ARMENIA 
 
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Daughters of Armenia 
 
 BY MRS. S. A. WHEELER, 
 
 MISSIONARY IN TURKEY. 
 
 On the banks of the aneient Euphrates, 
 Where woman fell under God's frown, 
 
 Armenia's Daughters are coming, 
 Their King and Redeemer to crown." 
 
 -zo 
 
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 American Tract Society, 
 
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 150 NASSAU STREET, NEW YORK. 
 
COPYRIGHT, 1877, 
 BY AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY. 
 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 At a time when so much is said concerning 
 woman's place and work in the church, and when 
 especially our sisters, young and old, are waking 
 up to new interest in foreign missions, a little vol- 
 ume of facts and incidents, showing what may be, 
 by what has been accomplished in one part of the 
 wide world-field, we believe can not fail to be 
 acceptable and useful. While making those who 
 already feel an interest in this work, more intelli- 
 gent in regard to its methods and successes, and 
 thus more efficient in planning, laboring and pray- 
 ing for it, we hope to do much to convince those 
 hitherto indifferent, of their responsibility, and also 
 to encourage the little ones to do their part in 
 the holy and blessed work of bringing back a lost 
 world to Jesus. 
 
 How many unhappy, because practically useless 
 lives are there even among Christian women, who 
 if once possessed by an intelligent enthusiasm to 
 
4 INTR OD UCTION. 
 
 labor for Christ, abroad or at home, would, while 
 doing good service for the Master, bless their own 
 souls with a fulness of joy hitherto unknown. 
 
 To aid in giving such joy to her Christian sis- 
 ters in America, and to their children, the author 
 affectionately dedicates this little volume to them, 
 praying that her labor of love may not be in vain 
 in the Lord. 
 
 A MISSIONARY. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 Who are the Armenians ? ■ page 7 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 Religion of the Armenians 14 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 How we Reached the Women 28 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 The Best Way to Help Them 38 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 The Village-School Teacher - 48 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 Mariam, the Hoghi Bible- Woman 60 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 Visit to Hoghi - 72 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 Light in Dark Homes- 81 
 
6 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 A Visit to Ichmeh - — - 93 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 Across the Euphrates ---- -ioi 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 At the Feast - 109 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 Gulaser's Household -- - 116 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 Tour Continued and Ended - 12S 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 Does it Pay? - - -- - 142 
 
Daughters of Armenia 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 WHO ARE THE ARMENIANS? 
 
 This question my little girl asked me one day 
 as we were sitting together at our work ; and per- 
 haps my .little readers will like to know what I said 
 to her. 
 
 Susie was born in Armenia, for her papa and 
 mamma were missionaries in that country; but 
 when she came to America on a visit, the people 
 would insist on calling her " a little Turk." She 
 remembered the people who came to her papa's 
 meetings and to mamma's school, and she knew 
 they were not Turks ; and yet she could not ex- 
 plain the difference; so she did as most children 
 do, and as it is very proper they should so, she 
 came and asked mother. 
 
 " Besides," she said, " the folks say the Turks 
 
8 DA UGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 are very cruel and wicked. Are they, mamma ? 
 We used to go to their vineyards, and they were 
 very kind to us. They gave us fruits and sweet 
 drink, and brought cushions for us to sit upon 
 under the trees. Did you not think Hassan Agha 
 and his wife very pleasant people ? And you know, 
 mamma, that Mahmet, their boy, made brother 
 Willie a good many curious little toys. He always 
 seemed so pleasant when he came to our house 
 that I never felt afraid of him, and yet I know he 
 was a Turk. 
 
 "And the Turks are not black and ugly-look- 
 ing, as some here seem to think, are they, mamma? 
 I wish they could see the pretty girl who used to 
 bring us sour milk when we were at our summer- 
 room ; you know, the one who married a captain 
 in the Turkish army. How beautiful she looked 
 when she called upon us one day in the city with 
 her mother. You had some cake and tea brought, 
 and she threw her long veil back, and we could see 
 her bright orange silk jacket and the jewels on her 
 neck and wrists, and her eyes so black and soft. 
 She was not ugly-looking, I am sure. 
 
 " Mamma, what makes the people hate the 
 Turks ? Papa read in the newspaper the other day 
 about a minister in England, who said, ' It is time 
 
WHO ARE THE ARMENIANS '? 9 
 
 the Turks were wiped out of the earth.' It must 
 be he did not know much about them. Perhaps 
 he had only heard about the wicked soldiers who 
 killed the poor Bulgarians, and felt angry with all 
 the Turks. Do n't you think it would have been 
 better if he had prayed that they might all become 
 Christians, and learn war no more ?" 
 
 Susie chatted on awhile, bringing up pleasant 
 memories of our home in the East ; and then rec- 
 ollecting she had begun with an important ques- 
 tion, she waited for the answer. 
 
 I think myself the Turks are a very interesting 
 people, and hope the time is not far distant when 
 they will become Christians. Now they are Mo- 
 hammedans, or followers of Mohammed. They 
 believe in God, but not in Jesus Christ. They 
 acknowledge that Christ was a prophet, but not so 
 great as Mohammed, and they will not receive Him 
 as the Son of God. But we will not talk about 
 them to-day. As we began about the Armenians, 
 I will explain to you who they are. 
 
 If you will get the Bible and turn to the third 
 verse of the tenth chapter of Genesis, you will find 
 the name Togarmah mentioned as a grandson of 
 Japheth, one of the sons of Noah. Perhaps Togar- 
 mah used to sit on his grandfather's knee and lis- 
 
 Daughters of Armenia. 2 
 
io DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 ten while he told him about the ark that his father 
 built ; how the people laughed at him, and even the 
 carpenters mockingly asked where he would find 
 water enough to float such a large, awkward ship. 
 And how interested he must have been to hear 
 about the animals coming, two and two, to enter 
 the ark, and how the very heavens were black with 
 the birds that came flying in from every quarter. 
 Then when everything was ready, how Noah was 
 directed to take all his family in, and that God him- 
 self shut the door, so that it could not be opened 
 till the flood was passed. Perhaps he asked, with 
 wistful look and a tearful eye, about those that were 
 left out, and his grandfather told him with sad tones 
 how they begged to be taken in, but the door was 
 shut, so that Noah could not open it, though he 
 was very sorry for them. 
 
 After he had listened to these stories, how beau- 
 tiful the rainbow must have looked to Togarmah as 
 it spanned the heavens with its bright belt after a 
 heavy rain, which perhaps made him think God 
 would again drown the world ; and how he thanked 
 God, who had set his sign in the clouds to assure 
 us that he would no more destroy the earth with a 
 flood. The rainbow, I have no doubt, seemed more 
 to him than it does to us, and brighter too, for it 
 
WHO ARE THE ARMENIANS'! n 
 
 looks much brighter in Turkey than in this part of 
 the world. It is because the atmosphere is clearer. 
 The heavens at night, when the moon is absent, are 
 very brilliant, and I have seen sunsets there when 
 it seemed as if the very "gates of glory" were 
 opened in the western sky. 
 
 Before we shut up the Bible let us turn to the 
 twenty-fourth verse of the same chapter, and there 
 let me introduce to you one of Togarmah's cousins, 
 young Eber, or Heber. He is about the same age 
 as Togarmah, but his face has a little more of the 
 olive hue, though they resemble each other. Eber's 
 father was a son of Shem, the brother of Japheth. 
 These boys, I dare say, played together often at the 
 foot of Mount Ararat, where the ark rested after the 
 flood. Perhaps they sometimes climbed up the 
 steep sides to find some relic of the old home of 
 their grandfather. 
 
 The people of those days must often have talk- 
 ed about the deluge, and believed it had been, for 
 we find by the Bible that some of them very soon 
 planned to build a tower that would reach up to 
 heaven, so that if another flood should come they 
 might all be safe. Then God was displeased; for 
 had he not promised that this should never be, put- 
 ting his own seal on his promise, the beautiful rain 
 
1 2 DA UGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 bow of which I have just spoken ? He sent a con- 
 fusion of tongues among these unbelieving build- 
 ers, and they were scattered in the earth. Eber 
 went towards the northwest, and settled in Ur of 
 the Chaldees, and Abraham, the father of the He- 
 brew or Jewish nation, came from him. Togarmah 
 went towards the north, and we read about his de- 
 scendants in Ezekiel, with other great nations, as 
 bringing merchandise to the great, proud city of 
 Tyre. History tells us that the people who descend- 
 ed from Togarmah became a brave and warlike na- 
 tion, ruling over a large part of Asia Minor. The 
 last' king of this people died more than a hundred 
 years before America was discovered by Columbus, 
 and since then they have been a subjected nation, 
 often suffering from hard and hopeless oppression. 
 
 And now perhaps you will ask, as Susie did, 
 how we found out all this. I will tell you. Partly 
 from the Bible, partly from books of history, and 
 also from writings and images carved on rocks and 
 on the ruins of forts, castles, and bridges all through 
 that country. These are very curious and abun- 
 dant. 
 
 But in spite of changes and sufferings, this peo- 
 ple retain much of their nobleness of character and 
 their love of religion. They have lost, in some re- 
 
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WHO ARE THE ARMENIANS '? 13 
 
 gions, their national language, but have preserved 
 their customs and habits. They are industrious, 
 perhaps more so than any other nation in Asia 
 Minor. Dr. Dwight calls them the Anglo-Saxons 
 of that land, and thinks them among the most hope- 
 ful of the many nations found in the Turkish em- 
 pire. They are very patriotic. Their national' 
 hymns often bring tears to the eyes of strangers. 
 
 Now I have told you who these Armenians are ; 
 if you will take your map, we will see if we can 
 find their country. There it is, bounded on the 
 north by the Black sea and Georgia, a province in 
 Russia ; on the east by the Caspian sea ; on the 
 south by Mesopotamia and Assyria ; and on the 
 west by Asia Minor. Their country has been con- 
 quered and divided between three governments, 
 Persia, Russia, and Turkey, the territories of the 
 three joining at Mount Ararat, which you see on 
 the map. 
 
i4 DA UGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE RELIGION OF THE ARMENIANS. 
 
 "Mamma, what was the earliest religion of the 
 Armenians ?" said Susie to me one day. " Were 
 they Mohammedans, like the Turks ?" 
 
 No, indeed ! Mohammedanism did not arise 
 till the seventh century, while the Armenians be- 
 came Christians hundreds of years before. Their 
 earliest religion was idolatry. And so was that of 
 the Turks, a conquering horde from Tartary, who 
 about the tenth century overran Armenia, and after- 
 wards Asia Minor. These Turks early adopted the 
 faith of Mohammed, but the Armenians did not. 
 They look upon those who turn from Christianity 
 to Mohammedanism as most infamous in character, 
 and beyond all hope of salvation through Christ. I 
 have heard them say that to become a Mohamme- 
 dan is to commit the unpardonable sin spoken of 
 in the Bible. 
 
 But to understand better about the Armenians 
 we must go back to the first century. They had 
 forgotten the God of Noah and of Japheth, and had 
 
RELIGION OF THE ARMENIANS. 15 
 
 turned from the worship of the Creator to created 
 things. If we go to the banks of the old Hiddekel, 
 or Tigris, we find a large Armenian graveyard, 
 where the peculiar form of the gravestones shows 
 that the people buried there were once sun-wor- 
 shippers. Their own history says that they have 
 been converted to Christianity twice. The first 
 time was during the life of our Saviour upon earth. 
 One of their kings, Abgar by name, heard of the 
 miracles of Christ, believed on him, and sent to 
 this "wonderful man" to come and visit him, prom- 
 ising, if he would come, to give him rest and pro- 
 tection from all his enemies. If you will turn to 
 John 12 *20, 21, you will read of some men called 
 Greeks, who came to Philip, and said, " Sir, we 
 would see Jesus." It is affirmed that these were 
 King Abgar's messengers. They were called 
 Greeks, because they resembled them and spoke 
 their language ; just the same as they are now 
 called Turks by some persons, because they speak 
 the Turkish language. At the Centennial last sum- 
 mer we heard a good deal said of the Turks who 
 were present ; and they were not Turks at all, but 
 Greeks and Armenians. The evangelists wrote 
 just as we should under similar circumstances. 
 Their history goes on to say that Thaddeus, 
 
16 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 one of the apostles, went to Edessa, their chief 
 city, and preached the gospel, and that the people 
 became Christians at that time. 
 
 But they must have gone back from following 
 Christ, for we find that three hundred years later 
 the Christian bishop Gregory found them idolaters, 
 and was the means of restoring them to Christian- 
 ity. Susie remembers hearing about Gregory the 
 Illuminator. The Armenians call St. Gregory their 
 patron saint. He was a member of the royal fam- 
 ily, and secretary of King Tiridates. When he 
 became a Christian, the king was very angry with 
 him, and because he refused longer to take part in 
 idolatrous worship, he commanded him to be im- 
 prisoned in a gloomy cave, where he was kept for 
 fourteen years. The king, being afterwards greatly 
 afflicted with a severe malady, his conscience up- 
 braided him for his cruelty to his secretary and 
 friend Gregory, and he sent to the cave and re- 
 leased him. It is said the king was healed of his 
 disease and became a Christian, and commanded 
 all his court to embrace this religion and to be bap- 
 tized in the name of Christ. This was about the 
 year 318, and since that time the Armenians have 
 been a Christian nation. 
 
 They did not have the Bible in their own Ian- 
 
RELIGION OF THE ARMENIANS. 17 
 
 guage for two hundred years after that, when a 
 learned monk, by the name of Mesrob, invented an 
 alphabet, and translated the Bible for them. I do 
 not know if they had any books before that time, 
 but we still find inscriptions on rocks and on the 
 walls of the old city Diarbekir which are written 
 in the old Armenian lansfuas^e. 
 
 Mesrob lived in Palu, a small city on the Eu- 
 phrates, about forty miles east of Harpoot. This 
 city is built around the base of a mountain which 
 rises up in the midst of it like a great sugar-loaf. 
 In the face of a lofty cliff at the top of this sugar 
 loaf is a cave, in which the learned and pious Mes- 
 rob translated the Bible from the Syriac and Greek 
 languages. It was probably one of the first books 
 written with the new alphabet. It was completed 
 about the year 431, but was not printed till more 
 than twelve hundred years after, when in 1666 
 Bishop Uscan was sent to Amsterdam to take 
 charge of the printing. 
 
 All this time they used it in the manuscript 
 form, and we still find copies most beautifully writ- 
 ten on very nice parchment, plainer and more easi- 
 ly read than the printed copies. There is one very 
 old Bible we used to find wrapped up in several 
 embroidered napkins, and put carefully into a box 
 
 Daughters of At 
 
18 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 behind the altar, in one of the old churches. But 
 I do not know its history. 
 
 They did not put their manuscripts into rolls, 
 as the Jews did, but bound them into books like 
 ours, and they were often illustrated by pictures 
 made with the pen in blue, red, and green ink. 
 And at this time they made many other books. 
 Historians tell us that this fifth century was the 
 golden age of Armenian literature. The Bible had 
 the same influence on their literature as the Wick- 
 liffe Bible — the first English translation — had on 
 our own. 
 
 Dr. Riggs of Constantinople gave them the Bi- 
 ble they now have, translated into the modern or 
 spoken tongue. This was a much needed work, 
 for many of the people could not understand the 
 language as it was spoken by the learned or by the 
 bishops and teachers. Many of the priests were 
 very ignorant, and could not read intelligently the 
 Bible found in their churches. You may wonder 
 at this ; but books were few comparatively, and 
 costly, and they had no schools for all classes as 
 we have. The people were therefore very igno- 
 rant, and did n't care much if their priest was igno- 
 rant too. 
 
 They did not use the Bible much in their 
 
RELIGION OF THE ARMENIANS. 19 
 
 churches, but read more from a book of ceremo- 
 nies. Doubtless there were many things in this 
 book grounded upon the Bible ; and even when 
 Gregory preached the gospel to them it was mixed 
 with much that is taught in the Romish church, 
 and which we do not receive because it is not 
 taught in the word of God. For instance, they 
 pray to the virgin Mary and the other saints. They 
 think these are near to Christ, and he will surely 
 hear them. Some of the poor women have often 
 said to me, " What should we do without the Vir- 
 gin ? She was a woman like us, and knows how 
 to pity us when we are in sorrow." 
 
 They also pray for the dead ; for, though they 
 do not believe in what the Romanists call purga- 
 tory, they seem to think that in some way, if the 
 priests go and pray near the grave, it will be better 
 for their friends. 
 
 In their church they are taught, too, that bap- 
 tism is regeneration, and that they cannot enter 
 heaven if unbaptized. Doubtless Gregory meant 
 to teach that the outward seal was the acknowledg- 
 ment of the inward work of the Holy Spirit ; but 
 if he did, they have now become content with the 
 mere outward form. 
 
 The great head of their church, called the Ca- 
 
20 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 tholicos, lives in Russia, and all the bishops have 
 to go to him for ordination ; then they are qualified 
 to ordain the priests. There are two orders of 
 priests. The higher order, called vartabeds, and 
 the bishops, are not allowed to marry, but live in 
 monasteries, or in rooms connected with the church. 
 But the ordinary priest is not ordained until he is 
 married, and then he is expected to live among the 
 people, visiting them at their houses and mingling 
 freely among them. 
 
 His wife also has a position as priestess. The 
 evening after the priest is ordained the women of 
 the parish come to her house to initiate her into 
 her new position of honor. They have a curious 
 way of doing this. 
 
 Twelve cushions are put in the most honorable 
 room in the parsonage, and she is placed upon them 
 and becomes the queen of the evening. These 
 cushions indicate that she is twelve steps higher 
 than any other woman in the parish. She is there- 
 fore expected to be leader in all good things which 
 women in that land are expected to know. If the 
 priestess dies, the priest cannot take a second wife, 
 but, if he wishes, he can live in a convent, and be- 
 come a vartabed or a bishop. 
 
 I dare say my young friends would like to know 
 
RELIGION OF THE ARMENIANS. 21 
 
 something of their form of worship. Susie has seen 
 it, and thinks it very queer. If you were to go into 
 one of their churches, you would see one priest 
 walking about among the people, swinging a cen- 
 ser in his hand, burning incense. Another would 
 be intoning prayers, or chanting. Sometimes the 
 priests and bishops are dressed in gaudy robes ; 
 and so are the little boys, a number of whom take 
 part in the service. These all make the sign of the 
 cross, burn incense before pictures, and ring little 
 bells. The people keep coming in and going out. 
 The men occupy the lower part of the house. As 
 soon as they reach their places, they make the sign 
 of the cross, fall on their knees, and touch the floor 
 with their foreheads. This they do several times 
 before they give attention to what the priests are 
 doing. The women, in the gallery, behind a lattice, 
 do the same ; but they do not give much attention 
 to what the priests say, for it is in the ancient lan- 
 guage, which they do not understand. I have been 
 told that they spend much of their time in church 
 in gossiping, or making matches for their mar- 
 riageable boys and girls. 
 
 They have a great many fast-days, and if we 
 should judge them by these, we should think them 
 very good, if, as they suppose, these fasts really 
 
22 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 make them better. There are one hundred and 
 sixty-five days in the year when they take no meat ; 
 this is what they call fasting. Some of these days 
 they keep with far greater care than they do the 
 Sabbath. They have a great many feast-days too. 
 
 The observance of all these ceremonies is their 
 way of going to heaven. When they do wrong 
 they go to the priest and confess ; and then, if they 
 keep strictly all the forms of the church, they con- 
 sider themselves safe. And when they are dying. 
 if the priest comes, and dips a piece of consecrated 
 bread in wine, and puts it on their lips, they think 
 they are ready for heaven. How deluded and ig- 
 norant are these poor creatures ! 
 
 And yet, as I have sometimes said, I think there 
 are some real Christians among them. 
 
 . " Yeghesa's mother," suggests Susie, " how very 
 earnestly she would listen to all you told her about 
 the Lord Jesus." 
 
 Yes, I think she was one who really loved the 
 Lord Jesus, though she was very ignorant. She 
 never could seem to give up her hold on the Virgin 
 Mary, though she came to put her in the second 
 place, rather than the first, as she had always done 
 before we tried to teach her. When she was dying 
 she called in the priest to come and give her the 
 
RELIGION OF THE ARMENIANS. 23 
 
 communion. She had lived so long in her old 
 faith, that it was hard to give it up ; or perhaps it 
 would be better to say, that she could not give up 
 the outward forms, which had become a second na- 
 ture. 
 
 Now all this talk about the religion of this peo- 
 ple puzzled Susie. When she heard me say they 
 were Christians, and heard her papa remark that 
 they were a very religious people, she could not 
 understand it. 
 
 "It seems to me," said she, "they were real 
 idolaters, and I do n't wonder the Turks call them 
 so, when they see them kissing the cross, burning 
 incense 'to pictures, and bringing out the bones of 
 the saints on great saints' days, and all that sort of 
 thing. It seems to me they worshipped these and 
 the Virgin Mary, as much as they did Christ. 
 Once I went with Anna to their church, and they 
 had an image of Christ dressed and laid in the 
 grave, and they said he would rise from the dead at 
 Easter. Then they threw a great silver cross into 
 a large trough of water, and Anna said the man who 
 would give the most money, and take it out, would 
 gain a great deal of merit, and be thought very pious. 
 We do 'nt find any such things in the Bible, and I 
 do n't see how papa can call them very religious." 
 
24 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 The word religion means a system of faith or 
 belief ; and any one who adheres very strictly to his 
 system may be said to be very religious. To be 
 religious and to be Christian are two very different 
 things. Paul on Mars' Hill calls the pagan Greeks 
 " very religious," but he did not mean to say they 
 believed in the Bible. One day an Armenian 
 woman in high position came to me, and asked if 
 it was wrong for her to wear her gold. She hoped 
 that she loved Christ, and was soon to be admitted 
 to the Protestant church in Harpoot. I said, " Eu- 
 ghaper, neither taking off nor putting on gold is 
 Christianity. To be a Christian is to be like Christ. 
 If your gold hinders you in this, take it off. If you 
 think it a hindrance to some poor weak sister, I 
 think you would be happier to lay it aside." You 
 see people may be very religious who do not really 
 live as the Bible directs. 
 
 The Armenians do believe the Bible. They 
 accept it as God's Book. The name they give to 
 it is God-breath, which seems to me very beautiful. 
 I think the masses of the people suppose they are 
 living as the Bible teaches, but they are very igno- 
 rant. They know nothing about the new birth. 
 They feel that they are constantly doing as they 
 ought not to, and so are ever anxious to go through 
 
RELIGION OF THE ARMENIANS. 25 
 
 all the forms prescribed by their priests and bish- 
 ops, that, if possible, they may be made better, and 
 fitted for heaven. They think the priests tell them 
 what is in the Bible. The women are more igno- 
 rant than the men ; so they are more under the 
 influence of the priests, and more careful to do all 
 he bids them, or as I might say, are more religious 
 than the men. 
 
 There was one old woman who lived near us, 
 whom we used to see every morning coming from 
 the old church. She was bent almost double, and 
 it seemed hard for her to get along. She was one 
 of the " very religious." I never saw her but I felt 
 rebuked for my own lack of earnestness in the reli- 
 gion of the Bible. I professed to love Christ and 
 to imitate him. I had the Bible, and could read it 
 for myself, yet her zeal seemed far greater than 
 mine. I used to pray that God would show her 
 the right way, and save her in heaven. 
 
 There was another very religious woman, I once 
 met with in one of the villages on Harpoot plain. 
 She said, " Lady, I love you, and think you are a 
 real Christian, but one thing you say I cannot re- 
 ceive. You say the virgin Mary is not our inter- 
 cessor. What should we women do, if we could 
 not call upon the virgin when in trouble, or suffer- 
 
 Daughters of Armenia. A 
 
26 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 ing ? She was a woman, and knows how to pity 
 women like us." This is what they all say. 
 
 I told her that Jesus, the son of Mary, was also 
 the Son of God, and could do more for us than 
 Mary could ; that Mary herself must find salvation 
 through this same Saviour, for " there is no other 
 name given under heaven and among men whereby 
 we can be saved." She was very much shocked 
 that I should think the virgin Mary needed salva- 
 tion at all. It seemed to her like blasphemy, and 
 I presume she made the sign of the cross many 
 times while talking with me, lest she should be led 
 away by such dreadful heresy. 
 
 I do not know if she ever became a Protestant, 
 though at this time her eldest son was a member 
 of the Protestant church, and before she died all 
 her family became Protestants. I think she did 
 change some in her views of Christ as her only 
 Saviour. She loved her eldest son very dearly, and 
 thought he was a better man after he became a 
 Protestant ; but the religion of her childhood clung 
 to her to the very last. Her sons had no doubt of 
 her acceptance before God ; they felt that she lived 
 very near to the standard which Christ laid down 
 for his disciples. 
 
 It seemed to me when I went to Armenia, and 
 
RELIGION OF THE ARMENIANS. 27 
 
 became acquainted with the people and their reli- 
 gion, that they only needed to have the Bible 
 brought to them in a language they could under- 
 stand, and to be taught to read it, to become as 
 much a Christian nation as our own. They are 
 to me a very interesting people, though when I 
 first reached them all was " strange and new," and 
 at times I felt a little lonely and homesick. When 
 I looked from my window, down the city of Har- 
 poot, with its houses made of sundried bricks, the 
 scene was unlike anything I had ever beheld be- 
 fore. I had read of old ruins and castles, and now 
 I was in the midst of them. The house we lived 
 in seemed more like a great castle than a house. 
 Then the people in the streets, and all around us, 
 and the sounds that greeted my ears made me feel 
 that I was a stranger in a strange land. It did not 
 seemed much like the garden of Eden, that God 
 made so beautiful for Adam and Eve to live in. 
 
 •'Why, mamma," exclaims Susie, "was that the 
 very same old garden of Eden we read about in 
 Genesis ?" 
 
 "To be sure. Read Genesis 2 : 10-14, 'and you 
 will see why so many people believe that it was 
 just there." 
 
28 DA UGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 HOW WE REACHED THE WOMEN. 
 
 It seemed strange to Susie, and I dare say will 
 appear quite as strange to you, my young readers, 
 to learn that though the Armenians have the Bible, 
 they are very ignorant of its contents ; and this is 
 particularly true of the women. When I went to 
 my missionary work in Harpoot twenty years ago, 
 I did not find a single woman who could read the 
 Bible. They did not think it was written for women 
 at all. 
 
 One woman went to her priest or minister, and 
 asked him if it was wrong for her to learn to read 
 it. She had heard that the women in some parts 
 of their land had begun to do so, and she desired 
 very much to read it herself. Her priest replied, 
 " Are you going to be a priest that you should read 
 the Bible ?" She made no answer to him, but 
 hastened away lest he should question her and find 
 out the longing in her heart, and forbid her. 
 
 Missionaries had been laboring among this peo- 
 ple many years before we went there, and the 
 women in many parts of the country were acqui- 
 
HOW WE REACHED THE WOMEN. 29 
 
 rins: a knowledge of the blessed Book. But in Har- 
 poot, where we were sent, the work was new. 
 
 It was quite hard to get at the women at first. 
 They did not come to see us ; they were afraid of us. 
 They said we were wicked women. " Do you not 
 know that these women that read are leather-faces ? 
 See their uncovered, shameless faces. Do you wish 
 to be like them ?" their priests would say, to keep 
 them from coming to us. And when we went into 
 the streets they would call to one another, " The 
 women who wear washbowls on their heads are 
 coming." Then the boys would gather at the 
 corners, and sometimes a stone would go whistling 
 by us, and they would run and cry out, "Prote! 
 Prote !" (Protestant.) Sometimes a stream of dirty 
 water would come down from a high roof, and we 
 would just escape an unpleasant showerbath. Per- 
 haps they would exclaim, " Beg your pardon, we did 
 not see you," but we knew it was meant as an 
 insult. 
 
 One day I went out with a woman who had be- 
 come a Protestant, and as we were passing through 
 a ward of the city where I was a stranger, several 
 children stopped, looked at me for a moment, and 
 then cried out, " Shatan," (Satan,) "Jeen! Jeen!" 
 and ran away as fast as they could. I asked the 
 
3 o DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 woman what they meant by "Jeen." "The evil 
 one," she replied : " did you not see how they ran ? 
 They were afraid of you." 
 
 Perhaps some of you may think these things 
 would make me laugh, or else make me angry. 
 But no, I pitied them. I did not feel much like 
 "the evil one," for I had gone out to call on their 
 mothers and try to persuade them to read the Bible, 
 and to let their children come to the schools we 
 wished to help them open. I knew that all this 
 fear and ignorance was because they did not know 
 God's blessed word. 
 
 By-and-by ; however, after a long time, they 
 overcame their fears and prejudice enough to come 
 to our home. They wanted to see how we lived, 
 how we dressed, and what we ate. They would 
 sometimes pull at our braided hair, and say, " Why 
 do you put up your hair in a knot at the back of 
 your head ? We wear ours in small braids down 
 our backs." We told them custom made us to 
 differ. Then they would examine my dress so 
 closely, that I had to say to them very decidedly, 
 " Olemaz," (This wont do,) and they would laugh 
 and turn to something else. Everything we had 
 was new to them, and it was Often very amusing to 
 hear them talk to each other about us. 
 
HOW WE REACHED THE WOMEN. 31 
 
 " Do you know that these women sit at the same 
 table with their husbands and eat with them ?" said 
 one. 
 
 "Yes, and I heard that when one of them was 
 sick, her husband took her up and put her on the 
 couch ; then he helped make her bed, and when it 
 was ready, he lifted her in as carefully as you would 
 a child. Just think of our husbands doing that !" 
 
 "Oh, we are only donkeys. We do not know 
 how to read, as these women do," said the first. 
 
 Then, in our broken Armenian, we replied, " Yes, 
 we read God's word, this letter sent down from 
 heaven for us all ; and this is the reason why our 
 husbands are so kind to us. Our fathers and broth- 
 ers would not have consented to our coming away 
 out here with these men, if they had not known 
 that they too read and loved the Bible, and so would 
 be kind to us, and care for us when we are sick, 
 with no loving mother near." 
 
 " That is true !" said a woman, rather braver 
 than the rest, and who, I am sure, will soon be read- 
 ing for herself. We had invited our visitors this 
 day to sit down, and Garabed, our helper, had 
 brought in some tea in tiny little cups. It would 
 have been considered very impolite in us not to 
 offer some refreshment. It was their custom, and 
 
32 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 we complied with their customs when they were 
 proper and right. 
 
 While they sat there, sipping their tea, this 
 woman said to her next neighbor, 
 
 " I do n't believe these women are so wicked as 
 our priests say. This one seems very gentle and 
 kind, does n't she?" . 
 
 After the tea-drinking, they go to their homes 
 to think and talk over these things, while others 
 come to see the house and the strange housekeeper. 
 
 " Can you work ?" asks one. " Your hands look 
 too small to do anything," 
 
 " I wish you could see her in the kitchen," says 
 Garabed, who has just invited them into the neat 
 sitting-room. " She can do twice as much work as 
 I can, she knows how to do everything." 
 
 "It is because she reads," says one who looks 
 wiser than the rest. " That is the way with these 
 people who can read. They are not like us, only 
 animals. She makes all her own dresses too. She 
 does not send them to the tailor, as we do. And 
 she can knit a stocking in a day, and it takes us a 
 week. Have you heard of that wonderful sewing 
 machine that some ladies in America sent to help 
 her do her work ?" 
 
 Then they must all see that wonder of wonders, 
 
HOW WE REACHED THE WOMEN. 33 
 
 and every one wants a sample of the stitching to 
 show some of her friends at home. 
 
 The pictures on the walls are discussed too, and 
 some one who has visited us before says, " Do you 
 know that is the picture of her mother-in-law ? 
 She had only one son, and she was willing that he 
 should come out here to teach us. Ah, their reli- 
 gion is not like ours ! I feel sure we should never 
 do such a thing ! They learn this from the Bible. 
 The hanum (lady) says it teaches them to love oth- 
 ers. Why did you come to this land, hanum ? Do 
 you not love your friends ? I could not leave my 
 friends, and go over so far as Bolis (Constantinople), 
 and they say you have come much farther. Could 
 you not get your living in your own land ?" 
 
 " Oh", she is paid for coming here," says Mariam. 
 "Don't you know she is poor, and. all these things 
 are given her for her coming here to make Protes 
 of us ? They give money to anybody who will 
 become a Prote, our priests say, and they know." 
 
 " That 's not like our Bible," pointing to one on 
 the table,' "it is the Prote Bible. Our priest has 
 pronounced a curse on all these people. He says 
 they are wolves in sheep's clothing ; and our Bible 
 says that just such false prophets shall come in the 
 last days. 
 
34 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 " These people pretend to be good,- but they are 
 only dividers of families. Have you not heard how 
 Haji Bedros has driven his son Hohannes out of his 
 house, because he brought home one of these Prote 
 Bibles, and insists on reading it to his wife ?" 
 
 " Did Yeghesa, his wife, go with him ?" asks one 
 of the women. 
 
 " Yes, and the Protes gave them a room, and a 
 bed to sleep on, and sent them in food. They help 
 all who come to them, and that is the reason why 
 they get people to believe them. My husband 
 came home last night, and said he would like to 
 drive them all out of the land, for they were not 
 only dividing families, but turning the city upside 
 down ; he heard nothing, wherever he went, but 
 discussions about these people. Men get together 
 in the market-places, and you would think by their 
 noise and talk, that some great thing had happened ; 
 but it is all about these Protes. Garabed Agha, 
 one of our chief merchants, has taken his daughter 
 Anna home, because her husband has become a 
 Prote. He will not let her bring her babe with 
 her, and people say the young baby will die." 
 
 " Poor Anna !" said Nazloo ; " I pity her ; she 
 must feel very sad. I wonder if she agrees with 
 her husband ; do you know, Markareed ?" 
 
HOW WE REACHED THE WOMEN. 35 
 
 " Their mother says she cries most of the time, 
 when her father is not in the house, and wishes to 
 go back to her husband. She says he is kinder to 
 her than he ever was before, and she thinks he is a 
 better man than he was when he went to hear the 
 priest in the old church. I think you are mistaken 
 about these people, Mariam, and if you only knew 
 them better, you would not talk about them as you 
 do. Besides it is not polite to talk so in the house 
 of the hanum." 
 
 " Soos getseer, (hold your tongue,) Markareed ; 
 what do you know ? Have you too become a Prote ? 
 The hanum does not understand what we are say 
 ing. Oder meg mun ay," (She is a foreigner.) 
 
 " She does understand, Mariam. Did you not 
 see the smile on her face when you were talking ? 
 Then, as for Garabed Agha, I think he has no right 
 to take Anna away from her husband. Kevork is 
 a very kind man, and I know that Anna loves him 
 a great deal better than she did before he became a 
 Protestant. She told me she did. She says he was 
 very unkind to her before, and seemed to think she 
 was only a servant to wait on him. Now he says to 
 her, ' Come, Anna, sit down and listen while I read 
 to you out of this new book.' Even his old mother 
 does not oppose this, but will say to her, ' Yes, come, 
 
36 DA UGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 Annig, (little Anna,) when Kevork calls you.' This 
 is the way these missionaries do, Ma'riam, and I am 
 glad they have come to this land. I have a primer, 
 and my husband says he will get me a Testament 
 just as soon as I get through with my primer." 
 
 " Another Prote !" says Mariam, with a very ex- 
 pressive shrug of the left shoulder ; "lam glad Gar- 
 abed Agha has more sense than your husband has. 
 If he had n't, our church would be destroyed by 
 these foreigners." 
 
 " Garabed Agha will be glad enough to let 
 Anna go back, when he. finds that Kevork will not 
 come to his terms ; as he will not, for I hear they 
 have bought a goat, and the baby is thriving on her 
 milk. The missionaries told him to be patient, 
 and pray over it, and God would send him back his 
 wife in a short time. You well know, Mariam, that 
 Garabed Agha would not long be willing to support 
 Anna. He loves money too well for that, and it 
 would be a greater disgrace for him to keep her 
 than to let her go back to her husband. I do not 
 think he would dare to give her to another man, 
 though he says he will do so, and the priest says 
 he will find one who will take her, as her husband 
 has become an apostate." 
 
 But just here our Garabed came in with the 
 
HOW WE REACHED THE WOMEN. 37 
 
 sherbet, and this put an end to the conversation 
 between our guests. One of the little glasses is 
 taken by each of the women except Mariam, who 
 has been so hard on the Protestants. Garabed in- 
 sisted that she should take a glass, but she refused. 
 Markareed looked toward me, and smilingly said : 
 
 " Hanum, she is afraid to drink this, lest she 
 too become a Prote. Some one told her that if she 
 came to see you, you would give her sherbet, with 
 something in it that would turn her head, and ever 
 after she would believe just as you do; so she is 
 determined not to drink any, though she knows it 
 is very impolite in her not to." 
 
 You see by this story, little folks, how we be- 
 came acquainted with the Armenian women, and I 
 think you begin to understand what ignorant and 
 strange people they were. 
 
38 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE BEST WA Y TO HELP THEM. 
 
 Susie is not content unless she understands 
 everything as she goes along. And this is well, 
 for by her questions she leads me on to say just 
 what I want most to impress on her mind. The 
 next talk we had she began where we left off, and 
 the first question she asked was, " Mamma, what is 
 sherbet ? It is n't wine, is it ?" 
 
 I am glad she asked me this, for perhaps some 
 other little girl might think that we treated our visi- 
 tors to wine in that country. But no ; sherbet is sim- 
 ply a sweet drink. One kind, which is white, or of a 
 pale green tinge, is made from a flower that grows 
 there. It is considered very cooling and refreshing 
 in summer ; but I do not like it ; it tastes some- 
 thing like cold tea. They have another kind which 
 I think very pleasant to the taste. This is made of 
 several kinds of herbs and flowers steeped together 
 over a slow fire. They add cinnamon to it, and 
 color it a beautiful ruby tinge, by a species of small 
 berry which they put in just before taking it from 
 the fire. Sugar is added after the liquid is strained, 
 
THE BEST WA Y TO HELP THEM. 39 
 
 and the whole becomes a thick syrup, and is some- 
 times made into cakes, which are put into water 
 when needed, and make a very nice, sweet drink. 
 This kind is too expensive for the poor people, and 
 is only found among the wealthier classes. Many 
 of the people use a sour cherry, something like our 
 cranberry, which makes a very pleasant drink ; 
 and some use only sugar and water. I have even 
 been where they used molasses, or honey, in water. 
 
 And this starts Susie again on her questions : 
 " Mamma, do they make molasses in Armenia ? 
 And what do they make it of ? Have they sugar- 
 cane there, or maple-trees as we have ?" And she 
 was much amused when I told her the Armenians 
 made their molasses from mulberries and grapes. 
 
 The white mulberry is very abundant there, 
 and is much used. It is the first fruit that ripens, 
 and the people relish the sweet fruit after the long 
 fast in the spring, when they have little variety in 
 their food. When they are ripe the women bring out 
 large sheets and spread them under the trees, which 
 are then shaken, and the ripe fruit is easily gath- 
 ered. The berries are put into a large copper boil- 
 er, a fire is kindled near the place, and the boiler is 
 supported by large stones on each side of the fire. 
 The fruit is cooked for several hours, and strained 
 
4 o DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 through a cotton bag, till all the juice is pressed 
 out. This is put into shallow copper vessels, whit- 
 ened with tin, and placed on the flat roofs of the 
 houses, where it remains for days to evaporate in 
 the sun. Then it is put into a narrow-necked 
 earthen vessel, the mouth of which is covered with 
 wet leather, and the molasses is ready. Bread-and- 
 molasses is the morning meal of many a poor Ar- 
 menian family. They also prepare a sort of sweet- 
 meat of this molasses, They stir starch or fine 
 flour into the fresh syrup, boil it till it becomes a 
 paste, and then spread it on their cloth, and dry 
 it for winter. Sometimes they put nuts upon it 
 while it is fresh, or when it is partly dry, rolling up 
 the nuts, strung on strings, in these thin layers. 
 It looks very much like a sausage when rolled so. 
 This kind of sweet paste is often brought in with 
 the sherbet and offered to guests. I often brought 
 home my pockets full of this bastic. I used to say 
 to the kind-hearted villagers, "I cannot take so 
 much ; my pockets are full now." " Then you must 
 bring a bag next time, as our priests do," they 
 would say. If I refused it they would feel hurt, 
 and would say, " Why, hanum ! We have done you 
 no honor in our house. You ate but little, and now 
 will not take what we offer you." It was much 
 
THE BEST WA Y £0 HELP THEM. 41 
 
 better to take it, and then I had always something 
 to give to the needy. So you see I had a double 
 pleasure, that of receiving and that of giving. 
 
 There was one little girl who used to come to 
 our house every Saturday to sweep the court. Su- 
 sie remembers her very well, and that often she 
 would fill the child's apron with these sweetmeats, 
 and tell her to take them home to her little broth- 
 ers and sisters. She was very poor. Her mother had 
 been sick a long time, and Ater had to work hard, 
 and often go hungry. They were not Protestants, 
 but Ater wished to go to school and learn to read. 
 She had no dress suitable to wear, so I told her to 
 come and sweep the court, and earn a dress. 
 
 We might have given her a dress, but it was 
 much better to give her work, and let her feel that 
 she had earned it. When she had gotten this, I 
 gave her a sacque and shoes, but if I had given her 
 all she would .not have prized them half as much. 
 It is much better to help people to help themselves. 
 They appreciate what they get far more if it has 
 cost them something. 
 
 This method has been very successful in our 
 missionary work among the Armenians. We teach 
 them that God helps those who help themselves. 
 When I went there, I wrote home to my friends 
 
 Daughters of Armenia. O 
 
42 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 that the poor people needed first to be clothed. I 
 saw so many shivering in the cold, their feet looked 
 so red, their shoes worn and their garments thin, 
 that I longed for shiploads of warm clothing to give 
 them. But I soon learned that if I would be a real 
 benefactor, I must devise some way to help them 
 help themselves, and not depend on foreign aid. 
 
 Perhaps some of you think that we could have 
 reached their souls quicker if we had cared for the 
 bodies. And you feel, as Susie does, that it would 
 be nice in your little mission bands to make gar- 
 ments for these poor people and children, rather 
 than make mats and tidies and iron-holders to sell 
 at a fair. Susie said it would be "real fun" to 
 make aprons and dresses for the bright-eyed hea- 
 then children. She even fancied she could have one 
 little girl all to herself, and make her clothing for 
 her. She said she believed it would stir up a mis- 
 sionary spirit in her, and she would want to go out 
 and see how the little girl looked in the things. 
 But such a plan as this would not work well. 
 
 In the first place I am not sure that the people 
 in this country would send us the goods if we asked 
 for them. And they would soon grow weary of it if 
 they began. No, we go out to carry the blessed 
 gospel to these poor people. We feel very sorry 
 
THE BEST WA Y TO HELP THEM. 43 
 
 for them in all their needs ; but it is better to show 
 them how the Bible will lift them above want ; not 
 one or two of them, but the whole people, and it 
 will also teach them to be kind to those around 
 them who are more needy than they. I do not 
 think we should have had so much influence over 
 them, if we had supplied their temporal wants. We 
 told them about the bread and water of life, and 
 the robe of Christ's righteousness, that will never 
 grow old. 
 
 We did not even give them the Bible. We 
 told them they must pay something for it. If any 
 were very poor, perhaps we would help them ; but 
 it was worth too much to them to cost them no 
 effort to get it. Many a mother gave her jewelry, 
 often only silver or copper, to get a Testament for 
 her little girl. Then when she took it home, she 
 would not give it to the baby to play with, " for she 
 had paid for it." No, she would put a cover 0.11 it, 
 and charge her little girl to use it with care, and 
 not soil its clean pages. 
 
 A poor girl came to our seminary from a city 
 three days' journey from Harpoot. Her father had 
 hired an animal for the journey, and her mother 
 had provided the scanty wardrobe, and a bed for 
 her daughter. But she had no Bible, and what 
 
44 DA UGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 should she do ? Should she come and ask us for 
 the book ? She must have it. She learns that she 
 can have it for half-price. She might say to her 
 father as he is about to leave, " Can you not give 
 me the money for a Bible ?" But that would not 
 do, for she knows he has done all he can. So she 
 takes out her earrings, two little gold coins, and 
 hastens to the Bible Depository, and comes back 
 with a shining face, with God's book in her hands, 
 her own precious Bible. Would she have valued it 
 so much if it had cost her nothing. 
 
 Do you say, " This was hard for the young girl ; 
 why did you not give her one ?" Ah, this was a 
 step forward in the right direction. The first step 
 was her determination to come to school, the sec- 
 ond her self-denial to procure her Bible, and now 
 she was soon . prepared for the third, which was 
 giving her heart to Jesus. Now she was in a fair 
 way to prepare herself for usefulness and happi- 
 ness. 
 
 But now that I have said this, I do not wish to 
 discourage any of the young people in America 
 from working in their little mission circles for the 
 heathen. There are many ways in which you can 
 help us. This girl has come to the school with 
 her clothes and her books, but she cannot do more. 
 
THE BEST WA Y TO HELP THEM. 45 
 
 Who will pay the expenses of the schoolhouse for 
 her ? She must be taught ; who will teach her ? 
 She must be fed ; who will feed her ? Her father 
 has done all he can. If not, we should say to him, 
 " Send the money for her board and tuition also." 
 Then who gave the Bible at half-price ? Not the 
 missionary who has only enough for his own wants, 
 and often needs the help of friends to pay the ex- 
 penses of his own children at school in the home- 
 land. Your mission circles, and the friends who 
 would be so willing to fill the boxes with garments 
 for the bodies of these poor people, must help pay 
 these bills which they cannot. So do all you can, 
 little girls, dear young ladies ; there never was 
 greater need than now. But instead of garments 
 which will wear out, send them the Bible, and food 
 for the mind and soul. Their degradation and 
 poverty will flee before this as the .mists of the 
 morning disappear before the bright sun. If you 
 raise thirty dollars, you can keep a girl in the sem- 
 inary a whole year ; or, for a little more, you can 
 sustain a school a year in some village, where one 
 of the girls educated in the seminary may go, to 
 teach forty or fifty children to read the Bible. 
 
 Then there are Bible-readers, as we call them, 
 who go from house to house to teach the women to 
 
46 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 read. They cannot do this unless they are paid for 
 it, any more than teachers in the schools. They 
 must eat and drink as we do, and I assure you they 
 earn the money we give them. Some of them are 
 real missionaries, and endure great self-denial to do 
 this work. 
 
 I wish I could take your mission circle into the 
 village where one of our girls is teaching, and show 
 you her work. I feel quite sure you would think it 
 paid for you to go once in two weeks to the circle, 
 to work on mats, tidies, or even iron-holders, if in 
 this way you can get money to support Lizzie, 
 while she is trying to do good in these dark 
 homes. I think you would say, " We must have 
 more girls come to our circle, so that we can raise 
 money enough for a school in more than this one 
 village." And there are hundreds of such villages 
 where we can work. 
 
 So work away, all of you who can. You are 
 just as much needed as the missionaries them- 
 selves. They are only helpers ; so are you. You 
 have perhaps never thought you could do so much. 
 Hereafter then you will look upon your work at 
 home very differently, I think. You see it is not 
 to dress up these poor children, as you would your 
 dolls, but to prepare them to be noble men and 
 
THE BEST WA Y TO HELP THEM. 47 
 
 women, and true Christians. If you can support a 
 band of teachers to open schools in these dark and 
 degraded villages, from them will go out thousands, 
 who in their turn will educate others, and so the 
 work will go on, until the whole world shall become 
 like " the garden of the Lord." 
 
 Jesus said that not even a cup of cold water 
 given in his name, from love to him, should go un- 
 rewarded. The smallest child in any missionary 
 circle can give and do something, and Jesus, the 
 Great Treasurer, will keep the account. It will all 
 be safely kept in Heaven's Savings Bank, and when 
 our work is all done, and we go to live with Jesus in 
 his beautiful home in heaven, we shall find it all 
 there, with a great deal of interest added. 
 
48 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE VILLAGE-SCHOOL TEACHER. ' 
 
 It would give me great pleasure if I could in- 
 troduce Susie, and all the dear young friends of the 
 mission bands in the home land, to Yeghesa, or 
 Lizzie, and her school in her native village. We 
 would go first to the place where we found her; 
 we cannot honor it with the name of home, for we 
 find nothing there that seems like home, excepting 
 the Bible which she has already obtained. 
 
 We enter the low, narrow door by stooping. 
 We think this cannot be . the place where a family 
 lives, but must be an outside room where they are 
 cooking ; for, it being only ten o'clock in the morn- 
 ing, or the fourth hour, as they reckon, the smoke 
 from their breakfast has not all escaped through 
 the hole in the roof, and the little window, a foot 
 square in the side. Lizzie's mother rises to greet 
 us, then places a cushion near the fireplace for 
 us to sit upon. Chairs, sofas, and divans are un- 
 known in these village houses. It is a cold morn- 
 ing, and we are invited to put our feet into the fire- 
 place and warm them. I say into, for the fireplace 
 
THE VILLAGE-SCHOOL TEACHER. 49 
 
 looks much like a small well. It is a hole in the 
 earth, three or four feet deep, and stoned about the 
 sides, much as our farmers make stone walls around 
 their fields. In the morning grass and brush are 
 brought, and a fire kindled, upon which are placed 
 cakes of prepared wood, or what we call village 
 peat. 
 
 Those tired unhappy-looking women, with great 
 baskets on their shoulders, whom we met as we 
 rode into the village, were going after a supply 
 of this fuel. The baskets they carried were full 
 of manure which they take to a hole outside 
 the village. They pour in water, add a little 
 chopped straw or grass, and then a number of the 
 women— brides they are called because they are 
 married — get in and trample it with their bare feet 
 until it is well mixed. Then with their hands they 
 make it into flat cakes, and put it in a sunny place 
 to dry. When it is thoroughly dried they pack it in 
 their baskets to take home. This way of preparing 
 fuel is probably as old as Bible times. 
 
 The village houses have but one room, which 
 serves as parlor, kitchen, bedroom, and storeroom; 
 and if they are rich enough to own cattle, as stable 
 also. But Lizzie's mother is too poor for cattle, 
 and her parlor had little in it except smoke. The 
 
 Daughters of Armenia. 
 
50 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 walls are black and shiny, like the inside of a chim- 
 ney that has been used for years. 
 
 When I first went to see this family the mother 
 had been weeping. She held the Bible in her 
 hand. We had a Bible woman in this village, and 
 she had visited this poor woman, and had taught 
 her to read. She was in great sorrow at this time 
 for her husband had just died, and she refused to 
 be comforted. She had no hope that he had gone 
 to be with the blessed Saviour. She felt too that 
 that she was a stranger to that dear Jesus who died 
 upon the cross to redeem her. I took the Bible 
 and read how Jesus had gone to his Father's house 
 in the heavenly city, to prepare mansions for those 
 who love him and keep his commandments. I 
 told her that Jesus said he would come again, and 
 take her to that blissful abode, and that God would 
 be her Father, if she would love and serve him. She 
 cannot help her husband now, but she can train up 
 her three fatherless children to be Christians ; her 
 Heavenly Father has given her this great work to 
 do for him. 
 
 My interest in this poor woman made me for- 
 get the dark, gloomy room and the black walls. 
 Even the smoke ceased to trouble me. As we 
 talked, I became interested in her daughter Liz- 
 
THE VILLAGE-SCHOOL TEACHER. 51 
 
 zie. I thought how useful she might become, if 
 she could only have the advantages of the semi- 
 nary at Harpoot. I proposed that she should go 
 there, and both mother and daughter were delighted 
 with the idea ; but how could she ? She had but 
 one dress, that which she had on. It was made of 
 a coarse blue cloth, woven in the rude looms of her 
 native village. Now is the time for us to help her 
 help herself ; but how shall we do it ? 
 
 I know what you are thinking of, little folks. 
 You are thinking of those boxes of ready-made 
 clothes we were talking about yesterday, which the 
 mission bands ought to make and send across the 
 sea. But let us talk with this mother and daugh- 
 ter first, and see how much they can do. 
 
 "You would like to have Lizzie go up to Har- 
 poot to school. You are poor, and we will give her 
 board and tuition, and perhaps some one will help 
 her get the books she will need ; but what will she 
 do for clothing and a bed ? Can you provide them ?" 
 
 " I think I can, Hanum. I have enough blue 
 cloth to make her a dress, and red enough to make 
 an apron to trim it. I will wash the one she has 
 on, and mend it nicely, and she can wear it to work 
 in." She understood that the girls at the school 
 do their own work. 
 
52 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 tl Then I have a new handkerchief, or veil," she 
 continued, "which was given to me, which will do 
 for her head. She can take my stockings, and I 
 will wear her father's. One of my neighbors has 
 a little money, which my husband lent him, and 
 this will get her some shoes, and help about her 
 books. The man said he would give it to me as 
 soon as he had sold his cotton, and I hear he has 
 gone to the city with a load to-day. 
 
 " I will take her father's bed and quilt down to 
 the fountain and wash them, and make them over, 
 and they will be as good as new. Then I will take 
 the towels that were given to me when I was a 
 bride, and Lizzie will be ready in a few days to go 
 to school. I think my neighbor Kevork will take 
 her up to the city, as he goes quite often." 
 
 Now was n't that much better than to have giv- 
 en her a complete outfit ? 
 
 In due time the village-girl appeared in the 
 court of the mission-house. Do not laugh though 
 she is mounted on a mule astride her bed and bag- 
 gage. Some girls have to take their baggage on 
 their shoulders and walk to school. 
 
 Miss Pond, the young lady who has come out 
 from America to teach the girls, receives Lizzie 
 very kindly, and inquires for her mother in such a 
 
THE VILLAGE-SCHOOL TEACHER. 53 
 
 way as to cheer the stranger girl's heart. She feels 
 sure from that moment, that she shall love this 
 teacher, who has left her friends and come to a far- 
 off land to teach such a poor girl as she is. 
 
 The bell rings, and the pupils come flocking in- 
 to the school. The city girls give her a kindly 
 glance. Her dress is not like theirs, but it is new, 
 and a goodly number from the villages are dressed 
 just as she is. She is rough-looking, and awkward, 
 and she feels it. 
 
 She reads her verse from the Testament with a 
 trembling voice, and in the opening prayer the 
 teacher remembers the new pupil, and asks God to 
 bless and help her every day while in the school, and 
 make her useful when she goes back to the village 
 among her own people. After devotions, Miss West 
 assigns her lessons, and she begins her school-life. 
 
 Seven happy months pass away, and we enter 
 the schoolroom again. It has been swept with 
 more than usual care, and some pieces of carpet 
 spread on one side. The desks have been removed, 
 and chairs brought in for expected guests. The 
 teachers at their desks are on the south side of the 
 room, and all the schoolgirls, dressed in their best, 
 are seated on the floor at their left hand. The 
 women are coming in aud quietly taking their seats 
 
54 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 on the carpets, and the invited guests, friends of 
 the pupils, occupy the chairs. It is a select com- 
 pany, for it is a girls' school, and here in Turkey, 
 at this time, it will not do to admit any gentlemen 
 but the fathers of the girls, to see their uncovered 
 faces. Even their brothers are excluded. 
 
 And now we will look for Lizzie. Can it be 
 possible that nice-looking girl in the neat pink cal- 
 ico dress is she ? It looks like her face, but she 
 has grown whiter and handsomer. The little black 
 handkerchief is tied tastefully over her nicely- 
 braided hair, and her purple merino jacket is very 
 becoming to her. What have the teachers done to 
 her ? you will ask ; or perhaps you will conclude 
 that some one has sent her a box at last. 
 
 But no, she has had no help from others. Her 
 mother worked in the fields to get this new dress 
 and jacket for" her daughter, that she might look 
 more like the other girls. We are glad she has 
 them, but it is much better that her friends should 
 get them, than that they should be given to her 
 by others. She has been an earnest scholar, has 
 studied hard ; and better than all, we think she has 
 truly become a follower of the Lord Jesus. This 
 new love in her heart, with the clean rooms and 
 good food up here at the school, and her new 
 
THE VILLAGE-SCHOOL TEACHER. 55 
 
 dress, account for the great change in her appear- 
 ance. 
 
 And now examination is over, and vacation be- 
 gins. Lizzie is going to teach school in her native 
 village, and board at home. What ! in that dark, 
 smoky room, all this long vacation, with that dirty- 
 looking mother and brother and sister ? Yes : We 
 shall give her a small sum, from one to two dollars 
 a month, at the most, and in this way she can help 
 herself, and at the same time help us to elevate the 
 little girls in that village. 
 
 Her schoolroom is very uninviting. She has 
 resumed her blue village dress, and finds it hard to 
 keep herself looking tidy, but she does, and she 
 has a great influence over the little girls. They 
 look up to her with great respect, for she has been 
 up to Harpoot to be taught by those wise teachers 
 who came from over the sea. 
 
 All winter Lizzie works faithfully, and in the 
 spring is found among the happy " old scholars " 
 who come flocking back to the school, as doves to 
 their windows. She came a day or two in advance, 
 to help make the home cheerful for the new-comers. 
 She wears the neat, pink dress, which has been 
 worn only on great occasions during the winter. 
 Her face has lost some of its brightness, and her 
 
5 6 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 hands look as if water had not been very abundant. 
 She has the smell of smoke about her, the real peat 
 smell, which makes us open our windows after we 
 have had guests from houses where that fuel is 
 used, But this will soon pass away in our pure 
 Harpoot air. Her appetite is good after a long 
 winter, when meat has seldom been seen, and the 
 diet extremely plain. She relishes study too, and 
 seems more in earnest than ever before. The new 
 scholars look up to her as a leader, and she is care- 
 ful to set the best example before them. 
 
 Her voice is heard in the daily prayer-meeting, 
 and sometimes you may see her in earnest conver- 
 sation with some new scholar, and it is easy to see 
 that she is talking with them about the dear Sav- 
 iour she wishes them to love as she does. 
 
 The three years she designed to stay at the 
 seminary pass thus pleasantly away, and Lizzie is 
 busy with a new dress for graduation. This too is 
 of calico, and the purple sack is to be changed for 
 one of green. Her hair is put back under a 'black 
 silk net of her own making ; the worms which spun 
 the silk, having, perhaps, been fed by her mother's 
 hands. A small crocheted collar, fastened by a 
 bow of bright ribbon, gives a finish to her dress. 
 
 Lizzie is by no means the best scholar in her 
 
THE VILLAGE-SCHOOL TEACHER. 57 
 
 class, for one of her classmates is beautiful Az- 
 neev, who will read us a composition on " Female 
 Responsibility," that would do honor to any young 
 lady in an American school. And there are others 
 who will surpass Lizzie in higher branches, but she 
 will do well in all the common studies, and no one 
 could help being interested iji her examination in 
 the Bible. She will not fail in this, but be ready 
 for whatever question may be put to her. The 
 deacon of the little church in her native village — 
 for a church has been formed there, and they have 
 begun to support their pastor — comes up to the 
 seminary at this time to engage Lizzie for the girls' 
 school. 
 
 We say, " Deacon Hohannes, we cannot give 
 Lizzie to you this winter." 
 
 He is much disturbed by this, and wishes to 
 know our reason. " Surely, hanum, you will not 
 put Lizzie in any other village ! She belongs to 
 us. What do you mean ?" 
 
 " We have sent Lizzie to you for two years," 
 we answer, "and she has spent the winters in that 
 dark, dirty home with her mother. She has now 
 graduated, and is a nice, neat girl, and we wish her 
 to keep herself so, and she cannot do this in such 
 a home. We will put her where she can. There 
 
 Daughters ol Armenia, § 
 
58 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 are other places where she can teach, and be in a 
 pleasant family, for she is one of our most reliable 
 girls." 
 
 " Why, hanum, we will go home and build a 
 room for her in her mother's house, if you will help 
 us a very little. Give us only five dollars, and we 
 will pay all the other expenses." 
 
 We told him we would give it when the room 
 was fitted up, for this was just what we wished 
 them to do. We knew they could not do the 
 whole. The people of that village, Hoghi, are 
 very poor, and most of the houses are like that of 
 Lizzie's mother ; and the people were doing all they 
 could for their pastor and their boys' school. 
 
 They at once went to work, and soon had a lit- 
 tle room with two windows in it ready, on the roof 
 of her mother's house. They whitened its mud- 
 walls with a clay-wash, put a reed-carpet on the 
 floor, and came up to the city to buy a sheet-iron 
 stove to put in it. The first stoves in Harpoot 
 were imported by the missionaries. Now the city 
 has two rival manufactories of sheet-iron stoves. 
 They are yet unable to melt iron for casting. 
 
 We gladly gave the deacon the five dollars we 
 had promised, and Lizzie for their teacher. The 
 room and stove did a great deal of good in that vil- 
 
mm § 
 
THE VILLAGE-SCHOOL TEACHER. 59 
 
 lage, and now we find other rooms quite as com- 
 fortable. Deacon Hohannes has a cheerful sitting- 
 room, with a stove in it, and *a carpet on the floor, 
 and cushions to sit on at the sides of the room, so 
 that one can lean back against the wall. His wife 
 and mother are pupils of the earnest Bible-woman, 
 one of our very best, a native of the same village, 
 and also educated in our seminary at Harpoot ; and 
 Hohannes, his son, is preparing, in the Harpoot 
 Normal School, to be a teacher or preacher. 
 
 I think it will pay for the little girls and young 
 ladies in America to educate teachers like these. 
 Susie is ready to do her part, and she has come to 
 the conclusion that it is better for them to get their 
 own clothes, while she and her friends send money 
 for the schools. She sees too, how, as these girls 
 are educated, they begin at. once to improve their 
 persons and their homes, and to gather about them 
 the comforts of civilization. 
 
6o DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 MART AM, THE HOG HI BIBLE-WOMAN. 
 
 The work of a Bible-woman in Armenia is not 
 merely to go from house to house, to read the Bi- 
 ble to the women, and pray with them. We have 
 found that, unless we get the women to help them- 
 selves, they make little or no progress. The most 
 of the women in the Harpoot villages are willing 
 that the clean, nice-looking Bible-women should 
 come in and read, and even pray with them, and 
 then some of them would make the sign of the 
 cross, and exclaim, " Yes, God is merciful ! Salva- 
 tion is free ! Blessed be the Lord !" We do not 
 believe in the piety that consists alone in pious ex- 
 clamations ; we therefore test their zeal by setting 
 them at work. If we can persuade -them to buy a 
 primer and begin their A, B, C's, we feel that we 
 have gained an influence over them that will tend 
 to elevate them, and bring them out of their pres- 
 ent wretchedness into the blessings of a Christian 
 civilization. For the primer is called "the key to 
 unlock the Bible," and this opens the way to Chris- 
 
THE HO GHI BIBLE- WOMAN. 6 1 
 
 tian civilization. We never get a woman through 
 the primer, who is not anxious to have a Testa- 
 ment. Indeed, this is the strong inducement we 
 hold out to her, when, with great difficulty, she 
 spells out the hard words in her primer. Many a 
 woman falters, and seems ready to give up before 
 she gets through the first few pages of her lesson- 
 book, and then we turn over a few leaves to some 
 simple passage of Scripture, and let her read it 
 with our help, and assure her if she patiently goes 
 on, she will soon be reading God's book. 
 
 The Bible-woman has to give this lesson, ex- 
 plain it to her, and then, kneeling with her, ask 
 God to help her understand it. If she prays over 
 her lesson, she will learn it, even though her home 
 be a dark one, and she may have to hold one baby 
 in her arms, and pull the string fastened to the 
 hammock that contains another. 
 
 I wish I could take all the dear young people 
 at home, and all the Christian mothers who love to 
 have their children work for the heathen, into some 
 of these homes, where they have for ages heard the 
 name of Christ, and believed that he died for them, 
 and yet are more cheerless than many a heathen 
 one. They have no comforts, but just drag out a 
 miserable existence. The only thing that can ele- 
 
62 DAUGHTERS OJF ARMENIA. 
 
 vate them is the light and knowledge of the Bible, 
 the thrice-blessed Bible. 
 
 Our Bible-woman Mariam, or Mary, like Lizzie, 
 came from a dark and degraded home; but the light 
 of God's word entered the dwelling, and her father, 
 Sarkis, received it into his heart, and became an 
 earnest follower of the Saviour. We soon saw the 
 fruit of this conversion. He had three daughters. 
 He was poor, but he came up to Harpoot, and 
 asked that the eldest might be admitted to the 
 seminary. She was " only a girl," but the father 
 was so changed by his conversion to a living Chris- 
 tianity, that he became really in earnest to have 
 his daughter educated. 
 
 The fact that he wished this was a good evi- 
 dence of the change in the father, for, in Armenia, 
 girls are looked upon almost with contempt, and it 
 is not only thought unnecessary to educate them, 
 but some parents are strongly opposed to it. 
 " They can do what is required of them without an 
 education," it is said, " and will be far more obedi- 
 ent. Their mothers and husbands' mothers were 
 not educated, and "why should our girls be ? It 
 will only lift them out of their place, and make 
 them impudent and lazy." 
 
 But Sarkis brought Mariam to the school, and . 
 
THE HOGHI BIBLE-WOMAN. 63 
 
 provided her with clothes and books, and gave 
 about one-fourth of the money required for other 
 expenses. This was making a great effort, and he 
 seemed very happy in doing it. And yet, had you 
 seen him, you would have said, " He looks more 
 like a beggar himself, than a man who can pay 
 part of his daughter's expenses at school." It is 
 true his garments were very coarse and old, but 
 this very effort to help his daughter tended to ele- 
 vate himself. 
 
 A few months passed away, and this father 
 came to visit the daughter at school ; and this time 
 he brought his wife, Mariam's mother, with him. 
 Each was dressed in a new suit of village-blue, and 
 looked very neat and respectable. Nor did they 
 come empty-handed. The daughter had her parcel 
 from' home, and the teachers theirs, as a token of 
 respect. And the missionary families were not 
 forgotten. A few eggs, a pail of sour milk, or 
 some cucumbers, were given to each. These little 
 "love-tokens," as they call them, were gratefully 
 received. They did not throw themselves on the 
 hospitality of teachers or missionaries, but brought 
 their food with them, and went to the house of- an 
 acquaintance in the city, where they asked permis- 
 sion for Mariam to spend the Sabbath with them. 
 
64 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 We could not ask them to stay at the seminary. 
 We had neither room nor means for the crowds 
 who would wish to come if we had offered to enter- 
 tain them. Six days out of each week the friends 
 of our pupils could call upon us, at any hour of the 
 day, and we always received them kindly and po- 
 litely ; but never on the Sabbath unless in extraor- 
 dinary cases. From the first we taught them that 
 the Sabbath was a holy day, and it was better for 
 them to go to the place of worship, and then read 
 and meditate in their own homes, and with their 
 own families. This training was all the more ne- 
 cessary, from the fact that the Sabbath had been 
 to them little more than a holiday, when they might 
 go from house to house to gossip, or have more 
 time for a good dinner. 
 
 We did not even allow them to come to us for 
 religious conversation on Sunday, when we were in 
 the city, except in special cases ; but when we were 
 in the villages our room was open to any who 
 might come, and it was a religious service all day. 
 Often the only suitable place to be found was the 
 room used as a chapel, and we were generally very 
 weqry, when, late in the evening, the last man had 
 left. Perhaps there are some who will think we 
 lost a great opportunity of doing good in the city 
 
THE HOG HI BIBLE- WOMAN. 65 
 
 by not encouraging their visits on Sunday. But 
 we did not seek what would bring the greatest 
 crowds about us, but what would be the best way 
 of planting a Bible Christianity among the people. 
 They sometimes came to us for tea, - sugar or 
 wood, and had we given all they wished, we should 
 soon have found our own stores empty, and only 
 "a bread and cheese work," as one missionary ex- 
 pressed it, to show for it. We did give delicacies 
 to the sick, and, according to our ability, remem- 
 bered the poor about us. And we taught them 
 in many temporal things besides. We were often 
 asked to cut and fit dresses and sacques like ours, 
 but seldom did it. We had a more important work 
 to do than to be dressmakers. Their style of dress 
 was neat, and, as we thought, more becoming to 
 them than ours. We were willing to give them 
 patterns, and show them how to do these things for 
 themselves ; our time was thus saved, and our pa- 
 tience spared, and the lesson they learned was far 
 more lasting than it otherwise could have been. 
 Had we fitted and made the dresses, they would 
 probably have found fault with them, and demanded 
 to have them made in some other way. 
 
 But to return to Mariam. She finished her 
 seminary course of study, and then took lessons in 
 
 Daughters of Armenia. Q 
 
66 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 another school, where the Master intended she 
 should graduate, that she might be still better pre- 
 pared for the work he had for her to do. 
 
 One bright morning pastor Mardiros came in to 
 see Miss Pond, seeming more than usually thought- 
 ful. He inquired if she thought Mariam would 
 make a good wife for Mr. Geragos, who was about 
 to graduate from the Theological Seminary. This 
 was very unexpected to us all, but after some con- 
 sultation the consent of the teachers and mission- 
 aries was obtained, and a friend was sent to ask 
 permission of the father and mother. Of course it 
 made quite a stir in that quiet village home, and 
 the young man was thoroughly discussed. He 
 was from the city of Palu, and bore a good name 
 there, and was of more than ordinary talent. In- 
 deed, he was so energetic that he paid his own way 
 while in the seminary. At times he had been un- 
 der great mental depression, but it seemed more like 
 a spiritual than a physical trouble. The parents 
 gave consent, and it was decided that the wedding- 
 festivities should be at the close of the fall term of 
 school, and in the girl's schoolroom, she being the 
 first one to be married from the first graduating 
 class of our new Female Seminary. 
 
 But I had almost forgotten to tell you about the 
 
THE HOG HI BIBLE- WOMAN. 67 
 
 betrothal, which occurred in this case only a few 
 weeks before marriage, though sometimes years in- 
 tervene. 
 
 You would have been amused perhaps, if you 
 had seen Geragos when he came into the Bible 
 Depository, and asked for one of the best red-cov- 
 ered, gilt-edged Bibles, worth about three dollars. 
 He was careful to see that it was perfect, and the 
 very best to be had. On the blank leaf was writ- 
 ten the betrothal pledge. Then with some extra 
 attention to his usually neat attire, he was ready 
 for the evening, that seemed a long way off, al- 
 though it was now past four o'clock. 
 
 Miss Pond had asked that tea be served a little 
 earlier than usual, as the betrothal was to be in her 
 sittingroom. Some extra lamps made the room 
 more cheerful, the missionary families were invited 
 in, and the schoolgirls were present. All things 
 were ready at seven, and the pastor accompanied 
 by Geragos, made his appearance. Mariam was 
 seated between Miss Pond and Kohar, the assist- 
 ant teacher. Kohar with Mariam went forward 
 and made the usual salutation, and all the girls 
 followed. When they were again seated, pastor 
 Mardiros read a portion of Scripture and prayed, 
 and a hymn was sung. Then taking the Bible 
 
68 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 from the table he went forward towards the parties 
 to be betrothed, and said a few words on the sa- 
 credness of the pledge they were about to make to 
 each other ; and handing the Bible to Mariam, said, 
 " By accepting this you pledge yourself to be the 
 future wife of Geragos." She rose and modestly 
 accepted the Bible, and Geragos put a ring on her 
 finger. After this we sang once more, and tea and 
 cake were served, after which Kohar and Mariam, 
 rising, made the usual salutation and left the room, 
 the schoolgirls following in the same manner. 
 The young bridegroom elect was congratulated, and 
 after a few pleasant words, he left with the pastor. 
 
 Mariam was at that time probably about seven- 
 teen years of age, but we had to judge from her 
 appearance. Armenian mothers are very apt to 
 forget the ages of their children. We are careful 
 now to furnish records in their Bibles, and to in- 
 struct them to have the names of their children and 
 the dates of .their birth written. 
 
 It is the usual custom to have a wedding take 
 place at the house of the bridegroom's father, but 
 in Mariam's case we took the liberty to arrange 
 otherwise. The father of Geragos was dead, and 
 his mother opposed to his being a Protestant, or 
 marrying one. It is usual too for the bridegroom 
 
THE HOGHI BIBLE- WOMAN. 69 
 
 to furnish the wedding dress ; but as Geragos had 
 no friends to make it, pastor Mardiros' wife, He- 
 ripsima, acted the part of sister and made it for 
 him. It was a Turkish silk, and the colors were 
 green, yellow, and red. It was quite pretty, and 
 with a neat jacket of green broadcloth, and a light 
 gauze head-dress, Mariam looked very pretty on 
 the evening of the wedding. 
 
 Some friends of Geragos and some also of the 
 bride were invited. The girls carpeted the school- 
 room with rugs, and when well-lighted it looked 
 very cheerful. A long table with refreshments was 
 so arranged between the central pillars of the room 
 as to give a pleasing effect to the whole. 
 
 All things being ready, the bridegroom and his 
 friends went with lanterns to the house of pastor 
 Mardiros, and escorted the bride and her atten- 
 dants to the schoolroom with songs of rejoicing, 
 The ceremony was nearly an hour long, and parts 
 of it very original, but even the most fastidious 
 could not say it was incomplete in any respect. 
 The good things with which the table was spread 
 soon disappeared, and the company quietly went to 
 their homes. The pastor had invited the bride- 
 groom to make his house their home for a few days 
 till he should take his bride to see her friends 
 
7 o DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 in Hoghi, before entering on his work of preaching 
 in a large village not far from Harpoot. 
 
 A few days later the bride called to bid us 
 good-by before leaving the city, and we thought her 
 very lady-like and pretty in her new position. We 
 sent her away with many good wishes for her future, 
 little knowing how trying it would be. The men- 
 tal depression we had known of in his seminary 
 days increased upon Geragos until he became in- 
 sane. Some thought it unsafe for Mariam to stay 
 stay with him, but she would never leave him ex- 
 cept to go to a near neighbor's to rest for a night. 
 When she was away from him he would call after 
 her, and beg her not to leave him with others. He 
 would use the harshest language to others but nev- 
 er to her. 
 
 It was very touching to see her leading him in 
 the streets when he insisted on going abroad. 
 While others were afraid of, and shunned him, she 
 could always quiet him. Her beautiful little girl 
 of two years was taken from her to the heavenly 
 home, and Mariam was indeed sorely afflicted. Her 
 father took them home, and after several months 
 Geragos was so much better that he sought work. 
 They were very poor, and it was at this time that 
 Mariam began her labors as our Hoghi Bible-worn- 
 
THE HOGHI BIBLE- WOMAN. 7 1 
 
 an. She had a little babe only a few months old. 
 After the breakfast was over, and her husband had 
 gone to his work, she would take her babe in her 
 arms, and go from house to house to give lessons 
 to the women. We had regular written reports of 
 her labors, and were pleased with the success that 
 seemed to crown her efforts. 
 
 Another day I will tell my young friends of a 
 visit I made to Hoghi to examine Mariam's pupils, 
 and you will all better understand her work. 
 
72 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 VISIT TO HOGHI. 
 
 As my young readers in America cannot go 
 with me to Hoghi to see what the Bible-woman is 
 doing there, I have no doubt they will be pleased 
 with an account of the visit Susie and I made in 
 that poor village; poor indeed and miserable in its 
 appearance, yet with many immortal souls, more 
 precious than gold, to be won to Christ. 
 
 Garabed is at the door, and sends in word that 
 the animals are ready for us. 
 
 "What have you in those great leather bags, 
 mamma ?" said Susie. " They are large enough 
 for us to ride in ; but I hope we are not to go in 
 that fashion, are we ?" 
 
 " No, my dear ; we cannot spare the hoorges for 
 you or me ; you can ride on the white donkey, and 
 I will take the mule. We need the hoorges to put 
 our beds and some cooking utensils in ; and we 
 will take some food with us, for we shall not find 
 much, that we can eat in the village. Besides, the 
 people are poor, and we do not wish to be burden- 
 some to them." 
 
VISIT TO HOGHI. 73 
 
 " But where are we going to stay, mamma ?" 
 
 " I think the pastor will let us have his little 
 study." 
 
 It was winter, and we dressed ourselves warmly, 
 especially our feet, as we were to be two or three 
 hours on the way, and the winds from the moun- 
 tains were cold and chilling. As we rode into the 
 village, and saw the people looking so poor and 
 cold, and the houses like mud huts, Susie exclaim- 
 ed, " O mamma, I am so glad I was not born in 
 one of those houses, that I am not one of these lit- 
 tle village-girls !" 
 
 " So am I," I answered ; " but, my child, it is on, 
 ly the Bible that makes us to differ. These Arme- 
 nians arejust as capable of a Christian civilization 
 as we are, and it is to bring this that we have come 
 to them. It is a blessed work God has given to the 
 Christians in our happy America, to send this Bible 
 to the millions that have it not ; and it is a great 
 privilege to be permitted to bring it." 
 
 We did not go out that day, but permitted the 
 people to call upon us ; and after seeing some of 
 them, and planning with Mariam about the calls we 
 should make in the morning, we decided to go into 
 the prayer-meeting which was to be held in the 
 chapel that evening. 
 
 Daughters of Armenia. 1 
 
74 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 Susie was quite amused at the idea of sitting on 
 the floor with the women, but I told her I always 
 did, only they usually gave me a cushion to sit upon. 
 
 " I think the pastor will have one carried in for 
 us, Susie ; and the people will be delighted to see 
 us. I always enjoy a village tour. It seems to me 
 more like the work Jesus did when he came down 
 from his beautiful home in heaven. It is more like 
 that than our work in the city." 
 
 There is a great difference between the city and 
 the villages ; and the villages differ very much from 
 each other. In Hoghi the Bible-work had then made 
 more progress among the women, than in any other, 
 and we had reason to believe that those wretched 
 homes would ere long be exchanged for light, cheer- 
 ful and cleanly abodes. The pastor's cheerful sit- 
 ting-room was a model, and that of Deacon Hohan- 
 nes, which we stepped across the narrow street to 
 see, Susie thought even more pleasant. Yet when 
 we first knew him -he lived in a cellar-room. The 
 gospel has brought him up into the second story, 
 has brought him these cushions, the coarse carpet, 
 that little stove, and, better than all, a neat book- 
 case filled with books. Yes, and it is this which 
 makes his pretty little wife look so bright and intel- 
 ligent. She is one of Mariam's best scholars. 
 
VISIT TO HOG HI. 75 
 
 Susie thought her really beautiful in her clear, 
 blue and red village dress, with a neat bib-apron. 
 
 When we returned to the pastor's, we found that 
 Garabed had made a fire, and put up our little bed- 
 steads, and the room looked more cheerful and 
 homelike than before. Our beds are a missionary 
 invention, designed for comfort in going from place 
 to place, as we cannot safely sleep on the earth-floor. 
 They weigh, sack and all, only about ten pounds, 
 and can be folded up like an umbrella, so as to be 
 easily carried. 
 
 We did not pass a very quiet night, however, for 
 the dogs that abound in that region, both in city and 
 village, make the night hideous with their howls. 
 They are only street dogs and have no owners, and 
 the villagers are accustomed to their noise. They 
 never kill them, unless they fear they have become 
 mad. And there is no sleep in the morning for the 
 early cock-crowing. These domestic fowls are the 
 only clocks these poor people have. We heed their 
 call and rise promptly, that we may fold up our 
 beds and put them in the leather bags and convert 
 our sleeping-room into a parlor again ; and then we 
 are ready for breakfast. 
 
 Garabed brought in the breakfast on the pastor's 
 round copper table, which you would call a tray, and 
 
76 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 placed it on a low stool. The tin box was opened, 
 and with, some coffee and warm milk we made a 
 good repast. We then repaired to the pastor's room 
 for prayers. Susie thought it would be pleasanter 
 to be alone in our own snug little room for devo- 
 tions, but I reminded her that we did not come here 
 to please ourselves. I knew that many of the vil- 
 lagers, knowing we were there, would esteem it a 
 privilege to come in. We were then ready to start 
 on our visiting with Mariam, who soon appeared 
 with her baby in her arms. 
 
 " I have to take my little one when I go to give 
 my lessons," she said, " for I fear to leave her with 
 her father, as he is not perfectly sane now. I get 
 very tired, but I love my work." 
 
 " How many pupils have you now ?" I asked. 
 
 " Sixty ; and I give thirty lessons each day. 
 These keep me very busy. After I have finished 
 my round, I go to the sunset prayer-moeting, and 
 then home to prepare our evening meal." 
 
 " Does not Geragos help you ?" 
 
 " Perhaps he will have a fire in the little stove, 
 when I get home, and perhaps not." 
 
 " Have you a stove ?" 
 
 " Yes, hanum ; we have a tiny sheet-iron stove 
 with a hole in the top for a kettle, and I can do all 
 
VISIT TO HOGHI 77 
 
 my cooking there very nicely. We live very sim- 
 ply. Sometimes it is cracked wheat, with a little 
 pemmican (prepared meat) added to give it a relish, 
 or a mixed soup, which perhaps you would n't 
 like ; or pulse, such as the prophet Daniel fared so 
 well on. It does n't take much time to get our 
 food." 
 
 We did our talking as we went along, for I 
 wanted Susie to know how Mariam lived and work- 
 ed. Soon we were at Markareed's house. 
 
 " We have come, Markareed," we said, " to hear 
 you read, and see what progress you have made," 
 
 She timidly brought out her primer and spelled 
 out the hard words ; the easy ones she had learned 
 to pronounce without spelling. We questioned her 
 a little, and found that with Mariam's explanation, 
 she had quite a good idea of the simple story she 
 read ; but she said, " Hanum, it is very hard for me. 
 If my husband did not encourage me, and say, ' See 
 how nicely teacher Mariam reads ; she had to read 
 the primer first, as she told you/ I should give up, 
 I know I should." 
 
 " But are there not hundreds of women in this 
 village," we asked, " whose husbands treat them 
 like donkeys, and when they ask for a primer tell 
 them to shut their mouths, for a woman has no 
 
73 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 brains ? You ought to be thankful, Markareed, that 
 your husband wants you to learn." 
 
 We left her with a song of gratitude in her 
 mouth, though her home looked so wretched we 
 could not help feeling all the while a pity for her. 
 Yet we knew that all she needed was encourage- 
 ment to help herself. Her husband, who is a mem- 
 ber of the Hoghi church, will soon have as comfort- 
 able a home as Deacon Hohannes has. Markareed 
 has more intellect than the deacon's wife, but she 
 is not so sweet-tempered. We pray that she may 
 truly love Jesus, as her husband does, and then she 
 will be more patient in learning to read. 
 
 In the next house we visited we were obliged to 
 step carefully, for the passage-way was very dark, 
 and in some places, Mariam said, the floor was bro- 
 ken. We at last reached a large room where men and 
 women were at work pulling cotton out of the pods, 
 and passing it through a simple machine to free it 
 from the seeds. Our greeting here was cordial in- 
 deed. " Good morning, hanum; we are glad to see you. 
 Welcome ! a thousand times welcome ! Why did 
 not the badvellie (minister) come too ? Is this your 
 little girl ? Sara, bring some better cushions, quick ! 
 Put one under her feet. Sit down here, little girl. 
 Can you read ? What : s your name ?" 
 
VISIT TO HO GUI. 79 
 
 " Susie," I answered for the child ; " in your lan- 
 guage it is Shushig." 
 
 " Shushig, Shushig, come here, karnoog, (lamb- 
 kin,) and sit by me," said a very old lady, the grand- 
 mother and great-grandmother of this patriarchal 
 family, whose name was Nana. 
 
 " I see your hands are all busy," I said ; " and 
 how do you succeed in learning to read ?" 
 
 " Oh, they can all read but me," replied the 
 grandmother. " Even these bits of children go to 
 Lizzie's school, and come home knowing more than 
 their old Nana. I wish it had come in my day, but 
 my old eyes can't see now. I can only listen, but 
 I thank God every day that he has been so kind to 
 my house. I thank him for that blessed Bible that 
 Kevork reads to us every night and morning." 
 
 " Do you think your son is a better man now 
 that he reads the Bible ?" 
 
 " Oh yes, hanum, we are all better. Mariam — 
 the Lord bless her ! — is doing a good work here. I 
 wish all my brides to read. They will be better 
 women, and do more work." 
 
 We next entered a small house with only one 
 room. The mother met us at the door, and we 
 went in and took our seats on an old cushion be- 
 side the fireplace, where the evening meal was cook- 
 
.8o DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 ing. " Will you put your feet in and warm them ?" 
 she said, as she lifted a dingy-looking cloth, and 
 moved the earthen cover of the oven aside. A 
 little girl of four years sat near by, without shoes 
 or stockings. Something moved in a hammock 
 swung across the other corner of the room, and the 
 woman reaching forward, caught a string suspend- 
 ed from it, and swung it back and forth until the 
 motion of the bunch of rags within ceased. This 
 young mother has a bright, pretty face. 
 
 " Can she read ?" we inquired. 
 
 " Bring your Bible, Anna," said Mariam, " and 
 turn to the fifty-first of Isaiah, and read." 
 
 She took her book from a box, and read very 
 correctly, asking several questions about God's an- 
 cient people. She seemed to love the Bible, and 
 we can but hope that its light will never go out in 
 this humble home. She asked us to pray with her, 
 and we earnestly commended her to the dear Sav- 
 iour, who, when he was on earth, delighted to visit 
 the poor and needy. She followed us to the door, 
 and urged us to come again. 
 
LIGHT IN DARK HOMES. Si 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 LIGHT IN DARK HOMES. 
 
 Continuing our calls, we entered a court, 
 around which were houses of a better class than 
 those we had visited. But a sound as of quarrel- 
 ling saluted us as we approached, and Mariam, as- 
 cending a flight of steps, motioned us to stop till 
 she could ascertain the trouble. She soon returned 
 and asked us to follow. 
 
 "T have a pupil here, hanum," she said, "but I 
 fear she- will not be able to take a lesson to-day, for 
 they have just had a serious quarrel. Loosig is a 
 young bride, and her husband is the only Protes- 
 tant in the family. The uncle is enraged about it, 
 but Loosig's father-in-law stands up for his son, 
 and says he has a right to be a Protestant if he 
 wishes, and Loosig shall read if her husband is 
 willing." 
 
 As we entered, Loosig and her father-in-law 
 rose to greet us, and the young woman brought us 
 a cushion ; but the others only looked at us with 
 dark, scowling faces. They would have told us to 
 
 Daughters of Armenia. 1 1 
 
82 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 leave, but they were afraid of Loosig's father-in-law, 
 and so kept still. We hardly knew what to do, but 
 concluded to try the efficacy of kind words. So 
 we said to the eldest of these women, 
 
 " Sister Noonig, as Mariam goes from house to 
 house to give the sisters lessons, would you not 
 like to learn ?" 
 
 In reply, Noonig was violent and abusive. She 
 cursed " the hateful Protes," who had come to be 
 " dividers of families," and derisively said, " Why 
 do n't you go to the Turks ? We are Christians, as 
 well as you. We do not wish the Prote Bible ; it 
 only makes people worse." 
 
 <r It is just like yours in the church, Noonig, 
 only it is in a language you can understand. If 
 you would read this beautiful letter God has sent 
 you, you would not curse us or any one. This 
 book teaches us to love even our enemies, and pray 
 for those who are unkind to us. I think you are 
 unhappy because you do not read and love this 
 book." 
 
 " I have to work for my living ; so do my brides. 
 You, who live in the city, have nothing to do ; you 
 keep servants to do your work. Look at your small, 
 white hands. I cannot wear broadcloth" — pointing 
 to my waterproof dress — "my garments are only 
 
LIGHT IN DARK HOMES. S3 
 
 cotton. Then this Bible-woman is paid for giving 
 lessons. Pay me, and I will work." 
 
 You will readily perceive the ignorance of this 
 poor woman. We have to be patient with such, 
 and though we do not answer all they say, we do 
 sometimes think it worth while to make some ex- 
 planations. So I said : 
 
 " Noonig, sister, we all have to work for our liv- 
 ing. Even those you call rich do more than you 
 give them credit for. Come to the city, and see 
 me in my own house. I have only one woman to 
 help me, and my house has six rooms to be put in 
 order each day. We have three meals, while you 
 have only two ; we do our own sewing, which you 
 know is much more than yours ; we have many 
 guests, go out to call and instruct the people, teach 
 in the school, and our own children, too, as we have 
 no schools for them, hold prayer-meetings and 
 mothers' meetings, visit the sick, and do many 
 other things beside. Now your wants are few, and 
 you have five strong women in this house. Yet 
 you do not keep it neat, and your own garments 
 are dirty — " 
 
 "Who could keep clean in such a house as 
 this ?" interrupted Noonig. " I hear that your 
 house is very fine, and you do not fight as we do." 
 
84 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 " The reason of that is that we read the Bible ; 
 and that is what we want you to do Good Chris- 
 tian people from America have opened a school up 
 in Harpoot, where your Bible-woman was taught, 
 and now we give her enough to buy her bread, so 
 that she can come here and teach you and your brides. 
 Do you not think she earns what we give her?" 
 
 " Yes ; they say she goes about with that baby 
 in her arms from morning till night, and her hus- 
 band at home crazy. She has grown pale and thin, 
 poor thing. Everybody speaks well of her, and of 
 Geragos too, for he is kind." 
 
 " If you would learn to read, Noonig, perhaps 
 your husband and brother would learn too, and your 
 home would be much happier." 
 
 " Would it bring me a better house ?" 
 
 " Yes, I think it would. If I had not read and 
 obeyed this blessed book, I might be just as wretch- 
 ed as you are. Shall I read you a little out of my 
 Bible ?" taking my little Testament from my pock- 
 et, I opened to Christ's Sermon on the Mount, 
 and read a few verses. 
 
 " Hear this," I said ; " ' Blessed are the peace- 
 makers, for they shall be called the children of God.' 
 God loves the peacemakers. I think he would like 
 to have some here in your house. Why are you 
 
LIGHT IN DARK HOMES. S 5 
 
 not a peacemaker here ?" I asked, turning to Atam 
 (Adam) the father-in-law. 
 
 " These women quarrel all the time," he replied, 
 " and it needs my cane to keep them straight. I 
 hear you do not believe in beating the women, but 
 what should we do with them without a cane ? 
 They are nothing but children. I mean to defend 
 Loosig, and let her read, and we will see if she is 
 any better for it." 
 
 " But you will need the* Bible," I said ; " listen 
 again to the word, ' Blessed are the pure in heart, 
 for they shall see God.' " 
 
 " See God, hanum ! What does that mean ?" 
 
 "It means that if we are pure, as he is, we 
 shall live with him in heaven." 
 
 " Hanum, if you will persuade my wife to learn 
 to read, I will buy her all the books she needs, and 
 when she learns to read the Testament, I will buy 
 her one with a red cover and gilt edges ; do you 
 hear that, Juhar ?" addressing a quiet little woman 
 who had not ventured to open her lips. 
 
 " Atam," I said, "are you not the eldest brother 
 in this house ?" 
 
 " Yes." 
 
 " Why, then, does Noonig, your younger broth- 
 er's wife, seem to be the head among the brides ?" 
 
86 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 " Juhar is my second wife, and Noonig is older, 
 and much more capable. If you can only persuade 
 her to read, all the rest will follow ; but they are 
 afraid of her." 
 
 Yes, Noonig has a high position in this house, 
 and a great responsibility is resting upon her. I 
 fear she will be speechless when she stands before 
 the Great Judge, and he asks why she did not do 
 her duty by her household. 
 
 But now Loosig, the timid young bride of fif- 
 teen, came shyly along to take her lesson. After 
 that was over we united in a short prayer, and even 
 Noonig was softened enough to bow her head and 
 listen. She rose when we left, and bade us go in 
 peace, and we went away feeling sure that her icy 
 haughtiness would melt away before the power of 
 the gospel, which has already begun to be felt in 
 that home. Loosig means little light, and we trust 
 the true light is to shine through her and dispel the 
 darkness. May we not hope that Atam, whose 
 name means man, will rise to a noble manhood, 
 and Juhor, jewel, will shine as the stars for ever ? 
 
 " I wish you would go in here ; I have no pupil 
 here, but they need light," said Mariam, as we 
 came to another house. 
 
 We followed her, feeling somewhat afraid, for 
 
LIGHT IN DARK HOMES. 87 
 
 as the outer door was opened, and we looked in, 
 we saw that we had to pass close by some buffalo- 
 oxen, which seemed to fill the front entry, and we 
 did not fancy being so near these ugly-looking 
 creatures. The buffaloes in that land are large, 
 horned animals, considerable larger, and far less 
 docile than our oxen, and well calculated to fright- 
 en timid people. But with Mariam for our guide, 
 we went on into the family drawingroom. A village 
 drawingroom ! and we find many such in Armenia. 
 
 There was a stone fireplace on one side of the 
 apartment, but it was quite too dark to see whether 
 those who were sitting beside it were men or wom- 
 en. They did not rise to greet us, at all events, 
 for we were " only women." We soon found, how- 
 ever, from their voices, that there were men there, 
 and they were smoking their pipes. Two or three 
 women then came forward and gave us a seat at 
 the right of the fireplace, and Mariam said, 
 
 " I have brought the hanum to see you." 
 
 " Paree yegar" (you come in peace,) all exclaim- 
 ed at once, and the men asked, " Is it the hanum, 
 the badvellie's wife ?" 
 
 We heard the cattle munching their straw, and 
 when we " got our eyes," as the Armenians say, 
 when going into a dark place, we saw that the 
 
88 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 room was only one corner of the great stable, with 
 a low railing around it. We knew this family must 
 be in quite comfortable circumstances, from the 
 number of animals, and also from the fact that both 
 men and women were persons of leisure. We saw 
 none of the wheels or looms or cotton we had seen 
 in the other houses. The women in this house 
 have work enough in taking care of the cattle, ma- 
 king peat, and cooking the meals. The men in 
 such a family do the gossiping, or "spin street 
 yarn," which they do literally, going about spin- 
 ning a coarse yarn from a bunch of goat's hair 
 which they hold in their hands. Their wheel is a 
 wooden spindle, with an iron point bent like a 
 hook, which they whirl around with considerable 
 skill, spinning as they go. 
 
 It does not seem that human beings can exist 
 in such a room as I have described; but hundreds 
 do. By-and-by some of these wretched beings will 
 be reading, in rooms where the light of God's sun 
 can enter. But how could we urge these women 
 in this dark filthy place to read ? My heart was 
 sick and faint, and in silent prayer we commended 
 them to the care of our ever-pitying heavenly 
 Father, and as quickly as we could we emerged 
 into the pure air. 
 
LIGHT IN DARK HOMES. S 9 
 
 " Just step in here," said Mariam, " and see Var- 
 teeg. She will be so glad to see us, and our call 
 will cheer her. We are at the door," and Mariam 
 called, "Varteeg, Varteeg, open the door." 
 
 Varteeg was glad to see us, and we found her 
 husband with her at home. He did not notice us 
 much, but after talking for a time with the pleasant 
 little wife, who was learning to read, even though 
 she had four small children, we turned to him and 
 said, 
 
 " Hohannes, are you learning to read also ?" 
 
 " No," he replied ; " I have no time. The rich 
 have nothing else to do, but I have a wife and four 
 small children to work for. How can one man do 
 that and find time to read ? Varteeg can read if 
 she wishes, but I cannot." 
 
 " But you need the Bible as well as your wife." 
 
 " How can I learn when God has not given me 
 the time ?" 
 
 " Shall we pray, Hohannes ?" I said. " Will 
 you unite with me ?" 
 
 " Oh, surely." 
 
 " But first you must understand what our pray- 
 er is to be. It is this : ' O Lord, I have so many 
 children to care for, and have to work so hard to 
 provide for them, that I cannot find time to read 
 
 Daughters of Armenia. I 2 
 
9 o DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 the Bible. It takes all my time to prepare this 
 cotton for the market. Please next year to take 
 away my children, and this cotton also, and then I 
 shall find time to read the Bible, and learn what it 
 teaches about my poor soul.' " 
 
 The little wheel he had been turning suddenly 
 stopped. He was not willing to unite in such a 
 prayer, and began to feel that he was without good 
 excuse for not learning to read the Bible. He had 
 felt friendly to it, and was willing his wife should 
 learn, but for himself, he felt it would not feed his 
 family, and that must be done. 
 
 We said a few earnest words to him, and tried 
 to show him that the Bible would reveal One who 
 could help him bear his daily burdens, and bring 
 light and joy into his dark home. He was evidently 
 moved by what we said, and when we left he rose 
 to bid us good-by. 
 
 One more call and our day's work would be 
 done. It was in Lizzie's school, which was on our 
 way home. What a contrast between this cheap, 
 rough room, and her mother's beneath it. The walls 
 were indeed coarsely plastered, only with mud, but 
 they were whitened with a clay wash, and the 
 rough rafters, if unpainted, were not begrimmed 
 with soot. The floor was of earth, but covered 
 
LIGHT IN DARK HOMES. 9 1 
 
 with coarse reed matting, and in place of the hole 
 in the roof to let the smoke out and the light in, 
 were windows, with oiled paper for glass. 
 
 That number of regularly-arranged pairs of little 
 shoes at the door by which we enter, told us that 
 twenty-five owners of small feet were there, begin- 
 ning the ascent of the hill of knowledge. Wee 
 Altom, gold, and her companions, Varteeg, little 
 rose, Oghda, Huldah, Aghaveni,. dove, and Ester, 
 with their alphabets safely pasted upon a piece of 
 thin board, were proud to show us that of their 
 thirty-eight letters, they had mastered six. 
 
 The next class could read words of five syllables 
 in the primer, while each, on a bit of slate, with a 
 smaller piece for a pencil, wrote small words. In 
 this land where the day's wages are from twelve to 
 twenty cents, and that only in winter, the people 
 cannot pay for good slates for their children. So 
 the missionaries import the largest size, without 
 frames, and these are cut up into pieces of different 
 sizes. The broken bits serve for the poorest, who 
 can have slate and pencil for a cent, or less. 
 
 Another class in this school had nearly com- 
 pleted their primer; the next could read in the 
 Testament, and write with ink on paper, add col- 
 umns of figures, and were studying their catechism. 
 
92 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 The class in oral geography marched up to the 
 map of the world, on the walls, and told us how 
 many continents and oceans there are ; and could 
 point to the place in America from which the mis- 
 sionaries came. 
 
 A lesson followed in repeating Scripture, each 
 one giving chapter and verse, and then all united 
 in the hymn, " There is a happy land." 
 
 We closed with a short prayer, and bidding 
 them good-by went home to supper and the even- 
 ing prayer-meeting. The next day we returned to 
 our city home. 
 
 But have we not helped you to see, dear young 
 friends, some of the difficulties the missionary has 
 to overcome in carrying the gospel to these poor 
 people ? Do you not think it requires great patience, 
 wisdom, and love, to do this work ? And do you 
 not see some of the ways in which you, at home in 
 your dear, happy native land, can help us ? 
 
 One thing you can all do ; you can pray that 
 the hearts of these people may be opened to re- 
 ceive the Bible, that they may be inclined to learn 
 to read it, and that their souls may be enlightened 
 by God's Holy Spirit to understand and obey it. 
 
A VISIT TO ICIIMEH. 93 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 A VISIT TO ICHMEH. 
 
 For weeks I had been planning to make a tour 
 of the villages, which I wished very much to ac- 
 complish before the winter snows should come on. 
 I had not once thought I could go alone, and was 
 waiting for Susie's papa to accompany me ; but his 
 work seemed to increase rather than diminish, and 
 I began to feel that I must start out alone. We 
 talked over the matter and concluded it was quite 
 safe arid proper for me to go with our well-tried 
 and faithful Garabed as an escort, especially as the 
 distance between the villages was short, and each 
 night I should rest at the house of some pastor or 
 teacher — " our boys," as we called them, for they 
 were all from our Harpoot schools. 
 
 The day was bright and propitious which had 
 been set for the start. The black donkey was led 
 up to the step, and I felt sure I could manage him, 
 though once or twice he had taken the bits in 
 his teeth, and run away, quite to my discomfort. 
 Garabed mounted his mule, and we set out. I did 
 
94 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 not burden myself with the large bags this time. 
 I only took my small bedstead, one quilt and a 
 pillow, with an extra shawl, lest the cold should 
 increase before my return. For food I put up a 
 box of ginger snaps and some tea, determined to 
 try the food I might get on the way. Though 
 much of it might be unpalatable, I was not afraid 
 of suffering with hunger, for I could come home 
 when I pleased. 
 
 We rode on very quietly without adventure, un- 
 til we arrived at a small stream, where donkey set 
 set up his will, and would not cross. I coaxed, and 
 Garabed used the whip, but all to no purpose; so 
 I dismounted, and Garabed gave him a strong push, 
 when he jumped the stream, and capered off, running 
 some distance before Garabed could catch him. 
 This delayed us a little, and the day was drawing 
 to a close, when, after a six-hours' ride, which my 
 donkey had made seven, we slowly rode up through 
 the trees into the large village of Ichmeh, and 
 alighted at the house of good pastor Krekore, where 
 I well knew I should be a welcome guest. He was 
 at the door before we were, and helped me into his 
 nice new house, the best in the village. 
 
 This pastor is the " Little Gregory" mentioned 
 in Grace Illustrated, where his house is called a 
 
A VISIT TO ICIIMEH. 95 
 
 " mouse-hole/' but he had since moved into a new 
 one with four nice rooms. The parlor was not yet 
 furnished, but as he waited patiently for the house, 
 he will doubtless in due time have all the rooms 
 nicely fitted up. This house was built for the pas- 
 tor by a very energetic man in the village, who has 
 a large family to provide for, but who loves the 
 pastor very much, and not only meant, when he be- 
 gan the work, that he should have the house, but 
 intended to fit up the parlor, or guest-room, in good 
 oriental style ; that is, not with chairs, tables, mir- 
 rors and pictures, as we should, but with carpets 
 and cushions. But the house cost more than he 
 anticipated, and times were hard, so he said, " We 
 must wait for a season for the rest." The four 
 rooms are built around an open hall in the centre, 
 which makes it very pleasant in summer. 
 
 Protestantism has done much to improve this 
 village of Ichmeh. One of the best houses belongs 
 to three brothers, two of whom are professed Prot- 
 estants, and the other more than half persuaded. 
 These brothers are all of marked ability, and when 
 the gospel came to them, they could not stay in 
 their dark, dirty home. Two of them came out 
 boldly from their nominal Christianity, the other 
 believed in heart, but hoped to have all the benefits 
 
96 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 of the gospel while remaining in the church in 
 which he had been born. 
 
 There was a priest in this village also who be- 
 came a Protestant. "His name was Emmanuel. 
 He could not withstand the desire to read the Bi- 
 ble, so he bought one secretly, and took it to his 
 home. After the children were asleep for the night, 
 he told his wife what he had done, and bringing 
 the book out of its hiding-place, he read till a late 
 hour, while Marta, his wife, listened. This they 
 continued to do till the third night, when they 
 both wept over it. The priest, looking towards 
 his wife, said solemnly, " Wife, if this is true, we 
 are lost." 
 
 " If this is true let us receive it," she replied. 
 
 " What, become Protestants ?" 
 
 " Yes," said the heroic wife. 
 
 "We shall have to beg from house to house, 
 wife, if we do." 
 
 " Let us go, then. I will take your hand and 
 go with you. Our souls are of more importance 
 than our bodies." 
 
 The next morning they went to the service in 
 the Protestant chapel, and told Pastor Krekore and 
 the brethren what they had resolved to do. It 
 made a great stir in the village, for it was at once 
 
A VISIT TO ICHMEH. 97 
 
 noised from one end of the place to the other, and 
 people ran to the church and marketplace to find 
 out about it. They had another priest, an old, 
 gray-headed man. He was much excited. He 
 sent some of the men to talk with "this insane 
 man," as he called him, and to persuade him to re- 
 pent of his wickedness and folly; and when he 
 found it availed nothing, a curse was pronounced 
 upon the heretic. They went to his house, and 
 threatened to pull it down over his head. They 
 declared he should starve, threw mud and stones at 
 the house, and said that God would curse him and 
 his family. When Marta went out to the fountain 
 for water, the women would scream at her from 
 their housetops, "Prote! prote ! You are worse 
 than a Turk. We put you up on twelve cushions 
 the night your husband was made priest, and now 
 we will pull you down again. You are no longer 
 priestess, but a prode" (leper). 
 
 Of course this was all very hard for her to bear, 
 but she told me when I called upon in her humble 
 home, that the dear Saviour, whom she had learned 
 about in the Bible, and who had opened their eyes, 
 helped them to bear all this persecution. 
 
 When we arrived at the pastor's house, Marta, 
 his wife, was not at home. She had gone to a 
 
 Daughters of Armenia. I •? 
 
98 DA UGHTERS VF ARMENIA. 
 
 neighbor's to have some washing done. Formerly 
 the women carried their washing to the fountain in 
 the centre of the village, but I think it cost some of 
 them a great deal of suffering. Many of them 
 "were crippled with rheumatism and neuralgia, 
 which, was doubtless caused by their standing in 
 the water while washing, as they were obliged to 
 do. Now they have adopted the custom of doing 
 the washing at their houses. Two or three families 
 join together and have what we should call a wash- 
 ing-bee. The pastor's wife was away for this pur- 
 pose. He set off immediately to call her, and she 
 quickly came, and on her return prepared the even- 
 ing meal of cracked wheat. The little table, as I 
 explained before, or what we should call a tray, was 
 placed on a low stool, the wheat, seasoned with a 
 little meat, was served in a deep dish and placed in 
 the centre, while thin cakes of bread were laid upon 
 the outside, and a copper-dish of buttermilk was 
 placed beside the wheat. Garabed brought us a 
 cup of tea, and some of the ginger-snaps we had 
 brought; wooden spoons were given to each, the 
 blessing was asked, and we began our dinner. 
 
 Their dinner was always a very simple repast. 
 Once, as a special honor to me, they had a chicken 
 soup, and after that was served, a pilav — cooked 
 
A VISIT TO ICHMEH. 99 
 
 rice with butter — and the chicken from which the 
 soup was made. The people are very frugal, and 
 we sometimes think they do not eat enough to 
 make them strong. They have but few luxuries, 
 but some of them have more than Joseph and Mary 
 probably had in their humble home in Nazareth ; 
 and when Jesus went out from that home to be a 
 preacher, he doubtless often satisfied his hunger 
 on a very simple meal. We read of the barley- 
 loaves and of the broiled fish which he prepared on 
 the shore of Galilee. " Little Gregory," this good 
 pastor of Ichmeh, had few worldly goods and no 
 luxuries, but it seemed to me his house was like 
 the home in Bethany where the Master loved to go 
 and rest 
 
 Pastor Krekore gave me his little study for the 
 night. He and Garabed put up my bedstead, and 
 then he borrowed a bed, and with my quilt I slept 
 very nicely till the village cocks told me it was 
 time to. make preparation for breakfast. 
 
 Our breakfast consisted of fried eggs and bread. 
 Then the pastor had family devotions, after which 
 he invited me to go with him to a village about two 
 miles away. Hohannes, a very earnest helper, was 
 laboring there, and had urged pastor Krekore to 
 bring me to his village. He hoped I would be able 
 
ioo DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 to help him by persuading some of the women there 
 to read. I was glad to go with him, for I felt he 
 would be an assistance in this work. 
 
 The donkey was made ready, the pastor took 
 Garabed's mule, and we started out on our second 
 day's visit. 
 
ACROSS THE EUPHRATES. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 ACROSS THE EUPHRATES. 
 
 The day was cold, but I buttoned my fur- 
 lined sacque snugly about me, and rode comforta- 
 bly along over mountain and hillside till we came 
 to a branch of the Euphrates. Across this stream 
 lay the pleasant village of Oozoonova (Long Mead- 
 ow) to which we were going. 
 
 We had to wait till the ugly-looking scow should 
 come over to take us to the other side. Here again 
 we had a most comical scene with my independent 
 little donkey ; but he was at length conquered, and 
 we all arrived in safety on the opposite bank, and 
 after a short ride we dismounted in front of Hohan- 
 nes' quarters. 
 
 Hohannes had no wife ; he was still a student 
 at Harpoot, and spent only his winter vacations in 
 this place. He had commenced his work here 
 under great discouragements. When he first came 
 to this village there was but one Protestant in it, 
 but now he has a congregation of fifty men and 
 twelve women. 
 
102 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 The day he came to Oozoonova he entered 
 his little room, where there was scarcely space 
 enough for himself and the box that contained his 
 clothes and books, and with a trembling heart he 
 took out his Bible, read a few of its sweet promises, 
 and then kneeling down, commended himself to 
 Him who alone could help him in such a hard 
 place. 
 
 He then went to the chapel, lighted a fire, and 
 taking his board and wooden mallets, went to the 
 roof. This board, called a gocknag, is used as a bell 
 to call the people to morning and evening prayers. 
 The Armenians were accustomed to send the sex- 
 ton from house to house for this purpose. The 
 board gong was an invention of one of the early 
 missionaries, and became so popular that it was 
 adopted all over the plain of Harpoot by the Arme- 
 nian Christians as well as the Protestants. 
 
 Hohannes found a good place, and hanging the 
 board by the strings attached to each end, struck it 
 vigorously to call the people to the evening service. 
 Two persons came ; one, the Protestant we men- 
 tioned before, and the other a spy sent in by those 
 who hated the Protestants, to report all who might 
 be present. On subsequent days more came in, 
 the audience increasing one bv one, till the little 
 
ACROSS THE EUPHRATES. 103 
 
 chapel was filled, and they opened a larger one, and 
 set aside one part of this for the women. Only one 
 woman came for a long time, till an earnest sister 
 from Harpoot, on her way to another place, spent 
 a night here, and invited her hostess to go with her 
 to the evening service in the chapel. She consent- 
 ed, and was greatly pleased with Hohannes' simple, 
 earnest words about Jesus. " Why, I can under- 
 stand all he says," said she. " How unlike our 
 priests !" The priests read in ancient Armenian, 
 and though in talking they use the modern, it is 
 only a low, confused sound, which scarcely reaches 
 the poor women behind the lattice-work in the gal- 
 lery. 
 
 At. the time of my visit the number of women 
 had increased to twelve ; but Hohannes was not 
 satisfied to have them only come to church. He 
 earnestly desired that they should learn to read, 
 and it was for the advancement of this object that 
 he had anticipated my visit. He met me, however, 
 on that cold morning with a sad face. 
 
 " Hanum," said he, "you have come at a very 
 unfortunate time. I wish you to see the sisters, but 
 they will not come here," (he had no wife,) " and I 
 am afraid to take you to their houses to-day. We 
 have had a three-days' feast after a wedding, and 
 
io 4 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 the people are well drunken, excepting the Protes- 
 tants and the younger brides. They would not use 
 any violence against you, but they may say unbe- 
 coming words, and I should feel it as much as if 
 they said it to my mother. But, hanum, I do wish 
 you to see the sisters ; I have so longed to have 
 you come." 
 
 I was not afraid, however, and desired to start 
 immediately, and Hohannes agreed to go with me. 
 We went first to the house of a large family near 
 where there were six women. Some of the young 
 men came to the chapel, but none of the women. 
 They were all convinced, however of the truth of 
 our teachings. The youngest had learned to read 
 in another village, and the others desired to, and 
 their husbands would consent, if the mother-in-law 
 and the oldest brother could be persuaded to allow 
 it. 
 
 We went in, Pastor Krekore following. Hohan- 
 nes introduced me to Elmas, the eldest of the 
 women, as the mother-in-law was away. She 
 received me very politely, and invited me to sit 
 down, placing a new large cushion for me. The 
 house was neat, even to the mud floor, which was 
 almost as hard as cement, and it was very evident 
 that these were the rich people of the village, one 
 
ACROSS THE EUPHRATES. 105 
 
 of the "first families." Several of the younger 
 brides were dressed in silk, with a profusion of sil- 
 ver jewelry about them. They had all been at the 
 wedding, as it was at the house of a relative. 
 
 Hohannes brought a large Bible, one of five he 
 had sold in the village. I felt quite at ease when 
 he said, "The hanum will read this to you." The 
 women gathered close about me, and I read to them 
 a part of the Sermon on the Mount, pausing at in- 
 tervals to explain. They were much interested in 
 all I read and said to them, and were quite free to 
 talk to me, even though several of the young men 
 had come near, and Hohannes also. They seemed 
 greatly pleased that he had kept his promise to 
 bring me to them. The oldest, Elmas, said, "We 
 wish to read, but our mother-in-law will not let us. 
 She says it will make us lazy and impudent." Their 
 mouths were tied up with a black cloth, as is the 
 custom with the city brides ; but as they talked, 
 they threw back their veils, and pulled the black 
 cloth down under the chin, and were very bright 
 and chatty. Soon I saw a sudden movement. 
 Their faces were all covered in a moment, and they 
 rose to their feet. 
 
 Looking toward the door I saw a man, about thir- 
 ty years of age, enter. I concluded he was the patri- 
 
 Daughteis of Armenia. J A 
 
io6 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 arch, or head of the house, and I also arose. 
 Hohannes introduced him as the eldest brother, 
 and I invited him him to sit on the cushion above 
 me, as the most honorable place. 
 
 He declined, saying, " I am not fit to sit beside 
 you. I have been drinking wine." 
 
 I replied, " I will excuse you, brother, if you will 
 drink no more." 
 
 I had won him. He sat down beside me, 
 and when he noticed the Bible, asked me to read 
 on. 
 
 I said, " I have been reading to the women ; it 
 will be more proper for Pastor Krekore to read 
 to you," and I rose and handed the Bible to the 
 pastor; but he insisted that I should read, and the 
 pastor returned me the Bible, saying he would 
 prefer to have me. I read to him the Saviour's 
 prayer in John 17th. He was much interested, 
 and said, " It is a good thing to read the Bible, but 
 we are ignorant, and our priests know nothing." 
 
 "I am glad you have a Bible in your house, 
 brother," I said. " I ho.pe you read it daily and will 
 let the brides read also. They too have souls. 
 The Bible is God's letter, sent down from heaven 
 to teach us the way of salvation. What good will 
 it do if we put it in a box, and never take it out to 
 
ACROSS THE EUPHRATES. 107 
 
 find out what it says? I think if you will consent, 
 the brides will all gladly learn to read." 
 
 " Let them read if they wish," he replied, " but 
 let them not speak to me or uncover their faces." 
 
 Here his mother came in, and we arose to re- 
 ceive her, while he kept his seat. She sat down on 
 the other side of me, when he said, " Mother, the 
 hanum wishes these brides to read. What do you 
 say ?" 
 
 " They have no time," she answered politely ; 
 "we have to work for our living. Reading is a 
 good thing, but makes brides lazy and disobe- 
 dient." 
 
 " I have to work," I said, " and can do more 
 from the very fact that I read ; the Bible helps me. 
 It makes people more obedient, and shows us that 
 it is wrong to be lazy. We need food for our bod- 
 ies, and we must labor for this, but the Bible tells 
 us how to get food for our hungry, starving souls. 
 God has given you these brides to care for, and 
 will you keep them all the time at work for these 
 bodies that will die by-and-by? What will you 
 answer to the Lord when he asks you about their 
 souls? He has given us time to care for body 
 and soul too, and he will help us if we ask him." 
 
 " Will he help us spin, weave, cook and sew ?" 
 
io8 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 " Yes, he has said so, but he says, ' Seek first 
 the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and 
 all these things shall be added unto you.' " 
 
 "Well," said she, "then they may read, if they 
 will do their work, and not trouble me." 
 
 Hohannes was much pleased at the result of 
 our conversation, and has a strong hope that this 
 whole family before long will become Christians. 
 
AT THE FEAST. 109 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 AT THE FEAST. 
 
 While I was talking with this man and his 
 mother an invitation came for us to go to the house 
 of feasting, and Hohannes thought it best to accept 
 it, as one of the brothers in that house was the 
 most influential Protestant in the village, and a true 
 Christian. He said I should see more women there 
 than if I went from house to house ; and as it was 
 the hour when most of the men would be at the 
 market-place, the opportunity to see the women 
 would be still more favorable. The feast, accord- 
 ing to the usual custom, was given in the house of 
 the bridegroom's godfather on the third day after 
 the marriage. 
 
 The old lady with whom I had just been talking 
 offered to go with me, and Hohannes and Krekore 
 went on before to make sure that all was right. 
 
 Kevork, the Protestant brother, met us at the 
 door and invited us in. I wished to go to the part 
 of the room where the women were gathered, but 
 he would not listen for a moment to such an ar- 
 
no DA UGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 rangement. I must have the first place in his 
 house, and he would bring the women to that part 
 of the room. 
 
 His wife and several others came and gave me 
 the usual salutations, though they seemed to feel 
 out of place. Altoon, the youngest brother's wife, 
 sat down near me, and Hohannes said to me aside, 
 " If you can persuade that woman to read, the whole 
 village will follow. She has no children, is very 
 bright, and will learn quickly." 
 
 "My husband will not let me read," said Al- 
 toon. 
 
 " He will not hinder you," replied Hohannes, 
 "and Kevork says he will get you a primer, and 
 when you finish that, a Testament." 
 
 " Let Shushan, his wife, learn first," said she, 
 " and then I will think' about it." 
 
 The truth was she was unwilling to be the lead- 
 er — ashamed to be called the reformer of her vil- 
 lage. The women of our happy America can 
 scarcely realize how much it costs the poor, igno- 
 rant daughters of Armenia to read. Many a Chris- 
 tian woman at home would be unwilling even to 
 repeat a verse of Scripture in a prayer-meeting, 
 simply because it is against the custom ; and can 
 they wonder if these poor creatures are held in the 
 
AT THE FEAST. in 
 
 same iron grip of custom. For my own part I am 
 amazed that so many do break away from its tyran- 
 ny, and learn. I often think they manifest more 
 persistent earnestness than would be found among 
 our own more highly-favored sisters. They have 
 everything to drag them down. If we had been 
 brought up in such dark, dirty, cold homes, we 
 should soon be as degraded as they. 
 
 The gospel is producing great changes there, 
 but when will these homes all be changed ? Oh, 
 that is the question so often asked. It was put to 
 me by one of our Armenian pastors not long since. 
 It seemed to him he could not wait for his people 
 to be elevated by the slow means we were employ- 
 ing. Sometimes he was very sad and dejected over 
 the condition of his people. But I told him how 
 long it took to bring our country up to where it 
 now is. I showed him a picture of the first church 
 built by our Pilgrim fathers not far from Plymouth 
 Rock, and he saw that his own church was a much 
 better building. 
 
 "We must go on patiently laboring," I said, 
 " and all the blessings you are longing for will 
 come." 
 
 "But, hanum, I wish to see it in my lifetime! 
 A few years hence I shall be in my grave." 
 
ii2 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 I wish all the people in America enjoying homes 
 made beautiful by the light and knowledge of the 
 Saviour, could have seen this young man as we 
 talked together, handsome and manly, his brilliant 
 black eyes saddened by a longing that could not be 
 satisfied. I am sure it would stimulate them to do 
 more for this benighted land. 
 
 But we must go back to the home in Oozoono- 
 va, where we had been invited to the feast. The 
 copper table had been brought in, and the feast 
 was ready. 
 
 " Please be seated here, hanum," said Ke- 
 vork. 
 
 I politely thanked him ; but seeing the women 
 around the table in an opposite quarter of the room, 
 I moved in that direction, saying that I preferred 
 to observe their custom, and would eat with the 
 women. He seemed shocked at the idea, and Pastor 
 Krekore and Hohannes both protested. He then 
 called his wife and the other women to come and 
 sit by me. But they did not come. They said 
 they had taken dinner and were not hungry, but 
 the true reason was that they thought it unwom- 
 anly to eat with the men. They said to me, " It is 
 your custom." And then they asked, " Why are 
 these women honored so much more than we are ? 
 
AT THE FEAST 113 
 
 Why even our own husbands honor them ! We 
 will read, and then we too shall have a place as 
 equals with our husbands." 
 
 So this helped our influence with the women 
 more than anything else could have done. This 
 was the first time a missionary lady had been to 
 that village ; and the result was that several of 
 these women began at once to read, and when I go 
 back I expect to find that most of the sisters in 
 Oozoonova are reading. 
 
 Kevork placed a high cushion for me at the 
 table, and after the blessing they gave me a spoon, 
 and I dipped with them into the several dishes. 
 There was the buttermilk soup, which is a com- 
 mon and quite aristocratic dish among them, and I 
 bravely ate some of it ; then gladly seized, an op- 
 portunity to put my spoon into the next dish, which 
 tasted as nice as oyster soup. Several kinds of 
 meats were served, and Kevork was much gratified 
 to have me like them, as I certainly did. The food 
 was all well cooked, and the bread was sweet and 
 light, though not very white. I enjoyed the nice 
 fresh butter, adding a little salt ; also the honey, 
 and the cheese from the Koordish mountains, which 
 seemed quite like that of home manufacture. 
 
 After the meats came fruits. They know noth- 
 
 Daughters of Armenia. 1 Q 
 
ii 4 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 ing of pies and puddings in Armenia. We some- 
 times find rice cooked in milk, with sugar or honey 
 on it, and a kind of sweet paste, but these are rare. 
 But grapes, apples, pears, apricots, and melons 
 abound, with a great variety of nuts. These, with 
 bastic, a kind of dried paste, and candy, are some- 
 times used in the cities as dessert, but not often in 
 the villages. 
 
 After our meal was finished, the washbowl and 
 ewer were brought to each one, a young girl follow- 
 ing with a towel. The washbowl was of copper, 
 with a cover filled with holes, and a cake of soap on 
 a little plate on the central part of the cover. The 
 ewer was a very pretty copper-vessel. One towel 
 served for all. 
 
 The table removed, Kevork brought the Bible, 
 and Pastor Krekore read and prayed, when we 
 mounted our animals and hastened to the river, 
 fearing it would be too late to cross that night. 
 We reached the shore just in time for the last 
 crossing, and were soon climbing up the steep side 
 of a mountain. It was dark when we rode into 
 the village of Shukhaji, where we spent the second 
 night, at the house of the earnest preacher, Menzo, 
 and his nice little wife Mariam. 
 
 The gospel has done much for this family. It 
 
AT THE FEAST. 1 1 5 
 
 has lifted them out of poverty and ignorance, and 
 made them intelligent, earnest Christians. The 
 mother with a large family to care for, found time 
 to work among the women after Varteeg, the Bible- 
 woman, had left, inviting them to the parsonage, 
 where she or her daughter Sara would give them a 
 lesson. 
 
 Varteeg, whose name signifies Little Rose, was 
 a native of this village. She had graduated at our 
 seminary, and then returned, and for several years 
 was Bible-woman and teacher. She afterwards 
 married a native helper, and went with him to an- 
 other village, where they were doing great good. 
 Her loss was deeply felt in this place, and Mariam, 
 the pastor's wife, sought earnestly to supply her 
 place. Though often confined to her bed with 
 painful sickness, she would never send the women 
 away who came to her. She would take the baby 
 from the oldest girl, Sara, and bid her give the les- 
 son, which she would herself explain while bolster- 
 ed up with pillows. Sara could not have been 
 more than ten years old at that time. She came 
 to the seminary at Harpoot, two years after, and 
 from that time always taught in Shukhaji during 
 the vacations. 
 
n6 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 GULASERS HOUSEHOLD 
 
 Our route the next morning lay along the side 
 of a spur of the Taurus mountains, whose snow- 
 capped peaks on our left touched the fleecy clouds, 
 while on our right, at their base, not more than two 
 miles away, flowed the Euphrates, its banks green 
 with fields of springing grain; the two opposing 
 seasons a fit emblem of the hand-to-hand conflict 
 going on between the two moral forces in this im- 
 mediate region. 
 
 We reached Ichmeh after an hour's ride, and 
 found the pastor's wife and Garabed quite anxious 
 about us. As they had expected us the evening 
 before, Garabed had prepared a hot soup, thinking 
 we should be tired and hungry after our day's 
 work, not once imagining we were at that hour 
 feasting at the house of Kevork. When we reach- 
 ed the pastor's house, we found we had been invi- 
 ted to breakfast at Gulaser's. 
 
 And now, as Susie asks, " Who is Gulaser ?" I 
 doubt not all our readers will be gratified to know 
 
GULASER'S HOUSEHOLD. 117 
 
 something of his history. He was the man who 
 had been so much interested in building Pastor 
 Krekore's house, and was one of the most prosper- 
 ous and influential men in Icfimeh. 
 
 About thirty years ago, when a bright young 
 lad, he was betrothed to a handsome girl in a vil- 
 lage, about eight hours' ride distant. Both belong- 
 ed to the higher class of society, and of course jew- 
 elry and other gifts were liberally exchanged, though 
 custom forbade that they should see each other. In 
 the course of time preparations for a great wedding 
 began at the house of Boghos, the silversmith, the 
 brother of Gulaser. The invitations were sent out ; 
 not cards, as we send, but an apple, a pear, or a 
 quince, to each invited guest. The women in their 
 long white veils, or wimples, were going and coming 
 at the silversmith's. Soon the tailor was seen en- 
 tering the house with a large bundle, and the wom- 
 en by this understood that the bridal-dress was 
 ready. It is etiquette in that land for the bride- 
 groom to prepare the wedding-dress for the bride, 
 and the tailor makes it, as they have no dressma- 
 kers, the women knowing very little about sewing. 
 The dress required very little fitting. It was like 
 a long sack, and if the bride was very young, as is 
 usually the case, it was taken up under the girdle 
 
ii8 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 in front, and allowed to trail behind. It was made 
 large enough for her when she should be an old 
 woman. The sleeves were loose and open, faced 
 with silk, sometimes yellow, sometimes scarlet, and 
 hung from the wrists from half to three-quarters of 
 a yard in length. Over this garment was worn a 
 richly-embroidered jacket of velvet or broadcloth. 
 It was embroidered with gold cord, which did not 
 tarnish with wear, was quite expensive, and very 
 handsome. The bridal-dress was usually of silk ; 
 sometimes of the richest Turk-satin, scarlet, yellow, 
 green, or purple. Even the poorest must have, silk 
 of some quality, though the money must be saved 
 from other seemingly needful expenses. 
 
 The bride's mother prepares the trousseau, with 
 the exception of the bridal dress, and begins often 
 when her daughter is a mere babe, that the chest 
 may be well filled. Everything is thought of which 
 she can need for her person or house, even to a tiny 
 pair of tongs to hold a coal of fire for her husband 
 and his male friends to light their pipes or ciga- 
 rettes. The number of articles of course is deter- 
 mined by the wealth of the parties. 
 
 When the bridegroom's friends go to bring the 
 bride, they take the wedding garments. These must 
 first, however, be blessed by the priest. He is 
 
G ULASER'S HO USE HOLD. 1 1 9 
 
 called in for this purpose, and after the consecra- 
 tion the garments are folded with great care, and 
 a large handkerchief, often embroidered, or made 
 of bright pieces of silk or calico, is folded over 
 them and fastened with a silver button or pin. 
 When they arrive, the bride is dressed in the pres- 
 ence of her friends who have come to prepare her 
 for her departure. 
 
 In this case the bride had to go a day's journey. 
 Boghos, Gulaser's eldest brother, with both male 
 and female friends, went to bring her. A feast 
 was given to the party at the bride's house, which 
 continued late into the night ; and the next morn- 
 ing they started at an early hour, hurrying on the 
 weeping girl, and leaving behind the wailing crowd 
 of women who had gathered to say good-by. Sev- 
 eral of her near relatives, brothers or cousins, ac- 
 companied her till she reached the house of the 
 bridegroom's relatives, but they do not enter, as 
 they there leave her to her new friends. The wed- 
 ding at the bridegroom's house is a day of rejoicing, 
 for they gain a daughter ; but the bride's friends 
 are expected to be desolate, for they lose one, and 
 it would be improper for them to be found enjoying 
 the festivities. 
 
 Late in the afternoon the sound of drum, fife, 
 
1 2 o DA UGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 and violin, was heard at the entering in of Ichmeh, 
 and the cry went round, " The bride is coming." 
 By the time the party had reached the trees at the 
 foot of the hill, a large number of men and women 
 on horses, and a crowd of children of every class, 
 had joined them. Gulaser was not among the num- 
 ber, though you may be sure he had been watching 
 the cavalcade ever since his keen vision had de- 
 scried it far away. 
 
 According to custom the bride could not come 
 to his house, but stopped over night with friends. 
 In the morning the happy bridegroom, mounted on 
 a fine horse, a man beside him leading another, and 
 escorted by numerous relatives and companions, 
 went to the house and took her to the church where 
 the marriage ceremony was performed. Then with 
 music and dancing he took her to his home. 
 
 Gulaser had no mother living, so the wife of 
 Boghos, the eldest brother, received the bride and 
 led her to one corner of the room, where she stood 
 the whole evening, closely veiled. The third day 
 this veil was removed and her mouth bound up 
 with a black cloth, and the veil, usually worn by 
 the women, thrown over her head and face, coming 
 down to her shoulders. 
 
 This young bride of thirty years ago was the 
 
G ULASELVS HO USE HOLD. 1 2 1 
 
 hostess who received us that morning at Gulaser's 
 house. Her name is Hach-hatoon, or Lady-cross. 
 She had become a dignified, handsome matron, 
 worthy of all the honor she received in this house- 
 hold of fifty souls. Her children and grandchil- 
 dren were now about her, and she seemed a real 
 queen among them. 
 
 She had learned to read. Some time before 
 this, her son Marderose, who had been to hear the 
 Protestant preacher, brought home a primer, and 
 urged his mother to take lessons. 
 
 " I have a large family to care for," she said, 
 "and I cannot find time." 
 
 Marderose replied, " You must, mother ; we will 
 help you/' referring to his younger brothers, who 
 had also learned. 
 
 They united their entreaties with his, and gave 
 the mother no chance for excuse. They would 
 bring the primer and hold it before her till she had 
 actually learned the letters, and then her own inter- 
 est was so awakened that she needed but little aid. 
 She had such a desire to learn that she kept the 
 book beside her, whatever she was doing, and hur- 
 ried through her work that she might gain time for 
 study. She kept it under her cushion when she 
 was making bread at their baking-bees, where they 
 
 Daughters of Armenia. 1 6 
 
122 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 are accustomed to bake bread enough for a month ; 
 and when she got ahead a little in the process, 
 would pull it out and spell bread, or some other 
 word. She was greatly pleased when she could 
 make out a word. 
 
 I shall never forget how she looked the first 
 time I saw her in church with her hymn-book in 
 her hand. She did not go for a long time to the 
 Protestant church, though her husband and sons 
 attended regularly. She went still to the old church 
 with the wife of Boghos, who was quite an invalid, 
 and had for years given the control of the house 
 into Hackhatoon's care. 
 
 Her sons were delighted with Krekore, who was 
 then only a preacher in the village. They would 
 tell her of his sweet words, and won 'her before she 
 was conscious of it. She wanted to go to hear 
 him, but there was Boghos ; would he not be an- 
 gry ? He had said he would beat his own wife if 
 she dared to go near " those Protes." Boghos had 
 always been kind to her ; Gulaser's wife, and she 
 did not like to displease him. His shop was on 
 the street by which she must go to the chapel, and 
 he would surely know if she went. 
 
 But she did not give up the thought of going, 
 and one day she crept along under the wall in front 
 
GULASER'S HOUSEHOLD. 123 
 
 of Boghos' shop, and entered the chapel. She was 
 deeply interested in the earnest words of the 
 preacher, and " from that time," said she, " I could 
 not stay away." Boghos, if he knew of her going, 
 said nothing about it, and his wife finally overcame 
 her fears, and went with Hach-hatoon to an evening 
 service. When she opened the chapel-door to come 
 home, she met her husband face to face. In telling 
 the story afterwards, she said, " I trembled all over. 
 I knew I deserved a beating for my disobedience, 
 and believed I should get it. But when he came 
 home, he took my hands, looked at me, and said, 
 1 Yeghesa, did I not tell you I would beat you if 
 you ever dared go to that place ?' Then he drop- 
 ped my hands and pleasantly said, ' I wont beat 
 you, Yeghesa.' He too had been listening to Kre- 
 ko're's preaching, and was convinced of its truth." 
 The four, Boghos and Gulaser with their wives, are 
 now members of the Ichmeh church, together with 
 many others of this patriarchal family. Marderose, 
 the son, is one of the deacons. 
 
 The history of this family is a beautiful illustra- 
 tion of the words of Jesus. "The kingdom of 
 heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in 
 three measures of meal, till the whole was leaven- 
 ed." . Only it was some little boys who took the 
 
i24 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 leaven, in this instance, and hid it in their mother's 
 heart. They heard the truth, and loving their 
 mother dearly, they wanted her to know about the 
 precious treasure they had found. They won her 
 first by their affectionate earnestness, and when 
 the truth entered her heart, it made her so much 
 more lovely that others about her were won, and 
 thus it spread in the family until the rest of the 
 adults were reached by it. 
 
 Some of the members of this household would 
 be ornaments in any church. There is a Young 
 Men's Christian Association in Ichmeh, which is 
 composed largely of the young men of this ex- 
 tremely interesting family. When the missiona- 
 ries go to Ichmeh, the house of Boghos and Gu-la- 
 ser is always open to receive them, and the good 
 women there are ever ready to minister to their 
 wants. God has blessed them too in their basket 
 and store, for these people are prospering in busi- 
 ness, and are loved and honored by all who know 
 them. It is an honorable mention of one, when in- 
 troduced, to have it said, " This person is from the 
 Gulaser house." 
 
 By this story I have told you, dear young 
 friends, you see how much you are doing, when by 
 your efforts at home you are raising the money to 
 
GAL USER'S HOUSEHOLD. 125 
 
 pay for teachers, preachers, and books, and by these 
 means are hiding the leaven of truth in these far-off 
 and benighted lands. And the boys and girls in 
 America may learn from this story of little Mar- 
 derose and his brothers, what they can do in their 
 own homes and neighborhoods, if they have the 
 love of Jesus in their hearts. 
 
 But by this time you will be ready to hear some- 
 thing of our visit. 
 
 At eight o'clock they sent for us, and when we 
 reached the house we were seated by the kusa, a 
 frame like a low table, with a thick rug thrown 
 over it. A pot of coals was placed under the frame, 
 which was lined with tin. This was their heating 
 apparatus. We sat on the cushions near the wall, 
 with cushions at our backs, and were invited to 
 put our feet under the frame, as you would under 
 a table, and the rug was thrown over them. We 
 were soon very comfortable; it was like sitting 
 over a register. 
 
 The food was served on the usual copper table 
 on the top of the kusa ; and was the nicest repast I 
 ever had enjoyed in that region. But I will not 
 stop to describe it, as I have spent so much time in 
 telling you about the family. Breakfast being over, 
 the table was removed by the younger members of 
 
i26 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 the household, who were in attendance. The older 
 women then came in, and all sat down, while Hach- 
 hatoon brought the Bible, and several hymn-books. 
 Pastor Krekore was invited to read, and lead in 
 prayer, and we all sung. It was a pleasant service, 
 and when it was concluded we continued to sing 
 until the time for the midday female prayer-meet- 
 ing, and I went with the women to the chapel, 
 where nearly a hundred of the sisters had gathered 
 at the sound of the wooden bell. Some doubtless 
 came on that occasion because they knew that I 
 would be there, but this meeting is generally well 
 attended. Marta, the pastor's wife, being an invalid 
 cannot conduct it, and sometimes the pastor takes 
 charge, but usually it is left in the care of Hackha- 
 toon, and her husband's sister Loosig, who is also a 
 faithful worker in the village. Markareed, also, who 
 was now confined to her home with a lame foot, has 
 taken an important part in the work among the 
 women of Ichmeh. 
 
 Most of the women had their hymn-books ready 
 to open to the hymn, and what is better, they all 
 joined in the singing. Every head was bowed at 
 the opening prayer, and one could hardly help feel- 
 ing it to be a privilege to unite with such worship- 
 pers at a throne of grace. 
 
GAL USER'S HOUSEHOLD. 127 
 
 Mariam, the Bible-woman, read the story of the 
 Prodigal Son, and asked me to explain it. We talk- 
 ed about it for a few minutes, and then one after 
 another led in prayer, asking blessings for them- 
 selves, and that the kind Heavenly Father would 
 bring back every wandering child. Their prayers 
 are earnest and simple. They go to God as the lit- 
 tle child goes to its mother, when hungry, and asks 
 for something to eat. I have often felt that they 
 were more acceptable than mine, and I could tell 
 you many cases where answers to their requests 
 seemed very direct, Sometimes we, who have been 
 their teachers, sit at their feet as learners. 
 
 At the close of the prayer-meeting the animals 
 were brought, and we started for the village of Ha- 
 boosie. 
 
128 DA UGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE TOUR CONTINUED AND ENDED. 
 
 The earnest pastor Garabed and his wife Ba- 
 dashan were training their church in Haboosie to 
 be one of the most spiritual in our field. We en- 
 joyed the evening service in the large and well- 
 filled chapel, and the women's prayer-meeting the 
 next morning, at which a good number of the sis- 
 ters were present. 
 
 They were very glad to see me, and wished we 
 could visit them oftener. I reminded them of the 
 hundreds of villages we had to visit, and of the work 
 we had to do in the city in educating the teachers 
 and preachers needed for all. We had given them 
 good pastor Garabed and his wife, who were doing 
 better for them than we could. 
 
 I was glad to find them making so much effort 
 to read the Bible. One woman with a sour face 
 said. " You at the city have nothing to do ; you can 
 read all you wish ;" but a pleasant faced sister in- 
 stantly exclaimed, in a reproving tone, " Soos !" 
 (Silence !) " do you not know that these hanums do 
 a great deal more work than we do ?" 
 
THE TOUR CONTINUED. 129 
 
 After the early prayer-meeting I asked Bada- 
 shan when we could call on the women. " As soon 
 as the smoke rises," she replied. And certainly it 
 was desirable that their close, dingy rooms should 
 be cleared of smoke before we attempted to visit 
 them. 
 
 We went to the most distant part of the village 
 first that we might gain time. We found the 
 women all loved the pastor, and his wife, and it 
 was evident that Badashan was a true helpmate to 
 her husband. They gave her a position above 
 them, and she used this position for their good. 
 She was their Bible-woman, their leader in the 
 prayer-meetings, and in their homes, for she was a 
 model housekeeper. Garabed was earnest, but very 
 dignified, seldom forgetting his cane when he went 
 abroad ; and his people were pleased with this. 
 But Badashan would take her clean baby on her 
 arm, and a bowl of soup in her hand, and go to some 
 sick neighbor with her bright face all radiant with 
 smiles. In her eagerness to make somebody happy 
 she seemed to forget that she was the pastoress. 
 She had a sunny face, and wherever she went scat- 
 tered pearls, which no one thought of trampling, 
 but only of gathering as precious treasure. 
 
 " Here, is a house you must visit, hanum," she 
 
 Daughters of Armenia. I J 
 
i 3 o DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 said. " It is the home of Deacon Hagop, but one 
 of the women here is very bitter. She is always 
 talking against the Protestants, and does much 
 harm, as she is a talented woman." 
 
 We went in through a long, dark entrance. It 
 seemed to me very long. Not a ray of light pierced 
 the gloom, and the floor was so uneven that I 
 feared to fall at every step. But Badashan knew 
 the way, and gave me her hand to guide me. 
 When we reached the family-room, we found it 
 large, and very neat for a village-room. The smoke 
 was still clinging to the corners, and in the top of 
 the apartment, but did not trouble us. A large, 
 resolute-looking woman arose, and gave us the 
 usual salutations, and invited us to sit by the fire- 
 place. We were cold, for it was late in November, 
 and the mountains about us were white with snow. 
 She uncovered the hole in the floor and said, " Put 
 your feet inside, hanum." I obeyed, more to please 
 her than myself, for it seemed like putting my feet 
 into a hot well. The hot air was fragrant with the 
 food cooking inside, which reminded me that Esau's 
 savory dish for his blind father was probably 
 cooked in much the same way. 
 
 By the time I was thoroughly warm, all the 
 brides of the household of forty souls, had gathered 
 
THE TOUR CONTTNUED. 131 
 
 around, and given us the salutations, but none of 
 them sat down, except the one who first received 
 us, who was evidently the wife of the patriarch of 
 this Oriental home. - 
 
 " I presume you all know how to read, as this 
 is the house of Deacon Hagop," I said. 
 
 This was just the question my hostess was 
 waiting for. It gave her an opportunity to say just 
 what she thought of the " Protes," and with sarcas- 
 tic vehemence she piled abuse on abuse, till she 
 had exhausted herself and the language. 
 
 I then quietly remarked, " Sister, I wish you 
 would become a Protestant, and teach us how to 
 live." 
 
 This was very unexpected to her. She thought 
 I would defend the Protestants ; and then she 
 would have a chance for argument. She threw 
 up her arms, leaned back against the wall, and 
 laughed heartily, exclaiming, " You are a strange 
 woman, hanum ! I never saw such a Prote before." 
 Then, calling to the other women, she said, "Bring 
 out the table ; this woman must have some break- 
 fast." 
 
 A little wooden table, almost as black as the 
 smoky walls, was forthwith brought, and placed 
 near me, and nice fresh bread, butter and honey, 
 
i 3 2 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 with some milk, dried cream and cheese, were placed 
 upon it. Then she went to the fire-hole, and took 
 out a covered earthen pot, from which, with a wood- 
 en ladle, she dipped out a large copper dish full of 
 soup, and placing it in the centre of the table, in- 
 vited us to begin. 
 
 " But shall we not have a blessing ?" 
 
 " Certainly." 
 
 I motioned to Badashan, and she, with much 
 fervor, asked the Divine blessing. 
 
 Wooden spoons were handed us, and we all be- 
 gan to dip into the centre dish, which sent forth 
 the same appetizing odor that greeted me while I 
 was warming my feet. I was so impolite as to ask 
 what this nice soup was made of, and the lady, 
 seemingly complimented by my question, replied 
 that it was made of little watermelons. It was 
 equal to the best French vegetable soup I ever 
 tasted, and I enjoyed it highly. I was very hun- 
 gry, as I had gone nine hours without eating, 
 and made a good breakfast, or dinner, as I might 
 as well call it. Our hostess seemed greatly pleased 
 to see me eat so heartily, and to have me praise 
 her food, and turning to me, she said laughingly, 
 " You like our food, and do not defend the Protes." 
 
 " We hold up Christ as a pattern, not the Prot- 
 
THE TOUR CONTINUED. 133 
 
 testants," I replied. " He only is the perfect ex- 
 ample, and it is always safe to follow him. The 
 Protestants are imperfect, because they fail in like- 
 ness to Christ. It will do you no good to look at 
 them, sister. Read the Bible for yourself, and live 
 as Christ, wishes you to, and then you will pity 
 those Protestants who seem so imperfect to you. 
 God has given you a bright mind ; what will you 
 say when he calls you to give an account ? Is it 
 wise to starve your soul, by feeding it on the husks 
 of other people's faults ?" 
 
 I felt that I had won that woman to my side, 
 that is, she became my friend, but she % did not ac- 
 cept Christ. She listened while we read and prayed, 
 and was much softened, but I have not yet learned 
 of her becoming a true Christian. She had a very, 
 proud heart that kept her from yielding to the Sav- 
 iour. And though she could not read, she had a 
 pride of intellect, as I might express it, or a feeling 
 of superiority over her neighbors in the village, 
 which was a still greater obstacle. But I still hope 
 to hear that she has found her perfect ideal in 
 Christ, and, accepting him, has become all she 
 thinks others ought to be. I shall never cease to 
 be interested in her, and in the thousands of Ar- 
 menia's daughters, who, if blest with a Christian 
 
i 3 4 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 education, would fill the highest positions of woman- 
 hood with dignity and grace. 
 
 An hour's ride from Haboosie, the next day, 
 brought us to the little village of Aghansi, where 
 the preacher Hagop, and Eva, his neat sensible 
 wife, were laying the foundations of a Christian 
 civilization, in a very quiet but effectual manner. 
 
 There was little to encourage them when they 
 began in this dark, rude village. Not a house could 
 be found really fit to live in. Yet these good peo- 
 ple joyfully settled themselves in the room pro- 
 vided, which was to be chapel, schoolhouse and 
 dwelling. The villagers looked up to them as a 
 higher class of beings, and came in from curiosity 
 to see them, and hear them read and talk about the 
 new Bible they had brought. Their neatness, their 
 intelligence, and their piety won the people. They 
 saw and felt the contrast between the home of 
 Hagop and Eva and their own; yet they knew 
 that the preacher and his wife were not foreigners 
 like the missionaries, but were villagers like them- 
 selves. Whence then the difference ? Ah, they 
 had been at the schools in Harpoot, and had there 
 learned all these new things. 
 
 It was of little use for the priest to curse those 
 who went to hear these " Protes ;" for they would 
 
THE TOUR CONTINUED. 135 
 
 go. Among them was a carpenter, who, when he 
 had heard, gladly received the truth into his heart, 
 and acted it out in his life. 
 
 " We must have a larger room for our chapel," 
 said he, " and our preacher and his wife cannot see 
 in that hole of a place. We must do something." 
 He knew that the Protestants in the village were 
 few and poor, but with the promise of a little help 
 he went to work. 
 
 The villagers had no money to give, but they 
 promised work. They could make the brick, sift 
 the dirt, and help in other ways. The missionaries 
 supplied a little needed money. The carpenter 
 worked every spare moment, often going in the 
 night to another village to bring lumber, because 
 he wanted all the daylight for building. 
 
 At the time I was there the chapel was so far 
 finished that they could worship in it ; and Hagop 
 and Eva were living in the prophet's chamber on 
 its side. The carpenter had put up this room for 
 them, and a small kitchen, perhaps ten feet square, 
 next to it. It was to this dwelling that we went 
 when we came into the village at this time. We 
 had no trouble in finding it, as it was the only new 
 house in the place. 
 
 Hagop saw us coming, and came to meet us. 
 
136 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 I followed him up the ladder-like steps, and found 
 Eva standing in the door to greet me. She looked 
 pretty in her neat, but patched dress, her hair nice- 
 ly braided, and a small black handkerchief tied 
 gracefully over her head. Her face was all smiles 
 as she led me into her little home — the only home, 
 I might say, in the village. 
 
 Let me give you my impressions by telling you 
 what Hohannes, a young man of the village, said 
 about it. He came in to see us in the evening. 
 He sat near the door, and after I had ceased talk- 
 ing with him, he leaned his face upon his hands 
 and gazed about the room. I knew from his looks 
 he was drinking in its beauties ; so I said, " Ho- 
 hannes, this seems to you a very nice place, does it 
 not ?" 
 
 " O hanum, it is like a palace to me ; I love to 
 come here !" 
 
 I wish every person, young or old, who has had 
 a share in the missionary work, could have seen 
 him as he said these words, and then could have 
 looked with us about the room. 
 
 The walls were plastered with clean mud. At 
 one end was the window, three feet by four, with 
 one small pane of glass in the centre, to look 
 through, the rest rilled with oiled paper, to let in 
 
THE TOUR CONTINUED. 137 
 
 the light and keep out the cold. Opposite the win- 
 dow was the door. At the right, as we entered, 
 hung a rude bookcase, filled with books, at each 
 side a small picture, and under the bookcase a 
 calico-case for thread and thimble, made by some 
 little girl in America, and given to Eva by a mis- 
 sionary lady, while she was at school at Harpoot. 
 The mud-floor was covered with coarse matting 
 made of reeds, with some pieces of Koordish car- 
 peting spread at the sides to sit upon. There 
 was one cushion in the corner, at the right of the 
 window, and I was invited to sit on that, while Eva 
 brought another for my back. The bedding, nicely 
 folded and covered with a coarse cloth, was piled 
 in another corner, and the cushion for my back 
 came from that. This was the palace-home that 
 thrilled the heart of Hohannes, and covered the 
 face of Eva with smiles. And it was a real home, 
 such as we are trying to plant all over the plains of 
 Armenia, and to the very tops of old Taurus. 
 
 How I wish that thousands who live in real 
 palaces, and travel in palace-cars, could once visit 
 this, and then the home of the carpenter who built 
 it, with its black sides, the cattle separated from 
 the sittingroom by only a low wall, and hear him, 
 
 when he said to the missionary, "Would that it 
 
 18 
 
138 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA: 
 
 were not necessary to take this money ; but I have 
 done all I could, badvellie." I think they would feel 
 as I did, that this poor carpenter resembled his 
 Master, the carpenter of Nazareth, and perhaps will 
 have a higher position in the palace of the King of 
 kings, than some of us who dwell in ceiled houses 
 and have many luxuries. 
 
 Woman's share in the work to be done in these 
 villages was .evident here. Hagop preached the 
 gospel, but Eva and her well-kept home were need- 
 ed to illustrate and enforce it. 
 
 The room was too small for me to put up my 
 bedstead, and leave others room to lie down. So 
 Garabed took my shawl and with Hagop's help, 
 soon separated space enough for me, and spread 
 my quilt upon the reed carpet. Eva tucked me 
 nicely in, and although the bed was hard I was 
 soon asleep. 
 
 The next morning Eva had a chicken nicely 
 cooked for breakfast, and we were soon after on our 
 way to Harpoot after a tour of nine days. We 
 were six hours on the road, and the piercing north 
 wind chilled me through before I reached home. 
 Garabed was very thoughtful, alighting several 
 times to put extra wraps around me, but it is not 
 easy to keep warm on horseback, facing a cold wind. 
 
THE TOUR CONTINUED, 139 
 
 " O mamma," exclaimed Susie, " how well I re- 
 member the day you came home. It was so cold 
 that the plants all froze the night before, and in 
 the morning papa came in and said, 'Mamma will- 
 be very cold ; Mariam, you must keep a good fire 
 in the stove.' " 
 
 Yes, and I remember well how Susie and all 
 the rest of the dear ones looked when I arrived. 
 It seemed as though I had been gone nineteen in- 
 stead of nine days, and when I entered our cheer- 
 ful sittingroom, I thought of Hohannes, and won- 
 dered what he would say if he could see that. 
 Before I had taken off my wraps, a villager came 
 in, and ,papa told him that I had been away on a 
 tour to the villages. He looked at me with won- 
 der, and said, "Hanum, how can you go to our 
 dirty homes ? Your home is so light and beautiful, 
 and ours are dark and filthy. We wonder that you 
 ever go to the villages ; surely it is not to please 
 yourselves. Your religion must be different from 
 ours." He reminded me of a woman from Karun- 
 gerd, who once came to our house. When she 
 came in she took -up one of the children's toys, and 
 looking round the room, said, " Hanum, is this 
 heaven ?" 
 
 I told him we had come because we wished just 
 
1 4 o DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 such homes as ours to spring up in every part of 
 the land — homes where Christ is loved and trusted 
 and obeyed, as their best Friend ; but they could 
 not have them, while the poor women were forbid- 
 den to read, and were treated as slaves, or, at best, 
 as children. 
 
 "Yes, yes, hanum," he said, "education is a 
 good thing." 
 
 "Have you a wife, brother?" I asked. 
 
 "Yes; but my father will not permit her to 
 read. He has turned me out of doors because I 
 will go to hear the Protestant preacher. He says 
 that if I will go after the Protes, I may starve ; he 
 will not feed me ; and I have come to the city for 
 work." 
 
 He listened very earnestly when I told him that 
 the Bible would bring all these blessings which we 
 enjoy to their nation, and that he must not be dis- 
 heartened, even if called to endure persecution for 
 Christ's sake, for Christ himself has said, " In the 
 world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good 
 cheer ; I have overcome the world." 
 
 The missionary experience of these few days 
 was to me very pleasant. I would not have it blot- 
 ted out from my life there for any consideration. 
 We called it the " romance of missionary life," but 
 
THE TOUR CONTINUED. 141 
 
 there was much stern reality mingled with it ; yet 
 notwithstanding the hardships and fatigue, I en- 
 joyed and learned much. At other times we went 
 to more distant and larger places, and, did time and 
 space allow, I would like to relate to my young 
 readers the incidents of a month spent in Malatia, 
 a longer time in Diarbekir, and, among others, of a 
 visit to the Kasabah, or capital of the district of 
 Geghi, five days' journey northeast from Harpoot. 
 In some of these tours there was even more ro- 
 mance than in this, but that soon disappeared amid 
 the hard, trying work to be done in all these places. 
 But we always felt that the Master called us to go, 
 and went with us ; and we were safe and happy in 
 his blessed companionship. Some turned a deaf 
 ear to our message ; others listened and were 
 saved. 
 
i 4 2 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 DOES IT PA Y? 
 
 This is just what Susie asked me as we con- 
 cluded our last talk. " How could you leave your 
 friends, and this pleasant home-land, mamma, to be 
 a missionary ? Does it pay ?" 
 
 Others have asked the same question in the 
 Old World and the New, and I would like to an- 
 swer it here. 
 
 It does pay. Soul-saving is a noble work, so great 
 that the Son of God said to his Father, " Send me ; 
 I will give my life for that lost world." He knew 
 all the sorrows, the trials and temptations that 
 awaited him in his foreign mission work, for such 
 indeed it was. He left his home of glory, and came 
 to this far-off world to save us. He humbled him- 
 self and became a little child, was born in a stable, 
 lived with poor Joseph and Mary, and worked in 
 the little shop at Nazareth with his reputed father, 
 who was only a carpenter. It must have been try- 
 ing for Jesus to spend thirty years thus, in prepara- 
 tion for his great work, but if we ask why it was 
 
DOES IT PAY? 143 
 
 so, we have but the one answer, " It was his Father's 
 will;" and he "for the joy that was set before him 
 endured the cross, despising the shame." And the 
 missionary going forth to his work, with the love 
 of Christ in his heart, can say the same. It would 
 pay to leave all we hold dear and go to the igno- 
 rant and degraded, to bring up a people to a higher 
 civilization, even if they are not Christianized ; but 
 the missionary has a sight of the souls that live for 
 ever, and works not for time but for eternity. 
 
 When the young teacher from Franklin, Mas- 
 sachusetts, left her mother and sister to labor but 
 a few years in Armenia, and then to die far away 
 from the home of her youth, and be buried among 
 strangers with not one of her kindred to follow her 
 to that silent grave on the hillside, did it pay ? 
 True, loving, gentle hands were not wanting to 
 minister to " our sunny May," as we called her, 
 though mother and sister were not there. But 
 when we saw the daughters of Armenia weeping 
 around her lifeless form, telling of her youth, her 
 sweetness, and her consecration to the Master 
 whom she had taught them to love, we felt sure 
 that it paid. Come to the place of prayer and hear 
 these same loving friends : " Lord, bless the stricken 
 mother far over the sea, who gave her loved daugh- 
 
i 4 4 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 ter to labor for strangers whom she knew not, 
 because she loved thee." 
 
 The missionary work is very trying. The mis- 
 sionary mother sending her children to the home 
 land for education, may suffer more even than she 
 who sends her dear ones to the foreign field. The 
 latter go, at mature age, and, we might say, beyond 
 the reach of harmful influences ; the former, left 
 at the tenderest age with strangers, often fail to 
 receive the sympathy and watchful care they so 
 much need when exposed to temptations, tried and 
 perhaps sick. A mother was greatly comforted 
 once, whose dear one was sick in America, by the 
 simple, child-like prayers of these poor Armenian 
 women. " Lord, bless the sick child in the far-off 
 land, and make her well, because the mother stops 
 here to labor for us." And the Lord hearkened 
 and heard, and sent healing mercy, when the phy- 
 sicians had said, " There is no hope." 
 
 It is very hard for both parents and children to 
 be thus separated, but I think our Heavenly Father 
 gives such parents special grace to give up their 
 children, and watches over the children we do be- 
 lieve with tenderest care. Such children usually 
 become Christians at an early age. They have 
 trials peculiar to themselves, but these are over- 
 
DOES IT PAY? 145 
 
 ruled for their good, and doubtless make them 
 stronger men and women. I believe that if God 
 calls us to do a special work, he will help us do that 
 work. If, in doing it, we must be parted from our 
 children, he will care for them, and will raise up 
 friends to loye and counsel them ; and more, he 
 will furnish the means to educate these children. 
 Our loved ones may not have all they wish for, but 
 they will have what is best for them. 
 
 I felt this very deeply, when, a few weeks since, 
 I visited an asylum for inebriates, and was told 
 that most of its inmates were the sons of wealthy 
 parents. I thought the poor ministers and mis- 
 sionaries who are practising self-denial to keep 
 their sons and daughters at school or college, were 
 much better off even in this life; and our Saviour 
 speaks of an eternal reward that awaits those who 
 leave all for him. These missionaries and minis- 
 ters might have been wealthy also if they had not 
 chosen the life of self-denial for Christ ; and then 
 how would it have been with their children ? 
 
 I would not imply that it is wrong to be rich ; 
 but I wish every rich man could feel as Pilibose, a 
 stone-cutter in Harpoot, did, who came to one of the 
 missionaries with a glowing face, saying, " Badvellie, 
 I used to have great trouble in my business ; but 
 
 Daughters of Armenia. IQ 
 
146 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 now I have made Jesus my partner, and I have no 
 trouble." It would be well for all to have Jesus 
 for a partner. He will help the poor in their self- 
 denials, and the rich in their many temptations. 
 
 " There is another reason, mamma," says Susie, 
 " why the missionary work must be very trying. 
 Do you not remember the gentleman on the steam- 
 er asked you how an educated lady could live 
 among such ignorant people ?" 
 
 Yes, and he is not the only one who has asked 
 that question ; and yet that same gentleman would 
 go to the gold mines with rude and wicked people, 
 and sleep night after night in a hovel, for the sake 
 of the shining dust he might bring home. He 
 would leave wife and children and refined society, 
 for the sake of worldly gain, or he would stand 
 behind a counter day after day, and deal with the 
 lowest and most degraded in our cities for money. 
 We must have men to dig the gold, and men to 
 stand behind the counter in all right kinds of busi- 
 ness, and we must have missionaries ; but if I must 
 be judge, I should say the real self-denial is on the 
 side of the first. The missionary's work is noble, 
 soul-inspiring, and makes a nobleman of him in 
 this life, and then he carries his treasures with him 
 into eternity. He is scattering blessings broadcast 
 
DOES IT PAY? 147 
 
 in the world, which bring him in a harvest of joy, 
 for Jesus says not a cup of cold water given in the 
 name of a disciple shall lose its reward. And then 
 if he is instrumental in saving one soul, that one 
 may save another, and so the work goes on ; and 
 all these souls he will find at last in his Father's 
 house in heaven. It is true that all our daily busi- 
 ness, if done with an eye single to the glory of God, 
 will be rewarded ; but to lead souls to Christ will 
 ever be our noblest work on earth, and will be 
 crowned with the highest and best recompense. 
 
 It is moreover trying, to go to a strange land, 
 and live among a people with a strange language, 
 and strange habits and customs. We often feel 
 " bound on four sides," as the Armenians say, but 
 then is the time to look up. When difficulties 
 thicken, and we are tempted to think we may have 
 taken the wrong path, we pull out our " marching 
 orders," and hear the Master say, "Go ye into all 
 the world and preach the Gospel to every creature," 
 and " Lo, I am with you alw'ay, even unto the end 
 of the world."- 
 
 It is trying to be called " Satan,"' " the Evil 
 One," " a leather face," " a leper," " a wolf in sheep's 
 clothing ;" but we read, " If they have called the 
 master of the house Beelzebub, how much more 
 
i 4 8 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 shall they call them of his household ?" It is hard 
 to be stoned by a mob of women, to whom you are 
 trying to give that gospel which alone can bring 
 them up from their degraded condition. It is hard 
 to have a crowd of women, yelling and shrieking, 
 turn you out of doors at midnight, with nothing to 
 shelter you from the pitiless November storm 
 among the mountains. It is hard to have a woman 
 drive you from her house, crying, " You shall never 
 read that Bible here, not even on my doorstep. 
 Begone, you dividers of families, you bringers of a 
 new religion !" It is harder still to have those for 
 whom you have faithfully labored tell you that yon 
 shall do no more for them, and perhaps accuse you 
 of taking that which was given for them. But the 
 hardest of all to the missionary is to have those 
 who once bade fair to be earnest workers for Jesus, 
 turn back, and, Judas-like, betray him. 
 
 But these dark clouds all have a silver lining. 
 Yes, sometimes the lining is of a golden hue, it 
 even sparkles like the diamond. Among these 
 strange ones comes a poor woman who seizes your 
 hands, and, with tears flowing fast down her with- 
 ered cheeks, says, " Hanum, teach me how to pray." 
 She has been to Jerusalem on a long pilgrimage. 
 She will tell you that she has looked into the Sav- 
 
DOES IT PAY 7 
 
 149 
 
 viour's sepulchre, and wept as Mary did ; that she 
 has stood on Calvary's mountain, and seen the 
 cross upon which her Saviour died, and has taken 
 her hard-earned money to the priest to have a tick- 
 et to heaven printed with indelible ink upon her 
 arm. The image of Christ upon the cross has been 
 pricked into her quivering flesh, to teach her that 
 her Redeemer has suffered for her. What more 
 could this heroic woman do ? Is she not safe ? 
 She thought so. Her neighbors looked upon her 
 as holy, as one to be honored. But the Bible has 
 been read in her home, and old Haji Anna has heard, 
 " Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see 
 God." . She had not found him who could purify 
 the heart. The missionary has the golden privi- 
 lege of leading her to the fountain where she may 
 wash and be clean, and now she is casting her 
 crown at His feet who redeemed her with his pre- 
 cious blood. 
 
 Come to the house of one of Christ's little ones 
 and hear what she says, when a sorrow with a 
 gloom darker than death overshadows her home, 
 and rests most heavily upon her manly son, whose 
 wife must be given up for attempted murder. 
 " Let this not fall on Christ, and his little flock ; 
 let it fall on me and my father's house." Here is 
 
ISO DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 love to Christ's cause that shines above the love of 
 the mother. Does it not pay to bring out of dead 
 formalism a life such as this ? 
 
 Did it not pay to teach little humpbacked Ko- 
 lar, the yVzeW found on the side of old Taurus, who, 
 when " bound on four sides," learned to looked up, 
 up beyond the peaks of her native mountains, till 
 she saw Him who alone could open the way for her ? 
 
 Yes, sometimes there was even compound in- 
 terest, as in 'the case of the women who mobbed 
 the missionary. He afterwards found them with 
 their " Gospel-hole " in the wall, trying to get from 
 the chapel a few crumbs of the bread of life. Oh, 
 how sweet it was to preach to them there ! Perhaps 
 you have never heard of this " Gospel-hole." When 
 Susie's papa first went to the city of Choonkoosh, 
 the women mobbed him. At a subsequent visit one 
 of these same Amazonian women, got into a room 
 next to the chapel, and made a little hole through 
 the wall, in order to hear the missionary preach. 
 And again, still later, when they heard that he was 
 coming, and their new church was not quite ready 
 for use, they got up a plastering bee, some mounting 
 the ladder, trowel in hand, while others passed up 
 the plaster, that when the missionary reached the 
 place he might preach to them in the new house. 
 
DOES IT FAY? 
 
 151 
 
 They were like the unpolished diamonds, needing 
 only to be brought under the Master workman's 
 hand to come out jewels of the first order. 
 
 Did it pay the missionary woman, who went to 
 the little room on the housetop, and with stammer- 
 ing tongue taught the five or six little girls who 
 came in there to learn to read ? That little school 
 has grown into the Female Department of Armenia 
 College, where Miss West, Miss Fritcher, Mrs. 
 Williams, and Miss. Warfield, of sainted memory, 
 have taught, and Misses Seymour and Bush are 
 still teaching. Ask these grand women, whose 
 superiors America cannot furnish, whether it pays 
 to leave the land they love, and the friends dear as 
 life, to labor among Armenia's daughters. Well 
 might they point for answer to our Mount Holyoke 
 in Eden, where there is almost a continuous revival, 
 and very few leave the school without giving evi- 
 dence that they belong to Christ, and expressing a 
 desire to labor for their people. 
 
 They would point you to the nearly two hun- 
 dred laborers who have gone out from this nursery 
 of piety, to labor for their benighted sisters. Among 
 these, is Amy, the once rude girl from a Koordish 
 home. They would take you to the examination 
 of her school, where the tall, dignified teacher goes 
 
152 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 through the exercises in a way that makes your 
 very heart thrill with intense interest. Listen to 
 her little girls as they recite their Bible lesson. 
 Can the children in our American Sabbath-schools 
 do better ? Three short years ago that teacher was 
 a poor wanderer among the Anti-Taurus moun- 
 tains, without a ray of gospel light to cheer her 
 wretched life. 
 
 They would tell you what Kohar, the humpback, 
 is doing for Egin's proud sisters, who felt that no 
 one could teach them. But she is the one God has 
 chosen from a mean mountain village, to honor in 
 this work. He brings one of Egin's "honorable 
 women," clad in her silks, her hair white with the 
 frost of seventy winters, to sit at Kohar's feet and 
 learn to read God's word. No longer need the 
 little cripple fear to go from house to house, for 
 Nazloo Hanum is her pupil now, and none insult 
 her. No longer does she write, "I am alone; I 
 have no friends here, and I long for the dear teach- 
 ers and friends in Harpoot ;" but, " Praise the Lord 
 with me, he has given me twelve sisters and many 
 children, whom I cannot leave even to come back 
 to my loved work of teaching in the Seminary. 
 You can get another teacher, but who, will care for 
 the sisters and children here if I leave them ?" 
 
DOES IT PAY? 153 
 
 Then there are the Mariams and Martas, the 
 Annas, the Saras and the Markareeds, doing in 
 scores of villages, on plain and mountain-side, the 
 blessed work of introducing Christian homes which 
 we saw Eva doing in Aghansi, while schools taught 
 by pupils of our Seminary are preparing hundreds 
 of intelligent women to adorn and perpetuate these 
 homes. Three years ago, in the 89 Protestant 
 schools in the Harpoot mission field, there were, 
 with 2,080 young men and boys under instruction, 
 965 girls; while 610 men and women were taught 
 by " little teachers," who went from house to house 
 to give lessons — a total of 3,655 persons under Bible 
 instruction, leaving out of the estimate the large 
 number taught in Armenian schools, which had 
 been opened as a result of missionary influence. 
 
 Thus we see that thousands of the daughters of 
 Armenia are waking up, and coming out of the 
 bondage of ignorance, superstition, and degradation, 
 to a new life of intelligent Christian civilization. 
 Of the 1,200 members of churches, more than a 
 third are women, and the proportion of female mem- 
 bers is constantly increasing. 
 
 Come with me to the wilds of Koordistan, more 
 than a week's journey from Harpoot, where, until 
 recently, woman was too ignorant even to call on the 
 
 Daughters of Armenia. 20 
 
154 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 saints, or the " mother of God, "and in her distress 
 could only pray to the brazen bird on the Yezidee 
 military standard, " O holy bird, hear us !" Here, 
 patient, gentle Sara, the wife of Kavme, the Koor- 
 dish missionary, laid down her life after a few years' 
 toil, but having labored long enough to convince 
 some scores of the degraded sisters of these wilds 
 what a Christian home may be. Kavme was the 
 first missionary sent out by the evangelical churches 
 of Harpoot. 
 
 It was no small trial for Sara to leave her 
 friends, and go among such a people, but I am 
 sure that as she looks down now upon that inter- 
 esting work in dark Koordistan, she feels that it 
 has more than paid. 
 
 Or come with me to Husenik, Hooelie, Hula- 
 kegh, Percheng, Palu, Egin, and a score of other 
 towns and cities, and see the crowds who gladly 
 come to meet the missionary lady, crowds whose 
 hostility, a few years ago, was only equalled by 
 their ignorance. Notice the eagerness with which 
 many of them listen to the story of the cross, hear 
 the earnest prayers of some, and learn the story of 
 their home-life, their struggle to rise, of the slow 
 and painful but real progress they are making, and 
 you will say, " Pay ! why, it seems as if nowhere 
 
DOES IT PAY* 155 
 
 can work for Jesus be found which pays like this ! 
 I, too, must be a missionary !" 
 
 Many there are among these, it is true, who sad- 
 den our hearts by turning in scorn or indifference 
 away from the gospel message. But multitudes do 
 this on this side the ocean. We do not need to go 
 to Armenia to find those to whom the gospel mes- 
 sage is proving a savor of death unto death. For 
 such let us labor more earnestly. And for such as 
 we cannot reach by personal influence, let us labor 
 by prayer, and by contributions, sanctified by pray- 
 er. 
 
 Yes, this work does pay ; and every follower of 
 Christ, whether old or young, rich or poor, should 
 have some share in it. How can any who bear the 
 name of Christ be indifferent to such a work — His 
 work ? 
 
 And we cannot but rejoice that many Christians 
 are awake to this blessed work, and we have seen 
 how, as one fruit of their prayers, and gifts, and la- 
 bors, Armenia's daughters are coming up to take 
 their places with us as workers for Christ. But, in 
 our joy over these, let us not forget the millions of 
 that land who are still sunk in little better than pa- 
 gan ignorance, and among these their conquerors 
 and rulers the proud followers of Mohammed. For 
 
156 DAUGHTERS OF ARMENIA. 
 
 them too a work is beginning in the Seminary, in a 
 daily Turkish lesson, the aim of which is to prepare 
 Armenia's daughters to tell the gospel story to their 
 Moslem despisers and oppressors. May we not 
 hope and believe that God has in store for these res 
 cued Armenians the great privilege of carrying this 
 gospel, which has elevated them, to the daughters of 
 Islam who dwell in their country ? 
 
 DOES IT PA Y? 
 
 To darkness and to sin enslaved, 
 
 In Satan's power I lay; 
 King Jesus broke my bonds — I'm saved; 
 
 You ask me, " Does it pay?" 
 
 Rather ask Him, who suffered all, 
 
 Gave all the gain to me, 
 Endured the scourge, the thorns, the cross, 
 
 That I might rescued be. 
 
 He tells me he is satisfied ; 
 
 He loves to save from sin ; 
 On earth his constant, only joy 
 
 Was bringing sinners in. 
 
 And now he wears a glorious crown, 
 
 Enthroned in power above, 
 He sends his promised Spirit down 
 
 To do this work of love, 
 
 And says to me, " Go thou, and work, 
 
 Lo I am with thee still." 
 Though it paid not, I 'd still work on, 
 
 I love to do his will. 
 
DOES IT PAY? 
 
 I would not leave it, if I might, 
 For all the world could give; 
 
 I love to point poor souls to Him, 
 And see them look and live. 
 
 And then He tells me, by-and-by 
 
 He will in glory come, 
 To give his toiling children rest 
 
 In his own heavenly home. 
 
 A starless crown I would not wear, 
 Nor go to heaven alone; 
 
 My Saviour gives me work to do, 
 I '11 toil on till 't is done. 
 
 Sisters and children, will you help 
 
 In such a work as this ? 
 Then by-and-by we '11 share its joy 
 
 In heaven's unending bliss. 
 
 4 
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 ,n,ER. ARY 0F CONGRESS 
 
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