Comes on the night air, and awakes my ear.'
"If the American Board and its friends and laborers have not done too much
for that nation in a generation past,--and who will say they have toiled or
expended too much?--those who are on the Lord's side, grateful for what the
Lord has _wrought_ there, will be encouraged to attempt and expect the same
or 'greater things than these' for other nations, till in every tongue they
shall harmoniously hymn the Messiah's praise, and earth's ransomed millions
shall swell the strain which these converted islanders have recently
learned and gratefully adopted:--
'E ke Ola, Lua ole!
E ukuia kou make e:
Lanakila kou aloha;
Nau 'na mamo, e maha 'i:
Make oe i mau ohua--
Nou ko makou mau naau;
Nou ka ikiaka;--Nou na uhane;--
Nou ka nani oia mau.'
'O Redeemer, matchless, glorious,
Let thy anguish be repaid;
Reigning, make thy love victorious;
In thy seed be satisfied:
Thou wast slain, blessed Lamb, to win us;
Let us live and die for thee;
Worthy thou of all within us;
Thine shall endless glory be.'"
V.
SARAH L. SMITH, OF SYRIA.
There are some spots on earth more hallowed than others. There are
consecrated cities and towns, from which, as we approach them, we seem
to hear a voice, saying, "Put off thy shoes; for the spot whereon thou
treadest is holy ground."
Such are the places in which Christ our Savior lived, and preached,
and suffered while incarnate. Such are the places where his immediate
successors, the apostles and martyrs, contended so earnestly for the faith
delivered to the saints. Jerusalem, Bethany, Bethlehem, Corinth, Ephesus,
Antioch, and Rome will be associated forever, in the minds of Christians,
with the early progress and triumphs of our holy religion; and the pious
traveller will never visit those places without feeling his bosom thrill
with tender and intense emotions.
On this account the mission in Syria is one of peculiar interest. Founded
almost within sight of Calvary, it is surrounded with many scenes of dear
and hallowed interest; and it requires but little effort of the imagination
to recall the song of the infant church, as it arose from vale and glen,
vibrating on the air and echoing back from hoary Lebanon. It was with the
mission in this place that the amiable, talented, and beloved subject of
this article was connected.
Sarah Lanman Huntington was the daughter of Jabez Huntington, Esq. She
was born in Norwich, Connecticut, on the 18th of June, 1802, and in that
beautiful town passed through the period of childhood. She was educated
with missionary sympathies and feelings. All the circumstances under which
she was placed were calculated to invest the holy enterprise with sacred
pleasantness. In her father's house she never heard a word of reproach
breathed forth against the cause itself or the devoted men and women
engaged in it. She traced her descent from the famous John Robinson, of
Leyden, whose blood came flowing down through a long missionary line until
it coursed in her veins. Her grandfather was a member of the American Board
of Commissioners for Foreign Missions; and all her relatives on the side of
father and mother were active promoters of the work of God.
Under such influences Sarah grew up, believing that it was far more
honorable to do good to man, to be the means of reclaiming the wanderer
from the path of duty, or to bring a sinner back to God, than to found an
empire, or establish a throne, or conquer an army of steel-clad warriors,
or lead in triumph captive kings and princes. Before her conversion, she
was aware of the divine character of the work which had just commenced; and
doubtless her young heart responded to the appeals made by the death of
Harriet Newell and the life of Ann H. Judson.
During the first twelve years of her life there appears to be nothing
unusual in her history. She was like other thoughtful and pleasant girls
of her age, and spent her time in the amusements and pursuits of youth.
At school she was industrious, studious, but not remarkably rapid in her
progress; at home she was fondly loved and cherished; but in the minds of
her parents she never appeared to be a _prodigy_ or a _genius_.
At the age of twelve she became the subject of the Spirit's influence. Her
mind was drawn to divine things and her heart touched by the finger of
God. On the 10th of August, 1820, she realized for the first time the
blessedness of full and free forgiveness. The Savior was precious to her
soul, and holy duties were pleasant and delightful. She had passed from the
deep waters of conviction, and gladly placed her feet on the Rock of Ages,
where she stood immovable. Her joy knew no bounds. Liberated from sin, free
from the dreadful weight of guilt and condemnation, pardoned by God and
loved by Christ, she deemed no praises too exalted, no trials too severe to
endure in return. She immediately recognized the great principle that "we
are not our own," and acted upon it; and life became from that hour devoted
to holy employments and useful pursuits.
Writing to one of her friends about this time, she says, "All is changed.
I am in a new world of thought and feeling. I begin to live anew. Even our
beautiful Norwich has new charms, and, in sympathy with my joyousness,
wears a new, a lovelier, aspect."
The vows which she made, as she passed through the "strait gate" and
entered the kingdom of heaven, did not consist of words alone. They were
engraven on her heart and carried out in her life as well as recorded on
high. Ceaselessly she sought out ways in which she might do good to the
bodies and the souls of her fellow-creatures; and what her hands found
to do, she did with her might. In 1827 she formed a plan to benefit the
Mohegan Indians, who lived a few miles from Norwich. These Indians were the
remnant of a once mighty tribe; and the proud blood of some of their rude
chieftains of former times coursed through the veins of these tattered
and ragged descendants. From hut to hut she visited among these degraded
children of the forest; started a Sabbath school, of which she and another
young lady were the sole teachers; provided books for those who could read;
and in many ways conferred benefits upon them. Not satisfied with this, she
determined to build a church and secure the services of a missionary; and
for this purpose wrote to several of her influential friends, to secure
their coöperation and sympathy. For aid in her work of benevolence she also
applied to the legislature of Connecticut and to the general government.
To a considerable extent she was successful, and obtained the esteem and
gratitude of that forlorn and oppressed people.
The manner in which she visited among the people gives us an insight into
the character of the woman, and furnishes us with a clew to her future
success. She usually rode from Norwich on horseback, and, taking a little
girl with her into the saddle, passed from house to house, using the child
as guide, interpreter, and adviser. When she met in the road a few ragged
natives or a knot of men and women she would stop her horse and converse a
while with them, and slip a tract into the hand of each, and with a smile
pass on. In this way she gained the confidence and love of the poor people
who lived in ignorance and degradation within sight of the towers and
temples of New England towns and cities.
At times the mind of Miss H. was much exercised in relation to a mission
in the western part of our own country. The gathering thousands who were
pouring in from every quarter of the world, the future influence of the
west upon the nation, the wide field of usefulness there presented, were
all inducements for her to go forth and labor amid the mountains and on the
broad prairies which extend towards the shores of the Pacific Ocean.
The idea of laboring in the west was abandoned in 1833, during which year
she resolved to accompany Rev. Eli Smith to his field of toil in Syria.
The opportunity presented by the offer of Mr. Smith was what Miss H. most
earnestly desired. Her heart was set on doing good; and no spot on earth
could have been selected more in accordance with her tastes and feelings.
The long-cherished purpose could now be accomplished; and, after due
consultation with her friends, she was married on the 21st of July, in the
midst of her associates, at Norwich.
On the 29th of August the parting between child and parents took place, and
Mrs. Smith left the home of her infancy forever, and, after visiting the
friends of her husband in Boston, embarked from that place for Malta, on
the 21st of September, in the brig George, commanded by Captain Hallet.
The scene on board the vessel was peculiarly solemn. After the missionaries
had arrived and the people had assembled on the deck and on the wharf, all
united in singing that grand hymn,--
"Roll on, thou mighty ocean;
And, as thy billows flow,
Bear messengers of mercy
To every land below."
Rev. Dr. Jenks then led in prayer, commending the servants of God to the
gracious care of Him who sitteth on high; after which the brig was loosened
from her moorings and floated down the harbor, while the little cluster of
missionaries on board sung sweetly the beautiful hymn of Heber,--
"From Greenland's icy mountains,
From India's coral strand."
The sorrowful friends remained standing upon the wharf until the vessel
which contained the loved ones had faded from sight, and with its precious
freight was far out upon the deceptive ocean.
After a fine voyage of fifty-four days the missionaries landed at Malta,
and proceeded to Beyroot, via Alexandria. They arrived at Beyroot on the
28th of January, 1834. The sketch of their voyage, given by Mrs. Smith
herself and found in her published memoir, is of intense interest. The
objects of interest were so numerous, the mind of the voyager so well
prepared to appreciate them, that a journey on land could scarcely have
been more delightful. The heaving Atlantic; the calm, bright Mediterranean;
the Azore Islands; the long coast of Africa; the Straits of Gibraltar; the
stay at Malta; the visits to convents, temples, and other places of resort;
the city of Alexandria; the Mahometan Sabbath; the grave of Parsons; the
passage to Beyroot, and the safe arrival,--were all calculated to enlist
the feelings of such a woman, with such a mind, as Mrs. Smith, She arrived
at her new residence at Beyroot on the 28th of January, 1834. The town lies
at the foot of the "goodly mountain," Lebanon, and, to the approaching
traveller, presents a scene of beauty seldom equalled. Descending gently
from the south, the whole town seems like one vast garden, with houses half
covered by the thick foliage, and cottages of Oriental style, of brown or
yellow appearance, peeping through the overhanging trees, or standing in
the centre of a well-cultivated spot, like a temple in the heart of a city.
Away beyond is Lebanon, stretching its sunny ridges from north to south,
and lifting its peaks until they bathe their foreheads in the clouds. On
its sides are seen the cottage, and here and there a cluster of human
habitations, forming little villages, which delight the eye and give beauty
to the prospect. Every thing, to a native of Europe or America, is unique
and strange, and has an air of richness and productiveness which surprises
while it charms. The birds, the beasts, the insects are, to a lover of
natural beauty, sources of study and profit; and the refined mind could
scarcely find a more delightful spot as a field of missionary exertion.
The inhabitants did not correspond with the outward scenery. Though the
people kindly welcomed them, the missionaries found a wide difference in
the habits and customs of the European and the Arab; and brought into
connection with the latter, as they were every hour of the day, the
contrast was continually before the mind.
Besides this, the missionary cannot live on the same equality with the
people as can other classes of European or American residents. The _trader_
can close his doors and have his family circles sacred from the intrusion
of officious, meddlesome natives; but this course would defeat the very
object which the _missionary_ has in view. It would shut him out from the
confidence and sympathy of those whose hearts he wished to reach. It would
place between him and the heathen a barrier which would be insurmountable.
So our sister found it at Beyroot. She had no house which she could
properly call her own; for at times, while she was least prepared and while
visits were least desirable, her house would be invaded by a company of
five or six women, who would remain a long time, asking questions and
prying into a hundred things which did not concern them.
And yet Mrs. Smith felt that these annoyances must be endured with
cheerfulness; and when patience was almost wearied out, and time which
belonged to herself and her family was taken up by such persons, she
would console herself that such privations and trials were parts of the
missionary work, which must be endured cheerfully for the sake of Jesus.
The manners, customs, and dresses of the people at Beyroot served to remind
the Christian of the times of Christ, and led back the imagination
through the lapse of eighteen hundred years to the thrilling events which
transpired throughout the Holy Land.
So few are the improvements made in art and agriculture that one can easily
fancy himself in the middle of the first century, gazing upon the people
who from apostolic lips listened to the words of life and salvation; and
under this almost irresistible impression the solemnity of Gethsemane and
Calvary gathers over the soul, and throws a divine enchantment over the
life and labors of the men of God. So our sister felt, as the Oriental
costumes passed before her, as she looked out from her window upon the
sides of the snow-covered Lebanon.
The situation of Mrs. Smith was not at all like that of many other devoted
servants of God. She was not compelled to break up the fallow ground, or be
the first to drop the Seed into the soil. Others had preceded her--they had
prepared the way--they had erected the kindly shelter--they had opened the
heathen mind to receive light and truth. Hence, on her arrival, she found
all the comforts and conveniences of a civilized community--she found a
most beautiful and romantic residence, a land teeming with all the hallowed
associations of sacred history.
Called by God, not to the dungeons of Ava, not to the damp and
monster-covered banks of the Irrawaddy, but to a more congenial field of
labor, she toiled on in it with pleasure.
Mrs. Smith spent most of the time in her school, which was commenced soon
after her arrival, and for a while was "the only schoolmistress in all
Syria." The school house, which was erected upon a plan of her own, was
filled by a large number of children of Egyptian, Arabian, and Turkish
parents, who, under the care of their faithful teacher, made considerable
progress. To instruct the little, ignorant children, explain to them the
mysteries of science, and lead them upward to the God who made them, was a
task for which she was well adapted. Being an ardent lover of the beautiful
and grand in nature, she made the green fields, the blooming vineyards, the
high, towering mountain all subservient to the purposes of instruction. Her
residence among the Mohegans prepared her for her duties in Syria, and gave
her the advantage of an experience which she could have acquired nowhere
else. In the Sabbath school she was also most happily employed in
instructing the fifteen or twenty children who attended in the path of
holiness. Under her labors the school gradually and constantly increased,
and a visible change for good was observed among the pupils. Her kindness
and affection won the hearts even of the Moslem parents, who, in repeated
instances, disobeyed the direction of their priests, and kept their
children under her care after the school had been condemned.
One of the most pleasant circumstances connected with the missionary life
of Mrs. Smith was her visit to the Holy Land in 1835. From early childhood
she had regarded with a feeling of veneration the city of Jerusalem. That
was the city in which many of the Savior's miracles were done; there he had
healed the sick, cast out devils, raised the dead, and performed many other
wonderful works; there was the temple; there the scene of trial, and the
streets along which the cross was borne; there, near at hand, was the
Garden of Gethsemane, the Mount of Olives, and on the other side of
the city the Hill of Calvary on which the Savior was crucified. When,
therefore, she found herself on her journey to the most noted spot in the
wide world, emotions of solemn and pleasing interest crowded upon her mind.
As she passed along, one object of interest after another presented itself.
Tyre and Sidon were seen; and the spot whereon Sarepta once stood was
crossed. Her feet traversed the mountains of Galilee, and stood upon the
summit of Carmel, Gerizim, Tabor, Hermon, Lebanon, Olivet, and Calvary. She
visited the spots where tradition tells us the Savior perished and where
his sufferings were endured; and doubtless her imagination brought back
the scenes of the past, and she might have heard the low, silvery tones of
mercy and grace as they flowed from the lips of "Him who spake as never man
spake."
After visiting the prominent places of the Holy Land, our missionary
returned again to her station at Beyroot, where she labored with untiring
diligence until June, 1836, when, her health failing, she set sail with her
husband for Smyrna, with the delusive hope of regaining it. At this point
her sufferings commenced. The vessel in which they sailed was old and
uncomfortable; the crew and some of the passengers were any thing but
agreeable; and horrid profanity was heard instead of prayer and praise. The
fifth night after leaving Beyroot the vessel was wrecked on the north side
of the Island of Cyprus, and the voyagers escaped with their lives. After
many hardships and much danger they landed on a sandy shore in an almost
destitute condition, and, after continuing on the island some days,
obtained passage towards the place of their destination. The vessel on
board which they sailed was a Turkish lumberman, and in no way adapted to
the conveyance of passengers. But, submitting to stern necessity, they made
the best improvement of the circumstances under which they were placed. Of
the voyage Mr. Smith says, "The wind was high, and, being contrary to the
current, raised a cross and troublous sea. The vessel was terribly tossed,
and, being slightly put together, threatened to founder at almost every
plunge. Mrs. Smith, besides rolling to and fro for want of something to
support her against the motion, was writhing under violent seasickness,
which, instead of allaying, served only to increase her cough. She had some
fears that she should not survive the night; and for a time I did not know
what would be the end of her sufferings."
They arrived at Smyrna in thirty-three days after they left Beyroot. Here
her strength gradually failed. The consumption which was wasting her body
and drawing her down to the grave made visible advances; and on the 30th
of September, 1836, she died in the triumphs of faith, at Boojah, a quiet
little village about five miles from Smyrna.
In her sickness she gave the most cheering illustrations of the power of
the Christian faith to subdue fear and disarm death. Her mind was lifted up
above the sufferings of her lot, and she held constant intercourse with the
Savior of her soul. To a great extent she was free from pain, and enabled
to converse with her husband upon the prospect before her. She waited for
death with pleasure, and was ready at any hour to depart and be with Jesus.
To die was gain, unspeakable gain; and she knew it well. Hence, when her
physician and friends would whisper words of hope, she would plainly tell
them that her work was done, her mission fulfilled, and the sand of her
glass almost run out. It gave her more pleasure to look forward to a
meeting with the loved men and women who had departed than to contemplate
an existence on the earth, where storms will disturb the fairest prospect,
and clouds will shut out the rays of the noonday sun.
On the Sabbath before her death she sung, in company with her husband, the
hymn,--
"Thine earthly Sabbaths, Lord, we love;
But there's a nobler rest above;
To that our longing souls aspire
With cheerful hope and strong desire."
At twenty minutes before eight o'clock she died, with a countenance all
illuminated with smiles, which, after she ceased to speak, played upon
her features, and by their silent eloquence whispered to every beholder,
"Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no
evil."
On the following day, as the tidings spread through Smyrna that the sainted
woman was at rest, the flags of the American vessels in the harbor were
seen lowering to half mast, and that upon the dwelling of the consul was
shrouded with the drapery of death.
On the 1st of October she was carried to the grave. The service of the
English church was read beside the corpse, and in one common grief the
people stood bending over it, while the beautiful hymn of Dr. Watts was
sung:--
"Unveil thy bosom, faithful tomb;
Take this new treasure to thy trust;
And give these sacred relics room
To slumber in the silent dust."
The tidings came echoing across the deep, and in our homes the story of
death was told; and sadness filled the pious heart as the thought that
another servant of God, another heroine of the church, had fallen at her
post, a martyr in the cause of truth. The American Board of Commissioners
for Foreign Missions felt deeply the loss which had been sustained, and
mourned for one whose piety, intellect, and labors were abundant.
Here endeth the missionary toils of two years and four months; and,
uttering words of peace to the fallen, we bid farewell to her memory until
death shall call us to join the blessed throng of the ransomed whose names
are recorded on high.
"Who would not wish to die like those
Whom God's own Spirit deigns to bless?
To sink into that soft repose,
Then wake to perfect happiness."
VI.
ELEANOR MACOMBER, OF BURMAH.
Almost all the heroines who have gone forth from the churches of America
to dot heathen soil with their lowly graves have been attended by some
stronger arm than that of weak, defenceless woman. Many of them have had
husbands on whom they relied for support and protection, and to whom they
could turn with the assurance of sympathy in hours of anguish and gloom.
But Miss Macomber went out attended by no such kind companion. She resolved
on a missionary life, without the offer of marriage being connected with
it. No husband helped her decide the momentous question; and when she
resolved, it was to go _alone_. Impelled by the Christian's high and holy
motives, she determined on a course which would involve her in a thousand
perplexities and load her with a thousand cares. With none to share these
cares and perplexities, with no heart to keep time with the wild beatings
of her own, she crossed, a friendless woman, the deep, dark ocean, and on
soil never trodden by the feet of Christian men erected the banner of the
cross.
Eleanor Macomber was born at Lake Pleasant, Hamilton county, New York. Here
her childhood and youth were passed, and here was her mind prepared for
that career of usefulness which in after years made her an ornament to her
sex, to the church, and to the world.
From Lake Pleasant she removed to Albany, where her heart was brought into
subjection to the divine will and her mind impressed with the great truths
of revelation. She became a convert to the religion of the cross. She
became a convert to tears, to prayers, to self-denying labors, to a life
of sacrifice and devotion. Her piety was from henceforth of the highest
character, and all her daily deportment gave evidence of her love to the
Savior.