Little did
they dream that it was Mrs. Stoddard's last farewell to the scene of
her labors.
Nor was this all. The patriarch Mar Shimon, who had long worn the
guise of friendship, now threw off the mask. He broke up schools in
small and distant villages, and secured the beating of a man by the
governor on the charge of apostasy. The Female Seminary was honored
with his special anathema. "Has Miss Fiske taught you this?" was his
frequent demand of those who fell into his hands, followed by such
reviling as only an Oriental could pour forth.
On the morning of July 28th, the infant daughter of Priest Eshoo,
named Sarah, after her sainted sister, lay on her death bed; and to
punish her father for his preaching, Mar Shimon forbade her burial
in the Nestorian graveyard. He collected a mob ready to do his
bidding as soon as she should die; but she lingered on, and so
disappointed him for that day. Next day she died, and at once he
anathematized all who should assist in her burial. A pious
carpenter, however, forced his way through the mob, and made her
coffin. He remained steadfast throughout the storm, replying to
every dissuasion of his friends, "I must go forward, even to the
shedding of my blood.
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