for very early rising in the severe cold of a Polish winter. The study of the Talmud, as a matter of course, occupied great part of his time, and all the more of his attention, that his father had admonished him to test the many opinions, definitions, and comments therein contained, by the Divine standard, which shows the good we are to choose and the evil we are to refuse in all merely human teachings.

After seven years spent in the manner here described, the student returned to his home, as to Paradise regained a state of earthly bliss speedily to be relinquished.

His

father, who had destined him as his future successor, having determined that he should spend the following three years in the acquisition of useful knowledge, London was the place selected for that purpose; and as the chief Rabbi there had been an old fellow student at Berlin, his house was thought the most eligible as his temporary home.

A few weeks before this design was carried out, the usually quiet town in which the rabbi and his predecessors ever since their expulsion from Spain, in 1492, had resided was just then thrown into a state of unusual excitement and commotion by the arrival of the army of Napoleon, then en route for Moscow. As the march had been long and the men greatly in need of rest, orders had been given that officers and soldiers should be billeted on the inhabitants of the place; and as, fortunately for him, the rabbi stood high in the regard of the chief magistrate of that town, the commissaire of the army (one of his own people) was, with his two sons, assigned as temporary inmates of that peaceful household. That the commissaire (by name Daniel Dreyfuss) stood high in the favour of his imperial patron was evident from the honorary badges which decorated his ample chest.

Not being able to assign the certain date of this memorable incident, it may be sufficient to state that early in November this mighty host proceeded to the scene of its disaster, a very small remnant having returned, dejected and destitute, to tell the sad tale.

This seemingly fortuitous circumstance, which may seem irrelevant to the subject under review, is nevertheless notable as the first link of a providential chain, which well serves to illustrate the text, "Cast thy bread upon the waters, and after many days thou shalt find it.”

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By the time the young traveller had reached Saxony, on his way to England, he was, much to his surprise, accosted, soon after his arrival, by a seemingly vagrant waif, whose tattered and famished appearance indicated a destitution, which his mien, manner, and ingenuous countenance told was rather due to misfortune than to self-degradation. this forlorn stranger HAïм now recognised one of the sons of Daniel Dreyfus, the genial commissaire, and at that time totally ignorant of the fate of his father and brother. In an agony of anxiety to ascertain whether they were alive or dead; he said, "Can you enable me in this terrible extremity of suspense to get to Paris, and there learn the fate of my beloved father and brother?" "Willingly," replied his sympathising friend, "if by dividing with you all I possess your wish can be attained." The grateful receiver having assured HAÏM that the sum was amply sufficient for immediate relief and for the supreme object of his desire, he added, You know my family, and if you only let me have now a blank leaf of your pocket book and a pencil, your timely loan will at any moment be repaid on seeing my signature. And now, au revoir," said the light-hearted Frenchman. "Adieu," returned HAïM; and so they parted-the one gladdened by the removal of a heavy burden, the other by having had it in his power to confer such a rich enjoyment as that of enabling an affectionate son to return to his father and home.

On his arrival in London, he drove to the house of the chief rabbi, by whom he was well received, as the son of his old fellow student, that being likely to continue the chief, if not only bond of affinity between minds so totally different in tastes and so entirely opposite in disposition and turn of thought: the one confined

to a groove from which all idea of the free thought due to fresh influences was excluded; the other open to such fresh aspirations, impressions, convictions, as the progress of time brought with it, if in harmony with the Law and the Testimony: the one content with the stale and stagnant supply of rabbinical cisterns; the other thirsting for draughts drawn from the pure and invigorating FOUNTAIN of DIVINE TRUTH.

The first Sabbath, in honour of his host, was spent in the synagogue over which he presided, his own predilections having, for various reasons, been in favour of the Sephardim, or Spanish rite; that, in fact, to which he had been attached from childhood, under the administration of his revered father; whose whole aim had been practically to commend the principles which he sought to impress on the minds of his congregants by personal example-the best comment on the authoritative text to which he constantly called their earnest attention. How different that moral atmosphere from the noisy, distracting, and heartless scene presented to an earnest mind in the London synagogues of that period, where every sign of inattention betrayed the absence of pre-occupied hearts elsewhere and otherwise engaged. To him it was altogether new to see an indecorous going out and coming in during the most solemn utterances of "The living oracles of God," and to hear audible whispering even when prayer should have called forth devotional feelings and emotions. Alas! that so much zeal, energy, devotion, diligence, and undivided attention should have been enlisted in the service of mammon; while that of the Giver of all good, who, as a Father and Sovereign, claims the undivided hearts of his children, was neglected, or at best treated as subordinate to and superseded by the "traditions of the elders," and those superadded commands of erring guides, which practically made the divine LAWS of none effect; no one having been more trammelled by and subservient to this misleading cause of national aliency and degradation than the chief rabbi, whose orthodox standing and

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relations were based upon that artificial "fence and "outpost," which, instead of serving to guard the sanctity of authoritative truth, had become its usurping substitute, thus eclipsing the light and life of which it became the powerless negation.

In the Rabbi MENDOLA, HAÏM found much to claim his esteem and regard. Standing, as this unpretentious Israelite did, on a vantage ground which embraced a higher order and range of thought, his companionship was alike pleasant and grateful to a mind well able to appreciate his extensive reading and his refined taste. Rabbi MENDOLA was, in fact, a perfect gentleman, as well as a high principled and benevolent philanthropist, of whom it might have been said, he was not far short of the regenerate character of those just men made perfect, who shall inherit that kingdom where the will of God shall be done on earth.

The time of the student, now in quest of varied mental information, was almost entirely occupied in the libraries and museums of London, his evenings having been generally spent in hearing lectures on the many interesting subjects at that period publicly discussed.

One of those providential circumstances which proved the turningpoint of a life thereafter to be devoted to the service of the same Messenger of the Covenant who had of old redeemed Jacob out of all his troubles, is as such worthy of record. One day, on his way from the city to the British Museum library, he recognised, in a crowded street, a young man from his native town, who had been reported as having, in the equivocal sense of the word, become a Christian, but, more properly speaking, who had, by means of reading the new Testament, become a believer in the Messiah, not only as the Deliverer and Sovereign Ruler yet to come as the glory of His people Israel; but who, in the fourth millenary of this world's history, had come to fulfil all that the prophets had not only testified, but recorded, of His rejection and sacrifice as world-wide Redeemer. Having hitherto heard of Christianity only as a system of image worship, in direct antagonism

to the will and command of God, who distinctly prohibits this kind of idolatry, and who, moreover, had often heard and read of the horrible modes by which the inquisitors of the socalled Christianity of Rome compelled its victims to accede to terms the most odious, it was not surprising that, as one no longer deserving his regard, he accosted his former friend with these words: "How could you leave our holy religion to embrace a lawless and persecuting Christianity?" In reply, the young man said, "This is not a place for discussion. I can only, in answer to your question, put into your hand the narrative, newly printed in Hebrew, of the doctrine and life-long example of Christ, as the most effectual means of correcting any misapprehension which may have led you to associate with lawless deeds the Name of our great Redeemer and Teacher, who constantly acted in the spirit and life of the FIRST GREAT command-namely, supreme love to God and that surpassing love to man which caused Him to lay down His life for the reclaim of human kind. Thus you will learn, that so far from being the patron of a sophism subversive of that Law which was in His heart, and which He exemplified in word and action, He forewarns His disciples against false teachers, whom He characterised as wolves in sheep's clothing, whose real character would become manifest by the evil fruit they would bring forth, it being impossible that a bad tree should yield the fruits of righteousness.”

Thus admonished, the contents of the little book-emphatically "the Book of Life"-so unexpectedly put into his hands, it may well be supposed that an eager desire to peruse its contents was felt. As soon, therefore, as he had entered the house of his host, be hastened to his sleepingroom, there to secure the undisturbed investigation he so greatly desired.

On opening the volume where a page had been turned down, as if to attract his attention, at the Sermon on the Mount, Matt. v. 17-19, these words first arrested his wondering regard: “Think not that I am come to abolish the law and the prophets,

I am come not to abolish, but to fulfil. For it were easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than that the least iota or particle of the law should fail of result. He, therefore, who breaks one of the least commandments shall be deemed least in the heavenly kingdom; while he who acts in the spirit of that great command shall be deemed great in that kingdom, where the will of God shall be done upon earth, as in heaven." Such having been the doctrine gathered in this first reading of the book, HAIM described his state of mind as having been that of an indescribable conflict between his supreme conviction and natural affection, the former claiming his whole heart, the latter clinging to the ties which bound that heart so lovingly to his earthly father and home. His first feeling, therefore, was, "I wish that I had never read this proof that the doctrine of the Just One (hitherto so greatly misunderstood, as the Founder of another faith than that once delivered to us)-is absolute truth. I was well satisfied with my present condision and future prospects, as the successor of my father, whose footsteps I would have deemed it an honour to follow. How should I be able to bear the lot of an alien from his presence?" Meanwhile the young man who had been instrumental in bringing about this momentous crisis, and who was at that time employed by the Rev. Lewis Way, of Stansted Park, in teaching his eldest son Hebrew, had reported to his patron that the son of a very influential rabbi, newly arrived from Poland, was now in London, for the purpose of gaining information on all useful subjects; adding that he had met him and put into his hand the New Testament in Hebrew. This zealous participator in the then existing furor for making proselytes, having obtained his address, lost no time in visiting the guest of the chief Rabbi, who, had he been at home at that moment, would have prevented the intrusion; but as he happened to be out in the discharge of his communal duties, the stranger forthwith introduced himself as a friend of Israel, Mr. Way stated that, having heard

the object of his visit to the English metropolis, he had come to make a proposition, which he hoped would be agreeable to him as well as conducive to his health, which could not but suffer from the impure atmosphere of East London, in one of the gloomiest and most grimy streets, in which the house of Rabbi Herchell was situated. It is now, he continued, the month of June, when the air is especially unwholesome, while his present mode of life would be all the more irksome, the lecturers being at that time in the country. "Should

you come to spend the summer and autumn at Stansted Park, you would have the advantage of a well-stored library, while for your hours of recreation a riding horse would be at your service, with plenty of fishing and coursing. I have also to propose, in order that you may feel under no obligation, that you should supply the place of your Polish friend as Hebrew teacher, who has become strongly impressed with the idea that he should return to Poland, in order to strengthen the faith of a relative, on whom his letters have made a deep impression. As one who necessarily accepts the testimony of your prophets, you could not object to an amicable discussion on the subject of the Messiah, to whom they assign two advents,-one in the fulness of time, or fourth millenary, to fulfil those predictions which relate to His rejection and sacrifice as sin-bearer; the other, at the close of the present parenthetic "times of the Gentiles," as the Deliverer of His long expatriated people, then ready to receive Him in the name of Jehovah. Where you find me err from the plain grammatical testimony of Scripture, I should expect you to correct the mistake, while you must be no less desirous to lay to heart all that I may point out relative to Him as described by Isaiah, Zechariah, and Daniel."

The promise of HAÏM having been given to visit Stansted Park on terms so perfectly satisfactory, just after the visitor had taken his leave, the rabbi made his appearance, with a look expressive of amazement. "Who is the visitor I have just met at the door of my house?" was his first question.

"There is his card," replied his guest; which having glanced at, his host burst forth in terms of the most violent invective. "I can see no reason for the abuse of this English gentleman," said HAIM, calmly; "he assuredly loves our nation, seeking to promote our highest interests, in directing us to the testimony of our prophets. To such a visitor I could not oppose an aspect of causeless stupid aversion and suspicion. Why should we fear to meet such welldisposed neighbours on terms of mutual good-will? What is there to dread in a friendly discussion on the subject of our Messiah? Mr. Way has kindly invited me to spend the summer at his residence, as Hebrew teacher to his son." Never!" exclaimed the irate rabbi. "You may now consider it an accomplished fact," was the reply; "for I have given my promise.' "Never!" he again roared; "you are under my roof by the express will of your excellent father, and here, therefore, you are bound to remain until he is pleased to recall you." "I am determined to keep my promise," was again the reply; "and in doing so, I simply act on my father's precept and example. He, I well know, would more readily pardon what he would consider an act of imprudence, to be attributed to inexperience than the want of governing principles, thus serving to show that his high principled training had been all in vain. I shall not fail, you may be sure, to inform my father of every step as we proceed in our discussions; so that I may hope, in his replies, to obtain a clear view of a subject so dear to his heart as that of the Messiah, the Glory of his people Israel."

Deaf to such appeals, the first impulse of the rabbi found vent in a cruelly exaggerated statement of what he described as his son's apostasy, thus causing the bitterest grief to a father who knew Christianity only as a lawless and persecuting creed, and Christ only as the founder and patron of that foreign intervention; these ideas having been fostered in his mind by the image worship continually presented before his eyes; and especially, as a consequence of the virulent mis

sive of his old friend the chief rabbi, it was not surprising that the letters of the supposed apostate remained unanswered. Six weary months dragged on at Stansted Park in the midst of every luxury and kind consideration, poor HAIM the while suffering intense mental agony, the immediate cause of his deep dejection having been the persistent silence of his father during those doleful months of isolation and misery. The last letter he described as having been written with many tears, of which the paper bore traces, appealing to that justice which he knew was his father's ruling principle. He pled so ear. nestly and so conclusively as to bring an immediate reply. Thus pled the inquirer: "Indissolubly united as we are in principle, may we not differ in opinion concerning the forms and modes in which truth has appeared from of old! If I have been led to the knowledge and accep tance of certain historical facts not yet made evident to your mind, surely I am not on this account to be treated by you as an alien, no longer worthy of a son's place in your fatherly heart? Truth is many sided; every aspect of that central glory equally claiming our unprejudiced regard. Because I plainly see that 'all we, as sheep, have gone astray,' and that our Heavenly Father has laid upon his Son (as one willing and able to save) the iniquity of us all, is that speciality of my belief sufficient to extinguish parental affection?"

Such pleading was not lost upon such a father, who, in reply, fully exonerated his son from all unworthy motives. "I well know," he wrote, "that no selfish or worldly motives could have for one moment influenced your conduct; nevertheless it has placed me in a position of extreme perplexity, for however my heart may yearn after you, I cannot show what I feel, or do as I would; for even now, my son, would I invite you to return home, and there show me out of the little book the truth which justifies your present mysterious conduct. But how can such feelings find sympathy with the community over which I preside, every member of which would condemn such emotions as

proofs of contemptible weakness in behalf of one who, having received cherem, should forthwith be cast off as an evil doer."

This heart-touching letter was too much for a faith at that time only based on historical facts, and which, seeing that he had, as yet, made no open profession of it, he thought could be carried home with him, there to be more fully developed. He felt that a motive far stronger than historical belief must so take possession of his heart and mind as to overcome every difficulty which beset his thorny path, and that then he had not attained to it. "I must now go home," he said to his kind host, (who had for months witnessed his utter misery,) "and of this you may be sure, that when I ask for baptism (as a public profession of the faith which overcomes all secondary considerations,) you may consider it a proof that I have obtained that faith. Unless I receive it, I cannot account myself a true disciple of a world-overcoming Master.' The friends then parted in earnest prayer that this self-sacrificing, world-overcoming faith in the Son of God should be speedily vouchsafed and acted upon.

Next morning HAIM embarked in a Rotterdam packet, thence to proceed home by the Baltic. His arrival having been late on the evening of Sabbath, he could only secure lodging in a Hoff close by the Bompjees (the place of disembarkation). As he there learnt that a vessel would not sail for the Baltic till the following Tuesday, he engaged a bed-room and sitting apartment till then. Next morning, having heard the bells of several places calling to public worship, he

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asked the landlord which was the nearest house of prayer. His reply was, Close by the Bompjees, predight the Dominie ANDERSON; over the Maaze, predight the Episcopalisch Dominie HAY. The Catolische Kirk (where I go), and which I recommend, is the best of all, is not much farther off." "I will go to the nearest," said the heavy-hearted stranger, distracted as he then was by contending emotions: and thus settling the matter, he found himself in a few minutes seated near the door