EGYPTIAN RING-MONEY. (Egyptian Ring-Money.) THE commercial transactions of uncivilized people seem generally to have been conducted by barter. An individual wished to possess something that his neighbour had; and the simplest way of obtaining it was to offer for it something perhaps equally valuable, but which at that time he did not so much want. But this inartificial mode of trading must soon have been found insufficient for those whose transactions came to be of any magnitude. And it was but a brief step which would lead to the substitution of some medium as the general representative of value. Such a medium has varied in various countries, as we find that, while in one part of the world small shells have been so employed, in another lumps of salt have served a similar purpose. Metals being close and compact in form, universal as to use, and admitting of easy division, have in most cases superseded other materials. But it was not till comparatively late in the world's history that we find any mention of coined or stamped metal such as to answer to our notion of money. The scriptures in their earlier VOL. XXV. portions are silent as to any such coins being in use; neither do the poems of Homer allude to them. It is true that we read (Gen. xxiii. 16) that "Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver .. current money with the merchant;" but the very expression "weighed" proves that this transaction was completed not by pieces of coin of defined value, but by numerous masses of metal, the weight of which had to be ascertained by the use of the balance. It is known that after the period of this bargain the Egyptians employed circular bars or rings of silver for money. It may be probably conjectured, therefore, that such ring-money formed the medium of the purchase which Abraham made of Ephron. Herodotus says that the Lydians were the first people on record who coined gold and silver; while the Parian chronicle ascribes the origin of coined money to the Eginetans under Pheidon, king of Argos, 895 B.C. The best authorities agree in regarding the coins of Egina from their antique form and appearance as the most ancient now known. They are described as " of silver, and bear on the upper side the figure of a turtle, 2 E and on the under an indented mark, as if the metal at the time of striking had been fixed upon a puncheon, and from the weight of the blow had received a deep cleft. In later coins of Ægina the turtle has been changed into a tortoise, and the fissure on the other side converted into a device." The coins of Lydia and the early Darics of the Persian kings are supposed to come next in point of antiquity. THE BANISHMENT OF THE JEWS FROM SPAIN BY FERDINAND AND ISABELLA*. THE inquisition prevailed on the two sovereigns to sweep from the Spanish territory the whole profession of Jewish faith, regardless of national interest, and heedless of the ruin to be thus incurred by countless families, possessing loves and attachments which Roman ecclesiastics cannot value. “I am a man, and nothing human is alien "said the ancient heathen: "Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep," said the Christian apostle; but the papal churchman, steeled by his vows and discipline, is ever ready to execute the most cruel resolutions. to me, No political calculation could have required this deed. The Jews were not like the Moors, in possession of ships and sea-ports, with friendly aid to summon from beyond the sea. There was not even the pretext of that correspondence with foreign foes which, at the close of the Gothic monarchy, had been deemed sufficient reason for consigning every Jew to slavery. It is, therefore, evident that no sovereign, not priest-led against his better knowledge, would have ejected a class of ancient subjects, so numerous and so valuable, to enrich other lands. The decree was signed March, 1492, that in four months every Jew, native or sojourner, should quit the realms of Aragon, Castile, and Granada, never more to return, under penalty of death and confiscation of goods; and the justice of the inquisition was denounced against all who should harbour or conceal a Jew after that time. All property might be carried with them, but not in the substance of gold or silver, or the other articles usually forbidden to be removed from Spain. Bills of exchange might be taken instead of plate, jewels, or coin. But this indulgence sounds better than was realized by the event; for, as the time approached for their departure, the property to be sold exceeded the demand, the most wary purchasers reserved their offers to the last extremity of the helpless victims, who then were glad, it is said, to barter a house for an ass, or a vineyard for a few yards of linen cloth. Many of the Jews abstained from selling, hoping to the last moment that some favourable change would intervene to prevent the final catastrophe. But they were deceived; for Torquemada, the inquisitor-general (whose extended titles Zurita re * The account, which we have extracted from the rev. [W. Ayerst's "Jews of the Nineteenth Century," of the expulsion of the Jews from the Peninsula, was compiled by Mr. Finn in his "Sephardim," a work of peculiar interest. Most forcibly in narratives of this kind do we find the scripture truth illusGod's ancient people, while they shall prosper that love Jeru trated, that disaster is sure to attend those that persecute salem. -ED. hearses with pompous delight, hearing that the wealthiest Jews had attempted to divert the purpose of the court by a bribe of 600,000 crowns, Thomas Torquemada, like Thomas à Becket of old, rushed into the presence, and upbraided the sovereigns for their halfinclination to sell their Saviour to the Jews for pieces of silver. He issued an edict by his own authority, prohibiting all traffic with the Jews for a term considerably within that of their banishment by the royal proclamation, and thus incalculably multiplied the losses to which they were previously liable. But, throughout the kingdom of Aragon, which included Valencia and Catalonia, where all Jews were vassals to the crown or to the ecclesiastical lordships, a general sequestration of their property was made by commissioners empowered to liquidate speedily all dues and debts that should be claimed, as well as all rents and taxes for the current year, and to hand over the remainder to the claimants of the property thus disposed of. The synagogues were, probably, accounted private property; and, therefore, their value could be rendered to no individuals, i. e., no Jews were entitled to claim their produce. They were generally converted into churches or convents; as, for instance, that of Merida into a church dedicated to Sta. Catalina, virgin and martyr. It is easy to perceive how open this sequestration lay to extensive speculation; yet it was, probably, more advantageous than private sales at random. As the term drew near, the ascendant party must have regarded the harassed Jew with such a burning intensity of assured victory as the hawk feels while fluttering fixedly above his prey. The resource of baptism remained; subject, however, to the vigilance of the holy office; and many yielded to the powerful temptation; but the end of July saw multitudes of noble-minded Israelites forsake their homes, their fathers' graves, and all their old associations of infancy and ancestry, to wander they knew not whither, with a dignified triumph of passive courage. Zurita reckons their number at 170,000; Cardoso, at 120,000; Miguel de Barrios and Mariana, at 800,000; and it is said that, notwithstanding all their losses in the breaking up of their property, they carried off thirty million ducats. Abarbanel's narration, in his preface to the books of Kings, deserves attention and sympathy: "When the royal proclamation was announced I was at court, and wearied myself to frenzy in imploring compassion. Thrice on my knees I besought the king: Regard us, O king! Use not thy subjects with so much cruelty: rather exact from us our gold and silver vessels, or abundant gifts, even all that every Jew possesses, if he may still abide in his country.' I entreated likewise my friends, the king's officers, to allay his indignation against my people. I implored the councillors to advise the king, each in his turn, to recall the decree. But, as the adder closes her ear with dust against the voice of the charmer, so the king hardened his heart against ths prayers of his suppliants, and declared that he would not revoke his edict to gain all the wealth of all the Jews. At his right hand was the queen, the Jews' enemy, urging him with an angry voice to pursue what he had so happily commenced. We ex Those who arrived at Fez were so numerous that the inhabitants shut the gates against them, leaving the Jews exposed to the African July sun in the open plain, with no food but the small quantity of grass which at that season could be found; and, as they died, the survivors were too much enfeebled to bury their relatives. Some sold their children for bread; but after a time the king obtained supplies of food, which he freely distributed, and restored their children without hausted all our power for the removal of the king's sentence; but there was no wisdom nor help remaining. Our nation, wherever the decree had been proclaimed, or its fame had spread, bewailed their condition with a great wailing. Tossed in these fearful billows, they exhorted and confirmed the minds of each other. Whatever befalls, let us surmount every calamity, for the honour of our nation and our religion, by a brave endurance: let us defend these from the hateful persecutors. If they leave us our life, we will live: if they take it from us, we will die; but never let us At Sallee, the crew of a large ship enticed the violate our holy law, the fulness of our affections, starving Jewish children on board, to the number or the counsel of wisdom. O rather (and may of 150, with pieces of bread, and then sailed away. God turn it all to good) let us abandon our settle- The mothers ran screaming along the beach, imments, and seek for homes elsewhere. Thus ex-ploring compassion, but in vain: their children cited, there departed in one day 300,000 on foot and unarmed, collected from every province, the young and the old, infants and women, all ready to go in any direction. Of that number was I; and, with God for our leader, we set out." Those of Castile took refuge in Portugalabout 20,000 families, according to Conestaggio; where they were admitted on the payment of eight gold ducats for each person, children at the breast excepted, but with the stipulation of becoming slaves if found in the country after a stated day. Artificers in brass or iron were admitted at four ducats each, and invited to remain in Portugal. The frontiers were lined with tax-gatherers for the occasion; and the royal treasure must have become rapidly augmented. Those of the northern provinces fled to Navarre, or took shipping for strange countries. The ports of Cadiz, Sta. Maria, Carthagena, Valencia, and Barcelona, were thronged with suppliants for leave to embark, at any price, for Morocco, Italy, or Greece, since death and confiscation were behind them. Their sufferings during these voyages, at the mercy of the vilest of mercenary ship-masters, are horrible to recount. After exacting large sums for the passage, some burned or wrecked their vessels while at sea, escaping themselves in their boats, and carrying off the goods of the Jews. Others starved their victims, and, when famine induced fever or the plague, put them ashore to perish. One ship's crew were about to murder their Jewish passengers for the sake of their property, or, as they expressed it, to revenge the death of Jesus Christ; but a Christian merchant on board reminded them that Christ died to save men's lives, and therefore his death was a blessing to the world. So the Jews were only carried to a barren coast, and left entirely naked on the beach. There they found a spring of fresh water; but in climbing the rocks by night, to look for tokens of human habitations, several of them were seized and devoured by lions. Five days they abode there; till the crew of a passing ship, perceiving naked people on the shore, brought them on board, provided shifts for the women, and tore up old sails to clothe the men. They gave them food, and conveyed them to a certain port, where, when the inhabitants inquired if he had slaves for sale, the ship-master nobly answered, "No!" but delivered the poor Jews to their brethren in the city, on payment of reasonable expenses. These gladly made him an additional present, "praying God for his safety, and that he would prolong his life to a happy old age." ransom. were conveyed to a distant African port, and sold into slavery. Amid such distressing events various anecdotes are given of personal suffering and constancy, peculiarly Jewish. Some victims were discharged from a ship on a desolate island, on the plea of pestilence. Of these some died of hunger: others, with more strength, walked forward to search for a human habitation. One of the latter had a wife and two infants: the wife died of fatigue, and himself fainted. On recovering, he found his two babes already dead; but even in this extremity he cried aloud his firm resolve to live and die in the Mosaic religion. Then, gathering up sand and gravel, he heaped a pile above his head, and hasted to rejoin his fellow-sufferers, who had, meanwhile, gained some distance before him; 66 for, at the brink of death, every one cares for himself, and not for another." One mother was known to snatch up a large stone, as her infant son lay in the agony of death, and strike him on the head till he died, herself expiring almost immediately, from the exertion she had used. And it is boasted that, during the famine, in the fields before Fez, the Jews refrained from even seeking grass or roots upon the sabbath-day. A breaking up of family connexions must have taken place to a great extent. After some time, there settled in Barbary a company of 200 widows, some of whom knew their husbands to be dead, but, having no children, were bound to marry their husbands' brothers, and, as these could not be found, were precluded from marrying again. Others had missed their husbands, but could not be assured of their death, and were thus unable to marry. These, all uniting their sympathies and little property, reached Sallee, and dwelt all together, labouring diligently with their hands, and setting apart all the earnings above their own moderate expenditure, for the purpose of religion and education. Of the Jews who directed their course to Christian countries, nine caravels full arrived at Naples, already infected with disease, arising from the hardships and privations of the voyage. This pestilence was communicated to the city, and carried off 20,000 inhabitants. Others repaired to Genoa during a famine there. The citizens allowed them to land, but met them with bread in one hand and a crucifix in the other, to intimate that baptism was to be the price of appeasing their hunger. Many, instead of disembarking at Genoa, proceeded to Rome; at which influx the Jews of the Ghetto were so much alarmed that they offered the pope a bribe of a thousand ducats that he should prohibit the arrival of the strangers. Alexander was justly indignant at such a proposal, not only inhuman, but especially contrary to the usual fraternal spirit of Jews, and threatened to eject them to make room for the unfortunate exiles: to avert which disaster the Roman Jews received their brethren, and presented the pontiff with two thousand ducats. It is presumption in mortal man, with his limited knowledge, to judge the dispensations of Almighty Providence in individual cases, since the anomalies of this world are frequently left to be rectified by a future retribution; but nations, as such, have no after existence; and God's dealings may be accurately traced in them. Speedily after the expatriation of the Jews, and during the hottest reign of the inquisition, the vaunted royal descent, in both Spain and Portugal, became extinct; and in the former of these, a succession of mad or idiotic sovereigns has tended greatly to make monarchy itself a laughing-stock for the infidel and the republican. Reverses in connected sequence have shown the hollowness of that empire upon whose territories the sun could not set. The colonies, one by one, have vanished: Naples and the Netherlands have been lost: the population of the peninsula, which in the ninth century was forty millions, is now reduced to between ten and eleven millions; that of Toledo is dwindled from two hundred thousand to twenty thousand: the national politics are distracted between the democracy, with its fierce Tragala, and the bigotry of the middle-age Camarillas; each party so lately rivalling the other in cold unflinching butchery: the realm is bankrupt, without a navy, and left naked to her enemies, a reproach for every passer-by. But national judgments are equally visible in the sufferings of the Jews; and the exile from Spain was a repetition of that from Palestine: Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him; but weep sore for him that goeth away; for he shall return no more, nor see his native country." THE HORRORS OF THE SLAVE TRADE*. FRIDAY, March 31st.-A sail was observed this morning, apparently a brigantine, stealing along shore to the south of the Quilimane river. At noon, the weather being calm, I took a seat in the barge, which, with the pinnace, were ordered away, manned and armed, to overhaul the vessel, or, failing in that, to proceed up the river to Quilimane. Soon after leaving the ship, a light breeze sprung up, and the boats made sail. After steering a good while in the direction in which the vessel had been seen from the ship, we unexpectedly caught sight of her two or three points further to windward than we had supposed her to From "Fifty Days on Board a Slave Vessel;" by the rev. Pascoe Grenfell Hill, chaplain of H.M.S. "Cleopatra." London: Gilpin. 1848. The appalling narrative we extract will prove that even the merciful intentions of the captors of slave vessels may occasion the most dreadful suffering. It is enslaving of the negroes causes. How fearful then is the guilt of those who have engaged in this abominable traffic !— ED. not possible at once to put an end to the misery which the be, and, to our surprise, standing towards the frigate, which lay at anchor. About the same time we perceived a boat pulling furiously in that direction, which proved to belong to the Portuguese brig of war, anchored inside the bar. It seemed doubtful which of us would win the race; and we anxiously watched for some movement on the part of the "Cleopatra," who had now the breeze as well as ourselves. At length we saw her, at the same moment, cross her royal yards and make sail. On this, the brigantine taking alarm hauled her wind. The race meanwhile continued between our boats and the Portuguese, till one of their rowers, probably from a coup-de-soleil, was obliged to quit his oar, which made them drop astern. The night approaching compelled our boats also to abandon the chase; and, having stood on the same course half an hour after it became dark, we turned our heads back in the direction of the Quilimane river. On our return, falling in with the "Cleopatra," who continued the pursuit, the officer in charge of the boats wished to communicate with her, and supposed that she had hove to, in order to enable him to do so. Incautiously approaching her head, when close to her bows, we found that she had been just in stays, and, not perceiving our boat in the darkness, had gathered way, and was coming right down on us. In vain we hailed: "Put your helm hard a-port." No answer was returned. There was no possibility of getting out of her way. "She is right into us." A few hands were near the bowsprit, to whom we cried : "Throw us plenty of ropes." I had hastily doffed my great coat, in readiness for a swim; and, after an instant's hesitation whether it would be better to jump overboard or await the shock, and the chance of catching a rope, found my hand close to the dolphin-striker, which I seized, and the next instant clambering up I scarce knew how, clasped the image of Cleopatra, the figure-head of the frigate. Our boat had providentially been perceived just in time to throw all the sails of the frigate aback, before the collision, which otherwise would have been inevitable destruction to most of us. Of those who remained in the boat, only one was disabled, no other injury being done to the barge than smashing her mainmast: I rejoined my comrades in her, Unable, however, from the darkness of the night, and we proceeded towards the mouth of the river. to make sure of the entrance, we anchored outside the surf, and the next morning received a kind welcome from our hospitable friend Azevedo, at Quilimane. As we sat, after dinner, enjoying the cool of the evening, under a porch, he said to me: use. noir ?" On my assenting, he despatched a re"Monsieur Hill, voulez-vous voir un prince quest for the presence of the royal personage, who soon made his appearance, with a dozen attendants, from an adjacent house allotted for their This was a chief of the Macoa tribe, from about two hundred miles in the interior, who had brought some gold dust and ivory for Azevedo. He and his train had very little clothing among them, their arms and legs ornamented with rings by a distribution of brandy, they performed a of hippopotamus hide. Having been put in spirits dance, as void of grace and agility as all other negro dances that I have seen, accompanying the exhibition by clapping their hands, and a most discordant vocal chorus; the same, Azevedo told me, which they use when they go to hunt the hippopotamus, and well calculated to astound the animal, if that be their object. In return for this entertainment, two or three musical boxes were set a playing, with which the "Black Prince" was so much pleased, that he offered to give four of his attendants for one of them. On the following day we descended the river, and found the "Cleopatra" again anchored off its mouth, having failed in pursuit of the brigantine. The same afternoon we weighed anchor for the island of Fogo, about 100 miles to the north, where slave-vessels frequently seek shelter; leaving the barge and a cutter to guard the entrance to the Quilimane river. Finding nothing at Fogo, the pinnace was sent to look into the small rivers along the shore to Mozambique, 100 miles further to the north, where she rejoined us after a fruitless search; and on Monday, April 10th, we began to retrace our course to the south. length shortened sail and lay-to in good earnest: We now ranged up alongside, and eager eyes were turned on every part of the vessel. Dark, naked forms passing across her deck removed the least remaining doubt as to her character, and showed us that she had her human cargo aboard. A cutter being hoisted out, an officer was sent to take Possession, and the British ensign displaced the Brazilian. Capt. Wyvill, whom I accompanied, then followed, taking with im the surgeon, to inspect the state of health on oa dthe prize. It was a strange scene which presented itself to us when we mounted her side. The deck was crowded to the utmost with naked negroes, to the number, as stated in her papers, of 450, in almost riotous confusion, having revolted, before our arrival, against their late masters; who, on their part, also showed strong excitement, from feelings, it may be supposed, of no pleasant nature. The negroes, a meagre, famished-looking throng, having broken through all control, had seized everyWednesday, April 12th.-At day-break this thing to which they had a fancy in the vessel; morning, being again off Fogo, on return to Qui- some with hands full of "farinha," the powdered limane, the look-out at the topmast-head perceived root of the mandioc or cassava; others with large a vessel on the lee-quarter, at such a distance as pieces of pork and beef, having broken open the to be scarcely visible; but, her locality being pro- casks; and some had taken fowls from the coops, nounced very suspicious, the order was given to which they devoured raw. Many were busily "bear up for her." Our breeze was light; and dipping rags, fastened to bits of string, into the falling still lighter, at 9 A.M. the boats were or- water-casks; and, unhappily, there were some dered out, and, in a few minutes, the barge and the who, by a like method, got at the contents of a first gig, manned and armed, were pulling away cask of "aguardiente," fiery Brazilian rum, of in the direction of the stranger. So variable, which they drank to excess. The addition of our however, is the weather at this season, that, be- boats' crews to this crowd left hardly room to move fore the boats had rowed a mile from the on the deck. The shrill hubbub of noises, which ship, a squall gathered on our beam, and a thick I cannot attempt to describe, expressive, however, haze surrounded us, hiding the chase from our of the wildest joy, thrilled on the ear, mingled sight: rain fell in torrents, and we were going with the clank of the iron, as they were knocking seven knots through the water, not waiting to off their fetters on every side. It seemed that, hoist in the barge. The fog clearing away, the from the moment the first ball was fired, they had sun broke forth, and the rakish-looking brigan-been actively employed in thus freeing themselves, tine, as we now perceived her to be, appeared to in which our men were not slow in lending their have carried on all sail during the squall. A assistance. I counted but thirty shackled together steady breeze succeeded; and we began to feel in pairs; but many more pairs of shackles were pretty confident as to the issue of the race. On found below. We were not left an instant in mounting a few steps up the rigging, we could doubt as to the light in which they viewed us. see, under her sails, the low black hull, pitching They crawled in crowds, and rubbed caressingly up and down; and, being now within range of our feet and clothes with their hands, even rolling our shot, one of the forecastle guns was cleared themselves, as far as room allowed, on the deck away for a bow-chaser. The British ensign had before us. And, when they saw the crew of the been for some time flying at our peak, at length vessel rather unceremoniously sent over the side answered by the green and yellow Brazilian flag. into the boat which was to take them prisoners to Orders were given to "man the foremast quarters the frigate, they sent up a long, universal shout of on the main deck," and the due elevation given triumph and delight. to the guns, when, suddenly, the brigantine dropped her peak, shortened sail, and rounded to, as to wait for our coming up. Her pursuer, in consequence, also shortened sail, immediately on which she again made sail, and was off, in a different direction, across our bows. No time was lost in bracing our yards in pursuit, and sending back the hands to their quarters at the guns. As soon as it was brought to bear, the foremost gun was fired; and, after an eager watch of a few seconds, the ball ploughed the waters just across the bows of the chase. Another and another followed in quick succession, equally unregarded by the brigantine; and fifteen to twenty shot were fired, some ahead, some astern, some over, till, as we were evidently gaining on her every minute, and the chance of her escape became desperate, she at Account was now taken of the number of the negroes, amounting to 447. Of these were 189 men, few, however, if any, exceeding 20 years of age; 45 women; 213 boys. The number of sick among them was reckoned at 25*. Captain Wyvill proposed to take 100 on board the "Cleopatra." This humane and judicious intention was, however, unfortunately prevented from taking effect, owing to an erroneous impression that some of them were infected with small-pox. Our prize proved to be the same vessel which we chased on the 31st ult., off Quilimane - her name, the "Progresso," last from Paranagua, in Brazil, and bound, as her crew state, to Rio Janeiro. They are seventeen in number, and, with a few exceptions, active-looking, able-bodied men : * This calculation was afterwards found to be much too low. |