Charles H. Schnapps

“ The lad was greatly depressed by these thoughts, and felt a growing distaste for life. Nizam and Garabed, to whom he confided his doubts, could not succeed in consoling him.
“We must accept the will of God,” his sister would say, “death ought not to be a terror, but a joy, for it marks the beginning of our eternal life. In Paradise there will be no more tears, no more sorrow nor parting.” ”

“ The good beasts went on bravely, picking their way among the rough stones and fallen débris, never stumbling. The vegetation was marvelous; as far as eye could see, stretched fields of narcissus, hyacinths, tulips and gladiolas. Monsieur Bernier kept jumping off his horse every few moments to gather a fresh handful of flowers.
The riders stopped near a well, to eat their luncheon; after tethering the donkeys and horses to some plane-trees, every one proceeded to unpack his food.
“I say,” said Aram, “just look at Soghomon!” ”

“ Boghos Effendi stayed several days at Bayazid, a fortress on the Russian frontier, [19] crowning a great rock; and here Archag was much impressed by the Tartars, with their high boots, their poniards at their side, and their tall Astrakhan caps. These men spent their evenings in wild rides about the valley below the town, flourishing their sabers above their heads, and uttering shrill cries which re-echoed from the great rocks. ”

“ The young people were lingering over dessert, when the enticing strains of a polka were heard; they rose at once, and each of the young men invited the girl whom he had taken in to supper to be his partner in this first dance. The couples formed gradually; Archag had made up his mind not to dance, but when he saw himself left almost alone with Mademoiselle Maréchal, who was looking at him in some embarrassment, he summoned all his courage, and asked her to be his partner. And the polka was so easy, he need not be afraid of making a blunder. ”

“ The Armenian’s Church is the true home of his spirit. He has no country of his own, for the region which we think of as Armenia was, before the Great War, divided among three nations, Russia, Turkey, and Persia, and arbitrarily ruled by them. The Armenians were a subject people; but in their religion they were free, and they have endured torture and death for the sake of this dear freedom.
According to one of their own writers, Aram Raffi, the name “Armenia” first appears in the fifth century before Christ, but [xiii] the Armenians themselves have a name of their own, which they like. ”

“ The brigands, now stirred up by the sight of blood, proceeded to commit the most unheard-of atrocities. They respected neither [248] age nor sex; they tore babies from their mothers’ arms, and dashed out their brains against a wall; they tied children together, and after pouring petroleum on them, set them on fire. As the poor little creatures writhed in agony, their tormentors uttered yells of delight.
“See the monkeys of the Constitution dancing the polka!” cried one.
After a complete massacre and pillage, they left the courtyard, to give themselves over to fresh deeds of carnage elsewhere. ”

“ The Persians advance in great numbers, meeting the Armenians with furious resistance. Their young prince is ever in the thick of the fray. In spite of his wounds, he fights like a hero; his blood flows; he grows weak; a final [212] blow overcomes him, and he expires breathing the name of Santourt.
Archag put all his own patriotic feeling into his acting; the constraint of the first few moments vanished, and the college and his companions seemed far away. He was no longer Archag the Junior, but Yervant the Armenian hero, and was suffering with him. ”

“ Mustang, Archag’s handsome Tartar stallion, was getting impatient, so his master leaped lightly on his back. The horses, exhilarated by the fresh morning air, broke into a gallop; Boghos Effendi and his son waved their handkerchiefs; one more last look, then the house disappeared behind a clump of trees.
The sun had just risen, and its first rays were gilding the blue waters of the lake. [15] After following the shore for two hours, our travelers began to ascend toward the higher ranges of mountains. ”

“ At nine o’clock the bell called them in, and they said “Goodnight” to Badvili Melikian, who had a pleasant word for each, as they went upstairs to their dormitories. Archag was in the room with Aram, Garabed, Soghomon, Nejib and Sumpad. Aram and Nejib immediately began a pillow-fight, making a fearful commotion. Soghomon, the fat boy, half-buried beneath a mountain of pillows and coverlets, lay groaning and beseeching:
“Oh, I say! I’m smothered! ‘Vaī! Vaī! I shall die!’ who will take pity on me!” ”

“ Samouīl never complained, but always welcomed his friends with a smile.
“You know,” he said once to Garabed, “I’m not going to live much longer. I am so glad; I have no one left on earth, and I’m so tired all the time.”
For a few days he felt a little better, and was able to get up and walk about in the hospital garden; then he had another hemorrhage, more violent than the last.
“It is the end,” said Dr. Spencer. “I don’t think he will live through the night.”
The boy was drowsy all day, but about five o’clock he opened his eyes and smiled, as he saw Archag sitting by his bed. ”

“ In the course of a Turkish lesson, in which Saint Thaddeus II had been conspicuous for his stupidity, Professor Hairemian became exasperated, and sent him to his seat.
“Go and sit down, Soghomon; you will stay in for an hour and learn this lesson over again for to-morrow morning.”
The culprit hung his head and murmured, just loud enough to be heard: “Scorned by men, I will take refuge on the barren mountain tops; the birds will provide me with sustenance, and my soul will sing acts of thanks-giving.” ”

“ The professor had received a grievous blow in the destruction of his precious collection, [112] and he had none too much sympathy with Archag. But at the moment of giving his judgment he seemed to see his pupil’s bright face with its frank and straightforward expression, and he felt that eyes like his could not have lied. His decision was made.
“Gentlemen,” said he, “I ask you to keep Archag here; five days on bounds will be sufficient punishment for him.”
Meanwhile our friend was wandering about the campus like a lost soul. He had gone off by himself, ashamed to let his grief be seen. ”

“ Archag stood staring vacantly, his ears tingling, until Mrs. Mills took pity on him and told him he need not feel so badly about it; an accident might happen to any one. But [84] Archag made no reply; he had not heard a word she said.
Mrs. Mills made a gesture of impatience: she thought the boy very ill-bred, and that he might at least have offered some apology. If she had observed him a little more closely she would probably have changed her opinion. In order to enliven the company and make a little diversion, she sat down at the piano and asked Garabed and Dikran to accompany her. ”

“ There is—or perhaps since the War, one should say was—a National Committee for Education which sat at Constantinople; the teachers were paid by the Committee, and there were School inspectors for each district, in Turkish Armenia. Pupils who could afford it paid for their schooling, but those who were poor were not kept out by their poverty. Does not this sound very modern, and American, and democratic? Surely, these are people who will make good Americans. ”

“ All the Seniors passed their final examinations, and it was with real regret that they left their dear college, to enter on a new phase of life.
Ten years have passed since our friends left the College of Aintab, and we shall give a short account of their experiences. Alas! the most terrible of catastrophes has just befallen the Armenian people; one half of them have been massacred by the Turks, deliberately and in cold blood; the Euphrates and the Tigris have been choked with dead bodies, and the victims’ bones have been collected in heaps on the desert. ”

“ The sheep had gone toward the house, for it was time for them to be milked. Appetite comes quickly on the mountains, and Archag, having a strange feeling of emptiness in his stomach, asked one of the shepherds to give him a glass of milk. He drank it with relish, and then licked off the cream which had formed a thick mustache on his lips.
Next, he ran to look at the horses, for like all Orientals, he had a passion for them. There were about two hundred here; small animals with intelligent eyes and long tails which swept the ground. ”

“ Archag was dreaming that the bells of the Cathedral of Van were calling him to Mass, when a shake roused him from his sleep. Aram was pulling him by the arm.
“Haīde, are you never going to wake up, you young mole? Do you think you’re going to be allowed to sleep like that? You’re as bad as Soghomon; he can’t get out of bed.”
Archag jumped up and dressed quickly; then the whole troop went down to breakfast. At half-past seven, professors and students all gathered in the chapel where Dr. Mills conducted morning prayers. ”

“ Archag offered his companion a bit of cheese, setting his pretty teeth in his own portion as he did so.
“These poor sheep!” said he. “They give us their milk and we eat their lambs. Men are really very unkind.”
Jakoub stared at him in astonishment.
“Bless my soul, I never thought of that, nor the sheep, either, you may be sure; they are too stupid.” ”

“ To repeat: centuries of tyranny and oppression have rendered the Armenians timorous and distrustful to an extreme degree; in Europe, this lack of courage has often given them a reputation for cowardice which they do not really deserve.
The boys suspected nothing; they had been working hard for their final examinations at the close of the college year. Our friends had all done very well; Ghevont stood second among the Juniors, Garabed was at the head of his class, Dikran second, Archag third, Nejib fourth and Aram fifth. Soghomon was lowest, with five marks which had been given him as a favor. ”

“ The poor lad was trembling as he spoke, and had to wipe the perspiration from his brow. Aram patted him on the shoulder.
“Courage, old man! Think of your parents, and of your sister who has lost everything; you will have to be the one to console her.”
Archag made no reply, and his friends, feeling constrained by his silence, stopped talking, too. When the carriage entered the college courtyard, it was immediately surrounded by the students, all waiting for the traveler and eager to show their sympathy. But Archag left them very soon, and went to the Pagratians’ cottage. ”

“ The Kurds, who committed the atrocities under the instigation of the Turks, are a semi-nomad race, living part of the year in tents; a picturesque, wild, ungovernable people, practicing a sort of highway robbery as a trade, and a sort of Mohammedanism as a religion. The Armenians, on the other hand, are farmers and merchants, thrifty, intelligent, peaceful, eager for education, and, as you have read, devoted Christians. It is not strange that two peoples so different in habits and temperament should find it difficult to live together, as neighbors ”

“ The courtyard of the college was all astir with life: the students were arriving in small groups, and there was a constant succession of salutations and embraces, for Orientals are more demonstrative than northern people. Among the new Juniors, we find our friends of last year: the two cousins, Nejib and Dikran, Boghos and his inseparable companion Soghomon, fatter than ever; Aram, Archag and Garabed, who had traveled together from Moosh; and lastly Sumpad and Samouīl. ”

“ Dikran is in New York; Nejib studied surgery in London and Vienna, and then returned to Aleppo as his father’s assistant. Archag, too, studied medicine; he took his degree at Geneva, and retains a grateful memory of the hospitality of the Swiss country. He refused an advantageous offer made to him from the University of Beyrout, that he might establish himself at Bitlis. For his duty seems to him plain: he must help his people in their wretchedness, physical and moral. Four years ago Winnie became his wife; she is an ideal companion, sharing his cares, and interested in all his work. ”

“ After several years’ pastoral work in Asia Minor, Mr. Melikian had been appointed Headmaster at Central Turkey College; here he found himself much more in his element than in his position of preacher, for he had a weakness for young people, and was much attached to this school where he had been one of the first pupils. He shook hands with Archag, and asked if he had had a good journey, enrolled him at once among the Sophomores, and assigned him a place in one of the dormitories.
“We shall be together,” said the other boy, whose name was Garabed. ”

“ The memory of Professor Pagratian and Dr. Spencer is alive in their souls, and these lives of self-denial, crowned by martyrdom, will continue to be an example for us all. Believe me, Archag, the massacres have been a baptism of blood for the Armenians, and have taught your people to understand themselves better. Look at the Church: it was never stronger than at the time of the great persecutions. If the Armenians had known nothing but prosperity and comfort, they would not be what they are [259] to-day ”