early days; if it be of the Lord, he will
bless it; if not, we desire to be the first to lay our hands on our
lips, and our faces in the dust, saying, We were deceived; the cause
is the Lord's, not ours; with him we will leave its prosperity and
defence.

_March 28._--The plague has now absolutely, we believe, entered this
unhappy city. Major T. and all those connected with the residency are
preparing to leave for the mountains of Kourdistan; they have most
kindly invited us to go with them and form part of their family; this
is most truly kind, and there are many things to recommend it--the
opportunities it would afford M. for learning Armenian, and me Arabic,
and for observation on the country and people, besides our being
delivered from all apparent danger either from the sword which
threatens us from without, or the pestilence within. The absence of
all these friends and so many of the principal Christian families who
are going with them, leaves us exposed to the bigotry of the people in
any tumults that may arise--all these things presented themselves to
our minds. But there are considerations that outweigh these in our
minds: in the first place, we feel that while we have the Lord's work
in our hands we ought not to fly and leave it; again, if we go, it is
likely that for many months we cannot return to our work, whereas the
plague may cease in a month; opportunities of usefulness may arise in
the plague that a more unembarrassed time may not present; and our
dear friends from Aleppo may come and find no asylum. The Lord gives
great peace and quietness of mind in resting under his most gracious
and loving care, and as the great object of our lives is to illustrate
his love to us, we believe that in the midst of these awful
circumstances, he will fill our tongues with praise as he does fill
our hearts with peace.

I have just heard, that some Englishmen have been circulating tracts
at Julfa, an Armenian town in the neighbourhood of Ispahan, and that
the bishop has prohibited their circulation; this shews what we have
to expect.

I believe I have many times mentioned the deeprooted opposition which
exists among the clergy and literary men in the East, to having any
thing translated into the vulgar dialects: they are worse than the
literati of Europe used to be with their Latin, many among whom, but
lately came to see that it was no disgrace to communicate their ideas
in a vernacular dress: as the common sense of