"
Rev. Dr. Jenks then led in prayer, commending the servants of God to the
gracious care of Him who sitteth on high; after which the brig was loosened
from her moorings and floated down the harbor, while the little cluster of
missionaries on board sung sweetly the beautiful hymn of Heber,--
"From Greenland's icy mountains,
From India's coral strand."
The sorrowful friends remained standing upon the wharf until the vessel
which contained the loved ones had faded from sight, and with its precious
freight was far out upon the deceptive ocean.
After a fine voyage of fifty-four days the missionaries landed at Malta,
and proceeded to Beyroot, via Alexandria. They arrived at Beyroot on the
28th of January, 1834. The sketch of their voyage, given by Mrs. Smith
herself and found in her published memoir, is of intense interest. The
objects of interest were so numerous, the mind of the voyager so well
prepared to appreciate them, that a journey on land could scarcely have
been more delightful. The heaving Atlantic; the calm, bright Mediterranean;
the Azore Islands; the long coast of Africa; the Straits of Gibraltar; the
stay at Malta; the visits to convents, temples, and other places of resort;
the city of Alexandria; the Mahometan Sabbath; the grave of Parsons; the
passage to Beyroot, and the safe arrival,--were all calculated to enlist
the feelings of such a woman, with such a mind, as Mrs.
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