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 assurances 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 assured 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 principal 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 accumulate all the difficulties together, and make one great impassable 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.
God 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 God 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 assurance! But a little day of toil, and then we shall come with him, or rise to join his assembled 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 God, one day to love our Eternal Father, Son, and Spirit, with unalloyed affections, when our whole nature shall be again on the side of God, and not a place left for the enemy to put his foot to harass the heir of glory.
March 17.—A Chaldean Roman Catholic priest has been here to-day, and read me the same passages 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 illustrations, the difference was only in pronunciation; 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 sanctity 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,