Departure of the first party. Mohammed Ali’s firman, and alarm of
the Governor. Sickness of Mr. M. and Mr. Nicholayson. Trials of
Missionaries. Their general character and qualifications. Moonlight
view of Jerusalem, and reflections. Arrival of the second party.
Interview with the Governor. Visit to Bethany. Departure from
Jerusalem.
Our party, with a good store of relics, olive canes from the Mount
of Olives, and other memorials of their visit, left Jerusalem on the
morning of the 20th; their early departure being occasioned by a desire
to give the officers, who had remained in charge of the ships, also an
opportunity of visiting the city.
While we were preparing to sail from Alexandria, the Egyptian monarch
had ordered to be prepared for Commodore Patterson a letter of
introduction to Ibrahim Pasha, and a firman for all Syria, worded in
strong terms of kindness, commanding all persons, whether in authority
or otherwise, to treat him, and those with him, with the same respect
and attention that they would show personally to Mohammed Ali himself.
The Commodore, during his stay in Jerusalem, had made an official call
on the Governor, but not finding him at home, had made no use of the
firman. Just, however, as the party were preparing to leave the city,
the Governor heard of it, probably through the Pasha of Jaffa, where
it had been used, and in great alarm sent immediately to apologize for
not having shown the party greater attentions. When they reached the
gate this morning, they found on the outside a double file of soldiers,
who presented arms, and the Governor himself here joined the Commodore,
and accompanied him some distance from the city. He regretted that
he had not had official notice of our coming, so that he might have
prepared accommodations for the party; and said that when the second
company should arrive, they would find a commodious house ready for
them. We certainly, however, had no cause of complaint; for we had
every where been treated with respect and kindness; and the Governor’s
offer of a large escort to the plain of Jordan I have already noticed.
The anecdote will show the dread in which the Egyptian Pasha is held
through all his dominions.
I did not accompany the party back, having received permission to
remain till the second company should conclude their visit. Mr. M.,
our sailing-master, who was ill of a fever, and unable to ride, was
also left behind; and as the fever began to increase rapidly upon him,
we accepted Mr. Nicholayson’s invitation, and had him placed in more
comfortable quarters at the Missionary house. But Mr. Nicholayson was
now himself becoming seriously ill. His health had been for some time
feeble; and recent exposure to the sun, and fatigue, had brought on
sickness. It was now evident that a violent fever was burning in his
veins. There was no nurse in the house, and I removed also from the
convent to this hospital, for such Mr. N.’s dwelling had now literally
become.
I shall not soon forget the night that followed these changes, a night
of the deepest anxiety and distress. In the lower part of the house
was a little girl, daughter of the Armenian patriarch of Beirout, put
here to board, sick with the ophthalmia; two servants were also ill
of fevers, and unable to help themselves; Mrs. N. was just recovering
from a long sickness, and durst not expose herself to fatigue. In one
corner of the room with me was Mr. M., restless, and in a burning heat,
and on an adjoining bed was stretched Mr. N., now in a high fever, and
quite delirious. For the others we could find some medicines tolerably
appropriate, but the case of the last gentleman baffled our judgment,
and there was not a physician to be had in the place. It was sad to
be compelled to sit and listen to his ravings, and to see the disease
hourly taking stronger hold upon him, and know not what to do. The
ruling passion of his life was still prevailing, even in his wildest
fancies; and his language was about the mission and its friends, or
else he was disputing with the Jewish Rabbis, and quoting Hebrew
from their voluminous authors. Thus wore the night away, a long and
distressing night; and the day brought no relief, for we had the grief
to see our friend sinking fast under his fiery disease. The fever left
him towards evening, but as weak as an infant, and now particularly
needing assistance which we knew not how to give; for the disease
appeared to be of a complicated nature, and the little medicine which
we ventured to administer, had done harm rather than good. If I could
picture that missionary family as I saw it there, the scene would, I
think, be a refutation of the charges of those who seem to think that
missionaries go abroad for selfish and unworthy purposes. They had just
passed through times of alarm and distress, such as persons seldom,
and in our homes are never, called to witness; a city for days rocked
and shattered by earthquakes, till the affrighted inhabitants knew
not where to fly, and then plundered by fierce and lawless men. Their
house had been pierced with cannon balls, and they were compelled to
fly from one place to another for shelter; one of their company, whose
health had been too feeble for these rude shocks, they had carried to
the tomb, and had buried her beside another martyr in the same cause
of missions.[72] In the house were now six invalids, some very ill,
and one, the head of the family, apparently at the point of death; nor
was there a physician to be any where found.--And the grave which we
expected to dig for him was soon after this, dug for another of the
mission family, Dr. Dodge, whom we met on the way as we were returning
to Jaffa. Yet they keep their ground, undismayed by dangers and death;
suffering discomforts with cheerfulness; patient amid rebuffs, and with
a zeal that tries, even in subjects of disappointment, to find new
sources of hope, and that “fainteth not, neither is weary.” Nine months
after this, as our ship was lying in Gibraltar bay, I heard that Mrs.
Nicholayson was on board an English brig that, after suffering severely
in a storm, had just come in and anchored; and procuring a boat, I went
within speaking distance, for the brig was in quarantine, and we were
not permitted to go on board. She was then taking her little children
to England for the purpose of putting them to school, and among society
less hurtful to youthful minds than that of the east; and after thus
leaving them, was to return to her far distant and now childless home.
If in all this is not a picture of self-denial, and patient endurance,
and Christian boldness, and painful sacrifice, I do not know what is;
and yet it is only a plain statement of facts. In our ships we are apt
to complain of discomforts; and yet we have plenty of medicines, and
good surgical attendance, food such as we are accustomed to at home,
and society and abundance of comforts of every kind; and yet it seems
a hard case to be three years from home; and I now speak of ships in
particular, because their inmates know what it is to be a long time
from one’s native land. But suppose it were for life; and a life
separated from the comforts to which we have been accustomed, shut
out in a great measure from intelligent society; a life of drudgery
too, offering knowledge to those who care not for it; simplifying its
nature, and bringing it to the capacities of all, and yet exciting
little interest, and perhaps a sneer? Is this a life to be sought for,
for the sake of worldly considerations? I think not. There is only
one way in which we can reconcile it even with common sense; and that
is, by supposing that missionaries are sincere; that they love their
work; that the promises of the gospel, and the cheering influences of
heavenly grace, support them; and that they look to eternity for their
exceeding great reward. And when we look at them in this point of view,
how engaging is their work, and how Godlike the errand on which they
are gone? And it was a truly noble act in that church which I now love
doubly to call my own--the Episcopal church,--when, at the last General
Convention, its clerical and lay deputies from all parts of the country
unanimously resolved that the whole Episcopal church be hereafter a
Missionary Society; and declared that the cause of missions is the
cause of religion, and a love for missions an essential part of the
Christian character.
As regards the missionaries themselves, I do not know any class of
men that presents, as a body, a more respectable array of talent or
intelligence than this; and if any one should be disposed to doubt
the fact, the proof is very easily to be found. He has only to take
their reports to their several societies, their letters and published
addresses to the public, and when he has read them, I will challenge
him to produce from any other class of men, productions so uniformly
correct in style, so free from puerilities, and so abundant in useful
facts and valuable sentiments. In geography and statistics, in
mineralogy, in geology, and in various other matters of science, they
have furnished us with a mass of most valuable information from all
parts of the world; their observations are minute, and generally very
correct; and if the world were to receive no other benefit than the
knowledge which their papers have scattered among our community, it
would be recompensed for the money bestowed upon them. I do not wish
to write their panegyric, but to defend them from charges which I have
often heard brought against them; and the defence is a simple statement
of facts which are before the public, and to which any man who chooses
may have access. As to the charge that the pictures they give of their
successes are over-wrought, I believe it often to be just; and it is
not strange that men who have given their lives to one great subject,
and are filled with zeal and are in earnest about it, should sometimes
over-rate their influence, or, in the excitement of supposed or real
success, should draw a picture more highly colored than a cooler
observation of facts would warrant. But this, I believe, is the extent
of their offending; they themselves appear to have been taught by
experience greater distrust and caution in these matters; and their
recent accounts will be found to be more stamped with prudence, and
more the result of cool and calm observation, than they formerly were;
while they show no diminution of interest in their great work. I cannot
help again earnestly recommending their letters and reports home, and
repeating that these reports, coming from so large a number of men, and
so variously situated, are remarkable for perspicuity of style, and for
simplicity and yet force of expression.
The night of the 21st passed away like the preceding one, a long night,
and one of great anxiety; life seemed to be hanging by so brittle a
thread, that the least shock appeared capable of breaking it. I stole
now and then from the sick man’s couch, and looked out upon the city,
bathed in moonlight, and hushed in the deepest repose. How quiet! how
tranquil! Could this be the Jerusalem where, in a short time, 1,100,000
had perished amid the horrors of war?
The view from my window took in the Mount of Olives, the dark wall-like
range beyond overhanging the Dead Sea, the mosque of Omar, the church
of Mount Calvary, and a large portion of the city; and offered subjects
for solemn and useful contemplation.
Could we have the history of all nations written by men to whom God had
condescended to unfold the reasons for his acts, would it--would it
not--appear like those of the Jews? Should we not find what we call
man’s doings very often the doings of God; and man only the agent, a
free agent, and yet, by the mysterious combination of His Omnipotence
with our freedom, man only an agent in working great events; and those
events acts of reward or of retribution from Heaven on kingdoms for
their observance or neglect of His commandments?
Over yon mountain David passed, dethroned, expelled, a fugitive from
his own son; attended only by a small train of attached but desponding
friends. If we knew not the cause of this, it might have been passed as
thousands of such acts pass in history, leading us to as little useful
reflection; but we are informed why it was; and these thousand other
acts in history, are they not retributive too? And will not the same
apply to nations? And, could we see into Heaven’s councils, should we
not find what appears to be the entangled web of national events all
plain and simple--a few simple and general rules, as in the works of
nature, pervading and governing the whole? And would not the first of
these be that the fear of God and respect for his commandments are the
only source of national happiness and national stability?
On that mountain Titus also stood, and formed plans for the destruction
of the ancient city. To himself and to his Roman army the son of
Vespasian was there for his own purposes; but be this as it may, _we_
know that there were also other purposes to be effected. In the 28th
chapter of Deuteronomy, though the application is complicated, yet a
simple principle stands at the head of it all; “If thou shalt hearken
diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, _to observe_ and _to do_
all his commandments, blessed shalt thou be;” “if thou wilt not hearken
diligently to observe and to do, cursed shalt thou be; and the Lord
shall bring a nation against thee from afar,” &c. The passage is too
long for quotation, but I beg the reader to turn to it and read from
the 49th to the 58th verses inclusive, and compare them with Josephus’
account of the siege of Jerusalem; and ask himself if the same rule
does not probably apply to us, and if we have not reason to “fear this
glorious and fearful name--THE LORD THY GOD.”
* * * * *
About five o’clock on the following afternoon a second party from our
ship, consisting of about fifty persons, arrived; and were met at the
gate by an officer from the Governor, who came to say that a house
had been provided, and was ready to receive them. This was indeed
doing things on a handsome scale; and the party gladly accepting his
hospitality, were shown to a large edifice not far from the entrance
of the city, which, after sundry ablutions, proved to be a very
comfortable and convenient lodging place. In the party was Doctor B.,
who immediately came over to see Mr. Nicholayson, and on examining,
spoke very doubtfully of his case. Tired, however as he was, he
immediately offered his services for the night; and he afterwards
persevered in a course of most assiduous attentions, which, doubtless,
were the means of saving a valuable life. When we left the city on the
25th, Mr. N. was yet very weak, but convalescent; and, we were happy to
hear, afterwards entirely recovered. We were glad, also, to be able to
send the mission family, from the ship, some wine and other comforts,
which their circumstances urgently required.
Captain Nicolson, who came with the second party, took an early
opportunity of calling, with most of his officers, to pay his respects
to the Governor of Jerusalem. He resides in a large, but by no means
splendid house, near the centre of the city; and on our arrival we were
detained a short time till the servants could get his women out of the
way. We found him a tall and fine-looking man, with marks of old age
creeping upon him; which, however, did not seem to affect his gallantry
towards the ladies, as he told us that he had lately added another
wife to his household. The usual compliment of pipes, sherbet, &c.,
was paid; and while the odoriferous fumes were ascending in graceful
curves, a rambling conversation was carried on, sometimes about this
country, and sometimes about our own. The frank address of Captain N.
soon thawed the old gentleman’s gravity, and the interview was more
lively and full of humor than is usual in a Turkish divan. The officers
all took part in the conversation, each with proper respect; and the
Governor seemed to be quite surprised at the accounts we gave him of
the extent and resources of our country, the length of our rivers, and
our rapid growth as a nation. If we did not convince him that America
is the greatest country in the world, I think we must at least have
satisfied him that we have a very high opinion of it ourselves. He
seemed to be amused and gratified, and we parted right good friends.
During the stay of this party, I took Yaoub as guide one day, and went
out to make a visit to Bethany. It lies on a pretty steep declivity
on the eastern side of the Mount of Olives, and I believe I have
already stated that there are two roads to it, one directly across the
mountain, and another, much less difficult, winding around the southern
extremity. By the latter it is about three miles distant. There are
now only a few miserable houses remaining, together with the ruins of
a large and massive building, which, they tell us, was the house of
Lazarus. They take the visitor also to a cave, in which, they say, he
was buried; but in all these assertions I have little confidence.
The 25th was fixed upon for our departure, and at two o’clock in the
morning our cavalcade was formed without the gates, and we began to
move forward towards the ship. As we passed on, I turned often to take
another look at the city, whose white domes and minarets were still
visible above the serrated walls, and were now shining with silvery
lustre in the quiet moonlight.
Farewell then, Jerusalem, city of marvels; wonderful, awful, enthroned
in the hearts of men, making a part of the very soul and life-blood
of thy people. City of God! when shalt thou revive again? Terrible
has been thy fall; wo upon wo was poured out upon thee; thou art
stricken to the dust; and yet in thy humiliation, in the very depths of
abasement, thou still art great! Thou drawest to thee pilgrims of three
religions, whose empires stretch east and west till they meet again in
the opposite confines of our globe; they come to thee to worship, they
come to thee to die! In lands far distant and of recent birth, we are
taught to lisp thy name in our childhood; thy scenes and thy history
mingle in our earliest dreams; and in the moments when we most need
comfort, our thoughts turn towards thee!
Mount Calvary! the atmosphere does not more closely invest our globe,
and enter into and support our systems, than does the comfort that
flows from thy bloody cross encircle, and penetrate, and support our
souls. Without it we gasp and perish. Mysterious! that to such a bloody
scene we should have to resort for consolation. Wonderful religion,
that teaches us that by the deep and awful humiliation of God we are
elevated to glory; and, after leading us amid creation, and showing
us that He is wise and powerful, takes us here and at the foot of the
cross shows that He is also of boundless goodness.
Saviour, who hast ransomed us, be thou enthroned in our hearts! We
descend the winding pathway, and the city of our redemption is shut
from our sight: help us to enter the New Jerusalem, and to come to that
Zion where is everlasting gladness, and from which sorrow and sighing
for ever flee away!
FOOTNOTE:
[72] Dr. Dalton, from England.