the holy city, and declared that thenceforth it should consist of pilgrims alone, without the pride and pomp of a religious procession. Soon afterwards they again entered Mecca, and immediately threatened with destruction every sacred relic, but they did not put their threats into execution. Various conflicts between them and the orthodox Mahometans have since ensued, the general result of which has been to break the martial and fanatical spirit of the Wahabees, and to re-establish the power of the grand sultan in cities and districts where it had been placed in jeopardy. They are still, indeed, dreaded as plunderers, but no great national convulsion has resulted from their efforts.

Some writers regret the suppression of this once powerful class of Mahometans, believing that if continued they would have been mainly instrumental in overthrowing the Moslem faith, and making way for a purer religion; for ourselves, we see little occasion for these regrets. The Wahabees must not be supposed more favourable to a pure faith than are those by whom they have been overthrown. If they must be regarded as reformers, they only attempted to improve a few absurd and scandalous practices,-the impious and abominable dogmas of the Koran they left untouched; or if they touched them, it was only to enforce their observance with greater rigour. Their creed was even more sanguinary and intolerant than that of the ancient Mahometans, and probably the continuance of their power would have been nothing more than the continuance of injustice, cruelty, and persecution. We do not look for the overthrow of Mahometanism by such means. One system of error may sometimes destroy another,

but the pure faith, which blesses a miserable world, and directs men in the path of safety, knowledge, and happiness, will extend only as the sacred volume is diffused, and as that holy influence from God accompanies it, by which the understanding is illuminated, and the heart is renewed. Fanaticism is no auxiliary of the religion of the bible, it neither prepares its way, nor accelerates its progress. Violence and war are utterly rejected by this divine system, as alien from its spirit and character. "My kingdom," says its founder, "is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, but now is my kingdom not from hence."

APPENDIX.

NO. I. THE FULFILMENT OF SCRIPTURE PROPHECY IN THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF MAHOMETANISM.

A FEW observations tracing the fulfilment of prophecy in the rise and progress of Mahometanism have been reserved for an Appendix to the preceding chapters, Faber's Calendar of Prophecy, Foster's Mahometanism Unveiled, Fry's Second advent of Christ, with one or two other works of a similar kind, have been made to contribute the materials of the following pages, which it is hoped may render some assistance in exhibiting one very important part of the evidences of revealed religion. The prophecy and the fulfilment will be placed together for the convenience of comparison.

9.

PROPHECY.-Dan. vii. 8-26.
(THE VISION.)

8. The he-goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven. And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great toward the south and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. And it waxed great even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of 11. the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them. Yea, he magnified himself even to the Prince of the host, and by him was the daily sacrifice taken away, and the place

10.

13.

12. of his sanctuary was cast down. And a host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression; and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised and prospered. Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.

14.

(THE INTERPRETATION.)

21. And the rough goat is the king (kingdom) of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king 22. (kingdom). Now that being broken, whereas four stood

up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the na23. tion, but not in his power. And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding (Heb. making to understand, teaching) dark sentences, shall 24. stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and 25. the holy people. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but 26. he shall be broken without hand. And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true; wherefore shut thou up the vision: for it shall be for many days.-Dan. vii. 8-26.

The prophecy of Daniel contains a prospective view of the providential history of the world, including the four great empires of antiquity, together with the powers which should succeed them to the end of time, and consummation of all things. It is reasonable therefore to expect, that a system of predictions upon the history of the world thus large, would not omit a revolution of such magnitude and prominence as that occasioned by Mahomet and Mahometanism. No event, moreover, has had a more direct and powerful bearing upon

the state of the church than the establishment of this vast imposture; and as the preceding chapter contains a full and exact portraiture of the Papal tyranny which was to arise and prevail in the western portion of Christendom, so the present is very generally admitted to contain a prediction of that great apostasy which was destined to grow up and overwhelm the church in the East. The reasons of this opinion we now proceed to state.

The theatre of this prophecy is the Macedonian empire, founded by Alexander; from one of the four dismembered kingdoms of which the little horn of the vision was to spring up. In the vision, the prophet saw the first great horn of the hegoat, or the kingdom of Älexander, "broken;" indicating that that kingdom was no longer to have a place as a kingdom in the eye of prophecy. The dominions of Alexander at his death were divided between four of his generals: Macedon and Greece in the west were assigned to Cassander; Thrace and Bithynia in the north to Lysimachus; Egypt in the south to Ptolemy; and Syria with the eastern provinces to Seleucus.

Ver. 9. And out of one of them came forth a little horn.-A "horn," in the symbolical language of prophecy, represents a civil or ecclesiastical kingdom. The little horn here mentioned was to come forth out of one of the four notable horns or members of the subdivided kingdom of Alexander. The question has been much agitated whether Alexander seized and retained any portion of the Arabian peninsula: the fact of his having done so may be seen in any map of the Macedonian empire. "The empire of Alexander," observes M. Rollin, was distributed into four kingdoms; of

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