E-text prepared by Project Gutenberg Distributed Proofreaders
from page images provided by the Internet Archive Children's Library
and the University of Florida
FAR OFF;
OR,
Asia and Australia Described.
WITH
ANECDOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
BY THE
AUTHOR OF "THE PEEP OF DAY,"
ETC. ETC. ETC.
NEW YORK:
1852.
"O ma'am that's sweet! Jesus Christ is OUR Redeemer." See p. 3.
In the Frontispiece may be seen an English lady, who went to live uponMount Sion to teach little Jewesses and little Mahomedans to know theSaviour. That lady has led three of her young scholars to a plain justbeyond the gates of Jerusalem; and while two of them are playingtogether, she is listening to little Esther, a Jewess of eight years old.The child is fond of sitting by her friend, and of hearing about the Sonof David. She has just been singing,
"Glory, honor, praise, and power,
Be unto the Lamb forever,
Jesus Christ is our Redeemer,
Hallelujah, praise the Lord;"
and now she is saying, "O, ma'am, that's sweet! Jesus Christ is ourRedeemer, our Redeemer: no man can redeem his brother, nomoney,—nothing—but only the precious blood of Christ."
PREFACE.
This little work pleads for the notice of parents and teachers on thesame grounds as its predecessor, "Near Home."
Its plea is not completeness, nor comprehensiveness, nor depth ofresearch, nor splendor of description; but the very reverse,—its simple,superficial, desultory character, as better adapted to the volatilebeings for whom it is designed.
Too long have their immortal minds been captivated by the adventures andachievements of knights and princesses, of fairies and magicians; it istime to excite their interest in real persons, and real events. Inchildhood that taste is formed which leads the youth to delight innovels, and romances; a taste which has become so general, that everytown has its circulating library, and every shelf in that library isfilled with works of fiction.
While these fascinating inventions are in course of perusal, many a Bibleis unopened, or if opened, hastily skimmed; many a seat in church isunoccupied, or if occupied, the service, and the sermon disregarded—sointense is the sympathy of the novel reader with his hero, or hisheroine.
And what is the effect of the perusal? Many a young mind, inflated with adesire for admiration and adventure, grows tired of home, impatient ofrestraint, indifferent to simple pleasures, and averse to sacredinstructions. How important, therefore, early to endeavor to prevent ataste for FICTION, by cherishing a taste for FACTS.
But this is not the only aim of the present work; it seeks also to excitean interest in those facts wh