which were eagerly seized and dissolved, when they dispersed to their homes, after an address from the Superintendent and Minister. The teachers, with a few other friends, took tea at 5 o'clock; after which, a public meeting was held, when Mr. Badminton presided, and brief, cordial, and affectionate addresses were given by several male teachers; and thus closed these interesting services with Praise to God. E. HANCOCK. STEVINGTON.-On Lord's-day, May 9th, 1869, our Sabbathschool friends at Stevington, in the Bedford Station, celebrated their school anniversary, when the writer officiated at each service. The choir sang some excellent pieces at each service, and the children recited many very suitable pieces for the occasion. The congregations were crowded, the collections were good, and all present appeared highly interested in the day's proceedings. On the day following, the children had their annual treat of tea, cake, &c., and a goodly number of friends attended the tea meeting. The public meeting, after tea, was presided over by the superintendent of the circuit. Some first-rate recitations were again given, some excellent hymns sung, and interesting speeches on the Sabbath-school question, were delivered by Messrs. W. Parrott, G. Brown, J. Cowley, C. Graham, W. Garner, J. Seamark, W. Cox, and W. Hide. It is only right to state that this Sabbath-school has been in existence but a very short time. Yet great progress has been made in every sense; and the superintendent, with the teachers and officers, generally manifest great interest in the welfare of the rising youth. May they go on and prosper abundantly, is the prayer of WILLIAM BIRKS. Queries and Answers. No. I. DEAR SIR, Will you please give an explanation of the 5th chapter of Mark, from the 1st verse to the 20th? Will you please tell me what became of the devils that came out of the man and entered into the swine? When the swine were drowned were the devils drowned also? An answer through the medium of your Juvenile Magazine will greatly oblige. Also please tell me whether the paragraph of the rich man and Lazarus is a parable or not. W. B. ANSWER. This is rather a large query; but, perhaps, the following observations will cover it. 1. There are foul spirits in God's universe called devils, and it appears they had power occasionally to possess men in an abnormal way, coming between their bodies and souls, and powerfully making the former subservient to their iron wills in certain overt acts. 2. These possessions seem to have been very common in Judea in the days of Jesus Christ. Dr. Lightfoot gives two reasons for this. 1. The great wickedness of the Jews at this time. 2. They were very much addicted to magic; thus inviting these spirits to be familiar with them. 3. The Jews sometimes excavated their tombs in the sides of mountains, and these had vaulted chambers. On descending from these heights (Lebanon), I found myself in a cemetery, whose sculptured turbans shewed me that the neighbouring village was moslem. The silence of the night was now broken by fierce yells and howlings, which I discovered proceeded from a naked maniac, who was fighting with some wild dogs for a bone. The moment he perceived me he left his canine comrades, and bounding away with rapid strides seized my horse's bridle, and almost forced me backward over the cliff, by the grip he held of the powerful Mameluke bit.-WARBERTON, in the Crescent and the Cross. A similar wretch to this-Matthew mentions two, chap. viii.was he whom the Saviour saw in the country of the Gergesenes, only this was aggravated by the possession of demons. Driven from the haunts of the living, he had found shelter in the vaulted tombs of the dead. 4. The keeping of swine was strictly prohibited by the canon law of the Jews, and were considered an abomination; Leviticus xi. 7; Duet. xiv. 8. A herd of these was feeding at a distance; the devils besought permission to enter them. Why? Well, we do not know. We could give conjectures, but these may be far from the truth. The historian gives no reason. Dr. Dodridge, in his Family Expositer, says: "No miracles are more suspicious than pretended dispossessions, as there is so much room for collusion in them. But it is self-evident that a herd of swine could not be confederates in any hands. Their deaths, therefore, in this instructive amusing circumstance, was ten thousand times a greater blessing to mankind than if they had been slain for food as was originally intended. 66 5. What became of the devils" after this the editor does not know; but he does not think they were "drowned." 6. As to the account of the rich man and Lazarus, it probably is a parable; yet the Saviour may have known a case of this sort. No. II. DEAR EDITOR,-Will you please give an explanation to the following passage :—Amos ii. 6.—" Thus saith the Lord, for three transgressions of Israel and for four I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes. An answer on the above will greatly oblige.-J. P. W. B. ANSWER: The Jews in the time of Amos were in an awfully degenerate condition. We have only to read the book of this prophet to have the fullest evidence of this fact. The mercenary and corrupt character of their judges was one of their great national sins. They sold the righteous for silver." Perverted the cause of justice for a bribe. The word "righteous" must not be taken in this place in its evangelical sense, but as a synonim of an innocent person. "And the poor for a pair of shoes," meaning the sandals worn so commonly in the East. They are considered the least honourable of anything worn by man; hence the force of the Baptist's expression, Matt. iii. 11. Yet, so corrupt were these guardians of the right, that they would stoop to accept the paltry bribe of a pair of these shoes to condemn a poor man in a trial against his wealthier neighbour. The expression indicates the intense corruption of the judges of the land. "For three transgressions and for four." This phrase is frequently repeated in this prophecy. It is also largely employed by classical writers. It seems to denote copiousness, abundance, excess. Thus, because of their excessive wickedness, God will not "turn away the punishment thereof." WHAT MIGHT BE DONE. BY CHARLES MACKAY. What might be done if men where wise- In love and right, And cease their scorn of one another! Oppression's heart might be imbued From shore to shore, Light on the eyes of mental blindness. And shore the teeming world to-morrow. What might be done? This might be done, E'er said or sung, If men were wise and loved each other! Sent by J. HAWKINS. |