with a flood of tears not to break her maternal heart, by the step he is about to take. Aaron wrote upon the table :-"Dear mother, I love you, but I love the Lord Jesus Christ more. Whosoever does not believe in him cannot be saved. Do believe in him and you shall be saved." And thus he wrote it down for his uncle. The party finding they could do nothing, went to the police, but that was of no use, as Aaron is twenty-eight years of age, and no longer a minor. Since that time Aaron has been left in peace, and he works at his trade with one of our proselytes, likewise a tailor.

FREE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND.

CONVERSION Of a Jewess to CHRISTIANITY.-An interesting religious service took place in Maxwelltown Free Church on Sunday evening last. Mr. Clarke, pastor of the congregation, was assisted by the Rev. Julius Wood, who in a preliminary discourse made many interesting allusions to the Holy Land; a sermon was then preached by the Rev. Mr. Clarke; and after prayer and praise the baptism ceremonial followed of a Jewish maiden, named Rebecca Pergenstein, till recently if not a native, an inhabitant of Constantinople, where her family reside, who still adhere to the rites and forms of the ancient house of Israel. As the baptism of an adult upon her conversion to Christianity had in some way been bruited abroad, independently of public notification, the Maxwelltown church was so densely crowded, that numbers were forced to leave its doors from the impossibility of obtaining even standing accommodation. The lady in question, after proclamation of banns, was married last night to the respectable and learned gentleman with whom she travelled from the capital of the Moslems; and who, if rumour may be in aught credited, is about to publish an interesting account of Turkey and Egypt, particularly as regards the Christian religious destitution of countries so intimately bound up with the history of the Bible.—Dumfries Courier.

CORNER FOR THE YOUNG.

QUESTIONS ON JEWISH HISTORY.

PART II.

11.—The Destruction of Jerusalem.

(Where the answers to the following questions are not furnished by the Scripture History, they are supplied.)

Q. What Jewish city did Vespasian first attack ?

A. Jotapata, which Josephus, the Jewish historian, bravely defended, till the city was betrayed into the hands of the Romans.

Q. What became of Josephus ?

4. He surrendered himself to the Romans, and was at first put in chains, but afterwards, when he foretold that Vespasian would be raised to the imperial throne, he was treated with great respect.

Q. What part of the Jewish territory was made at first the seat of the war?

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A. Galilee; the city of Gamala, situated on the lake of Gennesaret, is specially noted for the bravery of its defence against the Romans, but it was at last subdued, and all the inhabitants, even the women and children, were cut to pieces.

Q. Were the Jews united among themselves in their defence against the Romans?

4. No : every city was divided into factions.

Q. What was the condition of Jerusalem?

A. It was torn asunder by internal strife; a faction who aimed at throwing off the Roman yoke, and who took the name of Zealots, committed all kinds of enormities. Ananus, Simon, and others of the chief priests, took arms against them. The Zealots were headed by John of Gischala. From these bloody conflicts, many Jews fled for refuge to the Roman camp.

Q. After Galilee had surrendered, whither did Vespasian next direct his army?

A. To Perea, which speedily surrendered also, B.C. 68. Idumea next fell into the hands of the Romans, and then all the country round about Jerusalem.

Q. What now caused Vespasian to suspend hostilities for a season? A. The state of affairs at Rome. The emperor, Nero, died; Galba succeeded him, and reigned but seven months; Otho succeeded Galba : meantime, intelligence was brought that the German legions had raised Vitellius to the imperial throne. Upon this, Vespasian and his army were much displeased: the soldiers immediately held a council, and declared Vespasian emperor of Rome. Vespasian then left Judea to claim his new dignity, A.D. 69.

Q. Whom did Vespasian commission to carry on the war with the Jews?

A. His son, Titus.

Q. What was now the condition of Jerusalem? A. It was more miserable than ever. The contending parties, by turns, set fire to the streets, and constantly occupied themselves in murder and plunder. If any of the wretched citizens dared to complain, he was immediately executed as a friend to the Romans. The streets were filled with heaps of dead bodies.

Q. What words of our Saviour were at this time remembered and acted upon by the Christians living in Jerusalem ?

A. Those recorded Luke xxi. 20-24. They took refuge in the town of Pella, situated east of Jordan, where they remained entirely exempt from the fearful judgments which overwhelmed Judea.

Q. To what work did Titus now bend his attention?

A. To the blockading of the city. This was completed with difficulty, on account of the frequent sallies of the Jews.

Q. What was the great desire of Titus in regard to the city?

A. It was to preserve it, and especially the temple. He therefore again and again begged of the citizens to surrender, but they replied that the city of God could not be destroyed.

Q. Did all unite in this answer?

4. No: many leaped down from the walls, and others, under pretence of making an assault, went out and joined the Romans.

Q. How were the miseries of the Jews, already noticed, further aggravated ?

A. By famine; the dead were so numerous that it was impossible to bury them, and their bodies were thrown over the wall. Titus, on riding round the city, was deeply moved by the horrible sight, and he called God to witness that the Jews were the authors of their own miseries.

Q. To what extent did the famine prevail in Jerusalem ?

A. So fearfully did it rage, that girdles, sandals, and, even the leather upon the soldiers' shields, were eagerly devoured. One distinguished lady, at last, murdered and roasted her own child, and, when the soldiers, allured by the smell, rushed into the house, and demanded food, she boldly confessed what she had done, and brought forth the remainder of the child, of which she had herself eaten half. Q. How were these horrors put an end to?

A. By the conquest of the city by Titus.

Q. Was this accomplished without the destruction of the temple, as Titus had desired?

A. No: a Roman soldier seized a firebrand, and threw it in at one of the windows of the sacred edifice; and although Titus made every effort to extinguish the burning, all was in vain.

Q. Was the city completely destroyed?

A. Yes: Josephus expressly says that the ground was levelled, as though no building had ever stood on it, according to the prediction of our Saviour, Matt. xxiv. 2.

Q. In what year did the destruction of Jerusalem occur?

A. In the year A.D. 71.

Q. What was the number of captives taken during the whole war? A. Ninety-seven thousand.

Q. How many persons are computed to have perished in the siege and conquest of Jerusalem alone?

A. No less than one million of persons: this immense number is accounted for by the fact, that a great multitude had flocked to Jerusalem, to the feast of the Passover.

Q. What became of the Jews that were taken captive?

A. The robbers and rebels were put to death: the handsomest captives were reserved to grace the triumph of Titus; of the rest, all under seventeen were publicly sold as slaves; those above seventeen were either sent to hard labour in the Egyptian mines, or devoted to the gladiatorial exhibitions, common among the Romans. But on the day on which this distribution of the captives was made, twelve thousand of them died from hunger.

Q. Were the sacred vessels of the temple destroyed?

A. No; they were preserved and brought to Titus, and they were carried in his triumphal procession through the streets of Rome. The arch of Titus is still standing in Rome, upon the inner walls of which may be seen in bas-relief the golden candlestick and other vessels of the temple, represented as they were carried in the procession.

Q. What Scripture prophecies were fulfilled by the overthrow of Jerusalem ?

Q. With what feelings should we contemplate this solemn event?

REED AND PARDON, PRINTERS, PATERNOSTER ROW.