And see! 'tis done-he gains the crest :
The price of all his toil is here;
For lo! in matchless beauty drest,
The glorious plain of fair Cashmere!
Thus, ent'ring first on life's career,

The Christian pilgrim views afar,
His path to light, his hopes to cheer,
The glorious beams of Bethlem's star.
But dangers unforeseen arise:

The open force, the secret snareFair flow'ring paths, that tempt his eyes, But lead to folly, crime, despair. Yet, mindful of the gracious power

Who gave that star his steps to guide, He trusts in his most trying hour

To him who for his sake has died; And, strengthened by his Spirit, goes With cheerful heart; nor fears delay, While so upheld, from artful foes,

Who would obstruct his onward way. And now, approaching to the goal,

Brighter and brighter burn the rays Of that fair star, till earth and heav'n Are blended in the sapphire blaze, Where sits upon his mercy throne

(While countless angels wait his nod,

To welcome those he calls his own)
His Judge, his Saviour, and his God.

Miscellaneous.

H. E. L.

THE IRREGULARITIES OF MEN OF GENIUS.

The irregularities of men of genius ever find ready apologists amongst the votaries of the world. These talk of nature's gifts being variously distributed, and of the absence of one excellence being atoned for by the possession of another; thus placing the reins of the universe in the hands of a creature of their own imagination, ed impiously conceiving that the right exercise of one endowment can make amends to its divine Author for the abuse of the remainder of his gifts. The Christian moralist reasons in a very different manner; and with him the question is reduced to very narrow limits. Is the man of genius, he asks, a man of God, or is he not? If he is, then he will be neither intemperate nor profane; he will be neither lascivious in his writings nor profligate in his conduct; he will be a tender husband and a kind father; he will pay every man what he owes him, and conscientiously provide for the wants of his household. But if, on the other hand, he is not a man of God, it is very possible that he may be and do nothing of all this it is very possible that he may be dissipated and immoral, improvident, and destitute of natural affection; and that not because he is a man of genius, but because he is an unconverted man; not because he has felt the inspiration of poetry or of painting, but because his heart has not been renewed by the Holy Spirit. The man of genius, while in an unconverted state, is, like every other man in a similar condition, the slave of passion and of natural appetite; and, if there be any thing in his pursuits which

leads him much into company, or procures for him any degree of temporal distinction, his failings become so much the more the subjects of remark, and are more readily ascribed by worldly men to the nature of his avocations, than to that depravity of heart which he shares in common with themselves. But, let the same individual become the subject of converting grace, let him embrace with his whole soul the truth as it in Jesus, and the entire current of his feelings and his propensities is changed: he is still the man of genius, the accomplished poet, the skilful artist, or the acute philosopher; but he is also " Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile !"-Dr. Huie.

"an

THE WELL OF JACOB AND TOMB OF Joseph.On our descending this hill of blessing (Deut. xi. 29), and such, I trust, we experienced it to be on this interesting occasion, we went about a mile further to see the well of Jacob, where our Lord conversed with the woman of Samaria, and declared the great truth, that "salvation is of the Jews." Of the fact that the "well was deep," and that something was required wherewith to draw up the water, we had evidence before we came to it; for our guide was greatly disappointed when, on repeated inquiry, whilst we rode along towards the well, he found we were unprovided with a long rope, &c., and proposed to go back to the town to fetch one; but, being pressed for time, we gave up the peint, and gratified ourselves by merely seeing its surface, whilst some of our party went into a pit, and convinced themselves of its depth by throwing down a stone. There is now, I believe, no water in it; and the mouth of the well is kept closed with a large stone. There was something so striking in this scene, that it brought us back to the time of our Saviour, and we could fully realize all that is related in John iv. Near it is the beautiful and fertile plain of Moreh, which at once reminds one of the parcel of ground which Jacob gave to his son Joseph, whose tomb is also near, which we visited. There are several Hebrew and Samaritan inscriptions on the same. The whole is kept very neat and in good repair by the bounty of Jews who visit this tomb of Joseph. On our return to our encampment, we found all ready for starting, and, after two hours' ride, we came to Sebaste, the ancient Samaria, beautifully situated on the top of a hill, where there is a fine ruin of an ancient church, in which the Turks have a mosque. The village is poor and insignificant, but the situation very fine and commanding. I was greatly interested in this trip, which I hope to repeat, in order to make myself better acquainted with it, as it is only two short days' journey from Jerusalem. The situation of Nabious is very striking, having the mountains of Gerizim and Ebal one on each side.-Bishop Alexander.

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STEWKLEY CHURCH.

THE church of St. Mary, Stewkley, in the county of Buckingham, on account of its antiquity, is an object of great attraction to the ecclesiastical antiquarian. It presents one of the most complete specimens of Saxon architecture now remaining. No portion internally or externally has been altered or materially defaced; nor have any additions been made to it, except the porch on the south side and the pinacles of the tower. The church is oblong, ninety-four feet in length within side, including the chancel. The nave is rather more than twenty-one feet in width. The chancel has a vaulted ceiling, the groins of which are diagonal, and ornamented with the zig-zag moulding. The east window is small and roundheaded, as are all the windows. There appears to have been originally a very highly-pitched roof over the vaulted roof of the chancel, forming an VOL. XVII.

upper story, which seems to have existed in several churches, evidently built about the same time. A square massive tower, the upper part of which has on every side a row of small pillars and interlaced circular arches, divided the chancel from the nave. Under the tower are two arches, highly enriched zig-zag mouldings and grotesque heads. The west front of the church affords a striking example of the Saxon ornaments. The great door has a circular arch, enriched with several zig-zag mouldings, within which are figures of dragons. On the sides of the door-way are small pillars, the shafts of two of which are ornamented with spiral mouldings, and the capitals with foliage and figures of animals. On either side of the door is a smaller arch in the wall, with similar decorations (Lysons' Bucks).

The patron and appropriator of Stewkley is the bishop of Oxford.

X

REMARKABLE DAYS.

No. VII.

ALL-HALLOW EVEN, OR HALLOW E'EN-OCT. 31.

MANY old customs are still locally observed on the evening of this day, which derives its name from being the vigil of the festival of All-Saints. Some of these customs seem to be the remnants of pagan superstition; and most of them are divinations in respect to the marriage of parties who engage in them. It may not be uninteresting to notice a few.

Thus we learn, from Sinclair's statistical account of Scotland, that, in the neighbourhood of Callender, in Perthshire, "on All-Saints even they set up bonfires in every village. When the bonfire is consumed, the ashes are carefully collected into the form of a circle. There is a stone put in, near the circumference, for every person of the several families interested in the bonfire; and, whatever stone is moved out of its place or injured before next morning, the person represented by that stone is devoted or fey, and is supposed not to live twelve months from that day. The people received the consecrated fire from the Druid priests next morning, the virtues of which were supposed to continue for a year."

The minister of Logierait, in the same work, describing that parish, says, "On the evening of the 31st of October, among many others one remarkable ceremony is observed. Heath, broom, and dressings of flax are tied upon a pole. This faggot is then kindled. One takes it upon his shoulders, and, running, bears it round the village. A crowd attends. When the first faggot is burnt out, a second is bound to the pole, and kindled in the same manner as before. Numbers of these blazing faggots are often carried about together; and, when the night happens to be dark, they form a splendid illumination. This is Hallowe'en, and is a night of great festivity."

In the western islands practices still more strange appear to have prevailed. "The inhabitants of the isle of Lewis (says Martin) had an ancient custom to sacrifice to a sea-god, called Shony, at Hallow-tide, in the manner following: The inhabitants round the island came to the church of St. Mulvay, having each man his provision along with him. Every family furnished a peck of malt; and this was brewed into ale. One of their number was picked out to wade into the sea up to the middle; and, carrying a cup of ale in his hand, standing still in that posture, cried out with a loud voice, saying 'Shony, I give you this cup of ale, hoping that you will be so kind as to send us plenty of sea-ware, for enriching our ground the ensuing year;' and so threw the cup of ale into the sea. This was performed in the night time. At his return to land, they all went to church, where there was a candle burning upon the altar; and then, standing silent for a little time, one of them gave a signal, at which the candle was put out, and immediately all of them went to the fields, where they fell a drinking their ale, and spent the remainder of the night in dancing and singing."

In Ireland, fires were anciently kindled on this day of late, however, the lighting of candles has been substituted.

In Wales they are said still to burn fires, at

which the ceremony of casting in stones, similar to that described above, is practised.

The idea prevalent in all these usages appears to be, that on this night evil spirits have especial power, and that therefore their influence must be carefully guarded against. Hence the fires. But, as these beings were supposed to possess a knowledge of futurity, advantage was taken of their near approach to obtain some insight into events still in the womb of time. One of the most favourite methods of accomplishing this was by burning nuts. Those that burn bright betoken prosperity to the owners, while those which become black denote misfortune. By nuts also the probabilities of marriage are tested.

Little observation need be made on these customs. They were most probably derived, as it has been already hinted, from the times of paganism; and they have probably now, where retained, survived the knowledge of the belief that gave them birth. The observances of Hallow-e'en are at present, it may be supposed, merely a source of amusement to those who partake of them.

I.

It

HEBREW AND RABBINICAL LITERATURE*. THREE hundred years after the reformation, the leading principle of which was reverence for the pure word of God, a defence of the study of a sacred language, in which a main portion of that word was given, may appear superfluous. may be thought that the ignorance against which the reformers inveighed so eloquently and so justly has long since passed away; and that, at least in this realm and church of England, those, who blame the council of Trent for making a translation the standard of appeal in all disputations, are themselves able to expound the original text.

The value of learning generally is admitted. Acquaintance with the original monuments of heathen genius is of universal requirement: skill in mathematic science is considered as of primary importance: antiquarian research and architectural acquirement are appreciated: proficiency in ecclesiastical literature is prized; and even music appears about to re-occupy its ancient position amongst the liberal arts. The holy language of primæval revelation is alone an outcast. Henry VIII was filled with vehement grief because the clergy of his time and nation were left "destitute of the knowledge of the most holy tonguet". Now it is considered superfluous. Under such circumstances it may not be out of place or unseasonable to offer a few suggestions, tending to show that the common judgment in this matter is not according to fact; perhaps, to prove that an acquaintance with rabbinic literature may be useful; and that, for a minister of the gospel, who wishes not to be ashamed in dividing the word of truth, a knowledge of the language of the Old Testament may even be necessary.

As matter of curiosity it might be worth while to examine the various and voluminous writings of the Jewish people; to search the traditions of

• From "An Apology for the Study of Hebrew and Rabbinical Literature." By the Rev. Alexander McCaul, D.D., Professor of Hebrew and Rabbinical Literature, King's College, London. London: Weitheim. 1844. 8vo., pp. 20. Hody de Bibl. Text original, p. 466.

See Dr. Jelf's pamphlet respecting the neglect of Hebrew, published in 1832, pp. 1-7.

the only nation that ever stood in direct commuication with the Almighty, the children and kinsmen of the prophets. At a time when the works of the Mahometan and oriental nations are studied and translated with a laudable zeal and diligence, the remnants of Jewish antiquity might be thought to have some claim on the attention; some contributions to the study of philology, antiquities, and the history of the middle ages, might not unreasonably be expected. But an acquaintance with even rabbinic literature might perhaps prove of more general utility and practical benefit. It would certainly have delivered the Jewish nation from much suffering, and Christendom from the infliction of much wrong. A moderate knowledge of Jewish laws and habits of thought would have sufficed to silence the charge so often repeated, and lately so cruelly revived. It would still relieve them from a weight of prejudice and a measure of contempt as unjust as the persecutions alluded to, and, for a susceptible mind, almost as difficult to bear. The Jews are too often regarded as a nation whose faith is folly, whose spirit is intolerance, and whose practice is the pursuit of gain; whereas a knowledge of their writings would prove them to be a people of powerful reason, poetic genuis, literary taste, and indefatigable industry. Their literature extends in an unbroken chain from the days of our Lord down to the present time, and embraces every department of learning cultivated. They have their divines, logicians, metaphysicians, astronomers, physicians, poets, and chroniclers. They have had their Stephenses and Elzevirs; and the care, taste, accuracy, and critical acumen, displayed in their standard editions, put their labours on a par with the typographical and editorial works of those who, happily for their own fame, chose a more popular subject for their exertions. They have been in past times unwearied students in the literature of the Arabs, and have thus become acquainted with Greek science and philosophy. Astronomy was cultivated by them at an early period for the regulation of their moveable feasts. In the second century one of their astronomers rejoiced that the paths of the heavens were as well known to him as the streets of Nahardea,' where he resided. Another had calculated the true length of the solar year and the lunar month, as well as the cycle of 19 years. In the year 353 R. Hillel had formed tables for the construction of calendars, which are still in use; and from that time to the present the study of astronomy and mathematics has been continued. Aben Ezra, Maimonides, and Abn Tibbon, are as remarkable for their science as their divinity. Alfonso the wise, when he wished to amend the astronomic tables, summoned a host of learned men to Toledo, some of the most remarkable of whom were Jew ish rabbies. To them was committed the task of translating the Arabic works on the subject, and the most active cultivator of the science itself was

Isaac ben Sid, the reader of the Jewish synagogue.

Rabbi Zag, of Toledo, was especially commissioned to translate the work of Mahommed Albategni ben Geber, and was himself the author of a work upon the astrolabium and water-and-quicksilver-clocks". Another translated the astronomical works of Avicenna into Latin. In 1490 R. Abraham ben Zacuta was professor of astronomy at Saragossa, and published a perpetual almanac of the motions of the planets. Their attention to medicine is a matter of equal notoriety. Their medical literature is considerable, and would, no doubt, throw much light on the history of that science +. The works of a mighty genius like Maimonides (who in his day had the very highest reputation as a successful physician), whatever the subject, must deserve to be consulted; and it is to the honour of Jewish skill to remark, that so early as the fifteenth century a Jewish physician successfully performed the operation for cataract on Ferdinand of Aragont. Indeed, a history of philosophy, or of any branch of science known to the ancients, which did not duly notice and estimate the labours of Jews, would be necessarily defective and unsatisfactory.

OREGON RELIGIOUS CUSTOMS.

66

THE Chinooks, Waakiacums, and Cathlamets diminutive race, generally varying in height are of one common stock. They are rather a from five feet to five feet five inches; the wo men being about six inches shorter. Their legs their feet flat; a deformity caused, no doubt, by are generally crooked, their ankles thick, and their passing so much of their time in childhood squatting on the calves of their legs and their heels in the bottom of their canoes; a favourite position which they retain even when on shore. The women increase this deformity by wearing tight bandages round the lower part of their legs. The faces of both sexes are round; their eyes

small and sharp; their noses broad, flat at the top, and thick at the end; their nostrils large; their months wide; their lips thick; their teeth short, irregular, and dirty. In addition to these characteristics, the women have their ears slit, the cartilages of their noses perforated, and their heads and bodies saturated with salmon-oil. They Indians of the plains, who hunt the deer and are inferior in muscular power and activity to the buffalo, and ride on horseback."

"The first salmon caught is a consecrated thing, and is offered to the munificent Spirit, who is the Giver of plenty. They have a superstitious scruple about the mode of cutting salmon, especially at the commencement of the season, before they have an assurance of a plentiful supply. To cut it crosswise, and to cast the heart into the water, they consider most unlucky, and likely to bring on a

scarce season.

"Samuel said, The paths of the heavens are as known to

ing star, as the editors of the Berlin Mishna suppose); "for what it is I do not know" (Bab. Talm. B'rachoth, fol. 53,

col. 2.

+ See Lindo's Jewish Calendar, introduction, p. iii. Tsemach David, ed. Offenbach, 1768, fol. 231; or the translation of Vorstius, p. 112; Maimonides' Kiddush Hachodesh, chapters ix. x.; or Bartolocli, part ii., in which there is a full account of the Jewish calendar,

Jost. Geschichte der Israeliten, vi. 297, and Finn's History of the Sephardim.

For a long list of Jewish medical writers, see Bartolocil, part iv. Repertorium libr. per Materias, p li. And the Cata logue of the Oppenheim Library, pp. 171, 497, 645.

Jost. Geschichte der Israeliten, vol vii. 67.
From "Dunn's History of the Oregon Territory.",

the back-bone, and most studiously avoid throwing the heart into the water. The heart they broil and eat; but will not eat it after sunset. So plentiful is the fish, that they supply the white men with it in abundance. Is is now made a lucrative article of foreign trade. Indeed, large quantities of it are sent to the Sandwich islands, and other places." "There prevails a singular custom among all the tribes about the lower part of the Columbia, the flattening of the forehead and compression of the whole head, which gives them a hideous appearance. Immediately after birth the infant is laid in an oblong wooden trough by way of cradle, with moss under it. The end on which the head reposes is raised higher than the rest. A padding is then placed on the infant's forehead, with a piece of cedarbark over it: it is pressed down by cords, which pass through holes on each side of the trough. As the tightening of the padding and the pressing of the head to the board is gradual, the process is said not to be attended with much pain. The appearance of the infant, however, while under it is shocking its little black eyes seem ready to start from their sockets; the mouth exhibits all the indications of internal convulsion; and it clearly appears that the face is gradually undergoing a process of unnatural configuration. About a year's pressure is sufficient to produce the desired effect. The head is ever after completely flattened; and the upper part of it, on the crown, seldom exceeds an inch in width. This is deemed a mark of beauty and distinction, like small and crippled feet among the Chinese ladies of rank. All their slaves, whom they purchase from the neighbouring tribes, have round heads. Every child of a slave, if not adopted by a member of the tribe, must be left to nature, and therefore grow up with a round head. This deformity is consequently a mark of their freedom. On examining the skulls of these people, several medical men have declared that nothing short of ocular demonstration could have convinced them of the possibility of moulding the human head into such a form." "They have a belief in a future state of rewards and punishments. Those who have well and faithfully discharged all the duties of this life will go to a mild and happy region, teeming with all the comforts of existence; while those who pursue an opposite course will be consigned to a cold and dreary region, where bitter fruits and salt water will form their principal means of subsistence. They have also a tradition about the origin of mankind: they believe that man was originally created by the superior Deity, but in an imperfect state, being rather a statue of flesh than a perfect being; but a second divinity, less powerful, in pity of his helpless condition, opened his eyes, gave him motion, and taught him all the functions and the arts of life." "They regulate the prices of their articles by haiqua, which is a milk-white round shell, of extreme hardness, found in the neighbourhood of Nootka sound. It varies in length from one to four inches, and is about half an inch thick, hollow, slightly curved, and tapering a little towards the ends. It is highly estimated, the longest being the most valuable. It resembles the top shank of a common clay smoking-pipe. They are valued in proportion to the number that, when ranged on a string passing through their hollow tubes, ex

tend a fathom's length. Forty to the fathom is supposed to be the fixed standard of excellence and worth: for instance, forty which make a fathom are worth nearly double fifty which make a fathom. Their extreme fragility, lightness, tenuity, and delicacy of colour, are what appear to give them their importance. They are thus caught in Nootka sound and along Vancouver's island: a piece of deer-flesh, or of fish, is dropped from a line to the bottom; this they cling to, and they are then drawn up, and carefully gutted and preserved." "The chief, who is supposed to possess the right divine' of governing, and to be the intermediate agent between the great solar Spirit-the Creator and supreme Ruler-and his creatures here below, retires at times, whenever he fancies himself summoned by the divine call, from the tribe, without giving them any previous intimation of his mission, and takes up his abode in the lonely woods and mountains, taking clandestinely with him a small stock of dried salmon for sustenance. When he is missed by his family, the report is spread abroad; and then it is known that he has gone to hold familiar converse with the great Spirit, who will, within a short time, descend to give him an interview. Intelligence has then been procured from the Indian who saw him last on that day as to his route, and the district of the woods and hills to which he is likely to confine his wanderings; and a sacred boundary-line is drawn round this district within which it is a crime of profanation to pass on hunting or fishing excursions on pain of death. Should any unlucky Indian even meet this compound of chief and priest in his excursions, he is sure to be put to death either by the chief himself-for he must be perfectly passive in the infuriated chief's hands; or, should the chief in his abstracted mood not attack him, he must, on his return to the tribe, acknowledge the guilt, and resign himself a voluntary victim. Should he conceal the fact of his meeting the chief, and should the chief on his return charge him with the fact, then he would undergo the most shocking torture. The duration of the chief's absence on this mission is irregular, at least it is long enough to exhaust his small stock of food, even with the utmost economy. It is often three weeks. When hunger pinches him (and he generally selects the most desert and dreary region, destitute of esculent fruits or roots), his imagination becomes inflamed, and what was before religion or superstition becomes now frenzy; during which the fancied interview with the great Spirit occurs. He returns at last to the village the most hideous object in nature, with matted hair, shrunken cheeks, blood-shot eyes, and parched lips; his blanket, which is his sole covering, all hanging in shreds about him, torn by boughs and brambles; his face all begrimed with filth; animated with all the unnatural ferocity of a demoniac. His return is by night, and as uncertain as is his departure. He does not first arrive, generally, at his own house, but rushes to some other, according to the blind caprice of his wildness; and, instead of entering it by the door, he ascends the roof, tears off one of the cedar-board coverings, and plunges down into the centre of the family circle: he then springs on one of the full-grown inmates like a famished wolf, wrenches with his teeth a mouthful of his