St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1882-03-17
Our Boston correspondence.
Boston, Mass, March IA, 1882.

BOSTON, Mass, March IA, 1857.
Editor of the CaledOnian: Suf-
folk Branch of the Woman's Board OF
Missions held its third annual meeting
in Park Street church, March 9TH
The sum of SI3, 3II 81 has been raised
the past year. After the usual reports
by the secretary and treasurer, those
of the various auxiliaries followed
many of an encouraging nature; the
majority had been favored by an ad-
dress from Mrs. Alice Gordon Gulick
and considerable money had been rails
ed or had been pledged for the mission
school and church with which she is
connected in Spain. Mrs. George
Washburn of COnstantinople closed
the morning session with an interest
ing address. She wished that she had
the elOquence to move their minds and
hearts, but she could give facts, and
those of themselves should be eloquent
She said it seems easy to trace the
hand of Providence in looking back
ward, but at times not so easy in glanc-
ing forward. We are apt to forget our
ancestors were once barbarians. Her
theme would be ''The Bulgarian Peo-
Pile" a nation just being born, seldom
heard of or known much about %
years ago. One of the graduates OF
Roberts College, when at Heidelberg,
was asked by professor there what
his nationality was? The professor
with a puzzled air echoed his reply,
Bulgarian, Bulgarian, does that coun-
try belong to the United States ?" AS
they have been under a double govern
ment so long, it is customary to speak
of them by their religion, not by ma
tionality. The Arminians are under
an Arminian Patriach at CONSTANT
nople, or if they have become Roman
Catholics, they have a separate Patri-
arch; quite a discussion several years
since divided this church, the Bulga-
rians coming under the Greek Patri-
arch. She outlined quite fully the his
tory of the youth who first revived and
sought to establish some knowledge OF
his native tongue. Born in one of the
mountain towns in ROumelia, DESTROYS
of an education, he entered a Jesuit
College in ConstantinOple, thence
went to Athens, afterwards to Paris to
study medicine; where he became ia
miliar with the history of the Sclavonic
races and began to think it was not
such dreadful thing to have Bulga-
rian blood in his veins; returning
home, he was more interested i'll estab-
fishing his native language than his
profession. He wrote a grammar,
went from city to city singing national
airs, trying to awaken feelings of pat
riotism, establish schools and circulat-
ing petitions to be free from the Greek
Patriarch, as the first step, and OF
course freedom from the Turkish ruler
would naturally follow. The first
Patriarch advised the latter to crush
this power in the bud; accordingly
word was sent to have him arrested
but after hearing his explanations, his
friend, the Governor, released him
but second command ordered him ar
rested and sent in chains to CONSTANT
nople, where without any trial he was
kept in dungeon, until nearly dead
finally he escaped one day when there
was a change of guard, and Joined a
company of convicts, remaining with
them five years at work, and after a
three years exile, the treaty freeing
Bulgarians was signed and he was at
length released. But it was simply
marvellous how the grain of mustard
seed which he had sown had grown
and spread-what large schools had
sprung up and responses been answer
ed. For this people she wished to
make an appeal. One new feature in
the afternoon session was the reports
read by the young girls, of their Mis-
sion Circles. Some had novel and orig
inal methods of raising money; for
instance, each member was to pay IL
cents per month, but the president
was allowed the privilege of paying
80 cents, and at the close of the year.
if there was a deficit, she was to make