in the seventeenth century, and recently renovated and transformed into a very strong modern fortress with heavy guns, a beautiful range of mountains appears. On both sides, as the steamer threads her way to the harbor, are the suburbs of Smyrna, forming a line of summer residences, while directly in front stands the city of Smyrna.

The population of Smyrna is about 350,000, of whom two-fifths are Mohammedans, and nearly twothirds Greeks; the rest is made up largely of Armenian and Jewish communities and colonies from many countries in Europe. The trade of Smyrna is important. The principal products are corn, raisins, figs, cotton, opium, drugs, tobacco, oil, wood, hides, silk, carpets, emery, and antimony.

Christianity flourished early in Smyrna. Here was one of the Seven Churches of Asia, to which John wrote the letters given in the second and third chapters of the book of the Revelation. These letters are read by the majority of Christian travelers as they sail up the Gulf of Smyrna, or wait on the deck for the ship's papers to be passed. The following is the letter sent to the one church of the Seven which has remained apparently with an unbroken history since the Gospel seed was sown there nineteen centuries ago:

"And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive: I know thy works and tribulation and poverty (but thou art rich), and I know the blas

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phemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days; be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death."

In describing Smyrna in his tour of the Mediterranean, Charles Dudley Warner wrote this characteristic paragraph:

"One of the most ancient cities of the globe, it has no appearance of antiquity; containing all nationalities, it has no nationality; the second commercial city of the East, it has no Chamber of Commerce, no Bourse, no commercial unity; its citizens are of no country, and have no impulse of patriotism; it is an Asiatic city with a European face; it produces nothing, it exchanges everything; the children of the East are sent to its schools, but it has no literary character nor any influence of culture; it is hospitable to all religions, and conspicuous for none; it is the paradise of the Turks, the home of luxury and of beautiful women."

Two classmates of the author's in Union Seminary are missionaries in Smyrna, the Rev. Alexander MacLachlan, the President of the International College, and the Rev. J. P. MacNaughton, the head of the evangelistic work in the city. The former began his work

in Turkey in St. Paul's Institute in Tarsus, but in 1891 he went to Smyrna and started the American High School in rented premises with eighteen pupils.

In 1903 the institution was incorporated as a college, its charter being granted by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts under the corporate title of "The Trustees of the International College, Smyrna, Turkey."

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It

The American Collegiate Institute, established by the Woman's Board of Missions of Boston, does for the girls of Smyrna what the International College does for the boys. Its aim is to promote the highest intellectual and moral development of all who attend. is a Christian school, aiming to make its students thoroughly familiar with the teaching of Christ, so that His principles may become the controlling power of their lives. The motto of the Institute is, "Not to be ministered unto, but to minister."

The following quatrain seen in the hall of the Institute, while not the motto of the school, might properly become the principle upon which Christian men and women should base their conduct:

"Life is merely froth and bubble,
Two things stand like stone:
Kindness in another's trouble,
Courage in your own."

It is a weary climb from the bazaars of Smyrna to the Acropolis on Mount Pagus, but one loses sight of weariness when his traveling companions are congenial and his guide ideal. As one climbs the hill and looks back upon the traditional birthplace of Homer, on the bank of the river Meles, he recalls that

"Seven cities strove for Homer, dead,

Through which the living Homer begged his bread." From the heights overlooking the city one looks down on the plain over which Alexander marched as he con

quered the city. Still we ascend, stopping now and again to repeat history, but more especially to let the horses rest.

At last we left the carriage and went on

foot to the Stadium in which Polycarp, the second Bishop of Smyrna, was put to death about 166 A. D. As Polycarp was a pupil of the Apostle John, one is very near the beginning of Christianity when he stands