LETTER xxxiv THE SANASSABIAKT COLLEGE 385

having books in their possession containing references to
the past history of Armenia, and the Government is, or
affects to be, in constant dread of an insurrectionary
rising among the Christians. The accounts from the
country districts are so very bad that one of the ablest
and best-informed of the European Consuls, a very old
resident in Asia Minor, remarked indignantly, " It's no
longer a question of politics but of humanity."

One of the most interesting sights in Erzerum is the
Sanassarian College, founded and handsomely endowed
by the liberality of an Armenian merchant. The fine
buildings are of the best construction, and are admirably
suited for educational purposes, and the equipments are of
the latest and most complete description. The education
and the moral and intellectual training are of a very high
type, and the personal influence of the three directors,
who were educated in Germany and England, altogether
"makes for righteousness." The graduation course is
nine years. The students, numbering 120, wear a uni-
form, and there is no distinction of class among them.
They are, almost without exception, manly, earnest, and
studious, and are full of enthusiasm and esprit de corps.
Much may be hoped for in the future from the admirable
moral training and thorough education given in this
college, which is one of the few bright spots in Armenia.

I have seen Erzerum under very favourable circum-
stances, for, since the last snowstorm, the weather has
been magnificent, and everything that is untidy or un-
sightly has an unsullied covering. The winter sunsets
reddening the white summits of the Deveh Boyun and
other lofty ranges, and the absolute purity of the white-
ness of the plain, between thirty and forty miles long
and from ten to twenty broad, which lies below the city,
exercise a witchery which the scorching heats of summer
must utterly destroy. , I. L. B.

VOL. ii 2 c