Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

rived. The children threw stones and | Jews, and had the bastinado given to missiles at the corpse. Neither of the them. The wretched men cried out and bodies could be procured, though every protested their innocence, saying, that effort was made for that purpose; but the the Jews could not even feed on the blood natives made an attack on the parties of animals, and much less perpetrate an remaining in the boat, and part of one of act so repugnant to human nature. The their arrows is to be seen sticking fast in Pasha would hear nothing, had them loadthe boat of the Camden. Capt. Morgan ed with chains, and made them undergo finding it useless to remain any longer, the most severe sufferings, keeping them as no hopes were entertained of getting on their feet for fifty hours, and allowing an interview with the natives, or of pro- them neither food nor sleep. He then curing the bodies of the sufferers, imme- sent for the three chief Rabbis, Jacob, diately bore for Sydney direct. Antevi, Solomon Arari, and Azaria Halfaen, and had them tortured in such a manner, that their flesh was rent asunder, demanding whether they really had used blood in their unleavened bread! To which they answered, that the Jewish proselytes would long ago have disclosed the fact if there had been any truth in it.

"That the Mission has sustained a great loss in the death of Mr. Williams there can be no doubt, but that God will carry on the great work of evangelizing the islands of the Pacific there cannot be the least question. The missionaries and their friends ought to be, and doubtless are, prepared for catastrophes so mysterious as these."

PERSECUTION OF THE JEWS AT DAMASCUS AND RHODES. From a letter to Messrs. Abraham Conorte and Aaron Cohen, members of the Jewish community at Constantinople "On Wednesday, the first of the month Adarter (5th Feb), a priest, who had lived forty years at Damascus, disappeared with his servant. This priest carried on the medical profession, and went into the houses of Catholics, Jews and Armenians, to perform vaccination. On the following day, that is to say, Thursday, some Turks and Greeks came into the Jewish quarter, affirming that they had seen the priest with his servant there the evening before. They arrested a poor Jew barber, and dragged him before the Pasha, who immediately ordered him 500 blows of a stick to be given him on the feet. As he confessed nothing, the most dreadful torments a tyrant could invent were inflicted on him. During this time the Greeks advised him to denounce the rich Jews as guilty of the crime. Torture at length drew from him the names of the seven wealthiest Jews, David Harary and his brothers, Joack, Aaron, and Joseph, Joseph Landiado, Moses Abulafia, and Moses Dekar-Luda. The barber declared they had sent for him, and promised him 300 piastres if he would sacrifice the priest, as they wanted his blood for the unleavened but that he had refused, and that he did not know what had become of the priest. The Pasha full of anger and fury, sent for the seven

bread;

"The Pasha then went to the college of children, had them put in prison, and loaded with chains, and forbade their mothers to go and see them, allowing them no other food than an ounce of bread and a glass of water per day-all this in the hope that the parents, to deliver their children, would confirm the charge. A generous Jew then presented himself, and observed to the Pasha that this calumny had already been discussed by all the Powers of Europe, and that theologians had decided it to be utterly inadmissible; that besides, it was iniquitous to exercise such tyrannies merely on the confession the accused had made in the midst of tortures. The Pasha caused him to be beaten till he died under the strokes inflicted. He then visited the spot in person, with six hundred men, and caused the houses of the accused Jews to be demolished, to find dead bodies; but not having been able to discover anything, had them dragged to the palace of the Government, and thrown into a sewer. No longer able to endure these tortures, they preferred death, and confessed the truth of the calumny brought against them.

"The Governor asked them where they had put the blood of the victims; to which one of them replied, it had been put in a bottle and consigned to Moses Abalafia. The man protested the contrary; but after having received thousand strokes of rods, without confessing, the insupportable torments inflicted upon him compelled him to say that he had put the bottle of blood

a

into a closet. The Governor ordered | torments was inflicted upon him. The him to be carried on the shoulders of four men (he could no longer stand on his feet) that he might open the closet himself. But when he had opened it, nothing was found there but a sum of gold. On the Governor demanding where he had put the bottle, Abalafia answered, that he had shown him the gold to save himself from the effects of this calumny. The patient was again put to the torture to force him to turn Turk. An astrologer declared he had discovered that the accused were the persons who had assassinated the priest, and that the servant had been killed by Raphael Farki, Nathan Levi, Aaron Levi, Mardokai Tarki, and Ahares di Listone. The two former were immediately arrested; the others had taken flight.

"You see then, my dear friends, how justice is administered here. The banker Negri has ended by embracing Islamism, no longer being enabled to endure his torments."

bastinado was given him; his nostrils were pierced with iron wire, heated bones were placed on his head, and a very heavy stone on his heart-tortures which reduced the victim to the last extremity. At the same time, they sought to extort confessions from him, and said to him, 'If you only stole the Greek boy to deliver him to the chief rabbi, say so plainly, if you wish to save your life.' Their intention was to involve our rabbi and the whole community in the accusation. However, the unhappy Jew, in the midst of his torments, implored death, and was always answered by exhortations to confess his pretended crime. Overcome by torments which a human body cannot support, the victim suffered calumnies to be extorted from him against several Jews, most of whom had for some time been absent from Rhodes. Those who could be found were arrested, and also tortured to make them confess that they had delivered the child to the chief rabbi, or the head of the Jewish community. Seven persons are in a dangerous state in consequence of these tortures. To crown our misery, the Ghetto has been closed and surrounded with guards, in such a manner that no one can go out and learn the fate of the prisoners. A fact, which I think it my duty to tell you, is, that during thit time, as no Christian, that is to say, Greek, can enter the Jewish street, they walk continually round the Ghetto, in order to find means of thowing a Turkish or Greek dead body into some court, and then getting it taken from thence by the Government, to form a basis for their calumny."

Copy of an original letter, addressed by the community of Rhodes to that of Constantinople, and to the chief Rabbi. -"We hasten to inform you of the sad position in which our community has been placed, in consequence of a calumny. The facts are as follow: AGreek child, ten years of age, the son of a peasant, hanged himself, it is said, some days ago, and the Christians accused us of having sacrificed him. The European Consuls assembled to demand an investigation of the affair, and went in a body, with the exception of the Austrian Consul, to the Pasha, to demand that the proceedings should be left to them, which was granted. They then called before them two Greek women from the environs of the town, who declared that some Jews had gone on Tuesday from the vil- POCKET DIARY; with Life and Annuity Tables lages to the town, and one of them had been followed by a Greek child. The Consuls immediately called this Jew beit a collection of useful life and annuity tables fore them and questioned him. He re-useful in many ways. It is neither uninplied, that he would prove by witnesses teresting nor unprofitable, to note the periods at which the span of human life is oftenest snapthat he had spent Tuesday in his own ped asunder; and it is well to be reminded of village, and had not come into town until those noble institutions of modern times, by which Wednesday. He added, that even if the a parent may avoid entailing (by his untimely child had come into town at the same time whom he most loves. death) years of anxiety and sorrow upon those The particular Society as the Jews, this fact could nottestify against above named (as we perceive from these tables) them, as they were on the public road. not only alleviates this bereavement by Life Insurance, but grants annuities to commence in old These reasons, however, were not ad- age, and portions payable to children at maturity; mitted by the Consuls. The accused and it offers some advantages of convenient option as to the nature of the annual payments to it, greater was thrown in chains, and unheard-of than we think can be met with at other Offices.

of THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT AND ASSURANCE SOCIETY, Arthur Street West, London Bridge. This is an almanac for the year, small enough for the waistcoat pocket; and with

[ocr errors]
[graphic][subsumed][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]
[merged small][merged small][graphic][ocr errors][subsumed][subsumed][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

"Faith adds new charms to earthly bliss,

And saves me from its smares;

Its aid in every duty brings,

And softens all my cares;

"Extinguishes the thirst of sin,

And lights the sacred fire

Of love to God, and heavenly things,

And feeds the pure desire.

"The wouuded conscience knows its power

The healing balm to give;

That balm the saddest heart can cheer,

And make the dying live.

"Wide it unveils celestial worlds,

Where deathless pleasures reign,
And bids me seek my portion there,
Nor bids me seek in vain ;

"Shows me the precious promise seal'd
With the Redeemer's blood,

And helps my feeble hope to rest

Upon a faithful God."-D. TURNER.

THE last essay in this series brought under our consideration the immediate consequences of regeneration; namely, repentance towards God, and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ; which are frequently insisted on and required in the Gospel. These requirements are just and good; they are complied with by the regenerate, and the regenerate alone; who are endowed with the grace of faith, and enriched with the gift of repentance. They believe and repent, and are justly termed believers. To the consideration of their privileges as believers, or the happy results of faith to the sincere followers of Christ, this paper is devoted. Faith, which differs from reason, rises superior to it, and also to the senses. It excels them in the prospects it unfolds, the knowledge it imparts, and the privileges with which it presents the soul. By means of reason and the senses, the soul sees, examines, and

VOL. XII.

2 F

« AnteriorContinuar »