Memoir and Diary of John Yeardley, Minister of the GospelYeardley, John
Religion
Memoir and Diary of John Yeardley, Minister of the Gospel
Yeardley, John
Clergy -- United States -- Biography; Quakers -- Biography; Yeardley, John, 1786-1858
The persevering and well-directed efforts of the American missionaries for
the evangelization of the Armenians, and the field of Christian labor
which was thus opened, took firm hold of J.Y.'s mind; he longed to visit
the schools and congregations in Isnik and Brusa, and probably only
abandoned the journey at this time in the hope of undertaking it at some
future day. John Yeardley describes Constantinople as--
Built entirely on the hills which slope from a considerable eminence down
to the Bosphorus. The trees towering among the houses, the high spires and
gilded domes, have a most imposing effect; but what is the astonishment of
the traveller when he commences his ascent up steep, narrow,
clumsily-pitched streets. I could only compare them to the
worst-constructed bridle-roads in England which the packhorses traversed
centuries ago. The three days we were in the city I only saw one or two
carriages,--the most curious vehicles; indeed, there is scarcely a street
in which two carriages can pass. Donkeys are the chief carriers. As to
dogs, they are born and bred in the streets and are the property of the
town, and in the day-time He by dozens in the streets, young and old, are
always under the feet of the traveller, and he must constantly poke them
out of the way with his stick; by night they are furious. The shops
present a jumble of all kinds of wares; and the Turks sit cross-legged in
the window, or work at their trade inside.
They left Constantinople on the 15th, and on the 17th went on shore at
Smyrna, where, at the house of the American missionary Ladd, they met with
another missionary, named Stacking, returning with his family from Persia,
where he had labored sixteen years among the Nestorians. The account which
he gave John Yeardley of the creed and condition of the Nestorian Church,
and of the schools which had been opened in Persia, aroused his deep
sympathy and produced an abiding impression on his mind.
Smyrna, like the other Turkish cities which they saw, vividly impressed
the travellers with its Oriental character.
Like Constantinople, says J.Y., it is a town of all nations. The streets
are narrow, with a run of dirty water down the middle. We met docile
camels in great number, bringing figs from the interior. In the
fig-market were thousands of boxes being prepared and packed for
exportation. It is a sight of interest to see Turks, Greeks, &c., huddled
together, walking, talking, or sitting cross-legged and smoking their long
pipes. We took donkeys and ascended the hill, where we obtained a good
view of the town, and then examined the ruins where the ancient city
stood, and saw the place where the message from Heaven was received by the
angel of the church of Smyrna. The church of Polycarp stood not far from
that of John the Baptist. After a visit of peculiar interest, I returned
to the steam-ship and read the message to the church of Smyrna, which gave
rise to more reflections than I can here record.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account