hi 
 
 CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
Cornell University Library 
 BV3215 .W75 
 Marlam : a romanceoj Persia /bv Samuel 
 
 olin 
 
 3 1924 029 348 277 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://archive.org/details/cu31924029348277 
 
MARIAM 
 
 A Romance of Persia 
 
 BY 
 SAMUEL GRAHAM WILSON 
 
 Author of " Persian Life and Customs." 
 
 YOUNG PEOPLE'S 
 MISSIONARY MOVEMENT 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
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 Copyright, 1906. 
 By American Tract Society. 
 
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Go 
 MY MOTHER 
 
PREFACE 
 
 This story is not fiction, except in its arrangement 
 and details. The incidents are for the most part 
 from real life and give a true picture of conditions 
 and missionary work among the Armenians of Per- 
 sia. It is the product of the leisure hours of a fur- 
 lough in America, and was written at the suggestion 
 of one who believes that the presentation of facts 
 in story form is well calculated to interest young 
 people in Missions. 
 
MARIAM 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 " Vy ! Ashes on my head ! My house is fallen ! " 
 ejaculated Nunia, as she bent over a running stream 
 in which she was washing clothes, beating them 
 with a wooden mallet. 
 
 " Why ! What has happened ? " asked Dicra- 
 nuhe, at the same time gathering up the edges of 
 her skirts from the damp ground and giving the 
 soiled garments a flop into the water. " Has your 
 bride unbound her mouth? Has she sat down or 
 spoken in the presence of her father-in-law, like 
 our neighbor, the shameless Hrepsima." 
 
 Nunia and Dicranuhe were Armenian women of 
 the district of Salmas, in Persia. They lived in a 
 village called Haftdewan. Through its narrow, 
 crooked street there flows an arkh or irrigating 
 stream, which is lined on both sides by willow 
 trees, old and gnarled, whose branches extend from 
 wall to wall, and cast a thick shade all around. A 
 group of villagers were lounging about, some lean- 
 ing against the high adobe walls of the houses, oth- 
 
 I 
 
2 MARIAM 
 
 ers seated on the ground, and discussing the pay- 
 ment of their annual tax. Nearby, where the 
 banks of the water course reached a lower level, the 
 women were washing and chatting over their work. 
 To the question of her companion, regarding the 
 cause of her distress, Nunia replied : 
 
 " Avak ! Alas ! Worse than that, — my man 
 wishes to send our daughter Mariam away to school 
 and to a Protestant school, too. My face is black." 
 
 " Horrible enough, certainly," said Dicranuhe. 
 " I agree with what I heard Uncle Harun say yes- 
 terday, that these schools will be the destruction of 
 our girls. They will even want to choose their own 
 husbands. Indeed, Hrepsima refused to be married 
 to a young man whom her aunt and mother had ac- 
 cepted for her. They say she had become so im- 
 modest as to receive letters from her suitor before 
 she was engaged to him, when she was at school 
 with the missionaries when they lived here. This 
 education will be our ruin." 
 
 " Yes," said Nunia, " I bewail my lot. Will my 
 daughter be a priest? If not, why should she be- 
 come a reader." 
 
 " My opinion is different," broke in Esther, a sis- 
 ter of Nunia, who had come on a visit from Urumia. 
 " In our village of Degala, the Protestants have had 
 for some years a school for girls, and the girls are 
 greatly improved. Some of them have gone to the 
 
A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 3 
 
 city to a place they call Fiske Seminary. When 
 they come back they do not revile and lie as we do. 
 They are neat and clean and the young men admire 
 them more." 
 
 " Better be ignorant than infidel," retorted Nunia. 
 " Priest Mugerdech told us at the Festival of the 
 Cross that the Protestants have no religion. They 
 do not seal themselves with the cross ; they have no 
 anointing with meeron (holy oil) ; they eat eggs, 
 milk and matsun on Wednesdays and Fridays. Do 
 they not know that the infant Jesus refused to suckle 
 On these days ? I do not want to turn my daughter 
 over to those who will rob her of her religion." 
 
 " Besides,"' added Dicranuhe, " last week the 
 Monk Arsen was our guest and he said that these 
 people were worse than Moslems. They spit on 
 the picture of the Holy Virgin Mary. When they 
 pray they close their eyes that they may not see the 
 presence of the blessed Mother of God. They have 
 no sacrament of marriage. What can we expect our 
 girls to become if we entrust them to such de- 
 stroyers? " 
 
 Just then there was a movement among the men 
 and a rustling of robes was heard: They looked up 
 and saw priest Mugerdech. He was clothed with 
 a pilon, a full flowing black cloak and had a long 
 staff in his hand and a cross suspended on his breast. 
 
4 MARIAM 
 
 He smiled as he saluted the women, " Peace, my 
 daughters." 
 
 They kissed his hand and responded," Bless us, 
 Lord Priest." 
 
 He had heard with satisfaction the last words of 
 Dicranuhe and he uttered his approval with em- 
 phasis. " Right, my child. They are Prots or lep- 
 ers. The blessed prophet says, ' Touch not the un- 
 clean thing.' These Protestants dishonor the holy 
 apostles, calling themselves by the same title and 
 teaching a religion which was invented in the New 
 World ; they dishonor the Holy Mother of God, say- 
 ing that she is merely an empty casket out of which 
 the jewel has been taken; they dishonor the holy 
 gospel, translating it into the vile language of the 
 infidel Turks and thus dishonoring the Master, who 
 said, ' Cast not your pearls before swine.' Beware 
 of them, my children." Priest Mugerdech passed 
 on, satisfied with himself as a shepherd who was 
 guarding his flock from the wolves. 
 
 But Esther had married a Nestorian and lived 
 among them. She had seen little of her own priests 
 and was not disposed to accept these accusations 
 without question. Being familiar with the freedom 
 of discussion among the educated Nestorian women, 
 she said : 
 
 " I do not see how these things can be true. As 
 I have seen, the missionaries honor the gospel, con- 
 
A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 5 
 
 tinually reading it to the people. One of their 
 Khanums or ladies came to our village. She had 
 with her a fair-faced, light-haired, blue-eyed beauty 
 pf a girl. Surely the Virgin as a child could not 
 have been more beautiful. I asked the mother, 
 ' What is the name of the child ? ' She said, ' It is 
 Mary ! ' ' Then, is it not true,' I asked, ' that you 
 dishonor Mary ? ' ' No,' she replied, ' we honor her 
 and love the name because it is the name of the 
 mother of the Lord Jesus, the most blessed among 
 women.' Five of my associates are named Mary 
 and the Sahib's (Mister's) wife is named Mary. 
 They are good people and I am not afraid of their 
 schools : I wish our Mariam could be a woman like 
 the Khanum." 
 
 " Yes," spoke up Almast, emboldened by the 
 words of Esther ; " I agree with you. I wish the 
 missionaries had remained here. They did nothing 
 but good to us. My husband and I often heard 
 them preach and their words were truth." 
 
 ' Well," answered Nunia, " what you say com- 
 forts me a little, for when my husband takes a no- 
 tion he is as hard to move as Ararat, and he seems 
 determined that our Mariam shall go to the mission 
 school." 
 
 At that moment two Moslems walked up the street 
 and turned toward the door of the wine shop of 
 Harun, an uncle of Mariam. These men were evi- 
 
6 MARIAM 
 
 'dently Sayids, — lineal descendants of Mohammed. 
 They were clothed in the distinctive dress of their 
 class, exaggerated to the last degree, as if by their 
 costume they wished to insure themselves the honor 
 which their dissipated conduct had forfeited. Their 
 turbans and girdles were multifolds of cotton cloth. 
 Those of one Sayid were green and the other navy 
 blue. Their shoes were of green leather. Both 
 wore long robes, which flapped around their ankles. 
 One, whose name was Sayid Jaffar, had an aba or 
 cloak which was lined with green, and even his ros- 
 ary of beads of pressed earth from the holy shrine 
 of Kerbela, which he dangled in his hand, was 
 strung on a green cord. He had a full, round face, 
 with dark eyes and black mustache. Hie might 
 have been considered handsome, had not signs of 
 vice and a bloated body told too plainly of a man- 
 ner of life which had brought degeneration in its 
 train. His apparel indicated the holy seed of the 
 prophet, his appearance the libertine. Of course 
 he could not pass without looking at the women, and 
 with eyes ever open to their charms, he no sooner 
 caught sight of Mariam, than he leered at her and 
 exclaimed : 
 
 "Mashallah, that's a beauty!" 
 
 Mariam, pleased with the words but frightened at 
 the man, drew back among the group of women. 
 The men passed into the wine shop of Harun. 
 
A ROMANCE OE PERSIA 7 
 
 " Alas," said Esther, " when will our people cease 
 to sell wine to the Moslems. Woe to the girl on 
 whom a tippling Sayid casts the evil eye." 
 
 Without delay the women finished their work, en- 
 tered their houses and barred the gates and doors. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 When Nunia reached home she found her hus- 
 band Hohannes occupied making for himself cha- 
 rukhs or sandals, from a piece of unfinished leather. 
 He had just looped the last of the circle of eyelets 
 when Nunia addressed him and again endeavored 
 to dissuade him from sending Mariam away to 
 school. 
 
 He replied : "lama Mukdasi, I have made the 
 pilgrimage to Jerusalem. When I passed though 
 Constantinople, our neighbor's son, Unger, was a 
 servant at the great school which the Americans 
 have built there for girls. I went through the build- 
 ings with Unger. I heard the girls singing at their 
 hour of prayer. I saw them come out after their 
 meeting. They looked like angels and Unger said 
 that they learn more than a bishop knows. I de- 
 termined that our Mariam should be as much like 
 them as possible." 
 
 " But," answered Nunia, " she is thirteen years 
 old and it is time for her to go to a husband." 
 
 " No," said he, " that is too young." 
 
 " But you married me before I was that old," re- 
 8 
 
A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 9 
 
 plied Nunia, thinking that was an unanswerable ar- 
 gument. 
 
 " True," admitted he, " but that was in the days 
 of our ignorance. Times have changed. Our Mar- 
 iam must be educated." 
 
 " But," she urged, " we have lost so many, let us 
 not send this one away." 
 
 " Alas," he rejoined, " do not I remember that 
 the terrible cholera smote two; a wolf carried one 
 from our roof at night; the cruel Kurds killed an- 
 other. Of eleven, only our son and Mariam re- 
 main to us. Therefore, I say, let Mariam have the 
 best advantages." 
 
 " Well, if you must send her off, let us at least ob- 
 tain for her the blessing of God and of the Mother 
 of God," entreated Nunia. 
 
 " Certainly," said Hohannes, " let us do all we 
 can for her." 
 
 " Then," proposed Nunia, " I will take her to 
 church to-night and to-morrow we will go with her 
 on a pilgrimage to the Vank, the Monastery of 
 Derik. For to-morrow is the Festival of the As- 
 sumption of the blessed Virgin. Priest Mugerdech 
 told me her body was taken to heaven that she 
 might plead for us ; let us present a sacrifice for our 
 daughter at her shrine." 
 
 "All right," said Hohannes, "I will have the 
 
io MARIAM 
 
 donkies shod and pick out a good sheep for sacri- 
 fice." 
 
 " And I," added Nunia, " will sprinkle some law- 
 ash bread and wrap up in it some fresh cheese. I 
 will also invite some of the neighbors to go along, 
 and we will start early." 
 
 That evening Nunia, notwithstanding her mis- 
 givings regarding the Sayid, took Mariam to the 
 church. It was a curious old stone structure, with 
 an arched dome. Shuffling off their shoes at the low 
 door, the two entered and stood before a canvas of 
 the crucifixion, which was almost falling to pieces 
 with age. Above their heads was a fresco, which 
 represented the judgment. In it a male angel, with 
 black hair, is represented, holding a pair of balances. 
 One scale is filled with light, the other with dark- 
 ness. The devil and his imps are pulling with all 
 their might to outweigh the light. Beyond the side 
 q{ light are groups sitting peaceably in Paradise; 
 beyond the other, souls in misery. Under a deep 
 but undefined impression of her surroundings, Nunia 
 placed lighted candles before the picture, and bow- 
 ing before it, ejaculated a prayer : " Oh, crucified 
 Jesus, let us see thy light." 
 
 She next obtained from Priest Mugerdech a writ- 
 ten prayer to the Virgin to be hung as an amulet 
 from Mariam's neck, and dropped a silver coin into 
 his hand. Finally she paused and placed a candle 
 
A ROMANCE OF PERSIA n 
 
 before a copy of the New Testament. It was a 
 manuscript discolored by age and wrapped in a 
 score or more of handkerchiefs. It was never read 
 but was greatly venerated on account of its age. 
 
 When returning they passed the wine shop of 
 Harun. They heard loud and angry voices within, 
 which caused them to hasten their steps and filled 
 their minds with anxiety for the inmates of Harun's 
 house. 
 
 Let us see what was happening to the Sayids. 
 The room, where they had been drinking, was in the 
 court yard with the family apartments. While 
 Harun was busy with the cattle, his wife served 
 wine and arak to them. They drank copiously, as 
 their one desire was to experience the pleasure of in- 
 toxication as soon as possible. After many a coarse 
 and indecent tale, Sayid Jaffar lay back on the cush- 
 ions in a drunken snooze. His companion, Mir 
 Gulam Ali, was more wakeful. Finally rising, he 
 went to the adjoining room, where the bride of the 
 house was sleeping and began to force open the 
 door. Harun, himself partly intoxicated, heard the 
 noise, and scarcely aware of what he was doing, 
 rose from the saki of the stable and cursed the dis- 
 turber. The other answered with angry oaths and 
 revilings. Harun, ready for a quarrel, pushed open 
 the outer door. The door struck Mir Gulam Ali, 
 who reeled and fell headlong. His head hit against 
 
12 MARIAM 
 
 a chest, but he was not injured beyond a few skin 
 scratches and bruises. Harun partly raised him and 
 dragged him back to the other room. Gulam Ali, 
 too far intoxicated to resist, collapsed on the floor 
 and slept till morning. At daybreak both the Sayids 
 got up and went to Dilman, the chief Persian town 
 of the plain, plotting revenge upon the wine-seller. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 The caravan was ready at an early hour to start 
 for the monastery. Saddle bags, filled with food, 
 were loaded on donkeys, kelim-carpets were thrown 
 Over them and a few sheep tied on the loads. Mar- 
 iam and other children rode on top of the loads, 
 and Mukdasi Hohannes, Harun and several men 
 mounted donkeys, but the women, considering it a 
 matter of ill-repute to ride a donkey, preferred to 
 walk. 
 
 With happy hearts they went out over the beauti- 
 ful Salmas plain, along its roads shaded by poplars 
 and willows. Near the edge of the plain they came 
 to an old tower, a fine structure covered with blue 
 tilings. Here they joined a party sitting on the 
 grass. Esther recognized them as from her own 
 neighborhood in Urumia. Soon the two parties 
 were on familiar terms. 
 
 In the caravan from Urumia was a peculiar look- 
 ing child. Esther called Mariam's attention to him, 
 saying, " Mariam, do you see that boy with the ring 
 in his ear? " 
 
 Mariam looked intently and replied, " No, I see a 
 fine-looking boy, but he has no ring in his ear." 
 
 !3 
 
H MARIAM 
 
 " OH," exclaimed Esther, " that is Abgar of our 
 village. He sees you looking at him and smiles at 
 you, but beside him is one with long hair braided 
 and hanging down his back, and dressed like a girl. 
 His mother lost all her other boys. Only her girls 
 lived. So, when this one was born, she vowed to 
 consecrate him to the Virgin and has pierced his 
 ear as a sign. She let his hair grow long that he 
 might appear like a girl and not be struck by the 
 evil eye." 
 
 When they reached the monastery they saw that 
 a thick wall was being built around its grounds. Its 
 finished portions were high and strong. A number 
 of strange men were superintending its building. 
 Leading their donkeys inside and leaving some of 
 their number to watch their stuff, Nunia and her 
 
 door and humbly 
 a large concourse 
 
 company entered the low church 
 crossed themselves. They found 
 of pilgrims had already assembled. Some had come 
 to give thanks for deliverance from sickness. These 
 purchased at the door twenty or thirty candles and 
 presented them to be burnt before the picture of the 
 " Mother of God." An old woman brought a cock 
 which she led around the shrine three times and 
 offered for the recovery of a sick husband. The 
 devoted boy, like a Nazarite, was brought before 
 the Vartabed or Monk Arsen with fifty silver krans 
 in his hand, which he presented. The monk 
 
SALMAS TOWER WITH BLUE TILING WHERE THE PICNIC WAS SPREAD 
 
A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 15 
 
 anointed him with meeron and prayed over him, 
 placing the crucifix on his head. He was then taken 
 out and his hair shorn. The ring from his ear was 
 hung up in the shrine. 
 
 After this Mukdasi Hohannes and Nunia called 
 the monk to the churchyard, brought the sheep be- 
 fore him, and said : 
 
 " Our daughter Mariam is going away from 
 home. We offer this sacrifice that the Lord Jesus 
 would keep her from harm and error." 
 
 " Let her go in peace, my children," replied the 
 monk, " the Lamb of God will protect her." 
 
 He then turned the head of the sheep to the East 
 and sacrificed it. One-quarter of it and its hide he 
 kept for himself. The head, feet and tallow were 
 taken by the acolyte. Hohannes then carried the 
 sacrifice to where they had prepared an ojak or 
 fire. Nunia rubbed it with salt, cut it in pieces and 
 put it in a large kazan or kettle. By the time the 
 monks had finished mass, the pot was boiling. Then 
 Vartabed Arsen came out and blessed the feast, 
 saying : 
 
 " Eat in peace and God accept your sacrifice." 
 
 They all sat down to the feast. Abgar and 
 Mariam sat opposite each other and made rapid 
 progress in getting acquainted, their eyes speaking, 
 though their tongues were silent. 
 
 At this point a colporteur came up with a hurjin 
 
16 MAKIAM 
 
 full of bonks. Ho had walked hither with tliohiirjin 
 thrown over his shoulder, lie was a peculiar look- 
 ing man with one blue eye ami one black one. Ho 
 was poorly dressed, bill a humble, devoled ( 'hris- 
 tian and a walking coiieordaue.e. If lie wore told 
 •any word of Scripture be could immediately name 
 the chapter and verso, where it is found; or if the 
 number of the chapter and verso were given, he 
 would repeal the words. lie had aheady found 
 out that one of the Turks, who had brought bread 
 and watermelons for sale, could read and had traded 
 him .1 CIospcl of Matthew for bread, en )< >i 1 1 i i it; him 
 to honor the book as (iod's Word and not deal it 
 slightingly, or woe would come upon hint. lie of- 
 fered the gospels to the Armenians, but the Vartabcd 
 objected, saying: 
 
 Shameslia, lake away these Ixioks. These are 
 not the true gospels, you Protestants have changed 
 them." 
 
 " No," answered Shameslia, " there is no differ- 
 ence from your ancient version except where il is 
 made to conform to the flreek text or to your own 
 modern dialect. We know too well from K'evela 
 fion 22, verses iR and \<>, the curse thai will come 
 upon any one who adds to or takes from the Word 
 of Hod. Wc would not diminish it by one jot or 
 tittle" 
 
 "Anyhow," said the Vartabcd, "our prayer book 
 
A ROMANCE OE PERSIA 17 
 
 is better for us than the gospel. Many things are 
 omitted from the New Testament. It does not tell 
 us that the Holy Virgin is our Mediator, nor how 
 her body was taken to heaven by the angels, as we 
 celebrate to-day. Besides, it omits our fasts and 
 our pilgrimages." 
 
 Shamesha opened the gospel at the 7th chapter 
 of Mark and asked the monk to read Christ's warn- 
 ing about receiving the traditions of men instead 
 of the commandments of God. 
 
 " We have proof," continued the monk, " that 
 we are right by the miracles that the saints work 
 for us now. Many people afflicted with Mary's 
 plague have come here, besought her intercession 
 and been healed. Not only so, but Saint Sarkis has 
 healed many crazy men. Just last week a Persian 
 lunatic came out of the dark cavern of our monas- 
 tery, after three days' confinement in it, perfectly 
 cured. The whole plain of Salmas is full of the 
 news." 
 
 Shamesha saw the folly of arguing with the Var- 
 tabed and turned to Mukdasi Hohannes, who seemed 
 impressed by the book. He was soon persuaded 
 to buy a Bible. He also inquired about the mission 
 school in Tabriz and on what conditions they would 
 receive his daughter. Abgar listened intently to 
 their conversation and a new longing came into his 
 heart. He soon found opportunity to say to 
 
18 MARIAM 
 
 TVIariam, " Are you going to Tabriz to school ? " 
 Mariam modestly turned her face away and with- 
 out saying a word, nodded her assent. 
 
 At this moment the arrival of Sayid Jaffar with 
 some horsemen filled the company with misgivings. 
 Ordinarily the coming of Persians would have ex- 
 cited no surprise, as Moslems frequently came to 
 the shrine for the cure of their sick. But the official 
 buttons on the coats of these men showed that they 
 were farashes. They passed the bridles of their 
 heated horses to the nearest Armenians and said: 
 " Walk these horses around until they cool off." 
 
 Then noticing Usta Daniel, the blacksmith of 
 Kuhna Shahr, the chief farash said to his com- 
 panions, " Here's a chance to get our horses shod 
 for nothing," and added, turning to the Usta, 
 " Make a good job of it, too, if you know what is 
 good for you." 
 
 Glancing at the repast of the pilgrims, they in- 
 stantly grabbed the bottles of wine and drained 
 them. They put aside their scruples about Chris- 
 tian food being an abomination, and devoured the 
 feast. The Sayid took his share of the liquor but 
 refused the bread and meat. Meanwhile, he turned 
 aside to where Mariam was playing near the horses 
 and, unobserved, gave her some candy, called rahat- 
 ul-lughum, and remarked that he would bring her 
 some more to the village. Then with a facility so 
 
> 
 
 A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 19 
 
 characteristic of the Persian, he addressed to her 
 Nizami's description of Leila: 
 
 " Bright as the morn thy cypress shape, thy eyes 
 Dark as the stag's I view with fond surprise; 
 Surely thy beauty's power's resistless grown, 
 To enthrall and charm the world — but chiefly one." 
 
 When he returned, the farashes, having made an 
 end of the food, suddenly said to the Sayid : 
 
 " Which son of a devil was it ? " 
 
 The Sayid pointed out Harun. 
 
 Instantly the farashes grabbed him, beat him to 
 the ground and cursed him, saying : 
 
 " We'll teach you, vile wretch, to lay hands on a 
 Moslem. You cursed Armenian, how dared you 
 strike a son of the prophet (upon whom be peace)." 
 
 As blows fell fast upon his pate, Harun cried out, 
 "Mercy! Don't kill me! I am your sacrifice! 
 What have I done? I am innocent! " 
 
 The police continued to beat and kick him, while 
 the villagers stood by speechless and trembling. 
 Then several of the Armenians who were superin- 
 tending the wall, hearing the cries, came up. 
 Among them were Khumbabed and Azgaser, two 
 of a band of " patriots," or revolutionists. Seeing 
 them dressed in European fashion, and for a mo- 
 
20 MARIAM 
 
 ment mistaking them for foreigners, the police 
 ceased beating Harun. 
 
 The "patriots," their blood boiling with fury 
 but powerless to resist, asked, " Why do you mal- 
 treat the poor fellow ? " 
 
 The police retorted : " What business is it of 
 yours ? We will attend to you shortly for building 
 a fortress. The Catholic monk was right when he 
 told the Suparest that you were preparing to rebel. 
 As for this fellow, he has struck a son of the prophet. 
 He has reviled the holy religion of Islam." 
 
 " He has killed a Moslem, a Sayid." 
 
 " Master Mir Gulam Ali is even now lying at the 
 point of death, his head broken, his clothes covered 
 with blood." 
 
 Uttering such accusations in unison against the 
 hapless Harun, they turned to him and said: 
 
 " Up, you villain, and come to prison. Your life 
 shall pay the penalty for such a crime." 
 
 It mattered not that Mir Gulam Ali had only a 
 slight flesh wound, received from his fall, and was 
 even then enjoying his pipe and pilau in Dilman. 
 An occasion had been given to the hungry farashes 
 to suck the blood of the despised Christians. With 
 a cuff and kick they enjoined Harun to get up and 
 be quick about getting them some money for their 
 trouble. Harun collected all the pocket money fhere 
 was among his friends and gave it to the farashes. 
 
! 
 
 
 HI I 
 
 fci&i'l 
 
A ROMANCE OF. PERSIA 21 
 
 They mounted their horses and drove him on foot 
 before them to the prison. The pilgrims soon scat- 
 tered to their respective homes, much depressed by 
 the events of the day. 
 
 Harun was taken before the Suparest, who or- 
 dered the farashes to bastinado him. Binding his 
 feet to a pole and raising them from the ground 
 they broke ten sticks beating the sole of his feet. 
 
 In an agony of pain he implored mercy, crying 
 out : " What do you want ? I will give anything. 
 I will do anything; only spare my life." 
 
 The officials all knew that Harun by his prosper- 
 ous farming and his wine selling had gained a full 
 cash bag, so the Suparest demanded of him 1,200 
 tomans. Harun plead his poverty and the needs 
 of his family and swore by everything that is holy 
 that it was impossible to pay such a sum. The fine 
 was reduced to 1,000 tomans, and under further tor- 
 ture he agreed to pay it. For this sum he gave his 
 note, and was led back to prison until the cash could 
 be delivered. To make up this amount his chest 
 was emptied of cash, outstanding notes were col- 
 lected, his horse and colt, two yokes of buffaloes and 
 three of his oxen were sold, the coins of his wife's 
 necklaces, which were a part of her dowry, were con- 
 tributed and 300 tomans were borrowed from his 
 brother Hohannes. Yet, notwithstanding his loss, 
 
22 MARIAM 
 
 it was with a feeling of relief akin to joy that he 
 started home after his release from their hands. 
 
 But, alas for Harun ! His peace was short-lived. 
 The next day the servants of the Mujtihid, or Chief 
 Moslem Priest, came to his house and dragged him 
 before the religious court. He was accused of 
 blasphemy in reviling Islam and the prophet Mo- 
 hammed, and having lifted wicked hands upon a 
 descendant of the prophet. The Mujtihid declared 
 the crime worthy of death and ordered him first to 
 be tortured. He was bastinadoed, lacerating anew 
 the wounds on his feet. His legs were then bound 
 with ropes and a stick inserted, which was turned 
 around and around, tightening the ropes until it 
 seemed that the bones would break. 
 
 In his agony, fearing death, Harun cried out: 
 " I become a Moslem. La illaha il Ullah, Moham- 
 med rasul Ullah, Ali vakil Ullah. There is no God 
 but God, Mohammed is the prophet of God, and Ali 
 the vicegerent of God." 
 
 Instantly the tortures were relaxed and he was 
 given a drink of sherbet. He was again asked to 
 repeat the creed. He did so and was thereupon 
 sent to the bath and circumcised. A waiter full of 
 choice food was sent him from the Mujtihid's 
 kitchen. His Armenian wife was divorced from 
 him. He was given a Moslem wife, a sister of Sayid 
 Jaffar, and an order was issued that the 1,000 to- 
 
A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 23 
 
 mans should be restored to him and a khallat or 
 suit of fine clothes was added with the Mujtihid's 
 blessing. The buffaloes and oxen were restored to 
 him without payment, and a house was assigned to 
 him in Dilman among the Moslems. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 1 
 
 The day of Mariam's departure for school soon 
 came around. Her preparations were easily com- 
 pleted. The first stage of the journey from Salmas 
 to Tabriz is a tedious one, requiring eleven hours on 
 horseback. In order to avoid this long day and at 
 the same time see some relatives, Mariam was taken, 
 on the previous evening, by her father to Piajuk, a 
 village on the lower plain. The charvadar's horse, 
 with its huge pack saddle, was loaded with her bun- 
 dles tied on with ropes, and the bedding thrown on 
 top. Mariam was seated astride the load. They 
 spent the night at her aunt's house; and in the morn- 
 ing set out and reached the place appointed for 
 meeting the rest of the caravan. 
 
 After long delay Shamesha, who was to act as 
 guide and protector for the caravan, arrived at the 
 place, accompanied by his daughter. He reported 
 that the other pupils were unable to come, that four 
 boys and two girls had been ready and had mounted 
 their horses, when Khumbabed Azgaser and Priest 
 Mugerdech reached the spot. They showed a letter 
 from Bishop Phanos, of Tabriz, prohibiting the 
 
 24 
 
MARIAM AND HER SCHOOLMATES 
 GIRLS' SCHOOL. TABRIZ 
 
. A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 25 
 
 children from coming to the Protestant schools, and 
 enjoining the priests and " patriots " to prevent it 
 by all means. Hearing this, several of the parents 
 immediately decided to keep their children at home. 
 But others refused to change their plans, saying 
 that the education of their children was their own 
 business and that nobody had a right to interfere. 
 They started on the road, but Khumbabed seized 
 the bridle of the one in the lead, and reviled her 
 father. The priest also cursed with a curse any one 
 who would send his child. The father jerked at 
 the bridle and was unable to free it from the grasp 
 of Khumbabed. So he struck the latter on the hand 
 with his whip. Instantly Khumbabed raised his. 
 lead-weighted cane and knocked the father to the 
 ground. The mothers immediately came and took 
 their children to their homes. No one interfered 
 with Shamesha as he was an acknowledged Prot- 
 estant. But had Mariam been there they would 
 have detained her, and Khumbabed even announced 
 his purpose of going after her. To avoid this pos- 
 sibility, the party quickly fell on the road. After 
 an uneventful journey they reached Tabriz and com- 
 mitted Mariam to the Girls' School. 
 
 Abgar had reached home from the shrine with a 
 new idea. He was not long in opening up his mind 
 to his father. When the family were seated around 
 the kurisee, and his father was smoking the Kalian 
 
26 MARIAM 
 
 or water pipe, he began abruptly : " Father, I want 
 to go to school in Tabriz." 
 
 His father replied: "Yes, it is good to go to 
 school. But why not go in Urumia. There are 
 good schools here." 
 
 " That is true, but we are Armenians," pleaded 
 the boy. " Here the schools are in Syriac. At the 
 shrine there was a man named Khumbabed who said 
 that we Armenians should learn to read our mother- 
 tongue and quit talking Turkish and Kurdish in our 
 homes." 
 
 " Right, my boy," said the father, " but it will 
 cost me a great deal." 
 
 Abgar answered : " I heard the Shamesha tell 
 old Mukdasi from Haftdewan that the greater part 
 of the expense is met by the Christian people of the 
 New World. Besides, Shamesha told a story about 
 Mollah Nasr-i-Din. A man came to him to ask 
 about having his boy educated. He said to the Mol- 
 lah : " How much will you take to teach my boy 
 to read ? " The Mollah replied : "I will charge 
 100 tomans." The man demurred, saying : " That 
 is dear. With ioo tomans I can buy five donkeys." 
 Mollah Nasr-i-Din replied : " Buy them, then you 
 will have six." 
 
 " Well, my boy, I do not wish you to be a don- 
 key," concluded the father ; " I will give half of 
 
A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 27 
 
 our raisin crop for your expenses at school. You 
 may go." 
 
 So Abgar joined the caravan from Urumia and 
 became a pupil in the Memorial School in Tabriz. 
 
 In the large city of Tabriz, amid the life and busi- 
 ness of 150,000 people, Abgar saw many strange 
 things. The full rich bazars especially impressed 
 him. But he found nothing so attractive as the Me- 
 morial School, with its delightful campus and build- 
 ings. Resting in the shade of the mulberry grove 
 and walking arm in arm with a companion along 
 the avenues of almond trees were a pleasure to him 
 day by day. When Abgar was informed that the 
 entire school, grounds and buildings, were a dona- 
 tion from one Christian lady, it was a new revela- 
 tion to him of the fruits of the love of Jesus in the 
 hearts of his disciples. 
 
 The simple native style of life in the school suited 
 Abgar, for he had been accustomed to sleep on the 
 floor and to roll up his bedding and place it against 
 the wall during the day. In the dining room the 
 cloth was spread on the floor, and the boys sat 
 around it. Tea with bread and cheese made their 
 breakfast. Big Russian samavars were set to boil- 
 ing and the tea without cream was sipped over lumps 
 of sugar, placed in the mouth. For lunch there was 
 a bowl of Matsun (curd) or some grapes or melons 
 with cheese to add relish to the bread. The meat- 
 
28 MARIAM , 
 
 stew for dinner was eaten, not from the common 
 bowl in the way Abgar had been used to in his home, 
 but each pupil had a separate bowl in which the 
 bread was sopped and eaten with a wooden spoon. 
 If rice pilau was served, it was not forbidden to eat 
 with the fingers in the royal Persian style. 'Abgar's 
 first trouble arose from this habit. He was inno- 
 cently enjoying his meal, when a pupil opposite him 
 said: 
 
 " Don't eat like a porker ; eat decently." 
 
 Abgar resented the interference and replied: 
 " Mind your own business." 
 
 War would have been on in an instant had not 
 the Monitor quieted them, but Abgar carried his 
 complaint to the principal. The latter called the 
 Other boy and inquired about the case. 
 
 The boy said, " I wished to teach Abgar manners. 
 He was not eating nicely with his fingers." 
 
 " Why," asked the principal, " do you not all eat 
 with your fingers ? " 
 
 " Yes," said the pupil, " but Abgar was eating 
 with five fingers ; he should eat with three only." 
 
 Abgar was a willing worker at the chores about 
 the school. Many boys had been accustomed to 
 allow their mothers and sisters to bring wood and 
 water, but Abgar had been trained to help. His 
 turn soon came to lend a helping hand at bread- 
 baking. What a time it was! Three women 
 
. A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 29 
 
 worked at it all day and night. Three barrels of 
 flour were sifted and made into dough. To knead 
 it a cloth was spread over the dough, and it was 
 trodden under foot. To help at this the new gate- 
 keeper from the mountains was called upon. He 
 had only seen the family supply of bread kneaded 
 by hand. 
 
 He stood aghast and said : " God forbid that I 
 should trample under foot bread, the gift of God. 
 It is a sin." He must needs be excused, but Abgar 
 and the large boys had no such scruples. The 
 women sitting on the floor rolled the lumps of dough 
 into thin sheets like wrapping paper and baked them 
 by throwing them against the sides of an under- 
 ground oven, called a tandur. Abgar helped to 
 spread these thin loaves on the floors, and to stack 
 them, when dry and crisp, upon a rack in the cellar. 
 
 The even tenor of school life was interrupted by 
 a troublesome incident. A new purse with ten to- 
 mans in silver disappeared at night from the box 
 of a boy named Hosef. He had just received a 
 cheque from home for his tuition but had not yet 
 paid it over to the principal. Who was the thief? 
 The money had disappeared after the gates were 
 locked. Therefore it was likely someone in the 
 school had taken it. Abgar had been seen to rise 
 from his bed and go to the corner where Hosef's 
 box was. He only of the boys had seen Hosef 
 
30 MARIAM 
 
 receive his money. Abgar denied any knowledge 
 of the theft and said he had risen simply to shut 
 the window. In spite of this denial, suspicion set- 
 tled upon him. Nearly all the boys believed him 
 guilty and began to shun him. Hosef loudly de- 
 manded that he should be compelled to pay back his 
 money. One of the teachers recommended a search 
 of all the rooms, and himself undertook this disa- 
 greeable task. A peculiar string with which Hosef's 
 money bag had been tied was found among Abgar's 
 clothes. On this the teacher became convinced of 
 his guilt and advised his expulsion from the school. 
 The principal was at a loss what to do. Things 
 looked pretty dark for Abgar. His one consola- 
 tion was from Mariam, for when their eyes met at 
 church he was assured that she trusted him. When 
 the singing class of boys and girls met at the Girls' 
 School, even though they were on the opposite 
 sides of the room, she found an opportunity in 
 passing to say to him, " I believe you are innocent." 
 As many others were of the same opinion Abgar 
 was given the benefit of the doubt. 
 
 Mariam led an uneventful life in the Girls' School. 
 She drank in knowledge as sunlight and her mind 
 opened under her training as a budding flower. She 
 was specially interested in her gospel lessons. Here- 
 tofore she had known of religion only from its rites 
 and traditions. Now she received the Word of 
 
A ROMANCE OF. PERSIA 31 
 
 God and its illumination brightened her life. Fol- 
 lowing the custom of the pupils, she learned to pray 
 and her prayers became a means of strength and 
 growth to her as with childlike faith she daily 
 sought the blessing of her Saviour. 
 
 At the Christmas vacation she and other boarding 
 pupils from a distance could not return to their 
 homes. On Christmas day, which is January 6, ac- 
 cording to the Armenian calendar, she went to the 
 Gregorian church. She took her place in the gal- 
 lery reserved for women. The liturgy for the mass, 
 celebrated in the ancient Armenian, which few un- 
 derstood, was drawing to a close after several hours, 
 during which the congregation stood. Bishop 
 Phanos was officiating. He was dressed in long 
 flowing robes, of gorgeous coloring, and a gold- 
 embroidered cape. His mitre was very large and 
 was covered with enameled pictures. On his breast 
 were suspended a silver cross and a picture of the 
 Catholicos of the Armenian Church, encircled with 
 gems. His countenance was stern and proud and, 
 though largely concealed under his full black beard, 
 yet indicated, specially in the flashing black eye, a 
 domineering disposition. He was attended by a full 
 company of priests, deacons and acolytes. The 
 church was perfumed with incense, hundreds of 
 candles burned before the pictures. The altar- 
 screens were pulled back and forth in a manner ut- 
 
%2 MARIAM 
 
 terly without significance to Mariam and the other 
 women and doubtless to the men also. Mariam 
 was attracted to the singing. A score of boys, 
 robed in surplices of variegated cotton prints, had 
 been trained, and they rendered the ancient chants. 
 The leader was Azgaser, whose deep magnificent 
 voice gave tone to the choir. Mariam recognized 
 him as a man whom she had seen in Salmas at the 
 shrine. She also noticed that he kept glancing up 
 at the gallery. 
 
 The special matter of interest, and one the mean- 
 ing of which was plain to Mariam from her reading 
 of the gospels, was a representation of the baptism 
 of Jesus. A vessel filled with water was placed 
 before the altar. A priest brought a silver cross 
 and immersed it in this vessel. Another priest came 
 bearing a silver dove from whose mouth meeron 
 or holy oil was poured out upon the water. Then 
 the dove was borne in procession around the interior 
 of the church, accompanied by the numerous clergy. 
 The people bowed themselves before it in adoration. 
 Then the cross was taken from the water by a boy 
 named Haritune, whose father, Baron Sarkis, had 
 given a good sum of money for this privilege, which 
 was supposed to bring a blessing. The cross was 
 placed upon Haritune's breast and the people came 
 up and devoutly kissed it. After the ceremonies 
 were finished they made a rush with their bottles 
 
A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 33 
 
 and vessels to procure some of the water as a 
 panacea for their ills. 
 
 The cross itself was taken with further cere- 
 monies to the house of Baron Sarkis. Its presence 
 for a fortnight in his house was regarded as bring- 
 ing a double blessing to Haritune. Baron Sarkis 
 made a great feast. Bishop Phanos, Priest Guerg 
 and rich friends and relatives were all invited. As 
 Abgar was Haritune' s cousin, he was asked to 
 come and help to serve the guests. Ordinarily Sar- 
 kis lived with his family in one room and ate and 
 slept on the floor under the kurisee. But for wed- 
 dings and festivals they opened up the great rooms 
 which were furnished in Russian style. Still they 
 so far kept to their oriental ways that none but 
 men were present at the feast. Abgar was much 
 interested to see high life among his people in 
 this semi-foreign aspect. The antepast of relishes, 
 appetizers and liquors, the numerous courses and 
 change of plates, the humorous sallies of the tam- 
 adar or toastmaster, as he proposed the health of 
 each guest in turn, were an astonishment to him. 
 The amount of liquor drank was no surprise, for 
 the drinking custom in the Urumia villages was 
 the same, but the new varieties of drinks from 
 Europe amazed him. According to the princi- 
 pal's instructions, Abgar restrained from any 
 indulgence in these intoxicants, while enjoying, 
 
34 MARIAM 
 
 after the feast, his portion of the delicious viands. 
 All the ceremonies of the church had a marked 
 influence on Mariam, but not in the way that might 
 be supposed. They opened her eyes and clarified 
 her Christian knowledge. She thoughtfully con- 
 sidered them and saw how formal and unscriptural 
 such worship was. In the shrine and the church at 
 Haftdewan she had joined with heart and devotion 
 in these ceremonies. Now she felt an aversion to 
 such vain services. Bowing before pictures, burn- 
 ing of candles, kneeling before crosses, the mum- 
 meries of priestcraft — seemed to her empty forms. 
 From that Christmas day she became in heart an 
 evangelical Christian. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 A vacation was necessary in the schools by reason 
 of Muharram. On its tenth day the fanatical de- 
 monstrations of the Persians in mourning for their 
 martyred Iman Hussain made the streets dangerous 
 for children. On that day Mariam asked permis- 
 sion to visit the preacher's wife and see the proces- 
 sions from the roof of their house. Her good 
 behavior secured her this concession, and by going 
 early she avoided any danger. Abgar by intuition 
 or otherwise knew of this plan, and though the 
 boarding pupils were prohibited from going else- 
 where than the roof of the dormitory to see the 
 sights, Abgar appeared at the parsonage. There, 
 in quiet, modest ways, after the manner of the 
 Orient, by glances and exclamations rather than by 
 direct address, he made his presence felt, and kept 
 in communication with Mariam. It seemed to him 
 a great day, in that it gave him opportunity to be 
 near the one to whom most of all he was attracted. 
 So standing on the edge of the flat roof, behind 
 the parapet, they watched the processions. Thou- 
 sands of people like them were on the roofs eager 
 to see the spectacle. 
 
 35 
 
36 MARIAM 
 
 The devotees, who were attracting to their bar- 
 barous performance Christians and Moslems alike, 
 were not men of a special class. They were from 
 the ordinary walks of life, but wrought up to a 
 condition of frenzied excitement through witnessing 
 the Passion Play and hearing the stories of the 
 slaughter of Iman Hussain and his family on the 
 plain of Kerbela. In the morning they assembled 
 in the various Mosques and formed in processions, 
 which marched to the sound of weird music scarcely 
 audible amid the din. First came men bearing the 
 national banner of the Lion and the Sun, others with 
 tukhs or steel plumes and mirrors, then bands of 
 boys chanting the mournful tale of Hussain's death, 
 followed by a man clashing cymbals. After him 
 was a squad of men, barefoot and naked to the 
 waist, who, with measured beats, pounded them- 
 selves until their breasts were black and blue. 
 Other bands had clubs or chains, some cat-o'-nine- 
 tails of iron or straps, tipped with steel, with which 
 they lacerated their backs. The bands were divided 
 into sections and had a series of cries and responses, 
 the chief ones being " Shah Hussain," " Vy Hus- 
 sain." The cries were mingled wildly and repeated 
 again and again as the procession moved on. 
 
 One man carried a tulug or leather water bottle, 
 and others raised aloft metallic hands; for when 
 Hussain had gone on that fatal day to the Euphrates 
 
A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 37 
 
 for water, the bottle was pierced with an arrow and 
 the water spilled. When Abbas was surrounded, 
 his hands were cut off. He put his sword into his 
 mouth, and rushing at the enemy killed a number 
 of them. There followed a riderless horse richly- 
 caparisoned, eloquent of the fallen Hussain. After 
 this came a company of children strapped to horses, 
 their heads lacerated with sword cuts and their 
 garments red with the blood which flowed down 
 Upon them. Mariam could scarcely endure the 
 sight as the men with strange carefulness gently 
 stroked the infants' heads with the sharp swords. 
 But women moving on in the throng, evidently the 
 mothers, who had vowed to devote their children to 
 the holy Iman, watched them with eager solicitude 
 and with pious gratitude, thinking that now they 
 were sure of a blessing. Other children were cov- 
 ered with chaff and ashes, representing Zeinab and 
 her little ones taken captive to Syria and a band of 
 women followed them weeping and wailing. 
 
 Last of all marched a corps of devotees who 
 wished to acquire special merit. On they came with 
 a swaying half-sidewise gait. Each with one hand 
 grasped the girdle of the one in front, while with 
 the other hand he brandished a bloody sword. With 
 wild excitement they flashed their swords in the air 
 and brought them down upon their shaven heads. 
 Their scalps were haggled and mangled in irregular 
 
38 MARIAM 
 
 gashes. The blood poured down on their faces, 
 dyed with red their white robes, and made them a 
 sight revolting and sickening, while their wild, fren- 
 zied, unceasing cry of " Shah Hussain !" " Hasan 
 Hussain," like the shouts of the, prophets of Baal, 
 was deafening. 
 
 Mariam felt almost brutal to be gazing at such 
 a spectacle, but it had a strange fascination for the 
 crowd. She noticed on closer inspection that men 
 were keeping pace behind the devotees with long 
 sticks to ward off the blows which might inflict 
 mortal injury. As she observed this fact, a man 
 attracted her attention by the special energy with 
 which he was brandishing his sword, while a Sayid, 
 stick in hand, was keeping pace behind him. As 
 they came just opposite her, she recognized with 
 horror that the devotee with the drawn sword was 
 her uncle Harun. She grew sick at heart to see 
 him engaged in this barbarous performance. He 
 had felt that he must take part in it in order by 
 a show of zeal for his newly-professed faith to 
 insure his safety, and that the largess reaching him 
 &s a new convert might be increased. 
 
 The other man was none other than Sayid Jaffar. 
 He had come up to Tabriz to procure from the 
 government his yearly stipend — a sort of pension 
 which his fathers before him had received as Sayids, 
 and for which no service had been rendered or was 
 
'A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 39 
 
 expected. He also found the Passion Play at the 
 takia of the Crown Prince, a great attraction in Tab- 
 riz during Muharram. The Sayid from his place 
 in the procession looked up at Mariam and recog- 
 nized her. With a nod and a smile, he said to him- 
 self, " Thank God, I have got my eyes upon that 
 pretty girl again. Allah Akbar !" His glance, the 
 strange look in his eye, his expression of counte- 
 nance filled her with an indefinite dread. 
 
 At this moment Harun struck a back stroke with 
 his sword, but the Sayid's attention was directed 
 to the roof and he neglected to ward off the stroke 
 as he had heretofore done. It came with a thud 
 upon Harun's skull, the blood gushed out and he 
 fell to the ground with a cry upon his lips, " O, 
 Lord Jesus," in the Armenian tongue. He was 
 dragged to the side of the platform of a ruined 
 mosque. Drafts of sugar water were pressed to his 
 lips to revive him. But exhausted by his previous 
 exertions and by the loss of blood he soon lay a 
 corpse. A voice near Mariam ejaculated, " The 
 beast has burst himself, sure!" These words, so 
 full of contempt, are a habitual expression in the 
 mouth of the bigoted Armenian or Moslem in 
 speaking of the death of one of the opposite faith. 
 Mariam on hearing them realized that her uncle 
 Harun was dead. A feeling of horror and grief 
 came over her and she fainted away. She would 
 
40 MARIAM 
 
 have fallen over the parapet, but Azgaser who had 
 come up onto the roof in time to see and exclaim 
 over the fall of the devotee, caught her with a firm 
 grasp. She recovered consciousness quickly and 
 was shocked to find herself supported by the strong 
 arms of Azgaser. With an expression of thanks 
 for his assistance she sank into a chair which Degeen 
 Yeksabet, the preacher's wife, vacated for her. 
 
 Meanwhile a rough bier had been brought and 
 the body of Harun borne away. The procession 
 of frenzied devotees moved on, while one of the 
 leaders kept encouraging them by ejaculating, " An- 
 other of the faithful has entered Paradise." " An- 
 other Moslem is welcomed by the black-eyed 
 Houris." None of the onlookers except Mariam 
 knew that the dead man was a renegade Christian 
 nor did any recognize his dying cry as a call upon 
 the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 Yet all the sight-seers on the roof were greatly 
 shocked by the tragic event. They had heard of 
 such occurrences taking place during the Muharrem 
 celebration, but they had never been eye-witnesses 
 of such a scene. Azgazar began to inveigh against 
 the barbarity and bigotry of the Moslems. " Oh," 
 said he, " would that our Armenian race might soon 
 be free from their cruel rule ! We ' Patriots ' are 
 doing our best to bring about this result. Our suf- 
 ferings are unspeakable. Our condition is intoler- 
 

 s# 
 
 
 3Hn* 
 
 ^-jpy^s^Sy - ^^ ^ 
 
 jfcrt' ■ _!st> -JaanftnriJ 
 
 - — 
 
 -^5 
 
 
A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 41 
 
 able, especially in Turkey. Looters, like Musa Bey, 
 carry off our girls to the Kurdish harems. To 
 escape a like fate women rush headlong into the 
 Euphrates and drown themselves in its rushing tor- 
 rent. Even in Persia we are oppressed. In Sal- 
 mas, at the Vank, I saw a man from Haftdewan 
 maltreated unmercifully. Afterwards he was 
 forced to become a Moslem to save his life." 
 
 Mariam interrupted him and with a great effort 
 at composure said, pointing to the platform of the 
 mosque, " The one who fell dead there was that 
 man, my uncle Harun." 
 
 On hearing that, Azgaser burst into a flame of 
 indignation, and with a torrent of invective de- 
 nounced the oppressors of their race. 
 
 The stirring conversation of Azgaser was very 
 attractive to Mariam. His appearance, too, his 
 dashing way, his European costume, derby hat, 
 collar, necktie and even the cane which he dangled 
 in his fingers, made him seem so like a gentleman, 
 that she involuntarily contrasted him with Abgar, 
 who was bashfully standing at some distance. She 
 glanced toward the latter and he easily divined her 
 thoughts, which so well corresponded to his own 
 estimation of himself at that moment. He seemed 
 to himself as insignificant beside that polished, 
 strong-minded patriotic youth, and he felt chagrined 
 and deeply mortified. 
 
42 MARIAM 
 
 By the time Azgaser had finished his patriotic 
 tirade, the Muharrem procession had passed and 
 Mariam went down from the roof with Degeen 
 Yeksabet, her mind confused with thoughts of 
 her uncle's horrible death and of the attractions of 
 this young " patriot." Azgaser, too, walked away 
 with mixed feelings, — disgust and hatred for the 
 Turks marring the pleasure he felt on account of 
 his new-formed acquaintance. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 At the feast of Pentecost, Khanum said to the 
 girls : " If you wish I will take you to a garden 
 for a picnic." 
 
 They all answered with delight, " Our hearts are 
 squeezed for just such an excursion." 
 
 She gave them directions, saying, " Do you get 
 ready the kelims and the samavar and some lunch. 
 I will tell Meshedi to call the hammal to carry the 
 things, and we will start immediately." 
 
 The girls threw over their heads their white cot- 
 ton chudras and drew them forward so as to cover 
 their mouths. These coverings hung down to their 
 feet, completely enveloping them. The street was 
 comparatively wide in front of the school, yet such 
 was the number of the donkeys loaded with brick 
 and lime, wood, straw and food, that Meshedi was 
 busily employed in driving them aside to open a path 
 for the girls. They passed through the Gajil ceme- 
 tery, a burial-place for Moslems, dreary and deso- 
 late, without a tree or shrub. As they reached the 
 Gaziran, where the fullers and dyers were washing 
 their fabrics, Meshedi said to the Khanums. 
 
 43 
 
44 MARIAM 
 
 " Do you see those lamb-skins ? They are being 
 washed and prepared as furs." 
 
 " Yes," said Khanum, " they take a great many 
 of them to our country. We also like the old car- 
 pets, such as these men are scrubbing and laying in 
 the sun to dry. The sheen which the old carpets 
 have is much prized in America." 
 
 As they went on a saka or water carrier, with 
 his tulug or leather bottle thrown over his shoulder 
 and leather bucket in his hand, addressed the ham- 
 mal, asking: 
 
 "Who are these?" 
 
 " They are the Protestant school." 
 
 "Where are they going?" 
 
 " To Hadi Khan's garden." 
 
 The saka filled his tulug and quickly went off on 
 a side street. 
 
 In the garden the girls spread the kelims under 
 the beautiful, widespreading elms by an irrigating 
 reservoir. Stuffed grape-leaf dolmas were ready iri 
 the kettle for lunch. The kettle was placed on two 
 stones, a few sticks of wood were brought by the 
 gardener and soon the dolmas . were heated. A 
 dressing of sour milk (matsun) made them a deli- 
 cious dish. Piping hot tea from the samavar, drunk 
 from tiny glasses, gave unalloyed pleasure. After 
 noon some Persian women came to the garden and 
 the lady missionaries seized the opportunity to 
 
A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 45 
 
 gather them in a group on the ground and read 
 the Bible to them. At the same time one of the 
 Persian women, haggard and shriveled, came near 
 to the girls and sat down beside them.. Her name 
 was Gari. She was dressed in the ordinary street 
 costume of the Moslem women of the poorer class. 
 Her cotton chudra, like that of the girls, was thrown 
 over her head, but the in color was blue and white 
 plaid. She had on shelvars or overalls, a combina- 
 tion of stockings and pantaloons, which enveloped 
 her skirts. Her veil was a piece of muslin with eye- 
 peepers of lace-work. Her slippers were toe-tipped 
 with red sheepskin and had iron heels like horse- 
 shoes. 
 
 As she sat down among the girls, she drew her 
 veil aside and said : " Salaam alakum, Peace be to 
 you." 
 
 The girls noticed this greeting as more cordial 
 than the usual one of a Moslem to a Christian. 
 "Allah sakhlasun," " May God keep you," is cus- 
 tomary. 
 
 They made bold to return her greeting, saying, 
 " Alaka salaam, To you be peace." 
 
 They also noticed that she was of darker com- 
 plexion than the Persian women usually are, so 
 Mariam inquired, " Where are ydu from ?" 
 
 She replied : " I am a wanderer. They call me 
 a Karachi or Gipsy." 
 
46 MARIAM 
 
 " Oh," interjected Taguhe, " if you are a Karachi 
 you can tell fortunes." 
 
 " Yes, that is my business, if you will give me a 
 kran I will tell your fortune." 
 
 " We are poor school-girls. We have no money. 
 We simply wish to have some amusement," said 
 Mariam. 
 
 " All right," agreed Gari, " for two pins from 
 each of you I will tell your fortunes." 
 
 " Well," said Taguhe, " here are two pins, tell 
 mine." 
 
 "You," replied Gari, "you will have misfortunes, 
 for when I came up you sneezed, and the moment 
 you asked me to tell your fortune a bird flew over 
 your left shoulder, but as I read the book of fate 
 your subsequent condition will be fortunate." 
 
 In succession she told the fortune of several of 
 the girls and many were the peals of merry laughter 
 that rang out from the group. 
 
 Taguhe then said : " I have two pins for you if 
 you tell us the fortune of the younger Khanum." 
 
 "Which one?" 
 
 " The one over there with the light hair, who is 
 listening while the other talks." 
 
 " For her, as she is not near, I must consult the 
 horoscope." 
 
 So saying, she unloosed a bundle which was tied 
 under her chudra, and unknotting the handkerchief 
 
GIPSY GARI, DAUGHTER AND GRANDCHILD 
 
A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 47 
 
 she took out from it a small brass bowl, the surface 
 of which was divided into sections and circles and 
 had many talismanic signs and Arabic letters en- 
 graved upon it. A small tongue or indicator, also 
 of brass, was fastened on a pivot in the center of 
 the bowl. Giving this indicator a whirl and looking 
 intently at the beautiful face of the young mission- 
 ary, she said: 
 
 " That flaxen-haired lady is not a real tark-i- 
 dunya (nun). She will forsake you in a short time 
 and be wedded to one who travels as swiftly as 
 Satan on a horse that eats wind." 
 
 With the latter phrase Gari described the bicycle. 
 
 Next Mariam proffered her wage and asked about 
 her own future. Gari in turn asked : " When were 
 you born?" 
 
 " My mother," replied Mariam, " says that I was 
 three years old when Sheikh Obeidullah led the 
 Kurds on his raid." 
 
 " In that case," interrupted Gari, " you were born 
 in the year of the elephant. You are fortunate. 
 You will marry a rich man, with a ruddy counte- 
 nance, shaped like the full moon. He will be some- 
 what older than yourself. You will know him by 
 his clothes of green color. You will change your 
 religion and be somewhat separated from your rela- 
 tives, but you will be extremely happy." 
 
 Certainly, thought the girls, this description does 
 
48 MARIAM 
 
 not correspond to any of her present admirers. To- 
 wards evening, after emptying the samavar another 
 time, they returned to their busy school life. 
 
 Some days after this picnic a woman dallal or 
 pedler came to the school to sell small articles. It 
 was her habit to sell to the teachers and pupils. On 
 that day Mariam came into their waiting-room to 
 buy a handkerchief and some needles and thread. 
 The dallal found herself alone with Mariam, an 
 opportunity she had been looking for. She reached 
 into her pocket and drew out a red apple, which she 
 passed to Mariam, saying : 
 
 " This is a token of love from a handsome man, 
 round faced and ruddy, who has lands and gardens, 
 servants and horses, and a house richly carpeted and 
 furnished. The bird of his heart has fallen into 
 the snare of love. Your cypress-like form and 
 moon-shaped face, your raven locks and dazzling 
 brow have made him like Majnun. Your ruby 
 sugar-dropping lips have intoxicated him. He longs 
 for you as a draught from the river Kozar. As the 
 nightingale loves the rose, as Khosrov loved Shirin, 
 §o he loves you. He sends you this necklace of 
 pearls and gold. He would make you his wife." 
 
 " But," said Mariam, " I do not know him." 
 
 " True," replied the woman, " that is according 
 to our modest oriental custom. A maiden needs to 
 know simply that the man is worthy and loves her. 
 
A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 49 
 
 Your lover is a holy man, honored by all, descended 
 from the greatest and best of men (upon him be 
 peace). He is one of our saints. He is Agha 
 Sayid Jaffar." 
 
 "What! Horrors! Marry a Moslem!" ex- 
 claimed Mariam. " Never ! Never ! The Lord 
 Jesus defend me!" And with these words she 
 rushed toward the door. 
 
 From the time in Muharram that Sayid Jaffar 
 saw Mariam on the roof he had determined to follow 
 up the girl and secure her for himself. He first 
 went to the preacher's house and pretended to wish 
 to hear the gospel from his lips. He hoped to' see 
 Mariam there. He learned that there were no girls 
 in that house, but he surmised that Mariam was 
 among the pupils at the school of which he heard. 
 He set a watch for them and when he had learned 
 from the saka near the Gaziran that they had gone 
 to the garden, he had sent Gari, the fortune-teller, 
 to find out all about the situation and to cast a seed 
 of superstition into Mariam's mind, hoping that it 
 might find a fit soil in which to grow. He also en- 
 listed the dallal to work for him, aiming to win 
 Mariam in the Persian way through an intermediary. 
 
 When the dallal saw from Mariam's manner of 
 rejecting the proposal that persuasion would be of 
 no avail, she instantly called out to her, shouting : 
 
 " Stop, I have another word for you. Sayid Jaf- 
 
50 MARIAM 
 
 far is next of kin to your Uncle Harun, who died in 
 Muharram. Harun married his sister. If you re- 
 fuse to be the Sayid's wife, he is determined to seize, 
 by force of law, the property in the hands of Harun's 
 Armenian widow and children, and your father's 
 property, and leave you all penniless. Will you not 
 sacrifice your own preference to save your parents 
 and all your relatives from penury? If you gratify 
 the love of the Sayid, he will load you with jewels 
 and enrich you and your family. 
 
 "No," shouted Mariam, "a thousand times No! 
 What profit to gain the whole world and lose my 
 own soul. I will have nothing to do with him. My 
 father and mother and I would rather beg and live 
 on dry bread. Be gone !" 
 
 With these words she fled from the room, lock- 
 ing the door behind her. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 When Abgar had thought over the experiences on 
 the church roof on the tenth day of Muharram, a 
 resolve took full possession of him. A conscious- 
 ness of his deficiencies led him to a determination to 
 improve himself, so that no one might appear better 
 in the eyes of Mariam than he. Strong purpose and 
 industry showed speedy results. He won golden 
 opinions from his teachers, by his studiousness and 
 exemplary conduct. In the music class on Friday 
 evening, at the Girls' School, he made rapid pro- 
 gress, always appearing to the best advantage. He 
 wrote home such urgent letters to his father that 
 he was persuaded to sell his raisin crop more quickly 
 and to send a liberal allowance to Abgar. At Easter 
 Sunday he appeared in a suit of clothes as neat and 
 tasteful as could be desired. Mariam noticed all 
 this with pleasure and her glances filled his heart 
 with hope. Still the suspicion rested on Abgar of 
 being a thief, and some were ready to say that these 
 new clothes were bought with the stolen money. 
 
 When the Sahib returned from church, on enter- 
 ing his study, he saw signs that some one had been 
 
 Si 
 
52 MARIAM: 
 
 there during his absence. His suspicions aroused, 
 he counted his money in the drawer and found it 
 20 tomans short. A watch, too, was missing. He 
 immediately revolved in his mind the question of 
 who could have taken them. Abgar had walked 
 behind him to church and had returned after the 
 service, so he could prove an alibi. He remembered 
 that one of the boarding scholars, named Thomas, 
 had not been to church. It might be he, as he 
 was a large boy and a comparatively unknown one. 
 The back window had remained open and he might 
 have entered by it. The Sahib went immediately to 
 Thomas' room and without discussion ordered him 
 to hand over the watch and money. Then taking 
 the key from the boy's pocket, he unlocked his 
 trunk and found a bag of money of more than the 
 amount that was missing from the cash drawer. 
 Thomas was a poor boy and it was evident that this 
 was the stolen money. A search on his person dis- 
 closed the watch carefully concealed in his girdle. 
 Thomas was confined to a separate room as a punish- 
 ment and confessed his crime, including the theft of 
 Hosef's money. In truth he could not well deny it, 
 as the bag in which the money was found was identi- 
 fied as Hosef's. Thomas was immediately expelled 
 from the school, while Abgar's reputation was re- 
 established in the minds of all. 
 
 From this time he made rapid development. Be- 
 
A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 53 
 
 fore a year had passed he had grown from a raw 
 country lad into an intelligent and ambitious youth, 
 handsome and self-possessed and showing the prom- 
 ise of an intellectual attainment which would make 
 him superior to those about him. The daily re- 
 ligious instruction of the school benefited him great- 
 ly, but especially the Sunday afternoon meeting of 
 the Junior Band was an oasis of delight to him when 
 the Khanum led the boys into the green pastures of 
 God's Word and inspired them with noble purposes 
 and high resolves. He had reached this condition 
 of religious culture when there came a crisis in his 
 life, the issue of which was of the greatest moment. 
 The holiday season in his second year at school 
 had come. The New Year (Jan 13) had been fol- 
 lowed by Christmas (Jan. 18) with the Cross Fes- 
 tival or Blessing of the Water. The religious meet- 
 ings, begun so favorably in the Memorial School 
 with the Week of Prayer, were continued after the 
 holidays. The girls' school united with the Memor- 
 ial school in these meetings. There was also a good 
 attendance of the young men of the city. How de- 
 lighted all were to sing the gospel hymns. Among 
 their favorites were " At the Cross " and "Nearer 
 tny God to Thee." With Azgaser and some others 
 the attraction was far from being a spiritual one, 
 but even they could not but be interested in the zeal 
 and fiery eloquence of the preacher, Badvele Gregor. 
 
54 MARIAM 
 
 His soul was on fire and his words poured forth in 
 a torrent of effective oratory. His zeal inflamed by 
 the Holy Spirit fired other hearts. Following a 
 series of earnest appeals during the week, his sub- 
 ject on Sunday night was, " Conversion and Con- 
 secration to God." 
 
 He begged leave to illustrate the theme from his 
 own experience and narrated the following story : 
 
 " When I was a lad in Malatia, Turkey, I was 
 apprenticed to an artisan. I had then no purpose 
 except to feed and clothe my body. At length my 
 thoughts were aroused to the concerns of my soul. 
 My conscience became very uneasy. I sought to 
 find out how I might be saved. Whatever I was 
 advised by those around me, I was instantly ready 
 to do, but I had no acquaintance with the Scriptures. 
 Because my conscience troubled me, I listened much' 
 to the superstitions of old women. In order to be 
 saved I determined to enter a monastery and lead 
 an ascetic life. I began to pray unceasingly, day 
 and night, in the wilderness and solitary places. In 
 the hope that my sins might be washed away I shed 
 many tears. I fasted for weeks and months. I 
 went continually to church and remained there so 
 long that my relatives were angry with me. What- 
 ever money fell into my hands I distributed to the 
 poor. I knelt before the pictures, I burnt candles, 
 I read the Church books, but after all I remained 
 
A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 55 
 
 without peace of conscience. I was more hungry 
 and thirsty for salvation than for meat and drink. 
 In my agony I kept crying out, 'What must I do to 
 be saved ?' 
 
 " When I was ready to go to the monastery to 
 become an ascetic, by God's great mercy an evan- 
 gelical preacher came to our town and lodged op- 
 posite the house of my master, as Peter came to Cor- 
 nelius. But I was filled with hatred against the 
 Protestants. If it had been possible, I would have 
 done them great injury. I was one day praying, 
 weeping and reading a Church book when the 
 preacher, hearing my voice, came up to me and in a 
 quiet way inquired, ' What are you reading ?' 
 " I replied roughly, ' It is none of your business.' 
 " He said, ' I simply wanted to say to you, " Read 
 the New Testament." ' 
 
 " I replied, ' Oh ! would you have me read your 
 Protestant Bible that I may turn to your religion? 
 Your Bible is corrupted.' 
 
 " He said, ' Let us compare yours and ours.' 
 " Then we compared several passages in the mod- 
 ern version of the Bible Society with the ancient ver- 
 sion of Mesrob, and I saw there was no difference. 
 Though I could answer nothing, yet my heart re- 
 mained antagonistic. I was striving to reach the 
 fountain of life, but by a wrong way, and alas! I 
 found myself in a burning desert. I was weeping 
 
56 MARIAM 
 
 much, I was praying much, but in the ancient un- 
 known tongue. One day I went to the preacher's 
 house. I know not for what purpose. Fortunately 
 it was the time of worship. The preacher was 
 praying. I silently listened. I drank in the words 
 of the prayer, as a dry tree. In my soul a voice 
 said, ' This is the kind of prayer that is acceptable to 
 God and profitable.' I thought, * Is it possible for 
 prayer to be in such plain, intelligible language, as 
 man speaks to man?' After that by God's grace I 
 had the spirit of prayer. In a little while I became 
 so much attracted to the preacher, his worship, his 
 reading and his companionship', that I thought, 
 ' Would that manna would fall from heaven ; I 
 would eat and continually stay with him.' With my 
 whole heart I threw away the old traditions and the 
 formal ceremonies and became full of love for evan- 
 gelical truth. My trust was wholly in the Lord 
 Jesus and he gave peace to my soul. From that day 
 to this he has blessed me. He is a very precious 
 Saviour. He is able to save all who come unto God 
 by him. Put away all trust in saints, and fasts and 
 forms. Trust Christ. Come to him and be saved." 
 These words made a deep impression. An invita- 
 tion was given for any who wished to stay for an 
 after-meeting. Abgar, with some others, remained. 
 When opportunity was offered he arose and in a 
 modest way, said : 
 
A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 57 
 
 "For some time I have been troubled in con- 
 science, and have been seeking peace. I used to 
 pray to God in the name of Jesus Christ and the 
 Virgin Mary, of St. Peter and St. John to accept 
 me and pardon my sins. I did riot find peace. 
 
 " When I heard the words of the gospel I threw 
 away all other mediators. Still my prayers were 
 formal and my heart cold. Now I have been able 
 to look to Christ alone, and trust him fully. Peace 
 has come to me. My heart is glad in Christ's sal- 
 vation. I thank God for his grace." 
 
 His deep feeling and evident sincerity of convic- 
 tion made a profound impression and other hearts 
 were moved. On the following Sunday he was 
 received, as a probationer, into the church. At the 
 same time Mariam made a profession of her faith. 
 Her clear conception of truth and strong and sim- 
 ple faith commended her to the session of the 
 church. At the same time she Was warned of the 
 opposition she might meet and of the necessity of 
 taking a firm stand. Especially she was reminded 
 that her life as a Christian would largely depend on 
 her marrying in the Lord ; that only by marrying one 
 of like faith could she hope to have liberty and peace 
 in her Christian profession. She was reminded of 
 a certain bride who had been prohibited by her hus- 
 band from coming to church, of how the mother-in- 
 law of another had kept her from the communion, 
 
58 MARIAM 
 
 and how another had lost her Christian love 
 and zeal by her contact wth hostile relatives. She 
 herself approved of and accepted this advice of the 
 elders. 
 
 After a few days Bishop Phanos sent and called 
 Abgar to his residence. Abgar reported it to the 
 Sahib and asked if he should go. Knowing that 
 Abgar considered it an honor to be called, and that 
 to prohibit him would only make him more desirous 
 to go, and at the same time warned of the tempta- 
 tions the bishop was likely to put before him and of 
 his strong opposition to the gospel work. 
 
 Abgar was ushered in by the attendant. The 
 presence of the bishop was such as to strike awe to 
 the heart of the simple village boy. Tall and stately, 
 his black silk cowl, coming to a peak above his 
 head and hanging down over his shoulders, and his 
 long silk robes, made him still more impressive. 
 
 As he did not invite the youth to sit down, Abgar 
 stood before him feeling as if his heart would come 
 into his mouth. The bishop's voice had a com- 
 manding ring as without a preliminary greeting, he 
 said to him : 
 
 " My son, why are you forsaking the Armenian 
 race?" 
 
 Abgar answered : " I will never cease to be an 
 Armenian." 
 
 " Do you know," urged the bishop, " that these 
 
A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 59 
 
 Protestants are the enemies of our race ; they would 
 divide it and take away the love of our people for 
 our Church and its history. They would count our 
 nation as nothing." 
 
 " I have never heard them speak against our 
 nation," replied Abgar. " They only say that our 
 Church needs to be reformed." 
 
 " Suppose it does, my boy," interrupted the 
 bishop, " we bishops will reform it when we get our 
 national liberty." 
 
 " But," said Abgar, " how can I stay in our 
 Church when I don't believe what it teaches?" 
 
 " Believe !" exclaimed the bishop, with whom na- 
 tional interests were entirely of paramount 
 importance. " Believe what you please, or believe 
 nothing; be an infidel or be an evangelical, only do 
 not break from your national Church and race. Do 
 not be a traitor." 
 
 " I love my race," earnestly affirmed Abgar, " but 
 my conscience is convinced that the truth of the 
 gospel is with the Evangelicals." 
 
 "A curse on the Evangelicals," cried out the 
 bishop, bringing down his hand with a blow on the 
 table. " They divide our race. Do not join them. 
 Come to me and I will send you to the seminary at 
 Etchmiadzin for education. There the Catholics 
 will do far better for you than the Americans are 
 doing. The Etchmiadzin teachers have been edu- 
 
60 MARIAM 
 
 cated in Germany. They will clothe and feed you 
 without charge and make a learned man of you." 
 
 " My heart is now with the Protestants," replied 
 the faithful lad. " I love them, and I have joined 
 them." 
 
 " Love them, you rogue," exclaimed the bishop, 
 with a sneer. "You mean you love one of their 
 school girls. Abandon them and I will write to her 
 father and get his promise that you shall have the 
 girl by the rites of our Holy Church." 
 
 Abgar answered, " She, too, is a Christian." 
 
 " And forsooth are we not Christians, too ? Are 
 we Turks?" ejaculated indignantly the bishop. 
 " Let me tell you, youngster, if you don't listen to 
 me and leave off this nonsense, I shall have you 
 beaten, your father fined as a law-breaker, and his 
 taxes increased. What can these Protestants do to 
 defend you ? Could they do anything to punish the 
 murderer of that missionary's wife? I'll teach that 
 pestilent Gregor a lesson, too. I'll close up the 
 church and school of these leprous Protestants. I'll 
 buy their church and turn it into a theatre and drive 
 them out of the country. Begone, you wretch. I 
 swear by my beard and the throne of St. Gregory 
 that as long as I have life I shall see to it that you 
 do not marry that girl. As for her father, there 
 is a Sayid who will attend to him. Begone." 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 For summer vacation Mariam returned to Salmas. 
 Sayid Jaffar was there collecting the property 
 of the deceased Harun. He soon began to make 
 advances to Mariam and was even heard, over his 
 Wine, threatening to seize her. It seemed necessary 
 to send Mariam away, so Mukdasi Hohannes took 
 her to Urumia to visit her Aunt Esther. Shamesha 
 also joined the caravan. Esther, with Rehana, her 
 husband, and other friends, came to the bridge of 
 the Nazlu river to welcome them. 
 
 Mariam exclaimed over the beauty of the plains 
 and said : " I am charmed with Urumia. What a 
 delightful place it is!" 
 
 " Yes," replied Esther, " it is as the garden of the 
 Lord. It is so well watered. Three rivers flow 
 down from the mountains and irrigate all the fields." 
 
 " How attractive the roads are," continued Mar- 
 iam, " so many willows line the water courses and 
 on every side I see fruitful vineyards and orchards." 
 
 " It is a paradise, praise God !" ejaculated Esther. 
 " And Geogtapa or Gray Hill, where we have lately 
 moved, is a village that contents my heart. Our 
 
 61 
 
62 MARIAM 
 
 melons and grapes are our pride. But we have our 
 troubles all the same." 
 
 " Why, have you any special anxiety now ?" in- 
 quired Mukdasi Hohannes, breaking in upon the 
 conversation of the women. 
 
 " Yes,"" said Esther, " the soldiers have just left 
 our village and even yet we are fearful lest they 
 return." 
 
 " Indeed," exclaimed Hohannes, " why were they 
 sent upon Geogtapa ?" 
 
 " It is a long story," said Rehana, ; " I will tell 
 you as we ride along. We have not had such heart- 
 ache for many a day. One night three Moslems 
 came to our village. They first went to the wine- 
 shop near the ancient ash hill of the fire-worshippers, 
 and drank to intoxication. Then they called at the 
 house of the Roman Catholic priest Guergis, to col- 
 lect a debt which he owed them. He was not at 
 home, so they broke into his wine-cellar and drank 
 copiously. When he returned he persuaded them 
 to leave by promising to pay them. They went 
 into the street, got into a quarrel and were arrested 
 by the Kand-Khuda and put in a stable to remain 
 till morning. They escaped in the darkness of the 
 night. In fleeing one of them fell into a water 
 course. In the morning his body was found and 
 news of his death was quickly noised abroad. A 
 mob of Moslems was formed and there was danger 
 
A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 63 
 
 of a massacre. To quiet the mob the governor or- 
 dered the arrest of a number of our men, including 
 the Kand-Khuda. The latter was released on the 
 payment of a large fine, but Ephrem, a phaetonchi, 
 was summarily executed. The governor sent a 
 company of 40 soldiers ostensibly to protect the vil- 
 lage. They were quartered in our homes. Several 
 soldiers were allotted to us. They lived off of us 
 day after day. They wantonly defiled our store 
 rooms and destroyed great quantities of our food. 
 Esther lay in concealment in the flour-bin, more 
 lucky than some of our neighbors, who fell into 
 their hands. They beat us men and extorted money 
 from us until the missions appealed to the Consul 
 in Tabriz and relief came to us." 
 
 " How terrible !" exclaimed Mariam, breaking the 
 spell of silence which had held the caravan while 
 they listened to the narrative. 
 
 Then Mukdasi Hohannes inquired : " Is it safe to 
 go there now ?" 
 
 " It is comparatively quiet," answered Rehana, 
 adding : " We had thought of taking Mariam to 
 Gulpashan, where my cousin lives, but there the 
 people are eating trouble, too." 
 
 " What is the matter there?" eagerly asked Ho- 
 hannes. 
 
 " Just now," explained Rehana, " one of the Mos- 
 lems who brought trouble upon us, a Sayid, has a 
 
64 MARIAM 
 
 special spite against that village. He meets the men 
 on the highways and robs and beats them. The 
 women are afraid to venture to the city for fear he 
 may insult them on the way, as several brides have 
 fared badly at his hands." 
 
 " Oh," exclaimed Mariam, " would that the gov- 
 ernment would protect us defenseless women !" 
 
 " There is little hope for that," interjected Esther. 
 " The men have petitioned for his punishment and 
 the Missions have protested against his lawlessness, 
 but without result." 
 
 "What is the name of the Sayid?" asked Muk- 
 dasi. 
 
 " Mir Gulam Ali," replied Rehana, " and he has 
 a companion that is worse than he is, but the latter 
 has been away a good deal of late." 
 
 "The one who troubled Harun had the same 
 name," said Mukdasi. " I wonder if it can be the 
 same man ?" 
 
 By this time they had skirted around the high 
 walls of the city of Urumia, following the road be- 
 side the moat. Then they crossed the Shahr river 
 and turned toward Geogtapa. 
 
 As they approached the village Mukdasi inquired : 
 " What is that large red brick building which 
 appears before us on the top of the hill ?" 
 
 Shamesha spoke up with enthusiasm : " That is 
 our new memorial Protestant church. It has 
 
A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 65 
 
 been erected as a memorial of former mission- 
 aries." 
 
 " Where did you get those large carved stones 
 which are in the foundation?" inquired Mukdasi. 
 
 " They were dug up beneath the Ash Hill," re- 
 plied Shamesha, " and probably belonged to a Fire 
 temple of pre-christian times. They dug up lamps, 
 bowls and other pieces of pottery, and also some 
 gold bracelets and armlets and a large cylinder with 
 cuneiform inscriptions. We now worship Christ 
 where the perpetual flame of the Parsees burned." 
 
 Engaged in such conversation they soon reached 
 the house of Rehana and were made welcome. Dur- 
 ing the next week Esther took Mariam to a Persian 
 Chautauqua by the lakeside. The assembly 
 attracted young and old alike. Lake Urumia itself 
 has dreary surroundings. Its dead waters, thick 
 and of foul odor, are yet beautiful to look upon, and 
 are specially suitable for bathing, because they buoy 
 up the swimmer. Many groups had picnics in the 
 garden nearby, but the real attraction, which brought 
 together the missionaries, pastors and church work- 
 ers, was the series of spiritual conferences in the 
 tent. 
 
 The sessions which Esther and Mariam attended 
 were occupied in giving reports of the conditions of 
 the Reformed Churches. They heard with grateful 
 hearts the glowing account which the Nestor of the 
 
66 MARIAM 
 
 presbytery gave of the precious revivals of the past 
 winter. 
 
 " Thank God," said he, " for his gracious favor. 
 More than a score of our congregations were re- 
 vived. During our ' spiritual week ' it seemed as 
 if we could see the Holy Spirit going from one per- 
 son to another, pleading for admittance. Our meet- 
 ings were crowded with thousands, our hearts were 
 melted into unity and love, scoffers, libertines and 
 drunkards were reclaimed, formalists and the in- 
 different were aroused. Many were added to our 
 churches. The liberality and spirituality of our peo- 
 ple were increased. Especially can we rejoice that 
 in the college and seminary, the pupils were brought 
 near to the Saviour, and our theological and medical 
 students received a baptism of power. Young lives, 
 not a few, were consecrated to the Master's service." 
 
 As they came out of the tent, Esther said to 
 Mariam, " I thank God that my heart has been en- 
 lightened. I am happy in knowing and confessing 
 my Saviour." 
 
 " How blessed," ejaculated Mariam, adding in 
 a quiet tone, "I, too, received the truth in Tabriz." 
 
 After the meeting a refreshing drink of ayran, or 
 buttermilk, mixed with chopped cucumbers and rose 
 leaves was served to them. An ample luncheon of 
 delicious viands followed and the: steaming samavar 
 was set out several hours later. Afternoon was well 
 
A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 67 
 
 advanced when the caravan started to return. As 
 they neared Gulpashan and came to a point where 
 the road curved and was obscured by a cluster of 
 willow trees, a band of Persians rose before them. 
 They were well armed and were headed by two 
 Sayids, whom the company instantly recognized as 
 their old tormentors. They were none other than 
 Sayid Jaffar and Mir Gulam AH. Without allow- 
 ing any time for parleying, Sayid Jaffar, who took 
 the lead, ordered the men and women to dismount. 
 Turning a deaf ear to their cries the Persians strip- 
 ped them of whatever clothing struck their fancy 
 and of their watches and other valuables. Jaffar 
 then ordered Mariam to mount a horse and make 
 ready to accompany him. She cast herself on the 
 ground before him, beseeching him to allow her to 
 go with her friends. Esther, too, with wailing and 
 tears, grasped the feet of the Sayid, declaring that 
 Mariam was her guest, and that if anything should 
 happen to her, her own heart would break. The 
 Sayid tossed his head cynically at the wailing 
 woman, knocked on the head Rehana and several 
 men who ventured to protest, and without further 
 concern ordered his party to bind Mariam on to one 
 of the horses. They hastened off toward a Moslem 
 village. 
 
 Esther and the other women, with tearful eyes and 
 aching hearts, entered the village of Gulpashan. 
 
68 MARIAM 
 
 The men, after a brief consultation, turned towards 
 the city to go and inform the government. Though 
 they had little hope of speedy or proper redress, 
 yet with a desire to do something they hastened to 
 the city to present their complaint. They had gone 
 but a little way when they met a party of Armenians 
 on horseback. They no sooner heard the account 
 of the attack and capture, than they said: 
 
 " Those are the rascals we are looking for?" 
 
 " How is that ?" queried Rehana, in amazement. 
 
 " Oh, Malchas, the blind evangelist, was reading 
 the Bible from raised letters in a Moslem village. 
 The Persians did not notice him and he heard them 
 planning to seize an Armenian girl. He hastened 
 to the city and gave us word. We gathered our 
 band of ' Patriots ' together and have come to rescue 
 her. Who is she?" 
 
 Rehana answered : " She is an Armenian girl from 
 Salmas. Her name is Mariam." 
 
 "Has she been to school in Tabriz?" 
 
 " Yes, she was there last year, I know," answered 
 one. 
 
 This reply assured Azgaser, for the leader and 
 spokesman was none other than he, that his supposi- 
 tion was correct and that the girl whose abduction 
 had been planned was really Mariam, whose beauty 
 had captivated him in Tabriz. And it was she who 
 was now a captive and was being sped away by a 
 
A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 69 
 
 band of Moslems. The very thought of it fired his 
 soul. 
 
 Azgaser without delay called upon his compan- 
 ions to follow to the rescue. They took the direc- 
 tion indicated, and as so little time had elapsed they 
 had hope of reaching them before they could conceal 
 themselves in a village. Bending forward and 
 pushing their iron stirrups into the sides of their 
 horses and giving the animals free rein, they urged 
 them into a wild run, like the Persian nomads, 
 regardless of stones or waterways. Soon they could 
 distinguish in the distance the dust raised by the 
 Sayid and his party. The latter soon passed behind 
 the high walls of a garden. Seizing the opportun- 
 ity, the Armenians galloped around the garden and 
 faced Sayid's company as they reached the end of 
 the wall. 
 
 When Sayid Jaffar saw revolvers leveled at his 
 head, he was dumbfounded, especially as heretofore 
 no Christians had ever tried to oppose him by 
 force. Since he could do absolutely nothing, he 
 folded his arms and begged them not to shoot. 
 
 Mariam was no sooner freed than she fell at 
 the feet of her rescuer and bathed them with tears. 
 Finding her voice, she exclaimed : 
 
 " I was dead from fear. Praise God, you have 
 delivered me. May God bless you. May I be your 
 sacrifice." 
 
70 MARIAM 
 
 Azgaser's heart beat with emotion, but he had no 
 time for words as a caravan of Persians was seen 
 approaching. Fearing there might be further trou- 
 ble he quickly gathered the plunder which had been 
 taken from the villagers and retaining it as a legi- 
 timate perquisite for the good of the national cause, 
 threw Mariam on to the horse behind himself, and 
 galloped away. 
 
 The Sayid, now assured that he would receive 
 no bodily harm, called after them, vowing ven- 
 geance and threatening all manner of evil against 
 the Christians for this interference with his rights. 
 He invoked upon them the curse of Allah, who had 
 manifestly created such a fair damsel only for a 
 Moslem. 
 
 Mariam, with only one thought of safety occupy- 
 ing her mind, held on to Azgaser. Soon they rode 
 into the village and he delivered her to her aunt. 
 Esther overwhelmed him with words of gratitude, 
 which poured from her heart like a flood, while 
 Mariam's face flushed and her eyes sparkled as she 
 tried to express her thanks and gratitude to her 
 heroic deliverer. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 The next school year passed by. The gala day of 
 the final exhibition of the Girls' school brought joy 
 to pupils and friends. The hall was adorned with 
 the fancy work which trained needles had executed, 
 and young men thronged it to hear the exercises. 
 The larger girls wore neat and tasteful dresses, 
 which they themselves had made. 
 
 Mariam was dressed in a blue delaine. She had 
 on a silver filigree belt, a part of her mother's dowry, 
 and an artistic heirloom. Her hair hung in long 
 plaits behind her back, and over her head was tied 
 a white silk kerchief with a flowery border. She 
 was a picture of loveliness — the center of all eyes 
 as she stood up and read her essay. Its subject was 
 " Vartan, the National Hero of Armenia." She 
 told of his brave struggles for race and religion 
 against the Fire-worshipers, and his fighting unto 
 death that his people might enjoy independence and 
 especially religious freedom. She compared him to 
 Washington, declaring that both are heroes whose 
 memories are hallowed in their anniversaries and 
 who are first in the hearts of their countrymen. 
 
 7 1 
 
72 MARIAM 
 
 After the essay she sang to the accompaniment of 
 the organ on which she had been taught to play, the 
 heart-moving song, " Mair Araxes," which voices 
 the woe of Armenia and strikes a responsive chord 
 in the soul of every son of Haik. 
 
 " Meditating by Araxes, 
 
 Pacing slowly to and fro, 
 
 Sought I traces of the grandeur 
 
 Hidden by her rapid flow. 
 
 ' Turgid are thy waters, Mother, 
 As they beat upon the shore. 
 Do they offer lamentations 
 For Armenia evermore? 
 
 ' Are thy spume drifts tears, O Mother, 
 Tears for those that are no more ? 
 Dost thou haste to pass by, weeping, 
 This thine own beloved shore ? ' 
 
 Then on high uprose Araxes, 
 Flung in air her spumy wave, 
 
 And from out her depths maternal 
 Sonorous her answer gave : 
 
 ' Knowest thou not that I am widowed ; 
 Sons and daughters, consort, dead? 
 Wouldst thou have me go rejoicing, 
 As a bride to nuptial bed ? 
 
A ROMANCE OE PERSIA 73 
 
 ' Traitress never I ; Armenia 
 Claims me ever as her own ; 
 Since her mighty doom hath fallen 
 Never stranger have I known, 
 
 * Ah ! Where now are all my people ? 
 
 Far in exile, homeless, lorn, 
 iWhile in widow's weeds and hopeless 
 Weeping, sit I here and mourn. 
 
 ' Hear now ! while my sons are absent 
 
 Age long past I still shall keep ; 
 Till my children gain deliverance, 
 Here I watch and pray and weep." 
 
 The volume and sweetness of Mariam's voice was 
 a surprise and gratification to all, and storms of 
 applause greeted her. Bouquets fell at her feet 
 from all directions and her smiles of recognition and 
 gratitude sent the blood coursing quicker through 
 the veins of the givers. It could not but be noticed 
 that the two largest bouquets were from Azgaser 
 and Abgar. 
 
 By good fortune Mukdasi Hohannes and Nunia 
 were present and enjoyed the sight of their daugh- 
 ter's success. Nunia, it is true, was shocked at first 
 to see Mariam stand up and read her essay and 
 sing before the young men, but her mind was be- 
 coming gradually used to new ideas and customs 
 and she dismissed all doubts by simply saying to 
 
74 MARIAM 
 
 herself, " I am a poor ignorant village woman. The 
 world has moved on and left me behind." Mukdasi 
 Hohannes was delighted beyond measure and de- 
 clared that his purpose was fulfilled and that there 
 was not among the girls in the school at Constanti- 
 nople one more finely trained than his Mariam. 
 
 The occasion which had brought Mukdasi Ho- 
 hannes and Nunia to Tabriz was far different from 
 a school commencement. Serious trouble had come 
 Upon them. Sayid Jaffar had carried out his threat 
 and had begun to claim, in the name of his sister 
 and that of her baby boy, not only the property that 
 had belonged to Harun, but that of Hohannes and 
 other relatives of Harun. Mohammedan law 
 gives large and undefined privileges to the new con- 
 vert to Islam. His Christian relatives are at his 
 mercy. They become a prey to the Persian priests 
 and officials, who fleece them under the pretext of 
 furthering the interest of the new convert. Sayid 
 Jaffar easily succeeded in taking possession of the 
 property of Harun's former wife and children. The 
 officers levied on Hohannes, and arrested and im- 
 prisoned him. While he was gloomy in prison 
 Jaffar approached him with an offer of release and 
 entire security if he would give his daughter to 
 him as his wife. Hohannes declared that he would 
 die rather than make his daughter a Moslem. From 
 prison he sent an appeal to Bishop Phanos. The 
 
A ROMANCE OE PERSIA 75 
 
 bishop directed him to bring his appeal to Tabriz 
 and to come up as complainant against the Sayid. 
 Hohannes by giving large presents secured his 
 release and came to Tabriz, accompanied by Nunia. 
 
 He had merely presented his case to the bishop's 
 attention, in an interview, when another matter en- 
 gaged his attention. The exercises of the exhibition 
 had brought Mariam's affairs to a crisis. That day 
 several young men were moved by an ardent desire 
 to win Mariam. Each confided this wish to his 
 mother, aunt or some old woman, and besought the 
 good offices of this experienced friend to act as 
 mediator to make the proposal and secure the con- 
 sent of the beloved girl. 
 
 One who pressed his suit with ardor was Azgaser. 
 He secured as his go-between Lady Sona, the wife 
 of the wealthy Baron Sarkis. She was all the more 
 ready to represent him and plead his cause because 
 she was angry with Abgar, her relative, for becom- 
 ing a Protestant and wished to cross him. As it 
 was the beginning of vacation school rules were 
 relaxed, so she readily procured entrance to Mar- 
 iam's room. 
 
 Lady Sona said to Mariam : " Azgaser has sent 
 me to you to say that he loves you with a whole 
 heart. Since he first knew you, you have occupied 
 all his thoughts. He is such a fine young man, 
 handsome and brave. He is an ardent patriot, a 
 
76 MARIAM 
 
 beautiful singer — popular, esteemed by all. Baron 
 Sarkis has offered to be his best man and the god- 
 father of your children. You know what an ad- 
 vantage that will be according to our customs." 
 
 Mariam replied : " I know he is no common 
 man. He has excited my interest. His conversa- 
 tion has attracted me, his musical voice has affected 
 me, — he moves my imagination,- — but I am afraid 
 of him, I do not feel that I can trust him." 
 
 Sona urged : " You remember how he showed 
 his devotion to you and rescued you from the Sayid. 
 Can you not trust your deliverer ? " 
 
 " I am grateful to him for that and can never 
 forget it, but my heart is not his. I like his man- 
 ners and his genial ways, but I do not really love 
 him." 
 
 " Oh," earnestly declared Sona, " you will learn 
 to love him afterwards. A girl need not love a 
 man before marriage. I had never spoken to Baron 
 Sarkis before my betrothal. You will be satisfied. 
 Your father and mother are willing. I shall give 
 you this token and tell him to get ready the nishan 
 or pledge." 
 
 With this she rose to go while Mariam said as 
 they shook hands : 
 
 " Tell him I cannot agree. That is better." 
 
 Sona replied as she left : " I shall tell him you 
 said you liked him and shall come again." 
 
A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 77 
 
 After she had gone Mariam found the token had 
 been left behind in her room. 
 
 During the day a number of women found occa- 
 sion to come to Mariam on various pretexts. They 
 all spoke the praises of Azgaser and urged his suit. 
 To all of them Mariam simply said : " I have 
 given him my answer." Sona, in order to throw 
 others off the track reported everywhere that 
 Mariam had accepted Azgaser's token. All other 
 suitors, except Abgar, gave up the quest as hopeless. 
 
 When the latter heard this report he was plunged 
 in despair. He immediately sought Yeksabet, the 
 wife of Badvele Gregor, and besought her to take 
 up his cause. She readily consented and soon 
 reached the school. 
 
 She was greeted by the matron. 
 
 " Have you heard the news that Mariam is en- 
 gaged to Azgaser." 
 
 She answered : " I don't believe it," and passed 
 on to Mariam's room. 
 
 She burst in upon the latter with the words: 
 " What is this that I hear. They say you are 
 engaged to Azgaser." 
 
 " Not at all," emphatically declared Mariam, in 
 amazement. " Lady Sona was here on his behalf, 
 but I rejected her proposal." 
 
 " Yet they say you have accepted Azgaser's 
 token?" 
 
78 MARIAM' 
 
 " No," said Mariam, " Sona forgot it here and. I 
 have not yet had a chance to see her and return it." 
 
 " Why did you not accept him?" 
 
 Mariam with a blush and some hesitation said: 
 " I feel that my heart is another's." 
 
 " Well, I am glad of that," replied Yeksabet, ex- 
 ultingly, " for I have come from one who loves you 
 devotedly. Abgar was broken-hearted when he 
 heard that you had accepted Azgaser, and sent me 
 to offer his heart, his life to you." 
 
 Mariam gave answer : " I will make a confes- 
 son to you. To-day when others have been talking 
 to me, the image of one has been continually before 
 my eyes. It is Abgar. He may not have as much 
 dash and style as Azgaser, but I feel that he is true 
 and sincere. I can trust him. I have been praying 
 to Jesus to guide me. And Abgar is a true Chris- 
 tian. I would rather live humbly with him than 
 with another in luxury. What my heart feels my 
 conscience approves of." 
 
 Yeksabet kissed her gently, and as she sat on the 
 floor beside her she looked to God and besought 
 a blessing on the two lives. 
 
 On leaving, Yeksabet added : " I will see your 
 father and mother." This she did without delay. 
 
 Hohannes gave her a very sensible opinion. 
 
 " I am willing," said he, "that Mariam should do 
 as she pleases. I do not know either of the young 
 
A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 79 
 
 men, but I think she has decided wisely, for the 
 revolutionists are an uncertain set and often be- 
 come wanderers. We know Abgar's home and 
 friends." 
 
 Nunia pleaded that the priest might be called to 
 perform the ceremony, but consented that Badvele 
 Gregor should do it, when she saw that Abgar and 
 Mariam wished no other. So arrangements were 
 made for the public betrothal. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 Meanwhile when Mukdasi Hohannes went again 
 to see about his case at law, he found Bishop 
 Phanos' countenance changed. As he approached 
 to kiss the hand of that dignitary the latter said to 
 him, with great severity of tone: 
 
 " So you dare consent to give your daughter to 
 the Protestants, do you? You can expect no fur- 
 ther help from me." 
 
 " May it please your holiness," replied Hohannes, 
 " if you objected to that why did you call me to 
 Tabriz with a promise of protection? Why did 
 you take a retainer of 50 tomans as a condition of 
 assisting me? You knew that my daughter was in 
 the Protestant school and a member of the Protes- 
 tant church." 
 
 " Yes," said the bishop, " but I hoped you would 
 listen to my word and take her away from them. 
 Now, on the contrary, you are betrothing her to a 
 Protestant and that, too, by a ceremony to be per- 
 formed by the renegade Gregor. I will teach you 
 a lesson. The Say id shall have encouragement to 
 fleece you of everything." 
 
 80 
 
A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 81 
 
 " Holy father," plead Hohannes, " I kiss your 
 hand. I am your sacrifice. My daughter so wishes 
 it. I do not want to cross her." 
 
 " Cross her," interrupted the bishop, "you are her 
 father. The authority is yours. You should 
 choose whom she should marry. What right has a 
 girl to oppose her parents." 
 
 " As you wish it, O Guide ; I will forbid the be- 
 trothal. Preparation for its celebration shall cease. 
 Only I beg your holiness to deliver me from that 
 Sayid." 
 
 " I will do so," declared the bishop, summarily, 
 " on this condition ; that you take your girl from 
 that school and give her as a wife to Azgaser." 
 
 " I am your sacrifice," said the suppliant, bowing 
 and holding his hands to his heart. " I will talk 
 with her about it. If she is not willing, at least 
 you will give me back my 50 tomans, will you not?" 
 
 " Silly man," exclaimed the bishop, "consider 
 yourself well off if I do not have you beaten." 
 
 To placate the bishop, Mariam's betrothal to Ab- 
 gar was declared off. This was no breach of cus- 
 tom, as the public ceremony had not taken place. 
 
 But Mariam, happy in the consciousness of the 
 love of her suitor, refused to listen to any plan for 
 engaging her to Azgaser. The bishop therefore 
 withdrew all protection from Mukdasi Hohannes, 
 who then appealed to the Mission. The missionary 
 
82 MARIAM 
 
 Hakim enjoyed the favor of those in power. He 
 was beloved of his character and skillfulness in his 
 art. Many of the great men of the city delighted 
 to be called his friends, and the Grown Prince and 
 Governor-General regularly summoned him to at- 
 tend them in sickness. It needed but a plea from 
 the Hakim on behalf of Hohannes to secure an order 
 commanding the local authorities to confirm Hohan- 
 nes in possession of his property and to exempt him 
 from annoyance from the Sayid. He returned to 
 Salmas, joyfully in the hope of security. Scarcely 
 had he arrived when the authorities, instigated by 
 the bishop through his agent, Khubabed, arrested 
 him on a false charge, beat and fined him. Shame- 
 sha telegraphed word of his attack to the mission 
 and an order was sent down by the government that 
 Hohannes should be released and the fine returned. 
 A small part of the sum which had been extorted 
 Was paid back and he was forced under threat of 
 torture, to give a quit-claim, stating that he had 
 received the whole sum and was pleased with the 
 conduct of the officials. Meanwhile, Nunia had 
 remained in Tabriz. 
 
 At the same time the bishop decided to intimidate 
 Badevele Gregor. In fulfillment of this purpose 
 Unger, who had returned from Constantinople and 
 had become a companion of Khumbabed, came to 
 Gregorys house and ingratiated himself by listening 
 
A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 83 
 
 to his exhortations with apparent acceptance. At 
 length, as if in confidence, he said : 
 
 " Have you not heard that there is a plot to 
 injure you ? The Armenians are greatly embittered 
 against you because of your sermons." 
 
 " Yes," said Gregor, " I know they are, but have 
 I spoken anything but the truth ? " 
 
 " Not half of what you might say," admitted 
 Unger. " Religion is really dead amongst us, but 
 they say you are injuring our race, leading our 
 young people away. I advise you to be careful. 
 "Do you not know how they killed the Catholic monk 
 Serapeon. And the Vartabed Papasian was assassi- 
 nated to cover up the other murder. He who 
 ordered these crimes is determined to injure you, 
 do you suppose he will spare you ?" 
 
 " Why Unger, do you think they would murder 
 you?" 
 
 " I warn you to avoid their enmity." 
 
 Just then a slight sound on the flat roof which 
 overlooked the room in which they were seated, 
 startled Gregor. The conversation had somewhat 
 unstrung his nerves. Gazing out into the darkness, 
 he inquired: 
 
 " Did you not hear a sound as of someone walk- 
 ing? Listen!" 
 
 Straining their ears, they heard the low whisper : 
 
 " Be sure not to shoot Unger but only Gregor." 
 
.84 MARIAM 
 
 Instantly they both moved into the corner of the 
 room, out of range of the roof. 
 
 Gregor, all unstrung, addressed Unger. 
 
 " What does it mean? " 
 
 Unger answered : " It is as I said ; they have be- 
 come your enemies and are bent on your destruc- 
 tion. You will never be safe unless you placate 
 them." 
 
 " Why, what can I do? " asked: Gregor, trembling 
 and anxious. 
 
 Unger knew that the object: was to frighten 
 Gregor from his work, so he said': 
 
 " You should quit preaching against the national 
 Church. You should advise Mariam to marry Az- 
 gaser. You should cease trying to draw the young 
 men to Protestantism." 
 
 Gregor replied : " How can I ? Those things 
 are my duty." 
 
 "Well," said Unger, rising to go; "be careful. 
 It looks as if they were bent on mischief." 
 
 The next day Gregor, as he was going through 
 the street, was pelted with clods of earth and stones. 
 Instead of cowering before these persecutors, Gregor 
 did what was least expected. Fired with indigna- 
 tion he went to the Turkish consul and made com- 
 plaint, demanding protection as a Turkish subject. 
 The consul was only too glad to find a cause of 
 complaint against Armenians. He instantly pro- 
 
A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 85 
 
 cured the arrest and imprisonment of the offenders. 
 Feeling between the two parties became very bitter. 
 
 Affairs were in this condition when Bishop 
 Phanos conceived a plot by which he hoped to dis- 
 credit the Protestants. The plan was to bring some 
 great crime to their door under such circumstances 
 that it would appear as an act of retaliation or 
 revenge for the wrongs they had suffered. In the 
 execution of this plot the bishop summoned Daniel, 
 the candidate for the priesthood. Daniel a Salmas 
 blacksmith, had been chosen and sent up to Tabriz 
 for ordination. He was fulfilling his preparation 
 by forty days of fasting and training in the liturgy 
 and ritual of the Church. 
 
 The bishop said to Daniel : " I believe you know 
 Mukdasi Hohannes, of Salmas ? " 
 
 Daniel replied : " Yes, your holiness, for many 
 years, and we came together from Salmas." 
 
 " Well, I want you to go to Nunia and try your 
 best to pursuade her and Mariam to accept Az- 
 gaser's proposal of marriage." 
 
 " I shall try, holy father," agreed Daniel. 
 "When shall I go?" 
 
 " Go this evening after you have read the even- 
 ing prayers." 
 
 " According to your will," replied Daniel, and 
 kissing the bishop's hand he withdrew. 
 
 Towards evening Daniel recollected that the day 
 
86 MARIAM 
 
 was the anniversary of the martyrdom of the saint 
 by whose name he was to be called after his ordina- 
 tion. It was a day on which it was his obligation 
 to keep long vigils. So he returned from his cell 
 to the bishop's quarters. 
 
 None of the attendants were in the ante-room, so 
 Daniel entered it unannounced. He did not find 
 the bishop in his customary seat. In the adjoining 
 room he heard voices and approaching to knock, his 
 own name caught his ear. 
 
 Listening attentively he heard the bishop speak- 
 ing to Unger, as if summing up the points of their 
 previous conversation. 
 
 " You have already spread reports that Daniel has 
 led a scandalous life and that he hates bitterly the 
 Protestants and intends to kill Gregor." 
 
 " Yes, and with the result we desired," replied 
 Unger. " To-day several Protestants were heard 
 denouncing him." 
 
 "So we may consider the affair settled," conclud- 
 ed Bishop Phanos, " when Daniel is at Nunia's 
 lodging, you see to it that Gregor and Abgar call 
 there. You will stab Daniel and put his dead body 
 into the alley. Throw a pair of green spectacles, 
 like Gregor wears, on the ground beside him. Put 
 a bloody dagger into Abgar's room so that it will be 
 found there afterwards. Every one will believe 
 that they have committed the murder. ,We will dis- 
 
'A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 87 
 
 pose of Gregor and Abgar effectually and will 
 blacken the reputation of the Mission so that their 
 influence will be gone forever." 
 
 Daniel was startled beyond measure. Trembling 
 with excitement, he withdrew to his cell and tried 
 to collect his thoughts. What should he do? He 
 thought to himself, " This is no dream, Vartabed 
 Papasian fell a victim to a similar plot against the 
 Catholics. Now, must I be a victim ? " When he 
 recovered his self-possession a little, he decided on 
 his course. When the time arrived at which he 
 should have gone to Mukdasi Hohannes's lodging, 
 he took refuge with the French consul the protec- 
 tor of the Catholic Mission and made a sworn state- 
 ment to the facts of the plot. The French consul 
 sent him to the Osmanli consul, where he gave the 
 same testimony. Then fearing the vengeance of the 
 Armenians who would now brand him as a traitor 
 to his race, he fled into Russian territory without 
 delay. 
 
 Thus a kind Providence delivered Gregor and 
 Abgar and their cause from the machinations of 
 their persecutors. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 In the morning the report of Daniel's story and 
 flight stirred the community. In the afternoon an 
 excitement of different character moved the whole 
 city. A Mohammedan woman declared that she 
 had been insulted by an Armenian in the street. 
 She was the wife of a chief Mollah. Soon a crowd 
 collected, increased by every passerby. Like wild 
 fire the word, greatly exaggerated, spread from 
 Street to street, from bazar to bazar. A howling 
 mob, breathing vengeance, quickly began a search 
 for the culprit. This search in a moment turned 
 to looting, and with an energy and vindictiveness 
 that would soon have wiped out the Armenian quar- 
 ters. The Armenian, who was accused, lived near 
 the Memorial School. The mob gathered just 
 above it and spread terror through the homes of the 
 defenseless people. Several houses were looted of 
 everything; even doors and windows were carried 
 off. Suddenly a loud crash on the street door of 
 Caspar's house startled its occupants. His daughter 
 was a school mate of Mariam, who had come from 
 school to visit her for the afternoon. She was 
 
 88 
 
A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 89 
 
 there when the mob suddenly swelled in volume and 
 Violence. In a moment the house would have been 
 full of the raging people. The only safety was in 
 flight. Caspar cast himself down from the roof on 
 a side street. But the women, seeing him stunned 
 and injured by the fall, declined to follow. He 
 limped along for a distance of a square, suffering 
 still more from the blows of the passing Moslems, 
 who also seized his watch and money. He took 
 refuge in the yard of the Memorial School. Sym- 
 pathizers gathered around him with a hundred ques- 
 tions. 
 
 Abgar heard his tale and asked-: 
 
 " What did your family do? " 
 
 " I supposed they would follow me," answered 
 Caspar. " Mariam of Salmas, too, was there. I 
 do not know what became of them." 
 
 The steward asked him : " Who was in the 
 mob?" 
 
 " All kinds of Moslems," he replied, " even our 
 neighbors, the shopkeepers, as well as sayids and 
 students. I recognized Sayid Jaffar, the one who is 
 troubling Mukdasi Hohannes, arid Mir Gulam Ali, 
 his companion. They had been pointed out to me 
 one day in a wine-shop." 
 
 When Abgar heard this he went wild with ex- 
 citement. He threw caution to the winds. Noth- 
 ing could restrain him from going out to search for 
 
90 MARIAM: 
 
 Mariam. He first ventured through the streets to 
 the Girls' School, escaping with a few cuffs from the 
 passersby. His inquiries revealed the fact of 
 Mariam's danger to them all, but they could give 
 no light on her whereabouts. 
 
 The Moslem gatekeeper, Meshedi, was sent to 
 reconnoitre at the scene of the riot. He mingled 
 freely with the crowd, with difficulty restraining 
 himself from joining in the looting. After a delay 
 that seemed like ages to the anxious teachers and 
 to Abgar, he returned. He brought no news of 
 Mariam. He had not been able to find the slightest 
 trace of her. He reported, however, that the Ar- 
 menian who had occasioned the disturbance had 
 bribed the Chief of Police to connive at his escape 
 and had taken refuge at the Russian Consulate ; that 
 the Consuls had demanded of the government pro- 
 tection for the Christian population ; that the mayor 
 and police had galloped up and were dispersing the 
 mob; lewd fellows of the baser sort were gathering 
 from the suburbs and villages and it might be diffi- 
 cult for the government to restrain them. He said 
 further that all the Armenians were barricading 
 their houses or taking refuge at the Consulates. 
 This report only increased the anxiety of all with 
 regard to Mariam. 
 
 That night and the next day and night passed 
 and nothing was heard of her. In the riotous condi- 
 
A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 91 
 
 tion of the city search was almost impossible. But 
 on the third day Abgar discovered where she was 
 and Meshedi was sent to bring her back. She was 
 forcibly detained and Meshedi was reviled. 
 
 Mariam's story was that when she and the other 
 woman saw that the street was unsafe for flight, 
 they had turned and fled by the flat roofs. They 
 had barely escaped before the mob of men rushed 
 into the rooms. In her flight from one roof to 
 another, now jumping to a lower one, now climbing 
 to a higher one, she had been separated from the 
 other women. Pressing forward in the hope of 
 reaching the main street and going to the school, 
 she found it impossible, for the street was full of 
 rioters. She descended into a yard only to dis- 
 cover that it was occupied by a band of revolu- 
 tionists. Not a woman was about the house. She 
 had escaped from one evil but to find another. 
 
 As she stood motionless and almost breathless in 
 the inclosed yard, a door opened and to her amaze- 
 ment Azgaser appeared. He, even more astonished 
 than she was, ejaculated : 
 
 " So, my dear one, you have left that school and 
 come to me, have you ? A thousand welcomes ! " 
 
 She replied : " No, I have lost my way in fleeing 
 from the mob. Take me home." 
 
 " Oh, don't think of leaving me," said Azgaser. 
 " Fate has sent you to me. Come in." 
 
93 MARIAM 
 
 She felt her position a strange one and could only- 
 repeat : " Guide me to the school." 
 
 He seized his opportunity and pressed his love 
 suit; she declined. He insisted; she refused. He 
 persisted; she rejected. He urged; she denied him. 
 Passionate love burned like a fire in his eyes and he 
 grasped her hand as if he would never release it. 
 
 Involuntarily a cry escaped her lips. Several 
 men appeared from the rooms. She began to ex- 
 plain and told them how she happened to be there 
 and who she was. 
 
 One of the men came forward and said : " Why, 
 Mariam, how strange! I am your Uncle Andreas. 
 I have just returned from Tiflis." 
 
 She recognized him as her uncle who had gone 
 to join the revolutionists. He agreed to take her 
 to a proper place. 
 
 In parting he said to Azgaser, with a smile: 
 " Rest easy, I will persuade her to become your 
 bride and be married by the mother Church. 
 
 Andreas took Mariam to the house of one of his 
 relatives. Here Abgar, whose search was unre- 
 mitted, found her. Thence Meshedi endeavored in 
 vain to bring her back to school. 
 
 During these days Andreas and other relatives 
 were making persistent efforts to persuade her to 
 give up Abgar. Finally, out of patience with her 
 refusals, they resorted to threats and blows. 
 
'K ROMANCE OF PERSIA 93 
 
 Their violence only confirmed her purpose, and 
 facing them, she drew her finger across her throat 
 and exclaimed : 
 
 " You may kill me, but alive I am his, and dead 
 I am his." 
 
 Nunia was willing at first that they should bring 
 pressure to bear upon Mariam, but seeing her fixed 
 determination, she sided with her and wished to 
 take her away and free her from their annoyances. 
 This they absolutely refused to allow. 
 
 At length they pretended to yield one point to 
 Mariam and said she could marry Abgar, but the 
 priest should perform the ceremony. She declined 
 to accede to this condition. Again they beat her, 
 but she remained firm and immovable. Not to be 
 foiled, they determined to carry her off to Tiflis. 
 On hearing this, Nunia took alarm and demanded 
 possession of the girl in her right as her mother. 
 
 When this was absolutely refused, she, with the 
 support of the Mission, appealed to the govern- 
 ment. After a hearing of the complaint, the Must- 
 ashar-i-Doulah, foreign agent, sent policemen to 
 bring Andreas to the Dewan-Khana. As they were 
 bringing him a mob, headed by priest Guerg, tried 
 to release him. They were beaten back by the 
 police, some blows were dealt them and Andreas 
 was brought before the court with his face and 
 clothes bespattered with blood. While the court 
 
94 MARIAM 
 
 was in session, Mariam was taken to Bishop Phanos' 
 house and, though the Mustashar-i-Doulah direct' 
 ed that she be given over to her mother she was 
 kept by force, and all arts, persuasions and threats 
 used to make her change her mind. 
 
 Bishop Phanos was profuse in promises. He 
 said to her : " You shall have a magnificent trous- 
 seau and a splendid wedding; Abgar shall get a 
 good position as a teacher, or as a clerk with Baron 
 Sarkis, if you both only give up your Protestantism. 
 Mukdosi Hohannes shall have protection from 
 Sayid Jaffar and redress for his wrongs." 
 
 But she said to him: "Be assured, once for all, 
 until the world passes away, it is impossible that I 
 forsake my faith." 
 
 Still detained at the bishop's she secretly wrote 
 to Abgar. 
 
 " Pray for me that God may give me wisdom and 
 memory and the Holy Ghost to stand in trial before 
 my proud relatives and the bishop." 
 
 Several days passed; Nunia went day by day to 
 the court, throwing dust on her head and wearing 
 other outward signs of a supppliant, and, pleading 
 that her daughter be restored to her, sat until even- 
 ing. Every day the officers went to bring Mariam, 
 but the bishop refused to give her up. 
 
 Finally the mother declared to the Mustashar-i- 
 Doulah : " I must appeal by telegraph to his High 
 
A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 95 
 
 Majesty, the King of Kings, I am his sacrifice. 
 The Centre of the Universe will hear my humble 
 cry." 
 
 The Mustashar replied : "If the bishop does not 
 release her to-night I will get soldiers from the 
 Crown Prince and break his doors and fetch her." 
 
 Bishop Phanos yielded to the inevitable and sent 
 Mariam to her mother. 
 
 By all these trials the faith of Mariam and Abgar 
 was strengthened. Nunia's eyes, too, were opened 
 to see first the character of the clergy and secondly 
 the errors and evils of the Gregorian Church, and 
 she gave her adherence to the evangelical faith. 
 She showed a humble and teachable mind, and a 
 heart experience of the Spirit's grace. She quickly 
 developed in the Christian life. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 Sayid Jaffar, before the riot against the Arme- 
 nians, in which he took part, had .returned to 
 Tabriz to renew his claim against Mukdasi Ho- 
 hannes. He felt sure he could finally force him and 
 other relatives of Harun to give him large sums in 
 order to escape further annoyance. Officials in 
 Persia are only too glad to have such contests spun 
 out indefinitely, for a piece of cheese reaches the 
 judge's mouth each time he passes upon a case. 
 Before Jaffar found opportunity to press his suit the 
 cholera began in the city. The officials withdrew to 
 the mountains to seek safety from its ravages and 
 the dewan was closed. 
 
 Jaffar had supposed that no good Moslem would 
 flee from his Kismat or fate, which would overtake 
 him inevitably in city or mountain alike. Least of 
 all, did he suppose that a descendant of Mohammed 
 would be stricken down. But when he saw that 
 the sickness was no respector of green turbans and 
 that numerous Sayids died, he betook himself to 
 some of the remedies which were recommended. 
 He copied out a prayer which had been handed 
 
 96 
 
A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 97 
 
 down by Abdullah, son of Abbas, sewed it in a 
 little bag and hung it as an amulet from his neck. 
 Another prayer of Imam Jaffar Sadik he tran- 
 scribed, dissolved the writing in a cup of water and 
 drank it to secure exemption. His conscience 
 smote him for his past addiction to arak, yet be- 
 cause he heard that spirits were good to prevent 
 cholera he continued to imbibe. To make amends 
 for this dereliction he bought a sheep, read a prayer 
 over it several times, sacrificed it and distributed it 
 to the poor. But vain were all these endeavors, 
 while the women washed clothes in the stream of 
 water from which he drank. He was stricken 
 down. 
 
 In his extremity he called in the Mission Hakim, 
 who had remained in the city to minister to the 
 sick. The Hakim was accompanied by Abgar, for 
 the regular assistant had fled, saying : " All that a 
 man hath will he give for his life." 
 
 Abgar irecognized the Sayid and said to the 
 Hakim: 
 
 "It is the Sayid Jaffar, who has injured us so 
 much. God has smitten him." 
 
 The Hakim replied : " We will minister to him 
 in Christ's name. May be he will grant him repent- 
 ance. 
 
 By the Hakim's desire Abgar spent the night 
 with Sayid Jaffar. In the morning he was better. 
 
98 MARIAM 
 
 He rapidly recovered and was profuse in his ex- 
 pressions of gratitude, vowing that he would never 
 injure a Christian again. 
 
 The ravages of the terrible scourge increased day 
 by day. Fear and death reigned. Official and 
 private life were at a standstill. Business and 
 pleasure were alike suspended. Funerals were pass- 
 ing day and night. Before many doors carpets 
 were spread and mourners sat in the streets for 
 prayer and lamentation. At night the reading of 
 the Mollahs and the wails of the afflicted could be 
 heard on every side. Ten thousand bodies buried 
 within the city in shallow graves polluted the atmos- 
 phere. Worst of all, some of the corpses were put 
 on the surface of the ground and a casement of 
 brick and plaster built over them, that they might be 
 readily disinterred for transfer to the sacred soil of 
 Kerbela or Meshed. The stench from the ceme- 
 teries was so great that men passed them holding 
 to their nostrils garlic or camphor. 
 
 Many Armenians, including Khumbabed, Azgaser 
 and Unger fled to the mountains. There they and 
 other revolutionists made life a scene of revelry. 
 Nicknaming their deck of cards, " The book of 
 Psalms," they would say, " Come, let us sing a 
 psalm," and pass the days in gambling and drink- 
 ing. 
 
 Nunia was lodging in the city with a poor rela- 
 
A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 99 
 
 tive, where quarantine was impossible, as several 
 families occupied the same yard. She was stricken 
 with the dread disease. 
 
 Yeksabet immediately came to the Hakim and 
 said : " I want to go and take care of Nunia." 
 
 The Hakim warned Yeksabet, saying : " You 
 know the danger." 
 
 She answered : " She is my sister in Christ, and 
 a stranger in the city ; I wish to help her." 
 
 Abgar and Mariam, too, did all they could for 
 the sick one, but their efforts were unavailing. In 
 view of death Nunia praised God for her new ex- 
 perience of Jesus' love. Her joy in Christ was 
 abounding. After Nunia had breathed her last, 
 Yeksabet was taken sick and came near death's 
 door, but happily recovered. 
 
 When the Sahib went to conduct the funeral of 
 Nunia he found the Armenian priest already there 
 and in charge — his candles burning and his censor 
 swinging. Mariam insisted that the Sahib should 
 conduct the service. The relative of Nunia was an 
 old vixen. She had been used to come to her gate 
 when she saw a man passing, carrying his Bible and 
 hymn book, and to curse, saying : " Perish those 
 devil books." This vixen was backed by a 
 dozen wine-excited neighbors. Mariam urged her 
 mother's rights with strong words. Priest Guerg 
 joined in, reviling Mariam in vile language. A 
 
ioo MARIAM 
 
 fight was imminent. To avoid this the Protestants 
 waived their rights and stood by, while the priest 
 continued his incense burning and unintelligent 
 prayers. 
 
 The next to sicken of the cholera was Bishop 
 Phanos. In their hour of need he had not forsaken 
 his people, and their desire for his recovery was 
 very touching. They did what they could for him. 
 They formed processions, circling the church and re- 
 peating prayers. They sacrificed sheep for his bene- 
 fit. Many of them, especially the women, visited 
 the cemetery of Mother Mary and kissed the stones 
 of the shrine with much fervor and devotion. 
 Others sent to a monastery near Khoi and brought 
 a sacred relic, reputed to be the hand of the proto- 
 martyr Stephen, in the belief that its coming into 
 the city would bring relief to the patient. 
 
 Bishop Phanos himself cared for none of these 
 things. He said to the deacon who was acting as 
 his nurse : " Call the Missionary Hakim." 
 
 " Why so? Your holiness has opposed the Mis- 
 sion so bitterly, do you think they will return good 
 for evil?" 
 
 The bishop replied : " Yes, they are true people, 
 we can trust them, even though we have injured 
 them." 
 
 The Hakim, assisted by Abgar, did what medi- 
 cal skill could do for the dying enemy of gospel 
 
A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 101 
 
 work, but their efforts were in vain, for he was 
 fatally ill and death came soon. 
 
 In all these days of common work and interest for 
 the suffering and dying, Abgar and Mariam grew 
 closer together. Their mutual sympathies were en- 
 larged, their admiration for each other increased as 
 their finer traits of character were brought out in 
 the crucible of trial. Mariam saw that though Az- 
 gaser might be brave to denounce Kurds and 
 Turks, Abgar had a higher quality of courage in 
 the face of greater danger. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 In a large upper room in the Lelawa quarter 
 of Tabriz a group of Armenian revolutionists were 
 seated. The windows of the room faced the inner 
 yard, except a small iron-barred window, overlook- 
 ing a narrow alley, which came to an end at the 
 door. The door itself was made of solid heavy 
 hardwood planks and securely fastened with chains 
 and bolts — the ordinary defense against mobs and 
 robbers. The room was full of tobacco fumes and 
 the odor of liquors. 
 
 This band was evidently in a state of great excite- 
 ment. Khumbabed's piercing eye was flashing fire, 
 and his straight black hair, completely disheveled, 
 gave a more than ordinary fierce and determined 
 look to his countenance. He was interrogating a 
 heavy-set, full-faced, dark-complexioned man in 
 journey attire. The latter was evidently a refugee 
 from Turkey. His name was Pakhusdagan. 
 
 " In what condition," began Khumbabed, " did 
 you leave our people in Harput ? " 
 
 " Alas," said the refugee, " our country is deso- 
 late. The Kurds have swept away our villages, tens 
 
 1 02 
 
'A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 103 
 
 of thousands have been massacred in cold blood, our 
 sisters and our brides have been taken captive to the 
 Moslem harems. Many of the women and children, 
 and old gray-haired men have been slain at the 
 altars where they fled for safety. The churches 
 are burnt and defiled and turned into stables. Some 
 of our countrymen, alas, to save the lives and honor 
 of their wives and daughters have accepted Islam, 
 hoping for a better day when they can kiss the cross 
 and be reconsecrated with the Meeron." 
 
 " But did our people make no resistance ? " said 
 Khumbabed, continuing his inquiry. " Would they 
 had sold their lives dear ! " 
 
 " Many would gladly have done so," answered 
 Pakhusdagan, "as our brave comrades of Zeitun 
 who withstood the Sultan's host, but unarmed, what 
 could defenseless villagers do against the Hamidiah 
 cavalry ? The attempt made in Sassun was, as you 
 know, ruthlessly suppressed and the bodies of the 
 victims, covered with naphtha and thrown indis- 
 criminately on one another, were a burnt offering 
 to liberty." 
 
 " But Van escaped, did it hot ? " interrupted 
 Unger. 
 
 "The city has escaped massacre," replied Pak- 
 husdagan," but on a strange condition. The gov- 
 ernment commanded that all the young men, those 
 on whose courage and spirit bur hope was set, 
 
104 MARIAM 
 
 should leave the city, and on that condition they 
 would spare the common people. Seven hundred 
 of the youth, the flower of the city, left its gates and 
 gathered near a monastery some miles away. 
 When I left them they hoped to cross into Persia or 
 Russia and find safety." 
 
 Just then there was a loud knock with the iron 
 clapper. Peering through the iron bars, Unger 
 asked : 
 
 ".Who's there?" 
 
 In answer the countersign was given, and Az- 
 gaser with several strangers entered and exclaimed : 
 
 "Alas, have you heard the latest? It is the 
 saddest of all. The seven hundred young men of 
 Van retreated before the Sultan's troops, fighting as 
 best they could, for they had only sixty guns and 
 their ammunition was short. When it gave out 
 they fled, guided by our trusty Harut. Many es- 
 caped and were safe beyond the border, when 
 Sheriff Agha, Sheikh of the Kurds, waylaid them. 
 He killed many of them on the highway in cold 
 blood, and hunted the rest through all the hills and 
 vales, so that only a few have escaped. These are 
 some of them." 
 
 "Avak! Curses on him!" said Khumbabed. 
 " We must take vengeance on him. We must 
 redden his white beard with his own gore." 
 
 " Certainly," said Azgaser, " we must make him 
 
A ROMANCE OE PERSIA' 105 
 
 eat dirt and send him to his burnt fathers and that 
 before the snow melts again from Ararat." 
 
 " I propose," exclaimed lUnger, " that we do as 
 in the case of the traitor Serapeon, that babbling 
 monk, that we appoint by lot one of our trusty men 
 to go secretly and stab the villain to the heart. ; We 
 are sworn to do whatever our cause demands. 
 
 "It seems to me," declared Azgaser, "that the 
 tribe i3 guilty with their villain chief. I move that 
 we organize an expedition against the Kurds. Let 
 us call on all our members who are at hand and at- 
 tack them, exacting life for life for our slaughtered 
 comrades." 
 
 " Getseh," " Bravo," echoed one and another of 
 the band. 
 
 Khumbabed expressed his hearty approval of the 
 determination of the company, and after an ex- 
 change of views, in conclusion stated the plan : 
 
 " We will gather our brave band together. We 
 will call from Russia, from Teheran and from 
 Hamadan, picked comrades and enlist some new 
 ones. A new box of muskets has already crossed 
 the Arras, which we bought of the colonel in charge 
 
 of the Russian Arsenal at K -. Success to our 
 
 expedition. Drink to it ! " 
 
 They emptied their glasses to its success. 
 
 Azgaser jumped to his feet and shouted: 
 " Here's to free Armenia ! " 
 
io6 MARIAM 
 
 All sprang up and again emptied their glasses 
 of the pale Azerbijan wine, while they shouted: 
 " Long live free Armenia ! " 
 
 During the following days, strenuous prepara- 
 tions were made. Khumbabed, in casting about for 
 new recruits, settled on Abgar as a suitable man. 
 Unger was put on his track. His social, attractive 
 manner made it easy for him to ingratiate himself 
 with Abgar. He worked upon his heart tales of the 
 terrible sufferings of their people in Turkey. Abgar 
 knew it was all true and more, too, for had not the 
 fathers and many relatives of his beloved teacher 
 and honored preacher been murdered in cold blood 
 and their homes made desolate. Unger pictured the 
 beauty of patriotism with tales of Garibaldi and 
 Bozzaris, of Kussoth and Washington, until to fight 
 for one's country seemed the highest possible life. 
 His heart was fired to emulate heroic deeds. He 
 was not told of the contemplated expedition, but in- 
 vited to join the society in order to free his country 
 and its oppressed people. 
 
 Abgar wished to show that it was a slander when 
 he was accused of being a traitor to his race, and of 
 being no longer an Armenian, because he had be- 
 come a Protestant. He hesitated because he knew 
 that the missionaries and his teachers did not ap- 
 prove of the methods of the revolutionary societies, 
 nor regard intimate association with them as con- 
 
A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 107 
 
 iductive to high Christian character. Hence he 
 avoided seeking the advice of his teachers. 
 
 While wavering he was invited to meet Khum- 
 babed. When the pupils were going to the usual 
 weekly meeting he secretly turned aside and went to 
 the house of the revolutionists. He was greatly 
 impressed by Khumbabed. His magnetism, his per- 
 suasive power, his earnestness of conviction made 
 him a powerful propagandist. Abgar was over- 
 whelmed by his words and flattered by his attentions. 
 Whatever hesitancy he had had was completely 
 swept away. He yielded himself to the movement 
 as a new and ardent disciple. Later in the evening 
 the members of the bad gathered and initiated the 
 hew disciple. The object of the society was ex- 
 plained, Abgar was bound to implicit obedience by 
 strictest oaths and imprecations. His vow under 
 forfeit of life was to fulfil absolutely and unques- 
 tioningly all the commands of his superiors. What- 
 ever doubt Abgar in his normal condition might 
 have had concerning the lightness of submitting his 
 will or the control of his conduct to another person 
 was dissipated by the excitement of the occasion. 
 He surrendered himself unreservedly to the cause. 
 
 The remainder of the evening was spent in per- 
 fecting the plans for the attack. It was arranged 
 that the members should go unobserved to different 
 villages of Salmas and should thence on a certain 
 
Io8 MARIAM 
 
 evening gather, fully equipped, inside the new wall 
 of Derik Monastery. 
 
 Abgar, infatuated by his new interests, lost all 
 desire to pursue his studies and could scarcely await 
 the day of departure. He obtained the Sahib per- 
 mission to be absent to attend the wedding of a rela- 
 tive and to spend the next day with him. 
 
 He then went to give good-bye to Mariam. 
 After greetings she said : 
 
 " Why, Abgar, you look so disturbed ; what can 
 be the matter ? " 
 
 He became even more confused, but replied : 
 
 "If you promise not to tell any one I will tell 
 you." 
 
 She answered : " I promise for I trust you in 
 everything." 
 
 He without further hesitation said to her : " I 
 am going away to fight for fatherland." 
 
 " Oh ! Where are you going ? Why do you 
 go?" exclaimed Mariam the tears coming into her 
 eyes. 
 
 " I cannot tell you where, my dearest," said 
 Abgar, " but I go for the good, of our Armenian 
 people." 
 
 " Oh, my dear Abgar, I beseech you to give up 
 the notion. The cruel Kurds will kill you and I 
 shall die in grief," pleaded Mariam. 
 
 Abgar laughed at her fears, but knowing that 
 
A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 109 
 
 talking about it would not make parting easier, he 
 arose, saying: 
 
 " Be of good cheer, my Mariam. Remain in 
 peace. I will come back safely to you soon." 
 
 She walked with him to the gate, saying with 
 wisdom beyond her years : 
 
 " Oh, Abgar, there are many temptations among 
 those evil men. Pray and watch that you may be 
 true to your faith and your Saviour." 
 
 On the appointed day all gathered at the monas- 
 tery and received instructions. Toward dusk, leav- 
 ing by twos and threes and going by by-paths and 
 across hills they reached their final rendezvous — a 
 clump of trees in a narrow secluded gulley through 
 which a rivulet ran. An old, unused mill afforded 
 a still more perfect concealment to the band. The 
 unaccustomed circumstances gave a feeling of 
 solemnity to the men which was unusual. They 
 felt the seriousness of facing death, as to most 
 of them a bloody encounter was a new experience 
 and it wore a different aspect than when viewed 
 from a secluded room in Tabriz. Der Arsen, a 
 revolutionist who had been ordained and clothed 
 with the pilon of a priest, proposed that the 
 Mass be celebrated, in imitation of Russian army 
 customs. 
 
 When the priest passed the consecrated water, 
 Abgar shook his head in refusal and continued 
 
no MARIAM 
 
 silently meditating and praying, half repenting that 
 he had joined the enterprise. 
 
 But Azgaser was filled with wrath by the cere- 
 mony of the sacrament. All his infidel feelings 
 were aroused. He rose from his seat, seized a gun, 
 and jumped to the door of the mill. Raising his 
 gun toward heaven he fired, exclaiming with a terri- 
 ble malediction : " I shoot at a God who allows 
 his people to be massacred by infidel Turks. Away 
 with a Jesus who teaches us to turn the other cheek 
 to the smiter." 
 
 A murmur of horror passed round the mill. 
 Even those hardened men were shocked at the blas- 
 phemy. Almost instantly there was an answering 
 shot from the mountain side. Then all was still. 
 
 Soon Khumbabed began to make his disposition 
 of the men. He had himself been up to the tents of 
 the Kurds on the previous day, disguised as a Jewish 
 peddler, and was familiar with their situation. He 
 had decided that the attack should be from all sides. 
 The men were divided into squads of 20, who should 
 attack simultaneously after having surrounded the 
 tents. The Sheikh's tent was on the lower side, 
 partly under a tree, near a spring. It was known 
 that a guard of two was always stationed before 
 his tent. Two squads were sent against this point, 
 as it was specially desired to kill the Sheikh. Be- 
 cause it was the most dangerous duty, Azgaser had 
 

 '*X&*iikmUL£i 
 
 % » 
 
A ROMANCE OF PERSIA in 
 
 suggested to Khumbabed that Abgar be appointed 
 a member of the advance squad against the Sheikh's 
 tent. Azgaser planned in this way, hoping that in 
 the attack Abgar might be killed and thus the chief 
 obstacle to his obtaining Mariam be removed. 
 Khumbabed, who admired Abgar for his self-control 
 and daring, without suspicion accepted the sugges- 
 tion and assigned to Unger the leadership of the 
 squad, with Abgar as his second. To Azgaser was 
 assigned the leadership of the second squad, with 
 Sagatiel as his aide. The latter were to rush upon 
 the Sheikh's tent from the rear. Silently the squads 
 went forth and sought their respective places. The 
 watches of the leaders were turned alike and exactly 
 at midnight they were to attack in unison. Before 
 the appointed time and when many had not yet 
 reached their positions Kurds unexpectedly attacked 
 the first squad, for their suspicions had been aroused 
 by the solitary shot heard some time before and they 
 had placed extra guards. The Kurds suddenly rose 
 in their path and thrust their spears at them. 
 Unger fell with a groan. Abgar parried the spear 
 thrust at which was aimed at him and gave the Kurd 
 a blow with his gun barrel, which knocked him 
 senseless. A third Kurd fired with his revolver. 
 The shot grazed Abgar's scalp and stunned him, so 
 that he fell over, spraining his knee in the fall. He 
 was unable to rise. The attack now became gen- 
 
ii2 MARIAM 
 
 eral. Firing was heard on all sides. The fierce 
 shouts of the Kurds mingled with the cries of the 
 women and the groaning of the wounded. 
 
 Azgaser and Sagatiel penetrated to the tent of 
 the Sheikh, and firing at a retreating figure saw the 
 Sheikh's wife fall down before them. The Sheikh 
 was not there, for he had not laid aside his arms, 
 and at the first sound he had risen and rushed forth. 
 They set fire to the tent and went forth to seek 
 the Sheikh. They came face to face with him and 
 his bodyguard. A fusilade followed and Sagatiel 
 dropped dead. Azgaser avenged the death of his 
 comrade by a shot at the heart of the assailant. 
 Several fell on both sides. The Sheikh raised his 
 gun and took fair aim at Azgaser. His kismat 
 seemed sealed. But Abgar, who was unable to rise, 
 saw it all, and instantly from his fallen position 
 threw his dagger at the Sheikh. It struck his arm 
 and moved it so that the shot passed through the 
 shoulder of Azgaser instead of his heart, at which 
 the Sheikh had aimed. Azgaser fell, covered with 
 blood. 
 
 A regular melee ensued. More on both sides 
 were slain. But the contest seemed to be going 
 against the band and Khumbabed gave the signal 
 for retreat. Azgaser, Abgar and the other 
 wounded were half dragged and half carried from 
 the scene of carnage. The Kurds, fearing an am- 
 
A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 113 
 
 bush in the darkness, did not follow them. Ambu- 
 lance stretchers were improvised from the mill- 
 doors. A Nestorian surgeon from Salmas was 
 forcibly summoned to come and dress the wounds. 
 He advised that Abgar and Azgaser should be re- 
 moved to Westminster Hospital in Urumia. 
 
 When Abgar was safely and comfortably quar- 
 tered under the kind care of the Hakims and had 
 been assured that his wound and knee-sprain 
 would only require time to heal, his anxiety abated. 
 He then had opportunity to think. In the clearer 
 vision of after-thought, with the recollection of the 
 strife and the dead in his mind, he saw what a 
 grave mistake he had made. He thanked God for 
 spared life. He assured his father who visited him 
 and vowed to his Saviour that he would hereafter 
 keep out of such entanglements. 
 
 With Azgaser the Hakim's task was more diffi- 
 cult. His wound was probed, the bullet extracted 
 and proper treatment given. But the expected 
 healing was long delayed. The effect of his dissi- 
 pated life and of the habitual use of liquor and to- 
 bacco was such that the wound would not readily 
 heal. The Hakim's kind heart was moved for the 
 suffering youth. He often stopped by his bedside 
 to lead his thoughts to the realities of the spiritual 
 life. Abgar newly awakened, longed for the soul 
 of his companion. They had many conversations 
 
1 14 MARIAM 
 
 together. Azgaser's heart was deeply moved by 
 the kindness shown him and by Christ's love so 
 manifested. 
 
 One day he said to Abgar : " God has punished 
 me for my sins. That night, by my blasphemous 
 shot, I made known our presence to the Kurds and 
 brought death to my comrades. I pray that 
 he may forgive me. I wished to have you killed 
 but you saved my life. Forgive me. I have per- 
 secuted the Protestants, but their; spirit is shown in 
 their love to me now. I know that Protestantism 
 is the true form of Christianity — the best and only 
 religion to live by and die by. God grant me his 
 salvation, God grant a reformation to our people, to 
 our ancient Church." 
 
 Abgar, overcome with emotion, could only ex- 
 claim, " Thank God, the kingdom of God is come 
 near to you." 
 
CHAPTER XIV ' 
 
 Chastened by his experience, matured in char- 
 acter, but withal humbled on account of being en- 
 ticed into such an unprofitable and questionable 
 escapade, Abgar returned to the Memorial School. 
 It was not hard for his friends to forgive him, for 
 when the whole story was known, admiration min- 
 gled with condemnation. 
 
 Thereafter life was less eventful for him as well 
 as for Mariam. The troublesome bishop was dead. 
 Azgaser withdrew from the revolutionary move- 
 ment and went back to Russia, determined here- 
 after to show his love for his people by striving for 
 their advancement through education and moral 
 culture. 
 
 Sayid Jaffar, after his recovery from cholera, 
 heard a sermon of a Mollah, in which he affirmed 
 that the cholera had been sent as a scourge upon 
 the Moslems because they were aping Christian 
 ways and that the medicines which the Christians 
 had given them were meant to kill them, and only 
 the power of the Imams had delivered any of their 
 patients out of their hands. So the Sayid, accord- 
 US 
 
u6 MARIAM 
 
 ing to his natural bent, returned to his hatred of 
 Christians and many were the works of iniquity 
 which he wrought in his wild career of robbery, 
 rape and murder. But Abgar had kindled in the 
 Sayid that spark of good which is in many of the 
 basest natures, so that gratitude constrained him 
 to hold his decision never to molest or injure 
 Mariam. 
 
 The hearts of the Armenians soon awoke to a 
 true appreciation of the missionaries. They saw 
 that in the massacres in Turkey Protestants suf- 
 fered equally with Gregorians, that they, too, like 
 Abgar, had the hearts of patriots. Fellow suffer- 
 ings melted prejudices. The deep sympathy and 
 abounding charity of evangelical Christians every- 
 where, which poured its treasure out to relieve the 
 famished and support the orphaned and widowed 
 among the Armenians, begat love in their hearts. 
 
 The new bishop, a man of kindly disposition and 
 a lover of peace, acquainted with the English lan- 
 guage and with Anglo-Saxon ideas of religious 
 liberty, pursued a policy far different from his 
 predecessor. Soon enmity gave place to cordial re- 
 lations and mutual regard. Under these new con- 
 ditions, Abgar received the ready assent of all when 
 he desired that his public betrothal to Mariam 
 should be celebrated. The friends were invited to 
 the parlor of the Girls' School. Khunchas or 
 
WESTMINSTER HOSPITAL, URUMIA 
 GROUP OP MEN PATIENTS 
 
A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 117 
 
 wooden trays of cakes and candies were brought 
 and placed on the floor. A large gilded loaf of 
 sugar was a special feature of each tray. The en- 
 gagement pledges were placed on the central tray. 
 Abgar and Mariam stood before the preacher, who 
 read the story of Rebecca's betrothal to Isaac. He 
 asked them if they desired to be betrothed and to 
 give and receive their nishans or pledges, and then 
 gave to the bride the ring, a necklace of beads with 
 some pendant coins and a silver belt of filigree 
 work. As an innovation they presented to each 
 other gilt-bound, brass-clasped Bibles, with their 
 names and the date inscribed on them. After be- 
 seeching on their betrothal the divine blessing, Bad- 
 vele Gregor sat down and took his knife and ham- 
 mer, which were at hand for the purpose, and broke 
 in pieces the heads of sugar. The sugar and can- 
 dies were distributed to the guests on saucers, while 
 the large end of the sugar loaf was reserved as the 
 perquisite of the preacher. 
 
 The guests then congratulated the happy pair 
 and departed, taking their portion of sweets with 
 them for good luck. Thereafter Abgar and 
 Mariam were able to pursue in peace and with un- 
 divided attention their courses of study. After 
 they were graduated Mariam engaged for several 
 •ars in the work of teaching in her alma mater, 
 while Abgar completed a course in theology. 
 
uS MARIAM 
 
 At length there came a day when an old woman 
 went around and presented a red apple to each of 
 their friends and besought their presence at 
 wedding festivities. The women as the bride's 
 guests, gathered at the Girls' School, but Baron 
 Sarkis threw open his mansion for the men as the 
 groom's guests. The fruits of the season were 
 served. Tea, flavored with bitter orange, was 
 drunk from tiny glasses. Musicians with fife and 
 viol, drum and tambourine, enlivened the hours 
 while the men and the women apart danced to their 
 own delectation. After several hours the bride- 
 groom was formally clothed with his wedding 
 suit, a gift which has just been sent frorn-.thV,b*ide, 
 and the procession formed to go to the bride's 
 house. In front marched the band playingttheir 
 weird tunes. School-boys, bearing torchfr and 
 candelabra, added their songs. Amid this glare 
 and noise, " the friend of the bridegroom " con- 
 ducted him, arm in arm, through the streets. 
 
 Meanwhile, to the assembled women, Mariam ex- 
 hibited her trousseau, and they gossiped • and 
 chatted over the dresses and various garments, the 
 ribbons and kerchiefs, the comforters, pijtlows and 
 quilts. Mukdasi Hohannes, his ideal fu.lfi$ed and 
 his heart swelling with pride, had furnished an ample 
 dowry for his beloved daughter. Bundle aft^r btMk 
 die was exhibited to the admiring spectators. **v.^ 
 
A ROMANCE OF PERSIA 119 
 
 Great interest was displayed when Mariam was 
 adorned with the bridal attire, which had come 
 from the groom. Her hair hung in long braids 
 down her back. The flat skull-cap of girlhood was 
 exchanged for a crown of embroidered velvet, the 
 symbol of wedlock. Over this a white silk kerchief 
 and red gauze veil, embroidered with gold thread, 
 were tied. 
 
 By the time the bride was decorated there was a 
 cry: "Behold, the bridegroom cometh." The 
 glare of torches appeared on the threshold, the 
 sounds of rejoicing filled the air. The bride and 
 groom were brought face to face. Badvele Gregor 
 put her hand in his, saying : " As God placed the 
 right hand of Eve in the right hand of Adam, so 
 I do." Thus they walked together to the church, 
 the bride moving at a snail's pace, feigning un- 
 willingness, according to the custom. Scores of 
 people crowded the flat roofs to see the spectacle. 
 
 The church was decorated with flowers and, as 
 a western innovation, the organ welcomed them 
 with a wedding march. The ceremony was length- 
 ened to suit popular taste. There were three 
 hymns, three prayers, several long selections from 
 the Scriptures, a sermon and the ceremony proper. 
 
 On marching from the church the band struck 
 
 # again, songs rent the air, rockets shot up in front 
 the procession; bouquets were showered upon 
 
120 MARIAM: 
 
 them from the roofs. At one place a policeman 
 held his horse across the narrow street to extort a 
 present, and at the guard house the soldiers de- 
 manded safety-money. 
 
 Arrived at Baron Sarkis' house the bridal party 
 pledged each other with cherry sherbert ; rose water 
 was sprinkled about; the guests offered their 
 heartfelt congratulations and then seated themselves 
 to a bountiful repast. 
 
 Shortly afterwards the happy couple took their 
 departure to Kurdistan, there to live and teach 
 the degraded and ignorant of their own race and 
 to act as ambassadors for Christ to the wild Kurds. 
 Many, many friends " poured them on the road " 
 as far as the suburb Lala, and bade them Godspeed, 
 saying, " The Lord Jesus bless you." " May your 
 lives be prolonged." " May your house be 
 blessed'" 
 
GLOSSARY OF FOREIGN WORDS. 
 
 'Allah Akbar 
 
 = God is great 
 
 
 arak 
 
 = Persian brandy 
 
 
 arkh 
 
 = irrigating stream 
 
 
 awak! 
 
 = alas 
 
 
 Badvelee 
 
 = Reverend 
 
 
 Catholicos 
 
 = Chief Patriarch of the 
 menians 
 
 Ar- 
 
 chudra 
 
 *== head covering of women 
 
 
 dallal 
 
 = peddler, intermediary 
 
 
 dolma 
 
 = vegetables stuffed with 
 and meat 
 
 rice 
 
 farash 
 
 = policeman 
 
 
 hakim 
 
 = doctor 
 
 
 hammal 
 
 = porter 
 
 
 hurjin 
 
 '= saddle bags 
 
 
 kelim 
 
 = low grade carpet 
 
 
 khanum 
 
 — lady 
 
 
 kran 
 
 = coin worth 8 cents 
 
 
 kurisee 
 
 = table over underground 
 
 oven 
 
 mashallah ! 
 
 '=' what God wills ! 
 
 
 matsun 
 
 — card 
 
 
 meeron 
 
 = holy oil 
 
 
 # 
 
 12 1) 
 
 
122 
 
 GLOSSARY. 
 
 mollah 
 
 = Moslem priest 
 
 mukdasj 
 
 = pilgrim to Jerusalem 
 
 ojak 
 
 = fire place 
 
 pilau 
 
 = boiled rice 
 
 Sahib 
 
 = Mister 
 
 saka 
 
 = water carrier 
 
 saki 
 
 = platform in stable 
 
 sayid 
 
 •= descendant of Mohammed 
 
 shamesha 
 
 = deacon 
 
 samavar 
 
 = tea-urn 
 
 toman 
 
 = coin of value of 80 cents 
 
 tulug 
 
 = leather water-bottle 
 
 vartabed 
 
 =chief monk 
 
 Vy! 
 
 =Woe!