Some of them, however, hoping to forward their own interests, ventured

into the abbey, loaded with valuable presents for the monarch; but as

they knelt before him, the king spurned them with his foot, and the

courtiers followed his example. A great outcry was immediately raised

outside the abbey; and at the same time a report was spread, that

Richard had given an order for the general massacre of the Jews. An

order so agreeable to the people, who hated the race of Israel, was

instantly acted upon; and under this false impression, hundreds of

Jews perished miserably: houses were broken open, and all the

inhabitants murdered; or if they resisted the entrance of their foes,

their houses were set on fire. Many of these wretched Jews put their

own wives and children to death, to prevent their falling into the

merciless hands of the Christians. The day after the coronation, a

proclamation was published to stop these shocking acts; but the fury

of the people was not so easily checked, and the persecution continued

in some degree for several months. Nor was it confined to London, for

in other parts of England similar outrages were committed upon the

unfortunate Jews.

When Richard the First went to Palestine to take part in the Third

Crusade, the Jews suffered a still worse persecution; for although

they had furnished the king with large sums of money for the expenses

of this war, their enemies were not satisfied.

It has been said, that in those times the Jews best understood how to

get rich by trade; one way in which they made money was, by lending it

at high interest. If, for instance, any person wanted a large sum of

money at once, in order to buy an estate, or carry out any great

object, he would borrow it of the Jews; engaging, in return, to pay a

certain sum every year, or every month, as _interest_ on the money

lent, until he could repay the whole sum.

The Jews who lent money asked very high interest for it; and were

often guilty of great injustice and harshness to those who had

borrowed it: all this added considerably to the hatred felt towards

the Hebrew race on account of their religion.

Chapter VIII.--IMPOSTORS IN THE TWELFTH CENTURY.

When Richard the First was making preparations for the Holy War, (as

the Crusade was called,) his Christian subjects felt very angry that

they, who looked upon themselves as the favourites of Heaven, should

be obliged to deprive their families even of needful things, in order

to fit themselves or others out to join in this war, whilst the

enemies of Christ were left in peaceable enjoyment of their riches;

and they persuaded themselves that it would be a meritorious act,

acceptable to God, to destroy all the descendants of those who had

crucified the Saviour, and then take their wealth to pay the expenses

of the Crusade. Before his departure for the Holy Land, the King gave

an order that the Jews were not to be disturbed in any way; but no

sooner had he left England, than the fury of the people broke out

afresh, and very many of the unhappy Israelites were destroyed in

different places, and their property seized; whilst the magistrates,

whose duty it was to keep order and protect _all_ the king's subjects,

made little or no attempt to stop these acts of cruelty and violence.

At York, the most dreadful scenes took place. The Jews of that city

were great money-lenders, or _usurers_, as they were called in

reproach; and as they lived in a sumptuous manner, indulging

themselves in every luxury, the people envied them for their riches,

and hated them more and more; and hearing what had been done in other

parts of England, they prepared to attack their victims. Upon this,

the chief persons among the Israelites prevailed upon the governor of

York to allow their countrymen to take refuge in the castle, as its

walls were strong enough to protect those within them. Very soon,

however, the Jews, seeing that the governor frequently went out of the

castle into the city, suspected that he was plotting with their

enemies for their destruction; and therefore, one day, when he had

gone out as usual, they shut the gates, and refused to let him in

again. The governor, very indignant, complained to the sheriff and to

the heads of the Christian party, who, as they were the chief debtors

to the Jews, were most anxious to destroy them. The sheriff

immediately ordered the governor to attack the castle; but he soon

repented of having given such a hasty order, and many of the principal

citizens refused to join in its execution. It was, however, too late

to check the populace, who were bent upon murder and robbery. The

attack was made, the assailants encouraging each other by the cry,

"Destroy the enemies of Jesus." The Jews offered to give large sums of

money, on condition that their lives should be spared; but this offer

was refused. When they saw that they could defend themselves no

longer, one of their most esteemed rabbis proposed that they should

kill themselves, saying, that it was better to die courageously for

the Law than to fall into the hands of the Christians. Accordingly,

these poor creatures killed their wives and children, set fire to the

castle, and then slew themselves. In this way 500 perished. A few, who

gave themselves up in hopes of meeting with mercy, were murdered, and

all the houses belonging to the Jews were plundered.

Richard was very angry when he heard of such disobedience to his

orders, and ordered the Bishop of Ely, as Chief Justice of England, to

punish the guilty most severely. The chief offenders, however, had

left York before the bishop entered that city; and he contented

himself with depriving the sheriff and governor of their offices, and

laying a fine upon some of the richest citizens.

Although so much has been said about the Jews in the twelfth century,

there is still something more to be added, because during this period

there were more impostors pretending to be the Messiah, than during

any other similar period of time. The first of these impostors

appeared in France A.D. 1137, and committed so many crimes, that the

Government caused several synagogues to be destroyed, and at length

the man himself was put to death, with a large number of his

followers. The next year a false Messiah appeared in Persia, and

collected a formidable army. The king of the country bribed him with a

large sum of money to disband his followers, and then treacherously

caused him to be beheaded, forcing the Jews to return to him the

money, which he had given as a bribe to the unfortunate man.

Spain had also her impostor, who appeared in A.D. 1157, and was

supported by one of the most learned rabbis of Cordova, who had just

written a book to prove that the Messiah must shortly come--a work

which had probably put it into the head of this man to assume the

character. The greater part of the educated and sensible Jews looked

upon this impostor as a madman; but the people in general believed in

him, and suffered severely for their folly.

Ten years afterwards, a person appeared in the kingdom of Fez, in

Africa, and declared that in the course of a year the promised Messiah

would come. The conduct of this impostor greatly displeased the

Mahometans, to whom the kingdom belonged, and brought persecution upon

all the Jews scattered throughout the country.

In the same year in which a false Messiah appeared in Fez, another Jew

of Arabia took the title of Messiah. He pretended to work miracles,

and gained many followers. He was at length seized, and taken before

the ruler of the country, who asked him, what had led him to try and

impose upon his countrymen? He boldly answered, that he had not done

so, for that he was indeed a prophet sent by God. Being then asked

what miracle he could work to prove that he was really sent by God, he

said, "Cut off my head, and I will come back again to life." The king

took him at his word, and ordered him to be beheaded, promising to

believe in him if he came to life again. His followers actually

continued for some time to expect his re-appearance; but at last they

were obliged to give up all hope: they were heavily fined, as a

punishment for listening to this impostor.

We have now spoken of eight pretended Messiahs; but there is still one

more, the most famous of them all: this was a Jew, named David Alroi,

or El David, who, with about 1,000 of his countrymen, dwelt in a city

subject to the King of Persia, to whom they paid tribute. In 1199 El

David took the title of Messiah; and, being a learned and clever man,

he deceived the multitude by his pretended miracles, and persuaded

them to take up arms in his cause. The King of Persia, alarmed by the

success of the rebels, commanded El David to go to Court, promising

to acknowledge him as the Messiah, if he would give some miraculous

proof of being so. Contrary to all expectation, the impostor appeared

before the king, persisting in his claim to be the true Messiah. He

was then put into prison, in order to see whether he could work a

miracle to set himself free. Somehow or other, he did manage to

escape, and those who were sent in search of him were unable to find

him; but, through the treachery of his son-in-law, who took a large

bribe to betray him, he was given up to the king, and put to death,

with a great number of those who had been deceived by him.

Thus remarkably was fulfilled our Saviour's prophecy, that "false

Christs and false prophets should arise and deceive many." It may seem

strange to us that the Jews, after refusing to acknowledge Jesus

Christ, Who had given so many proofs of His Divine power, should

afterwards have been so ready to follow any impostor who chose to

style himself the Messiah, without being able to do one single thing

to support such a claim.

The reason of this appears to be, that the Jews, in spite of all

prophecy, still set their minds upon a Messiah, who could at once

establish a kingdom upon earth; and they were, in consequence, always

ready to take up arms, hoping that the time for establishing such a

kingdom was now come.

Jesus, by His conduct, put an end to all hopes of the kind in Him; and

therefore He was despised and rejected. The impostors who took His

name promised to deliver the Jews from all their enemies, and restore

them to their country; and therefore they were believed and followed.

The cruel treatment experienced by the Jews in England during the

reign of Richard the First, led many of those who still possessed any

property, to leave the country; so that when John became king, A.D.

1199, the absence of so many rich people and the falling off of trade

were much felt in the kingdom; and, in the early part of the

thirteenth century, the king used every means in his power to bring

them back. He solemnly promised, that if they would give him a large

sum of money, they should enjoy all their former privileges: he

allowed them to possess lands, build synagogues, and even choose a

High Priest. Great numbers of Jews then returned to England, where

they were soon more cruelly plundered than they had been before. It

was the old story; they were odious to the people on account of their

religion, and still more so, perhaps, for the enormous usury which

they exacted for money lent. Thus there was a continual cry for their

banishment, or rather for their destruction; but the king found it

more for his own interest to keep them in the country, where he could

upon all occasions make them purchase his protection by paying a heavy

fine; and the Jews, seeing that so long as they gave money to the king

they might exact what interest they pleased for money lent to his

subjects, acted accordingly, and became more and more oppressive to

all who were so unfortunate as to be their debtors.

In the beginning of the thirteenth century, A.D. 1210, John wished to

raise a large sum of money: as usual, he fell upon the Jews. The money

not being readily paid, the king, in spite of the privileges which

these unfortunate people had so dearly purchased, ordered men and

women to be put into prison until he received the enormous sum which

he now demanded. A Jew of Bristol was called upon to furnish such an

immense sum, that he refused, declaring that the payment of it would

reduce him to beggary. Upon this refusal, the king cruelly ordered

that one of the poor man's teeth should be taken out every day until

he did pay. This wretched Jew lost seven teeth, and then agreed to

give the sum demanded by the king.

Chapter IX.--THIRTEENTH CENTURY IN ENGLAND AND FRANCE.

Henry the Third became King of England on the death of John, A.D.

1216: he was quite a child when his father died; but those who

governed for him, set the Jews who were in prison at liberty; and

ordered that they should be protected against the violence of the

Crusaders. Still, during the whole of Henry's long reign, which

extended far into the latter half of the thirteenth century, the Jews

were subject to great oppression and ill-usage in England.

As a privilege and favour to the citizens of Newcastle, the king

commanded that no Jew should be allowed to dwell in their city.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Bishops of Lincoln and Norwich,

took a sure way of driving the Jews out of their dioceses; for they

forbade all Christians to sell them any provisions whatever.

The Prior of Dunstable, on the other hand, gave the Jews leave to

reside in those places over which he had any control, on condition of

their paying him every year two silver spoons.

The Jews were at this time accused of committing all sorts of dreadful

crimes; how far these accusations were true or false, we do not know.

They were human creatures, and the cruel treatment they met with,

might well lead them into the commission of many wrong acts, which

would, of course, be exaggerated by the hatred of their enemies; who

believed them guilty, upon the slightest suspicion, and compelled

them, in consequence, to pay heavy fines.

In the middle of the century, when Henry the Third demanded fresh

supplies of money for the purposes of war, the Jews, irritated by such

repeated oppression, wished to leave England, and seek some more

hospitable country, in which they might dwell: the king refused to

allow them to leave the country, and forced them to pay the tax

demanded. The next year, the king again applied to them, declaring

that in spite of the taxes he had already levied, he continued to be

greatly in want of money, and must raise it from any quarter, and by

any means.

The unfortunate Jews truly declared that they could not pay the taxes

now demanded of them; upon which Henry the Third actually sold them

and their possessions to his brother, to raise the sum required! It

was now expected that the Jews would be completely robbed of

everything they possessed, in order to repay the prince the money for

which he had bought them; but he, being convinced that they really

could not have furnished the sum required, had compassion upon them,

and left them in peace.

To such a height had hatred of the Jews risen in this reign, that when

(about 1264) the barons took up arms to force the king to agree to

their demands, they could think of no better way of gaining the favour

and help of the people, than by killing the Jews; and 700 were

accordingly massacred. The pretence for this massacre was, that one of

the Jews had tried to force a Christian to pay an enormous and unfair

interest for a loan of money: supposing this to have been true, the

crime of one man should not have caused the death of hundreds. At the

same time, houses were plundered, and the magnificent synagogue, built

in the beginning of Henry the Third's reign, was burnt to the ground:

it was afterwards rebuilt; but in 1270, the king most unjustly took it

from the Jews, and gave it to a body of friars, who lived near it,

and complained that their devotions were disturbed by the howling of

the Jews during their worship.

The fact was, that the chapel belonging to the friars was small and

dark, and they coveted the fine large synagogue close by their

dwelling; and as no ideas of justice ever interfered with the

treatment of the Jews, they begged the king to give them this

synagogue, and furnished him with an excuse for doing so.

On the death of Henry the Third, A.D. 1272, his son Edward the First

became King of England, and very soon afterwards a law was made, which

promised to improve the condition of the Jews; as it fixed a yearly

tax to be paid by them, instead of leaving them liable to be called

upon for contributions on every occasion, at the will of their

enemies. This law also permitted them to possess houses and lands

wherever they pleased. But, on the other hand, it was forbidden for

any Christian to lodge in the house of a Jew; and every one of the

Hebrew race above seven years of age, was obliged to wear a

distinguishing mark upon his upper garment: this mark was a figure of

two ropes joined together.

In the latter part of his reign, Edward changed his conduct towards

the Jews, and they were treated with much injustice and even cruelty.

The oppression suffered by these unhappy people, had not unnaturally

raised up in them a spirit of retaliation; it made them think, that

it was justifiable to use every possible means, right or wrong, to

repay themselves for all the money unjustly taken from them by

the Christians: their attempts to do this, increased the hatred

entertained for them. They were accused of coining false money, and

of cheating in every possible way. A great outcry being raised

against them, they were, in all parts of the kingdom, thrown into

prison, and many of them were executed, whilst their houses, lands,

and goods, were sold for the use of Government. But to show the

people that these measures were not taken merely for the sake of the

plunder, the king ordered, that half the money produced by this sale

should be put by, and given to such Jews as would renounce their

religion and become Christians. Very few, however, could be brought,

for the sake of worldly advantages, to embrace the religion of their

persecutors; nor can we be surprised, that the very unchristianlike

conduct of the followers of the blessed Jesus, should have increased

the hatred and contempt felt by the Jews for the Christian religion.

Towards the end of the thirteenth century, about A.D. 1290, Edward the

First, who had already banished the children of Israel from those

parts of France which were under his dominion, now commanded them all

to leave England, and never to come back on pain of death. He took

whatever property they had, only allowing them to keep enough money to

pay the expenses of removal into foreign countries; and of this

miserable sum many of them were robbed by the seamen at Dover and

other ports, whilst some hundreds of the poor wretches were even

thrown into the sea and drowned: for this crime, however, many of the

guilty seamen were punished by death.

The clergy in England were so delighted to get rid of the Jews, that

they willingly gave the king very considerable sums of money to make

up for the loss of a people, from whom former monarchs had always

obtained help in time of need.

After this banishment of the Jews by Edward the First, they never

appeared in any considerable numbers in England, until the seventeenth

century.

In France we have seen the Jews banished by Philip the Second, and

then recalled by the same monarch at the end of the twelfth century

(p. 408). They immediately returned to all their former ways of making

money by usury, so that early in the thirteenth century they had again

become rich, and purchased lands of the lords who had large estates;

but on certain conditions, which made them in some degree the property

of the liege lord, of whom they held their lands. This "feudal

tenure," as it was called, was common over Europe in those times; and

all, whether Jews or Christians, who thus held lands under a liege

lord, were called his "vassals," and were bound to do him certain

services, whenever called upon to do so.

For some time Philip allowed, or at least did not try to put a stop

to, the usurious practices of the Jews, because they gave him large

sums of money in return for letting them alone; but at last the

complaints of his subjects forced him to make some laws to check the

evil. Philip the Second died A.D. 1223; Louis the Eighth, who

succeeded him, reigned only three years: but when Louis the Ninth,

surnamed Saint Louis, became king, A.D. 1226, he immediately made a

law, forbidding any of his subjects to borrow money of a Jew. The

condition of the Jews in France at this time was miserable enough;

their property was at the mercy of those lords, in whose territories

they had fixed their residence; without his leave, they could not

change their place of abode, and if they ventured to do so, their

liege lord had a right to follow them, and seize upon them as runaway,

slaves! If one lord sold land to another, the Jews living on such

land, also became the property of the purchaser: sometimes even, they

were sold apart from the land, the price asked for them varying

according to the talent and industry of each individual. But there was

something worse still; if one of these Jews did become a Christian,

the whole of his property was forfeited to his liege lord. So that

these unhappy people were at the same time oppressed and persecuted

for being Jews, or for becoming Christians; and this, by persons

calling themselves Christians, who should have rejoiced at every

conversion, and done all in their power to make them more frequent.

Louis the Ninth, although called St. Louis on account of his

remarkable piety and devotion, not only approved of these cruel and

unjust laws, but added others; forbidding Christians to have any

intercourse with the Jews, who were, in short, treated with the

greatest harshness and injustice.

But the most terrible persecution of this unhappy race, took place in

A.D. 1238, when they were accused of having, in mockery of the

Christians, crucified some children on Good Friday: on this

supposition, multitudes of the Jews were put to death with the most

cruel tortures, until the Pope, Gregory the Ninth, interfered to save

them from further slaughter. During the imprisonment of Louis the

Ninth in the Holy Land, whither he had gone upon a Crusade, he ordered

the Jews to be driven out of his dominions; but when Philip the Third

(the Bold) became king, in A.D. 1270, he recalled the Jews, because he

stood in need of their money. In other parts of France, which were

governed by Dukes or Princes of their own, subject more or less to the

king, the Jews met with much the same kind of treatment; but in some

provinces they did become magistrates, and possessed Christian slaves.

Philip the Fourth (the Fair), who succeeded his father as king, A.D.

1285, followed the example of Edward the First, who was then King of

England, and banished the Jews altogether from France; seizing all

their wealth, with the exception of a small sum to pay the expenses of

their journey: many died of fatigue and want by the way, and the rest

sought refuge in Germany. Some avoided banishment by being baptized:

most of these returned afterwards to Judaism; but the conversion of

some of them, at least, was sincere. Amongst those who became true

Christians, was one Nicolas de Lyra, who spent the remainder of his

life in explaining the Scriptures; and even wrote a book to prove from

Scripture, that the Jews were wrong in not acknowledging Jesus Christ

to be indeed the promised Messiah.

Chapter X.--THIRTEENTH CENTURY CONCLUDED.

In Spain during the thirteenth century, the Jews suffered as much as

they did in England and in France. At this time there were two

Christian kingdoms in Spain: namely, the kingdom of Castile and the

kingdom of Arragon; the southern part of Spain formed the kingdom of

the Moors, who were Mahometans. The Bishop of Toledo, vexed at the

increased numbers and riches of the Israelites in Spain, excited the

populace against them, and putting himself at the head of the

rioters, entered and plundered synagogues and houses; the Crusaders

completed the work so unworthily begun by a Christian bishop, and,

according to Jewish writers, this was one of the most severe and

bloody persecutions ever endured by their unhappy countrymen: great

numbers quitted the country at this time. The Spanish nobles tried to

put a stop to the horrible cruelties practised towards the Jews; but

Ferdinand the Third, who became King of Castile, A.D. 1226, rather

encouraged the persecution, in order to make himself popular with the

lower orders, who detested the Jews.

In the kingdom of Arragon, towards the middle of the century, great

efforts were made for the conversion of the Jews. One of the clergy,

named Raymond, contrived to keep in check the violence of the people,

who had a great respect for him; and at the same time he persuaded the

king, James the First, who was a zealous Christian, that the best way

to convert the Jews was by treating them with kindness, and trying to

convince them of their errors. To carry out his views, Raymond caused

many of the friars to learn the Hebrew and Arabic languages, and to

study the Scriptures carefully, so as to be able to reason with the

Jews, and point out to them how all the prophecies in the Old

Testament were fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth. All his attempts to

convert the Jews were, however, unsuccessful, although they highly

esteemed Raymond himself for his moderation and humanity.

The King of Arragon mean time, so far from sharing the prejudices

against the Jews, applied to them for instruction in many matters of

learning and science: the great and learned men amongst the Spaniards

also encouraged and admired them; but the people, and the ignorant and

ill-educated among the clergy, hated and despised them, and would

gladly have destroyed them altogether.

In the middle of the century, Alphonso the Tenth, who was then King of

Castile, encouraged all learned men, whatever might be their religious

opinions; and the favour shown in consequence to the Jews, excited the

jealousy of the people, who formed fresh plots for their destruction.

The dead body of a man was thrown into the house of a Jew, who was

then accused of having murdered the man: this accusation roused the

fury of the populace, who put numbers of the Jews to death. The

massacre threatened to become general, but the authorities interfered,

and declaring that the Jew was innocent of the crime laid to his

charge, order was at length restored.

During those times, when the Israelites enjoyed the favour of the

kings in Spain, many learned men flourished, and educated pupils, who

afterwards became celebrated amongst their countrymen.

The Spanish Jews were again disturbed by an impostor called Zechariah,

who pretended that by studying the prophecies, he had discovered the

exact day on which the Messiah would appear; and declared that the

Jewish people would then be gathered together by the Lord, Who would

subdue their enemies and resettle them in their ancient kingdom. The

Jews, always too easily deceived, prepared for this grand event by

prayer and fasting; and on the appointed day they crowded to the

synagogues clothed in white robes. Besides having the mortification of

a bitter disappointment, they thus brought upon themselves the insult

and ridicule of their enemies.

In Germany, during the thirteenth century, the Jews suffered much, in

consequence of their being constantly accused of committing crimes

more or less heinous. At one time they were charged with encouraging

the Persians and Tartars to attack the country and destroy the

Christians; at another time, with preventing the baptism of those

amongst them who wished to become Christians; and they were

repeatedly accused of murdering Christian children at the time of the

Passover. What truth there was in any of these accusations, we do not

know, but each was made by the people a pretext for robbery and

murder; nor could the authorities save the wretched Jews from the

fury of their Christian enemies. On one occasion, when the people of

Munich were murdering all the Jews they could find, the town

officers, unable to stop the tumult, advised the wretched victims to

take refuge in their synagogue, a strong stone building, till the

fury of their persecutors should cool down: but in spite of the

efforts made by the Duke of Bavaria and his officers, they were all

burnt, or otherwise killed in the synagogue. Notwithstanding all

these persecutions, many learned rabbis flourished in Germany during

this century; and towards its close violent disputes arose amongst

the Jews themselves, as to the doctrines which were to be believed

and taught. The consequence was, that the Jews were divided into two

parties or sects, the Rabbinists and the Caraites: these two sects

hated each other, since the Caraites taught that the Talmud, regarded

by the Rabbinists with the greatest veneration, was not to be

depended upon in any way whatever.

Towards the end of the century, when Germany was disturbed by the wars

between Albert of Austria and another prince, who both wished to be

Emperor of Germany, a peasant pretended that he was sent by God to

destroy all the Jews. This man went about the country declaring his

errand, and exciting the people to execute the Will of God. The

multitude rose at once, and killed great numbers of the Jews; whilst

many of these unhappy people destroyed themselves and their families,

to escape from their enemies. Albert would gladly have put a stop to

this barbarous persecution; but he was afraid that if he did so, many

of his followers, who believed that the peasant really had a divine

commission, would abandon him, and take the side of the rival prince.

The riot was at last stopped, and a heavy fine laid upon the town of

Nuremburg, where it had begun: half the town was already burnt down,

by the Jews setting fire to their own houses.

It has been already said, that the Roman Pontiffs, or Popes, often

interfered to stop the persecution of the Jews, and to check the

mistaken zeal of those who wanted to _force_ them to become

Christians. In 1247, Innocent the Fourth wrote a letter in defence of

the Jews, declaring that they were not guilty of the crimes laid to

their charge; and he also said, that their condition under Christian

princes, was far more miserable and wretched than that of their

fathers had been under Pharaoh.

There were a great many Jews in the kingdom of Naples, and they had

much wealth: as they had done the king some important service, he

treated them with great indulgence. But after his death, attempts were

made to convert them, instead of allowing them still to enjoy the free

exercise of their religion. The Jews, fearing a persecution, offered

to become Christians, provided they were allowed to marry into the

richest and noblest families in the kingdom--a condition that they

felt certain would be refused; but to their surprise and sorrow,

permission was granted, and thus they were obliged to profess

Christianity; but those who were not able to make advantageous

marriages, soon returned to the practice of their own religion.

It is said, that a monk, who wished the Jews to be punished for

pretending to be Christians, hid a cross in a heap of earth, and then

accused one of these poor creatures of having done it: the people,

enraged at such an act, rose at once and massacred a great number of

the Jews, and more would have been put to death if the nobles had not

interposed, and even given shelter in their own houses to some of the

most wealthy, who were always the peculiar objects of popular fury. In

the East, the number and the power of the Jews were much lessened

during the thirteenth century. The Caliph of Bagdad, who was a zealous

Mahometan, and very fond of money, was vexed to see a people growing

rich by their own industry, whilst they were always ready to receive

any one who declared himself to be the Messiah: and he therefore began

a persecution, by which he hoped to compel all Jews, either to become

Mahometans or to leave his dominions. Some departed; others, to avoid

exile, pretended to become followers of Mahomet. In some parts of the

East the Jews suffered greatly from the invasions of the Tartars; but

towards the end of the century they enjoyed peace for a short time,

under a prince, whose chief minister and favourite was a Jewish

physician, who obtained many privileges and indulgences for his

countrymen. But on the death of this prince, his Mahometan subjects,

enraged at the favour he had shown to the Jews for the sake of his

minister, accused the latter of having poisoned his master: he was

condemned without any proof, and vast numbers of his countrymen were

at the same time murdered.

Palestine was greatly distressed by the wars between the Christians

and the Saracens. The Jews had still some synagogues in their native

land; and even amidst their troubles, several learned rabbis appeared

amongst them, the most remarkable of whom was styled the "Father of

Wisdom"; he had been born in Spain, but went to live in Judaea, where

he built a synagogue. Several learned rabbis of the Caraite sect

flourished in different parts of the East during the thirteenth

century.

The fourteenth century does not seem to have brought any comfort to

the wretched Hebrews. The same avarice or love of money which made

Philip the Fourth drive them out of France, made Louis the Tenth, who

became king A.D. 1314, bring them back again; because he wanted some

of their money to enable him to reduce the Flemings to subjection.

The Flemings were the inhabitants of Flanders, a country in that part

of Europe which we now call Belgium. The conditions upon which the

Jews were allowed to return to France were, that they should pay a

heavy tax to the king; and that their stay in the country should be

limited to a period of twelve years. During this time they might make

money by trade and labour: they might buy land for synagogues and

burying-places, and they might purchase any books they pleased with

the exception of the Talmud: but they were forbidden to converse

publicly or privately with any Christian; and they were obliged, as

before, to wear a mark upon their upper garment.

Philip the Fifth became King of France in A.D. 1316, and during

his reign the Jews suffered much from a body of men called "The

Shepherds." They really were shepherds and labourers, who left their

usual occupations to go, as they said, to the relief of the Holy

Land. Their leaders were two priests, who, by pretending to work

miracles, got many of the lowest classes of the people to join the

band. Having thus strengthened themselves by the addition of a

considerable body of desperate ruffians, the Shepherds plundered

the southern provinces of France, and by breaking open the prisons,

added still further to their own numbers, by receiving the liberated

criminals as brethren. They committed the most unheard-of barbarities,

especially upon the Jews, who fled before this savage band, and took

refuge in considerable numbers, in a strong castle, near Toulouse; and

here defended themselves bravely, but in vain. When no hope of safety

remained, they put themselves or each other to death. Many of the

Shepherds were taken and executed.

Chapter XI.--END OF THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY.

About ten years after the affair of the Shepherds, the Jews in France

were accused of having been bribed by the Saracen king of Granada to

poison all the wells and rivers in the country. There was no proof of

this but the declaration of a leper, who said, that a rich Jew had

given him money to poison some wells; but this was enough for the

populace, who, without waiting for inquiry or trial, rose at once, and

put numbers of the suspected race to a cruel death.

The king, Philip the Sixth, shamefully took advantage of this popular

outcry, and imprisoned the wealthy Jews in Paris until they told him

where their treasures were hid; he then seized the greatest part for

his own use, and banished the whole race from his dominions. The Jews,

thus expelled from France, took refuge in the northern part of Italy,

then called Lombardy, and there first established "banks," and the

system called "banking"; by which merchants, in lands far distant from

each other, could receive the price of goods exchanged, without the

risk of sending money: and by this means, the Jews from this time were

often able to save their riches from the avarice and violence of their

enemies. But the system of banking was not useful to the Jews alone:

it was of the greatest service to trade in general, as well as to

individuals, and has continued so up to the present time, when every

considerable town in almost all European countries has its bank or

banks. The great skill and cleverness of the Jews in all matters

connected with money, made the monarchs of various kingdoms willing to

let them remain in their dominions; for though they would gladly have

been rid of the Jews themselves, they were anxious to keep their

wealth in the country.

After John the Second became King of France, A.D. 1351, the Jews tried

to obtain leave to return to France; but the permission was not

granted until 1356, when, John having been taken prisoner by the

English, the money of the Jews was needed to raise the sum demanded

for his ransom. The children of Israel were, therefore, re-admitted

into France for twenty years, on condition that they should at once

pay a considerable sum, and that each Jew should pay annually a fixed

tax. They would have been wiser to have remained out of the kingdom;

for during the reign of Charles the Sixth, which began in 1380, they

were often fined, scourged, and many of them executed, on pretence of

their having committed various crimes. The wicked absurdity of many of

these accusations is proved by the fact, that when Charles the Sixth

became mad, the Jews were accused of having deprived him of his

senses!

Towards the end of the fourteenth century, the people of France again

became clamorous for the banishment of the Jews; and supported by

certain noblemen who owed those unhappy creatures money, they broke

into their houses, murdered the inhabitants, and seized all the

property they could find. Some of the persecuted race took refuge in

one of the prisons: their wives attempted to follow them, with their

children in their arms, but the mob forced the little ones away from

their mothers, and carried them off to be baptized. The government,

too weak to venture on punishing the perpetrators of these crimes,

replaced the Jews who survived in their houses; and ordered that all

persons who had taken any of their property should give it back to

them--an order which was, of course, only laughed at. In A.D. 1394, an

Act was passed, banishing the Jews from France for ever; but as the

town of Metz, in that part of the country called Lorraine, was then a

free city, under the protection of the Emperor of Germany, the Jews

continued to reside there in peace; and after Lorraine became a part

of the kingdom of France, the French monarchs did not molest the Jews

in Metz. But though, until the seventeenth century, Metz was the only

city in France where the Jews were _allowed_ to reside, a few were

always to be found in different parts of the kingdom. Mary de Medicis,

the wife of Henry the Fourth, who became king A.D. 1589, sent for a

Jewish physician to Paris, where he was allowed free exercise of his

religion for himself and his family.

The Jews, who were driven out of France in 1394, went mostly into

Germany, where, however, they could not have much hope of peace, as

their brethren in that country had suffered much from the beginning of

the fourteenth century. About the middle of the century, a number of

ignorant and superstitious Christians, imagining that the Almighty had

ordered them to scourge themselves and kill the Jews, formed

themselves into a company, called "Flagellants," for the purpose of

carrying out what they conceived to be the Divine commission. They

proceeded to whip themselves in the most cruel manner, and then began

their work of destruction. After many of the Jews had been murdered,

the Flagellants came to some agreement with their unhappy victims; but

this was rendered useless by the conduct of a Jew of Frankfort, who,

not being satisfied with the agreement made, set fire to one of the

public buildings, which was burnt down, with all the valuable papers

it contained: the flames spread to the cathedral, and burnt that also

to ashes. For this crime, not only the guilty Jew, but all his

innocent brethren also, were put to death; with the exception of a

few, who managed to escape, and took refuge in Bohemia.

The year after the affair of the Flagellants, the Jews in Germany were

accused of poisoning wells and springs, and a fresh massacre took

place all over the country.

At Metz, the Jews not only defended themselves, which they were

perfectly right to do, but in revenge put to death, in a barbarous

manner, 200 unarmed Christians, who were in no way answerable for the

attack upon them.

The enraged populace punished this real crime, by killing many

thousands of the Jews, and setting fire to their houses. The flames

spread, and did much damage in the town. This persecution extended

over the whole of Germany; some of the princes and nobles tried to

save and help the miserable victims, but with little success.

The Jews who had fled into Bohemia suffered equally at Prague; during

the Feast of the Passover, they were burnt in their synagogues whilst

engaged in their devotions.

Soon afterwards another persecution was raised, on the old charge of

poisoning springs and rivers; and this persecution extended through

Germany and into Italy, Provence, and other parts. The Emperor of

Germany himself, convinced of their innocence of this pretended crime,

endeavoured to convince his Council that it was impossible for the

Jews to have committed it; but such was the feeling against the Hebrew

race, that in order to save them from worse calamities, the Emperor

was forced, at the close of the fourteenth century, to command these

unhappy creatures either to be baptized, or to leave the country. The

Jewish historians tell us, that very few did give up their religion;

or, as they expressed it, "forsake the glory of their God."

In Spain, the Jews suffered dreadfully at the beginning of the

fourteenth century from the Shepherds, who, after finishing their work

of destruction in France, carried fire and sword into Spain; marking

out the race of Israel as their especial victims: and a pestilence

that broke out in the army of the Shepherds increased their fury

against these devoted people, whom they accused of having caused it by

poisoning the rivers. This story was readily believed, or at least

accepted, by those who ought to have known better; and great numbers

of Jews were actually imprisoned on this charge: after a long

confinement, the judges declared them to be innocent. The king,

unwilling to allow that he had imprisoned them unjustly, pretended

that he had only kept them in prison in order to convert them; but he

caused a large number who refused to be baptized, to be put to death.

Alphonso the Eleventh, king of Castile, was the friend and protector

of the Jews, and had one of that nation for his principal minister and

adviser. But this displeased his turbulent and rebellious subjects,

who accused a Jewish boy of having in some way insulted the Sacrament:

they became so violent upon the subject, that the king was obliged to

summon a Council, to decide whether the Israelites should be put to

death, or banished. Banishment was decided upon; and they were

commanded to leave the country within three months' time: but mean

time it was discovered that a _Christian_, and not a _Jewish_ lad, had

committed the offence complained of; and the king recalled the

sentence of banishment, to the great disappointment and indignation of

the enemies of the Jews, who declared, that the witnesses who had

proved the Christian lad to be guilty, had been bribed to do so.

The same kind of treatment was experienced by the Israelites in other

parts of Spain during the fourteenth century; but during that period

the Popes in general treated them with humanity. Troubles and disputes

unconnected with the Jews had caused the Popes for a time to leave

Rome, and take up their residence at Avignon, in the south of France.

Clement the Fifth, then Pope, did all in his power to save the Jews

from the violence of the Shepherds, and all their other enemies: he

also provided for them the means of instruction, by ordering that

Hebrew should be taught in all the Christian universities, or places

of education for young men; so that there might be some, able to show

the Jews from their own Scriptures, how all ancient prophecies pointed

out Jesus Christ as the true Messiah. Again, when the Jews were

persecuted on pretence of their having poisoned the rivers, Pope

Clement the Sixth exerted himself on their behalf; many of them found

a safe asylum in Avignon, and the Pope left nothing undone to relieve

their misery, and soften the fury of their persecutors. In Italy, the

Jews seem to have been pretty well treated during the fourteenth

century, and in Poland they met with favour and indulgence: by their

industry they gained wealth and power, and became a prosperous and

flourishing people, as they have ever since continued to be in that

country. Poland produced many learned Jews; and Jewish children from

all parts were sent there to study the Talmud, and to learn and

practise all the peculiar rites and ceremonies of their religion.

We have now come to the close of the fourteenth century. The dreadful

sufferings endured by the Jews up to this time, and during future

years, must remind us how surely all the prophecies contained in

Scripture will be fulfilled. The prophets had foretold, that in

consequence of their sins they would suffer unheard-of miseries:

history shows us the accomplishment of this prediction.

Then again, it is wonderful that with such persecutions, they should

not have been utterly destroyed; but, no, the Lord had said by His

prophets, that they should be scattered throughout all lands, but not

destroyed. The whole history of the Jews proves the truth of the

Bible; and it should remind us, that Scripture equally warns us, that

if we sin we shall also suffer; and that nothing will be acceptable to

God, but a true, loving, and faithful devotion of ourselves to the

service of Jesus Christ, Whom we acknowledge to be the Son of God, the

promised Messiah.

Chapter XII.--THE JEWS AND THE INQUISITION.

During the fifteenth century there were no Jews in England or France.

Of course, there may have been a few scattered here and there; but

there was no body of Jews in either country during this period.

In Germany, their condition continued much the same. The slightest

pretence sufficed to raise a persecution; and a pretence was afforded,

at the close of the century, by an impostor, named David, who declared

that the Messiah would positively appear in the year 1500. He

afterwards declared, that the Messiah had delayed His coming on

account of the sins of the people; and he caused the credulous Jews to

appoint a solemn fast, in order to obtain pardon and hasten the

appearance of the Deliverer. The Jews of course suffered; and David

was imprisoned, and died shortly afterwards.

In the beginning of this century, great efforts were made for the

conversion of the Jews in the Spanish kingdom of Arragon. The Pope was

zealous in the work; and one of their own race, named Jerome, who had

himself embraced Christianity, undertook to convince his countrymen

even by passages from the Talmud, that Jesus Christ must certainly be

the Messiah. Although the Jews treated the Pope with great respect,

they were by no means disposed to listen to Jerome, with whom they

were very angry; first, for deserting the faith of his people; and,

secondly, for drawing them into disputes, which might bring

persecution upon them. It is said, however, that 4,000 Jews were then

converted, and that a few years later, through the zeal of one of the

clergy, a still larger number were baptized; but the greater part,

having only submitted to baptism out of fear, continued to observe in

secret all the rites and ceremonies of the Hebrews.

In 1479 a great change took place in the condition of the Jews in

Spain, for Ferdinand, King of Arragon, married Isabella, the Queen of

Castile; so that from this time the two kingdoms became _one_, called

the Kingdom of Spain. Ferdinand and Isabella were very anxious that

all the inhabitants of Spain should be Christians. In 1492 the Moors

were driven out of Granada, and their country became also a part of

the Kingdom of Spain; but many of the Moors, rather than leave their

beloved Granada, pretended to become Christians. Having driven the

Moors out of Spain, Ferdinand thought it would be desirable to get rid

of the Jews also; and he commanded them either to be baptized or to

quit Spain altogether. In order to prevent Jews or Mahometans who had

been baptized, from ever returning to the practices of their former

faith, Ferdinand and Isabella were persuaded to establish the Court of

the Inquisition in Spain. The Inquisition was a Court of Inquiry, the

members of which were charged by the Pope to examine all persons

accused, or suspected of holding any opinions in religious matters,

not agreeing entirely with the doctrines taught by the Church of Rome.

They had power to torture the accused, in order to force them to

confessions, and to put to death all who continued to hold any

opinions condemned by the Pope. So much was this dreadful tribunal

feared by the people, that none ventured to withhold their nearest and

dearest relations from the officers of the Inquisition, whose duty it

was to arrest all persons, upon whom rested the slightest suspicion of

what was called heresy. The unfortunate creatures thus dragged from

their homes, were kept for a long time in the dungeons of the

Inquisition, until they accused themselves and declared the cause of

their imprisonment; for they were not told of what crimes they were

accused, nor were their accusers ever brought face to face with them

to witness against them, as justice would have demanded. Seldom did

any, who were once consigned to the dungeons of the Inquisition,

return to their families; and so well was this known that, when they

were taken away by the officers, their friends and relations looked

upon them as dead: nor did they dare to make any effort to save them,

lest they should themselves be looked upon as accomplices in some

unknown crime.

When no shadow of proof could be brought against the wretched

prisoners, they were discharged, with the loss of great part of their

property, after suffering the most cruel tortures during a tedious and

dreadful imprisonment. Many of those whom the Inquisitors (or Judges

in this Court) chose to consider guilty, were secretly put to a cruel

death, in the dungeons of the Inquisition. Sometimes a number of these

so-called "heretics" were executed publicly, by being all burnt

together with great pomp and ceremony, so as to make quite a show of

their execution!

This terrible show was called an "Auto-da-Fe," meaning a sacrifice

offered up by faithful Christians to prove their devotion to God! It

is dreadful to think of all the cruel and wicked things which have

been done under pretence of religion, when true religion should fill

our hearts with love to God, and love to man for His sake, and make us

strive to subdue all our own evil passions and tempers.

Sad too, to remember, that this cruel tribunal, under whose authority

the most barbarous and wicked acts were committed through a long

series of years, was established by Christian bishops, under the idea

that they could thus please a God of love and mercy!

It is necessary to mention the circumstances which led to the

establishment of a tribunal, so opposed to the spirit of Christianity.

The Popes, from being originally the Bishops of Rome, had gradually

claimed and obtained influence and power over the Church in all

Christian kingdoms; and they required that every member of these

churches, should believe exactly whatever they and their Council

declared to be right and true. The different orders of monks, who were

established in every Christian country, supported the Pope's claims,

and did all in their power to increase the power and authority of the

Roman Pontiffs. Not content with spiritual power, the Popes, little by

little, claimed the right to interfere in temporal affairs; so that,

by degrees, the Pope claimed and exercised a kind of sovereign power

over all Christian kings, and required them to obey him in temporal as

well as spiritual matters. Such was the influence of the priests over

an ignorant and superstitious people, that their kings would not have

dared to deny the superior authority of the Pope, had they wished to

do so; for the people were taught to believe, that the Roman Pontiff

had power to draw down upon individuals and nations who had displeased

him, the severest judgments, or visible signs of the displeasure of

the Almighty God Himself.

In England, the Pope's power never was so great as it became in Italy

and other European countries.

But though Christians in general, and the monks in particular, were

ready to profess belief in whatever the Popes declared to be the

truth, there arose from time to time men who, contrary to the Papal

order, dared to search the Scriptures for themselves; and thus

perceived clearly, that the Church of Rome had adopted many doctrines

and practices which were, in fact, quite contrary to those taught by

the Apostles, and given to them by the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who

made such an important discovery, naturally told others of it; and

thus there grew up in the Christian Church, a party who were opposed

to the Pope's authority, both in spiritual and temporal matters.

This was of course highly displeasing to the sovereign Pontiff; and,

in order to check the spread of feelings and opinions which weakened

the Papal power, the terrible Court of the Inquisition was established

in Italy, by Pope Gregory the Ninth, in the year 1233--that is,

towards the middle of the thirteenth century. It became the constant

endeavour of all future Pontiffs, to persuade the various sovereigns

of Europe, to introduce this iniquitous tribunal into their dominions.

But, although Gregory the Ninth may be said to have established the

Inquisition as a permanent tribunal, it was not altogether a new

institution; for, at the close of the twelfth century, the same desire

to check the growth of feelings opposed to Papal power, led Innocent

the Third, in the year 1198, to nominate Inquisitorial Courts, to

examine all persons accused of heresy. From this beginning, sprang the

Court of Inquisition, established by Gregory A.D. 1233.

Innocent the Third is well known in English history, as the Pope to

whom King John gave up his kingdom, to be returned to him as a Papal

fief. He is also remarkable for the encouragement given to the cruel

persecution of the Albigenses in the south of France, and of the

Waldenses in the valleys of Piedmont.

The Albigenses were a body of men living about Toulouse and Albigeois,

in Languedoc, who distinguished themselves by their opposition to the

doctrines and ceremonies of the Church of Rome. Their name appears to

have been given them, either because a great number of them resided in

the diocese of Albi, or because they were condemned as heretics by a

council held in that town. The Albigenses became so powerful, that

Pope Innocent the Third sent a legate into their country; but, as that

step produced no good effect, he stirred up against them Philip the

Second, King of France, who, being joined by other princes, carried on

a regular crusade against these unfortunate people. They were at first

supported by Raimond, Count of Toulouse; but when the King of France

made war upon them, he deserted them, and made his submission to the

Pope; but, soon afterwards, finding himself plundered by the

Crusaders, he declared war against them. He was, however, defeated and

slain at the siege of Toulouse; and the consequence was, that the city

surrendered to the Crusaders, who also conquered the greater part of

Languedoc and Provence.

His son, also called Raimond, who succeeded him, published a

declaration against the Albigenses, A.D. 1253; and agreed with the

Pope and the King of France, to set up the Inquisition in his

territories. From this time the Albigenses gradually decreased in

number, until, in the sixteenth century, the remnant had become so

intermingled with the Vaudois, that all are known by the latter name.

The Waldenses took their name from Peter Waldo, who was a rich

merchant of Lyons, in the latter part of the twelfth century. Waldo,

being extremely anxious for the increase of Christian knowledge and

piety, employed a priest, in the year 1160, to translate from the

Latin into French, the four Gospels and some other parts of Scripture.

When this was done, Waldo found that there was no authority in

Scripture, for many of the doctrines and practices taught by the

Church over which the Pope presided; in fact, that they were quite

contrary to the Word of God. In consequence, he gave up his mercantile

profession, distributed his riches among the poor, and devoted

himself, as a public teacher, to spread a knowledge of Scriptural

truth. His success was great. His followers took their name of

Waldenses from him; and they were also called "The poor men of Lyons."

The Archbishop of Lyons, and other rulers of the Church in those

parts, opposed Waldo vigorously, but with little effect; for the

simplicity and beauty of his doctrines, and the pious and blameless

lives led by him and his followers, caused a daily increase of their

numbers. Being driven out of Lyons, they spread over Dauphine,

Provence, and the valleys of Piedmont.

The merciless persecution carried on against these innocent people, by

Philip the Second and Innocent the Third, failed to destroy them

utterly, although the king is said to have destroyed the country seats

of 300 gentlemen in the attempt. Amongst those who distinguished

themselves most in this barbarous persecution, was Simon de Montfort,

whose son, bearing the same name, retired to England, and became a

favourite of Henry the Third, who created him Earl of Leicester. After

one quarrel and reconciliation with his sovereign, Leicester put

himself at the head of the English barons who rebelled successfully

against Henry the Third; but in the battle of Evesham, when the royal

forces were led by Prince Edward, the Earl was defeated and slain.

In spite of the united efforts of the Pope, the King of France, and of

the Count Simon de Montfort, the Waldenses continued to exist, and

were in later times known as the Vaudois.

Chapter XIII.--TREATMENT OF THE JEWS BY FERDINAND.

The Monks took such an active part in the persecution of the Jews,

that it may be well to give some account of the "Religious Orders," as

they are called; all of which hated the Hebrew race, and would gladly

have seen it extirpated.

Very soon after the establishment of the Christian religion, there

were men who wished to devote their hearts and lives to the service of

God, and thought they could better do this by giving up all the

pleasures and business of ordinary life. It became the practice for

such to leave their families and live together in houses, thence

called Religious Houses, under the direction and authority of some

priest. Here they spent their time in devotion, and in doing good to

their fellow creatures: the services in the churches were performed by

them; they undertook the education of the young; books were prepared

by them, for in those days there were no books except such as were

written by hand; and to them the sick and poor applied for relief,

which was never denied.

Those who became inmates of such houses, were not bound to remain in

them; but as long as they did so, they were bound to obey the orders

of the ruling priest.

But before long, a change took place: these religious houses took the

name of Monastery, Abbey, Priory, or Convent. Those who entered these

houses, took a solemn oath to remain in them until their death, and to

be in all things obedient to the priests, who, under the appellation

of Abbots or Priors, ruled over these establishments, whilst they

themselves were completely subject to the Pope. As the gifts of money

and lands bestowed upon these religious houses, gave them power and

influence, those who ruled over them became ambitious, and desired to

have a share in the government of kingdoms: in this they gradually

succeeded by persuading kings and princes, that by following their

advice in all things, they would please the Lord God, and ensure his

favour.

As time went on, the heads of the abbeys, monasteries, priories, and

convents, became more and more powerful, in the various kingdoms where

they were established. The inmates of these various houses belonged to

different classes or "orders"; the chief of which, were the

Benedictines, Dominicans, and Franciscans.

St. Benedict, the founder of the first religious order in Europe, was

born at Spoleto, in Italy, A.D. 480. At the age of fourteen, he

retired to a cavern, where the fame of his pious austerities brought

him numerous followers. He afterwards founded the monastery of Monte

Casino, near Naples, and thus established the Order of St. Benedict,

or the Benedictines. The oath taken by all who entered this order,

bound them never to marry, nor to quit their convent; to practise the

strictest self-denial in every matter; to speak but little to the

other members of the community; to give up all intercourse with the

world; and to place their minds and bodies at the absolute disposal of

their superior; so as not only to do at once whatever he bid them do,

but to hold no opinions contrary to his. The Pope or Bishop of Rome,

naturally looked with especial favour upon this order of monks;

because being pledged to implicit obedience, they formed a sort of

army, ready to do anything to increase the power of the priesthood and

the Pope. The Benedictine Order was introduced into England by

Dunstan, when he became superior of Glastonbury Abbey, in the tenth

century.

The founder of the Dominican Order, was a man named Dominic, born at

Calahorra, in Old Castile, A.D. 1170. He was employed by Pope Innocent

the Third to convert the Albigenses; but failing in his endeavours, he

joined in the horrible persecution carried on against them; and for

his zeal in the cause, he was, after his death, A.D. 1221, canonized,

(that is, ordered to be called a saint) by the Pope.

The founder of the Franciscan Order was born at Assisi, in a part of

Italy called Umbria, A.D. 1182; and was after his death canonized, and

called St. Francis d'Assisi. He was the son of a merchant, and had in

his youth led a wild and dissipated life: but on recovering from a

dangerous illness, he became enthusiastically devout; retired into

solitude; and underwent every species of penance and mortification; so

that his family thought he had gone mad. He gave up all claim to his

father's property, and took a vow of poverty. Being looked upon as a

saint, many joined him, and he drew up rules for them to observe; and

these rules being approved of by Pope Innocent the Third, the order of

Franciscan Friars was established, and its members increased rapidly.

St. Francis d'Assisi was, as well as St. Dominic, a zealous

persecutor of the Albigenses and Waldenses. St. Francis made an

unsuccessful attempt to convert the Sultan, or sovereign of Turkey,

and then returned to Assisi, where he died, A.D. 1226: he was

canonized four years later, by Gregory the Ninth.

It has been said, that the members of the Dominican and Franciscan

Orders were called friars, instead of monks. The difference between

the two classes was, that the friars rejected the possession of all

worldly wealth, and depended entirely for their subsistence upon what

they could collect from the pious, in their wanderings about the

country. On this account, they were also called "Mendicants," that is,

"beggars." There were four orders of these Mendicant Friars: the

Dominicans, or Black Friars; the Franciscans, or Grey Friars,

sometimes called "Freres Mineurs" (Lesser Friars), or Minorites; the

Augustines, or Mendicants, properly so called; and the Carmelites, who

claimed their origin from the prophet Elijah.

Before we leave this subject, we must mention that there were also

religious houses, called nunneries and convents, for females: the

inmates were called nuns, and there were various orders of them,

distinguished from each other by some differences in their rules and

discipline.

But all monks, friars and nuns were bound by their vows never to

marry, nor leave their retirement; and to be in all things obedient to

their superior.

When the Court of Inquisition was set up in Spain, it was directed to

pay particular attention to the conduct of the Jews, as the clergy had

found out that their change of religion was generally only a pretence;

and therefore the Pope exhorted all Christian princes to bring them to

punishment.

Great numbers of the Jews, terrified at the fate which awaited them,

gave up the observance of their own rites and ceremonies, and

submitted to any penance or punishment appointed by the clergy: but

many of these unhappy creatures were put to death, even after they

had confessed Jesus Christ to be the Messiah: others were imprisoned

for a long time, and when set at liberty, were obliged to wear two

red crosses on their upper garment, which was considered as an

acknowledgment that they deserved to be burnt. Property was, of

course, seized; and besides their persecution by the Inquisition, the

populace oppressed and ill-used them, so that their condition was as

miserable as possible. The sufferings of the Jews whom Ferdinand

drove out of Spain, were most extraordinary. The greater part

embarked on board ships, some of which, from being too heavily laden,

sunk, and all on board were drowned; some of the ships are said to

have been burnt; some were wrecked on foreign shores, where the

miserable passengers died of want. The master of one ship determined

to murder all his passengers, in order, as he said, to avenge the

death of Christ, whom their ancestors had crucified: the Jews,

aware of his design, reminded this bad man, that one doctrine of

Christianity was, that Christ desired the salvation, and not the

death of sinners; but the master, instead of feeling how little his

conduct was like what a Christian's ought to be, caused the Jews to

be stripped, and landed on the coast of Africa, where he left them.

Some of these poor creatures were destroyed by wild beasts; some died

of hunger; but some were saved by the master of another vessel. Some

of the Jews, on leaving Spain, sailed direct to the city of Fez, in

Africa; but the inhabitants cruelly refused to admit them into the

city, and they, too, died of want. Another party sailed to Genoa,

which was at that time suffering from a scarcity of food, so that

provisions were very dear: the inhabitants, seeing the miserable

condition of the Jews, who had no money to buy food, met them with a

cross in one hand and in the other bread, which they refused to give

to any one who would not first worship the cross. Many who had

hitherto resisted all temptation to conform to Christian worship,

could hold out no longer, and did what was required of them.

The way in which Ferdinand had treated the Jews, was greatly blamed;

and many nations expressed their astonishment, that the king should

have so little regard to his own interest, as to banish a people,

whose skill in money matters was so useful to the country. This very

skill enabled the Jews to disappoint the avarice of the king; for they

had managed to send the greater part of their wealth safely out of the

country, and consequently Ferdinand got much less money from them than

he had expected.

Meantime his subjects felt the loss of Moors and Jews, and the nobles

complained that their towns were deserted and ruined.

Many of the Jews on leaving Spain, went into Portugal, where their

brethren had done good service to the king, by bringing him accounts

of the coasts of the Red Sea; and also by helping his subjects to

discover the way of reaching India, by sailing round the southern

point of Africa.

But notwithstanding the services of the Jews already in Portugal, the

king only allowed the fugitives from Spain to enter his dominions, on

condition of their paying a sum of gold, with an understanding, that

on a certain day fixed, they must either leave Portugal again, or be

sold as slaves: on his part, the king promised to provide ships to

take them wherever they wished to go.

When the time came, the king really wished to keep his promise; but

his orders were not obeyed, and the Jews who were about to sail, were

so barbarously used by the seamen, that they chose rather to be sold

as slaves than to put themselves into the power of such ruffians.

The next king of Portugal had pity on the Jews, and set them free

from slavery; but afterwards, in order to gain favour with Ferdinand

and Isabella, he ordered the Israelites to leave the kingdom on a

certain day, after which, all who remained would be again treated as

slaves. But the king did not like the idea of expelling such a number

of skilful and industrious people, and he determined at least to keep

all the children under fourteen years of age, and have them baptized

and brought up as Christians. When, therefore, the time of departure

drew near, he forbade the Jews to embark from any port except Lisbon;

and when they came to that city, the king's officers seized their

children, and dragged them away from their parents. We may imagine

what a dreadful scene this was! Many, in despair, rather than give

their children up, killed them and then put an end to their own

lives. Besides this, the king contrived to delay their embarkation so

much, that the day fixed passed away before they had sailed, and

consequently they became slaves. In utter despair, these poor

creatures now agreed to become Christians, in order to recover their

liberty, and their children. But such Christianity could only be a

pretence; and their enemies, suspecting this, watched them narrowly.

The least sign of their observing any of the rites and ceremonies of

the Jewish religion, or of their preferring the Law of Moses to the

Gospel, exposed them to the horrible cruelties of the Inquisition.

Shame upon Christians, who could thus treat their fellow creatures!

and instead of trying to win them over by Christian love, could thus

render the very name of Christian more and more hateful to them.

Chapter XIV.--SEPARATION IN THE CHURCH.

The events which have been noticed in Spain and Portugal, extended

well into the sixteenth century, and thus belong to modern history;

for the fifteenth is the last of the ten centuries known in history as

"the Middle Ages," during which, as we have seen, the sufferings of

the Jews were very terrible. It is impossible here to give a

particular account of this persecuted race in all countries, during

the centuries that have since elapsed.

In the sixteenth century took place that important movement in the

Christian church, spoken of in history as "the Reformation."

In speaking of the Inquisition, allusion has been made to the feelings

of mistrust and opposition, which had arisen in regard to the Pope,

and the Church of which he claimed to be the head.

By the beginning of the eleventh century, the Papal power, or power of

the Popes, was far greater than that of any sovereign; and kings were

obliged to acknowledge and submit to it, because in case of any

dispute, their subjects would probably have obeyed the Pope rather

than their own sovereigns. Nor was this extraordinary, since the

people were led by the priests to believe, that they could not

possibly be saved, unless they obeyed the Pope in everything; and that

on the other hand, he could forgive their sins, and ensure their

salvation. Thus was the Pope put almost into the place of God.

This naturally produced evil consequences, and for more than two

centuries the corruptions of the Church of Rome went on increasing:

the real doctrines and truths of the Gospel were more and more

forgotten, and its precepts disobeyed; so that wickedness seemed

everywhere triumphant. Such a sad state of things led many to think,

that as the Pope and his clergy were not teaching the truth as

contained in the Scripture, some reform was greatly needed. This

feeling once roused, spread rapidly; and in the beginning of the

sixteenth century, it was strengthened and confirmed by the preaching

of a German, called Martin Luther. Luther was born in A.D. 1483, at

Eisleben, in Lower Saxony: wishing to devote himself to a religious

life, he entered a monastery of Augustines. His fondness for learning

caused him to be appointed as a teacher in the new University of

Wittemberg: but his studies soon taught him that the church to which

he belonged, had departed very far from Gospel truth and practice; and

a journey to Rome showed him so much that was wrong in the lives and

conduct of her clergy, as quite to destroy all his reverence for the

Pope. His own mind being thus made up, Luther boldly declared his

convictions; and taught that all who wished to be saved by Jesus

Christ, must make a great change in their religious opinions and

practice; and instead of blindly obeying the Church of Rome, must

strive to worship God as the Apostles and early Christians had done;

for this purpose he urged every individual to read and study the Holy

Scriptures, which the Pope did not permit any member of his Church to

do. People of all ranks listened to Luther's words; and many

determined no longer to submit to the Pope's dictation, but to purify

the Church, by extirpating the errors which had one after another

crept into her doctrines and practice, so as to restore her to her

original condition of a scriptural Church.

Whole nations now shook off the authority of the Pope, and became

separate branches of the One Catholic or Universal Church established

by the Apostles, and of which Jesus Christ is the true and only head.

In A.D. 1517, when Henry the Eighth was King of England, such a branch

was established in our own country, and called "the Church of

England"; whilst to that branch over which the Pope still rules, we

give the name of "the Church of Rome."

All the works of man are liable to error, and in this great separation

from the Church of Rome, some mistakes were probably made; nor were

all who advocated the changes actuated by holy and religious motives.

But whatever mistakes may have been made, we find in the teaching of

the Church of England the way of salvation. All of us who have been

baptized into this Church, must ever remember with thankfulness that

we belong to a Church which bids us take the Holy Scripture as our

rule of life. As members of such a Church, let us always strive to act

up to our baptismal vows, carefully studying all the articles of the

Christian faith, that we may hold them fast; and that our faith may be

firm and lively: let us renounce the world, the flesh, and the devil,

constantly striving against sin in every form, so that we may truly

keep the commandments and precepts of God: loving Him with all our

hearts, and our neighbour as ourselves, for His sake. If we are thus

true and worthy members of the Church Militant upon earth, we shall,

through the atonement and mediation of Jesus Christ, be hereafter

received into His Church triumphant in Heaven.

Before we go on, it will be well to say a few words as to the word

"Protestant," often applied both to Churches and individuals who have

separated from the Church of Rome. To "protest," means to "object to,"

to "declare against." "Protestant," therefore, only means one who

objects to anything, or declares against it; and so the word came to

be applied to those, who so objected to the errors and false doctrines

of the Church of Rome (which claimed for itself alone the title of

Catholic), as to separate from it, and establish a reformed branch. In

_this_ sense the Church of England may be called _Protestant_; but we

must never give up our claim of being a true and pure branch of the

Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, of which Jesus Christ is the Head.

The separation from the Church of Rome was not effected in any country

without great struggles; many battles were fought, and many crimes

committed, under pretence of religion, on both sides.

Luther died in 1546, having lived to see the doctrines he had taught,

too firmly established ever to be overthrown by the opposition of the

Pope and his supporters, who made great efforts to bring all men back

to the Church of Rome.

Mary, the daughter of Henry the Eighth, who became Queen of England on

the death of her brother Edward the Sixth, A.D. 1553, tried hard to

make her subjects submit again to the Church of Rome, and many were

burnt to death for refusing to do so.

Elizabeth, who succeeded her sister Mary in 1558, was zealous for the

doctrines opposed to the Papal teaching; and in her time the Church of

England was firmly established in this country, though many Englishmen

have never joined it, and continue to this day to be Roman Catholics,

as we call those who belong to the Church of Rome, to distinguish them

from those who have renounced her errors; for we all claim to be

Catholics, as members of the Catholic or Universal Church of Christ.

Many, too, in our own times have unhappily forsaken the Church of

their forefathers, and joined that of Rome. Let us watch and pray,

that we fall not into such grievous error.

The Reformation relieved the Jews from much active persecution, but,

on the other hand, Luther declared, that no Christian might even

employ a Jewish physician; for as the whole race lay under the curse

of God, they ought not to cure those who were the children of God:

the Jews naturally detested Luther, by whose advice many Christian

princes in Germany, refused to receive them into their dominions. The

chief persecution against the Israelites in Europe during this

century, arose from their being falsely accused of causing a fire that

did great damage in Bohemia. In Persia they suffered much from one of

the kings, who was resolved to make them embrace the Mahometan faith.

The Jews at this time, seem to have enjoyed more peace in Egypt,

Abyssinia, and other parts of Africa, than in any other countries in

the world. They became numerous, wealthy, and powerful at Cairo, and

also in Morocco, from whence one of them was sent as ambassador to the

united provinces of Holland, in the beginning of the seventeenth

century. Although the King of Portugal had banished the Jews from his

European dominions, he allowed them to settle at Goa and other places,

which then belonged to him in the East Indies: but, unfortunately,

after some years, these Jews allowed themselves to be deceived by a

pretended Messiah. The news spread to Portugal where some of the

Israelites, who had become Christians, showed such joy at the

intelligence, as to make it clear that they still clung to their old

faith, and were Christians only in name. The Inquisition, therefore,

interfered, and all Jews living in such parts of the East as were

subject to the King of Portugal, were forced either to become

Christians, or to leave the country.

The Jews had now been shut out of England for about 350 years; but

when, after the murder of king Charles the First, Cromwell became

ruler under the name of Protector, A.D. 1654, he, seeing the benefit

which Holland had gained by allowing this persecuted race to settle in

that country, was anxious to bring their industry and their riches

back into Great Britain. At his request, the Parliament allowed

Manasses Ben Israel, who was greatly looked up to by the whole Jewish

people, to come to England, to beg permission for his countrymen to

return: but the idea was so displeasing to the people in general, and

was so strongly opposed by some persons of ability and learning, that

Cromwell was unwillingly obliged to dismiss Manasses, without giving

him any positive answer. Some of his countrymen, however, did venture

into England, where they were left in peace, and allowed to reside

together in a certain part of London: but no laws were made for their

protection, though they were ready to pay large sums for any such

marks of favour.

Unfortunately for Cromwell's project of re-establishing the Jews in

England, a deputation arrived from the Asiatic Jews, for the purpose

of making out that Cromwell was the Messiah. This made the Protector

very angry; and when the object of these Jews became known, it excited

so much indignation throughout the country, that they were obliged to

leave the kingdom in all haste. This incident greatly increased the

feelings of prejudice and dislike, with which the children of Israel

were regarded. When Charles the Second was restored to the English

throne, A.D. 1660, he, being greatly in want of money, sold to the

Jews permission to settle in England, and their numbers increased

greatly in consequence.

James the Second, who in 1685 succeeded his brother Charles, also

favoured the Jews; and during this seventeenth century, they also

regained a footing in France, from whence they had been finally

banished in 1394, though, as has been said, some Jews were always to

be found in different parts of that kingdom. The first place in which

they were now permitted to reside and carry on trade, was Bordeaux;

they were also allowed to buy estates in France.

Chapter XV.--SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH CENTURIES.

The most curious event connected with the Jews in the seventeenth

century is the history of the impostor, Zabathai Tzevi, who was born

in Syria, of poor Jewish parents; and being gifted with wonderful

talents and great powers of learning, was enabled to take advantage

of the ignorance and credulity of his countrymen. Towards the close

of the century, there was a general idea amongst the Jews, that some

wonderful event was about to take place, and all sorts of strange

tales were told, and believed: amongst others, it was related that a

ship had reached the coast of Scotland, filled with sailors who could

speak nothing but the Hebrew language; that the sails of this ship

were made of the most beautiful silk; and that upon them were

embroidered the words, "The Twelve Tribes of Israel." Tzevi

immediately took advantage of so favourable an opportunity,

proclaimed himself to be the Messiah, and promised the Jews a

glorious kingdom, in which they should enjoy peace and prosperity.

He pretended to work miracles, and reproached some of his followers

with wilful blindness, because they would not own that they had seen

him rise up into the air! The multitude believed in Tzevi, but many

of the better instructed and more intelligent Jews condemned him as

an impostor, and would gladly have put him to death, could they have

done so. After visiting Greece and Alexandria, Tzevi went to Gaza,

where he persuaded a celebrated Jew, named Nathan Levi, to act as his

forerunner. Tzevi and Levi then went to Jerusalem, and actually named

a time when the Jews should recover their kingdom by the conquest of

the Sultan, who then held it in subjection.

Some of the more sensible among the Jews, saw that such folly could

lead only to their own destruction, and therefore they condemned Tzevi

and his forerunner, to be put to death as impostors; but they went off

to Constantinople: the Jews there had, however, been warned not to

listen to them, and they therefore proceeded to Smyrna.

Here Tzevi received presents from the Jews of many countries; and

although the Jewish Council at Smyrna condemned him as an impostor,

his party was too numerous and powerful for any active steps to be

taken against him. At length Tzevi having, as he said, received the

command of God to do so, went again to Constantinople, where, by the

Sultan's orders, he was seized and cast into prison; but this event

did not in any way shake the faith of his followers, who firmly

believed that it was not in the Sultan's power to put him to death.

When he was questioned by the Sultan's ministers, Tzevi declared that

he had only called himself the Messiah, because his nation had forced

him to do so: his life was therefore spared, and although he was kept

in prison, all who chose were allowed to visit him. He remained a

prisoner for some months, visited by the infatuated Jews from all

parts, who still persisted in looking upon him as the Messiah; but as

the Turks made all these Jews pay for the privilege of visiting Tzevi,

they did not interfere with the attentions and honours paid to him. In

the height of his fame he was visited by a learned Jew from Poland,

who wanted to be admitted in some manner to share his honours: this,

Tzevi was by no means inclined to allow, and the two men quarrelled.

In revenge, the Polish Jew told the Sultan that Tzevi was a dangerous

impostor, who was plotting to overthrow the Turkish dominion: upon

this, the Sultan ordered that he should be set up as a mark for his

archers to aim at, and that if he escaped unwounded, it would be a

proof that he was not an impostor. Tzevi naturally had no mind to

submit to such a trial of his truth, and therefore he at once

confessed himself to be an impostor; and when he found that this was

not now enough to save his life, he became a Mahometan, declaring that

he had long wished to do so. This step filled his followers with grief

and horror.

Tzevi lived for many years at Constantinople, and became a learned and

zealous Mahometan: he still declared himself to be the appointed

deliverer of the Jews, but told them that he should not be able to

prevail with the Almighty to restore them as a nation to the Holy

Land, until they gave up the Law of Moses and followed that of

Mahomet, as he had done. Multitudes did actually, in consequence, go

to Constantinople, and there declare themselves to be followers of the

false prophet Mahomet. By this means, Tzevi hoped to keep his

influence over the Jews, and at the same time remain in favour with

the Turks; but all his impiety and wickedness soon met with just

punishment, for, for some cause or other, he was beheaded by order of

the Sultan.

During the eighteenth century, the condition of the Jews improved

greatly throughout Europe. No more dreadful persecutions took place;

and though the prejudices of the people often led them to treat the

Jews with contempt and ridicule, and to annoy them in many ways, still

the laws of the different countries in which they lived, did more or

less, protect the Hebrew race from real injuries and violence. In the

middle of the eighteenth century there were nine synagogues in Rome,

and also an academy for the instruction of youth: the Jews in this

city seem to have exercised some authority over their brethren in

other parts of Italy, who consulted them upon all important matters,

and paid great respect to their advice. There are now great numbers of

Jews in Rome, who are all obliged to dwell together in one part of the

city, called the Ghetto.

The King of Naples, in the eighteenth century, granted such great

privileges to the Jews, as to make the Roman Catholics very uneasy;

but in spite of the remonstrances of the clergy, he persevered in this

course, until the Jews, by their ill conduct, forced him to make a

change.

In Spain and Portugal during this century, there were a great many

Jews who, according to the permission granted them by the Talmud,

_pretended_ to be Christians, and as such, filled various offices in

the state, and even performed the functions of priests in the Roman

Catholic Church. Outwardly they were zealous Roman Catholics; inwardly

they were Jews: so that it has been said, that whenever a house was

more than usually furnished with crucifixes, images of the Virgin and

of the Saints, relics and lamps, the inhabitants were sure to be

Israelites in heart. By pretending great zeal for the Christian

religion which they detested, these dissemblers generally escaped

detection; though from time to time some of them did fall into the

hands of the Inquisition.

Jews can now live openly and unmolested in Spain and Portugal: they

claim to be descended from the tribe of Judah, and declare that many

of their ancestors went into those countries, at the time of the

captivity, more than two thousand years ago! For these reasons, the

Spanish and Portuguese Jews think themselves superior to those in

other countries, and will not allow of marriages with them. The

daughter of a Portuguese Jew having married a Jew of Berlin, the

parents of the bride put on mourning for her as if she had been dead,

which she was to them, as they never would see or hear of her again:

they renounced her for ever.

After the revolution in France towards the end of the eighteenth

century, when the king Louis the Sixteenth was murdered, the Jews were

allowed all the privileges of citizens, on condition of taking an oath

of obedience to the Government of the country. Their numbers then

increased amazingly in France.

In Germany also, during this century, the Jews gained many privileges

from the Emperors. In short, the children of Israel were now

everywhere protected by the laws, though they were still often robbed

of their property, ridiculed and scoffed at, and employed in the

lowest work.

At Frankfort, as in Rome, the Jews rich and poor, are all obliged to

live in one quarter of the town: this consists of a long street, with

high walls at the backs of the houses, to separate them from those

parts in which the Christians dwell.

Zealous Christians have often formed plans for the conversion of the

Jews; not, as formerly, by violence, but in a manner more suitable to

the spirit of the Gospel; that is, by endeavouring to convince them

that Jesus Christ was indeed the Messiah prophesied of in the Holy

Scriptures, and that they must look for no other, until in the end of

the world He shall come again in glory, to judge both the quick and

the dead. These efforts have met with some little success, but still

there are an immense number of Jews. One of these converts to

Christianity in the middle of the eighteenth century, was a young man

named Moses Marcus, whose parents, rich Jews of London, had him

carefully instructed in Hebrew and Chaldee, and in all the learning of

their people. When he was old enough, he was sent from England to

finish his education at Hamburg, and there became acquainted with some

clergymen of what was called the Reformed Church,--that is, a branch

of the Church which had given up many of the doctrines and practices

of the Church of Rome. With these clergymen, Marcus frequently talked

of the difference between the religion of the Christians and that of

the Jews. By their advice he studied the Scriptures of the New

Testament, and became thereby convinced that Jesus Christ was indeed

the Messiah. Mean time the father of Marcus had been to India, and

when he returned to England he sent for his son, then about twenty

years old. On his arrival, the young man at once told his father of

the change which had taken place in his religious feelings and

opinions. His father received this intelligence with the greatest

displeasure, and spared neither threats nor promises to induce the

young man not to desert the synagogue. But the faith of Marcus had

been strengthened by conversation with clergymen of the Church of

England, and therefore, disregarding all threats and promises, he

persevered, even at the risk of his life, and was baptized: soon

afterwards, he published a work explaining his reasons for becoming a

Christian; pointing out the fulfilment of prophecy in the person of

Jesus Christ; and showing how many absurdities and contradictions were

contained in the Talmud.

Chapter XVI.--CONCLUSION.

Of late years many privileges have been granted to the Jews in

England, and many societies have also been formed, for the purpose of

trying to prove to them from their own Scriptures, that the promised

Messiah, _has_ accomplished His work, and that the Christian religion

should now take the place of the Jewish Dispensation,--that the two

are but in fact, only two parts of one religion,--that the Jewish

Dispensation, the Law, the Covenant of Works, was designed to prepare

mankind for the Coming of the Messiah,--and that, as that event has

taken place, we are now living under the Christian Dispensation, the

Gospel, the Covenant of Grace. Some have believed; but many, alas!

believe not, and still cling to their old faith.

At the present time, no persecution is carried on against the Hebrew

race, and Jews are to be found in all parts of the world, having free

liberty to observe the rites and ceremonies of their own religion, as

far as they can do so. Their manners and customs, and their mode of

observing the ceremonies of their religion, differ in different

countries; but all agree in denying that Jesus Christ was the Messiah.

One thing we must remark about the higher class of Jews in the present

day--they are very charitable, not to their own people only, but also

to Christians, helping even to support Christian schools.

It is said that there is in these days a growing feeling amongst the

Jews, that the Messiah must have come unobserved by them. Let us pray,

that through this feeling, they may be led to see and acknowledge,

that Jesus of Nazareth is indeed that Messiah. Great efforts have been

made, and are still being made, for the conversion of the Jews, but

with little success at present. The time is not yet come for them to

be brought into the fold, and made one flock with the Christians,

under one Shepherd, Jesus Christ our Lord.

But the time _will_ come, when by some means or other, the Lord God

Almighty will do this thing, for the Scriptures contain very many

prophecies as to the restoration of the Children of Israel to the

favour of God. The Scripture predictions of future happiness for the

Jews, _will_ as surely be fulfilled, as those _have been_, which

foretold the miseries that have fallen upon the once chosen people of

God.

The whole history of this remarkable nation, the chosen people of God,

warns us in a most forcible manner of the evil of sin, which made the

Almighty at last cast off the people whom He had so loved, and whose

sins He had so long borne with. Let us learn from this, that sin

persisted in will bring destruction upon any people; though, for the

Lord Jesus Christ's sake, those who repent of it and forsake it, shall

be forgiven.

The history of the Jews gives also the clearest proofs of the truth of

prophecy.

To go no further than Moses, let us see how exactly his words have

been accomplished in the sufferings of the Jews. His prophecies,

fulfilled in part when the children of Israel and Judaea were carried

into captivity, also describe most truly the circumstances of the

Jews, since the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, A.D. 72, put a

final end to their existence as a nation.

Moses says, "And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people from one

end of the earth even to the other." In the sketch which has been

given of the Jews, we have read of them as being found in all parts of

the known world.

Again, their condition, as described by Moses, "Thou shalt only be

oppressed and spoiled evermore," exactly agrees with all that has

been said of them. We have seen that, in the East as well as in the

West, they have been continually "oppressed" by the cruel laws and

heavy taxes of the rulers of the various countries in which they

sought refuge, as well as by the violence of the people, who have

repeatedly "oppressed" them in every way, robbed them, "and spoiled"

them of all their possessions. Again Moses says, "The Lord will make

thy plagues wonderful, even great plagues, and of long continuance."

No people have ever suffered so much as the Jews: their "plagues," or

calamities, have indeed been wonderfully great, and of "long

continuance," carried on, as we have seen, with little intermission

through 1,700 years.

Some of the calamities inflicted upon the Jews were especially

foretold; for instance, "Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given

unto another people"; and "Thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine

eyes which thou shalt see." We have read that the children of the

unhappy Jews were cruelly taken from them by force, and "given to

another people," to be educated as Christians. Their despair on this

and other occasions, when they saw that their children were likely to

fall into the hands of their enemies, drove them to madness; and in

their frenzy and despair, they often destroyed their families and

themselves. They were indeed made "mad," by the sight which their eyes

had seen.

Again Moses tells them, "Thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb

and a by-word among all nations, whither the Lord shall lead thee."

The amazing sufferings of the Jews, and their existence through them;

their obstinate attachment to their own religion; and the manner in

which they have constantly believed in impostors declaring themselves

to be the Messiah,--must ever be an "astonishment" to all who read

their history: and, whether justly or unjustly, their avarice, usury,

and hard-heartedness, _did_ everywhere become a "proverb." Even now,

if any person is peculiarly avaricious and miserly, it is not unusual

to hear his neighbours say of him, "Oh, he is quite a Jew,"--meaning

that he has those bad qualities ascribed to the children of Israel. In

short, the name of Jew has been a "by-word," or term of reproach,

signifying all that is bad; and the treatment of the poor creatures

has been in accordance with such notions. Then again, rulers have

forced them to wear marks on their clothes, and have made their

condition as low and disgraceful as possible: the people have insulted

and abused them, and treated them rather as brutes than as fellow

creatures. Pagans, Mahometans, and, sad to say, Christians also, have

alike persecuted them; making their very name a "proverb" and a

"by-word," in every part of the world whither they have been

scattered.

That any Jews should be left, after all that this persecuted race has

gone through, must ever appear truly wonderful. They have, as we have

read, been massacred by thousands, and exposed to privations and

sufferings, which might have blotted out their name from the face of

the earth; yet they still exist. Let us once more refer to Moses, for

the reason of this wonderful circumstance. "And yet...when they be

in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will

I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with

them: for I am the Lord their God."

These words, and these only, explain _why_ their unprecedented

sufferings have, contrary to all human expectation, failed to

"_destroy_" the Jews "_utterly_."

The prophet Jeremiah also, in regard to the Jews, says, "I am with

thee, saith the Lord, to save thee; though I make a full end of all

the nations whither I have scattered thee, yet I will not make a full

end of thee." Since the Jews were first scattered amongst all nations,

great changes have taken place amongst the kingdoms of the earth; old

empires have been utterly destroyed, and new ones have risen in their

place; a "full end" has been made to many of the Eastern nations,

amongst whom the Jews were scattered; most, if not all, the nations of

Europe have changed their masters, and become, as it were, new

nations: but amidst all these changes, the race of Israel has ever

remained a distinct people, a nation without a country, "a homeless

race," clinging to the religion, laws, and customs of their

forefathers.

Many prophecies there are, pointing to great blessings still to come

upon the Jews; and, as has been already said, they _will_ come as

surely as the miseries foretold, have done: _how_ and _when_ these

things will be, it is not for us to know, until the Lord shall perform

his work of mercy, and take His chosen people again into favour.

Mean time the exact fulfilment of prophecy, as shown by their history,

has ever been regarded as one of the strongest proofs of the truth of

the Christian religion: thus through the dispensation of the Almighty,

the Jews have been made the means of strengthening the faith of others

in those blessed Gospel truths, which unhappily for themselves, they

still refuse to believe.

It only remains for us to pray for the conversion and salvation of the

Jews; and to ask God to pour out upon us the help of the Holy Spirit,

that we may so truly believe all the articles of the Christian faith,

as to practise the duties which the Gospel sets before us, and act

always as the servants of the Lord Jesus Christ, whose followers and

disciples we became at our baptism.

LONDON: PRINTED BY E. J. FRANCIS, TOOK'S COURT, E.C.