into the Christian Church we took leave of the Synagogue, in writing. I addressed to the Syndics of the Portuguese Israelites a letter, in which, while I fully authorised him to regard me henceforth as having no longer any part in the Synagogue, I protested that I remained an Israelite, but an Israelite who had found his Messiah, and who would not cease to offer his most sincere prayers, that his brethren according to the flesh might soon return to the Lord their God, and to David their King.

"A few days after my baptism, I received a letter from my uncle, in which he informed me that since what had passed, and after some arrangements he had made in his house, I could not, on my return to Amsterdam, resume living with him; that he did not forbid my coming to see him, but that it must be under the express condition of my never speaking to him of my opinions.

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Returning to Amsterdam, I took a very small lodging on a third floor: there, alone with my God, I felt a heavenly joy and the peace which passed all understanding.

"Here I should close the account of my conversion, if I had it not at heart shortly to relate that also of my beloved brother. In it the grace of our Lord will be seen strikingly manifested.

"From the commencement of the change which had been wrought in myself, this dear brother had distinguished himself in an advantageous manner from the other members of our family; not that he shared in my views, far from it, but that he wished at least that the sentiments of reciprocal love between us should not thereby suffer. Ever occupied in appeasing the hostility

of the family towards me, he continued to give me unequivocal marks of his tenderness, not only before but after my conversion. For although the harsh and severe measures to which I was subjected ceased when I was baptized, I suffered no less from the reserve, the contempt, and the cold indifference of the family towards me; and in the meanwhile, it having been (providentially) given to my friend and myself to publish, from the first year of our conversion, writings in which we were graciously enabled to raise the standard of the cross, and to proclaim Christ as the God of peace, and the God of our deliverance, and these having elicited violent opposition, we were thereby made, from our very entrance into Christianity, to experience the truth of that saying applied to Christ, Behold, He is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against.'

"This opposition, which greatly diminished my practice, seemed, indeed, somewhat to soften the feelings of the family, without, however, removing the tone of reserve and indifference uniformly observed towards me. It was then that this dear brother consoled me with the tokens of his love, and that he became the object of my ardent supplications often the night was far advanced before I ceased praying for him. When I was unwell, which was often the case, he would come and pass an hour or two with me; I then asked him to read to me from the New Testament, which, to gratify me, he willingly did; and I was careful to choose the passages which contained the clearest prophecies concerning the Messiah."

(To be continued.)

HEBREW POETRY IN THE MIDDLE AGES.

I.

THERE is an interesting article under this title in “the Journal of Sacred Literature," for April, from which we extract a few passages, which we hope will interest our readers.

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At a period when Europe was plunged in the darkness of ignorance and barbarism, when senseless wars and accumulated horrors of fire and sword devastated the fairest countries of the world; the Hebrew poets of the middle ages found, in their sufferings, that sublime inspiration which characteristically distinguishes them from the Arab writers. Their elegies bearing the very hue of melancholy; their prayers and odes breathing the purest sentiments of religion, and a touching resignation; their lessons of morality and wisdom, gathered amidst tombs and ruins, will find a responsive echo in every feeling heart, for they contain thoughts and emotions fit for every land and every age.”

The following is an elegy, which was written by Rabbi Judah Hallevi, to be sung on the 9th day of the month Ab, the anniversary of the destruction of the temple and city of Jerusalem. The poet was killed by an Arab, whilst reciting his plaintive verses over the ruins of the sacred city. The poem is entitled-

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"SION."

Sion! wilt thou enquire the fate of thy captive children? Art thou insensible to the fervent acclamations which the remnant of thy flock send towards thee from all corners of the earth?

"From east to west, from north to south, in exile and captivity, they divert their anxious looks to thee, they pant for hope, and pay to thee the tribute of their tears.

"Our tears fall swiftly like dew upon Mount Hermon; oh, could they water thy dearest hills! When I weep over thy tremendous fall, it resembles the howling of jackalls; but when I dream of our return from bondage, I hear the tuneful accents of the harp; such as on festive days accompanied our sacred songs.

*

*

*

*

*

*

"Stay, O cup of my sufferings, but one short moment stay, let me repose awhile. My veins are already filled with bitterness; let me reflect, although but for a moment, upon Ohola,* and I will take thy goblet; but one thought upon Oholiba,† and I will drink it to the dregs.

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SION, crown of beauty! remember the tender love of thy inhabitants for thee; thy happiness filled them with joy, thy reverses filled them with grief. From the dark recesses of their prison they incline their hearts towards thee, and bow themselves in prayer to thy gates.

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Fear not; thy flocks dispersed upon the hills have not forgotten their native fold: they unconsciously languish for thy verdant heights, and yearn for the shade of thy noble palm-trees. What are Simcar and Pathros in their empty greatness, compared to thee? What are their deceiving oracles in the eyes of those who know of thy divine Urim and Thummim?

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Is there a mortal daring enough to enter into comparison with thy princes, prophets, Levites,

* Samaria.

+ Jerusalem.

and sacred singers? All empires shall vanish and fall; but thou alone shalt stand unto the end of ages, for thou art the dwelling-place of the eternal Lord.

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Happy mortal, who could rest under the shelter of thy protecting walls! thrice happy mortal who will be present at the dawn of thy returning day! He will mingle with the chosen number of thy happy ones, he will rejoice at thy rejoicings, and he will see the pride of thy beauty, as in the days of thy youth."

A JEWISH MARTYR.

(From the Jewish Chronicle.)

Ir is our painful duty to record a case of martyrdom which but recently occurred in the empire of Morocco. We give the awful details from a private letter, which we have seen, received by Mr. Abraham Sebag, a respectable Jewish merchant, residing in Castle-street, St. Mary Axe, London, whose brother has fallen a victim to the barbarity of the inhabitants of that uncivilized country.

It appears that Judah Sebag, a Jewish merchant, who resided in a town called Alig, near Mogador, was maliciously accused of having spoken blasphemy against the Mohammedan faith. The cause of this malice was the jealousy of some Mohammedan merchants. He dragged before the governor, or rather the chief magistrate of the city, whose name is Lechusman ben Hassam. The evidence against him having been heard, the sentence of the judge was, that

was