Perhaps he is the husband of several wives, and the home, amid whose influences the boy is reared, is one of jealousy, discord, and contention. He sees the contempt and severity with which his father treats his mother, and, not unnaturally, he imitates the father's example. If his mother is his father's servant, because she is a woman, why should she not be his servant because he is to be a man? Thus, by a logic of his own, he learns to treat his mother as a slave. His sisters he knows will one day become the slaves of some man, and hence he looks down upon them with coldness, if not with cruelty and contempt. Amid such influences as these the boy grows up. In the school, in the mosque, in the street, in the shop, and at home, he is receiving his education. On every side there is lying, and blasphemy, and impure conversation; and he learns to regard religion as a mere outside formality, having nothing to do with the heart or the life. We may now suppose this boy to have reached the age of twenty-one, when his educational course is completed, and he is ready to enter upon the active duties of life. According to the custom of his sect and country, he must be married. And to whom? To a person whom he has probably never seen, though the marriage contract may have been made by his parents years before. Married thus without affection, or even acquaintance, it cannot be expected that the new home formed will be one of love, and peace, and purity. Perhaps at this time, or soon after, the Moslem youth becomes settled in business for life, and proposes to perfect himself in obedience to the requisitions of his religion, and to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca. This pilgrimage is the duty of every true believer. If one cannot perform it himself, he must do it by proxy-hiring some one to do it for him, he himself taking all the merit of the act. If, however, he be able to go, and if he lives on the east coast of the Mediterranean, he will take the French or Austrian steamer down the coast, to Alexandria in Egypt. Thence he will go by railroad up the Nile to Cairo, or on to Suez; thence by sailing vessel down the Red Sea to the port of Mecca; and then by the long, slowly winding caravan, across the desert, to the sacred city of Mecca itself. Here he remains for days, and even weeks. He fasts, he prays; he performs his ablutions, his prostrations, his vigils; he makes the seven circuits around the Black Stone; he kneels, he bows, he repeats long prayers and extracts from the Korán, until he has fulfilled, to the last letter, every requisition of that book, as interpreted by Mohammedan doctors and priests. And now he returns to his home, well satisfied with his own fidelity to his faith. Henceforth he is everywhere known as Hadj, or holy pilgrim; and in every Mohammedan city or town you will hear the great part of the Moslem male population addressed as Hadj Mustapha, Hadj Ibrahim, Mohammed, or Ali. (To be continued) 1860.] ( 115 ) THE LATE DR. CHEEK. OUR space is precious, but we owe a duty to some of our dear Christian friends in India, and feel the claim they have upon us is imperative. This consideration leads us to spare room for a notice of one justly and "He was greatly appreciated by us as a Society; for we can truly say, a succourer of many," and of our own Missionaries very especially. We refer to the well-known and much-lamented Dr. Cheek, of Bancoorah, who finished his earthly course July 3, 1859, at Ootacamund, in the Neilgherries, Madras Presidency, whither he had gone for change, and in the hope of restoration from severe illness. This truly Christian man had long been a resident in Bengal, having, in the earlier years of his Indian life, which lasted over no less a period than forty-three years, given up promotion, and settled at Bancoorah, where he continued to reside for forty years. His house, his heart, and his purse were always open to our Missionaries, though not exclusively confined to them, for he loved and helped all who loved our Lord Jesus. His conduct was most brotherly, and many of his acts were munificent. We abstain from any particulars; he would have preferred us to do so-but his record. is on high. He was in the Peninsular war from 1812 to 1815, in His Majesty's service, and was present at Waterloo. In 1816 he proceeded to India, where he entered on the service of a still better Sovereign, and, in dependence on the grace of Jesus, he died peacefully and happily. His last days were characterized by a sweet spirit of humility and self-renunciation, and his end was truly peace. He was the intimate friend and ever precious helper of Weitbrecht of Burdwan, during the whole of his Missionary course, and mourned for him as a son. He was the intimate friend and associate of Brown, Thomason, and Corrie, as well as of Grant and other distinguished Christians among laymen. He died at the residence of Dr. Dealtry, Bishop of Madras, his oldest surviving Indian friend, who read the service over his grave, and preached his funeral sermon. We feel sure we need not commend the mourning widow and large surviving family of our departed friend and brother, to the sympathy and prayers of our friends. The memory of the just is blessed.'" PEPPER, THE FIRST CONVERT AMONG THE NATIVES OF THE WIMMERA DISTRICT, AUSTRALIA. THE editor of the Moravian Missionary Magazine thus writes"In contemplating the work of divine grace, which has recently commenced among the natives in the Wimmera district, it is scarcely possible to avoid noticing three of its leading features-the time of its occurrence, the individual who was the subject of it, and the means by which it was effected. As in the case of the remarkable awakening in Labrador in 1805, it took place at a season of extreme discouragement, 116 PEPPER, THE FIRST CONVERT AMONG THE NATIVES [OCT. owing to the instability of the poor savages, and the apparent fruitlessness of twelve months of persevering effort to instruct and reclaim them; again the grace of God was first revealed to one, whose recent depravity and sullen indifference to admonition and reproof had almost destroyed the hope which had been previously entertained of him; and the manner by which it pleased the Spirit of God to break his hard and unfeeling heart was none other than the word of Christ's patience, which smote the conscience of Kayarnak the Greenlander, and led to his conversion. Like Kayarnak, the first Australian convert appears also to be growing in grace, and increasing in the knowledge of himself and of his Saviour, while his anxiety to make his countrymen partakers of the happiness he has found, and the desire for spiritual instruction which he has been instrumental in exciting among them, afford great encouragement to the Missionaries. To the continuance of the good work thus begun, letters received from them bear cheering testimony. It is indeed a day of small things, but, at the same time, a day of good tidings; and we may well give thanks to our God for what we have been permitted to see and to hear and while we rejoice with trembling, knowing the infirmity of our common nature, and the craft and power of the great adversary, we cherish the hope that we shall see and hear yet greater things than these." The Missionary stationed at Wimmera thus writes "During the past year we had abundant opportunities of sowing the good seed of the word, in spite of the wandering habits of the natives. This was especially the case with Pepper, a lively lad about seventeen years of age, who has never left us since we came to this place, and to whom we have consequently been able to make known the way of salvation in the school, in our meetings, and in daily intercourse. But in him we have had proof of the truth of the declaration of Scripture, "The imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth." (Gen. viii. 21.) After all the natives, except Pepper and Boney, had left us on the 16th of November, and the hot weather had come on, the former gave himself up to the indolence natural to these people. He became sullen, and almost indisposed for any employment. "On the 3d of December, we had occasion to send him on an errand to a neighbouring station; and when he returned, he brought two other lads with him. However, he remained as before, becoming increasingly gloomy and sullen, and giving us a great deal of trouble, until at last he was detected in grossly sinful conduct. What was to be done? We at first thought of sending him away; but this would have been to abandon him to ruin. We therefore spoke separately with him, pointing out the heinousness of his sin before God and men; and then prayed with him, and besought him earnestly to seek pardon from Jesus. He appeared penitent, but, as was to be expected, said but little of what he felt. "In the afternoon of Sunday, the 15th of January, I took some large Scripture pictures, which I had obtained from friends at Altona, and went into the young men's hut. I showed the pictures to the inmates, among whom was Pepper, and gave the needful explanations. Several of these pictures appeared deeply to interest the young people, especially 1860.] OF THE WIMMERA DISTRICT, AUSTRALIA. 117 two, which represented the deluge, and our Lord's agony in the garden. Shortly afterwards, I spoke in the evening meeting on the latter subject, and stated how that our Saviour had then, in a special manner, felt the burden of our sins, and how they justly deserve God's vengeance, &c. "In the afternoon of the following Wednesday (January 18th), I took Pepper, Boney, and another young man into our hut, and translated for them some verses of Scripture, including John x. 14. When I had read this passage, Pepper exclaimed, "Oh that is very sweet!" I was also pleased, that, on this occasion, he, of his own accord, took pains to find a suitable native word for "believe," the want of which had previously obliged me to delay translating the first chapter of John. "When I called them to the meeting the same evening, I was gratified by the promptitude with which they obeyed the summons. Pepper hurried before the rest, and put the benches in order for them to sit on. Some time after the meeting, when it was already dark, I sat down to make some entries in my diary. While thus engaged, I heard some one outside the door, making some noises, as if to attract attention, but as I had no idea what it meant, I remained quietly at my desk. Soon afterwards, I had occasion to go out to look at the fire which I had lighted for the purpose of cooking my supper. There I found Pepper standing, and addressed some indifferent remarks to him. He, however, answered, (I give his own words as exactly as I can), "Oh I wish to speak to you about my state." On hearing this, I asked him into the hut. At first he made some indistinct remarks, which I could not understand, about liking some particular book. However, his utterance soon became more distinct, and he exclaimed in an earnest tone, "Oh I do not know how I feel. I have wept over my sins. Last night I could have cried aloud. When I went down to the river to fetch some water" (which was shortly before he came to me) "I thought and thought how He went that night into the garden, and prayed there, till the sweat came down like drops of blood, and that for me." The last words he pronounced with peculiar emphasis. I then spoke with him at some length, and when I had offered praver, we shook hands and parted. "What my feelings were I cannot express in words. I was alone in the hut, and sat for some time in meditation. The occurrence seemed like a dream, and yet it was reality. I had evident tokens that the Holy Spirit had commenced a work of grace, and had given to this poor heathen repentance unto life. But at the same time I clearly saw what hindrances stood in the way of the growth of this tender plant. I at length became much disquieted, and felt inclined to call Pepper back, and converse further with him. However, I did not do so, but commended him to the care of the heavenly Husbandman. "Next morning I set off to Mr. Ellerman's, and on the road met brother Hagenauer, to whom I related what had occurred. He was much rejoiced, and told me that Pepper had expressed himself very satisfactorily to him on the morning of the same day, but that he had no idea the impression was so deep. My information caused great rejoicing at Mr. Ellerman's. That gentleman had been for some time in the habit of visiting us once a week, for the purpose of joining us in prayer |