as a malefactor, nearly two thousand years ago, and whom the Christians call their God. Therefore they worship the wafer, or host.'

Alick made no reply in reality he was enraged. The little he had read of the Scriptures had impressed him with high and reverential views of the Creator; and with a feeling approaching to filial appropriation of the God of his father Abraham. He had a vivid imagination, a conception of the beautiful, and still more of the sublime; and all that Gordon had said tended to enlarge his apprehension of the great power and majesty of the Most High. His father's statement seemed to imply a double profanation, that part which concerned the wafer being equally monstrous in its absurdity as blasphemous in its impiety: and the whole absolutely irritated him against Christianity to a degree that surprised himself. He recollected having been arrested by a verse addressed to Israel, when turning over the leaves of the Bible, which he thought bore on this point and locking himself up, he took out the book, and soon found it in Deuteronomy iv. He read the chapter with wonder and delight, until coming to the twenty-seventh verse, he found, "And the Lord shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the Lord shall lead you. And there shall ye serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell." Here he started up, and exclaimed aloud, 'Never! God of Abraham, I never will. Scattered we are, and few in number among these heathen, but never will I be guilty of such a vile sin? Call a wafer Jehovah, and bow down before it! Why the

bare idea is enough to bring a judgment upon me. What fools these Christians are, to circulate a book that shews their wickedness in such a strong light. Only for this book, I might have done as they do.' He read no farther, but carefully restoring the volume to its hiding-place, he lifted up his hand to heaven, and solemnly repeated, 'I never will ! '

Next day he went out, with a young military officer, and had not proceeded far when they descried a procession approaching more showy than the former, with a richly gilded canopy held aloft. • Here comes the host,' observed the officer: 'now we must be on our good behaviour, and salute it.'

'I'll be hanged if I do,' said Alick.

'Pho, you must: 'tis a necessary piece of civility that every body shews.'

I am a Jew; and I will not disgrace my religion.' 'And I'm a staunch Protestant, and ashamed to yield, I confess : but really we must. Or, stay, shall we go into this shop, and so avoid it?'

'You may,' replied Alick quietly.

The young man misunderstood him; and supposing he would follow, immediately turned into the cigar-shop; and to be further out of the way, walked straight on, to the very back: while Alick coolly pursued his path along the street, and met the procession in a more open space. Every head was uncovered; several poor people knelt; all shewed respect to the idolatrous abomination: but like Mordecai in the presence of Haman, young Cohen remained erect, and covered.

'Take off your hat!' shouted the people who had congregated there, some in English, some in Italian, and various other dialects. You had better take

your hat off,' whispered a gentleman to Alick, in a friendly, persuasive tone.

'You had better put yours on,' was the retort. Menaces followed: the host was now just on a line with him; several hands were raised, and one brawny fellow struck the hat from Alick's head, who catching and instantly replacing it with his left hand, at the same moment knocked the assailant down with his right, who fell so near the feet of a torch-bearing friar as to endanger the upset both of himself and his flambeau. Great tumult ensued: and Alick was being very roughly handled, when on one side the young military officer, and on the other two or three of his late shipmates, ran up, and with the help of some bystanders who in their hearts admired the boy's spirit, succeeded in extricating him without further violence. He had however, severely sprained his ancle, and was scarcely able to walk back to his quarters, where Mr. Cohen slightly reprimanded his illiberal conduct, and secretly congratulated himself on being the father of such a fine fellow, who, when a little sobered down, would doubtless shine in the world.

Such scenes sometimes occur in Malta, and other places where, while naval and military men are compelled either to violate their pledge of obedience to earthly powers and forfeit their commissions, or to transgress the law of God by an act of idolatrous homage to an accursed thing,—a private Protestant is occasionally found sufficiently bold in the faith to defy the consequences of refusing it. But this was the act of a Jew and it spread through the place with numberless additions.

In the evening, while Alick reclined on a couch,

for the repose of his bandaged ancle, a lofty personage entered, whose countenance at once proclaimed his nation, while his picturesque costume, more Asiatic than European, though not altogether so, and the beard that with jet black curls almost concealed the lower part of his face, struck the youth with mingled surprise and curiosity. He looked round for a moment, while Mr. Cohen rose with his accustomed politeness, and returned his courteous salutation; then advancing to the sofa, he said, in English, but with a very foreign accent, I am a stranger in Malta; but tell me, is this stripling the son of Israel who dared to brave the rage of assembled Gentiles rather than humble himself before their idol?'

'Yes, sir,' answered Alick. I know no God but the God of Abraham.'

The stately Jew spread his hands over his head, pronounced a blessing in the Hebrew tongue, and sat down beside him.

CHARACTERISTICS.

No. VII.

AUTHORITY.

THE leading feature of the day is unquestionably what the Apostle Jude describes: Men" despise dominion ;" and not only men, but women and children too. In old times, "Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord;" and our Church has taken care that each female, on making the marriage vow, should be reminded of that example and admonished to follow it. Of Abraham himself the Lord also in those times deigned to record a testimony, saying, "I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him; and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment, that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him." The Patriarch's obedience led to a vigorous exercise of authority; and the submission of those over whom he ruled to this lawful authority secured to him the promised blessings. We do not read that any rebellious manifestation on the part of his family called for the sterner exercise of his supremacy, save when the boyish rudeness of Ishmael in mocking the promised seed, Isaac, gave occasion for his asserting it in a way pre-ordained of God to supply a remarkable type for our instruction,