Page:Syria, the land of Lebanon (1914).djvu/186

 CHAPTER XI

SOME SALT PEOPLE

HENEVER the genial American consul-general spoke of a certain godly Scotch-woman who was laboring for the uplift of Syria, a not irreverent twinkle would come into his eye as he paraphrased the words of the Gospel—"She is one of those salt people."

I should like to write a book about the men and women of many races and many ecclesiastical affiliations whose lives are bringing a varied savor and moral asepsis to the land of Syria. It would contain tales of thrilling romance and brave adventure and a surprising number of humorous anecdotes, besides the record of quiet self-devotion which is taken for granted in all missionary biographies. Such a lengthy narration falls without the scope of the present work. Yet any description of Syria and its people would be incomplete which did not include at least a few glimpses of the men and women who, more than all others, are molding the thought and uplifting the ideals and helping to solve the critical problems of the land of Lebanon. Rh