Journal of a Residence at Bagdad Part 4

_February 14, 1831._

An offer has been made to us by one of the richest Armenian merchants here, to send, at his own expense, two camel loads of books any where we wish, which has of course been thankfully accepted; and we think of sending at least one load to Diarbekr. He has also bought from our Armenian teacher, those Bibles he had procured from the Bible Society at Calcutta, who, with the many thus obtained, has determined to send more Bibles from Bus.h.i.+re, where he has already 200, to Julfa and Ispahan, and the villages round about, in which he says there are above twenty churches.

I have this day settled all my accounts, and find, after every thing is paid, including the expenses of my baggage from Bus.h.i.+re, and of the house for ourselves, and school for another year, that our little stock will last us, with the Lord's blessing, two months longer, and then we know not whence we are to be supplied, but the Lord allows us not to be anxious; he has so wonderfully provided for us. .h.i.therto, that it would be most ungrateful to have an anxious thought. Even for my baggage, Major T. only allowed me to pay half the charge, and he has moreover told me, that should I at any time want money, only to let him know and he will lend it me. Now, really, to find here such kind and generous friends, is more than we could have hoped, but thus the Lord deals with us, and takes away our fears. That we may many times be in straits I have no doubt, but the time of our necessity will be the time for the manifestation of our Lord's providential love and munificence.

There is one peculiar feature that runs through all education in the eastern churches, that it professes to be religious, which gives us an opportunity of introducing such books as may be useful, without its exciting any surprise or suspicion, or opposition.

_Feb. 16._--The Pasha has sent Major T. word of the ravages the plague is making in Sulemania. The government and all who have it in their power have quitted it. This account has spread much consternation, in addition to which two men from Sulemania arrived here ill of the plague, one of whom has recovered. Major and Mrs. T., with their usual generous kindness to us, have offered us an asylum with them should the plague come here, where we should enjoy this great advantage, that as the house stands close to the river, a supply of water can be obtained without communication with the city. But at present we do not clearly see our way: should our school be broken up, I see not so much difficulty; it would be a most valuable opportunity for Mrs. G. making progress in the language; but we wait on the Lord and he will guide us. These do indeed seem awful times for these lands. We cannot be too thankful for the peace and joy the Lord allows us to feel in the a.s.surance of his loving care.

I was much struck by a remark of our Moolah yesterday, when speaking of the horror he felt at the prospect of the plague coming here. He said, the sword he did not fear, but the plague he did, for one was the work of man, the other of G.o.d. I replied to him, that feeling this G.o.d who directs the plague, to be my father, who loved me, I knew he would not suffer it to come nigh me unless he had no longer occasion for me, and then it would come as a summons from a scene of labour and many trials to one of endless joy. He said, Yes, it is very well for you not to fear death, who believe Christ to have atoned for you; but I fear to die.

_Feb. 19._--To-day we have heard that the above report of the plague being at Sulemania is false; that it has been there, but has now left it; so we know not what to believe.

_Feb. 21._--The expenses attendant on our packages from Bombay to this place, are as great as from England to Bombay. The boxes of books and medicine, and the press, with three boxes of books from the Bible Society, cost twenty-five pounds. Aleppo would certainly be the cheapest way to send them by, and by far the most speedy. It would be a great comfort to us, if this communication should ever be opened, for then we might freely communicate with, and hear from those we love. I sent a packet across the desert the other day, which we have every reason to think was intercepted. In fact, it is now very doubtful if any of the many letters we have sent, have gone safe, and none have reached us for these six months.

Intelligence came to-day, that the Sultan has ordered the Pasha of Mosul, and another Pasha who is dependant on this Pasha, to discontinue all communication with him, as the enemy of the Sultan. A few weeks will, most probably, conclude this long-continued struggle, and, we hope, the insecurity and confusion attendant on it; yet, the Lord knows his purposes, and we have only to execute his will.

_Feb. 24._--We have just heard, by a letter that came from Aleppo by way of Merdin and Mosul, that the caravan which left this place more than three months ago, entered Aleppo about thirty days ago. They remained in the desert till the Pasha of Aleppo had quitted that place on his expedition against the Pasha of Bagdad, from the fear, that if they entered the town he would seize their camels for the use of his army. Much alarm is entertained here by the inhabitants as to the result of this attack. From past experience they are led to expect great lawlessness, from both friends and foes. May the Lord keep our hearts in perfect peace, stayed on him. We now begin to feel that it is very doubtful when we shall see our dear friends: certainly no caravan will pa.s.s the desert till all these disturbances are settled.

It may be also possible, that the journal and packet of letters I sent packed in a bale of goods belonging to a merchant here, may yet reach their destination.

_Feb. 28._--This day brought us news of the arrival of our very dear and long expected friends and fellow-labourers safe at Aleppo, on the 11th of January, after many delays and many trials. We had never been allowed to doubt our Lord's most gracious dealings with us, but yet this overwhelmed us with joy and praise; and this welcome news reaches us just as our dear brother Pfander is on the point of leaving us alone. We received, at the same time, a packet of letters from most of our dearest friends in England, at the very moment when our little all was within a month of coming to a conclusion, telling us that the Lord had provided us with supplies for at least four months to come, which we might draw for. Surely the Lord has most graciously seen fit to dry up those sources from whence we antic.i.p.ated supply, that we might know we depend on him alone, and see how he can supply even here; we were ashamed of every little anxious feeling we had ever had, and were much encouraged to trust him more and more. My soul is led to abhor, more and more, that love of independence which still clings to it, when I see how it would shut me out from these manifestations of my Father's loving care. Oh! how hard it is to persuade the rebellious will and proud heart, that to depend on your Father's love for your constant support, is more for the soul's health, than to be clothed in purple and fare sumptuously every day--or at least, as we would say, on bare independence; and yet how plain it is to spiritual vision.

We met together in the evening to bless the Lord for the past, and supplicate his continued blessing for the future--that he would accomplish what he had begun, that our hearts may never cease to praise and bless him. My soul was much comforted, especially with a text to which one of our dear correspondents called my attention, Zeph. iii. 17. "The Lord thy G.o.d in the midst of thee is mighty, he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy, he will rest in his love; he will joy over thee with singing." All the letters amounted to twenty-six, which, after so long an interruption of all intelligence, was an especial source of joy. And now we can think of our dear friends definitely as absolutely at Aleppo, only waiting for the termination of disturbances to join us.

To-day, a Chaldean, from near Julimerk, came to see us, and we expect him again, with his brother, who, he says, can read, when I hope to obtain from him a fuller account of the state, numbers, and disposition, of his wild countrymen.

A Mohammedan Effendi was with me to-day; a very amiable young man, who sees many things in the customs of his people bad, arising out of the Mohammedan laws. He came to borrow an Arabic bible for, he said, a poor schoolmaster, which I gladly lent him. Whether it be really for a schoolmaster, or for himself, I do not know.

_March 4._--Read this morning, with peculiar pleasure, Hawker's Evening Portion: "How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land:" heightened as it was by the localities of our situation; but above all, by the unity of our experience with the sentiments of the writer; for we have indeed found the love of our Father, the pastoral care of our Elder Brother, and the consolation and visits of our Comforter, that which has enabled us to sing the Lord's song in this strange land, even the song of the redeemed.

_March 13._--The time is now fast approaching when we expect the struggle for the Pashalic to commence, at the conclusion of the Ramazan. Yet it may all pa.s.s over, for the government of Turkey is so utterly without principle, that by a well timed application of money, all difficulties may be surmounted with the Porte, and as the Pasha seems now disposed to meet this desire, it may, especially in the present difficulties of the Sultan with Russia, lead, after all, to an amicable termination of one year's anxiety and suspense. We are now especially anxious for the pacification of these countries, that our dear friends may be able to pa.s.s over the desert, as our dear and kind brother Pfander left us last evening for Ispahan. It was a great rending to us all, and has left a vacuum we cannot easily hope to have filled up in all its parts; and till our dear brothers and sisters come, we shall be very solitary, and very much pressed; but our strength will be as our day. Had he seen it right to remain I might have crossed the desert to our dear friends; but this not being the case, it is impossible for me to leave this, and perhaps in the present state of things here, from apprehensions of plague and war, it would have been impracticable even if he had remained.

Caravans pa.s.s much more frequently between this place and Damascus than between this and Aleppo, and it appears to me the shorter and better way of communication to Bayrout and Damascus to Bagdad than by Aleppo. Three caravans have pa.s.sed over the desert from hence to Damascus within these few months. With one of these an Armenian with his wife and children went, and with another several Mohammedan families; thereby hoping to avoid the troubles they expected here. So at least we may venture for our Lord what men venture for their own various interests. In fact, it does not appear that any further danger is incurred than that of being plundered, or perhaps only a heavy exaction from the Arab tribes through whom the caravan pa.s.ses, whose interest it is not to press so hard upon caravans as that they shall be stopped coming, but to levy a tax upon them sufficiently considerable to help to support the tribe.

An English merchant and a Consul are about settling, if not already settled, at Damascus, which will still further facilitate communications; and besides the road from Beyraut to Damascus is much better than that from Latakeea to Aleppo. This arrangement, as well as that at Trebisand, shows that these countries are becoming the objects of public, or rather mercantile, interest.

A Jew came to borrow an Arabic bible from me which I have let him have. Another Jew was with me yesterday, who translated the Hebrew into Arabic very tolerably; but, generally, they only learn to read, without understanding what they read.

An Armenian Priest has just come to ask for four or five Armenian Bibles, to send to some villages between Hamadan and Teheran. This is a plan we like better than sending many to one place, not only as spreading knowledge further, but also from the greater probability of their being read.

We have just seen another of the Chaldeans, from the mountains. He says that they understand the Syrian Scriptures; so that at least I hope to send a letter to the Bishop, with a copy or two of the Syrian Bible I have with me, that when they return next year they may bring me an account whether they understand them or not; and also it will serve as a means of opening a personal communication with their chief; as, by that time it may be possible that one or two of us may be able to return with these men to the mountains. As far as their personal a.s.surances go, they promise me a most welcome reception. One of these people told me, if I would come to his village, he would kill a sheep for me, and I should have plenty, and 200 walnuts for two-pence; they said every thing was very abundant there and very cheap. Their pride seems much gratified by their being the head and the Mohammedans the tail in the mountains; so that they cannot open their mouths, or raise their hands against them.

_March 15._--A packet of letters has just arrived from Shushee, after more than six months interruption, three days after our dear brother had left us. However, we got the messenger to set off immediately to overtake him, and he having seen the caravan on the way, promised to return in five days. In this packet I also received one letter from our dear brother J. B. Dublin, a note from dear Mr. R. informing me of his having forwarded the books to the brethren at Shushee. Surely they are worthy for whom he has done this, and he will be happy in being thus a fellow-helper in the truth. Mr. Knill also mentions their arrival safe at Petersburgh, and his purpose of forwarding them to Shushee. It has been a year of great trial at Shushee for the mission, but of exactly what nature and to what extent we know not, nor how things now stand in the communications to our dear fellow-helper who has just left us, as they are in German; but should he not be able on the road to write us a full account, he doubtless will when he has reached Kermanshah or Hamadan.

We hear that the prince royal is marching against his brother the Prince of Kerman, by way of Ispahan, the roads, therefore, are very unsettled in Persia, but the Lord will encamp round about our brother and bear him safely through.

_March 16._--The letters we yesterday received from Tabreez a.s.sured us of the willingness of the Armenian Bishop to have a school as soon as a fit person could be found; and on reading one of the tracts from Shushee, he said he would read it in his church to his flock. Mrs. N.

also mentions the willingness among the Mohammedans to receive the New Testament, and that in many instances, pleasing results have manifested themselves; but of what kind she does not mention. She mentions also one of the princ.i.p.al Mohammedan merchants asking for a Testament to read on his road to Mecca. May the Lord stop him by it before he gets there, at the gates of the heavenly Jerusalem. In fact, there is room in these parts for much preparatory work, when the time comes that the power of the Gospel shall have taken such root as to show by the power and individuality it gives to the Christian character that their craft is in danger. They will do as they have done in Shushee; but by the Lord's blessing it may then be too late.

What appears to me to require the greatest patience and the most unwavering perseverance, is the language; for, while on the one hand there is every thing to encourage, if we only take the burthen of the day on the day, there is such a natural tendency in the mind of man to acc.u.mulate all the difficulties together, and make one great impa.s.sable mountain, that it becomes more difficult than many would imagine, to go on successfully and happily like a little child. That measure of knowledge of a language which so enables one to move about in the common transactions of life, does not seem difficult to attain; but to be able to state clearly the power of moral distinctions, to detect the fallacy of false systems, and put beside them the true light of life, is another and a very difficult thing, but yet the Lord doubtless sees in this reasons of immense weight, or he would again bestow upon us the gifts of the Spirit as before.

G.o.d our Father has most marvellously eased our way, and so great has been the kindness of our ---- here, that he would do any thing he could for us. He even told me the other day, never to let our work stand still for want of funds, for should I ever want any he would gladly supply me, and lend me for my personal wants whatever I might need. Now when we consider there is but one English family now resident in Bagdad besides our own, how like the Lord's acting it is to make them willing to supply to us the necessary help: not only does the Lord supply us with means necessary for our expense, but does not allow us when our little fund gets low, to know the anxiety of expecting, or thinking what we should do. And, surrounded as we have been these many months, by the alarm of war and the fear of plague or cholera, even our dear native islands have not been without their anxieties; but I have been much struck of late with the peculiar dealings of G.o.d towards his chosen; as of old, the pillar that was all darkness to the enemy, was light to the church in the wilderness, so now all this dark cloud, the darkness of which may be felt, which is spreading from one end of the Christian and Mohammedan world to the other, has, towards the church in her pilgrimage, its full steady bright light surmounted by "Behold he cometh!" Blessed a.s.surance! But a little day of toil, and then we shall come with him, or rise to join his a.s.sembled saints, dressed all anew, with our house from heaven, that spiritual clothing meet for the new creature in Christ Jesus. Oh, what glorious liberty we are heirs to, as children of G.o.d, one day to love our Eternal Father, Son, and Spirit, with unalloyed affections, when our whole nature shall be again on the side of G.o.d, and not a place left for the enemy to put his foot to hara.s.s the heir of glory.

_March 17._--A Chaldean Roman Catholic priest has been here to-day, and read me the same pa.s.sages of the Psalms in the Chaldean and Syrian languages, and there appears to be no other difference than in character, as far as he read. The Syrians, the Chaldeans, and the Jews, might become most valuable objects of missionary labour, not only as being in greater numbers here, but from the great similarity of their languages, so that the mastering of the one would be to the mastering of the three, with very little additional trouble. I endeavoured to find out from him the difference between the spoken and written languages, and as far as he produced ill.u.s.trations, the difference was only in p.r.o.nunciation; the words seemed substantially the same. But there is a very strong prejudice to contend with in all those among these people who know any thing of these languages, in the contempt in which they hold their vulgar, and the reverence and sanct.i.ty they attach to their old language, so that I think tracts, in the shape of paraphrases on particular parts of the Scriptures, would be exceedingly valuable among them, as well as tracts generally. I trust we shall be able to turn our attention to these when we are able, from our knowledge of the languages, to judge sufficiently of translations or compositions.

_March 18._--This evening the messenger I sent after Mr. Pfander with the letters from Shushee, returned with a letter, which I shall here insert, as it supplies a good deal of information concerning the dear brethren in the Karabagh.

"_In the Desert near the Village Bakoobah_, "_17th March, 1831._

"My dear Brother,

"I am very much obliged to you, that you sent this man after me with the letters from Shushee. He reached us a day's journey and a half from Bagdad. We advance very slowly, only from five to ten English miles a day, on account of the spring season, when the Dschervedars[18] feed their horses on gra.s.s, and because they waited for other parties which had yet been behind. The weather is very fine; we had rain twice, but only slightly. The remaining time of the day I spend in reading, and conversation with the Persians in the caravan. The first day I felt very solitary, but the second, and since, the Lord afforded me plenty of opportunity to give testimony of him who is our Saviour and Lord, and to distribute several tracts and books among my fellow travellers, and this rejoiced my heart greatly. According to the manner of our present travelling we shall not be in Kermanshah till after twenty days. They speak in the caravan from fear of the Arabs after this; but it will be easy for the Lord to bring me safely through. The caravan is increased to about 500 horses and 180 persons.

[18] Muleteers.

"Now something out of dear Zaremba's letters; but I had only time to read them once over, so that I am not able to give you any regular extracts out of them. Should I forget any thing I will write it from Kermanshah or Hamadan. The letter was of December last. All had been attacked with sickness more or less, and dear Brother Sallett, stationed at Teflis, was called home: he died of the cholera.

"The circ.u.mstance with the Armenians is this: The two deacons did go on in their spiritual life prosperously, and continued to give testimony of the truth. This excited so much the hatred of the Armenian clergy against them, that soon after Zaremba's arrival in Shushee from Erzeroum, the Armenian Archbishop of the Karabagh desired to have them sent as prisoners to Etchmiazin, the seat of the Armenian Catholicos,[19] near Erivan. This the Russian Governor of Shushee, after he was informed of it from Zaremba, did not allow. So it got a little quiet: but these young Armenians thought it impossible, at present, to remain longer in Georgia, and so they prepared for their departure to Germany. But during this time the Armenian clergy got an order from the Russian Governor of Teflis, that the two deacons should appear before a council in Etchmiazin.

The Governor in Shushee did again so much for them, that they should go to Teflis, and be allowed to lay their case before the governor. Zaremba went with them, though he was not quite well. The one of these deacons, he who a.s.sisted Dittrich in translation, died there, happy in his Lord. The other went at last, but in a very good state of mind and heart, to Etchmiazin, putting his confidence in his Lord, for whom he was going to suffer. The brethren had not yet heard more of him than his arrival there. During the time Zaremba was at Teflis, the cholera took daily many away, and some days before his departure, our beloved Saltett, as mentioned before. Zaremba got worse too, but reached Shushee again. After his arrival, he and Hohenaker, and Dittrich had been attacked from the cholera, but recovered again. During this time the person from Etchmiazin arrived in Shushee, and preached and spoke against our brethren, and condemned all the persons who sent their children to them. So the school was broken up. But now the children are beginning to collect again, and the school is again opened. Dittrich was with his family, yet at Teflis, where Zaremba wrote the letter. Hohenaker was gone to the German village, where you stopped, and Haas was kept in Moscow, in quarantine, because of the cholera. Two Armenian tracts had been printed in Moscow, and the copies of the first were already in Shushee. In Shushee they are printing the Armenian Dictionary.

[19] Patriarch.

"With our not going to the mountains, they are quite contented; but they think I should rather go to Tabreez than to Ispahan, where I might go at any other time. I do not yet know what I shall do. I shall see how the Lord will lead me. But this is clear now, that a long stay at Ispahan I must give up. Zaremba writes further, that he has now little hope to be able to go any more on a journey, and therefore they rather wish that I should travel and do the Lord's work in the neighbourhood of Shushee, as long as the door is yet open. I cannot reject this, and so I must for the present give up my plans for travelling in Persia. If the way to Ispahan should be quite open, I would go thither, distribute books, and see that I might be in Shushee in July; if not, I shall go direct to Shushee.

"The case with the mission in Shushee, is now laid before the Emperor, and so they are waiting what decision they may receive from thence; but they are sure that the Lord will direct and order every thing as it will be best, and therefore are not discouraged. The Russian government does not yet in the least hinder them in their work.

"My letters all arrived safely at Shushee, and the cause of their not writing, was their own sickness and the plague all round about them. It does not seem that one of our letters was lost. Boxes with Armenian and Persian books are in Tabreez.

They speak good of the Americans. For the news in your letter I thank you: we live certainly in a most eventful time, and we have therefore the more to work so long as it is yet day. May the Lord mightily bless you, your family, and work. In him, under every circ.u.mstance, we have every reason to be glad and to rejoice that we have him on our side.

"Your affectionate brother, "C. G. PFANDER."

"P.S. From Alexander Kasembeg[20] they received a letter which rejoiced them much. It seems to be good with him.

[20] This affords us unfeigned joy, as we had heard from one who was with him in Cazan, an account that made us a little anxious about him.

"The other Armenian in Baku[21] came to Shushee to be employed in distributing tracts and Bibles. He has already made a journey into Georgia, and preaches to Armenians and Turks."

[21] This is the Armenian whose history I gave a little account of before, as the son-in-law of the richest merchant in Baku, who has given up all the prospects of his connection with his father-in-law, which are very considerable, to endure afflictions with the people of G.o.d. This young Armenian is another proof of the immense importance of having those to bear testimony to the power of the Spirit's work in regenerating the soul in the image of him that created it, from among themselves. The people can see in him the contrast between the past and the present man. They have also a knowledge of the peculiar modes of thinking and feeling among those with whom they have been educated, and been in the closest terms of intimacy with from their infancy, that they cannot have with foreigners.

The two dear and most interesting deacons, of whom one is mentioned as having died in the faith in his way to suffer for the truth, and the other has gone to witness alone before his enemies and persecutors at Etchmiazin, were both in the school at Shushee, and in the study of and translating the word of G.o.d, had been led step by step, to see through the errors of the system by which they were bound.

Another proof of the progress of the same spirit manifested itself in our infant beginnings. The two little Armenian boys who live with us, eat and live as we do; on being asked by the boys without, why they did not fast as their nation did for fifty days? without any knowledge or direction from me, they set about selecting from the New Testament, in conjunction with my own little boys, those pa.s.sages which bear on the question, and which shew that if we eat not we are none the better, and if we do eat, none the worse. Remarks of a similar kind have many times occurred in the course of our translations from the Testament. At all events, there is a growing tendency in the minds of the children, to feel that G.o.d's word is the one rule on which they must justify all they impose, and thence the necessity of understanding it; and these principles upset at once the whole system of ignorant mummery which is now called or thought to be the religion of Jesus here. If it be the Lord's pleasure to spare our lives, and grant us the ability and opportunity to publish his truth, results will follow to rejoice our hearts, I have no doubt: G.o.d has declared it shall not return to him void, nor shall it. And to the Mohammedans also these converts from among the fallen churches become invaluable preachers, from their vernacular facility in the language, and from their being continually exposed to the question, why they do not do so and so; they are called upon by the very necessity of their position to defend with meekness and wisdom their new position; whereas, with us, they are satisfied with just simply making up their minds to this, that theirs is best for them, and yours best for you.

_March 20._--The Moolah yesterday, in speaking of the contest between the Pasha and the Sultan, said, that if the English would guarantee both sides, both might be satisfied and make peace; but that if not, they would never believe one another, for says he, every Osmanli will lie. This opinion of their own low moral condition, is universal among Turks and Persians. This man has often said to me, No Osmanli cares for more than his own bread, and if that is safe, the whole empire may be destroyed.

Two tribes of Arabs, whom the Pasha has brought up to help him in the approaching contest, in consequence of some feud between them, came to blows, and all last night and this morning were firing at one another in that quarter of the city which is on the other side of the river, where they are stationed.--It caused much alarm, and may be but a precursor to general confusion and greater trials; but the Lord Jehovah who sitteth on the everlasting hills, is our s.h.i.+eld and defence. The firing has since ceased, and one of the tribes has been driven out of Bagdad.

_March 21._--This day the packet of letters came by Bombay, which were sent off about four months after we left, and therefore have been about eighteen months on the road. The best way is to put all letters into the post-office, paying the postage, and they will then come generally in about eight months by Bombay, free of all expense but that paid in England; and it would afford us peculiar pleasure if our dear friends would write regularly by this route, for the opportunities by Constantinople are either rare or expensive.