Might it not tend greatly to edification were any botanical illustrations that are used in sermons to be thus uniformly truthful? The question of the suitability of such illustrations is set at rest by the example of the inspired writers, and that of the Lord Jesus himself. D. G. Biography. LEILA ADA, A JEWISH CONVERT. THE growing prejudices that exist in many minds against biographical literature, owe much of their origin to the multitude of inferior memoirs with which our booksellers' shops are crowded. It is frequently no easy task to make a wise selection from those commonplace narratives of commonplace lives-lives, well enough, perhaps, in their way, but having too much of an 66 even tenor to furnish materials for a useful volume. The number of memoirs of Jewish converts, especially females, is very limited, and the one which has lately appeared with the above title is perhaps the most interesting to be found in English literature. It cannot have a circulation too wide, or a perusal too attentive. The author, referring to Leila's early years, and her father's retirement to a place in Cornwall, says: Before taking possession of this mansion, A. T—, Esq., had buried the wife of his youth; and on coming to this charming retreat, he, and an only and lovely daughter, named Leila, lived in comparative seclusion from the world. He knew no happiness independent of his child, for all his enjoyment consisted in promoting her interest and gratification. She was, indeed, the very being to excite the most tender lavishment of paternal love. Beauty surrounded her as a mantle, but her cultivated mind and amiable disposition threw around her an influence superior to any of the short-lived fascinations of the body. In her conduct and manner there was a freshness of innocence, and a winning abandonment, which could not fail to arrest the interest of every beholder. She was highly accomplished, and could read and write several languages with fluency. The idol of her fond father, he loved her tenderly; a feeling which she as tenderly reciprocated. Being of the seed of Abraham, he had educated her in the strictest principles of the Jewish ritual, and felt the most intense satisfaction in witness Published by Partridge and Oakey. ing her early seriousness and devotion. To her religion he thought her an ornament. But although she had never read a word of the Gospel, and although the absurdities of the Talmud had formed the basis of her religious education, yet she soon found that to a soul bound for eternity it was a serious thing to live, and that those who have to do with the "Searcher of hearts must ponder well "the paths of their feet." When seventeen years of age, she formed a series of resolutions for the regulation of her conduct, and, as her biographer truly says, "the mind which could make, and act upon them, must have had in it all the elements of greatness and efficiency: it must have possessed a character deservedly esteemed and revered." We earnestly entreat our young readers seriously to ponder the following selections from these rules, and to remember how many and great their privileges are, compared with what Leila's were when she wrote them. For the regulation of my life, and balancing my conduct, I resolve 1. That the salvation of my soul shall be my first and great concern. 2. That I will never be ashamed of my religion, but will always avow it when and where it shall seem proper to do so. 3. That I will always carefully speak the truth; never indulge in the very least equivocation, but always be both verbally and substantially correct; and to this end I will carefully watch the meaning of all I utter. 4. That I will always be ready to confess a fault, or ask forgiveness for it, no matter what the character or position of the person against whom I have offended. 5. That I will do nothing to another which I should object to their doing to me. That I will never do anything which, if I saw it committed by another, would cause him or her to fall in my esteem. 13. That upon all occasions I will discountenance improper levity and conversation, in whatever company I may be. 14. That I will carefully guard my temper, and never show the least symptom of impatient emotion, not even by an altered tone of voice, or expression of countenance. That I will do this, even if from physical causes I feel fretful and uneasy: no one else should suffer on this account. 15. That I will never speak sharply or crossly to our servants; on the contrary, I will be gentle and affectionate, which will gain all my desires the sooner. * * * * * 21. That I will love my dear father with all my might, and do everything I can to promote his temporal and spiritual happiness. Surely the heart that breathed such resolves and desires as these was not very far from the kingdom of God! Were they more generally acted upon by those who profess to be the liege subjects of that kingdom, the Saviour would not be so often wounded in the house of his friends. When in her eighteenth year, in company with her father, she visited the Holy Land. Her account of the countries through which she journeyed, their scenery and historical associations, are depicted in her journal with a beauty and affectionate tenderness which only a mind highly gifted could have done, and by one belonging to the seed of Abraham, who felt she was viewing her fathers' sepulchres. On these, however, we cannot now enter, further than transcribing the following pathetic lines, in which she beautifully expresses her feelings, when leaving the shores of England: "One look, one parting look, and now thy shores, Thy happy shores are vanished, Albion ; Adieu! Adieu! What can my grief be? Have I not hope, and joy, and happiness? Is not the world before me, and my home? Have I not with me all I have to love? What can my grief be? Why am I so sad? Why measures thus mine eye each saucy wave, Which coursing drives me onward? Most sacred of the earth: the Mecca's To which my holiest memory ever kneels- I distance count, henceforward and for Before Leila left Cornwall a new era had began to dawn in her spiritual history. God was leading her in a way that she knew not, and without the help of man. Her spirit was weighed down under a deep sense of God's goodness, and her own guilt; she longed to get near him, to enjoy a sense of his favour, crying, "Oh that I knew where I might find him; that I might come even to his seat." The Lord heard these cries, and answered them in his own way. "I have also determined," she writes, "to read the book which the Christians call the New Testament. They profess that prophecies in the Old Testament are clearly fulfilled in the New. I intend to see what ground they take. It is true I have heard much, and read much of the awful character of that work. I am told that a fearful curse rests upon the reading of it. I cannot think this to be true, where it is intended to increase a knowledge of the difference between the Jew and the Christian. Besides, shall I not be a better Jew for reading it? Will it not assist to imbue my mind with the proofs of the dreadful mistakes which the Chris tians commit? I cannot doubt that I am right." The results of these investigations will be seen from the following extracts from her diary, written after her return from the Holy Land: --- "Oh, that I could express half that I feel of love to that gracious Being who has kept me hitherto, and led me from my deep darkness into spiritual light. I have not yet the evidence that He has pardoned my "I am convinced by the experience of every day that I am utterly dependent upon thee for all the power through which I can persevere. Oh, continue to help me! Give me thy present assistance. Without this aid from thee, I sink-I die! Enable me to rigorously fulfil all the means Thou hast prescribed for the salvation of my soul; and, oh, do thou bestow the blessings which thou hast promised shall attend their use. "Father, forgive my manifold sins and offences against thee! my rest is on thy mercy, through the atonement of my Lord Jesus Christ. Make me a temple for thyself. Be near me in the hour of temptation. Oh, be with me in the future: thou knowest what is before me to endure, but do thou only make the season of worldly trials a time for communications of thyself, and I will cheerfully embrace whatever thou shalt appoint. Lord, hear and answer my petition; increase my faith and my humility, and make me wholly thine, through the merits of my Saviour. Amen." And it was not long after this ere she was enabled to rejoice in the God of her salvation; her heart was filled with joy and gladness, and her mouth with praise. This delightful change took place while receiving the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, after having been dedicated to God in baptism. In her Diary she thus refers to it "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and never forget this day's benefits! I have sealed the covenant-have enlisted under the banners of the cross, by receiving the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supperbut, let me write while my eyes overflow with tears of joy-my gracious Redeemer has manifested his presence to my soul, has filled me with joy and peace in believing. That blood which the Jews have imprecated upon themselves and their children, has been showered upon me in the most abundant and unspeakable mercies; I am happy beyond expression; I do, indeed, rejoice with a joy that is unspeakable and full of glory. I feel on the very verge of heaven; I have experienced a glorious elevation of soul-Christ is mine, and I am his. Unspeakably happy conviction! Come unto me all ye that fear God, and I will tell you what he hath done for my soul! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and never forget this day's benefits. "It is a solemn season, a day to be held in everlasting remembrance. When the cup was held to me, and the solemn words were pronounced "The blood of Jesus Christ, which was shed for thee, preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting life! Drink this in remembrance that Christ's blood was shed for thee, and be thankful,'I felt that my God was reconciled through my Saviour's death, and I was enabled to feed upon Christ in my heart through faith, and with thanksgiving. "Oh, my Jesus, help me now to persevere! There are heights and depths in religion which I long to experience: my soul is on fire with the Divine love. Help me to tell to all what a gracious, what a mighty Saviour thou art. May no motives of personal comfort induce me to swerve from the character of an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile. Oh, that thou wouldest give me thine assistance, and direct me by thy Holy Spirit, while Í make it known to my dear father! Do, oh my Saviour, hear my prayer for this, and to thee I will give all the glory, now and through endless ages. Amen. "And now, I beseech thee, be thou my helper. Choose thou for me my future portion; be my inheritance, calm my agitated spirit; have I not committed the event to thee? "Oh, be with me on the morrow, when I shall be questioned respecting the hope that is in me; do thou be very present with me, and enable me to speak as becomes a temple of the living God. May I be saved from bringing any disgrace or disrepute on the religion of Jesusthat Divine cause which now possesses my heart. May my feet be firmly fixed upon the rock Christ Jesus! and then, whatever shall occur, whether I live or die, I shall be happy-for I shall be the Lord's. "It is with gratitude I record that my soul is impressed with a sense of the Divine presence and love. I can rejoice in the blessed conviction that my Beloved is mine and I am his! I have a present salvation. Blissful hopes-animating prospects are before me. Whatever results happen to me temporally, may my soul but enjoy the presence of God, and all will be well. Oh, my Father, bap tize me largely, and still more largely have ever read. Referring first of all to her father's affection for her, and to hers for him, and thence to the reasons they both had to rejoice at the Lord's goodness and mercy to her, she then proceeds to expound the law and the prophets, exposes the absurdities of the Mishna, the Gemara, and the Talmud; threading her way through these traditionary labyrinths till she reaches the Cross, as it exhibits God manifest in the flesh, to Him she applies all the chief promises, and thus from the Word of God proves that Jesus is the Christ. She then pours out such a flood of earnest beseechings, and unbounded affection, as has seldom been witnessed by a father's eve, or traced by a daughter's pen. This letter was laid on his dressing-table in the evening. The whole night was spent by Leila in agonising prayer. Our space will not permit us to record the next morning's interview; the father's love for his daughter was intense, and his grief for what he deemed her infatuation was inconsolable. For a week she was banished from his presence, but she was the same firm believer in Jesus of Nazareth as before. All other means failed in like manner. At last he determined to send her to his brother, a Jew, stern and uncompromising in the faith of his fathers. says, It has already been stated that, after being baptized, she made a public profession of her faith in Christ at his own table; but this was all done, as the reader will have observed, unknown to her father. On her return to England, one of her first objects was "to find a company of simple, earnest Christians," and this she found at a chapel in a small village about three miles from her father's residence, the nearest place of Christian worship. Being aware that her attendance there would call down her father's severe displeasure, her visits for a time were solely by night; and when there, she sat closely veiled. The way to the chapel was through a long, dreary, and solitary lane; but, at all hours, when it was possible for her to be present at the services, Leila might be found unattended, wending her way among the gloomy trees. Her natural timidity was painful, and her dread of walking alone at night, unconquerable, until now that an earnest desire for the salvation of her soul made her superior to any bodily fear. In her own pleasing way she "I was dreadfully frightened during my first essays in the dark: I usually ran the very utmost of the distance that I could, my agitation and terror of mind being, during the whole time, indescribable. Hurrying in this manner, the whole distance from our house to the chapel was frequently done in a few minutes over half an hour; but, by prayer, all my terror was removed, and although I continued to be just as fearful of going anywhere else, yet I could always go to and return from my dear chapel without the slightest perturbation of mind, feeling quite sure that my Father would give me his protection." Her own soul was now at rest, but her anxiety for her father amounted to agony. She distinctly saw the dangers attending her own condition, and the sufferings that probably awaited him when the whole facts were revealed. But the living flame which now burned in her bosom could neither be quenched nor concealed. She therefore resolved to disburden her heart in a letter to her father, which forms one of the most remarkable and interesting documents we At the house of her uncle she was first treated with a cool reserve, and occasionally with kindness, but as every means for her reclamation proved unavailing, she was at last exposed to the most wanton cruelty and persecution. Of her sufferings at this time she thus speaks: If my father knew the intense cruelty of my position, he surely would not leave me here; it is trying me almost beyond my powers of endurance. My spirits sometimes sink very low. Lord, save me! Many of those who come near me hold in their clothes lest I should touch them, and as they pass me avert their faces, their lips curling with a most offensive expression of scorn. I am not permitted to have my meals with my uncle and aunt, nor any of their family. All of them but one, and even the servants, insult me. Last evening, I entered a room in which two of the servants were working. "Eudice," said one, "let's turn our coats, and go and pray to the Carpenter's Son to come down and save us. 66 "Oh! don't talk to me. I hate him, and everybody as likes him; and I shouldn't think he very well likes a hypocritical apostate." "Oh, yes, he does; both he and his people are very fond of proselytes. They'll promise them anything; and, as to heaven, they'll warrant them getting in there if they have to carry them in in a basket." Well, say what they will, they shall never point at me as a turncoat Jew; I would rather be a dog." Here followed a torrent of vulgar abuse and blasphemy which I could not write. O my Saviour, forgive them! I would pray with Stephen, "Lord Jesus, lay not this sin to their charge." Arrangements were at last made for Leila to be brought before the Rabbis. In a room in her uncle's house, with the doors fastened, she met two of them, with several elders and other Jews, eight in all, and through a lengthened disquisition of seven hours, modestly but firmly maintained her position. How delightful it is to contemplate this youthful Christian (for she was now but in her twentieth year), reasoning with these eight of her nation through so many hours; all of them, too, well skilled in Jewish learning. There she sat calm and composed-no friend but God and her Bible, no help but her memory-attempting to prove and disprove, as far as they gave her the opportunity. At last the fires of their ill-concealed rage burst forth; one Rabbi rose and struck her upon the cheek; an elder spat in her face; another pronounced over her a host of fearful curses, which, among other things, debarred her from her father's house and all her relatives. She was told that in three days she must go from her uncle's house, and was then ordered to leave the room. From this scene of suffering for the sake of Christ, she went to reside with a Christian family about two miles from her father's house, scarcely expecting he would consent to receive her again. From thence she wrote to him, relating, in some measure, the details of her sufferings, and anxiously pleading to be restored to his home and affections. She speedily received a most affectionate reply, urging her immediate return, and expressing strong indignation at the conduct of the Rabbis. "I am indignant,' says he, "at your treatment. What is the meaning of it? I never surmised it. I am sorry that it should be my act to place you in such a position. But I shall see my brother, and those who dared to strike you, and behave to you so disgustingly; it will not be easily passed over. I will show that my precious child, if she choose to be a Christian, shall not be insulted; or if it be so, that her father will avenge the insults. Their fulsome and offensive anathemas-let them curse, I am not now careful. But come home directly, Leila." Scarcely had she recovered from the exciting effects of this epistle, when a carriage, with her father in it, appeared at the door. He had followed the bearer of the letter. That moment, to Leila, may be conceived, not described. Now she is reinstated in her sweet home-her father kinder than everall her books returned to her, and permission to attend her chapel cheerfully accorded. To her, these were blessed days, but they were fast drawing to a close. The sufferings she formerly endured were too much for her gentle spirit. On leaving her uncle's she bore evident marks of impaired health, and it now assumed the character of decline. Speedily she faded away, growing more beautiful in countenance, and lovely in spirit as she drew nearer the portals of her Heavenly Father's house. The following extracts are from the journal of a young lady, an attached Gentile friend of Leila's, who was with her during her short illness, and has now joined her glorified spirit in the realms of bliss :— The closing scene drew on apace; for, it was evident to all that she must soon die; indeed, she knew it herself; and, therefore, she began to give final directions respecting three days before her death. After sending the disposal of certain matters. This was some substantial mementoes of her love and regard to those families on her visiting list, she turned her attention to her family and personal friends. Having expressed most of her desires concerning these, she requested her. that her writing-desk might be placed near It was done. Unlocking it, she took from it a number of elegant Bibles. "Precious books!" she exclaimed, as she clasped them to her throbbing bosom, "O, precious books! would I had read you more!" Presenting one to her maternal aunt, who was present, she said, "Do accept this token of my love for you, and this letter, which some time ago I wrote for you; and, as you read it, may the Spirit of God lead your heart to those blissful fountains of repose which have made me so happy. You believe, my dear aunt, that I am quite happy-that I have no fear of death--that I am going to heaven. Do you not?" "I cannot doubt it." "Well, then, it is all through the merits of my Lord Jesus Christ. His death atoned for my sins, and the sins of all our people, and all the world. I shall soon be with him for ever. Then, my dear aunt, will you promise |