Графични страници
PDF файл
ePub

A Smyrna Jew, named Sabbatei Levi, who was a man of some learning, and son of a rich broker belonging to the English factory, made advantage of this general opinion, and set up for the Messiah. He had a fluent tongue, and a graceful figure; he affected modesty, recommended justice, spoke like an oracle, and proclaimed, wherever he came, that the times were fulfilled. He travelled at first into Greece and Italy; at Leghorn he ran away with a girl, and carried her to Jerusalem, where he began to preach to his brethren. A disciple of his, named Nathan, offered to act the part of Elijah, whilst Sabbatei Levi played that of the Messiah. They both reformed the synagogue of Jerusalem. Nathan explained the Prophecies, and demonstrated, that at the expiration of the year, the Sultan must be dethroned, and Jerusalem become mistress of the world. All the Jews of Syria were convinced. The synagogue resounded with the ancient prophecies. They grounded themselves on these words of Isaiah," Awake, awake, put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city, for hencefor.h there shall no more come unto thee the uncircumcised and the unclean."There was not a Jew but prepared lodgings for the dispersed tribes; and so strong was their persuasion, that they left off trade every where, and held themselves ready for the voyage.

Nathan chose twelve men at Damascus, to preside over the twelve tribes of Israel. Sabbatei Levi went to shew himself to his brethren at Smyrna; and Nathan wrote to him thus: "King of Kings, Lord of Lords, when shall we be worthy to put ourselves under the shadow of your ass? I prostrate myself under the sole of your feet." Sabbatei deposed some doctors of the law at Smyrna, who did not acknowledge his authority, and established others more tractable: one of his most violent enemies, named Samuel Pennica, was publicly converted, and proclaimed him to be the Son of God. Sabbatei having presented himself one day before the Cadi of Smyrna, with a multitude of his followers, they all declared that they saw a column of tire betwixt him and the Cadi.

Some other miracles of this sort set his divine mission beyond all doubt, and numbers of Jews were impatient to lay their gold and jewels at his feet.

The Bashaw of Smyrna would have arrested him; but he set out for Constantinople with his most zealous disciples. The Grand Vizier Achmet Cuprogli, who was preparing for the siege of Candia, gave orders for him to be seized on board the vessel that brought him to Constantinople, and to be confined. The Jews obtained admittance into the prison for money; they prostrated themselves at his feet, and kissed his chains; he preached, exhorted, and gave them his blessing, but never complained. The Jews of Constantinople, believing that the coming of the Messiah would cancel all debts, refused to pay their creditors: the English merchants at Galata waited upon Sabbatei in jail, and told him, that, as King of the Jews, he ought to command his subjects to pay their debts. He wrote the following words to the persons complained against," To you who expect salvation, &c. discharge your lawful debts; if you refuse it, you shall not enter with us into our joy and into our empire."

Sabbatei, during his imprisonment, was continually visited by his followers, who began to raise some disturbances at Constantinople. At that time the people were greatly dissatisfied with Mahomet IV. and it was apprehended the Jewish prophecy might occasion some disturbance. Under these circumstances, one would imagine that such a severe government as that of the Turks, would have put the person calling himself the King of Israel to death;

yet they only removed him to the castle of the Dardanelles. The Jews then cried out, that it was not in the power of man to take away his life.

His fame had reached even the most distant parts of Europe: confined in the tower of the Dardanelles, he received deputations from the Jews of Poland, Germany, Leghorn, Venice, and Amsterdam; they paid very dearly for kissing his feet: this, probably, is what preserved his life. The distributions of the Holy Land were made very quietly in the Dardanelles. At length the fame of his miracles was so great, that Sultan Mahomet had the curiosity to see the man, and examine him himself. The King of the Jews was brought to the seraglio: the Sultan asked him in the Turkish language, "Whether he was the Messiah?" Sabbatei modestly answered, "He was;" but as he expressed himself incorrectly in this tongue, "You speak very ill," said Mahomet to him, "for a Messiah who ought to have the gift of languages. Do you perform any miracles?" "Sometimes," answered the other. "Well then," said the Sultan, "strip him stark naked; he will be a very good mark for the arrows of my Icolgans; and if he is invulnerable, we will ac knowledge him to be the Messiah."

Sabbatei flung himself upon his knees, and confessed it a miracle above his strength. It was immediately proposed to him, to be impaled, or turn Mahometan, and go publicly to the Turkish mosque. He did not hesitate in the least, but embraced the Turkish religion directly. Then he preached, that he had been sent to substitute the Turkish for the Jewish religion, pursuant to the ancient prophecies. This affair, however, though not attended with bloodshed, much increased the shame and confusion of the Jewish nation.

THE JAPANESE WIDOW.

A woman was left a widow with three sons, and with no other subsistence than their labour. The young men not having been brought up to this kind of life, could scarcely earn the most common necessaries of life, and bitterly lamented their inability to place their mother in a more comfortable situation. It had been lately decreed, that any person who should seize a robber, and convey him to a magistrate, should receive a considerable reward. The three brothers, who were a thousand times more affected at their mother's poverty than their own, took a resolution as strange as heroic. They agreed that one of the three should pass for a robber, and the other two should denounce him as such they drew lots to determine which was to be the victim of filial love, and it fell to the youngest, who was bound, and conducted before the magistrate as a criminal. He was questioned, confessed the robbery of which he was accused, was sent to prison, and the brothers received the reward; but before they returned home, they found means to enter the prison, wishing at least to bid an affectionate adieu to their unfortunate brother. There, believing themselves unobserved, they threw themselves into the arms of the prisoner, and by their tears, their sobs, and their most tender embraces, displayed the excess of their affection and grief. The magistrate, who by chance was in a place from whence he could perceive them, was extremely surprised to see a criminal receive such marks of affection from the very men who had delivered him up to justice, he gave orders to follow the two young men, and observe them narrowly.

The servant reported to his master that he had followed the two young

men to the door of their mother's apartment; that on entering, their first care was to give their mother the sum of money which they had received; that she, astonished at the sight of so considerable a sum, had shown more uneasiness than pleasure at it, and eagerly questioned them as to how they obtained it, and the cause of their brother's absence; that for a time the two youths could answer only by their tears, but that at last, threatened by the malediction of a mother so tenderly beloved, they had confessed the truth. At this dreadful recital, the unfortunate woman, penetrated with gratitude, terror and admiration, and abandoning herself to the most violent transports of despair, sprang towards the door to go out, with the intention of declaring every thing to the magistrate; but that restrained by her cruelly generous sons, overwhelming them with reproaches, and bathing them with tears, overpowered at once by anger, and by the most passionate grief and tenderness, she had fallen senseless in their arms.

After this recital the judge repaired to the prison, and questioned the younger brother, who still persisted in his account, and nothing could induce him to retract. The magistrate at last told him, that he had wished to know to what excess of heroism filial piety could raise a virtuous heart, and declared to him that he was informed of the truth. The judge went to report this adventure to the sovereign, who struck with an action so heroic, desired to see the three brothers and the happy mother of such virtuous children: he loaded them with praises and marks of distinction, assigned to the youngest 1500 crowns a year, and 500 each to the other two.

GENERAL ELLIOT'S BENEVOLENCE.

Numberless are the instances of benevolence and humanity which marked the character of this general, but, perhaps, none more so than the following remarkable anecdote:→

During the siege of the impenetrable fortress of Gibraltar by the Spaniards, it was customary with the General to take his nightly rounds, in order to see if all was safe, and the sentinels alert on duty. One night, disguised in his roqueleau, when on this business, he came up to a sentinel, who, overcome with fatigue, was fast asleep with his firelock in his arms. The General clapped him on the shoulder, and rousing him, said, "Thank God General Elliot woke you." The poor fellow, almost petrified with astonishment, dropped his arms, and fell down; but in a few minutes recovering himself, the General walked on, and bid him be more careful. Death the soldier expected must be his punishment, and dreaded the dawn of day, which he anticipated would usher him to a court martial. Fortunately, however, for him, the General did not mention the circumstance, nor ever took farther notice of it. A few days afterwards, the General being present while the soldiers were busily employed in carrying bags of sand, the man shewed himself particularly industrious, and, as if eager to atone for his past neglect, took up two to carry, beneath the weight of which he could hardly stand; this being observed by the General, he again addressed him, saying, "My good fellow, do not attempt more than you are able to carry, lest you sustain an injury that may deprive us of your future services, which are of infinitely more consequence than the additional weight you now wish to carry."

INTERESTING NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY TO THE AFRICAN KINGDOM OF DAHOMEY.

[graphic]

THE following interesting narrative is extracted from an article in the Colonial Journal, entitled "A Journey to the Court of Bossa Ahadee, King of Dahomy, in Africa, performed some years since by Mr. Robert Norris, then governor of one of the English forts."

My business requiring an interview with the king, I applied to the viceroy for the necessary attendants to Abomey, and was furnished by him with a linguist, six hammock-men, ten porters, and a captain of the gang, who was responsible for the conduct of the rest; my own servants and a few others who attended on the captain, were all armed, making up our number thirty. The porters having received their several loads, which consisted of a mattress, a small trunk of wearing apparel, some provisions and liquors for myself, a case or two of spirits for the men, some bags of cowries for defraying the expenses of the journey, and a few pieces of silk for presents, I got into my hammock, and commenced my journey at six in the morning of the 1st Feb. 1772. In passing by the market-place of Grigwhee, I found a great number of people collected there; and observing some large umbrellas among them, I concluded that the viceroy and his caboceers were of the party. Surprised at this early assembly, I sent a servant to inquire the cause of it; but before he could return, a messenger from the viceroy, who had discovered my approach, accosted me from his master, requesting to speak with me before my departure. I found him passing sentence of death on a criminal, a middle-aged woman who was on her knees before him, in the midst of a circle formed by his attendants. I requested her life might be spared; and, from the very circumstance of having sent for me, flattered myself that my offer of purchasing her for a slave would be accepted; but I was dissappointed. He told me the king himself had considered the offence and decreed the sentence; which was, that her head should be cut off, and fixed on a stake," that was lying

66

VOL. II.

86

by her, and which she had been compelled to bring with her from Abomey for that

purpose.

During this conversation a little girl prompted by curiosity, made her way through the crowd; and discovering her mother, ran to her with joy to congratulate her on her return. The poor woman, after a short embrace, said, "Go away my child, this is no place for you;" and she was immediately conveyed away. The viceroy proceeded in his sentence, which the poor wretch heard with seeming indifference, picking her teeth with a straw, which she had taken from the ground. When the viceroy concluded his charge to the spectators, of obedience, submission, and orderly behaviour, which the king required from all his people, the delinquent received a blow on the back of her head with a bludgeon, from one of the executioners, which levelled her to the ground; when another, with a cutlass, severed it from her body. The head was then fixed on a pole, in the market-place, and the body immediately carried to the outside of the town, and left there to be devoured by the wild beasts.

The person executed, had kept one of the little shops in the market, having discovered, a few days before, that some trifle had been stolen from her, had taken from the fire a lighted stick, which whilst she waved round her head (an usual custom in that country), she expressed a wish that the person who had taken her property, and did not restore it, might die, and be extinguished like that stick. In going through the ceremony, a spark had fallen on the thatch of one of the huts, and set the market on fire.

After a delay of half an hour on this disagreeable occasion, I resumed my journey. The face of the country, though flat, is extremely agreeable; it is mostly open; and a considerable portion of it is cultivated, and interspersed with clumps and groves of lofty and luxuriant trees. In an hour and a half we approached the town of Xavier, which is environed with plantations of yams, potatoes, callavances, and corn, for which there is a ready market at Grigwhee. Before the Dahoman conquest, in 1727, when Whydah was an independent kingdom, this was the residence of the kings of Whydah; and the English, Dutch, and Portuguese had forts or factories here, on which those of Grighwee were dependant; but they were destroyed by that event, and the guns removed by the conqueror, Guadja Trudo, to his palaces at Ardra, Calmina, and Abomey. No vestiges of them now remain, but the moats which surrounded them; nor can the site of the palace of the Whydah kings be ascertained, but by the trench which encompassed it. The place is now overgrown with lofty trees, and is held sacred by the representatives of that unfortunate family, who live in exile with the remains of their countrymen, in the vicinity of Popo. And the new king of Whydah, on his accession to the government of his needy vassals, must come to this spot to be crowned. All writers who have described this country, extol its natural beauties, and the fertility of the soil. Previous to the conquest it is said that land was claimed as private property: and this being the great mart of trade to a very extensive tract of the interior of the country, the inhabitants are said to have abounded in riches. An anecdote which I have heard of the last king of Whydah, from the old people of the country, confirms, in some degree, this assertion.

When Captain, afterwards Sir Charles Ogle, was sent, in 1722, in the Swallow, man-of-war, to the coast of Africa, in quest of Roberts, the pirate, he landed at Whydah, and acquainted the king with the purpose of his errand.

« ПредишнаНапред »