Page:The Nestorians and their rituals, volume 1.djvu/353



May 2nd, 1844.—Having made the necessary preparations for the journey, Mrs. Badger, Mr. Fletcher, and I, accompanied by my brother-in-law and sister, Mr. Hormuzd Rassam, Mar Shimoon, and a large number of native Christians, left the Sinjâr gate at 9 We all rode together for about five miles, when we dismounted to bid one another farewell. It was a painful parting: we were now leaving behind those who were dear to us by ties of blood, a fond parent's dust, and a sphere of labour, which had not indeed been without its cares, (for what labour is?) but which had also afforded us ample scope for fulfilling the important mission confided to us by the Church. I bade adieu to my dearest friends on earth, whilst the venerable Patriarch stood by sad and sorrowful. I approached to take his hand; the old man threw his arms around me, affectionately pressed both cheeks to mine, whilst the tears chased one another down his anxious face. This was more than I could bear … so mounting our animals, we turned to give our departing friends one more look, and then plunged into the desert.

This road to Mardeen is shorter by two days than the more circuitous route by Jezeerah; but it is seldom traversed in summer owing to the scarcity of water. Before Mohammed Pasha's time it was hardly passable at all on account of the plundering Bedooeen and the Yezeedees of Sinjâr; but the vigorous mea-