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steamer on the 3rd inst., at four o'clock in the morning, and reached Bungas on the evening of the 5th, the place of our disembarkment. In consequence of the falling in of the great Greek festival of St. George, we could not get a conveyance as soon as we desired. On the 8th, we started at four o'clock in the morning from Bungas, and were soon in the mountains. The whole long day we met not a single human being on our way, and were very glad to find a little rest at sunset for the night, in a humble poor cottage, without any window, in the Bulgarian mountain village, Faki. The next day, the 9th, found us again, in the first morning hours, continuing our fatiguing journey till three o'clock in the afternoon. At once our cautious excellent Turkish driver, Achmet, whom I befriended from the very first hour, called out cheerfully "Balkan biti," that is the Balkan has now ended. The dear children joyfully clapped their hands, and began to sing merry songs. This affected also our clever, good-natured Achmet, and he too sang his melodious Turkish plaintive tunes. Three more hours we drove on a fruitful and well-cultivated plateau. Towards evening we reached the wealthy Bulgarian village, Waissal. Refreshed by the night's rest in the clean room of a well-to-do Bulgarian peasant, and by the prospect to reach after several more hours, Adrianople, we were again, on the 10th inst., at five o'clock in the morning, on our way. Towards noon we entered the town, and were heartily received and greeted by our dear friends, under whose hospitable roof we still live. As far as my

observations go, and from what I have seen during the short time of my being here, I daresay we may feel strengthened and encouraged in the sacred duties the Lord our God called us here together to do, in this desolate part of His vineyard, among our brethren of the house of Israel. The dear brethren report more fully about the working of the station. I, for myself, took at once to the study of the Judeo-Spanish, which I hope to acquire in the course of a short time, making myself, at the same time, useful among the Polish Jews residing here. Lastly, I can say, to the praise of the Lord, that my health is again improving.

us.

Mr. NEUMANN subsequently writes:

With much pleasure I can now communicate to you that since my last note of last month, I am, after much trouble in finding a house, settled here, enjoying the great advantage of living close by our friends, which is a comfort to all of I occupy my time by studying and reading the Judeo-Spanish, the vernacular of the Jews here, by reading and explaining the Word of God on the Saturdays to the few Polish Jews, and in attending very often the religious conversations which go on in the house of our friends. Two weeks ago I had a visit from a party of Spanish Jews; their leader, an honest, clever man, who searches the Scriptures, is a dyer by trade, and well known to our friends, with whom he holds frequent and friendly intercourse. After the usual salutations, he produced a scrap of paper, on which were noted many Scripture passages, all tending to prove the unity of God, the immutability of the Law, &c., but, strange to say, all these selected passages-evidently collected with great care-after a fair and reasonable controversy, and by throwing the true light of interpretation on them, proved strongly against their assertions, by which they fortify themselves against our holy faith, and think to strengthen their erroneous opinions. They find themselves in an anomalous position, by confessing their sinfulness, and as having broken the law of God, yet at the same time they assert they fulfil the law, by keeping strictly the commandments of man-another illustration of the truthfulness of

the Scripture, wherein it is written, by Isaiah xxix., 13:-" Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear towards me is taught by the precept of men: therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid."

Considering the short time of the establishment of this station, the poor ignorant and very deluded people received much instruction upon the great import of the true meaning of the Scriptures. By another month's time I hope to open the school; in the meantime I have prepared every needful thing.

VI.
LEGHORN.

case of

DR. PHILIP, labouring in the midst of an excited population, writes :Though my time of late has been fully occupied in the work of the Lord, by daily and frequent intercourse with the Jews, yet for some time no peculiar interest has come under my notice. Many an opportunity I have had of late to preach Christ and Him crucified, both to Jews and Gentiles. My great object is to fix their attention on Him whose day even Abraham saw afar off and rejoiced in it, and to win their precious souls for Him. Indeed, I cannot complain of their reluctancy to converse on religion, but at present the mind of Italy, whether Jew or Gentile, is grasped and held firm by the war spirit, and the wonderful events which lie before us, coiled up, as it were, in a labyrinth of political difficulties. However, even at such times we may be sure our labours will not be in vain. And whilst bringing our efforts to bear principally on the Jews, we must not forget the Gentile souls within our range. I have paid a little attention of late to the soldiers and recruits, and distributed among them a good number of gospels, epistles, and tracts. They all received them very gratefully, and at the same time a few words spoken to them all, the written and the spoken word, may be a great comfort, and perhaps the only one, and only hope, to many a dying man on the field of battle. I have met hitherto seventeen Jewish soldiers, independent of a number in the National Guard. If Israel, in the days when they shall need it, shall have an army of such men as these Italian Jewish soldiers, then there will be no doubt that they will be able to drive the nation in their own land before them, the same as in the days of Joshua. From this you will observe that our work here for the present is a general work. I have also been from home for several Sundays, preaching to small English communities in bathing places. I fully intended to go further from home, on a visit to different towns, but I thought better to wait for more decided news respecting the war, to see if we shall have peace, or a war which probably will involve the whole of Europe. There has been comparative quietness for a few days, though the proposed armistice has not been accepted. The Italians are in good spirit; they have determined not to yield, and I believe they will not accept any conditions, except Venice without any stipulation whatever. And even if that will be yielded to them, or conquered by them, no one knows as yet the end on account of their alliance with Prussia, both defensive and offensive. But there

is no doubt that Venice will come to Italy, and with it a large field will be opened for mission operations, both among Jews and Gentiles; hitherto the Word of God has been prohibited there, the same as in the rest of the Austrian dominions. D.V. I intend to visit the Jews there with a good supply of scripture and tracts, as soon as the way shall be opened for the messengers of the Gospel light, among the multitudes that have been kept in darkness so long. At Venice there is a large community of Jews, and a considerable number in the cities of Mantua, Padua, Verona, Peschiera, and other places in the Venetian territory. But even should the war continue, I shall soon visit several places in the immediate neighbourhood of the seat of war, to spread Divine truth and be useful to the wounded. Thanks to God we are quiet here, with the exception of the frequent demonstration of joy on the slightest favourable notice by telegraph, and the rise in the prices of provisions, as is usually the case in time of war. These are troublesome times, but surely the hand of the Lord is in all this, to bring to pass such events as no human eye can foresee, or mind imagine. 1866 and 1867 have been pointed out by so many divines, as the epoch for great changes in the Church, in which no doubt Israel will have a principal 'share. The time must, and no doubt will come soon, when the house of Israel shall turn to seek the Lord their God, and David their king.

VII.
PARIS.

Ir will be seen, from the following communication, from the Rev. J. BRUNNER, that temporal difficulties frequently stand in the way of the successful progress of the Missionary's work :

In the midst of the present rage of peoples, and the rumours of war and other calamities which awaken serious thoughts in the Christian, a spirit of earnest inquiry seems to be roused among the Jews. Wherever I call amongst them, I

am

anxiously asked what are the mind and purport of scripture with regard to the present movement in the world, and what its ultimate results. My reply, in turn, is that the universal commotion will not cease, and that permanent peace will not be established, until Jesus of Nazareth be enthroned within our hearts, and until every knee bow and every tongue confess Christ to be the Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

I was, the other day, surprised by the visit of an old inquirer of mine, whom I lost sight of for the last two years. He accepted then the post of shochet and chasan in a small community in Elsace. The New Testament and tracts which I had given him were, since that time, his companions and counsellors, but they were likewise his continual reproach. He could not support his false position any longer, and came back to Paris to seek here some independent occupation, in order to follow the dictates of his conscience. I feel great interest in him, and trust the Lord will open a way before him.

These temporal difficulties are daily creating obstacles in my work, and I am often obliged to stop short in the midst of its progress, by reason of temporal considerations. Thus, for instance, I made, a few weeks ago, the acquaintance of an

interesting Jew, who had been during several years employed in a very respectable commercial house at Marseilles, and, for the last two years had been employed here as teacher in some schools. He seemed well acquainted with Christianity, and, as he said, had long since inquired after the truth, and had studied the Word of God. He wished me to have him baptised, and to obtain for him some employ. ment.

Review.

Paul, a Witness for Christianity for Jews and Gentiles: A Sermon, preached for the British Society for the Propagation of the Gospel among the Jews. By the Rev. J. W. BOULDING, of Tottenham Court Road Chapel. London: John Snow & Co.

WE have read this Sermon, as we listened to it, with deep and grateful interest. It presents, in a very forcible manner, the instance of Saul's conversion to Christ as exhibiting the power of the Truth on the heart of a Jew, and forming an urgent encouragement to all who seek the spiritual welfare of the Jewish race. The striking change in the prayers of Paul, as well as in the object of his zeal, and the permanence of this change, are set forth and illustrated with a natural eloquence and fervour that cannot fail to command the reader's sympathy, and to secure the conviction which the preacher aims to establish-namely, that if the Truth, applied by the Holy Spirit, could conquer such an opponent as Saul, and transform him into such a devoted disciple as he became, then there is no kind of obduracy or blindness of which we ought to despair.

The application of this truly unanswerable argument is thus conducted :

'Brethren, it is this Gospel to which this Society seeks to convert the Jews to-day. They are blind to it, so was Saul; they are mad against it, so was Saul. None more blind, none more mad; but it converted him, and it can convert them. You tell me of their unbelief, of their prejudice, of their hatred; but against all these I set the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, and I say that nothing is impossible to it after that. No Jew more proud of his ancestry, none more zealous for his creed, and none more learned and acute than he; and the Gospel which convinced his mighty intellect and subdued his stubborn heart, is able to repeat the triumph over every proud and hardened Jew. And it will do it. This same Apostle has told us that it will. Every tongue shall confess, that he is Lord.' It is only a question of time, and He can afford to wait for His grand coronation by the hands that crucified Him, for one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.' Nothing was dearer to the Apostle's heart than this prospect of their final submission to their King, and his soul never swelled with mightier joy than when he said, 'God hath not cast away His people whom He foreknew;' 'Blindness in part hath happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in ;' 'Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God.' Though he magnified his office as the Apostle of the Gentiles, yet, it was only that he might provoke to emulation them which were his flesh.

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Never did he forget his dear, dear people; when he thought of their blindness he could only burst into that passionate wail of Christian patriotism-' I could wish myself accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh;' and if to-night he could speak from his seat in glory, doubtless the old anguish of his heart would again break forth: 'My heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they may be saved.' Brethren, what was worthy of an Apostle's tears and prayers and ambition is surely worthy of ours. The word of salvation came by him to you, and we only ask that you acknowledge the obligation and return the boon. To that duty you are summoned by the privileges which you hold, for through their unbelief you have obtained mercy, that, through your mercy, they may obtain mercy,' and that the light which shone from the hills of Zion may be reflected back from Gentile hearts and homes. Nor think it your duty only, but your highest privilege; for is it not a privilege for the stranger to lead back the child to his own inheritance—for the foreigner to restore the citizen to his own rights-for the uncircumcised to guide the circumcised to the true circumcision-for those who were without law to expound the law to its first recipients—for those who were strangers and aliens to the commonwealth of Israel to bring them into the better sanctuary and the better covenant, which is established upon better promises? And in the day when the eldest born shall be re-instated in the father's house and re-instated with his ancient dignity—when the last dregs of Divine malediction shall have spent their fury, and the last traces of human intolerance shall have been obliterated from the world, and the father shall embrace his elder child once more, amidst the congratulations of the whole family in heaven and in earth,-not the least among the honours of the younger son will be that of having led the first-born back to his long-lost heritage, and restored the glory of the imperishable name of Jew."

NOTICES.

LEAFLETS for general circulation, consisting of several sorts, can be had direct from the office of the Society, or of Messrs. Snow & Co., 2, Ivy Lane, Paternoster Row, in packets, 3d. each.

A Meeting for Special Prayer and Conference on behalf of the Jews will be held at the Society's Office, 96, Great Russell Street, on Wednesday evening, August 15, commencing at Seven o'clock. Friends are earnestly invited.

Remittances are respectfully solicited, addressed to GEORGE YONGE, 96, Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury-square; if by post-office order, to be made payable at High Holborn. The Committee will be thankful to have all payments addressed to GEORGE YONGE, who will immediately forward receipts.