was that the Jewish people were so greatly favoured by the Lord of heaven. He was told that, to secure the favour of that powerful being, Abraham, the father of the Hebrews, had sacrificed his only son. "If that will do it," said Sennacherib, "I will spare him two of mine to win him over to my side. "His two sons, hearing this, resolved to save themselves by sacrificing him. George.-Was there any more war in Hezekiah's reign? Grandfather.-We are told that he smote the Philistines, but no particulars are given. He was unfortunate in his son and successor, Manasseh, who followed the abominable practices of the heathen nations around. The Lord was displeased, and sent against him the king of Assyria. The contemptible king of Judah, instead of ing to defend his people, tried to hide himself among thorns, where he was taken and carried captive to Babylon. As a punishment this disgrace came upon Manasseh; but it proved the greatest blessing of his life. It led him to think seriously; and then he knew that the Lord he is God. Grandfather. It was not right. Had he sought direction from God in this matter, he would have acted differently; yet it was in mercy that he was taken away: he did not live to see the evils that came upon his people soon afterwards. George. What evil came upon them afterwards? Grandfather.-The king of Egypt had meant no ill to Josiah; yet, because that king would not let him alone, so he would not let his successors alone. Jehoahaz, his son, succeeded; but only for three months did he sit on the tottering throne of his ancestors. Pharaoh-necho bound him, and carried him to Egypt, where he died. Short as was the reign of Jehoahaz, it was long enough to try-show that his being dethroned was no loss to his subjects; nor was his brother Jehoiakim any better than he. The king of Egypt obliged him to pay tribute, which, with much trouble, he raised, and greatly impoverished his people. Nor was this all: Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came up to Jerusalem, and made this fallen king his servant. For three years Jehoiakim paid tribute to him, then cast off his yoke, hoping, perhaps, that his former master, the king of Egypt, would assist him. Nebuchadnezzar was angry, and sent against him bands of the Chaldeans, bands of the Syrians, of the Moabites, and of the Ammonites. It is said in scripture that the Lord sent these against him, showing that God often punishes the iniquity of the people by permitting men to cause them trouble. Marianne. He must have known that before, he had so good a father. Grandfather.-Being taught a thing is different from feeling it. Manasseh had been instructed in the true religion; but his heart was unimpressed by it till he was humbled by sorrow. Then the prayers of his pious father were answered, and the benefits of his instruction and example were seen. The story of Manasseh ought to make us ask ourselves, do we know the Lord? We have heard of him, as Manasseh did when he was young; but have we loved him, and sought to obey him, as Manasseh did not till he was old? Marianne.-Did he ever get back to his own land? Grandfather.-He did; and from that time till his death he served God, and did his duty to his subjects, trying to remedy the evil that the former part of his reign had done. The very little success which he had in that attempt shows us it is easier to lead people wrong than to lead them right. Marianne.-Did a good king reign after him? Grandfather. He was succeeded by his son Amon, of whom we hear little; and what little we hear is not to his credit. He had reigned only two years, when he was slain by his own servants. After him came the pious king Josiah, whose reign was the last bright spot in the darkening history of Judah. There was no war in his reign till the end of it, when it happened that Pharaohnecho, king of Egypt, led his armies to invade Assyria. Josiah, hearing this, went out to oppose him. Pharaoh said he ought not to do that, for he had no intention of attacking him it was against the king of Assyria he was going, and he had undertaken the expedition at the express command of God. Johnnie.-That was not true, surely? Grandfather.-Yes, it was true; but Josiah heeded it not. He went out against Pharaoh, and fell in the battle: he was shot by the archers, and mortally wounded. His subjects grieved mach for his death; and they had cause to grieve. Marianne.-Was it not wrong of Josiah to persist in fighting against Pharaoh? Johnnie.-Why did the king of Egypt not help him? Grandfather.-He was unable; for Nebuchadnezzar had subdued the land of Egypt, and taken from Pharaoh great part of his dominions. After the death of Jehoiakim, when Jehoiachin, his son, was on the throne, Nebuchadnezzar went up to besiege Jerusalem. The feeble monarch, made feeble by his own sins, and by the sins of his fathers, was glad to submit to the powerful king of Babylon. He yielded without opposition. He, his mother, his servants, his princes, and his officers, left Jerusalem, and committed themselves to the mercy of Nebuchadnezzar. Thus ended the reign of Jehoiachin, after he, like his uncle Jehoahaz, had reigned only three months. George.-I think he might have stood out a while for his rights: it was very tame in him to submit so readily. Grandfather.-He fared the better on that account. His successor had good cause to repent his obstinacy. Marianne.-What was his name? Grandfather.-Mattaniah; but Nebuchadnezzar changed it to Zedekiah, to show his absolute power over him; for, though he was called the king of Judah, he was in reality the servant of the king of Babylon, and ought not to have attempted anything against his will; but he did so: he rebelled. Through the anger of the Lord this came to pass, that a wicked king and wicked people might suffer more than they had ever yet done. Nebuchadnezzar was not a monarch who could suffer his subjects to rebel with impunity. With all his army he came up and laid siege to the capital of Judea. Earnestly the prophet Jeremiah besought Zedekiah to submit. He foretold that continued rebellion would only produce aggravated sufferings, and could be no gain in the end. The prophet only brought trouble on himself by his advice: it had no effect on the rulers of the city. Johnnie.-What did they do to him? Grandfather.-They put him in a deep pit with mire at the bottom; and he sank up to his neck in the mire. Johnnie. Surely he did not give them any more advice after that? Grandfather. His persecution did not prevent him from delivering his message. He had the words of his heavenly Master to say, and he spoke them boldly. His example teaches us to do our duty regardless of consequences. George. What became of Zedekiah in the end? Grandfather.-The siege of Jerusalem lasted for nearly two years. After almost incredible sufferings from famine, the city was taken by storm. The king and the chief people escaped by flight. As soon as the Babylonish army knew that the king had fled, some of them set off in pursuit of him. He was soon taken, and led before Nebuchadnezzar, who was then at Riblah, a town between Jerusalem and Babylon. There the last sight that met the eyes of the captive monarch was the slaughter of his children; and, as if to keep that doleful spectacle ever before his mind, his own eyes were put out, and he was taken prisoner to Babylon, where he died. Thus were the prophecies of Jeremiah and Ezekiel fulfilled. The former of these foretold that Zedekiah was to be taken to Babylon, and the second that he should never see that city; and so it was. This is the end of the history of the kingdom of Judah. The people would not obey God: they would not hearken to his servants the prophets, therefore they were subjected to the power of a strange king. Let us take warning by their fate. Let us hear and obey while our day of favour lasts. We then read the account of Hezekiah's sin, and the prophet's rebuke of it, related in Isaiah xxxix.; and grand father remarked that it showed us the folly of having our treasure on this earth, and how often it is that worldly riches are a temptation and a snare, a curse instead of a blessing to the possessor. The heathen nations who inhabited Samaria sought to be instructed in the truth: what may we learn from their example? What did Hezekiah do that was wrong? What in the conduct of his subjects was deserying of punishment? Hezekiah spread the letter of Sennacherib before the Lord, to show that he acknowledged God in all his ways, and that he referred everything to his disposal. What may we learn from this? How can we apply to ourselves the story of Manasseh? The subjects of Manasseh willingly suffered him to lead them wrong; but they were backward when he sought to lead them to what was good. What are we shown by this? USES OF THE STILLINGIA SEBIFERA, OR Corresponding Member of the Agricultural and THE botanical characters of this member of the Euphorbiacea are too well known to require description, but hitherto no accurate account has been published of its varied uses; and, although it has become a common tree in some parts of India and America, its value is appreciated only in China, where alone its products are properly elaborated. In the American Encyclopædia it is stated that this tree is almost naturalized in the maritime parts of South Carolina, and that its capsules and seeds are crushed together and boiled, the fatty matter being skimmed as it rises, hardening when cool. Dr. Roxburgh, in his excellent Flora Indica, says: "It is now very common about Calcutta, where in the course of a few years it has become one of the most common trees. It is in flower and fruit most part of the year. In Bengal it is only considered an ornamental tree: the sebaceous produce of its seeds is not in sufficient quantity, nor its qualities so valuable, as to render it an ob ject worthy of cultivation. It is only in very cold weather that this substance becomes firm: at all other times it is in a thick, brownish, fluid state, and soon becomes rancid. Such is my opinion of the famous vegetable tallow of China." Dr. Roxburgh was evidently misled in his experiments by pursuing a course similar to that which is described in the Encyclopædia Americana (and in many other works), or he would have formed a very different opinion of this ca rious material. Analytical chemistry shows animal tallow to consist of two proximate principlesstearine and elaine. Now, what renders the fruit of this tree peculiarly interesting is the fact that both these principles exist in it separately, in nearly a pure state. By the above named process stearine and elaine are obtained in a mixed state, and consequently present the appearance described by Roxburgh. Nor is the tree prized merely for the stearine and elaine it yields, though these products con stitute its chief value: its leaves are employed as a black dye its wood, being hard and durable, may be easily used for printing-blocks and various other articles; and, finally, the refuse of the nut is employed as fuel and manure. The Stillingia sebifera is chiefly cultivated in the provinces of Kiangsí, Kongnain, and Cheḥinhabitants defray all their taxes with its produce. kiang. In some districts near Hangchan, the granite hills-on the rich mould at the margin of It grows alike on low alluvial plains and on canals, and on the sandy sea-beach. The sandy estuary of Hang-chan yields little else. Some of the trees at this place are known to be several hundred years old, and, though prostrated, still send forth branches and bear fruit. Some are made to fall over rivulets, forming convenient bridges. They are seldom planted where any * We have been favoured by a correspondent with this article, which we have much pleasure in inserting.-ED. thing else can be conveniently cultivated-in detached places, in corners about houses, roads, canals, and fields. Grafting is performed at the close of March or early in April, when the trees are about three inches in diameter, and also when they attain their growth. The "Fragrant Herbal" recommends for trial the practice of an old gardener, who, instead of grafting, preferred breaking the small branches and twigs, taking care not to tear or wound the bark. In mid winter, when the nuts are ripe, they are eut off with their twigs by a sharp crescentric knife, attached to the extremity of a long pole, which is held in the hand and pushed upwards against the twigs, removing at the same time such as are fruitless. The capsules are gently pounded in a mortar to loosen the seeds from their shells, from which they are separated by sifting. To facilitate the separation of the white sebaceous matter enveloping the seeds, they are steamed in tubs, having convex open wicker bottoms, placed over cauldrons of boiling water. When thoroughly heated, they are reduced to a mash in the mortar, and thence transferred to bamboo sieves, kept at an uniform temperature over hot ashes. A single operation does not suffice to deprive them of all their tallow ;the steaming and sifting are therefore repeated. The article thus procured becomes a solid mass on falling through the sieve; and, to parify it, it is melted and formed into cakes for the press: these receive their form from bamboo hoops, a foot in diameter and three inches deep, which are laid on the ground over a little straw. On being filled with the hot liquid, the ends of the straw beneath are drawn up and spread over the top, and, when of sufficient consistence, are placed with their rings in the press. This apparatus, which is of the rudest description, is constructed of two large beams, placed horizontally, so as to form a trough capable of containing about fifty of the rings, with their sebaceous cakes: at one end it is closed, and at the other adapted for receiving wedges, which are successively driven into it by ponderous sledge-hammers wielded by athletic men. The tallow oozes in a melted state into a receptacle below, where it cools. It is again melted and poured into tubs, smeared with mud to prevent its adhering. It is now marketable, in masses of about eighty pounds each, hard, brittle, white, opaque, tasteless, and without the odour of animal tallow: under high pressure it scarcely stains bibulous paper; melts at 104 deg. Fab. It may be regarded as nearly pure stearine: the slight difference is doubtless owing to the admixture of oil expressed from the seed in the process just described. The seeds yield about eight per cent. of tallow, which sells for about five cents per pound. The process for pressing the oil, which is carried on at the same time, remains to be noticed: it is contained in the kernel of the nut; the sebaceous matter, which lies between the shell and the husk, baving been removed in the manner described. The kernel and the husk covering it are ground between two stones, which are heated to prevent clogging from the sebaceous matter still adhering. The mass is then placed in a winnowing machine, precisely like those in use in western countries. The chaff, being separated, exposes the white oleaginous kernels, which, after being steamed, are placed in a mill to be mashed. This machine is formed of a circular stone groove, twelve feet in diameter, three inches deep, and about as many wide, into which a thick, solid stone wheel, eight feet in diameter, tapering at the edge, is made to revolve perpendicularly, by an ox harnessed to the outer end of its axle, the inner turning on a pivot in the centre of the machine. Under this ponderous weight the seeds are reduced to a mealy state, steamed in the tubs, formed into cakes, and pressed by wedges in the manner above described; the process of mashing, steaming, and pressing being repeated with the kernels likewise. The kernels yield above thirty per cent. of oil. It is called Ising-yu, sells for about three cents per pound, answers well for lamps, though inferior for this purpose to some other vegetable oils in use. It is also employed for various purposes in the arts, and has a place in the Chinese pharmacopoeia, because of its quality of changing grey hair black, and other imaginary virtues. The husk which envelopes the kernel, and the shell which encloses them and their sebaceous covering, are used to feed the furnaces; scarcely any other fuel being needed for this purpose. The residuary tallow-cakes are also employed for fuel, as a small quantity of it remains ignited a whole day. It is in great demand for chafing-dishes during the cold season; and, finally, the cakes, which remain after the oil has been pressed out, are much valued as a manure, particularly for tobacco fields, the soil of which is rapidly impoverished by the Virginian weed. Artificial illumination in China is generally procured by vegetable oils; but candles are also employed by those who can afford it, and for lanterns. In religious ceremonies no other material is used. As no one ventures out after dark without a lantern, and as the gods cannot be acceptably worshipped without candles, the quantity consumed is very great. With an unimportant exception the candles are always made of what I beg to designate as vegetable stearine. When the candles, which are made by dipping, are of the required diameter, they receive a final dip into a mixture of the same material and insectwax, by which their consistency is preserved in the hottest weather. They are generally coloured red, which is done by throwing a minute quantity of alkanet root (Anchusa tinctoria, brought from Shangtung) into the mixture. Verdigris is sometimes employed to dye them green. The wicks are made of rush coiled round a stem of coarse grass, the lower part of which is slit to receive the pim of the candlestick, which is more economical than if put into a socket. Tested in the mode recommended by count Rumford, these candles compare favourably with those made from spermaceti, but not when the clumsy wick of the Chinese is employed. Stearine candles cost about eight cents the pound. Prior to the thirteenth century bees'-wax was employed as a coating for candles; but about that period the white-wax insect was discovered, since which time that article has been wholly superseded by the more costly but incomparably superior product of this insect. It has been described by the abbé Grossier, sir George Staunton, and others; but those accounts differ so widely amongst themselves, as well as from that given by native au thors, as to render further inquiry desirable. | From the description given by Grossier, entomologists have supposed the insect which yields the "pe-la," or white wax, to be a spccies of coccus. Staunton, on the contrary, describes it as a species of cicada (Flata limbata). As described by Chinese writers, however, it is evidently an apterous insect; hence the inference either that there are two distinct species which produce white wax, or that the insect Staunton saw was falsely represented as the elaborator of this beautiful material*. This, like many other interesting questions in the natural history of this portion of the globe, must remain unsolved until restrictions on foreign intercourse are greatly relaxed, or wholly removed. In the mean time, native writers may be consulted with advantage. It is from the chief of these, the Puntsau and the Kiangfangpu, two herbals of high authority, the subjoined account has been principally derived. The animal feeds on an evergreen shrub, or tree, Ligustrum lucidumt, which is found throughout Central China, from the Pacific to Thibet; but the insect chiefly abounds in the province of Sychuen. It is met with also in Bunan, Hunan, and Hupeh. A small quantity is produced in Kinwha, Chehkiang province, of a superior description. Much attention is paid to the cultivation of this tree: extensive districts of country are covered with it, and it forms an important branch of agricultural industry. In planting they are arranged, like the mulberry, in rows about twelve feet apart both seeds and cuttings are employed. If the former, they are soaked in water in which unhusked rice has been washed, and their shells pounded off. When propagated by cuttings, branches an inch in diameter are recommended as the most suitable size. The ground is ploughed semi-annually, and kept perfectly free from weeds. In the third or fourth year they are stocked with the insect. After the wax or insect has been gathered from the young trees, they are cut down, just below the lower branches, about four feet from the ground, and well manured. The branches, which sprout the following season, are thinned, and made to grow in nearly a perpendicular direction. The process of cutting the trunk within a short distance of the ground is repeated every four or five years; and, as a general rule, they are not stocked until the second year after this operation. Sometimes the husbandman finds a tree which the insects themselves have attained; but the usual practice is to stock them, which is effected in spring with the nests of the insect. These are about the size of a "fowl's head," and are r moved by cutting off a portion of the branch which they are attached, leaving an inch eac side of the nest. The sticks, with the adherin nests, are soaked in unhusked-rice water for quarter of an hour, when they may be separate When the weather is damp or cool they may preserved in jars for a week; but, if warm, the are to be tied to the branches of the trees, to b stocked without delay, being first folded betwee leaves. By some the nests are probed out of the seat in the bark of the tree, without removing th branches. At this period they are particular! exposed to the attacks of birds, and requir watching. In a few days after being tied to the tree th nests swell, and innumerable white insects, the size of "nits," emerge, and spread themselves on the branches of the tree, but soon with one accord descend towards the ground, where, if they find any grass, they take up their quarters. To prevent this, the ground beneath is kept quite bare; care being taken also that their implacable enemies, the ants, have no access to the tree. Finding no congenial resting-place below, they re-ascend, and fix themselves to the lower surface of the leaves, where they remain several days, when they repair to the branches, perforating the bark to feed on the fluid within. If the From "nits" they attain the size of Pediculus homi. Having compared it to this the most familiar to them of all insects, our authors deein further description superfluous. Early in June the insects give to the trees the appearance of being covered with hoar frost, being "changed into wax": soon after this they are scraped off, being previously sprinkled with water. gathering be deferred till August, they adhere too firmly to be easily removed. Those which are suffered to remain to stock trees the ensuing season secrete a purplish envelope about the end of August, which at first is no larger than a grain of rice; but, as incubation proceeds, it expands and becomes as large as a fowl's head, which is in spring, when the nests are transferred to other trees, one or more to each, according to their size and vigour, in the manner already described. On being scraped from the trees the crude material is freed from its impurities, probably the skeleton of the insect, by spreading it on a strainer, cover ing a cylindrical vessel, which is placed in a caul dron of boiling water: the wax is received into the former vessel, and, on congealing, is ready for market. It is perfectly white, translucent, shining, not unctuous to the touch, inodorous, insipid, crumbles into a dry inadhesive powder between the teeth, with a fibrous texture, resembling fibrous felspar: melts at 100° Fah.; insoluble in water, dissolves in essential oil, and is scarcely affected by boiling alcohol, the acids, or alkalies. The "pe-la," or white wax, in its chemical properties, is analagous to purified bees'-wax, and * A few particulars regarding the Himalayah wax-insect also spermaceti, but differing from both; being, (Flata limbata), by captain Hutton, are published in the Jour-in my opinion, an article perfectly sui generis. nal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. xii. After alluding to sir George Staunton's and the abbé Grossier's account of the wax-yielding insect of China, and to various authorities, captain Hutton observes: "From all these statements, therefore, we arrive at the positive conclusion that, as this deposit (the deposit of F. limbata) will neither melt on the fire per se, nor combine with oil, it cannot be the substance from which the famous white wax of China is formed; and we are led to perceive, from the difference in the habits of the larvae of Flata limbata, and that of the insect mentioned by the abbé Grossier, that the wax is rather the produce of a species of coccus than of the larvæ of F. limbata, or even of the allied F. nigricornus." †The Himalayah insect is not confined to a ligustrum. The aid of analytical chemistry is needed for the proper elucidation of this most beautiful material*. There can be doubt it would prove alto * Some interesting particulars on this subject are contained in a memoir, in the Philosophical Transactions for 1848, by gether superior in the arts to purified bees'-wax. On extraordinary occasions the Chinese employ it for candles and tapers. It has been supposed to be identical with the white wax of Madras; but, as the Indian article has been found useless in the manufacture of candles (Dr. Pearson, Philosophical Transactions, vol. 21), it cannot be the same. It far excels also the vegetable-wax of the United States (Myrica cerifera). Is this substance a secretion? There are Chinese who regard it as such: some representing it to be the saliva, and others the excrement of the insect. European writers take nearly the same view; but the best authorities expressly say that this opinion is incorrect, and that the animal is changed into wax. I am inclined to believe the insect undergoes what may be styled accraceous degeneration, its whole body being permeated by the peculiar product in the same manner as the Coccus cacti is by carmine. It costs, at Ningpo, from 22 to 35 cents. per pound. The annual product of this humble creature in China cannot be far from 400,000 pounds, worth more than 100,000 Sp. drs. Ningpo, August, 1850. Weekly Almanac. "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."-MATT. vii. 21. 0 LORD, who for our sakes didst fast forty days and forty nights, give us grace to use such abstinence, that, our flesh being subdued to the Spirit, we may ever obey thy godly motions in righteousness and true holiness, to thy honour and glory; who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen. accepted of God in him. This is a faith whereof there is no gospel. A true faith is, to believe salvation to be attained through obedience to God in Christ Jesus, who, by his merits and satisfaction for sin, makes ourselves and our works acceptable to God his Father. A saving and justifying faith' is, to believe this, so as to embrace and lay hold upon Christ for that end; to apply ourselves unto him, and rely upon him, that we may through him perform those works of obedience, which God hath promised to reward with eternal life. The motion or election of the will, is that which maketh the difference between a saving faith, which joins us to Christ, and that which is true indeed, but not saving, dogmatical and opinionative only. And this motion or applying of the will to Christ, this embracing of Christ and the promises of the gospel through him, is that which the scripture, when it speaks of this faith, calleth Coming unto Christ, or the receiving of him.' 'Come unto me, all ye that are heavy laden, and I will ease you' (Matt. xi. ; John v. 40, vi. 37, 44, 45). So for receiving as John i. 12: As many as received him, to them gave he power (or privilege) to be the sons of God, even to them that believe in his name;' where 'believing and receiving' expound one another. Now, if this be the faith which is 'saving,' and unites us unto Christ, and none other, then it is plain that a saving faith cannot be severed from good works; because no man can believe Christ as he is promised-but he must apply himself to do them. Would we then know whether our faith be true or counterfeit? This is the only sign the fruits thereof in our lives and conversations; and note whereby we may know it: if we find for, as St. John (1 Ep. i. 8): If we say we have fellowship with Christ, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.' (Also 1 John ii. 22, and iii. 7). For, if every one that believes in Christ truly and savingly believes that salvation is to be attained by obeying God in him, and so embraceth and layeth hold on him for that end, how can such a one's faith be fruitless"? (Mede). H. S. 2. Tuesday "Faith is, 'to believe the gospel;' that is, to attain salvation by Christ. A false faith is, to believe to attain salvation any other way than God bath ordained-as to believe to attain salvation through him, without works of obedience, and be Mr. B. C. Brodie, entitled, "On the chemical nature of a Wax from China." Mr. Brodie states that, although in appearance the substance resembles stearine or spermaceti THE DESTRUCTION OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH: A Sermon (For the first Sunday in Lent), BY THE REV. T. GRANTHAM, Rector of Bramber-with-Botolph, Sussex. LUKE Xvii. 32. more than bees'-wax, it comes nearest to purified cerin. The THESE words of our blessed Saviour, even if Comptes Rendus for 1840, tome x., p. 618, contains a com- we had not been expressly told so in other munication by M. Stanislas Julien on the China wax, and the insects which yield it. The wax insects are there stated to be parts of the sacred volume, might teach us raised from three species of plants: these are "niu-tching" that the things recorded in the scriptures (Rhus succedanea), "tong-tsing" (Ligustrum glabra), and were written for our instruction; and with the "choui-kin," supposed to be a species of hibiscus. Rhus this view it is that our church on this day raccedanea, or a nearly allied species, occurs in the Himalayah. appoints the account of the destruction of So |
