male and one female; and two from Alma, | ment, no order, no peace. The Druzes both males." have the arbitrary and exclusive dominion of this district, and the atrocities which they daily commit, and the outrages against every instinct of humanity which they perpetrate, almost defy description. The Christian population are so demoralized that they have well nigh At Alma, occupied as an out-station," the work of evangelization has made progress in spite of the persecutions which the Protestants have been called to endure." Not only have two persons there been received to the church at Sidon, four now stand as candidates for church membership. "These four are so situated as not to be able to come to Sidon, given up all resistance; and it remains and it is proposed to administer the communion at Alma, and receive them there into connection with the Sidon church. A great obstacle to the work at Alma, is the want of a suitable place of worship. There is not a room in the village that can be obtained for this purpose, nor one suitable could it be obtained." Schools. "The common schools in Sidon and Hasbeiya have continued as in former years. The female school in Hasbeiya has been suspended for want of a teacher. The school in Alma was suspended in the early part of the year and not re-opened until December; and the boys' school in Resheiyeh el Fukhar has also been suspended." Book Distribution. More books have been distributed than in any former year, and more of them have been sold than heretofore. In March, a magazine was opened for the sale of the Scriptures and other religious books, and all its expenses have been defrayed from the sales made. One of the church members has been employed as a colporter for about ten months, and another for about four months of the year. Hasbeiya. The native pastor of the church at Hasbeiya reports: In reviewing the events of the past year, we have good reason to be thankful to the great Shepherd of the church for the blessings bestowed upon our field. We have had also much cause for discouragement. The old and formidable difficulties continue, while others of a new and particularly annoying character have been added. There is the same listlessness and indifference about spiritual things, and the same obtuseness of understanding, which characterize the natural man. to be seen what effect the first and only step we have recently taken, will have upon the mitigation of the wrongs which they are every day suffering. How much such a lawless state of the community must distract the attention of the people from other and more important things, may be easily imagined. Nor is this all. The Greeks, who are the most numerous in this place, in making what resistance they could, have been obliged to close into a more united body than they have hitherto been; and this has increased the difficulty of acting among and upon them, as it must also have had no small weight in smothering the voice of conscience, and in keeping them in the bonds of darkness and wickedness. A Among the Maronites, however, the case has been somewhat different. large body of them, for several months past, have been regular attendants upon the preaching of the word. Our services have thus been more fully attended than heretofore, the congregation on Sabbath morning ranging from sixty to a hundred adults, and the attention paid has been generally very good. Three persons have been added to the church at this station, and one member of the church, and another member of the Protestant community have been removed by death. In the villages about Hasbeiya, it is said, "the cause has advanced perhaps more satisfactorily." Among the Maronites of El Khiyan, mention is made of a movement which, though it has not affected a large number of individuals, "is of a more genuine and spiritual character" than had been seen before. B'hamdun. At this station, "the preaching service has been sustained every Sabbath during the year -forty-two Sabbaths by the missionary and ten by others. The attendance has been much as in former years." The Bible classes have been continued, with some increase of interest and numbers, particularly in that of the women, instructed by Mrs. Benton. Of the members of this class, three mothers have been presented and examined for admission to the church at Beirut. Upwards of fifty different women, from different sects, have attended upon the instructions of the class." On the whole, the report says, "it must be regarded as the most promising movement among the women which has yet appeared in the history of this mission." The Sabbath school is composed of the pupils from the primary schools. It numbers from twenty to fifty, and is continued only during the sessions of those schools. "The monthly concert has been observed on the first Monday evening of almost every month, and stated services for religious conversation and prayer on the Sabbath and Wednesday evenings." Ten different primary schools, besides the girls' school at Hasbeiya, have been in operation, in as many villages of the district, for from four to nine months each, during the year, under the supervision of this station. The whole number of scholars has been four hundred and five. Kefr Shima. This place has been frequently mentioned in previous reports of the Syria mission, as an out-station of Beirut, but not before as a district station. As an out-station, it received the care of the missionaries at Beirut as they were able to render it, and a school for boys has been kept open at the place for some years. "A small village, of not more than a thousand inhabitants, it still possesses interest, and claims a place in the sympathies and prayers of Christians, not alone on its own account, but also as being the centre of a wide and populous district which it is hoped may ere long be open to the preaching of the gospel." Mr. and Mrs. Eddy, having been released from their station at Aleppo by the new division of the Armenian and Syrian fields, removed to Kefr Shima on the first of February last. "No objection was made by any of the people to their residence among them, although three or four years before, they had combined in a desperate attempt to drive Protestantism, in the persons of its three or four representatives, from the village, and had displayed a rancor against the gospel rarely equaled. The missionaries were visited and welcomed by many of them, and there has been no reason, at any time, to complain of the want of personal respect and kind treatment." At first, there was an unusually large attendance upon the Sabbath services, but those who came from a love of novelty, left as soon as their curiosity was gratified. 'Vanity Fair is held here twice a year, in a way which threatens seriously to interfere with missionary labors; first, in the spring, at the time of the gathering in of the silk crop, and again in the autumn, at the time of harvesting and pressing the olives. At these times the Sabbath is forgotten, and every good impression is carried away in the torrent of worldliness which sweeps through the hearts of those intoxicated with the hope of gain." 66 The missionary family at this station is under the necessity of retiring to the mountain during the summer months; but this residence on the mountain, which was at Abeih last season, did not prevent Mr. Eddy from visiting the station once and generally twice each week, for preaching and other missionary labor. 'Preaching services have been conducted regularly every Sabbath during the year. The average attendance of adults has been about twenty. No church has yet been organized here. There are two persons in the place who are members of the Beirut church, and two others applying for admission, in whose case there is pleasing evidence of a change of heart." The boys' school, which has been interrupted only during the ingathering of the silk crop and of the olives, has averaged twenty-five scholars. "A girls' school was opened early in the summer and continued during the year with gratifying results. Twenty or more girls have attended." Tripoli. In consequence of the removal of Mr. and Mrs. Wilson to Homs, in the autumn of 1855, Tripoli was left unoccupied during the suc ceeding winter. Mr. and Mrs. Lyons removed there from Beirut, in the spring of 1856, accompanied by Mr. Jessup, who had recently entered the field. They report: "We have had regular services in Arabic on the Sabbath, ever since our arrival in Tripoli. Not yet being very far advanced in the language, we have for the most part, on these occasions, confined ourselves to the simple exposition of some passage or passages God's word, followed by singing and prayer. Occasionally, we have had two Arabic ser Evices on the Sabbath, a Bible class in the morning and preaching in the afternoon. The average attendance, exclusive of our family, is ten; though we have sometimes had fifteen or twenty." Dúma and other Towns. Retiring from the heat of the plain in July, they took up their residence for a few weeks in Dûma, a village situated on Mount Lebanon, to the south-east of Tripoli and about eight hours distant, containing six or seven hundred inhabitants, mostly Greeks and Greek Catholics. Here, they report: "Our Sabbath congregations were much larger than in Tripoli, often numbering from thirty to forty persons. Mrs. Lyons commenced a class for the religious instruction of the women on the Sabbath, which was attended by about twenty. The villagers often resorted to us in great numbers, on week day evenings, after the labors of the day were over, drawn together, doubtless, mainly by motives of curiosity; and these occasions we endeavored to improve for the inculcation of divine truth, by reading and expounding the holy Scriptures. During the last month of our residence in Dûma, we were much encouraged by a movement among the people for the bet ter observance of the Sabbath." Numerous other large towns and villages within the limits of their district are referred to, where it is hoped much good will yet be accomplished. "At Ghurzooz, a day's ride south of Tripoli, one man, an individual of considerable prominence in the village, has been for some time past an avowed Protestant. The people there are very anxious to have us open a school, which we intend to do so soon as a suitable person shall be found to take charge of it." Girls' School-A firm Friend. On the first of December, a school was opened for girls, having, as teacher, one of the native girls educated in the family of the late Mr. Whiting. The report says, "The school was commenced as an experiment, and has succeeded beyond our expectations. We began with two scholars, and at the close of the month the number of pupils had increased to thirty. The most interesting fact in regard to the school is, that eleven of the girls are Mohammedans. They read the New Tes tament, and study the Child's Scripture Catechism, without objection or hinderance on the part of the parents. Some Jewish families have promised to send their children. The prospect is that the school will be large. We only hope that its usefulness will be com mensurate with its prosperity. It already serves as a uniting link between us and the people, who are beginning to see and acknowledge that we are their friends and benefactors, and as such are entitled to their gratitude and respect." At the close of the report, honorable mention is made of "our native brother Antonius Yanni, who united with the mission church in Beirut two years since." "In him we have ever found a faithful helper and steadfast friend. He is the only native Protestant church member in Tripoli, and he has borne and suffered much for the cause of Christ; for his foes are they of his own household.” He has also resisted strong temptation, having been recently offered the honorable and highly lucrative post of vice consul for Russia. "True to himself, and to the cause which he espoused when he made a profession of his faith in Christ; knowing that the acceptance of the proffered office would have rendered him subservient to the corrupt Greek church, and made it necessary for him to attend upon her public observances, and give countenance to her dead forms and ceremonies; he at once promptly declined the offer. Thus, amid temptation, as well as amid trial and persecution, he stands unmoved; a noble example of Christian consistency, fortitude and faith; a bright light shining in a dark place, and to be, in coming time, we trust, a means of leading many of his perishing fellow countrymen to a knowledge of the truth." Assyria Mission.—Turkey. MOSUL. LETTER FROM DR. HASKELL, JANUARY 20, 1857. IN the Herald for March, in connection with the latest published intelligence from the Assyria mission, there is an error which should be corrected. Dr. and Mrs. Haskell, it is said, had passed the summer at Hinee. It should have been Dr. and Mrs. Nutting. Dr. Haskell is not married. This letter gives a narrative which presents not only the semi-barbarous state of society among many of the people in Western Asia, but also some of the perplexities and dangers to which missionaries and other friends of justice and right may be exposed, in efforts to protect themselves or their friends. A Nestorian Girl captured by a Koord. We are deeply interested in the case of a Nestorian girl recently liberated from the Kochers, nomade Koords. Our | her the choice of marriage or death. They endeavored to compel her to become a Moslem; but she told them she would die rather than renounce Christianity. Several times a Moollah, with a naked sword over her head, threatened her with instant death, unless she repeated the Moslem creed. She was often cruelly beaten for refusing to work on the Sabbath. Three times she escaped, but was soon retaken and each time beaten. Once she was sewed up in a sheepskin and beaten with clubs. Last winter, Mr. Rassam laid the case before the Pasha, and a cavass was sent into the mountains for her; but the Koords were at that time in rebellion, and he returned unsuccessful. first notice of her was in a letter from Mr. Rhea, dated November, 1855. He says, "When we returned to our home here, (Gawar,) our hearts were grieved by sad intelligence. A beautiful Nestorian girl, a niece of Deacon Tamo, who had attended our school one year and the female seminary two years, about a week before our arrival was carried off by a young Koord, the son of Chellabi Agha, to whom she was married a day or two afterwards. *** We never had any reason to believe that she was a Christian, but she had some interesting traits of character; and as she had received much instruction, had enjoyed many religious privileges, and was often in our house, we felt a deep interest in her. She came up from the seminary in May, and until the time we left, August 1st, she seemed to love her books, and was punctual in her attendance upon religious services; and we saw nothing out of the way. During the summer, she was accustomed to milk her father's sheep, and in so doing was brought much under the influence of a Koordish family resid--Mr. Marsh and I called upon the Pasha ing here, whom we know to be deeply implicated in getting her off." Mr. Rhea farther states, that her life was embittered by the continual abuse of her mother, "a most passionate, wicked creature ;" and being promised protection by this Koordish family, one evening after her mother had beaten her, she fled into the garden, where the young Koord with several men met her, and, with or without her consent, placed her upon a horse, and immediately took her to their village, three hours distant. "She threw herself from the horse twice on the road, and in vain tried to effect her escape. A day or two since, we heard through a young Nestorian, that she weeps day and night, and begs for something to be done for her." A book found upon her was destroyed as soon as discovered. Her friends made every effort for her release, but in vain. The young Koord called a Moollah, and gave The Rescue. A few weeks since, a letter was received from her brother, now in Mr. Rhea's school, informing us that Chellabi Agha had come on this side of the mountains, and was encamped at a village two days from Mosul. After consulting with Mrs. Rassam-Mr. R. being absent and asked for a cavass and an escort, sufficient to take the girl wherever found. He was somewhat embarrassed by the proposal that I should attend to the matter in person, but instantly granted our request. The Governor of Derhook, a village four hours from the Koordish camp, being in Mosul, the Pasha ordered him to accompany me and render me every assistance in his power. We made a rapid journey, mostly by night, taking thirty horsemen from Semil and a company of foot soldiers from Derhook, reached the encampment early in the morning, seized the chief, his son, and three men, almost without resistance, secured the girl and returned that day to within three hours of Mosul. Here we learned that the Governor had said to the soldiers: "This girl is very beautiful. It is a shame she should not be a Moslem. We will take her to the Pasha. At night, while the soldiers slept, the from the consulate, but Mrs. Rassam answered that the firman granted entire religious freedom, and according to its | Tabreez, where they had gone to confer with Mr. Khanikoff, the Russian consul, in the hope that, with his friendly assistance, some order might be obtained from the Persian government, more favorable to the missionaries and their friends than those under which the authorities at Oroomiah were then acting. Several brief letters have since been received from Dr. Wright, exhibiting the various changes, the alternations of encouragement and discouragement, which had taken place in the aspect of their affairs. Friendly Aid of the Turkish Consul. The first letter is dated at Tabreez, December 8. Affairs had taken a seemingly favorable turn in an unexpected way. The Turkish consul at Tabreez had been for some time known to our brethren, and during their present visit at that place had manifested much interest in their mission. When he learned the difficulty they had in obtaining a favorable order from the Kâim Makâm, of his own lette provisions he could not demand the girl. accord, unsolicited, he at once exerted him self, thus adding his friendly offices to those of the Russian consul; and an order was given, which, Dr. Wright says, "though not all we could desire, is much better than nothing. The Persian Agent is directed to treat us in a friendly manner, and not to molest us. It is intimated at the same time, that our affairs are under discussion, and that some new arrangement will be made." With this order they were to start, the next day, for Oroomiah. "We are not sanguine," it is said, "as to the effect of the order. It does not revoke any instructions which Asker Khan has from the Central Government. All we can hope from it is, to hold him in check for a time. We should not be surprised, if the Kâim Makâm should write to Asker Khan to-morrow not to regard it. Mr. Khanikoff kindly favors us with a letter to the Persian Agent in Oroomiah, expressing the hope that he will act according to the Kàim Makâm's directions, and intimating that he understands the order as forbidding his interfering with our labors, while the letter of the order alludes only to our persons. In the Lord is our trust. It is a day of trial, but we hope that good will be the result." Events in Oroomiah-Active Opposition. Messrs. Wright and Stoddard reached Oroomiah December 12, and the second letter, dated December 17, relates to the progress of events at that place and the vicinity, during their absence and after their return. In our absence, Asker Aly Khan had |