was on board the boat an Armenian, well acquainted with
her father, who inquired of her the cause. On hearing her story he
remonstrated, with the Jew, who said she had been placed in his hands by
her grandmother to be sent to Jerusalem. On their arriving at Jaffa, the
affair was made known to Mr. Murad, the American Consul. He sent for the
Jew, took the child from his hands, and dismissed him, and wrote to Mr.
Whiting in Jerusalem an account of the affair, and was directed by him
to send the child to us. Not long after, her grandmother came to
Jerusalem bringing Rufka. She tried to interest the Armenian Convent in
her behalf. Here I find an extract from Mr. Whiting's journal, which
will give you all of interest on this point. "After being out much of
the morning, I returned and found the grandmother of little Sada, who
had brought her little sister Rufka to leave her with us. She had a
quarrel with the convent, and fled for refuge to us. We cannot but be
thankful that both these little orphans are at length quietly placed
under our care and instruction."
The parents of three of the girls in our family, being Protestants,
always gave their sanction to our mode of instructing and training them.
Bishop Carabet likewise aided us in every way in his power, and ever
seemed most grateful for what I was doing for his daughters. In his last
sickness, when enfeebled by age, I often visited him. Once on going into
his room, he was seated as usual on his Turkish rug. One of the family
rose to offer me a chair, I said, "let me sit near you on your rug, that
I may talk to you." With much emotion he replied, "_Inshullah tukodee
jenb il Messiah fe melakoot is sema!_" "God grant that you may sit by
the side of Christ in the kingdom of Heaven!"
We were from time to time encouraged by tokens of a work of God's Spirit
in their hearts. Melita Carabet was the first to indulge a hope in
Christ, and united with the Church in Abeih. Salome united in Beirut;
Hanne in Hasbeiya, where her brother, Rev. John Wortabet, was pastor.
Sada was received by Mr. Calhoun at Abeih, soon after Mr. Whiting's
death, and Rufka in later years united with the United Presbyterian
Church in Alexandria, Egypt. I have ever thought these girls were under
great obligations to the American Churches and the American Mission, who
for so many years supported and instructed them, and I have ever tried
to impress upon them a sense of their obligation to impart to others of
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