Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1854-09-24
Miriam, the AleppO Teacher.

. N's INC IedueTS OF the DaySprln1.
"hen the missionaries first came to Aleppo, h
J. ia'her professed to be Protestant, and on tn
account suffered much persecution from the prizes
O' ms former church. They persuaded the peop
no' 70 purchase anything of him, or to emplo
Ailn u 90 any work. so that he was sometimes a
y most without food or clothing. One dav h
r brought his little daughter, Miriam n the mi,
sionaries and asked them to take her and irs,,r,
her IN all that is good, which they were yerv gla
4 to do; and her gentle pleasant ways soon wo
their love. [l. ~. -
Her mother was bad woman She was ey
ceedingly superstitOus; she also hated the mi
slonarles, and could not bear to have her daughte
stay with them She used for long time to com
almost daily to the missionarys house, and bitter
ly complain against him and her husband for rob
bing her of her daughter. She would rave some
times in the widest passion, and sometimes sh
would weep as if broken-hearted not because sh
loved her child so much, but because she did no
like to have her neighbOrs say to her, +" All! you
have let your child become Protestant"
You may think that this was very annoying to
the missionary, and so it was but he found some
profit in it. He was just then learning to speak
the language, and this woman by her daily talk.
taught him a kind of Arabric and use of ID, not
to be obtained from grammars and dictionaries. =
lie traces much of his ready command of the Ian
guage to-day, to having been compelled to listen
so often to the wearisome harangues of Miriam's
mother. Sometimes the father would be overcome
by the mothers entreaties and would take away
the GIRL but after awhile he would bring her back
-again, to the great joy of those who feared they
had lost her altogether This state Of things con-
timed two or three years, her character un-
folding and hopes were often entertained that the
Spirit OF God was carrying on work Of grace in
her soul.
One day, her father came to the missionary and
asked him to lend him several thousand piastres.
with which he might set up business This was of
course refused, when he went away taking his daueh
ter, saying that Professionalism did not paw what il
cost 1t had cost him the loss of property and
reputation it had cost him the peace of his house
held and the presence of his little girl ami it did
not bring him in return even the loan of a few
piastres, and he would try it no longer l assure
you many prayers were offered for Miriam thus
taken back to an irreligious home and though the
missionaries heard of her fathers return to the
corrupt Catholic church, and of the exuItaton of
the mother over the attainment of her wishes, vet
they did not cease to hope that God would one day
bring her back and make her lamb of his fold
In her fathers case was illustrated what the
missionaries are often compelled to witness the
turning back of one who had for a long time pro-
fessed attachment to the truth and who abandon
ed it in sucha way to show that his religion was
all hypocrisy and that when his hope of gaining
money by means Of it was cut off. then he would
have nothing more to do with it
An Arab girl, trained in one of the missionary
families in Beirut was brought to Aleppo to op,
agirls' school there. The Catholic priests then
sought to established similar school of their own
to prevent any who wished their children educated
from sending them to the Protestants, and they |
secured Miriam their teacher As she went |
backwards and forwards from home to her school. |
she used sometimes, by stealth, to run into the |
missionarys house for little while and assure him
that her heart was with him. The school eontinu-
ed few weeks, but the priests having forgotten |
to pay anything towards its support and her father
would let her teach no more Perhaps two wears |
she was not forgotten at the throue of grace
Then, the teacher from Beirut having returned. /
it was proposed to her father that she should teach
the Protestant school, Unexpectedly, almost, he
consented, with the understanding that she was to
return home every day when the school closed
At first, little said to her on the subject of re-
lgon soon she sought religious conversation her
SELF and brought questions and difficult passages of
Scripture to be explained. After about month, |
having previously cOnversed with the missionary |
about her duty, when her father came for her at
night, she told him that she did not want to 90 /
home with him, but to stay where she was. She
ought to obey God rather than her parents They
had made her act the part of a hypOcrite long
enough to pretend to be Catholic when she was
a Protestant in heart aud they knew she was At
home she was interrupted and ridiculed whenever
she attempted to read her Bible, and she had no
opportunity to go alone to pray, and she could not
go back home ard live so any longer. Her father
promised that everything should be according to
her wishes, and then she returned with him.
Two or three days passed away, and nothing was
seen or heard of Miriam. servant was then
sent to her fathers house to inquire if she was sick
and he was rudely thrust from the door. 1t was
time for the missionary to interfere; so he repre-
sent the matter before the American Consul, who
sent for the father to appear before him with bis
with his daghter for according to the law of the
and, he had no right to keep her, at her age,
asainst her will, and she was thus to have an OPP
pOrtunity to choose with whom she wished to stay.
When the officer came TO the house, he found that !
door was locked, and that the father had gutc :
away with the key. From an upper window, I
however Miriam saw him. and told him that she |
was shut up there prisoner, and she did not know
what might be done with her, and she asked for
I'd. She had prepared a little note for the mis-
sionary, telling him other attachement to Christs
1Use and closing with the two last verses Of tie
eighth chapter of Romans, which you will please
ad, to see if it amt very appropriate for in
her situation.
The officer proposed to her to try if she could
not get out upon the roof of another house, and
descend through it to him, which she successfully
accomplished, and was joyfully on her way 10
place of protection in the Consulate. Her iathtr
meanwhile, in his walk had met of the Protest
ants "There," said he, " / have broken up yonr
SCHOOL, have taken my daughter, and she shall
not return again" His rage at finding her gone