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whom they supposed to be located in the stars, and in the case of another, the Magians, at first adoring Jehovah in his supposed residence, the sun, lost "the divine principle in the symbol," and gradually became worshippers either of graven images, or of the subtle element, fire—were now sunk in a universal and debasing idolatry; a new and spiritual religion was required; the tribes were scattered and isolated; deadly feuds prevailed; and one ruling mind was wanted, which should reconcile the discordant elements, which should stir them up to lofty deeds, mould them to its will, and lead them forth, daring, enthusiastic, and determined, "conquering and to conquer."

In April, A.D. 569, Mahomet entered the world. His father, Abdallah, son of Abdal-Motallib, the principal man of Mecca, and guardian of the Kaaba, was of the noble line of Koreish, and so remarkable were his personal attractions, that, as Arab historians tell, on the day he married Amina, the mother of the prophet, " two hundred virgins of the tribe of Koreish died of broken hearts." Awful prodigies, we are told, accompanied their son into the world, and presaged his future greatness. His father dying while he was an infant, Mahomet was confided to the care of Halema, a Saadite nurse, who took him to her mountain home. In a lovely, fertile country he spent his infancy, while the Tayef heights rose grandly all around him. His intellect was certainly precocious, and, it being so, we might guess how far this country life bore upon the tone of his mind

"How Nature, by extrinsic passion, first

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Peopled the mind with forms sublime or fair." At an early age, and when, according to Moslem legends, Mahomet displayed. wisdom astonishing to all who heard him," Halema, frightened at a miraculous visitation of the angel Gabriel to the child (as zealous Mahometans affirm), carried him to Mecca, and delivered him to his mother. One kind of influence was exchanged for another. He left the grandeur and the beauty of his mountain home, to rest in the fostering arms of a gentle woman. We can imagine her share in forming the mind of She gave him that womanly tenderness so often displayed in his after career, though sometimes overpowered by fanaticism. She must have aided in giving that spirit of

her son.

silent forbearance and endurance which so
characterized him, and which appear partly
to have led to his prominent doctrine of pre-
destination. She also gave him that slightly
melancholy tone of mind, the existence of
which he evidenced in after times. How
vast is a mother's influence in those early
years over the mind of a son! A son→→→
"Who, with his soul,

Drinks in the feelings of his mother's eye.
For him, in one dear presence, there exists
A virtue which irradiates and exalts
Objects through widest intercourse of sense."

On the death of his mother, Mahomet came There he dwelt for some years among the to live in the house of his uncle, Abu Taleb. rites and ceremonies of the holy Kaaba. In a position well adapted for the attainment of knowledge, "he was a thoughtful child, quick to observe, prone to meditate on what he observed, and possessed of an imagination fertile, daring, and expansive." His eagerness for information was wonderful; he felt

the

"Happiness to live, When every hour brings palpable access Of knowledge; when all knowledge is delight; And sorrow is not there."

Anxious for knowledge, eager to behold new peoples and new lands, Mahomet prevailed upon his uncle to allow him to accompany the caravan to Syria. He went, and at the desert resting-places would sit and listen to the Arab story-tellers. His youthful mind was fed with awe-inspiring tales of genii and olden nations, God's wonders and God's judgments-tales which biassed him in no small degree. At Bosra, the inquiring, intelligent youth attracted the attention of Bahira and Sergius, two Nestorian monks, from whose conversations he gained a knowledge of some of the doctrines of Christianity -a knowledge which was turned to account in after days.

At

He went on several trading expeditions with his uncle, and at length became the factor of Kadijah, a wealthy widow, who, much pleased by his business capabilities, employed him on several occasions. length, struck with his handsome person, his upright conduct, his agreeable manners, and mental powers, she commissioned her slave to make him an offer of her hand. A happy marriage was the result of the negotiation.

Now begins the critical part of Mahomet's

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career. Are there sufficient grounds for
believing him to be sincere in assuming the
prophetical office? We shall address our-
selves to answer this question. He was
intelligent, inquiring, and thoughtful to a
high degree. He had the amplest means
for acquiring knowledge,—not from books,
not from his fellow men, but from obser-
vation and reflection. His mind was
always open to receive the rich stores of
knowledge which an intercourse with
nature, men, and minds discovers to him
who seeks for them. He was a lover of
nature. She, in her beauty, her grandeur,
her adaptedness, her regularity, told him of a
one, single, and almighty Creator. Man, by
his formation, preservation, affections, facul-
ties, and destiny, taught him the same.
The records of the earth-that it had been
created by an Infinite One for finite mortals;
the universal distribution of beauty as an
element to elevate and instruct the mind;
the subserviences of matter to mind; the
laws of humanity; all the great verities of
being, were stored up by him with the his-
tories of the past, fact and fiction; with im-
perfect notions of Judaism and Christianity;
and with the ideas gained by hourly inter-
course with his fellow men.
He thought
deeply, and tried to look into-

"The indestructible and infinite,
The mighty march of the immeasurable,
The policies of Heaven, and the life,
And soul, and centre of all being."

His gathered ideas were reflected upon. The result of reflection on such ideas must have been that Mahomet rose to the conception of a one God, who was to be worshipped by men. Then, being possessed of an unusual degree of benevolence, the thought of ameliorating the spiritual condition of his fellows became the prominent i dea of his mind. He saw their pitiful condition, and grieved for them; but more, he endeavoured to discover the means for their redemption. He gave himself up to meditation, being relieved by his marriage with the wealthy Kadijah from the necessity of labouring for a livelihood. He sought solitude, wandered about in the mighty stillness of the Haran mountains. There, that he might think the better, he fasted, subdued the influences of the body, and sharpened the mental activities to an unnatural degree. Can we wonder, then, that

at last, by pondering incessantly on this one idea, the idea of a religious reform,-his conclusions on the subject should no longer be the results of pure reason? To win the Arabs from their idolatry, he saw that a prophet was required, like Moses, and Elijah, and all the sacred line down to Isa or Jesus. He knew that prophets had been sent in former times for this purpose, and he wondered why one did not come now. His sagacious mind saw that this was exactly the time for the annunciation of a prophetthat the Arabians were prepared for a new revelation.

Perceiving all this, and seeing no one to come forward, can we wonder that he came to suppose that he who had found the one God-he who had discovered the true religion-he who had seen the need of a prophet-he who was ready to act as one-he who had enjoyed frequent communion with God in those mountain solitudes-was the chosen one, destined to redeem the world, and bring it back to God? The result was (and we conceive the effect was no more than EQUAL to the cause), as we are told, that at last, in Mahomet's fortieth year, while he lay asleep in one of the Haran caves, the angel Gabriel appeared, pouring upon his eyes and mind natural and mental illumination, stamping upon the tablets of his soul some of the decrees of the Koran, and exclaiming, "Mahomet, verily thou art the prophet of God!"

Any candid mind will acknowledge that this was naturally to be expected to result from his state of mind. The vision was the embodiment of his waking thoughts. It was likely to be hailed by such a mind as his. Yet he doubted; but being encouraged by his friends, he at last came to believe in the reality of his mission, and perhaps never afterwards doubted that he had been sent of God.

He began to promulgate his doctrines. He met with the bitterest opposition, and his life was frequently endangered. We need not follow him in all the details of his career, in his perils, and escapes, and afterwards in his triumphs.

He received the decrees of the Koran at different times. His revelations, like many of those divine revelations vouchsafed to Moses in the wilderness, were suited usually to the occasion. This has been taken as

an argument to prove the impostorship of Mahomet. It is not one, but rather tends to prove the opposite. When a thing was required, it of course became the object of his thoughts. Being, then, as has been ascertained as a matter of fact, of an excitable and imaginative temperament, his visions in his sleep, or in the paroxysms to which he was subject, as in the case of his first great revelation, were toned and coloured by his waking thoughts. Every one's experience can tell of cases in which the subject which engrossed the mind immediately before slumber has borne a relation to the after dreams. Moreover, the purport of these revelations was directly contrary to the wishes of the prophet.

The revelation of the duty of enforcing Islamism by means of the sword does not appear to our mind inconsistent with his former forbearance. His religion was to be spread in spite of all things; therefore, as soon as he had the opportunity, he wielded the sword, and he had allowed its use to his followers for self-defence from the first. Impostors have some end in view. Ma

homet must have known that his appearance as a prophet would deprive him of his influence, his property, and his friends, and would necessarily endanger his life; nor could there be the most distant supposition in his mind of the prosperous future. How can the idea that he was an impostor be reconciled with his blamelessness of life (if we except his inordinate affection for the fair sex), his forbearance, unselfishness, and charity; his justice, so admirably tempered with mercy; his humility, notwithstanding his rich qualities of person, heart, and mind;* his rejection of all merit in works; his steadfast confiding trust in the mercy of God; the elevation and gospel-like character of his precepts; and the uniform consistency of his whole career?

As one of the richest of the children of the East in personal, moral, and mental gifts, but as the victim of a monster selfdelusion, do we regard this gentle, honest, striving man-the Warrior-Prophet, Mahomet. THRELKELD.

* See Gibbon's "Decline and Fall," chap. 1.

Politics.

WAS THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT JUSTIFIED IN ENTERING UPON THE PRESENT WAR WITH RUSSIA?

NEGATIVE ARTICLE.-IV.

"Let the Porte weigh well the difference between independence on the one hand, and protection on the other, for the two are eternally incompatible, and let Turkey know that on the day she is protected, Turkey in Europe is no more." -The Times, 17th Sept., 1853.

WE question whether the whole range of speculative philosophy could furnish a subject more replete with matter for serious consideration than the one before us, for it abounds with material that can well challenge the attention of the deep and serious thinker. A great nation and free, professedly cognizant of the difficulties of legislation, has plunged into a war in which it should never have engaged-is saddled with expenses which posterity only can repayis branded with odium for sanctioning the proceedings of an imbecile ministry-is laying an embargo on future generations for

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misdeeds by right only to be visited upon those who have committed them and securing a place in the world's history humiliating to the nation's honour and greatness. Whoever has taken the trouble to consider this question, and who is at all conversant with English history, cannot fail to be reminded that this is one of those series of blunders, into which this nation appears unconsciously and unconcernedly impelled. Not content with the incalculable expense incurred, we are now,even according to the opinion of Mr. Gladstone, who contended that we were right at first-protracting the war, although we have achieved the object for which we took the sword. He declares, further, that we are now endangering the alliance, creating new enemies, and bringing further evils upon

this country. We can scarcely expect any revulsion of popular feeling on this head, until oppressive taxation alone awakens the people to a due sense of the ruin and misery which they have, in their zeal for the "national honour," (?) deservedly entailed on their own land.

Despite the many attempts made to the contrary, it is a fact which cannot be denied, that this war is one of religion only. Mr. Bright has well said, "These troubles sprang out of demands made by the French;" and it is not a little amusing (if that term can be fairly used in a question of such great moment) to reflect how unwittingly we are assisting the Emperor of the French to reestablish, in plain terms, the Roman Catholic religion in the East. On the other hand, the Russians, animated by a deep and severe belief in their creed, are not the less zealous to defend that faith, now insulted on all sides, and to vindicate their supremacy-at any event, their right to the holy places. On this subject we will quote the opinion of an eminent individual, who says, "But, religiously, France is the immediate author of the troubles, as the Manchester representative has said, and I introduce this episode of religious diplomatic intrigue, that you may see the subtle element which must glide into the ingredients of peace, whenever the treaty shall be concocted; it lets us see also into the relation which subsists between the Latin and Greek churches."

there was here a feasible opportunity for him to evince his sincerity, and it appears that he was not slow to do so. The French minister, through his government, demanded the immediate restoration of the silver star to the Latins, and at the same time presumptuously insisted on a change in the arrangements of the two churches with respect to the holy places. In May, 1850, the French ambassador then at Constantinople demanded, on behalf of the Latin, or Romish church, the entire and exclusive possession of the edifice which had been shared by the Greeks and other christian sects. To quote from an experienced author on this subject:-"This demand was professedly based on a treaty 160 years old. As compliance with such a demand involved the abolition of the privileges which the Greeks had long actually possessed, and their transfer to the Latin church, it was not surprising that the Czar of Russia entered his protest against the demand, so far as it interfered with the status quo." The Latins consisted of a few thousand persons at this time, whilst the Greeks numbered ten or eleven millions, under the sovereignty of the Sultan. Furthermore, the Pope had not forgotten "Holy Mother Church," and consequently we hear of Lord Stratford de Radcliffe, our ambassador at Constantinople, thus addressing Lord Palmerston, on May 20th, 1850:-"It appears that the Pope has been moved to exert his influence in furtherance of the views adopted by France, and that all the Catholic powers will be engaged by his Holiness for the same purpose.”— Blue Book, part i., page 1. At page 2, we are told that "the Spanish, Sardinian, and Neapolitan representatives have severally given in notes to the Porte, seconding the French demand;" and at page 3 we learn "that the Austrian Chargé d'Affaires has recently received instructions to support the Latin view of the question." Lord Stratford says, "that the friends of Turkey cannot close their eyes to the probable These squabbles were of no rare occur-political consequences of that success which rence, but matters of every-day life. The the French government seeks naturally to French emperor having promised (in return obtain at the head of the Roman Catholic for the assistance he had received in securing representatives."-(P. 8.) the throne of France) to confer numerous privileges on the Romish church, pledging that everything that lay in his power should be done to foster and propagate that faith,

The bloody conflict now raging between Russia and the Western Powers arose in a dispute respecting the holy places at Palestine, which were the scene of our Saviour's ministration. A silver star (denoting the spot where the star first appeared in the East, which indicated the place where our Lord was born) having been removed from the Grotto of the Nativity,-a place at which christian sects alternately worshipped, -a conflict arose, the Latins charging the Greeks, and vice versa, with this act of sacrilege and plunder.

That these demands were unjust is shown, by the following extracts:

Lord Stratford de Redcliffe, writing to the Earl of Clarendon, from Constantinople,

66

April 9th, 1853,' says:-'Your lordship | Sultan by threats of physical force." will perceive that the Russian ambassador 'M. De Lavalette," says Colonel Rose, does not object, by his demands, to such writing to the Earl of Malmesbury, Nov. 20, privileges as are known to have been ob- 1852, "protects his position by announcing tained latterly by France, in favour of the the extreme measures he would take should Latins, and that his principal aim is to fix the Porte leave any engagement to him and secure the present state of possession unfulfilled. He has more than once talked and usage by that kind of formal and of the appearance, in that case, of a French explicit agreement which may preclude all fleet off Jaffa, and once he alluded to a further pretensions on the side of France, French occupation of Jerusalem, when he and make the Porte directly responsible to said, 'We shall have all the sanctuaries "" Russia for any future innovation respecting (B. B., part i., p. 47). The Russian consul, the holy places. This is fair and reason- however, in reply, merely contented himself able enough in the view of an impartial with threatening to withdraw from Constanobserver"" (B. B., part i., p. 127). tinople, if the status quo were disturbed.

"Lord John Russell, in a despatch to Sir G. H. Seymour, dated 'Foreign Office, February 9th, 1853,' says:-'The more the Turkish government adopts the rules of impartial law and equal administration, the less will the Emperor of Russia find it necessary to apply that exceptional protection which His Imperial Majesty has found so burdensome and inconvenient, THOUGH NO DOUBT PRESCRIBED BY DUTY, AND SANCTIONED BY TREATY.'

"The Earl of Clarendon, in a letter to Sir G. H. Seymour, dated 'Foreign Office, April 5th, 1853,' says:-'Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe was instructed to bear in mind that Her Majesty's government, without professing to give an opinion on the subject, were not insensible to the superior claims of Russia, both as respected the treaty obligations of Turkey, and the loss of moral influence that the Emperor would sustain throughout his dominions, if, in the position occupied by His Imperial Majesty with reference to the Greek church, he was to yield any privileges it had hitherto enjoyed to the Latin church, of which the Emperor of the French claimed to be the protector.""Eastern Papers, part v., p. 22.

The French ambassador next made bold, by coercion and threat, to enforce his demands with greater vigour, seeing, doubt less, that his imprudent and ill-advised measures were the subject of condemnation, both by the British cabinet, and its representative at Constantinople. "The Sultan was desirous of conciliating both parties, and made concessions to each, which, when they came to be compared, were found to be divergent and contradictory. But it was France that first attempted to coerce the

Respecting the threat of the French ambassador, Lord John Russell thus wrote, Jan. 26, 1853:-" Her Majesty's government cannot avoid perceiving that the ambassador of France at Constantinople was the first to disturb the status quo in which the matter rested. Not that the disputes of the Latin and Greek churches were not very active, but that without some political action on the part of France, those quarrels would never have troubled the relations of friendly powers. In the next place, if report is to be believed, the French ambassador was the first to speak of having recourse to force, and to threaten the intervention of a French fleet to enforce the demands of his country."

The next step to be taken was to settle satisfactorily the disputed claims to the holy places, and the French demanded a commission to investigate and report upon the claims of the Greeks. This was accordingly granted, consisting of four parties; but the French, ever alive to their interests, obtained the services of M. Botta, the French consul at Jerusalem, and M. Schoeffer, of the French legation at Constantinople, thus securing one-half of the commission in their own favour. This commission decided, of course, in favour of the Latins, but the Greeks resisted, and very properly, when we consider the constitution of the commission, and the immense preponderance of Greeks to Latins.

A second committee of investigation was accordingly appointed, from which the two contending parties were excluded. The result was, that the former decision was rescinded, and judgment given in favour of the plaintiffs (the Greeks), a decision which gave great satisfaction. "The Latins

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