He had been familiar with the French language from his youth, and, having an aptitude for such studies, applied himself successfully to the Arabic and Turkish.

His health beginning to fail after some months, and the cholera making ravages in the city, he resumed his journey through Germany to Odessa, and thence by water to Constantinople, where he arrived on the last day of July, 1832.[1] [1] For Mr.Shauffler's account of his residence at Paris and this journey, see _Missionary Herald_ for 1833 and 1834.
The greater part of the Jews in Constantinople are descendants of the eight hundred thousand who were expelled from Spain in 1492, and their language is the Hebrew-Spanish; or the Spanish with a mixture of Hebrew words, all written in the Spanish Rabbinical alphabet.

As soon as Mr.Schauffler had acquired this language, he began the careful revision of a Hebrew-Spanish translation of the Old Testament, already in print, but not intelligible to the common people.

He found the Jewish mind in an unquiet state.

Eight years before, as many as a hundred and fifty had renounced Judaism at one time, but nearly all were soon driven back by persecution.