between the sick and the devil, are always in attendance to impose their pretended arts of witchcraft upon the deluded devotee, by performing a variety of things, such as killing fowls, burning candles, fumigations, ablutions, muttering, screaming, singing, and such-like absurdities and abominations, whereby they are supposed to drive out the unclean spirit from the poor sickly applicant; a few coppers from each of them does it all to their fancy. These devil-conjurors generally earn enough to keep them until the next Wednesday (which is the day fixed for it). This appears a regular business matter with them. There were not as many devil-worshippers on the Wednesday I went there as usual, still there were quite enough to give me a shocking idea of their proceedings, and I was not less surprised to see that such works of folly should continue in the nineteenth century. and that in a land of progressive civilisation and enlightenment. I could not any longer remain a silent spectator, so I made my way among them, and addressed myself to a young Jew, who was about to undergo a process of cure, and asking him whether he did not feel ashamed of himself to degrade the religion of his fathers, by putting himself under such treatment, he tried to justify himself, pointing to the old witch, saying, "These are the people who do it all for us," adding that he was subject to great weakness, and that he always found himself much better after such a charming process. I felt grieved to hear such lauguage from an apparently intelligent young man, as he told that in pretty good French. I told him in the Arabic, for the benefit of the bystanders as well as his own, that it was folly and madness to have anything to do with these miserable creatures, who can neither have any influence with the devil, nor do these trumperies possess any healing power whatever, and that it was as much a crime to apply to them as if he had done the thing himself, particularly for an Israelite, whose law strictly forbids these practices, quoting to him the passage in Deut. xviii. The poor fellow felt then very much ashamed, and sought to slip away; I followed him, and advised him to consult a doctor in town, and to use the proper means for the restoration of his health, and above all to seck the Saviour, the only true Physician of immortal spirits. I put a few tracts into his hand, and he then retired to a quiet spot and sat down to read them. LYONS. Mr. FRANKEL Writes from Lyons :I have recently made the acquaintance of two French Jewish families; the one belongs to the poorer class, and very deficient in every branch of education, especially in matters of religion; they have never seen a whole copy of the Old Testament; in their occasional attendance at the synagogue, they have heard Moses and the prophets read, but not knowing anything of Hebrew, of course that added very little to their stock of knowledge; they nevertheless consider themselves good Jews, and expressed great surprise when I told them that it was their duty to read and study the Word of God, in order to find out what they must do to be saved; they thought that they knew and believed quite enough, that there was but one God, that there will be an eternal reward and punishment, and that Messiah will come to gather the scattered tribes of Israel. The other family is of the better educated class of society; they possess a French Bible, and seem pretty well acquainted with the historical portions of the Old and New Testaments, but they are quite dead to every religious feeling and sentiment; they consider God as a gracious and merciful Father of the whole human race, and that as such He could not possibly wish that any of His creatures should perish, but that in heaven both Jews and Gentiles, without distinction, will form one happy family. In the course of the year they attend several times the synagogue service, for the simple reason, il faut faire ses devoirs religieuse" (one is bound to perform his religious duties), and when that is done their conscience is appeased; they, alas! are but a fair specimen of the whole community of French Jews, very liberal in their notions, listen respectfully to the preaching of the Gospel, but "God is not in all their thoughts;" they are living as if this life would have no end, and eternity no beginning," without hope and without God in the world." A very respectable Jewish family spent the evening with us; we conversed freely about Christ and the Gospel; they seemed very much interested in the history of the Saviour's crucifixion, and greatly astonished to find so many Old Testament predictions fulfilled on that memorable day; I lent them a New Testament, and they promised to give it a careful and attentive perusal; they gave us a cordial invitation to spend an evening with them, and I trust that our intercourse may be profitable and blessed. Mme, L has just returned from Metz, and I regret to say that her sojourn in Alsace has very much changed her views with regard to Christianity; she has imbibed a great deal of prejudice against the New Testament, and has become selfrighteous and very extravagant in the observance of all the rites and ceremonies of Judaism; my visits are, however, very friendly received, and I hope, with the help of the Lord, to be able to convince her of the error of her ways, and lead her again to the foot of the cross. -) Mme. S (daughter of Mme. Btold me in a conversation I had with her, that she was fully convinced that Judaism was only calculated to delude man into false security, but not to satisfy the demands of an awakened conscience, and I trust she is sincerely seeking after something better; she is obliged to read the New Testament secretly, as her mother is still very bigoted, and would burn any book in which the name of Christ was found. I had a visit from a very interestin young German Jew; he is on his way to Marseilles, where he is to embark with his friends for Algiers; he has conversed with missionaries in Germany, is well acquainted with the Old and New Testament Scriptures, and seems to have very clear notions about the principal doctrines of Christianity; he told me that his parents were not at all opposed to his becoming a Christian, they only objected to his taking that step before he left his native country. I gave him Mr. Cohen's address, and furnished him with books and tracts for his private use, as well as for distribution amongst his fellow Jewish passengers, and I hope that he will not only soon make a public profession of his faith in Christ, but may be the instrument in the hand of God of raising the standard of the cross in that far country where his lot is to be cast. THE REV. JOHN WILKINSON presents the following list of places which he has recently visited, and appends a few remarks, to which the attention of our readers is respectfully invited. We may also be allowed to remind our friends of the necessity which is felt of remittances, to enable the committee to meet the outlay, until the time arrives for the incoming of annual subscriptions. Since I left London, in the first week of July, for this northern journey, I am happy to state that, up to this date (Sept. 20), I have attended meetings at Newark, Retford, Lincoln, Gainsbro', Bridlington, Malton, Whitby, Pickering, Harrogate, Knaresbro', Ripon, Thirsk, Northallerton, Bedale, Appleton Wiske. Stockton, Middlesbro', Guisbro', Hartlepool, Bishop Auckland, Durham, Sunderland, Gateshead, Newcastle, South and North Shields, Morpeth, Alnwick, and Halt whistle; and have delivered, in the above-mentioned places, upwards of sixty sermons, lectures, and addresses. I gratefully acknowledge the kindness of the friends who have entertained me, and cheerfully bear witness to the increasing interest in the one object of our Society-the conversion of the Jew to Christ. In most of the above places, where Ladies' Associations had been previously formed, I endeavoured to strengthen them, and also succeeded in organising such in other places where they had not previously existed. I am happy to bear witness to the increasing interest on the part of Christian ministers of all denominations, and they have in a large majority of instances rendered me good service by facilitating my plans and heartily co-operating with me. Notwithstanding the devoted efforts of our friends to induce Christians to attend our meetings, still the meetings in many places have been thinly attended, except where we have had services on the Sunday previous; then, almost without exception, the meeting has been three or four times as large as on former occasions. Now, as we cannot give a Sunday at every town, the question is, how can we secure a large attendance at an annual meeting, even though we cannot give sermons on the Sunday previous? Allow me to offer a suggestion. I firmly believe that if the ladies' associations would take the trouble to get up a tea-meeting, engaging one or more ladies in each Christian denomination to canvas their particular spheres in the sale of tickets, we should have a much larger attendance, and consequently a more extended interest. This was attempted at Derby and Nottingham in the early part of this year, and the ladies succeeded most triumphantly, for we had two of the best meetings at those places I ever attended. Dr. Kitto. To the late Dr. JOHN KITTо the friends of Israel are peculiarly indebted for stores of information gathered and published by that laborious and truthful author on the history, the habits, and the country of the Jews. The "Reformed Presbyterian Magazine" thus refers to him : It is hardly possible to exaggerate the heroism of such a life. Had Kitto possessed the ordinary advantages of unimpaired sense, and enjoyed the benefit of a liberal education, his place in literature would have been still the same. His works have been judged for themselves, and with no reference to the author. His fame was established, while as yet the public were entirely unacquainted with his personal circumstances. On the other hand, had the deaf boy of Plymouth merely acquired a taste for literature, and written a few elegant essays, he would have been admired for his triumph over the evils of his lot. As it is, we have one of the most remarkable examples on record of the successful pursuit of knowledge under difficulties." The Life of Kitto should be in every cottage in the land. It is a life which, as he himself has finely said, "bears witness that there is no one so low but that he may rise; no condition so cast down as to be really hopeless; and no privation which need of itself shut out any man from the paths of honourable exertion, or from the hope of usefulness in life." His lifestruggle was no vulgar hunting for notoriety, but a patient, persevering accomplishment of that which God gave him to do. He sought diligently till he found his proper work; and when he had found it, he did it with his might. And there is a higher lesson still to be gathered from the story of this man's life. There is something, at first sight, inexpressibly painful in the thought that such a struggle never brought repose, but remained a struggle to the last,that sorrow was heaped upon sorrow, and that the clouds returned after the rain. But here, if we could see it ourselves, is the very wisdom of God: Such a life is the strongest argument for immortality. Such a history we all feel to be but the fragment of a greater whole, which carries us irresistibly into another world, and points us to an eternal consummation. Patience, lifelong patience, is the lesson of his life. It is a lesson which Kitto learned well when here, and the fruit of which he is enjoying now. Thirty years ago," says he, in one of his latest volumes," before the Lord caused me to wander from my father's house, and from my native place, I put my mark upon this passage in Isaiah-'I am the Lord: they shall not be ashamed that wait on Me. Of the many books I now possess, the Bible that bears this mark is the only one that belonged to me at that time. It now lies before me; and I find that, although the hair which was then dark as night has meanwhile become 'a sable silvered,' the ink which marked this text has grown into intensity of blackness as the time advanced; corresponding with, and in fact recording, the growing intensity of the conviction, that 'they shall not be ashamed that wait for Thee.' I believed it then, but I know it now; and I can write Probatum est, 'It is proved,' with my whole heart, over against the symbol, which that mark is to me, of my ancient faith. They shall not be ashamed that wait for Me.' Looking back through the long period which has passed since I set my mark to these words, a portion of human life which forms the best and brightest, as well as the most trying and conflicting, in all men's experience, it is a joy to be able to say, 'I have waited for Thee, and have not been ashamed.' Under many perilous circumstances, in many most trying scenes, amidst faintings within and fears without, and under sorrows that rend the heart, and troubles that crush it down, 'I have waited for Thee; and, lo, I stand this day as one not ashamed.'" The MONTHLY MEETING of Jewish and Gentile Christians, for Prayer and Scriptural Conference, will be held at the Office, No. 1, Crescent Place, New Bridge Street, Blackfriars, on WEDNESDAY EVENING, Oct. 15th, at Seven o'clock.-The Meeting is open to all friends of Israel. London Published by JOHN SNOW, 35, Paternoster Row. Printed by Charles Frederick Adams, of 23, Middle Street, Cloth Fair, City, and William Gee, of 48, Soward Street, St. Luke's, at their Printing Office, 23, Middle Street, Cloth Fair, City. The Jewish Herald, AND RECORD OF CHRISTIAN EFFORT FOR THE SPIRITUAL GOOD OF GOD'S ANCIENT PEOPLE. PUBLISH YE, PRAISE YE, AND SAY, O LORD, SAVE THY PEOPLE, THE REMNANT OF ISRAEL." PUBLISHED UNDER THE SUPERINTENDENCE OF THE BRITISH SOCIETY FOR THE FROM their central fatherland, and from Jerusalem-the navel of the earth-they have radiated in every direction, until, in the sense of occupation at least, they have already long ago realised the old dream of their huge national ambition, and taken possession of the whole habitable world. Yet they have no more mingled with the races with which they have come in contact, than the globules of quicksilver will amalgamate with the dust of the floor on which it is spilt. The people still dwells proudly alone, and is not reckoned amongst the nations. They are amongst us Gentiles everywhere, but of us nowhere; and though we no longer calumniously tax them with the odium humani generis, yet it is impossible to deny that the ancient chasm between Israel and the nations still yawns between us. Two thousand years of juxtaposition have not sufficed to atone this inveterate feud, save in isolated instances. Nor is it a slight argument in favour of Christianity, that, in every case in which a fusion has been truly effected, the Gospel has been the solvent. There is, we should imagine, no man who believes in a moral order of the world, at all, but expects the realisation at some future time, upon a grand scale, of the idea of human brotherhood, and consequently the reconciliation of Jews and Gentiles, and the removal of the undeniable and notorious antagonism between them. Let, then, everything be pointed out which has ever been able to bridge over the gulf, save Christianity. We are convinced that no other sufficiently harmonising influence can be named. VOL. XI.-NEW SERIES, VOL. II, It alone has ever yet broken down the middle wall of partition, and made both one-a sure presage this, were there none else, of its being destined to universal triumph. It alone is the catholic religion-the religion for man as man; and by it alone can the most intensely national religion that ever existed, that of the Jews, be subsumed. OUR RETROSPECT FOR THE YEAR 5616 (1856) FROM THE JEWISH CHRONICLE." WHEN we speak of religion, we do not mean that vague consciousness, inherent in most men, of the close relation between God and man, and of that general feeling of the absolute dependence of the latter on the former, but we mean that particular consciousness and that special feeling as it is conveyed by Judaism, and as it is expressed before the world by means of those forms which Judaism inculcates upon its professors; in other words, we mean a specific religion, that taught by Moses and the prophets, and historically developed through thousands of ages. Has this religious consciousness, has this religious feeling during the past year manifested itself in some such striking manner as to evince any great re-awakening, any thorough revival in the masses? There is, alas, no evidence whatever to betoken the presence of such a feeling. The apathy of former years still lays heavily upon us with its dead weight; the cancer of indifferentism continues to prey upon our vitals. The pulpits of most synagogues are still mute, and we are not acquainted with one single place of worship that should have engaged a lecturer this year. We hardly do more than just maintain our ground. But, alas, in religion, as in the whole spiritual domain, it is true that "he who does not add diminishes." No effort made for advancement in this direction seems to meet proper appreciation. Although it must be self-evident that an imported clergy must necessarily lack qualifications which alone can raise the religious tone of the community, yet the establishment of a Jewish college, designed to remedy the evil, meets with an indifference which in its effects often proves as injurious as open antagonism. Although it must be self-evident that no progress made in the existing schools, exposed to the operation of Christian influences, can conpensate to the Jewish pupil the loss of Jewish knowledge and Jewish spirit necessarily and imperceptibly sustained by him, yet the Jewish College School, teaching the same branches of knowledge imparted in the best educational establishments, is only attended by about thirty-six scholars. If the proper Jewish spirit prevailed in the community, this promising institution would be visited by hundreds. The Glasgow and Liverpool congregations appeal to their brethren for assistance in order to build synagogues. How are the appeals responded to? Let our advertisement pages answer the question. We know of co-religionists who have contributed their hundreds of pounds towards the building of churches. We miss these sums when the applicants for assistance are Jews and not Christians. We will not mince the matter-we will speak out plainly. At the approach of the solemn period which is now being ushered in, it is fitting that the truth be spoken out. The Jewish spirit is daily becoming fainter in the minds of our rich and middle classes. The more their prosperity increases, the more the ties of communal brotherhood relax. Alas, as of old, it may again be said, “And Jeshurun waxed fat and kicked." We tremble to think what will become of the |