and the unexpected deliverance, were perhaps intended to prepare him for the greater dangers which awaited him in after life; and to give him courage and firmness to endure them.

He had scarcely passed through his childhood. when he lost his father by sudden death. It was the wish of his mother that he should now devote himself to mercantile pursuits, which, from the large fortune of his parents, promised him considerable advantages. But Joshua felt his mind inclined to nothing but the sciences, and frequently expressed to his surviving parent, a wish to go to his learned relations in Lithuania, and to study among them. Meanwhile it so happened, that some Polish Jews who had made a journey to the Holy Land, came to Frankfort. They related, with great enthusiasm, the felicity they had enjoyed there, and particularly at Jerusalem. Joshua saw that these persons were treated with great veneration; and a wish arose immediately in his own mind to see the Holy Land. There was another circumstance which impressed this wish still deeper. He had read in a certain book, that the prayer of a Jew, offered up on the desolate spot where formerly the temple stood, was by far more efficacious than prayer in any other place, because God himself had promised that he there would hear and answer prayer. The same book had also told him, that if a Jew was buried there, the worms (a circumstance greatly dreaded by the Jews) would not be allowed to touch him; and that being on the spot. at the coming of the Messiah, he would not, like other Jews, be under the necessity of rolling under the earth to Jerusalem.

Joshua believed this tale with his whole heart,

and from that time daily entreated his mother, that she would send him to the Holy Land. He was only laughed at, and his earnest request was refused. But some time afterwards, a Meshullah, or delegate from Jerusalem, arrived at Frankfort, who collected alms for the Jewish prisoners in Turkey. This man, whose name was Jecuthiel, was very learned; his person was prepossessing. and his conversation polite and eloquent; he was therefore received by the Jewish population of Frankfort with great distinction. Among the Jews, every boy has a right to converse with the aged, and especially young students, who on such solemn occasions as the present, are examined and blessed. Our Joshua was selected to welcome the eastern traveller with a speech. The young orator delivered his address, which treated of nothing but the glory of the Holy Land, with all the animation of a high spirited youth; and he gained not only general applause, but also the particular affection of Jecuthiel. This man no sooner understood that Joshua had a desire to go with him to Jerusalem, than he strongly urged his mother not to oppose his wishes. All the several members of the family spoke also in behalf of Joshua ; and the mother, pressed on all sides, was at last compelled to yield; and it may well be supposed, that the proud consciousness of having a son who was going to see Jerusalem, the scene of the future achievements of the Messiah, had as powerful an effect upon her mind, as the advice of her numerous friends.

Joshua, after having taken a most affectionate leave of his mother, left Frankfort, little expecting the painful trials and cruel disappointments which awaited him. The two travellers took

their way through Brandenburgh, Pomerania, Prussia, Poland, and Lithuania, to Little Tartary, intending to cross the Black Sea, and thence to proceed to Jerusalem. Jecuthiel however fell sick, and was obliged to spend the winter where he then was. After his recovery, being himself a physician, he had the good fortune to cure a Turkish merchant of a consumption, who in proof of his gratitude, promised to take them with him to Caffa, and thence to Jerusalem. Jecuthiel accepted the offer, and the company set out and proceeded with safety for a considerable time; until one day, while travelling in a hollow way, without apprehending any disaster, they were, on a sudden, attacked by a gang of Tartar robbers on horseback. Some of the company, who attempted to defend themselves, were instantly killed; others endeavoured to save themselves by flight. Among the latter was Joshua, who with his horse, took shelter in a thick wood, where he was at length discovered by one of the robbers, who stretching him at his whole length on the back of his horse, tied him fast with thongs, and thus made off with him. The poor young sufferer endeavoured to move the barbarian to mercy by his piercing cries; but they were only answered by blows of the knout, which were repeated until the unfortunate youth changed his loud lamentations into silent sighs and tears. After continued travelling, the Tartar, on the evening of the third day, made a stop. He then untied his unfortunate prisoner, and gave him some bread, with honey and water; and afterwards put him with some other slaves into a prison, where he, who during the three preceding days had not closed his eyes, was soon overpowered by sleep.

was not, however, allowed long to indulge his repose, but was roused from his wretched couch by the knout, stripped of his clothes, and wrapped in a cloak of horse hair. Having spent some days in this new and dismal situation, Joshua was one morning, at an early hour, awakened from his sleep, and he and the other slaves, having their faces covered with caps, were put on horseback, their right arms tied to their backs, and their left arms to their legs; and thus he and his miserable companions were sent forward. Whenever he ventured to entreat for mercy, blows compelled him to silence. Even his prayers to God were continually interrupted by the varied dangers of the journey; at one time he was hurt by the recoiling branch of a tree; at another, a precipice threatened him with immediate destruction. At length, however, they arrived at a town on the Black Sea, where Joshua was sold to a Turk for three crowns and twelve groschen (about twelve shillings).

His master put him on board a ship, where a new trial awaited him. Among the company was an old man who formerly had been a Jew, but now professed the Mahomedan religion, and served as interpreter. Finding that Joshua was a Jew, he promised that he would soon put an end to his misery, if he would embrace the religion of Mahomed. His words were so insinuating, and his promises so alluring, that the determination and the constancy with which they were rejected by Joshua, who was only a boy, are no slight proof of the firmness of his character, even at that early period of his life. In his old age he has assured his friends, that at the time of which we are here speaking, he would

gladly have preferred death to apostacy from his religion.

When the old renegado saw that all his promises were without any effect upon the determination of the resolute youth, he threw off the mask, and pretended to purchase him, threatening, that when he had bought him, he would compel him to apostatize. This he would probably have attempted, but for the interposition of Providence; for He, whose ways are not as the ways of man, protected the helpless boy, by leading him into paths which, though rough and dangerous, conducted him in the end to deli

verance.

(To be continued.)

THE SERVICES OF THE JEWS.

THE Prayers of the Jews, in their daily and other services, present us with a pleasing contrast to many of the expressions of the reformed (as they are called) of their nation. These speak of the country in which they dwell as their homewherever they can live in peace and prosperity, there is their Palestine. England is their Jerusalem; France is their fatherland; Germany is their fatherland. Thus they give up all reference to the faithfulness of God's promises respecting their restoration, and all desire that they should ever be accomplished. Through many a long and weary century of suffering and cruelty, their fathers, groaning beneath the oppressor's power, comforted themselves with the promises of deliverance. They felt that there was no home, no