SACER. AC. MISS. ANGLO. QUEM. IN. PATR. REDI. DOMINUS. HIC. BERISE. AD. SB. VOC. PIUM. D. FIDEL. Q. SER. HUNC LAP. CONSAC. C. J. R. A.D. MDCCCXIII." "It was just ten years after this first visit that I was again in Tocat, not on a transient visit, but with the purpose of making that city my permanent abode. A little party of us soon repaired to the hallowed spot. Guided by my recollections, and a drawing made at my previous visit, we were soon at the place; but in the last few years it had undergone a remarkable change. Instead of the slab of stone with its inscription, which we expected to see, we only found a smooth surface of pebbly and sandy soil, overgrown with weeds, without vestige of stone or mound to indicate the presence of a grave; but the identical surroundings were there, too well remembered to be mistaken. Could it be that, as happens in these lawless regions, the stone had been removed by some ruthless hand, and incorporated in the wall of a neighbouring building? We could not accept that unpleasant conclusion; and calling the sexton, we directed him to dig where we pointed. It was at the depth of two feet from the surface that the stone came into view; the soil and rubbish accumulated upon the grave were then removed, and we hoped the place would hereafter need little attention. But to our surprise we found it again, the ensuing spring, covered to the same depth as before. The soil was washed upon. it by the rains from the whole mountain side, and we found that, were a wall built for its protection, the gipsy boys who made this their playing-ground would soon have it down. The sketch on p. 169 will give an idea of the original position of the grave. "Some time after this a correspondence took place with friends in London, which resulted in a grant being made by the late Hon. East India Company's Board of Directors for the purpose of erecting a more suitable monument to the memory of Henry Martyn, to be placed with his remains in the Mission burying-ground. The monument was cut out of native marble, and made by workmen of Tocat. The remains were removed under the inspection of the Missionary physician; and though it was difficult positively to identify them, there can be no doubt that what was found once formed a portion of the earthly tenement of the devoted and lamented Missionary. There were no remains of a coffin; Orientals never use them, and he was doubtless laid in immediate contact with the soil, literally 'dust to dust.' The monument under which we laid these remains was the first grave in our little cemetery, and well might it be said that it became sacred ground. The obelisk has four faces, on each of which the name, encircled with a wreath, is cut severally in English, Armenian, Persian, and Turkish. The four sides of the base contain the following inscription in the same languages : 'Chaplain of the Hon. East India Company, Born at Truro, England, February 18, 1781. Died at Tocat, October 16, 1812. He laboured for many years in the East, striving to benefit mankind both in this world and that to come. He translated the Holy Scriptures into Hindostanee and Persian, and preached the God and Saviour of whom they testify. He will long be remembered in the East, where he was known as a man of God.' "The grave now lies in a spot every way adapted to foster the holy memories which it recalls. It stands upon a broad and high terrace, overlooking the whole city for whose salvation we cannot doubt that he offered some of the last petitions of the righteous man which avail much.' It is a solitude, immediately surrounded by the thick foliage of fruit trees, among which tall wallnuts are conspicuous. We ourselves planted by its side the only weeping willows which exist in the whole region. The place is visited by many, who read the concise inscription, and further inquire into the good man's history. It has always been a favourite place of resort of our students and native Christians, and they have many a time sat under its shade and expounded to wondering strafigers the very doctrines to propagate which that model of a Missionary had sacrificed his life." After having seen the chapel and school at Tocat nearly completed, and the Mission, as he imagined, in a fair way of being able to support their own pastor and schoolmaster, Mr. Van Lennep prepared for his return journey overland. On his way back he visited the ruins and carved rocks of Pterium, which he describes as "perhaps the most remarkable and important that occur in the whole peninsula of Asia Minor." The carvings are supposed to represent the worship of Astarte in Phrygia. But to appreciate the interest of these, the illustrations must be referred to, which accompany his statements. He then proceeds to notice a most remarkable ancient building at Euyuk, and the rock-carving there, which he thinks are of Egyptian origin, and which he would ascribe to the earliest conquests of that people. The march of Sesostris, he remarks, was as nearly as possible the same as that of Alexander the Great, only in the opposite direction. From Euyuk, he passes on to Angora, the ancient Ancyra. "During the latter part of the seventeenth and the eighteenth century Angora was inhabited by a complete colony of English, French, and Dutch merchants, who carried on the trade in goats' hair, or Teftik. The wars of the French Revolution broke up this colony, and one old man of eighty is now its sole representative. The trade, which has revived, is in the hands of the Greeks. There are some few Protestants in Angora, and Mr. Van Lennep hopes that there is a great work to be done in that city. His preaching there was attended with circumstances of peculiar discomfort; not worse, however, than the experience of one of his brethren at Marsovan, who, being peculiarly sensitive, "never could preach without drawing a magic circle of insect-powder around him as he stood up in the pulpit, to keep the fleas off." From Angora he journeyed onwards, till in due course he reached Smyrna; but we cannot afford to dwell on the incidents of the journey. The closing chapter contains a most interesting account of a visit to Mount Sipylus, upon the eastern extremity of which is the bust of Niobe, and to the monument of Sesostris, near the northern entrance of the pass, through Tmolus, from the plains of Hermus to those of the Cayster. The statue of Niobe on Mount Sipylus is referred to by Homer, Iliad xxiv. 614. He says: "And somewhere now, in lonely mountain rocks, In Sipylus, where dwell the beauteous nymphs, She, through a stone, her woes from gods laments." In the judgment of most travellers, the monument which Mr. Van Lennep examined has been supposed to be a statue of Cybele, or of some departed hero; but we think he has fairly made out his case. We commend the question to the consideration of scholars. He adds, that since the opening of the Smyrna and Cassaba Railway, many visitors come to the spot, and that "the English stand at the outer rock, and fire with ball at the face of the statue!" Upon the important topic of the relative condition of Christianity in the East with that of the prospects of Islam, we are glad to place on record the views of so competent and experienced an observer as Mr. Van Lennep. They furnish ample material for serious reflection upon a question of paramount importance, both politically and religiously. "When, finally, Christianity sunk before Islamism, when her pulpits were silenced, and her schools broken up, and all that remained of her teaching was reduced to a few unintelligible forms, the East established here its own ideas and practices, even among the populations which did not forsake their faith. But things are now changed; Christianity, preserved in the West, and there purified by fiery trials, clothing herself with a civilization more in accordance with her own spirit than that she had found in the Roman and Byzantine empires, has started to regain her former possessions, and push back the foes that have so long trampled upon this goodly land.' The Christian population, breathing anew the faith of their fathers, are throwing off the Mohammedan incubus, and are returning to usages and practices more in consonance with their faith and religious principles. The improvements in the moral, intellectual, and social condition of the Christian population, therefore, are radical, and must go on and become more and more valuable; for they possess the true basis of modern civilisation-a purified and renovated Christian faith. As regards the Moslems, however, it is very easy to discover that the few changes adopted by them are only superficial; the outward coating of their character is changed, they are painted over with fresh and different colours, but they remain the same within. There can be no radical change in them until they abandon their faith, and heartily receive Christianity; and even then, there will be needed, in most cases, the lapse of several generations before the influence of the Mohammedan faith upon the moral sense and passions is wholly obliterated; they must live for some time under the light of Gospel truth before the seed of true humanity, buried in their breasts, can germinate and grow. Nor are these views mere theory. They are clearly established by all the facts we possess, by the character of the Turkish converts hitherto gained to Christianity, compared with the renovated Christian natives; and they are the views entertained by all who have lived long in this country, and have had an opportunity of observing the peculiarities of the different classes of its inhabitants. We are aware that a different opinion prevails in Europe, and that many suppose that modern civilization can be grafted upon Mohammedan faith just as effectually and as easily as it is supposed to have been grafted upon Christianity. This hypothesis is based upon two radical mistakes. It ignores the influence of Christianity in producing modern civilization, and ascribes the changes wrought by the latter to its own inherent power. But the other mistake is still more glaring. It forgets the nature of Islam, which comprises a complete system, not only of faith, but of morals, civil polity, and law; the whole originating from one mind, closely bound together in all its parts, and bearing the sanction of a Divine, and therefore infallible, revelation. It is easy to see that such a system can exist only in its integrity: if one portion be rejected, the whole necessarily falls to the ground. The reforms that have thus far been made by the Turks refer only to matters unrevealed in the Koran; i.e., the costume of the people, the military organization, and affairs of a secondary nature. It has been extremely difficult to bring about these reforms on account of the strong prejudices of an ignorant and bigoted population, who are accustomed to believe that nothing good can come to them from Giaours. But the Koran remains as yet untouched. The nearest approach that has been made to the violation of its principles has been the removal of the hateful and humiliating capitation tax, whereby every Christian was obliged to pay a yearly tribute for the privilege of carrying his head upon his shoulders. But in its stead another tax has been substituted, bearing a different name, and much larger in amount. This was done after duly consulting the law officers of the Crown,' and ascertaining from them that it could be done without really disobeying the commands of the Koran. But all attempts to introduce the taking of the testimony of Christians in cases affecting Moslems have failed, and will prove unavailing. Even were the Government finally compelled to keep the promises which, for the mere purpose of gaining time, they have made, upon the subject, to the European Powers, the judge, whose only law book is the Koran and its commentaries, would feel bound to pay no attention in his decision to anything advanced by a Giaour. So also respecting the false witness of a Mohammedan, as long as it is sanctioned by the Book,' which, by requiring such witness to be accepted, apologises for the perjurer and screens him from punishment, it will be found impossible to purify the courts of justice without denying the authority of that book. The same principle is made apparent in another notorious fact. The Government, ever awake to the importance of maintaining a high character with the European Powers, and of throwing dust in their eyes, have established in all the large cities, where they are watched by the eager-eyed consular body, schools which profess to go beyond mere Mohammedan law, and to teach modern science; and as no suitable teachers can be found among the Turks, the professors are foreigners. But it is found that these schools never prosper, and the only reason assigned for it is that the branches taught in them have an infidel tendency, i.e. they are opposed to the teaching of the Koran. The consequence is, that very few men, such only as have already lost their faith in Mohammedanism, are willing to send their children to them. And they must also be ready to encounter public opinion, which considers these institutions Giaour expedients for sapping the foundations of their faith. Turn, on the other hand, to the Christians, and see the gratitude with which they receive the blessings of an enlightened education, and the proof is irresistible that the hopes of the country lie with them. We are, therefore, firmly and intelligently of the opinion, that as long as Mohammedanism stands, a sufficient reformation in civil and social matters among its votaries is an impossible thing. It will probably melt away like a frozen iceberg before the gradually increasing light and heat of modern science, of civilization, and of Christianity. It may, and probably will, as is firmly held by Moslems themselves, carry back some of its remains' to the lands of its origin. But its doom is fixed, and the wisdom of men will consist in executing the sentence without haste, and yet without hesitation, remembering that these deluded people too are our brothers." POUND'S "STORY OF THE GOSPELS." The Story of the Gospels, in a Single Narrative, combined from the Four Evangelists, showing in a New Translation their Unity, to which is added a like continuous Narrative in the Original Greek. By the Rev. William Pound, M.A., late Fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge; Principal of Appuldurcombe School, Isle of Wight. In 2 vols. Rivingtons. 1869. THIS book contains indications of considerable learning and industry, which we regret to find applied to such little purpose. Mr. Pound's fundamental theory is, that "each Evangelist, by notes of time and particles of transition, intends the reader to believe that he has followed the true sequence of events, howVol. 69,-No. 391.. 4 A |