Mr. Dwight began a course of lectures on systematic theology, commencing with a class of three Armenians, one of them a priest. The Armenian college at Scutari was closed by the bankers in October, after having been in operation three years, at great expense to the community. But the seminary at Bebek was so full of promise, that grants were made to place it on a broader and firmer basis. The change in the Armenian community, in the course of five or six years, had been very encouraging. At the beginning of that time, some were truly interested in the things of religion, and the missionaries had religious conversation with many. But by far the greater part then came for the purpose of general inquiry, or to see the philosophical apparatus, or hear a lecture on the sciences; and it was matter of joy, if mere human knowledge could be made the entering wedge to their minds for the knowledge which is divine. How marked the change! They now came in large numbers, drawn by the power of the truth of God alone, not to inquire about electricity, or galvanism, as before, but about the eternal destiny of the soul, and the way by which it might be saved. There had been, also, a favorable change in the general style of preaching at the capital; and among the people there was a growing disposition to compare every doctrine and practice with the Scriptures. This the vartabeds, or preachers, could not disregard. It was not an uncommon thing to hear of sermons on Repentance, the Sabbath, the Judgment-day, etc.; and sometimes the preachers were largely indebted for their materials to the publications of the mission. Indeed, one of the most respectable vartabeds in Constantinople made repeated applications to the missionaries to furnish mutter for his sermons. Instances of pungent convictions of sin became more common. Some who had been drunkards, gamblers, adulterers, and downright infidels, were thoroughly converted, and exhibited that humility, purity, spirituality, and Christian zeal, which are the fruits of the Spirit alone. The older converts, also, appeared to grow in the knowledge of Christ, and one striking characteristic was an active zeal for the salvation of others.