Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this file which includes the original illustrations. See 13011-h.htm or 13011-h.zip: (https://www.gutenberg.org/1/3/0/1/13011/13011-h/13011-h.htm) or (https://www.gutenberg.org/1/3/0/1/13011/13011-h.zip) FAR OFF or, Asia and Australia Described, with Anecdotes and Illustrations BY THE AUTHOR OF "THE PEEP OF DAY," ETC. ETC. ETC. NEW YORK 1852 [Illustration: "O ma'am that's sweet! Jesus Christ is OUR Redeemer."] [Illustration: FAR OFF] In the Frontispiece may be seen an English lady, who went to live upon Mount Sion to teach little Jewesses and little Mahomedans to know the Saviour. That lady has led three of her young scholars to a plain just beyond the gates of Jerusalem; and while two of them are playing together, she is listening to little Esther, a Jewess of eight years old. The child is fond of sitting by her friend, and of hearing about the Son of David. She has just been singing, "Glory, honor, praise, and power, Be unto the Lamb forever, Jesus Christ is our Redeemer, Hallelujah, praise the Lord;" and now she is saying, "O, ma'am, that's sweet! Jesus Christ is _our_ Redeemer, _our_ Redeemer: no _man_ can redeem his brother, no _money_,--nothing--but only the precious blood of Christ." PREFACE. This little work pleads for the notice of parents and teachers on the same grounds as its predecessor, "Near Home." Its plea is not completeness, nor comprehensiveness, nor depth of research, nor splendor of description; but the very reverse,--its simple, superficial, desultory character, as better adapted to the volatile beings for whom it is designed. Too long have their immortal minds been captivated by the adventures and achievements of knights and princesses, of fairies and magicians; it is time to excite their interest in real persons, and real events. In childhood that taste is formed which leads the youth to delight in novels, and romances; a taste which has become so general, that every town has its circulating library, and every shelf in that library is filled with works of fiction. While these fascinating inventions are in course of perusal, many a Bible is unopened, or if opened, hastily skimmed; many a seat in church is unoccupied, or if occupied, the service, and the sermon disregarded--so intense is the sympathy of the novel reader with his hero, or his heroine. And what is the effect of the perusal? Many a young mind, inflated with a desire for admiration and adventure, grows tired of home, impatient of restraint, indifferent to simple pleasures, and averse to sacred instructions. How important, therefore, early to endeavor to prevent a taste for FICTION, by cherishing a taste for FACTS.