Jonas King, missionary to Syria and Greece

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THEOLOGICAL SEWIW!?V

JONAS KING

MISSIONARY

TO

SYRIA AND GREECE

BY
F. E. H. H.

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AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY,

150 NASSAU STREET, NEW YORK.

COPYRIGHT, 1879,
BY AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY.

CONTENTS.

Introduction - page 7

CHAPTER I.

EARLY HOME-LIFE.

Birth and Home Training at Hawley, Mass. — Early Reading of the Bible —
Modern Thought — Youthful Ambition — Conviction and Conversion —
Work in Revival — Letter by Rev. W. A. Hallock, D. D. — Perseve-
ring Efforts to obtain an Education — Experiences as Singing Master
and Teacher -- - - 11

CHAPTER II.

COLLEGE AND SEMINARY LIFE.

Williams College — College Revival — Doctrinal Doubts Overcome — Col-
lege Honors — Andover Theological Seminary — Life of Faith — Class-
mates - - - 27

CHAPTER III.

EARLY MISSIONARY EFFORTS IN THIS COUNTRY.

Work in Charlestown, Boston, and Portsmouth — Licensed to preach at
Andover, 1819 — Labors in Brimfield and Holland, Massachusetts,
and Charleston, South Carolina — Letter from Rev, Edward Pal-
mer - og

CHAPTER IV.

GOING ABROAD AND LIFE IN PARIS.

Studies Continued — Way opened to prosecute them in Paris— Appoint-
ment as Professor in Amherst College — Gospel Meetings held in
Europe— Serious Illness — Letter from Pliny Fisk, calling him to
Palestine — Acquaintance with Baron de Stael, and other Men of
Note — Tracts and New Testaments distributed at Notre Dame, Mal-
maison, Versailles, and Mount Calvary— Preaching in Paris — First
Observance there of the Monthly Concert 46

4 CONTENTS,

CHAPTER V.
MISSION TO PALESTINE ACCEPTED.
Reasons for accepting Pliny Fisk's Invitation — Letters to the A. B. C.
F. M. and to his Father and Mother — Means for Going to the East
provided — Formation of the Paris Missionary Society, and Appoint-
ment as their First Missionary — Connection with Three Societies —
Farewell Meetings for Prayer ■-- 65

CHAPTER VI.
THROUGH FRANCE AND THE MEDITERRANEAN.
Distribution of Tracts and Preaching on the Journey through France —
Nismes — Malta — Discussion on Missionary Topics with Rev. Pliny
Fisk and others 77

CHAPTER VII.
EGYPT.
Labors among Jews and Roman-catholics — Preaching on the Top of the
Great Pyramid — Cairo — Thebes — Palace of Pasha — Jewish Wed-
ding— Traces of Work - 93

CHAPTER VIII.

THE DESERT AND JERUSALEM.

Emir Bushir — Kindness of Mr. Salt — Jerusalem^Gethsemane — Scenes
at Church of Holy Sepulchre — Deliverance from Arrest — Bethany —
Letters from Jerusalem — Visits to Ramah — Jericho and the Dead
Sea 106

CHAPTER IX.
STUDY AND WORK IN PALESTINE.
Abou Ghoosh — Zidon — Lady Hester Stanhope — Rev. Lewis Way — Study-
ing Arabic at Deir el Kamar — Discussions with Roman-catholics 128

CHAPTER X.
MOUNT LEBANON AND THE SAMARITANS.
Convents — Druses — Mount Lebanon — Arrival of Messrs. Bird and Good-
ell — Bey rout — M issionary Tour — Tyre — Acre — Nazareth — Mount
Tabor— Ebal and Gerizim — Samaritans — Second Visit to Jerusalem —
Arabic Bible 143

CHAPTER XI.
LIFE IN PALESTINE CONTINUED.
Jaffa — Discussion with Mussulmans and Catholics — The Koran — Oriental
Dress — Return to Beyrout — Damascus— Aleppo — Antioch — Arme-
nian Creed — Tyre — Third Visit to Jerusalem — Letters written from
Calvary — Journey towards Home — Asaad el Shidiak, the Martyr of
Lebanon — Farewell Letters 160

CONTENTS. 5

CHAPTER XII.

HOMEWARD THROUGH EUROPE.
Asia Minor — Death of Pliny Fisk — Smyrna — Spain — Nismes — Paris —
Duke cle Broglie — Louis Philippe — Lafayette — Count Verhuell —
Countess of St. Aulaire — Visits in England — Hannah More 183

CHAPTER XIII.

MISSIONARY AGENCY IN AMERICA,

Arrival in New York— Visits to Friends — Agency with A. B. C. F. M.
in New York and the South — Dr. Kirk — Washington — Letter from
Ladies' Greek Committee of New York — Becomes their Missionary —
Sails from New York — Kind Reception at Paris -- 202

CHAPTER XIV.
POROS— GREECE.
Poros — Count Capodistria — Greece open to the Gospel — Sufferings of
the People — Egina — Smyrna — Syra Marriage — Tenos 215

CHAPTER XV.

ATHENS.
Persecutions of Asaad el Shidiak in Syria — Drs. Anderson and Eli
Smith — Death of Dr. King's Father — Doctorate Conferred 232

CHAPTER XVI.
MISSIONARY WORK NEEDED IN THE EAST.
Indulgences — Infidelity — Errors and Superstitions — Worship of the Vir-
gin Mary — Relics — Bones of St. Antipas — Image-worship — Letters to
Society of Inquiry, Princeton 246

CHAPTER XVII.
LIFE-WORK AT ATHENS.
I. Schools and Religious Services— Bible in Schools— Notice of Students
in Gymnasiums and Seminaries — Testimony from Napoli Newspaper.
2. Direct Mission-Work— Reasoninc; out of the Fcriptures— Publish-
ing of Bible with Notes from the Fathers Proposed— Letters to sev-
eral_ Societies of Inquirj' — Qualifications needed for a Missionary —
Delight in Christian Union— Letter to Dr. Goodell— "Greece as a
Missionary Field."- 3. Bible and Tract Distribution.— 4. Efforts in
the Temperance Cause. — 5. Visits to Prison 259

CHAPTER XVIII.
LIFE-WORK AT ATHENS CONTINUED.
Home, Hospitality, Correspondence, and Personal Religious Experi-
ence — 279

6 CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XIX.

FRUITS OF LABOR.
Yusuf Aga — Various Testimonies — Luigi Bianchi — Dr. Anderson's View
of Dr. King's Missionary Work 295

CHAPTER XX.

PERSECUTIONS.

Excommunications — Accusations in Newspapers and before the Courts — •
"Defence of Jonas King" — Conspiracies — Temporary Exile — Power
of the American Flag - - - 302

CHAPTER XXI.

TOURS, TRAVELS, AND EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE.

Corinth — Smyrna — Thebes — Experiences with Robbers — Constantino-
ple— Pesth — Maria Dorothea, Archduchess of Austria— Jewish Con-
verts— Vienna — Baron de Rothschild — Munich — Reiche Kapelle —
Paris — Geneva — Zurich — Italy — Rome — Sicily — Malta — Evangelical
Alliance at Berlin — King of Prussia — Berlin 318

CHAPTER XXII.

LAST VISIT TO AMERICA.

Many Changes — Warm Welcomes — Dr. W. A. Hallock— Hawley and

Plainfield, Mass. — Old Elm-tree — Chicago — Rochester — Clifton

Springs — New Haven — Meeting with Dr. Goodell at Elizabeth,

N.J. - 339

CHAPTER XXIII.
RETURN TO GREECE— DEATH IN 1869.
Paris Revisited — Missionary Reunion — The Past and Present of Pales-
tine—Rev. Mr. Tessup— Athens— Letter to Mrs. Doremus, Wilder,
and Perit— His S'ickness, and Death— Dr. King's Manner and Char-
acter, in Letters from Mrs. Kalopothakes— His own Review of his
Missionary Life 343

CHAPTER XXIV.
CONCLUSION.
I. List of Texts heading Volumes of Journal.— 2. List of Books Written
and those Revised. — 3. Articles from Napoli Newspapers relative to
Dr. King's Work. — 4. Letter regarding Confessions of Faith for
Greek Church.— 5. Letter to Professor Hopkins about Williams Col-
lege Revival.— 6. The Only Son 357

INTRODUCTION.

"All glory be to God, the High, the Mighty, the Ever-
lasting, who exists mysteriously and incomprehensibly as the
Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost."

Thus begins the Journal of Jonas King, dated, Paris, Sep-
tember I, 1822, followed by a copy in Greek, Hebrew, and
English, of the commission under which he served. Matt.
28 : 19. This Journal embraces twenty-four volumes of closely-
written manuscript, and is a library in itself. The first vol-
ume contains an account of his early life, written at the re-
quest of his friend, S. V. S. Wilder, who, in view of Dr. King's
intended mission to Palestine, gave him the book, consecrating
it formally "to the service of Christ."

These books are as a chain of exceeding beauty, of which
only a shining link here and there can be lifted to the view of
the present generation, which cannot take time to examine
much into the past, so earnest is it in the present, so intent
upon the future. The interest in biographies, however, is
reviving ; they meet a want of the human heart, recognized in
the many personal histories given us in the Old Testament and
the New. It must be to the honor of our Lord that at the

8 INTRODUCTION.

present day some record should be made of those typical men
v.'ho were used by him in the early days of missionary effort.

Foundation work does not appear upon the surface. Now
that the Eastern w^orld is found honeycombed with truth, we
begin to appreciate the labors in those Bible lands of the
Lible-men, as they were called — Parsons, Fisk, King, Goodell,
Eli Smith, Bird, and others. Old superstitions there are crum-
bling away. Christ's kingdom is becoming established as
never before. Let us honor the pioneers in his service, who
" out of weakness were made strong " through faith.

Delay in bringing before the church some of the facts
regarding initial missionary work in Syria and Greece may be
of no disadvantage. Its thorough and truly evangelical char-
acter, as time passes on and the superstructure rises to view,
will appear. God is ever true to his promise. It could not
be in vain that about half a century ago so many copies of the
Bible and Testament were sown in that part of the world —
those of one j'ear amounting to 6,847 copies. Prayers also
were offered, and religious conversation held with old and
young ; and the Lord has said, " My word 'shall not return
unto me void." The laborers now cultivating those fields, and
beginning to gather in the harvest, and even transient Chris-
tian travellers, often find traces here and there of the footsteps
of those who sowed the precious seed long years ago, and who
have passed on to be for ever wdth the Lord, and are now
watching with him the great ingathering from every nation.
Not "the least among these his brethren" is found, no doubt,
the honored missionary, a succinct account of whose charac-
ter and labors these pages are intended to record.

INTR OD UCTIOiV. 9

Jonas King — the name is as a household word in many
Christian homes in this and other lands. An almost romantic
interest is connected with it. Many have a general impres-
sion, through the mists of long years ago, of the course of his
life, starting as it did among the western hills of Massachu-
setts, where he received the rugged New England training
that so well fitted him for the work which proved to be in
store for him. After unwearied perseverance in obtaining an
education, came rapid promotion to a professorship in Am-
herst College. Then followed his sojourn in Paris, where
more than fifty-six years ago the young American preacher,
through his very uncompromising honesty and simplicity of
purpose, conjoined with singular courtliness of manner, at-
tracted attention to the pure doctrines of the cross.

Next God, by unexpected means, led him up to Jerusalem,
then far distant, and the road to it but little travelled. Thence
he " passed into Achaia also," and upon Mars' Hill, the very
seat of the god of war, proclaimed the advent of the Prince of
Peace. The apostle Paul, long years ago, once stood on these
same steps of the Areopagus. Some modern Plutarch, with-
out putting the two speakers on a par, might well find occa-
sion for a parallel.

Then comes a time of work and of persecution in Greece,
during which, under God, the triumphant power of our Amer-
ican flag was shown to Europe and to all the world.

Several of his later years Dr. King was privileged to spend
in this his own native land. Everywhere was he greeted with
special reverence. Many Christian people, in meeting him,
felt, as one minister well expressed it, "as if shaking hands with

lo INTRODUCTION.

one of the old apostles," for from early childhood the name
Jonas King had been almost as familiar to him as those to be
found in the New Testament.

Dr. King passed away from earth in Athens, the city of his
adoption, comforted in his last hours by the ministrations not
only of members of his family, for others were also at hand
who by his means had been brought out into pure gospel
light.

Let the earnest Christian student be encouraged, as he
notes the providences of God as manifested all through the
life of Jonas King.

JONAS KING.

CHAPTER I.

EARLY HOME-LIFE.

Birth and Home Training at Hawley, Mass. — Early Reading of tlie
Bible — Modern Thought — Youthful Ambition — Conviction and
Conversion — Work in Revival — Letter by Rev. W. A. Halloclc,
D. D.— Persevering Efforts to obtain an Education — Experien-
ces as Singing Master and Teacher.

Extracts taken consecutively from the " Journals of
Jonas King," joined by a thread alone here and there,
can best give graphic detail as to many parts of his life.

"I was born the 29th of July, 1792, at Hawley, an
obscure town on the mountains of Franklin county,
Massachusetts, about twenty-five miles from North-
ampton.

"My father was noted for extreme sobriety in his
manner of living, rigid adherence to the truth, even in
the most trivial things ; perfect uprightness in all his
dealings with others ; the most strict observance of the
Sabbath and its duties, love for the Sacred Scriptures,
which are almost the only book he has read for thirty
years past, and which are his meat and drink day and
night ; and for a mind contemplative to such a degree

12 yONAS KING.

that he is seldom known to smile. From my earliest
recollection, his constant theme has been the love of
Christ, and salvation by grace. During the first eighteen
years and a half of my life, which I passed in the humble
mansion of my father, I can scarcely remember a single
day that he did not converse with me seriously morning
and evening in the house or in the field, and sometimes
by my bedside, speaking of the love of Christ, the glories
of heaven, the deceitfulness of the world. Every object
which arrested my attention, he endeavored to connect
with something spiritual. The command to parents in
the sixth chapter of Deuteronomy he almost literally
obeyed.

" Under his instruction, I found myself, at the age of
four years, able to read with considerable fluency. My
father then told me that if I would read all the Scriptures
of the Old and New Testament before I should be six
years old, he would make me some little present, which
to my great joy I received, having performed my task
within the time specified. From the age of six to sixteen,
I continued to read through the Bible once a year. This
I did because he desired it, and also because it was
almost the only book in his library. That and the
Primer, Watts' Psalms and Hymns, a few common school-
books, such as Webster's and Perry's Spelling-books and
Dictionaries, the American Preceptor, Pike's Arithmetic,
Alexander's Grammar, together with a few pamphlets,
comprised nearly all the library to which I had access
the first seventeen years of my life.

" My father's paternal inheritance consisted of one

. EARL Y HOME-LIFE. 1 3

hundred acres. There he spent the vigor of his youtli,
and impaired his health felling giant hemlocks, over-
grown pines, and sturdy maples."

Rev. W. A, Hallock, D. D., long an honored Secre-
tary of the American Tract Society, New York, and
liimself an early as well as life-long friend of Dr. King,
writes as follows :

"Nev/ York, Nov. 22, 1869.

" You have asked me to state any facts of the early
life of Rev. Dr. Jonas King, which, should I pass away,
it would be difficult to get ; but the main facts are given
in the memoir of S. V. S. Wilder, the sketch of Dr.
King by IMrs. Doremus, and elsewhere. In a word, there
is no blot, or slur, or drawback whatever in his early
life : all is fair and bright and creditable, as to morals,
temperance, intelligence, fidelity to his parents and sister,
and fulfilling all his relations in the school, the church,
and the community.

" I knew him intimately from childhood ; for though
born in Hawley, his father's house was but half a mile
from the tovv'n of Plainfield (Hampshire Co., Mass.),
where my father. Rev. Moses Hallock, was sole pastor
for more than forty years, including the first forty years
of Jonas' life. With my father he fitted for college, and
though he was about two years older than I, it was my
privilege to hear his first lessons in the Latin Grammar.
Plainfield and Hawley were settled almost wholly by
intelligent, church-going farmers, all very much on a
level with each other, all sober and well-to-do ; all the
children attending the common school, almost all the

4 yONAS KING.

population attending church, not one servant in either
town, nor one person who might not be welcome at the
table of any other.

" Mr. Jonas King, Sr., and his wife were worthy
members of the church, having but two children. Dr.
Jonas and his sister ; and were above the average in
intelligence and worth. Both the father and the son had
active investigating minds on Christian doctrines, as well
as in this world's knowledge. They were praying, devout,
consistent Christians, as represented in my tract, * The
Only Son,' which is in Mr. Wilder's Memoir.

" Mr. King's farm was, I suppose, about one hundred
acres, with comfortable plain buildings, and a large sugar
orchard, from which I know we often had very white and
pure maple-sugar. A spring of beautiful mountain water
was ever running to accommodate the family and the
passers-by.

" The father and son resembled each other in very
many respects. Neither of them was robust, yet the fa-
ther was able to cultivate his farm, and both lived to an
advanced age.

" It was the first object of Dr. King's parents to help
him to prepare for and to enter the ministry. Father,
mother, and son united in striving after this great end ;
and although they possessed but limited means, they were
blessed in the attainment of it."

The Journal goes on as follows .

" From the age of five or six years I went to school
all the time that the district school lasted. If a teacher
had studied as far as the ' Square Roots,' or ' Double Po-

EARL Y HOME-LIFE. 1 5

sition,' he was thought to have a wonderful genius for
Mathematics. I attended school with eagerness, though
sometimes with much difficulty through heaps piled on
heaps of snow. . . . Many and many a time have I lain
down in the field and wept till the fountain of tears was
exhausted, in thinking of what I considered was a hard
lot — to have a father sick, no brother to accompany me,
to be obliged to tug alone, and perform tasks upon the
farm, which men alone are capable of performing with
ease. But I now find that it is good for me to have
borne the yoke in my youth. Had my father been pros-
perous, and had I enjoyed perfect health, I have little doubt
but that I would have been ruined. ... At a very early
age, I found within my bosom those germs of iniquity,
which, without some check, would have grown rank, and
brought forth a fruitful harvest of sin and death.

" I wished sometimes my father was an unbeliever,
that I might sin as others did without remorse. I some-
times doubted whether there was anything of reality in
what I saw and read and heard. I well recollect, that
about the time that I finished the first reading of the
Bible, I stood gazing at the woods and mountains around
me, and at the clear sky which seemed to touch them, till
I felt lost in a kind of amazement ; and said to myself,
' What does all this mean .^ Is it not possible that I am
dreaming .-' I lie down at night, sleep and fancy that I
am in such and such a place, and that I see and hear
such and such things ; and in the morning awake and
find that all I supposed real was nothing. Perhaps I and
all the rest of the world are in another kind of sleep, from

1 6 yONAS KING.

which we shall by-and-by awake and find that what
we now think is real, is nothing but a dream ; that there
are no woods, no mountains, no world, no heavens.' Such
reflections as these, I consider as the young blossoms of
infidelity."

What would some of the disciples of "modern
thought" say to this young farmer-boy, sounding with
untrained imagination into the dark though shallow
depths of their philosophy .?

Dr. King goes on to write of his own unbounded
ambition : " My heart would beat for hours at the thought
of shining as a general or as a man of science, or of hav-
ing my name uttered with respect by every child, like
that of Washington or Franklin. How to attain this,
I did not know. But I had read of David called from
the sheep-cote to the throne; of Moses, and of many
men of Greece and Rome, and in our own country, who
had gone from the plough, and attained the most distin-
guished honors. I knew that 'with God all things are
possible.' I often read in the Proverbs of Solomon ; and
there I found written, * By humility and the fear of the
Lord, are riches and honor and life.' I found also writ-
ten, * Seest thou a man diligent in business .'' he shall
stand before kings ; he shall not stand before mean
men.' As I always received praise from my parents for
diligence and faithfulness in everything they set me to
do, I had the idea that one day I might be called to the
court of some crowned prince. A few years of course
informed me that these were idle fancies." Yet a few
years more proved them to be almost prophetic.

EARLY HOME-LIFE. 17

But these early questionings were turned into a more
practical channel by means of a month's dangerous sick-
ness, when the young dreamer was about ten years old.
The realities of eternity then pressed upon him, and great
tenderness of conscience remained for about a year;
which however passed away, when, through fear of being
thought too serious or religious, he was persuaded by
some young people much older than himself to attend a
ball. The silent monitor in his heart then gradually
ceased to perform its office. '

At twelve years of age, his attention was again ar-
rested by the unhappy death of a very gay young lady
with whom he was acquainted ; and who called in the
hour of death upon her parents who professed religion,
saying, "' Oh, why did you not restrain me .-* Now it is
too late. I am dying, and must be miserable for ever ;"
but the boy soon found rest by concluding that he had
lived a very moral life, and that if he needed regenera-
tion in order to be saved, God would certainly renew him.

Yet such comfort of course was but transient, for
of his feelings soon after this, Dr. King writes,

" I regretted that my situation in life guarded me so
effectually from the snares of vice ; when suddenly the
word of God pierced through my heart like a two-edged
sword, and made me feel that I was a dying sinner. It
was a sermon from this text, * Quench not the Spirit.'
I felt that I had done it ; that God had called upon me
time after time, and I had refused. From this time I
was engaged for about three months in searching what
I should do to inherit eternal life, reading the Scrip-

2*

i8 JONAS KING.

tures, praying, performing acts of mortification, some-
times refusing to eat fruit and other things pleasant
to the taste, that I might appear humble in the sight
of God and merit something in his sight. I also bor-
rowed ' Alleine's Alarm,' and read it over and over
again, taking care always to conceal it if any one came
into the room where I was, and to appear as gay as
possible, that I might not be suspected of being serious.
For, though I knew it would afford my father the high-
est pleasure in the world to know what was in my mind,
I could not for shame disclose it to him. At length,
however, I ventured to do it, but instantly regretted hav-
ing done so, and thought I had acted like a fool, and
should now have to bear the stigma of being a religious
boy, and give up all the youthful amusements to which
I had looked forward with a high degree of pleasure.

" It was soon noised through the town, that I was
what is there called, under ' concern of mind.' Chris-
tians rejoiced ; old men noticed me, asked me questions,
gave me advice, and spoke of me in a flattering manner ;
so that instead of losing anything in point of reputation,
I found that I was gaining. Pride at once suggested to
me that this might be one means of rising in the world.
I found too, that twenty or thirty other young people
had, unknown to me, been awakened, and were soon to
make a public profession of their faith in Christ. This
strengthened me, and I began to speak of religion with-
out much shame, and to demand of others what I should
do to obtain the same hopes and joys which they pro-
fessed. All replied in the same manner, ' Repent, repent.'

EARL Y HOME-LIFE. 1 9

This duty I was aware of ; but Jioiu to repent was the
difficulty I wished solved. This they could not tell me.
It seemed to me the height of folly to tell a man to
repent, without telling him Jiozu to repent.

"At length I became vexed, and thought I was
troubling myself about things in which there was no
reality ; that all I read in the Bible might be a fiction ;
that there might be no God, no state of retribution
hereafter, no heaven, no hell ; that it would be a sorrow-
ful thing to let my youth pass by the fountains of pleas-
ure without tasting them, and at last find that anni-
hilation closed the scene ; that if there were a God and
a Saviour, I had been seeking them long enough, and
without success ; and if He cast me eternally from his
presence, why then I must suffer, I could not help it.
These feelings I endeavored to cherish, having heard
others say that they had experienced much hardness of
heart, and opposition to the divine character a little pre-
vious to regeneration.

"It was the first of September, 1807. Towards
evening I walked out alone for the purpose of medita-
tion. The day was fine; the sun was just sinking
behind the western forests, and not a cloud was to be
seen in the heavens. Everything was calm and silent.
Scarcely the voice of a bird broke in upon the stillness.
For awhile I walked on with slow and pensive step,
musing on what I was, and what I might be hereafter ;
then stopped, looked around, and asked myself, ' What
holds up this mighty, ponderous world in the midst of
space.'' What makes the sun hold on his way in such a

20 !/ONAS KING.

regular manner ? and what sustains him ?' That mo-
ment light seemed to break in upon my soul, and \ felt
that there is a God of almighty power, supporting, mov-
ing and directing all things with infinite wisdom. I
reflected on his commands and they seemed just; on his
mercy through a Saviour, and it appeared lovely. I was
astonished that I never before had the same view. I
thought that if love to God, and love to Christ, and love
towards our fellow-men, were all that was required of us,
nothing could be more reasonable and nothing more easy.
My heart, which for several days had been hard and
unyielding, now seemed to soften, and with eyes uplifted
towards heaven I wept and prayed for mercy.

"This day I celebrated for several years, as the day
of my spiritual birth. Whether I had at that time any
genuine piety, I cannot say. Sure I am that I knew
but very little of my own heart, and had very incorrect
and low views of the great work of redemption. I had in-
deed read the Bible through ten different times, was
familiar with its language, but had little acquaintance
with its spirit. I am fully convinced that a man may
read the Sacred Scriptures, just as he reads the volume
of nature, without having the least view of that glory
which fills heaven and earth, and which is inscribed in
letters of light on everything around us. I had read it,
for the most part, as a matter of duty, something meri-
torious in the sight of God, or as containing beautiful
history, interesting parables, and sublime descriptions."

At the time when Jonas King joined the church at
Plainfield, then under the care of Rev. Moses Hallock,

EARL Y HOME-LIFE, 2 1

there was a revival there of much power. Jonas was
called on to speak one evening, and he gave an account
of how he had been led to Christ. He was called the
next morning, long before day, by the lady of the house,
begging him to come and pray for her and her children.
She and her husband were both professors of religion.
He found them in the sittingroom, singing a hymn, with
tears streaming down their cheeks. A few neighbors
were called in, and the journal goes on to say, "As the
morning dawned upon us from the east, it saw fifteen or
twenty of us bowing before Him who called the light
out of darkness, beseeching him to cause the dayspring
from on high to visit our souls."

A great blessing followed this early prayer-meeting,
felt throughout the church and community, -w

"Though much occupied with religious concerns, F
felt an increasing desire after knowledge, an inextin-
guishable thirst for study, and entertained some very
feeble distant hope that I might at a future period of my
life obtain a collegiate education — how, I knew not."

Before attending a regular high-school, Jonas learned
the whole of the English grammar by heart, studying it
while hoeing corn — and in his seventy-fifth year could
still repeat the whole long list of prepositions.

The following statement comes from Rev. W. A,
Hallock, D. D.

"The Hon. William H. Maynard, Senator of the
state of New York, was a native of Conway, Mass., and
fitted for college with Rev. Moses Hallock.

"In an address before the Utica Lyceum, Mr. May-

2 2 yONAS KING.

nard related some interesting facts, which had come un-
der his own observation, illustrating the success of self-
made men.

"In December, 1807, Mr. Maynard was teaching school
for a quarter in a district of Plainfield : as he entered
the schoolhouse one cold, blustering morning, he observ-
ed a lad that he had not seen before, sitting on one of
the benches. The lad soon made known his errand. He
was fifteen years old, he said, and he wanted an educa-
tion. His parents lived about six miles distant, and he
had come from home on foot that morning, to see if Mr.
Maynard could help him to contrive how to obtain it.

" Mr. Maynard asked him if his parents could help
him to get an education. ' No, sir.' ' Have you any
friends to assist you .-*' ' No, sir.' ' Well, how do you
expect to get an education .''' ' I do n't know, sir, but I
thought I would come and see you.'

" Mr. Maynard told him to stay that day, and he
would see what could be done. He perceived that the
boy had good sense, though no uncommon brilliancy;
and he was peculiarly struck with the cool and resolute
manner in which he undertook to conquer difficulties
which would have intimidated common minds.

" In the course of the day, Mr. Maynard made pro-
vision for having him boarded through the winter in the
family with himself, the lad to pay for his board by his
services out of school.

" He gave himself diligently to study, in which he
made good proficiency, improving every opportunity of
reading and conversation for acquiring knowledge, and

EAL Y HOME-LIFE. 23

thus spent the winter. He afterwards fitted for college
with Rev. Moses Hallock.

" This was the early history of the Rev. Dr. Jonas
King, w^hose exertions in the cause of Oriental learning,
and in alleviating the miseries of Greece, have endeared
him alike to the scholar and the philanthropist, and shed
a bright ray of glory upon his native country."

At the age of seventeen young Jonas was pronounced
by the minister and selectmen fully competent to take
charge of a small school, some of the scholars being
older than himself. In this school, he says, " I endeav-
ored to be faithful; prayed with the children morning
and night, and often labored to impress on their minds
the importance of religion."

The money obtained in this way was given to his
father, who was just then building a new house. The
next winter found Jonas teaching school at an increased
salary, at Cummington, Mass., a town near Hawley, and
the native place of William Cullen Bryant. Dr. King's
father now urged him to leave home, saying, " I want
you should be in a situation to be more useful than I
have been in the cause of our Lord and Saviour, who
died for us. I think I am willing to let you go, though
it seems hard."

" Such conversation used almost to break my heart,
and I was obliged to retire and give way to my feelings
by weeping, and in prayer to God for direction.

"At length I signified to my father my determination
to give two years, after I should be of age, to the study
of Greek and Latin. But my father said it would be

2 4 yOiVAS KING.

better for me to go then, though, if I stayed with him
while he lived, the farm would be my recompense. He
could not advise me, only commend me to God.

" After a little consideration, I decided deliberately ;
packed what clothes and books I had, and set off in
search * of a better country,' feeling as if I were a kind
of orphan in the world ; and commending myself to
Him who, I had been taught to believe, would never for-
sake ' the seed of the righteous,' nor leave those who
put their trust in him.

"Sixteen miles distant lived a gentleman who taught
music, and with whom I had, the year before, formed
some acquaintance. With him I made arrangements to
study Latin and music. I agreed to his conditions, and
he, to make me a complete singing-master. So great
was my eagerness in reading Virgil, that with about fifty-
eight days' study, I finished the twelve books of the
'^neid.' These I recited to a law3^er named Pepper,
who treated me with much affection, and taught me
many things which were afterwards of much use to me."

In the fall, after visiting his parents, Jonas found his
way to Cape Cod, at a town called Dennis, working his
way there with his own hands, as did the Apostle Paul,
and much to the benefit of his health, as he had a little
before raised blood, either from his too close application
to study or from too much effort in singing.

Some friend in Hawley had sent word to Dennis of
Jonas' coming. The first question asked him was, " Is
your name King.?" Next, "What can you eat.?" An-
swer, "Anything but cabbage-stumps," some of which

EARL Y HOME-LIFE. 25

were just at hand in a barren garden. "You are the
very man we want to live among us and teach our chil-
dren," was the rejoinder ; and soon Jonas was engaged
for six months at $14 a month, and board ; a large salary
in those days for such a place ; and this the committee
made $14 50 when the time of payment came.

Here Jonas remained a year, having then ^120 or
$130 in his purse; and feeling about his money as did
Jacob at the sight of Joseph's wagons. He hesitated
whether to go on teaching for another year, so as to in-
crease his store, or, as he writes, " to quit all, and go and
study with some minister with a view to enter college.
I was in my twenty-first year, and feared if I delayed
study another year, I might be induced finally to relin-
quish it. This I feared the more, as I found a growing
attachment to one of my pupils in music, whose voice in
the treble I thought might prove like that of the Syrens,
a means of turning me out of the course which I wished
to pursue. I at once decided, went on board a packet
for Boston, spent a week in viewing the wonders of the
capital, purchased a few second-hand Greek books, and
set out for Hawley. Thence I went to Halifax, Vt., and
with the Rev. T. H. Wood, whose name I shall ever
remember with affection, commenced the Greek Testa-
ment, and a review of Virgil, which had been entirely
laid aside aside from the time I left Chesterfield.

" My eyes were weak, and I could study only by day-
light. I used to rise at five o'clock, and think over my
conjugations and grammar-rules till daylight appeared;
then walk out about forty rods for exercise, and then

25 JONAS KING.

study till the setting of the sun. Nothing but Greek
was in my head. I dreamed of it, and, as my roommate
often told me, talked of it in my sleep.

" By the blessing of God I was enabled, by what was
reckoned about six weeks' study, to finish reading, for the
first time, the New Testament in the original. The
progress I made was owing to the continual high excite-
ment of mind which I had in view of going to college.
My health, however, became impaired, from want of ex-
ercise and by too intense application to study."

But this did not discourage the young student. He
was still determined to obtain an education, if possible.

COLLEGE AND SEMINARY LIFE. 27

CHAPTER II.

COLLEGE AND SEMINARY LIFE.

Williams College — College Revival — Doctrinal Doubts Overcome —
College Honors — Andover Theological Seminary — Life of
Faith — Classmates.

Being persuaded by his instructor to go to Williams
College, Dr. King writes :

" I set off on foot to visit the seat of the muses among
the mountains of Berkshire, to see if I could be admitted
amons: them. I arrived in the midst of a snowstorm
weary and fatigued, fearing what would be the issue of
my journey. My first business was to call on the pres-
ident, who demanded how long I had been studying, and
how much Latin and Greek I had read. I told him
frankly, and he shook his head, saying he could give me
no encouragement of entering before another year. This
was like a frost on the flowers of spring, and my opening
hopes began to wither. If I waited another year, my
little purse would be empty, and then I would be obliged
to spend another year keeping school, in order to be
able to enter ; and that would bring me to such an age,
that I would view the idea of obtaining a liberal educa-
tion as almost hopeless.

" I went out from his presence with a heavy heart,
but thought I would use one effort more ; that was
to call on the tutors and hear what they would say to me.

28 yONAS RING.

I found two of them together. Both shook their heads,
and one replied very shortly, that it was out of all ques-
tion to think of entering, and left the room. I then
asked the other if I could not be admitted for a while on
probation, and if my progress was not such that they
could with honor admit me, be sent away at the end of
the term.

" Mr. E. (the tutor) looked at me with attention, and
then demanded if I had been studying with the Rev. Mr.
Wood of Halifax. I replied that I had. ' If,' said he,
* you are the same young man of whom I have heard him
speak, I will guarantee that you will be admitted before
the close of the year. Come on, and I will speak to the
president in your behalf.' This was like the dawn of
morning to a night-worn and weather-beaten sailor. For,
had I met with a complete repulse at this time, I think
my spirits would have sunk under it, and I should have
relinquished the learned halls and academic groves, and
have gone back to the little cottage and woodlands of my
father.

" I returned home with a light and gladsome heart,
packed up my books and clothes which I had left there,
and having received the prayers and benedictions of my
parents, set out a second time for Williamstown. It was,
if I rightly recollect, some time in March. A thaw had
taken place, the snow was rapidly melting, the roads were
filled with water and mud, which rendered it extremely
unpleasant and wearisome travelling. It began, more-
over, to rain, but at length I saw the lights of the lamp
of science beaming faintly on me through the interv^ening

COLLEGE AND SEMINARY LIFE. 29

darkness, a fit likeness of my situation, and I marched on
with a quicker step and at about eleven o'clock reached
an inn near the college. The next day I began to reside
within its walls, and was permitted to recite with the
members of the Freshman class, who entered college
some time before I had read a single word of the Greek
Testament, or Graeca Minora. ' Hie labor, hoc opus
fuit.' I was obliged to study night and day, to read for
the first time long lessons which they were reviewing.
Two hundred lines of the Georgics, seven or eight sec-
tions of Cicero's Orations, together with a portion of the
Graeca Minora v/as an Herculean task for one day. It
often seemed to me that my head would be crazed, or
that I would sink into the earth under the burden laid
upon me."

His health now suffered severely in consequence of
so much study, living too as he did in a very economical
way ; but at the end of two wearisome months, he sus-
tained a public examination, and was admitted to the
Freshman class.

At the close of the Freshman year, having taken a good
stand in his class, he made application in vain to two
distinguished gentlemen to lend him two or three hun-
dred dollars to help him along. " One of them gave me
a dollar, with which I bought a hymn-book to remember
him by ; the other gave a few kind words only."

The next winter teaching school again during part of
the term and in vacation, brought in money enough to
carry him on till spring ; after which he concluded to
make one more effort to borrow money ; but after a toil-

3*

30 yONAS KING.

some journey, taking with him a letter of recommenda-
tion, was actually " repulsed with rage." " This decided
me to make no more such applications, but simply lay
my case before my Heavenly Father, who would not
repulse me in such a manner, and who had the silver and
the gold in his hands, and the cattle on a thousand hills.
In a few days, I unexpectedly received an invitation to
take charge of a school in Catskill for six months, which
I accepted. During a part of this time I also taught
music two or three evenings a week. By this means,
I gained money sufficient to defray my expenses for the
ensuing year. And, though I had been absent from
college nine months of my Sophomore year, I had been
enabled, by the goodness of God, to pursue my studies in
such a manner as to remain in my class.

" My college companions used sometimes to rally me
a little, saying that I was a singular genius, to keep up
with them, and yet be absent continually heaping up
wealth ; that, after I had defrayed my college expenses, I
should unquestionably have money to put out at interest.

The third year I was perfectly at my ease. My mind
was in a state of perpetual enchantment. I felt as if I
had entered upon a new state of existence ; that I had
come out of darkness into marvellous light. What I had
learned before seemed only as a pebble on the shore, by
the side of that vast ocean of Mathematics which now
opened to my view. I was the more delighted with these
studies, because they were considered very important ;
and I began to entertain some hope that, by a strict
attention to them, I might secure the highest appoint-

COLLEGE AND SEMINARY LIFE. 31

ment at the end of my academical career. But, before
the close of the year, my attention was arrested by some-
thing more interesting than Philosophy, Mathematics,
and college honors. Though my deportment before the
world was, for the most part, strictly according to my
profession as a disciple of Christ, still I felt a want of
spirituality in my devotions, and of faithfulness to those
around me who had no hope in the great Redeemer of
sinners, and whom I should one day meet at the bar of
God. These feelings were increased by the return of
my roommate (at the end of the spring vacation) the
Rev. S. Eaton, whose heart now seemed enkindled with,
a fresh flame from heaven. He and I and one other met
together one evening, talked over our unfaithfulness,
prayed for refreshings from the presence of the Lord,
and agreed to converse seriously each day with some one
of our college companions ; also to spend an hour together
each evening in prayer.

"The effect was astonishing. In about a week or
fortnight, almost all in college were interested. Some
mocked, some wept, and some, who had been very gay
and thoughtless, were seen, in great anxiety, inquiring
what they should do to be saved."

After times of " surprising grace," the enemy of souls
often takes advantage of the young Christian, who may
have relaxed in watchfulness, thinking the conflict over.
From whatever cause, just after the college revival Jonas
King passed as it were into the very shadow of the
"mount of privilege." His feet were lifted away from
the foundations of his faith. Doubts as to doctrine,

32 yONAS KING.

and as to his own acceptance, assailed him. But " the
Lord knoweth them that are his," and will not suffer
them to be tempted above that they are able. This young
soldier of the cross was soon brought to the alternative,
either to reject the Bible, or to accept all its teachings.
He looked unto God, and was lightened. The victory
was given. " He restoreth my soul " became the song of
deliverance of him, who was thus taught from his own
experience how to meet the bitter and acute cavillings
of many with whom, as missionary in the East, he was
afterwards brought in contact.

At the end of the Junior year an English oration was
assigned him.

Through the Senior year also, Jonas passed success-
fully, teaching a singing-school, and engaging as private
instructor in a family residing about a mile and a half
from the college. At the close, he received the Philo-
sophical oration.

" During the summer vacation I took a school, and in
September, 1816, received my Bachelor's degree; and a
few weeks after settled all my college bills. Sophomore
year I had received from a friend twenty dollars ; Junior
year about the same ; Senior year sixty, and fifty more
from the American Education Society. In two instances
I had received from private friends about one dollar and
a half, or two dollars, not more. This was all the aid I
ever received, from the time I left my father's house till
I left college. I had furnished myself, or rather God had
furnished me, with books, clothing, board, everything,
except a suit of clothes my parents gave me at the age

COLLEGE AND SEMINARY LIFE. n

of twenty-one, which was called my freedom-suit. When
I had studied one book, I sold that to purchase another,
and at the close sold all I had left to bear my part of the
expenses at Commencement.

" Thus the Lord had brought me along in a strange
way, and I appeared as a wonder unto many. I often
passed through trials and hardships, but out of all of
them the Lord delivered me. I had often come down to
the brink of the Red Sea, and had seen there no possible
way of passing over. But the moment I stepped in the
waves divided.

" I was many a time hungry and thirsty in the wil-
derness, but whenever I cried unto the Lord God of Is-
rael, and smote the rock with the rod of faith, the waters
gushed out, and the heavens rained down manna. Often I
have lain down at night weeping, and joy came in the
morning. It was not owing to any skill or merit of my
own. It was all of God, and all the glory be unto his
name. One thing I have often noticed, and which I
think worth remarking. That is, when I have been
straitened and pressed till I knew not which way to turn,
I have generally been brought to a kind of resignation to
the will of God a little before deliverance came.

" By the advice of President Moore, and with the aid
of some charitable people in Chatham, New York, I
made my way to the Theological Seminary at Andover,
near Boston. Here I spent three years, receiving from
a charitable fund of the seminary eighty dollars a year to
defray the expense of board.

" I read but few commentaries, few polemical works,

34 yONAS KING.

and generally examined subjects by the Scriptures them-
selves. And this course I would recommend to every
young student in theology. It is far better to drink at
the pure fountain, than of the streams at a distance,
which bear along in their course much of this earth.
The latter part of the first year I lost much time by a
severe illness, the effects of which I felt for two years
after. The third year I devoted to writing sermons, and
to the study of pulpit oratory, though from the state of
my health and the state of my heart, I labored under
almost constant depression of mind."

Dr. King's journal, while at Andover, is a record truly
of a life of faith. In time of need and discouragement,
he still hopes in God, and help is sure to follow. He
writes, "January 20, 1818 : Other young men, when they
need pecuniary aid, have parents and friends to whom
they apply for assistance ; but I have nowhere to go, but
directly to the throne of grace, and there I find all my
wants richly supplied. Bless the Lord, O my soul.

"Oct. 31. Visited to-day Dr. Morse's, in Charles-
town. How kind is my Redeemer in granting me so
many friends."

Then mention is made of a sermon on the Resurrec-
tion, by Rev. Sereno Dwight, and of dining at Dr. Morse's.
Again of books bought at Andover.

" Purchased of Mr. Stuart, Eichhorn's Einleitung. It
is a very great treasure. What reason have I to be
thankful, that a kind Providence supplies me with books !
Oh, that I might write holiness upon them all ; that I
might consecrate them to the cause of Christ ! Lord,

COLLEGE AND SEAflNARY LIFE. 35

grant that I may desire books and learning, only that I
may make myself more extensively useful to the church
and to the world.

" 'T is astonishing to me, that my Creator bestows on
me books and friends and innumerable other blessings,
since I am so constantly ungrateful and do so little to
promote his glory."

He speaks of ill-health, of pain in his head, which
make him think of the poor pagans with no comfort, no
Saviour, when they are called to suffer.

Then follow confessions of ambition, pride, earthly-
mindedness, and love of self,

"Friday, Dec. 11, 1818, was observed by the Senior
class, Andover, for the special purpose of examining the
motives which were leading them into the gospel minis-
try." And Dr. King copies from Titus and Timothy
direct Bible instruction on the subject.

Among these young men, thus looking to God, were
Thurston and Bingham, afterward of the Sandwich Isl-
ands, Dr. Wayland of Brown University, Byington of
the Indian Missions, Torrey, who translated Neander's
Church History, Spalding and Winslow of Ceylon, and
others, whose useful lives, as well as that of Jonas King,
have certified God's promise to give wisdom to those who
seek it in sincerity and faith.

36 yO^'AS KING.

CHAPTER III.

EARLY MISSIONARY EFFORTS IN THIS
COUNTRY.

Work in Charlestovvn, Boston, and Portsmouth — Licensed to preach
at Andover, 1819 — Labors in Brimfield and Holland, Massa-
chusetts, and Charleston, South Carolina. Letter from Rev.
Edward Palmer.

In Dr. King's case the youth was emphatically " the
father of the man." Even before finishing his course
at Andover Theological Seminary, he as an evangelist
began in this country personal efforts that not only very
early showed the aggressive nature of his piety, but in
addition proved to be the exact training needed for his
subsequent work abroad.

His vacations were employed as follows :
" The first vacation I spent in visiting my parents ;
the second with Dr. Jedediah Morse of Charlestown,
passing six weeks in his family, while making an abridg-
ment of ' Walker on Elocution,' and selecting some
fine specimens of eloquence from speeches delivered be-
fore Bible Societies, Missionary Societies, etc., which,
together with some others, were afterwards published
under the title of ' The Christian Orator.' Two vaca-
tions I spent in Boston as a missionary, and one in Ports-
mouth. I also spent two weeks of term time in Har-
vard."

EARLY MISSIONARY EFFORTS. 37

Dr. King was licensed to preach by an association of
ministers at Andover, July 6, 18 19.

Upon finally leaving Andover, he was providentially
led almost immediately into practical labor. His own
wish was to study if possible three years longer ; but he
was in debt for books, clothing, etc., and justice demanded
that he should first of all do what he could to bring in
ready money. He felt unfit for the ministry in point of
knowledge and piety. He was blamed by many for wish-
ing to give more time to preparation, they accusing him of
undue ambition to be a great man. He comforted himself
with the thought that God knew his motives and feelings.

" At present," he writes, " whatever might be my
attainments in knowledge and piety, I must in some way
earn two hundred dollars. It had been so ordered that
I was in the ministry. My health demanded relaxation
from study. In view of the whole, I concluded to go for
awhile and preach faithfully what I believed to be truth,
hoping that God would bless his own word, though it
should be delivered by one whose hopes of heaven were
very faint and feeble.

" I first engaged to go on a mission six weeks to
South Brimfield and Holland, under the direction of the
Massachusetts Domestic Missionary Society. There it
seemed as if the Spirit of the Lord came upon me, as
upon Samson of old when among the Philistines. My
faith seemed to be strengthened, and my hopes revived,
and it pleased God to crown my labors with some suc-
cess. I have been told that about twenty were hopefully
converted.

Jonas King. A

38 yONAS KING.

" Having been recommended by the Rev. P. Fiske, I
was next employed for six months by the Female Do-
mestic Missionary Society of Charleston, South Carolina,
to labor as missionary in that city, where, on my arrival,
I was ordained as an evangelist. My business was to
preach the Gospel to seamen and the poor, and to bind
up the broken-hearted ; a work truly noble, and to per-
form which the Son of God left the abodes of glory.
The fishermen of Galilee, the publicans and sinners, the
sick and the afflicted, were the objects of his particular
attention.

" I preached often for Dr. Palmer, at the Circular
church, and supplied the Second Presbyterian church for
six weeks, during the illness of Dr. Flinn. By these
means, I was thrown much into society with those who
were considered the most polished people in the Uni-
ted States, and had opportunity for improvement in many
ways.

" Nathaniel Russell, Esq., the father-in-law of Bishop
Dehone, and Charles O'Neale, Esq., both gave me a
hospitable welcome to their houses during my residence
at Charleston, By Mr. and Mrs. O'Neale I was received
and treated as a son.

" Having finished my labors at Charleston, I returned
to the North, preached six or eight weeks at Park Street
Church, Boston, during an absence of the Rev. Mr.
Dwight, visited my parents, made them a present of fifty
dollars, returned to Andover and resumed my studies."

Among Dr. King's early papers appear " Plans for
doing good in Boston and other places.

EARL V MISSIONAR Y EFFORTS. 39

" Explore every nook and corner of the town to find
those that are destitute of Bibles. If any such be found,
take their name and place of residence, and see that
they have Bibles sent them immediately, accompanied by
a serious address on the importance of its contents, and
the necessity of immediately becoming acquainted with
its doctrines. In these visits, take some religious friend
with me.

" Meddle not with politics. ' Procul, O procul.'
Avoid, as much as possible, disputes of every kind.
They are seldom of any use.

"Speak to the heart. Use the artillery of Mount
Sinai, till men begin to feel that they are sinners. Show
them the spirituality of the Divine Law.

" Let all your conversation be kind and affectionate.
Address sinners with all that earnestness and affection
with which a pious father would address his children
from a death-bed.

" Tracts must be circulated, and always attended, if
possible, with a short, but serious and impressive ad-
dress.

"The sick and dying must be. visited; funerals at-
tended ; and let an evening conference be appointed at
the house of mourning as soon as may be convenient.

"Boston contains about 40,000 inhabitants, and
twenty-four societies. Allowing 1,000 souls to each
society, there will be left destitute of religious instruc-
tion, 16,000. The number of deaths in 1814, was 907;
in the year preceding, 904,

" Houses for religious worship must be erected for

40 yONAS KING.

the convenience of sailors and the destitute who belong
to the town.

" Let little associations be formed in different parts
of the town for the purpose of ascertaining, (i,) what fam-
ilies are destitute of the Bible, (2,) those who do not at-
tend public worship, whether families or individuals,
(3,) who need instruction, (4,) what vices are prevalent.
(5.) Let these little associations distribute Bibles, tracts,
etc., comfort the sick and afflicted, persuade those who
are able to attend public worship, and prevent by various
means Sabbath-breaking, profaneness, intemperance, idle-
ness, and vice of all kinds.

" Let there be little social praying circles as many as
are convenient. It is prayer that must bring down all
the blessings.

"The blacks must be attended to. Find some fit for
schoolmasters or ministers."

A diary of visits made to the poor, of meetings held,
and Sunday-school children gathered in, shows how
thoroughly these plans were carried out in detail.

Again, in Portsmouth, we find the same efforts made ;
and the following plans for doing good added to the for-
mer list :

" Let every Christian converse with one or more im-
penitent sinners every day ; and at the social prayer-
meeting relate his success for the encouragement of
others.

" Obtain subscribers for the * Panoplist,' in order to
extend religious information, and to aid Rev. Jeremiah
Evarts.

EARL Y MISSJONAR Y EFFORTS. 41

" Make an effort to secure some support for Mr. Ev-
arts, that he may devote all his time to missionary ob-
jects.

" Form a society among the young men, auxiliary to
the American Education Society."

In Portsmouth Dr. King found many Christians who
were a help to him in his work, and in his personal reli-
gious experience. Many names, both here and in Boston,
he notes with interest and affection ; among others, those
of Deacon Tappan and his daughter Eliza, relatives of
the Tappan brothers so widely known. Indeed, these
early diaries are kept with the system and fastidious
correctness which afterwards were so characteristic of
the records of his subsequent work abroad.

Plans for doing good in Charleston, S. C, Sept., 1819,
also precede the journal of his stay there.

" Endeavor to excite Christians to frequent and fer-
vent prayer.

'' Let the members of little circles for prayer have a
street or part of a street assigned them, in which it shall
be their duty to visit and converse with the families, find
out their situation, whether they have Bibles, whether
they attend family prayer, and attend meeting on the
Sabbath ; whether any have serious impression. When
the members meet, let all the interesting cases be made
a particular subject of prayer.

" Visit Sabbath-schools, and have weekly meetings of
the instructors, to converse with them and advise them.

"Almshouse, orphanhouse, hospital and jail, must
receive proper attention.

42 yONAS KING.

" Seamen. Form a marine Bible Society. Converse
with captains and officers, and try to sliow them the im-
portance of attending prayers on board their vessels.

" Write for the ' Southern EvangeHcal Intelligencer/
on practical subjects of religion.

*' Keep a list of the names of all the families that I
visit.

" Seek out young men of piety and talents, and pre-
vail on them, if possible, to engage in the gospel min-
istry.

" Inquire the state of schools and colleges. Make
some plan for their improvement.

" In order to keep my mind vigorous and active, study
a little Latin, French, and Arabic, every day."

While it was simply impossible for any one to carry
out in full so many different efforts for good, yet the high
aims and labor of this young theological student were
not without gratifying results; for in this early part of
his minority he was privileged in Charleston, as else-
where, to gather gems to the honor of his Lord.

Let the following testimony speak for itself, as given
by Rev. Edward Palmer of Barnwell, South Carolina, the
father of Rev. B. C. Palmer, D. D., of New Orleans, and
brother of Rev. Benjamin Palmer, D. D., in whose
church, the Circular church of Charleston, Jonas King
was ordained evangelist, Dec. 17, 1819; after which he
returned to Andover, and spent about a year as Resi-
dent Licentiate.

"Baknwell, August 17, 1875.

" . . . . Probably I am the only person now living who

EARL Y MISSIONAR Y EFFOR TS. 43

can, from a personal knowledge of that. great and good
servant of God, give any details of him and his work
while a missionary in Charleston. . . , His visits and his
labors were welcomed and appreciated by all the pious
with whom he became conversant, particularly by the
ladies of the society in whose employ he was, and who
were made glad by his untiring and successful work
among the poor and spiritually needy of the city. In
the family of my brother, Rev. Dr. Palmer, whose lady
was the corresponding secretary of the society, and *in
my own family, the female head of which was the su-
perintendent of the same, the visits of that dear brother
were very frequent, and always most welcome and cheer-
ing. From personal and specific acquaintance with the
missionary and his work, I can truthfully say, that he
was conscientiously, ardently, faithfully, and persevering-
ly devoted to the arduous duties he had undertaken ;
always giving the highest satisfaction to the society in
whose employ he was, as well as securing the ap-
probation of all who wished well to the new and inter-
esting enterprise ; for, if I am not mistaken, that was
the first society of the kind ever inaugurated in the
place, undertaken and managed altogether under the
auspices of ladies ; so that, as in the first report of the
missionary, he remarked, * The formation of this society
I hail as a star over this city, like that at Bethlehem,
and anticipate the time when this star shall increase in
magnitude, till it shall attain the full-orbed effulgence of
the meridian sun.' . . .

" Dr. King's departure to the North was universally

44 yONAS KING.

deplored. If you will allow me, I will relate a circum-
stance which may be interesting, not only as evincing
his devotion to his Master, but as developing his desire
to ' have laborers sent into the harvest.'

" At the time he was in Charleston, I was the princi-
pal of a flourishing academy in the city, and not unfre-
quently called upon to deliver public addresses to certain
societies. On one occasion I delivered a missionary ad-
dress before the ' Young Men's Missionary Society ' in
th-e city, at which Brother King was present. Accom-
panying me home, at the close of the same, he took me
aside and asked, ' Have you ever thought of the ministry
yourself f to which I promptly replied, ' Look, dear sir,
at a fond wife, and four lovely children, whom I am
bound by every tender and loving tie, to support, and
then see whether such a question can be asked.' He
immediately rejoined, ' If the Lord shall call, he will open
up the way,' and then begged me to give the subject a
prayerful consideration. Forthwith he communicated with
my brother and pastor, Rev. Dr. Palmer, Sen., and other
pious friends ; especially with Dr. Porter, the senior pro-
fessor of Andover Seminary, then on a southern visit for
health ; all of which, to bring this topic to a close, culmi-
nated in my going to Andover Seminary in 1821, and
returning in 1824 a regularly-ordained minister, whom a
kind Providence has permitted to labor in the vineyard
over 5 1 years ; and though no longer a settled pastor,
having the last year resigned my pastorate, I am still
preaching nearly every Sabbath, at the advanced age of
nearly 87.

EARL Y MISSIONAR Y EFFOR TS. 45

" Instrumentally, therefore, Dr. King ushered me into
the ministry, and then, perhaps, through me, my two
sons, laboring in New Orleans and Mobile.

" I take the liberty of enclosing Dr. King's first re-
port, which I have cut out of a bound volume of reports."

This report, whose leaves are brown with age, is of
-interest, not only as regarding Dr. King, but also as be-
ing an earnest, given so long ago, of what the Christian
women of the present day, by God's blessing, are being
privileged to undertake and accomplish.

46 yOJVAS KING.

CHAPTER IV.

GOING ABROAD, AND LIFE IN PARIS.

Studies Continued — Way opened to prosecute them in Paris —
Appointment as Professor in Amherst College — Gospel Meet-
ings held in Europe— Serious Illness— Letter from Pliny
Fisk, calling him to Palestine— Acquaintance with Baron de
Stael, and other men of note— Tracts and New Testaments
distributed at Notre Dame, Malmaison, Versailles, and Mount
Calvary— Preaching in Paris— First Observance there of the
Monthly Concert.

The following entry was made, May 30, 1 821, in an
early diary : " Decided to leave this country for Europe
to study Arabic, under the celebrated De Sacy."

In order to a full understanding of the way in which
Dr. King was led to this decision, and so onwards
through France to his work in the East, it is necessary
to notice in what direction his mind was turned during
his last year in Andover. He writes :

"From November, 1820, till the spring of 1821, I
spent my time in reading the Hebrew Bible, Oriental
Antiquities, by Jahn and Warnercroft in German, the
Greek and Latin Fathers, Livy's History, Eichhorn's
Extracts of History in Latin, the works of Massillon in
French, Quintilian, and commenced a translation of
Bellerman's Biblical Geography. During this time, was
put into my hands by Mrs. P. the Life of Henry Martyn,
as she feared I was too much occupied with human

GOING ABROAD, AND LIFE IN PARIS. 47

science, and two little with divine. This I read with
eagerness, but instead of abating my desire for study, it
increased it. About the same time appeared a little
pamphlet by Mr. Stuart, containing extracts from Jahn's
dissertation on the Study of Languages, accompanied
with notes by Mr. Stuart. The effect of this and of
Martyn's Life was powerful, so that it was sometimes
with difficulty that I could sleep. It seemed to me that
something almost supernatural had possessed my breast.
My desire was to go to Europe to acquire the Arabic
language, and then enter whatever field of labor should
be presented, perhaps a mission among the Arabians or
Persians. It had been my plan for more than two years
to take this course, if the way should ever be opened. I
had often made it a subject of prayer, and had expressed
my intentions to Mr. and Mrs. Russell and Mr. and Mrs.
O'Neale, at Charleston.

" How to procure the means was now the question.
What would support me at Andover or Princeton, could
not do so at Paris or Gottingen. At length I concluded
to address a benevolent and wealthy gentleman of my
acquaintance. Col. I. C. Trask, of Springfield. After
having written the letter, I spread it repeatedly before
the Lord, and begged that if those feelings and desires
that possessed my breast caipie of him, and if he would
indeed go with me and preserve me from being led
astray by human philosophy and the allurements of the
world, that he would incline the heart of him to whom
the letter was addressed to give me a favorable answer.
After having sent it, I devoted a day to fasting and

4S yONAS KING.

prayer ; and thought that if I did not mistake my feel-
ings, they were such as I had often observed previous to
having my petitions granted.

" I soon received an answer from Col. T. requesting
me to meet him at Boston, and to take lodgings there in
the first hotel at his expense. I was on my way thither,
when the letter was given me by a stagedriver. On
arriving, he generously offered to furnish me with five
hundred dollars. I at once decided to go to Europe, if
I had to make my way back as a common sailor ; and
wrote to my Charleston friends on the subject. Without
waiting for answer, I packed up my things at Andover,
conveyed them to Boston, and had made every prepara-
tion to go on to New York to set sail for Havre, when I
received from Mr. O'Neale the sorrowful tidings of his
wife's death. I went back to Andover to spend a few
days in mourning, and was by some circumstance led
thence to Newburyport, where I unexpectedly re-
ceived the offer from the Hon. W. B. Bannister, cousin
of my father, of a passage in a vessel of his bound to
Holland ; also of provisions for the voyage."

The preceding year Jonas King had been able to
procure for the Seminary at Andover, upwards of two
thousand dollars. This may have influenced the Treas-
urer to make him now a lo^n of one hundred and sixty
dollars, one of the trustees becoming security.

Letters from the South were received approving of
his plans, and with fresh offers of service.

" Thus everything was favorable. The ship was ready,
and I was only waiting for a fair wind to waft me over

GOING ABROAD, AND LIFE IN PARIS. 49

the ocean, when I received the information that I was
appointed Professor of Oriental Languages in Amherst
College."

This appointment was communicated to Dr. King by-
Noah Webster, LL D., then president of the Board of
Trustees. While he appreciated the honor offered him,
he was still somewhat doubtful what he ought to do. He
feared the duties connected with it would shut him out
of the direct work of the ministry ; but upon conference
with the Rev. Dr. Storrs, Stuart, and other friends, he
decided to accept this service for the Great Head of the
Church, whose special guidance he was seeking as to his
course in life.

Dr. Moses Stuart wrote :

" My Dear Sir : I have consulted my brethren on
the subject of your office. We are unanimously of
opinion that it will be a good thing both for you and for
the college. It will give you advantages to go out as
professor elect, and they may profit very much by your
services in procuring books. In the mean time, as
Oriental Literature in a college at present will hardly
give you full scope, I presume they will superadd the
Greek in due time, which will give you a chance to go to
Gbttingen. However, as Providence has opened the
way for Oriental Literature, in conscience you are bound
to make this the chief object of your attention.

" Yours in haste,

"M. STUART."

The Trustees of Amherst College were anxious to
have their own professor well qualified for his position,

50 JONAS KING.

and fully approved of having him still carry out his plan
to study abroad. Providence in every way favored this
intention. A passport was no idle form in those days,
nor easy to obtain ; yet just in time "a citizen from his
own country" was sent to identify him as the law
required. A letter of introduction was given him by
Mr. N. Carnes of Boston, to S. V. S. Wilder, an American
merchant residing in Paris. He sailed from Boston
August 1 8, 1 82 1, arriving in Holland in thirty-five days,
and at Paris on October 9.

On his way he devoted some little time to objects of
interest which were then especially attractive to one
fresh from Massachusetts. He formed acquaintances,
afterwards of value, with some Protestant ministers and
laymen in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and other places ;
he also held religious services wherever practicable, both
at sea and on land. In proposing such meetings, there
was a directness and simplicity in Dr. King's manner,
such as implied expectation of success as a matter of
course ; it was not easy to refuse any appointment sug-
gested by the earnest young American stranger, and he
seems everywhere to have received a warm Christian
welcome.

Once in Paris, he began study immediately, being at
great disadvantage, however, because obliged to learn
Arabic through the French language. In about two
months his health declined. Change to other lodgings
seemed of no avail. " By the last of March," he writes,
" I was taken ill of a high bilious fever, and was confined
to my bed for nearly a month. So little hope, at one

GOING ABROAD, AND LIFE IN PARIS. 51

time, was entertained of my recovery, that a place was
selected for me in the Pere-la-Chaise, where I might rest
my weary head till the trumpet of the archangel should
awake me. The thought that my progress in study must
now be interrupted, just as I had begun to pursue it with
a little pleasure ; that I was spending upon physicians,
and watchers, and nurses, and apothecaries, the little
pittance of money that remained to me ; and that con-
sequently I should be obliged soon to return to America
without having accomplished the object of my coming —
all this tended to sink my spirits still more, and add
strength to my disease. The thought of my poor parents
distressed me, and such were the feelings of my heart,
that I had little spiritual comfort. Sometimes I was
more resigned, and when the nurse would leave the
room, I would lift up my voice and say, ' O Lord, con-
tinue thy chastisement if that be necessary to make me
humble, and fit me for thy service. Take away my
health, keep me on this bed of sickness till I shall have
gained spiritual strength to overcome the world. Stop
my progress in study, take away the little pittance of
support I have, if I may but learn the heavenly art of
living near to thee, and may be rich in faith towards
the Lord Jesus Christ.' " Thus like David he cried unto
the Lord in his trouble, and was soon able to write, " I
can truly bless the Lord for this chastisement. I have
since had more comfort in prayer, more evidence of my
union to Christ."

It was not until the last of June, that he was able to
take up study again with vigor ; and then suddenly,

52 yONAS KING,

through the instrumentality of a letter received from the
Rev. Pliny Fisk, his attention was fixed on a new object,
a Mission to the Holy Land.

Before noting the circumstances that favored his
acceptance of this missionary call, there is much to
claim attention in Dr. King's life in Paris itself. Here
he became acquainted not only with Mr. Wilder and
family, but, at Mr. Wilder's house, with many Christian
people from England and other parts of Europe, who
afterwards proved friends indeed. Mr. Augustus H.
Hillhouse of New Haven helped him in many ways ne-
cessary to a stranger in a strange city. Tuesday, No-
vember 4, 1 82 1, Dr. King writes : "Was introduced to a
large society of savants from all parts of the world at
Mr. Langle's, Conservateur des Manuscrits Orientales.
Conversed much with an American doctor. Met a Per-
sian, a Dane, a Spaniard, etc.

"Monday, Jan. 14, 1822. Visited for the first time
the Baron de Stael-Holstein, son of the celebrated Ma-
dame de Stael, and rejoiced exceedingly to lind him much
interested in the cause of religion. Said he found his
mind fluctuating. Sometimes he thought he had some
grace, at other times was almost disposed to say he had
none. That he was in the practice of reading the Scrip-
tures, which he would do if it were only for the beauty
of the composition and the imagery. Said that he spent
one year at Geneva, when about seventeen years of age,
in attending lectures on theology ; that this was the only
year of his life that he should be willing to live over
again, if it were left to him to choose; hoped that he

GOING ABROAD, AND LIFE IN PARIS. 53

should become more and more engaged in the good
cause of extending the knowledge of Jesus Christ to
fallen man. Said that it appeared to him that the grand
truths taught by revelation seemed also to be graven on
the heart of man : first, that he needed a Mediator, a
Redeemer ; and, second, that the operation of the Holy
Spirit was necessary ; that men absolutely find some-
thing that it is out of their power to obtain, and which
must be given them. Made inquiries with regard to
Arianism in America ; said that unhappily in France,
and on the Continent generally. Unitarian sentiments
prevailed; that they were chilling; that he thought no
man could read the Scriptures and not believe them, nor
without at once admitting that Jesus Christ is truly
divine and one with the Father. He thought also that
the doctrine of the agency of God continually exerted
upon man was evident. I related to him some things
which were doing in America ; he wished to know what
sect was most engaged in doing good ; thought exer-
tions to do good were evidences of the purity of religion.
Greeted me with much kindness, and said that he should
be highly gratified to call on me often to converse on
those interesting subjects."

Dr. King also notes interviews with Prof. Edward
Everett, Dr. Spurzheim, Monod, father and son. Gen.
Macaulay, Prof. Blumhartt, Rev. Lewis Way, F. Andre
Michaux, Rev. Daniel Wilson, Soulier (pastor), Marron,
President of the Consistoire, Rev. Gardner Spring, 01s-
hausen, Van Lennep of Smyrna, Louis Mertens, Wad-
dington, and other typical men of that day.

5*

54 JONAS KING.

Dr. King makes special mention of the Rev. Mr.
Tacey, because he was intimately acquainted with Henry
Kirke White and Henry Martyn. " He showed me a
letter in Martyn's own handwriting, and observed he had
just paid a visit to the lady who was so dear to Martyn's
heart. He spoke highly of our President Edwards and of
David Brainerd, and remarked that he esteemed Martyn
very highly ; he thought Brainerd superior to him or to
any other missionary whose life he had ever read."

But Dr. King had an opportunity in Paris to make
acquaintance, not with persons only, but with places in
and about the city which then, as now, was full of works
of art and various collections of interest ; among them
some Egyptian antiquities were new indeed to the young
American professor, who drew from his examination of
them many lessons as to the past and present, little
thinking he would himself so soon visit the actual places
from which these relics had been taken.

He also went to Argenteuil, where Eloise was once
abbess, and to the lunatic hospital at Salpetriere. De-
scriptions of these, as seen more than fifty-five years
ago, are given, but must here be passed by.

At Malmaison, as elsewhere. Dr. King and his friends
remembered the great commission, and talked to the por-
ter, who had been in charge for twenty-two years, and to
his family of the vanity of this world's glory, giving to
his little girl, named Josephine, the tract entitled " The
Dairyman's Daughter." At family prayers that evening
it seemed most appropriate to sing Dr. Malan's hymn,
just then published:

GOING ABROAD, AND LIFE IN PARIS. 55

"Que peut le monde
A mon bonheur?
Car je le fonde
Sur mon Sauveur.

" II me I'acquit
Quand il suffit
Pour mes peches
Qu'il a portes."

In Paris, too, the actual sight of the mummeries of
Roman-catholic worship, carried out there as was not
the case at that time in the United States, still further
prepared Dr. King for the war he was to wage for " the
faith once delivered to the saints." To see the sacrile-
gious bowings to the images in the church of Notre
Dame made his " blood fairly boil in his veins." At the
same time the ceremonial was so imposing, he realized
how easily the thoughtless or^ weakminded could be
drawn away by it from the simplicity of the pure gospel.

An extract from his Journal of Aug. 15, 1822, gives
Dr. King's impressions of Roman-catholicism, seen in its
most favorable aspect.

" Called on Bishop Gregoire. Spent about two hours
in conversing on the subject of religion and of my jour-
ney to Palestine. Asked him to tell me frankly if he
thought that any out of the Catholic Roman church
could be saved. His answer was very nearly that * he
thought not' Said he was not in favor of persecution ;
that he condemned, and he only prayed for those who
differed from him, I then stated to him my belief as
nearly that of Massillon, except that I could not believe
in images, etc. ; that my Bible told me, ' Thou shalt not

56 yONAS KING.

make thee any graven image — thou shalt not bow thy-
self down unto them,' etc. ; that I took the Bible for my
guide, Jesus Christ for my Saviour, discarding entirely
my own work as giving title to merit ; that I believed in
regeneration, and was willing to spend my life in doing
good to the souls of my fellow-men. ' Now,' said I, ' you
will pardon me for questioning you so closely, but I have
a great desire to know your opinion, as in America we
consider you as a distinguished and enlightened man.
Do you think that if I die to-day or to-morrow with
these feelings I shall be lost for ever T He replied that
he must say ' Yes ;' and that I must be more culpable in
the sight of God because I had had opportunity to know
the truth, and ought to have been right by this time,

" After long conversation on various points I wished
him a good-day. He took me by the hand very affec-
tionately, invited me to call and see him, etc., and I came
away.

" Saw the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin.
On this day the royal family walk around Notre Dame
barefooted and bareheaded, in fulfilment of a vow made
by Louis XHI. to the Virgin Mary.

" There are some parts of our earth in which, al-
though the sun shines ever so bright, it seems dark.
Who could believe that a man so enlightened as Bishop
Gregoire, a man who has such extensive acquaintance as
he has in Germany, Italy, England, etc., who has made
so great attainments in literature, has ventured to com-
bat the high, the mighty pope, so that all good Catholics
suppose that he aimed at deposing him — who, I say,

GOING ABROAD, AND LIFE IN PARIS. 57

could suppose that his views would be so narrow ? And
who could believe that in the nineteenth century the
royal family of France would be seen walking barefooted
and bareheaded in the streets of Paris, supposing this to
be a most delightful sight to the Virgin Mary ? Lord,
what is man ?"

Again, Sept. 17, 1822, on occasion of a visit paid to
Versailles, and after reflections on the insufficiency of
the prayers of all Catholic France to redeem the contam-
inated soul of Louis XIV. from the pains of purgatory —
if purgatory could be supposed to exist — Dr. King writes :
" While walking through the mighty hall of this immense
palace, viewing its beautifully-gilded columns and splen-
did paintings, I stepped up to the officer who conducted
us, and who .was pointing out to us the most interesting
objects, and said to him, 'Sir, what is all the glory of
this world "i Louis XIV., encircled with all this gran-
deur, could not help dying ; and what is he the better for
it .'' An interest in the Lord Jesus Christ is worth the
whole of it, and infinitely transcends it.' ' I believe it,'
replied he. I then asked him if he had ever read the
Sacred Scriptures. The answer was, ' No, I have never
seen them.' I then presented him with a New Testa-
ment, and charged him to read in it one chapter every
day, with prayer to almighty God for the illumination of
his Holy Spirit. This he promised to do, and said that
he had a family of children, who should do it too. He
thanked me repeatedly, and during my stay in the palace
treated me with particular attention. On coming out he
showed his precious treasure to another officer, who

58 JONAS KING.

looked at me as though he wished one too, and I imme-
diately returned and presented one to him, who seemed
much delighted, and made like promises as his friend.
After distributing a few tracts to some we met in the
court, we made our way through the garden to the Grand
Trianon, a house built by Louis XIV. for his mistress,
Madame Maintenon. Here also we left a New Testa-
ment. Thence we went to the Petit Trianon, built by
Louis XV. for his mistress, Madame Pompadour, and
there we left another New Testament. Both were re-
ceived with apparent gratitude and with many thanks.

" Met the Duke d'Angouleme and his suite ; next, the
king and his attendants. It was truly a brilliant sight.
The king passed within tv/o rods of me as I sat in my
carriage. I had a full view of him, and he looked me
full in the face. He is of a dark complexion, and looks
like a man of greater talents than I had thought him to
be. How many hundreds are put in motion by one man !
The Marshal of France is answerable with his head for
the safety of the king during his promenades. Had in
the carriage with us a soldier who had made the cam-
paign of Moscow, fought the Cossacks, and was taken
prisoner. Began to talk with him about the spiritual
combat which it was necessary to fight in order to gain
heaven. At first he seemed disposed to make light of
everything serious. But seeing we were in earnest, he
began to be so too, and confessed that he often thought
much of future things ; that, when a child, he had been
taught to read, and that he carried a New Testament
with him into the army, and then lost it, but that he had

GOING ABROAD, AND LIFE IN PARIS. 59

always continued to pray, and that he believed in Jesus
Christ. Mr. Wilder gave him some tracts and a New
Testament, which he received with much gratitude."

Thus it appears that no scenes connected with the
glory of this world were able to draw away the attention
of the Christian soldier, Dr. King, from his appointed
work. Like Paul, he said in practice if not in words,
"This one thing I do."

Nor was the distribution of tracts, of which he made
such a specialty, altogether unattended with personal
danger, as may be seen in the account subjoined of two
visits paid to Mt. Calvary, near Paris ; the first one Sept.
15, 1822. After divine service. Dr. Spring, Mr. Wilder,
myself, and some others, set out on a visit to Mt. Cal-
vary, about a mile and a half distant from Nanterre, and
which for nine days during the month of September is
the resort of pilgrims, some of whom come sixty, eighty,
or a hundred miles on foot, to pay their blind devotions
there. Having filled our pockets with tracts, we began
to ascend the mountain, distributing them on the right-
hand and the left, to the thousands that were ascending
and descending. After a walk of about three-quarters
of an hour we reached the top of this eminence, on which
stands a convent, and at a distance a large pile of stones
and ragged rocks, beneath which is represented the tomb
of our Saviour, and above which he hangs on the cross,
between the two thieves. The representation is as large
as life, and very striking. One of the thieves has marked
in his countenance, horror, infidelity, and despair ; the
other, with eyes turned to the Saviour, expresses deep

6o JONAS KING.

anguish, a sense of the justice of his suffering, mingled
with hope. On a nearer approach I perceived a little
cross, painted on the foot of the one on which hung our
Saviour, and multitudes were climbing up to kiss it one
after another. There was with us a young lady, who
had lately turned from the Catholic faith to Protestant-
ism. With her I entered the tomb, where men, women,
and children were kneeling, and paying their adorations
to the image of our Lord, which is lying wrapt in fine
linen. By its side I observed a great quantity of sous
and six-liard pieces, which were cast in by the worship-
pers, and which, I suppose, are gathered up at night by
the priests. Coming out of the tomb, I saw, at the foot
of the cross, and back of it, a little place resembling a
pulpit, in which stood a priest, and before him thousands
singing with loud voice a sacred song. This was to me
solemn, though the tune was an air from the opera. As
the song ceased, the priest began to harangue the peo-
ple on the subject of coming to this interesting moun-
tain, and telling them when the royal family would come,
and other things equally important. As I left the cross,
my attention began to be arrested by the surrounding
scenery. This mountain is a high elevation rising in
the middle of an extensive vale, beyond which are seen,
on the east, the domes and spires of Paris ; on the south,
St. Cloud ; on the north, the villages of Nanterre and
Chaton ; on the west, Marley and St. Germain. Between
these, lie scattered along numerous clusters of houses,
little villages and groves. At its foot on the east, the
river Seine winds its slow and peaceful way through the

GOING ABROAD, AND LIFE IN PARIS. 6i

midst of verdant fields, till it loses itself behind the vil-
lage of Neuilly, and after a circuitous course appears
again on the north near Chaton, moving onward towards
St. Germain. In this vale, as far as the eye could reach,
were seen pilgrims going and coming in all directions.
The sides of the mountain, particularly towards the east,
south, and north, are thinly covered with shrubbery and
trees, among which wind about in various directions nu-
merous footpaths leading to the convent on the summit.
At different distances on the sides of these paths, stand
little buildings, open in front, called stations. In them
are images of Christ, the Virgin Mary, etc. Before these
the pilgrims stop, kneel down on the ground and worship.
One I observed was a station to pray for the dead. We
visited several of these stations, and distributed the tract
entitled * Le Sermon de notre Sauveur sur la Montague.'
This was received with much avidity and gratitude. We
even gave them to those who were on their knees, in the
act of adoration, who would rise and come after us, to
thank us. Frequently they would all leave their devo-
tions, and flock round us to receive this precious gift ;
and when our tracts were all gone, some inquired when
we should come again. We left them giving us thanks,
and made our way back to Nanterre."

The second visit to this place of special superstitious
observances, was made the following Thursday. "Went
to Nanterre, where we arrived a little after midday. Mr.
and Mrs. Wilder, and one or two others, had gone to Mt.
Calvary, to distribute tracts and Testaments. Dr. Spring
and myself having filled our pockets and hats and hands

62 yONAS KING.

with tracts and Testaments, set off with the hope of find-
ing them. Just as we began to ascend the mountain, we
saw them coming at a distance. On meeting them, they
told us that they had been stopped by the commissary
of police, and that a policeman, by order of the priest
in authority, had taken away their tracts and Testaments,
and prohibited them in the name of the law to distribute
any more on Mount Calvary. Mr. W. advised us not to
proceed with the intention of distributing those which
we had. We, however, went on, giving to every one we
met, till we came in sight of the gens d'armes, when we
ceased giving, but occasionally let some fall from our
pockets, which the wind, which was very high, scattered
in all directions, so that they were gathered up by the
crowd. At length we arrived at the top of the mountain,
took our stand on the highest elevation near the cross,
and there in our own language offered up, each of us, a
prayer to the God of heaven for direction, and that he
would have mercy on those tens of thousands that we
saw around us, bowing before graven images. I then
felt in some degree strengthened to go on, and taking a
tract from my pocket, I presented it to a lady who stood
near me, and who appeared- to be a lady of some distinc-
tion. She received it with thanks, and I was not noticed
by the gens d'armes. Dr. Spring let some fall from his
pocket, and we made our way down to one of the sta-
tions. There he laid some on the charity box, while I
stood before him to hide what he did. We then went to
another station, and I gave ten or twelve to a lady, whom
I charged to distribute them. She was immediately sur-

GOING ABROAD, AND LIFE IN PARIS. 63

rounded by a number, to whom she distributed, while we
made our way to another station ; and finally we took
our way home, and distributed till we came to the foot
of the mountain, when we found we had no more to give.
Some took me for one of the Roman-catholic missiona-
ries, and to these I gave a number, and charged them to
go on to the top of the mountain and distribute, which
they reverentially promised to do.

" The tracts we distributed were, ' Christ's Sermon on
the Mount,' and ' St. Paul's Defence before Agrippa.'
We gave about four hundred of these, and some New
Testaments, which were received by nearly all with grat-
itude and joy. Occasionally we were refused. On the
whole, we have distributed since last Sabbath, seventeen
hundred tracts. I should judge there were on the moun-
tain and around it twenty thousand people."

Dr. King preached more than once in the " Oratoire,"
and also at Mr. Wilder's house in Paris, and in Nanterre.
Mr. Wilder, having special protection from Talleyrand,
to whom he had brou^it letters of introduction from Dr.
Jedediah Morse, father of the distinguished Morse broth-
ers, was able to hold in his own house meetings, which
under other circumstances were prohibited by law. Dr.
King makes early record of a missionary-meeting held
at Mr. Wilder's, in aid of three German missionaries on
their way to Sierra Leone.

The following entry is of great interest. It tells of
the first observance of the Monthly Concert in France,
which was on Monday, Feb. 5, 1822. "At 7 o'clock Mr.
S. V. S. Wilder, Mr. Hoshea Wilder, the Rev. J. Sohiear,

64 JONAS KING.

and myself, held at my room the Monthly Concert of
Prayer ; the first ever held in this great city, and proba-
bly in France. Mr. Chaperon also came in and spent a
part of the evening with us. Mr. S. read the 9th chap-
ter of Daniel, and made the first prayer in French. This
was offered principally for France, and the nations of
Europe. After some remarks upon what is doing in the
world to build up the Redeemer's kingdom, and what we
had to expect from the promises of God, the second
prayer was offered for the missionaries in different parts
of the world. Then Mr. S. made some remarks in
French, and Mr. H. Wilder offered the third prayer for
the church generally. Then Mr. S. V. S. Wilder read a
paper sent to him from England, ' Hints to Christians
for unity in a general concert of prayer, for the outpour-
ing of the Holy Spirit,' and concluded by offering the
fourth prayer, in which he particularly gave thanks for
what is now doing to spread the gospel. It was a de-
lightful evening, and the Saviour seemed to be with us.
May the Lord bless this first effort to set up here the
Monthly Concert of Prayer ; and may the time soon
arrive when all the churches of Christ in the kingdom
shall unite in it, and when the Spirit shall be poured from
on high, and these waste places shall be glad, and this
moral desert blossom as the rose."

MISSION TO PALESTINE ACCEPTED. 65

CHAPTER V.

MISSION TO PALESTINE ACCEPTED.

Reasons for accepting Pliny Fiske's Invitation — Letters to the
A. B. C. F. M. and to his Father and Mother — Means for Go-
ing to the East provided — Formation of the Paris Missionary-
Society, and Appointment as their First Missionary — Connec-
tion with Three Societies — Farewell Meetings for Prayer.

These visits and meetings and tract distributions,
however, were but incidental. The study of Arabic had
been kept up through them all, and the great question of
Dr. King's life, that of his becoming a missionar}'', was
under consideration. The turning-point of his life had
come.

It greatly simplifies any decision a Christian may be
called upon to make if first he has made a full consecra-
tion of himself to Christ. There is reason to believe that
Jonas King had done this ; for when that letter from
Pliny Fiske, already mentioned, compelled his attention in
a most unexpected way to the work of missions, he had
but to ask, " Lord, what wilt thou have me to do V Not,
" Am I willing .'' am I ready } can I give up all prospect
of literary .distinction in America, and turn my knowl-
edge of Arabic already acquired to immediate practical
use in instructing the ignorant, far from my friends and
native land .'*" There was indeed deep anxiety as to who

G*

66 JONAS KING.

should care for his aged father and mother, and a sense
of his own incompetency for the great work to which he
was invited ; but there was no hesitation as to obeying
the voice of the Lord whenever clearly understood.

Therefore his prayer was, " Make thy way plain be-
fore my face ;" and it is most encouraging to trace in
detail how God heard and answered by providences too
marked to be lightly set aside.

Turn then to the Journal of Sunday, July 21, 1822.

" Went from the Oratoire with Mr. Wilder to his
house, he having told me that he had something of im-
portance to communicate. After conversing with him
for some time, he said, 'I have some very joyful and
some very distressing news to tell you. Mr. Parsons
rests from his labors.' He then gave me a letter from
Mr. Fiske, which contained another for me. I opened
it with a heart agitated with joy and sorrow and anxiety:
with joy that my beloved brother had reached another
and brighter world than this ; with sorrow, because an-
other faithful missionary of the cross was taken from his
labors, and because I had lost a friend, a brother in
Christ ; with anxiety, because it had been proposed to
me by Mr. Wilder that, if Mr. Parsons should be removed
by death (we had heard of his sickness), I should take
his place for three or four years. In this letter Mr.
Fiske expressed a wish that, if I could, I would join him.
After a few moments I begged leave of Mr. Wilder that
I might retire to the room where he and I had often
bowed together before the throne of grace. I there fell
down on my knees and spread my letter before the Lord,

MJSSION TO PALESTINE ACCEPTED. Cj

and besought him to sanctify to me this dispensation of
his providence ; next, that he would direct me in the path
of duty, feeling and confessing that I was not worthy to
have so great an honor as to go to that place where our
Lord suffered, and there proclaim his gospel. I then in
a solemn manner besought the great Head of the church
to grant, if it was his will that a poor worm of the dust
should go and proclaim his precious word to dying souls
of Judea, he would incline the heart of Mr. Wilder to
give me that counsel and make some offer of aid, which
would be absolutely necessary in order to enable me to
go. I then went out and sat down by Mr. Wilder near
his desk. He immediately addressed me to the following
effect: 'Since it has pleased Him who governs all things
to throw you in my way, so that I should be acquainted
with you ; since we have spent so many pleasant hours
together in prayer and in conversation ; since it has been
proposed by me, I know not why, that you should take
Mr. Parsons' place should he be called out of the world ;
and since also it has pleased God to send this letter to
you through my hands, I therefore offer, if you will go
and join Mr. Fiske for three years, to give you a hun-
dred dollars a year ; and furthermore, I will do what I
had offered to do when you were, to human appearance,
on the borders of the grave, give your honored parents
fifty dollars a year for three years to aid them during
your absence.' After my prayer, and after hearing this,
I could not but reply that I had reason to believe that it
would be my duty to accept his offer and to leave all,
father, mother, sister, friends, and country, and go up to

68 yONAS KING.

Jerusalem, ' not knowing the things which should befall
me there.' "

It was then made a question how I could procure the
remaining four hundred dollars, which Mr. Fisk said
would be necessary. After two or three plans had been
suggested, I mentioned writing to Mr. Thomas Wadding-
ton of St. Remy. Mr. Wilder immediately approved of
this, and advised me to write also to Mr. Louis Mertens
of Brussels, Claude Cromlin and Wm. H. Nolthenius of
Amsterdam, and John Venning of St. Petersburg."

The correspondence that followed shows the spirit
that inspired all concerned. Dr. King, in the beginning
of each letter, before explaining the object he had in
view, asked the friend to whom he was writing to look
to God for guidance before proceeding farther; and then
goes on to say, " Nearly three years ago the American
Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions sent out
two eminently pious young men (Messrs. Fisk and Par-
sons) for the purpose of establishing a missionary station

in Judea They were men whose names were known

and beloved in all the American churches. I had the
pleasure of being for many years intimately acquainted
with them. But it has pleased Him who makes darkness
his pavilion to call the friends of Zion in America to
mourn the loss of my dearly beloved Brother Parsons,
who is now gone, as we confidently believe, to join those
who, eighteen hundred years ago, labored in the same
field and in the same glorious cause. Brother Fisk is
now left alone. He has written to me to join him, if I
can, for two or three years, and at the same time states

MISSION TO PALESTINE ACCEPTED. 69

that he thinks it doubtful whether the A. B. C. F. M.
would be willing to employ me for so short a time (as
they generally wish to employ missionaries for life), and
especially as they are at this moment somewhat embar-
rassed in regard to funds, and are also fitting out a sec-
ond mission to the Sandwich Islands. He says my ex-
penses will not exceed five hundred dollars a year.

"The office which I hold as Professor of Oriental
Languages in a college in New England forbids that I
should engage in a mission for life. Besides, duty de-
mands that I should return to America that I may teach
others who are destined to missions in the East, for which
I should be much better qualified could I spend two or
three years in the Holy Land,"

Dr. King then writes of what Mr. S. V, S. Wilder
offered to do, and that if four other Christian friends
were led to give the same amount for one year, and as
the A. B. C. F. M., with Mr. Wilder, would probably sup-
ply what would be necessary for the remaining two years,
he should feel it an indication that it was the will of God
he should go to Palestine. He ought to go in Septem-
ber, that being the proper time of the year to embark,
and this would not give him time to hear from the Amer-
ican Board. Also he adds, " If it be not the will of Him
who suffered in Judea that I should go thither, I hope
you will not contribute a single sou to aid me in this
mission. If it be his will, I am confident he will incline
your heart to do it. I leave the whole in his hands."

In answer, Mr. Louis Mertens wrote, offering five
hundred francs, saying, "I received your kind and joy-

70 yONAS KING.

inspiring letter. My heart, or the voice in my heart, im-
mediately answered, ' Yes.' " Mr. Waddington returned
the same prompt answer, saying, "Go, then, and may the
God of Israel bless your journey to the promised land."

The friends at Amsterdam asked for further informa-
tion in detail. Dr. King returns them a succinct account
of Messrs. Fisk and Parsons' work in Asia Minor, where
even the professors had received Greek tracts (extracts
from Chrysostom) with avidity. In the Holy Land, Mr.
Parsons had spent several months in visiting the monas-
teries, conversing with the priests, distributing upwards
of three thousand tracts, some of which were to pilgrims
who lived more than a thousand miles from Jerusalem.
These in every instance were received with gratitude. In
order to prepare more tracts in different languages to
distribute, also on account of commotions between the
Greeks and Turks, Mr. Parsons returned to Mr. Fisk at
Smyrna. There, in September or October, he was taken
sick of a fever. From this, however, he recovered, and
intended to be in Jerusalem before the Passover, in order
again to distribute tracts among the pilgrims ; but it
pleased the great Head of the church to send for him to
go to the New Jerusalem. He died at Alexandria, Feb.,
1822. Mr. Fisk, was now at Malta, expecting soon to
go to Egypt. Mr. Wilder, at the request of the Ameri-
can Board, had lately ordered to be cast in Paris a font
of Greek types expressly for the Palestine mission. This
would be ready for Dr. King to take with him.

This report, when brought before the Dutch Mission-
ary Society, proved satisfactory,. and it agreed to furnish

MISSION TO PALESTINE ACCEP2ED. 71

the remaining thousand francs necessary. Dr. King, in
returning most grateful thanks to all these friends, asks
most earnestly for remembrance in their prayers. In his
final answer of acceptance to Rev. Pliny Fisk, he refers
to a parting scene with him and Mr. Parsons' and a Mr.
Bascom, in an upper room at Rev. Dr. Porter's, Farming-
ton, Conn. ; when, after prayer together, Mr. Parsons
came, and in a most affectionate manner said, " I shall
expect that in three years from this time you will make
up your mind to come to Palestine."

Thus the matter was now settled, but this "only
son " has still a trying duty to perform, that of writing
to his aged father and mother in America. In our day,
when to go around the world is but a fashionable tour, it
is difficult to reahze how, in 1822, Palestine was indeed
as the " ends of the earth ;" and to go there, like taking
a leap into the past.

To his father, after many words of respect and affec-
tion, he writes in part, as follows : " I recollect you told
me, when I was leaving college, that your heart had been
much tried in reflecting that I might perhaps view it my
duty to go on a foreign mission ; that you thought it
would be the greatest trial of your life to lose the only
prop of your infirm and declining years ; but that you
had said within yourself, ' Did God so love the world that
he gave his only Son to redeem it, and shall I be unwill-
ing that my only son should go and proclaim salvation to
a dying world, through my Lord and Saviour .-' No, as
much as I love you, as much as I feel the need of your
aid to comfort me the few remaining years I have to

72 yONAS KING.

spend here, I say, " Go, my son, if you think it best.
God has thus far taken care of me. He will no doubt
give me in future what is best for me, and with this I
ought to be contented." ' " Then, telling his father what
his new plsns were, he writes : " Indulge not one anxious
thought for your son. I am in the hands of Him who
took me from the ' sheepcote, from following the sheep,'
and placed me in the ministry ; who has brought me
safely along through the sea and the wilderness, and who
now, by the indications of His providence, bids me enter
the 'promised land.' So clear to me are these indica-
tions, that I think I should go, were I sure that my
earthly course would there be finished.

"And in what part of the globe would you be more
willing that your son should breathe out his soul, than
in that land where my Saviour suffered and died to re-
deem it.-* — that land, whence so many prophets and
holy men of old took their flights to glory.'' — that
land which has heard the songs of angels, and to which
the eye of all heaven has been directed.'' — that land,
where the glory of the Most High was once visible, and
which has been the scene of his wondrous works among
men ?

Dr. King tells his father of the friend who had prom-
ised him to be a son to his aged parents in America ;
and how the money was to be sent to them through Gen.
Longley. Rev. Wm. A. Hallock, Secretary of the Amer-
ican Tract Society, in his tract "The Only Son," gives
an account of how the above promise was redeemed.
See Chapter XXIV.

MISSION TO PALESTINE ACCEPTED. 73

The letter to Dr. King's mother is of equally tender
interest. He reminds her of her unparalleled devotion
to him in order that he might acquire an education ;
speaks of his probable safety in Egypt, as the governor
there was a liberal man and gave protection to stran-
gers ; and both there and at Jerusalem the great Gov-
ernor of all would take care of his life, so long as there
was anything for her son to do. Also, that he yet hoped
to have a home in America, where his parents could be
near him.

Dr. King wrote in full also to the American Board, ex-
plaining respectfully how, the means for one year being
provided, he was taking the responsibility, by advice of
Christian friends in Europe, of taking up Mr. Parsons'
work; looking confidently to their endorsement of this
venture, and to their furnishing his support for the sec-
ond and third years proposed.

Friday, Sept. 6, 1822, was the birthday of the " Paris
Missionary Society." " Dined at Paris, in company
with the Rev. Daniel Wilson, from London (afterwards
Bishop of Calcutta). In the evening attended a meeting
at Mr. Wilder's, for the organization of the Paris Mis-
sionary Society. Mr. Wilder proposed that the society
should grant me some aid, and employ me as their first
missionary, to go out under their direction for the pres-
ent year. The Rev. Mr. Wilson, after an animated
speech, offered to contribute, expressly for this object,
one hundred francs. Another gentleman said he would
give fifty ; another twenty ; several ten. The society at
once voted five hundred francs."

74 JONAS KING.

Thus this young missionary became connected more
or less directly with three societies, the A. B. C. F. M.,
the Dutch Missionary Society, and that of Paris, besides
having the advantage of personal interest felt in him by
many English Christians. There was an important ob-
ject gained by this Christian alliance. Missions were
then a "new departure." Regular reports from Dr.
King were required by each society. These were print-
ed ; so that this special missionary information was soon
very extensively circulated. In this way too, Dr. King
became better known in Europe than any other Ameri-
can missionary.

The Bible Society of Paris gave several boxes of
Bibles and Testaments ; and the Paris Tract Society
about one thousand French tracts.

It now remained but to secure suitable letters of in-
troduction. Here again God's hand was plainly seen.
The Asiatic Society of Paris, of which Dr. King had
been elected a member, while the Due d'Orleans, after-
wards Louis Philippe, was President, gave letters to
consuls at Malta, Corfu, Alepp6, Beyrout, and Egypt.
To this society he was to make regular literary contribu-
tions, to be published in its "Journal." Sir Charles
Stuart, then British ambassador at the Court of France,
provided a passport into the Turkish dominions, with pri-
vate letters to friends in the East. One of the professors
of the " Ecole Royale," gave him an introduction to one
of the sheikhs in Syria, with whom he was well acquaint-
ed ; also other letters, one to a bishop. Through Miss
Mary Elliott, a letter to Lady Hester Stanhope (a niece

MISSION TO PALESTINE ACCEPTED. 75

of William Pitt), who had for a long time resided on Mt.
Lebanon, and acquired great influence there, was offered
and obtained from William Wilberforce, who thought it
would be of no use, as she refused to receive English-
men, but still she might be willing to see an American.
General Macaulay also (father of the historian). Sir
Henry Lushington, Baron de Stael, and others, gave
letters, and offered aid.

Thus, in ways truly providential, was this once New
England farmer lad thoroughly furnished unto the good
work before him.

Dr. King had encouragement in the example of Bu-
chanan, who sailed for India when at the same age as
he — which was the age when Martyn and Brainerd had
entered into glory — and the same at which our Lord en-
tered on his public ministry. He gave himself much
unto prayer, and so was made " strong in the Lord, and
in the power of his might." During the last few weeks
before leaving France, frequent record is made of sea-
sons of prayer at Mr. Wilder' s, in Paris, or in the garden
at Nanterre. Sunday eve, Sept. 22, 1822, was an espe-
cially affecting and interesting season. Mr. and Mrs.
Wilder, Dr. Spring of New York, and Dr. King, celebra-
ted together the Lord's Supper. " The time, the place,
the occasion, the little company so dear to his heart,"
Dr. King always remembered with peculiar emotion.
On Sunday, the 29th, he preached a farewell sermon
to a large audience in the Oratoire. Books, and tracts,
and the " font of type," had been sent on beforehand to
Marseilles. The last night in Paris came. The evening

76 JONAS KING.

was spent In prayer. One after another, Mr. Wadding-
ton, Mrs. Wilder, Dr. King, left the room, the latter
not until 2 a. m., but his friend Mr. Wilder remained
all night, looking unto God. In the morning he accom-
panied his missionary friend to the diligence for Mar-
seilles. There, after reading together from John 14,
they parted, commending each other unto God.

FHANCE AND THE MEDITERRANEAN. 77

CHAPTER VI.

THROUGH FRANCE AND THE MEDITERRA^

NEAN.

Distribution of Tracts and Preaching on the Journey through
France — Nismes— Malta — Discussion on Missionary Topics
with Rev. PHny Fisk and Others.

" Why, on parting with your friend at Paris, did you
point your hand towards heaven .''" asked of Dr. King a
gentleman in the same compartment of the dihgence
when a few miles only on their way. This gave oppor-
tunity, in literally the first stage of his missionary life,
for Dr. King to preach Jesus Christ and him crucified —
in this case, as it proved to be, to an avowed skeptic, but
. one who yet, after the conversation held, actually helped
with much respect in the distribution of tracts in the
little village of Essonne. This incident typified the whole
character of the journey. At Fontainebleau, where the
pen with which the Emperor Napoleon signed the act of
abdication was even then on exhibition, there was some
danger our missionary would be arrested by the gens
d'armes as a disturber of the peace, the crowd, after
receiving the tracts, loudly wishing him a safe journey
and every blessing. At Nemours the same scene was
repeated. The conducteur ordered the people away, as
he could not drive on for them, they asking earnestly for

1*

78 yONAS KING.

more of the books. A lady of apparently high respecta-
bility living near, sent a servant for a tract, saying she
would use it in prayer night and morning.

At Fontenay, where a bridge and house remained
from the time of Julius Cassar, Dr. King took special
pleasure in giving one of these messages of peace to a
military officer. Also, after a woman with cross and
beads, asking for charity, had said she prayed to all the
saints, in answer to the question which of them she ad-
dressed, he said it was " very strange that none of these
would hear her and give her the few sous she wanted,"
which made all the bystanders laugh. However, Dr.
King did give her a trifle, urging her to pray to God
alone. At St. Pierre one of his fellow-passengers, whom
a woman had asked to get a tract for her, said, " You
have converted everybody since we left Paris." At Ro-
anne the conducteur helped in the giving away of tracts,
driving off just in time to escape arrest, as two priests
were hastening to make complaint. On going up the
steep hill of Fourvieres, tracts were received by some of
the sisters belonging to a convent near. From this
mountain the city of Lyons, of a hundred and twenty
thousand souls, appears as a little village. ThougL.s
connected with early Roman conquest, and the blood of
the martyrs shed there, crowded the traveller's mind, yet
he felt that, as an ambassador to Jerusalem from the
King of kings, he was a man more honored than Caesar
or Hannibal. In the cathedral he saw a bull of the pope,
recently put up, saying that " St. Peter had changed the
indulgences ; that they were now to be had in full every

FRANCE AND THE MEDITERRANEAN 79

clay, both for the Hving and the dead, by coming to this
church, and at the sound of the bell praying for the
church, the state, the city, and the diocese," The church
of St. Irenaeus he approached as indeed a sacred place ;
for here hundreds, perhaps thousands, of martyrs had
been slain. In the middle of it was a deep well into
which their blood had run. The bones were piled up
behind a grating to the height of fifteen or twenty feet.
These bones may not all have been those of martyrs.
Irenaeus suffered martyrdom June 28, a. d. 202. In this
church Dr. King, in a formal manner, addressed the peo-
ple crowding round on the nature of true faith and vital
piety as not consisting in forms. Pothinus and Blandina
also suffered in the prison here. The holes into which
they were crowded before execution yet remain. Dr.
King could not help joining in the prayer, recorded Rev-
6:10. In Lyons, while waiting at night for the stage for
Nismes, Dr. King was struck with the tempt;.ations to
which the traveller was exposed there, the same of which
Solomon gave warning. Yet even here to the most de-
graded he preached the gospel, and was heard with
attention.

At Tain, where was an ancient altar, Dr. King felt as
if he would have to record " a day lost," for he had not
spoken to any one on the subject nearest his heart ; but
towards night "a respectable-looking gentleman, who ap-
peared quite intelligent, got into the stage with us. Some
question was soon proposed which made it necessary for
me to vindicate the authority of the Sacred Scriptures.
The gentleman at once demanded if I believed in the

8o yONAS KING.

passage of the Israelites through the Red Sea, the twelve
plagues of Egypt, etc. I replied that I did firmly believe
in ten. At this all in the stage burst out into a loud
laugh. I told them they might laugh if they pleased ;
that did not do away with the fact that the Scriptures
were true and given by inspiration of God ; that I had
read their Voltaire and their Jean Jaques Rousseau and
our own infidel writers, and that I was ready to prove to
them what I affirmed ; that I did not wish them to be-
lieve blindly ; that I only demanded that they should
hold to maxims generally received. I then went on to
show them that if it were not beneath God to create a
world consisting of many little things, it was not beneath
him to take some care of it ; that he that made their
minds had access to them and could make communica-
tions to them, as certainly as we could communicate with
words ; that he who held the heavens and the earth in
his hands could arrest the course of nature, and might
be expected to do so if any great object were to be
attained by it ; but that they had commenced in the
wrong place ; they were trying to ascend a mountain on
the perpendicular side ; that is, to look at the miracles ;
that I would lead them round the other side of the moun-
tain that was easier of ascent ; that is, show them, by
what passed within themselves and what they saw in
others, that the doctrines of the gospel were true, that
its precepts bore upon them the stamp of divinity, and
that after they should see this they would easily believe
in miracles. I then showed them that their hearts were
naturally alienated from God ; that they knew it and felt

FRANCE AND THE MEDITERRANEAN 8i

it, if they would only compare their thoughts and feel-
ings with what they acknowledged of God from the works
of nature ; that from the very nature of things their souls
could not be happy after leaving their bodies and all
means of sensual gratification had ceased, without a ren-
ovation, a change of heart, of feeling; that if ever they
had tried to reform their lives in the least respect they
had found it difficult, if not impossible, without aid from
without themselves ; that if all men followed the pre-
cepts of the gospel, this would be a happy world ; that it
was by leaving these precepts, and adhering to forms
and ceremonies and superstitious rites, or by running
into infidelity, that they as a nation had drawn down
upon their heads the judgments of the Most High ; and
that, if they did not repent, other vials of wrath were
ready to be poured out upon them. Thus I spent about
half an hour in reasoning, in making appeals to their
consciences, and in setting forth at last the beauty, the
simplicity, and the sublimity of the Bible, in comparison
with which all their boasted poetry sunk into insignifi-
cance ; and that Voltaire, Rousseau, and all their infidel
writers, when put by the side of David, Job, and Isaiah,
looked like mere pigmies ; that the only reason why they
rejected the Bible was because they did not love its
truths.

" When I had finished, four out of the five promised
to send to Paris and purchase each a Bible. The gen-
tleman before mentioned then asked me if I knew a Mr.
Wilder, a merchant of Paris, with whom he was acquaint-
ed, and who often talked to him as I did. From this

82 yONAS KING.

moment I was treated with the utmost respect and po-
liteness."

At Nismes it is strange to read of a Sunday-school
attended by about seventy women from fifteen to thirty
years of age. In 1815 some houses there had been razed
to the ground by some Catholics while persecuting thie
Protestants, seventy of these being massacred that year,
some, like our Lord, being betrayed by a kiss. The Sab-
bath Dr. King stopped at Nismes he passed an amphi-
theatre where thousands were assembled to see a bull-
fight.

The ruins at Nismes are of great interest on account
of their antiquity and remarkable preservation. From
one of the altars, where once victims were sacrificed to
Diana, Dr. King discoursed of the Lamb offered once
for all.

Rev. Mr. Cook called on Dr. King on his arrival at
Nismes, and they had prayer together in the hotel.
Baron Castelnau invited him to a Bible society meeting ;
also a social missionary reunion of about thirty ladies
and gentlemen was held. At that meeting, after Dr.
King had been formally presented and asked to speak,
he insisted that prayer should first be offered. The Prot-
estant ministers had before been consulted with regard
to this, and had deemed it imprudent, as spies might be
present, but it was finally concluded to ask a short bless-
ing. Then followed statements from Dr. King and some
discussion, there being at least one pastor present op-
posed to foreign missions. After some time it was pro-
posed that a subscription should be opened, and a society

i

FRANCE AND THE MEDITERRANEAN. 83

organized auxiliary to that of Paris. When the vote was
called almost every hand was raised. Some of the ladies
lifted both hands. The subscription-paper was then laid
on the table, and three hundred and four francs at once
subscribed.

' " This was as interesting a scene as I ever witnessed.
So much joy seemed to pervade this little assembly. I
also proposed to them to observe the Monthly Concert
of Prayer, to which all seemed to assent with one heart.
To the three hundred and four francs mentioned was
added the donation of a poor woman, seventy-five years
old, of seventy francs, which was her whole living. Hav-
ing heard of the missionary society, she observed, • I am
going to die. I have neither parents nor children. I
will give this money to spread the gospel of my Saviour
before whom I am about to appear.' This interested my
heart very much, and I determined to go and call on her
immediately, which I did the next day. She is a poor
widow, and has always labored hard, and by the strictest
economy has amassed the sum above mentioned for the
purpose of paying the rent of the house which she had
hired ; but as the gentleman who owned the house is a
pious, benevolent man, he forgave her the debt, and told
her to make what use she pleased of the little sum she
had gained ; and it gave him the highest pleasure to
hear her say, * I will give it to the Missionary Society at
Paris!'

" Called on Madame Vizie to thank her for what she
had done, and to comfort her heart by telling her what
God is doing at the present day in our world. She is

84 yONAS KING.

now in the poorhouse, and lives by the charity of her
pious friends, who were all much delighted on hearing
what she had done for the missionary society. As I en-
tered the room where she was, I saw a little, old woman
standing near the bed supporting herself by a staff, en-
deavoring to arrange some little articles of clothing, and
not noticing our approach. Her face was finely wrinkled,
and showed that age alone had triumphed over beauty
and a firm constitution. Her gray hairs were covered
with a neat white cap, and her arms were bare and with-
ered like the husks of harvest. As my friend who was
with me addressed himself to her, she slowly raised her
light blue eyes, which seemed to me to bespeak an age
not more than fifty-five or sixty.

" Asking her if she put all her trust for salvation in
Jesus Christ, she instantly replied, 'To whom else shall
I go .-* He has the words of eternal life.' As I began
to speak of the donation she had made, she beckoned me
to speak in a low tone of voice, as there might be spies
present, who would make a bad use of what they
might hear. At this I was surprised, but lowering my
voice, told her that what she had done should be told in
France and England and America, as a memorial of her,
like the woman who broke the alabaster-box of ointment
to anoint the feet of Jesus. At this the tears came in her
eyes, and lifting up her withered hands she clasped them,
and devoutly raising her eyes towards heaven, exclaimed,
' I know my unworthiness. I am nothing but dust and
ashes.' On asking her if she feared to die, she once more
clasped her hands, and said with more than usual energy,

FRANCE AND THE AIEDITERRANEAN 85

' We must die in order to see God. It is Christ who
has increased my faith. Of myself I am nothing.' I asked
her to give me a little history of her life, which she did
in broken accents, and among other things informed me
that she was born a Catholic, but that at the age of thir-
teen it had pleased God to touch her heart, as she hoped
by Divine grace, and that since that time, she had been
a Protestant, and had lived in the constant hope of im-
mortal glory beyond the tomb. Giving her my benedic-
tions, and receiving hers, I quitted this interesting
spot."

Another missionary meeting was held near Nismes ;
after which Rev. Mr. Lusignol and a Mr. Porter accom-
panied Dr. King to Marseilles. Here there seemed a
wide opening for work among seamen, which Mr. Porter
was willing to undertake, as the Protestants there seemed
to take but little interest in religious things. With Mr.
Shaler, American consul at Algiers, just then at Mar-
seilles, Dr. King had much serious conversation, and
was warned by him against trying to convert Moham-
medans, an Italian having just been executed at Tripoli
for attempting it. In conversation with some Catholic
ladies, one of them said she believed the commands of
the church were to be obeyed, even though contrary in
some respects to the Bible.

From Marseilles, Dr. King wrote to Amherst college,
asking how he should expend in the East, for the bene-
fit of that institution, a hundred dollars given him for
that purpose, by Mr. S. V. S. Wilder ; and speaking of
the mission in which he himself was to engage as a

Jonaa Eiug. Q

86 yONAS KING.

" new Crusade to drive out the infidels from the Holy Land,
not by human power, but by the weapons of the Spirit."

After a storm, followed by a wind called the Mistral,
had detained the ship for several days after the one ap-
pointed. Dr. King sailed Oct. 29., 1822. As France was
fast receding from his view, he wrote as follows : " Land
of science and of sin, of gayety and pleasure, I bid thee
farewell ! The sun shines brightly on thy beautiful
fields, the gales of Eden breathe gently on thy enchant-
ing hills, and along the borders of thy streams, in the
midst of vines and olives, lie scattered the cottages of
peasants and the mansions of nobles. Thou hast within
thy bosom all that can gratify genius, and taste, or sense.
Thou art indeed lovely. But thou hast drunk the blood
of martyrs, and God will visit thee ! He has visited thee,
and given thee blood to drink. He has v/ithdrawn His
judgments, but thou hast not repented of thy sins. Thou
hast here and there a little band, who fear God, and love
the Saviour, but most of thy inhabitants are given to su-
perstition, or infidelity, or never-ending scenes of gayety
and pleasure. Oh, when shall the light of millennial
glory dawn upon thee.^* When shall the spirit of Massi-
lon rest upon thy priests and missionaries, who are erect-
ing crosses at the corners of the streets of all thy villages .<*
With fervent prayers for thy salvation, I bid thee fare-
well."

On this voyage Dr. King commenced the study of
Italian, thus beginning to acquire another of the several
languages he was afterwards able to use with so much
fluency. One of the captains spent most of his time

FRANCE AND THE MEDITERRANEAN. 87

praying for the soul of his father, which he supposed
was in purgatory, and said that perhaps some day he
would have a son who would do as much for him. The
other captain, an Italian Catholic, laughed at this one for
his devotion. After two or three days, the voyagers got
a taste of the sirocco, putting a stop to every usual em-
ployment. This continuing longer than usual, the cap-
tain came, saying, " It is not God's will Dr. King should
go to Palestine," yet asking him to pray for a fair wind,
because, being a priest, God would sooner hear him than
a sailor.

When in sight of Sicily, Dr. King was reminded of
St. Paul there, 1800 years before. Now he himself was
here, on his way to carry the gospel to that place from
which the apostle had brought it. The same reflections
filled his heart when Malta at last came in sight, after a
passage of fourteen days.

Mr. Fisk was still here, having been detained by
sickness in Rev. Mr. Temple's family, with whom he
lodged. It can easily be imagined how these mission-
ary friends spent the first evening together, drawing still
nearer to each other around the mercy-seat. Often
afterwards they talked to each other, perhaps too much,
of their defects as missionaries ; for Dr. King writes
bitter things against himself, yet adds, " So long as I
look at my own vileness, I am persuaded that I shall
never attain much joy or peace in believing. If ever I
have any, it is when I look away from myself towards
Christ. I think I have erred, and that many Christians
have erred on this point. God did not say to the dark-

88 yONAS KING.

ness, ' Darkness, go away,' but ' Let there be light,' and
the darkness instantly fled away as a matter of course.
So with us ; we may look at our own hearts, and dwell
upon our vileness, and try to chase away sin and make
ourselves better, and all to little or no purpose. But the
moment we turn away from ourselves, and look at Jesus
Christ, the soul feels itself transformed, quickened, in-
vigorated, and rejoices with joy unspeakable. I feel
more and more, that the best means of growing in grace
is to look at Christ, and that the first thing to which a
missionary should point a Jew, a Mohammedan, a pagan,
or any sinner whatever, is Jesus Christ, and that every
minister should preach Christ continually. This will
not indeed give the world a very high idea of our wisdom
or talents. We may appear simple and foolish, but God
will be glorified, and our preaching will have effect, and
souls will be saved. Jesus Christ is all and in all, and it
pleases God ' by the foolishness of preaching to save
them that believe.' " Again, when sick, and thinking
how his constitution from infancy had been such as to
need much care. Dr. King writes : " Silence, thou sinful
body of mine, which would have ease and attention, and
the kindness of friends, and would let the Jew and the
Mohammedan and the pagan perish ! Why dost thou
so often shrink and tremble at the thought of perils and
hardships, of persecutions and death .'' O God, grant me
more of thy grace. Saviour of sinners, thou knowcst
that I would not go back if I could. If thou wilt grant
me thy presence, then come life, come death, come what
will, I shall be happy."

FRANCE AND THE MEDITERRANEAN. 89

Rev. Mr. Jowett, of the Church Missionary Society
of England, was in Malta at this time, also the Rev. Jo-
seph Wolff, the converted Jew. An audience of about
seventy to a hundred usually attended the Sunday ser-
vices. On one occasion the friends celebrated the
Lord's Supper, a time of special interest, because Chris-
tians from seven different nations were present.

The missionaries, while together, held prolonged
friendly discussions, on points connected with the special
work of each. Rev. Joseph Wolff asked how far he
" should conform to Jewish customs, such as wearing a
beard, and not eating swine's flesh," or not " lodging
with Armenians, whom the Jews considered descendants
of Amalek, whose name was to be blotted out." The
conclusion was for Mr. Wolff to conform in things non-
essential, but not to give in to prejudices against Amalek.

Mr. Wolff mentioned a fact confirming the truth
of the New Testament, and not perhaps generally
known. " In the Talmud of Babylon, which was com-
piled fifty years after Christ, the four gospels are men-
tioned under the name of Evangelion — Mattheus, Mor-
decai (which is Mark), Lukas and Johannen. This text
is also quoted : ' Whosoever shall smite thee on the one
cheek, turn the other also,' and is said to have been
adopted as a practice by the disciples of Jesus. It is
also said in the Baba Rama (one of the books of this
Talmud), that Jacob, one of the disciples of Jesus, cured
deadly sick persons by the name of Jesus."

Other subjects of importance were talked over by the
little band, such as whether almsgiving in the East

8*

90 yONAS KING.

might be connected with preaching to the poor. Answer
in short : " Relieve distress as far as possible. Preach to
one's servants and household, as Christ did to his disci-
ples, in a way that others would also have an opportunity
to hear. Endeavor to form institutions for the poor and
blind." Another question related to preaching to Mus-
sulmans at the risk of life. Mr. Jowett advised, '• Spend
a considerable time (five years, or perhaps on the spot
three years) in learning the language, customs, and prej-
udices of the people, before attempting publicly to com-
bat their errors ; after which time it is a positive duty
to gird ourselves with primitive courage and zeal, and
openly combat Mohammedanism." Mr. Fisk thought
it "perfectly consistent with Christian principles, and
expedient, to talk about our mission, and feel as if it were
for Jews, Greeks, and Armenians, and not for Mussul-
mans, quoting this passage, ' When ye are persecuted in
one city, flee ye to another,' and saying the Mohamme-
dans do persecute, and we must wait till God opens the
way ; that should we attempt to preach to iJiem, we
should in all probability lose our lives, or at least be ex-
pelled from the country, and the mission would be stop-
ped. ' Preach,' said he, ' among the Christians, and rC'
vive Christianity, and let Turks see what it is. Ask
them about their religion, and tell them about ours ;
give them the Bible, but not with the avowed object of
converting them.' Others were of the same opinion,
that there would be little danger among Arabs, but that
among Turks we must be cautious. We need not tell
them that they were in error, but show them the light.

FRANCE AND THE MEDITERRANEAN. 91

God protected Henry Martyn when the Mohammedans
talked of cutting out his tongue. We must go without
dependence upon ourselves, but be mighty in Christ."

Dr. King adds : " This discussion was to me most
impressive and solemn. I felt as though my own life
was involved in it. I know not whether I have grace
sufficient to carry me forward. But I have opened my
mouth to the Lord, and cannot go back. I must gird up
the loins of my mind, prepared to go forward to meet
with persecution and death ! This is a serious business,
and I feel my utter weakness of myself. I can only cast
myself upon the Saviour, and beg of him all that strength
and faith and love and courage which I need."

A call of some interest was made by the missionaries
upon the Chevalier de Greisches, the only knight of the
Order of St. John remaining there. " He appeared like
a withered stalk in the field after harvest." Thus passed
away " one of the most illustrious Orders of men that
perhaps ever existed, if we look at their military prowess."
In the church of St. John, also in a convent of Francis-
can monks, Dr. King spoke boldly against the worship
of images. One priest admitted that it was forbidden in
the Old Testament, but not in the New. He was re-
minded of the text, " Little children, keep yourselves
from idols." Entering the outer door of another con-
vent, and seeing several nuns who quietly retired, ex-
cept one, who turned her face to the wall. Dr. King,
with something of the humor of Mark Twain, asked a
bystander, " What have these women done, what crimes
have they committed, that they have to be shut up here .-'"

92 S'OJVAS KING.

" Oh," was the answer, " they are not in prison. They
pay i,ooo or 1,200 scudi in order to be permitted to come
here."

While at Malta, in a packet of letters forwarded from
Paris, came a welcome offer from the Netherlands Bible
Society, to furnish Dr. King with as many copies of the
Scriptures as he might wish.

Friday, Jan. 3, 1823, Dr. King, with Messrs. Fisk
and Wolff, left the island of Malta, receiving substantial
tokens of the best wishes of Messrs. Jowett and Temple.

While now again at sea, he wrote these lines :

Tossing, rolling on the ocean, when the winds and waves are high,
I '11 not fear their wild commotion, Jesus Christ my Lord is nigh ;
At his bidding 't was I ventured to come down into the sea,
He will bring me to the haven where my spirit longs to be.

Earth is troubled like the ocean, man is tossed from wave to wave,
Finds no calm, no place of resting, till he finds it in the grave.
At thy bidding, Lord, I '11 venture upon death's dark, boisterous sea,
Thou wilt bring me to the haven where my spirit longs to be.

EGYPT. 93

CHAPTER VII.

EGYPT.

Labors Among Jews and Roman-catholics — Preaching on the Top
of the Great Pyramid — Cairo — Thebes — Palace of Pasha —
Jewish Wedding — Traces of Work.

The port of Alexandria was reached January lo,
being Friday, the day of Mussulman worship. Flags
accordingly were hoisted on twenty or thirty Turkish
ships-of-war then in the harbor. Before landing, Dr.
King asked the captain to call the crew together, " that
thanks might be returned to almighty God for his pro-
tection during the voyage." The mate offered to buy an
English Bible. The captain afterwards came to hear Dr.
King preach at the British Consulate, and also had reli-
gious services again on his own vessel. He expressed
the " new conviction he now had of the truth of the Bible
and of Jesus as the food of the soul."

Board was obtained by the missionaries in the family
of a Jew, some member of which was overheard by Mr-
Fisk to say "their lodgers were probably conjurers."

Descriptions of scenes in Alexandria agree with those
of more recent date.

One spot of sacred interest could not be forgotten —
the grave of Parsons. Upon the slab which covered it,
level with the pavement, Dr. King with his two friends
kneeled with uncovered heads, feeling as if he were in-
deed "baptized for the dead." After prayer Mr. Fisk

94 yONAS KING.

addressed him, saying, " Brother King, I welcome you
with all my heart to the place rendered vacant by my
brother Parsons' death."

And Parsons' work was immediately taken up by his
successor, in season and out of season. Just now it was
especially among the Jews, in company with Mr. Wolff. ,
The two missionaries would sometimes seat themselves
cross-legged on the divan, according to Eastern custom,
and as the Jews came in would begin talking first of Old
Testament facts, in believing which all were agreed ; and
thus securing attention, would go on to speak of the Mes-
siah as already come. The conversation was usually in
Italian. When a Hebrew word was used the Jews seem-
ed much pleased. On one occasion a woman called out
angrily to the most intelligent Jew present, " Thou curs-
ed, why do you not answer him ?" Some of the Jews
avowed themselves skeptics, and proposed the same ques-
tions as other worshippers of human reason elsewhere do.
Four rabbis from Galilee, when spoken to of the Mes-
siah, answered, " My lord, we are come from a distant
land, and at sea we were sick wit"h great sickness, and
therefore our mind is a little confused, and we cannot
therefore speak to-day words of wisdom. But we will
return unto you and open our mouth with wisdom, and
speak about the Holy One, blessed be he and blessed be
his name, and you will be astonished with great aston-
ishment." Thus it may be seen that there is such a
thing as true pharisaical succession.

Visits were paid in Alexandria to Roman-catholics
also. With the superior of a Francisan convent Dr.

- EGYPT. 95

King had in some way before become acquainted. Call-
ing to see him, Dr. King says, " Two of the monks met
us at the door and said that he had gone out. I made
some little conversation, and they invited us into their
room. 'Do you devote yourselves,' said I, 'continually
to prayer and fasting T ' Yes, we pray to God the Fa-
ther, Son, and Holy Ghost, and the Virgin and the saints,'
* Ah,' said I, ' to the Virgin and the saints } This is a
thing that I have never seen in the Bible. We are com-
manded to pray to God and to Christ, but I have no-
where seen that we are commanded to pray to saints.'
Quite a discussion followed, in the course of which the
curate talked very loudly against the English, who, he
said, were all excommunicated, were without a priest-
hood, were all going to the house of the devil, and would
be damned. All that was said showed that these monks
believed that the Word of God, without note and com-
ment, was pernicious and destructive. The curate actu-
ally behaved like a madman, saying again, ' We are the
true church. We are illuminated by the Holy Spirit. I
can teach you, and not you me ;' then stamping on the
floor with all his might, ' When men go about vomiting
poison I would crush them under my feet.' The monks
who stood by seemed a little ashamed.

" It may be thought rash and imprudent by some to
address the Roman-catholics with so much plainness as
I did the curate, but I know not what else to do. They
have perverted the Word of God and taken away the key
of knowledge from the people, and introduced into the
church as real an idolatry as the worship of VenuS or of

96 yONAS KING.

Jupiter Ammon. They say they do not worship the im-
ages. Nor did the enlightened heathen worship images,
except as representatives of some spirit, some overruling
power, some great first cause."

Let no one think an acute mind, thoroughly trained
and well-informed, was thrown away when called to meet
the varieties of error into which the Oriental churches
have lapsed. There were at this time one hundred Cop-
tic convents in Alexandria, one of them claiming to have
been founded by St. Mark. By the superior of one of
them Dr. King was excommunicated, yet succeeded in
selling a hundred Bibles and giving seventy away.

Mr. Gliddon, so well known as an Egyptian scholar,
showed the missionaries much Christian hospitality, and
his son accompanied them up the Nile.

Friday, January 17, appears the follov/ing entry:
" Mr. Fisk and myself sold to-day, by way of exchange,
four New Testaments for fifteen Egyptian gods. This
seems to be a new kind of traffic. I would gladly buy
all the gods of the heathen in the same manner."

The next Monday they left Alexandria for Cairo on
board a large sailboat, called a maash. Soon a violent
wind almost upset the boat, yet the Arabs in charge re-
fused to furl the sails except on actual compulsion. The
story of the whole voyage is but as an early edition of
" Boat-Life on the Nile." In every place, wherever pos-
sible, religious conversation was held with the Copts and
Mussulmans, and Bibles and tracts were sold and distrib-
uted. Fishermen's huts, built of reeds, reminded the
travellers of Moses. Near Cairo immense heaps of wheat.

EGYPT.

97

supposed at first to be sand, and farther on buffaloes
standing in water up to their heads then coming up out
of the river, also took them back to the times of Joseph and
Pharaoh. While stopping at a small village, an eclipse
of the moon filled all the Mussulmans there with terror.
" We could hear distinctly the cries and screams and
bowlings of men, women, and children, and their pray-
ers : ' O God and his prophet ! O God and his prophet !
Most merciful God! O beneficent God! O Lord, O
Lord ! Waa, waa, waa ! O God, have mercy upon us !
O Mohammed !' " Such sounds filled the air while the
eclipse lasted. The people did not seem to understand
how those who believed on the Lord Jesus were not
afraid as well as they.

Sometimes when the missionaries went on shore the
captain of the maash would come, saying there was dan-
ger ; that if anything happened to them he should be
answerable for it with his head.

Arrived at Cairo, the missionaries called immediately
on Henry Salt, Esq., consul-general, having letters to
him from Sir Charles Stuart. In his courtyard, among
other mummies, they saw one of a woman strangely de-
scribed as " very beautiful." Mr. Salt himself was deeply
interested in missions, and more than once gave warning
when arrest threatened ; for the Mussulmans often, with
great excitement, accused these strangers of introducing
infidelity. In encouraging contrast to this, Mr. Warton,
a military man in the service of the king of Persia, spoke
of the missionaries in India in the highest terms of re-
spect; said his first serious impressions were made by

98 yONAS KING.

their preaching ; that it was a current report among the
Mussulmans in Persia that their king once observed in
one of his assemblies, that " if ten such men as Henry
Martyn were to come into Persia, his kingdom would
soon become entirely Christian."

Dr. King preached here, not only at the English con-
sulate, but on the top of the largest pyramid, reading
there 2 Peter, third chapter, and expounding it to a num-
ber of persons who were up there at the same time.
Thus this monument, recording, as is now conjectured,
mathematical and scientific, as well as historical, facts,
was used as a noble pulpit for a grander purpose.

The Koraite Jews at Cairo were peculiar in many
ways, having also long and very large noses, which easily
distinguished them. They reject the Talmud, receive
only the written word of the Old Testament, and derive
their name from the Hebrew word N~p (kara), to read.
One of their rabbis gave Dr. King his benediction about
as follows : " O Lord, bless with a blessing Jonas King,
the son of King, and give him of the dew of heaven above
and of the fatness of the earth, and permit him to enter
Jerusalem."

The degradation and wickedness of the people here
and elsewhere in Egypt were beyond description, remind-
ing one, both in its political aspect and as regards its cit-
izens, of the prophecy, " It shall be the basest of king-
doms." Ezek. 29 : 15.

In Cairo were sold or given away 256 Bibles.

Leaving this city on their onward journey, although
great excitement followed everywhere the arrival of the

EGYPT.

99

missionaries, they went unarmed, trusting in the Lord.
The Coptic patriarch at Cairo had given them a letter of
general introduction to the convents, and Mr. Salt a fir-
man, yet their situation was often a critical one. Duty
to go on, however, seemed plain, for sometimes the Copts
would follow on from a distance to buy a New Testament.
" That people, in the midst of so much poverty and op-
pression and misery, are so earnest to piircJiasc the Scrip-
tures, shows that they desire them, and that the ob-
jections often brought by some of the Franks in this
country against the distribution of the Word of God are
futile." Occasionally a Coptic school was visited, and a
premium promised to such children as should make the
greatest improvement in Coptic and Arabic, to be given
the next year, as at Beeadeeah, where Dr. King writes:
" The first thing I saw as I entered the village was a boy
sitting on the ground with a book in his hand reading.
This was new to me in Egypt, but I was immediately
still more surprised to find a man sitting at the door of a
kind of mud-hovel, with a long reed or cane in his hand,
which he was swinging over the heads of twenty-six chil-
dren, all of whom were engaged in writing on tin-plates.
The hovel in which they were was built of mud-bricks,
and partly covered with the same and partly with reeds
or cornstalks. It had only one door, and this so small
and low that I was obliged to get down on my knees to
look in. I endeavored to encourage both master and
children."

Calling upon the Governor at Siout, the travellers
saw his "hand and seal" applied in a decidedly literal

loo yONAS KING.

way. They had asked for a passport. A writer (the
Copts were usually employed as such) wrote it in their
presence, and gave it to the governor, who " took from
the pen of the writer a little ink on his little finger, on
which he rubbed for some time the seal on his ring.
This seal he then pressed upon the letter where the
name is usually signed. This being done, the writer
took the letter again, folded it, and delivered it to us."

Although schools have been mentioned above, so few
of the people could read and write that it was most diffi-
cult to secure a competent instructor, and also to buy
any Coptic books. One bishop, when asked for them,
said he had a " very great number." This proved to be
a library of six or seven volumes, and an Arabic copy of
the Old Testament which he refused to sell at any price.
This bishop invited the missionaries to dinner, after wri-
ting out for them the Coptic alphabet, which strange
characters are preserved in the " Journal," with pronun-
ciation affixed. "The dinner consisted of one plate of
boiled eggs, with a little melted butter, two plates of
cheese served up in a different manner, and one plate of
date dessert, and nineteen cakes of bread. These were
all placed in order upon a pewter server, which was placed
upon a little stool about one foot and a half in height.
Around this we gathered, six in number, and took our
seat on the floor. Water was brought by the servant for
us to wash our right-hand, as this was to serve us both
as knife and fork. After washing, the bishop took one
of the cakes and made some crosses over it, saying some-
thinsf in a low tone of voice which I did not understand.

EGYPT. loi

Then he broke the cake and began to dip his hand in the
different dishes, inviting us to follow his example. Du-
ring our meal, which lasted perhaps half an hour, the
conversation turned on various topics. We learned from
him that the bishops and priests have no fixed salary
and live by the charities of the people ; that the priests
do not generally marry, but that some of them are mar-
ried, and are generally more esteemed by the people than
those who are not married."

Afterwards they dined with a koumus, an ecclesiastic
between priest and bishop. " The first room was filled
with smoke, and the floor was entirely covered with dirt,
and appeared like a stable. At our approach the women
drew their veils over their faces and retired into an ad-
joining room. In a few moments we were invited into
the parlor and seated on the floor. The parlor was about
twelve feet square, and but a little more decent than the
other rooms. Presently raki was ordered. Of this I did
not taste. The koumus drank very plentifully. After
the raki, dinner was served. It consisted of soup, boiled
meat, and bread. A candle was stuck in one of the loaves
of bread to give us light. Such a scene I never witnessed
before. The koumus was a large, brawny man, with a
long white beard, and looked filthy as the swine in the
streets. His eyes were sore, and this rendered him still
more disgusting. His long bony fingers soon found their
way to the bottom of the soup, and we dove after him.
The boiled meat he tore in pieces and handed round to
us. When his mouth was well filled with bread and
meat and soup, he washed the whole down with a good

I02 yOJVAS KING.

dose of raki. After dinner I bought a Coptic manuscript
of him, and sold six New Testaments in Arabic and eight
of Genesis. Made him a present of a copy of each, and
after mutual salutations he accompanied us down stairs
through the two stables into the street and even to the en-
tering in of the village. Some of the clergymen in Amer-
ica think their salary rather small, and so it is ; but there
is not one, at least I never saw one, who does not live like
a prince in comparison with most of the Coptic priests in
Egypt."

Passing on up the Nile, the travellers meeting now
boat-loads of black slaves for the market at Cairo, or see-
ing on the banks women wearing nose-rings, or anon
some crocodiles, or having live scorpions brought to
them for inspection, felt impelled to visit Thebes. No
previous description in detail had prepared them to see
ruins so vast and impressive, which brought, with com-
fort, to their minds the text, "They shall perish, but
thou remainest." The tombs in the Necropolis had not
been so utterly despoiled as at present. In one room
were to be seen two or three thousand little wooden gods.
Dr. King describes mummies and statues with exceeding
particularity, also the grottoes in a mountain on the east
side of the river, which were inhabited by Eremites in
the fourth century, and where perhaps Antonius and
Athanasius lived, and prayed for their persecutors. The
views from some of these caves were of peculiar beauty,
showing the good taste of the hermits in their selection
of a retreat.

Soon a report having come of a general massacre of

EGYPT. 103

the Franks at Constantinople, which would render life
unsafe for them in all parts of the Turkish empire, and
being two hundred miles away from an P^ngiish consul,
the missionaries hurried on their way back to Cairo.
The alarm proved a false one, but had been none the less
startling.

At Cairo Dr. King visited the pacha's palace, finding
it truly an abode of sinful luxury ; but it is amusing to
read the full description of a camelopard in the court-
yard there as of an animal almost unknown. On his way
to this palace Dr. King met several young Arabs tied
together, and followed by five or six hundred women,
besides men and childen, weeping and wailing, and cry-
ing, " My liver ! my liver !" These were young men
whom the pasha had pressed into his service as soldiers.
He had agents who went about in the villages, and when-
ever they saw a young man capable of bearing arms they
took him from his parents and friends by force.

At Heliopolis, where Joseph found his bride, Dr. King
attended a Jewish wedding. " At one end of the court
was a kind of gallery, in which the bride was making
preparation for the ceremony, and in front of which hung
strips of different colored paper, red, pale red, and yel-
low, interspersed with gold leaves. Occasionally I saw
the bride through the lattice, or wood network, which
was in front of the lower part of the gallery. This
brought to my mind Cant. 2 : 9. The bridegroom was a
queer-looking young fellow, and seemed hardly to know
what to do with himself. At about four o'clock the high
priest, with five rabbis, came in and took their seats, and

I04 yONAS KING.

the service commenced. The clerk and the rabbis re-
peated in Hebrew the eighteen blessings of the name of
God. Then the high priest arose and said, ' Blessed be
those who dwell in Thy house ; they shall praise Thee for
ever.' All the people responded, ' Blessed the people
whose God is the Lord.' After this the evening prayer
was said, in which the name of Jehovah occurs eighteen
times. Every time they repeated this name the rabbis
shook and trembled. After the prayer the nuptial torch
was lighted. It consisted of nine small wax candles tied
together at one end, and when lighted formed a branch
of lights. This was carried up into the gallery where the
bride was waiting, surrounded by married women and
young damsels. Boys below began to beat on cymbals,
and soon the bride descended, covered with a long white
veil, preceded by three women with cymbals, one on each
side holding her by the arms, and followed by several
others, one of whom nov\^ and then uttered a terrible
shriek, which I supposed was a shriek of sorrow, but I
was afterwards told it was an expression of joy. Being
led to the divan, the bridegroom took his place by her side
on the left. Both continued standing while Rabbi Mer-
cado and the people also repeated the forty-fifth psalm :
* My heart is inditing a good matter,' etc. The rabbi
then took a cup of wine, and said, ' Blessed art thou, O
Lord God, our God, King of the world, who hast <:reated
the fruits of the vine.' The people responded, 'Blessed
be he, and blessed be his name.' Rabbi. ' Blessed be
thou, O God, who sanctifiest thy people by wedding and
by marriage.' People. ' Blessed be he, and blessed be

EGYPT. los

his name.' One of the rabbis then took a ring and put
it on the finger of the bridegroom and then on that of
the bride, and then gave it to the bridegroom, who put it
on the forefinger of the bride, and said, * Verily art thou
espoused to me by this ring according to Moses.' A
large camel's-hair shawl, called ' talis,' was then spread
over the newly-married couple, and the rabbi twice gave
them wine to drink, saying, ' Blessed art thou, O Lord
our God, King of the world, who hast created all things
for thy glory,' and repeating many other texts, the peo-
ple responding, ' Blessed be he, and blessed be his name.'
Then, after some drinking of wine and all the company
repeating ' Semeantob ' (good sign), the nuptial torch was
extinguished, but immediately lighted again, and the
bride was reconducted to her room by the women to the
sound of cymbals."

While in Egypt the missionaries had sold or given
away 900 Bibles and 3,700 tracts. God's word never re-
turns unto him void. In 1866, Rev. W. C. Roberts, D. D.,
of Elizabeth, N. J., more than once found in Egypt old
men, Christians, who well remembered Dr. King's work
there, saying it had been blessed to their souls.

io6 JONAS KING.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE DESERT AND JERUSALEM.

Emir Bushir — Kindness of Mr. Salt — Jerusalem — Gethsemane —
Scenes at Church of Holy Sepulchre — Deliverance from Ar-
rest— Bethany — Letters from Jerusalem — Visits to Ramah —
Jericho and the Dead Sea.

By this time, March 29, 1823, Dr. King had received
letters from the A. B. C. F. M., and from other friends
in America, approving the course he had taken.

Before leaving Egypt, Dr. King had an interview
with the Emir Bushir, prince of the Druses and Maron-
ites on Mount Lebanon, who had been temporarily ban-
ished for attempting to make Syria free, but was now
about to return there. He treated the Americans with
great kindness, and said he should expect to see them at
Mount Lebanon. His attendants had much the appear-
ance of New England men, one of them being almost
the fac-siraile of Professor Stuart of Andover. Also the
missionaries saw Aboul Hassim, a Persian Sufi, whose
business it was to copy the Koran. His writing was
very beautiful, but it took him two and a half years to
make a single copy. A particular friend of his, Seid
Ali, had helped Henry Martyn to translate the New
Testament, and to him Aboul Hassim gave Dr. King a
note of introduction. Mr. Salt continued his efficient

i

THE DESERT AND JERUSALEM. 107

kindness to the last, taking much pains to set the mis-
sionaries properly on their way.

During their last night in Egypt a death occurred in
a house near by, and the loud crying and wailing called
forcibly to mind scenes in this same land long ago, just
before another departure from it.

The first night on their way, the Monthly Concert
was observed by the missionaries, in strangely Oriental
surroundings — a caravan, with camels and asses, of which
there were, about a hundred, and a noisy, incongruous
crowd of persons from eight or ten nations.

To see barren sand far as the eye can reach, varied
by appearances, now and then, of the mirage, was at this
time not a wornout experience ; and Dr. King gives de-
tails of desert-life with a zest such as cannot be expect-
ed from a more recent traveller. He found it easy to
sympathize with the Israelites in their murmurings for
want of water, so offensive soon became that carried in the
goatskins. He writes, " Oh, that my soul thirsted for the
living God, as it does for the water-brooks ;" yet some-
times he went singing on his way, " Guide me, oh, thou
great Jehovah, pilgrim through this barren land," and
reading from day to day those parts of the Bible which
seemed almost reproduced before their eyes.

Having passed the Isthmus, then undivided by Les-
sep's canal, and vexed on their way by thieving Bedouins,
almost destitute of clothing, who would come to sakite
the sheikh of the caravan by butting heads in true Oriental
style, and then insist on tribute, the travellers arrived in
the land of the Philistines. Here it was somethinsr in-

io8 yONAS KING.

deed new to see an actual shepherdess with crook in
hand, with the skin of a lamb over her shoulders as a
shawl, while women and children near by thrashed out
barley on the ground with long sticks ; then to pass met-
aphorically through the "gates of Gaza," into the public
khan, its courtyard filled with merchandise, camels,
horses, asses, and men, and where of course little rest
could be secured. Here were sold or given away 38
Testaments, or copies of Genesis and the Psalms, some
of them to Mussulmans. This distribution was contin-
ued at Esdud (Ashdod), and a prayer is recorded, that
before the word of God the Dagon of Mohammedanism
might fall, till not even his stump should be left.

At Yaffa (Joppa) the missionaries lodged in what is
called the house of Simon the tanner, where upon the
housetop they had prayer together, and Dr. King writes,
" This is the city to which Jonah fled from the presence
of the Lord ; like him, may I, Jonas, not flee, but go and
'preach the preaching' that the Lord bids me." Here
the sheikh was dismissed, receiving besides the back-
sheesh an Arabic Testament and Psalter, The road
through the mountains of Judea proved to be worse than
even the most rocky and uneven in New England, and
was infested too by robbers.

" The country continued nearly the same as I have
described, till we came within half an hour of Jerusalem,
when all at once the Holy City opened on my view.
Thus, thought I, is it often with the last hours of the
Christian. He is obliged to pass over a rough and wea-
risome way, where he is continually exposed to the at-

THE DESERT AND JERUSALEM. 109

tacks of enemies, till near the close of life, when his feet
are just about to stand within the gates of the New Je-
rusalem ; then he is favored with some bright visions of
the place he is soon to enter. The first I saw was the
Mount of Ohves, and supposed this to be a part of the
Holy City ; but I soon saw that Jerusalem lay lower
down, between me and the Mount of Olives.

"As our Lord made his entrance into Jerusalem,
riding on an ass, I alighted from mine, and went on foot.
My feelings seemed to revolt at the idea of my entering
Jerusalem in the same manner as he did, who was Lord
of heaven and earth, and who came thither to make
expiation for the sins of the world."

The sacred places in and about the Holy City are
perhaps best unvisited, would one retain in full the
charm with which a sanctified imagination cannot fail
to invest them. Dr. King, however, in his journal, gives
place to reflections, such as must after all crowd upon
the mind and heart of every true believer. The scenes
of four thousand years rushed upon him. Here God had
rendered his glory visible ; hither the tribes came up to
worship; here David had tuned his harp to the praise of
Jehovah. Here Jesus, our Lord and God, had poured
out his soul unto death, and heaven and earth seemed to
approach each other. It was fitting that special prayer
should be offered, that the name of Christ should be
here honored and the work of the Lord revived.

The missionaries found lodgings — Mr. Wolff among
the Jews, the others in a small Greek convent looking
out towards the Mount of Olives. Dr. King writes, " I

Jonas Kin;. 1 0

no yONAS KING.

looked all around on the Holy City, and could not help
saying often, ' Is it possible that my feet stand within
thy gates, O Jerusalem !' "

The next day it was impossible to visit the garden of
Gethsemane, for a Turkish woman had just been mur-
tlered near there, which made it not safe to go where
such an excited crowd of Mussulmans had collected.
That day, however, they sold twenty New Testaments
while walking about Zion, noting sadly the changes there
since the time when David called it " the joy of the
whole earth." The next day being Sunday, after a sea-
son of prayer with his friends, Dr. King was able to go
to the garden of sorrow. Here, leaving the two guides
to sit under an olive-tree, he went under the shadow of
another of those eight old sentinels of the past, where,
reading the New Testament account of the scene once
witnessed there, he kneeled down, made confession of
sins and renewed his covenant with his Saviour. There,
too, he prayed for some of his dear friends and their
children by name.

The account Dr. King gives further of Jerusalem in
detail, is of interest, but the ground has now been visited
so often that it is the more easy here to pass it over.
The demand for Bibles Vv^as remarkable ; thirty Greeks
came for them the day of the missionaries' arrival.
Also the sheikh Abou Ghoosh, who had two thousand
Bedouins under his control, honored the missionaries
with a call. " We were glad to form his acquaintance,
and to ingratiate ourselves a little in his favor, though
we should have preferred to have him call another day.

THE DESERT AND JERUSALEAI. m

As soon as I was introduced to him, I took him by the
hand (which is contrary to Eastern custom), and shook
it, and he simultaneously squeezed mine, and shook it as
cordially as if he had been an old friend from America.
It seemed as if done by a kind of inspiration. He seemed
much pleased, looked at me, and I sat down close to him,
and looked at him, and conversed with him. All who
were present laughed when they saw us shaking hands.
He seemed friendly, offered us his services, and invited
us to come and take lodgings at his house whenever we
had occasion to pass by his village. After we had made
him a present of a loaf of fine sugar, which we brought
from Malta, and two boxes of phosphoric matches, with
which he was highly pleased, having never seen any be-
fore, he went away."

The next day, when walking about Mount Zion again,
and "marking well" the desolations there, a Mussulman
Arab looked at the missionary with all the wildness of a
man possessed of a devil, and endeavored by the distor-
tions of his countenance to express the highest contempt
possible. Many Mussulmans had come from Damascus
and other places to visit the tomb of Moses, and it was
really dangerous to go among them. " As we walked
along and heard the wild noise and roar of the mixed
multitude, feeling some little fear with regard to our-
selves, Mr. Fisk repeated a verse from the 74th Psalm,
which, had it been made for the occasion, could not have
been more appropriate :

"Where once thy clnirches prayed and sang,
Thy foes profanely war, ' etc.

112 yONAS KING.

Dr. King had an interview at some length with Rabbi
Mendel, the chief priest at Jerusalem, who, as might be
expected, said he did not believe in the great sacrifice of
Jesus Christ, but reciprocated every kind expression
made as to Israel, saying, however, it was not good for
Jews to enjoy so many privileges as they had in America,
lest Jeshurun should "wax fat and kick."

In three days all the Arabic and Armenian Bibles
and tracts on hand were disposed of.

Dr. King soon found his way to Bethlehem, and was
met near there by many children, singing, " Pilgrims, go
in peace; pilgrims, go in peace," as they went with him
into the village. There, though he did not intend too
much to regard time and place, he felt impelled to kneel
in special prayer, not for himself alone, but for the chil-
dren of his friends in Paris and the Netherlands and
those of his sister in America. Bethlehem itself was a
more rugged place than his own native town, yet he
called its fields " happy ; they had heard the first news
of salvation ; within its bounds had been born the God-
man, the Saviour of the world." Here Dr. King gath-
ered a few wild-flowers, which, sent to America, are yet
treasured up, mute witnesses of this visit paid to Bethle-
hem more than fifty years ago.

May I, 1823, was the anniversary of the Feast of the
Passover, as observed by Greeks and Armenians. The
three friends celebrated the Lord's Supper that same
evening in Dr. King's room, "an upper chamber" in Je-
salem. Few mo'^lern Christians had then taken the
"Communion" in a place so incomparably full of sug-

THE DESERT AND JERUSALEAL 113

gestive interest ; yet Dr. King adds, after an account
given, too long to be here transcribed, " It is not the
place where we are that will cause us to have right feel-
ings. A heart unsubdued by the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ would sin even before the throne of God
and in the midst of the heavenly host.

" In the afternoon, the doors of the Holy Sepulchre
being opened, I went to visit the place where it is said
He suffered and died and was buried, in whom alotie is
my hope of freedom from sin and of eternal salvation.
The new Turkish governor was sitting at the door with
a crowd of attendants around him. Through these we
made our way, and by showing a letter we had from the
governor three days ago, were permitted to enter without
paying the usual sum of twenty-five piastres {$,2 63). I
immediately found myself ushered into a large and splen-
did church capable of containing, I suppose, six or eight
thousand persons, where, instead of solemnity, I found
nothing but the noise and bustle of pilgrims who were
flocking in crowds here and there, and among whom
Turkish janizaries were walking to keep them in order.
Having expressed my desire to see first the place of the
crucifixion, I was led up a flight of stone steps unto the
spot where, it is said, the cross was planted. But alas !
I searched in vain for rude Golgotha, as it had always
been presented to my mind when reading of our Saviour's
sufferings. Not the least trace of nature was to be seen,
and I felt disappointed."

Then follows a description of the whole interior, now
made familiar to the ordinary reader. At the sepulchre,

it*

114 JONAS KING.

also, the same shock to one's feelings followed, the great-
er, of course, because more unexpected than to a visitor
there now. Many of the pilgrims, women especially,
sh.ovved signs of real grief, though in a place too artificial
to resemble the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. Yet here,
though surrounded by marble walls adorned with pic-
tures and pendant lamps, and though the sepulchre itself
was represented by a mere hollowed-out slab, over which
a priest was sprinkling rose-water, the missionary could
not refrain from kneeling with other pilgrims present,
and praying for himself and friends that they might in-
deed " be raised from the death of sin and walk with our
risen Saviour in newness of life." Returning to the
place said to be that of the crucifixion, he there asked of
God that they "might all be crucified to the world, and
their souls washed in that blood which flowed on Cal-
vary," In this petition his own mother was especially
remembered in memory of the mother of Jesus.

Saturday being the great Passover feast-day of the
Greeks and Armenians, about four thousand of them
met in the Church of the Sepulchre. " Never did I wit-
ness such abominable scenes in the house of God as in
this place, which ought to be regarded as one of the most
solemn and sacred places on earth. Hundreds of men
and boys were dancing around the sepulchre and in dif-
ferent parts of the church, making all kinds of noises
and antic gestures. Some almost without clothing were
running about like madmen. Sometimes eight or ten
would seize hold of one man and carry him, head or feet
first, in a tumultuous manner around the tomb, singing,

THE DESER T AND JER US ALE M. 1 1 5

' Kyrie, Eleeson ! Kyrie, Eleeson !' and yelling like Bac-
chanalians. Sometimes one man would stand erect on
the shoulders of another, and fifty or sixty would gather
around him, and then all would rush in procession, dan-
cing and hopping, and screaming out, 'God is Sultan !
God is Sultan ! God bless the Greek convents ! God
bless the Greek convents !' In the midst of them Turk-
ish janizaries with cat-o'-nine-tails would flog the pil-
grims into order whenever they began to quarrel or to
crowd too near any place where they were not permitted
to come. This continued for the fom or five hours I
was there.

"I should not have believed in such a scene had
I not witnessed it with my own eyes. We were told
that if such frantic sports were not permitted the holy
fire would not come down. I say the holy fire ; for on
this day at a certain hour the Turkish governor enters to
give the command, and one of the metropolitan bishops
enters alone into the sepulchre, and fire comes down mi-
raculously, so the Greeks say, and begins to burn over
the tomb of Christ. From the sepulchre it is carried by
some one to the altar, where the bishops and priests
light their candles from it, and from them it is carried to
the people, who all stand prepared with wax-candles to
catch the sacred flame. As the time set for the fire to
come down approached the noise increased, although the
men and boys stopped dancing. At length it seemed
like the rushing of many waters, and all those around
the sepulchre pointed upward. We were now told that
the holy fire had come down, and that it began to burn

ii6 yONAS KING.

in a lamp which hung near the top of the dome over the
sepulchre, and we saw indeed a lamp burning, but whether
it had been burning all the morning, or how it had been
lio-hted up at this moment, we could not tell. From this
time for about half an hour the Turks had enough to do
in flogging the people into order. Finally came the
Turkish governor, and those who stood in his way were
flogged out of it, and then the bishops walked three
times around the tomb bearing seven standards on which
were painted Christ on the cross, the Virgin Mary, etc.
Then the head bishop of the Greeks entered the sepul-
chre. Soon a light was brought to the altar, and in five
minutes every man, woman, and child in this immense con-
gregation had blazing torches or candles in their hands,
which made a very brilliant sight. This flame being
considered holy, some smoked their hands over it, then
rubbed their hands on their faces. Some held the can-
dle under their chins, then moved it quickly about their
faces. I could not but fear that some of the hundreds of
women wearing long white robes, and some with infants
in their arms, would be burned to death. They say that
this fire will not burn like common fire, but Mr. Fisk
and myself both found that our fingers could not endure
it. Very soon some of the people began to extinguish
their candles carefully, saving all the snuff and as much
of the smoke as possible. Then commenced fraternal
salutations, such as kissing the cheek or the forehead or
the hand of some friend. After this the Greek bishops
proceeded to the ordination of some priests, and the Ar-
menians, Syrians, and Copts formed a procession around

THE DESERT AND JERUSALEM. 117

the tomb. All was tumult and confusion through the
whole church, and I retired, wearied with standing and
looking, and disgusted with such impious scenes. I felt
as though Jerusalem was a place cursed of God and given
over to iniquity."

Yet even now there are some who say the Greeks
and Armenians need no purer gospel, no Protestant mis-
sionaries !

The evening after seeing the desecrations above men-
tioned was spent in special prayer for the iDoIluted city,
also that the messengers now come there might be more
fully fitted for their work. They sang together, " Lord,
what a wretched land is this !" " Truly it is a wretched
land. The Jews hate the name of Christ, and when you
mention it some of them will almost gnash on you with
their teeth. The Turks exalt the name of the false
prophet above His most glorious name, and are full of
hypocrisy and iniquity. The Greeks and Armenians
profane the temple of the Lord, and seem to know but
little of the nature of Christianity. The Roman-catho-
lics, who are as bad as the Turks and more intolerant,
thunder their excommunications against all who receive
the word of eternal life.

" In the morning, a little before we went to the
Church of the Sepulchre, criers were sent by the new
governor through the streets of the city to proclaim aloud
that no Christian might wear anything of a red color, not
even a cap or a pair of slippers. This order came, I was
told, in consequence of his having demanded a tribute of
money from the convents, which had not been paid.

1 1 8 yONAS KING.

Such orders are frequently given by Turkish governors
in order to extort money from the Christians."

On the next day, Sunday, very suddenly a Turkish
janizary cited the missionaries to appear. before the mool-
lah, or judge, and on a singular indictment.

A Turkish dervish, to whom, being poor, provisions
had been given on the journey, now requited the kind-
ness shown, by entering a claim that a Persian Manu-
script, purchased from him by the missionaries, had not
been paid for. The new governor of Jerusalem when
appealed to, soon discovered the falseness of the accusa-
tion, and ordered the dervish to be bastinadoed ; but the
missionaries interfered, and saved him from this terrible
punishment, and themselves, praying for the young and
noble governor, rejoiced that what had threatened to give
them much trouble, had rather "fallen out to the further-
ance of the gospel."

The first Monthly Concert observed by Dr. King and
his friends in the Holy Land was held on the Mount of
Olives, where our Lord first commissioned his disciples
to " go and preach the gospel to every creature," prom-
ising to be with them " even unto the end of the world."
The occasion was indeed most suggestive.

At Bethany, the evident antiquity of a building encour-
aged the travellers to believe it to be, as reported, the home
of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Flowers growing inside
one of the rooms, also branches from an olive-tree near
by, were gathered and sent to friends as visible tokens
of the reality of a place so often honored by our Lord.

While in his lodging on Mount Calvary, Dr. King

THE DESERT AND yERUSALEM. 119

did not forget his friends and their children. The fol-
lowing letter testified to the interest taken in the latter.
"Mount Calvary, 8th May, 1823.

"Dear Little Children: I write to you from this
interesting place, so that when you are able to read what
I write, you may know how much I loved you ; and also
that you may believe on Him who is the only-begotten
Son of God, and who here hung on the cross, and bowed
his head in agony, to make expiation for my sins, and
3^ours, and for the sins of the whole world. Though you
are little children, and innocent when compared with me,
still you are sinners, and cannot be saved, except by the
precious blood of the Lamb of God, slain on this spot.

"A fev/ days ago I went to Bethlehem, the place
where our Lord was born and laid in a manger. There
I kneeled down and prayed earnestly for you, dear little
children, that you might be born again, and become the
true and humble followers of Him who was once a babe
in Bethlehem, and whose birth was ushered in by a song
of angels. I visited the plain where the angels sang,
and there I prayed for you. I have remembered you
too on Zion's Hill, on the Mount of Olives, and have
plead for you in the sorrowful Garden of Gethsemane.

" Dear children, when you read the story of our Sav-
iour's sufferings, you must love him and obey him and
keep his commandments. The world around you is
wicked, and unless you love Jesus Christ you will be
led astray by the world, and fall into sin and lose your
souls.

" You must not only love Jesus Christ, but you must

I20 yOI^AS KING.

adore him. The angels adore him, and in heaven they
sing witli loud voice, ' Worthy is the Lamb, that was
slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and
strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing;' and all
created beings who are holy, joyfully shout Amen to
this song. Rev. 5:11, 12, 13, 14.

" If you love and adore Jesus Christ, you will have in
your bosom such peace as the world can neither give nor
take away ; and when your bodies die, your souls will
ascend to heaven, where you will never hunger, nor
• thirst, nor suffer any pain, ' For the Lamb, which is in
the midst of the throne shall feed you, and shall lead you
unto living fountains of water, and God shall wipe away
all tears from your eyes.'

" Dear children, I love you and pray for you, and I
hope you will not forget your friends at Jerusalem.

"J. KING.

" P. S. I send with this some olive-leaves, which I
plucked with my own hands on the Mount of Olives. I
have also some little flowers, which I brought from Beth-
lehem, which I cannot send in a letter, but if God will, I
shall one day bring them to you."

To his father, he writes :

"Jerusalem, May 18, 1S23.

"My Dear Father : Last night in my sleep, I fancied
I was with you, and that you began to converse as you
used to do, about Jesus Christ and the things of another
world. You said that Jesus Christ had ever been to you
' a S7^re nail fastened into a living tree ; always firm.
That you had taken him for your guide, now these many

THE DESERT AND JERUSALEAL 121

years, and had followed him through a great variety of
scenes, and in the midst of tempests, and that he had
never failed you.

" Now this was a dream of the night, but I doubt not
you have followed him these many years, and ever found
him faithful. How happy are you to have chosen such
a guide. He will conduct you safely along, during your
weary pilgrimage on earth; will comfort and support you
when called to go down into the dark valley of the shad-
ow of death, and in eternity he will lead you ' unto living
fountains of water,' and all your sorrows and sighings
shall be finished. I doubt not that you have followed
Christ in the regeneration, and that your inheritance
with him is sure.

" My dear father, can you believe me when I tell you
that I am now in the Holy City, Jerusalem, and have
my lodgings in a little upper room on Calvary, which
stands within the walls of this present city, about a
stone's cast from the place where it is said our Lord and
Saviour was crucified ; and that here I am permitted to
preach, and to distribute that holy word, which you
tau2:ht me to read when I was a little child of four vears
of age, and when I thought Jerusalem must be some-
where almost out of the world !

" I am within a few minutes' walk of the place where
Abraham went to offer up his son, his only son Isaac !
I know it must be painful to you to part with me, your
son — your only son, whom you used to consider as
the only prop of your declining years, and I often weep
when I consider your situation. But think of the patri-

Jonas King. IX

122 yONAS KING.

arch Abraham ! When the Lord bids, we must sacri-
fice that which is most dear to us."

Again to his mother, after telHng her of his prayer
for her at the church on Calvary: "Do not regret, my
dear mother, that I have come hither, but rather rejoice.
Do you wish me to have honor.? What higher honor
than to be engaged as a herald of redeeming love ? Do
you wish me to have riches } The riches of this world
are but loss, when compared with the excellency of the
knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord ! Do you wish me
to be happy .-' What higher happiness than to tread in
the footsteps of prophets and apostles, and to wander
over these sacred mountains, proclaiming glad tidings of
good things to perishing souls .''"

To his nephews he writes : " Here on Calvary, I
charge you not to forget Him who died to redeem you.
He is all in all. He is the Alpha and Omega, the be-
ginning and the ending — the Almighty. Live near to
him, love him, put your trust in him, devote yourselves
to him and never be ashamed to be called his disciples."

One of these nephews, Daniel D. Wheeler, Esq., of
South Adams, Mass., brother-in-law of General Plunkett,
once Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, has no doubt
often spoken of his missionary uncle, to children in the
Sabbath-schools, in which he is so much interested.

To Rev. Dr. Spring of New York, Dr. King writes :
"Jerusalem, 19th May, 1823. Oh, that you could be
with me here on Calvary, where I am writing, and hear
the roaring of the Turks from the minarets, and see the
deep iniquity with which this Holy City is polluted!

THE DESERT AND yERUSALEM. 123

Mine eyes run down with tears at the desolations of
Zion ! Everything around me seems blasted and wither-
ed by the curse of the Almighty. Before this curse shall
be averted, there must be offered up many prayers and
supplications, with strong crying and tears unto Him
who has cast down from heaven to earth the beauty of
Israel. I never felt, so much as I do now, the impor-
tance of praying that God would glorify his great name
among all nations, and cause the name of his Son Jesus
Christ to be adored throughout all the earth. I some-
times pray that he would arise, and shake terribly the
earth, that the people may know that there is a God in
heaven, and that Jesus Christ lives, and reigns over all,
' God blessed for ever.'

" The Jews here have generally all the blindness and
stubbornness, and stiff-neckedness of their fathers. Some
of them tell Mr. Wolff, that were they in power they
would calmly judge him, and put him to death. The
Catholics threaten with excommunication any one who
shall receive from us the holy Scriptures, and pronounce
a curse upon every one who in any way may aid us.
The Mussulmans walk about in pride, and if any one of
them should leave his religion, certain death would be
his portion.

" So strict are they here, that I dare not even pur-
chase a Koran, lest I should involve myself in difficulty.
Any native Christian who should presume to purchase
it and read it would instantly lose his life. The Greeks
and Armenians have a name that they live, and that is
nearly all. They are, however, more noble than the

124 yONAS KING.

other Christians, for they gladly receive the word of
God. We have had sometimes thirty a day calling on
us to purchase the holy Scriptures."

After writing the above, however. Dr. King feared he
should be considered to be like the spies who brought up
an evil report of this very land long before ; and this he
wished to avoid, saying, " For although we are as grass-
hoppers in the sight of this people, and are indeed so in
our own sight, yet we hope to be of good courage, and
to go forward in the strength of the Lord ; and if he
delight in us, he will surely give us success."

To a friend in Paris, who had left the Roman-catholic
church quite recently, and who desired definite proofs as
to the authenticity of the Bible, Dr. King wrote:

" No one can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the
Holy Ghost, i Cor. 12:3. When once a soul is brought
by the influences of the Holy Spirit to see and to feel
its helplessness and entire pollution by nature, then it
begins to seek for aid from without itself, and as it looks
at the cross, and beholds the meek and lowly Jesus, and
hears him saying, ' Look unto me, and be saved,' it feels
that this is just such a Saviour as it needs, and ex-
claims in sincerity, ' My Lord and my God !' It then
finds evidence within itself, that Jesus Christ is all
in all.

" Many a soul has found unspeakable joy in believing,
who never read a word of the evidences of the truth of
Christianity. Do you need evidence to prove to you
that a rose is fragrant, that music is delightful, or that
bread will satisfy a man famishing with hunger.? No

THE DESERT AND JERUSALEM. 125

more does a soul, convinced of sin, and quickened by the
lively influences of the Holy Spirit, demand evidence
that Christ is precious, the one altogether lovely, the
' bread of life,' the fountain of joy. Its language then
is, not ' read Volney,' nor ' search the writings of the
fathers,' but ' oh, taste and see that the Lord is good ;'
' I know that my Redeemer liveth — I feel that he is pre-
cious to me, and all those things which I once valued I
now cheerfully resign for him, and count them but loss.'
The infidel will smile at this, and the only reply I would
make is found in John 14: 17."

While at Jerusalem, Dr. King profited by some of his
early acquirements in music in a way quite unexpected
to him. " At the request of two of the principal singers
in the Greek church, I have commenced giving them
lessons in music, according to the English method. Mr.
Fisk translates the rules, and I apply them to practice.
This is to us an interesting occurrence, and it affords me
much pleasure to be a teacher of music in the city of
David."

At one of the convents, some curious books were to
be seen, in Syriac, Ethiopic, Arabic, Greek, and Geor-
gian ; which latter resembles the Armenian, but no one
there could understand it.

There were six Jewish synagogues in Jerusalem at
this time, one belonging to the Koraites. One Sabbath
two Jews, named Abraham and Isaac, attended the
preaching services in Mr. Fisk's room. The one named
Abraham came to Dr. King's room for further instruc-
tion. He was already satisfied that Jesus of Nazareth is

11*

125 yONAS KING.

the Messiah, and prayer was offered with and for him,
that he might have courage to confess this fact, even at
the risk of losing his Hfe, either by poison or on some
legal pretext obtained by bribery.

An excursion was made to Ramah. The prophet
Samuel's house is said to have stood on a high elevation,
from which is a very beautiful view. The visitors were
allowed to buy the privilege of looking through a grated
window, into a room said to be Samuel's sepulchre and
that of his mother Hannah. About half way back to
Jerusalem were shown tombs, seventy-two in number,
said, by Jewish tradition, to be those of the last Sanhe-
drim. They professed to show also those of Haggai,
Zachariah, Malachi, and Huldah the prophetess.

In the course of a detailed description of Jerusalem,
Dr. King wrote : " I have viewed the city from many dif-
ferent stations, have walked around it and within it, have
stood on the Mount of Olives, with Josephus' description
of it in my hands, sometimes reading, sometimes looking,
to see if I could discover any of those distinctive marks
of the different parts of the city as laid down by him
nearly i,8oo years ago ; and after all my research, I com-
pare it to a beautiful person, whom I have not seen for
many years, and who has passed through a great variety
of changes and misfortunes, which have caused the rose
on her cheeks to fade, her flesh to consume away, and
her skin to become dry and withered. Yet there are
some general features remaining, by which I recognized
her as the one who used to be the delight of the circle in
which she moved. Such is the present appearance of

THE DESERT AND JERUSALEM. 127

this Holy City, which was once ' beautiful for situation,
the joy of the whole earth.' "

After making an excursion together to the Dead Sea
and the site of Jericho, Messrs. Fisk and King parted
from Mr. Wolff, leaving him to pursue his work among
his countrymen, the Jews, while they turned their faces
toward Lebanon.

28 JONAS KING.

CHAPTER IX.

STUDY AND WORK IN PALESTINE.

Abou Ghoosh— Zidon— Lady Hester Stanhope— Rev. Lewis Way
—Studies Arabic at Deir el Kamar— Discussions with Roman-
catholics.

The whole country north of Jerusalem seemed to
belong to Abou Ghoosh, whom our missionaries had
providentially met in Egypt, and there secured his
friendship.

Passing through the valley of Sharon, where a re-
markable grapevine was seen covering a space of five
rods long by one rod wide, thus giving special force to
Scripture imagery, Messrs. Fisk and King came to Zi-
don. Plere they were glad to meet Rev. Mr. Lewis, an
English Episcopal missionary to the Jews, whom Dr.
King had met in Paris. All three ministers took part in
the services held on the Sabbath.

From Zidon Dr. King forwarded his letters of intro-
duction to Lady Hester Stanhope, who immediately sent
her dragoman, with her compliments, inviting him to
visit her at Dyhoon, three hours distant from Saide (Zi-
don). On his arrival he was first taken into a piazza
enclosed with network all entwined with roses and jes-
samine. Then an excellent dinner was served, after
which Lady Hester Stanhope received him very gra-
ciously, " saying that although she was very much occu-

STUD Y AND WORK IN PALESTINE. 1 2 9

pied at this time, yet she could not let an American pass
without seeing him, and especially one who had come
here with my motives, and who expected to stay in the
country some time. I replied that it afforded me much
pleasure to meet with one who belonged to that family,
the name of which was known to every American, and
repeated with respect by every child who knew how to
read. She is the granddaughter of William Pitt, who
plead the cause of America in the British Parliament.
From this time our conversation was incessant for about
three or four hours, after which she walked out with me
and showed me her horses and garden." In the stables
he found that curiously-deformed mare, having its back
in shape of a natural saddle, which this singular woman
kept for the use of the coming Messiah ! The animal
was no myth, as many suppose.

After surveying the establishment. Lady Hester left
him for an hour, just when he really wished to be alone,
it being the time appointed for the Monthly Concert,
which Messrs. Fisk and Lewis had agreed to observe
together. "After spending this hour alone, Lady Hes-
ter sent for me, and with the exception of about another
hour spent at supper, our conversation was uninterrupted
till near break of day. It turned on various subjects —
America, England, France, Turkey, the present state of
things in the world, the religion of Jesus Christ, of Mo-
hammed, and of pagans, witchcraft, etc. She is really
the most wonderful woman I ever saw. She believes in
dreams as slight intimations of what is about to take
place ; believes that every person is born under some

I30 yOA^AS KING.

particular star," etc. This lady's strange views as to. the
Messiah and spiritual influences were due no doubt to
the partial disorder of a naturally fine mind.

Dr. King writes : " There is not a single house on her
mountain except her own, and here she can sit and see
the Arab shepherds watching their flocks on the neigh-
boring mountains, all of whom are at her command. Her
influence here is very great, both among Turks and
Arabs." The attention she paid Dr. King was quite
remarkable. Her offers of assistance were afterwards
redeemed by her securing for him a good lodging-place
and teacher at Deir el Kamar.

The next point visited was that city whose name has
been so variously spelled, which Dr. King writes Bairoot,
stopping on the way " at an inn," where he could well
claim " a warmest welcome," it being called " El Neby
Yunas," or the tavern of the prophet Jonas. When just
entering Beyrout, Dr. King's mule stumbled violently,
and when a Druse Arab dexterously saved the rider from
a fall, some Turk near said, " Why did you not let the
Christian fall T

The first thing necessary was to secure protection
from the Emir Busher, who lived about ten and a half
hours from Beyrout. The road there was a very rough
one, but upon arrival the emir received the missionaries
with great respect, and gave them a letter to visit differ-
ent parts of the mountain, and to reside where they
pleased to study Arabic. He also invited them to spend
ten or fifteen days at his palace.

Another visit was made to Antoura, where that good

STUD V AND WORK IN PALESTINE. 131

tlioLigh very singular man, Rev. Lewis Way, had taken a
house, intending to make it a sort of college. This plan,
liowever, was soon given up, as Mr. Way's health failed,
causing his return to England. Here Mr. Fisk and Dr.
King assisted Mr. Way in the Church of England ser-
vice. The next day the letters of introduction were de-
livered to the sheikh and the Maronite Bishop, who gave
Dr. King a note that would be of use to him at Deir el
Kamar, the place recommended for the study of Arabic
by Lady Hester Stanhope. Arrived at this latter place,
Dr. King records, July 29, 1823, "This day I am thirty-
one years of age. Put on the Arab dress, and began to
study Arabic in good earnest." The family in which he
boarded was Roman-catholic. The women came into the
family-room unveiled, and "conversed as freely as Eng-
lish ladies would do." One of them, after the baptism
of a child, performed with superfluity of forms and with
use of water, oil, and soap, said in Italian that women
usually were more secluded ; " but I was a better man
than the curate and a great treasure in the place, so that
they had no fear of me." This gave opportunity for a
little talk about baptism and true regeneration. The
women said they wished he was their curate. Dr. King
replied, " Were I your curate, I could say nothing better
to you than this : to love Jesus Christ with all your
heart, trust in him for salvation, confess your sins before
God, live a life of prayer, and do good to others. All
were silent, and in this manner I addressed them for
some time. While I was speaking the tears often came
in my eyes. I felt that it was a wonderful thing that in

132 yONAS KING.

this place, where a woman is seldom seen, I should be
permitted to see them and preach to them Jesus Christ
and him crucified. They then invited me to eat with
them, and when they went away one of them invited me
to visit at her house. These were some of the most
respectable women in the place."

A few days were taken up by a journey in company
with Hanna, his teacher, back to Beyrout, by request of
Mr. Way, who wished to see him before leaving the coun-
try. He stayed over Sunday at a convent for nuns. It
is sometimes denied that any changes are made by the
Roman-catholics in the sacred text ; but here in the
Prayer-book of the Catholic Christians, printed in Ara-
bic, Dr. King read the following heading: "'The ten
Commandments as written by God on two tables of
stone, and handed down to us, the Church.' Then fol-
lowed tai commandments ; but the second, as in the law
of Moses, was entirely left out, and the tenth divided into
two, so as to make the number ieji. The fourth com-
mandment also said, ' Observe the first day and the feast-
days.' Soon after I had read these the priest came in,
and I remarked to him what I had read, and told him
that these were not the ten commandments delivered to
Moses ; that there was another, as I knew, for I had read
them in the Hebrew. He seemed angry, and tried to
make me believe that I was under a mistake. I told him
it was in vain for him to speak in this manner, for every-
body knew that there was another commandment, which
was, ' Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image,
or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or

STUDY AND WORK IN PALESTINE. 133

that is in the earth beneath,' etc. : ' thou shalt not bow
down thyself to them, nor serve them.'

" I really felt so indignant that any man should dare
take away one of the commandments of God, that I told
the priest plainly that it was an impious thing to make
such a change.

" My teacher replied, ' If these are the commands of
the church, they are the commands of God.' This I de-
nied, and told him how one pope had said one thing and
the succeeding pope had said another in direct contra-
diction to it ; and asked him if he thought both were
from God. ' God never acts in such a manner,' said I ;
' it is man, erring man.' "

A servant of Mr. Way was lying very sick and died
the night Dr. King spent at Saide, and it was almost im-
possible to keep the Roman-catholic priests from troub-
ling his last hours with their sprinkling of holy water,
that he might be reported a convert to their church.

When returned to Deir el Kamar, Dr. King writes :
"When in a garden with my teacher some one knocked
at the garden-gate, and we were told that the intended
wife of my teacher had come to spend a little time in the
garden. On hearing this he instantly arose, and said he
must leave the garden, for it would be a very improper
thing for him to stay there if his seiiora came in. I told
him I had no idea of going with him ; that I intended to
stay there and see his girl, and all the company united
in saying I must stay. He seemed to be in as great con-
fusion as if there had been a cry of fire in the village,
and immediately left the garden, and his spouse entered.

Jonas Kjng. J 2

134 yONAS KING.

All pointed out to me the blushing damsel, and asked
me before her if I thought her handsome.

" Here, when a young man wishes to marry, the pa-
rents make the agreement for him. My teacher told me
he had not seen his spouse for nearly a year. He never
goes to her father's house except with his father or
mother.

" In the evening went to the house of Michael. Sev-
eral Arabs were present. Soon came in a Catholic priest
to hear the confessions of the family. The Arabs asked
me if I confessed. ' To God the Father and the Son and
the Holy Ghost,' replied I, 'and not to a sinful priest,
who has need himself to confess.' ' But have you no
need of a middle person between you and God .''' said one
of the Arabs. ' Yes,' rei^lied I, ' and Jesus Christ is the
Mediator ; I wish for no other.'

"They then made further inquiries about my religion,
and I told them how simple our forms of worship were,
and how they were according to the examples of the
apostles and the commands of Jesus Christ. All said,
' That is right, that is good,' and one man exclaimed,
' Henceforth I will be like you, and have nothing to do
with these priests.' I replied that I thought the clerical
office necessary, but that our priests should be such as
Paul had described, ' not given to wine,' * the husband of
one wife,' etc. I then went on and proclaimed to them
as well as I could Jesus Christ and him crucified, and
the importance of relying wholly upon him for salva-
tion."

The following gives some idea of missionary daily

STUDY AND WORK IN PALESTINE. 135

life, and the difficulties in tlie way of acquiring the Ara-
bic language. " I read Arabic every day, except Sun-
days, from morning till noon, and in the afternoon we
converse. The effort I make in pronouncing the guttu-
rals occasions pain in my breast, and I sometimes feel
almost discouraged. At such times I go to my room
and weep and pray, and in view of duty and of the short-
ness of life again make efforts to acquire this difficult
language. I wish to be able to speak the Arabic like an
Arab, so that I may be able to preach Jesus Christ to
this dying people.

" In the afternoon visited at the house of Andrew
Domani, called the father of Khalil. The father here
takes the name of his first-born son, and the mother also.
If the first-born be called Khalil, the father goes by the
name of Abu Khalil, and the mother Im Khalil.

" Went to the house of Michael. While there, there
came in a woman who made a long complaint against her
husband, who had been beating her. She told of it in a
laughing manner, and I said to her, * I think he could not
have beaten you very hard, for you laugh.' She is what
is called a fellahh, and wears on her forehead a long horn.
All the women here who are natives of the mountains
wear horns, which give them a very odd appearance.
They are generally made of silver, and are about a foot
and a half long. I call them unicorns. After the woman
had finished the story of her husband's beating her, I
asked her if the women here did not sometimes Jiook
their husbands. This set the whole company of Arabs
present in a loud roar of laughter.

136 yONAS KING.

" My teacher would not believe that the priests had
kept back the second command, and said he would brino-
a Jew to see me and ask him whether that command was
in the Jewish books. I told him to bring him, for every
Jew knew that this is the second command given by God
to Moses. He had in the morning read this in my Ara-
bic Bible ; but, as it was printed in England, he doubted
its authenticity. After a long discussion he sent for a
Bible that he said was printed in Rome and must be true.
I immediately opened to the twentieth chapter of Exo-
dus, and told him to read, and he to his astonishment
found that I had told him the truth.

" The mother of his spouse asked me why I did not
make the sign of the cross. ' Because,' said I, ' that is
nothing. Jesus Christ never told his disciples to make
this sign, but to take up their cross and follow him,' and
that if she attempted to follow Christ Jesus according to
the gospel, she would find what that cross is ; that if she
had not the Holy Spirit in her heart, teaching her to
deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts, she might make
the sign of the cross every day of her life and then go to
hell. My teacher said, * You have reason, I have reason,
every man has reason ; let every one believe according
to that and follow that.' ' Human reason,' replied I, ' is
in the dark, you are in the dark, the priests are in the
dark, and this book, the gospel, is the only sun which
can dispel the darkness. Here is light ; we must believe
and act according to this rule, or there is no light in us.'
All exclaimed, * He is right; that is truth.' After three
or four hours' conversation of this kind I retired to rest,

STUDY AND WORK IN PALESTINE. 137

but my feelings had been so much engaged that I could
not sleep.

" A priest came in and several women also while I
was reading to my teacher the twenty-second psalm :
'All the ends of the world shall remember and turn
unto the Lord, and all the kindred of the nations shall
worship before thee.' At this I stopped and asked the
priest whether that time was past or whether it was to
come. He hardly knew what to answer me, and I went
on and proclaimed before all present how darkness cov-
ered the earth, and that a time was coming when Jesus
Christ should reign on the earth ; i. e., when all should
know his name and serve him,

" I then asked my teacher to read aloud the twentieth
chapter of Revelation, and then the first three chapters
of the same. As he read all were exceedingly solemn
and the mother of my teacher wept, and I also could
hardly refrain from weeping.

" A man noted as an astronomer said he thought ' if
a man did what was right he would go to heaven, whether
Moslem or Christian, Jew or pagan.'

"I replied, 'I am not the judge. God is the Judge
of the whole earth, and he will save whom he pleases,
and he may, for aught I know, reveal Jesus to a dying
pagan. But without the blood of Jesus Christ there is
no salvation, neither for you nor me, nor for any other
son or daughter of Adam.

" ' In a few years,' said I, ' all our knowledge of lan-
guages, of astronomy, of mathematics, chemistry, etc.,
will cease, and I value them only in so far as they tend

138 yONAS KING.

to lead the mind to the great First Cause of all things, or
fit it to make inquiries with regard to Him and the truths
contained in his Holy Word.' On his ajDpearing to be a
little confused at this, I said to him, ' If I am your friend
and you love me, as you say you do, I must tell you the
truth : there is no salvation for you out of Jesus Christ.'

" ' I have one question to ask you, Aboona, and then
I have done : When Jesus Christ commissioned his dis-
ciples to go and preach, what did he tell them to preach,
himself or his mother .<* What did they preach "i Jesus
Christ and him crucified ; salvation alone through his
blood and intercession ; not one word about the Virgin
Mary. No. Jesus Christ is all in all ; he was such to
the disciples of Christ, he is such, I trust, to my own
soul, and he is such to every Christian.' All present
listened attentively."

Another discussion related to purgatory. "Aboo
Troos spent the evening with me in conversing about
purgatory, praying to the saints, etc. I related to him
the history of my forefathers, who fled from the storms
of persecution in Europe, and told him for what reason
we had left the church of Rome, and what enormities
had been committed under its sanction.

" He seemed astonished, and listened to me with all
the interest of a little child. ' With regard to purgatory,'
said he, * suppose there is a man who has sinned a little,
but is nearly pure, must he not go into purgatory to be
purified .-''

" ' In the first place,' replied I, ' there are no such men
as you mention, like white paper with here and there a

STUDY AND WORK IN PALESTINE. 139

little blot. We are all great sinners, altogether blot, and
nothing but the blood of Christ can cleanse us. If you
say it is necessary to go to purgatory, you take away
from the merits of Christ's death and dishonor him. He
bore our sins in the garden of Gethsemane and on the
cross ; and if his blood is applied to my soul, my sins
are all forgiven, and I shall be clean, whiter than snow,
purer than silver tried in the furnace, and I need no puri-
fication in purgatory. You make Him a half Mediator.
His blood cleanses in part, and purgatory in part. No.
He bore the sins of the whole world, and sweat as it were
great drops of blood ; and shall I now say his blood is
not sufficient, but that I too must suffer in purgatory,
and thus in part expiate my sins .-* No, never. -Glory be
to his name, his blood cleanses from all sin.

" * Thus,' said I, ' you see how the church of Christ,
founded by the apostles themselves, turned away from
the truth ; no wonder, then, if there should be error and
darkness now in the church of Christ, and all the church-
es and every Christian has need to read these words to
the churches of Asia.' "

One Sunday evening " I remarked that all men were
sinners, that every son and daughter of Adam, except
Christ, were sinners, even the Virgin Mary. At this all
started and exclaimed, ' The Virgin Mary, the mother of
God, a sinner .''' ' Yes,' said I, ' she was a sinner, and
had need of the merits of her Son, and without his blood
could not be saved. She was a good woman' ('A good
virgin,' interrupted my teacher). ' Yes, a good virgin,
and highly favored among women and blessed of the

140 yONAS KING.

Lord, but was saved only by the blood of Christ. Was
not David a sinner, and Solomon, and Rehoboam ? and
yet Christ, as to the flesh, was of the seed of David.
Christ was born without sin — you say his mother must
have been without, because he was without sin. In the
same manner you must say her father was without sin,
and her father's father, and so on, till you trace the line-
age back to David, and say he was without sin ; but that
you know is not true, for the word of God expressly says
he sinned greatly, and he himself confessed it.' To this
no one was able to give an answer."

After some discussion on the use of images, a jDriest
said, "'The first commandment sufficed, and there was
no need of the second.' My teacher said the same. I
then raised my voice, and exclaimed, ' Where is the man
who dare say to God Almighty, " Thou hast given more
commandments than are necessary ; one or two or three
or nine suffice ; I need not the whole" "i Where is the
man .-' If he says is a Christian, he is not.'

" One evening a very intelligent Arab came to my
lodgings and spent three hours in reading the Scriptures
with me, and in conversation about images, idols, praying
to saints, and the importance of faith in Jesus Christ
alone as our Redeemer. He said that God was great
and to be feared, and men feel the need of some Media-
tor to speak to him for us, and for this reason they
prayed to the saints. I replied, 'You have well said that
we need a Mediator; and for this very reason Jesus
Christ came down from heaven and took upon him our
nature — was made in all respects like one of us, sin ex-

STUDY AND WORK IN PALESTINE. 141

cepted. He is our Mediator, and tliere is no other.' I
then read to him i John 1:1: 'If any man sin, we have
an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.'
* There is not,' said I, ' a single word in the whole gospel
about praying to saints and angels.' 'But,' replied he,
' would it be right to speak against the saints ?' ' No,'
said I ; ' I honor their memory, for they loved Jesus
Christ, and were heralds of salvation ; but if you think
to honor Jesus Christ by giving his glory to them, or by
making them in part mediators between God and us, you
are greatly mistaken. In thus doing, you dishonor him.
He is the only Mediator between God and man. I fear
there are many who put their trust more in the interces-
sion of the Virgin Mary and Peter and Paul and the rest
of the saints than in Jesus Christ, who is all in all to me,
and must be all in all to you if you wish to be saved.
Besides,' said I, ' how do you know that Paul hears you
when you pray } Perhaps I am praying to him in Amer-
ica at the same time that you are praying to him here,
six thousand miles away. Is Paul omnipresent .'' Cer-
tainly not. Jesus Christ is, and hears every prayer that
is offered in every part of the world.' ' True,' said he.

" During the conversation he asked why many said
this Arabic Bible printed in England ought not to be
received. 'Because,' said I, 'there are many priests in
the Roman-catholic church who say that the Word of God
ought not to be put into the hands of all men, but only a
few.' ' Why .''' said he. ' Because,' replied I, ' there are
many things in that church which the word of God con-
demns,'"

142 yONAS KING.

Dr. King seems ever to have had an answer at hand
when any one questioned the doctrines of grace. His
arguments against infidehty and error, many more of
which might be gleaned from his Journals, are ever re-
plete with good common sense, often quaintly expressed,
and so well fitted to reach the mind and conscience. Of
him, as of our Lord, it may be said, " the common people
heard him gladly."

MT. LEBANON AND THE SAMARITANS. 143

CHAPTER X.

MOUNT LEBANON AND THE' SAMARITANS.

Convents — Druses — Mount Lebanon — Arrival of Messrs. Bird and
Goodell — Beyrout — Missionary Tour — -Tyre — Acre — Nazareth
— Mount Tabor — Ebal and Gerizim — Samaritans — Second Vis-
it to Jerusalem — Arabic Bible.

At every convent visited by Dr. King, he called at-
tention to the truth held by the monks, rather than to
the errors with which it was entangled. At the convent
of Mar Antonius Kazhiah, it was sad to find about one
hundred monks of most filthy appearance, only one-half
of whom were able to read. One old man of venerable
appearance listened with wonder to the simple story of
a free salvation ; and others privately expressed the opin-
ion that they themselves were wrong, and wished they
could follow the missionaries. A Maronite patriarch ac-
cepted an Arabic Bible and a Syriac Testament, and
gave his address as " The vile Joseph Peter, patriarch of
Antioch." He said there were eleven or twelve Bishops,
and perhaps 150,000 Maronite Christians under his su-
pervision. A question as to using leavened or unleav-
ened bread had separated them from the Syrian church.

Of the Druses, Dr. King writes: "They believe in
one God, and are supposed by many to worship a golden
calf. They express a great deal of love for those they
meet, but the Christians say they are hypocrites and de-

144 JONAS KING.

ceivers, and worse than the Bedouins o£ the desert; for
if you eat with a Bedouin, you are safe ; or if he says
to you, ' Peace be to you,' you have nothing to fear : where-
as a Druse will welcome you, and eat with you, and per-
haps be devising means to rob you or take your life.

" The Christians are many of them very punctihous
as to saying their prayers and confessing, but there is
very little good faith among them. On any occasion
they will tell a lie. They say if they do not lie they
cannot gain anything in trade. They regard the Sab-
bath as a day of sport, and are very profane.

" The women are kept in a state of ignorance. The
mind of a woman is generally considered by the men as
being on a level with that of an ass ; and an ass, next to
a hog, is considered as the most contemptible animal
there is. At meals the men eat first, and then the
women and servants eat together what is left."

Their way on this journey led over Mount Lebanon.
After passing a lovely spot, " Eheden," called " Eden "
by the English, our travellers came to the ancient cedars
so long famed as the glory of Lebanon. " As you ap-
proach them, they appear like a little grove of spruce or
pine-trees in America. They stand on six little hills in
the arena of a vast amphitheatre formed by lofty barren
mountains on the north, east, and south, the tops of
which, I suppose, form the highest part of Lebanon.
On the hill south are eighty trees, six of which are very
large; one which I measured was twenty-nine feet in cir-
cumference, and another thirty-one feet. On the northeast
are thirty-five trees ; on the north are sixty-six ; five very

MT. LEBANON AND THE SAMARITANS. 145

large — one being forty feet in circumference. On a hill
toward the northwest are sixty-three trees. On the
whole three hundred and twenty-one. Mr. Fiske count-
ed some very small ones, and so made three hundred and
eighty-nine. Of these trees, those of middling size are
tolerably straight, eighty or ninety feet high, covered
with limbs nearly to the ground. The large ones are
very irregular in shape, and appear to be made up of
several trees grown together, thus uniting their strength
against the strong hand of time."

Further description in detail is given of these old
settlers, under whose branches the Maronites hold a
feast once a year, called the " Feast of Cedars." These
cedars are called by the Arabs, Azek — almost the same
word used by the Hebrews of old.

Dr. King visited the ruins of Baalbec, and made
drawings and measurements which may still be of ser-
vice to the more modern explorer. The Arabs account
for the raising of such enormous stones more than thirty
feet, by saying it was the work of the devil.

The journey on the whole was a rough and danger-
ous one; terrific rains quite demoralized the attendants;
accommodations were most uncomfortable; at the con-
vents opportunity was often given for serious talk with
the inmates ; patriarchs and superiors of highest rank
were glad to converse with strangers so intelligent, not-
withstanding their heresy.

At Antoura Dr. King's portrait was painted in his
Oriental dress, by Reuben Costar, a Jew brought from
France by Lewis Way.

Jnnas King. 1 3

146 yONAS KING.

Returning next to Beyrout, Dr. King made arrange-
ments to continue his Arabic studies, receiving much
kind attention from JMr. Abbott the EngHsh consul.

At the request of Rev. I\Ir. Jowett, Dr. King made a
few notes in regard to a tract, which the former was
about to pubHsh, in order to stir up Christians to pray
for "an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, upon themselves,
their Jewish and Mohammedan neighbors, and also for
pagans." They read, condensed, as follows :

" All men are our brethren ; their souls are as pre-
cious as ours.

" Prayers are to be offered for all men everywhere.

" We are debtors to the Jews, for we have received
all that we hold precious from them. They are to be
' grafted in again.'

"We should pray for INIoslems, because they are the
worst of men, and Christ came to save the lost.

" We should pray for pagans, for there is as much
hope of their conversion as there was of that of our fore-
fathers.

" ' The ends of the earth ' are promised to our Lord
Christ.

" We should be followers of God, having the Spirit of
Christ, who gave himself for the redemption of the
world."

Then as encouragenient to prayer, reference is made
to numerous Bible illustrations of its power, and to our
Saviour's direct promises concerning it ; also to the
'• signs of the times," even then encouraging to watch-
men upon Zion.

MT. LEBANON AND THE SAMARITANS. 147

Dr. King did not stay at Beyrout very long, return-
ing to Deir el Kamar, where advantages for study were
much greater. Here he was received as a brother, with
the utmost cordiality j but his quiet studies were soon
pleasantly interrupted again by letters from Rev. Isaac
Bird, telling of his arrival with Mr. Goodell, and their
wives at Beyrout. Dr. King felt at once much anxiety
lest these friends should not take the right kind of lodg-
ings, for a mistake here might compromise their charac-
ter as missionaries. There had been a recent scandal
concerning one man, on account of his allowing his
daughter to marry a bishop who already had one wife ;
so that the whole community was greatly incensed.

The local sheikh had impressed into his own service
every horse, mule, and jackass, and it was with difficulty
Dr. King made his way back to Beyrout, where, to his
relief, he found Mr. Abbott had taken the new-comers
into his own home. It is unnecessary to enlarge upon
the delight with which Dr. King welcomed these fellow-
laborers.

A house a little out of the city was soon taken at
$36 for six months, and on Tuesday, Nov. 25, a service
was held there, consecrating it to our Lord Jesus Christ ;
and thus was begun a mission, which is still a power in
the East. The story of Dr. Goodell's part in it has just
been given to the public. Rev. Dr. Bird has himself
written of " Bible Work in Bible Lands."

It was a little difficult for Dr. King to decide upon
his own course. The new missionaries wished him to
remain with them. He thought he could study to belter

148 yONAS KING.

advantage by going, as before, right in among the Arabs.
Damascus might be a good place, but it was almost im-
possible to get there over the mountains at this season.
In the meantime, Arabic still engaged his attention,
v/hile conversations were held by him as often as pos-
sible with Mussulmans and Jews, as well as with his own
teacher, Hanna Domani, who was constantly bringing
up quibbles of one kind or another as to the word of
God, and yet who soon allowed, that since knowing Dr.
King, he " could not rejoice as formerly in bowing to
images and pictures." This man believed in miracles
as performed in the convents, and offered twenty wit-
nesses to them. Dr. King challenged him in vain to
produce even one or two.

When the question came up as to the best location
for a permanent missionary station, Nazareth and Tyre
were proposed ; Dr. King gave his voice decidedly for
Beyrout, an opinion which an experience of now more
than fifty years fully justifies. He writes of Beyrout :
" It enjoys the advantage of consular protection ; it is
the best place for a d^pot, having easy communication
with Malta ; it is in the vicinity of all the Christians
of Mount Lebanon ; there are several families of Franks
here, and the Turks are more civil than in most places
farther south. In case of any great commotion, flight to
the mountains or escape by sea would be easy."

Sometimes thoughts of parents and home for the
time overcame the stranger in a strange land. " Com-
mended my dear parents to the care of Him who has
always been gracious to them and provided for them

MT. LEBANON AND THE SAMARITANS. 149

* Why,' said I, ' should I wish to be with them in order
to comfort them ? If God is their friend, is not that
enough ? Is he not better to them than I could possibly
be ? If I had not left them for the sake of Christ, per-
haps he would have taken me from them by sickness
and death. O God, have mercy upon my soul and theirs ;
and if it be thy holy will, let me see them again in the
land of the living ; if not, let us be resigned, and may we
meet in thy kingdom, where there is no separation of
friends, no sorrow, no sin.' "

Study was now interrupted by a season of conference
with other missionaries, Messrs. Jowett, Fisk, and Wolff ;
and by a missionary tour to Tripoli, or Trabloos. From
El Kamar he wrote to his friend Mr. Wilder, "I am now
alone, entirely surrounded by Arabs, in what may be
called the capital of Mount Lebanon, as it is the place
where the prince (the Emir Bushir) resides. Mr. Fisk
and Mr. Wolff are two days' distance from us.

" My business is to read and talk Arabic from morn-
ing till night. I have put on the turban and the Arab
dress, and my beard is so long that I am generally taken
by strangers to be one of the sons of Ishmael. I sit on
the floor like a native, and at dinner thrust my hand
into the dishes of pillau as deep as any Arab of the coun-
try. Like the rest of the people, I get up in the morn-
ing and pick off the lice that are crawling on me, scrape
away some of the biggest of the fleas, and sit down on
my heels with the Arabs, who say they love me very
much, and call me brother."

On the journey, as usual, he was engaged in selling

150 yONAS KING.

and giving away Bibles, and parts of the Bible published
as tracts; and he could have disposed of many more, had
they been on hand.

A letter now came from Mr. Fisk recalling his asso-
ciate to Jerusalem. It was thought expedient for Mr.
Bird to go there also. As usual, special prayer was offer-
ed before these brethren set out on their way. Dr King
writes, " In six hours and three quarters we arrived at a
place called Neby Yunas, the spot where it is affirmed
the prophet Jonas was 'vomited out upon dry land.' His
name is revered by the Mussulmans, who believe that he
was buried here, and a tomb has been erected in which a
lamp is kept constantly burning."

A little time was given to the ruins at Tyre, the
missionaries taking a boat to examine the vast number
of columns lying " in the water and out of the water,"
just as the prophet Ezekiel had said would be the case,
and the position of which proved the great extent of the
ancient city. In 1823 only three or four hundred mean-
looking houses occupied perhaps half the present island,
so that it may be said with truth, " Tyre is no more. "

At Bosa and other places much direct religious con-
versation was had with the Mussulmans. Acre was found
strongly fortified with walls, recalling many scenes con-
nected with the Crusaders. One reader of the Koran
said ' I can tell why the earth does not sink : it stands
upon a bull.' * And what is under the bull .''' said I. Ans.
'A rock,' 'And what is under the rock.''' Ans. 'The
sea.' 'And what is under the sea i*' Ans. 'Smoke.'
' And what is under the smoke i*' Here he and the com-

MT. LEBANON AND THE SAMARITANS. 151

pany burst into a laugh and he repHed he did not know,
but there was a learned sheikh in the city, and he wanted
to bring us together, that we might dispute."

Nazareth of course was eloquent with thought of the
Saviour's daily home-life. " There was a school of forty
or fifty boys in a convent here. I asked one of them,
who read Latin very fluently, whether they understood
what they read. ' Oh, yes.' ' Tell me the meaning in
Arabic' This they could not do, not even a word. For
any one who comes here and says one Pater Noster, and
one Ave Maria, the pope promises seven years' and forty
days' indulgence. To one of the Catholic Arabs present
I said, ' What does this mean t seven years past or seven
to come i*' ' Seven to come,' said he. ' Then,' said
I, ' I can say one Pater Noster, and one Ave Maria,
and go away and sin as much as I please.' He did not
know what to say to this, but another Arab Catholic
came up and told him it was seven years past. ' But,'
said he, 'if you do not repent, it is nothing!' 'But,'
said I, 'the paper says nothing about repenting. It only
says if you say one Pater Noster, and one Ave Maria
you have indulgence ; and if I repent towards God He
will forgive me for Christ's sake, and I have no need of
this indulgence.' He seemed to feel the force of what I
said, and made little reply."

At Mount Tabor, a bright rainbow so transfigured
the mountain, just as the missionaries looked at it, that
Mr. Bird said some men would have regarded the appear-
ance as miraculous.

While waitins: at the door of the church at Nazareth,

152 yONAS KING.

Dr. King being there alone, ten men came in ; and refer-
ring to some remarks Dr. King had made as to the
sacredness of the place, he went on to say that our Lord
Jesus is an ever-present Saviour, everywhere wherever
his people worship him in spirit and in truth. A still
larger number of people came together and listened for
twenty minutes to a real Gospel sermon. One or more
seemed deeply impressed.

Quite exact measurements were taken at Nablous of
Mounts Ebal and Gerizim, and facts of interest obtained
from the priest of the Samaritans, Salameh, who was
acquainted with the Abbe Gregoire, whom Dr. King had
known at Paris. This priest, in answer to inquiry, said,
" The number of Samaritans is about two hundred, the
number of males sixty, and the number of houses twenty ;
there are three persons at Jaffa ; there were formerly
many at Damascus, Aleppo, Tripoli, Gaza, and in Egypt ;
but now there are none.'

" I asked him, ' When did your fathers separate from
the Jews .'''

" Priest. Their separation commenced under Shil-
kiah, in the days of Saul. At that time four tribes re-
volted. The final separation was in the time of Ezra,
after which, several of the tribes went to the east into
India beyond a river, and wandered about and went to
Russia.

" I. Do you know Hebrew }

"Priest. Yes.

" I. Have you the Jewish books '^. Do you believe in
them }

MT. LEBANON AND THE SAMARITANS. 153

" Priest, We have the five books of Moses. This is
our holy book. Moses commanded that nothing should
be added. The Jews have changed the letters of the
alphabet and added.

" I. Have you the book of Joshua .-'

" Priest. Y.es. We consider it a good book, but not
inspired by God like the books of Moses.

" I. Do you believe in the prophet Samuel .-^

" Priest. He was a great enemy to the Samaritans.

" I. Do you know anything about Jeroboam and
Ahab who were kings here ?

" Priest. No.

" I. Have you any sacrifices }

" Priest. Yes. Once a year, in commemoration of
the passover, we offer six or seven lambs of a year old
upon an altar of stone.

" I. Have you no daily sacrifices .-*

" Priest. No. There is no place to offer them.
Gerizim is the place where we should worship.

" I. Had you a temple there formerly }

" Priest. Yes, but it is destroyed.

" I. Have you an altar }

"Priest. Yes, of stones on Mount Gerizim, where
we offer the passover.

" I. Have you seen the Gospel }

" Priest. Yes, and read it much.

" I. What do you think of Jesus Christ ?

"Priest. He was one of the first of infidels, because
he said he was the Son of God.

" I. Were not his works c'oad ?

154 JONAS KING.

" Priest. I say nothing against his works, neither do
I curse him. I only say he was an infidel, because he
called himself the Son of God.

*' I. Have you read his conversation with the woman
of Samaria by the well of Sychar ?

" Priest. Yes. It is all a lie. He came to the well,
and all he said was, ' What is the name of this well ?' and
she replied ' Jacob's.'

" I. Do you believe in a Messiah to come }

" Priest. Yes.

" I. What will be his character } Who will he be,
a man or God .''

"Priest. The spirit of Moses will descend from
heaven and take another body and reign over all nations.

" I. You believe, I presume, that I and you and all
men are sinners.

" Priest. Yes, truly.

" I. What must a man do in order to inherit the
kingdom of heaven }

" Priest. He must keep the law,

" I. But we have none of us kept the law, and Joshua
said, ' Ye cannot serve the Lord, for he is a Holy God.'
Your fathers were very rebellious and Moses called them
stiff-necked, and the law says, ' Cursed is every one that
continueth not in a/i tJiings written in the book of the
Law to do them.' We are all under the curse. How
can we be saved .'*

" Priest. By repentance, that is enough.

" L Moses sprinkled the book of the law with blood,
and if a man sinned, he was to offer sacrifices, and with-

MT. LEBANON AND THE SAMARITANS. 155

out the shedding of blood there was no remission. Were
you a king and I a subject, and had you issued a decree,
that whosoever should kill or steal should be put to
death, and I should commit either of these crimes, repen-
tance would not atone for it. God, who cannot lie, has
said, ' Cursed is every one who continueth not in all things
written in the book of the law to do them.' We are all
under the curse of God's holy law, which you and I be-
lieve ; and there is no remission, but by the blood of Jesus
Christ, to whom all the bloody sacrifices under the Mosaic
dispensation had reference.

" Priest. I am not a sinner like you.

" I, Have you never sinned ?

" Priest. Very little, very little, almost none.

" I. If you say this, you do not know your own heart.
God told his covenant people they were ever inclined to
go astray. Moses sinned and was not permitted to en-
ter the promised land. Are you better than Moses ?

" Priest. Yes, better.

"I. Is Moses in heaven.^

"Priest. Yes.

" I. How was he saved "i

"Priest. His sin was as nothing — small — small.

"I. But the Lord was angry with him and did not
permit him to enter into Canaan.

"Priest. God commanded that you should not add
to, or diminish from the law, or change a single letter.
But you say the sacrifices are done away, and you keep
the first day of the week. Why is this t

" I. The sacrifices all referred to the death of Christ,

is6 yUiYAS KING.

the great sacrifice which was made to atone for the sins
of the world, and they ceased, as a matter of course, when
he suffered. All the ritual in the Law as it respects sac-
rifices was then fulfilled, and the work of redeeming man
was so much greater than that of creating the warld, that
we keep the first day of the week instead of the seventh.
You ask me. Why change the law ? Why abolish sacri-
fices .'' You yourselves have left off the daily sacrifice.

"Priest. Why is circumcision abolished.'*

" I. That was a bloody seal of the covenant God made
with Abraham, and like the blood of the sacrifices, prob-
ably had reference to him, the seed of Abraham, in whom
all the nations of the earth were to be blessed : to his blood,
which was to be shed that the covenant might be estab-
lished. The covenant God made with Abraham was, ' I
will multiply thee, etc., and in thy seed shall all the na-
tions of the earth be blessed.' This seed was Christ ;
He said not seeds, as of many, but ' in thy seed.'

"Priest. No. The seed is all his posterity, and the
promise or covenant was multiplication of them.

"I. Why then are you diminished to the number of
two or three hundred, and the Jews to about seven mill-
ions, and scattered over the face of the earth }

"Priest. There are multitudes of Samaritans in the
world.

"I. Where.?

" Priest. I know not, but they exist somewhere.

" I. No. The promise made to Abraham had refer-
ence to those who should be of the like faith with him.
Those who believe in Jesus Christ, and walk according

MT. LEBANON AND THE SAMARITANS. 157

to God's Holy Word, are his children according to the
promise, and I trust there are many such in England and
America, and among other nations, who are not his seed
according to the flesh,

" Priest. The Mussulmans are the children of Abra-
ham.

" I. Are all the nations of the world blessed by them }

" Priest. The blessing is with us Samaritans.

" I. Is this then the fulfilment of God's promise, ' I
will multiply thee ' .-• Here you are, pined away to the
number of two hundred, without a temple. No, the prom-
ise is spiritual, and is fulfilling, and will be fulfilled :
all the nations of the earth shall turn unto the Lord, and
shall believe in Jesus Christ, and the seed of Abraham
shall be like the stars of heaven for number, and as the
sands upon the seashore, and I hope that you will be of
that spiritual seed also.

" While I thus spoke he listened very attentively. Be-
fore leaving, I asked if he would permit me to see his
manuscript of the Torah. He replied, 'Yes,' and asked
how much I would give t I offered him two piastres.
He then said the key to the synagogue, where the book
was, was not with him.

" I answered, * I know where the key is, sir ; it is in
my purse.' At this he smiled and said, ' Yes.'

" Afterwards showing this man a dollar, the roll was
brought out and opened. He said it was 3,448 years old,
and was written by the grandson of Aaron. He did not
say a word against my touching it. I asked him to read
the ten commandments of the Law, which he did from

JuQllS King. H

158 yONAS KING.

the 20th chapter of Exodus, and interpreted them to me
in Arabic. He called the first two one ; and for the
tenth, said it was written, ' Thou shalt make to thee an
altar of stones upon Mount Gerizim.'

" The commandments were comprised in four sections.
The Samaritan differs from the Hebrew in character, and
in pronunciation. The priest charged the Jews with having
changed the letters of the Hebrew language, and added
to the word of God. Before closing the book, the priest
remarked to me, ' You will now receive a blessing, on
account of having seen this book.' "

On a shelf near the altar in the small neat synagogue.
Dr. King saw many books written in Samaritan, but
was not disposed to pay $2 00 for one of them. He went
with the priest to his house, from which was a fine view
of the Mounts Ebal and Gerizim.

The priest seemed really impressed, when Dr. King
on leaving committed him to the care of God and of our
Lord Jesus Christ.

The tomb of Joseph was shown here, also the well of
Jacob, now partly filled with stones and earth. On Wed-
nesday the missionaries received a most cordial welcome
from Mr. Fisk at the Convent of the Archangel at Jeru-
salem. The expense from Beyrout, including servants,
was thirty-four dollars.

Dr. King's second stay in Jerusalem was a short one.
He still felt that in order to learn the Arabic quickly, he
must be alone among the Arabs, entirely surrounded by
them. For this reason, after visiting the sacred locali-
ties with the new comer, Mr. Bird, and celebrating with

AIT. LEBANON AND THE SAMARITANS. 159

him and Mr Fisk, the Lord's Supper and the Monthly
Concert as before in an upper chamber, he resolutely left
his friends for Jaffa.

On the way at Ramleh, a very venerable Arab, blind,
and reminding one of Joseph of Arimathea, spoke highly
of the word of God, and encouraged his countrymen to
buy it.

The Arabic Bible circulated by Dr. King was a great
improvement upon the one formerly used, which was full
of errors, so that the Roman-catholics had indeed reason to
complain of it ; but it was far inferior to the more re-
cent translation made by Drs. Eli Smith and Van Dyke.

i6o yOiYAS KING.

CHAPTER XI.

LIFE IN PALESTINE CONTINUED.

Jaffa — Discussion with Mussulmans and Catholics — The Koran —
Oriental Dress — Return to Beyrout — Damascus — Aleppo —
Antioch — Armenian Creed — Tyre — Third Visit to Jerusalem —
Letters written from Calvary — Journey towards Home — Asaad
El Shidiak, the Martyr of Lebanon — Farewell Letters.

Dr. King decided to remain for a time at Jaffa, and
engaged a teacher there at $4. a month, who, speaking of
the Koran, said it was the root of all knowledge, the
sum of perfection of all wisdom ; and that, in order to
know Arabic well, one must read it sixty times.

Mere human reason everywhere, east or west, among
the Arabs of Syria, the Brahmins of India, or the trans-
cendentalists of nominal Christianity, asserts itself, as re-
gards the " mystery of godliness," in about the same terms.
One day Sheikh Khalil said to Dr. King, " I am willing
you should love Jesus Christ. I love him more than
all things in this world, more than my own life. All I
wish is that you should say he is the servant of God, and
not say God was in him, and he in God ; and that they
are one." Dr. King replied, "O Sheikh, I have no
hope of salvation but by the blood of Jesus Christ. He
is God. He is my all." Dr. King said further of this
man, " He is very zealous in his endeavors to convert me
to the Mussulman faith ; says I am an infidel, in danger

LIFE IN PALESTINE CONTINUED. i6i

of everlasting flames unless I give up the divinity of
Clirist. By the grace of a crucified Redeemer, I hope to
be faithful to this deluded soul. My feelings are so
shocked sometimes at hearing Gabriel called the Holy
Spirit, and the name of the false prophet exalted above
that of Jesus Christ, that I would gladly lay aside the
Koran, and never read in it again, did I not think it my
duty so to do, in order to enable me to be more useful."

Sheikh Khalil afterwards begged for a whole Bible,
promising never to part with it, and some time after
made no comment when Dr. King spoke of the Bible as
far exceeding the Koran. Still he one day asked Dr.
King to pull off his shoes while reading the Koran, who
satisfied him by saying that among Englishmen (Ameri-
cans went by that name) this was considered no mark of
respect.

Khalil was exasperated at the conduct of a Catholic
family who had ordered a Bible to be burnt. He said,
" Do not let the Christians have any more of your books.
We Mussulmans will take them. If I should see that
Catholic priest I would kill him."

After some talk one day with a young man who be-
came very vociferous about general councils and saints,
Dr. King says, " The common people of this country are
so noisy and impudent that one has need of much grace
and humility in order to converse with them in a proper
manner. They come at you like a mad bull, pawing and
bellowing and throwing dust around them, and one is
almost tempted sometimes to knock them down with
weapons that are only carnal. We need to think much

1 :■■•=

1 62 y^ONAS KING.

of Him 'who endured the contradiction of sinners,' that
we be not wearied, neither faint in our minds."

A poor blind man called for books one day, which his
younger brother could read to him, but soon came back
saying the priests would not let him keep them. " I felt
my indignation moved at this sinful act of taking away
the light of heaven from one who will never more behold
the light of the sun in this world."

Direct discussion was had with the superior of a Cath-
olic convent. Terra Santa at Jerusalem, carried on with
singular boldness on the part of Dr. King, considering
how much he was really in this man's power.

Dr. King writes : " As I had seen him in Beyrout, I
thought I would do him the honor to call on him. He
immediately began to make remarks about my dress, and
said, ' Aha ! a white turban — all Mussulman, I must
write to England and let the people know you have
turned Mussulman. You missionaries have come out
here — two at Jerusalem, two at Beyrout, with their
wives — to turn men away from the true faith, and to
make discords and divisions.'

" I interrupted him by saying, ' Christ said there
would be divisions.' He continued, 'You come here and
spread about your books, which are changed.' I replied,
* They are not changed, but are word for word according
to the one printed at Rome, under the eye of the pope.' "

The next objection was that the Apocrypha was omit-
ted, when Dr. King said, " The books composing it were
not received by the early fathers of the church." " You
are excommunicated," said he, "from the church." "It

LIFE IN PALESTINE CONTINUED. 163

is a blessing so to be," replied Dr. King, "because the
Roman-catholic church is in error, and no longer the
true church," Some priests present could hardly re-
strain their rage.

"'What errors.^' said he. Answer, 'Your images,
your giving pardon for money. You have wholly taken
away the second commandment. Why is there so much
lying and iniquity here among the people and the priests ?
Because they have not the Word of God. If you would
give the Word of God to the people yourselves, I would
be glad.'

" The Austrian consul, who was present, started up
and said, * The Roman-catholic church is the oldest in
the world.'

" ' The Jews are before you,' said Dr. King. * They
were once the true church, but they have wandered,' "

The above is but a specimen of the conversation held
with this superior, who, following Dr. King to the door,
warned him to desist from speaking against their images
and the worship of the holy Virgin, lest he should do him
harm.

To show that Dr. King's studies of Arabic were not
in vain, his teacher soon affirmed that he " was now fit
to read the Koran in the Mosque of Omar or in the tem-
ple at Mecca ;" that he read it with more propriety than
Mussulmans who had been doing so for twenty years.
Dr. King adds, "The beauties of the Koran consist prin-
cipally in the language, in the fine jingle of words which
it is utterly impossible to convey through the medium of
any European language. But I cannot conceive that any

1 64 JONAS KING.

man of decent morals and of good understanding, who
admires thoughts rather than words, should ever leave
the Bible for the Koran. This would be leaving a pure,
crystal fountain, to drink out of a dirty slough ; prefer-
ring tinsel to gold, or husks to bread. I have often won-
dered how any man who had as much knowledge of the
awful truths of the Bible as Mohammed seems to have
had, could be so daring as to mix them with falsehoods,
and swear that he had received them from the Lord of
all worlds.

" The Bible is as much above the Koran, with regard
even to its precepts for the good order and happiness of
society in this world, as the heavens are higher than the
earth. One conviction produced on my mind by reading
this book has been that a man, having a perfect knowl-
edge of the Arabic language, possessing a strong mind
and fertile imagination, with the Bible in his hand and
the devil in his heart, would find no great difficulty in
writing the Koran."

Dr. King remained at Jaffa as long as he could study
there to advantage, and then returned by land to Bey-
rout. Room cannot be given to his account of the jour-
ney, nor to a report of all the missionary work every-
where so persistently carried on, " in season," and often
no doubt apparently " out of season." Yet one may im-
agine what a hearing the zealous stranger must have
gained even through the very incongruity of time and
place often chosen by him for religious conversation.

Dr. King's eyes were very weak at this period, and
he was obli^red to use green glasses. -He wore the Orien-

LIFE IN PALESTINE CONTINUED. 165

tal costume — for according to the example given in i Cor.
9 : 20, to the Arabs he became as an Arab — so that New-
England friends just now could scarcely have recognized
him. Indeed, on one occasion he purposely quite misti-
fied Dr. Goodell, who had just arrived, and passing up
the street, supposed the figure which he saw seated on
a stone by the wayside was a genuine son of the desert,
until suddenly addressed by it in unmistakable Ameri-
can vernacular.

A long letter, sent to the Bible Society at Malta
from Beyrout, reports with great particularity the sale
within a short time of one hundred and seventy-five
Bibles.

It was a great luxury at Beyrout to find there a true
home with his missionary friends. Conferences were
soon held on various topics ; the first related to the
spelling and pronunciation of Scripture and Mussulman
names. A list of these is given, in which the name of
their present abode appears as Beyroot, and Tripoli
takes the place of Trabloos.

Discussion on the subject of fasting had the practical
effect of leading the missionary band to observe the first
Monday of every month in this special way.

The decision as to one's duty in the case of evil re-
ports, was to " pay little attention to them. Christ did
not. Preach the gospel ; let your eyelids look right on ;
commit your cause to God. If men think we are politi-
cal spies or agents, denying it will do no good, etc."

While at Beyrout, Dr. King offered for the first time
an extempore prayer in Arabic. Some of the Arabs

1 66 yOJVAS KING.

kneeled, and while he was praying smote on their breasts,
crying out, " Lord, have mercy upon us," but with what
sincerity it was difficult to tell.

Upon returning for a time to Deir el Kamar, the per-
sonal greeting received by Dr. King was very satisfac-
tory, but difficulties as to distributing the Bible had in-
creased. The Roman-catholics had held a council at
Jerusalem, and had ordered the convents not to receive
the missionaries. Again, complaints were repeated as to
the edition of the Bible circulated, because the Apocry-
pha was not in it. One of the priests, Abouna Yusuf,
confessed that the opposition arose from fear that the
Bible would be the means of bringing out those who read
it from under the pope. Dr. King allowed there was dan-
ger of this, as it had had this effect on his own ancestors.
This priest asked Dr. King why he did not go directly to
the patriarch ; who answered, " I have no time to visit
all who oppose the gospel. St. Paul kept about his own
business, preaching the Word." Then Dr. King went on
to tell how this very patriarch had received money from
England and a press from America, five years before, in
order to print and circulate the Bible, but had done noth-
ing about it — was living on the funds and opposing the
missionaries. When asked, " Why should you distribute
the Bible, when an edition of it was published at Rome.'*"
Dr. King answered, " Yes, but at a price no poor man
could pay, thus virtually excluding it from the public.
Those who profess to be built on Peter should observe
his directions, and take heed to the Scriptures as to a
light in a dark place."

LIFE IN PALESTINE CONTINUED. 167

Sometimes the priests became so much excited that
the noise was deafening; especially was this the case
when they were told there was no rule in Scripture " for-
bidding to marry," nor to abstain from meats. Again,
they said that when Peter denied Christ, it was only with
his mouth, not with his heart, and therefore not wrong ;
and that he never dissembled, as related in Galatians.
These discussions were not useless. Sometimes a priest
would say, " Sir, you are right. I think as you do. Go ;
you are right."

Sometimes the talk was with or about the dervishes.
These men pretended to great self-abnegation, while
in reality their lives were thoroughly wicked and im-
pure.

When Dr. King visited Damascus he found it neces-
sary to make some concession to Mussulman prejudice
by not wearing his white turban nor riding into the city ;
but he refused to dismount until absolutely compelled to
do so. Some of the smaller trials of life were here ex-
ceedingly numerous. Sleep sometimes could be secured
only towards morning, and then in the open air, exposing
one to cold and hoarseness.

Much kindness was shown to Dr. King and the
friends with him by Hakeem (Dr.) Solomon. He told
them that in Damascus there were about twelve thou-
sand nominal Christians. Whatever may have been the
purity of the Abana and Pharpar in the days of Naaman,
in May, 1824, their waters were muddy and unwhole-
some.

About this time the superior of a Greek Catholic

1 68 yONAS KING.

convent, meeting Dr. King, said the discovery of America
had been a great injury to the cause of religion, because
the Indians were not men, not children of Adam. Dr.
King asked that the conversation might be in Arabic,
that all present might understand ; but Abouna Saba
chose to use Italian. Speaking of Protestants, he said,
" You have protested against the true church."

Dr. King. " No, we have protested against the errors
of the church."

Abouna Saba. " Errors in the church } No. There
are no errors in the church. Old things are certainly
better than new."

Dr. King. " Surely ; and for that very reason we
protested against the errors of the Romish church, which
were new, and returned to the ancient system, such as
existed in the first ages of the church among the disci-
ples of Christ, and we took the gospel and the Old Tes-
tament for our guide, which were of oldr

Abouna Saba went on asking about the course in
America of collegiate and theological study, and seemed
surprised to hear the Bible was received as ultimate au-
thority.

With regard to the Druses, Abouna said that he had
seen some of their books, and that they in reality wor-
ship the light, and have the image of an ox to represent
power ; that when one of them becomes of the number
of those called Aakel, or Aakelin, there is an apparent
chano-e in his conduct for the better. He then leaves off
smoking tobacco, swearing, and every vice, however aban-
doned he may have been before. This change he thought

LIFE IN PALESTINE CONTINUED. 169

was merely external. Very little can be known of them.
They have houses for worship, but no one can enter them
except Druses.

The teacher whom Dr. King engaged at Damascus
to give him lessons in Arabic did so in true ancient
style. His scholars were obliged literally to sit at his
feet, while he sat as if lord of the world. He was a firm
believer in genii, some of which he said were under his
control.

It was not possible for a stranger to remain in Da-
mascus during July and August on account of fevers, so
that Dr. King could not very long avail himself of the
service of the above distinguished professor, and soon
left for Aleppo — just before going having an interview
with a very intelligent Jew, who claimed to be a lineal
descendant of David, and to whom Dr. King enlarged on
the story of Saul's conversion near the ancient city where
they now were.

On the journey Dr. King had a talk with some well-
informed Mussulmans, whom, however, it was difficult to
convince that all Christians were not the idolaters which,
from their personal knowledge of those so called, they
believed them to be.

Hooms, now written Hums, and the seat of encour-
aging mission work, was passed on the way. Hamah,
also, the ancient pass of Hamath, with its musical water-
wheels, utilizing the waters of the Orontes, was a point
of great interest. Here, too, were found priests who were
great sticklers for the Apocrypha, while yet the mission-
ary, like Lot, could not but be vexed with their filthy

I70 yONAS KING.

conversation. Indeed, descriptions were given by them
of deeds so unlawful, so unmentionably wicked, as proved
to our traveller that he was indeed passing through some
of the dark places of the earth. There seemed little hope
nf making impression on men so thoroughly defiled; yet
to some of the early believers in Christ did the apostle
say, " But such were some of you."

The journey physically was a trying one, from sand
and heat and burning winds ; yet while thinking of rich
people in Boston and elsewhere, Dr. King writes of being
happy. " I would not change places with them. I would
indeed be willing to change for a little time, that they
might see that missionaries have something to suffer.
Many of our dear friends, could they see us here to-day,
would think that we could not live."

When arrived at Aleppo word was received that fur-
ther distribution of the Bible was forbidden : copies al-
ready given out were to be collected and sent back to
England. Dr. King writes : " I have no doubt that the
Roman-catholics have caused this order." One of them
afterwards acknowledged that a .communication on the
subject had been sent to the headquarters of the Greek
church, Constantinople. " Mr. Lesseps, the French con-
sul," whose son Theodore is also mentioned, " called, and
in conversation said he would do all in his power to pre-
vent anything which could in the least tend to injure the
Catholic church ; and avowed that it was according to
the principles of his church not to put the Bible into the
hands of the common people, and that they ought to
believe according to what the priests tell them. What a

LIFE IN PALESTINE CONTINUED. 171

disgrace to a man of his standing in tlie nineteenth cen-
tury !"

Sept. 19, 1824. " The French consul read me a letter
which he had just received from a captain of a French
vessel at Alexandretta, stating that on his way from Cy-
prus he had fallen in with a Greek cruiser, who hailed
him and ordered him to stop ; that he did so about 5
p. M. ; that the Greek cruiser told him he had many Turks
on board, which he intended to massacre that night, but
that he would sell them if the French captain would buy
them. He bought five for fifty dollars. Twenty remain-
ed. While buying those five he heard some one from the
Greek ship crying out in French, * Au, nom de Dieu,
achetez-moi et sauvez-moi.' The French captain de-
manded if he were French. He replied, ' No, but a Jew
doctor well known at Aleppo.' It must have been Lay-
bach. Upon this the French captain offered to buy him,
but the Greek captain refused to sell, saying that he
meant to kill him that night with the twenty Turks who
remained. My heart was much pained at this intelli-
gence. Dr. Laybach had bought of me, two or three
days before leaving Aleppo, the Old and New Testa-
ments in Hebrew and the New Testament also in French.
This was about three weeks since."

Antioch was the next place visited. At this birth-
place of the Christian name no Christian church remains.
A few Greeks meet for worship in a grotto or hole in the
rock. Here Dr. King learned, in regard to the late Fir-
man of the Grand Seigneur, that the governor of Damas-
cus had sent messengers after him in the v.-rons: direc-

172 yOxVAS KING.

tion, and the order soon became a dead letter. Mr. Tur-
ner, British charge at Constantinople, took a firm stand,
claiming that the Turkish government had no right to
destroy English Bibles any more than any other kind of
British property. These were dangerous times in the
East. Death by poison of men of high position was not
unusual. Just after that of the Reverendissimo of Jeru-
salem, as strongly suspected in this manner, a French
marquis, a Roman-catholic, was attacked by seventy
Turks, who beat him, bruised him, and carried him by
night, bareheaded, to Jaffa, not for having made any re-
marks implying this, but for having heard them.

Not far from Antioch, near Swedia, are " the ruins of
a church on Mount Simeon, so called, I suppose, from
Simeon the Stylite, who remained thirty-seven years on a
pillar, and was the founder of that order of monks termed
Stylites, or Pillar Saints. The pillar is still standing, I
am told, in the midst of the ruins of the church."

From Beyrout Dr. King wrote immediately, through
Colonel Greaves, to the trustees of Amherst College, rec-
ognizing his engagement to return to them, while he still
wished to qualify himself further for his duties as their
professor. As many otherwise intelligent Protestants
doubt the need of sending the gospel to nominal
Christians in the East, it may be well to insert here
a synopsis, according to J. Agrarius, of the Armenian
creed.

1. Christ is the Head of the church.

2. Gregorius is their principal saint.

3. They ask of the Virgin Mary and the saints that

LIFE IN PALESTINE CONTINUED. 173

they would intercede for them with Jesus Christ and with
God.

4. They pray for the dead, and receive money for
doing so.

They pray for those who die in India, in Russia, in
Angora, in Constantinople, and other places, and send
every three years to receive the money from the friends
of the deceased. This money is for the poor priests at
Jerusalem. They have twelve patriarchates, over whom
the grand patriarch is like a pope. They do not profess
to believe in purgatory, but their prayers for the dead
imply it. They baptize infants by three immersions, like
the Greeks ; cross the child with oil in his face, his
hands, his breast, his eyes, and his ears, then put in his
mouth a little of the sacramental bread and wine and
take it out again. They have secret confession ; they
believe in the Real Presence, but do not take money for
pardons.

Dr. King writes with regard to one of the bishops,
that towards the close of a conversation he seemed to
comprehend what was meant by being born again and
about salvation as wholly the gift of God. " I could not
but be affected myself on thinking of the state of the
Armenian church when I heard one of her most intelli-
gent bishops asking me, like a little child, about some of
the first and plainest doctrines taught in the gospel. He
says that the only preaching they ever have is about ab-
staining from certain kinds of food on fast-days : * Oh,
my brethren, if you eat such and such things on such a
day you will go to hell.' "

15-

174 JONAS KING.

January, 1825, found our missionary studying at Tyre.
Here he became acquainted with an old Greek priest
named Antinous, one of the few who escaped the terrible
massacre at Scio, from which a few Greek boys were also
preserved and sent to America for education, one of
whom, Dr. Alexander George Paspati, is well known at
Constantinople.

It was common at this time for the Turks to go beg-
ging food from the Greeks, and then to ask pay for the
use of their own teeth in chewing it.

Dr. King again attempted to establish a school for
girls, but the priests and people said, " Women have
small minds. If taught to read, they would be devils."
Some young men said that they would put away their
espoused wives, if taught to read. Reports that the
missionaries bought converts, and took portraits of them
to be shot at in case of retraction, and that this would
cause death and earthquake, interfered with efforts made
for the instruction of even the boys. Yet bright spots
often cheered Dr. King's heart ; as when, after a long
talk, an Arab sheikh kneeled in prayer, and again when
a warm welcome greeted him from some Greek priests
upon his return to Jerusalem.

Here the influences of the place, ever fresh, led to
a season of self-examination, during which Di; King
writes most bitter things against himself, acknowl-
edging that every good thing in him was a gift from
above, and writes : " Here, on Calvary, and at the foot of
Thy cross, I wholly discard all right and title to merit or
favor in Thy sight, by anything I ever have done, or ever

LIFE IN PALESTINE CONTINUED. 175

can do." These heart-searchings seem to have led him
on to more absolute dependence on our Lord, and conse-
cration to his service.

Scenes connected with the taking of Jerusalem un-
der Titus were forcibly recalled, as the day arrived,
when the pasha of Damascus, with two or three thou-
sand soldiers, made his yearly claim for tribute. Mus-
sulmans and Christians all fled from the villages on his
approach.

On March 31, 1825, the theatrical representations of
our Saviour's crucifixion led the missionary to protest
more strongly than ever against the errors of that reli-
gion which for popular effect turned the most sublime
events of time into absurdity.

A bright sunbeam came now from Egypt, a letter
from Mr. John Glidden, telling of his own and his wife's
conversion by the influence of Dr. King and his fellow-
laborers, together with the bereavement of a dear child.
Sunday, January 3, Dr. King was privileged to preach
on Calvary, from the specially appropriate text, "And
when they were come to the place which is called Cal-
vary, there they crucified Him," the first Protestant ser-
mon probably ever delivered there in the current lan-
guage of the country. The next day, the Monthly
Concert was observed for the third time in this sacred
spot. This, however, was not done without enduring
some " contradiction of sinners," one of the Turks du-
ring the closing hymn even striking Mr. Fisk with his
gun ; and at the convent of the Terra Santa, it was not
safe to accept even a cup of coffee, for fear of its con-

176 yONAS KING.

taining poison. The Jews also suffered greatly. Rabbi
Mendel and forty others were bound with chains on their
necks and legs, until some exorbitant demand was paid.

Jerusalem was just now literally in tears, as described
by Jeremiah, the oppression of the modern Benhadad,
Mustapha Pasha, was so crushing. The superior of one
convent received five hundred blows on his feet, in order
to make him give up treasures concealed under his care.
Forty men were employed to beat him. After this
he was left bareheaded on the ground, without any sus-
tenance but water, for three days and three nights, with
a rope about his neck.

Dr. King, knowing the interest that would be attach-
ed at that time to letters penned upon Mount Calvary,
took especial pains to write to friends at home, and in
Europe, thus strengthening greatly their missionary zeal,
as well as their personal interest in himself. Among
other things, he writes that he accounts for the extra
wickedness of the people living near the sacred places
in Syria, from the fact that they depend on these places,
and not on Christ himself. Also that he becomes more
and more convinced that the same divine Spirit is re-
quired to renew the hearts of men everywhere, whether
among Greeks, " Cretes and Arabians," Americans or
Englishmen. He also gives his plans for the immediate
future, as the three years he had engaged to spend in
these Oriental lands had about expired, which plans
were to visit, before returning to America, some parts
of Europe, everywhere preaching the gospel.

To a former classmate, Rev. Orville Dewey, who had

LIFE IN PALESTINE CONTINUED. 177

subsided into Unitarianism, after referring to early asso-
ciations, and to fears long ago that his friend was in-
clined to speak " smooth things," Dr. King writes :
" Judge then of my surprise, when I learned that you
were doubting of the divinity of our Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ, who is the author and finisher of the Chris-
tian's hope, the alpha and omega of all things, the root
and the offspring of David, the creator of the heavens
and the earth, the brightness of the glory of the invisi-
ble God, the judge of the quick and the dead, the adora-
tion of the angelic hosts, and the everlasting song of the
redeemed in heaven.

"I said, 'this is only a temporary falling away; like
Peter, he will presently weep bitterly ! The great Shep-
herd will yet bring him back to his fold, and not suffer
him to wander and perish.' But I hear that after so
long a time you are still in doubt, or rather that you
have entirely cast off your first faith as it respects Jesus
Christ. You perhaps say that you still trust in him, al-
though he be but a man. But remember that it is writ-
ten, ' Cursed be he that trusteth in man, or maketh flesh
his arm.' You will say, perhaps, that he is super-angelic.
Be it so. But if he be not the everlasting God, you make
him a liar, for he has said, * He that hath seen me, hath
seen the Father.' I will not here attempt, as it would
probably be in vain, after all your advantages of study
and research in theological subjects, to adduce proof of
the Divinity, I mean the Godhead of Christ. With you,
I deem it not so much the work of reason, but of the
heart, to bring you back to the sinner's only hope.

178 yONAS KING.

" This from your friend and servant on Calvary, who
knows and feels and acknowledges himself to be one of
the greatest of sinners, and whose only hope is in that
precious blood which was here shed for the redemption
of man."

May 9, 1825, Dr. King turned his face homeward,
leaving Jerusalem with some difficulty, on account of po-
litical troubles there. The journey was not made in a
Pullman palace-car. One day, dry thistles and onions
were the only food procurable. The same night the
tents were attacked by robbers, who got off with a trunk
belonging to the Englishman, Rev. Mr.- Lewis, around
which three men were sleeping. Attempts to regain
this trunk led to difficulties with the Arabs, who soon
after attacked the travellers with swords and clubs, and
yelling like so many furies, riding upon their swift horses
as they rushed upon the tents. Dr. King had heard
the alarm, and galloped forward, but a sheikh came fly-
ing after him, and he called out, " Brother, do me no
harm, I have not injured you." The Arab let down his
sword. It seems that he had heard that Dr. King was a
great man, travelling with a firman from Abdallah Pasha.
No wonder the Journal of this day is full of praise.
" He delivered me from my strong enemy." No lives
were lost on this occasion.

The way now led through Cana of Galilee, to the Sea
of Galilee, descriptions of which have now become famil-
iar. A church at Tiberias was built in form of a boat,
in memory of St. Peter's boat. The priest said that un-
der the altar was the stone on v/hich St. Peter was when

LIFE IN PALESTINE CONTINUED. 179

the Lord said, " On this rock will I build my church."
The people " were all praying with united vociferation,
beating their heads, jumping, weeping, stretching up
their hands towards heaven, as if to pull down mercies
thence, then suddenly bowing and crying aloud in the
most lamentable tones of voice; clasping their heads
with both hands, sobbing and smiting their breasts, reel-
ing to and fro, and in various ways making violent exer-
tion. Poor Jews ! the veil is still upon their hearts ! I
longed to tell them of Jesus Christ, and call on them to
believe in him whom their fathers crucified."

Passing through Safed and Tyre, Dr. King came again
to Beyrout, and says : " The more I see of Palestine, the
more I see that it is a goodly land, and capable of sus-
taining an immense population." Letters here from his
aged parents greatly cheered his heart, telling as they
did of the faithful kindness of his friend and their son,
S. V. S. Wilder, who had well redeemed the pledge made
by him in Paris nearly three years before. There were
letters also from Mr. Wilder and Dr. Heman Humphrey,
president of Amherst College, expressing willingness to
have their professor of Oriental Literature remain away
still longer, if thus better able to promote the cause of
Christ; while yet they felt that his presence would be of
essential help in making Amherst College what Dr.
Humphrey writes it would be, 'and must be, one of the
first colleges in New England.' "

Simple incidents alone of the homeward journey can
be given. At Beyrout he was not satisfied to rest in the
enjoyment of the society of his friends, the American

I So ^O.VAS KFKG.

missionaries, but sought to acquaint himself still more
fully with the customs of the Turks, having in all an eye
to the great object of his life ; and he began also to write
a grammar in Syriac. His teacher, the priest Asaad el
Shidiak, afterwards better known as the Martyr of Leb-
anon, now appears on the scene, and is soon forbidden
by one who signs himself, Aug. 12, 1825, "the contempt-
ible Joseph Peter, patriarch of Antioch," to have any
intercourse with " these men," viz., the missionaries.
Another firman was soon issued by the Grand Seignior,
warning every one against these books. Dr. King
sent out a reply, defending, by testimony from the
early Fathers, the Canon of Scripture as issued by
the British and Foreign Bible Society, as free from the
apocryphal writings so much insisted on by the Greek
church.

As rejoinder to Dr. King's reply, came another mani-
festo, commencing in a style proving that pure transcen-
dentalism is not indigenous to Boston or New England
soil : " In the name of the Eternal Being, the Necessary of
Existence, the Almighty; the Contemptible Ignatius
Peter, patriarch of Antioch and of the Syrians." The
paper sought to justify the patriarch in his failure to
carry out an agreement made with some English Chris-
tians, which has already been noticed, and it still more
positively forbade the people to receive the Bible or any
books from the missionaries.

These special efforts of the priesthood were over-
ruled for good in a way which time alone has helped to
bring to view, for they led to the writing by Dr. King of

LIFE IN PALESTINE CONTINUED. i8i

his now celebrated " Farewell letter to his friends in
Palestine and Syria," which through all these years has
proved a shaft of wonderful power, and which our mod-
ern hiissionaries still retain in their armory, not as a relic
of the past, but rather as a weapon well fitted for the
present conflict.

A letter, very sad, as showing determinate enmity to
our blessed Lord, just now came from Lady Hester Stan-
hope, from Djaun Lebanon, in answer to one of sympa-
thy from Dr. King, on occasion of the death of her
brother. She says : " I should have liked your letter
better, had you not talked of Jesus Christ, in whom I
shall never believe, and that you know ; therefore never
preach to me any more upon that subject, for it will be
perfectly useless. The future will prove who is right ;
till then let the matter rest, with me at least. Your
own book, the Bible, gives no mathematical proof of
what you wish to inculcate."

In contrast to this, came a visit paid to a Christian
emir and his father, who had had their eyes burnt out
and their tongues cut off the winter before, by the Emir
Bushir. As in the case of Milton, so much the more
the true light shone in them, and strange to say, their
articulation was still almost perfect.

A record here appears in detail of Bibles and tracts
distributed in the East by Messrs. Wolff, Fisk, Goodell,
Bird, and King, from 1822 to 1825, amounting to 3,329
Bibles or parts of Bibles, and 13,800 tracts, making with
those already given out by Messrs. Fisk and Parsons,
4,000 copies of the Bible, and 20,000 tracts, besides those

Jonas K;n„-. 16

1 82 yONAS KING.

circulated by Mr. Temple. We now begin to see the
harvest from this seed sown fifty years ago.

Dr. King closes Vol. IV. of his journal, "Let not
missionaries or missionary societies be discouraged, be-
cause they see no present fruits of their labor. They
shall reap in due season, if they faint not."

HOMEWARD THROUGH EUROPE. 1S3

CHAPTER XII.

HOMEWARD THROUGH EUROPE.

Asia Minor — Death of Pliny Fisk— Smyrna — Spain — Nismes —
Paris — Duke de Broglie — Louis Philippe — Lafayette — Count
Verhuell — Countess of St. Aulaire — Visits in England — Hannah
More.

Dr. King left Bey rout for Smyrna, Sept. 26, 1825, in
company with an English nobleman and his suite, some
of whom, infidel as to religion, sought to entangle the
missionary in his talk. One of them died within a few
days, of malignant fever, without apparent knowledge of
his danger. He had asked that no clergyman should ever
be sent for to visit him, if sick. Reason was taken away
almost from the first. All that Dr. King could do, at
the funeral, was to seek to impress the truth upon the
rest of the hitherto gay company.

A stop was made at Tarsus, and a visit paid to the falls
of the Cydnus, so full of association with the brief and
brilliant career of Alexander the Great, and the early
aspirations of the boy Saul of Tarsus. The journey was
pressed onward through Asia Minor. One can well ima-
gine the many points of interest : old volcanoes and ruins
of places now scarcely known. Danger of attack by rob-
bers supplied a dash of excitement. In one place the
travellers passed about a hundred and fifty graves of men
who had been murdered quite recently. Lord St. A.

i84 yONAS KING.

said that in case of difficulty, he was ready to turn Mus-
sulman ; but neither this willingness, nor the better
resolution of the missionary to trust in God, was brought
to the test.

At Buluwaden, the party " took lodgings in a khan,
which had one tolerable room, but it was so full of Turks
and Rayahs, that we concluded to sleep in the stable
where our horses were. Indeed, one part of the stable
was intended for men, and had six or seven chimneys or
fireplaces. At our feet as we lay down horses might have
been fed. This came nearer to what I used to suppose
an oriental khan to be, than any I have seen before in
this country. I could not but think of Him who was
* wrapped in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger.' "

A curious superstition was found attached to a spring
about three feet in diameter, which bubbled and whirled
at the top of a mound, as if from intense heat, but still
was cold. The Turks consult it when about to buy a
horse. In such a case they " pile up three stones, one
upon another, then hold a cloth or the corner of a hand-
kerchief in the water for one or two minutes. On
taking out the cloth they find a small hair attached to it,
and the color of this hair shows them, they say, what color
the horse ought to be."

The name of Philadelphia was found most appropri-
ately to be "Allah Shahein," "the city of God, for he
that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God." And in its
ruins was a striking fulfilment of the prophecy relating
to the church there. Rev. 3:12.

Upon arriving at Smyrna, eighty- nine days after

HOMEWARD THROUGH EUROPE. 185

leaving Beyrout, sad news met the homeward bound
missionary. The vessel of Lord St. A. which, after land-
ing the passengers at Tarsus, was to make its way round
to meet them at Smyrna, had been taken by the Greeks,
and stripped of everything, including Dr. King's books,
manuscripts, minerals and clothing. Making the journey
by land had been the means of preserving their lives.
Some of the boxes were afterwards recovered. Upon
opening them. Dr. King writes, " Many of my beautiful
Korans and Arabic manuscripts, and Syriac and Persian
books were gone, or torn in pieces, and the greater part
of my letters, I believe. I however found the most im-
portant of my journals and private writings." But there
was a greater trial. Pliny Fisk was gone ; the dear
friend, whom Dr. King had left in perfect health, had fin-
ished his work on earth. At the grave of Parsons the
two had sung, " Brother, thou art gone before us." Now
the survivor was left to sing alone, " Brethren, ye have
gone before me." The fact was one difficult to realize.
Here at hand were freshly written letters from Pliny Fisk,
full of love to the dear friend who had come for three
years to his aid in mission work. But one of those insid-
ious eastern fevers, at first scarcely threatening danger,
had suddenly done its office, giving however this servant
of God time to write a second letter as follows :

"My beloved brother King: Little did we think
when we parted, that the first, or nearly the first intelli-
gence concerning me, would be the news of my death;
yet this is likely to be the case. I write you as from my
dyifig bed. The Saviour, whom I have so imperfectly

16*

1 86 yONAS KING.

served, I trust now grants me his aid, and to his faith-
ful care I commit my immortal spirit. May your life be
prolonged and be made abundantly useful. Live a life
of prayer. Let your conversation be in heaven. Labor
abundantly for Christ. Whatever treatment you meet
with, whatever difficulties you encounter, whatever vexa-
tions fall to your lot, and from whatever source, possess
your soul in patience, yea, let patience have her perfect
work.

" I think of you now with my dying breath, and remem-
ber many happy hours we have spent together. And I
die in the glorious hope of meeting you, where we shall
be freed from all sin. Till that happy meeting, dear
brother, farewell.

"P. FISK."

Dr. King's long term of service is in accordance with
the above dying prayer.

At Smyrna, Jan. 19, 1826, a Greek family named
Mengous, knowing of Dr. King's great desire to speak
the Greek language not only with correctness but with
elegance, consented to receive him under their roof,
wishing in return to perfect themselves in English.
This removal is important only in relation to ensuing-
events. If the young American learned things other
than Greek in this hospitable mansion, it is not to be
wondered at by those who knew of the extreme attrac-
tiveness of the daughter of the house.

Notwithstanding Dr. King's acquaintance thus with
one of the best families in the place, his name was by
order of the bishop, read out in the French and Italian

HOMEWARD THROUGH EUROPE. 187

churches, as " an American who distributed bad books,
contrary to church and religion, and that it was a sin to
read them."

In a different spirit came a letter, written, the day
after Dr. King had preached on board the United States
corvette Erie, by Dorotheos Papa Michael, who was
present with other Greeks on that occasion.

" Eloquent and venerable man, Mr. King, all hail !
Many times before, my friend, and especially yesterday,
I could not but wonder at the zeal which you have in
preaching the word of God ; nor less could I help prais-
ing the density of your ideas ; from thence auguring con-
cerning the gigantic steps which your mission has made,
is making, and will make.

" The fear of God, my friend, united with upright
words, and with sincere searching for the truth, are truly
those energetic means by which everything may be ac-
complished. Want of time does not permit to praise also
the zeal, which yesterday I witnessed in the great atten-
tion of the sons of America to your words, sure and in-
contestable signs of internal worship and of a continued
returning of the heart [towards God].

" My friend, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God the Father, and the communion of
the Holy Spirit, be with us all. So let it be. Farewell.
"DOROTHEOS PAPA MICHAEL."

To Smyrna, Dr. Wolff also soon came, and the work
of distributing tracts was carried on as before in Egypt
and Syria.

1 88 yONAS KING.

M. J. Van Lennep's name now appears, representing
a family planted in Eastern Asia Minor, and owned of
God for the furtherance of the Gospel.

After about five months stay in Smyrna, Dr. King
saw the way clear to continue his journey, passing Mag-
nesia, now a mission station, on his way to Constantino-
ple. At Thyatira, he was told that tracts left there by
Messrs. Fisk and Parsons had been read by more than
two hundred persons.

Dr. King arrived at Constantinople, taking lodgings
in Pera, just after the surprising stroke by which the
Sultan had relieved himself of the Janizaries. Over
7,000 of them perished in a single massacre, on occasion
of some too extortionate demand made by them.

Turkish law was so stringent in regard to the Greeks,
that Dr. King could not pursue his Greek studies in
Constantinople to advantage, and consequently returned
to Smyrna — glad to leave a place which, although he was
treated there with great kindness by the English resi-
dents, he yet found to be a city " full of oppression, de-
ceit, and false religion, of confusion, plague, and death."

" Fuit Ilium " seemed the most appropriate passing
remark, as a few tumuli were seen in the distance on the
plains of Troy.

Smyrna friends gave him a most cordial welcome, and
mission work was resumed there for a time, soon inter-
rupted by the arrival of the " Erie," whose officers pressed
Dr. King to join their mess, either to Mahon, or to
America. This invitation it seemed wise to accept, and
Dr. King bade farewell to the lands of the East.

HOMEWARD THROUGH EUROPE. 189

August 9, 1826. Visits were made to Tripoli, 'where
Decatur burned the frigate " Philadelphia," which had
run aground and been taken by the Tripolitans. It was
commanded by Commodore Bainbridge, whose war-cloak
has been made historical by his nephew Dr. McLean,
late President of Princeton College ; and also to Algiers,
where Dr. King renewed acquaintance with Mr. William
Shaler, consul, whom he had met in Paris. At Mahon,
on invitation. Dr. King held a friendly discussion with
two Roman-catholic friends, who, as usual, denied the
right of private interpretation of the Scriptures.

The establishment of the Circumlocution Office was
not left to the present day. It cost him a world of
trouble to obtain a passport for Marseilles or Barcelona,
but it was finally secured through the interposition of
Commodore Rodgers and other officers of the United
States government vessels, for whose kindness in many
emergencies Dr. King was deeply grateful.

Expenses at the best hotel in Barcelona at this time
were ^i a day. The inhabitants were a singular mixture
of Spanish and Arab types, having many customs pecu-
liar to the East. In drinking, they would hold the ves-
sel a little distance above the mouth, inclining the head
back, and would thus pour the water into it in a stream.
The original coat-of-arms of the Bonaparte family was to
be seen there, showing, as the name implies, what is
called a noble origin : on one side a lion, on the other six
stars ; above them an eagle and a casque with feathers.

The archives of the Count of Aragon were also of
interest, containing a treaty with the Moors, dated in the

igo JONAS KING.

year 86 of the Hegira. An old papal bull, issued in the
tenth century, was also on exhibition. At this time the
dust caused by the demolishing of the walls of the Inqui-
sition had hardly settled. A Jew had been hung only
three months before, simply because he was a Jew. Poi.
soning was of frequent occurrence. Over fifteen hun-
dred had been assassinated in the province of Catalonia
within three years, and no note made of it, except here
and there by the erection of crosses. Did not such a
land call for a pure gospel }

It was a delight to cross the line between Spain and
France, and to join at Nismes in observing the Monthly
Concert with true Christian friends, whose first exclama-
tion was, " We have been praying for you for four years !"

A letter from Jeremiah Evarts, Secretary of the
American Board, was received here, having been for-
warded from Smyrna. It refers to Mr. Gregory Perdi-
cari and two other Greeks, who had come to America for
education by Dr. King's advice, recommending that al-
though these young men were now provided for, no oth-
ers should be sent, unless funds should be secured in
advance for their support. Dr. Evarts expressed great
interest in the cause of Greece. Missolonghi had just
fallen. He said the American Board were ready to em-
ploy Dr. King as agent to arouse the church, hoping he
himself, after a time, might return to Greece ; for from
the engagement made with Amherst he might no doubt
be honorably released, as it was the common opinion
that there was no need to teach Arabic in our colleges,
and Amherst just now had no funds to spare. The let-

HOMEWARD THROUGH EUROPE. 191

ter closes with words of touching sympathy in regard to
Mr. Fisk, on whose help in various ways the Board had
been depending. Such a letter could not fail to produce
some excitement on Dr. King's part. On its proposals
might hinge his whole future life. Dr. King says, " All
sinful as I am, still I feel as if there was an invisible
hand guiding me." To this letter Dr. King returned a
glowing appeal in behalf of the Greeks, defending them
on every point.

To Nismes came also at this time Rev. H. G. O.
Dwight, since so well known as missionary at Constan-
tinople. It was pleasant, too, to receive letters of greet-
ing from that true Christian gentleman, Baron de Stael,
from Prof. Kieffer, Thomas Waddington, and the well-
known philanthropist, John Venning, who was indeed a
light set in a dark place, St. Petersburg, and from Count
Admiral Verhuell, peer of France, and president of the
Evangelical Missionary Society at Paris. The latter
writes in behalf of the society, and also of some young
missionary students in training for the foreign work, ask-
ing Dr. King to visit them, also to prepare in detail such
facts and fruits of his experience in the East as would
prove useful to any future laborers there. Offers of fur-
ther assistance as to funds were also made in a very con-
siderate way, and were peculiarly acceptable on account
of the loss of clothing through Greek pirates, which has
been before mentioned. Mr. Wilder had written that
1,000 francs were placed to Dr. King's credit in Paris;
and now through these Paris Christians the Lord pro-
vided for every temporal want.

192 yONAS KING.

Several missionary meetings were attended by Dr.
King in the vicinity of Nismes. At one Monthly Con-
cert at Anduze about four hundred persons were present.

Letters now came from Rev. Daniel Temple and Rev.
Eli Smith, then his associate at Malta, and also from Rev.
Josiah Brewer. Mr. Temple wrote, " I am sony to say
that Government refuses to give me permission to print
your valedictory letter, assigning as a reason that it is
' an overt attack upon the dominant religion of these pos-
sessions.' You will be gratified to hear that Asaad Shi-
diak, your teacher in Arabic, mentions your letter to his
friends as the means of his conversion to the truth as it
in Jesus."

Leaving Nismes, a visit was paid to Montauban,
Here Dr. King addressed the students on Missions, and
made note of their course of study.

Monday, April 2, Dr. King writes: "At 6 p. m. ar-
rived at the place which I left four years and seven
months before to go up to Jerusalem, not knowing the
things which might befall me there. I will not attempt
to describe the emotions which I felt when I first came
in sight of this city. In silence I praised the God of
heaven, all whose ways are mercy, sought of him forgive-
ness through Christ for all my unfaithfulness, and beg-
ged of him to order all my future ways in kindness, to
keep me from falling into sin, to enable me to walk in
humility, and as becomes a poor sinner who hopes for
pardon alone through the blood of Christ."

The following note shows into what a circle Dr. King
was at once received at Paris : " Dined at the Duke

HOMEWARD THROUGH EUROPE. 193

de Broglie's in company with the Countess de St. Au-
laire and Madame R., who was formerly much in com-
pany with Madame de Stael. After dinner General La-
fayette came in. Conversed with all on the subject of
religion. When speaking to the children of the Duke
de Broglie and of the Count de St. Aulaire (who is Ro-
man-catholic), all came round me to listen. I spoke of
regeneration, love to Christ, the sinfulness of man, etc.
General Lafayette himself seemed to listen with pleas-
ure, and invited me to come and spend a little time with
him and his family at La Grange. The Countess of St.
Aulaire invited me to call and see her the next day, say-
ing that she was a Roman-catholic, and that she had
something in particular to communicate to me.

"At I P.M. I called on the Countess de St. Aulaire,
who began immediately to open her mind to me with
regard to her religious views and feelings, the difficulties
she had to encounter, etc. She is one of the most inter-
esting women I have met with in France. Her New
Testament is marked from one end to the other, and I
think she is truly born of God. She introduced me to
all her daughters, and I spoke to them on the subject of
religion. I spent with her nearly two hours and a half.

"Dined with Mr. Porter and spent the evening at
General Lafayette's. He introduced me to all his fam-
ily. Madame Lafayette said she had desired much to
see me. The General again invited me into the country."

Dr. King also called on Count Verhuell, Baron de
Sacy, and by invitation on Madame Lasteyrie, the daugh-
ter of Gen. Lafayette. A proposal came from Dr. Thayer

Jon^K ns. 1 i

194 yONAS KING.

of Amherst that Dr. King should join him in charge of
an institution there, afterwards called Mount Pleasant.

A Greek princess was a refugee in Paris at this time
under circumstances of great trial. Her husband had
been killed by the Turks, and four of her children had
recently died. The Duchess de Broglie and the Countess
of St. Aulaire took Dr. King to see this lady ; and the
truths of the New Testament, a copy of which he left
with her after the visit, proved, as ever to those who re-
ceive them, of unspeakable comfort to her.

After giving an account of a missionary meeting, Dr.
King writes: "At six, dined with the Duchess de Brog-
lie, who had invited me the Thursday before, in order to
read the Scriptures and explain them to her family and
others that might be present. There were present, be-
sides the duke and his family, his sister IMadame Ran-
dall, Madame de St. Aulaire and all her children, the
brother of the Baron de Stael, and others. There were
perhaps ten of these Roman-catholics. After dinner I
conversed with the children on religion, and at 8 read
and explained the fifth chapter of second Corinthians,
and concluded with prayer. How interesting to have
such a meeting at the Duke de Broglie's ! Really it is
of the Lord, and all glory be to his name."

The next day appears the following entry: "At half
past two went to call on IMadame Scherer, Rue St. Ho-
nore, No. 362, w^ho received me in the most cordial man-
ner, though an entire stranger. Soon after I began to
converse she and all her family wept ; and here also I
proposed having prayer, in which we united. At quarter

HOMEWARD THROUGH EUROPE. 195

before six went to dine with his excellency, Mr. Brown,
the American ambassador. Spent the evening at his
house, where I met some persons of distinction.

" Tuesday, 24. At half past two went by invitation
to Madame Jules Mallet's, Rue Montblanc, No. 13, to
meet a number of ladies, for the purpose of reading to
them the Scriptures, with explanations and prayer.
Among those present was the daughter of Baron Cuvier.
There were twelve or fourteen present, and all ladies of
high rank. How interesting to be invited to hold reli-
gious meetings among this class of people — at Paris,
where a few years ago one was almost ashamed to own
that he believed in Christ."

Meetings were held also in the interests of the Tract
Cause and that of Christian morals. One day while con-
versing ivith the Countess St. Aulaire, "Mademoiselle
Randall came in, and in speaking of the dismission of
the National Guards, and of the Duke of Orleans (after-
wards Louis Philippe), 'Ah,' said the Countess of St. Au-
laire to me, 'you would be delighted to see the duke ;'
and I said, 'Yes, certainly, if I could be introduced to
him.' Upon this, Mademoiselle Randall, who is very in-
timate with him, at once offered to introduce me." This
promise was not forgotten. A note came, saying that
the duke would receive Dr. King at Neuilly, the next day
at 12:30. "He received me in his room alone, and we
spent about one hour in conversation with regard to
America, France, Greeks, Turks, and evangelical mis-
sions. He seems to be very liberal in his views, is a
warm friend of the Greeks, and wishes that the Euro-

196 yOiVAS KING.

pean powers would unite to put down the pride of the
Turks, and to give liberty to the Oriental Christians, who
should have a government of their own establishment in
Constantinople. He spoke against slavery, and seems
to be a friend of man. On his asking me whether it was
true that the Sandwich Islands and Otaheite had become
Christian, I gave an account of our mission to Hawaii ;
and on his asking what religion we introduced, I told
him the doctrines which we preach — man lost by nature,
Christ his only Saviour, regeneration by the Holy Spirit,
and the fruits of it the spirit and temper of Christ. I
told him that these were the doctrines God had blessed
to the conversion of Greece, Rome, and all pagan Eu-
rope, and that we believed these doctrines would be
blessed in these last days. I then related to him the
conversion of Jews at Constantinople by the preaching
of these doctrines. ' The end of the world is then ap-
proaching,' said the duke. I also spoke of some of my
labors among the Muss.ulmans. ' We have a number of
them here,' said he, 'and I do not see that anything is
done for them.' ' It is prohibited by the director of the
institution where they are,' said I. ' But,' said he, ' we
see no conversions among Mussulmans.' 'No,' said I,
' for nobody makes any effort to save them, and the Chris-
tians who are among them avoid speaking on religion ;
but when an apostolical spirit shall revive in the Eastern
churches, and men are willing to lay down their lives for
the name of the Lord Jesus, we may then expect to see
some conversions. It is nothing,' said I, ' but the grace
of God through Christ that can change our own hearts.

HOMEWARD THROUGH EUROPE. 197

and nothing else that can soften the heart of Jews and
Mussulmans and civilize pagans.'

"At length I told him that our missionaries endeav-
ored to preach as much as possible as St. Paul and St.
John and the early disciples of Christ preached — in a
word, to know nothing else but * Jesus Christ and him
crucified.' ' If they continue to limit themselves to this,'
said he, * they will do well.'

*' On my rising to leave, he followed me to the door
of his apartment, and stood conversing for ten or fifteen
minutes. I then begged pardon of him for taking so much
of his time. He said he was most happy to have formed
my acquaintance, and should be happy to see me again.

" Blessed be God that I have thus had opportunity to
speak a word to him for Christ and His holy gospel, and
in favor of evangelical missions. Much of the morning
before I went to call on him I spent in prayer to the
Prince of princes and the King of kings that He would
prepare our hearts and open the way for me to say some-
thing for Christ. Blessed be his name, he heard my poor
prayer offered in the name of Jesus Christ."

Dr. King's irrepressible work among the Catholic no-
bility excited fears lest his staying at the Mission House
might lead to difficulties with the government. May 5,
1827, it was thought expedient by his friends that he
should take lodgings elsewhere. "'Is it your design,'
inquired I, * that I should be silent, and not speak the
truths of the gospel as I may have opportunity at Paris
among Roman-catholics .■''

'■'■ ' Not in the least,' said Count Verhuell, with em-
1;*

1 93 yONAS KING.

phasis; 'who on earth can stop your mouth that you
should not be faithful and speak for Christ ? But as you
are drawing the attention of many towards you, it is bet-
ter that you should not remain in the Mission House. If
you stay six days more, take another lodging. If your
funds are short, I will pay for your lodging myself.' "

After visits paid elsewhere, everywhere preaching
Christ and him crucified, both in the diligence and in the
homes of luxury, where he was always welcome, Dr.
King accepted General Lafayette's invitation to visit him
at La Grange. " Soon after I entered the saloon the
general and all his family came in to welcome me to La
Grange. To the general, who took me by the hand with
both of his, I said, ' May the peace of our Lord Jesus
Christ ever be with this house, so dear to my dear coun-
try.' Soon after I entered the house the rain fell in tor-
rents, mingled with hail and attended by lightning and
peals of thunder. I thought of the storm that hung over
my country when Lafayette came to her assistance. I
thought of the liberty so dear, those privileges so precious,
which I had enjoyed, and of which the Old World knows
so little. I felt that I wished to reflect and not to con-
verse. I retired to my chamber, and there I spent some
time in prayer. At a little past six we sat down to din-
ner. The general placed me between him and his daugh-
ter Madame Lasteyrie.

"The evening was spent in conversing about the
American war, Major Andre, Major Ales, Arnold the
traitor, the system of slavery, the best way to eradicate
it, the Colonization Society, etc."

HOMEWARD THROUGH EUROPE. 199

In Dr. King's Journal are found autographs of La-
fayette and his family ; of " Charles Carroll of Carroll-
ton, far advanced in the ninety-first year of his age ;"
also those of the Duke de Broglie and his family. The
duchess, upon giving these names, said, " I trust that not
one of these will be forgotten in your prayers." With her
name as one of the " transplanted flowers," whose record
was preserved by Rev. Dr. Robert Baird, is connected
that of Mademoiselle Clementine Cuvier, daughter of
Baron Cuvier. Dr. King writes of her as "very seri-
ous," and " a person of great distinction in Paris, with a
mind highly cultivated." Of the Countess of St. Aulaire
he says, " She is a person of great attainments in learn-
ing, of exquisite taste, and has left all the principal errors
of the Roman-catholic church. The Bible is now her
study and her delight. She is of a distinguished family,
from which three popes have been chosen. She corre-
sponds with the king of Prussia, and has a numerous lit-
erary acquaintance."

A plan now appears for an institution foreshadowing
Lincoln University, which Dr. King suggested should
bear the conjoint names of Washington and Lafayette.

Dr. King's time, during his stay in Paris, was much
taken up in translating into French some of his manu-
scripts, a work which the friends of missions had asked
him to do. The East was then almost a terra incognita.
Information as to every point was called for. Again,
Armenian type was needed at Malta, and books of refer-
ence for the missionaries there, all of which he was able
to secure. But through it all we learn, by frequent ref-

2 00 yONAS KING.

erence to hours of prayer, whence came the power that
made this plain, earnest American missionary so accept-
able a guest in the first society of Paris. As he left
some of these homes, all, even the servants, were in
tears.

Passing over the Channel, the same warm welcome
was accorded to our missionary in many of " the stately
homes of England," where further contributions were
made to the font of Arabic type. After a meeting at
Miss Farrar's, conducted by Miss Stevens, a lady of the
Church of England, of eminent piety, who in her reading
and explaining of the Scriptures to large circles antici-
pated the work done by many Christian women at the
present day. Dr. King was asked to speak of the work
in Palestine. When through with his remarks, "a little
boy of eight years. Master T. H. Farrar, stepped up to
me, and said, ' Here is one pound towards the types.'
This seemed to give an impulse to others, who came also
and contributed, and I got more than six pounds. This
I considered a large sum."

The pages of the Journal are brilliant just now with
the names of persons well known beyond their own coun-
try for their interest in the cause of Christ's kingdom :
Drummond, Lord Calthorpe, Mr. Pratt, the biographer
of Richard Cecil, Rev. Mr. Saunders, Mr. Symes — who
showed Dr. King no little kindness, Rev. Baptist Noel,
Lord and Lady Teignmouth, Marquis of Cholmondely,
Mr. and Mrs. Hawley, Mr. Harford of Blaise Castle, and
others. Rev. Robert Hall asked Dr. King to preach for
him, and after this service introduced a captain from

HOMEWARD THROUGH EUROPE. 201

Beyrout, who confirmed from his own observation every
word that had been said in regard to certain matters in
Syria. The coming in of this captain just then, Dr. Hall
said, was one of the most remarkable events he had ever
known.

July 19, 1827, Dr. King writes: "Went to Barley
Wood, the residence of the celebrated Mrs. Hannah More,
about twelve miles from Bristol. I arrived about 10
A. M., and met with a most cordial reception. Mrs. More
is now in her eighty-third year, and converses with I
might almost say the vivacity of youth. Her eye, though
a little dimmed with age, still speaks in conversation, and
animates what her tongue eloquently utters.

" I remained with her till about 5 p. m., and it was then
with much difBculty that I could get away, she was so
urgent, and so often repeated her solicitations to have
me stay another day at her house. She took great inter-
est in the accounts I gave her of Palestine ; said, 'I want
no more of Italy and France, nothing but Palestine.' She
gave me one of her books, the Life of St. Paul, and some
little pamphlets, and also £^ for the Arabic type. I
afterwards sent to her from Bristol an olive-branch from
Bethany. I would gladly have remained a few days at
Barley Wood, and also at Bristol with Rev. Robert Hall,
and a little longer at Blaise Castle, but I have for a long
time past made it a rule not to go to any place, nor to
remain there, unless there is hope of doing some good,
or unless circumstances evidently point it out as a duty
either to go or stay."

yONAS KING.

CHAPTER XIII.

MISSIONARY AGENCY IN AMERICA.

Arrival in New York — Visits to Friends — Agency with A. B. C. F.
M. in New York and the South — Dr. Kirk — Washington —
Letter from Ladies' Greek Committee of New York — Becomes
their Missionary — Sails from New York — Kind Reception at
Paris.

August 2, 1827, Dr. King took leave of England,
sailing by packet Pacific for New York, and September
4 he was able to write: "At thirty-eight minutes past
ten my feet pressed the soil to which they have so long
been a stranger." Here, upon landing, he was immedi-
ately greeted and made welcome by S. F. B. Morse, Rev.
W. A. Hallock, W. W. Chester, Pelatiah Perit, Mr. Will-
iam Williams of Norwich, Dr. Rice, Rev. Matthias
Bruen, and others, while a letter awaited him from Mr.
Wilder ; a constellation of names, all but one now passed
onward into the heavens.

Parents and friends in New England were first to be
visited. At Ware village he soon found Mr. and Mrs.
Wilder, then went on to meet an appointment made by
Colonel Trask at Springfield; then reporting himself to
Dr. Humphrey at Amherst, where he preached on Sun-
day, he passed on to Northampton and Hawley. Here
were his now aged parents, feeble in health, yet truly re-
signed in regard to his long absence. After a few days'

MISSWiVAR y A GENC V IN AMERICA. 2 03

visit, when another parting seemed doubly hard to bear,
while yet Dr. King was both affected and strengthened
by his father's fervent prayers, he went with Col. Long-
ley to Shelburne, to visit the father of PHny Fisk. " As
I entered the house," he says, " my heart was full. All
the scenes of the East came fresh to my mind. And
the wounds that had been made by the death of Mr. Fisk
seemed to be opened afresh. His father had gone out,
so I sat down and wept in silence. He soon came in,
and with weeping took my hand and exclaimed, ' Oh,
that I have lived to see any one who has seen my son !'
All the afternoon he sat close by me, and seemed to feel
as if I were all that was left him of his deceased Pliny.
He is now seventy-nine years old, and expects soon to
go home to his rest. At half-past six in the evening
went with him and his son about two miles to the meet-
inghouse, to attend the monthly prayer-meeting."

Passing on again towards New York, where the
American Board was to meet, an offer was made Dr.
King of a professorship in Yale College, $15,000 being
already raised for an endowment.

At the first meeting of the American Board Dr.
King was called to speak, and special interest was felt
in his report as to Asaad el Shidiak. The Board still
wished him to undertake an agency, and though the
compensation was of necessity small, he said there was a
call to it in his own bosom louder than the Board could
give, and more tempting than to settle down as professor
on an assured salary. He felt impelled to urge upon the
Board itself more earnest, onward movement, so many

204 ^O.VAS KIiXG.

places in the East were opening to the gospel. Dr.
Eeecher, Dr. Porter, and Dr. Proudfit, also spoke on the
subject, and then followed one of those supreme seasons,
when God was indeed shedding down upon every heart
the blessing of the Holy Spirit. A subscription of
$25,000 was made on the spot, $20,000 of which was an-
nual for five years ; a large sum at that time.

Dr. King also addressed a meeting of 250 ladies in
Dr. Mathew's vestryroom, besides one or two others of
the same kind in other churches. Mr. Abeel, afterwards
so useful in China, was in New York just now, and con-
ferred with Dr. King as to his going on a foreign mis-
sion, praying together in reference to this. Rev. Suther-
land Douglas invited Dr. King to speak on missions to a
convention of Episcopal clergy at Washington.

Other names now appear in New York as friends of
the same great cause. Col. Rutgers, Col. Crosby, Mr.
Oilman of Norwich, Rev. Dr. Ferris, Rev. Edward N.
Kirk, Dr. Henry G. Ludlow, Mr. Joseph S. James, Moses
Allen, and Mrs. Bethune, in whose infant-school he told
of Bethlehem ; visiting also Mr. Seaton's Sunday-school
of three hundred and fifty scholars.

News now came of the death of Dr. Payson at Port-
land, and Dr. King copied in full the letter, now so cele-
brated, dictated to his sister just before he entered the
gates of heaven.

Arrangements being completed with a Committee on
Extra Efforts, now appointed by the American Board, it
was thought best to attempt securing $500,000, payable
within five years, and a meeting was called in order to

MISSIOiVAR y A GENC Y IN AiMERICA. 2 05

begin this effort. Gen. Van Rensselaer presided, Dr.
Chester, Mr. Ludlow, and Mr. Bissell, urged the object,
and $14,000 were obtained. Special subscriptions were
also gained towards the education of Greek youth then
in this country. The new missionary agent was du'ect-
ed first to go up the Hudson river, which he did, preach-
ing at Troy, Albany, and Schenectady, as the way open-
ed ; and the tour proved quite a successful one. On his
returning to New York, we find in one case the same ob-
jections were made at that time as in this, to the work of
missions abroad. "Nov. 23, 1827. Called on Col. V.
and presented my subscription paper. On looking at it
he began to say that he should not subscribe anything ;
that Col. R. and Gen. V. R., who had subscribed so
largely, received large estates from their fathers, but
that he had received nothing, began the world poor, had
many nephews, etc., to provide for, had been building a
house and could hardly get funds to meet the demands
of carpenters, etc. On hearing this my heart was moved
within me with pity for the man, and real sorrow to hear
one so rich (without a child on earth to provide for, one
who professed to love the Saviour who became poor for
our sakes) pleading his poverty. Besides, he said, he
thought we had enough to do at home in the cause of
missions. I replied, 'This is in part to establish mis-
sions among our Indians.' ' We ought to take care,'
said he, 'of the white Indians before the yellow ones.'

" I replied, * This is a thing that I do not wish to urge
at all. As I had the names of two of your friends, I
thought I would present the paper to you. But I do not

2o6 yONAS KING.

wish any one to subscribe, unless he thinks the object a
good one, and I hope you will excuse me for calling. I
would never have called were it not in the cause of Jesus
Christ, who came down from heaven and died for our
ruined world ; and I have been much struck with the
fact that there is wealth enough in this city to send the
gospel to the world without making any man a beggar,
or depriving a single individual of a single comfort of
life ; that one theatre here, as I am told, receives three
hundred thousand dollars in one year and no one thinks
anything of it; but when one thousand a year is needed
in the cause of Christ, it is thought a great thing! Is
this a Christian city? Do men believe the gospel ? Are
the souls of men of any consequence ? Was the cause
of missions worthy the sacrifice made by the Son of God
in coming from heaven to earth ? Was it worthy the
sacrifices which the apostles made in laboring and laying
down their lives ? or that missionaries should have come
to proclaim the gospel to our forefathers, without which
we might have been sacrificed to idols, instead of enjoy-
ing civilization and all the comforts we now possess ?'
In this manner I addressed him a few minutes, and again
with tears in my eyes begged him to excuse me for hav-
ing called. He seemed moved, and said, ' I do not say
that I will give nothing. I will think of it.' ' Then I
will report to the committee that it is not a refusal, and
if they choose to call on you they can.' 'Yes,' replied
he, and I went away with a sorrowful heart." Better
success attended a series of parlor-meetings, of which
Dr. King says : " A much greater effect can usually be

MISSIONAR J ' A GENC Y IN AMERICA. 2 07

produced on a small number assembled in a private
hoiise, than on a large assembly in a church. Each man
of a small party feels as if he had a part in all that is
said,"

It was now proposed- by Mr. Evarts, Secretary of the
American Board, that Dr. King should make the tour of
South Carolina and Georgia, meeting the Synod there,
then visit the Choctaw and Cherokee Missions, also
Natchez and New Orleans. This would take six months ;
afterwards the northern cities were to be visited, and
then perhaps in two years, Europe was again to be the
scene of his labors. The matter of compensation he
was willing to leave to the Board, but he did not see the
way clear to make an engagement for so long a time as
proposed, nor was he sure that to go to the Indian sta-
tions was the best way to use his time. The committee
in New York were divided on the subject, and special
conference was held with Mr. A. G. Phelps, Mr. Arthur
Tappan, and some members of Dr. Spring's church,
when 1 1,600 were added to the funds. Another letter
came from Mr. Evarts, expressing great satisfaction at
the report Dr. Kirk had made of the meetings in Albany,
and taking this as a proof that Dr. King ought to con-
tinue very closely connected with missionary, rather than
collegiate life, for the engagement with Amherst was not
yet cancelled, to say nothing of the offers made by Yale.
In case Dr. King consented to spend a few weeks among
the Indians, Mr. Evarts urged the importance of his try-
ing, by such suggestions as his own reflections, aided by
the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit, might enable him to

2o8 yONAS KING.

do, to increase the piety, zeal, and self-denial of the mis-
sionaries. Time given to the Indians, Mr. Evarts thought,
would not be lost, for the facts gained respecting them
would be exceedingly interesting to the religious literati
of France and Germany.

Everything now pointed to Dr. King's return after a
while to Europe : his parents were willing, friends were
in favor of it, and he felt that all had come about in an-
swer to prayer. Dr. Cox said, at a dinner at Mr. Guy
Richards', that Dr. King could not consistently sit down
as professor in a college, when the whole world was be-
fore him as his diocese. Mr. Evarts consented to let Dr.
King work yet for a time under the New York Commit-
tee, and Rev. Edward N. Kirk was appointed to labor
with him.

Names, still familiar, occur in Dr. King's Journal
from day to day. Col. Crosby, Shepherd Knapp, Mr.
Hedges, Moses Allen, Rev. Mr. Nettleton, Mr. Woolsey,
Rev. Mr. Mortimer of the Moravian church, Rev. Mr.
Eastburn of the Episcopal church. Dr. Milnor, Zechariah
Lewis, Prof. Halsey of Princeton, Rev. Absalom Peters,
Rev. Henry G. Ludlow, Mr. Thomas Chester, Mrs. Cod-
wise, Joseph Brewster, Rev. Mr. Schroider, Rev. Wm. B.
Sprague, Theodore Frelinghuysen, and others, with all of
whom Dr. King was variously brought in contact, and
whose interest in missions seemed in consequence to be
greatly increased. Mr. Wilder came from his country-
home in Massachusetts, and the two friends, meeting at
the Tract House, prayed together in reference to the
buildinsf of the Hillside church at Bolton. Mr. Wilder

MISSIOXAR y A GENC Y IN AMERICA. 2 09

favored decidedly Dr. King's going back to Europe be-
fore very long. He had seen there for himself openings
at points usually almost inaccessible to the pure gospel.

A short visit was made to Princeton, and a warm wel-
come given by Drs. Alexander, Miller, Carnahan, and
Halsey. Soon after which, Jan. 4, 1828, arrangements
for the southern trip being complete, Drs. King and Kirk
took passage for Charleston, South Carolina, where, on
his arrival, he was soon welcomed by his old friends, Mr.
O'Neill and Dr. Palmer, and his brother Rev. Edward
Palmer.

The Journal teems with memories of eight or nine
years before ; the people crowded to hear what their own
city missionary had seen in the Orient, and were attract-
ed also by the eloquence of Mr. Kirk. Miss Angelina
Grimke made a special contribution of $60 for four years,
to establish a school on some Eastern mission ground.

Beaufort, Augusta, Savannah, Columbia, and other
southern points were successively visited, and meetings
held in each. At Fayetteville, Dr. King became much
interested in Moreau, a slave belonging to Gen. Owen.
This man was able to write and speak Arabic, and was
indeed a monument to that grace, which out of bondage
had brought a soul into the full liberty of the gospel of
Christ. At Washington, D. C, Gen. Van Rensselaer of
Albany introduced Dr. King to .the White House, where
the simplicity of the republican court made a marked
impression on one who had witnessed the elaborate cere-
monial connected with those of Europe. At a reception
here Dr. King met Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, South-

2IO yONAS KING.

ard, Rives, Varnum, Wirt, and others. He writes : " I
had opportunity to speak most fully on the worth of re-
deeming love. Returned to my lodgings, feeling almost
as if I had been on missionary ground, and prayed for
those with whom I had been conversing. I could not
but feel that the Saviour had in some degree been with
me, and given me strength to speak in his cause." On
Sunday, April 6, 1828, by invitation Dr. King preached
on Missions, in the hall of the House of Representatives.
In Baltimore, also, the same great cause was presented
in Dr. Nevins' church, and Dr. King called on Charles
Carroll of CarroUton, then in his ninety-first year. Here,
too. Dr. King met Rev. Mr. Robertson, an Episcopal
minister, then in feeble health, yet thinking of going on
a mission. He afterwards did go to Africa and Greece.
While in Washington a letter of importance was re-
ceived, proposing Dr. King's almost immediate return to
Europe as missionary to Greece. This letter was signed
by Frances Tappan, Mary Murray, Hannah L. Murray,
Anne Innis, Sarah P. Doremus, Catherine M. Hurd, A.
M. Boyd, M. Perit, and H. M. Chester, who at this time
constituted the Ladies' Greek Committee of New York.
The hearts and hands of these ladies had become stirred
up to relieve in some measure the poor Greeks, now suf-
fering terribly from Turkish despotism. A ship was to
be despatched without delay, to carry the food and cloth-
ing collected in New York, Baltimore, and other places.
But these Christian ladies thought of the soul as well as
of the body, and determined to raise funds among them-
selves to support a missionary in Greece, at least for a

MISSIONAR V A GENC Y IN AMERICA. 2 1 1

year or two. They wrote to Dr. King that his own reci-
tals as to the state of that country had been the principal
means of leading them into this effort, and urgently invi-
ted him to become their missionary, believing that the
very fact of his arrival in this vessel bearing much need-
ed supplies, would at once disarm prejudice, and be most
favorable to his success.

To this letter Dr. King answered he should be will-
ing to go to Greece, after present engagements with the
Committee on Special Efforts were fulfilled, and after he
had again seen his father and mother. Secretary Evarts
approved of this course, and soon after in New York
Dr. King met the Ladies' Committee at Mr. A. Tappan's,
and the arrangement was concluded.

In view of this work for Greece, Dr. King sent to
Amherst College a letter of resignation of his office as
professor there, and also definitely declined Rev. Mr.
Thayer's proposals as to the Mount Pleasant Academy,
and those made to him from New Haven.

In Philadelphia, Drs. King and Kirk spoke in five
churches. Great sympathy for Greece was felt here as
elsewhere, and Dr. King was encouraged by his friends
in his plans to go there.

New. York was reached by easy stages: steamboat
at noon for Trenton, then stagecoach to Princeton, where
the night was passed ; coach the next day at noon for
New York, and arrival there the same evening. Such
arrangements would have been very inconvenient for
day-visitors to the Centennial in 1876.

A parting visit was again paid to his parents, to whom

2 12 JONAS KING.

he did not go empty-handed. Friends in Northampton
and Hartford also claimed attention ; among others, Dr.
King mentions Dr. Coggswell and his daughter, who
was deaf and dumb, and through this very disability was
used of God to the blessing of hundreds thus afflicted.

Rev. Mr. Gallaudet, her teacher, well-known as the
father in this country of efforts for the deaf and dumb,
sent Dr. King the following lines :

"FAREWELL.
" Stranger and pilgrim here below,
Again attend thy Master's call;
Yet unsolicitous to know

What trials may thy steps befall.

" Go, in His strength who conquering rose
Over the power of death and hell,
And let new captives of his foes
The splendors of his triumph swell.

"Go, in His strength who reigns on high
Joint partner of the Eternal's throne,
Whom all the armies of the sky

Their sovereign Lord with reverence own,

" Go, in His strength, who strength can yield
Constant and equal to thy day,
Securely sheltered by His shield
From all that can thy soul dismay.

" Go, and leave all to thee most dear,

Thy country, kindred, friends, and home ;
O'er stormy seas and deserts drear,
In foreign climes again to roam.

" Go, for thy Maker bids thee go

And preach His gospel to the poor;
Enough for thee His will to know.
And that his promises are sure.

MISSIONAR Y A GENC V IN AMERICA. 2 1 3

" Go to the battle-field once more,
And put thy heavenly armor on ;
The light of faith will soon be o'er,
And soon thy crown of glory won."

Some difficulty arose as to the best way to go to
Greece. Mr. John Tappan offered to bear all the ex-
pense, should the route be through England, Holland,
France, and Switzerland ; but the ladies and Greek Com-
mittee decided upon a Greek vessel going direct. Dr.
King's own judgment was for this. He says : " It is al-
ways better to pursue an original plan, if there be no very
obvious reasons for changing." By mutual understand-
ing with the Greek Committee and the ladies. Dr. King
was not to superintend the distribution of stores alone,
but was also to establish schools among the Greeks,
preach as he might be able, and distribute Bibles and
Tracts. The Bible Society immediately voted $500
towards this object, and the American Tract Society
^300, for Greek tracts already printed at Malta, and for
new translations.

A final meeting for farewell was held May 25, at Mr.
W. W. Chester's — about eighty present — which served to
strengthen the bands uniting these New York Christian
philanthropists and the messenger who was to bear for
them to Greece food for both body and soul.

Parting letters too were written and received. His
father wrote : " In order to determine our willingness to
have you go to France and Greece, we need only to
know whether it is God's will. If it is God's will we say
Amen to it ; for we would rather have you die in the way

214 yONAS KING.

of your duty, than live in the neglect of it." All the
colleges seemed ready to receive Greek youth, if sent
to this country for education. Rev. Mr. Cornelius offer-
ed to be responsible for twelve of these. All this made
the last days just before sailing, very busy ones. Many
friends accompanied him to the ship.

A short stop was made at Malta, where Messrs. Tem-
ple, Goodell, and Bird, were just then together. Monday,
July 28, 1828, Dr. King landed at Poros, a good point
for his work, being the residence of the President of
Greece. He was away from home, but his brother,
Count A. Capodistria, received the American Christian
envoy with great politeness ; as did also other persons
connected with the government. A public magazine or
storehouse was at once offered, wherein to bestow -his
goods, which were to be free from all government super-
vision in regard to the distribution of them.

Volume VI. of his Journal closes with the copy of a
hymn then new, " From Greenland's Icy Mountains."
Its true ring as a missionary battle-cry was at once
recognized by this soldier of the cross, now again on
foreign soil, ready for what the great Leader had for him
to do there,

FOROS— GREECE. 215

CHAPTER XIV.

POROS— GREECE.

Poros — Count Capodistria — Greece open to the Gospel — Sufferings
of the People — Egina — Smyrna — Syra Marriage — Tenos.

Difficulties attend every enterprise. There was
much sickness at this time at Poros. Objections were
made by some of the foreigners there, that the Greeks
deserved no help from America. But Dr. King went
on quietly with his work. The first application made to
him was for books. A visit was paid, on his return, by
appointment, to Count Capodistria, the President, who
received the letters of introduction from Mr. Gallatin and
the Duchesse de Broglie and Madame St, Aulaire with
brightened interest, A long conversation followed, on
the state of Greece and the best methods for her relief
aad elevation. The President showed great common
sense, not wishing to have the stores of food and clo-
thing distributed in a way to foster the idleness into
which the Greeks, through the effect of a serene climate,
an oppressive government, war, and Oriental habits, had
more than ever subsided. He told Dr. King to go first
to see the destitution, and he himself would furnish
guards; advised him not to let it be known he had
brought supplies. After personal information was thus
obtained, the President said, "Do not give away your

2i6 JONAS KING.

stores, but sell them, even on bonds due in three years.
In that time, if the money is collected, expend it in es-
tablishing schools, or building schoolhouses." The Pres-
ident himself was about to found a school for about five
hundred children, and would buy and pay for clothing for
them immediately. Thus did God answer the prayers of
his children in America, opening the way for a proper use
of their gifts. By means of this President, the whole of
the Morea was at once open to receive, not temporal
relief alone, but the gospel itself. Every day persons,
sometimes a hundred and fifty or more, came begging
for the New Testament. Before breakfast sometimes, a
school of boys, with their teacher, would come for this
purpose. One of these teachers made a most touching
little address, thanking American Christians for their
great benevolence. Everywhere the same gratitude was
expressed. The President told Dr. King if he, Dr.
King, had ^50,000 to expend in the establishment of
schools, it could be used without difficulty. It was a
time of high tide now in Greece for evangelic and edu-
cational effort. Who is to answer for the neglect of it .-'
for the church did not take advantage of it to any great
extent.

Dr, King did not content himself with merely visit-
ing the schools and distributing books, but took every
opportunity to give the gospel viva voce in the public
streets, or " under a fig-tree," or in almost any place.
The poor, sick, and suffering would soon collect to the
number of over fifty or sixty, and eagerly drink in the
glad tidings of One "mighty to save." Even the priests

PGR OS— GREECE. 2 1 7

would listen and give attention and approval to the
preaching. A bishop asked for New Testaments for the
priests under his care, that they might be able properly
to instruct the people.

Egina was the first point visited after Poros. The
general suffering there was distressing. In a population
of not over one thousand, in a place opposite Poros, three
or four hundred were ill with fever. The tattered gar-
ments of many seemed but a collection of shreds. Pages
of the Journal are filled with descriptions of cases of
special destitution. A blind woman of one hundred and
ten years, emaciated, withered, was still the sole depend-
ence of three or four little ragged great-grandchildren.
Many of the poor were living in caves. About two-
thirds were widows and orphans, " made so by the sword
of the Moslem." At Egina young girls were employed
by the government to transport stones, found in the rub-
bish of an ancient temple of Venus, to put into an orphan
asylum. Tickets for food and clothing were given out
with as much discrimination as possible ; but as thou-
sands crowded to receive the flour and clothing, and Dr.
King could not fully control the arrangements, more ar
less friction attended the distribution.

The letter sent by the women of America to the
women of Greece was published in the local papers, and
received with tearful interest, and a response was written
by one of the women of Ipsara. Another was sent from
Athens, and signed by 2,047 widows and orphans, im-
ploring a portion of the American stores for their relief.
Beyond even this demand came that for books and

Jonas King. l9

2i3 . yONAS KING.

education, so that Dr. King wrote to Miss Angelina
Grimk^, and other friends at home, urging further help,
in order that forty or fifty schools might be established
at once.

Napoli and other places were visited also, and the
same welcome to the American envoy everywhere ten-
dered. It was striking to see the energy which a pros-
pect of political freedom had infused into the schools,
and into the printing of new books for them. Properly
speaking, there were but three Greek presses in Greece
at this time. Mr. Skoufas, a lawyer, said that " the first
National Assembly of the Greeks adopted as the Civil
code the Justinian code ; for their Marine (and, as Col.
Pisa said afterwards, their Military code), the Code Na-
poleon ; and for the Criminal code, a few articles were
drawn up and printed by the Greeks themselves ; that at
present it may be said that they have no fixed code of
laws."

Near Argos, at Mycenae, the tomb of Agamemnon, a
large structure on the apex of a hill, and lighted by a tri-
angular window at the top, claimed his attention for a few
hours even from the pressing wants of the present.

At Argos, Dr. King had opportunity to witness the
varied and singular ceremonies connected with a Greek
wedding of that time, his minute description of which
occupies several pages of the Journal, bringing the whole
scene to view — the motionless bride, decorated fancifully
with gold-leaf, the patient bridegroom submitting to all
arrangements thought necessary by his noisy attendants,
the cry, " The bridegroom cometh," and the final throw-

FOROS— GREECE. 219

ing of a silken band about the necks of bride and groom
as they enter their new home.

At Tripolitza Dr. King felt that he was indeed in a
land desolated by a barbarous enemy. The ruins were
new, complete, and prosaic. It had been destroyed by
Ibrahim Pasha just after the battle of Navarino, in Feb-
ruary, 1828. From here the way to Demitzana was but
a series of steep ascents and descents, stones, rocks, and
precipices, which, passed by night, seemed doubly dan-
gerous and appalling. The village itself was perched on
the top of a mountain, built out as wide as it could be
made, and around it were craggy ravines and jutting
rocks, from which even daylight could not dispel the ter-
ror. On Sunday, Dr. King, after the usual church ser-
vices, was able to address a number of persons who
came to his room, giving them the messages sent from
America, all of which moved many here as elsewhere to
tears.

An excellent school was in existence here, having
been established seventy years, and which was now under
the care of Niketopoulos, a liberal-minded, intelligent
man. It had had a library of over two thousand volumes,
but most of these had been used for cartridges the first
year of the revolution. Dr. King was here also invited
to a wedding supper, and when the health of the Ameri-
can ladies was proposed, for eight or ten minutes nothing
was heard but prolonged cheers, " Long live the Ameri-
can ladies ! Long live the American ladies !" It was
strange to hear this cry in Arcadia, in the heart of the
Peloponnesus.

2 20 yONAS KING.

Amid many small hardships, for want of suitable clo-
thing and lodging, things which affect one's comfort more
than we are wont to allow, the tour was continued into
Sparta, where the words once uttered by a mother of an-
cient time in giving her son his shield, " Either this, or
upon it," came to mind with full force, in relation to the
commission given to the Christian missionary. The
shield of faith — or rather the Lord God himself, a sun
and shield — is indeed invincible ; therefore in life or
death the soldier of the cross will be upborne in safety
unto victory.

Associations less suggestive of good were also called
to mind. A very ancient stone platform was shown by
the guide, on which those used to sit who gave instruc-
tion to the Spartan children in various arts and sports ;
among others, that of stealing without being discovered.
In some of the villages not a single modern Greek Tes-
tament was found, and copies of it, and also of tracts,
were most gladly received.

At Marathonis^, the soldiers, who were called by
order of the governor to pay respect to one whose name
and whose mission they had read about in the public
prints, quite came up to one's ideal of the Spartans of
old. " Their countenances were those of men bold and
daring, and their eyes bespoke souls ready to kindle at
the slightest offence, and to pounce upon their adversary
with all the swiftness of the eagle. In short, they looked
like men who had lived in freedom, and who would soon-
er die than wear the yoke of oppression. And such
indeed is their character."

FOR OS— GREECE. 2 2 1

There is ever danger that new-born liberty may run
into license. The captain of these Spartan soldiers told
Dr. King of a "delegation assembled at Marathonise
from all parts of Mani, to decide upon the question
whether they should submit to pay tithes to the govern-
ment, and that they had decided in the negative ; that
they had not retired to the mountains, and lived in hun-
ger, and submitted to every hardship, for the sake of free-
dom, now to be brought into bondage to a Greek govern-
ment." Dr. King replied, " In America, where we are
free, we do not consider it bondage to pay taxes for the
support of a government which we choose, and which
cannot be administered without expense." These men
really prided themselves upon their readiness to take
offence "for a word only;" but when told of the spirit
of meekness the Prince of Peace had come to establish,
one man said, " You turn my head. What you say is
true. This is what we need to hear, and what we never
heard before."

The priests at Marathonis6 were obtaining money
from the people on a strange pretence. The bodies of
the dead were examined a year after death, in order to
judge of the present state of the soul, and the bones
finally were left unburied, if friends did not secure a
favorable verdict.

The patriotism, expecially of some of the mountain
districts that had never been subdued by the Turks,
seemed identical with that of ancient Greece. Among
many distinguished families, whom Dr. King compared
to broken columns of the Doric order, that of the Mav-

19*

222 yONAS KING.

romichaelis was recognized as leader. All the Morea
looked to them for guidance during the late revolution.
" The time to raise the standard being arrived, the head
of this family pronounced these words, which the Greeks
will never forget : ' When the liberty of a whole nation
is concerned, every feeling of family must be extinguish-
ed.' On leaving Tchimova, an old lady, who had shown
great heroism in the recent war, brought me a loaf of
bread, and presenting it to me, asked me for some books
for two or three little girls who wished to learn to read,
and begged me, if possible, to establish there a school for
the instruction of females. ' We will all go to it,' said
she, 'young and old, married and unmarried.' I told her
that I would write to America, and, if possible, the school
should be established. There is now scarcely a female
in the whole country that knows Alpha from Omega."

Descending now towards Coran, amid continual dis-
comfort through wretched roads and want of accustomed
food. Dr. King found the spiritual and educational desti-
tution greater even than that which was merely tempo-
ral. The governor of Upper Missinia seemed quite sen-
sible of this. He said that among ten thousand souls,
not a single school existed. In one district, Ibrahim
destroyed two hundred and ninety thousand olive-trees,
and only ten thousand now remained. "The governor
took truly correct views of the needs of his countrymen.
'The Americans have done much for us,' said he, 'and
we owe them everlasting gratitude ; but if they could
establish schools for us, the benefit conferred would be
far greater than that of food and clothing, which are soon

FOR OS— GREECE. 2 23

gone, and we are left in the same situation in which we
were before ; but the effect of these schools would be
without end.' "

At Navarino, fifty or sixty ships lay at anchor, and as
the fire of a salute roared among the hills, it was easy to
imagine the scene of Oct., 20, 1827, the day of deliver-
ance for Greece.

Corinth reminded Dr. King of the nobler conflict car-
ried on there long ago by the apostle Paul, the echo of
which is still sounding round the world. The politarch
and his secretary here received the gospel and tracts with
much feeling. Everywhere in fact, the way seemed open
for the truth.

At the end of fifty-two days, Dr King came again to
Egina, finding there Dr. Howe, since so well known as
a Philhellenist. Lengthened reports of his journey Dr.
King now sent to the Ladies' Committee, whose almon-
er he was, and his advice as to the best mode of sending
and distributing such charities is most valuable.

From Egina where Dr. King now again took up his
abode for a season, he wrote to the Greek Committee in
New York, giving his impressions as to what could be
done for a people who seemed to have " nothing left but
rocks and liberty." One of the priests, speaking of the
thieves, said, "They are holy men. Go and see how they
live, and you will pardon them." Dr. King was anxious
that men and means should at once be employed to se-
cure the " House thus swept and garnished." He urged
Mr. Chauncey Colton to come to Mani or Sparta, and es-
tablish a school similar to the one at Amherst. Four

224 JONAS KING.

such, he thought greatly needed. But the church then,
as now, was slow to take advantage of such calls for help.

Wednesday, Jan. 28, 1829, appears the following en-
try : " At 2 p. M., went to the house of Madame Maori,
where I joined in holy wedlock Mr. William Black of
Yarmouth, county of Norfolk, England, and Miss Teresa
Maori, youngest daughter of Madame Maori, and the one
addressed by Lord Byron in his poem, 'Maid of Athens,
ere we part. Give, oh give me back my heart.' etc. Ap-
plication having been made a few days since by her
mother and Mr. B. to the Bishop of Talanti to marry
them, he refused even to give them permission to be
married ; and the especial Ecclesiastical Commission, ap-
pointed by the President, also refused this permission, on
account of Mr. Black's being an Englishman and not of
the Greek Church. So Mr. Black applied to me, and
having no such scruples as the Greek bishop, I very
cheerfully consented to perform th-e ceremony."

About the middle of February, Dr. King sailed in an
Austrian Brig, " Onion," for Smyrna, where he met a
welcome reception in the family of Mr. Mengous, and the
question long pending between him and Miss Annetta
Aspasia Mengous was definitely settled. The journal
records his gratitude, in view of these new prospects
which he believed were ordained to promote the useful-
ness of both himself and the beautiful Greek lady, a prize
which it may be said, as of Maguori's Indian bride, " He
bore from a hundred lovers." Dr. King's next move was
to Syra, where an American school had been established
by Mr. Brewer, and thence to Tenos with Dr. Korck of

FOROS— GREECE. 225

Syra. It was difficult to decide upon plans. No letters
had been received from America for six or seven months ;
yet the promises that God would direct as to duty were
felt to be sure, and our missionary stayed himself upon
them. Tenos contained about sixty villages and 25,000
inhabitants. It was a stronghold of Roman-catholicism.
A church, called Evangelistica, had been built here on
account of directions which an old nun said she had re-
ceived in a dream. Other islands of the Cyclades were
also visited, the schools examined, and addresses made to
the scholars, where the same current of religious conver-
sation went on as ever, "in season and out of season."
Eternity alone will reveal the fruit of such continual seed-
dropping.

At Egina, which seemed headquarters for the time
being, Dr. King found his friends, Dr. Anderson, secre-
tary of the American Board, and Rev. Eli Smith, long
known as a most useful missionary at Beyrout.

May 20, came the news of the fall of Missolonghi
into the hands of the Greeks and public rejoicing fol-
lowed. The President made proclamation that the peo-
ple should render public thanks to God for this favor.
He also treated the offer of help in establishing schools,
made by Dr. Anderson of A. B. C. F. M., very respect-
fully, sanctioning the reading in such schools of the New
Testament and the Psalms; but he wished "to establish
no precedent which should hamper him in case persons
in whom he had less confidence should desire to do the
same work. He disliked gifts, and had already refused
them from the King of France, and the Emperor of Rus-

226 JONAS KING.

sia ; but if Dr. King and his friends cliose to establisli
scliools, no obstacle from tlie government should be
placed in their way. He wished, however, that the aid
offered by the society should be placed in the Greek
bank by way of loan. Drs. Anderson and Smith soon
left Egina, but the seasons of prayer held together were
of unspeakable comfort to the one still left in charge of
the work that Christian America sought to do for Greece.
By request of the Ladies' New York Committee, he de-
cided to remain their almoner for another year. He
urged upon these ladies to establish a school for girls,
where they might learn to be the teachers so much
needed in a land " not yet divested of Turkish ideas."
He wrote on the same subject to Miss Margaret Cars-
well Ely of Philadelphia, who was interested in forming
a missionary society about the time when Dr. King was
there. Such being Dr. King's views, it was indeed in-
spiriting to receive from Miss Angelina Grimk^ and her
brother a timely gift of ^60 for the above purpose.
Miss Grimke writes, " Thou inquirest whether the fe-
males of America will not furnish the means necessary
for the establishment of forty or fifty schools. This
question I cannot answer, but that they can do it is very
certain. I fully believe that professors spend at least
fifty dollars annually on sjipcrfliwas dress ; and as long
as the ministers of the gospel do not disapprove of this
waste of money, this sinful conformity to the vain fashions
of the world, of course their people will follow their mis-
guided policy-conformity to the world, so as not to ren-
der themselves conspicuous, forgetting the declaration

FOROS— GREECE. 227

of the great Head of the church, * Ye are the light of the
world. A city that is set on a hill ca^inot be hid ;' and
the injunction of the apostle, ' Be not conformed to this
world.' Perhaps thou mayest feel surprised to hear such
sentiments from me. But often when I attended the
meetings thou heldest last winter in our city, my heart
was filled with shame and sorrow, as I looked at the ex-
travagant dress of multitudes of professors who flocked to
them, and I often thought, if primitive Christianity ex-
isted among us, how different it would be, and how much
more would conveniently be spared and cheerfully given
to send the Bible to the heathen and to establish schools
for their ignorant children."

In 1879, would fifty dollars a year cover the unneces-
sary expenditure for dress of Christian women }

All this time the work of Bible and tract distribution
was going on. One man gladly exchanged a pack of
cards for a Testament, which he was more than once
seen reading to his companions.

July 22, 1829, Dr. King was married at Tenos to
Miss Annetta Aspasia Mengous. The ceremony was
performed by Rev. Rufus Anderson, secretary of A. B.
C. F. M. with Rev. Eli Smith as bridesman ; also reading
the Scriptures. A house was taken at Tenos, and ar-
rangements made for a school for girls ; and Dr. King
writes to New York of the interest his wife was taking
in its establishment and superintendence. The Greeks
seemed much pleased at this event. It brought one who
had come to them a stranger into identity of interest
with themselves. The school soon increased in num-

228 JONAS KING.

bers. Other encouragement was given. In one of the
villages about twenty women met every Lord's day when
one would read aloud to the others from a Testament
which Dr. King had given her.

While it is essential to make record of Dr, King's
marriage, an event of such importance in every one's
history, the public are little concerned to know the de-
tails of a missionary's domestic life. Suffice it to say,
that in the hope Dr. King cherished, that an alliance
with the Greek nation would be of advantage to his work,
he was not disappointed. More than once in his after-
history, his wife's influence was so strong, as probably
to save his life, and secure him from ultra-persecution.
A family of six daughters and one son was given them.
Five of these daughters, with Mrs. King, yet survive in
1879. Three of the daughters are settled in homes of
their own in America ; one is married to a gentleman
living in Constantinople, and another to an Englishman
well-known as in high position in diplomatic circles.

Much interest continued to be felt in the United
States in regard to Greece. Rev. Matthias Bruen wrote
at much length to Dr. King, as to what might be done
for its elevation, by promoting common-school education,
and the following gentlemen living in New York were
suggested as a Greek School Committee : " The Hon.
Albert Gallatin, Mr. Arthur Tappan, Rev. Mr. Bruen,
Mr. Knowles Taylor, Seth P. Staples, Esq., Eleazer Lord,
Esq., Dr. Samuel Akerly, Mr. Richard T. Haines."

Rev. Mr. Bruen writes, " Your letters have done and
will do immense good."

rOROS— GREECE. 229

To show the need of enlightenment in Greece, it is
only necessary to speak of a strange custom observed
by the priests, of baptizing not merely the people and
their houses, but the sea. Dr. King describes the scene :
" After we had waited some time at the shore, the bishop
came and threw a cross into the sea. Six men stood ready
to plunge in to find it, and the one who was so fortunate
as to seize it received from the bishop a present of mon-
ey, and then went about from house to house to receive
it from others. After this ceremony, the bishop went
also from house to house, to sprinkle holy water, and to
receive money from those he visited. At one of these
visits, I and my wife happened to be present, but he did
not even speak to us, nor make the least sign of recogni-
tion. It is most evident that he is by no means friendly
to us."

In January, 1830, Mr. J. Evarts wrote to Mrs. Pela-
tiah Perit, urging the desire of the American Board that
Dr. King should become their missionary in Greece, in
case the Ladies' Committee in New York would release
him ; and Dr. King was eminently qualified to carry out
their plans at the same time, of going largely into the
business of providing school-books for Greece.

The Board would also provide an assistant. Mrs.
Hurd, secretary, answered that the Ladies' Committee
were pledged to support Dr. King another year, but that
they had no right or desire to control his inclinations
farther, although willing to continue their efforts through
him. All seemed to desire that Dr. King should be em-
ployed in a way to be most useful. His friend S. V. S.

Jonas Kins. 20

23 o yONAS KING.

Wilder saw he was now at disadvantage from having it
supposed that he had ample funds at his command,
which he had not, and the letter from him proposed that
$5,000 should at once be raised. Mr. Chester approving
this, yet urged that such funds be placed in the treasu-
ry of the American Board, that there should thus be one
head, unifying efforts for Greece — which experience
proved it was important to do.

It may well be seen that Dr. King was in a somewhat
trying position. He says, " If I know my own heart, I
Vv^ish to labor in such connection and such manner, as
may best forward the interests of the cause of Christ in
this country. I laid the subject before Him who has
hitherto dealt wonderfully with me, and who alone can
give wisdom, and direct me in that way which shall be
for the best." After friendly correspondence. Dr. King
left the subject to the decision of the Ladies' Committee,
expressing full confidence as to the large-hearted views
they would be enabled to take. Dr. King's first knowl-
edge of the issue was ten months after, March, 1 831, in
the Missionary Herald of December, 1830, which stated
that his connection with the American Board was again
resumed. Special contributions made by Ezra M. Ely
and family of Philadelphia, and others, were most oppor-
tune, and no time was lost to the cause in general ; for
while Dr. King's relations to workers at home were be-
ing settled, the work practically was not disturbed. Now
and then some opposition was shown by the bishop,
which usually proved to be of advantage, as when Prince
Vlachoutsa of Russia with his son visited the school on

FOR OS— GREECE. 23 1

account of reports against it ; but he examined the cate-
chisms, and said that, so far from finding anything bad
in them, he was so highly delighted as to ask for a copy
to use in his own family. Sometimes it was whispered
that Dr. King was a Jesuit. To this his friends replied
that he and his ancestors had suffered so much from
Roman-catholics, that it was not likely that he had come
to preach their doctrines.

As to Dr. King's daily life, every hour seems to have
had its allotted duty, systematized in a way most worthy
of imitation. He thought it important that he should
understand thoroughly the past history of the Greek
Church, and so spent much time in examining the Apos-
tolical canons, and the records of different councils, and
others of the writings of the fathers which were received
by the priests as of authority. Thus he became quali-
fied, as after-years proved, to answer from the mouth of
their own standards the errors which in these modern
times prevailed among them.

It was encouraging to Dr. King to notice the atten-
tion with which his scholars listened to the exposition of
the word of God. A poor ignorant woman whose mother
and brother had been killed by the Turks, and her sister
carried into captivity, was determined to become a nun.
Dr. King persuaded her first to learn to read, then to
study the Gospels before deciding the matter. He gave
her a home in his house for six months, also other assis-
tance, until money was raised to send her to her native
place.

232 yONAS KING.

CHAPTER XV.

ATHENS.

Persecutions of Asaad el Shidiak in Syria— Drs. Anderson and Eli
Smith— Death of Dr. King's Father— Doctorate Conferred.

Early in September, 1830, Dr. King visited Athens
for the first time. So much property had been confis-
cated there, that in view of the best interests of his fam-
ily and his probable removal there, he thought it wise to
secure some lots then offered for sale. A bargain was
made, when Dr. King found the lock of his trunk had
been broken and the money was gone. The thief was
soon found ; the police required him to write a confes-
sion. This done, the young thief threw himself down
from the tower where he was confined, full forty-eight
feet. Life still remained. The government ordered a
sheep to be killed, in the skin of which he was placed,
and given into the physician's hands. The man finally
recovered, and called on Dr. and Mrs. King about si.x
months after, expressing great penitence, and the gov-
ernment of Lebadra, in returning the money, minus ex-
penses, sent a strong letter of acknowledgment " to the
most noble Philhellen, Mr. Jonas King, for his forbear-
ance, saying all sensible Greeks admired the greatness
of his soul in not prosecuting the offender further." The
government was grateful for the continued assistance
received from America through the American Board and

ATHENS. 233

other channels. An invoice of slates and pencils sent in
1 83 1 was particularly welcome.

Yet when the truth, which as a Christian missionary
Dr. King took pains to scatter everywhere and at all
times, took effect in the heart, persecution only less se-
vere than that meted out to Asaad el Shidiak, whose
death occurred about this time, very often followed. A
Cretan Meledon had been introduced to Dr. King by Dr.
Korck. This man had read Dr. King's Farewell Letter,
and desired to see the writer and learn the word of God
more perfectly. Upon his return to Crete he began
there the distribution of the Bible and other books.
Many opposed and tried to silence him, but in vain. "At
length one night several men came to his house and
called to him to come with them to administer medicine
(as he professed to know something of medicine) to a
member of the Council, one of the principal men of the
place. This, he told them, he could not do, as he was
unwell and in his bed, and besides, he had no medicines.
They then began to speak in a different manner and to
revile him, and at length dragged him out of his house
and beat him most severely, and led him to the brow of a
steep place and cast him down headlong. Afterwards one
took out a knife in order to cut his throat, but his com-
panions said this was going too far, and prevented him
from being killed, and left him. In consequence of his
bruises he was confined to his bed for about three
months."

The story of Asaad el Shidiak has been given in full
by Dr. Isaac Bird in his little book, " The Martyr of Leb-

254 yONAS KING.

anon," and also by Rev. Rufus Anderson, D. D., in his
history of the missions of the American Board. Yet
the experience and fate of this man were as a baptism of
blood to Dr. King's evangelistic labors, and therefore
must not be passed over. Suffice it to say, Asaad el Shi-
cliak was a very intelligent Maronite, highly esteemed in
Syria as a teacher and public lecturer. When the patri-
arch issued a proclamation against the missionaries,
Asaad wished to answer their reply to it, but for some
reason was not suffered to do so by the patriarch. He
soon afterwards, in 1825, became Dr. King's teacher in
Arabic, and as such assisted him in preparing his cele-
brated " Farewell Letter," holding with him at the same
time many discussions as to the truth. After Dr. King
had gone, Asaad was asked by the missionaries at Bey-
rout to teach an Arabic grammar-school for native boys.
This he did, but gave his leisure to attempting a refuta-
tion of the doctrines in Dr. King's " Letter." While do-
ing this he was led to read the twenty-ninth chapter of
Isaiah, and the rest of that prophecy, and then to the
study of the New Testament. This was the means of
his conversion. He was now thoroughly convinced of
the errors in which he had been trained ; and although
threatened by the patriarch, engaged himself to Mr. Bird
for a year, and protection was obtained for him from Mr.
Abbott the English consul at Beyrout.

Asaad was confiding in disposition, and therefore too
easily taken in when, through his relatives, the priests
contrived to get him into their power. He was taken to
the Convent of St. Alma, where he had daily controversy

ATHENS. 235

with the patriarch, bishop, and others. Three things
were before him, either to be regarded as mad, to com-
mit sin, or offer up his life. Sometimes promotion was
offered him if he would recant his so-called heretical opin-
ions. But his answer ever was, " I will hold fast the
religion of Jesus Christ, and I am ready for the sake of
it to shed my blood ; and though you all should become
infidels, yet will not I." Asaad escaped for a time from
his persecutors, but was recaptured by them and thrown
into prison. Here he was put in chains and beaten a
certain number of stripes daily. His allowance for food
each day was six thin cakes of bread and a cup of water.
Sometimes the thin flat mat used as a bed was taken
from him, and a heavy chain fastened his neck to the
wall. The door to his dungeon was walled up, so that
there was no access to it except through a small loop-
hole. Its state cannot be described. His death is sup-
posed to have occurred in October, 1830. In one respect
it was like that of Moses, no one among his friends knows
of his sepulchre ; but the Lord is faithful, and precious
in his sight is the dust now somewhere awaiting the res-
urrection. His record is on high, as well as in the annals
of a true Christianity now reviving in the East.

In December, 1830, Dr. and Mrs. Hill, missionaries
of the Episcopal church of America, arrived at Tenos,
also Dr. and Mrs. Robertson. Dr. King writes : " I had
the pleasure of giving them a most hearty welcome to
my house."

In April, 1831, Dr. King revisited Athens, as yet oc-
cupied by the Turks, and secured the premises for a

-Z^ yO.VAS KING.

school which had been recommended to him by M. Con-
stantine, and also engaged an agent to sell Bibles. The
first boy who entered the school when opened was named
" Saviour," and the first girl, " Peace."

Dr. King also opened a preaching service at this time,
and records, May 8, 1831, "God has blessed me in all I
have as yet undertaken in Athens;" and amid subse-
quent discouragements, sometimes through coldness or
misapprehension of friends, even of some coming from
America, he was able to work on, "as seeing Him who
is invisible." Such feeling found expression in several
Greek hymns written by him about this time.

At times a hundred would be present in the school-
room Sunday mornings, and forty or fifty in his own
house in the afternoon. Nor were home efforts without
fruit. " One day Sophia, our servant-girl, said that when
she went a few days since to confess to the priest, she
told him that she no longer worshipped pictures, and ex-
plained to him what I teach in my house, and that the rea-
son why she did not often go to church was because she
heard the Scriptures morning and evening at my house,
whereas in church she heard whispering and talking that
she could not understand. The priest said that Mr.^King
must know better than he did, because he had been to
Jerusalem and had seen the holy places. He remarked
to her, however, that he had heard or supposed that we
bought some of the old idols (antiquities) for the purpose
of worshipping them. She told him that it was not so,
for she had been long in my house and had never seen
any such thing."

ATHENS. 237

Dr. King's own house needed so much rebuilding
that the coming of his family there was quite delayed,
and this the longer as the Greek artisans observed so
many saints' days as to interfere very much with their
labor.

While in Smyrna, in October, 1831, Dr. King received
from Dr. Rufus Anderson a letter of importance, telling
of movements in New York to have him transferred from
Greece to France and other countries where the French
language is spoken, in case he should think it expedient
to leave Athens. Other missionaries had come to Ath-
ens, and were beginning schools there. Dr. Anderson
himself hesitated as to whether his friend ought to leave.
He writes : " Since I have read your last communications
my doubts are greatly increased. Where is there the
missionary whom the government of the country has
been more forward to honor in view of the people than
yourself in Greece .-' If you leave, who shall circulate our
books in Greece .'' We are looking for a man to send to

your aid Travel occasionally. Keep your eyes and

ears always open and write constantly, and with the
blessing of God you may yet. again excite a great inter-
est in Greece as a field of missions."

The possibilities opened in this letter were most un-
expected to our missionary. Strong ties drew him to
both fields. Times calling for immediate and important
decisions come into every life. As one marks the events
in a Christian's earthly career, particularly if now fin-
ished, he almost wonders at the anxieties felt ; for above
all and through all, from such an outside stand-point the

238 yOiVAS KING.

guiding- hand of an all-wise, loving Father is distinctly
seen, disentangling every difficulty and bringing good
out of seeming evil. Yet in the heat of the conflict
how hard to practise at all times the lesson, " Rest in
the Lord," " Wait also on him." This, Dr. King was
at this time able to do. He says : " I want to be en-
lightened on the subject by the providences of Him
who governs all things in an inscrutable and marvellous
manner."

The death of Jeremiah Evarts, secretary, with other
causes, delayed the decision. We know the result : Dr.
King remained in Athens.

The cholera was now raging. Guns were fired to
purify the air. The priests of Cooklegah walked about
the village in procession with their images, and gave per-
mission to all to come and partake of the communion,
even without confession ; so great was the consterna-
tion with regard to the cholera, and the feeling that all
ought to be ready for a sudden exit from this world.
This step was enough to show that the priests did not
consider confession as necessary to salvation.

The missionaries were all obliged for a while to leave
the city.

A treaty had been made about this time between the
Grand Seigneur and the United States. Dr. King says :
" Like the contract made by the prophet Jeremiah with
Hanameel, his uncle's son, for his field in Anathoth,
there were two writings — the one sealed, and the other
open, I only saw the one which was sealed, and which
I understood from M. H. was not to be opened at all.

ATHENS. 239

but that there was another which contained the same
articles. See Jer. 32:6-12."

These pages cannot give any history of Greek affairs,
yet the assassination of the president, Capodistria, in
October, 1831, by Constantine and George Mavromi-
chaeHs, should be noticed. One of these men was killed
on the spot, and the other was soon given up by the
French — laws of equity ruling, rather than those of tech-
nical extradition. This event helps one understand how
the unsettled state of the country made persistent Chris-
tian work there doubly difficult.

There was much suffering. When in Smyrna, Mrs.
King collected money for the poor, and was asked to
superintend the distribution of it, which was of advan-
tage to missionary effort among them. The ignorance
of many of the people about equalled their destitution.
A monk attending one of the schools said one day he
had heard Dr. King pray that God would enlighten
idolaters, and he wished to know if there were any such
in the world now. A certain bishop also wrote to Dr.
King in a way that called forth from him the following
answer :

" To THE Bishop of T. and Deputy-bishop of A. :
Yesterday I received your friendly letter, dated June 21,
1833, in which you say you have often observed little
books printed at Malta and from other presses, which
are not suitable to be given as presents or rewards, ac-
cording to my custom, to youth ; and you beg me that
this may henceforth cease, as the Greek youth are mor-
tally injured.

2 40 yONAS KING.

" I beg therefore that you will send me a catalogue
of the above-mentioned books by which in your opinion
' the Greek youth are mortally injured,' that I may ex-
amine them carefully, and if I find in them anything con-
trary to the Holy Scriptures, cease immediately from dis-
tributing them, and I remain, yours,

"JONAS KING.
"Athens, July 6, 1833."

No immediate reply was sent, but about three months
after these objections were virtually withdrawn. One
book alone was complained of, and this Dr. King had not
distributed at Athens, though a copy of it might have
been lent from his own library. " Peter Parley's Geog-
raphy" was suffered to pass, though it said something in
regard to feasts appointed by the pope, which might as
truly apply to those in the Greek church, and which the
missionaries of the Episcopal Board cut out from the
copies used by them.

On an excursion made near Syra, a boy came asking
for a tract ; but after retiring to a little distance, held it
up and tore it to pieces. It was a copy of the Ten Com-
mandments, and it was found out afterwards that the
priests had supposed that Dr. King had printed the words
of the preface, " I am the Lord thy God, who brought
thee out of the house of bondage," in reference to M7n-
self.

On the other hand, light appeared in other directions.
Dr. King speaks of calUng " on Pharmakides, who read
to me a piece which he had written on the subject of
church dignities, to show that the primitive church gov-

ATHENS. 241

ernment was democratic. He is undoubtedly the most
intelligent priest and most learned theologian now in
Greece. I trust the time is coming when the church
generally will rise to the simplicity of the first century,
and when bishops shall lose that temporal power which
they received from men, and seek for nothing more than
that equality which the gospel teaches."

The above gentleman was not in favor, however, of
outside influence in the work of purifying the church
from error, preferring to wait until men of intelligence
connected with it should unite in throwing away the
idols.

Intercourse with Dr. and Mrs. Korck and Mr. and
Mrs. Benjamin, the latter of whom Dr. King once re-
ceived into his house after shipwreck, and also with
Greek gentlemen of large views with regard to the inter-
ests of their country, was a source of real comfort. In
July, 1832, the national newspaper, published at Napoli,
gave a very fair statement of the work undertaken by
our missionary, which may be found in the closing
chapter.

In whatever arrangements Dr. King made at any
time, the care of his parents was considered by him a
paramount duty; and with regard to them, and indeed
as to all his affairs, he often wrote at great length to his
faithful friend, Rev. Wm. A. Hallock, D. D., sometimes
saying, " Your word is as good as your bond." Memo-
ries of Dr. King's early home were constantly brought
back to him by the scenes of the present.

"September i, 1832. Near sunset I walked in my

Jonas Kin:;. J^ \

>=

242 JONAS KING.

garden and stood by the side of 'a little mulberry-tree,
the only tree in my garden, and thought of the little
sprout, now a large elm, by my father's house, near which
the lio-ht of heaven first broke in upon my soul. Shall I
live thouo'ht I, to see this mulberry increase in size as
the elm had increased when I last saw it ? Twenty-five
years more will bring me near to the term of life allotted
to man. How soon will it pass away, even should I live
so long ! Am I ready T

In January, 1833, Dr. Riggs arriving in Athens,
brought news that Dr. King's beloved and venerated fa-
ther was beyond the need of any further care. "He told
me he died in a most happy manner. I could not but
weep, though I felt assured that my dear father was now
in the joy of his Lord. Among the last words my father
uttered when I last bade him farewell, and I asked,
* Have you anything to say to me .-'' were, ' Nothing but
that God may be glorified in you.' I often think of it.
What can I desire more or better .-•

" On arriving at my house I welcomed Mr. and Mrs.
Riggs to it, introduced them to my family, and then we
united in prayer. Afterwards I retired for a few mo-
ments to my chamber to weep and pray alone. I blessed
the Father of all mercies for having given such grace to
my father as to triumph over death, which he had for-
merly so much feared, and that He had glorified His great
name in showing to all who were acquainted with my
father that He is a God of mercy and truth, and will never
leave the humble and contrite man who trembleth at His
word."

ATHENS. 243

A letter soon came from his bereaved mother, saying,
" Ah, my dear son, if I could see you I could talk more
in one hour than I could write in a great while. My son,
I never expect to see you again in this world. Do n't you
go one step out of the path of duty for me. Your father
said a great deal about the love of God, and his soul was
full of that love."

Dr. Riggs brought him twenty-eight letters from
America, a list of the writers of which appears in the
diary. This private express brings vividly to mind the
changes made in postal service all over the world, even
during the past few years.

A monument, yet to be seen by any visitor to Haw- >i-
ley, Mass., bears the following inscription :

" Sacred

TO THE MEMORY OP

MR. JONAS KING,

THE VENERABLE FATHER

OF THE DISTINGUISHED

REV. JONAS KING, D. D.,

MISSIONARY TO PALESTINE AND GREECE."

On being asked by a friend if he felt any regret in
parting with his son as a missionary to the heathen, this
father in Israel replied, " ' God so loved the world, that
he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth
in him should not perish, but have everlasting life,' and
shall I withhold my only son from obeying the com-
mandment of our ascending Saviour, who said, ' Go ye

244 JONAS KING.

into all the world and preach the gospel to every crea-
ture' ?"

Mr. King was one of the first settlers in Hawley. He
lived, in example and precept, a life of hol'ness.

He died September 20, 1832, aged 'jZ years, having a
blissful faith in Jesus Christ and an unshaken hope of a
glorious immortality.

His last words were,

" How often shall my pulses beat
Before my bliss shall be complete ?
Come, Lord Jesus, oh, come quickly."

" Ask you my name ? 't is Jonas King.

Beneath these clods I lie.
In life I suffered much from sin,

And sin caused me to die.
But by the blessed Jesus, I

Do hope to rise again ;
I then shall live, and never die,

And praise the Lord. Amen."

Another of these letters was from Dr. Carnahan of
Princeton, announcing the conferring of a title, not so
common then as now, and of which Dr. King says : " I
suppose that it is considered by my friends that it will
give me some influence and be the means of promoting
the cause of Christ, but I doubt whether such means
should be employed." His visiting-card always still read
simply "Jonas King."

In April, 1834, Dr. A. G. Paspati came as special
messenger in a vessel, chartered for the purpose, from
the missionaries at Constantinople, proposing that Dr.

ATHENS. 245

Riggs should go to Persia with Mr. Perkins. Just be-
fore receiving this message he and Dr. King had been
speaking of the strong attachment they were beginning
to feel for Athens and the work there ; so this new
question was trying, as well as sudden. On the whole.
Dr. Riggs decided not to leave Greece at present. Dr.
King himself was invited before long to come to Napoli,
but he also declined making a " change of base."

21*

246 JONAS KING.

CHAPTER XVI.

MISSIONARY WORK NEEDED IN THE EAST.

Indulgences — Infidelity — Errors and Superstitions — Worship of
Virgin Mary — Relics — Bones of St. Antipas — Image-worship
— Letter to Society of Inquiry, Princeton.

Examples have already been given, showing clearly
how far the Papal and Oriental churches have lapsed from
the simplicity of the gospel. Many others are found scat-
tered here and there in Dr. King's Journals. Let a few
of these speak more loudly than words can do, of the
necessity of such work as that in which he was engaged.

" Tuesday, Oct. 29, 1832. Mr. Venthylos showed me a
curious document which he found some years since on Mt.
Athos; a letter signed by the patriarch of Constantinople,
and twelve bishops (the whole Synod), and given to a monk
on Mount Athos, in March, 18 16, stating that by the
power given unto them to bind or loose, his sins were all
pardoned, of whatever nature or kind they might have
been ; if he had disobeyed God, broken his command-
ments, despised Jesus Christ, and been an atheist, etc.,
they were all pardoned, both for this world and that
which is to come, and that, even should he be under the
censure or excommunication of any priest, bishop, etc.
I wished to take a copy of it, but he was not willing to
give it.

" March 6, 1834. This is what is-called by the Greeks,

MISSIONARY WORK IN THE EAST. 247

Tcheknepefti, which I should translate Singe-Thurs-
day— as on this day they are accustomed to kill a fowl
or turkey, and pick it, and then singe the small feathers
as we do usually in the fire — in other words, to prepare
it for Saturday and Sunday next, after which the feast
begins.

" Went with my wife to call on Prince Karagin. His
wife expressed herself in a shocking manner against
God and his government ; expressed a doubt with regard
to revealed religion, and the prince talked like an infidel.
The captain of the Guards also was present, and took
part with them. By the grace of God I was enabled to
speak boldly for Christ and God's holy word.

"April 20, 1834. After the service at my house in
the afternoon, several of the scholars asked me questions
about the Scriptures, such as 'Did John the Baptist have
wings T and 'Why was he thus painted in our churches T
I told them that if he was a bird he must have had
wings ; but if a man, not. Another asked if he had not
two heads ; if one did not grow out immediately when
the other was cut off. For this I referred them to the
Scriptures, which say, his disciples took up his body and
buried it. Another asked about angels' wings, etc. To
all these questions I gave such answers as I thought true
and proper."

The following lets one in behind the scenes as to the
motives that led even some enlightened men to oppose
Dr. King's mission :

"July 12. 1835. Mr. K. called and wished to speak
with me alone. Taken with me into my study, he said :

248 JONAS KING.

' Whatever may be your object in Greece, I rejoice that
you are here and wish you success in your work, for my
views are like yours ; and being such, I thought it my
duty to come and tell you what I have heard from cer-
tain learned men who were speaking in regard to you
and your labors here. They said that you have in your
employ and pay at Syra four hundred and fifty Sciots to
disseminate your doctrines, and that the son of a shoe-
maker (who, I think he said had been in my gymnasium)
spoke about the Virgin Mary, etc., according to your
doctrine, and that the people were in danger of getting
into a civil war on the subject of religion, which of all
wars was most to be dreaded, and therefore it was expe-
dient to prevent you from proceeding ; that though your
doctrines might be true, still the people were not prepared
for such a change as those doctrines would bring in. I
consider your mission,' added he, 'as a new mission for
preaching the gospel, similar to that of the primitive age
of Christianity, and you must expect to suffer what
the first preachers were called to suffer; but be of
good courage, for God will not leave you to suffer any-
thing.'

" Some priest also told jVTeletius, a student whom I
had employed to sell the New Testament in the market-
place, that it was wicked for common people to touch
that book ! Meletius and another boy sold, however, in
three days, between 90 and 100 copies.

" Sept. 28, 1836. The Greeks appear to depend more
upon external forms than upon the religion of the heart ;
they believe all the truth and something more, and the

MISSIONARY WORK IN THE EAST. 249

additions that have been made by man to their religion
seem to be of more consequence in their eyes, than what
God himself has taught.

" Sunday, March 7, 1839. Preached from John i •.2C).
I was led to take this text from seeing the lambs that
were brought to be slain at the Passover, as it is still a
custom among the Greeks for every family, however
poor, to kill a lamb on this occasion.

" Sunday, April 21, 1844. Two deacons called in the
morning. Conversed plainly, seriously, and pointedly ;
endeavored to convince them of the error of worship-
ping images and praying to saints. They seemed con-
vinced ; I found them exceedingly ignorant of God's
word. I verily believe that an ordinary child in New
England, eight or ten years old, knows far more of the-
ology and of the Bible than they.

"May 16, 1844. Narcissus, a priest, called. Spent
two or three hours in conversation on religion. He has
gained much, recognizing as the only rule of faith the
word of God, rejecting from the fathers everything which
does not agree with that ; also rejecting, as contrary to
the word of God the monkish system ; also the abstain-
ing from different kinds of food, which is called fasting;
while at the same time he approves, as I do, of what is
true fasting: and on the subject of images he is not far
from the truth, and also in regard to despotism in the
church. This he says will most surely cease. Gave
him a New Testament in ancient Greek, and a copy of
my ' Farewell letter.' He is to me the most interesting
man among the clergy in all Greece, on account of his

250 yONAS KING.

-efforts to preach the gospel here. He is the only man I
know of who preaches the gospel.

"May 18, 1844. Called on Madame Covoqui. Con-
versed about prayer to saints and the virgin. After
showing her several passages of Scripture, she said she
was convinced of the truth of what I said, and that she
should no more offer her prayers to the virgin, but to
God alone.

"Thursday, July 31, 1845. Mr. Pheovater said that
an old nun at the monastery, 102 or 104 years old, on
seeing the Old Testament which he gave to the church,
seemed delighted with it, and begged him to ask the man
who gave it to him to let her have one ; and remarked
that she had never till then heard that such a book ex-
isted as the Old Testament !"

March, 1847, Dr. King describes a miraculous medal
ordered by the Virgin Mary to be made, after three ap-
pearances, and by which one might enjoy the particular
protection of the "mother of God." The prayer to be read
from the medal was in the usual wording of the Roman-
catholic prayer-book.

In February, 1848, Dr. King makes note at Malta of
a Roman-catholic procession in honor, or rather dis\\ox\-
or, of St. Paul, whose image was paraded about the
street, borne on the shoulders of eight or ten men, who
evidently found the wooden god a heavy load. They
were preceded by perhaps five hundred priests and
monks of the clerical order.

In a letter written from Athens in January, 1849,
Dr. King writes, that " Protestants are considered by the

MISSIONARY WORK IN THE EAST. 251

Greek church as heretics, it is sufficient to say, that all
who do not call Mary the 'mother of God/ and who
condemn the use of images (pictures), and the worship
of the cross and relics (bones of the saints), are con-
demned as heretics by the several councils, which the
Greek church universally considers as inspired and of
undoubted authority. I may add, that acording to some
of those councils, baptism, as performed by Protestants
of any denomination whatever, is condemned as hereti-
cal."

"February, 1849. Having some business at the No-
tary's, and having occasion to state where I was born, as
I wrote, ' Hawley, America,' he said, ' Write, Happy Amer-
ica.' This led to some conversation on the subject of
religion, and he avowed that the cause of the wretched-
ness here, of the bad state of society, is the priesthood !
Mr. P. was formerly governor in Mani.

"November 8, 1849. I conversed with two Italians
on the subject of Transubstantiation, and the worship of
the Virgin Mary. One of them said that he was con-
vinced that the Roman-catholic religion is erroneous ;
but that before he came here, had an angel from heaven
told him so, he would not have believed it. That since
he had seen the Bible and heard my conversation, and
read some copies of the " Catholico Romano " which I
gave him, he is convinced. But still I think he clings in
some degree to the v/orship of Mary. She is the actual
god of the people in these regions."

On one occasion, when in Naples, Dr. King was
shown

2 52 JONAS KING.

1. A bone of the arm of St. Paul.

2. A tooth of St. James.

3. A lock of the Virgin Mary's hair.

4. Two hairs of the Virgin Mary.

5. A bit of Mary's robe.

6. A piece of Christ's garment.

7. Some of Mary's milk on a bit of cotton.

8. A copy of an original letter of the Virgin Mary
in Syriac, from which the Latin was made.

" But after the priest assured me that this was a true
copy of the original in Syriac, I said to him, ' I have
studied Syriac, and this is not Syriac, but Chinese; at
least so it appears to me.' It seemed to me to be noth-
ing but a bit of wormeaten Chinese paper, with Chinese
characters here and there, which very probably is a bit
of a Chinese passjDort, or a bit of paper taken from a
chest of tea."

"March 17, 1851. Had a long talk with the abbot
of the convent at Ipsara on the subject of religion and
the errors of his church. Among other things he said
that whosoever went to the Old Testament was an adul-
terer. On asking me what were the commands of Christ,
I began to repeat the Ten Commandments ; but he said
these were in the Old Testament, and would not listen
to them. He finally asked me if I did not believe the
miracle of St. Spiridion, when he took the tile and squeezed
out blood. I said, ' No, it is a fable.' At this he became
quite angry, and threatened to tear my eyes out.

"June 16, 185 1. Mrs. K. S. brought me two imigcr.
or pictures which have long been objects of devo'aon ia

MISSIOA^ARY WORK IN THE EAST. 253

her family. The smallest one is St. Athanasius, which,
she thinks, was used by her grandmother. This is on
wood. The other, which is on brass or copper (and is
the largest), represents the flagellation of our Saviour by
the Jews. This, she says, is three hundred years old.
Both came down to her as a parental inheritance ; but
she no longer values them, and will not permit them in
her room, and has given them to me to dispose of as I
choose.

"April 6, 1853. Mr. A. told me that the indulgence
which the pope gave him was plcnaiy for him and his
parents and family to the third generation, and that the
pope signed it with his own hand.

"August 26, 1853. I have to-day received from a
Greek female what I never before received from any
one — holy relics, saints' bones. One is said to be of
St. Antipas, the same, I suppose, who is mentioned in
Rev. 2:13; another of St. Mercurius. They are set in
silver, and have been handed down from one generation
to another for I know not how long. The female who
sent them to me received them from her mother, and she
from her mother, and they were considered very precious.
When any of the children were ill these bones were put
in water, which was given to the patient for his recovery.
After taking them into my hands I felt almost as if I
were defiled, and I went and washed them in water, and
then again with soap and water ! How strange that men
should be so deluded as to have hope in dead men's bones,
and worship them ! It is a device of the devil to keep
men from God.

254 yONAS KING.

"January 3, 1854. Was called to see a dying woman.
She was most anxious to live another year, promising to
follow my directions, and even to kneel in prayer. To
kneel in prayer, except once in the year, is considered
by the Greeks as amounting almost to a renunciation of
their religion."

March 10, 1857. Of some pictures Dr. King says,
" One was the picture of the Virgin Mary, which has long
been the object of worship, and which was supposed on
some perilous occasion to have saved life in shipwreck ;
and sometimes it was supposed to creak — when dis-
pleased ! The board on which it is painted is so thick
and large that it might well keep a man from drowning,
and in hot weather it might creak."

The question of images was an important one. A
priest of much intelligence calling. Dr. King says, " I
conversed much about the errors of the Greek church,
particularly in the use of images or pictures. He said
the fathers were from the Eastern church, and had taught
all this. I told him that the first fathers in the church
were Jews, and that they taught the Greeks. He said
the Eastern church had prese-rved the doctrines entire.
I told him that this assertion, so often in the mouths of
the Greeks, showed their ignorance of ecclesiastical his-
tory. He said that images were received by the fathers,
and that St. Luke made them, etc. I told him that was
not true, and that images began to be introduced about
the fourth century, not earlier, and that it was against the
command of God, the second command. He said he be-
lieved the traditions of the fathers. ' So did the Phari-

MISSIONARY WORK IN THE EAST. 255

sees,' said I, ' and our Saviour condemned them for it.
The Greeks do the same, and do wrong.' He said that
the Catechism taught the proper use of images, and that
the common people did not use them aright. I said, ' The
proper use of them is to let them be hung up, without '
having any reverence whatever paid to them, just as I
have the plan of Athens,' pointing to it in my room. He
said if they were in error he did not care, he would re-
main where they were, or something to that effect. I
said, ' I wish for the truth,' etc. I spoke as plainly as
possible, but I know not that any good will result."

Strange ceremonies were observed on occasion of
the burial of a bishop, the President of the Synod. " He
was not placed in a coffin, as other people are, but seated
on a throne, with all his priestly robes as bishop, with his
crozier in his right hand, the gospels in his left, with his
mitre on his head. Multitudes went to the house to kiss
his hand ; and thus he was carried to the church on his
throne, and placed in the centre, with his face towards
the altar during the prayers and funeral service. When
Barnabas delivered the oration, the corpse was turned
with the face towards the pulpit, in an opposite direction
from the altar. After the service and oration, all crowd-
ed to take their last look, and he was borne through the
streets on his throne, by the palace and to the grave,
where he was buried in the same position."

Extract from a letter to the Society of Inquiry, Prince- ^
ton, October 29, 1850: "The longer I remain among the
Greeks, the more I perceive that in all things they are
' too superstitious,' and that the true God is little known

256 yONAS KING.

among them. And though they may not 'think the
Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone graven by
art or man's device,' yet he is represented in this church
as an old man with a long beard, with the inscription in
Greek, ' I AM,' and on the throne of this great I AM
they seem to have placed a woman, whom they call his
mother, ' Mary, the All-Holy, the Mother of God.' The
faith which Paul once preached in this city has become
so sadly shipwrecked (i Tim. 1:19), that one can hardly
find a board or bit of the ship big enough to keep a man
from sinking. The very essence of Christianity, the doc-
trine of salvation by faith alone, has been perverted into
a doctrine of salvation by works, fastings, penances, alms-
giving, etc , so that if a man has not money to leave to
buy prayers for him after he is dead, he is afraid that his
soul will go to the place of torment. I speak now of the
mass of the common people, and not of the learned in this
city, many of whom, I have reason to believe, have re-
jected not only their superstitions, but the truth also as
it is in Christ, and like the Sadducees of old, believe
nothing, though they profess to be orthodox members of
the Eastern church. So that on the one hand I have to
combat the deep-rooted superstitions and errors of the
ignorant, and on the other the infidelity of men called
enlightened."

On one occasion Dr. King writes : " Last Sunday I
went with my wife and her mother to the church of the
Evangelistria to see a poor deranged woman brought
here from Smyrna to be healed. She has a husband and
one child, both, I believe, at Smyrna. Her hands were

MISSIONARY WORK IN THE EAST. 257

tied very tight behind her back, and a young man, her
relative, stood by, often beating her and tying the cords
which she endeavored to loosen. She stood looking out
at a window and constantly crying, ' O thou Holy Trin-
ity, save me and help me !' Her relatives said she was
possessed of the devil, and was crying to him to help her,
and when she said, ' O Holy Trinity,' she meant the three
sisters, the Nereides. Many of the Greeks suppose that
the Nereides come to people in the night-time, and take
them and walk and dance with them, and that, in conse-
quence of this, they become deranged."

Again. '• Heard that the body of a saint had been
found, and that the people were running to pay their
adoration. Supposing it to be some trick of the wonder-
working church here, I had the curiosity to go also, and
found that a priest from Athens had, when he fled from
that place, brought with him the body of a female who
died about two hundred and fifty years ago, as he said,
and he was now exhibiting it to the people, who came
and kissed the relics with great veneration."

Of the Greek church Dr. King says, " Multitudes of
the people have a thousand times more fear of eating meat
on Wednesdays and Fridays than they have of uttering
a falsehood ; and the Virgin Mary and the saints really
seem to be more reverenced and more fervently adored
than the God of heaven ; and the traditions of men are
more honored than the commandments of God. Still this
church is far from being plunged in the superstition and
ignorance and wickedness of the Papal church. The
Greek church receives the gospel, and a spirit of refor-

22*

258 yONAS KING.

mation has begun to operate. The monkish system is
going by, and the priests have lost much of the influence
which they possessed ten years ago. Many begin to see
and believe that true religion does not consist in abstain-
ing from meat and eggs two days in the week. In short,
the Greeks as a body are inclined to think for themselves,
and to express their opinion, though it should be con-
trary to that of their priests. They cling to their images
and relics and crosses and prayers to the saints with great
tenacity, nor can I expect that it will be otherwise with
them till the gospel is more extensively distributed and
read, and till some of their own preachers shall receive
the influences of the Spirit from on high, and call their
attention to the truth as it is in Jesus.

"The sister of Mr. C. called September 3, 1848, and
asked for a leaf from each tree in my garden. I asked
why, and found that she wished them for a woman whose
child was ill, and she thought, with some magical words
said over the leaves, the child might recover."

LIFE- WORK AT ATHENS, 259

CHAPTER XVII,

LIFE-WORK AT ATHENS.

I. Schools and Religious Services — Bible in Schools — Notice of
Students in Gymnasiums and Seminaries — Testimony from
Napoli Newspaper. 2. Direct Mission-Work — Reasoning out
of the Scriptures— Publishing of Bible with Notes from the
Fathers Proposed — Letters to several Societies of Inquiry —
Qualifications needed for a Missionary— Delight in Christian
Union — Letter to Dr. Goodell — " Greece as a Missionary
Field." 3. Bible and Tract Distribution. 4. Efforts in the
Temperance Cause. 5. Visits to Prisons.

Dr. King being now fairly identified with Greece by
his marriage, by the ownership of property, and by other
providences, it would not interest the public to follow his
history at Athens in detail from year to year. It is bet-
ter to treat it topically, even could space allow a different
method.

SCHOOLS AND SUNDAY SERVICES.

In 1836 Dr. King began to build a schoolhouse at
Athens, which, by the aid of private friends, he was ena-
bled to finish in 1839. In this work he received no aid
whatever from the American Board. He had planned
this building long before he came into connection with
that Society as missionary to Greece, and before that time
had also secured the greater part of the means necessary.
In order to finish it, he was obliged to rent it for one or
two years, after which lime he had regular services there

26o yONAS KING.

in Greek every Lord's day till the year i860, when he
was prevented by illness from continuing them. When
we remember the attention which Dr. King in his early
manhood gave to sacred music, we need not wonder at
the enthusiasm with which he writes on occasion of a
small choir "first singing in Greek" as "truly delight-
's/ ful," He wrote several Greek hymns himself, besides
making translations of many from the English.

But beyond even the above pleasure, he notes more
than once how greatly he was comforted and strength-
ened by his little Greek prayer-meeting, even though the
attendance upon it was small. The help thus given was
especially realized during times of persecution.

The establishment of schools seemed ever a promi-
nent object with Dr. Kin^. Mention has been made of
f- those at Tenos, Menido, and Eleusis ; and now at Athens
he sought still to give his work permanent form in this
direction. The " Evangelical Gymnasium," which ranked
well with others of the kind, he hoped would be the germ
of a future college or university, to be built up by Phil-
hellenists in America, ten or twelve of whom had given
him some encouragement in regard to such an enterprise
before he left New York ; among these was General Van
Rensselaer of Albany ; and for several years his friend
S. V. S. Wilder pleasantly gave Dr. King in advance the
title of Professor in Mars' Hill College. But the germ,
though never developing in this way, has borne rich fruit,
well repaying our missionary for the religious instruction
given by him in this Gymnasium " six or eight times a
week to sixty or seventy pupils, varying in age from ten

LIFE- WORK AT A 7'HENS. 261

to thirty-five years." One of these, a priest, afterwards
became Professor of Theology in the University of Ath-
ens, another is a Professor of Law, and a third became
the head of a gymnasium. Others are teaching in
schools in various parts of the kingdom and in Turkey.
Some are military ofBcers, or otherwise in the employ of
the government. At one time a college was proposed
in Smyrna also.

In 1835 a regular theological class was commenced,
composed of Greeks and Italians. Some of these young
men were sent from Constantinople. Dr. King gave
instruction in this class seven or eight times a week, and
for want of suitable books at hand, was obliged to pre-
pare for it his own course of theological study. Nor
were these labors vain. The work of some of the students
is telling now in Greece. The name of M. D. Kalopo-
thakes cannot be passed by. It appears in Dr. King's
Journal as early as December 2, 1846, when the young
man called to show an ancient writing obtained from a
friend who had been to Jerusalem on a pilgrimage ; and
his name after this finds frequent mention, in a way
showing how the light of the gospel, finding entrance,
shone clearer still as time passed on, fitting the young
man to take up the work laid down by his loved and ven-
erated father in Christ. A Spartan by birth, in his un-
compromising determination he shows many traits of
that remarkable race. Dr. Kalopothakes is now laboring
under the auspices of the Southern Presbyterian Board,
lie is editor of the "Star in the East" and a "Child's
Paper," and is pastor of the Greek Protestant church

262 yONAS KING.

lately established at Athens, which he represented at the
Evangelical Alliance of 1873. His missionary policy is
to favor a growth from within, in opposition to having
an American mission chapel planted from without. He
^and his lovely American wife were privileged to be with
their beloved friend Dr. King during his last days on
earth, ministering to his comfort quite down to the river.
/ M. Constantine, another of Dr. King's pupils, has been,
able to interest many in the cause of Greece and true
religion, and by his eloquence promises to do a great
work for his countr3^men. Sakelarios has gone into the
Baptist church, and may be able to serve the Master well
in that connection.

Young men for some years were sent from Greece to
America for education. A few of these have remained
in this country ; and thus has there been an interchange
and commingling of interests and civilization not other-
wise secured. Drs. Riggs and King, in March, 1834,
wrote a long letter to Rev. Dr. John Codman of Dorches-
ter, Mass., recommending two members of the Gymna-
sium at Athens to his special care, and four more were
consigned subsequently to Mrs. Cornelius.

About the same time Dr. King wrote to Miss E. Stu-
art, Secretary of a Ladies' Society at Andover, Mass., in
regard to the school supported by them at Eleusis, near
the ancient temple of Ceres. He said, " May you, by
your exertions, be the means of revealing to them in a
spiritual sense ' the mystery which was kept secret since
the world began, but now is made manifest.' Romans
17 : 25, 26. The study of the Scriptures I make one of

LIFE- WORK AT A THENS. 263

the conditions of their receiving your aid. . . . Little
articles of presents to the girls would be likely to have a
good effect, inducing their parents to send them."

While in this Christian land of America many are
found willing to exclude the Bible from our public schools,
it is truly refreshing to read the following entry, made
February 10, 1855 : "To-day I received a communication
from the Minister of Education and Religion, Mr. George
Psyllas, in answer to my communication to him last Sep-
tember, concerning Chrysostom on * Reading the Scrip-
tures,' thanking me for my donation of a thousand cop-
ies, and enclosing a circular from him to all the teachers
in Greece, calling upon them to recommend to the schol-
£frs the reading of it, and also the reading of the Scrip-
tures themselves in their houses. This is admirable.
This is just what I desired. Blessed be God, who is
wonderful in working." The circular reads as follows :

"To the Schoolmasters and Schoolmistresses of the
District Schools :

" That nothing tends so much to the regulation of
morals, to the knowledge of the duties of man both to
God and his neighbor, as the reading of the Sacred Scrip-
tures, St. Chrysostom has shown in many parts of his
numerous sacred writings.

"These passages of the divine father, collected with
care, and simplified by a translation, are distributed gratis
for the use of those who read.

" The reading of this collection, of which a sufificient
number of copies has been already sent to the Nomarchs,
that they may be distributed in the district schools in pro-

264 yONAS KING.

portion to the number of scholars, we recommend to you,
both for the perspicuity of the style and the wholesome-
ness of the sense, not doubting that you will, by apply-
ing practice to theory, render operative the injunction of
this divine father, by inspiring the youth who attend your
schools with a ready mind to read the Sacred Scriptures,
so that they may resume at home, in the hearing of those
about them, the sacred lessons they are taught, and the
advantage they derive from them be thus multiplied, and
the Scripture fulfilled, which saith, 'The entrance of
Thy word giveth light ; it giveth understanding to the

simple.'

"The Minister, G. PSYLLAS.
"Athens, 19th January, 1855."

In October 1853, the Napoli paper gave the curicu-
lum of study in the Evangelical gymnasium, appending
the following note : " The superintendents, Drs. King and
Riggs being persuaded, that, in order for any one to ac-
quire a truly useful education, the cultivation of the
mind alone is not sufficient, but that the cultivation of
the heart is also necessary, so as to excite in him a de-
sire for things truly good, and induce him to shape his
conduct according to unchangeable principles ; being per-
suaded also that there exists no other book, the study of
which has so much influence in attracting the heart to
that which is right and good as the Word of God ; on
this account, while they recommend in this institution
the study of Homer, Plato, Demosthenes, Plutarch, and
other celebrated writers of Greece, they wished also to
bring the attention of the young to the study of Moses,

LIFE- WORK AT A THENS. 2 65

Job, Daniel, Solomon, the Prophets, the Apostles of
Christ, and of Him who spake as never man spake. We
revere the classics because they were written by men of
splendid minds and contain many things useful, as it
respects morals and politics ; but we revere much more
those books which proceeded from the Fountain of wis-
dom, from Him who created all that was ever brilliant
and glorious in the world.

" By means of the Sacred Scriptures, we hope that the
youth will acquire principles for their conduct and an
accurate knowledge of the true religion which they pro-
fess, and that they will one day show themselves to be
not only enlightened men, but also virtuous ' and good
citizens and true Christians, loving not only their coun-
try, but also the whole human race ; and while they en-
joy earthly happiness, be prepared for everlasting bless-
edness in heaven."

The teachers in these schools often spoke of what
the Americans had done for Greece in giving them food,
knowledge, and instruction. Many strangers took inter-
est in visiting the schools. When in 1834 Rev. Charles
Stewart, then chaplain of a United States frigate, stopped
at Athens, Dr. King availed himself of this opportunity
to commission one so much interested in evangelistic
work to procure more funds for the gymnasium, also
philosophical apparatus and a press. This gymnasium
was finally closed in July, 1837. In the more primary
schools, the question of using the Greek catechism was
one of some difficulty, though in Dr. King's opinion,
duty seemed plain, not to use it at all. At Mani, at one

266 yONAS KING.

time, the minister of religion and instruction compelled
the missionaries to teach the catechism or dismiss their
schools ; but this was an arbitrary act, not according
lo their own laws. Objections were made to the use of
the Old Testament also. One bishop said, "'You will
make the children Hebrews," but he would give no di-
rect answer to the question, " Does your catechism con-
tain things contrary to the word of God .''"

MISSION WORK.

Dr. King's plans of work, as has been seen, were of
the most simple and direct character. He seemed to
take advantage of every opportunity to speak a word for
the Master, whose commissioner he was. Some of the
more intelligent Greeks sometimes came to him, Nicode-
mus-like, at night. By his familiarity with their own
religious classics, he was ready to meet every argument,
gladly recognizing the points of agreement, and proving
his own position from the Bible and those fathers whose
authority is recognized by the Greek church. Such a
course of argument was of course unanswerable, and his
reasoning, like that of Paul, was made in many cases,
a power for good.
^ April 4, 1842. "Called on CEconomos and gave

him Gallaudet's ' Natural Theology,' and ' Child's Book
on the Soul ' in modern Greek, and the ' Greek Reader.'
Conversed, I should think an hour and a half, on the
subject of translations, creeds, doing good in Greece,
etc. Proposed to him that the Scriptures should be
printed in a separate volume, and the notes of the fathers

LIFE- WORK AT A THENS. 2 6 7

in another to accompany it, so that we might get help
from abroad to print the Word of God, and from sub-
scriptions among ourselves for the notes to accompany
it. This after awhile he assented to. He acknowledged
that the Word of God ought to be placed in every fami-
ly, but with some notes from the fathers. I see no ob-
jection to this, and I have always been of the opinion
that the Translation of the Seventy should be given to
the Greeks."

As to the qualifications needed for a missionary. Dr.
King's standard was rightly a high one. The following
extract is taken from a letter to the Society of Inquiry
at Williams College in 1838 :

" The qualifications of a missionary to Greece, as
well as to any other part of the world, should be good
common sense, such a degree of intelligence at least as
is thought necessary for a clergyman in America, a
heart deeply humbled before God under a sense of its
own sinfulness, still rejoicing in the love of God to man
through Christ, who in going on his mission seeks no
honor except that which comes from God only." In a
letter of similar character to Amherst college he wrote,
" It does not seem to me so important that the number
of missionaries should be increased, as that those who
go should be of the right spirit, and properly qualified."
" Study much the Sacred Scriptures, and as much as
possible in the language in. which they are written.
This is of the highest importance "

In a letter to the Missionary Society at Oakland,
Mississippi, Dr. King writes, "The questions you ask

268 yONAS KING.

me are of the greatest importance. If the missionary
have a truly apostolical spirit he will surely find, as the
apostles did, his comforts increasing in proportion as he
is called to meet with trials. Outward afflictions are but
very light when the heart within has peace with God,
through Christ ; and when he has a lively hope of being
clothed upon with his spiritual house when the earthly
shall be dissolved. My greatest trials, I think I may say,
are those which I meet with from my own heart. Revi-
lings from men, having my name cast out as evil on ac-
count of Christ and his Gospel, generally produce in my
heart much joy. At the same time I must confess that
these afflictions are not in themselves joyous but griev-
ous."

To the Society at Andover, Oct. 26, 1850: "I fully
agree with you in the belief that efforts to do good
abroad produce happy effects at home. Light cannot be
shed on far-distant objects without illuminating those
that are near."

As to the establishment of missions by different sects
on the same ground, Dr. King's views were very decided.
He felt it was a great pity that they did not choose their
stations at different places. " I cannot feel it right for
missionaries of another society to come in to disturb
those who have been endeavoring to labor faithfully for
the conversion of souls." Yet, while regretting any fric-
tion ever arising from such causes, Christian union and
cooperation were near his heart, and it delighted him to
make note of the fact that when first sent out to Pales-
tine by the French Missionary Society of Paris, " which,"

LIFE-WORK AT ATHENS. 269

he says, " was formed at the house of one of my friends
(a dissenter also), one of the first who arose and proffered
aid to send me, was Rev. D. Wilson, now bishop of Cal-
cutta ; and some of my principal supporters were of the
Church of England." No one could enjoy more than he
reunions of Christians of various names, as on the occa-
sion of a missionary meeting of the United Brethren at
Basle, in June, 1843, at which Dr. Barth, Professor Stein,
Pastor La Roche, and Mr. Pilet took part, when all hearts
seemed melted together and gave outward expression
of this in a hymn commencing, " Hallelujah," with its
chorus of " Holy, holy, holy is God."

To his loved and congenial friend. Dr. Goodell of
Constantinople, Dr. King in 1854 gives a succinct idea
of the Greek field after twenty-five years' experience.

Allow first a few words of friendly preface. " You
say you are changing, growing gray, that your voice
shakes, and that ' the native grinders are reduced to
four.' All this may be, but the man Goodell never
changes. And I am happy to see, from the spirit of
your letter, that your friendship for me has not grown
old or gray, or been shaken or reduced because you did
not receive my answer to your letter, nor any acknowl-
edgment of the receipt of your interesting book.

" You ask me whether I am growing older or younger.
As a man's testimony in regard to himself, especially
when in his favor, is liable to be considered doubtful, I
think it better to adduce what some others have said
with regard to me. When I returned to the United
States after an absence of about seven years, Mr. Jere*

2^* ' - "

2 70 yONAS KING.

miah Evarts, Secretary, said he thought I had not
changed at all during that time.

" My wife has often remarked that I never change, or
but very little, and attributes it to her kindness. She
says it is because I have so good a wife ; and really
when I think how long I have lived, and what varied
scenes I have passed through, it seems to me strange
that I should be so little changed as I think I am. Still
I have many gray hairs, and those ' that look out at the
windows' do not distinguish objects as clearly as former-
ly, especially fine print, without the aid of glasses, of
which, however, I do not generally make any use. My
heart feels as warm towards my old friends as ever,

" Now as to the report of the state of evangelical reli-
gion in Greece, which you wish me to give, so as to be
incorporated with yours of Turkey, for the * great meet-
ing at the opening of the Crystal Palace in Paris next
spring,' and with regard to which you say, 'the shorter
and sweeter I can make it the better,' here it is, in about
as few words as I can make it.

" GREECE AS A MISSIONARY FIELD.

"Greece covered with the thorns and briers and this-
tles of superstition for ages, is a difificult field to cultivate ;
I have been laboring in it for about twenty-seven years,
ploughing and sowing in tears, yet with hope, and still feel
sure that the time of harvest will come and that sheaves
will be brought in with rejoicing. Prejudices are giving
way; a great victory with regard to religious liberty has
bce+i gained within the last few years. I distribute

LIFE- WORK AT A THENS. 2 7 1

thousands and hundreds of thousands of religious tracts
unhindered. The word of God, the Scriptures of the
Old and New Testament, is received in all the schools of
the kingdom, has 'free course' among all the people,
and -will be 'glorified.' A few only appear to have re-
ceived the truth in the love of it, but many are convinced
of the folly of their superstitions, and the importance of
receiving the word of God as the only rule of faith and
practice. The restraint already put upon the influence
of Gog and Magog has had a happy effect, and should
that influence be wholly restrained, a still happier may
be expected. I have never had more reason to hope for
success in my labors than at present.

" With affectionate remembrance to Mrs. Goodell and
your family, and to all the brethren and sisters of your
mission, I am, as I have been for thirty years past, your

sincere friend and brother in Christ,

"JONAS KING."'

BIBLE AND TRACT DISTRIBUTION.

Dr. Isaac Bird has called his book on Eastern Mis- y.
sions, very appropriately " Bible Work in Bible Lands."
Missionaries there were called Bible-men, so emphati-
cally was the distribution of the pure word of God their
special work. To none could the above title be applied
more truly than to Dr. Jonas King. The word of God
was not only the man of his counsel, but the sword which
he used, knowing its power through the Holy Ghost.

When possible he would employ an agent to assist in
thus spreading the truth, securing, if possible, the ser-

272 yONAS KING.

vices of a priest, for " a priest could go into the churches
and preach on the importance of having the word of God
in the language they understand,"

In the year 1835, Dr. King sold or distributed gratui-
tously 2,656 copies of the Sacred Scriptures, or parts of
them, and 25,893 schoolbooks and religious tracts ; in
1838, 6,275 New Testaments, and books in all, 32,410.
The average was 30,400 a year.

Such work was not carried on without opposition.
In 1836, a boy who had bought some Psalters and New
Testaments, and received some tracts, asked the bishop
of Talanti if he might keep them. The bishop replied,
"The tracts leave with me to examine. The Psalters
and New Testaments bury." Still, as a people, the
Greeks were enlightened enough to know that it was
contrary to the injunction of Christ for the Synod or
others to prohibit the common people from reading the
Word of God.

In 1834 a letter was sent to Rev. John C. Brigham,
Secretary, giving some criticisms asked for by the Bible
Society as to their new edition of the New Testament in
modern Greek, which was an improvement, he found,
upon that put forth by the London Society, though still
containing words that were falling into disuse among
the more intelligent people of Greece. There was a
great demand for these Bibles. One day forty or fifty
called for them, coming from different parts of the coun-
try, although the priests often opposed this work.

With regard to tracts. Dr. King's early acquaintance
with Dr. W. A. Hallock, ripening as years passed on into

LIFE- WORK AT A THENS. 273

full and appreciative Christian friendship, would natu-
rally lead him to use those weapons of attack and de-
fence which his friend so earnestly and successfully was
preparing. But their own adaptation to the end in view
was a sufficient motive for Dr. King to keep his armory
supplied with them, not only from New York, but from
London, Paris, and Brussels. The average number of
pages distributed was about 400,000 yearly, more than
half of which were provided by the American Tract So-
ciety. Close correspondence as to every detail was kept
up with his friend, the Secretary of this Society, which
no doubt is to be found in its archives. The influence
of efforts in this direction was far-reaching.

In 1857 Dr. King writes: "A son of the chaplain of
the King of Prussia, who was here last summer, and who
is himself assistant chaplain to the king, informed me
that a copy of the ' Prayers of the Saints,' which I sent
to his father several years before, had been the means of
the publication of many thousands of copies of the same
in the kingdom of Prussia, with the difference, I believe,
that they were accompanied with remarks as to the occa-
sion of the prayers ; whereas I published the prayers as
they are found in the Bible, without any remarks, except
what are contained in the caption or summary of their
contents."

Dr. King, during his last years of active service, gave
more and more time to translating and revising books
and tracts, finding from experience that a pure religious
literature was greatly needed in Greece, also a better
style of schoolbook. Thus does his work remain more

274 yONAS KING.

permanent in effect than was possible in any other form,
which yet at the time might have attracted more atten-
tion. A list of books and tracts, prepared and supervi-
sed by Dr. King, is given in Chapter XXIV. In eleven
years 281,399 books had been distributed.

TEMPERANCE.

In these days of revival in the temperance cause, it
is pleasant to trace footprints in the past in the same
direction, and Dr. King found reason indeed for effort of
this kind. Of one school of eighty boys in Greece he
says : " The teacher told me that it is so customary here
for people to drink wine and to give it to their children,
that very often he has been obliged to send home these
little boys on account of their having drunk so much
wine with their dinner as to be stupid and unfit for study.
At parties, I am told, they make the children drink in
their turn, as if they were men grown ! After hearing
of this, I reproved some of the people I saw for such an
unchristian usage. In one school I found a copy of the
ancient Greek New Testament, printed at Boston, which
I suppose I brought with me eleven years ago, or which
was sent to me for distribution."

In 1842 Dr. King drew up a temperance pledge in
Greek, and persuaded ten or more persons of different
grades and employments to sign it. One gentleman said
that he had left off wine since some conversation had
with Dr. King on the subject. A physician at Megara
was delighted to join in the effort to obtain names there.
One man wanted the privilege of taking a little now and

LIFE-WORK AT ATHENS. 275

then, but Dr. King said, " Keep your feet wholly out of
the devil's trap."

Six years before this time, however, the first step was
taken to form a society at Athens for the diffusion of
knowledge and promotion of temperance and sobriety,
and opposed to card-playing, duelling, intemperance in
eating and drinking, and luxury in dress and furniture,
that the mind and body may be kept in a proper state
for acquiring knowledge and improving in virtue. The
first meeting was held at Dr. King's house. Reports of
the temperance work in America were translated and
read aloud, together with a letter from Dr. King to Dr.
Justin Edwards, in answer to a notice received of his
own appointment as Corresponding Member of the
American Temperance Society, Thus was the tidal
wave of reform in America felt upon the shores of
Greece. Dr. King in his letter compares the manufac-
turers, sellers, and drinkers of ardent-spirits to the hosts
of Midian, and said that to overcome them lights must
be put " within the pitchers." He contradicts the asser-
tion as to the little evil that comes from wine-drinking,
for on the feast-days the people would drink it at the
taverns until their faces were inflamed, and they would
sit and sing nearly the whole night. Still there were in
Greece very few sots, or habitual drunkards. The influ-
ence of Europeans, however, had been unfortunate. Rum
was used more than formerly, and was often mixed with
the wine. Soon after Dr. King came to Athens a Turk-
ish bey, under the influence of rum, caused a poor man
to be beaten on the back in such a horrible way that he

276 yOiVAS KING.

died a few hours after, and for no other reason than that
the poor man would not purchase his beans at more
than the market price. Dr. King says, " I saw him car-
ried to the grave, followed by many mourners. The
weeping widow and several little children can tell some-
thing of the suffering occasioned by the use of ardent
spirits."

In 1843 steps were taken in Athens for the forma-
tion of a society having reference to temperance alone,
and which was favored by Dr. Roeser and other Greek
friends. In one year Dr. King distributed over a thou-
sand copies of a translation into modern Greek of the
American Tract Society's tract on the " Effects of Intem-
perance." In August, 1848, there appears in the Journal
the following note : " Went to the Piraeus with my family
to take the baths. A man there asked me if I remem-
bered speaking with him on the subject of intemperance
when riding up to Athens in a carriage in 1845, and said
that that conversation had been the means of saving
him ; that he had left drinking rum, which he before
used in large doses ; that he then was ill, but was now
in good health ; that he owed this to me, and that he had
spoken to many others, and had been the means of turn-
ing them from their intemperance." He seemed grateful.

The editor of the " Athena" once said that by means of
a piece prepared by Dr. King for reading at a meeting of
the Temperance Society, and which had been printed in
parts in his paper, he believed about one thousand per-
sons had been reclaimed from drinking.

In 1854 Dr. King wrote to Commodore Stringham in

LIFE- WORK AT ATHENS.

277

regard to a young man left by him at Athens who greatly
needed Christian aid and encouragement. This Dr. King
was enabled to give. The young man, upon recovery to
usual health, signed the temperance pledge.

These selections in regard to temperance may close
fittingly with a fact much to the honor of Governor
Wright, U. S. minister at Berlin at the time of the meet-
ing of the Evangelical Alliance there in 1857. In con-
nection with a nine days' meeting held at that time, of
which Dr. King made record, he adds : " Dined, in com-
pany with other Americans, with our minister, who had
no wine on his table, and whose health we drank with
bumpers of water."

i VISITS TO PRISONS. '

Dr. King did not forget the prisoner. He sought par-
ticular permission from the king's attorney to visit the
prison at Athens, and was referred to the minister of jus-
tice, and then to the Synod. About a year after he was still
unable to get an order allowing the New Testament to
be given to the prisoners, even those condemned to death
being thus deprived of the gospel. The minister of jus-
tice rema'rked, however, that owing to what Dr. King had
said, religious books had been put in the prison, and the
Catechism of Plato, and a priest had been ordered to go
every Sunday and teach the prisoners. Dr. King asked,
" Of what account is this so long as the gospel of our
Lord is excluded T He answered, " But the Synod,
whose authority is respected in Greece, has so ordered
it." Dr. King. " Well, we all, synods and rulers and

Jonas King. 24

2 73 yONAS KING.

kings, shall soon appear before a higher tribunal, before
Jesus Christ, to give an account."

In 1843, when at Ratisbon, a visit to the dungeons
there, and a sight of the instruments of torture used by
those in old times, weighed heavily on Dr. King's heart.
The details are too shocking to repeat. The terrible ap-
pliances used in the rack-chamber haunted the visitor's
mind night and day. He said, " Thank God for the light
which has now driven away such darkness of iniquity."

LIFE- WORK AT ATHENS. 279

CHAPTER XVIII.

LIFE-WORK AT ATHENS CONTINUED.

Home, Hospitality, Correspondence, and Personal Religious Expe-
rience.

The most cursory view of Dr. King's life and influ-
ence in Greece would recognize the warm-hearted hospi-
tality which made his home a centre, not only to the
missionary traveller, but to every American and English-
man passing through Athens. Frequent excursions were
made to the seaport, the Piraeus, to " welcome the coming
or to speed the parting guest." Mr. and Mrs. Buel of
the Baptist Board were stationed there, and many pleas-
ant hours were passed under their roof while waiting for
tide or steamer.

It were an impossible task to give the names of all
the friends thus received. Gov. Cass, Dr. Willett, Dr.
Calhoun of Mount Lebanon, Dr. Geo. B. Cheever, Mr.
Littlefield, Miss Susan Holmes, Dr. Van Rensselaer,
Rev. Mr. Lawrence of Marblehead, Rev. Arthur Mitch-
ell, Charles A. Stoddard, Thurlow Weed, and Dr. Duf-
field. Brooks of Boston, Rev. W. C. Roberts, and many
others, were of the number. A Mr. Allen was sick at
the house for weeks of typhus fever, and Rev. Francis
Parker of Boston spent his last hours there, both of them
receiving attention as in a brother's house. Dr. Levburn

28o yONAS KING.

came, a welcome assistant in the work, and the Arnolds
of the Baptist church gave loving sympathy on occasion
of the death of Dr. King's youngest daughter, Aspasia,
after a severe illness of seven weeks. This affliction
was the more trying, because just then Mrs. King was
with her daughters in America, and the cholera was lit-
erally raging through the city. Intercourse with Dr. and
Mrs. Korck, and Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin, was also of
pleasant character.

Rev. S. I. Prime, D. D., and a son of Henry Hill, Esq.,
visited Athens in 1853. There seemed a comedy of er-
rors as regards their experiences in a rainstorm, but all
was forgotten in the delight of a communion service to-
gether, administered by Dr. Prime, who also preached in
the evening. "A good audience and an admirable ser-
mon. I do not know that I have heard such a sermon
for many years. His text was Colos. 3:3:' For ye are
dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.' "

Dr. King's acquaintance with Dr. and Mrs. Robert
Baird was particularly intimate. Meeting Dr. King first
during his first visit to America, Dr. Baird afterwards
said that Dr. King had been the means of his going him-
self to Europe. This, on account of its results, Dr. King
considered an item of considerable importance. The
friends met afterwards in Switzerland, and the union was
still farther cemented by the long stay in Athens of one
of Dr. Baird's sons, who by his studies there in 1851 still
further prepared himself to fill most honorably a chair in
the New York University. By his prayers and Christian
sympathy he greatly cheered his venerated host, and his

LIFE- WORK AT A THENS. 28 1

book on "Modern Greece" is a valuable contribution in
regard to that country.

Saturday, March 16, 1853, Dr. King writes: "The
celebrated poet, William Cullen Bryant, called to see me
with three other Americans. When a boy I was ac-
quainted with Mr. Bryant, and visited at his father's
house. That was about fifty years ago." Again on the
1 8th inst. : "Mr Bryant and Mr. Durand spent the even-
ing with us. I was much pleased with Mr. Bryant, a
man of merit, with great simplicity of manner. This is
what I like — a man of first-rate talent without seeming
to be aware of it."

In 1854 Washington's birthday was observed by the
Americans in Athens with much ceremony. Hon. Hugh
Maxwell of New York, " in a brief but lucid and happy
manner, portrayed the noble character of the man whose
name is honored by every freeman in the world. Others
besides Americans were present, and many eyes were
filled with tears." The following notice appeared in the
" Panhellenium " soon after :

" Thanks and gratitude to the American orator, Max-
well, for the noble and truly most Christian sentiments
of himself and of the illustrious American nation, which
he expressed in his speech at Athens, the loth of Febru-
ary (22d, N. S.), 1854, in the house of the most Reverend
Mr. King, the representative of this evangelical nation of
the New World, at the celebration of the birthday of its
glorious and ever-memorable reformer, George Washing-
ton. These truly divine and golden words which he
uttered will remain ineffaceable in the hearts of the

24*

282 yONAS KING.

Greeks everywhere, exultant with enthusiastic joy and
gratitude.

"Such was the sympathy which the people of the
United States felt and expressed for those who were
struggling for liberty when Greece sought to throw off
the Mussulman yoke. Nor will this sympathy be less
fervent, nor the manifestation of it less speedy and de-
cided, in any similar future struggle of any other part of
the Greek race.

" Eternal, eternal be the memory of the glorious and
celebrated George Washington !

" Live for ever ! Live for ever, the glorious and most
Christian American nation !

"COUNT WINCHESEY."

Prof. Blackie of Scotland, Dr. Raffles of Liverpool,
and other European Christians, helped brighten the
house where they themselves were refreshed. Lady
Franklin also here received sympathy and greeting.

Greeks and even Mussulmans took refuge in Dr.
King's house in time of trouble. Sometimes ten or
eleven strangers would be there ; nor let us wonder that
sometimes his kind heart was imposed upon by strangers
whom he could not bear to think of as less honest and
sincere than himself.

Hon. Geo. P. Marsh and Commodore Stringham were
privileged to do a great work in defence of the right, as
appears in the account of Dr. King's persecutions. His
acquaintance became in time a very large one, and his
correspondence consequently extensive. In his travels

LIFE- WORK AT ATHENS. 283

we find mention of C. Edwards Lester, Powers the sculp-
tor, Count Cavour, who called and walked out with Dr.
King to show him the city of Turin, and of whom he
speaks as a very liberal-minded, intelligent man. Charles
Tilt at Florence showed Dr. King no little kindness, as
did also Rev. Mr. Hare, Henry Innis, Esq., and Rev.
Mr. Loundes at Malta, where also he met the reformers
Achilli and De Sanctis. A sister of Kossuth, " a very
interesting person," Dr. and Mrs. King called to see at
the Piraeus, who said her brother and all the family were
Protestants, which brought the cause of Hungary very
near his heart.

At Rome in 1847, Dr. King had a most interesting
conversation with the Padre Ventura, said to be the prin-
cipal mover in all the reforms about that time instituted
by the pope, Pio Nono, and the eulogist of Daniel O'Con-
nel. Padre Ventura wrote under his own likeness, which
he gave to Dr. King, these words : " L'unico mezzo evan-
gelico de propagare il Cristianismo e la predicazione da
parola del Vangelo" — "The only evangelical means of
propagating Christianity is the preaching of the word of
the gospel." More than one friendly discussion was held
by these two representative men, who finally parted with
a friendly embrace and with mutual good wishes.

Dr. King was presented to the pope, but says he did
not bow the knee before him nor kiss his hand, though
he witnessed the adoration that he received from the
populace.

After conversing with Cardinal Mezzofanti in five or
six of the fifty different languages which he could use,

2S4 yOJVAS KING.

but principally in Arabic, which Mezzofanti spoke very
fluently, he gave Dr. King, at his request, his autograph,
writing the subjoined lines :

" Great many tongues resound among mankind,
Their number overwhelms the power of mind;
Here under English lines I write my name;
I like this noble language, dear to fame.

"J. MEZZOFANTI."
" Rome, Oct. 18, 1847."

Dr. King himself had studied, more or less, ten or
eleven languages.

Very probably a part of the conversation between
the two linguists turned on the proper pronunciation of
Greek in our schools and universities, for Dr. King often
expressed the opinion very decidedly that that of modern
Greek should be the exemplar. Many words are the
same in the ancient language and the present. The new
dialect among the more intelligent Greeks is constantly
drawing from the old ; and if a student in the United
States or in Europe were taught to pronounce the words
as they are pronounced at Athens, he would be able to
hold conversation with the learned there in a very short
time, and very soon with the common people. Dr. King
thought Homer and Demosthenes would hardly recog-
nize their own productions as read in our colleges, the
sound of which " has been evolved from modern inner
■consciousness."

Many letters were interchanged by him with Mr. J.
C Symmes of London, whose liberal spirit devised and
r^arried out many things in aid of his friend's work and
personal comfort.

LIFE- WORK AT A THENS. 285

In November, 1852, we find mention of the name of
Howard Crosby, Esq., who has since proved himself, as
a divine as well as a layman, a warm and efficient friend
to the Greek mission, and whose house in New York has
been a home indeed to some connected with that mis-
sion.

Letters passed also between Dr. King and Fisher
Howe, Esq., of Brooklyn, whose work on " Oriental
Scenes" was much enjoyed by one so familiar with these
subjects as was Dr. King. Other names also appear of
men distinguished in the world of literature, science, or
Christian benevolence, such as Dr. Edward D. Atwater,
Nathaniel Hawthorne, Rev. Edward Robinson, D. D.,
Prof. C. C. Felton, and O. E. Wood. Official correspon-
dence was had with Daniel Webster, B. F. Butler, Secre-
tary of State under Van Buren, and other well-known
statesmen, who seemed to take personal interest in vin-
dicating the rights of an American citizen and mission-
ary abroad. To Edward Everett Dr. King sent a frag-
ment of marble from the Acropolis ; and through Dr.
King also a larger block was consigned by the Greek
government, to become a part of the Washington Mon-
ument.

In 1844 Rev. Dr. Anderson made a second official
visit to the East, accompanied at this time by Rev. Dr.
Joel Hawes of Hartford, at which time free conference
was had with Drs. King and Benjamin. It was decided
that Dr. Benjamin should go among the Armenians in
Turkey,* while Dr. King remained until his death the only
* Dr. Anderson's Oriental Churches, p. 160.

286 yONAS KING.

missionary of the American Board in Greece. During
nearly the whole of Dr. King's life in Athens, Dr. Hill,
an American Episcopal missionary, whose coming to
Greece has been mentioned, was resident there also.

Athens was by no means as quiet a place as its age
might lead one to expect. On one occasion Dr. King,
returning from Smyrna with his family, found his house
occupied by Bavarian soldiers, and several days passed
before the Nomarch and Demagerontes succeeded in dis-
lodging them. At another time, a house used for his
Lancastrian school was claimed for use by the Govern-
ment party just then in power for the accommodation of
some ofificers, and the furniture and benches were turned
out into the streets. These were troublous times. Fur-
ther facts will be given in the account of Dr. King's per-
secutions.

His personal relations with the kings of Greece were
always pleasant and satisfactory. A Bavarian prince,
named Otho, was put at the head of affairs in 1833, after
the murder of President Capodistria. The Acropolis was
then given up by the Turks, and Athens became the
seat of government.

King Otho proved friendly to the American residents
there. Dr. and Mrs. King were invited a number of
times to the palace. When the notes of invitation came,
it was sometimes pleasantly said, that Otho, king of
Greece, wished to confer with Jonas, king of America.
When a ball was proposed, special word would come that
there would be rooms where there would be no dancing,
and that Dr. King might retire when he chose. In 1834,

LIFE- WORK AT A THENS. 2 8 7

the king and the bishop of the city attended the exami-
nation in Greek, geometry, algebra, and the philosophy of
language, held for three days, of the students of the
gymnasium.

In February, 1835, at a public reception of Count
Armansberg, King Otho asked Dr. King many questions
as to his work, and a few days after sent for his Ameri-
can compeer. The Journal states : " At half-past six I was
received by the king with much urbanity and kindness,
who asked me many questions about my work, my coun-
try, and the colleges in America. I told him that it was
the students of my gymnasium that presented to him a
crown on a book, as he came from Eleusis to Athens the
first time, and how many difficulties they had to encoun-
ter for want of a lexicon and other books. On his ask-
ing me why the United States had no debt, how they
managed to arrive to such a state of independence as to
debt, I replied that we pay but little to those in office,
except to our judges, have but few soldiers, and many
husbandmen. In speaking of Greece, I said, ' Your
majesty has a great task to perform.' Toward the close
I mentioned to him that I had a friend, Mr. Riggs, who
would like to pay his respects to his majesty, and he said,
' To-morrow evening at half-past six, I will see you with
your friend,' and I retired much gratified with my recep-
tion, and also with the apparent good disposition of the
king. At the time appointed I presented Mr. Riggs to
the king, who received us very kindly."

Of one evening, on occasion of a visit of the king of
Bavaria to his son, King Otho, Dr. King says : " About

288 yONAS KING.

two hundred and fifty were present, nearly all the foreign
ambassadors with their families, the ministers of state,
and many others. At about nine o'clock the two kings
came in, bowed to the party, and took their seats in two
great chairs placed nearly in the middle of the hall, and
the concert commenced. The most of the time was
spent in singing and playing on the piano by ladies pres-
ent. An interval of perhaps half an hour was spent in
conversation, during which time cakes and lemonade
were handed to the company." In 1853, when under
sentence of exile, Dr. King was still invited to the court
as before. The queen too proved very friendly. She
once gave to Dr. King's little daughter, Elizabeth, a
pretty little basket, long treasured in remembrance of
her visit to the palace. When Dr. King at one time had
just returned from Germany, the queen asked many ques-
tions about the journey, and told him what he did not
know before, that the archduchess of Austria, and the
margrave of Baden, whom he had met, were her rela-
tives.

The frigate " Constitution " coming to the Piraeus in
1835, Dr. King entertained the ofHcers at his own house,
and went with them when introduced to the king and
ministers. Commodore Elliott proposed that Dr. King
should be made a consul, which he at this time declined ;
he was used, however, more than once as an informal
medium of communication between the government of
Greece and that of the United States, and seemingly to
the satisfaction of both parties, even before he became,
in 185 1, assistant consul for America, It will be seen

LIFE WORK AT A2 HENS. 289

that during subsequent persecutions, this official posi-
tion was one of the orderings of Providence in his be-
half.

Dr. King's relations with the Duke de Broglie wer

re

such as to enable him to aid the cause of Greece with
France also. In 1843 M. Colletti, coming to Athens as
special messenger, told Dr. King that what he had writ-
ten about Greece had prepared the way for the recoo-ni-
tion of the new order of things there by the French gov-
ernment, and that his representations had had influence
in England also, for Dr. King's statements had been re-
ceived, when those of others were more than doubted.

Dr. King's health was ever frail ; yet his constitution
must have been excellent, to allow of such persistent
effort for so many years.

As many false reports have been made of the wealth
acquired by him in Athens, suffice it to say, that upon
his first going there, purchase of land was necessary, for
no place could be hired for school or dwelling. Much
property had been confiscated. The market was over-
flooded. Dr. King bought some lots on most advanta-
geous terms. Afterwards the Greek government wished
to use about an acre of this ground for a public park,
and it was not until after twenty years that Dr. King's
claims were adjusted, through the intervention of Hon,
George P. Marsh, who also secured his rights as an
American citizen. The facts as to these purchases and
the rise of property in Athens, have been much exagge-
rated. Dr. King's salary was small, barely sufficient
with economy to meet the current expenses of his hos-

Jonas King. ^ C

290 JONAS KING.

pitable home and growing family. Twice he kept a
horse on account of his health, but sold it again after a
few months, to save expense to the Board. Does any-
one regret that a missionary, as well as any other man,
should be able to leave his wife and children in comfort-
able circumstances .''

As to this family, what joy came to the father's heart
as from time to time he heard of the hoped-for conver-
sion of his children while absent from him in America!
His letters to them on these occasions are epitomes of
parental gospel instruction. A code of maxims, written
by him in June, 1842, is herewith subjoined.

" I. Forget not to pray in secret every day. If pos-
sible, two or three times a day.

" 2. Read a portion of God's Holy Word both morn-
ing and evening.

" 3. In the morning, think, * What can I do to-day to
glorify my God and Saviour T and at night ask yourself,
* What have I done to-day to glorify him ?'

"4. Remember that our home is in heaven; that
your father hopes to meet you there one day, and to re-
main there together through eternity ; that to go there,
we must love God with all the heart, must repent of all
sin, believe in Jesus Christ and obey all his commands.
These commands you will find in his Holy Word, the
Bible.

" 5. Devote every Lord's day to the Lord, to reading
his Holy Word, to prayer, to hearing the gospel preach-
ed, and to meditation on the things that are above, where
Christ is.

LIFE- WORK AT A THENS. 29 1

"6. Speak the truth at all times. Never dissemhle.
Never tell a lie.

" 7. Choose for your friends and playmates those who
love the Lord Jesus Christ and his Holy Word.

" 8. Keep yourselves from idols.

"9. Do not keep company with those who lie, who
trifle with the truth, who disregard God's holy day, who
neglect his Holy Word, and who seem not to reverence
the name of God, the Creator of all things.

" 10. If any one laughs at you for being devoted to
God, for praying to God, for loving prayer, for keeping
his day holy, for reading his Word, for being religious,
do not be angry with them, and do not be sorrowful ;
rather rejoice that you should suffer shame for Christ's
sake. All good people are more or less despised by the
wicked people of this world.

"II. Never go to a ball or a theatre, however much
your young friends or old friends may solicit you and
urge you.

" 12. Remember your father and his instructions, and
pray for him every day."

Of Dr. King's own inner life, it may be said that he
was well aware of his besetting imperfections ; and that
he often wrote about as follows : " I desire a meek and
humble and quiet spirit, that will submit to anything
that God sends." Under the influence of early training,
he, for some years, probably spent more time in fasting
and in searchings of his own heart for tokens of his ac-
ceptance with God, than was profitable ; but it is to the
glory of our God to note that as life passed on, and was

292 yONAS KING.

more and more given to the service of Christ, this dear
servant of his learned to look upon him as a Saviour all-
sufficient to deliver from all evil ; so that he found out
the secret of casting anchor, not in one's own experience
or feelings, but in the finished work of our blessed Re-
deemer. In June, 1840, Dr. King writes: " God would
never have given me such a spirit of prayer and suppli-
cation and of dependence on him, if he did not intend
finally to give me the victory." Again in 1843 : " I think
I have more joy in believing than I used to have, perhaps
than I ever had before, and I feel a degree of certainty
that I love the Saviour and that I am born of God, which
I perhaps never felt before ; and I can speak differently
now from what I used to speak. Oh, I am so happy in
Christ ; have such a hope of a crown, a kingdom, an in-
heritance in heaven, that all the grandeur of this earth
seems vain. To love Christ, serve Christ, live for Christ,
to glorify Christ, whether by life or by death, seems so
great, so wonderful, so glorious.

"As I walk the streets of this joyous city [Vienna], I
sometimes weep to think that I am permitted to do
something for Christ ; to say a word for him to those
whom I meet with ! Glorious service, happy service, the
service of Christ ! I long to do much for him ; I beg of
him to give me much to do in his yineyard. Lord Jesus,
help me to glorify thee."

"Jan. 24, 1849. This has been to me a happy day.
I have had opportunity to converse with ten or twelve
different persons, Greeks, seriously on the subject of re-
lierion."

LIFE- WORK AT A THENS. 2 93

" Jan. 18, 1852. Almost the only thing which greatly
interests me now on earth is the work of my mission.
The world seems to have lost its charms. Intercourse
with those who have nothing to speak of but the things
of this world seems wearisome. In conversing with peo-
ple in regard to the concerns of their souls, and in pre-
paring my sermons, I am happy."

Amid all his trials and anxieties, facts like the follow-
ing, which came to him through Rev. David Stoddard of
Ooroomiah, more than once brought " comfort and joy and
strength " to his soul.

Sometime since as one of the Secretaries of the Board
was travelling in Vermont, he went into a house where
he was unknown, and commenced conversing with the
inmates. He soon found that the mother of the family
was deeply interested in missions. Said she, " I have
read the ' Missionary Herald ' for thirty years straight
through, and there is not a single missionary that I have
not known something about." She then went on to enu-
merate different individuals who have been at times in
circumstances of peculiar trial, and for whom she had
been accustomed to pray by name. " There," said she,
" is Dr. King, at Athens. I have long prayed for him.
Sometimes when I have waked up in the night, and be-
gun to pray for him, I have felt impelled to get up and
pray on my knees. 'No,' said I, 'it will do just as well in
my bed ;' but nothing would answer till I got up and
poured out an earnest prayer for him on my knees, and
then I went to bed and slept quietly." When she was
through, the Secretary said, " Well, I 'm extremely inter-

25*

294 yOJVAS KING.

ested in all this. I know Dr. King very well myself. I
have been with him at Athens, in the midst of his trou-
bles." The woman looked at him with surprise and in-
credulity for a moment, and then said, " Go right out of
my house, this minute. There is not a word of truth in
it." Her faith, strong as it was, did not extend to this.
She could not believe that any one who had actually seen
him in Athens, could ever see her in Vermont.

Of the above account in a letter from Dr. Anderson,
Dr. King says, " I read it with tears ; and when I read it
to my wife, she seemed affected even to tears." Upon
his return to this country, though making many inqui-
ries, Dr. King was never able to find out the name of his
Vermont friend.

FRUITS OF LABOR. 295

CHAPTER XIX.

FRUITS OF LABOR.

Yusuf Aga — Various Testimonies — Luigi Bianclii — Dr. Anderson's
View of Dr. King's Missionary Work.

The promise reads, "My word shall not return unto
me void," and Dr. King's distribution of the Bible, and
his expositions of it, so plain and simple in opposition to
the technicalities of the priests, the instruction given by
him in the schools, his preaching in the chapel and by the
wayside everywhere, could not fail of good results, for in
all and through all it is plain to see that he ever looked
above for a blessing upon every effort. Although Dr.
King's was eminently a work of subsoiling and prepara-
tion, still he was permitted himself to see, here and there,
the promise and even the first fruits of a rich harvest.

Incidental instances of this have been given, and also
of the way in which the hearts of men in political power
were sometimes turned in favor of the gospel.

In 1841, the Greek ambassador to England expressed
deep interest in regard to having the Septuagint repub-
lished in Modern Greek, and thus adapted to popular
use. A colonel in the army said he often sent people to
Dr. King for books and that he approved of his teaching.
The story of Yusuf Aga is an interesting one. When a
boy of twelve years, he was treated so cruelly at home
by his step-brothers, that he jumped from a window and

296 yONAS KING.

went to the cadi at Tripolizza, and became a Mussulman.
Being of a distinguished Greek family he rose to power
and wealth. About 1841, he came to Greece and took
on him some expenses for his nephews and nieces there.
Dr. King sought his acquaintance and soon commended
to him the study of the New Testament, and Yusuf came
to the next Sunday service. With the uncle of this man
Dr. King held spirited discussions also. After a while
Yusuf was dangerously sick. There was a suspicion of
poison, never proven. Afterwards this man took refuge
in Dr. King's own house, bearing all his own expenses ;
coming there at first at night with all the importunity
of the man desiring three loaves and which could not be
resisted. His stay continued for over two months. Ev-
ery day some time was given to the religious instruction
of himself and his followers ; and his Greek relatives
came often to hear Dr. King preach. There was danger
that Dr. King would be accused of the terrible crim.e of
proselytism. One thing was true, that the teaching of
the Gospel was of more use to Yusuf's bodily health than
all the prescriptions of the physicians, who yet were in-
telligent and excellent men.

Sometimes a young Greek would come and say that
he owed to Dr. King's instructions at Athens his safety
from evils to which he was exposed, that he should oth-
wise have been ruined ; or a lady would send for Scott's
" Force of Truth " and then tell Dr. King she had left
all her images and prayers to saints, and prayed only to
God through Jesus Christ, taking the Scriptures as her
only rule and making them now her constant study.

FRUITS OF LABOR, 297

Others are mentioned as also coming to the light and
saying they could not conscientiously remain believing
one thing and practising the other. One man said that
if he made his true belief known he should be destroyed.
A Greek lady present confirmed this, saying that he
would be torn to pieces — that he could not live three
days. Another young man, a teacher, said that he owed
everything to Dr. King and to that Word of God he put
in his hands. Without it he would have been a wild
beast ; that it had been his comfort in trouble ; that he
recommended it to all his scholars, so that, as some of
them were now quite enlightened, suspicions of heresy
were excited with regard to himself. Another said that
when, twenty years before, he heard of Dr. King's school
at Tenos, he had said, " Why do you suffer him ? why do
you not kill him .''" and that he would himself at that
time have killed him, but now he considered his presence
a benediction."

June 5, 1844. "N. M. T., a Hydriote, 42 years old,
called ; said he had formerly been in my service ; that
he was at first very superstitious and opposed to us ;
wished to kill us ; that he led on men to attack the
schoolhouse in Syra. But on reading the New Testament
his eyes were opened, and now he wished to support us."

Once, attending the funeral of one of the students,
the father said, " Ever since your visit to him a few days
ago he talked constantly of Christ ; said the world was
worth nothing. When told to pray to the saints to help
him, he said, ' First look to Christ.' His talk was all of
Christ."

298 yOATAS KING.

July 30, 1834. " To-day two of the students belonging
to the third class in the gymnasium called and told me
of their conversation with their uncle, a priest, who asked
them if I made the sign of the cross. They said, * He
teaches us the gospel and to do what Christ says, and
what signifies the sign of the cross ?' He told them they
must pray to saints and worship them ; they said they
did not find anything of this in the gospel, but simply
that they must worship God. He said the saints would
tear their eyes out if they did not ; they said, if Christ
was their friend they did not fear, and that if the saints
would tear their eyes out, they were not saints, but
devils."

March 18, 1849. "Mr. Whiting's letter from Constan-
tinople informed me of the hopeful conversion of M. M.
and others, and that M. M.'s first impressions in favor of
truth were made on his mind by me some twenty-five
years ago."

August 15, 1856. "Three young men called, asking
to be admitted to the communion. One attributes the
change in his feelings to reading 'The Dairyman's Daugh-
ter,' which I gave him perhaps a fortnight ago. Another
to *Alleine's Alarm,' which I published in modern Greek
several years ago. The third dates his conversion seve-
ral months back."

In 1859 there appeared in London a book called " In-
cidents in the Life of an Italian : Priest, Soldier, Refugee.
By Luigi Bianchi," which bears testimony to the blessing
attending one of Dr. King's various efforts. About thirty
pages of this volume are given to an account of Dr. King's

IRUIl'S OF LABOR. 299

kindness to the author when a stranger in Athens, He
says :

" Some days after my arrival, Mr. King, a missionary,
called, and the progress of the acquaintance clearly de-
monstrated the benevolent purpose with which it was
sought. His questions were not only put with the most
delicate discretion, but were themselves so intelligent,
that I became much interested. My obstinacy only
seemed to inspire Mr. King with fervor, and from a pious
zeal for my soul he began to prove that all essentially
Roman- catholic doctrines are in direct opposition to the
gospel. He strove to enlighten me with double earnest-
ness when he became aware that I had been a priest. I
knew no arguments for his refutation. I defended a
cause that I knew to be lost, from the inveterate habit of
priestly life, which teaches a man that he must inculcate
certain dogmas, though he has already rejected them.
This truly Christian teacher would not leave me to my
blindness, but with nobleness of mind, softened by broth-
erly love, unveiled to my view doctrines not as yet un-
derstood, without allowing my pertinacity to discourage
him. He led me at last to doubt myself ; to look at the
truth in humility of spirit, confiding no longer in myself,
but in God. Soon I began to perceive that salvation
could not be wrought by works, but only by a lively faith
in Him who had already saved me. Mr. King read me
many passages ; he watched over me with the anxiety of
a father or brother. He often prayed with me. The
Lord led the good Mr. King to me in Athens, who, be-
sides inexpressible and much more important spiritual

300 yONAS KING.

benefits, shared with me from his own large heart his
temporal good things also, procuring me employment as
a translator at a generous compensation, thus giving me,
like a true gentleman, substantial assistance without hu-
miliation."

The above scattered specimens of good work accom-
plished, in the case of individuals here and there, give,
after all, but an imperfect idea of Dr. King's success as a
missionary. From the heavenly heights alone can a sat-
isfactory bird's-eye view be obtained of the life of any
Christian. There we may see plainly the difficulties of
the way, and study to all eternity the wondrous grace
that out of the very weakness of the instruments used,
reveals the more strikingly the power and glory of Christ.

The church accepts in theory the fact that one soul
is of more value than the whole world, but seems practi-
cally to feel a minister's work is almost in vain unless
crowned with many conversions. God judges with more
"equal eyes;" nor can any unprejudiced person look at
the results of Dr. King's labors, even in Europe alone,
without being satisfied that he was a shaft both strong
and polished, fit for the Master's use, and that few have
been privileged to do so much as he for the honor of our
Lord.

The history of Greece is not yet finished, but it is
even now conceded that the labor of American mission-
aries there has not been fruitless. In 1873, Dr. Rufus
Anderson, after long observation, was able to say of the
Greek government, that it was not what it would have
been had not so much good seed been sown in that coun-

FRUITS OF LABOR. 301

try. " And the same may be said of the social state.
Nor were the same ideas prevalent among the people as
to the authority of councils and of the ancient fathers,
and the authority of God's Word stood higher than be-
fore ; nor were there the same impressions concerning
Protestantism. The Word of God, printed in the spoken
language, was in very many of the habitations of the
people."

Of Dr. King he says : " He was evidently designed
by Providence to be a reformer; and though he lived not
to witness anything that could be called a reformation
among the Greek people, the battle he fought, through
so many years, with the bigotry and intolerance of the
Greek hierarchy, will be held in perpetual remembrance.
A reformation has begun, and Dr. King, more than any
other Protestant, was the instrument of Providence in
bringing it about. To him is it owing preeminently that
the Scriptures, since the year 183 1, have been so exten-
sively used in the schools, and that in Greece ' the Word
of God is not bound.' It is not forgotten that others la-
bored with him, and not in vain ; but it is mainly to the
preaching of Dr. King, during his protracted residence
in Greece, in connection with his persistent and trium-
phant struggle with the Greek hierarchy, that we owe,
under God, the visible decline there of prejudice against
evangelical truth and religious liberty."

26

302 JONAS KING.

CHAPTER XX.

PERSECUTIONS.

Excommunications — Accusations in Newspapers and before the
Courts — " Defence of Jonas King " — Conspiracies — Tempo-
rary Exile — Power of the American Flag.

Greece, as Dr. King himself said in his letter to Dr.
Goodell, was a difficult field. After the people there be-
came free from Turkish rule, old ambition for political
power in Europe was stealthily kept up by Russian
agency, and national pride was aroused against the influ-
ence of every foreigner, and a reaction followed the gush
of intense gratitude at first felt for kindness shown du-
ring the time of their struggle for liberty.

Again, the Greek church is in some respects even
more exclusive than the Papal church. It claims to have
the only true apostolical succession and right baptism,
Protestants, Episcopal or Non-episcopal, are all consid-
ered unbaptized heretics. It holds to transubstantiation,
worshipping the Virgin Mary, baptismal regeneration,
and the power of ordinances to save the soul. Excom-
munication is regarded with extreme dread. An amusing
instance of the ignorance of the common people in re-
gard to such an edict is as follows : Early in Dr. King's
missionary experience, a paper of excommunication
against him had been read one Sunday in one of the

PERSECUTIONS. 303

Greek churches. Some person was overheard asking
another what it was all about. No doubt the word " Jo-
nah " had caught the ear, and the answer was, " I think
it was an excommunication of any one who should eat of
the fish that swallowed Jonah."

Before any persecutions of Dr. King actually com-
menced, mutterings of a coming storm had long been
heard. The messenger who came from America in 1828
with supplies of food and clothing had indeed received a
grateful welcome, and many listened to his words with
respect through the years succeeding. But as time
passed on it is certain that the ecclesiastical authorities
became alarmed.

In 1835 the bishop, formerly of Talenti, a member of
the holy synod, preached for several weeks against the
American schools, threatening excommunication, and
saying, " The curse of the three hundred and eighteen
fathers will be upon all who shall send their children to
them." But Dr. King was still able to say, " The feel-
ings of the people generally, I think, are with me ; and
the Minister of the Interior said to me some time since,
* Go on with your work ; it is good ; do not be afraid.' I
had told him what I teach in the gymnasium, and that
the bishop was threatening curses, and I said to him, ' If
the three hundred and eighteen fathers were in heaven,
I presume they would obey Christ, who said, "Curse
not ;" and that T, in teaching His gospel, was not afraid
of curses coming upon my head from heaven.' "

He also writes : " The work in which I profess to be
engaged is the Lord's, and not mine ; and if the way in

304 yO.YAS A'JA'G.

which I thought to perform it is not the way he chooses,
I hope to be led by his providence clearly to perceive
it."

Dr. King's preaching of the pure doctrines of the
cross iu7isi have had some effect, since it attracted atten-
tion from both synod and government. The secret of
the opposition aroused on the part of the priests may
have been that " their craft was in danger."

Be this as it may, the fact remains that "in 1844,
being accused in some of the Greek newspapers in Ath-
ens of reviling the images, the Virgin Mary, and the doc-
trine of transubstantiation, he replied through the same
papers, giving extracts from the writings of Chrysostom,
Basil, Epiphanius, and others, showing that his opinions
on these subjects were the same as those entertained by
some of the most distinguished fathers in the Oriental
church; and in 1845 ^^ collected these accusations and
answers and published them, with some additions, in a
small book in Greek, entitled the ' Defence of Jonas
King.' " This book contained, for instance, the follow-
ing from Epiphanius, one of the fathers of the Eastern
church : " Let the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost
be worshipped ; Mary, let no one worship," and being
sent to the most prominent men, civil and ecclesiastical,
in Greece and Turkey, produced a great excitement
through these countries ; and in August of the same
year, 1845, "the Greek synod at Athens issued against
him what was called in the public papers an excommu-
nication, and such as was considered by the Jews the
highest kind of excommunication, namely: not an ex-

PERSECUTIONS. 305

communication from a particular church, but from the
whole community ; and soon after a similar excommuni-
cation was hurled against him by the so-called ' Great
Church' of the Greeks at Constantinople. These ex-
communications were sent to churches throughout Greece
and Turkey; and in one of the churches at Athens the
little book was burned publicly in the midst of anathe-
mas and execrations against the writer of it. A prose-
cution was commenced against him by the Greek gov-
ernment, at the instigation of the Greek synod, and in
April, 1846, he was brought before the Areopagus, the
highest court in Athens, and condemned to be sent to
Syra, to be tried before the criminal court in that place,
before which felons of the lowest order are tried."

Dr. King in these official papers was characterized as
a " hypocrite, deceiver, impostor, impious, abominable,
and a vessel of Satan." In September, about one hun-
dred copies of this book, the "Defence," which he had
on hand, were seized by the government, but nine hun-
dred copies were already abroad, each blazing with the
light of truth. Dr. King gives a characteristic account
of his examination before the Areopagus.

" Question. What is your name }

"Answer. Jonas King.

*' Q. Your country .-'

" A. The United States of America.

" Q. Of what city .?

"A. Hawley, a country town.

" Q. What is your age .''

"A. Fifty-three.

2C*

3o6 yONAS KING.

" Q. What is your profession ?

" A. I am an evangelist ; that is, a preacher of the
word of God.

" Q. What is your religion ?

" A. What God teaches in his Word ; I am a Chris-
tian most orthodox.

" Q. Did you publish this book, entitled ' Jonas King's
Defence, etc' ?

"A. I did, and distributed it here and elsewhere. I
gave it to all the professors in the University and to
others.

"The judge then read to me my accusation as fol-
lows : ' You are accused of having in your book reviled
the mother of God, the holy images, the liturgy of Chry-
sostom and Basil, the seven oecumenical councils, and
the transformation of the bread and wine into the body
and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in the fearful mys-
tery of the communion.'

" Q. Have you any defence to make .■*

" A. Those things in my book with regard to Mary,
with regard to transubstantiation, and with regard to
images, /did not say; but the most brilliant luminaries
of the Eastern church, St. Epiphanius, St. Chrysostom,
the great St.. Basil, St. Irenaeus, Clemens, and Eusebius
Pamphyli say them.

" Q. Have you anything to add ?

"A. Nothing.

" I was then directed to subscribe my name to the
examination, which I did, and went away."

The fact that Dr. King was summoned to appear,

PERSECUTIONS. 307

July 22, 1846, before the criminal court at Syra, proved
that the offences against him were declared criminal in
law. The penalty was imprisonment. An inflammatory
pamphlet, secretly printed, was circulated in advance
among judges, jurors, and the populace, with the avowed
sanction of a high priest. Great excitement followed.
The governor of the island, Syra, "declared that he
should not be able to protect him, and . all Dr. King's
lawyers whom he had employed, five in number, advised
him not to set his foot on shore, but to return to Athens
in the same steamer (Austrian) in which he came. This
advice he followed, but was insulted on the way by
Greeks who were on board with him, and even his life
was seriously threatened. Towards evening the same
day he was back again in Athens, and here learned from
a credible source that there was a conspiracy of fifty per-
sons to take his life. This was communicated to his wife
by a Greek female, who was friendly to her and did not
wish to see her a widow ; and so his life was preserved,
but he was obliged for some time to remain in his house."
There were threats made of stoning him should he ap-
pear abroad, but the Lord stirred up the minds of some
persons connected with the police to offer to defend him
in case of need.

" By the more intelligent in the community, whether
native or foreign, and by several of the ablest journals,
the proceedings of the court were strongly condemned.
Twelve Greek lawyers, several of whom had held the
highest offices in Greece, and were among the most dis-
tinguished of their profession, signed their names to a

3o8 JONAS KING.

letter declaring their entire dissent from its proceed-
ings."

In 1847 he was again cited to appear before the crim-
inal court in Syra. On receiving this citation he went to
the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and remonstrated, teUing
him that he might as well send him to the guillotine as
to send him to Syra. He also went with his lawyers to
the Minister of Justice and made a verbal remonstrance
against being sent to Syra, where his life would be in
jeopardy, instead of being tried at Athens, where the
offence, if any, had been committed.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs being the friend of
Dr. King, and the Minister of Justice seeing the rea-
sonableness of his demand, the citation was recalled.

Soon after this, in July, 1847, there appeared in one
of the first Greek newspapers in Athens, certain articles,
called " The Orgies of King," and signed by a man
named " Konstantine Simonides," which produced such
an excitement against Dr. King that the government
was obliged to send soldiers to guard his house ; and he
was at length induced by the advice of the king and his
ministers, amounting to little less than an order, to leave
the country for a while till the excitement should abate ;
and so he fled to Geneva in Switzerland, where he re-
mained for a time, then visited Sardinia, Tuscany, Rome,
Naples, Sicily and Malta.

Soon after his departure from Athens, an order for his
imprisonment was issued by one of the king's attorneys
at Athens, and a new prosecution commenced on the
accusation of proselytism brought against him in the

PERSECUTIONS. 309

" Orgies," and a great number of persons, perhaps two
hundred, as he was informed, were examined by the king's
attorney at the criminal court, in order to find evidence
to establish the charge.

The " Orgies " purported to be a description by an
eye-witness of shameless scenes and ceremonies, such as
the very name suggests, and carried on at night in Dr.
King's house, under the guise of religious observances.
Of Simonides it should be said, he seems to have been
an unprincipled adventurer, used as a tool by the Arch-
deacon Leontius E. of Constantinople, the real author of
the " Orgies." Simonides himself was set aside as a wit-
ness in one of the courts, as being "a servant dismissed
by his master for stealing." In 1849 this same man
brought forward some parchments which he said he had
found in a monastery, and which he tried to palm off as
writings of Homer, Hesiod, and Anacreon, more ancient
than any others extant. These manuscripts attracted
much attention. A committee of Greek scholars was
appointed to examine them. This committee pronounced
them to be forgeries, executed with great skill. Although
masterpieces of calligraphy, the writer had failed, in
some cases, to preserve the distinctive spelling or the
form of letters peculiar to each epoch, and thus the
deception was discovered. Thus too, did God still fur-
ther vindicate the cause of Dr. King. The testimony of
a man, proved to be a forger of ancient writings, could
not be received concerning modern events.

Dr. King's enforced absence from home gave him
opportunity to witness for Jesus in Italy and Rome it-

310 yONAS KING.

self; so that the truth was the "more abundantly scat-
tered abroad." His name was already known ; for this
persecution, though a " thing done in a corner " of Eu-
rope, could not be hid, and attention everywhere was
called to it.

Mr. and Mrs. W. W. Chester of New York, Dr.
Riggs and the Count de Gasparin all wrote, suggesting a
visit to America : but this idea, though a tempting one,
was after a few months abandoned.

In 1848, in consequence of the great revolution in
France, the ministry at Athens was changed, and the
new Minister of the Interior being friendly to Dr. King
he ventured to return to Athens, where he arrived from
Malta in June, and again resumed his missionary labors.
Not wishing that there should be any appearance of his
being in Athens in a clandestine way, he called on the
ministers of state, and was received by them very cordial-
ly. By advice of friends however, he did not hold pub-
lic services until September.

March, 185 1, Dr. King was appointed United States
consular agent. The hand of God appears in this, just
in time of need ; for popular excitement had again been
aroused in regard to the preaching of pure Bible doc-
trines.

Saturday, March 22, the journal has this simple en-
try : " Opened a tin-box, which was sealed, and took out
the American flag, which at the request of Mr. Dioma-
tari, consul, had been sent from Washington for the
American Consulate at Athens."

The same evening Dr. Kins: learned that some mem-

PERSECUTIONS. 3 1 1

bers of the House of Representatives, perhaps even its
president or vice-president, would probably attend his
service the next day, that they might judge themselves
as to his teachings ; but he told his informant that
would make no difference, his sermon was prepared and
he should make no changes.

The next morning, Sunday, he says, " I felt calm,
and committing all my concerns for timiC and eternity
into the hands of my Creator, feeling that if my life
should be taken, I should go to be with Christ which is
better than to be here, I went down to my service. On
entering the room I found it crowded to overflowing.
More than a hundred, perhaps a hundred and fifty, were
present. All arose. I bowed to them and took my seat
as usual. At my right hand, and close to me, I observed
a soldier with a short sword, and the thought entered
my mind for a moment, that perhaps he had come to do
me harm. Near him was a secretary from the House of
Representatives. In the room there was no place for
the females, not even for my wife." After two or three
minutes. Dr. King arose, offered prayer and went on
with the usual services. As soon as the benediction
was pronounced, a student in the university, who was a
nephew of the late patriarch of Constantinople, came for-
ward, and said he wished to make one remark. Dr.
King answered, "If it is with regard to my discourse
to-day, and nothing that will bring on a discussion, well ;
if not, I do not wish it." " He said, ' Yes, with regard to
what was said to-day,' and began by saying, that I had
remarked that Cain killed Abel, because his own works

312 yOiVAS KING.

were evil, and his brother's righteous ; and that all that
persecute and kill their brethren because they believe in
Christ and are good people, are actuated by the same
spirit by which Cain was actuated ; that in this remark
I had intimated that they were such because they perse-
cute me.

" Here I interrupted him and said, ' I spoke of no
one in particular, but in general ; but if what I had said
fitted any one here, of course he might receive it.'

" He then began to speak of what I had said on other
Sundays contrary to the dogmas of the Holy Eastern
Apostolical Church ; but I again interrupted him, saying,
that if his remarks were not confined to my discourse this
day, I did not wish them : that if he wished, I would ap-
point some other day when all might come, and hear
what he had to say.

" At this, different voices were heard saying, ' Now,
now, let him speak ! We wish it now ! We are all con-
cerned in this business ; it is an affair of religion,' etc.,
and many became somewhat noisy.

" At this juncture my wife made her way through the
crowd to the table at which I was standing, and told the
priest, or deacon, or monk, that she would not have him
talking here in this manner; that this was our house,
and not a theatre or public place in which he could take
such liberty. I finally thought it would be best, per-
haps, to let him speak, and said so to my wife ; but she
said * No ;' and then I said to the audience that as my wife
did not wish it he must desist ; that this was a private
house, and not only so, but the Consulate of the United

PERSECUTIONS. 313

States. Then one N. G. rather insulted my wife, and
told her that the woman did not rule ; and she said to
him that he must go somewhere else to talk ; and he said,
' Where ?' and she said, ' Where you like ;' and he said,
' To the temple of Olympian Jupiter,' and then pressed
along through the crowd as if to go out, crying, ' Let us
go ! let us go !' But seeing not many ready to go he re-
turned, and now the vociferation of those who were for
and against became so great that the voice of my wife
was drowned, and some of her female friends were fright-
ened. Some beckoned to give me a beating, some beck-
oned to me to retire, and the tumult at last became so
great, that telling them again that this was not only my
private house, but the Consulate of the United States, I
went up stairs and took the United States flag and gave
it to my man Constantine, with whose aid I had it un-
furled at the upper door of my house, and at the sight
of this the crowd immediately dispersed.

" It seemed to me to be by a peculiar providence that
the flag arrived just at this time, and that I had been led
to take it out of the case the day previous, so that it was
in readiness.

" I noticed another peculiar providence. The soldier
who sat at my right-hand armed with a short sword,
called on me afterwards, with Mr. Katachana, and told
me that two or three days since he had heard that some
fifteen persons were coming to my service, with inten-
tions of using personal violence, and that he and another
took a seat close by me, for my defence, but that many
motions were made that they should begin to beat me."

Jonas King. O"^

314 yONAS KING.

To the credit of the Greek police, let it be said, that
when they heard of the disturbance, they came and took
the names of two or three of the ringleaders ; and a
military officer also called, and expressed regret at what
had taken place.

Dr. King adds : " During all this time I felt perfectly
tranquil, and should not have left the room, were it not
that others beckoned for me to leave, and that I saw no
other way to still the tumult but to go up and unfurl the
American flag. Blessed be God, who has preserved me
and given me such perfect peace of mind and joy in my
work."

The effect of Dr. King's own glowing description of
the power of the " Stars and Stripes " to protect an
American citizen, cannot be reproduced here. During
his last visit to America, as he told the story before the
United States Senate, one may well imagine the thrill
felt all through the audience. Every one, forgetting him-
self for a moment in thoughts of what our country's flag
is everywhere able to do, gave loud vent to loyal enthu-
siasm.

But to return to Greece. On the Monday following
the above demonstrations. Dr. King, by advice of his
friends, sent to the Minister of Foreign Affairs a state-
ment of the disturbance.

Petitions were soon made against him to the Greek
synod, also to the Senate and House of Representatives,
signed by forty or fifty names, and a new prosecution at
law was commenced against him ; and after the examina-
tion of many witnesses, an indictment was made out

PERSE C UTIONS. 3 1 5

against him, "for reviling the God of the universe and
the Greek rehgion."

In March, 1852, he was brought to trial, and "con-
demned to fifteen days' imprisonment, to pay the cost of
the court, and then to be exiled from the country." In
prison he appealed from this decision to the Areopagus,
the highest court in Greece, which confirmed the sen-
tence in all respects, except that the term of imprison-
ment was reduced from fifteen days to fourteen. On
receiving the decision of the Areopagus, he sent to the
Greek government a protest in the name of the United
States government, against the unjust decision of the
courts, and against the execution of it. This brought
the Greek government to a stand, and the sentence of
exile was not executed, though the Minister of the Inte-
rior, as Dr. King was told, declared that it should be ;
and Dr. King, in expectation of this, had all his effects
packed ready for departure.

In the summer of 1852, the Hon. George P. Marsh,
minister resident at Constantinople, came to Greece, by
order of the United States government, " to investigate
the whole affair of Dr. King's trial and condemnation,"
and also the affair of a lot of land, of which Dr. King
had been deprived the free use for about twenty years
by the Greek government, and to make report to the
United States government relative to both cases. This
investigation he made in the most splendid manner, and
as very few men would have been capable of doing, and
that on account of his knowledge of various languages,
especially Greek, German, and French ; and he trusted

3i6 yONAS KING.

to no interpreter, but examined all the documents him-
self, as well as the laws which were intended to be ap-
plied to Dr. King. Having done this, he went to Italy
and made his report in the case to the United States
government, 'and in 1853, by the order of that govern-
ment, returned to Athens, entered into correspondence
with the Greek government with regard to the settle-
ment of the case ; but as his presence was required at
Constantinople, he went away without bringing the ne-
gotiations to a close.

In March, 1854, the king of Greece, at the proposi-
tion of Pellicas, the Minister of Justice, who was one of
the distinguished lawyers who pleaded Dr. King's cause
before the courts of justice which condemned him, issued
an order, a copy of which was communicated to him by
the criminal courts, freeing him from the penalty of ex-
ile imposed upon him by that court, and confirmed by
the Areopagus in 1852.

So he remained in Greece and continued his labors
there, in the same way as previous to his prosecutions
and condemnation.

The above account is necessarily much condensed.
The full record is on file at the rooms of the A. B. C. F.
M., and no doubt open to examination.

The whole history is to the honor of our country, and
to that of the noble men called of God just then to guide
our ship of state — Daniel Webster, Edward Everett, Ben-
jamin F. Butler, Secretary Marcy, President Fillmore,
Geo. P. Marsh, and Commodores Porter and Stringham,
and others. On one occasion, Commodore Stringham

PERSECUTIONS. 3 1 1

sending for Dr. King to take tea on the " Cumberland,"
ordered a salute of nine guns, to give loud testimony of
how the persecuted American missionary was regarded
by his own countrymen.

The real point at issue all through the contest be-
tween Dr. King and the Greek hierarchy, was freedom to
worship God. A precedent has been established not
soon to be forgotten, and to God be all the glory.

27*

3i8 JONAS KING,

CHAPTER XXI.

TOURS, TRAVELS, AND EVANGELICAL ALLI-
ANCE.

Corinth — Smyrna — Thebes — Experience with Robbers — Constan-
tinople— Pesth — Maria Dorothea, Archduchess of Austria —
Jewish Converts — Vienna — Baron de Rothschild — Munich —
Reiche Kapelle — Paris — Geneva — Zurich — Italy — Rome — Sici-
ly— Malta — Evangelical Alliance at Berlin — King of Prussia — ■
Berlin.

The tours, longer or shorter, which, undertaken in
the prosecution of family and missionary duties, or ren-
dered necessary by persecution, varied Dr. King's life
in Greece, always afforded him many opportunities for
preaching the truth, besides proving sources of rest and
refreshment to himself. Near Corinth, on one occasion,
he writes, "On seeing some persons sitting by the side
of a hut, I asked them if they had no school in the place.
They said, ' Neither school nor priest.' * What, have you
no priest.''' 'No.' 'Well, then,' said I, 'after I have
taken something to eat, come to the place where I am
staying, and I will read to you from the words of our
Saviour.' In the course of an hour many assembled,
men, women, and children, and I took the Scriptures,
arose, and began to read from Christ's Sermon on the
Mount, and to expound. All listened with the greatest
attention. Mr. Riggs also made remarks, and when I
proposed to unite in prayer, several voices responded,

TO URS AND TRA VELS. 3 1 9

' Yes, yes.' So I offered a prayer with them, and gave
the benediction. It did not occur to me at the time that
it was the first Monday of the month, and the hour of
prayer for many who love Zion."

Going to Syria in 1834, he says, "There were about
fifty passengers on board. Read the Scriptures with
them, and conversed much on a variety of rehgious sub-
jects."

In March, 1836, Dr. King, taking his eldest daughter
to Smyrna, on her way to America, met ten or more min-
isterial brethren who were holding meetings there for
prayer and conference. It is only necessary to say that
Messrs. Bird, Goodell, and Temple, were of the number-
to prove how much all must have enjoyed such an inter-
view. A sincere vote of thanks was passed to Mr. Van
Lennep of Smyrna for his numberless attentions, not to
those present alone, but to all the missionaries about the
Mediterranean and in the East. It is but just to make
note of this. The Lord has work for all his children.
The Christian merchant as well as the preacher can do
much in his own line to promote the cause of Christ on
the eartli.

A gathering of the missionaries was held again at
Smyrna, in October, 1837, when Drs. Eli Smith, Dwight,
Riggs, Benjamin, Calhoun, Messrs. Adjer and Hallock, and
Miss Danforth, still further swelled the number present.
After the convention had closed, Dr. King, remaining to
help settle up the estate of his father-in-law, who had died
recently, preached in the Dutch church. A few days after,
he received warning from the bishops, through the Uni-

320 yONAS KING.

ted States consul, that he could not preach again in
Smyrna, except at the peril of his life, for there was great
indignation against him. He was particularly struck by
this, for his text had been Acts 3:4: " Being grieved that
they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the
resurrection of the dead." The eighteenth verse reads,
"And they called them and commanded them not to
speak at all, nor teach in the name of Jesus." The con-
sul had been told that Dr. King called on Turks, Jews,
and Greeks to renounce their religion ; but Dr. King
told him this was not so, but that he had prayed for
them all, and warned them to*examine their faith by the
Word of God. The Patriarch had issued a strong letter
just before this time against the Bible, and Dr. King
thought it only right to preach in this manner. His busi-
ness in Smyrna was soon closed satisfactorily, so that he
returned to Athens, and of course there was no further
difficulty.

In 1838, on his way to another conference of mis-
sionaries, we find Dr. King stopping to comfort some
wretched Sciotes by reading from the book of Job.

At Thalamic, a soldier who had once received books
from him at Athens, took much pleasure in showing him
around this supposed birthplace of the celebrated Helen.

In 1839, being in Thebes, the chief officer of police
called and reminded Dr. King that he was formerly a
scholar in his gymnasium, and said he was indebted to
him for all he knew. This led to Dr. King's being treat-
ed there with great attention.

From the highest peak of Mount Parnassus Dr. King

TOURS AND TRAVELS. 321

counted eight or ten other heights. Each Muse could thus
have one to herself without interference from her sisters.
At the Castilian fount Dr. King not only drank deeply a.
himself, but his groom talked of watering the horse also,
until deterred by the laughter his master could not
repress.

The way to Chalcis was infested with robbers. Still,
Dr. King deciding to keep on his journey, the governor
furnished him with a guard of soldiers. To one of the
officers Dr. King had once given a trifle when he was in
want, and this officer ordered one of his men to accom-
pany him as far as Dadi. To him and another soldier of
the phalanx Dr. King felt that, under God, he owed his
subsequent safe journey, and in connection with this fact
was reminded of the text, " Cast thy bread upon the wa-
ters," etc. It turned out that these very men were con-
nected with the robbers, but their honor was pledged to
defend Dr. King. One of these men confided to him that
the members of the band were sworn to each other, that
they have their own laws, and that they generally conse-
crate a part of their gains to some church or some saint.
For instance, if there were ten robbers, they would make
eleven shares, of which one was to be the Virgin Mary's,
and this they were very careful to pay over; that the
robbers with whom he was associated generally had the
Panagia of Tenos as a partner, and that when they went
out to rob, with her as a partner, they were always suc-
cessful. This man also said that, by mistake, he and
another had once killed a poor man having a wife and six
children, instead of a rich man expected to pass on the

322 yONAS KING.

road, and in the poor man's pocket they had found six-
teen piastres only. He said he had repented of this a
hundred times, and for ten years would not partake of
the Lord's Supper. Dr. King talked to him very plainly,
telling him to get a New Testament, and learn there
what he must do in order to be saved. The man an-
swered that if anything would do Greece good it was the
gospel ; that a soldier at Larnica had a New Testament,
and was always reading it, and that it had kept him from
much wickedness ; that he himself had been much affect-
ed by reading a little book about a man that was sold,
and put in prison, and interpreted some dreams, and he
would give almost anything for a copy of it.

The impression made by the above journey was that
Greece at that time was desolate and poor. One could
ride for hours without seeing a single house or person.
A great desire existed in the villages for education.
Books wei?e already exerting a very salutary influence.

In 1843, on account of ill-health, Dr. King made a
journey to Smyrna and Constantinople, and thence over
the Black Sea and up the Danube, and visited Hungary,
Austria, Bavaria, Switzerland, France, and Italy, and
returned to Athens in September of the same year.

At Constantinople games in honor of Easter were
being celebrated over the graves in the burying-ground.
The sultan's procession in honor of Mohammed's birth-
day, with the carriages for the. women drawn by oxen,
the sultan's dwarf, and the barbaric splendor, was a display
of this world's pomp not often to be seen. But it was a
richer treat to meet at Dr. Goodell's house some of the

TOURS AND TRAVELS. 323

true aristocracy of earth, Dr. and Mrs. Perkins, Miss
Fidelia Fiske, Miss Catherine Myers, Drs. Eli Smith,
Dwight, Schauffler, and Hamlin, and Rev. Messrs. Bliss
and David Stoddard. Mar Yohannan also was present,
on his way back to Persia from the United States.

At Pesth, Dr. King received a hearty welcome from
Messrs. Wingate and Smith, Scotch missionaries, who
took him to their own lodgings. Having a letter of in-
troduction from Mr. Schauffler to her imperial highness
Maria Dorothea, Archduchess of Austria, he called upon
her by appointment, and found her indeed a "nursing
mother" to the cause of evangelical religion. " Con-
versed about an hour and a half on the great things of
the kingdom of Christ. While with her, her little son
came in, ten or eleven years of age, and I spoke to him
on the subject of religion. I spoke in French, and the
archduchess translated to him in German, as he knew
but little French. I said about as follows : * If one is the
son of a king or emperor, he is thought to be happy, be-
cause he is heir to a throne or to a piece of earth which
is called a kingdom ; but when one is born of God he is
an heir of heaven, a joint heir with Christ to an inherit-
ance which fadeth not away. A crown, a sceptre, riches,
honors, a kingdom, cannot alleviate one pain of the body,
not even of a tooth ; but the love of Christ can alleviate
even the pains of death. My father was not a king, but
he taught me in my childhood to read God's holy Word,
and I owe everything to this. It taught me what was
better than all the crowns, sceptres, and kingdoms of the
whole world. Come to Christ, and you will be happy;

324 yONAS KING.

live for Christ while you live, and you will be happy for
ever.' The duchess thanked me for what I had said, and
brought out her album, and wished me to write something
in it with my name. So I wrote the forty-second verse
of the tenth chapter of Luke, ' One thing is needful,' etc.
Her little daughter also came in. Her name is Maria.
I said only a word or two to her, and mentioned to the
archduchess that I came from Constantinople to Kus-
tandy in the steamer which bears her name, and in which
I went with my daughter Mary to Smyrna seven years
ago, when I sent her to America. At this she seemed
delighted, and said, * The day it was launched was my
birthday, and I prayed to God that many missionaries
might be conveyed in that boat.'

" She asked me if I was acquainted with the Countess
de St. Aulaire ; spoke of her in the highest terms, and
said she should write to her that she had seen me. When
I got up to come away, I said, * I am happy to have had
the pleasure of seeing you.' She replied, ' It is a friend-
ship formed for life.'

" My heart was much affected by this visit and seeing
her so devoted to the Saviour. From the palace had a
beautiful view of the city of Pesth, which is the capital
of Hungary, and contains about a hundred thousand
inhabitants. On my way back I learned from Messrs.
Wingate and Smith that the establishment of their mis-
sion was in consequence of Dr. Keith's having been de-
tained here by illness. The archduchess, in consequence
of a dream, was led to seek him out, and to administer
aid to him with her own hand, and in return received

2 V URS AND TRA VELS. 5 2 5

spiritual comfort with regard to the loss of a beloved
child. Dr. Keith told her she was violating the eighth
commandment by wishing to take from God what he had
claimed as his own. This had an effect on her heart.
She had mourned excessively. She was converted by
means of her mother, her royal highness the Duchess Hen,
riette of Wurtemberg, who is also an eminent Christian."

With the grand maitresse of the palace Dr. King had
much serious conversation, and was treated by her with
marked respect. He visited with her and the Countess
of Brunswick, whom he calls "a lovely Christian sister
who had never formally left the Roman-catholic church,"
an infant school, also a hospital for poor, aged females,
which had been founded by the archduchess. There
were thirty-seven inmates. One of them, the daughter
of a Protestant minister at Wurtemburg, had been bed-
ridden for fifty-six years, but still seemed very happy.
Upon occasion of a second visit to the archduchess, one
of the first men of the nation, the leader of the Roman-
catholics, came in, and Dr. King found opportunity to
preach him quite a little sermon.

At Pesth a most interesting work was going on
among the Jews. Dr. King writes that he heard of and
saw here wonderful things, as may be seen from the fol-
lowing extracts :

" Dr. Keith and Dr. Black (Professor at Aberdeen)
had arrived at Pesth in 1839, having parted from the
Rev. Mr. McCheyne and Bonar at Constantinople. At
Pesth Dr. Keith was taken ill, and obliged to remain
there several months. The archduchess, who had long

Jonas Kins. ^O

326 yONAS KING.

been praying that some one might be sent to preach the
"•ospel at Pesth, hearing that he was ill, said, ' This is in
answer to my prayers ; this is the man !' and went to
see him, and attended to him in person. While here.
Dr. Keith was much exercised in his mind for Hungary,
and often prayed for it. The archduchess said that he
spent at one time three hours in prayer in pleading for
this people. He went to Scotland afterwards, and made
a report, and proposed to the Church of Scotland the
establishment of a mission at Pesth, and the Rev. Dr.
Duncan of the Scotch church, who had previously devo-
ted himself to the Jews, was selected for this station, and
sent, with his family, accompanied by Mr. Allen and Mr.
Smith, in the year 1841. After meeting with some diffi-
culties, he succeeded in establishing a service for the
English, a few of whom were providentially residing in
this city. At first very few attended ; but the congrega-
tion gradually increased, till finally it amounted, of all
nations, to forty or fifty. It was soon known to the Jew-
ish community that Dr. Duncan was a good Hebrew and
Arabic scholar, and this induced some of the more learn-
ed Jews to visit him. For a considerable time not much
fruit appeared. Still they labored as they had opportu-
nity. Mr. Allen taught English. Gradually their influ-
ence increased. The Jews began to speak of the manner
in which Dr. Duncan's household was conducted, accord-
ing to the Word of God, and different in many respects
from all around him. Many of the Jews who knew Eng-
lish came and attended his English service. The first
who was impressed, or showed some signs of life, was

TO URS AND TRA VELS. 3 2 7

old Mr. Saphir, whom Dr. Keith had known, and with
whom he corresponded. Mr. Saphir had projected the
principal Jewish school in Hungary, a model school, after
which others were formed. In this school about three
hundred boys were taught. He was esteemed one of the
most learned Jews in Hungary. When he was fifty-four
years of age he studied English for the purpose of read-
ing English literature ; and this became in the providence
of God one of the means of his conversion, followed by
that of his family and of a number of other Jews. Per-
secution ensued. Mr. Saphir lost his position, but was
accepted as missionary by one of the churches of Scot-
land at Edinburgh. The secret of the wonderful change
is found in the following fact : " There is in Edinburgh
a society composed of ladies, and another in Glasgow, for
the purpose of sending the gospel to Jewish females by
means of schools or otherwise. In Glasgow the wives
of thirty-six ministers are in the direction of the society.
They meet every Wednesday, from twelve till two, for
prayer." There are similar meetings in other parts of
Scotland, to pray particularly for the Jews, Money was
also raised. One of the converts at Pesth was a young
man whom the Jews had begged to write against Chris-
tianity, and he had actually arranged the heads for a
book when he resolved to study the New Testament with
prayer. He came to hear Dr. King preach, and seemed
much affected — said he believed the New Testament
was the Word of God. All those who were converted
had been subjects of individual prayer, some of them by
the Archduchess Maria Dorothea. A servant-o'irl was

328 yONAS KING.

brought in through seeing the change of conduct pro-
duced in her employer's family through the gospel.

When Dr. King left Pesth many friends " accompa-
nied him to the ship," or rather steamer. His heart was
very much affected by the kindness received there, and
he stood looking toward the palace and city until the
Palatine Island hid them from view. He afterwards
kept up some correspondence with the archduchess and
other friends in Hungary. On the steamer one of the
passengers, about thirty years of age, and having his
wife and child on board, expressed much surprise on
hearing Dr. King was an American, for he thought they
were black and were all cannibals.

At Vienna Dr. King was invited to dinner twice by
the Baron de Rothschild, who seemed inclined to be very
sociable with him ; called the Van Lenneps " Les braves
gens," and listened with earnest attention to what Dr.
King told him of Palestine and the needs of the Jews
there.

Dr. King met here the Metropolitan of all the Greeks
in Austria, having ten bishops under him, and had a
long conversation with him on the importance of having
the Holy Scriptures taught to all the people. He replied
that the Roman-catholics consider it a crime for young
persons to read the Scriptures, but that he considered
them necessary, and that he was about to issue an order
that all students who are to be priests should study ihe
Hebrew and Greek, because the Bible was written in
those languages.

At Munich Dr. King was again introduced into royal

1 0 URS AND TEA VELS. 329

circles. He had become acquainted in Athens with the
Count Saporte, who was court marshal. Going to the
palace to find him, he met him in one of the courts.
" He took me by the hand like a brother ; took me to his
own house, and made arrangements to have me present-
ed to the queen ; then he went with me to the palace,
got me presented to the two younger sisters of King
Otho, Hildegarde and Alexandra, and to his young broth-
er Adelbert." They visited the palace and the curiosi-
ties together. " With the sisters of Otho I had a good
deal of conversation, and was enchanted with them —
amiable, intelligent, and easy in manner. Spoke with
them on the importance of Christians of all denomina-
tions uniting to do good ; told them how the first crown
their brother received at Athens was given him by the
scholars of my gymnasium." In the queen's reception-
room Dr. King was first introduced to the Duchess of
Leuchtenberg, aunt to King Otho, also to the princess
royal, a niece of the king of Prussia. "The queen soon
came out to see me. We spoke of Greece and Palestine,
my mission there, of her Imperial Highness Maria Doro-
thea, etc., and she expressed her pleasure at seeing me,
and said, ' I shall write to my son Otho that I have seen
you.' She is just twenty-one days younger than I am,
and very sweet and mild in her appearance. Count
Saporte showed me the * argenterie ' of the king. The
quantity of gold and silver vessels is immense. Next he
sent a man to open the Reiche Kapelle, which is indeed
properly so called, for I doubt whether there are greater
riches in so small a compass in any part of Europe. The

28*

33 o JONAS KING.

floor is of precious stones, its walls of mosaic, its altar
v/ith all the images of solid silver, as also the pipes of
the organ, the ceiling inlaid with gold, several closets
full of vases and crucifixes of gold and precious stones.
Though I have seen of late so many precious things, yet
I was astonished at the riches of this chapel, which is
perhaps not more than twelve or fifteen feet square. In
different vases were relics, so called : the hands of St.
Dionysius, St. Chrysostom, St. John the Baptist, the fin-
ger of St. Peter, the thigh-bone of St. Matthias, the jaw-
bone of some saint whose name I have forgotten. In
one vase I saw some earth which was said to be stained
with the blood of our Saviour when he was crucified.
Among other things was a small portable altar which
belonged to Mary Queen of Scots, who performed her
devotions before it when in prison, and at the moment
she laid her liead on the block she gave it to an attend-
ant. I was told there had been offered for this a million
of florins. I took it in my hand. It doubles up in a
very small compass, and can easily be carried in the
pocket, being, say, three inches long, two and a half
wide, and half an inch thick.

" King Ludwig of Bavaria, though he has a small
kingdom, has seventy -five palaces. The University
building is the most splendid thing of the kind I ever
saw."

Leaving Munich, Dr. King took his seat for the first
time in a railroad car ; in fact he had never seen a railroad
before. Continuing on his way he arrived in Paris in
July, 1843, and felt quite overcome there by the associa-

TOURS AND TRAVELS. 331

tions and recollections of his stay there twenty years
before, but of his early friends " some were scattered,
some were dead." Of those remaining, the Duke de Bro-
glie and the Countess of St. Aulaire were out of town.
Mr. Adolphe Monod, however, and Pastor Grandpierre,
received him with open arms, and at a prayer meeting held
at the house of the former. Dr. King soon found himself
at home, and before long other of his friends returning
gave him the warm greeting always so much prized by
the stranger. On his return through Switzerland Dr.
King notes, with peculiar interest, interviews held with
the Count and Countess de Gasparin, with the sentiments
of whose books he had in general fully sympathized. The
close tie which laborers in the mission field, both East
and West, feel for each other, was shown by the pains
which Dr. King took to visit the little Swiss village of
Orbes, from which Madame Feller had gone to her work
at Grande Ligne, Canada.

At Geneva Dr. King met Mrs. Dr. Baird, Col. Tronchin,
and Drs. Malan and Gaussen. The widow of his friend,
the Baron De Stael, was also there, and sent for him to
come to her home at Coppet. Dr. King writes that "she
said that the ten months of her union with the baron
were months of unmingled pleasure, without a cloud, and
when he was taken away she would not be comforted
Then her child, two years after, was taken away, then
her sister-in-law, the Duchess de Broglie, but now she
feels that all is well." Of her home, Dr. King writes :
" It is a fit place for study, meditation and prayer. Here
Madame Dj Stael wrote in former times when the world

332 yOiVAS KING.

was full of noise, and revolution and terror ; here her
daughter, the Duchess de Broglie, meditated sublimer
themes, and spoke of things far more interesting than
philosophy and politics. It seems as if some age long
gone by had returned, as if the dial had turned back a
hundred years ; and how soon I too shall go the way of
all the earth and be silent as those whose shades now
pass before me."

While in Geneva, Dr. King took the opportunity of
buying the watch he afterwards carried, with money
given him for the purpose by 1' Admiral Count Verhuell.

In 1847, during his time of persecution, Dr. King
was urged, indeed almost commanded by the king, and
some personal friends, as has before been stated, to leave
Athens for a while, and he decided to go first into Ger-
many and Switzerland. At a parting service held at Mr.
Buel's, at the Piraeus, Dr. King was much comforted by
means of a prayer offered by Miss Waldo, as also by
singing with his friends the hymn, " Jesus, I my cross
have taken." Landing at Patmos, some men in a restau-
rant were overheard saying, "There is King. Let us
stone him." Another said, " He has doubtless been sent
here to be tried, and we shall then have the opportunity."
To this an old man replied, " It is better to take a knife
and go to his door, and watch him as he comes out some
evening." At Corfu, Lord Seaton received Dr. King
very kindly, inviting him to breakfast at his palace.
Passing through Venice and Vicenza by car, Dr. King
came to Trent, famous for its council ; and in the record-
book, kept there for travellers, he inscribed the following

TOURS AND TRAVELS. m

words, as a sort of protest against the errors once en-
dorsed there : " ' The counsel of the Lord, that shall
stand.' Jonas King, Aug. 12, 1847."

Through the " beautiful country " of Bulgaria, yet " de-
filed by idols set up for worship by the sides of the road,"
our refugee went on to Innspruck, crossing the Alps,
missing his baggage, comforted as a stranger in a hotel
by overhearing some unknown fellow-traveller at prayer,
who, while enjoying communion with his Saviour, knew
not he was being used as a means of blessing to another.
At Constance was to be seen a statue of Abraham, much
defaced, which the people took for one of Huss, or per-
haps Jerome of Prague. Zurich, the home of Zwingle,
next claimed attention. Here Dr. King called on Prof.
Lange, since so well known, and whom he speaks of as
"friendly to missions." All this change of scene and
this Christian intercourse was the very medicine needed
by Dr. King. At Berne he attended one or more
sessions of the Diet, and tells of the quaint customs as
to dress, handed down from olden time. Lauzanne and
Geneva he was glad to revisit, finding there friends old
and new — Baptist Noel, Merle d'Aubigne, Prof. Tholuck,
and others. Conversation turned often upon the Evan-
gelical Christian Alliance, formed the year before at
London. Dr. King was made at home at the house of
Mr. Rivier, one of whose daughters was Madame G.
de Felice.

Dr. King next spent a part of his exile in Italy.

Sir Culling Eardley had given him a letter of intro-
duction to the Count Pietro Guicciardini at Florence, who

334 yONAS KING.

in a private conversation said that he was convinced of
the errors of his church, and that this change came from
reading some passages of Scripture. He said also, that
a law still existed condemning to the galleys a man guilty
of heresy, though he doubted whether it would now be
put in execution.

At St. Peter's Dr. King was struck with the sugges-
tive arrangement by which the throne of the Pope was
supported by statues of St. Chrysostom on the right and
St. Athanasius on the left, Greek saints, and St. Ambrose
and St. Augustine, Latin Saints. He was glad to know
of this from personal observation, because he could now
appeal with more effect to certain portions of the works
of these fathers against the worship of the Virgin Mary,
and in regard to the importance of reading the Sacred
Scriptures. Of all the objects he saw at Rome, the
Coliseum affected him the most. There multitudes of
Christians had formerly been put to death. As he walked
over the arena he could almost hear the cry, " How long,
O Lord, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on
them that dwell on the earth."

Descriptions are given by Dr. King of Pompeii, Her-
culaneum, of Virgil's tomb. &c., with all the delicate
appreciation of a Christian scholar ; but all through Italy
it was trying to see the grand facts of our religion scan-
dalized by puerile representations. Thus, however, was
he still better prepared to testify against such perversions.
At Messina, Sicily, he found the Cyclops still existed
in the form of police officers, who, with four eyes instead
of one, looked at everything and suspected everything

HOURS AND TRAVELS. 335

as much as if he had come from the moon. Visiting the
Cathedral there, he had a ladder brought so as to read for
himself a letter set high up above the altar, purporting to
be written to the city by the Virgin Mary, daughter of
James. Dr. King next spent a few weeks at Malta.
Here he was able to watch more closely the course of
events at hame, and was soon gladdened by a visit from
his wife and son. The welcome given to a new mission-
ary, Mr. Johnson, brought .to mind his own arrival there
twenty-six years before. His present stay at Malta,
while waiting, " like a bird on a bush, with one wing up
and ready to fly at any moment back to Athens," was
not ill spent. The "Farewell Letter" was revised, and
editions of it put through the press, and into circulation ;
and other missionary work was accomplished, especial
efforts being made to give the Gospel to Italy, Even at
this time a call came for three thousand Italian Bibles,
Copies of the " Farewell Letter " were sent into Tuscany,
and found their way to Constantinople, and into Egypt.
Has the sowing of such seed no relation to the progress
of liberty and Protestantism, as now seen in the kingdom
of Italy t

Dr. King made no further journey in Europe until
1857, when the desires of his heart were indeed fulfilled,
for h€ was then present at the meeting of the Evangeli-
cal Alliance, held that year at Berlin. A more impressive
scene he never witnessed, than when English and Ameri-
can Episcopalians, Methodists, Baptists and Presbyte-
rians, Congregationalists, French, Swiss, Spanish and
Germans, all, as one in Christ, communed with each other

336 yONAS KING,

around His one table. The Dean of Canterbury and Dr.
Wm. Patton of New York took direction of the service.
Next comes mention of Bishop Simpson, beloved in all
all the churches, who delivered, says Dr. King, " one of
the most impressive discourses I ever heard. It was ad-
mirable, and I felt how much I had lost in personal enjoy-
ment by being absent so long from my native country."

Friday, September ii, the members of the Alliance,
as a nucleus, and others, in all about nine hundred per-
sons, went by a special train, ordered by the king, to visit
him at Potsdam. " On arriving at the palace we found
a suite of splendid rooms, with tables covered with re-
freshments, of which all partook. We walked through
several of the rooms, which were open, and among them
was the one that Voltaire occupied in the time of Fred-
erick the Great, and who said that twelve foolish men
had invented Christianity, and that one man would de-
stroy it. Here the king, a successor of Frederick, receiv-
ed us in the kindest manner, using all his influence to
promote Christianity and Christian union. At about five
p. M. the king and queen and suite arrived, and received
us in front of the palace, in companies, according to our
respective nations.

" The first he met, on coming out of the palace, was
the German Committee, a member of which addressed a
few words to the king, saying that we had come, an army,
but not with swords to fight, or with earthly armor, but
to pray for his majesty, etc. The'king replied that he
hoped the Spirit would be poured out upon us, as T)n the
day of Pentecost. He then came to the Americans, some

THE E VANG Lie AL ALLIANCE. 337

forty ill number, at the head of whom was our worthy
minister, Governor Wright, to whom the king gave his
hand in the most cordial manner, and also to Dr. Baird,
and said, ' Oh, I am so glad to see you.' I was then pre-
sented, and then Dr. Dvvight, Bishop Simpson, and oth-
ers. Dr. Dwight addressed a few words to his majesty,
expressing his gratitude for what the Prussian ambassa-
dor had done at Constantinople in aiding the missiona-
ries, and mentioned a school at Smyrna in which, Dr.
Dvvight told me, the king took a particular interest. The
king seemed affected even to tears. He then went to
the English, at the head of whom stood Sir Culling Eard-
ley, who addressed him, and then introduced several of
his distinguished countrymen. The delegates from other
nations were presented also. The king spent with us, I
should think, an hour and a half. The queen was pres-
ent all the time with her maids of honor, and I and sev-
eral others were presented to her, and she received us
with the greatest simplicity. As the king and queen
were retiring into the palace, the multitude who had
been presented sang a hymn, and shouts of joy, ' Long
live the king,' in various languages, were heard from the
whole assembly, like the roaring of the waves of the sea.
We were then, by the same train that brought us, con-
veyed to Berlin, where we arrived about eight or nine in
the evening. All hearts were glad, and all praised God
for having inclined the heart of the king thus to favor the
meeting of the Evangelical Alliance."

For nine days the meetings continued. " The king
attended' three or four times, and sat each time for an

Jon-s Kins. 29

338 yONAS KING.

liour and a half or two hours, and gave the strictest atten-
tion. On the eighth day, Dr. Dvvight was called upon to
speak, and I followed. The king was present, and per-
haps four thousand people. As I turned to go away, Dr.
Krummacher took me by the hand most cordially, and so
did Dr. Barth and others."

Dr. King was one of a committee sent the next day
to wait on the Emperor Alexander of Russia, and present
a certain document, which had been drawn up in English,
French, and German, to solicit his interposition in favor
of the distribution of the Bible in his dominions in the
Russ language. The emperor had been reviewing about
forty thousand troops, and was about to leave Berlin ;
but the king of Prussia, notwithstanding his extra fatigue,
received the deputation, and expressed himself as much
pleased with the addresses, one of which was made by
Dr, King.

An occasion of peculiar interest, as foreshadowing
that true Christian union of which the grand gathering
in New York in 1 873 was a glorious exemplification, was a
dinner given by Sir Culling Eardly at his hotel, to which
Dr. and Mrs. King and daughter were invited. After
speeches made in various languages, Rev. Mr. Alford,
Dean of Canterbury, closed with an extemporaneous
prayer, " most beautifully appropriate in every respect."

Going on to Paris, Dr. King met there his old friend
Sidney E. Morse and M. de Tassy. He made at this
time a very short stay in Paris, returning by as direct
a route as possible to his home and work at Athens.

LAST VISIT TO AMERICA. 339

CHAPTER X XII.
LAST VISIT TO AMERICA.

Many Changes— Warm Welcomes— Dr. W. A. Hallo ck—Hawley
and Plainfield, Mass.— Old Elm-tree— Chicago— Rochester-
Clifton Springs— New Haven— Meeting with Dr. Goodell at
Elizabeth, N. J.

Dr. King remained at his post until 1864, when, his
health being much impaired, he came, in July, with his
wife, to the United States, remaining about three years.

While received everywhere with warm and respectful
attention, he could yet realize with Wordsworth, that
there are some advantages connected with " Yarrow un-
visited." Dr. Hallock had given him warning of many
changes, especially in his native place. But Dr. King's
daughters, who were in this country, vied with each
other in securing his presence and their mother's at their
several homes.

A few of his old friends still survived. His meeting
at Elizabeth, N. J., with S. V. S. Wilder, now in his
eighty- fourth year, was indeed one of peculiar interest.
As Dr. King, his own head now touched with silver, en-
tered the room, he said, " I once had a friend ; when I
asked him, ' What shall I do T he said to me, ' Go.' ' But
what will become of my aged father and mother in Amer-
ica ?' "I will be a son to them.' * Then,' said I, ' I will
go up to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall

34° yOiVAS KING.

befall me there.' " The whole scene was in keeping with
the touch of romance that had ever attended intercourse
between these two honored servants of our Lord ; and
when, the following year, the older friend was called to
his home above, no one took more interest than Dr. King
in doing honor to his memory, aiding by most valuable
contributions in preparing the Records published by the
American Tract Society concerning him. Long before,
in 1836, Dr. King, on occasion of his own birthday, had
written to Mr. Wilder : " Is it possible that eight years
have elapsed since I saw you } With what rapid pace
are we travelling on toward the eternal world ! We shall
soon meet, if we are in Christ, never to separate. There
we shall, I trust, spend hours more happy than those at
Nanterre, or in the little boudoir at Paris. All the com-
forts we receive here in our souls are but an earnest of
the Spirit — a near foretaste of the joys which shall be
hereafter revealed. May your path be like that of the
shining light which shineth more and more unto the per-
fect day. Yours in the best of bonds, Jonas King." The
time of separation was short ; Dr. King followed his
friend to heaven in a little more than four years.

Hawley, his native place, and Plainfield, Mass., too,
were points of interest to the returned wanderer from for-
eign lands. One can hardly imagine the old elm-tree as
quite devoid of feeling, as came again under its now wide-
sheltering arms the worn missionary, who in his boyhood
had consecrated himself to Christ under its young shadow.
The hills, the woods, the landscape were there as of old-
en time. Few changes had come into the quiet country

LAS2' VISIT TO AMERICA. 341

town of Hawley ; yet " its sound had gone out into all
the earth," had been repeated in the courts of the Areop-
agus, and with its neighbor, Plainfield (where had been
educated in a school taught by the Rev. Moses Hallock
fifty ministers of the gospel, of whom ten were mission-
aries), it stands in silent testimony of what God can do,
using for his own glory and the good of souls places so
obscure that but little is expected from them.

Dr. King visited many parts of this country, spending
some time at Chicago, where he received much kindness
from Gov. Bross and others ; also at Rochester.

By invitation of Dr. Henry Foster, Dr. King spent
three weeks at Clifton Springs, N. Y., and found his stay
there of decided benefit to his health, enjoying at the
same time the society of the many Christian friends
always to be found at this modern Bethesda.

At New Haven it was pleasant to meet again Mrs.
Pelatiah Perit, as also at New York Mrs. T. C. Doremus,
with her home ever open to the missionary.

At Bible, Tract, and Missionary meetings, in city or
in country places, Dr. King's marked and venerable
countenance was, during this last visit, ever most wel-
come. To younger members of our churches his pres-
ence was almost as if one rose from the dead. He often
afterwards referred to one evening as of special interest.
His old friends, Dr. and Mrs. Goodell of Constantinople,
and daughters, had come for a few days on a visit to
Elizabeth, N. J. Dr. King also was there at the same
time. Other Christian friends living in the neighbor-
hood were invited in to share in the pleasure of meeting

2:*

342 JONAS KING.

these two veteran soldiers of the cross. It was an occa-
siun for prayer and praise. The pastor of the family,
Rev. Dr. William C. Roberts, who had become acquaint-
ed with these missionaries in their Eastern homes, and
whose church Dr. King, while visiting one of his daugh-
ters and other friends, attended for several months, led
in the services, and was able, in his own native Welsh,
to join in the chorus of the favorite hymn of Dr. Goodell,
Can we doubt that the Master of Assemblies heard,
as in Arabic, Armenian, French, English, and Welsh, the
invitation, " Come to Jesus just now," was given in such
various as well as heartfelt tones ?

But time passed on, and although enjoying the many
welcomes given them to the homes of their children and
of Christian friends, Dr. and Mrs. King felt that their
steps must turn homeward to the East.

A few friends, Mr. E. C. Benedict, Amos Clark, Jr.,
William E. Dodge, E. A. Saxton, Mahlon Mulford, W.
W. Chester, J. B. Sheffield, Theodore Dwight, R. T.
Haines, Mrs. Thomas C. Doremus, and Mrs. Ailing
of Rochester, together with Mr. King's sons-in-law, made
strenuous efforts to retain him in this country by secu-
ring for him a home here; but strong ties drew both
himself and Mrs. King to Athens : and "so it came," as
John Bunyan says, and as is recorded of the apostles,
"they were let go in peace." It was a parting such as
that of Paul from Miletus. Of the long-known and be-
loved missionary, also, it may be said, his friends " sor-
rowed most of all " that in this world they would proba-
bly "see his face no more."

RETURN TO GREECE. 343

CHAPTER XXIII.

RETURN TO GREECE— DEATH IN 1869.

Paris Revisited — Missionary Reunion — The Past and Present of
Palestine — Rev. ]\Ir. Jessup — Athens — Letter to Mrs. Dore-
mus, Wilder, and Perit— His Sickness, and Death — Dr. King's
Manner and Character, in Letters from Mrs. Kaloiwthakes —
His own Review of his Missionary Life.

Dr. and Mrs. King returned to Greece in the autumn
of 1867.

In Paris, which Dr. King found "much improved and
beautiful, but not so dear" to his heart after all as some
of the cities of his native land, a pleasant incident met
him at the Greek consulate. On entering the office, the
consul rose to meet him, and said, " Are you not Dr.
King .''" and added, " Why, I used to attend your service
on the Sabbath ;" and then gave him the most cordial
welcome possible, and showed him every mark of respect
before the other Greeks present. Thus did Greece meet
her returning missionary halfway, on his return for the
last time to her ancient shores.

Of the Paris Exposition, then open, Dr. King writes
as one might now the better do of the more elaborate
display by which America celebrated her centennial :
" It is splendid. On entering, one feels as if he were in
a fairy wilderness of beauty, where, as if by magic, every-
thing most exquisite of nature and of art has been assem-
bled from every part of the globe."

344 yONAS KING.

But the "heights of Zion" afford a wider scope of
vision than "all the kingdoms of this world, and the glory
of them," in their relations to the present alone, can
ever do. A glimpse of such does a correspondent of the
New York " Observer," A. C. P., give, under the heading,
" Dr. Jonas King in Paris," in the following account of
services singularly appropriate held during his last visit
there :

"Paris, November 17, 1867.

" I have just had the pleasure of attending a very in-
teresting meeting of welcome to Dr. Jonas King, held
by the Evangelical Missionary Society, under which he
went out as a missionary forty-five years ago.

" Dr. King was requested to give some account of the
condition of Palestine, and of his work while there, and
was introduced to the audience by the Rev. Dr. Grand-
pierre, who presided. Dr. King spoke nearly an hour to
an audience intensely interested, and moved to smiles
and tears at his simple history.

" Especially were they affected by the story of the
' Martyr of Lebanon, Asaad El-Shidiak.' When Dr.
King mentioned how, being called to choose between
kissing an image of the Virgin and a coal of fire, he press-
ed the burning coal to his lips, an audible murmur was
heard in the assembly.

" The speaker, being urged to continue his address,
gave a brief account of his work in Greece during nearly
half a century. He spoke in P"rench, and it was a mar-
vel to all how he could speak so fluently and correctly,
after beinj?; so Ions: unused to the lans:ua2:e.

RETURN TO GREECE. 345

" At the conclusion of Dr. King's address, Dr. Grand-
pierre arose and grasped his hand, bidding him God.
speed in his work, and expressing his pleasure at being
permitted to meet him again in Paris.

" Rev. Dr. Casalis, Director of the Mission House, fol-
lowed with a short address of welcome and thanks in the
name of all present. He spoke of Dr. King's assistance
in the organization of the Society, and of his influence in
causing himself to become a missionary in South Africa.
Dr. Casalis read part of a letter from Dr. King to the
Society in 1823, which was very pertinent to the object
of the meeting.

" The Rev. Mr. Jessup, who was in the city a few
days, on his way home from Syria, was then introduced
as one able to give information of Palestine as it now is.
He spoke in English, and Rev. Mr. Fisch interpreted it
admirably. Mr. Jessup alluded to the work done by the
pioneer missionaries. Revs. Dr. King, Pliny Fisk, and Levi
Parsons, and said that, overlooking the grave of Mr. Fisk
at Beyrout, were now established steam-presses, turning
out copies of that gospel for which he had laid down his
life, and for which Asaad El Shidiak suffered and died. He
stated that in all that region every priest, every man, wom-
an, and child knows the story of Asaad, and why he died.
So he by his death yet speaks, and to a class dif^cult of
access by the truth. It v/as beautiful, this mingling of the
past and the present of France and America. There sat
Dr. King, the modern Paul of Athens, the representative
of the fearless and faithful laborers who forty years ago
broke up the ground for the seed to spring up afterwards ;

346 yONAS KING.

and here stood Mr. Jessup, the no less earnest worker,
who is gathering in its fruits to-day. The work of one is
nearly completed, that of the other we will pray may be
continued yet many years. And the little band of French
Protestants, whose lot has been so hard in this great
Catholic country, must have been encouraged by the
friendly words of their American brothers. Many came
forward to shake hands with the two missionaries, and
one of the French pastors remarked : * These Americans
are made of granite, we of dough.' Dr. King replied, ' It
is you who say it, not L' This Society, whose first mis-
sionary was Dr. King, was established in 1822. In 1821,
when Dr. King came to Paris, there was but one evan-
gelical preacher, the Rev. Frederic Monod, then just
entering upon his career of usefulness. Adolphe Mo-
nod, whose name is familiar to Americans, and his broth-
er William (or Guillaume) followed after. The last of
these gifted brothers, a lonely old man, still remains.
He it was who made the impressive prayer at our good
meeting. He often alludes to a conversation with Dr.
King nearly half a century ago, as being the means of
turning him from Unitarianism to orthodoxy. He spoke
of it to Mrs. King at his own house this week.

" It was exceedingly gratifying to Dr. King to be so
cordially welcomed among the French Protestants of
Paris. I think the meeting did us all good. As Rev. Mr.
Fisch said, it was quite a remarkable and beautiful inci-
dent that Mr. Jessup should have been present to follow
up Dr. King's account with a statement of the present
condition of the country in which he had labored. The

RETURN TO GREECE. 347

contrast between then and now was very striking ; as
also in Paris, where forty evangelical ministers now stand
up in the place of one ! May the good work progress
continually."

When arrived at home, Dr. King never had strength
to undertake much missionary labor. Dr. Kalopothakes,
Mr. Constantine, and M. Sakellarius each had estab-
lished Bible classes and Sunday-schools ; and Dr. King
wisely refrained from holding a separate service of his
own.

Dr. Anderson states that "in April, 1868, a distin-
guished professor in the University arranged for an in-
terview between Dr. King and the President of the ' Holy
Synod.' This man, in 1863, signed the accusation against
Dr. King, in consequence of which, after his return to
Greece, he was a third time cited before the criminal
court, though without any result. The interview was
altogether pleasant, and was a striking illustration of the
progress of public opinion, ' A considerable degree of
religious liberty has been gained,' writes the missionary,
'and a foundation -has been laid on which, I trust, will
one day arise a beautiful superstructure.' "

Dr. King employed a part of his time in revising
plans he had already drawn up in view of the organiza-
tion of a distinctively Protestant Greek Church.

Such a candlestick has now been lighted in Athens.
A neat and beautiful church building, since 1874, wit-
nesses for Jesus, a true altar to the " Unknown God,"
once worshipped there.

In this waiting time. Dr. King's thoughts turned

348 yONAS KING.

warmly to his early friends, as a letter from Athens, bear-
ing date January 26, 1869, best testifies.

" To Mrs. T. C. Doremus, Mrs. S. V. S. Wilder, Mrs.
Peletiah Perit :

" My very dear friends : I often think of yon, the only
remaining three of the nine of whom the Ladies' Greek
Committee consisted ; by whose invitation, and under
whose auspices I came out to Greece, nearly forty-one
years ago, and in connection with whom I labored with
so much pleasure for two years or more, before I received
from the American Board my appointment as its mission-
ary in this country.

" Six of the nine have gone to their rest, as I doubt
not, in the world above, and are now in those mansions
which our Saviour long ago went to prepare for his follow-
ers, that they might be with him where he is, and behold
his glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father,
full of grace and truth.

" I think of you, who remain, as probably approaching
the time of your departure, as I am that of mine, from
this world, in which you have so long labored for the good
of many, and my prayer to God is often that when that
time shall come, which I hope may not be till after many
more useful and happy years, you may have grace given
you from on high, so as to overcome all fears of death,
and rejoice in the prospect of having a better and happier
life than we can have here in the body exposed to so
many trials, encompassed by so many infirmities ; and in
this world where sin and death reign, rejoice in the pros-
pect of life without sorrow, pain, or sin, life eternal.

DEATH OF DR. KING. 349

" I often think of your great generosity, and the kind-
ness you showed me more than forty years ago, and
during the time of my late visit to my native land :
and from one of your number nearly half a century ago,
when I was a stranger in a foreign land, and who, when
I was a sick and nigh unto death, visited me and adminis-
tered to my wants ; and who, with her beloved husband,
who now rests from his labors, when I began to recover,
received me into their house, and by their Christian kind-
ness contributed much toward my restoration to health,
so that I was enabled to go out as a missionary to the
land where patriarchs and prophets once lived, the apos-
tles of our Lord and Saviour labored, and where he
poured out his soul unto death for our sins, and the sins
of the world.

" To your generosity and kindness, my dear friends, I
owe much, and shall remember you with gratitude,
esteem, and affection, as long as I live.

" I am now nearly seventy-seven years old, and have
been absent from my country for the greater part of half
a century ; but I feel that my heart is as warm as ever ;
and that my love for my country and my friends, time
and distance can never abate.

" With affectionate rehiembrance to the members of
your respective families, with whom I have the pleasure
to be acquainted, I remain,

" Yours truly,

"JONAS KING."'

The " last of earth " was soon at hand. Dr. King
"passed away" May 22, 1869.

3SO yONAS KING.

Of his last hours, his death, and the funeral services,
Mrs. Kalopothakes, at request of Mrs. King, wrote to
friends in America, as follows :

" We are all overwhelmed with the suddeness of the
event, for although he has been very feeble this spring,
and has had several attacks of his old complaint, yet it is
only within two days that any serious symptom appeared.
You could not have been more surprised, I think, than
we who are on the ground, and as it was a complaint
from which he had suffered occasionally for years, we
did not apprehend danger till the very last. The
pain was so great during the last two days that he could
not converse ; and it was only in the cessation which
usually precedes death, that my husband, seeing him
sinking, approached, and asked him whether there was
anything he wished to say. He found his mind at peace,
resting upon Jesus as his only hope, and clear to the very
last. He gave parting counsel to those about him, and
sent messages to his son, to the little band of Greek
converts about us, etc., and gave directions as to his
burial, which was to be without pomp.

" A consultation of physicians was called on Friday
evening, and again at ten o'clock in the evening ; but his
agony was great, and at a little after one at midnight, his
spirit was released from the poor suffering body. I can
only say that we feel that our father is taken from us ;
that a prince in Israel has fallen. He is lying there in
the parlor, looking so sweet and calm, as if in a peaceful
sleep. For him we cannot weep, for he is now in the
presence of that Saviour whom he loved, and so faithfully

DEATH OF DR. KING. 351

served ; but for ourselves, and the work here, wc may
well say that our ' Master is taken from our head to-day,'
May a double portion of his spirit rest on those who are
left to carry it on."

At a little later date, Mrs. Kalopothakes again writes :

" Not only at the funeral, but the next day (the Sab-
bath), at our preaching servive, my husband delivered an
address, giving an account of Dr. King's life and charac-
ter, the sacrifices he had made, and the service done for
Greece, which drew tears from many eyes. His day of
honor here will come, if it has not already : not even his
enemies could deny the simplicity and uprightness of his
conduct and character. Generous, loving, kind and for-
giving, he was a friend to all.

" To the missionary work here his death will be a
great loss ; for although since his return from America
he has not been able to do a great deal of active work,
yet his mind and heart were ever busy devising plans,
suggesting, counselling and encouraging those whom he
was to leave to carry them on. He brought forward the
Nicene Creed as the basis of union for the Evangelical
Greeks, and had lately had it printed in a large and at-
tractive form, and hung in our places of worship. He
hoped to live to see the building of an Evangelical Greek
church in Athens, and even the prospect of this did
much to gladden the last year of his life. His heart
was full of hope for this nation, as it was also full of love."

In view of the coming end. Dr. King had left the sub-
joined directions as to his burial : " In case of my death
here in Athens, I wish to be buried near the wall in the

352 yONAS KING.

cemetery where I purchased, some years since, of the
Rev. John H, Hill, D. D., a burying-place, and where I
buried my little daughter, Anna Aspasia ; leaving be-
tween me and her a space for my wife, should she die in
this place.

" On my tombstone I wish for no inscription, except

JONAS KING.

BORN JULY 29TH, 1792.
DIED

"My tombstone I wish to be perfectly simple without

any carving on it.

"JONAS KING."

His wishes were carried out. There was a large at-
tendance at the funeral, although Grecian skies were
weeping heavily at the time, as if in sympathy.

Mrs. Kalopothakes, just before leaving this country,
after a visit here in 1871, wrote by special request some
of her impressions of the venerated friend, whom she was
allowed to follow so soon to a heavenly home. Her note
is not alone discriminating as to his character, but so
descriptive of the courtly simplicity of Dr. King's man-
ner, as to bring him vividly before us.

" I have not forgotten my promise to give you some
of my personal impressions of dear Dr. King, and now,
on the eve of going back to the land and the work so
associated with him, many memories cluster around me
of my first arrival there, the warm welcome I received
from liim, and the pleasant friendship which lasted
through the fourteen years of our acquaintance there.

DEATH OF DR. KING. 353

" Having heard from childhood of Dr. King, I had
expected to see a venerable-looking patriarch, so old and
so grave as to have no sympathies in common with me.
What then was my surprise at his almost youthful face
and his erect figure, the vivacity and courteousness of
his manner, combining the dignity of the gentleman with
the warmth of the Christian heart.

" His character, too, was transparent in its purity and
simplicity. He seemed the very soul of truth and up-
rightness ; indeed, I have often thought that the real
source of the hatred of his enemies arose from this, that
it was impossible for him to dissemble, and they saw as
in a glass his inward disapproval of all that was wrong
in them or their doctrines.

" He has been represented as bitter and severe, always
ready to attack and provoke opposition. He was, on the
contrary, almost effeminately fond of good-will and praise.
It must have been a trial to him to incur anything else ;
but his moral sense was so high and strong, that he could
not smile at evil nor wink at sin ; he could not but stand
up for the truth, like his Master, even though the whole
world should frown upon him. He could not compromise
with error even by silence.

" But his large, warm heart shone from his eyes, and
beamed from a countenance peculiarly sweet and win-
ning. The smile with which he would greet a guest,
whoever he might be, and the style he had acquired, per-
haps by living so long among Orientals, of placing his
right hand over his heart, as he bowed low, was a true
index of his Christian love and humility.

30*

354 yONAS KING.

" With such a nature, the cross which he had contin-
ually to bear in his forty years of missionary labor, of
being misunderstood, abused, and reviled, must have
been the very hardest that could have been laid upon
him. How keenly he felt any word of sympathy or
praise, was shown by the way in which he would repeat
it to his friends, and so often, that it was by some ascribed
to a foolish boasting. I always felt that it was because
his nature craved that appreciation, which had been so
long withheld, that when it came it was like water to a
thirsty traveller.

*' Dear, holy man of God ! His life was a perpetual
crucifixion ; few sympathies or joys were allowed him,
his children being nearly all sent away at an early age to
be educated ; and his cultivated mind, that could have
found such congeniality among friends and pursuits open-
ed to him in his native land, was confined to presenting
the truths of the gospel in the plainest manner to men
who came to mock and to turn them into shafts against
him. Yet he was very patient ; he made me think of
of ' the man Moses who was so meek,' and of ' the meek-
ness and gentleness of Christ' that Paul inculcates.

" But he labored faithfully ; he bore the heat and bur-
den of the day, he toiled on when others would have
fainted, and he took possession of the soil for Jesus. We
to whom, when the Master called, he relinquished his
labors, see what he accomplished, and rejoice in the
springing seed.

" Oh, how we mourned when he died ! We felt as if
we could not give up that warm sympathy, that ready

DEATH OF DR. KING. 355

and sound counsel, that interest ever planning and pray-
ing for the good of Greece and the extension of Christ's
kingdom there. We felt that both we and the work
needed him still. Yet God knew best. His dust is
there as an incitement to labor on, and the day will come
when Greece will honor it as that of the greatest of her
benefactors."

A few lines from his own pen give a little idea of
Dr. King's own feelings as to his life's work : " In all my
missionary labors I have ever sought wisdom and direc-
tion from on high, feeling that I could not trust to my
own wisdom and understanding. In many trying scenes
and difficult circumstances the hand of God has been
most manifest in my deliverance. The wrath of man has
been made to praise Him, and the remainder of wrath
has he restrained." " I have been endeavoring to declare
those great truths contained in the word of God neces-
sary for men to know and believe in order to be saved."
"In my missionary labors in my native country, in
France, in Palestine and Syria, and in Greece, my great
object has been to build up the cause of the Lord Jesus
Christ. To this I have sacrificed my own private inter-
ests and my personal reputation and comfort, and God
has been faithful to his promise and has provided for me.
'Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,'
he has said, 'and all these things shall be added unto
you.' With a constitution naturally feeble, and with fre-
quent bodily infirmities, I have been enabled, by strict
temperance in eating and drinking, and in all the enjoy-
ments of life, to perform more labors than I could at first

3s6 JONAS KING.

have thought possible. God strengthened me, he sup-
ported me, he healed my diseases, he delivered me in
limes of danger ; he who led Israel through the deep as
on dry land, and fed them in the wilderness, and cast out
their enemies, and gave them possession of the promised
land — he who sent his angel and saved Daniel from the
mouth of the lions, and the three children from the power
of the heat in the fiery furnace — has stood by me, and in
him alone has been my hope. If I have done anything
in his cause, to him I ascribe the glory. For my short-
comings in duty, and for any errors I may have commit-
ted while engaged in his work, from him I hope for par-
don, through Jesus Christ our Lord."

CONCLUSION. 357

CHAPTER XXIV.

CONCLUSION.

I. List of Texts heading Volumes of Journals. — 2. List of Books
Written and those Revised. — 3. Articles from Napoli Newspa-
pers relative to Dr. King's Work. — 4. Letter regarding Confes-
sion of Faith for Greek Church.— 5. Letter to Professor Hop-
kins about Williams College Revival. — 6. The Only Son.

Bible texts, which in Greek, Hebrew. Arabic, and
other languages, head the volumes of memoranda kept
by Dr. King for forty years, and which, in fact, give a
synopsis of his history :

MOUNT CALVARY, February 1, 1824.

"For my brethren and companions' sake, I will now say,
Peace be within thee." Psa. 122 : 8 ; Isa. 62 : i ; Rev. 22 : 20.

" And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written,
King: of kings and Lord of lords." Rev. 19:16.

MOUNT CALVARY, March 31, 1825.

" There they crucified him." Luke 23 : 33 ; Isa. 53 : 4 ; Luke
22 : 44.

"All we like sheep have gone astray, and the Lord hath laid
on him the iniquity of us all." Isa. 53 : 6.

" For God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life." John 3 : 16.

"This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he
hath sent." John 6:29.

" He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he
live : and whosoever liveth and believeth in me, shall never die."
John II :25, 26.

" Lord, 1 believe; help thou mine unbelief." Mark 9: 24.

358 yONAS KING.

TARSUS, October 23, 1826.
" But Paul said, I am a man which am a Jew of Tarsus, a city
in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city : and, I beseech thee, suffer me
to speak unto the people." Acts 21 : 39.

MARSEILLES, October SO, 1826.

" Of making many books there is no end ; and much study is a
weariness of the flesh." Eccles. 12 : 12.

EGINA, January 13, 1829.

" The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that
call upon him in truth. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear
him : he also will hear their cry, and will save them." Psalm
145:18, 19.

" Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God,
that he may exalt you in due time : casting all your care upon him ;
for he careth for you." i Pet. 5 : 7.

ISLAND OF TENOS, GREECE, July S, 1830.

" And the king said unto Zadok, Carry back the ark of God
into the city : if I shall find favor in the eyes of the Lord, he may
bring me again, and show me both it and his habitation : but if he
thus say, I have no delight in thee ; behold, here am I, let him do
to me as seemeth good unto him." 2 Sam. 15 : 25, 26.

"... Let him alone, and let him curse ; for the Lord hath bid-
den him. It may be that the Lord will look on mine affliction, and
that the Lord will requite me good for his cursing this day." 2 Sam.
16 : II, 12.

" And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught against
any : that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you
your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father
which is in heaven forgive your trespasses." Mark 11 : 25, 26.

ATHENS, January 1, 1837.

"That like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory
of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."
Rom. 6:4.

CONCLUSION. 359

ATHENS, May 20, 1840.

" Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing : but contra-
riwise blessing ; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye
should inherit a blessing. For he that will love life, and see good
days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they
speak no guile ; let him eschew evil, and do good ; let him seek
peace, and ensue it. For the eyes of the Lord are over the right-
eous, and his ears are open unto their prayers : but the face of the
Lord is against them that do evil." i Pet. 3 : 9-12.

" Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you : not as the
world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, nei-
ther let it be afraid." John 14 : 27.

ATHENS, September 1, 1842.

" Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh,
nor of the will of man, but of God." John i : 13.

" But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all
manner of conversation." i Pet. 1:15.

" Be ye therefore followers of God as dear children." Ephes.
5:1.

ATHENS, October 5, 1843.

" Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and
Shen, and called the name of it Eben-ezer, saying, Hitherto hath
the Lord helped us." i Sam. 7: 12.

" My help conieth from the Lord, which made heaven and
earth." Psa. 121 : 2.

" He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might
he increaseth strength. Even the youth shall faint and be weary,
and the young men shall utterly fall : but they tliat wait upon the
Lord shall renew their strength ; they shall mount up with wings as
eagles ; they shall run, and not be weary ; and they shall walk, and
not faint." Isa. 40 : 29-31.

"He doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and
among the inhabitants of the earth : and none can stay his hand, or
say unto him. What doest thou?" Dan. 4: 35.

" And those that walk in pride he is able to abate." Dan. 4 : 37.

36o JONAS KING.

ATHENS, September 20, 1848.

" Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they
shall separate you irom their company, and shall reproach you, and
cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice ye
in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in
heaven : for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets."
Luke 6 : 22, 23.

" And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my
sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles." Matt,
10:18.

" The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above
his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and
the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house
Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household !"
Matt. 10: 24, 25.

"And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to
kill the soul : but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul
and body in hell." Matt. 10: 28.

" But if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye : and be
not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled." i Pet. 3 : 14.

ATHENS, May 1, 1847.

*' He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many
waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them
which hated me. He brought me forth also into a large place. As
for God, his way is perfect : the word of the Lord is tried : he is a
buckler to all those that trust in him." Psa. 18 : 16-30.

" Trust ye in the Lord for ever : for in the Lord Jehovah is
everlasting strength." Isa. 26 : 4.

" It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in
princes." Psa. 118:9.

"And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are
more than they that be with them." 2 Kings 6: 16.

GENEVA, September 6, 1847.

" The Lord thy keeper." Psa. 121 : 5.

" Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed
on thee." Isa. 26: 3.

CONCLUSION. 361

ATHENS, October 2, 1848.
" When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were
like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter,
and our tongue with singing : then said they among the heathen,
The Lord hath done great things for them. The Lord hath done
great things for us ; whereof we are glad. Turn again our captiv
ity, O Lord, as the streams in the south. They that sow in tears
shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing pre-
cious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his
sheaves with him." Psa. 126.

ATHENS, November 12, 1850.

"And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord: and great
shall be the peace of thy children." Isa. 54 : 13.

" Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken
away from her." Luke 10 : 42.

" He giveth power to the faint ; and to them that have no
might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be
weary, and the young men shall utterly fall : but they that wait
upon the Lord shall renew their strength ; they shall mount up on
wings as eagles ; they shall run, and not be weary ; and they shall
walk, and not faint." Isa. 40 : 29-31.

ATHENS, August 1, 18S1.

"Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the
morning." Psa. 30 : 5.

" Fear not : for I am with thee : I will bring thy seed from the
east, and gather thee from the west." Isa. 43 : 5.

ATHENS, November 1, 1852.

" But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God." i Sam.
30:6.

" In God is my salvation and my glory : the rock of my strength,
and my refuge, is in God. Trust in him at all times ; ye people,
pour out your heart before him : God is a refuge for us." Psalm
62 : 7, 8.

" Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened
me ; . . . and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. And

362 yONAS KING.

the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve
me unto his heavenly kingdom : to whom be glory for ever and
ever. Amen." 2 Tim. 4:17, 18.

ATHENS, July 12, 18SB.

" Why art thou cast down, O my soul ? and why art thou disqui-
eted within me ? hope thou in God : for I shall yet praise him, who
is the health of my countenance, and my God," Psa. 42 : 11.

List of Books published by Dr. King :

1. His " Farewell Letter" to his friends in Palestine and Syria,
in 1825, written in Arabic, and published in that language after-
wards by the Church Missionary Society of England, and which has
been translated into various other languages, and printed in Mod-
ern Greek, in French, in Italian, etc. It was put in the Index at
Rome, and prohibited by Pope Gregory XVI. and by Pope Pius
IX., and a volume in answer to it was printed in Arabic by the De
Propaganda Fide. Of the effect produced on the Armenians at
Constantinople by a copy of it in manuscript, sent by an Armenian
bishop from Beyroot, Rev. H. G. O. Dwight, D. D., writes in his
book, " Christianity Revived in the East." He says that the letter
was translated by Bishop Dionysius. " And soon a meeting was
called in the Armenian Patriarchal church, at which, it is said, the
letter was read, and the references to Scripture examined ; and, as
if by common consent, it was agreed that the church needs reform.
Out of this grew immediately the famous school of Peshtima Gian.
It was established within the precincts of the Patriarchate at Con-
stantinople, and one particular object was the education of the
clergy ; the rule being adopted that no individual should thereafter
be ordained to the priest's office in the capital who had not comple-
ted a regular course of study at this school." This " Farewell Let-
ter" was distributed extensively among the Greeks and Italians in
Sardinia and Egypt, and is still used by our missionaries in the
East. An English officer printed at his own expense about three
thousand copies, and in two nights distributed sixteen hundred of
them in Sicily.

2. His " Defence," written in Greek, and published in that
language at Athens in 1S45. produced uncommon excitement in the

CONCLUSION. 363

whole Oriental church, not only in free Greece, but throughout
Turkey.

3. " Exposition of an Apostolical Church," written in Greek,
and printed in Cambridge, Mass., U. S. A., in 1851 and 1857.
This has been translated into French and Italian, and printed in
those languages at Malta.

4. " Religious Rites of an Apostolical Church," written in
Greek, and printed at Athens in 1851.

5. His " Speech before the Areopagus " at Athens, written in
Greek, and partly delivered April 23, 1846 (the President of the
Court did not permit him to finish it), and printed in New York in
1847, and at Cambridge, Mass., in 1857.

6. " Hermeneutics of the Sacred Scriptures," written in Greek,
and printed at Athens in 1857.

7. Two volumes of " Sermons " in Greek, printed at Athens in

1859.

8. " Synoptical View of Palestine and Syria, with Additions,"
etc., written and printed in French, and translated into Modern
Greek, and published at Athens ia 1859.

9. His " Miscellaneous Works " in Modern Greek, one volume
octavo, pages 840, and containing all the above-mentioned except
the "Sermons," and in addition a "Letter to a Unitarian Minis-
ter," and all the Documents with regard to his various Trials before
the Courts in Athens, the Examination of the Witnesses, all the
Accusations brought against him and the Decisions of the Courts ;
the Communication of the Hon. George P. Marsh, United States
Minister to the Greek Government, relative to the same ; and the
King's Order revoking the Sentence of Exile. Printed at Athens
in 1859 and i860.

10. His Answer to a Pamphlet entitled " The Two Clergymen,"
by the Bishop of Karystia, Macarius, Kaliarchus, 1863.

The books printed under his direction and revised by
him in Modern Greek at Athens are :

1. " Mother at Home."

2. " Baxter's Saints' Rest."

3. "Dr. Lyman Beecher's Sermons on Intemperance."

4. " Alleine's Alarm to the Unconverted."

364 yONAS KING.

5. " Extracts from Chrysostom."

6. " History of the Church of Christ by Dr. Barth," printed at
Smyrna.

7. Four Tracts, written by the Countess Agenor de Gasparin.

8. " The Sisters."

9. Lessons taken from the Sacred Scriptures on various subjects.

10. "The Prayers of the Saints." (Prayers found in the Old
and New Testaments.) This book is published in English by the
American Tract Society.

11. Five volumes, entitled, "A Collection of Various Works
and Religious Tracts," and published from 1853 to 1856. These
had already been printed in Modern Greek, but in a style quite un-
suitable for the present time. The above works in all are fifteen
volumes.

The number of the Scriptures of the Old and New-
Testaments, or parts of them, of school books and reli-
gious tracts, which he has distributed among the Greeks
in free Greece and in Turkey (not including those circu-
lated in Egypt, Palestine, and Syria), will probably
amount to not less than four hundred thousand copies.

Eighty schools received books from him in one year.
From the ist of January, 1842, to the 30th of November,
1843, one hundred and eight schools were furnished with
books from his shop at Athens. Of these schools, 20
were in the Peloponnesus, 60 in Continental Greece, 7 in
the Cyclades, and 21 in Turkey.

Translation of an article from the national newspaper
printed at Napoli, July 23, 1832, concerning the literary
institutions in Athens under the superintendence of ]\Ir.
Jonas King, American :

I. One school of mutual instruction, under the direction of Mr.
N. Niketoplos, containing ninety-four scholars.

CONCL US J ON. 365

2. Another school of mutual instruction, under the direction of
Mr. P. Skepesos, containing sixty-eight scholars.

3. A school for girls, under the direction of Miss Anastasia
Kapenaki, containing sixty-three scholars.

4. A school for the study of the ancient Greek writers, under
the direction of Mr. D. Sonomales, containing thirty-seven schol-
ars. It is expected also that higher branches will be afterwards
taught. This Philhellen, Mr. J. King, is one of the apostles of one
of the apostolic churches of the Presbyterians (meaning those who
have not bishops in the present sense of the word), sent by it with
large expenses and every kind of means for establishing such schools
for the instruction of youth in the renowned Athens.

He has also bought a place, where he is building an institution
simply for females, in which shall be taught such branches neces-
sary for the instruction of females as are taught in similar institu-
tions in Europe. We learn also that the female friends of Greece
in Philadelphia, America, contribute in a particular manner to this
institution, and for this reason there has been inscribed over the
gate, " Philadelphia."

Mr. J. King, in 1828, established at Tenos a school for girls,
containing about eighty girls. It continued till 1831, when he re-
moved to Athens.

This American Society contributed to the school for girls in
Syra under the direction of Mr. Korck. It made a present also to
the government, in 1S30, of about thirty-five hundred slates and
seventy-five thousand pencils, for the use of schools of mutual in-
struction in Greece.

It established also, in 1822, a printing-press in Malta, at which
are printed elementary books in different languages, for the most
part Eastern. Thousands of such little books have been given
gratis to the schools in Greece.

The Philhellen Americans have ever shown kindness to our
nation, giving, in 1826, much food and clothing, but now they con-
tribute for the education of our youth.

The Athenians, seeing the progress of their children in learn-
ing, tender, together with the other Greeks, their gratitude to the
Philhellen Americans.

In 1824 the Philo-muse (literary) Society first established in
Athens a school for girls, having for teacher Mr. N. Niketoplos ;

366 JOMIS AVJVG.

but in 1831, the loth of April (old style), Mr. J. King, having the
same N. Niketoplos as teacher, established a school of mutual in-
struction, containing a sufificient number of pupils, both males and
females, which last, the 3d of June (old style), he ordered to be in a
separate school for girls.

Afterwards, the 6th of July (old style), the wife of Mr. Hill,
American, established a school for girls.

The reverend priest, Mr. Jonas King, full of zeal, and a preach-
er of the gospel, sent by the same Society, for nearly two years
preached the gospel in France and in other parts of Europe, and
four years in Egypt, Syria, and Palestine, and other parts of Asia,
and in Constantinople.

A plan of the gymnasium sent to be published in the
"Minerva," September 9, 183 1, was prefaced by the edi-
tor with these remarks :

The Rev. Mr. Jonas King, known for his charities and benefi-
cence to almost all the wretched in the time of our struggle, and
since the settlement of the affairs of our nation, devoted to the
work of enlightening it, has sent us the new organization of his
gymnasium at Athens, which we hasten to publish in our paper,
that the public may see how well the sincere friends of humanity
know what are 1
true happiness.

Far from attributing to the venerable King or others any de-
signs of proselytism, which designs, did they exist, would in the
nineteenth century be rather ridiculous than worthy of regard, we
cannot but express the gratitude of our nation to the Americans
who have set such a worthy example, while we would also proclaim
the virtues of the venerable King, especially the diligence and assi-
duity which he as well as his colleagues exhibit for our illumination.

Copy of a letter to the Rev. Rufus Anderson with
regard to a confession of faith for the Greek church :

Athens, February 7, 1S50.
Rev. Rufus Anderson, D. D. — My Dear Brother : I am not
certain whether I mentioned to you or not, some months since, that
I had been occupied for a while in writing a small work in Greek,

COXCL USION. 367

entitled " Exposition of an Apostolic Church," with a " Confession
of Faith " and a " Covenant," all founded entirely on the Word of
God, from which, in proof of what I have said, passages are quoted
in full. The " Exposition " consists of thirty-one articles and the
" Confession of Faith " of twelve.

The object of the whole is to show in what a truly apostolical
church consists, on what foundation it is built, by what rule it is
guided, what doctrines it believes, what powers it possesses, in what
manner its officers are to be chosen, what their character ought to
be, what are their peculiar duties, and how they are to be support-
ed ; its relation to other churches, as also the relation of its officers
to those of other churches ; to whom baptism is to be administered,
in what manner, and for what object ; who are to partake of the
Lord's Supper, in what manner, and how often, the nature and ob-
ject of the elements used in that supper ; how the discipline of the
church is to be administered, and with what spirit, and what punish-
ment it may inflict on disorderly members ; in what manner prayers
are to be offered, and to whom and through what mediation ; what
kind of fasting is permitted, and when ; under what circumstances
divorce is permitted ; what kind of worldly diversions are condemn-
ed; in what manner the Lord's day is to be consecrated; that feasts
are not to be kept in honor of saints and angels ; that certain Jew-
ish and heathen customs are not to be permitted in religious rites,
such as the use of lighted lamps and candles during the day, in-
cense, offerings for the dead, the worship of images of whatever
kind, servile reverence of religious teachers, theatrical representa-
tions of the sufferings and death of Christ at Easter, the worship of
dead men's bones, the kissing of crosses, the making the sign of
the cross as a preservative against evil or the evil influences of the
devil, or in the room of prayer, the use of amulets, prayers, and
ceremonies for the souls of the dead ; that the so-called mysteries
are to be rejected ; that the object of baptism and the Lord's Sup-
per is manifest, and not to be called mysteries ; that the ceremony
of marriage and of inducting a pastor into office contain no mystery
whatever; that no miracles are now wrought by anointing with oil;
that secret confession is not enjoined, but that confession, in case
of public scandal, should be public and in presence of the whole
church ; and in case of sin, to whom we are ever to apply for par-
don, and in what w^aj it can be obtained.

368 JONAS KING.

To the whole I have written a short preface, bringing into view
certain principles and traits of the human mind which lead men to
err on the subject of religion, and showing why I reject all traditions
and commandments of men, and take for my guide the Word of God
alone.

The work is intended principally for the Eastern and Western
churches, but also for all others which, have in any degree wandered
from the purity and simplicity of the gospel either in faith or prac-
tice, either in internal organization or in outward ceremonies.

And as the people in the East are lamentably ignorant of the
Sacred Scriptures, and as multitudes do not possess them, I have
thought it important to quote in full the passages of Scripture to
which, in other circumstances, I should need perhaps only to refer.
But even where the Sacred Scriptures are in the hands of all, many
probably prefer to see a text quoted rather than to be sent to anoth-
er book in search of it.

The whole will not make, I think, more than eighty or a hun-
dred pages i2mo, and of course can be read by almost any one with-
out much fatigue. Large books on religious subjects most men are
not fond of, and only a few will read.

I was moved to write this in part by the impression on my mind
that such a kind of guide is necessary for those who perhaps begin
to see the light, but from never having been taught the way in which
they should go, are in danger of wandering every time they see a
path that turns to the right or to the left, and that it would be espe-
cially necessary should there ever be in these regions, as I doubt
not there will be, any considerable excitement on the subject of
religion, or any great movement towards a change.

I have not only prepared it in Greek, but have also had it trans-
lated into French and Italian, in each of which languages I wish to
print, if possible, a thousand copies.

Will you allow me to do this at the expense of the Board? It
must, of course, be printed ojit of Greece, for if printed here I should
be subject to prosecution, imprisonment, and perhaps exile.

The expense of printing a thousand copies in the three above-
mentioned languages would not exceed, I think, two Jmndred dol-
lars. Yours, truly,

JONAS KING.

CONCLUSION. 369

THE ONLY SON.

TRACT NO. 530, A. T. S.

Soon after the Rev. Pliny Fisk and Rev. Levi Parsons left
their mountain homes in Western Massachusetts, near the close of
1819, as the first American missionaries to Palestine, their young
friend JONAS King, from the same neighborhood, was elected pro-
fessor in Amherst college, and proceeded to Paris to pursue the
study of Arabic with the celebrated De Sacy. He there became
familiar with an American gentleman, then at the head of one of
the first commercial houses in Paris, to whose care his correspon-
dence was addressed.

In February, 1822, the lamented Parsons died, and Rev. Mr.
Fisk without delay addressed a letter to Mr. King, requesting that
he would meet him at Malta, and, in place of Rev. Mr. Parsons,
accompany him as a missionary to Palestine ; and fearing delay by
waiting the action of the American Board of Missions, he in the
same enclosure requested Mr. King's mercantile friend not only to
second his invitation, but, if possible, to raise the sum of $1,500,
requisite for his support for three years.

Mr. King, receiving the letter in the merchant's counting-
room, retired to his private office to read it. Oppressed with the
weight of the proposition it contained, he spent an hour in prayer
for divine direction; and hoping to gain further light as to the path
of duty, sought the merchant's advice. He returned to the count-
ingroom, and asked with deep solicitude, "Wliat shall I do?" Said
his friend, " Go." " But," said he, " what will become of my aged
and infirm parents in America?" " I will be a son to them in your
stead," replied his friend. " Then," said Mr. King, " I go up to
Jerusalem, 'not knowing the things that shall befall me there.' "

"Now," said the merchant, "sit down at this desk and write
to my friends Thomas Waddington of St. Remy, France, Louis
Mertens of Brussels, Claude Cromlin of Amsterdam, and John Ven-
ning of St. Petersburg: state to them the circumstances, and that
you are willing to go; tell them I will give ong-fifth of the $1,500,
and leave it to their decision whether they will join me in filling up
the amount." By the return of the mails it appeared that God had

37° JONAS KING.

put it into the hearts of these gentlemen cheerfully to respond to
the appeal by enclosing each $300, making the sum required ; and
Mr. King lost no time in preparing for his departure.

A few months previous to this, Mr. King had established the
monthly concert of prayer in his own hired upper chamber in Paris
which had been attended with increasing interest; a laro-e con-
course assembled in the church of the Oratoire to listen to his
farewell address and join in commending him to the God of all
grace ; he was cheered in a similar manner on his way by Christian
assembhes at Lyons, Nismes, Montpelier, and Marseilles, where he
embarked for Malta and Jerusalem, He is now the well-known,
persecuted, but laborious and successful missionary at Athens.

His friend the merchant, from time to time, wrote to the soli-
tary parents, enclosing some tokens of regard "from their affec-
tionate son ;" the next year he returned to America, and early in
the spring of 1824 he was at Northampton, about twenty-five miles
from the parents, meditating a visit to their humble abode. He
applied to the landlord, who furnished him a wagon with his little
son for a driver; and freighted with a bag of groceries which ex-
tended the whole length of the wagon, they set off early in the
morning, and after encountering snowdrifts and other obstacles by
the way, arrived at the cottage about two in the afternoon.

Leaving the lad with the wagon in the street, the gentleman
knocked, saying as he entered, " It is a chill, uncomfortable day,
friends; would you be so kind as to allow a stranger to warm him-
self a little by your fire ?" He was welcomed and seated between
the aged couple, in who.m he distinctly recognized the features of
their son Jonas, and they in turn fixed on him a scrutinizing eye.
After a short pause he said deliberately,

" I once had a friend who said to me, < What shall I do?' Said
I, 'Go.' 'But what,' said he, ' will become of my aged and infirm
parents in America ?' I replied, ' I will be a son to them in your
stead.' 'Then,' said he, ' I go up to Jerusalem, "not knowing the
things that shall befall me there." ' "

Instantly the aged couple sprung to him, exclaiming, "This
is Mr. Wilder !" and almost overwhelmed him with their tears and
caresses. " Let us pray," said the father ; and they unburdened
their hearts at theflirone of mercy.

Scarcely were they again seated, when the mother took from

CONCLUSION. 371

the shelf a new quarto Bible, saying she hoped her friend would
not blame her for paying ten dollars for it out of the fifty he had
sent her a few months previous. " Our old eyes," she said, "could
not well read the small print of the other Bible. I told Mr. King
I did not believe we could make any better use of the money, or
should ever be the poorer for buying a Bible that we could read;
it is a great comfort to us." Their friend expressed his approba-
tion of the purchase, admired the Bible, and before he returned it
to the shelf slipped into it unperceived a ten-dollar bill, which she
afterwards wrote him had been found on the floor when they were
rdading the Bible, and which she recognized as from the hand of
God, having no knowledge by what means the exact, amount ex-
pended had thus come again into their hands.

After a brief interchange of confidence and affection, she said
to her esteemed guest, " I presume, sir, you have not dined, and
must be in need of refreshment. I am very sorry we have not a
cup of tea to offer you, but we have some nice ham and fresh eggs,
which I will immediately prepare." Her friend remarked, "There
is a bag in the wagon containing several articles from 'your son;'
perhaps there may be tea among them."

The bag, with no little effort, was transferred from the wagon
to the cottage-floor, and the mother addressed herself to the task
of taking out its contents. Among packages of flour, rice, loaf-
sugar, coffee, chocolate, raisins, and other articles, each of which
she held up with new expressions of delight, as received from one
she so much loved, she at length came to a package of four pounds
of hyson tea, when she held it out to the father with streaming
eyes, saying, "Look here, papa; Jonas is the same dear good boy
that he always was. He knew we were out of tea sometimes ; he
do n't forget his poor father and mother." Then opening a pack-
age of Turkey figs, "And is this also," said she, "from Jerusalem?
Papa, was there ever such a son as Jonas ?" By this time all hearts '
were overflowing. "Let us pray," said the father; and the explo-
ring of the treasures was suspended while they again united in
thanksgiving to God.

It was not long before the little company were seated at a well-
furnished table, refreshed by the gifts of the kind "son," mingling
their sympathies and recounting all the way in which they had been
led. While thus conversing the merchant affectionately asked,

372 JONAS KING.

" Do you never regret the sacrifice you have made in giving up
your only son to be a missionary?" The aged father replied,

" ' God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have ever-
lasting life ;' and shall I withhold my only son from obeying the
command of our ascended Saviour, ' Go ye into all the world, and
preach the gospel to every creature' ?"

All present were deeply affected, a tear standing in the eye
even of the young driver. They again bowed in prayer ; both the
father and the merchant led in turn, commending the little compa-
ny, the absent son, and a sin-ruined world to the God of missions.

The interview was an hour bright with the beams of the Sun
of righteousness amid the dark pilgrimage of life, an oasis in the
desert, a season never to be forgotten by any one of the four per-
sons who thus met for the first and the last time on earth.

That young driver, as he afterwards distinctly stated, here first
had his mind impressed with the sacredness of the work of foreign
missions. He gave his heart to Christ, pursued a thorough course
of education, went forth to the heathen, and was no other than
Henry Lyman, the noble martyr who fell by the side of Munson, in
1834, among the bloody Battas of Sumatra.

The aged father, in his will, bequeathed to the merchant, for
the purchase of a book in token of his love, the sum of five dollars,
which at his death was paid to the widow for the old small-print
Bible, which is still preserved as a precious memento. The widow
has entered into rest; and the stranger passing a rural graveyard
in South Hawley, where the scenery opens in magnificence and
beauty, reads on the tombstone of the father his reply just quoted
to the question whether he ever regretted the gift to missions of

his ONLY SON.

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