daily life and conduct? The examina- | quite attentive and interested. We hope tion being over, the members of the that many of them will not be found on church, four men and one woman, were the left side, but among the sheep of his requested to remain, and it was de- flock, when the great Shepherd comes to cided that these six individuals should divide the sheep from the goats. Some be admitted to the church on the follow- Armenians were there, who have not ing day. We were surprised then to been accustomed to attend, and we trust hear, that Baron Hohannes did not desire it may have been a profitable occasion to to join at this time. On inquiring the many. We certainly felt, that it was reason, we found that he feared he was good to be there. not worthy, that he might not be a renewed man. He was called in, and we had further conversation with him, from which we could not infer that he made up his mind to come forward at this time, although he had a desire to join the people of God. The confession of faith and covenant were read, and the meeting was closed with prayer. Their Admission. On the next day, the Sabbath, the missionaries were called, after the morning service at the chapel, to attend the funeral of a Protestant child. In the afternoon, they again met the people at the chapel. After the usual services, and a sermon from Mr. Richardson on the subject of the Lord's supper, the six individuals who were examined on the previous evening, arose in their places, listened to the reading of the confession of faith and the covenant, and were admitted to the church in a manner similar to that which is observed in America on such occasions. Baron Hohannes, who hesitated on the previous evening to come forward, on account of his unworthiness, not only came with the others, but brought his child also for baptism. His wife, who is not a Protestant, and is said to oppose him in these things, was also present. Another young child, Baron Abgar's, was also brought forward for baptism, and then the sacrament of the Lord's supper was administered to this little church of eleven, six men and five women; an interesting band of disciples, who were seated together on one side of the room. The congregation, who filled the room almost to overflowing, remained Another meeting was held in our room in the evening, when even more were present than on the previous evening. It was a very interesting occasion, and we were especially interested in three quite intelligent looking young men, who are not yet Protestants, but who seem to be in an inquiring state of mind. After the meeting, in conversation, they proposed several questions respecting difficulties in their own minds, as to the difference between their religion and that of the Protestants, which our brethren seemed to answer very readily. Some of the brethren said that these men were half Protestants. May they soon be brought to a full knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus Christ our Lord. Syria Mission. STATION REPORTS. SOME report of the Abeih station, for the year 1856, was given in the Herald for April. From all the other stations of this mission reports have been received, abstracts of which will be now presented. The year at this station, it is said, was not marked by many events which call for special record; but "a most painful circumstance was the continued ill health of Mr. Smith, who was obliged to leave Syria early in the summer, to try the effect of a cooler climate." The experiment was not attended with such advantages as had been hoped for, and "with the exception of a few weeks at the beginning of the year, his invaluable labors in the translation and publishing of the Scriptures were entirely suspended. That great work remains in nearly the same state as at the close of the last year." "The departments of preaching, and general missionary labor, also suffered greatly from the illness of Mr. Smith. His voice has not been heard from the pulpit, and but little in the Bible class, nor has he had strength to receive many visits. We blessing of God, we can have no reason to doubt that it will resume its former high position of efficiency and usefulness, and exert a mighty influence in have been chiefly aided by his counsels and moulding the character and destiny of his prayers." The various public and pastoral labors of the station thus devolved entirely upon the junior missionary, but they were carried on much as heretofore, without interruption. During the summer months, the same services were maintained as during the winter, "and there was much encouragement to do this in the comparatively full attendance at all times. The average congregation on the Sabbath has not exceeded fifty." "The Bible class and Sabbath school have been continued with interest, though with a small number in attendance." The state of the church, it is said, has been "for the most part satisfactory, so far as harmony and good feeling are concerned." Two persons, both females, were admitted by profession, and several others were on the eve of being admitted at the close of the year. None of the members had been removed, by death or otherwise. Schools-Printing. In the schools, some progress has been made during the year towards a state of greater efficiency. The pressure for admission to the girls' school was so great, that we procured the services of a second teacher, and enlarged the school to more than fifty scholars near the close of the year. The boys in the two schools have numbered about sixty, and those of the higher school have made good progress in arithmetic, geography, and grammar, as well as in Scripture knowledge. The plan of holding public examinations semi-annually has been tried, and thus far with very manifest benefit to pupils and teachers as well as parents. We may mention, as connected with our station for the present, the female seminary, which has been re-opened under the sole superintendence of Miss Cheney. A promising class of eight girls, mostly from Protestant families, has been received. The arrangements of the institution are such as promise to give great satisfaction; and, with the the still benighted females of this land. The number of pages printed during the year was 1,449,200, of which 192,000 were pages of Scripture. Three thousand eight hundred and twenty-three volumes were bound, and seven thousand nine hundred and eighteen copies of volumes and tracts have been issued from the depository to various missionary stations, besides those distributed at and around Beirut. Homs. At the beginning of the year, Mr. and Mrs. Wilson were alone at Homs. About the first of May, they were joined by Mr. and Mrs. Aiken, but within a few weeks Mrs. Aiken was called away from earthly labors, and the connection of Mr. Aiken with the station soon virtually ceased. Mr. Wilson has also been constrained, by the illness of his wife, to leave the place for a time, so that, from about the first of August, Homs has been left without a resident missionary. Of course but little of what was designed has been accomplished there, and for the surrounding district, of which that place is the centre of trade and influence. While Mr. Wilson was there, a preaching exercise and a Bible class were kept up on the Sabbath, but the number attending was small. A school was established in February, "which, though feeble in its beginnings, gradually increased till the number of children reached thirty-nine, when, owing to a fierce opposition from the Greek Bishop, it was reduced to ten or twelve." Yet the attempt to break up the school has signally failed. The first pupils were mostly Syrians. These were soon forced to leave by their Bishop, and since that time the majority have been from among the Greeks-a few only coming from the papal Greeks. "The school is not what it should be, not indeed what it would be under a thorough supervision, yet it is an entering wedge, and we feel thankful that amid the untoward events of the year it has been permitted to exist in the face of so much and so bitter opposition. The teacher has been twice in prison, he has been threatened, and tempted with the offer of higher wages, but the result is that the school is rising in favor. The Greek Bishop is shamed before his own people, and his curses are losing much of their power over the people of his charge." The Sabbath services have been regularly maintained from the first, three Sabbaths only excepted, when I was necessarily absent from my post. There is a Bible class in the morning, and preaching in the afternoon. The audiences are quite variable, but the average number of adults present, (including children capable of understanding,) has been about twenty-five. There is not, as yet, much to encourage us in this department. We cast our bread upon the waters, hoping to find it after many days. The congregation has decreased for the past six months, and those who now attend are almost entirely persons in some way employed by us, or pupils from our schools, with their parents and friends. Were it not for the schools, we should have scarcely any present. Those who came from curiosity are curious no longer, and respectable men of the higher classes, who at first came to show us their good will, and to give countenance to our cause, have not found this a sufficient motive to allure them, for any length of time, from the pleasures of visiting, from card-playing, and from the coffee-house. If they attend regularly on the means of grace, they must excuse themselves from Sabbath guests, must incur the charge of incivility and Protestantism, and must suffer various kinds of persecution. May the time not be far distant, when many of them will 'rejoice to be counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.' We see much of the people here, and try to preach by conversation to those whom we cannot reach on the Sabbath. Schools. The schools have been our most prosperous department of labor. A year ago, we had but one in the whole dis trict, containing not twenty scholars. Now there are seven schools, with more than two hundred pupils. In this place, we have opened a girls' school, and enlarged that for the boys. Four teachers are employed, and the daily attendance is between eighty and ninety. The boys' schools, when a fair proportion are present, contain from forty to forty-five pupils. Of these, only about fifteen belong to the " high school," yet they give a reputation to our teaching in Deir el Komr. They study grammar, arith metic, geography, English, and the Scriptures. In Scripture studies, the forward class have gone through the Pentateuch and the Gospel of Matthew. They have also committed much of a general character from the "Guide to the Study of the Bible." They have been required to enumerate all the miracles and parables of Christ, which are on record, and also the most important events of his life. Besides this, they have committed the subjects treated of in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter by chapter, from the beginning to the end of the book. In the month of October, we had a general examination of the male department of the Deir el Komr schools. One of our friends, knowing that we had no suitable place for such an occasion, very kindly offered us the use of his spacious covered court, which will accommodate several hundred. Though the day was a very rainy one, we had an attendance of one hundred and fifty spectators, and among them the Turkish governor. The exercises passed off well, and gave the best of satisfaction. It may be well to state, that our male department flourishes in spite of rival schools, and the displeasure of the clergy. To the inquiry, "Watchman, what of the night?" I may truly reply, "It is dark, very dark.” But if the morning has not yet begun perceptibly to dawn, we may rejoice in the fact, that it is approaching. Many of the offspring of bigotry and superstition, as spiritual wild beasts, beginning to retire to their lairs and dens, indicate the coming of the Sun of Righteousness. Some fifteen years ago, the missionary could hardly purchase here the necessa The Maronites have a high school, recently made free, in which grammar and French are taught by an excellent master, the brother of the bishop elect of the diocese, and yet we continue to prosper. In the female department we com menced with a dozen pupils, less than a year ago. Before the lapse of six months, we had an attendance of over fifty, and needed the services of a second teacher. This school is one of our sunniest spots. For a while, there was a rival school kept up by the Greek Cath-ries of life; (none had leave to buy and olics, but ours at length made way with it as Moses' rod did with those of the Egyptian magicians. Many of the pupils are far from being little girls, not a few being considered already marriageable and having reached the stature of full-grown women. They attend, though, at their age, it is by many considered contrary to the (oriental) rules of propriety. Mr. Bird mentions several other points of much interest connected with this school and then adds: When we came here, I do not know that six females could be found in the nominal Christian population who could read. Now, half the pupils in our girls' school can read their Bibles. Geography and arithmetic were, to the sex, like the hieroglyphics of Egypt. Now, the school girls, though mere beginners, are a wonder to their generation. And the progress of the pupils appears still more commendable, when it is considered, that the afternoon is devoted to the use of the needle, and only half a day to study. sell, "save those who had the mark of the Beast!") and when he left, he was followed by stones and execrations. Now, he is welcomed and honored. Then, fear kept even his friends from venturing to visit him; now, priests and even a bishop are ashamed not to return his calls. Then, the Protestant sect could not be vilified enough; now, it is spoken of with favor in public and in high places. The old Emir Bshir, the former persecutor and terror of Protestants, has passed away, and his decaying and dilapidated palace is used as barracks for Turkish soldiery! His prime minister, adviser, or secretary, who did much injury to the cause of evangelical religion, and whose mansion was, as it were, the strong hold of the enemy, is no more. What remains of this Ahithophel's house is the abode of the missionary, and furnishes apartments for 'scriptural" schools, and a Protestant chapel. His sons-in-law were leaders in the movement which brought us to Deir el Komṛ, and are among our firmest friends. His grandchildren learn the our schools. Schools under the direction of the station are in operation in several other places, "of folly of Popery by the instruction in the usual character of the mountain schools." One recently commenced has more than sixty pupils. Encouraging Changes. As to the prospects for the future of the missionary work at and around Deir el Komr, Mr. Bird presents, it will be seen, a very cheering view, drawing a striking contrast between the present and the past. Time was, when every one trembled at the anathema of the clergy. Now, the latter dare not show their impotence by pronouncing it. Some of the people would be glad to be thus dissevered from a church and ceremonies which they abominate, for they would thus not only gain their end, but retain the sympathies of many who would be otherwise arrayed against them. Those who send their children to our schools have been refused admission to the confessional and the eucharist. The Maronite bishop, however, has at length yielded the point, and tries to win rather than force. Their high school, he has made free of charge, and has promised to open also a girls' school. In the Greek Catholic communion, on the other hand, the men, and some of the women, remain " suspended;" yet they are of good courage, some glad of so excellent an excuse to get rid of the confessional, and others incensed at the glaring injustice that would admit the drunkard and the notoriously vicious, but exclude the respectable and the moral. We have here the anomaly of those being thrust out of the pale of the church, who are still its very pillars, its substantial supporters, whose names are known, and whose influence is felt, throughout the region. There is certainly progress, and we have reason to thank God and take courage. Still, we long to see a work more purely spiritual. Light is being diffused, but there is not the corresponding religious interest. The truth is viewed by many as a beautiful theory, the heart remaining a flint. We are called to regret the fact, that some of the best minds in the place are tinged with skepticsm. Thus we have, here, a foe even more formidable than the doctrines of the Romish church. Happily, the most influential are, notwithstanding, our firm friends and supporters, and are in favor of good education and good morals. It may be, that they will not only assist us in overthrowing superstition, but in building up the truth. Out-station-Help Wanted. At Ain Zhalty, Mr. Bird says, the good work goes on slowly but surely. "We now have there five church members. Every evening there is social prayer and a sort of Bible class, at which most of the community (Protestant) are present. There have been regular Sabbath services under the charge of our native helper, Khalil. The audience has been on the increase, and is now not only larger than that in Deir el Komr, but is composed of more encouraging materi als. Those who come desire instruction, and are regular attendants and open Protestants. There are few places in the mission where so many Protestant families are gathered together every Sabbath for religious instruction. Our helper improves in mind and spirit, and gives us great comfort. He has been, for a few months, at Abeih, pursuing his theological studies; his place in Ain Zhalty being supplied, meanwhile, by a graduate from the seminary." Mr. Bird had been able to spend but one Sabbath at that interesting mountain village during the year. "Would that I could give them more time," he says, and then adds, thus closing his report: I cannot hope, single-handed, to do any justice to my field. It is impossible for one to study Arabic, preach, visit, superintend schools, write letters, receive calls, and itinerate. The field is a wide one; the post the most important on Lebanon ; the minds to be dealt with of a superior order, the best of natural and acquired endowments being needed; the work abundant as well as arduous; the harvest great; the laborers less than few. May the Lord speedily send forth efficient laborers into his harvest. Sidon. Both of the missionaries occupying this station, Messrs. Thompson and Van Dyck, have been permitted to remain in the field, not interrupted in their labors by sickness at their own station. During the latter part of the year, however, one of them was much at Beirut, on account of Mr. Smith's illness. "There has been preaching regularly, twice on the Sabbath, Bible class twice a week, and a weekly prayer meeting of the members of the church. The congregation on the Sabbath has somewhat increased in number, the average attendance having been thirty adults. Two persons belonging to Sidon have been added to the church during the year, one |