Kaaba, and kissed the sacred stone; and when they had slaked their religious thirst at the holy well of Zemzem, they proceeded to the mountains, "and seven times in as many successive days hurled stones against the evil genius in the valley of Mina." In this last respect they were better employed than many modern Christians who delight less in molesting the evil genius than in denouncing the brother Christian who differs from them by a poor hair's-breadth. The three journals which divide our religious public, the Guardian, the Record, and the English Churchman, with great talent and good intentions in each, are as bitter against each other, and are as actively occupied in hurling stones of invective against their respective opponents, as the Koreishites who flung their more material missiles against the common enemy of all. We can recollect but one sample of superhuman charity among Christians which even the Koreishites could not match. We find it in that Scotish Presbyterian minister who, so far from hurling stones even against the devil, proposed that he should be devoutly prayed for, as being more in want of the prayers of the faithful than any other being of whom the minister had ever heard.

We may notice that the month's meetings of the Koreishites ended with a sacrifice of sheep and camels; and we believe that our own May meetings are followed by as wide a slaughter at least of mutton; beef and rarer produce taking place of the camels; the hunch of which, barbicued, was the diet among the well-satisfied Koreishites.

To counteract the effect of the splendid idolatry at Mecca, the Christian King of Hamyar erected a magnificent church at Sanaa. It was the most gorgeous building that had been erected within the recollection of the Arabs, but the idolatrous among the latter could not be won away by it from the glories of the Kaaba. A proclamation was accordingly issued by the orthodox king, commanding all religious pilgrims to take the more convenient route to Sanaa, in place of their old and long journey. This was largely obeyed, with as much decrease to the profits of Mecca as the Reformation brought to the shrine at Wal

singham. The Koreishites were angry, but they were also ingenious:—

The Arab tribes have ever been celebrated for their frequent ablutions, and for their peculiar abhorrence of anything that is considered impure or polluted. One of the tribe of Kananah, who was bribed by the guardians of the Kaaba, had been admitted to perform some of the duties appertaining to the church of Sanaa. Seizing an opportunity during the preparations for an extraordinary festival, he entered the church by night, and strewed it with dung, and then immediately fled from the town, spreading everywhere in his flight the news of the profanation of the Christian Church. The profanation of the church of Sanaa was a signal of revolt to the idolatrous tribes of the north. Many of the Arab chiefs were bound by the ties of gratitude to the service of Abrahah.

The wrath of the King of Hamyar was doubly inflamed by the profanation of his church and by the death of the King of Modar, and he vowed to take exemplary vengeance by the reduction of the tribe of Kananah and the entire demolition of the temple of Mecca."

Abrahah, mounted on a white elephant, led his host onward, experiencing little opposition till he approached the neighbourhood of Mecca. In his army he had a numerous body of men mounted on elephants, and these terrible animals appear to have excited as much consternation among the Koreishites as the horses of Pizarro among the Peruvians at Tumbez. The idolaters at length, in despair, were almost ready to give way.

In the negotiations which preceded his advance to the city, a third part of the wealth of Hedjaz was offered as a ransom for the Kaaba, but the king was still indience of Abrahah, and was admitted to flexible. Abdolmotalleb desired an auhis presence, and treated with all the redeserved. Abrahah descended from his spect his age, his beauty, and his dignity throne, and seated himself by his side. But the Prince of Mecca came only to solicit the return of his camels, which had been taken among the plunder collected by the Christian soldiers. Abrahah ex. pressed his surprise that the guardian of Mecca should think of his private property, amid the evils that threatened his answered Abdolmotalleb, has its own city. The temple of Mecca, oh king," lord, who will doubtless defend it, as he has defended it before. But I alone am the lord of my own camels." The camels were restored to him.

The Christian army advanced to attack the city, but they were assailed on their way through a narrow pass by multitudes of Koreishites, who safely slew their enemies beneath showers of rock and other missiles incessantly poured on the foe by their assailants. The Christian host was almost annihilated; the forlorn wreck struggled back to Sanaa, where Abrahah "died soon after of vexation as much as of his wounds." The Arabians have taxed their ingenuity and powers of invention to account for this defeat.

The elephants of the Christians, they tell us, awe-struck at the sight of the holy buildings, resisted every attempt to proceed till towards evening, when an immense flock of birds, of a kind which are called ababeil, rose like a cloud from the sea, and took their course towards the camp of Abrahah. These birds were about the size of a swallow, with green plumage and yellow beaks. Each carried three pebbles, one in its beak and one in each claw; and each of these stones had inscribed upon it the name of him whom it was to strike. They fell with such violence on the soldiers of Abrahah as to pierce through their helmets and bodies, and even the animals on which they rode. The origin of the Monophysite heresy, the progress of the Eutychians, and the history of Jacobus Baradæus, are told briefly but intelligibly. The young student of history, while reading these details, will probably be struck by the utter want of charity in the polemics of this age of Christianity-an age, be it remembered, in which Christianity had sadly fallen from its pure and primitive condition. The great religious leaders of the day were as desirous of destroying one another as M. Veuillot of the Univers is of burning Protestants at the stake; and the joy with which they contemplated the idea of suppressing opposition by the conclusive argument of slaying opponents, shows that the "glorious idea" on which Dr. Cahill has so often expatiated-of putting down Protestantism by planting Romanist bayonets in the bosoms of its professors-is but a paltry plagiarism after all. On these matters, however, we cannot proceed. We will only cite a sentence of Mr. Wright's which assures us that the "controversialists of the ancient church were not over scruGENT. MAG, VOL. XLIII.

pulous in the choice of their weapons, and books were frequently forged to support their arguments." For this assertion the author supplies ample authority. Its truth should tend to make the admirers of antiquity cautious in their admiration, and humble in their acknowledgment of it.

The Koreish idolatry has been a powerful antagonist against both Christianity and Mohammedanism. The black stone of the Caaba resisted the forces of the orthodox Arab, and the prophet of Islam, with all his abhorrence of idols, was compelled to tolerate this abomination. Of the history of the prophet Mr. Wright gives us a sketch, with a remark appended, to the effect that, of the early history of him who began his work in sincerity, but departed from the right faith in which he made a few steps, very little is known. The German students of oriental history and literature are, however, beginning to throw very much light on that period of the prophet's life of which we have hitherto learned so little. These contributions to the marvellous story of the career of the "Impostor" will be eagerly read by all who are careful touching the truth, or curious as to the doings and sayings of great men. We must say, for our own parts, that some of the Christians against whom the army of Islam directed their attacks were but very sorry knaves-Christians in nothing but the name. It was not their maxim, as it was that of their opponents, that prayer is better than sleep. They thought sleep better than prayer, or than fighting, in order that they might both sleep and pray as Christians. To them the face of the true God was as much hidden as it was to Mahomet himself when he ascended, as he lyingly alleged, to the throne of God, and saw seventy thousand veils on the face of the Most High.

The Christian fortresses which fell before the Mahometan hosts did not so fall by power of the arms of the infidels, but by the treachery of the Christian defenders. This was the rule; it had some glorious exceptions, but the fact generally is not to be disputed. In a multitude of cases the Christian leaders were accessories with the Saracens in their own destruction. What can be more melancholy than the peril2 Y

up by the graphic fidelity, the evident contemporaneousness, the reverent watchfulness, and the womanly wit of the accomplished diarist. Edinburgh. A. B. G.

At this period an old friend of my mother, Madam Dwight of Stockbridge, came to spend some weeks at our house. She was a perfect lady of the old school; an excellent, amiable, and very sensible woman. She realised my ideas of the admirable Mrs. Shirley and other characters of that style that I had read of in fiction. In her dress and manners, Madam Dwight preserved the distinction that used to exist between different classes in society. She was the daughter of Col. Williams, and very early in life married Mr. Sergeant, a very respectable man. Being left a widow with an only son, she again married to Col. Dwight, one of the first men of that day. They were the parents of the late Mrs. Sedgwick and of Henry Dwight (father of the present H.W.D.). Madam Dwight was again left a widow with the two children. Before the Revolution, she, with her daughter Pamela, often came down to New York, and upon an acquaintance then formed an intimate friendship was founded between my mother and Madam Dwight; and between my aunt Mrs. Jackson and Pamela Dwight. These [were] both young women. They always stayed at my mother's house. When Mr. Sedgwick married, Mrs. Jackson was invited, and spent some time with her at Stockbridge. The friendship between the families has continued until the present time. When Madam Dwight visited New York in 1786, she was between sixty and seventy years of age, tall, straight, composed, and rather formal and precise, yet so benevolent and pleasing that every one loved her. Her dress was always very handsome, generally dark-coloured silk. She always wore a watch, which in those days was a distinction. Her head-dress was a high cap with plaited borders, tied under the chin. Everything about her distinguished her as a great woman, and inspired respect and commanded attention. To this lady I became very much attached; and when she was to return home she proposed taking me with her. To my great joy

her request was complied with, and I was speedily equipped and consigned to her care. What a new world now opened before me!

We went up the Hudson in a sloop, in which we were the only passengers. The captain seemed to feel as much reverence for Madam Dwight as I did. My feelings towards her were much like those described by Mrs. Grant in her "American Lady" as felt by her towards Madam Schuyler.

I cannot describe my sensations at the first sight of the Highlands-the noble river, the mountains, even the vessel itself, filled me with wonder and delight. The captain had a legend for every scene, either supernatural, traditional, or of actual occurrence during the Revolution; and not a mountain reared its head unconnected with some marvellous story. One of the men played on the flute, which awoke the gentle echoes of the scene, while the captain fired guns to make the hills reverberate a more tremendous sound. All this was to me enchanting. We were nearly a week on the river ere we arrived at Kinderhook, twenty miles below Albany. Here we stayed at the house of a Mr. Van Schaick-a scene of good old-fashioned Dutch hospitality. This family lived in a style superior to any that I had been accustomed to see, and here I saw the same modes of living described by Mrs. Grant. Her account of the domestic slaves, and the manner in which they were brought up and treated, was the same as in this family. The elderly male and female slaves exercised as much influence over the children of the family as the heads of it. They were very respectful in their manners, though very affectionate towards the master and mistress, as well as the young people of the house. Three brothers of the name of Van Schaick lived near each other. Two of them were without children; but they adopted some of the third brother's family and those of their sisters. These adopted children were brought up as their own, and the young people considered their uncle and aunt as their parents. We stayed at Mr. Van Schaick's till the waggon came down for us from Stockbridge. I was seated by my dear Madame Dwight, and we were driven by her grandson, a son of Dr. Ser