American Board of Foreign. Missions. The powers of darkness-says Mr. Goodell to Mr. King-that were so fully occupied in watching your movements in Syria, as to leave us in comparative quietness, have now apparently nothing in these parts to distract their attention, and draw off their thoughts from ourselves; and in such wrath have they come down upon us, as to make it sometimes appear, in our view, a matter of great uncertainty, whether we ever die in peace upon our beds. I often wonder, that some one is not hired, by a trifling sum, to poison us, to shoot us in the street, or to break into our houses and murder us in the night. I suppose, however, that we walk abroad in the day time with much less fear than our enemies, and our sleep in the night season, I dare say, is more sweet and refreshing, and less disturbed by midnight terrors. groan daily, are almost insupportable: but the whole seems to be ordered, in the overruling providence and righteous judgment of God, on purpose to prevent their tearing poor little Asaad Jacob to pieces, on account of that change, which has taken place in his opinions, and, I sometimes hope, in his heart. By means of these oppressions, God has put a bridle into their mouths, whenever they seemed ready to break forth into open, barbarous acts of persecution. Moreover, just as the Armenian patriarch at Constantinople was ready to sally forth, with a firman from the Grand Signor against Jacob Aga, and also, as it seems probable, against the men in my service, God let the Janiza ries loose upon their capital, and permitted the fires, which they kindled, to rage with greater fury in the Armenian, than in any other, quarter of the city; and to burn to ashes, among many thousand buildings, the palace and the most splendid church of the Armenian patriarch; and thus to furnish him with sufficient employment, for the present, without meddling with the reformation in these parts. In view of these, and other similar deliverances and providences, we exclaim, "Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints." serves, that the pasha had secured to the mission the use of the garden, which they had purchased for a burial ground, and in which they had deposited the remains of Mr. Fisk. See p. 100. First Admission to the Mission Church in Syria. In a letter to the Corresponding Secretary, But had not God sent terrible judg-dated 20th of November, Mr. Goodell obments upon the people, it is impossible to say to what extremities they would have proceeded against us. A deep plot was laid to drive us all from Beyroot. The Maronite bishop had arrived, and had prepared an excommunication for every Maronite, who should hereafter permit his house to be hired by us; and he was endeavoring, by bribery and intrigue, to bring the Greek bishop, and the Mahommedan rulers, to act in concert with him, and thus force us to retire from the field, or to stand out in the rain with our wives and little ones. But God, in his holy providence, sent the Greeks here, at that very moment; the bishop had to flee in the night, and has not since dared to return; and the very best houses of the Maronites fell into our hands, by the earnest request of the owners. The sufferings of the poor Christians, which followed the visit of the Greeks, were beyond description; and even now, the oppressions, under which they The reader will find, at p. 104 of the number for April, an account of the two Armenians, whose admission to the mission church is mentioned in the following extracts from Mr. Goodell's correspondence Jan. 2, 1827. Yesterday was to us an exceedingly interesting day. We assembled at 12 o'clock, to unite with multitudes of the saints on earth in the petition, "Thy kingdom come,"-to receive Dionysius Carabet, a member of the Armenian church, and archbishop in Jerusalem, Gregory Wortabet, for merly secretary to the patriarch, and a European lady of distinction and intelligence, to our communion and fellowship, and to commemorate the love of our blessed Lord, who hath purchased the church with his blood, and to whose death we are indebted for all our hopes of heaven. After imploring the divine blessing upon the services of the day, we united in singing,— "We are a garden, wall'd around, Out of the world's wide wilderness." &c. We read the 54th chapter of Isaiah, || and the 2d chapter of Ephesians, accompanied with remarks, and fell down before the throne of mercy, with ten thousands of God's dear children in various parts of the world, to offer our supplications for the spread of the glorious Gospel, and the salvation of Jew and Gentile. The Articles of Faith, and the Covenant, were then read, in Arabic to the two Armenians, and in English to the other individual, during which much feeling was manifested, and many tears shed by some of those present. A prayer was offered in Arabic, consecrating the three individuals to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and imploring for them grace to walk worthy of their high and holy vocation; and they were addressed in Arabic on their duties, and dangers. After this followed the administration of the Lord's Sup- || per. The address to the communicants, and the prayer previous to the distribution of the bread, were in English, and previous to the distribution of the wine, in Arabic. The King "brought us to the banqueting house, and his banner over us was love. We sat under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to our taste." "In conclusion we sung the 13th hymn of the 3d book of Watts, containing the lines "Why was I made to hear thy voice, But after the benediction was pronounced, all, as if unwilling to leave the place, took their seats, and we again in Arabic addressed those, who had recently professed to renounce the world, and made some remarks to the spectators, who were present. The whole was a scene of deep solemnity and interest. It was the day (always dear to us) of the Monthly Concert; it was the first day of the year; it was a renewed consecration of ourselves to Christ, and a presentation to him of the first fruits of this mission; it was the reviving of the stones out of the rubbish, amidst the desolations of many genera tions-the rearing up of a church "upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ being the chief corner stone;" which church, we have confidence to believe, will live and flourish, long after we shall have gone to render up our account. We prayed for our beloved Asaad Shidiak, who would doubtless have been with us, were he not in bonds for the testimony of Jesus. We thought of our beloved Fisk and Parsons, whose benevolent hearts would have been filled with unspeakable joy at such a sight, before they went to heaven. We looked around upon several weeping individuals present, of different communions, some of whom are desirous of uniting themselves to us, and whom we shall probably admit to Christian fellowship on the next sacramental occasion, at the Monthly Concert in February.-O that this mission might henceforth be like the "tree of life, bearing twelve manner of fruits, and yielding her fruit every month!" 6. Phares, brother of Asaad Shidiak, sent for the preservation of his life, to Malta; Maronite church. 7. "Several individuals, who come, like Nicodemus, in the night, to read the Scriptures, and converse on religion, not being able to come in open day, without forfeiting their liberty or their property; Maronite church. 8. Several individuals, who are punctual in their attendance to read the holy Scriptures with us, and who are convinced of the superstitions, and of the absence of all true religion, in their church, and of their own need of the renewing of their hearts by the Spirit of God; Greek church." Making a total of about twenty individuals, whose hearts, we hope, have been moved by an influence more than earthly; besides many others, who appear to be rationally convinced, that the Bible is right, and that they are wrong. General State of the Mission. Speaking of the general state of the mission, Mr. Goodell used the following language in November. The number of those, who come to read with us every evening, is increasing. The largest room in my house is sometimes well filled; and as a few of them find it inconvenient to return home the same evening, I have provided beds for them. They usually sit up more than half the night, conversing on what they have seen and heard. In January of the present year, he writes as follows: Our prospects daily brighten, though opposition to us continually increases. Almost every day developes something new. There is much commotion, and a great noise; and such are the demands made upon our time, that we are sometimes compelled to go without our regular meals, and our usual sleep. -Almost every thing seems to be tending towards a terrible conflict between Christ and Antichrist. Thirteen schools had been established, which contained about six hundred children, of whom more than one hundred were GIRLS. Increasing Efficiency and Importance of the Malta Press. The printing establishment at Malta, is continually rising in importance and interest. Two presses are in operation. A printer, Mr. Hallock, has been sent from this country, and has entered upon his work with be coming zeal. Mr. Temple is able to superintend the press in Italian and Modern Greek. A fount of Arabic types, is about to be procured, and Mr. Smith has gone to Egypt and Syria, for a season, to prepare himself to take charge of the Arabic press; and lately, as was stated at the close of the biographical notices of Asaad Shidiak, Phares Shidiak, a young man of good promise, has been sent to Malta, to secure his liberty and life against the hostile attempts of his persecuting countrymen; and will be able to render valuable assistance in the Arabic department.-The following extract from Mr. Goodell's correspondence, awakens the expectation that Providence will very soon prepare the way for the erection of an Armenian press, also, at Malta. It is now pretty certain, that there is a firman against the two Armenians with me, [Dionysius and Wortabet;] but Mr. Abbot, the consul, is very positive that they are quite safe in my house. We all think it best, however, to send Wortabet to Malta, should a favorable opportunity occur. He will there be out of danger; he can learn English to better advantage, than here; and when the Armenian press arrives, his services will be wanted to correct the proof sheets. We have great hopes of his future usefulness. Of Phares Shidiak, mentioned above, Mr. Goodell wrote as follows, in November. Phares, the youngest brother of Asaad Shidiak, appears exceedingly well, ready to suffer the loss of all things for Christ. O it is good to see the spirit of the martyrs reviving here! Bombay. JOINT COMMUNICATION. THE letter, from which the following notices are derived, is dated August 24, 1826, and is addressed to the Corresponding Secretary. It brings down the history of the mission about five months later, than the documents heretofore published. The health of Mr. Graves, for several months, had not been good, though generally he had been able to conduct the public worship of the chapel, and to perform other customary and important duties. The preaching of the Gospel is attended to in various forms, occasionally in English, and often in Mahratta. One of the weekly meetings is at the house of a native, who, for some time, has appeared desirous of Christian instruction, and has even requested baptism, upon a profession of his faith in Christ. The missionaries, however, are not fully satisfied as to the purity of his motives, and wait for a more full developement of character. The practice of addressing persons by the wayside, at the school rooms, and at their own doors, is still followed. It has been stated in this work, that the first edition of the entire New Testament, in Mahratta, was completed just before the death of Mr. Hall. A new edition is now demanded. Pecuniary assistance in the reprint, is expected from the British and Foreign Bible Society, and its Auxiliary in Bombay. A second edition of the Gospel of Luke is in the press; and Mr. Graves designs to employ such leisure time as he can obtain, in the revision of the residue. Since the year commenced, somewhat more than 450,000 octavo pages, in Mahratta, have been issued from the press, on account of the mission; and about 150,000 pages 12mo., for societies and individuals sustaining no connexion with the mission. A few English works have been also printed. The missionaries say, that the demand, among the natives, for printed books, is rapidly increasing, and that those of a religious character are readily received by great numbers. The boarding-school for the instruction of country-born and half-cast children in English, was relinquished in May, in consequence of the diminished strength of the mission. The native free-schools continued to afford encouragement. Their number for boys, when the letter was written, was 24, of which eight were in the town of Bombay. Applications for new ones continued to be frequent, but an enlargement of the number was not deemed expedient until the mission should be reinforced. Female Education. The mission has lately entered a new department of labor, from which much good may be anticipated. This department is the education of native females, a thing, until within these few years, unknown in India. On this subject they speak in the following manner. It gives us much pleasure to state, that a good degree of success has attended the efforts of the females of the mission, in getting schools for native females into operation. The first was established in February, and nine have since been added to the number, one of which is taught by a Hindoo female. These are managed entirely by the females of our mission. The expense of female schools is much greater than those for boys; for, while we pay double the sum for instruction, we have thought it necessary to encourage the attendance and progress of the pupils by a liberal system of rewards. To this is to be added the expense of conveyances for those who visit them. In order to meet this expense we have (at the suggestion of friends here, who appear to feel a deep interest in the subject.) printed and circulated a short account of the schools, with a solicitation for assistance. A copy of the paper is forwarded with this. The sum of 707 rupees has been given towards this object, most of which was sent in before our application for assistance was made. We hope female schools will, from this time, continue to be an article in our detail of exertions, and that the time will soon arrive, when the degraded females of India will rise to that elevation in society, for which they are destined, and which those of Christian countries now occupy. The number of females in these schools, was about 200. Among these, there are several daughters of Brahmins, and many others of high caste. The pupils are taught reading, writing, and arithmetic; and commit to memory the ten commandments, and hymns, together with a catechism prepared for the purpose. About 80 of these females have learned to write, though a very few only have yet become able to compose. The instruction is, of course, in the Mahratta language. Plea for Assistance. Our eyes, dear sir, are directed to those in our native land, who call themselves the friends of Zion. Do these friends consider themselves under obli gations to send the Gospel to every creature? Do they feel compassion for perishing souls? Do they believe the preaching of the Gospel necessary to bring sinners to the knowledge of him, without whom they must be forever miserable? If so, why is it that they suffer us so long to plead almost in vain for help? Why is it, that but one messenger, with the glad tidings of salvation, has been sent, for eight years, from the shores of America, to these 12,000,000 of souls? Is it because they are ignorant of the state of this people? || Surely enough has been written to convince every rational mind, that no part of the world stands more in need of the Gospel, than this. Is it because so little success has attended the exertions that have been made? Let past failures, if they are supposed to have occurred, stimulate to still more indefatigable exertions. If the fault is in those who have been sent forth, let others come, who will labor, and who will pray, as they ought. Is it because this is considered an unhealthy climate? Our Saviour made no exceptions-why should we? His command is, that the Gospel should be preached in all the world. Notwithstanding all the disappointments we have met with, we feel encouraged to persevere; and while we have breath, our desire is to use it in endeavoring to impart a knowledge of the way of salvation to the inhabitants of this country, and in exciting others to a serious consideration of their duty to the heathen We do not forget the wants of other parts of the heathen world. We know that too little is done for every portion of the human race. But when we see the representatives of the American churches on this side of India reduced from five to one preacher of the Gospel, and now number but six laborers in our mission, four of whom are females, we feel constrained to call earnestly, and loudly, on the American churches to fill up our broken ranks, as speedily as possible. A duplicate of your letter of January 31st, (written at Charleston, S. C.) reached us by way of Mocha, on the 31st ult. We were rejoiced to learn from it, that there was a prospect of two missionaries being shortly sent to our assistance. We hope they have, ere this, commenced their voyage, and that he who "rules the raging of the sea, and "gathereth the winds in his fists," will cause them to be brought safely to us, and that he will endue them richly with the spirit requisite to make them faithful and successful laborers. When we consider that this measure was determined on, when it was not known to the Committee, that Mr. Frost rested from his labors, and previous to the death of Mr. Hall, we cannot but hope that two, at least, in addition to those referred to in your letter, will immediately be designated to strengthen this mission. Our case is, indeed, urgent. It cannot be expected, that the seed sown by our brethren who are removed, will be productive of much fruit, unless the cultivation of the field be persevered in. We earnestly hope our patrons and friends will keep this subject constantly in view, and not relax, but greatly increase, their exertions to enlighten this dark land. New Missionaries. It gives us much pleasure to inform you of the arrival of two new missionaries, Messrs. Steward and Mitchell, with their wives, under the patronage of the Church Missionary Society; They reached this place in July, and will probably remain here, or in this vicinity. We rejoice in this accession to missionary strength on this side of India, and hope to find in them a spirit and object in unity with our own. Whoever preaches "Christ crucified," as the only hope for the perishing sinner, we can welcome as a brother, and bid him God speed. Favor of Government. We should be guilty of ingratitude, were we to conclude our letter without recording a late manifestation of the friendly and liberal spirit, with which our mission is regarded by the local authorities. In February last, we made application to government for five vacant building spots in the native town of Bombay, for the purpose of erecting buildings for our native free schools. In June we received an answer, stating that four of these were granted rent free, with this reserve only, that, if required for public purposes, they were to revert back to government, upon the sum being paid to us, at which the buildings on them might be valued by a committee appointed for this purpose. The reason of the fifth not being granted was, that it was situated in a part of the town, where a new road is to be made, and until that road be laid out, no land in its vicinity could be made over by government. We are intending to erect buildings for the accommodation of some of our schools on these spots, as soon as the rainy season closes. Together with your letter, we received one from Mr. Hill, of March 7th, and a duplicate of one from Mr. Anderson, of Feb. 1st; also a number of volumes and pamphlets, all of which were very acceptable and grateful. The Columbian printing press, commissioned from England in 1825, arrived a few weeks since. This we consider a great addition to our printing establishment. With Christian salutations to those who direct the concerns of the Board, and to all the friends of the Redeemer, |