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by the grace of God, to speak freely of Christ and to declare the way of salvation. There was no bitterness shown on these occasions, but I am glad to say that my hearers continued to take an interest in the conversation on the subject before us, and sought to be further informed of, and instructed in, the doctrines of Christianity. These visits and instructions I repeated from day to day, and the Lord was pleased to bless these labours in the conversion of one family, as I mentioned above, and I trust also to others. One man, an intelligent English Jew, whom I had often visited and frequently conversed with about Christianity, told me a few days ago that he found great pleasure in the reading of the New Testament, and preferred it even to the Old. I am glad to say that his mind is now much changed for the better. He has now a Bible, which I gave him, and I have reason to hope that he makes good use of it. I also made the acquaintance of his brother, who was very much tainted with infidelity, and, as he himself had told me, had read several infidel books, but I am thankful to say that he has not only given up reading those books, but begins to think quite differently on the subject of religion. He and his wife, who was very much opposed to missionary visits at first, are both glad to see me whenever I call upon them, and I do trust that, in course of time, they may both be brought to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.

I am also happy to say, that I have pursued the same plan of house to house visitation as last time, by which means I was able to find out many Jewish families, and to speak to them of the great topics of Christianity. In some houses I was well received, and allowed to converse with the inmates about the good of their souls, but I have also met with great opposition, and at times even with abuse, especially from the Jewesses. I spent most of my time during the day in visiting the Jewish quarter, and taking street after street, and each house as it came in rotation, and endeavouring to speak to the people, where they would let us in. And the Lord was pleased to help these efforts, for I have reason to believe that much good was done in that way, both to Jews and Gentiles. I have also by that means distributed many religious_tracts, and portions of both the Old and New Testament amongst the Jews. I may say that I have visited about fifty families during my stay here. Some of these families I have frequently visited, and spent much time in religious conversation with them. But I must refer to another branch of my work, namely, of receiving Jews at my house. This takes place on Saturdays, but very frequently on other days too, especially in the evening. On Saturdays my room is quite full, and very often I can hardly find room to accommodate all the people that come to see me, but they do not mind standing whilst I am speaking to them. I am glad to say that I had always a good opportunity of plainly declaring Christ to my hearers, and I trust in some cases with good result. I may also mention that I made the acquaintance of a respectable English Jewess, who keeps a shop in the market. She could hardly believe, she said, the possibility of a Jew or Jewess embracing Christ. But after a very earnest and lengthy conversation I had with her one day, she never alluded to this foolish notion again, but always gave me a fair hearing. On asking her one day whether she would like to read the New Testament, she answered yes, and if I could give her one she would feel obliged to me. I brought her a Bible the same day, which she thankfully accepted. I also beg to state that I delivered an address each Sunday evening to the Jews. This I did in the Jewish quarter, and in the same place as last time, namely, in the 'British Workman.' This Sunday evening preaching I am happy to say was frequently attended by many Jews. On one occasion the room was crowded with people, and very nearly a hundred Jews were present. I had also openair meetings, and frequently preached in the Jewish quarter, where I had

several Jews come to hear me. On such occasions I was often able to set forth the need of a Saviour, and appealing to my hearers, on the ground of Scripture, that without the shedding of blood there is no redemption of sins, besought them earnestly to fly to the fountain which was opened for sin and uncleanness. I was also able to distribute a good many copies of the Scriptures among the Jews. After referring to my journal, I find that I have distributed 147 copies of Bibles, Testaments, Gospels, and Epistles, both in Hebrew, English, German, and Hebrew-German. I must also express my sincere thanks to many of our Christian friends who kindly assisted me to carry on the work, and to reach as many Jews as possible. I have reason, therefore, to thank God for His goodness towards me, and for the many opportunities He has afforded me to preach the Gospel in Leeds. May the Lord follow this seedtime with His blessing, and grant us, ere long, a rich harvest."

II.-FOREIGN.

KONIGSBERG.

MR. JACOBI gives an account of a young Jewish artist, son of a rabbi, who reflected much on the truth of Christianity, frequently attending a place of worship, and reading the Epistle to the Romans. His mind and heart were alike convinced, and after due examination and probation he was baptised into the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, making a public and joyful confession of faith in Him. He afterwards married the daughter of an officer of high position, and the opposition of the father of the young man, though violent at first, was afterwards withdrawn.

RUSTCHUK.

MRS. ZUCKERKANDL rejoices in the retrospection of our Secretary's visit, and says, "It is an old, yet new, truth, that whosoever blesses Israel shall be himself blessed. We shall never forget," she adds, "the pleasant impression your presenee made upon us.' Several Jews show inquiring dispositions, and have applied to Mr. Klinger to show the way of life in the Messiah. The Spanish Jews discourse and dispute with the Greek merchants on the truths of Christianity. The school grows, and care is taken that every child's mind is imbued with high and holy truths.

The colporteur, Mr. Klinger, supplements the statement of Mrs. Zuckerkandl by reports of the blessing which has attended his labours, and he appears anxious in his conversations with Jews to come to the root of the matter proving from the Scriptures that Jesus is the very Christ.

Notes of a Visit to Mission Stations
in Europe.

BY THE SECRETARY.

[Continued from page 11.]

On the 28th of August, in company with Mr. P., I paid a visit to Brody that has left an indelible impression on my mind. There were so many Jews on every side, and everything was so entirely and intensely Jewish,

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that I found myself ejaculating again and again, “If men wish to see the Jews, let them not go to Jerusalem, but to Brody." It is related that an Emperor of Austria, passing through the town, said that he knew now why one of his titles was "King of Jerusalem." The Scotch deputation in 1839 were much struck with what they saw. They say: "The appearance of the population was certainly the most singular we had witnessed. It seemed wholly a Jewish city; and the few Gentiles, who appeared here and there, were quite lost in the crowd of Jews. Jewish boys and girls were playing in the streets, and Jewish maid-servants carrying messages; Jewish women were the only females to be seen at the doors and windows, and Jewish merchants filled the market-place. The high fur caps of the men, the rich head-dress of the women, and the small round velvet caps of the boys met the eye on every side as we wandered from street to street. Jewish ladies were leaning over balconies, and poor old Jewesses were sitting at stalls selling fruit. In passing through the streets, if we happened to turn the head for a moment towards a shop, some Jew would rush out immediately, and assail us with importunate invitations to come and buy. In the bazaar, Jews were selling skins, making shoes, and offering earthenware for sale; and the signboards of plumbers, masons, painters, and butchers all bore Jewish names." We were also struck by the carefully preserved locks on each side of the men's faces, and by the long black robe worn by Jews of all classes. Why should they, without regard to convenience or expense, continue to wear this characteristic garment? Without discussing the question of the priestly origin of this costume, it certainly is suggestive to the stranger of the words God spoke to the house of Jacob and the children of Israel at Sinai: “And ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation." We were, also, much struck by the restlessness of the people. The heat was excessive, and the white dust of the parched streets made walking very unpleasant, yet, wherever we went, we were followed by groups of somewhat excited Jews, offering us various forms of service, in the hope of reward, and most curious to find out the object of our visit. Whence this restlessness? Is it not born in part of ages of misrepresentation and persecution? Is not, however, its principal source in the great mistake and sin of rejecting Christ? And is it not plain that it can be healed only by returning to Him who said to the storm, "Peace, be still," and there was a great calm; and who said to Jews of old, "Come unto Me all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest"? This was the object of our visit, but as our immediate object was pioneering, we found it necessary to proceed with caution. We did, however, make inquiries, and even distributed tracts; though we have since learned that, for this offence, Mr. Reichardt and a friend were, about forty years ago, detained a fortnight in this place, and then sent beyond the border. The Scotch deputation were also detained, and had their books taken from them. And on one occasion the Rev. D. Hefter, having ventured to preach there in the street to his brethren, was immediately interrupted by the police. We, however, escaped, partly, perhaps, through my friend having some business with some booksellers, who purchase, through him, Bibles of the British and Foreign

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Bible Society. Brody is not only Austrian, but is a very ancient town, with certain special privileges, and being almost entirely in the hands of the Jews, open advocacy of the Gospel would be attended with considerable difficulties. But were a qualified missionary to take up his abode there the curiosity of the people would lead them to resort to him, and he might teach Christian truth without collision with the authorities.

Brody being a good-sized town, within a few miles of the Russian frontier, has become an important place of meeting for merchants from both countries. When commercial questions arise between Austria and Russia, the interests of this town have considerable weight, and we see its name in the foreign journals. The town seems to be constructed for business, the centre being filled with a large square block of buildings, honeycombed with narrow streets, which are entirely occupied with stores and shops. The other streets of the town are on the several sides of this square or radiate from it. The number of the resident Jews is difficult to ascertain, as in every place. We accosted two venerable Israelites, and inquired of them on this subject. They seemed reluctant to reply. But, when pressed, one said he should think 15,000, and the other thought they were probably twice that number. Since the time of God's anger with David for numbering the people, the Orthodox Jew shrinks from statistics. Yet we cannot suppose the beneficent Creator is offended with the pursuit of this useful branch of knowledge, although He was angry with David for desiring to trust to an arm of flesh, rather than to lean on Him, who had made him a king. According to statistics, no less than 15,000 contribute as members of the community at Brody, and their total number (is, we believe, about 17,000, the whole population being about 25,000. The larger proportion of the resident Jews are of the Orthodox party, but of several sects, the Chasidim, &c., and this is indicated by slight differences in their dress. There are also some of the new school, and a well-known writer of this latter class sends forth his lucubrations from Brody. There are some Greek and Roman Catholic churches, but not one single Protestant church for this large population. Here, again, the Christian missionary would have no friends to help him, and no Christian church to point to as illustrative of his work. There is a Jewish orphan-house, and a Jewish hospital, and there are synagogues almost without number. We saw a line stretched across a street to render possible compliance with some of the minute requirements of the Talmud, and heard the horn blown, in preparation for the New Year's Day, according to the Jewish calendar.

Outside the town there is a Jewish burial-place, crowded with the graves of many generations. Many of the tombstones have long inscriptions, beginning with the initial letters of two Hebrew words, which mean, “Here is buried," containing high praises of the virtues of the deceased, and ending with the words, "May his soul be in the light of life." One misses the "In Christo," or "In Pace," or "Resurgam" of the Christian cemetery. Many of the gravestones are painted, and some have inscriptions in letters of gold. Some are adorned with emblematic representations, e.g., a cup on the grave of a Levite, because it was his duty to pour water on the hands of

1875.

the priests. The graves of the Rabbis are usually conspicuous by their size and adornment, and they have represented on them the uplifted hands, with the four fingers on each carefully held in pairs, according to their custom in invoking blessing. At one grave we saw a young Jewess in great distress. An older woman was reading from a book, and the younger was repeating after her, with streaming tears and outcries of anguish. She appeared to be lamenting a parent, and praying for the soul of the departed. It was probably the annual visit. The unscriptural and objectionable doctrine of prayer for the dead is firmly held by the Jews. Chief Rabbi Dr. Artom, in an eloquent sermon, preached in London, on "Cremation," says: "We visit our dear departed ones yearly on the anniversary of their decease. We do not address them; for how could they hear? but we pray for them to Him who hears every supplication, even the silent supplication · of the heart. We pray to God that He may grant them the joy and felicity of the chosen spirits. At the sight of their graves we remember all about them; all that they were; all that they did for us; the affection they gave us in so many unmistakable proofs; the excellent advice which they conveyed to us, and the virtues which adorned them, and with which, by force of example, they pointed out to us the way in which we should go. At these recollections we feel indescribable emotion; our love for our departed friends revives in all its intensity; we are united to them again, in spite of the impassible chasm of death, and we return home sometimes a little wiser, for we cannot help throwing a glance on ourselves and becoming aware of our moral imperfections."

Very curious are the customs and superstitions of the Jews with respect to the dead. They have a Chevrah or Society whose members watch or "wake" the dead, not leaving the corpse, day or night, till burial. At burial, the body is placed in contact with the earth, and a bag of earth from Palestine, sometimes procured at great cost, is placed under the head -to keep away corruption, as some suppose. Pieces of broken pottery are placed on the eyes, a custom difficult to explain. Some suppose them designed for protection, others as an acknowledgment of the return to dust, and others, as if it were said to the departed, "Thou hast seen much that was pleasing and splendid; what seest thou now?" But, perhaps, the most curious custom is that of burying a wooden fork with the deceased, to assist them in rolling underground to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, when the great day of decision comes. I have met with several Jews who have seen this custom carried out. Other curious customs, of which I heard in my journey, are as follows :-killing a spider on the body; throwing all water from the house where one is dead, in the belief that some evil agency is in the water; celebrating a marriage in the graveyard to drive away disease; asking at the grave if there is room for more, and, if not, assuming that the disease has passed away from the community. And another custom is thus described in an old work: "If there happen many buryings out of one family, soon after one another, the surviving relation of the nearest affinity in the blood takes a padlock, and locks it when the coffin is put in the ground, and then he flings the lock in the grave with the corpse, and flings away the key