Memoir and Diary of John Yeardley, Minister of the Gospel Part 43

After about three hours' driving, the moon shining so bright that they could see to read by it, they arrived at another village, of a less suspicious character.

On the 18th they reached Simpheropol, where they were glad to rest. The next day they wished to visit Pastor Kilius of Neusatz, to whom they had an introduction: as they were considering how they should get to him, he opportunely came to the hotel. He introduced them to several estimable persons, and took them the next day to his dwelling, situate in a picturesque mountain village, twenty versts from the city. At Neusatz commences another chain of German colonies, settled by the Evangelical Lutherans. The next morning they attended the public worship, and in the afternoon the Scripture-teaching for the children. On the 22nd they went to Zurichthal, a village formed of well-built houses, but where they found the school in a very low state. The 23rd they started early for the Sudag colony, intending to spend the time there until the departure of the steamer for Odessa; but they found nothing to interest them in this settlement, and accordingly proceeded to Feodosia, (or Kaffa,) a watering-place on the south coast of the Crimea. The German inns in this place were all full, and to procure a wholesome lodging, the; drove the next day four miles among the hills, where they hired a large apartment at the house of a German. The situation was romantic, with an extensive prospect over sea and mountains; and on the hill-side was a thicket, forming a delightful bower, where John Yeardley and his companion "live by day, walked, talked, reposed, and wrote." In this retreat, breathing cool air and quietude, J.Y. received the physical refreshment he so much needed, while he reviewed the course of his laborious journey.

Notwithstanding his discouragements, he was able to cast all his burden upon his Saviour, with whom he seems to have dwelt in nearer communion as his day on earth went down.

8 _mo_. 26.--This morning I felt more sweet union with my G.o.d in spirit than for a long time; and a strong desire has arisen to live in closer communion with Jesus, the beloved of my soul, the only access to the Father--the only place of rest, safety, and true _peace_. I long more than ever not to be troubled with cross occurrences over which I have no control, and which have too long perplexed me and disturbed my inward peace. I long more than ever to spend my few remaining days on earth as with my G.o.d in heaven, to refer everything to Him, and to pray more earnestly and diligently for his grace to preserve me near to himself under _all_ circ.u.mstances, until he shall have prepared me to be taken to heaven, to join the happy company there in a blissful eternity.

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee."--Isa. xxvi. 3.

On the 1st of the Ninth Month they sailed to Odessa, where they had to remain eight days. In this city they received a visit from a pastor, who conversed with them on the work of the heavenly kingdom then going on in the Bast, especially in Constantinople and Asia Minor.

The Saviour's kingdom, writes John Yeardley, in allusion to this conversation, is spreading, and many instruments are being raised up in various nations to help forward the great work. The kingdom of Satan is in danger; he sees it, and stirs up the jealousy of men, setting them against one another, and, by their seeking through party-spirit to exalt their own particular religion, hindering the Lord's work. Into whatever nation the beams of the Sun of Righteousness shine, the inhabitants begin to inquire the way to Zion, and turn their faces thitherward. This alarms the rulers whose kingdom is of this world.

From Odessa to Constantinople they had a quick and safe pa.s.sage. At Constantinople John Yeardley was deeply interested in the inst.i.tutions which the American missionaries have founded for the religious and temporal improvement of the Armenians. He visited two of these, the high school at Bebek and the girls' seminary at Has-keu, both beautifully situated on the sh.o.r.es of the Bosphorus. In the former they found forty-eight young men,--sixteen Greek and thirty-two Armenian. The industrial part of the education was particularly gratifying to him.

Cyrus Hamlin, he says, who has the superintendence of their studies and labor, is wonderfully adapted for his vocation. He is a.s.sisted only by native teachers. The young men looked serious: some of their countenances were peculiarly impressive, indicating that they had been with Jesus. I saw them a.s.sembled in the school-room, and addressed them for some time; and C. Hamlin most willingly interpreted into Armenian what I said. It was a sweet and memorable time. The Armenian teacher would scarcely let go my hand after the meeting, he had been so touched with the power of divine love. In the girls' boarding-school we found twenty-five girls, all Armenians, with the exception of two or three Greeks. It was a lovely sight to see so many of this cla.s.s under a course of religious and useful instruction. Many of the countenances were marked and pleasing, and were _fixed_ on me with great apparent seriousness while I addressed them, along with some of the neighbors.----Everett (the conductor of the school) kindly and most willingly interpreted what I had to communicate. He and his wife have also a day-school for boys and girls. I consider these inst.i.tutions as bright and hopeful spots in the East, from which much good may arise.

The persevering and well-directed efforts of the American missionaries for the evangelization of the Armenians, and the field of Christian labor which was thus opened, took firm hold of J.Y.'s mind; he longed to visit the schools and congregations in Isnik and Brusa, and probably only abandoned the journey at this time in the hope of undertaking it at some future day. John Yeardley describes Constantinople as--

Built entirely on the hills which slope from a considerable eminence down to the Bosphorus. The trees towering among the houses, the high spires and gilded domes, have a most imposing effect; but what is the astonishment of the traveller when he commences his ascent up steep, narrow, clumsily-pitched streets. I could only compare them to the worst-constructed bridle-roads in England which the packhorses traversed centuries ago. The three days we were in the city I only saw one or two carriages,--the most curious vehicles; indeed, there is scarcely a street in which two carriages can pa.s.s. Donkeys are the chief carriers. As to dogs, they are born and bred in the streets and are the property of the town, and in the day-time He by dozens in the streets, young and old, are always under the feet of the traveller, and he must constantly poke them out of the way with his stick; by night they are furious. The shops present a jumble of all kinds of wares; and the Turks sit cross-legged in the window, or work at their trade inside.

They left Constantinople on the 15th, and on the 17th went on sh.o.r.e at Smyrna, where, at the house of the American missionary Ladd, they met with another missionary, named Stacking, returning with his family from Persia, where he had labored sixteen years among the Nestorians. The account which he gave John Yeardley of the creed and condition of the Nestorian Church, and of the schools which had been opened in Persia, aroused his deep sympathy and produced an abiding impression on his mind.

Smyrna, like the other Turkish cities which they saw, vividly impressed the travellers with its Oriental character.

Like Constantinople, says J.Y., it is a town of all nations. The streets are narrow, with a run of dirty water down the middle. We met docile camels in great number, bringing figs from the interior. In the fig-market were thousands of boxes being prepared and packed for exportation. It is a sight of interest to see Turks, Greeks, &c., huddled together, walking, talking, or sitting cross-legged and smoking their long pipes. We took donkeys and ascended the hill, where we obtained a good view of the town, and then examined the ruins where the ancient city stood, and saw the place where the message from Heaven was received by the angel of the church of Smyrna. The church of Polycarp stood not far from that of John the Baptist. After a visit of peculiar interest, I returned to the steam-ship and read the message to the church of Smyrna, which gave rise to more reflections than I can here record.

Steaming on the sea of Marmora, (to continue J.Y.'s narrative of his homeward journey), the Bosphorus and the Greek waters, was very pleasing.

We had a good sight of the walls of ancient Troas, where the apostle Paul received the message in vision from the man of Macedonia, to come over and help them. The quarantine prevented us from landing at Syra; but I conveyed a note through the English Consul to my old friend Hildner, who came alongside our steamer. I learned from him that Argyri Climi was five years in his school, and usefully filled the office of teacher of the higher cla.s.ses; had been married about ten years to a lieutenant in the army; had three children, and was living happily with her husband at the Piraeus. It appears she retains her religious principles.

21_st_.--Arrived at Malta. Ours is the first steamer that has reached the island since the removal of the quarantine; we went on sh.o.r.e directly after breakfast. Isaac Lowndes was rejoiced to see me. We met in the street, and he conducted us to his house. He has been in Malta seven years, acting for the Bible Society; he gives no bright account of among the Greeks, as to spiritual religion, nor of the island generally. The present governor has admitted the Jesuits into the island, who are doing mischief; privileges are being granted to the Romanists to the prejudice of the Protestants; and a regulation has been proposed which would subject a Protestant to six months imprisonment for not taking off his hat when he meets the procession of the Host.

Isaac Lowndes took John Yeardley and William Rasche to visit Selim Aga, or, as he was named after baptism, Edward Williams; who with his wife, sister-in-law, and four children, formed an interesting Christian household. J.Y. published the history of this man in No. 13 of his series of tracts, _Turkey and the Converted Turk_, where also he has depicted several scenes from the latter part of this journey.

Arriving at Ma.r.s.eilles, they proceeded quickly on to Nismes. It was with a gush of natural sorrow that J.Y. revisited a place wh.o.r.e he had often sojourned with his beloved wife.

The thought, he writes, of the difference in my circ.u.mstances now and when last in this place fills me with sorrow. The beloved one of my bosom, then the stay and solace of my heart, is no more with me to help and comfort me in the toils of life. Yet when I consider what a large amount of suffering she has escaped, I cannot but rejoice that she is at rest with her G.o.d and Saviour, where I humbly hope soon to meet her. Lord, prepare thy unworthy worm for that awful but joyful day!

John Yeardley held a small public meeting at Nismes, and the next day, the 3rd of the Tenth Month, set out for the bathing-place of Bagneres de Bigorre, in the Pyrenees. His princ.i.p.al reason for going there was to recruit his shattered health. "On our arrival at Nismes," he says, "and during our few days' sojourn there, I began to feel the effects of my long, toilsome Russian journey; and, in the hope of preventing a return of my suffering complaint, I thought it justifiable to make trial of the sulphur baths and water of Bagneres." But he had also another object in view: "I had long thought," he adds, in a letter from Bigorre, "whether there was not a seeking people in this neighborhood, and now I think there is."

His first care on arriving at Bigorre, was to call on Pastor Frossard, formerly of Nismes, who feelingly reminded him of the changes which had happened to each of them since they had met before. He proposed to John Yeardley to meet some Christian friends at his chapel. This was just what J.Y. had been wishing for. The meeting was held; and after it was over he gave the company an account of his travels in Russia, with which they were highly gratified.

In a letter to his sister, Mary Tylor, which he wrote from this place, is the following characteristic sentiment:

Thy welcome letter duly readied me at Nismes, and drew forth my tender sympathy for thee and your whole circle in the loss of a kind and beloved brother. It is another link taken from the family chain, and the shorter it becomes the nearer we are drawn together in the bond of affection. How the spirit seems to ascend with those loved ones who are taken from us, and from earth to heaven! Our desire for a blissful eternity becomes more ardent, because they have already entered upon it; but above all, we desire to be with Him in whom we shall be one, and all will be glory.

Returning to Nismes, he occupied himself with holding meetings in many places in that neighborhood. In some meetings which he attended in the city, he had for fellow-laborers Eli and Sybil Jones, from the United States, with their companions. Amongst the audience at one of these meetings were three soldiers, who, with two others, had been awakened at Lyons, and who manifested the progress they had made in Christian doctrine by refusing to kneel before the procession of the Host. Their officer observing their disregard of this required practice, held his sword over the neck of one of them, saying he would strike off his head if he did not bow down. The man was firm in his refusal, and was sent to prison. To encourage one another in their new profession, these men were accustomed to keep religious meetings. They were in consequence accused of sedition, and when they a.s.serted the simply religions character of their meetings, one of them was required to swear to the truth of his statement; he refused to take an oath, pleading that the New Testament commanded him not to swear. A second was then called upon in the same way; he also refused; and their stedfastness was reported to the commanding officer as an act of contumacy. The officer happened to be a Protestant, of an enlightened and pious disposition; he said that soldiers were called upon to vindicate the innocence of their companions, not to procure their condemnation, and that if they did not choose to give evidence the law would not compel them. Two of the five received their discharge from the army; the rest were removed to Nismes. John Yeardley had some conversation with these three after the meeting, with which he was well satisfied. They told him that when they were awakened they wrote and received so many letters that it excited suspicion, and that the police who examined the letters took the texts of Scripture, or rather the figures that referred to the chapters and verses, for a secret language, used to deceive their vigilance.

On the 8th of the Eleventh Month, J. Yeardley and W. Rasche, accompanied by Jules Paradon, went to Valence, and visited Bertram Combe, at Pialoux, where they remained a few days. B.C. had fitted up a commodious room adjoining his own dwelling, where he held meetings regularly:--

And where, says J.Y., we had several solemn and edifying occasions; and as our being there became more known the attendance increased, so that the last gathering was quite a large one, and peculiarly quiet and satisfactory. Among some meetings which we appointed in the neighborhood two were held in the _temple_ of the Protestant Church, which was a mark of great liberality; these two occasions were peculiarly favored. In the latter B.C. alluded to the persecution he had had to endure on account of the disuse of the Supper and Baptism. He boldly avowed the conviction he felt as to the non-use of these things, and that the preaching of the gospel ought to be free. I have seldom been in a district where there is more openness for the gospel message in its simplicity, than in this mountain region.

From Valence, John Yeardley returned direct to England, only stopping at Friedrichsdorf. where he visited the boarding-school.

I reached my home, he says, on the 24th of the Eleventh Month, with a thankful heart to my Heavenly Father for his merciful preservation.

CHAPTER XX.

FROM HIS RETURN FROM RUSSIA TO HIS LAST JOURNEY.

1853-1858.

John Yeardley had scarcely returned to England before war was declared with Russia. The confirmation he received from this lamentable event, that his journey had been made at the opportune time, filled his heart with grat.i.tude. The work he had been able to do had been small, but he had the satisfaction of knowing that it had been accomplished at the only juncture in which it would have been practicable.

The year 1853, he writes, closed with many mercies to a poor unworthy servant. I consider it a great blessing to have accomplished the visit through Russia and to Constantinople before the horrible war broke out.

What a frightful state are things in at the present moment!--no access could be had to those countries.

In the Spring of 1854 he spent some time at Bath. He attended, whilst there, a public meeting appointed by Sarah Squire, in which he had a testimony to offer in the gospel. Hearing afterwards that a military man who was present had been brought to conviction by the doctrine which had been declared, J.Y. noted in his Diary the subject on which he had preached.

4 _mo_. 2.--I recollect, he says, alluding to the awful state of the times in which we live, and the need of a refuge in G.o.d, and the blessedness of the consolations of the Holy Spirit in a time of trouble.

That the Spirit of G.o.d was the first agent in the work of man's salvation, bringing to the Saviour who died for sinners: the Father drawing to the Son, the Son perfecting the work, and presenting each member of the living church without spot or wrinkle to the Father. Blessed unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit! The Father creating, the Son redeeming, the Holy Spirit sanctifying.

In making a brief note of the Yearly Meeting this year, John Yeardley takes occasion to record his sentiments on a subject which then, as now, strongly engaged the attention of the Society.

The Yearly Meeting has been a precious time; it has strengthened the bond of love and unity. There is, under all discouragements, a love to the Society manifested in the young people of both s.e.xes. It is true there is a great want of bearing of the cross, and many are seeking for excuses to persuade themselves that many of those things that have long distinguished our Society are now no longer of use. But I still think there is more religion in many of our young members than their outward appearance would authorize us to believe. I love to cleave to the good, and to hold out a helping hand to encourage the tender budding of grace, and for the good to overcome the evil. I want them to be brought to conviction, and to be told that they are not required to wear plain clothes, and to use plain speech, because our Friends have done so, but because Christianity leads into simplicity, and the language of Scripture is that of truthfulness, and to follow the changing fashions of the world is too low for the notice of the Christian whose heart is placed on heavenly things, and whose time is too precious to be spent on trifles. There is no peace to the regenerated heart equal to a devotedness of life in promoting the extension of the Saviour's kingdom upon earth.