1864.] DZING SIN-SANG OF NINGPO. 33 anxious about his aged and widowed mother. A short time after his joining us, he made to me the following statement- My mother, like myself, was once a most devoted Buddhist; but when I joined 'the religion of the Lord of heaven,' (Romanism) I succeeded, after many prayers to God and frequent representations of the absurdities of Buddhism and of the truths of Christianity, as I then understood them, in persuading her to give up her heathenish superstitions, and to join with me in the worship of the Lord of heaven. And now," said he, with tears, "what am I to do? How can I expect to succeed in inducing her to abandon that religion to which she has now become as strongly wedded as before she was to Buddhism, and to embrace, as I have done, the religion of Jesus?' As soon as I broach the subject she will be sure to charge me with instability of character, in thus changing from one religion to another. At his earnest request, Mr. and Mrs. Russell accompanied him on a visit to his mother. The description of this visit is so interesting, that we must give it just as we find it. On the day appointed we proceeded in a native boat to the place of their residence, and, on our arrival, were very courteously received both by Dzing (who, on his reception into the church, had assumed the name of Stephen) and by the old lady herself. Having partaken of luncheon, which had been very nicely prepared for us, we were ushered into a nice clean room, such as is rarely met with in Chinese houses. From its decorations and fittings we at once perceived that it was used as a prayerroom or family chapel. On the walls were pictures of saints, and of the Virgin Mary, and a very large one of the Saviour, represented as standing on a globe with a candle in his hand, signifying, as it would seem, that He is the Light of the World: there was also a large collection of crucifixes, rosaries, &c. On our entering the room, Stephen Dzing immediately placed two chairs by a centre table for Mrs. Russell and myself, requesting us to sit. He then brought one for his mother, and, placing it beside us, asked her also to be seated. He next disposed of his wife, two sons, and a daughter-in-law, on the opposite side of the table; and when we were all thus arranged, he requested me to pray for a blessing upon our meeting. When I had concluded my prayer, he said to his mother that I was desirous of speaking to them on religious subjects generally, and especially on the differences between "the religion of the Lord of heaven," and "the religion of Jesus ;" and that I could point out to them from the word of God the errors of the former. To this the old lady nodded assent. Accordingly I introduced the subject on which I had been requested to speak, in as suitable a way as I could, and dwelt upon it for a considerable time. I had no sooner concluded than Stephen Dzing came forward, and remarked that, from what had been said, there could be no doubt but that "the religion of the Lord of heaven," while it contained many of the essential doctrines of the Gospel, contained also many foolish superstitions and gross perversions of the teachings of the Saviour and his apostles; that these seriously endangered the soul's salvation; and that the sooner, therefore, 34 MOUNT LEBANON. [MARCH, that the dangerous system was abandoned the better. "Mother," said he, "will you allow me at once to remove those images, which you see we ought no longer to worship as we have done? Will you allow me to take down this other foolish trumpery from the walls, aud give them all to Mr. Russell to take away with him, lest they should prove a snare to us, and lead us to break the commandments of God?" At first the old lady hesitated greatly. "They had better take a little more time," she said, "to consider the matter. Besides, what, when they should hear of it, would the priests say?" However, on being urgently pressed by her son, for whom she evidently had the deepest respect and affection, she consented. On this the walls were very quickly stripped of their popish ornaments. When this was done he again asked me to pray that God would bestow his Holy Spirit upon them all, to enable them to receive and ever hold fast the truth as it is contained in the Holy Scriptures. This I did, and, after some further conversation with them all, Mrs. Russell and myself took our departure for Ningpo. The following Sunday the whole family came into the city to attend the services in our little church, and continued to do so as regularly as their distance from us and other circumstances would permit. The result was, that after a time, notwithstanding the many and great efforts of the priests and Sisters of Charity to prevent it, the other members of the family, most of whom had been previously baptized by the Roman Catholics, joined our congregation, and they have since shown themselves to be some of its most satisfactory members. The old mother especially became a most loving and devoted follower of the Saviour, and seemed never to tire of hearing her little grandson read from the Gospels the wondrous doings and sayings of the Lord Jesus. Here we must break off, reserving the rest of our remarks for another Number. MOUNT LEBANON. As the traveller approaches the coast of Syria, with the intention of landing at some one of the seaports, Beyrout or Tripoli, his attention is at once arrested by the range of the Lebanon mountains. Nothing can be more grand than the scenery of these mountains. On the western side of the Lebanon, which overhangs the sea, are terraced gardens and groves, and monasteries occupying the most picturesque sites; while in the deep recesses of this and the kindred range, the Anti-Lebanon, are gloomy ravines and precipices, and pastoral uplands, where the shepherd may lead his flocks. The inhabitants of the Lebanon are estimated at 400,000, not of one faith, nor even of one race. Here are Maronites, Druses, Anasyrii, Greek Christians, and Moslems, the two first being the most numerous races of the Lebanon; the Maronites are Roman Catholics; the Druses possess a system which appears to be a strange mixture of heathenism and Mohammedanism: the former are more numerous than the latter, according, indeed, to some writers, twice as much so. 1864.] MOUNT LEBANON. 35 Between these races bitter feuds have existed, which, in 1860, gathered strength, and broke out with tremendous force. The Maronites had been plotting and intriguing for certain purposes of their own, until at length the savage Druses broke out upon them. One of the first Lebanon towns attacked was Hasbeiya, a large place under the shadow of Mount Hermon. There was there a Turkish officer and a small detachment of Turkish troops. This officer informed the Christians that he had been sent to protect them, but that if they desired he should do so, they must lay down their arms. On their complying, he invited them into the serai palace, used as a barrack, for better security, and thither they crowded, men, women, and children. There they were detained several days, until, on a signal, the gates being thrown open, the Druses rushed in and commenced to slaughter all the men, of whom only forty or fifty escaped, many of them wounded, and some having been left for dead. Little boys of four or five years old were not safe, but were snatched from their mothers, and dashed on the ground. Amidst these horrors there was one bright ray of humanity. The sister of the great Druse chief, before the massacre began, advised the Christians not to go to the Serai, but to come with her, and she would shelter them in her house. The greater part of the Maronites distrusted her, but some 400 poor creatures crowded into the shelter she offered them. Soon came the Druse tigers, thirsting for their blood, and clamouring to have them. "Enter," she said, "if you dare, and take them.' They dared not, even at such a moment, violate the harem of one of their great princes, and, with muttered curses, they retired. Deir-el-Kamer, the capital of the Lebanon, was next attacked. Here the population in peaceful times consisted of Maronites and Druses mingled together. Above, on the high crags, stood the Maronite convent, while the chapels of the Druses were scattered about in retired places. But all bonds seemed broken; and, but for the strenuous exertion of the American Missionary, Bird, the massacre of Hasbeiya would have been repeated. At it was, although their lives were spared for a time, the Christians lost every thing. But even their lives were not long safe. In about three weeks, after destroying the town of Zahle, the Druses returned, and the Christians prepared to defend themselves. On the promise of the Turkish Governor, however, that he would protect them, they laid down their arms, and the massacre of Hasbeiya was repeated at Deir-el-Kamer. It is calculated that from 1100 to 1200 males were slaughtered on one day. In these sad scenes not less than between 3000 and 4000 persons perished. Had the Christianity of the Bible been in action in the Lebanon all this might have been prevented. But the Maronite creed is 36 THE WAR IN NEW ZEALAND. [MARCH, without truth, and therefore without love. They did not pity the heathen Druses; they hated them: they did not persuade; they irritated them. The Maronite patriarchs and priests have manifested the greatest bigotry to the action of the Missionaries on the coast, and have struggled hard to keep the Gospel out of the Lebanon. In our next Number we propose to introduce a touching story as a specimen of this. THE WAR IN NEW ZEALAND. OUR Missionary, Archdeacon Maunsell, of Kohanga, New Zealand, instead of falling back on Auckland, has remained as near as possible to the scene of conflict between the British and insurgent Maoris, in order to help the wounded on both sides, and to seek the salvation of souls. He has done so, notwithstanding threats sent to him from the most violent of the insurgents, telling him that if they found him beyond the prescribed boundary they would shoot him. A merciful Providence has protected him. Mr. Armytage, the magistrate, in coming down the river Waikato, was shot by a party of Maoris in ambush. Mr. Maunsell had been with him, and they were to have come down the river together the previous evening. As the weather looked lowering, Mr. Armytage decided to wait until morning. Had Mr. Maunsell come to a like determination, he would, as far as we can see, have fallen with him. He adhered to the original plan, and came down in safety. As he was prohibited under pain of death from travelling and visiting the Maoris, he went up the river to Meremere, where the insurgents first entrenched themselves, and where it was expected they would make a stand, but which they evacuated. He then marched with the troops to Rangiriri, and was present at the decisive engagement which has taken place there, and which has ended in the defeat of the Maories. It lasted from the afternoon until four in the morning, when 175 Maories surrendered, their retreat being cut off, and their earth-wall, nine feet thick, destroyed. Mr. Maunsell says-"The general, before calling upon them to lay down their arms, paid them a high compliment for the valour with which they had held their position against superior numbers. "I was gratified to observe the gentleness and care with which our soldiers carried the wounded. They seemed highly to admire the manliness of the Maori, and, the very moment the white flag was hoisted, rushed into the pa, and seized them by the hand, exclaiming, 'How do you do, Jack?' "" He has had service with the prisoners at the Queen's redoubt. "They were very subdued in manner, and listened most patiently while I rebuked them for their sins, specifying, in some cases, particular sins-drunkenness and murder-of which some of them had been guilty. They are treated kindly on board the men-of-war, and seem to have lost all the fierce spirit with which they were wont to receive rebukes. God is, I trust, preparing them for better things by this fiery trial." |