are of all colours, but a dull red is that most commonly used. White papers show that the families who adopt them have lost one of their number during the past twelvemonth. If two years of mourning are required, blue paper is used upon the death of a father, yellow for that of a mother, and flesh-coloured for a grand-parent. Bright red paper denotes three years of mourning; after that time, the dull red is generally used. The Chinese do not know how Jesus is the resurrection and the life, having taken away the sting of death. On the last day of the old year, all work is generally finished, and provisions prepared before the holidays begin. Many porters are seen in the streets, loaded with the presents that friends are accustomed to purchase for each other. At sunset, the heads of houses of business are seen, deeply engaged with their sons or assistants, in adjusting their accounts and setting all matters in order. The Chinese are so strict on this point, that they say they could not enjoy their festival, or even sleep at night, unless they had first released their minds from all the cares of business. While the fathers are thus employed, their families are burning gold paper, as an offering to their idols. Afterwards, they all meet for a plentiful supper, with, perhaps, a pan of coals placed on the centre of their table. This is to remind them to honour the fire as the mightiest of the elements. The children at this time are particularly attentive in waiting upon their parents and friends, filling their glasses, and fetching spoons or chop-sticks for them to eat with. Conversation is kept up, and when the coals are burned out, and the old people are sleepy, the young ones are ready to sit up half the night. After supper, the next business is to destroy the lanterns, which are always kept alight in these gloomy dwellings. From the burning of their ashes, they endeavour to foretell whether the next year will be wet or dry; for they dread a dry season, as causing famine. These ashes are divided into twelve little parcels; and that which is burned first, is supposed to betoken the month when there will be most rain and least sunshine. Mr. Smith, an Englishman, saw this done by one family, in 1846, and he observed, that the people seemed pleased at the result. He asked them if it were the same in their neighbours' houses also. They answered, that they had nothing to do with that. Early in the morning they go to the temples, and then spend the rest of the day in social visits. Many of them pass the holidays in games of chance, which and all occasion quarrels and other evils; the people, as is very evident, are destitute of the one thing needful,-the only source of happiness. When we think of their blindness, in bowing down to gods that cannot save, we should be thankful that we were not born in China.-Dr. Barth. THE HALL ON THE HILL. ANY one of three distinct roads will bring the visitor to the clean looking, quiet, and apparently comfortable village of Merston. Taking that from the nearest market town, and descending a slope, after crossing a rustic bridge, a large iron and handsomely-formed gate, surmounted with armorial bearings, richly coloured As it is and gilded, starts into view. gradually approached, the eye glimpses shrubs, flowers, and verdant grass, over which tower elms, oaks, and acacias, while beyond, fruitful fields and pastures stretch out in graceful undulations, and blend with the base of distant hills;—a favoured scene in one of our midland counties, divested indeed of sublimities by which others are adorned, yet, having no ordinary beauties, to delight the eye, and refresh the heart, in the contemplation of the richly varied gifts of our bounteous Benefactor. The hall is not visible from the high road; it is situated considerably to the right of the entrance, at which stands the porter's picturesque lodge; and placed on a hill which commands a view of no ordinary extent and fertility, is reached by a broad carriage sweep. The modern edifice, on the site of one which long stood there, contains all the elegances and indulgences of the present age; and if happiness always followed in the train of wealth, nothing would remain for its inhabitants to desire. The village itself, which is gained after making another descent, stretches out for a considerable distance. The inn, with its glaring red lion moved backwards and forwards by the wind in its old iron frame, with a saddle-horse, or a light cart, standing before it, cannot fail to be noticed. Right and left, farmhouses are seen, with their homesteads, and perhaps a few cattle in the inner close, while the dwellings of the pea santry present the usual variety of care Happily at that juncture, Caleb Ford and neglect, of comfort and discomfort; (for those most intimately acquainted here one little better than an Irish cabin, with him always called him Caleb) and there another with some flowering brought in a lock which he wished to be shrubs; nor will the vigilant observer repaired. He had not long retired from fail to notice a little shop or two for business and settled in the neighbourvarious commodities, or the window hood; his qualities gained for him the which tempts the young with its net of esteem of all classes, and on hearing balls, its cakes, and gingerbread, and its Watkins' remark, he did not fail to exbottles of indescribable sweets; inter- press his hope and belief that the most mingled with the history of "Good King judicious and determinate means would Pepin," or "Simple Simon," which, with be employed to put down insurrection, ballads, still more exceptionable, are, un- and to bring its instigators to the punishhappily, not yet banished from our village | ment they deserved. lore. The most striking object to the passerby is the blacksmith's shop, having a corner of its own, looking fierce and repulsive in the warmer months, and casting a glare around on winter nights, which threatens to dismount the timid equestrian, who suddenly comes upon it in the gloom. A little time may well be spent by those unaccustomed to such spots, in intelligently looking into that murky place. The occasional sojourner may see what in other places will not meet his view-as the brawny-armed men fashion the iron that has been heated till it becomes plastic as leadweld two pieces brought to a dazzling whiteness together, so that no mark of union exists-skilfully adapt the shoe to the horse's foot, or the tire to the huge wagon wheel-or file the iron or steel, till it has a form and polish, which would seem hardly attainable by such rude artisans. But more than this-he who would learn the state of thought and feeling among our peasantry, should listen to the conversation which often takes place there; for the forge is visited for some purpose or other by every grade. The freedom that prevails is favourable to truth, though discoveries may often be made which are not only painful but deeply afflictive to the benevolent mind. It was one day in the early part of last that several persons had met at year, Clare's shop, when popular topics came under discussion, which may not only deserve to be recorded, but deeply and frequently pondered. Watkins, the chief of the village politicians, had just been reading some paragraphs from his weekly paper, (for which he subscribed with two or three others,) relating to the threatened disturbances in London, and complacently closed the perusal by saying, Well! it's high time there was change!" a "You know, Mr. Ford," rejoined Watkins, "that some people have a great deal too much money, and others far too little. Just think of the difference between old Tom Atkins and Mr. Clifford at the hall. Now, I would have an alteration, to set these matters to rights; and a pretty large one it should be, I can tell you.' "There goes Thompson, the lawyer,” said Sims, (the echo of Watkins, who admitted at once whatever he said, and often affirmed that his friend ought to be 66 a Parliament man")-"I hate all such people," he added; "why, what can be worse than our laws?" "Let us look a little into the matter, my friend," said Caleb, with his usual calmness and benignity; for he never thought it well to assail an antagonist with some opprobrious epithet, to mortify him by a sarcasm, or to sting him with a repartee;" I wish every one of you to be well off-every man, woman, and child to be happy as the day is long; but how to secure to you these great benefits is the question. Were a stranger at Merston, wishing to reach the nearest market-town, he would gain it, you know, if he took the right-hand bridle road after passing the inn; but if he chose the left, the further and faster he walked, the greater distance he would be from it." 66 kins. Exactly so, Mr. Ford," said Wat "Now, Sims," said Caleb Ford, "suppose a man went to a tribe of savages, and taught one to make such bows and arrows as the rest had never seen, and another to lay up a store of good provision, to which he might go when the chase failed, and a third to render his hovel better than any other; what would be the consequences? Why, some would be inclined to envy what others possessed, to coax them out of it, or to seize it craftily by violence. Nothing of value can be safe among the uncivilized. 'That they should get who have the power,' is the one great thought of barbarous life, and trickery and force its common and invariable history. The only way to put an end to outrage is, to establish a right of property; it is done in the earliest stages of society, and on it depends the security of whatever you possess, as well as the hall to Mr. Clifford, or any other of his houses and lands." “Ah! that's all man's doings," said Watkins, (coming to the rescue of Sims, who was a little perplexed,) " I hold that property is a natural right. The patriarchs went where they liked to feed their flocks and herds; no lawyer ever stopped them. Why, there was not one of these people in those days." "True," said Caleb Ford; "but we are not in the condition of the patriarchs. It is absolutely impossible, according to the arrangements of Providence, that we should be; and in the state to which we have come, right is established, and to this all our comfort and security is owing. Many a frightful and continued strife was endured before this precious boon became ours, and anarchy and confusion, misery and death would result from its loss. Mr. Thompson is a worthy member of a profession often abused and belied, but as much trusted as any other; and were all to act as he does, the tongue of calumny and falsehood would be silenced." "Times are not what they were, Mr. Ford," said Watkins. "Let me read to you a little piece from my newspaper: 'A time there was, ere England's griefs began, When every rood of ground maintain'd its man; But now, alas! Along the lawn, where scatter'd hamlets rose, Unwieldy wealth and cumbrous pomp repose.' There! does not that show that I am right?" "The lines you have just quoted," Caleb Ford replied, "are well known to me. They were written by Oliver Goldsmith, who was a far better poet than a politician; for when land is too much divided, experience has shown that there is only a multiplication of wretchedness. The case of a day labourer is far superior to that of a very little farmer, for he not only works harder, but fares worse. There is still many a farm on which the tenant, let him do what he will, can obtain extremely little. How often have you heard of farms being given up, because their costs eat up all their returns! Look, too, how population increases. For all that come into the world, provision should be made; and if we had only to depend on the single rood of land' for each, multitudes must perish. Even in the patriarchal age, to which you have referred, arose Tubal Cain, an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron;' and without such persons, and others on whom they are dependent, the people at large could not live. We cannot do, except by the aid of the useful arts. Here, for instance, is Clare, who not only shoes the horses, and keeps the cart and wagon-wheels_ready for service, but looks after the ploughs and other agricultural implements, while some of these can only be made in large works at a distance; and for these there must not merely be a felling of timber, but a moulding and working in various metals, all of which have to be dug from the bowels of the earth, and to be smelted in huge furnaces, before they are ready for use. Now tell me, Watkins, what is required by the farmer, that he may obtain what he wants, and by Clare, for what he supplies?" "I should say capital, Mr. Ford,” said Watkins. "But "Very true," replied Caleb. property, be it what it may, must not be exposed to wanton invasion. Not long ago, as you must remember, the hall of one of our nobles was entered, under the idea that it belonged to another party; but it was shown that they had no legal claim to it, and were rightly punished for their outrage. We should all be at the mercy of the stronger, apart from what we have being made ours by law. And not only so, but without this there could be no improvement; the improvement which is constantly and absolutely necessary to feed and to clothe a people who double in numbers in about thirty years. Would you do all you could to culture your land, Hilton," (Caleb asked, of a bluff and hard-working yeoman, living in a farm close by,) "if you were in danger of your crops being carried off as soon as ripe, or of your land being taken from you at any time?" "Indeed I should not, sir," said Hilton. "I think, too, Sims's wife would not have made his cottage so clean and sleek, nor would he work in his garden to make it so trim, if he thought he should be turned out at Midsummer or Martinmas." "I fully agree with you, Hilton," said Caleb Ford; "it is so in other instances, and in every part of the world. Were Sims the possessor of ten thousand pounds, he would not invest it in Ireland, which is now just like a volcano threatening an eruption; or in France, where the revolution has just taken place. There must be property in land, and property made safe, before it will be cultured; and what would become of us without its produce?" "I would have the people gather the crops they have grown," said Watkins, "and I would have them sell their corn, their sheep, and their cattle; but when the law comes in, and takes away parcels of land which belonged to all mankind, to give them to a few, and make them rich, while the rest are poor why then these are deprived of their natural rights, great injury is done, and there is a state of things that requires alteration." "That is," said Caleb Ford, " you would secure what is produced, but not the means of producing it. In other words, you would let Clare sell all the horseshoes and wheel-tires he could make; but as to his forge, anybody who pleased might work that, and his tools would belong to those who could first lay hands on them. A stronger man might eject him at once, a few might shut him out of his shop, and put out another sign." “You see,” said Watkins, (evading the force of the appeal,) "I am for liberty. What is man without liberty? and what freedom can there be, when one man is as rich as Mr. Clifford, and another poor, as old Tom Atkins?" "I am for liberty too," said Caleb Ford; "but strange ideas are abroad as to what liberty is. A few weeks ago, a man in London was carrying long poles on the pavement, and running helterskelter against everybody he met. In spite of all remonstrances, he went on, endangering the heads and limbs of the passengers, until at length he was very properly taken before a magistrate, when his only defence was, he had liberty to do as he liked. To this the magistrate justly replied, he had liberty to do what did not interfere with the well-being of others; that any invasion of this liberty was an offence; and that if he transgressed in this way again, he should be committed to prison. Every man when he enters into society, as Blackstone tells us, gives up a part of his natural liberty, as the price of so valuable a purchase; and in consideration of receiving numerous advantages, obliges himself to conform to those laws which the community has thought proper to establish. No man, who considers a moment, would wish to retain the absolute and uncontrolled power of doing whatever he pleases; the consequence of which would be, that every other man would also have the same power, and there would be no security to individuals in any of the enjoyments of life. Civil liberty, therefore, which is that of a member of society, is no other than natural liberty, so far restrained by human laws, and no further, as is necessary and expedient for general advantage." Watkins wanted to reply to this, but after a vain attempt, he adopted the course usually taken on such occasions, by trying another expedient: "What good is the rich people's money to the poor? And then who likes to live on charity?" "The humbler classes of the people," said Caleb Ford, "do not live on charity, but labour. You cannot obtain crops of corn where these plants are in a wild state. They are rendered what they are by the blessing of God on the labours of man. Thousands of the people are therefore employed in their culture, and thousands on thousands more in supplying the implements with which they work, the clothes they wear, the materials and furniture of their dwellings, and various articles of their food. Have you been, Watkins," he added, "to see your brother since he has settled in Lincolnshire?" "I have," said Watkins, "and have not been home more than a fortnight." "Well then," said Caleb Ford, "you have actually seen what once was called 'the fen,' changed into rich pastures and plenteous corn-fields. The drain-plough has worked wonders in many an acre of bog; and let but the same enterprise and skill and perseverance be displayed in other places, and the fruitless soil will yield abundant harvests. The capital of the man in humble life is his labour. In using it he is a valuable member of the community; the noble is dependent on his tenants, tenants on the people in their service, and all can only go on well when each one discharges his duty in the fear of God and in love to his neighbour. Were you to have property left you, and were to live upon it, it would grow less and less, until it was gone, unless it was very large, or your demands were very small. But suppose you employed it, in which case others would be benefited by its use as well as by what you spent, you might retain the capital, and live partly or wholly on the interest. Which would you do, Watkins?" "I should put it out where it would bring in most," he answered. "Would you lodge it with those who were likely to stop payment," inquired Caleb Ford," or where you believed it would be secure?" "Trust me for that," replied Watkins. "Well, then," said Caleb Ford, "you would only do what Mr. Clifford does; he holds his property by law, and when he lends any money or buys any land, he employs Mr. Thompson to see that the bonds and title-deeds are all right; and he spends a large income to the advantage of labour and trade and commerce. And now tell me, if when you come into this property, some one were to forge your signature and get the money you had in the funds, or burn down your barns, or your house, what would you do?" "I would have them prosecuted, as they would richly deserve," said Watkins. Then," said Caleb Ford, "you and I are not so far apart as when we began. You could only have wished for the changes which some men contemplate, without due thought. To render property insecure, is not only to take vengeance on the rich, but to deprive the humble classes of the means of subsistence. The men who give themselves out as 'friends of the people,' are frequently their direst enemies. I trust, therefore, that the violence of which we hear will be put down by the strong arm of the law, that the wrong-doers will be justly punished, and that the diffusion of just views among the people will render the transgressors few and feeble. Above all, I look to God for his preserving mercy, and his overruling of the commotions that prevail, for great and lasting good. He makes the wrath of man to praise him, and the remainder of that wrath he can restrain. Other topics, on which I should like to have touched, we must defer till a future day." V. V. THE FIRST MISSION TO THE JEWS. ESERAS EDZARDI, a German Jew, who, was born at Hamburg, July 28th, 1629, after finishing his education, resided, from choice, in his native city without any regular profession, except the instruction of the young, to which he voluntarily devoted himself. His attainments in Hebrew and rabbinical literature gained him considerable renown, and brought many strangers to visit him, who were desirous of instruction from him; but these circumstances also led to his withdrawal from the Jews, who were very numerous at Hamburg, and his becoming acquainted with the truths of Christianity. In the course of time, he was himself converted, and resolved to raise a fund for the promotion of the work of conversion among the Jews. He made a beginning on October 9th, 1667, by setting apart two hundred dollars from his own stores. By the kind assistance of his relatives, connexions, and pupils, either given at once, or in annual contributions, the fund was so considerably increased, that supplies were afforded, not only to the Jews who were under instruction, but also towards the support of those who were baptized. Until his death, which took place in 1702, Edzardi, in connexion with his friend Everarel Anhelmann, the professor of oriental languages in that academy, devoted his time to the instruction of his countrymen, and had the satisfaction of seeing that his labours among them were not wholly in vain. The amount of his fund also gradually increased. First, books and clothes were purchased for those who were under his instruction, then the hire of dwellings and the expenses of funerals, afterwards marriage presents were given, and a physician was engaged, so that the annual expenditure amounted to one thousand Prussian dollars. The two sons of the founder, who were both professors in the Gymnasium of Hamburg, undertook the management of the concern, and after their death, it went to their male descendants. The last of these died in 1760, and the female branches of the family found difficulty in undertaking the charge of it; but, after some time, it was intrusted to five individuals, who were all connected with the family of Edzardi, and the institution has been carried on, under various changes, down to the present time. In the year 1835, a school was established in connexion with it. The number of proselytes, who receive baptism, varies; on an average four are annually received, but none were admitted between the years 1786 |