s at length apprehended by the governor of Beirut, beaten to
make him confess that he was a Moslem, and cast into prison. Mr.
Smith visited him, and urged him to make the profession he intended
to abide by, that the mission might know what to do. In the presence
of a dozen Moslems, he professed himself a Christian, and declared
that he would die a Christian, if they burned him at the stake. The
governor, on hearing this, ordered him to be thrust into the inner
prison, and loaded with chains. Here his persecutors renewed their
promises and threats, but his firmness remained unshaken, and they
left him in prison. Such a confession had never been made in Beirut
before, and it attracted much attention. The poor man in his
dungeon, aware of the danger of his situation, spent much of his
time in prayer, and was often heard by his fellow-prisoners, in the
watches of the night, calling upon Jesus Christ to help him. He even
sent directions to a friend respecting the disposal of a few
effects, in case he should be martyred, thereby showing his
expectation of persevering unto death.

As the best thing that could be done, the American Consul at Beirut,
who took a deep interest in the case, addressed a letter to Soleiman
Pasha, next in power to Ibrahim, who was then at Sidon on his way to
Beirut. This was favorably received, and the Pasha expressed his
wish that the family would send a petition to him, that he might be
ready to judge the case when he should arrive at Beirut. This was
accordingly done, and the requisite evidence was made ready. The
poor man received his food daily from his missionary friend, with
messages of cheer, and he never wavered.

On the arrival of the Pasha, the prisoner's wife immediately sought
access to him, and this she did day after day; but the governor of
Beirut threw every obstacle in her way. The Pasha wished to set him
free, without seeming to yield to Frank dictation, or stirring up
Moslem fanaticism. At length the governor, threatened by the agent
of the European consuls with deposition, presented himself in person
at the door of the prison, and told Kasim to go free.

Thus terminated, after an imprisonment of seventeen days, the first
case of a converted Druze called to confess Jesus Christ before a
Moslem tribunal. This was in the early part of the year 1836.

Kasim was kept by the mission two years on probation, but on the
first Sabbath in 1838 he and his wife were admitted to the church,