THE CROWD IN THE GARDEN OF THE BRITISH LEGATION AT TEHERAN, PERSIA This picture tells the story of an awakening of the Persians. About 1,200 of the leading men made a demonstration in order to secure a representative assembly for reforms in government. The missionaries are teaching the people to desire righteousness. REV. BENJAMIN LABAREE, OF PERSIA Rev. Benjamin Labaree, D.D., was born in 1834 in Tennessee, where his father was engaged in home missionary work. A few years later the family returned to New England, and the father was for many years president of Middlebury College, Vermont. Here Benjamin Labaree was educated, being graduated in 1854, and after teaching for two years he entered Andover Theological Seminary. One year (1859-60) was spent in medical studies and other preparations for his missionary career, after which (in 1860) he and his wife sailed to join the American Mission to the Nestorians at Urumia, Persia. From that time until his death, with the exception of a few years, he was actively connected with the work in Persia. For a few years he gave up his connection with the mission, on account . of illness in his family, and spent seven years in America. During a part of this time he was engaged in literary work in Syriac, and for several years was home secretary of the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions. In the spring of 1898 he was sorely bereaved by the death of a daughter, and within a few days afterward his wife was also called Home. In the following fall he returned to Persia, desiring to end his days on the field. The cruel murder of his son, Benjamin Woods Labaree, in March, 1904, at the hands of Mohammedan fanatics, was a blow from which he never recovered, but the coming of his second son, Robert, to take up the work of his brother, was an unspeakable joy to the stricken father. In the spring of 1906 Doctor Labaree began to fail in health, and accom panied by his son started for America, hoping to find relief. He grew rapidly worse, however, and on the voyage across the Atlantic his spirit took its flight to God, who gave it. His body was brought to New York and a simple funeral service was held on May 21st, in the Chapel of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church. Memorial services were also held in Urumia, at which heartfelt tributes were paid to his life and work by missionaries and natives. These addresses were published in the Rays of Light, the Syriac family paper, which has been a great factor in the enlightenment of the people, and of which Dr. Labaree was for many years the editor. Mr. Shedd's remarks were in part as follows: "We may mention three chief characteristics of Dr. Labaree. He was painstaking; he was humble; he was spiritually-minded. He was painstaking in all his work. Whether a task was great or small, it was performed with utmost faithfulness. Every sentence he wrote was finished, every word well chosen. "His humility was sincere. It was not manifest in many words, but was evident in all his life. He was ever ready to listen to the opinions of his juniors and inferiors, and never forced his opinions on others, altho many depended on his counsel. "His spirituality was woven into all his life. Of a religious temperament, he was not one sided, but was interested in a wide range of subjects. The spiritual side of the work was always uppermost with him. "Altho a quiet man, his long experience on the field, his wisdom, and good judgment made him an ac knowledged leader of the mission force. There is no one to fill his place. "Dr. Labaree had a large share of sorrow in his life. The violent death of his son and its sad consequences were an overwhelming grief. He bore his afflictions with faith and patience and through them God enriched his soul. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the churches last winter was a deep joy to him. The greatest desire of his heart was that there might be a spiritual awakening. "When the blessing came no one was as happy as he. His entire life was spent in service for Persia-faithful, quiet service, for the most part hidden from the eyes of the world. He was respected and beloved, and in the ripeness of years went to receive his reward." The following extracts are from the addresses of Nestorian friends: "Dr. Labaree's principal work was the preparation of books in Syriac, and along this line he has done much for our nation. In editing the Rays of Light he showed great insight and judgment, and the paper has been a blessing to us. The two most important monuments of his labors are the commentary of the New Testament. and the Revised Bible. He was an excellent Syriac scholar, and did much to enrich the language. Our printinghouse is well equipped with good type and presses as a result of his efforts. Altho his time was largely devoted to literary labors, he assisted in all departments of the work. He was often in the villages preaching and conducting spiritual conferences. Industrious by nature, he made every minute count. He was a man of prayer, and loved to pray with others. He had Courtesy of Woman's Work THE LABAREE HOME IN URUMIA Photograph loaned by Mrs. E. L. Jayne, Chicago many callers, and few were dismissed without a word of prayer." "Dr. Labaree was a learned scholar. He was familiar with Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Persian, Turkish, and Syriac. With the readers of the Rays of Light he was popular as an interesting, spicy writer, clear and simple in style. He superintended the publishing of many books in Syriac, and some in Turkish and Persian. He was a man of genial disposition. The many different classes of people with whom he came in contact would testify to this characteristic. He was looked up to and respected by those who were high in rank. Princes and nobles enjoyed his society. Among the high he was dignified, among the lowly, gentle. His life was nurtured by prayer. For years he had prayed and talked and written concerning a revival. Praise the Lord, his prayer was answered before he was taken. How patient and trustful he was in the blow that fell in the death of his son! What memorable lessons in Christian fortitude were learned from that aged father! "Dr. Labaree hoped to continue his work among us and to end his life in Persia, but God willed otherwise. He was snatched from us, and we see him no more. His pen, which wrote for so many years, is still. His great thoughts are at rest. In an unsullied old age he was called by his Lord to rest from his labors and the bitter experiences of his last years. We have lost a revered father, a beloved brother, a loving friend, a gifted writer, a sympathetic leader." BY REV. WM. A. SHEDD, URUMIA, PERSIA Dr. Labaree came to Persia in 1860, and at the time of his death, May 14th, 1906, he was not only the senior missionary in Persia, but the length of his service had exceeded that of any of our other missionaries who have labored in that land. The year he came to Persia was the year of the birth of the Syrian Evangelical Church, marked by the first separate meeting of the native ministers who constituted that body. The next year was marked by the coming of a deputation on the part of the American Board, under whose charge the work then was, in order to consult as to this and other questions of missionary policy. The question of self-support at the same time became prominent, and with the enlarging of the missioncry force the relation of the work to cther peoples than the Nestorian Christians prest on the minds of the younger men. There is to-day an active, independent, evangelical Church, organized on broad Presbyterian lines, numbering nearly three thousand members, a growth of eight to tenfold in forty-five years. The beginnings of gifts have grown till now the receipts on the field in the Urumia Mission are between $4,000 and $5,000. One station has increased to four, with three substations occupied by missionaries; one language used in missionary work has become. four, and the work in every station is developing every year, both in the educational and evangelistic departments among the Mohammedans of Persia. In the guidance of the work in all these lines Dr. Labaree had a large share. He was by nature conservative, but by grace he was progressive and became more rather than less so with the passage of the years. He was the pioneer in translating the Scriptures into Azerbaijan Turkish, the language spoken by the masses in Western Persia, and he gave much of his time always to personal work with Moslems. The opening of Tabriz station was preceded by his residence there for some months. The department to paper, the Rays of Light, was estab- Throughout his life, in his intercourse with individuals, in the work of the native church, and in the social life and counsels of the mission circle, |