Page:The Nestorians and their rituals, volume 1.djvu/93

Rh tensive terracing in the hills beyond, and at 3 reached Ba-Sebreena, a small town inhabited exclusively by 250 Jacobite families. Here we found a large monastery, the residence of Mutran Patr Meerza and three monks, who seemed to lead as indolent a life as the tenants of Deir-ool-Amar. There are also several churches in the place, more than half of which are in ruins. The people, who are principally agriculturists, seemed in good temporal circumstances, but ignorant in the extreme. Some insolence on their part to a government official had brought a company of irregular troops among them, who were still quartered in their houses during our visit. They complained sadly of this, but their deportment at once convinced me that they would have ejected them had they dared.

Dec. 2nd.—In two hours after leaving Ba-Sebreena, we stopped at the large Jacobite village of Middo, where many of the inhabitants came out to meet us, and with whom we had a long interview. They have a church and two priests, but no school. Three hours beyond we put up at Azekh, another Syrian village, containing about 160 families, surrounded by extensive vineyards. This place suffered severely in 1832 from the Coordish Pasha of Rawandooz, who took many of them away captive; and also from Bedr Khan Beg of Jezeerah, who used the most harsh measures to induce them to embrace Islamism, and was the cause of the murder of their Bishop Abd-oon-Noor. This event took place about six years ago, yet no successor has been appointed to this See. Like the rest of the Syrians whom we passed on the road, the people of Azekh evinced the greatest apathy on the subject of religion. The priests complained that they were obliged to work in the fields for a livelihood, and the church was in such a filthy state that I offered to assist in having it whitewashed, if the villagers would join in the expense. Not one answered the appeal; and I found afterwards that violent dissensions existed among them. The small baptistery in the church had been converted into a depository of wheat and barley, and upon expostulating with them upon this desecration of the house, they excused themselves on the ground that the grain alluded to formed a part of the patriarch's tithe, who they said was very exacting in his demands. A calico handkerchief, bearing the portraits of the