The Litchfield County post., 1827-03-22


 of more than a thousand years and we have seen little cloud rising, and gently and sweetly shedding down refreshing showers. We have seen ridicule, and scorn, and persecution, and the most vio- | lent opposition and we have seen the om- nipotence of Gods truth, and the cmnip- l otence of his Spirit, in carrying forward the great work of benevolence in spite ot the machinations of the powers of darkness. We have seen this wretched government convulsed in every part, the picture of horror, and carrying consternation through all ranks of society in Turkey and we have seen the re-eStablishment of branch of that kingdom of peace and righteousness, which is to ''break in pieces and destroy all other kingdoms" and which IS to en- dure forever. We have seen violence and oppression almost beyond the endurance of human nature: men ''gnawing their tongues for pain," and threatening to put a period to an existence so embitterred as to be deemed no longer blessing, but ''re- pented not Of their eUi deeds ;" and we have seen few melted, not by the judg- ments, but by the mercieS of heaven; not subdhed by the wrongs and cruelties they suffer, nor driven by the terrors of the world to come,' but sweetly drawn by the cords of everlasting love, and in the day Of Gods saving power made the willing sub jects of his kingdom.
 Scarcely has day passed for long time, in which our bosoms have not been agitated by witnessing scenes or hearing reports, encouraging or discouraging to us, inspiring nOw hope, now fear. We are a. larmed, ,Ov by Greek cruisers before the town, and noU by the appearance of Mo- hammed Ais fleet. At One time, we are told that Firmans have been purchased from the Grand Signior to siege upon those Armenians connected with us, who have embraced the Protestent faith and ct C. nother, that our beloved brother Asaad Shidiak, who has long been suffering for the sake of Christ, is almost worn out, or >is already dead, from the severity of the treatment which he receives from the Patri- arch. I'O-day,we are troubled at the cus- tom house in getting passed any thing that is printed in Arabic; and are compelled to hear the angry voices, ,and to witness the distorted countenances of those, (not Mus sulmans but christians, )who exclaim, m,"That these books had ought to be thrown into the sea;" to-morrow, we are imposed upon by the cupidity of some of the Emres, and are thwarted in our plans by the hostility of others. At another moment, we have before us Ill the horrors of famine, and are prohibited by the Pasha from importing
 any thing from abroad, except by paying
 such enormous duties, as that it shall be no detriment to his own monopoly and ct C.
 mother, we receive official notice of the
 fear of rupture between England and
 Porte, and are warned to provide for our
 personal safety. We hear of wars and ru-
 mors of wars, of pestilence and famine, of
 carnage and blood.
 And in the midst of all these, and many,
 many more such like things, it is on the
 other hand reported to us for our comfort, -at one time, that there is prospect of
 the deliverence of Asaad Shidak from
 prison and from death !; ct another, that
 different individuals scattered here and there, have, by the simple reading of the word of God, become convinced of the errors of their church, some of whom bold- ly and warmly espoused the cause of truth: nOa0, that light is surely breaking forth up- on many of these dark villages, aud that important moral changes are alraady taking place; and nop, that the whole Armenian church has publicly reformed of some of her abuses, and that she appears fast pre- pairing to undergo complete moral revo- of which intelligence, bad and good, is perhaps contradicted the sec ond day, modified the third, or confirmed the fourth. In the mean time, one of our schoolmasters is writing to us, that the prejudicies against female education are breaking away, and that he has ,ftteen girls in his school; another, that he has forty-t,0o in his while the superintend- ent reports, that in all our schools, there are ninty girls, and nearly four Hundred boys. .'We thank God, and take courage" We sit down in our families, and ten or twelve natives sit down with us, every evening, to read the holy Scriptures, and listen to our expositions aud exhortations One tells us of the darkness, stubbornness, and anguish of his-soul, and requests our prayers. A. mother expresses hope, that "God, who commanded light to shine out of darkness, hath shined into his heart to give the light ofthe kowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" We listen to their several different relations, and endeavor Al~