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ments with me, I should have circulated them without any fear of exposing myself.

The number of Jews on the coast is thus stated by the most accredited authorities :-Tetuan, 4,200-some very learned and rich among them; Tangier, 2,000-luxury is rather prevalent among them, and they imitate European manners; Aziba, 250; El Araiche, 1,200; El Mehedia, two or three families; Sla ad Rabbat, 7,000-chiefly merchants, and very rich; Das el Baida, 350; Azamor, 1,200; Mazagan, 1,000; Saffi, 3,000 very poor and miserable; Mogadore, 5,000; Santa Cruz, 400. All these towns can be visited without difficulty, being sea-ports. In several there are Christians resident, and English and other consuls. The Jews of Morocco are, in many most important matters, the real masters of this country, although, to all outward appearances, the slaves; and as the genius of the present emperor, Abd-Errahman, is commerce and wealth, the Jews must be his especial favourites.

It is astonishing how regularly the Jews keep their sabbath, and often to their great disadvantage. The other day a circumstance took place which illustrates this devotion of the Morocco Jews in a striking manner. The wind had been blowing from the east a long time, so that the Jews could not go to Gibraltar with provisions for that garrison. At length the wind changed; but it was their sabbath. The next day, they went to the minister of the custom-house to get their bill of health, &c.; the man demanded, "Why did you not come yesterday?" The Jews replied, "It was our sabbath." "O, very well," said the man, "to-day is my feast. The Christians have their feasts; and are not we Mussulmen to have our feasts?" The Jewish traffickers, indeed, have been detained for days, during the time of the great Moorish feast, "Elaid Kabir," because they did not avail themselves of the day on which their sabbath fell.

On the Jewish sabbath both Mohammedans and Christians are obliged to cease from labour for the accommodation of the Jews. But the Jews must purchase this privilege of the sultan for a considerable annual amount. All the European society of Mogadore is Jewish, composed chiefly of London and Gibraltar Jews. The other evening there was a ball, at which all the consuls and Christians were present; but the élite of the company, as well as the majority, were Jews and Jewesses. The imperial merchants-those merchants who do business here under the immediate auspices of the government, and whom the emperor gives credit -are, with the exception of three protestant Englishmen, all Jews. As to the enjoyments of the Jews in this country, you can form no conception. During the month I have been here, Jewish society, both native and European, has been a succession of feasts. What with weddings and circumcisions, and other minor feasts, there is no end to luxurious living amongst these Mogadore Jews; and it is surprising to observe how the native Jew is advancing in the luxuries (what some would call the civilization) of European society, a hundred times more rapidly than the Moors.

With all this gaiety and splendour, these people suffer, nevertheless, many and great humiliations, as I have already mentioned. Even the British Jews, both from London and Gibraltar, find great

difficulty in riding a horse or a mule through the streets of Mogadore, the Moors making all native Jews dismount before they enter the gates of the city. It is singular, however, that, because European Jews dress like Christians, the Moors call them Christians, "Ensara." An English Jewess, who had married a Jew of this country, was one day insulted in the street by a Moorish boy. She resented it by striking the boy. The Moors flocked around her, and demanded how she dare to flog a true believer. She replied, she would strike them also if they touched her. The Moors complained to her husband, who defended himself by saying, "My wife, you see, is an English woman!"

A great many Jews emigrate from this country to Portugal, whence they proceed to the Brazils and the colonial possessions of the Portuguese. They never return to Barbary, unless for a few weeks to visit their relatives.

I am sure a good number of Hebrew bibles might be sold here, as well as Spanish.

Since Algiers has been a French colony, the Jews live dispersed all over the city; their old quarters still remaining, however, where there are still many families residing. The number of Jewish inhabitants in the city of Algiers is estimated at from 8,000 to 10,000. There are very few European Jews. The native or Algerine Jews despise these as persons having no religion, and in general are a fanatic race, like all Barbary Jews.

There are some learned men amongst them, and the chief rabbi is a man of considerable consequence. He receives a salary from the government of some 4,000 francs per annum. The government, indeed, pays the ministry of all religions in the country, and also build and repair all places of worship. There is now a synagogue being built for the Jews, and a protestant church for the protestants. In the whole of Algeria the protestants amount to 2,000 souls. They have three ministers, one of whom is resident in this city, Monsieur Sauter.

The temporal circumstances of the Jews are as good as their neighbours. There are also some rich houses of commerce. Most of the export trade is conducted by the Jews. Black is the colour which the Jews of Barbary have been made to wear by their Mohammedan rulers; and now, although there is perfect liberty here for the Jews to dress as they please, the greater part of them still prefer their old custom of wearing black. Fourteen years-the time the French have been here-have not caused the Jews to change their old customs and prejudices. A good number, nevertheless, chiefly young people, have put on European clothing.

There seems to be no impediment whatever in the way of missionary labour amongst the Jews of this city. Bibles and all sorts of religious books are admitted into the country by paying a certain per centage.

SABBATH MEDITATIONS.

No. XXIV.

DECEMBER 8.-SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT.

Morning Lessons: Isa. v.; Aets viii.
Evening Lessons: Isa. xxvi.; James i.
MORNING.

"The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant."-ISAIAH V. 7.

O Lord Jesu Christ, how often wouldest thou have gathered them under thy wings of love! O, once more stir up thy power, and come amongst them. Breathe on them the enlightening and sanctifying grace of thy Holy Spirit: graft into thyself the branches which were broken off through unbelief, and let the receiving of them into thy favours be unto them as life from the dead. Čome thou, as the deliverer from Zion, and turn away ungodliness from Jacob. Hasten the fulness of the Gentiles: bring back the tribes of thine inheritance into the land which thou swarest unto their fathers. Take unto thee thy great

of the earth. Then shall righteousness flourish, yea, and abundance of peace: then shall the earth be filled with thy praise. Amen and amen. Even so, come, O Lord Jesus.

Amen.

Meditation.-"The renewed glory of Jesus alone shall be the means of calling all nations to the knowledge of the truth. The gentiles shall come to her light, and kings to the brightness of her rising. How inexpressibly important then to the world is the re-power, and reign with thy saints over the nations storation of the Jewish people! How incomprehensible the ways of God! Stiffnecked and rebellious as Moses called his people, idolatrous and wicked as the prophets describe them to be, obstinate and unbelieving as we behold them, they have been chosen of God as the instruments of his mercy and the heralds of his salvation; and with their destinies is inseparably connected the happiness of the human race. With what respect and pity, then, should we not behold them, and with what earnestness should we pray and labour for their restoration to the divine favour! Until then 'darkness must cover the earth, and thick darkness the people;' for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it" (M'Caul).

Prayer.-O Lord God of hosts, look down, we pray thee, upon the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted, and the branch which thou madest so strong for thyself. Thou broughtest thy chosen vine out of Egypt; thou didst cast out the heathen, and plant it in a very fruitful hill thou didst fence it with righteous judgments, and didst set up thy sanctuary in the midst of it, and appoint thy watchers upon its towers. Thou didst water it every moment with the refreshing dews of thy Holy Spirit; and, lest any should hurt it, thou keepest it day and night. But thy children corrupted themselves, and brought forth only wild grapes. Thou didst look for judgment, but beheld oppression; for righteousness, but beheld a cry. They have killed thy prophets, and cast thy Well-beloved out of his vineyard; and crucified the Prince of life. Therefore, O Lord righteous and true, hast thou turned to be their enemy: thou hast forsaken thine inheritance, and broken down its hedge, so that all they that go by pluck off her grapes. Jerusalem is trodden down of the Gentiles. Thy holy and beautiful house is burned with fire, and all her pleasant places are brought low. Thy children are gone into captivity; they are scattered among the nations, a very scorn and derision among their enemies.

Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: look down from heaven: behold, and visit this vine. It is time for thee to have mercy upon Zion. O, take pity upon her stones, and build up again the desolation of many generations. Gracious and merciful Father, be not wrath very sore in the midst of judgment remember mercy. Hear us, good Lord; hear us in behalf of thine ancient people Israel: yea, hear the pleadings of thy Well-beloved, and lay not to their charge the guilt of his innocent blood. Spare them, Lord, spare them fulfil thine all-merciful promise, and pour down upon them the Spirit of grace and supplication. Open thou their blinded eyes, and cause them to look with the eye of faith upon him whom they have pierced, and bless him as sent unto the lost sheep.

EVENING.

S. H.

"The trying of your faith worketh patience."-JAMES i. 3. Meditation." Christ did command his disciples, when he showed them, that they should take patiently the state of this present life, full of troubles and persecution (Matt. xxiv. 13), to pray that they might well escape those troubles that were to come, and be able to stand before the Son of man....Use prayer often; for that is the means whereby God will be sought unto for his gifts.... May the Christian man learn both consolation and patience. Consolation, in that he is compelled both in his body and goods to suffer pain and loss, and in the soul heaviness and anguish of mind; how beit none of them both shall separate him from the love that God beareth him in Christ. He may learn patience, forasmuch as his enemies, both of the body and soul, and the pain also they vex us withal for the time, if they tarry with us as long as they live, yet when death cometh they shall depart, and give place to such joys as be prepared for us in Christ.... Be glad and rejoice, for God showeth great cause why; your reward,' saith he, is great in heaven.'" (Bp. Hooper).

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Prayer.-O Father of lights, infinite in mercy, and marvellous in thy loving-kindnesses to the children of men, from whom proceedeth every good and every perfect gift, we acknowledge thine exceeding goodness to usward, thine unworthy servants, and the servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. We praise and bless thee, that thy gracious favour unto such as thou hast begotten to newness of life by the word of truth, hath at no time had variableness, neither shadow of turning. Verily, good Lord, those whom thou lovest, that are in the world, thou lovest unto the end. Grant, we earnestly beseech thee, that even like as this thy love is stedfast and unmoveable, even so our faith may be full and enduring; and, walking in its strength and stedfastness, may we count it all joy when we fall into divers temptations, because we know of a truth that the trying of our faith worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience of thy heavenly consolations, hope; hope, that maketh not ashamed, since it is the gift of thy love, and is shed abroad in our hearts by the free grace of the Holy Ghost, and made unto the ransomed soul an anchor sure and stedfast. O God our Father in Christ Jesus, be thou gracious unto us, and mercifully nurture and perfect the good work thou hast begun in us: so shall this our patience be perfect and entire, wanting nothing; and then shalt thou speak comfort unto our souls, saying, "Blessed are ye that endure

temptation; for ye have been tried, and shall come forth as gold; and my reward is with you. Behold, for my covenant's sake in the Son of my love, ye shall receive the crown of life and rejoicing; and I will perform the promise that I, the Lord, have made; and ye shall be called my children, and my kingdom shall be yours; behave fulfilled my desires, and cause ye your souls have trusted in me, even when I hid my face from you in the day of my visitations."

Furthermore, we pray thee, O Lord God, the Fountain of all wisdom, to increase in us the thirst after that heavenly wisdom, which is, to them that seek unto it, both righteousness and salvation. This we ask of thee, not for our worthiness' sake, but for the alone worthiness of thy blessed Son: this we implore of thee, who givest unto all men liberally, and upbraidest not them which ask until thou givest, and knock until thou openest unto them. O, let us never come unto thee with a faltering heart of unbelief, but let our cry be with firm faith, nothing wavering; for how shall it be given us, if we waver like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind, and tossed? Do we not know that, if we have little faith, we perish; and, if we doubt thine immutable promises, we make thee a liar? Do we not know, O God, the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever, that he that is doubleminded is unstable in all his ways, and faithless? Help us, gracious Lord, that we be not forgetful hearers of thy holy word, and scorners of thy precious promises; for none such shall be blessed in their deeds, nor receive anything at thy hand. But, of thy boundless grace and favour, fill us with the knowledge and obedience of thy heavenly will, and of Jesus Christ, the crucified and the glorified; and so keep us, we beseech thee, for his dear sake, that in the end we may be exalted to reign with him, and sit in glory at his right hand, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Cabinet.

S. K. C.

ADVANTAGES OF PUBLIC BAPTISM.-The whole church is deeply concerned in right views and a right use of holy baptism. At the contemplation of her low and distracted state the souls of all godly men must be pained; but, whilst these tears of penitential grief are well pleasing to God, we must pray that re-edification and reformation in the best sense of the word should be her constant aim. And, although I should deem it the extreme of folly to disparage the preaching of the gospel, yet I would say that we must not build with untempered mortar, exclude the means with which God begins, and raise our superstructure without a reference to our title-deeds and the seals thereof. Has baptism been practically used as it ought for the unity and holiness of the church? How can we answer in the affirmative, whilst this sacrament is brought down to the low standard of a mere act of dedication, or endued with the superstitious claim of working all effects by a mere administration? Has baptism been duly used as a means of blessing the church, whilst ungodly or careless professors have been allowed to answer for the child in the solemn vows of this sacrament, or whilst the congregation have been dismissed, in despite

of all that is enjoined* and all that is so excellent in baptism? Truly the church is low, and weak, and divided; but we cannot be surprised at it when the very badge of our profession is so little used to raise her up to the high sense of her privileged condition. May the gracious Lord shine upon his beloved

church, and grant her the fulness of the vivifying and sanctifying spirit; that, as there is but one faith and one baptism, so all may be joined in the unity of the same spirit, and in the bond of holy peace, to glorify the triune Jehovah, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, one God, blessed for ever. Amen.—Rev. Wm. Dalton.

Poetry.

LOVE OF JESUS.

(For the Church of England Magazine.)
AND can it be? could Jesu come,
And leave the heavenly realms of bliss,
Where angels circle round his throne,

To die for such a world as this?
Could he who fills creation's space

Assume a mortal's mouldering frame,
To show us wretched worms his grace,

To teach a fallen world his name?

Yes; Jesus left the radiant throng,

Who constant bow before his throne, The hymns of saints, the seraphs' song,

To bring an erring people home.

O wondrous care! O love divine! Beyond the bounds of human ken; For each may say, "This Saviour's mine: For me he died, the worst of men." Assured of this, the Christian knows, Fearless of death and fortune's frown, A gentle peace, a meet repose, And calmly waits a heavenly crown. Trin. Coll. Cambridge.

LINES,

J. W.

SUGGESTED AMID THE RUINS OF BAIDAN CHAPEL,
GLAMORGANSHIRE.

(For the Church of England Magazine),
NONE seek thee, as in days of yore,
O lonely ruin, now:
Within thy hallowed fane no more
Do prayerful spirits bow.
Voices of praise no longer pour

The tide of sacred song;
Nor words of high and holy power

Are heard thy walls among.
Yet is there round thy holy shrine,
All desolate and lone,

A mighty spell of thoughts divine,
To thrill the spirit's tone;

See first rubric in the baptismal service, generally and fearfully neglected. And yet men complain that baptism has little practical effect on society!

+From "Baptism and Regeneration," being his ninth annual address to his congregation. Houlston and Stoneman. 1844.

To prove the nothingness of cares
That goad us while on earth,
The shadowy sway of hopes and fears
We cling to from our birth.

How many hearts of youth and love,
When sorrows o'er them loured,
In whispering prayers to him above,
Their auguish here have poured,
That lonely lie around thee now,

Unmarked by flower or stone,
Their last dim dwelling-place below

Neglected and unknown!

There is deep cause for thought within
Thy walls, O holy spot!

And hearts untouched by grief or sin,
How bright so e'er their lot,
May learn amid thy ruins grey
No earthly hope to prize;

But seek, while it is yet to-day,
A home beyond the skies.

Llangynwyd Vicarage.

Miscellaneous.

M. C. L.

or inoffensive, wherever he detects them. All the countries of the globe produce certain mammifera that pursue serpents with persevering keenness. With us, it is chiefly the badger, the hedgehog, the weasel, the marten, and the polecat, that contribute to the destruction of serpents. In the tropical countries of the ancient continent they encounter terrible enemies in the civet, the ichneumon, and other carnivora. Several birds wage on them a continual war: such, especially, is the serpent-eater of the Cape, mounted on its long, stilt-like legs, as it would seem on purpose to render the bites of snakes ineffectual. In South America, the laughing falcon, and other birds of prey, pursue them eagerly. The large storks of India, such as the gigantic ciconia, destroy an immense number of serpents. In Europe, we should reckon among their enemies, besides the storks, ravens, kites, and several buzzards. In tropical seas there exist sharks that devour with avidity the seaserpents; and, lastly, many ophidians_make war on each other, not even sparing their own species. By transplanting animals, the enemies of serpents, into countries infested by them, we might, perhaps, prevent the too great multiplication of these dangerous reptiles. This attempt has been made by transporting the snake-eater of the Cape to the French West WITCHCRAFT, A.D. 1598.-These constant cares Indian sugar colonies. Perhaps the mammifera were only interrupted by the alarming increase of which we have mentioned, or the storks, might renwitches and sorcerers, who were said to be swarming der them as good or better services.... Several species in thousands in the kingdom; and for a moment all of intestinal worms infest the viscera of serpents. I other cares were forgotten in the intensity with which have often found the stomach, near the pylorus, so the monarch threw himself once more into his fa- full of them that their presence must have caused convourite subject. But a shocking discovery put an tinual obstructions, if not death: these worms formed end to this dreadful inquisition. An unhappy crea- a mass, hanging on the internal walls of that intesture, named Aitken, was seized on suspicion, put to tine. Some are confined to the intestinal canal; torture, and, in her agony, confessed herself guilty, others to the mesentery; and some exist even in the named some associates, and offered to purge the serous membranes, especially in those investing the country of the whole crew, if she were promised her heart and lungs. The intestinal worms observed by life. It was granted her; and she declared that she M. Rudolphi in different species of ophidians belong knew witches at once by a secret mark in their eyes, to the following genera: ascaris, distoma, filaria, which could not possibly be mistaken. The tale was echinorynchus, tænia, strongylus, trichosoma, penswallowed. She was carried for months from town to tastoma, and cucullanus. The parasites, which are town throughout the country, and in this diabolical exteriorly attached to the skins of serpents, and suck circuit accused many innocent women, who, on little their juices, are much less numerous than those we more than the evidence of a look, were tried and have just mentioned. Only a single genus is found— burnt. At last suspicion was roused. A woman, the ixodes, and especially that with a gilded thorax; whom she had convicted of having the devil's eye- which I have also observed on the monitor lizard, on mark, was disguised, and, after an interval, again the hog, the pangolin, and some other East Indian brought before her. She acquitted her. The experi- | animals. M. Muller has described this insect. Mement was repeated with like success; and the mi- taxa has observed on several ophidians of Italy paraserable creature, falling on her knees, confessed that sites, which he has recognized as forming two species torture had made her a liar, both against herself and of acarus. Daudin speaks of others found on the others. This, as it well might, brought the royal in- boa cenchria. I have detached some of them from quisitionist of sorcery, and his civil and ecclesiastical pythons, from the dipsas dendrophila, and several assistants, to their senses. The commission of inquiry other Javanese serpents. Serpents are useful by the was recalled, and all proceedings against the witches destruction of hurtful animals, such as the small discharged till the parliament should have deter-gnawers, worms, insects, mollusca, &c., which they mined the form and evidence to be adopted in their trial.-Tytler's Scotland.

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pursue.-Schlegel's Physiology of Serpents, translated by Dr. Trail.

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A VISIT TO TINTERN. No. II.

[Tintern Abbey.]

THE high-road from Chepstow presents, for the first mile or two, no remarkable features. The Wye is hidden from view by the grounds of Piercefield; and it is not till this domain is passed that the traveller comes suddenly upon a burst of scenery of the very highest order of picturesque beauty. I was quite unprepared for this, and was sauntering leisurely along, just calculating how much farther it was to the abbey, when a turning brought me to a spot where I paused in wondering admiration. On one side the hill rose abruptly from the road, swelling into the celebrated Wyndcliff: on the other it was bounded by a low wall, beneath which the ground, richly clothed with trees, descended to the silver Wye, seen meandering far below; while on the opposite side were wooded hills, and a range of cliffs extending to Chepstow. The exquisite loveliness of the scene defies description.

VOL. XVII.

After gazing awhile, I turned aside to ascend the Wyndcliff. The path winds through the trees; and it was not till I reached the summit that the prospect was again visible. But, assuredly, a lovelier land is rarely seen than from that lofty brow: it is the view below enlarged tenfold and enriched tenfold. Now, beyond the Wye and its banks, is seen the majestic Severn, widening as it rolls on toward the ocean; and beyond it, again, its fertile eastern shore. I have visited many romantic spots; I have gazed on many of the most celebrated views in this and other countries; but one of its class more beauti

ful I know not that I have ever seen than the gorgeous panorama of the Wyndcliff.

After I had contemplated it, not enough, but as long as my time would allow, I descended by flights of steps cut in the face of the rock to what is called the Moss cottage, where tourists usually stop for refreshment. From this cottage the scenery continues of the same picturesque character, as the road skirts the hill, and the river

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