number, will remain in charge of the mission at Gibraltar, occasionally visiting Tangiers, Tetuan, Oran, &c.

TUNIS.

Mr. Ben Oliel was directed to visit this city, in order to ascertain the state of things among the Jews, who here, as elsewhere on the coast of northern Africa, are found in great numbers. From his journal we give the following extracts concerning his brethren.

"The Jews of Tunis are said to amount to 30,000 in number. They are divided into two classes-Tunisian or African, and Leghornese, Jews. The latter cannot be above 3000, and have a separate synagogue of their own, whose services differ somewhat from those of the rest. They are Italian Jews, but dress like the native Jews, with this difference only, that they wear a white cap instead of a black one, as the natives. They are not considered by the native Jews as very religious: they are rather liberal, or less Talmudical and superstitious than their African brethren. Consequently the former reproach them as irreligious, whilst the latter, in their turn, accuse the former of being too superstitious and ignorant. Hence, enmity and hatred are thus excited and maintained toward each other. The missionary will find the Leghornese Jews more willing to listen to him, and likely to consider his addresses. Some of them are, indeed, too liberal with their Judaism, or, as the Tunisian Jew would say, half Christians. I was visited by several individuals of this class, who listened attentively to my message, and accepted tracts.

"The others, or Tunisian Jews, are all the reverse. Ignorance and superstition exercise an undisputed ascendancy over their intellects. Among them the missionary will have hard work, indeed, to perform. They are decided enemies of Christ and Christianity; and entertain such views of our holy faith as to regard it as idolatrous. This is the natural result of what they observe in the Catholic and Greek churches there, and of what they know of their tenets, and not less of the practices and character of their followers.

"They have a Beth-din-'a tribunal'-composed of three Rabbis (the chief of whom is Rabbi Joshua Babsis, a man considered as the most learned Talmudist in North Africa). He is said to be a Cabbalist as well, that is, that he holds secret intercourse with invisible spirits, and is able to perform great wonders. It is believed by the deluded Jews in Tunis that were he to curse a man, it would be followed by instant death. Consequently the veneration and respect paid to him amounts almost to worship; though there are not wanting some 'impudent fellows,' especially amongst the European or Italian Jews, who dare oppose him, and speak to his face. Besides these I was told by Jews there are above five hundred Rabbis.

"They have many synagogues, I could not exactly learn how many; some told me about fifty; but these are chiefly miserable little rooms. There are, however, some half a dozen spacious synagogues, the principal of which I visited several times, and disputed on religion with the 'ten idlers-ten, generally, old Rabbis, who are kept there reading the Talmud, for which they are paid so much per week. They have, as well, many yshiboth, or studies, where the Rabbis spend their days

and nights in useless discussions and controversies on the Talmud and the writings of the modern Rabbis. Those places are used as synagogues. I visited some of them, and was respectfully received. But no sooner did they hear me speak in Arabic or Hebrew than all became anxious to know whether I was a Jew; from what country I came; when I arrived; from whence; what had I come to do there; whether I was a merchant; and a hundred such questions. I visited also some of the schools. These are kept in the small synagogues. In some of them I saw children in a state of nudity almost, seated on the ground, chanting the Pentateuch with vociferous voices.

"Though the numbers of Chachamim, or learned men, is computed by hundreds, there may not be, after all, fifty really learned Jews in the place. I saw and conversed with several of them, and know what sort of men they are.

"One fifth of the Jewish population of Tunis consists of extremely poor persons, who live on the charity of their co-religionists. There are, however, many rich men among them. Khaid Yuseph is their chief, appointed by the Bey. His functions are to receive and execute the decrees of the Bey regarding the Jews; see that the taxes and other impositions of the Government are duly paid; and he has also power to decide minor differences among his brethren. He was, I heard, a bitter enemy of Mr. D.

"The Jews at present enjoy greater liberty, and are better treated by the governing Bey, than they were under any of his predecessors. Many of them enjoy his confidence, and are entrusted by the Tunisian Government with various departments of its administration, such as in the duanes, to collect the revenue, &c. The medical man of the Bey is a Jew, and he uses all the influence which his position gives him in favour of his brethren. There is not so much injustice done to the Jews, nor are they so much oppressed, as their brethren are in the interior of the empire of Morocco. They are allowed the free exercise of their religion, and are protected in it. The decisions of the chief and chief Rabbi are enforced and executed, exempting only those who are in favour with the authorities, in the service of the Bey, or employed by the representatives of foreign powers."

TANGIERS.

In this place there are many obstacles in the way of the missionary, both in his preaching the truth, and in his hearers' avowing it before men. Mr. Lowitz thus writes::

B

"I doubt not but the truth of the Gospel has found its way into the hearts of a few. There is, for instance, Senor L., a very intelligent Jew, who is now reading the New Testament for a second time, very carefully, and with far less objections than he felt the first time; and his wife has been induced to read the Pilgrim's Progress,' in the Spanish tongue, wherein she appears to be much interested. Also and several others, who readily admit the truth of the Gospel statement, but who, alas! are incapable of shaking themselves off from the thraldom of Judaism, for fear of the Jewish community, with whom they are closely bound up, and more so from fear of the Moorish Government, that forbids any Jew or Mahommedan to forsake his respective faith, and embrace the Christian religion, on pain of death. I was told that a Jewish servant girl, in the house of the

Portuguese consul, wished to be baptized as a Christian, in the Catholic chapel, the only Christian public place of worship here; but the priest was not allowed to administer this rite to her, on the ground that proselytism is strictly forbidden in Barbary; and not very unfrequently do Jews pass over from this country to Spain, to confess Christ publicly and unmolested. It is very grievous and humiliating to see how the truth is little thought of and disdained, by the generality of the people of this country, whilst on the other hand error and superstition are eagerly pursued and practised. I have been in the habit of going every evening into the Jewish Bazaar, to expound and argue on Messianic prophecies, but as soon as I referred them to Jesus many were offended, and suborned some rude Jewish boys to disturb and insult me, so that I was obliged to retire from that public place, and induced to form the acquaintance of private families, whom I visit from time to time, and quietly communicate to them the truth, in the most friendly

manner.

-'s

"Several young Jews call on me very often to converse on religious topics, and are desirous of learning the English language, but cannot make up their minds to read the New Testament, as the means of instruction. One of them, however, more sensible and less bigoted than the rest, comes to my lodging every night, to read some extracts from the Old and New Testament Scriptures, and attentively listens to the remarks I offer on them. He is also reading the Pilgrim's Progress. May the Holy Spirit teach him things eternal, and lead him to Christ the Lord. I continue as usually visiting Mr. Bfamily. His father, I have reason to hope, is a secret disciple of Christ, and is only prevented from publicly confessing Him for the reasons named above. I doubt not that were he with his family in any other place than Barbary, he would boldly declare himself on the Lord's side, by public baptism. In the meanwhile I endeavour to unfold to him the doctrines of Christianity, and sometimes if there are any Jews present, who oppose me, he will zealously defend the truth. "I have of late put in circulation a good number of Spanish tracts, of Mr. Ben Oliel's translation; also several Hebrew and Judæo-Spanish New Testaments. I have also lent three Hebrew Old Paths,' to different persons for their perusal, and the effect they produced upon the readers was so far agreeable that they, instead of being returned to me, were again lent to others. Two of the readers told me that they were highly interested in the work, and fully agreed with the author, as to the non-inspiration of the Talmud. The third, though being of the same opinion with the others, objected to the author's inconsistency, as he called it, 'for,' said he, 'in the outset of the book the author only professes to prove the fallacy of the Talmud, but he is not content with that, he tries to prove the truth and inspiration of the New Testament.' I, however, soon showed him his mistaken view of the author, and he then began to admire his knowledge of Jewish literature, and had some difficulty in believing that a Christian wrote it. "I cannot help naming an interesting conversation that took place in his house (Sig. A. B- -) on a Saturday afternoon, as I was arguing with him on Christianity. Three Jewish Rabbis from the Holy Land, who are collecting money for the poor dwelling there, came in, and one of them, apparently the chief, joined in the conversation. Among other things he said, 'This story of the crucified One we hear wherever we go, and it cannot be true, because we still are in captivity. The Lord have mercy upon us, and deliver us speedily.' On hearing

these expressions, which he uttered in a rather solemn tone, and in the Hebrew tongue, I begged leave to ask him a simple question, namely, Why we were in this present protracted captivity, which might properly be called the perpetual wrath of God, because it seems to have no end? Eighteen centuries have now elapsed since we were led captive by Titus. We know that when our fathers worshipped idols, slew the prophets, and forsook God's law, they were only punished with seventy years' captivity in Babylon, and at the termination of that time, returned to their own land, having suffered double for all their sins, according to the Scriptures. What is the cause of our present captivity,' I asked, 'and its long duration, which is not specified by the prophets, as the former one has been? One of them, apparently the most learned among them, replied in the following words: We do admit that the present captivity is long and painful, and we can only account for it on the ground of our multiplied sins, and apostacies,' (meaning Jewish converts to Christianity,) and as long as we are not thoroughly purified from our sins, we must not expect to be delivered and restored to our land.' I then showed him his great mistake in believing that his nation is now undergoing a process of purification, unless he meant that those, whom he called apostates, are being purified by faith in Jesus Christ. As for all the rest of the Jews, they are getting worse every year and generation. This gave occasion to refer to the 53rd chapter of Isaiah; from thence I proved that they are to be in their sins at the appearance of the Messiah; that their deliverance depends on the conviction of their sinfulness; and that unless they will apply to that fountain, which was opened for sin and for uncleanness, spoken of by the prophet Zechariah, symbolizing the Lord Jesus Christ, they will surely die in their sins. The argument on both sides continued till the evening prayer, and the result of it was, that one of these Rabbis followed me to my lodging, wishing to know where I lived, in order to call on me often, which he has done twice. If I am not much mistaken, he leans favourably to Christianity. May the Lord enlighten his understanding, and bring him to a saving knowledge of our Redeemer!"

BRESLAU.

We have received a very interesting journal from Mr. Schwartz, who writing from Breslau to the resident secretary, says:

"Fourteen years have now rolled by since I visited this place and its neighbourhood; and O, how mighty have been the changes which have since taken place! When I then visited this town I thought as a child,'-not indeed as a child of God, for then I was ignorant of the way of salvation, and did not know the Lord. With what different feelings do I now contemplate the scene before me!

"The change which has since taken place amongst the Jewish popu. lation here is strikingly marked, and plainly visible. In this instance I am happy to remark evidently a change, thanks be to God, for the better. The Lord in His good providence is gradually preparing the hearts of His ancient Israel for the reception of the truth as it is in Jesus. Prejudice, with its appendant evils, is fast dying away; and it needs only the exertion of all the faithful followers of Christ, and the co-operation of the Spirit of God, to produce the desired effect. There are in this town, it is calculated, about ten thousand Jews. They have,

if I mistake not, fourteen schools, well conducted; three synagogues, and some buildings for charitable purposes, which do them honour, and at the same time adorn the city. Many, however, of the Jewish youths attend Christian schools, such as they are, and not a few also the uni versity of this town, and study the different branches of the sciences of the day. As regards my immediate message, I have not been here left, short as my stay has been, without some encouragement. I have already made many acquaintances of very respectable Jews, which, I trust, will be lasting; amongst whom is a teacher, a very amiable man, who visits me often, and takes great interest in my message. During our last interview we contemplated together the faithfulness of Jehovah towards His fallen people, in having preserved them amidst so many dangers and calamities, and I shewed him, from the numerous illustrations of prophecy, that mercy was still in store for the house of Jacob, if they were but to look to Jesus, whom they have pierced, and mourn their sins. I begged him to search the Word of God, and to see whether there was not a reality, a life-giving power, in true Christianity, which he would in vain look for amid the departing shadows of Judaism, or in mere formal religion; and then, in conclusion, pictured to him the dismal prospect of appearing before the tribunal of the Judge of all flesh unreconciled, and polluted with sins; at which he was so affected, that he could not restrain himself from shedding tears, and said with deep emotion, 'It is true, it is true. I took advantage of that propitious moment, and asked him to bend his knee with me in prayer to the God of our fathers, to which he agreed; and, when parting, shook my hand warmly, and promised to visit me as often as his engagements will permit. The Lord grant that he may soon be brought to the knowledge of Him whom to know is life eternal!

"I have also had very interesting conversations with many Polish Jews, who come hither for traffic. At one time I had as many as fourteen around me; all eagerly taking a part in the discussion of the subject, and very attentively listening when I unfolded to them the plan of salvation, and the real and vital nature of Christianity. Many of them were struck with the simplicity and purity of the doctrines of the Gospel, and asked me to explain why my preaching was so different from what they were accustomed to hear and see around them. I referred them to the New Testament and to the Word of God in general, and shewed them that this alone ought to be our guide, apart from all corruptions and false teachings of men. Of the importance of diffusing true religion among these individuals, I cannot speak in sufficiently strong terms; since these men are, generally speaking, from different localities; and thus, when the truth is once deposited in their hearts, they will carry it home to their families and neighbours: among whom it will operate like leaven, in preparing hearts for the still further reception of the truth as it is in Jesus. During this summer I expect there will be a great many of them here. There is, in the first place, the annual wool-fair, and then the exhibition of industry for this province, which will doubtless attract a good number. A remarkable increase in Jewish conversions is noticed in the church statistics for 1851, which gives the number to be twenty-six in this province alone, with a remark, at the same time, on the continued increase of Jewish baptisms. In the mean time, the Jesuits are not idle. There are no less than fourteen appointed for this province, among whom are two brothers of noble birth, of the name of Kilkowström, natives of Sweden, who have renounced Protest