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hospital, went again into these vaults, and brought out a great number of the bats, many of which I saw. Bats, it is well known, delight to take up their abode in caverns and dark places. Many travellers have noticed the immense numbers of them found in caverns in the East; and Layard tells, that, on occasion of a visit to a cavern, these noisome beasts compelled him to retreat. In Isaiah ii. 20 it is written thus: "In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats." To this day these animals find a congenial lurking abode "amidst the remains of idols, and the sculptured representations of idolatrous practices;" thus attesting the meaning of the prophet Isaiah's words.-We returned to the city through the Damascus gate; and near the gate, inside, we stayed to examine the remains of an old tower, and marked particularly the well-hewn massive stones regularly laid in their courses, and evidently forming part of some ancient structure. These remains of ancient Jerusalem are well worthy of inspection. There is a tower near the Jaffa gate, in which the lower courses of the stones are of large dimensions, and the masonry is evidently very old; the ancient and the modern parts of the structure being well defined. The lower portion is generally considered to be the remains of the Tower of Hippicus, which was built in the reign of Herod. The present Damascus gate is supposed to occupy the site of the " gate of Ephraim of Scripture: it is the most ornamental of all the city gates, and is a handsome specimen of Saracenic architecture. From it runs the great road northward to Damascus. The workmanship of its lower portions, like that of a part of the western wall, is ancient; and here are seen some massive stones similar to those at the corners of the temple area. I next visited that quarter of the city which lies eastward of the Damascus gate, and is called Bezetha, from the name of the hill on which it is built. This, the northeastern quarter of the city, is but thinly peopled. Most of the space within the wall is covered with ruins and rubbish, or occupied by gardens and patches of wheat. The whole of the north-east corner of the city, as one traveller describes it, is one continuous cornfield; and when he saw it, on the 30th of April, the wheat was in ear. Josephus informs us that, as the city grew more populous, it gradually crept beyond its old limits; and those parts of it that stood northward of the temple, and joined that hill to the city,

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made it considerably larger, and occasioned that hill, which is in number the fourth, and is called "Bezetha," to be inhabited also. It lies over against the tower Antonia, but is divided from it by a deep valley. This new-built part of the city, · he adds, was called "Bezetha" in our language; which, if interpreted in the Grecian language, may be called "the New City." From a correspondent.

THE SCOTCH PEARL-FISHERY.—A paragraph recently quoted in "The Times" from "The Scotsman " refers to a successful attempt which has just been made to revive the Scotch pearl-fisheries. It has long been known to naturalists and antiquaries that pearls of great beauty and size were at one time found in the Scotch streams. Tytler, in his " History of Scotland," states that so early as the twelfth century there was a demand for Scotch pearls abroad. Those in the possession of Alexander I., he says, were celebrated for their size and beauty. In 1355 Scotch pearls are referred to in a statute of the Parisian goldsmiths, by which it was enacted that no worker in gold or silver should set them with oriental pearls, except in large ornaments or jewels for churches. They are noticed again in the reign of Charles I., when the Scotch pearl trade was considered of sufficient importance to be worthy of the attention of Parliament. The following extract from "An Accompt Current betwixt Scotland and England," by John Spruel, Edinburgh, 1705, shows that they were then well known. "If a Scotch pearl be of a fine transparent colour and perfectly round, and of any great bigness, it may be worth 15, 20, 30, 40, to 50 rixdollars; yea, I have given 100 rixdollars (£16 9s. 2d.) for one, but that is rarely to get such......I have dealt in pearl these forty years and more; and yet, to this day, I could never sell a necklace of fine Scots pearl in Scotland, nor yet fine pendents, the generality seeking for oriental pearls, because further fetcht. At this very day I can show some of our own Scots pearl as fine, more hard and transparent, than any oriental. It's true that the oriental can be easier matcht, because they are all of a yellow water; yet foreigners covet Scots pearl.' Oliver Goldsmith, in his "Natural History," refers to a pearl-fishery rented on the Tay; and Hugh Miller, in our own days, has spoken of rivers in the north famous for their pearls. As a branch of industry, however, the Scotch pearl-fishery seems to have been wellnigh forgotten, when, in 1860, M. Moritz Unger, a foreigner, settled in Edinburgh,

conceived the idea of making a tour through the districts where the pearl-fish was known to abound. He discovered that pearl-fishing was not altogether forgotten, and found pearls in various parts of the country in the hands of people who could not estimate their value. He purchased all he could procure. The consequence was that in the following year many persons-colliers, masons, labourers, and others-began to devote their leisure to pearl-fishing, and many of them were so successful as during the summer months to make as much as £8 to £10 weekly. In the summer of 1862, which was dry and favourable to fishing operations, more pearls were procured than during any previous year in Scotland at this time; and the average price of a Scotch pearl was from £2 6s. to 10s. £5 was considered a high price. Since the fisheries were revived, their price has rapidly risen, and they now fetch prices ranging from £5 to £20. One Scotch pearl was bought by Her

Majesty for forty guineas. The Duchess of Hamilton and the Empress of the French have also purchased fine specimens at high prices; and M. Unger has in his possession a necklace of Scotch pearls, which he values at £350. The process of fishing is very simple. The fi her, having discovered a bed of the fresh-water shell-fish or oyster known to naturalists as the Mytilus Margaritifera, wades to it with a stick split at the end, between the two parts of which the oyster is seized. When he has collected a sufficient number, he opens them with a knife, and ascertains if there is any pearl inside. Of course, great numbers may be opened without success; and in this respect pearlfishing resembles gold-digging. The Tay, the Don, the Leith, the Garry, and the Tummel are said to abound most in pearl-oysters; but it seems they are to be found in a large number of the Scotch streams, and more especially in those of the north and west.

POETRY.

NEW VERSION OF "JERUSALEM THE GOLDEN."

ADAPTED FOR CONGREGATIONS AND SUNDAY-SCHOOLS.

JERUSALEM the Golden,

With God's own presence bless'd, In thoughts of thee, fair city, Sink heart and voice oppress'd: No mortal tongue can tell me What hallow'd joys are there, What bright, unfading glory,

What peace beyond compare.

Ever those mansions holy

Echo with sweetest song;
With strains of angel-harpers,
And all the ransom'd throng:
For sin may never visit

That Paradise of joy,
And tears are ever banish'd,
And smiles have no alloy.

There Jesus sits, all-glorious;

And there, from toil released,
His saints partake His triumph,
And in His presence feast:
For once, beneath His banner,
They conquered in the fight,
And now by Him, their Captain,
Are clad in robes of white.

Jerusalem the Holy !

While wrestling here below, In thee is all my glory,

In me is all my woe; Yea, shall be, till I'm summon'd, In fulness of His grace, The King in all His beauty To worship face to face.

Ever on thee, dear country,

My longing eyes I keep; Even now, by faith beholding Thy shores, for joy I weep: The mention of thy glory

With gladness filis my breast; "T is medicine in my sickness, And peace, and joy, and rest. O blest and happy country! When shall I see thy face, And in thy sacred borders

Find a sure resting-place ? Jesu! in mercy bring me

Safe to the hon e of rest, To be with Thee, the Father, And Spirit, ever blest!

X.

A MOUNTAIN SONG OF PRAISE.

The mountain Nestorians, (says Dr. Perkins,) like the people of most wild countries, cherish a profound attachment to their native eliffs. Indeed, their local associations, their brave character, and religious patriotism, are about as well described by the beautiful Waldensian hymn, as are those of the dwellers of Piedmont.

FOR the strength of the hills we bless
Thee,

Our God, our fathers' God;
Thou hast made Thy children mighty,

By the touch of the mountain sod;
Thou hast fix'd our ark of refuge,

Where the spoiler's feet ne'er trod ;— For the strength of the hills we bless Thee,

Our God, our fathers' God. We are watchers of a beacon, Whose light must never die ; We're guardians of an altar,

'Midst the silence of the sky; The rocks yield founts of courage,

Struck forth as by Thy rod ;For the strength of the hills we bless Thee,

Our God, our fathers' God.

For the dark resounding caverns,

Where Thy still small voice is heard; For the strong pines of the forest,

Which by Thy strength are stirr'd; For the storm, on whose free pinions Thy Spirit walks abroad;

For the strength of the hills we bless Thee,

Our God, our fathers' God.

The royal eagle darteth,

On his quarry, from the heights; And the stag, that knows no master, Seeks there his wild delights; But we, for Thy communion,

Have sought the mountain sod ;For the strength of the hills we bless Thee,

Our God, our fathers' God.

The banner of the chieftain
Far, far below us waves;
The war-horse of the spearman
Cannot reach our lofty caves;
Thy dark clouds wrap the threshold
Of Freedom's last abode ;-
For the strength of the hills we bless
Thee,

Our God, our fathers' God.

For the shadow of Thy presence,
Round our camp of rock outspread ;
For the stern defiles of battle,

Bearing record of our dead;
For the snows, and for the torrents,
For the free hearts' burial-sod ;-
For the strength of the hills we bless
Thee,

Our God, our fathers' God.

AN EVENING HYMN.

GOD, who makest earth and heaven,

Darkness and light!

Who the day for toil hast given,

For rest the night!

May Thine angel guards defend us, Slumber sweet Thy mercy send us, Holy dreams and hopes attend us,

This livelong night!

Jesus, without Thy salvation,
We have no light!

But by Thee we have redemption
From nature's night.

To Thee may Thy Spirit lead us,
And from sin for ever keep us;
May He ne'er be grieved, and leave us
In endless night!

Guard us waking, guard us sleeping;
And, when we die,

May we, in Thy mighty keeping,
All peaceful lie!

When the last dread call shall wake us,
Do not then, our God, forsake us,
But to reign in glory take us,
With Thee on high !

WESLEYAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY.

BRIEF SURVEY OF SOME PARTS OF THE FIELD OCCUPIED BY THE

METHODIST MISSIONS.

OUR ANTIPODES.

A LINE carried over sea and land direct from London to the South Pole will leave England not far from Brighton, and, passing through Normandy and the

heart of France, over the Pyrenees, through Spain, across the Mediterranean Sea to Oran in French Algeria, through the Great Desert of Africa, and dividing between the kingdoms of Ashanti and Dahomi, will again reach the ocean near Akrah, and touch no other land until it reaches the Antarctic Circle. Continue the line on the other side of the globe from the South Pole northwards, and, in passing over the Great Pacific Ocean to Russian territory, it will leave Tasmania, Australia, and New Zealand on the left, and strike the Fiji Islands at Somo Somo, in 16° 50' south latitude, and 180° longitude. At this point let us commence our survey of the

ISLANDS OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC.

Fiji Islands.-The Fiji Islands, although by measurement nearly as distant from Great Britain as any point can be, on a straight line, are more easily approached than many nearer countries, because the way to them is by sea. If those regions had been part of a vast continent, they might have been as difficult of access as some parts of Asia and Africa now are, which remain unexplored to this day, and their inhabitants in heathen darkness; while many of the Fijians are no longer pagans and cannibals, but happy and consistent Christians. Fiji remained unknown to Europe until the Pacific was explored by the adventurous navigator Tasman, in the seventeenth century. How long this large group of islands has been peopled, is not known. The Missionaries first became acquainted with the Fijians about forty years ago, by meeting some of this remarkable race of barbarians assisting at the royal pageants, celebrated by the chiefs of the Friendly Islands. After due inquiry, and such scanty preparation as they were able to make, some of these good men ventured with their families to visit the savages and settle among them. Their perilous Mission proved successful. God was pleased to favour their undertaking. They learned the language of the Fijians; and communicated to them the tidings of salvation in the name of the Lord Jesus. One half the inhabitants of Fiji have embraced the profession of Christianity; many of them are happy in the enjoyment of personal religion, and others are earnestly seeking that blessing. The more remote regions have heard of the Gospel; and it is hoped that these abodes of spiritual darkness will soon be enlightened by the knowledge of the one true God, and of His mercy to mankind in the Lord Jesus Christ.*

Friendly Islands.-The Mission to the Friendly Islands preceded the Mission to Fiji: it was first undertaken by the Rev. Walter Lawry, then resident in New South Wales, more than forty years ago. Mr. Lawry made only a brief stay in the islands. But he found in Tonga the impression left by the labours of the Missionaries of the London Missionary Society, who some years before, after a brief residence, and much affliction, had quitted the islands to return no more. The Mission families who settled in Tonga, met with many severe trials. They were badly sheltered from the sun and rain and hurricanes, by the frail tenements prepared for them. For weeks and months together they were destitute of suitable

See Memoirs of the Rev. William Cross, by the Rev. John Hunt. Life of the Rev. John Hunt, by the Rev. G. S. Rowe. Life of Mrs. Cargill, by Rev. David Cargill. Rev. John Waterhouse's Journals in the Missionary Notices. Journals of the Rev. Walter Lawry, edited by the Rev. Elijah Hoole. Vah-ta-ha, by the Rev. Joseph Waterhouse. Events in Fiji, by the Rev. David Cargill. Fiji and the Fijians, by the Rev, Thomas Williams and the Rev. James Calvert. Life in Fiji; or, Five Years among the Cannibals, by a Lady. Ten Months in Fiji, by Mrs. Colonel Smythe. Viti; Mission to the Fiji Islands, by Dr. Seemann. Parliamentary Blue Book on Fiji.

food; and they encountered many risks to health, and even to life itself, from the ignorant cruelty of the natives.

The result of the labours, sufferings, and prayers of these self-denying men and women, is seen in the entire overthrow of heathenism, and the acknowledgment of the kingdom of God. The idols of Tonga are now dispersed as curiosities among the museums of Europe and Australia; the idol-temples have been abandoned or destroyed; while the frequency of chapels and schools throughout the islands testifies the universal profession of Christianity, and an observable advance in the arts and comforts of civilized life.*

New Zealand.-The Missionary who fifty years ago was appointed to minister to the natives and settlers in New South Wales, had his attention called to the New Zealanders by the Rev. Samuel Marsden, senior chaplain in the colony, who established the first Mission for the benefit of New Zealand in the Bay of Islands in the year 1814. At Mr. Marsden's request, Mr. Leigh visited that station in the year 1818, and was impressed with a call of duty to establish a Mission for the conversion of the Maories, then in a state of unchecked barbarism. The commotions among that vengeful and warlike people delayed the commencement of the NewZealand Mission until the year 1822; and the same broke up the Mission at Wangaroa, in 1827. In the course of the same year the Missionaries returned from Sydney to Hokianga, on the river Thames, without any certainty that they should not soon again be disturbed. In New Zealand the Missionaries laboured in friendly co-operation with the agents and clergy of the Church Missionary Society, each Society having its own range of territory defined with tolerable accuracy. Their success in subduing the natives to Christianity is matter of history. It is no small triumph of modern Missions, that a people acknowledging neither angel nor spirit for God, who were not even idolaters but atheists, should have been brought to the knowledge of God, to a reverence for the Bible, and to the practice and love of Christian worship, public, social, and private. The story of the conversion of the New Zealanders, as related in the "Notices" and "Reports," and as epitomized with graphic effect in Strachan's "Life of Leigh," is one of the most interesting episodes in Mission History. In process of time New Zealand has been colonized, and has become a dependency of the British Empire, having a Governor appointed from England, and a church establishment with a Bishop at its head; but the natives continue to be powerful and wealthy, and assert a kind of rude equality with their colonial neighbours. They have never been so liberal to their teachers as the other islanders; and the Missions to the settlers are still in comparative infancy: so that the cost of New Zealand to the Society, for the present, is considerable. And yet to New Zealand, as well as to Fiji and Tonga, attention may be directed, as a most remarkable instance of a whole people being subdued and humanized by the preaching of the word of God, and this within the memory of men now living. Are not such instances of success better than a thousand arguments for the further prosecution of Mission-work in other lands?†

The London Society was the first to undertake Missions to the South-Sea Islands. In Tahiti, their earliest Mission, in the New Hebrides, in the Loyalty Islands, and in Samoa, they have been favoured with remarkable success.

* Tonga and the Friendly Islands, by Miss Farmer.

+ Life of the Rev. Samuel Leigh, by the Rev. Alexander Strachan. Life of the Rev. J. H. Bumby, by the Rev. Alfred Barrett. The Southern World, by the Rev. Robert Young. Australia, with Notes by the Way, by the Rev. Dr. Jobson.

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