There can be no doubt that a withdrawal from Greece, just at that time, was the only judicious course to be pursued; and perhaps the proceedings of the government, in view of the uncontrollable excitement of the people, were all that could have been reasonably expected. For a week after the departure of Dr. King, a guard of ten or twelve soldiers was kept at his house, to protect it from the mob.
Subsequently, the government went into a protracted examination of the case, for which no satisfactory reason has been assigned. It had the effect to delay the return of Dr. King, and it may have been designed for that end. And perhaps they hoped, by eliciting the truth, to allay public excitement.
Dr. King proceeded to Malta in November, that he might be nearer Athens, and Mrs. King joined him there in February. About that time, by advice of his counsel, he petitioned the Greek government to bring the examination to a speedy close. While in Malta, he printed his "Farewell Letter"1 in French and Italian, and the edition was distributed in Malta, Sicily, Rome, Tuscany, and other places. An edition of two thousand copies is said to have been printed in Sicily in 1849, of which nine hundred copies were distributed in one night, and seven hundred in another, apparently with good effect.
1 This letter is mentioned repeatedly in the second, third, and seventh chapters. The reader, who is curious to see precisely what it was, will find the translation of a large portion of it in the Missionary Herald for 1828, pp. 141-145.
CHAPTER XVIII.
DR. JONAS KING AND THE GREEK HIERARCHY.
1847-1869.
Impatient of longer delay, Dr. King boldly resolved upon returning to Athens, and he arrived there on the 20th of June, 1848. He assigns his reason for this in a letter to his Secretary: "I thought it best," he writes, "to wait no longer, but to throw myself suddenly into the midst of the people, and take whatever might come. No one ever took a castle by remaining quietly outside. He may lose his life, and he may take the castle. At any rate, here I am. I believed it my duty to come, and to come now, and I returned with my mind perfectly tranquil. I know that a sparrow shall not fall to the ground without my Father, and that the very hairs of my head are all numbered."
The newspapers were silent. The editor of the "Age," who printed the
"Orgies," gave him his hand, and welcomed him back to Greece.
Simonides tried to revive the excitement, but did not succeed.
Calling on most of the King's Ministers, as a matter of civility, he
was generally received with cordiality.
It was not thought prudent, however, to resume his preaching at once, but his book depository was opened, and Bibles, Testaments, and other religious books were again in demand. Within six months after his return, he printed over five hundred thousand pages of religious books; and the opening of the year 1849 found him preaching publicly on the Sabbath, with a Scripture exposition Thursday evening, and several young men much impressed by these ministrations. The disturbed political condition of Europe at that time, had a tendency, no doubt, to divert the public attention. One fact deserves mention. Just as a new paper was about to be published at Athens, with the special design of holding up Protestant missions to popular indignation, a British fleet appeared in the offing, and public attention was diverted from the undertaking. In August, several students from the University attended the Sabbath and Thursday evening services, and called at other times for conversation, and two Greeks of hopeful piety were accustomed to take part in reading the Scriptures and extempore prayer at a Sabbath evening prayermeeting. The devoted missionary felt himself called on to work while the day lasted.