have been expected, as a matter of course, that the efforts of the rabbi would effectually frustrate their realization.

Two newspapers, of which Jews were the editors, contained, for the following fortnight, articles condemnatory of missionary labour; and Mr. M. received threatening letters.

Another year passed, and Mr. Moritz, in August, 1848, was called to minister at the dying bed of Amelia, who was sinking under a rapid consumption. Her faith and patience were exemplary, eliciting admiration even from her Jewish relations; she fell asleep in Jesus, aged sixteen years, on the morning of August 26th. Her end was peace. On her expressing a wish for music shortly before her departure, Mr. Moritz reminded her that ere long she would be in the company of those who tune their golden harps to the praises of the Lamb; her simple answer was, "May it be so! I long to be with my Saviour."

The elder sister had attended her closely through her illness, and amidst many afflictions which fell to her lot, was cheered and strengthened by the remembrance of that peaceful, happy end. Some of her trials may be gathered from the following letter, received in 1852.

"It is surely high time to reply to your kind letter of September. Well might you have thought that I would not write to you again, and I can make no excuse for this neglect, but by letting you know the real reason of it. On the 1st of November I had a violent attack of a burning fever; my chest was sorely inflamed, and my stomach in great disorder. For seven weeks I was obliged to keep my bed. My dear mother engaged the best physicians, and asked them if they believed that I could recover? They shook their heads, and said, it entirely depended on a gracious God; they had tried all that was in their power. My poor mother became very much afflicted at this answer, and grieved daily about me; but God in His mercy brought about a sudden change in my disease; the fever abated day by day, my chest also got better, and my strength returned.

"I now feel plainly the loving kindness of God, in having thus laid me on the bed of affliction. After you had left Copenhagen, in the spring, my mind was in a fearful condition. Instead of making God my refuge under all the snares which Satan laid for me, I sought for help

from feeble men, some of whom were themselves in a melancholy state of mind, and made my evil still worse, so that I got no comfort from any of them. My mother sent me to my aunt's, in the country, and then my uncle took me to his fine country-seat, and they did all in their power to make me cheerful. Nature in those parts was beautiful; I took daily exercise, got a good appetite, slept well, and could at pleasure enjoy the beauties of nature. But all was as dead to me, my heart was without feeling. Dissatisfied with myself, and unhappy, I lived all that beautiful summer through. How came it that my lips were dumb, and my heart like a piece of ice? It arose from my unbelief, which deadened faith, hope, and love within me. Unbelief, which is man's greatest sin, had arrived at its highest pitch. Satan cast me to and fro, which was an easy thing for him, because I did not cleave to Jesus, and was not joined to Him by faith and love, who was the only one that could have overcome him. Thus the whole summer passed for me in a frightful manner, until our Lord, who would no longer suffer His name to be insulted and derided, visited me with such a severe illness, that my obstinate heart was compelled at last to acknowledge that He, the Lord, had both the power and the right to condemn both soul and body. When I was so very ill, I began to reflect upon my soul's eternal welfare; and I thought, perhaps the Lord will call me away. This led me to turn to Him with earnest prayer, that I might find Christ, that precious treaure, who alone was able to help and deliver me. For though I felt that my body was very sick, still I knew that my spiritual disease was a thousand times worse. One morning early, I felt the love of the Lord Jesus so vividly in my heart, that I burst into tears. Now did I first perceive how great and immeasurable the love of the Lord is, who, instead of rejecting me, and casting my soul into hell, as I had deserved, sought to save me. Great is the Lord in His power, great in His righteousness; but still greater is He in His love to man, which has been manifested in the atonement and redemption by Jesus Christ."

In the autumn she was again laid on a bed of sickness, and was called to her eternal rest on December 2nd. The Moravian minister who attended her last hours, thus spoke respecting her :

"She has truly fallen asleep in the Lord. I and my wife visited her on November 30th, and we could both only rejoice in our hearts at her child-like faith in her Saviour. Before we left her, she begged me to lay my hand upon her, and to impart a blessing to her, which I did with quite peculiar feelings, and which was quite refreshing to her. I am fully convinced that her death has been an eternal gain to her."

If these two instances of conversion to God were all we had to tell of in connection with the labours in Sweden and Denmark, surely those labours have not been in vain, especially if we remember the Master's words, "There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth ;" but we are thankful to say that in many more instances the simple preaching of Christ crucified has been owned and blessed of God. Thus in 1851 Mr. Moritz reported the baptism of a Jewess at a hospital in Stockholm, which caused a great stir amongst the Jewish community in that city. During a protracted illness she had, by means of her fellow-patients, become acquainted with the doctrines of Christianity, and notwithstanding every effort made by her friends to prevent her renouncing Judaism, she was, after receiving instruction from a Protestant minister, at her earnest request baptized on her sick bed.

There was one very serious difficulty which the Mission had to contend with, viz., the coldness and indifference of Christians, who even went so far as to express their opinion that to interfere with the religion of the Jews was a piece of intolerance unworthy of the present age. An instance of the prevailing latitudinarianism occurred in 1856, on the occasion of the opening of a new and handsome synagogue.

The whole service was much approved by the Swedes that were present, and in the next day's paper, there was a long article commending the reformed sentiments of the Jews, and speaking of their temple as a "beacon to Christians." Such were the opinions of those who professed Christianity; and it is grievous to add that the synagogue was much frequented by Christian men and women, who took a delight in the deistical sentiments found in the hymns and sermons.

Many of these Christians strengthened the Jews in their unbelief, and laughed with them at the efforts made for their conversion.

The efforts of Mr. Moritz were, however, blessed to the stirring up of an interest for Israel in many hearts, evidenced by frequent remittances which he was able to send to the Society.

We may now conclude our notice of this field of labour, where, in humble reliance on his Master's strength, our dear brother, now laden with years, is still at work. He has had, as we have seen, the precious privilege of garnering many souls for Christ, even though we cannot, in reference to this as to some other Missions, speak of any general effects that have been produced upon the Jewish community at large, who still remain steeped in worldliness and indifference.

CHAPTER XL.

The Jews of Rome-Difficulties-Mr. Lauria sent to Turin in 1855-Interesting incident-Circulation of the Scriptures not discouraged by the RabbiesAnecdote-The work in 1859-Jewish prisoners-New openings-Modena occupied by Mr. Cotter.

A VERY considerable number of Jews are resident in Italy, where, according to Da Costa, their treatment has generally, though nɔt invariably, been lenient and favourable. The statistics of population in some of the principal cities stood as follows ten years ago: Rome, 5,000; Trieste, 4,000; Leghorn, 10,000; Ancona, 4,000; Ferrara, 3,000; Pavia, Padua, and Verona,-each 600 to 1,000.

They were at that time less influenced by the Talmud than their brethren in other countries of Europe, nor had Neology and Infidelity made much progress among them. We fear, however, that the last remark would hardly be applicable to them at the present time.

The Jewish quarter there, the Ghetto, is situated in the centre of the city, close to the island of the Tiber; it has hitherto been a sort of Jewish fortress, or rather prison-house, within the fortified city of Rome. There were only two entrances to this labyrinth of houses and lanes; these were blocked up at certain hours every evening, and the Jews were then, to all intents and purposes, prisoners for the night, and shut out from all intercourse with the Gentile world. By order of Pius IX., the gates which locked up the entrances have been removed, and the Jews are no longer in a state of double captivity in Rome; although the jealousy of the inhabitants will probably still prevent them from emigrating into other parts of the city. The Ghetto covers a very small portion of ground; it seems scarcely credible that between four and five thousand human beings could dwell in such a limited space. There are five schools, in all of which Hebrew is taught, with a less perfect instruction in the Italian and Spanish languages; the chief synagogue is a large oblong room, capable of containing above four hundred persons; the Chief Rabbi is an intelligent man, who seems much respected by the Jews of Rome. There is a small central community of Jews in the Ghetto of Rome, who are looked upon with peculiar regard by their countrymen, as being the surviving fragments of a distinguished section of the captivity of Israel. They are called the Jews of the temple, and according to tradition are said to be sprung from those Jews whom Titus brought captive from Jerusalem, from those very Jews who graced the triumph of the conqueror of the Holy City, and upheld the golden candlestick before him. If the inquiry is made whether they have any written records of their history, they say, This tradition has been handed faithfully down from father to son; if we ever left Rome during the moment of persecution, we returned again in the time of peace; the exile is not free to write his history in the land of his captivity.

What efforts have been made in previous centuries to convert the Jews of Rome, it would be difficult to ascertain; during the last half century, however, the Church of Rome has not been unmindful of them. On the confines of the Ghetto, there is the beautiful old Church of St.

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