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THE COVENANTERS OF LEBANON.

FIFTEEN years ago, Solomon Saleebey, | went to the American Mission College a young Syrian of Mount Lebanon, at Abeih. His object was to get an

June 1861.

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THE COVENANTERS OF LEBANON.

English education, that he might be| Mr Lowthian, came to this country, able to fill some high situation, and in 1852 and 1854, to seek help for so get on in the world. But the the erection of Scripture schools Lord was leading the blind by a way among the people of his native that he knew not. By means of mountains. After his return to Syria, reading the Bible, and the instruc- fifteen schools were established, which tions of the missionaries, the Lord are now attended by about 600 opened his heart. He became a new children. Last year he again came creature in Christ Jesus.

He sent a Bible to his father's house at Howarah. When the holidays came, he went home. Meantime his younger brother, Elijah, had been reading the Bible. Solomon began to speak to him about his soul. Elijah scoffed at him, asked him if he was going to turn Protestant, and told him to go back to the College. They had many a talk together. Elijah, too, became concerned about his salvation. He read, and pondered, and prayed. Holy Spirit came to his heart, delivering him from the power of darkness, and translating him into the kingdom of God's dear Son.

The

Filled with longings for his kinsmen according to the flesh, and his brethren around him, who were living, as he had been, in the darkness and idolatries of the Greek Church, Solomon has ever since been teaching and preaching, as he had opportunity, the unsearchable riches of Christ.

Elijah George, the younger brother, along with an English gentleman,

to this country, and is now about to return to a work which there is good cause to hope God has already greatly blessed.

During the massacres, four of the schools had been destroyed by fire, but not a single scholar, so far as he was aware, had been killed. All the schools had been shut up while the disturbances lasted, but according to the last accounts received by him, four of them had been again re-opened.

Through the teaching and preaching of the word, great interest and inquiry has arisen among the people, and especially in Howarah, the village from whence the Saleebeys come, and which the writer of this paper saw, and passed near to, when crossing the mountains of Lebanon in 1852. On 24th July 1854, Solomon writes to his brother a letter, of a part of which the following is a translation. (The letter was written in Arabic) :–

"A most wonderful thing has happened in our village-something like what happened to our blessed

THE COVENANTERS OF LEBANON.

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"After these remarks, a solemn scene followed. A Bible was placed before them, and lifting up their hands to heaven, they solemnly vowed that, God helping them, they would never again share in the idolatrous worship in which they had formerly lived; and they all agreed, | by a written paper, that the first man who entered the Greek Church again, should pay a fine of 1000 piastres, (about £10 in English money,) to be applied for the benefit of the schools."

Lord and Saviour, when Nicodemus safety was in constant watchfulness came to him by night. It was about and prayer to God, that He would midnight, while sitting alone in my keep them in all their ways, and room, that four men entered, they bring them, at last, into His heavenly having been sent as a deputation kingdom. from the inhabitants of our village, with this message, that they were now resolved to leave the Greek Church. I asked them their reasons for coming to this conclusion; when they told me that they were all quite satisfied that what I preached to them is the truth, and that our labours among them, young and old, for some time past, had been blessed in doing much good. I may here mention the names of the four men who came on this important mission, -F. BZ- AS- his brother, and our sister's husband, H- After various meetings and conversations, on 10th August, all the men met in Mr Lowthian's house. I then exhorted them to be careful in their daily walk and conversation, as they had now professed to come over to the Lord's side; and that the way to heaven being very, very narrow, they would now require to be continually on their guard against sin and Satan, for there would be many of their old ungodly friends and companions watching for their halting, and would rejoice to see them make shipwreck of faith and of a good conscience; therefore, that their only

You see in the picture these poor people, vowing to God, and calling for help to enable them to keep their Vow. It reminds one of the memorable scenes at the signing of the Covenant, in the Greyfriars' churchyard, Edinburgh, on the 1st March 1638.

It is blessed to think that the "handful of corn on the top of the mountains" is thus already shaking like Lebanon, and that the kingdom of heaven is still-as the dear brother, who is at present in Scotland pleading their cause, delights to remember -so like the leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, until all was leavened.-Free Church Record.

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BLIND ROSA OF BERLIN.

DURING the last summer, Mr Moon, who has been so successful in teaching the blind to read, paid a visit to Berlin. He is himself quite blind, but to a wonderful extent God has made him to be "eyes to the blind." | He thus records an instance of his success in Berlin

"We went to give a lesson to a blind person who resides at the Bible House. She is a woman of about forty years of age, and has been blind eighteen years. She has been to the Blind School at Breslau, where she had tried to learn to read, but without success. Mr Millard had also kindly procured a copy of the Stuttgart Psalms for her, but with no better result. By about half-anhour's instruction, on my plan, she read the Lord's Prayer through.

"When she had accomplished this, poor thing, she seemed perfectly delighted, and said, 'I would thank you, if I could, but I know not how to do so enough. I have been shut out from the Word of God, and I have often told the Lord how I should like to read it again. Now He has enabled me to do so once more. You have unsealed for me this precious book. Oh, I am not able to thank you enough.' Her heart was full, and

her flowing tears told the rest-precious tears of joy and gratitude.

"About a fortnight before this, while conversing with Mr Millard, she said, 'How I should like to be able to read, and I often wish and pray that some plan might be devised by which I should be able to learn.' Poor Rosa,little did she think that precious boon was on its way; the answer to her petition gone forth; the thirst of her soul so soon to be satisfied with the blessed waters of eternal life. The burdened heart had not heaved its sigh in vain. Little did the friends in England, who kindly enabled me to come out to teach her, think of the comfort they were sending to this poor afflicted sister in the Lord.

"If nothing more were accomplished, during the whole of my journey this time to the Continent, than giving such unspeakable comfort to this one soul in Jesus, I should think my labours amply rewarded; but, blessed be God, she is not the only one. I returned to my hotel, and fetched the Gospel of John, with five other books of Scripture, and took them to her. We opened the Gospel

of John at the first chapter, to try if she could read that as she had done

the Lord's Prayer.

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With trembling | amazed at the joy she expressed. 'Oh!' she said to them, 'it scarcely seems possible that all this can be true; that I am really able to read again, and possess such a treasure. It appears quite a dream.”

touch she commenced, and read the following words :-'Im anfang war das.' But she could read no more. She sobbed for joy. 'All the wealth of Berlin to me,' she said, 'would not equal these riches.' "Thank the Lord,' I answered, 'for the precious gift, for He has inclined my heart to bring it you.' 'It is indeed,' she replied, 'a gift from heaven; but it came through England.' She left the office kissing the books. Her happy face beamed with joy. She had to pass through another room to reach the staircase; here she sat upon the floor, with her books in her lap. First she counted them, to know their number; then she opened the Gospel, and read aloud several verses to the persons in the room, who stood

How many, who have both eyes and Bibles, are strangers to blind Rosa's joy. The Bible is no treasure to them, for the eyes of their understandings have not yet been opened to discern the riches it contains.

How great the joy of him who had the privilege of teaching blind Rosa to read! He must have had much of this joy, for he has taught many; and if he, a blind man, can be made such a blessing, what may not those who have eyes accomplish, as teachers of the ignorant, if they try?

AN AFRICAN JOURNEY.

THE following account of a journey | village kindly invited us to come to from Lagos to Abbeokuta, taken by a native family, to visit an aged relative, will no doubt interest our young readers. It was related by one of the youngsters of the party.

"We left Lagos, in a large canoe, at ten o'clock in the morning, being a party of twelve. We dined at Agboye, and had our tea and supper at a village called Iseri, where we passed the night. The people at the

their houses; but as none of their houses were large enough to take in all our party, we preferred sleeping in the open air, under our mat tent, which formed a part of our travelling baggage. A good part of the evening was spent in procuring wood for a large fire, as we had to cook food for tea and supper. Finishing our meal, we put away all our cooking utensils, and comfortably prepared for the

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