He had two children, and when these were quite young, he left his wife, and nothing was heard of him afterwards.  The mother died soon after and left the children in the care of the American Mission and the Armenian Bishop.  The old grandmother, who was in Aleppo, on hearing of her death, soon returned to Beirut to look after the children.  She was allowed to visit them in the Bishop’s family, where they were cared for, and one day, in a stealthy way, she took Sada into the city, placed her in the hands of a Jew, on board of a native boat bound for Jaffa.  I suppose Sada was then about six years old.  They set sail.  The child cried bitterly on finding her grandmother was not on board as she had promised.  There was on board the boat an Armenian, well acquainted with her father, who inquired of her the cause.  On hearing her story he remonstrated, with the Jew, who said she had been placed in his hands by her grandmother to be sent to Jerusalem.  On their arriving at Jaffa, the affair was made known to Mr. Murad, the American Consul.  He sent for the Jew, took the child from his hands, and dismissed him, and wrote to Mr. Whiting in Jerusalem an account of the affair, and was directed by him to send the child to us.  Not long after, her grandmother came to Jerusalem bringing Rufka.  She tried to interest the Armenian Convent in her behalf.  Here I find an extract from Mr. Whiting’s journal, which will give you all of interest on this point.  “After being out much of the morning, I returned and found the grandmother of little Sada, who had brought her little sister Rufka to leave her with us.  She had a quarrel with the convent, and fled for refuge to us.  We cannot but be thankful that both these little orphans are at length quietly placed under our care and instruction.”

The parents of three of the girls in our family, being Protestants, always gave their sanction to our mode of instructing and training them.  Bishop Carabet likewise aided us in every way in his power, and ever seemed most grateful for what I was doing for his daughters.  In his last sickness, when enfeebled by age, I often visited him.  Once on going into his room, he was seated as usual on his Turkish rug.  One of the family rose to offer me a chair, I said, “let me sit near you on your rug, that I may talk to you.”  With much emotion he replied, “Inshullah tukodee jenb il Messiah fe melakoot is sema!” “God grant that you may sit by the side of Christ in the kingdom of Heaven!”

We were from time to time encouraged by tokens of a work of God’s Spirit in their hearts.  Melita Carabet was the first to indulge a hope in Christ, and united with the Church in Abeih.  Salome united in Beirut; Hanne in Hasbeiya, where her brother, Rev. John Wortabet, was pastor.  Sada was received by Mr. Calhoun at Abeih, soon after Mr. Whiting’s death, and Rufka in later years united with the United Presbyterian Church in Alexandria, Egypt.  I have ever thought these girls were under great obligations to the American Churches and the American Mission, who for so many years supported and instructed them, and I have ever tried to impress upon them a sense of their obligation to impart to others of their countrywomen what they had received.  I believe as early as 1836, they began assisting me in the Moslem school for girls in Jerusalem, in which they continued to assist Miss Tilden until the school was given up.