Chapter XIII: Letters From Syria (2)

Just before reaching D'Mimas we met William Eddy of New York State, a minister in connection with the American mission. On learning our intentions, he kindly proposed to return to D'Mimas, that he might be with us during our stay; his presence and kind care contributed largely to our comfort. Here we visited another school and met several of the brethren socially. The subject of education, and especially the education of women, was freely discussed. We endeavored to show them that no people can be happy or prosperous while woman holds a degraded position among them, and that it is in vain to look for great men where good and virtuous mothers are not to be found. As we press onward what a view opens before us! One short hour farther we stand upon a rocky knoll near the ancient town of Abel, where Joab claimed Sheba the son of Bichri as a condition of peace. Looking eastward, toward our right are the hills of the ancient Bashan, thickly dotted with oaks, those emblems of strength; toward the left Hermon lifts his head to heaven in solemn and solitary majesty. Not far are the sites where stood Laish, Dan, and Cæsarea Philippi of the Scriptures, which we hope to visit before nightfall, and all around on either hand we have spread out before us one of the great battlefields of the Bible. We spent a short time in the town distributing a few Arabic books, and met with, as far as we could learn, the only school-teacher, who told us he had under his instruction fourteen boys. We tried to give him encouragement in the work, and gave him a copy of the Psalms.

Soon after mid-day we reached Tell-el-Kady, "the hill of the judge," the Dan of Scripture. Two things are here worthy of special notice: the fountain of the Jordan and the site of the ancient city of Dan. The Tell is cup-shaped, and bears evidence of being an extinct crater. On an island of rocks in size little more than sufficient to accommodate our party, and beneath the wide-spreading branches of an ancient oak, we took our humble mid-day meal. We had scarcely begun to satisfy our own appetites when a mounted Arab, armed to the teeth, rode up and asked for food, to whom we gladly gave a portion, for, once fed from our store, he becomes an ally, not a foe. Perhaps I ought here to add that on our way to this place from Abel we were accosted by an armed Arab, who demanded "backsheesh" as I rode abreast of him: feeling that we owed him naught but love and good-will, we gave him no money, and were suffered to pass without further molestation. The ruin of the ancient city of Dan is very complete; a few broken walls, fallen stones, and pieces of pottery are all that are left to tell of a people long since passed away.

The story of Dan is soon told. Originally an agricultural colony of the Phoenicians, called Lessem or Laish, it was captured by six hundred Danites from the towns of Zorah and Eshtaol. The capture of Laish by the Danites in the north was the fulfilment of Moses's prophetic blessing to the tribe: "Dan is a lion's whelp; he shall leap from Bashan." Deut. xxxiii. 22.

Another hour's ride brought us to Banias, standing amid the ruins of the ancient Cæsarea Philippi. The modern village is inhabited by some one hundred persons of the Moslem faith, who live in wretched ignorance and poverty. We lodged at the house of the sheik; a room was assigned us and mats spread. There we stretched our weary limbs, but, as the sequel proved, not so much to sleep as to contemplate upon the fact that we had nearly reached the base of Hermon and the site of Cæsarea Philippi, and upon the record that our Lord, after healing the blind man at Bethsaida, "came into the coast of Cæsarea Philippi"--that not far from this place He made that striking appeal to His disciples: "Whom say ye that I am?" and soon after, taking three of His disciples, "He went up into a mountain, and was transfigured before them." Yes,

"I tread where the Twelve in their wayfaring trod,
I stand where they stood with the Chosen of God--
Where His message was heard and His lessons were taught,
Where the blind were restored and the healing was wrought."

The next morning, before leaving, we conversed with a son of the sheik, himself a husband and father, upon the importance of education. He acknowledged his own inability to read, and further said that the children were all needed by their parents to work; and as to woman, her business was to care for the house and meet the wants of men, and if she did not do this well she must be beaten to make her do it. Such is the state of civilization where once stood a great and prosperous city, whose architectural ruins attest the fact that its citizens must have been men of skill and taste. Again in the saddle, we turned our course northward. Near noon we ascended a high elevation, where our dragoman halted and called out, "Look! look!" Facing southward, we looked and saw Hermon on our left standing in majestic greatness, and beyond, far to the south, the waters of the Sea of Galilee. Mid the glare of a noonday sun the little sea seems a molten mass of silvery hue. We have within the scope of our vision a mountain whose name is accepted as a word of beauty, a valley of great natural fertility, and the arena of mighty deeds done by men whose record is found in the "Book of books," and whose God is the Lord. Here young Jordan springs into life and links its destiny with the waters of Merom, and onward the eye stretches to that now placid sheet where in a dark and stormy night the chosen band were troubled, and where a compassionate Saviour allayed their fears.

We dined at Rasheiyet,[8] at the house of a native Protestant minister, where we were kindly entertained. He accompanied us to the school of the American mission. We were pleased with what we saw, more especially with the students' knowledge of scriptural history. Several hours more brought us to Hasbeiya; we lodged at the school-house and had our mats spread upon the seats, thus extemporizing a bedstead. Next morning about twenty of the girls came in to meet us, and also two of the female teachers. We spoke of the way of life and salvation, with such words of encouragement as we found in our hearts. A ride of several hours brought us to Rasheyyá el-Wady. We lodged at the house of one Moses, the first person of the place who embraced Protestant views.

[8] In tracing out the course of these travels I have used the
spelling given in Bradley's _Atlas of the World_.

Next day, 1st of 12th mo., held a meeting at the school-house. I felt strengthened, as I trust, to preach "Christ, and Him crucified," as the only way of life and salvation. On the following day at an early hour we passed out of the town by the light of a lantern. At half-past one P. M. we began to ascend Lebanon. At one place near the top we found our path literally strewed with fossils (bivalves); some of these we collected to take home with us. After a journey of nearly fifteen hours we reached Shumlan, our mountain-home, and were glad to find our companions in comfortable health, and I trust a feeling of thankfulness was felt to our heavenly Father for His protecting care so mercifully granted during our separation. Very sincerely, thy friend,

ELI JONES.

We give below some extracts from letters written to the _Friends' Review_ by Ellen Clare Miller, giving a definite account of the number and working of the schools in Beirut and Lebanon for the education of the young sons and daughters of Syria. E. and S. Jones have visited the greater number of them, and found many different kinds of laborers--Americans, English, Scotch, and Syrian--all doing a good work for the land:

"Most of those among the natives who are true Christians, and who are exerting a good influence upon the people here, refer gratefully to the American missionaries as those who were instrumental in bringing them to the truth. The American mission has stations at many places among the mountains, most of which have been visited by Eli Jones and A. L. Fox; and besides those in the north of Syria, which we shall not see, they have three in Sidon and its neighborhood under the care of W. Eddy, which we hope soon to visit. The Syrian Protestant college of which Dr. Bliss is president is an institution where Druses, Maronites, Greeks, Armenians, and Protestants together receive a literary, scientific, and medical training under Protestant influence. E. and S. Jones visited this college last week, when they met twenty-eight of the young men, whom they were invited to address. Eli Jones set before them clearly and forcibly the great power of individual influence possessed by each student, the influence their institution must exert on the land, the measure it was of the power of the country, as no stream can rise higher than its source, and as the fountain is the stream will be. Sybil Jones, as an American mother who knew much of such institutions in her own land, affectionately urged them to work perseveringly and prayerfully in their studies, that each one might leave the world better for his having been in it. It was a very interesting visit; the young men, a fine, intellectual-looking company, listened with great attention, and afterward gathered round the Friends to express their thanks for their kind interest in them.

"There is a large girls' school in Beirut, under the immediate care of a Syrian and his wife, but superintended by the wife of Dr. Bliss, Dr. Thompson's wife, and other ladies. This we have visited more than once, when E. and S. Jones have spoken to the children."

"Besides the school at Shumlan, which is under the care of the English Society for Promoting Female Education in the East, the schools supported by England are all in the hands of Elizabeth Bowen Thompson, whose work is a very extensive one. Her schools are at present twelve in number--five at villages in the mountains--all (with the exception of one recently opened at Ainzabatté, where an English young lady is stationed) taught by natives who have been trained by E. B. Thompson herself. Her work here began in 1860, when the fearful struggle between the Druses, Maronites, and Mohammedans made so many widows and orphans. These Elizabeth Thompson gathered around her at Beirut, providing for and educating them. Since then the field has gradually opened before her, until she has now seven day-schools in Beirut and its immediate neighborhood, and a normal training-school of upward of sixty boarders. All of these E. and S. J. have visited, many of them frequently."

"There are many daughters of Jews and Mohammedans among E. B. Thompson's scholars, and it is very interesting to hear these little girls singing Christian hymns with the others and repeating and listening to passages predicting the coming of the Messiah alike of the Jew and the Christian, and testifying of Jesus as the Christ. E. and S. Jones had a very interesting meeting with about forty of the native teachers and others connected with these British schools. There is a large girls' school, with an orphanage, under the care of the Prussian deaconesses, similar to the one we visited at Smyrna. Here Sybil Jones had an interesting time with the sisters and the children. She also visited the hospital, an establishment in beautiful order, under the care of four of the sisterhood, where, in a large house finely situated near the seashore, the very poor are kindly nursed and cared for. A school for Jewish children, conducted by missionaries sent out by the Jews' society in Scotland, has lately been established in Beirut. To this also the Friends paid a visit, which was spoken of by teachers as very helpful."

"We left the terraced sides of Lebanon on the last day of the year, returning to the region of the palm, orange, and prickly pear. The weather has this month been very fine, though broken now and then by one of the fierce, sudden winter storms with their rushing rain and violent thunder and lightning. This wild climate suits Sybil Jones remarkably well; she has been better since returning to Beirut than she remembers to have been before, and she enjoys the riding on donkey-back. Eli Jones is better than when we first landed in Syria, though the bracing air of the mountains suits him better than this more relaxing temperature. We have visited most of the missionaries. Friends and their principles were almost unknown here, but we have been most kindly received, and we hope way has been made for others of our Society who may come to this country. E. and S. Jones one day visited the Beirut prison, into which they were admitted without hesitation, and where they had the pleasure of speaking to about forty poor creatures, and of pointing them to Him who alone has power to break our spiritual fetters."

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Below we give extracts from a letter of Eli Jones to the _Friends' Review_, written from Jaffa in Palestine:

"_2d mo. 17th, 1868._ E. C. Miller's health appearing not quite equal to a long journey, and finding it not possible to obtain more than three seats in the diligence for Damascus on the 25th of 1st mo., it was arranged that our young friend should 'stay by the stuff' in Beirut while the other members of our party went forward. Accordingly, at the early hour of two o'clock A. M. we arose, breakfasted at half-past two, and at three took conveyance for the station, and at four precisely, with shawls, wraps, sandwiches, etc., were nicely packed in the coupée of the diligence."

"Our ride increased in interest as the young day grew upon us, and by the time the sun had thrown his full blaze of light athwart the western slope of Lebanon the objects seen through the transparent atmosphere of this land presented a most delightful view. Our course was sufficiently tortuous to enable us at times to look down upon Beirut and its surrounding olive- and mulberry-orchards, stately palms, and suburban villages, while beyond lay the Great Sea, dotted here and there with the sail of many a merchant-ship, and then again Sunnin, the highest western point of Lebanon, snow-capped, stood majestically before us clad in the changing hues of early morning."

"Reached the summit near ten, and after another hour's ride of almost flying speed we looked down upon the great valley of Buka'a or Coele-Syria, bounded on the east by the Anti-Lebanon, clothed in its snowy vesture, while far to our right Hermon, the imperial monarch of Syrian mountains, was seen, in its appearance fully justifying the appellation sometimes applied to it--that of a silver breastplate."

"Just as the darkness of night shut out from our view the fertile valley in which Damascus stood, our last relay of animals was attached to the carriage, consisting of six white horses; and fine specimens they were. A little farther on our attention was arrested by the sound of water on our right, and we were told that it was the Barada River, the Abana of Scripture. 'Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel?' The remainder of our journey lay along the fertile valley of this ancient river. It may, with the strictest propriety, be termed a 'river of Damascus,' as it divides the city into two parts and furnishes a liberal supply of water to many of its inhabitants. We found comfortable quarters at the Dimitris' hotel. The proprietor, a Greek, speaks broken English and strives to make the stay of his guests as agreeable as circumstances will admit.

"_26th._ Sent our certificates to the missionaries for their perusal. At 12 M. attended the prayer-meeting of the few persons here who speak English. After some singing and prayers, and a rather long theological discussion, liberty was given to others to speak. My dear Sybil availed herself of the opportunity to express the feelings which lay with weight upon her heart. This was done briefly, when she knelt in earnest supplication on behalf of those present and for the spread of the glorious gospel of God our Saviour."

"The next day visited two of the schools under the care of the missionaries; strove to encourage teachers and pupils to act well their part. Then went to the home of one of the Bible-women employed by E. B. Thompson to go from house to house and teach such women as desire to read the Bible."

"During our stay in the city we had frequently at our morning readings of the Holy Scriptures the company of the Bible-women and a few others, when our hearts were made glad in the Lord."... "A few weeks previous to the abdication of Louis Philippe the French obtained a foothold in Algeria, after a lengthened struggle of fifteen years or more, when Abdel-Kader, the sultan of the Arabs and one of the most remarkable men of his nation, was induced to surrender to the power of the French, on the condition that he might be allowed to retire to a Mohammedan country as a stipendiary exile."... "He is a follower of Mohammed, the founder of Islamism, and has shown his devotion to the teachings of the Koran by a pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina and by a lifelong adherence to the religion of his fathers. In 1860 thousands of Christians in the Lebanon and in Damascus were massacred in cold blood, instigated by the deadly hate of the followers of the false Prophet, while hundreds of others, men, women, and children, fled from their pursuers and took refuge in the house and about the premises of Abdel-Kader, who in the exercise of the influence his position gives him, and from the promptings of a kind heart, aided by his trusty followers, shielded the helpless ones from the fury and fanaticism of his co-religionists. Once the mob approached his house and demanded with frantic yells that the Christians within it should be delivered up to them. He, accompanied by a strong body of his followers, went out to confront the yelling crowd. 'Wretches!' he exclaimed, 'is this the way you honor your prophet? May his curse be upon you! Shame on you! shame! You will yet live to repent. You think you may do as you like with the Christians, but the day of retribution will come. The Franks will yet come and turn your mosques into churches. Not a Christian will I give up. _They are my brothers._' The mob withdrew."... "Abdel-Kader[9] was at length enabled to repose. He had rescued _fifteen thousand souls_ belonging to the Eastern churches from death, and worse than death, by his fearless courage, his unwearied activity, and his catholic-minded zeal. All the representatives of the Christian powers then residing at Damascus, without one single exception, had owed their lives to him. Strange and unparalleled destiny! An Arab had thrown his guardian ægis over the outraged majesty of Europe. A descendant of the Prophet had sheltered and protected the (professed) Spouse of Christ. The day previous to our leaving Damascus it seemed right to seek an interview with this noble exile, and from a full heart, in my own name and in behalf of my country and fellow-professors, thank him for his kind and humane interposition, by which, under Providence, so many fellow-beings were rescued from an untimely and a cruel death. Passing up the street upon which the house of the great chief stands, and having Abou Ibrahim for a guide (who, by the way, claims descent from Aaron), we observed Abdel-Kader enter the gateway just before we reached it, where he was standing when we arrived. Our guide having addressed him, he kindly noticed A. L. Fox and myself, and, cordially beckoning us to follow him, led us to a simple reception-room, where, being seated, we had an opportunity of saying what lay nearest to our hearts, and enjoyed the pleasure of feeling that it was kindly taken.[10] While in Damascus we were in the 'street called Straight,' and visited the place indicated by tradition as the house of Judas, where the blind Saul of Tarsus lodged. We were shown the house of Ananias, who was sent to cure the penitent of his blindness, and the place in the wall where the disciples took him by night and let him down in a basket. I am not surprised that the Christian traveller feels some misgivings as to the identity of these places when he remembers that the evidence is mainly traditional. There is, however, scarcely room to doubt that the modern city occupies the site of the Damascus of Scripture, and that the 'street called Straight' is the identical one entered by Saul on that memorable day that gave to the Gentile world a great apostle and to the Christian Church one of its brightest luminaries."... "The conversion of Paul was one of the most momentous events of Scripture history. The fiery zeal of Saul the persecutor was not extinguished--it was sanctified."...

[9] From _Life of Abdel-Kader_, by Col. Churchill.

[10] Eli Jones spoke his mission in English. Alfred Fox translated it
into German, and the Jew gave it to the Arab sultan in his own
language. Through the medium of three of the world's great languages
the representatives of these three great religions expressed their
thoughts to each other, and the burden of the thoughts was love and
gratitude. The message being given, refreshments were put before the
strangers, and then Abdel-Kader withdrew as a courtesy, so that these
visitors might not be constrained to go out backward from his
presence--an honor due to him as sultan.

"Paul the missionary retained all his former energy, boldness, and determination. In Damascus he first preached 'Christ crucified;' then he went into Arabia, then to Antioch, then through Asia Minor; then he passed the Hellespont to Greece; and then he went a prisoner to Rome, where he preached the gospel though chained to a heathen soldier. The apostle Paul occupies the first place among the New-Testament worthies."... "Damascus is as old as history itself. It has survived generations of cities that have risen up in succession around it and have passed away. While they all lie in ruins, Damascus retains the freshness and vigor of youth."... "Outside of the eastern gate of the city is a leper hospital, which to this day is supposed by the inhabitants to occupy the site of Naaman's house."... "There are in the city about thirty thousand Christians, ten thousand Jews, one hundred thousand Mohammedans, and of Protestant Christians less than one hundred, all counted."

"On the 31st of the month we returned to Beirut by diligence. During our stay of five days at Damascus snow had fallen upon the mountains, but not so as materially to retard our progress until we had nearly reached the summit of Lebanon, when, being furnished with a train of twelve animals and four outriders, aided by a strong force of men, we proceeded without much detention, arriving at our comfortable quarters in good time."... "We anticipate leaving in a few days for Jerusalem, should the weather permit and the health of our party prove equal to the effort."... "With love to all who love the truth as it is in Jesus Christ,

"ELI JONES."

The following are extracts from a letter from Ellen Clare Miller, written a few days after the return of Eli Jones and A. L. Fox from Damascus:

"Eli Jones had a meeting at Beirut with some of the young Syrian men of the town, which, though it was a stormy night, was well attended and an interesting time. On First day, the 9th, he had a very good meeting in a suburb of the town at the house of one of the principal men in the neighborhood."... "It was a very interesting group, upward of one hundred being present, some of the turbaned old men leaning forward on their staves with their eyes fixed on Eli Jones while, after the reading of the twelfth of Ecclesiastes from the Arabic Bible, he addressed them through the aid of our kind interpreter, Maalim Saleem, seeking to bring all before him, old and young, to enter into the service of Him whom he had from his youth proved to be a good Master."

"On the 7th, Sybil Jones had a meeting with the women connected with E. M. Thompson's school, at which she spoke to them for about an hour of our need of a Saviour."... "Many of these women have learned to read, and they are very anxious that a school should be opened for them where they may be taught to read and sew by a native teacher." ... "She visited also some of the poor women at their own homes and the Bible-women employed by E. M. Thompson, all of whom seemed very ready to receive a visit from one having their best interests at heart, and to listen gladly to the word spoken."... "On Second day evening a meeting was held by Eli and Sybil Jones with the Arabic-speaking congregation at Beirut, who readily responded to the invitation to meet them. Eli Jones addressed them from the words, 'The law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.'"... "Sybil Jones followed, urging the necessity of a heart-changing repentance."... "Sybil Jones paid interesting visits to some of the harems at Beirut, the first time we had been inside any of those 'gilded cages,' where the poor women, without the resource of books, for they cannot read, or of work, for they cannot sew, talk, sleep, dream, and smoke life away, without the variety of walking out, for they cannot be trusted abroad, and unable to look out into the world except through a lattice. We went under the care of E. M. Thompson, who obtains ready access." ... "We were driven as near the first house as the carriage could be taken, but on alighting had to ascend a steep, rough, narrow road, crossing a watercourse here and there, then a branch road of steps, then another torrent-path. The roads of ill-governed Syria are deplorable indeed. At last we reached the door of a large but unpretending-looking house, or rather group of houses, for one opened out of another. Here lived four families, related to each other, of the first rank in Beirut, the grandmothers, the wives of the house, girls, and children, in the flowing dress of the East, sitting on the floor by the ashes of the braziers or crouching on the divan, all but the youngest smoking the unfailing nargileh with its long flexible tube. They received us most cordially and affectionately, and seated us by their sides, and through the medium of one of E. M. Thompson's native teachers Sybil Jones spoke to them, and also E. M. Thompson; but it was very difficult to secure the attention of the company for any length of time; they could not refrain from laughing and chatting together. Poor creatures! some of them looked almost devoid of intellect with the long pipe-tubes in their mouths; others were very pretty and seemed quite to appreciate the loss they sustained by being uneducated. Some of the highest Mohammedan families are very anxious that E. M. Thompson should open a school for their elder girls, where they would send them if no man was allowed to look upon them. The desire for education is waking up among them in a remarkable manner." ... "The ladies are all waited upon by dark, white-teethed African female slaves in scanty clothing. Sherbet, coffee, and sweetmeats were handed round, and it is an insult to decline partaking, however many houses we may have visited." ... "Poor creatures! we could not but desire that the true light might enter their dwellings and shine into their hearts."

"We sailed from Beirut on the 12th, and came down the coast in the night, passing in the darkness Sidon, Tyre, Mount Carmel, and Cæsarea. After a rather stormy passage we anchored next morning before Jaffa, which rises up from the sea on a round hill, at each side of which is a sandy bay."... "It is difficult by description to give much idea of Jaffa with its steep, narrow, dirty, and muddy lanes, and street-stairs which climb up the hill among the old, dilapidated houses crowded irregularly together."... "Jaffa is very ancient, and, notwithstanding its extreme dirtiness, an interesting place."... "The most interesting place to visit in the town itself is the supposed--and, indeed, well-authenticated--site of the house of Simon the tanner, which stands by the sea-side, rising up above the town-wall. The building now standing is not supposed to be the very one in which Peter lodged, but to have been built on the spot where it stood. In the courtyard is a very ancient well which helps to identify the place, and beside it is a large stone trough of undoubted antiquity, probably used to soak hides in, and partly covered by a large flat stone like a currier's table."

"There is mission-work going on at Jaffa; P. Metzler, a German educated at the Basle institution, carries on a mill, with part of the profits of which he supports a girls' day-school."... "Eli Jones with A. L. Fox visited this school the other day, when he spoke to and examined the children, with whose intelligence and answers he was much pleased."

"While the Friends were in Damascus I was present at a native wedding, where the honored guests were each furnished with a taper to hold; which had a great interest as a remnant of the going forth with lamps to meet the bridegroom alluded to in the parable of the Ten Virgins. New light too has been thrown on the expression 'heaping coals of fire on his head' by finding that it is customary for the baker when he clears his oven at night to give away the living embers to those who will accept the kindness; and we have met persons in the evening carrying these coals away on their heads in large open braziers. It is remarkable how little the customs of the people have changed within the last two or three thousand years."

* * * * *

After the above letter was written the Friends went from Jaffa to Jerusalem, thence to Marseilles, having held many meetings and interviews with teachers and scholars in the schools, which are doing a great work toward causing the light of day to dawn upon unfortunate Syria. The following extracts from a letter written by Eli Jones to the _Friends' Review_ from London will state clearly the reasons for their leaving Palestine sooner than was expected: "We are again in this great city, and comfortably quartered at the house of our very kind friends Stafford and Hannah S. Allen, where we are seeking rest and a renewal of strength for further service for our good Master. For more than two months past my dear Sybil has been suffering from an attack of disease, leaving her at times very weak; consequently, we were unable to accomplish fully what we had in view in the Orient, leaving several places in Palestine and in Egypt that we might hasten the time of embarkation at Alexandria in order to bear our invalid to a more favorable climate, as the only thing likely to facilitate a cure. The voyage, with the use of remedies prescribed by the physician on shipboard, arrested the disorder for a time, and we hoped the cure might prove permanent; but the journey by train from Marseilles to Nismes proved too much for the strength of our charge, and the disorder rallied with fresh force and continued for some time, but again yielded to skilful treatment and nursing by our dear friend Lydia Majolier, whose kindness and sympathy, with those of our much-loved friends in the south of France, greatly cheered all our party. Near noon of the 8th we took the train for Paris, and thence to London by way of Boulogne, where we arrived after a journey of thirty-three hours' continuance. Dear S. bore the journey admirably, and we now entertain the hope that a few days of quiet and rest may be of great use, so that we may be able to proceed to Dublin in season for the yearly meeting. Our long sojourn in the East has not been without its trials. Sometimes they seemed to us peculiar, and when we attempted to look into the future it seemed doubtful if not dark. Still, that kind Hand always stretched out to save has gently led the way and shielded us from harm. Blessed be the name of the Lord!"... "A. L. Fox left us last evening for his home, where we now fancy him in the society of wife and child, father and mother, brothers and sisters, to whom he is tenderly attached and by whom he is greatly beloved. Dear E. C. Miller intends to remain until Second or Third day of next week before she leaves to join the home-circle, by whom she will receive a warm welcome, but saddened by the thought that one dear sister waits not on earth to welcome the coming one, but in another and higher scene of existence."