immediate purpose, and from concluding that because a metaphor has a certain meaning or aim in one passage, it must necessarily have the very same in every other. 6. That the Gospel may come to us not in word only, but also in power,' enabling us all to 'take heed to ourselves, lest at any time our hearts be overcharged with . . . . cares of this life, and so that day come upon us unawares'—but that 'walking as children of light,' our whole spirit, and soul, and body may be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."" (pp. 3-5.)

Then, again, on the precise time of the Lord's appearing, he writes as follows:

"One great object, therefore, of the doctrine in our Saviour's day, and onward 'till He come,' appears to be to keep the Church ever awake. What I say unto you, I say unto all, Watch.' (Mark xiii. 37.) Obedience to this one word would have kept the Church, as a faithful sentinel between heaven and earth, ever on its guard. It is a most detaching doctrine. It leaves no room for trifling, for passionate tempers, for unholy pursuits, for worldly compliances, for overcharging of the heart with cares of this life. (Luke xxi. 34.) Like sudden Death in the uncertainty of its dart, it gives not any professor a day or an hour to spend in the places of this world's unprofitable and sinful amusements, in which he would not wish to be cut down by death, or in which he would not wish to be found at the instant of the coming of the Lord. Remember Lot's wife.' (Luke xvii. 32.) The 'evil servant will be cut asunder, and his portion appointed with the hypocrites.' (Matt. xxiv. 51.) Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.' (1 John ii. 15.) With what loving consideration, therefore, is the warning given-Watch ye therefore, lest coming suddenly, He find you sleeping.' And with what earnest longings of soul is this prayer presented for one's-self, for our dear friends, and for all professing Christians. I pray God your (my) whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.' (1 Thess. v. 23.)

13. That while some hesitate and stumble at the statement in Mark xiii. 32— But of that day and that hour knoweth no man; no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father,' as if ignorance on this point were a derogation to the Saviour, we ought rather to admire and adore Him the more on its account. For, consider what that point is the day and hour of His own personal exaltation, His own glory' (Luke ix. 26)—and immediately the statement in this verse appears in its true light, as another beautiful exemplification of that self-denying spirit in which our Blessed Master lived and acted before God and men. 'I seek not Mine own glory.' There is One that seeketh and judgeth. (John viii. 50.) He leaves all implicitly to His Father. He does not pry into the times and seasons of the future which the Father hath put in His own power. (Acts i. 7.) He seeks not as Man to know when His transcendent glory as God is to commence, and be made manifest to the world. Having throughout His whole life virtually said What Thou wilt

Where Thou wilt-As Thou wilt-He is here saying in effect, When Thou wilt! My Father knows the time-' that day and that hour -when I am to come forth crowned with many crowns, King of kings and Lord of lords. I know not-Neither do I seek to know, for My meat and My drink, My honour and My joy are only to do His will, whatsoever, and whensoever, it may be !'

"Oh for this Christ-like spirit-this self-abnegating spirit-which neither seeks to secure exaltation by personal effort, nor even to know the time when it is to be bestowed by another.

"He knew then the day of His descending into a tomb. (Matt. xxvi. 2.) He did not then know the day of His descending on a throne. Oh to be like Christ-to be equally willing to know what God has been pleased to reveal-and to be ignorant of what He has been pleased to withhold.

"What a double lesson does this teach us-first, never to neglect or despise the study of unfulfilled prophecy. Christ did neither. He reproved His disciples for not studying the Prophets; and in the Revelation which God gave unto Him to shew unto His servants,' He distinctly declares, Blessed is He that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy.' (Rev. i. 1, 3.)

"And, secondly, never to pry too minutely into the details of the future, beyond what is written; remembering always on the one hand that those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever;' and on the other, that the secret things belong unto the Lord our God.' Deut. xxix. 29." (pp. 20-23.)

4. Before we conclude, let us notice the Rev. S. Smith's interesting volume on what he saw in Puteoli, Naples, and Rome. We noticed, some time ago, Mr. Smith's Exposition of some of the prophecies which have regard to our Lord's second coming. The volume before us is a narrative from the pulpit. We must give an extract from it :

"In the square in which we resided in Rome, at the foot of the steps leading to the Pincian Hill, there is a monument of a singular character for a very singular purpose. It has recently been erected by the reigning Pontiff, Pope Pius the Ninth; and, leaving to others to judge it as a work of art, I feel impelled to give utterance, on more serious grounds, to the impression it made on ourselves. Our general subject is, What we saw at Rome; and to our minds there was nothing we beheld in Rome more painful than this.

"But, before I describe what it was, I must go back to the point of history to which it relates. So much is involved in the subject of this monument, that we cannot discuss it too closely.

"You recollect the words of the promise at the Fall. When Satan, in the form of the serpent, was successful, and God was disobeyed, and man became corrupt and mortal, this was the threatened doom of Satan, and this the promise to man:-it appears mysterious to the unreflecting, but, on consideration, it is clear as the day: Because thou hast done this thing,' said the Lord to Satan, 'I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed : It'

(that is, the seed of the woman, which seed was Christ)-'it shall bruise thy head' by overthrowing thee and thwarting thy designs; and thou shalt bruise His heel,' by causing Christ to suffer before He rose in triumph.

"Now let us look at the monument and mark it well. It is dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It is in one of the most conspicuous spots, and faces the most learned college, in Rome. All around are the dwelling places of intelligent visitors from all quarters, who have thus constantly before them this singular object of interest. They sce round the base of the monumental column, on the top of which is a bronze statute of the Virgin, certain vast emblematic statues, and alternating between the statues they notice certain representations in low relief. They know that the great claim of the Church of Rome is, that she is the only interpreter of Scripture, and that that interpretation is infallible; and yet-would you believe it? I could scarcely do so on the spot-the subject of one of the representations is, the fulfilment of the promise which I have brought to your notice, but instead of the Seed of the woman, which is Christ, bruising the head of the serpent, the woman herself, meaning the Virgin Mary, is placed before us with her foot on the head of the Dragon, which is the Devil and Satan.

"There was cause the first of our mingled astonishment and pain. "But that was not all. The hour itself is there designated when the Virgin of Nazareth was to conceive and bear a Son. In order to make this hallowed and mysterious event visible to the eye, in one of the compartments of the monument a venerable old man is grandly carved to represent God the Father. In His lap is placed a Dove the symbol of God the Holy Ghost. In front of Him is meekly seated the Holy Virgin, with bowed head, and seeming to say, 'Be it unto me according to Thy Word;' while rays of the Holy Spirit are seen to proceed from the dove, and to come unto her.

"Was it nothing that God had said, through Moses, 'Take ye good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no similitude on the day that the Lord spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire; lest ye corrupt yourselves and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female ?' (Deut. iv. 15.) Yes, it was nothing. All was overlooked here by the guides of the great Church, who read the Scriptures awry, and seemed to say by their deeds,' We will make a similitude and image of the invisible God; we will comprehend and show forth the Incomprehensible; we will do that which, to a degree indescribable by words, is offensive to God and man!'"'*

We have now given the views of several different writers, all of them persons of the highest character, both for penetration and for accuracy, chiefly in their own words. We have done so because we have no wish to get up a case, and, further too,

"What I saw in Puteoli, Naples, and Rome: another Narrative from tho Pulpit." By . Smith, M.A., Vicar of Lois Weedon, and Rural Dean. London: Longmans & Co. 1865.

because we could not improve, had we desired to do so, on their own language. Is there any truth, does the reader suppose, in their statements; or are they, one and all, the victims of a delusion? Will the world, indeed, go on its course as it has gone before, age after age, while infidels mock, and the hearts of the people of God fail them? Is the present article to be cast aside without further consideration? Or are the materials we have brought together of sufficient importance to cause the reader, how beit unused to studies of this kind, to bow the knee in fervent prayer, and to ask of Him who giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, to show him, so far as may be consistent with His will, whether the signs of His coming are yet apparent, that he may be found waiting for His Lord's coming, and so "stand in his lot at the latter end ?"-EDITOR.

MOSLIM FESTIVALS: THE "MOOLID EN NEBEE" AND THE "RAMADAN."

THERE are two religious festivals in the Moslim's year, which, from their similarity to Christian feasts, possess an amount of interest for us that they would not otherwise have. These are respectively the festival of the birth of the prophet Mohammed, and that of the Bairam, which latter is preceded by a feast of thirty days, called the Ramadan.

Here, as in many other matters connected with his religion, Mohammed has taken Christian usages as his copy, and imitated them in the observances which he has proposed to his followers. Thus our Christmas Day and the Moolid en Nebee (the birthday of the Prophet), in a manner correspond, while the Fast of Lent and the Feast of Easter are imitated in the month of Ramadan and the succeeding rejoicings of the festival of Bairam.

In connection with the former of these, a singular ceremony takes place, called the Doseh (or treading), when a certain sheikh rides over the prostrate bodies of any of the devoted servants of the Prophet who feel disposed to submit to the experiment. But of this anon.

It is necessary first to say a few words concerning the festival itself. As the Moslim's calendar commences from a different day in each successive year, the days on which his feasts fall vary accordingly; this one amongst the rest. It is about the third day of the third month, called in Arabic

Rabea-el-Owal, that the ceremonies of the "Moolid en Nebee" begin.

In that portion of the Frank quarter of the city of Cairo, which lies nearest to the Nile, is a large open square, of several acres in extent, bearing the name of Esbikiyeh. This space, which in former days was a lake during the inundation of the Nile, is now planted with shrubs, and intersected with paths which meet in the centre. The square is bounded by four broad roads, shaded by acacia trees; and on the western and southern of these the ceremonies about to be described take place.

For several days previous to their commencement, great preparations are made to celebrate the festival with becoming rejoicing. Booths are erected, and rough coffee-houses improvised; while whirligigs for children, and stalls for sweet-meats and fairings, start into existence, and line either side of the road. Arab artists of no great order of merit exercise their skill in adorning the sides of these sheds. It is something remarkable to see the rude manner in which camels, crocodiles, and even hippopotami are depicted on the walls, painted in glowing blue and red. Poles, ornamented with flags and banners, or hung with rows of coloured paper lanterns, are placed at intervals along the road, to enliven the scene. But these decorations are not confined to the Esbikiyeh; the greater number of the shops in the neighbouring Arab quarter are festooned with silks and rich stuffs, and generally a large glass chandelier is suspended in the centre to illuminate the exhibition by night. Most expensive materials are often in this manner exposed to public view, but no injury has ever been known to occur to them, in spite of the mixed crowds moving constantly to and fro, and the opportunities afforded for theft. The ceremonies, commencing about the third of the month, continue on until the night preceding the twelfth day, which is the birthday of the Prophet. Numbers of country people flock into Cairo for the occasion, and not unfrequently strange dresses and figures of devout Moslim are to be seen, who have come from distant lands to take part in the feast.

Dervishes also are employed to perform Zikrs (sets of prayers) together during the time. The tents erected along the roadside are generally made use of for this purpose, and may be seen constantly crowded, either with the religious who take part in the ceremony, or with curious gazers at the scene.

As these Zikrs form a rather prominent feature in the religious portion of the festival (for two or three of them are sometimes going on at the same time), it may be as well here to say a word or two in explanation of the manner in which they are conducted. A Zikr, then, is performed as follows:-A Dervish first takes his seat at the further end of a tent or booth prepared for the