Journeys In Persia And Kurdistan ( Vol.Ii).

222 JOURNEYS IN PERSIA NOTES

College and the Fiske Seminary for girls, as translators,
as printers, and as medical assistants, is very considerable.

The whole plain of TJrmi, with its innumerable villages,
and the eastern portion of the Kurdish mountains, with
its Syrian hamlets, are included within the sphere of
Mission work.

This Mission has free access to Syrians, Armenians,
and Jews, but for Moslems there can be no public preach-
ing or teaching, nor can a Moslem openly profess Chris-
tianity, or even frequent the Syrian services, without being
a marked man. Hence, while all opportunities are
embraced of conversation with Mohammedans, and of
circulating the Bible among them, the mission work is
chiefly among nominal Christians.

The Americans own a very large amount of property
at TJrmi. The Fiske Seminary—a High School, in which
a large number of girls receive board as well as education—
is within the city walls, as well as some of the houses of
both clerical and lady missionaries. About a mile out-
side they have acquired a beautiful and valuable estate
of about fifteen acres, plentifully wooded and watered,
and with some fine avenues of planes. On this are the
large buildings of the TJrmi College, the professors' houses,
the Dispensary, and the Medical Mission Hospitals for
the sick of both sexes.

A very high-class education is given in the TJrmi College,
and in addition to the general course there are opportunities
for both theological and medical education. Last year there
were 151 students, of which number eighteen graduated.

The education given is bringing about a result which
was not anticipated. The educated Syrian and Armenian
young men, far from desiring generally to remain in their
own country as pastors and teachers, and finding no oppor-
tunities of "getting on" otherwise, have of late been
seized with a craze for leaving -Persia for America, Kussia,