together with the contributions made by the
missionaries and others in Beirut, gave them some relief, and the kind
words of sympathy strengthened their hearts. The school was kept up amid
all these troubles. One of the boys was taught in Abeih Seminary, and
two of the girls were sent to the Beirut Female Seminary.

You would have been amused to see those girls when they first reached
Beirut. They walked barefoot from Safita down to Tripoli, about forty
miles, and then Uncle S. took them on to Beirut. He bought shoes for
them, and hired two little donkeys for them to ride, but they preferred
to walk a part of the way, and would carry their shoes in their hands
and run along the sandy beach in the surf, far ahead of the animals. I
rode out to meet them, and they were a sorry sight to see. Uncle S. rode
a forlorn-looking horse, and two ragged men from Safita walked by his
side, followed by two ragged fat-faced girls riding on little donkeys.
The girls were almost bewildered at the city sights and scenes. Soon we
met a carriage, and they were so frightened that they turned pale, and
their donkeys were almost paralyzed with fear. One of the little girls,
when asked if she knew what that was, said it was a mill walking.

The first few days in school they were so homesick for Safita that they
ran away several times. They could not bear to be washed and combed and
sent to the Turkish bath, but wanted to come back here among the goats
and calves and donkeys. One night they went to their room and cried
aloud. Rufka, the teacher, asked them what they wanted? They said,
pointing to the white beds, "We don't like these white things to sleep
on. We don't want to stay here. There are no calves and donkeys, and the
room is so light and cold!" The people here in Safita think that the
cattle help to keep the room warm. In the daytime they complained of
being tired of sitting on the seats to study, and wished to _stand up
and rest_. One was 11 and the other 12 years old, and that was in 1865.

One of them, Raheel, fell sick after a time, and was much troubled about
her sins. Her teacher Sara, who slept near her, overheard her praying
and saying, "Oh Lord Jesus, do give me a new heart! I am a poor sinner.
Do you suppose that because I am from Safita, you cannot give me a new
heart? O Lord, I _know_ you can. Do have mercy on me!"

Who are those clean and well dressed persons coming out of the church?
Our dear brother Yusef Ahtiyeh, the n