and obedience impossible. 'Hath God even said, Ye shall not eat of any tree of the garden,' and afterwards, as it were, with a sudden bound, pouncing upon his victim, he boldly denies the veracity of the Eternal. Ye shall not surely die.' It may be observed, in addition, that the first verse of the third chapter is connected with the account of the creation of the animals, and of Adam's naming them, which is given in the nineteenth and twentieth verses of the second chapter. The sacred writer who had just contemplated the formation of the beast of the field,' and the fowl of the air,' would naturally continue his narrative by saying, that there was one more crafty than any of them, more subtil than any wild beast which the Lord God had made.'

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(To be continued.)

ONE OF "THE POOR OF THIS WORLD RICH IN FAITH.”

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AN aged Jew in Van Dieman's Land, who, when he first came under the notice of the Christian minister, was so ignorant that he had never seen a Bible, and so hardened that his case appeared to be hopeless;" by the grace of God became a believer, and was received into the Church of Christ, in September, 1850. A letter which has recently come to hand, from the Rev. A. Stackhouse, dated Perth, Sept. 18th, 1851, gives us the very pleasing report, which we now publish, of that convert's growth in knowledge and grace. An example is presented by this young disciple of Christ, which may well put to shame many

who, while in the enjoyment of far greater privileges, are strangers to his contentment, and to that thankfulness for spiritual blessings, which enables him to bear his humbler lot with a heart full of happiness and praise for mercies received. "I have the the pleasure of giving a favourable report of our converts. Both are steadfast in the faith, and, I hope, growing in grace, regular in their attendance on the means, and endeavouring to glorify their God in all they do. The old man keeps a little shop by the road-side, and has, therefore, many opportunities of making known to others the information which he has received; and he does not fail to redeem the time. It is quite astonishing what knowledge of the Scriptures he has acquired, though he cannot read a letter. His wife reads to him, and he retains everything he hears. They are very poor, and much poorer than before his conversion, for, as a Jew, he had many resources, which are now necessarily closed, but they never complain, still less ask for relief. They are always rather disposed to give than to receive.

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The other day I was informed that they were in great poverty, in fact in want. This led me to inquire about their circumstances. They told me that they did not want luxuries, and that they were much happier than when they were richer; many people who had families were poorer than they. On my enquiring about their bread (I took a present of some flour), they showed me a loaf made of pollard, quite black and hard, which, the woman said, did very well for her, though it gave 'Sam' the heartburn. They were very thankful for the flour on this account, but told me, when I was leaving, that I need not mind what people

said about their poverty, for there were many much poorer. When I spoke of our communion fund, thinking that if they were in distress some allowance might be made to them from it, the poor woman expressed her regret that she could not give more than three-pence (they are monthly communicants); and I afterwards found that they were giving a half-penny a-week to one of our young missionary collectors for the Church Mission to the heathen!"

Thus the Lord is blessing the preaching of the Gospel, and adding to his Church everywhere such as shall be saved.

ISRAEL AND THE GENTILES.

THE JEWS IN SPAIN WITH THE CHRISTIANS.

THE prosperity of the Jews in Castile and the influence of their nobles reached its greatest height in the reigns of Alphonso XI. (1312— 1350), and his son, Peter the Cruel (1350-1369).

In the counsels and friendship of Alphonso, his physicians, Don Samuel Abenhacar, Don Samuel Benjaes, and Rabbi Moses Abudiel, held a permanent and distinguished place. The historians and chroniclers of the Spanish kings, as well as Jewish authors, mention a certain Don Joseph, called Almoxarife, or "the Treasurer," who, with Osorio, the Count de Transtamare, long possessed the king's unlimited favour; he subsequently participated in the fall of this favourite, being dismissed from office in 1329, at the request of the

*Da Costa's "Israel and the Gentiles."

Cortes. The king was at the same time compelled to promise that he would no longer employ any Jew as a Minister of the State. It appears, he either found some difficulty in supplying their place, or met with none who could serve him better, as Don Joseph, some years after, was reinstated in the ministry.

Don Pedro, the successor of Alphonso, surpassed his father in the characteristic cruelty for which they are both noted in history, and which gave to the former his surname among the kings of Leon and Castile. This king also showed the Jews much favour, though he ill requited Don Samuel el Levi for the faithful services he had rendered as a statesman. The ancient Spanish chronicle of king Pedro's reign gives an account of his services that does honour to the sagacity of the Israelitish Minister of Finance; relating in a simple style how he enriched the Royal treasury at the expense of the avaricious and dishonest taxgatherers, compelling them by severe measures to give in their accounts and make good their receipts. Without proof given of any maladministration or crime whatever, the Israelitish minister of Don Pedro shared the fate of many other favourites, and even near relations to the king. He was condemned to the torture, under which he expired in 1360. It appears that his disgrace did not extend further than of his numerous family, distinguished also for their immense wealth. We find, too, other Israelites mentioned at the same time as in high esteem at court during this reign,-Don Samuel, son of Don Meir Aben Maza, the head of the synagogue.

A Hebrew inscription of the year 1366, when the edifice was built and consecrated as a syna

gogue, is even now in great part legible in the Church of Nuestro Senore del Tansito, at Toledo. It celebrates one of the three Samuels, praising him as a man fitted "for war or for peace," and mentioning his services in behalf of the Jewish nation. This Samuel could not be the famous treasurer of Don Pedro; for he was put to death by that prince about seven years before the date of the inscription in the synagogue. It is therefore conjectured, that this memorial is raised to Don Samuel the son of Don Meir. The date of the inscription, expressed in the Hebrew manner by letters, marks the seventh year of the reign of Don Pedro, to whom, perhaps at that very period, the Jews had given a remarkable proof of their fidelity, if as many think, prince Henry de Transtamare, who had raised the standard of revolt against the king, was then endeavouring to gain possession of Toledo. The fidelity of the Jewish population was eminently displayed towards the cruel but legitimate king of Castile, by the bravery with which the Jews of Burgos defended both the town and their own quarter against the rebels. Very soon after, the king died, and in him the direct line of the Burgundian dynasty of Leon and Castile came to an end. With his brother, prince Henry, began an illegitimate dynasty from the same house, of which Queen Isabella was the last who succeeded to the throne.

From the unanimous testimony of the chronicles of the Church, and of their own writers, we learn how large a share of influence, wealth, and consideration was at that time possessed by the Jews in Spain. Jewish historians attached such high importance to these privileges, that they applied to this age the prophecy of Jacob,