Bibles. 7. Scott's Answer to Crooll. 8. The Golden Treasury, by Bogatzky, in English, given to me before my departure from England, by dear Mrs. D., in which the following verses delighted my heart? "Could I be cast where thou art not, That were, indeed, a dreadful lot; My country, Lord, art thou alone, No other can I claim or own." Mrs D. has written these verses in the book with her own hand. Dear Mrs. D., how much spiritual communion did I enjoy with you! I wrote a letter to my beloved mother `in Germany, which I send to you to forward it. I must give you an extract of the contents of that letter. "I am obliged almost every time to write to you upon the wide sea, for during my abode in a place, I am so much engaged and surrounded with friends, with whom I consult about the salvation of Israel, that I have scarcely a moment of time to tell you, that your son loves you, and that you never go out of my mind; that I am always think ing of you, and am talking about you in company; and certainly not one yet has been displeased that I am often trying to turn the discourse about you, dear mother; and it is true, that some smile about it, but they observe still in that habit the burning love of a child towards his mother; and some are moved to tears, especially mothers who are not able to kiss their affectionate children, for they are in the wide world far from them, exposed to many dangers. Mrs. D. wept as often as I talked with her about you; for fourteen years are past, since the sea has separated her from her son; no ship brings back her Thomason, for he is preaching to the poor Hindoos remission of sins by a crucified Saviour, on the river Ganges; a business too important to be delayed, for we must labour while it is day, for the night comes when no man can labour, and D. does not wish that he should leave behind starving so many souls, especially as she knows she will see him again there, where separation finds no longer place, where day is without night." After this, I gave to my mother a short account of all my operations. May the Lord bless my letters to her, so that when I meet her again in this world, I may find her upon her knees, adoring that Saviour as her Saviour, whom her son adores as his Saviour, and as the straight gate leading towards heaven. The Jew from Jerusalem was not yet ready to go, and did not come with us; the monk likewise remained behind: G. V., a Maltese servant, was one of the passengers to Alexandria. He was the servant of Mr. G., Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford, on his voyage to Syria and Cyprus. I knew G. when at Rome. I was surprised to hear that T. C. from Alkushi, whom we both knew well at Rome, accompanied G. on his journey to Aleppo, Sinai, and Jerusalem. They have been at the convent upon mount Sinai, where there are many monks. I showed to the captain of the ship Superba, who is very kind to me, one of Dr. Naudi's tracts on Redemption, and gave it to him, which he immediately read, and was pleased with it. I gave others to his son, and to his scrivano, two to a widow of a captain of a ship, who was servant in the house of Mr. H., who is returned to England; she went with her three children to Mr. H.'s brother-in-law, the English Consul at Alexandria. I asked her, whether she would have any objection to my teaching her children to read during our voyage, and she was rejoiced at the offer. I read with her two daughters passages of the New Testament in the Italian tongue. The captain prayed the Rosary this evening with all his crew, and sang the Lytania della beata Virgine, in a tongue which they do not understand, in the Latin tongue. After that they had finished, I said to the captain, that I was glad to be in a ship where I observed they were all concerned for the salvation of their souls-for I observed, indeed, a more I than usual devotion among them. I showed him the New Testament in Italian, and read to him the xxvith and xxviith chapters of the Acts; I observed, to my great surprise, that he knew almost the whole chapter by heart. He complained of the priests at Malta, who prohibit the people reading. I have finished the book of Judges this evening, in Hebrew. August 26.—I read to myself the first book of Samuel in Hebrew, the Corinthians in English, and Voyage en Syrie et en Egypt, par C. F. Volney; taught the two little girls; read the iiid chapter to the Colossians with captain Zorb. After that I had told him, my intention was to preach the Gospel to the Jews, he knew that I was the same person whose name he heard mentioned by the Jews at Gibraltar he made the observation, that the Jews at Gibraltar are strictly attached to their belief, but as they are well informed, it is an easy thing to find entrance to them, which is not the case at Malta, where they are ignorant, and therefore afraid. Every one on board treats me with the greatest respect. The captain told me, that I might read the Scriptures with him and his son, but not with his crew; he informed me that the Jews at Salonichi are numerous and rich. pro Five o'clock in the evening. While the captain and his sailors are singing upon deck, "Regina Angelorum, ora nobis! tuo filio nos reconcilia, tuo filio," &c. I fancy myself below in my cabin, standing near the Red sea, and singing in Hebrew, "I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider has he thrown into the sea.' August 27.-Little wind. I distributed tracts among. those sailors who knew how to read; there were six who read very well. I continued to read Volney's Travels, Old and New Testament. August 28.-More wind. Continued the reading of the Old and New Testament, and Volney's Travels, August 29.-The captain finally gave me permission to read the New Testament with the crew. I read a chapter of St. Luke with the captain's son and nephew. August 30.-I read the xxvith and xxviith chapters of St. Matthew with the sailors of the ship, finished the epistle to the Galatians, and the whole book of Samuel: felt a hearty compassion for Saul. I must here mention, that I read when at Malta, the speeches of the members of the Jews' Society, with which I was very much delighted, for I love that Society still, and especially Mr. S. very much indeed! Now I am approaching, O Lord, every hour, every moment, nearer to that country which thou didst promise to us by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I shall find it desolate; thy holy city desolate. O Lord, incline thou the ears of thy people, my brethren, in order that they may listen to me, and let me listen to the voice of thy holy Gospel, that I may experience the power of thy Gospel stronger and stronger, and preach to them that word which has changed my own heart, my own soul. O Lord, may I proclaim thy name in spirit and in truth. Amen.. The captain told me, that we should meet with the Greek fleet, I took, therefore, modern Greek tracts out of my trunk, in order that I might distribute if they should come nearer to our ship; but we met with none. Sept. 1.Very fair wind. I read the second book of Samuel in Hebrew, the Ephesians in English, and the Gospel of St. Matthew in Hebrew, and marked with the pen all those prophecies of the Old Testament to which the New Testament itself refers, for those prophecies are undoubtedly the strongest which can be brought forth in arguing with a Jew. I read in Volney's Travels, that in the convent Mar Hannah al Chouir, in the mountains of the Druses, there is, among other books, Nar Allahab, published by Paul from Smyrna, a converted Jew. } Sept. 2. We met with a brig coming from Alexandria, it was called the Superba, a sister of our ship Superba, and belonging to the same owner, the captain of the quarantine at Malta, captain Schambray; the two captains talked together, and I forwarded a letter from the wide sea to Dr. Naudi. Sept. 3.-We are only forty miles distant from Alexandria, where all is quiet; and no plague is raging there, as they fancied at Malta. The Pacha is in peace with the Grand Seignior. So far written at sea; I will continue to give you the farther accounts, if God please, from Alexandria. Alexandria, Sept. 4, 1821. THIS morning, at seven o'clock, we arrived at Alexandria. The Janisary of the English Consul came on board and asked for letters: he took my baggage, but not my six trunks with Bibles, and I went with him to Alexandria, where I met to my greatest delight with the General Consul Salt, who is one of the best informed gentlemen I ever met. Both Mr. Lee and Mr. Salt received me with the greatest kindness, and promised to give me letters of introduction for Cairo. Mr. Salt will introduce me to Dr. M., a Jew by birth and profession, but an infidel in principle, who can give me much information about the Jews in Syria, and introduce me to the Jews in Alexandria. He is reckoned the most clever physician in Alexandria, and is often sent for by the Pasha. He is now writing the History of Syria, and is beginning it by proving that all religions are false; he does not argue, but ridicules every thing. Burkhardt mentions him, as I hear, in his accounts. Consul Lee will procure me introduction to the Phoenician Jews who are residing in this town, and who enjoy the protection of the French Ambassador, since the time of Napoleon's arrival in Egypt. Mr. Salt will farther introduce me to the Greek Patriarch at Cairo, who pretends to be the true successor of St. Mark, and that his See is older than those of Rome, Constantinople, or Moscow; but he is decidedly adverse to the Bible Society. Ismael Gibraltar is not in Egypt, but commands a fleet against the Greeks, and his son Sadik |