orks of their own, were sufficient to
insure the pardon of sin; and when pointed to the great atonement of
the Lord Jesus, it seemed to commend itself to their understanding
and conscience. Though nominally the disciples of the Koran, they
did not cry out "blasphemy," as did the Moslems, when told that
Jesus is the Son of God, thus partaking of the divine nature; but
they seemed to feel that this character was necessary for one who
should undertake to be a Saviour for a world of sinners.

Mr. Bird coming down from the mountains to accompany his sick wife
to Smyrna, Mr. Smith took his place, and visited eight or nine
villages, with every opportunity afforded him for preaching the
Gospel; and he was everywhere listened to with respectful attention.
Though aware of the deceitfulness of the people, he could not but
see how open they then were to this species of missionary labor. Yet
he could not find among them any real spirit of inquiry, and his
only hope was in the influences of the Holy Spirit, giving efficacy
to the truth. The Druzes, though wrapped up in hypocrisy, and
apparently without one spiritual thought, were of the same race with
all other men, and the preaching of the word might be expected, in
the end, to have the same effect upon them.

There was reason to believe, that this movement among the Druzes
grew mainly out of their recent subjugation by the Egyptians, and
their apprehension of a military conscription. They had always
professed Mohammedanism hypocritically, to escape the oppressions
which Christians suffered under Moslem rule; but now the Christians
fared better than the Moslems, in that they were not liable to be
drafted into the army, to which as Moslems the Druzes were exposed.
They had very painful apprehensions of such a levy, and the reason
having ceased that had led them to profess Mohammedanism, they were
disposed to renounce that religion; and some among the uninitiated
seemed ready to renounce the Druze religion also. Their great object
was to enjoy equal rights with the Christians, and especially to
escape the military conscription.

A levy had been demanded of the Druzes before this visit of the
brethren to the mountains, and had been refused, with an urgent
request to Mohammed Ali that he would not impose upon them so odious
a burden. Nothing was heard in reply until the fourth day after Mr.
Smith's return to Beirut, when Ibrahim Pasha presented himself at
Deir el-Kamr, at the head o