opinion in favor of his piety and preaching. Bambas appeared then to
be about fifty years old; and his sweet countenance enlivened by a
quick eye, and the deliberation, judgment, and kindness, with which
he replied to inquiries, made a most favorable impression, which
subsequent intercourse fully sustained.

With such a specimen of a Greek before them, we cannot wonder that
Messrs. Fisk and Parsons cherished strong hopes as to the future of
the nation. They remained in Scio five months, and availed
themselves of every opportunity to revive among the Greeks a
knowledge of the Gospel. In November, they made a tour of about
three hundred miles, visiting the places where once stood the Seven
Churches of Asia, everywhere acquiring and imparting information.

After mature deliberation they decided, that the object of their
mission would be most effectually promoted by their temporary
separation; and that Mr. Parsons should proceed at once to
Jerusalem, preliminary to its permanent occupation, while Mr. Fisk
should prosecute his studies at Smyrna, under the hospitable roof of
Mr. Van Lennep. The war of the Greek revolution began in the
following spring, and Mr. Fisk's journal makes frequent mention of
cruel atrocities committed by the Turks on their opponents in the
streets of Smyrna. Prudence required him to live much in retirement.
In a few short excursions, however, he distributed Bibles,
Testaments, and tracts; and, during a part of the year, he supplied
the place of British chaplain.

Mr. Parsons arrived at Jerusalem on the 17th of February, 1821, and
was the first Protestant missionary ever resident there, with the
intention of making it a permanent field of labor. His first object
was to reach the multitude of pilgrims then about to congregate in
the Holy City. He took with him the Scriptures in nine languages,
and four or five thousand religious tracts. He had letters to
Procopius, an assistant of the Greek Patriarch of Jerusalem,
president of the Greek monasteries, and agent of the British and
Foreign Bible Society. Convenient rooms were assigned him near the
so-called holy sepulchre. During the spring he visited the principal
places of interest in Jerusalem and its vicinity, including the
Jordan and Dead Sea, and had reason to believe that his labors were
not fruitless. As he supposed it not safe to pass the hot months of
the year at Jerusalem, he resolved to spend the summer on Mount
Lebanon, but civil commotio