The Pasha of Mosul has been made prisoner, and part of the palace has been burnt and plundered: they have killed or put to flight the soldiers of the Pasha of Mosul, who came here as the agent of Ali Pasha, of Aleppo, the successor to Daoud Pasha, said to have been appointed by the Porte. The crier has again proclaimed Daoud as Pasha, and Saleh Beg his kaimacam or representative, till he recovers. Some say the Pasha of Aleppo is dead of the plague; some, that he is not coming, and that this entrance of the Pasha of Mosul and a famous Arab chief, was only a plot of theirs to get Bagdad into their own hands. What is true, what is false, it is now utterly impossible to tell, or what the result will be; but should Ali Pasha, if he is alive, be now sufficiently powerful to advance and attempt to dispossess this man, we may expect dreadful scenes. Last night the contest ended in plundering the poor Jews.
Amidst this turmoil and interminable contention, a missionary with a family has much to try his faith, particularly in the early years of his missionary course, when he has no power in the language to take advantage of those opportunities which accidentally present themselves; for I am daily more and more convinced of the difficulty of speaking so as to be felt; at least in the first Eastern language one learns. The association of ideas, the images of illustration, are almost entirely different in many cases. The organs of pronunciation require a perfect new modelling, and perhaps not the least difficulty is to prevent one’s heart from sinking at the little apparent progress made in understanding, and being understood, out of the common routine of daily life: the feeling will often arise, Surely I never shall learn. The difficulty is not, however, merely in words; you have to converse in the East generally with persons who have either no ideas on subjects of the deepest interest, or have attached some entirely different meaning to the terms you use to express those ideas; and which of the two occasions the most trouble, it is difficult to say. Notwithstanding, however, all difficulties, and all discouragements, and we seem now in the very centre of all, my soul was never more assured of the value of missionary labours among any people, it matters not whom, than now. There is, I am sure, what our blessed Lord declares, a testimony, in whatever measure we can proclaim his truth, or manifest his spirit, that is felt by those even who will not embrace it savingly. In reading Mrs. Judson’s journal of the trials of the Burman mission, how deeply I now enter into them—how truly I can sympathize with them. It is wonderful how the Lord does sustain the heart when the time of trial comes. When I heard the struggle at the palace, last night, then saw it on fire, and heard the balls whizzing over our heads, and shortly after the screams of the poor Jews, whom they were plundering, a little way from the end of our street, my heart felt a repose in God that I cannot describe, and a peace that nothing but confidence in his loving care could give me, I feel assured. At times I feel so utterly useless, so devoid of every aptitude for the work in which I am engaged, that I wonder the Lord called me to it, yet the Lord may allow me to fill a place, though it be the lowest in missionary service. My greatest earthly treasure is the love of those who love the Lord, and in this I do feel rich, unworthy as I am of it. My heart longs for Christian communion; but such is the state of things here, that I feel almost as far from the prospect as when the first letter arrived from England, telling me so many were purposing to come. But what an inducement it is to patience to know, that all our trials and disappointments are the orderings of him who loved us, and gave himself for us.
The day is passing quietly over, thank God; and they are removing the barricades from the streets.
June 15.—The account has just reached us, that the Pasha of Mosul was put to death last night. The reason assigned is, that he attacked Bagdad without any warrant, and had detained at Mosul the Tartars who were bringing the firman for Daoud Pasha. Oh! what a country, and what a government! Should the reinstatement of Daoud Pasha not be a truth, these circumstances will tend greatly to embitter the contest, and make the occupying of the city by the new Pasha a much more destructive and trying scene, than if these events had not occurred; but I feel that the Lord is disciplining, by these trials, the poor weak faith of his servant to lay hold on his strength, and not to rest on his own. I now give up all hope of seeing the dear brethren from Aleppo till the autumn. These scenes of anxiety and trouble strongly urge the heart forward to desire the day of the Lord to come, so wretched, so comfortless does all appear. I have quite given up the little we have to plunder, so that I feel quite at ease on that point, should it be the Lord’s will to allow these scenes to continue, and us thus to be served. For the moment a season of lawlessness commences, you see the Mohammedan feeling relative to Christians. Now, for instance, that meat is scarce, if they see a butcher disposed to give a Christian some before them, they instantly put themselves into an attitude of hostility, and say, “What! will you give it to these infidels before us?” The other day, during the time of the disturbances in the city, the son of one of the most respectable Armenians here, went out, armed with pistol, sword, and gun to the coffee-house. They immediately began with saying, “What does this infidel with arms? Will he kill Moslems?” and they stripped him of all. The governing powers are beginning to recognize and feel the strength of those people called Christians; but this is never the thought of an Arab populace, who care for none of these things, and only think of present plunder.
I have finished reading the account of the Burmese mission, and sympathize much more fully with the sufferers, than when I last read it, and I greatly admire and bless God for their steady and persevering devotedness to his holy service, amidst so many trials and so many discouragements. Such manifestations of the grace of Christ, tend much to encourage and strengthen the hands and hearts of those who are in any trials, whether similar or different. Whoever proves God to be among his dear children, becomes necessarily a light to the Church, for the Lord surely will be faithful to his promise and to his children’s confidence; and the manifestation of this his faithfulness becomes the light of others.
June 16. (Friday.)—To-day all quiet within the city.
June 17.—For some weeks past hope and fear have alternated for my sweet little baby; but to-day hope finds not a place for her foot to rest on. I see the Lord has sent his message for her also; this comes very, very heavy; for from some days previous to dear Mary’s death till now, I have been her constant nurse, and solicitude about her has in some measure served to distract my attention from the undivided dwelling on my heavier loss, till she has become so accustomed to my nursing, that as soon as ever she sees me, she stretches out her little supplicating hands for me to take her. All this has served to beguile my heart, and keep it in some degree occupied. But when the Lord takes from me this sweet little flower, I shall indeed be desolate. Why the Lord thus strips me, I do not now see; yet he does not allow me to doubt his love, amidst all my sorrows, and I know that light is sown for me, though it does not yet spring up. Oh! may my soul never cease to feel assured of my heavenly Father’s unchangeable love; for with a doubt on this head now, what would my circumstances be? We know that tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed. Oh! may such a result spring from all my suffering!
June 26.—For some days I have had nothing to write about from without. All has been, on the whole, quiet, and we now wait for communications from Constantinople to see how things are likely to end. It appears now that Daoud Pasha has retired in favour of Saleh Beg, whether willingly or from necessity, is not known. The treasury and every thing else is given up into his hand; and he knows as well how to spend it as his predecessor did to collect it; he is therefore popular, but not esteemed by those of more understanding as a man of abilities. He, however, goes to the old Pasha Daoud every day for instructions.
How all these events will operate upon our future labours, I cannot at all conceive; whether they will close up the little opening we had, or make a wider one, the Lord, on whom we wait, alone knows. I have been reading much lately of missionary labours, and am surprised to find how uniformly trials, and difficulties, and threatened destruction have hung over them for years, yet many of them the Lord has since singally blessed. We are, however, in the Lord’s hands.
I have just read through a second time Mr. Wolff’s journal, and Mr. Jowett’s second volume, and I confess that if my little experience entitles me to give my opinion, I think Mr. Jowett’s judgment much the soundest as to the nature of the operations to be carried on in these countries; that the missionary corps should be as unencumbered as possible, and ready to remove at a moment’s notice. I mean those engaged in the simple evangelist’s office, disconnected from all secular callings; but should there be a band of enlightened saints, willing to take the handicraft departments of life, as their means of support, and unobserved access to the people, they might remain and carry on their work, when other and more ostensible teachers were obliged to fly: and this is doubtless the way the primitive churches were nourished, when their professed teachers fled.