number of scholars diminished at the same time, and one even from seventy boys is reduced to eleven. I would by far rather see our small beginning waiting in hope, trusting in the Lord, to see the number gradually increasing The Sun sets, but to rise again in all his brightness to give light and life. "The church, too, I have opened. Every Sunday morning I have regular service (in Italian), and though the attendance is still small, it will increase: every Sunday one or two more come. But at this hour few Jews come, because it is the time when the Ghetto and the whole neighbourhood is crowded with contadini (peasants and field labourers), who have come to make their purchases. But I think it of great importance to have regular service every Sunday, especially as no other evangelical party has yet come into the neighbourhood, except a meeting place for soldiers, of considerable interest, and where I saw, not long ago, sixty taking the communion. I had several meetings in the evening, though not very numerous, but the most were Jews. From next Sunday (D. V.) I shall have regular meetings especially for the Jews, every Sunday and Wednosday evening, and I have no doubt that I shall always have a good attendance of both men and women. "Every morning, from nine to one, I am at the mission premises, where I have a small room to receive in, and as it becomes gradually known that I am regularly there, Jews will come in from time to time to have a quiet conversation. Besides this, I continue my visits, and am well received by all and have many an opportunity to speak about the love of Christ, and to prove from Scripture that He is the Messiah. But of late I have not been able to trace much progress. There is a growing moral atmosphere in Italy now, which seems to shut up the mind and heart against the influence of the Gospel; Rationalists, Republicans, and Freethinkers, and all the wiles of Satan seem to be at work against religious progress."

In a letter of subsequent date, Dr. Philip writes:-"Since I wrote the number of scholars has increased but very slowly, and up to this date we have only nine-two of these are my little boys, whom I send to encourage, and the rest, seven in number, are all Roman Catholics-not one Jew. Three Jewish boys came, one after another, but came only for two or three days, and then no more. The first did not return, because I declined to buy clothing for him; the second, because I would not give him any new books, so that his father might sell those which he had from another school which he had frequented; and the third did not return because we do not feed the children.

"Then as for the meetings. Since I wrote to you last, I have had only one good meeting especially for the Jews, and several others, but attended by a few only. God willing, next Saturday evening we shall have another, which I hope will be better attended. Then, beside these special Jewish meetings which I hold, we shall have one every second Saturday of each month, at which all the evangelical ministers here, in turn, will give addresses especially to the Jews. The Sunday and Wednesday evening meetings are more promising, though very few Jews come to the former.

"Besides this part of the work, I continue my daily round of visits in the Ghetto, and whilst I have frequent pleasant intercourse, and apparently growing minds and hopeful souls before me, I have had of late a good many disappointments and discouragements, seeing indifference about religion becoming so prevalent among the Jews; and I fear, the more they become so, the more they live freely and patriotically with their Italian neighbours. "But I have also my little room on the premises, and here frequently more hopeful inquirers, like Nicodemus, drop in to ask "how can these things be?" and "how can a man be born again when he is old?" One of those who frequently come is an earnest well-educated teacher. Lately, after a long conversation with him, he seemed to be surprised on hearing me

1875.

quoting the verse, Zechariah xii. 10, and especially the words, " And they shall look upon me whom they have pierced." He read them over and over in my Hebrew Bible, but he was determinate in his opinion that these words were not in the Bible of the Jews. He was to look into his Bible on arriving home. I believe he did so. He did not come back next day as promised, but I met him. He confessed his ignorance of a passage which he said he had read over hundreds of times. He seemed much struck by this passage; it has evidently made an impression on his mind. May God make it a blessing to him, and enable him to look unto Him whom they have pierced."

A Hard Saying.

THE PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL AMONG THE JEWs.-Excellent letters against the Conversionists have appeared in the Hereford Times and the Western Express. One of these letters is signed "A Jew," the other is signed "Alibia." Each writer develops the views which we have constantly maintained in this journal. In the letter signed " A Jew," we learn that one of the tract distributors signs his article merely as a "Surgeon," and takes good care to omit his address. We remind " A Jew" that if "A Surgeon had given his address, the advice offered to us by a contributor, to return the tract with a brick enclosed in an unpaid envelope through the post, would doubtlessly induce "A Surgeon" to abandon the cure of souls for the cure of bodies. "Alibia" cleverly tells the Conversionists that half the price which they pay in the endeavour to convert Jews who will not be converted, would doubtless convert to morality those who need such conversion; he eloquently adds that "to the children of Israel, the Law of Moses, divine in its peerless worth, will ever be the basement of a faultless faith, and the strength of a matchless hope."-Jewish Chronicle.

[We are sorry to find the above paragraph in the columns of our generally careful contemporary. There is something most contemptible in the counsel to send a brick in an unpaid envelope, and we only notice it as an additional inducement to our readers and friends to be more thoroughly in earnest in the great work of presenting the Gospel of the crucified Jesus before those who reveal the weakness of their cause, and expose the joints of their armour, in so uncourteous and ignorant a manner. Probably there is no other body in the world whose agents could thus presume to offend against the written laws of ordinary decency and honour. Let it not harden our hearts against them, but remember Paul's inspired words, "Being defamed, we entreat." There are countless Jewish trophies to victorious grace, and by God's grace there will be countless more.-ED.]

Poetry.

AN APPEAL TO THE CHILDREN OF ENGLAND,

DEAR children who love Israel's God,

Will you not love His Israel too?

And love them for Messiah's sake,

Who was once Himself a Jew.

Many of those who loved Him best,

When He dwelt here upon this earth,
Were of the holy chosen seed,

And like Christ of Jewish birth.

They were little Jewish children
Thus whom Jesus loved and blest;
Who often climbed upon His knee,
Nestling closely to His breast.

Ye dear little ones of England,

Will you often kneel in prayer,
Praying for the Jewish children,

And our God, through Christ, will hear?

And He will bless you when you pray,
When you pray for Israel's peace;
And every blessing He will give,
And joys that will never cease.

Give, and do all for Jesu's sake,
Who did very much for you;
Tell the sweet story of His love
To the little Christless Jew.

Then, bye-and-bye, in glory bright,

In the Father's house above,

You'll sing with them redemption's song,

To Messiah, whom you love.

A. G. C. P.

Chippings from Kindred Blocks.

1875

WHERE are the Jews now? Their Messiah has come; they are still holding these Scriptures-the Old Testament Scriptures-which furnish us with the foundation of the Christian system, and which bear testimony to their King born at Bethlehem--born King of the Jews. He presented Himself to them as their King, and His citizens hated Him, and persecuted Him, and said "We will not have this man to reign over us." "Art thou a King, then?" asked Pilate our English version says, "Thou sayest that, &c., I am a

King." He never said anything of the kind. He asked the question. Our English version ought to read thus: "Thou sayest it; I am a King. To this end was I born, and for this cause was I sent into the world." Write over the cross, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." Write, he said so? No, He did not say it; it is written, let it remain. It remains, and He is King of the Jews, both by title and by right. David's throne is vacant, but it will not always be. They read in their prophets, Messiah is to come and bless Israel and bless the world. Messiah has come, Israel is not blessed as a nation, and the world is not blessed, and the world is waiting the blessing of Israel.-Hebrew Christian Witness.

1875.

NEXT to the completion of the survey of Palestine the Exploration Fund can hardly render a more important service to the history of the Holy Land than by a collection of Hebrew Coins of ascertainable authenticity. From the minute and exact provisions of the oral law we know positively that the aunual Temple Tax was regularly paid in a coin specially destined for the purpose, during the whole time of the Second Temple. Without stating it expressly, the Talmud leads us to suppose that the coins in question were not eponymous; so that the date of any specimens of the "Jerusalem," "Israel," or "Zion" money can only be ascertained by comparison with coins bearing names of kings or high priests. Of these, besides the known Herodian and Asmonean series, we have the name of "Eleaser the Priest,' and the letters, at least, of the name of Eliaseib. These occur on an assarion figured by De Saulcy, in his Recherches sur la Numismatique Judaïque, plate xiii., fig. 7. The letters are involved in their sequence, but not more so than in some of the nasi coins. With reference to these, in which it is possible that the word Shemoun may represent a proper name, they must, in that case, be referred to the pontificate of Simon the Just, as he was the only high priest of that name who was also president of the Sanhedrin. We have the sequence of the presidents since his date, and there is no high priest among them.—Academy.

Judaica.

SIR MOSES MONTEFIORE.—It is announced that Sir Moses Montefiore, who has attained his ninetieth year, has just resigned the office of President of the Jewish Board of Deputies, an institution over which he has presided for a great number of years. The infirmities of age have, no doubt, led the venerable baronet to taking this step- a step to be much regretted by the Jewish community. The Board of Deputies is a corporation appointed to watch the interests of the Jewish nation at home or abroad, and in any country in which their co-religionists suffer persecutions or labour under grievance their functions are called into requisition. The influence which Sir Moses Montefiore possessed at the Foreign Office gained for the Board of Deputies a large amount of information and assistance. Whatever may be the religious profession of an individual, we cannot but admire a man whe dispenses abundance to the poor of all denominations, and in so doing, Sir Moses Montefiore has obtained a justly deserved good reputation. The suffering and indigent of all nations--Jews, Christians, and heathens-have alike experienced his world-wide philanthropy; indeed, he is renowned for the universality of his charity. His missions on behalf of his persecuted coreligionists in Morocco, Roumania, Russia, and his expeditions to Palestine to ameliorate the sad condition of its inhabitants, are too well known to need récapitulation at our hands. The worthy baronet is now stricken with age, but we hope that many years will yet be his, in order that he may add still more to the glory of his benevolence.-Jewish Chronicle.

CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED from NOV. 16th, to DEC. 16th, 1874.

Carmarthen, Coll.

£ s. d. Chelmsford, Coll...

Rev. G.

Wilkinson
Chepstow, Coll.

Chester
Chorley

Daventry, Coll.
Dowlais, Coll.
Gainsborough, Coll. 2 17 10
Gt. Grimsby, Coll. 15 17 10
Gt. Marlow, Coll... 1 17 0
Highgate Ind. Chap. 9 4 0
High Wycombe,
Colls...
Kettering, Coll.

3 15 0 Subs. 11 16 6

Laceby, Coll. & Subs. 7 0 0

Met. Tabernacle, by

St. Neots, Colls. and

SERMONS AND ADDRESSES ON THE BEHALF OF THE SOCIETY