Father has used the Jewish Mission as a means to bring about this state of things."

In fact, we may say that outward circumstances alone prevent many from professing Christ. Numbers are, as it were, prepared, only waiting for the outpouring of God's blessed Spirit, to cause the seed sown to germinate and grow.

CHAPTER XXXIX.

Gothenburg-Mr. Moritz's earlier labours-Final settlement at Gothenburg— Missionary Journeys-First-fruits-The sisters Moresco-Their conversion and death-Conversion of a Jewess in the Stockholm Hospital-Opening of a new Synagogue, and conduct and sentiments of Christians-Conclusion.

GOTHENBURG has been occupied as a station for many years by Mr. J. C. Moritz, who for very nearly half a century has been labouring actively in the mission field. From 1817 to 1826, he was employed by the Emperor of Russia to preach the Gospel to his brethren of the house of Israel, and we have heard him mention, with respect to that period of his career, that years after his visits to some towns, almost forgotten by himself, proofs that the seed had not all fallen into barren ground were given to him, in the shape of Jews who had travelled hundreds of miles in order to hear a fuller statement of the truth which they had first heard on those occasions.

In 1827, he entered the service of the Society, and directed his steps to Sweden and Denmark, making to those countries a journey of inquiry. His first idea was to work amongst the Jews of Denmark, in which country they are numerous, but his purpose was frustrated through his not being able to obtain the requisite permission from the

then king. He visited, however, Gothenburg, and contemplated the opening of a school there for the poorer Jewish children; but his views were thwarted by some of the richer Jews, who immediately formed a plan amongst themselves for the education of those children, in schools from which all religious instruction was to be excluded. Writing from Gothenburg, Mr. Moritz said, "I have visited and spoken to every Jewish family in this town, and distributed my whole stock of tracts to them, amounting to nearly 300." In a similar manner he proceeded to other towns, testifying to the Jews, from house to house, that Jesus is the Messiah. Although, therefore, his prospects for succeeding in his endeavour to establish himself in his new sphere of labour proved unpromising at the time, those efforts could not have been in vain, by which the Gospel was made known to many hundreds of Jews, and the Word of God distributed among them. Mr. Moritz's connexion with the Jews in the Swedish dominions was again resumed, for a short season, in the year 1833; and his residence was finally fixed at Gothenburg in 1843.

Mr. Moritz arrived at his appointed station in August, and endeavoured to re-open communication with families whom he had previously known in 1827 and 1833, but found them less favourably inclined than at that time; he was, however, encouraged by occasionally meeting with proofs that his labours had in some instances been owned of God.

From the very first, Gothenburg was regarded as being a convenient centre from which other large towns could be visited; accordingly, every year after Mr. Moritz became settled there, we find visits recorded to Hamburg, Copenhagen, and other places where numbers of Jews were to be met with. Thus in November, 1843, he visited Stockholm, and remained there till the following January. The reception he met with from individuals in high stations was very encouraging. He was enabled to deliver public lectures to the Jews on Wednesdays and Saturdays, which were well attended both by Jews and Christians. The attention these lectures excited was so great, that the Jewish preacher thought it necessary repeatedly to warn the Jews against attending them, or having any

intercourse with the missionary, whom he often attacked in violent language. Many copies of the Scriptures and tracts were circulated.

In April following he started for Denmark, remaining at Copenhagen till the middle of May; and although he failed in obtaining the King's permission for public preaching to the Jews, no hindrances were thrown in the way of his quietly pursuing his missionary labours. He afterwards proceeded through the provinces, and visited most of the towns inhabited by Jews. In Jütland, the most northern and the largest province of Denmark, he found the Jewish inhabitants very much scattered through villages and markettowns. Their number amounted to only about 1,050 individuals, as many had recently removed to Copenhagen and Hamburg. After having visited all the towns in the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, where there were considerable Jewish congregations, Mr. Moritz remained some weeks at Altona, and had much intercourse with the Jews in Hamburg, where he was well received by many Israelites, who knew him from the time of his former labours at this place. On his return to Copenhagen, he visited the islands Laaland, Falster, and Moen, the Jews of which possess but one small synagogue in Nakskov, on the first-mentioned island. In that town itself there were but eight Jewish families, but they all gave Mr. M. a friendly reception.

In the following year, 1845, during which Mr. Moritz again visited nearly every town in the Danish dominions containing a Jewish population, he was privileged to see, during his stay in Copenhagen, the first-fruits of his labours in that city gathered into the Lord's garner, in the baptism of a Jewish student, to whom his labours had been blessed. This was something to set against the discouragements which attended his work in Gothenburg itself. Speaking of that place, he said:

"I have had several opportunities for speaking with a number of Jews about the concerns of their souls, and of the salvation that is in Christ; but their hearts seem to be as hard as the granite rocks which surround Gothenburg. It is grievous to see how indifferent these Jews are to all things that make for their peace,-in which they are

strengthened by the loose doctrines preached by their Dr. Heinemann. May the Lord humble their hearts, and make them willing to submit to His truth!"

Amongst the blessed results of Mr. Moritz's labours in Copenhagen, we cannot refrain from giving at some length the following account of two sisters, to whom he was, under God, the happy instrument of bringing home the truth as it is in Jesus. With Betty and Amelia Moresco, Mr. M. first met on the 21st May, 1845, when he called at their father's house, who was a dentist in Copenhagen. Meeting with a favourable reception, he was permitted to explain to the listening family the reasons which prompt Christians to seek the conversion of the seed of Abraham. His words made a deep impression; and on the occasion of a subsequent visit, he discovered that there seemed to be a strong desire on the part of the mother, her two daughters, and one son, to come to the knowledge of Christ, one of the daughters going so far as to say, "I will not be confirmed by Dr. Wolf, (the rabbi,) but I shall join the Christian Church." He was invited to take up his quarters at their house on the occasion of his next visit to Copenhagen, which occurred in the following August; but he then found things different from what he had hoped, at least as regarded Mrs. M., who held very much altered language respecting Christianity. The daughters, however, still remained in the same mind. The seed in their case had evidently fallen into good ground; and, watered by the Spirit, it was to ripen and bring forth precious fruit.

They did not conceal their convictions of the truth, although the father to the last remained hostile to Christianity, and did all in his power to prevent its striking root in the hearts of his children. When he lay on his death-bed, he sent for the rabbi, and lamented to him the fact of his daughters having had their heads turned by the missionary, adding that he was himself totally opposed to their embracing Christianity, and wished for the rabbi's assistance in dissuading them from taking such a step, that he might be enabled to die in peace. The rabbi accordingly spoke to the daughters, and told them not to commit the folly of getting baptized, as Christianity was a false religion, based on a book (the New Testament) which was only compiled by priests

and monks, 300 years after Christ. He added, that as the Christians are very ignorant of the Hebrew language, they had made a translation of the Old Testament, which suited their purposes; but that in his (the rabbi's) translation they would not find any thing of such a Messiah as the Christians described their Christ to be; that there had been no such Messiah promised, and that most Christians, if not deterred by political motives, would at once embrace the Jewish religion, as the only true one; but that it was certain the Christians would ultimately become Jews, as no other nation was so moral, charitable, and God-fearing.

Mr. Moritz happened to be in Copenhagen just at this critical time, and strengthened the sisters much by his counsel and advice; and that the more opportunely, as their surviving parent, formerly favourably inclined towards Christianity, now opposed their profession of it more steadily even than their father had done.

The evidences of real spiritual life became stronger in the sisters as time wore on, and Mr. Moritz had many opportunities for communicating with them. Thus he wrote in June, 1846 :

"With the two Misses Moresco I have again had a long conversation, in which I placed before them the way of life, and the way of death, and then asked them, which of these two ways they decided to choose? They replied: We choose the way of life through Christ, and in this way we will walk.' I then told them to watch and to pray, that they might be enabled to remain faithful, so that nobody might take their crown from them. I also begged them not to put off their baptism too long, if they were really convinced in their hearts that Christ is God manifested in the flesh, and the only Saviour; for then it is both their privilege and duty to take His yoke upon them, to follow Him, to profess His saving name before men, and to join His Church and people."

In June of the following year they took the important step of professing Christ openly in baptism, the Queen sending a pious lady of her Court to stand in her stead as godmother. These baptisms caused considerable sensation among the Jews of Copenhagen; although the inclinations of the two converts had not been a secret, it appears to