departed soul, might have wished for this consolation to his feelings; while, at the same time, he might be unwilling ostentatiously to obtrude his grief upon the world, and therefore desired through his messenger that his name might not be mentioned. It is even possible that it was a scheme of some humourist, or musical amateur, to engage Mozart in an exercise which he thought would elicit his talents. In short, a thousand reasons may be imagined rather than that the messenger was a ghost, or the bearer of an ominous communication from the unseen world, as the Saturday Magazine, for want of explanation, would leave the unskilful among its readers to presume.

If, however, the writer of these lines were asked his own opinion of the matter, he would say, that he thinks it very possible that the whole alleged mystery was merely an hallucination on the part of Mozart himself. The sensitive artist appears to have been in a state of feverish excitement during the whole time in which he poured forth this celebrated composition; and it is not a subject of conjecture or reasoning, but a known fact, that persons of fervid imagination-such as poets, musicians, and painters, "their eyes in a fine phrensy rolling "-have been often known to hold ideal conversations with unseen beings, and to speak of their sug gestions and instructions in regard to their respective arts. Works of extraordinary genius have been often undertaken with a fervid impulse which the artist considered inspiration, and have been hurried on day and night," like Mozart's Requiem, till exhaustion of mind and body left the gifted enthusiast a prey to every melancholy feeling and awful foreboding. It was perhaps in such a frame of mind that Hogarth, on completing his striking exhibition of "The End of all Things," rapidly sketched the painter's broken palate, and, dashing down his pencil, predicted that his own hour also was not far distant. But the case of that extraordinary artist, the late William Blake, is still more in point. Before undertaking any work of extraordinary effort he was stimulated by supposed mysterious communications: he thought that he beheld and conversed with the shades of the mighty dead; he was told what he must paint; and the objects to be described were placed, as he imagined, in glowing vision be fore his eyes: his aërial visitants watched the progress of his work; and his wife, fully believing all her husband's marvellous stories, viewed him as a being whose pictorial genius was heavenly inspiration, and who was excited to the exercise of his art, not by the ordinary inducements of wealth or celebrity, or even by the innate dictates of genius, but by supernatural messages and suggestions, as inexplicable as the request of Mozart's mysterious stranger.

But whether the whole was an illusion in the fevered mind of the composer, or whether there was actually a request conveyed in a studiously mysterious manner, and accompanied by a substantial and not an aërial bag of ducats, still there is not the slightest reason to consider the stranger as a being from another world, or as commissioned to impress upon the mind of the musician a presentiment of his death. It is most probable, if the circumstance really happened, and was not a mere hallucination, that it could have been explained at the time, had sufficient attention been given for that purpose; but there are many persons who love a mystery, and eagerly propagate it, while few take the pains to examine into its authenticity. All, however, that I contend for in the present remarks is, that such stories should not be protruded unexplained upon the credulous reader, in books intended for popular instruction; lest, in ministering to his entertainment, they should increase his prejudices, and leave him a more firm believer in omens and prodigies than he was before he read them.

It is true that we are surrounded by the unseen world. The angels are

ministering spirits, and we know not in how many ways it may please our Heavenly Father to warn, instruct, or assist us; and fallen spirits also are ever at hand to seduce us by their evil machinations; but these serious matters ought to be kept totally distinct from all the vain tales of prodigies and apparitions, so that we may feel that we are safe in the best of keeping, while we are unassailed by the terrors of visionary apprehensions.

A PARENT.

CRITICAL REMARKS ON THE SICKNESS OF HEZEKIAH.

:

To the Editor of the Christian Observer.

THE account of Hezekiah's sickness, with which we are furnished by the writers of the Books of Kings and Chronicles and the Prophet Isaiah, is one of the most interesting events recorded of the history of that excellent prince yet it is, I think, rarely understood: and though it is plainly calculated, if not rightly understood, to be rather dangerous than profitable to the reader, it does not appear that any of the more popular interpreters have pointed out what I conceive to be the easy and natural solution of the difficulties with which it is confessedly encumbered.

Its chief difficulties may be thus briefly stated: That a pious king should, under a dispensation of which temporal rewards and punishments formed the immediate sanction, be threatened with an early death; and that so distinguished a believer as Hezekiah should prize life so highly, and regard its termination with so much alarm.

A careful examination of the authorities which illustrate the history of his reign has led me to think that his sickness was judicial, and that death was threatened as the punishment of a grievous transgression. This view of the subject meets the difficulties. For if it can be shewn that he had committed a great and scandalous sin, it will be acknowledged that there is nothing extraordinary in his being singled out as the object of punishment. If his conscience was burthened by a sense of guilt, it will readily be conceded that there is nothing surprizing in his fear of death.

As it is my wish to state the considerations which have led me to entertain the opinion I have expressed as briefly as possible, I shall not enter upon a vindication of the dates I assign to the events of Hezekiah's reign. It will be sufficient for my present purpose to follow the chronology which Mr. Townsend, in his "Arrangement," has adopted from Prideaux. I will premise my remarks by an extract from his "Table."

A. C.

715 Sennacherib succeeds Shalmanezer

714

713

712

711

710

invades Judah-Hezekiah's sickness.......
invades Egypt

Years of Hez.

13

14

15

16

17

returns from Egypt to Judea-his army destroyed 18 One of the first acts of Hezekiah had been to shake off the disgraceful yoke which the sinful weakness of his father Ahaz had imposed upon the kingdom of Judah. After acquainting us with the various reforms which marked the commencement of his reign, the sacred historian informs us, with evident satisfaction, that "the Lord was with him, and he prospered whithersoever he went forth: and he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him not" (2 Kings xviii. 7). The last years of Shalmaneser were occupied by the war which terminated in the capture of Samaria and the final conquest of the kingdom of Israel (2 Kings xviii. 9-12), and by an attempt to reduce the revolted provinces of Syria and Phoenicia (Joseph. Antiq. ix. 14; Prid. b. i; Halls, vol. iii. p. 427). His successor, Senna

cherib, immediately upon his accession turned his arms against the kingdom of Judah: "In the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them (2 Kings xviii. 13). The first determination of Hezekiah in this emergency was worthy of his character and his principles: he prepared boldly to meet the foe: "he strengthened himself," by fortifying Jerusalem, and by collecting an army for its defence. His language to his people breathed a pious and noble confidence: Be strong and courageous; be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him.....With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God, to help us, and to fight our battles." His people responded to these admirable sentiments; they "rested themselves upon his words " (2 Chron. xxxii. 7, 8).

But what is man! Hezekiah himself quailed before the threatening danger. As the enemy approached, fear and distrust prevailed over his holy resolution and confidence. We mourn as we read the humbling narrative. Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish, saying, I have offended; return from me: that which thou puttest on me will I bear. And the king of Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold." Hezekiah's treasures were inadequate to pay the sum required: he has recourse to a base expedient; he imitates the sacrilege of his impious father : Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the Lord and in the treasures of the king's house. At that time did Hezekiah cut all the gold from the doors of the temple of the Lord, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria (2 Kings xviii. 13-16).

39

Such was the melancholy progress of unbelief. The once faithful Hezekiah had exhibited a public and scandalous distrust of God. He had not feared to violate Jehovah's temple. He had "given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme." The backslider must be chastised, or he will not be reclaimed. "In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death." Like another Nathan, "" The prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order; for thou shalt die, and not live" (2 Kings xx. 1). The fallen monarch was overwhelmed with grief. In fervent prayer he besought the Lord to remember his former zeal and piety. He did not pray in vain. His sickness (which has generally been supposed to have been an attack of the plague) was miraculously removed; and his repentance was succeeded by the promise of an addition of fifteen years to his life, and of the deliverance of Jerusalem from the Assyrian foe. A striking miracle was wrought to convince the desponding penitent that "on the third day he should go up unto the house of the Lord." (ver. 11.)

In accomplishment of Isaiah's prophecy, during three years" the king of Assyria led the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives." It is highly probable that Hezekiah had upon his repentance refused the payment of the unlawful tribute, for we next find Sennacherib again besieging Lachish. It is unnecessary to trace the history of his unfortunate campaign. The negociations of his proud and impious ambassador, and the miraculous destruction of his powerful army, are fully described in the sacred books. The few remarks I have yet to make will apply, though indirectly, to the main subject of this paper.

Prideaux (vol. i. b. 1) seems to think that the disgraceful treaty which averted the attack of Sennacherib was concluded subsequently to the sickness of Hezekiah. This opinion is mere conjecture; and I cannot but regard it as completely refuted by the ascertained dates. The sacred

writers expressly state that the first Assyrian invasion took place in the fourteenth year of Hezekiah: the sickness could not have occurred till the very end of that year; for the king survived it but fifteen years, and he reigned only twenty-nine.

Hales has fallen into a remarkable error, in supposing that the expedition of Rabshakeh was prior to the invasion of Egypt (vol. iii. p. 427). It is unnecessary to produce opinions upon a plain point; but I may observe that Prideaux and Townsend are against him. The opinion of the great chronologer introduces sad confusion into the history.

But there is one point in which this learned writer has made a discovery of which I am surprised to find that Mr. Townsend has not availed himself. There can be no doubt that Merodach-baladan's embassy of congratulation was subsequent to the treaty with Sennacherib. It must, therefore, have been subsequent to the destruction of the Assyrian host. It was not till after that event that Hezekiah could again boast of a treasure. He then "had exceeding much riches, and prospered in all his works" (2 Chron. xxxii. 27-30).

FRATER.

ON SIMPLICITY IN RELIGIOUS TRACTS.

To the Editor of the Christian Observer.

WHILE Christian philanthropy is presiding over various exertions for diffusing Scriptural knowledge throughout the world, there is one mighty engine the full power of which has not yet been made available in the cause. I allude not to any recondite source of good, or to any which has fallen into decay or languishes in desuetude and neglect, but to that obvious and popular means of usefulness, the diffusion of religious tracts.

This engine is now at work in the centre of our religious world; it is blessed with many bright evidences of its usefulness; it is scarcely paralleled for its sound and scriptural character; and it is placed by the energy of Christian love in a widely extended sphere of usefulness. But the figure which its present state suggests to my mind is that of the powerful steamengine of a large vessel in full play-all its parts suited to their purpose; its working incomparable; the beam, the cranks, the pistons, the valves, all acting to perfection; the furnace blazing; the engineer directing-but the vessel motionless. And why does not she fly through the waters? The paddles are wanting.

And yet the illustration is not, we may be thankful, strictly accurate. The Religious Tract Societies, of which there are several in this country— the respective merits of which it is not the object of this paper to discussmove forward with more or less of zeal and success; but not one of them possesses that full and vigorous action, that powerful and commanding influence, which by the blessing of God, it might attain. Their energies are cramped, and their usefulness impeded by the style in which the great majority of their publications are written. They want simplicity of thought and of expression; and, wanting this, multitudes of them are entirely incomprehensible to the poor.

I by no means wish to cast any reflection upon any particular Religious Tract Society. It is the whole system of writing for the poor that needs revision; and inquiry should be instituted as to what portion of our tracts generally are intelligible to those for whose benefit they are intended. Should such an investigation be made, and the above statement be found substantially correct, the result would doubtless be of vast importance. A new era would commence in the history of this humble but important department of our literature. Models are not wanting, among the tracts

already existing, in which purity and simplicity of language are happily united. At present, this class forms the exception: it would then become the rule; and the clergy would then find such works invaluable as auxiliaries in their parochial labours, and would distribute them with confidence; commending them, with all other means of grace, to the blessing of their Divine Master: whereas now, in our remote, unenlightened, agricultural parishes, the minister of the parish, or some pious layman anxious for the souls of his neighbours, takes down from his shelves tract after tract, admirable, interesting, affecting, convincing, and scriptural; but replaces them, with the sad conviction of their being entirely above the comprehension of the people.

It is well known that the peasantry continually form the most extraordinary, nay whimsical, conceptions of the import of phrases used by welleducated persons, even in ordinary conversation. If, then, the ministers of Christ have the welfare of their people really at heart, they will not put into their hands what confounds and perplexes, instead of enlightening them. Many a cottager, with honest zeal and an earnest desire to be instructed, labours through a tract, undeterred by the sesquipedalia verba, and concludes with a head bewildered and a heart chilled by the frozen barrier of impracticable sentences, all research after the meaning of which he has abandoned in despair; and many a thoughtless lounger takes up a publication of the same description, in the hope of finding something to amuse him in its pages, and lays it down again, rather than be at the trouble of spelling through its laboured periods.

The whole subject is of great importance; as all will allow who have seen much of the poor; who are familiar with their habits of thought and modes of expression; and who have attempted to measure and adapt themselves to their limited range of comprehension. To others, however highly gifted, the question will not present itself in its true light, because they have not the materials upon which to found their reasonings. They will not comprehend how the alleged difficulties, when laid before them in detail, can be thought so very insurmountable by the lower classes. The language, for instance, of the extracts in the accompanying note * will be so familiar to them, that they will probably expect the poor to understand it almost intuitively. But the fact is far otherwise. May those who desire the spiritual welfare of the poor give immediate attention to this subject, and may Wisdom from above guide their inquiries.

Ελπις.

ON ASSOCIATING WITH WORLDLY-MINDED PERSONS.

To the Editor of the Christian Observer.

In reference to the communication of your correspondent J. L. E. on "associating with worldly-minded Persons," it is requisite first to inquire, who are the unregenerate? and how am I with certainty to know

search.

* Two or three extracts must suffice as specimens of the style and language alluded to, but they are far less objectionable than many others for which I cannot now Among the many pleasing anticipations which the Christian delights to cherish in connection with an eternal world "....

"In animals, the existence of life is evinced by motion; and rational life is manifested by the operations of reason."

"That ancient and Divine compendium of all duty, the moral law."

"Parental authority enforced."

"I asked her whether the indisposition, under which she evidently laboured, constituted the afflictive dispensation for which she had been previously unable to account."