tions were such that the embarrassments above mentioned would be obviated as much as possible. And so it happened that I, being a Congregationalist, and an American one at that, and able to communicate with him through German and English, was thought to be a suitable person to perform the rite. I had read Delitzsch's account of the Bessarabian movement a year before, and had written a brief account of it for an American paper; but I had seen nothing further about it, and was ignorant of the fact that Rabinowitz had come to Germany till one morning Professor Strack (whom I had till then never seen) called on me, and after the briefest introduction of himself and presentation of the question whether I had heard about Rabinowitz and his work, astonished me by asking, "Will you baptize him?" As soon as I learned what the facts were, I readily consented. Rabinowitz, I learned, was at a hotel not many minutes away from where I was lodging; and it was my privilege, as well as my duty, to see him and talk with him with reference to his Christian faith, his experience, and his hopes. I was satisfied that he was a genuine Christian, although, coming from so different an environment, he naturally had some notions which to me seemed visionary or fantastic. At bottom, however, he seemed to be grounded in the Christian faith. One or two incidents may serve to illustrate the traits of the man. It is customary, when an Israelite is baptized in Germany, for him to assume a new name-a distinctively Christian name. Rabinowitz had been told this; and he had at first given his consent, and wished to be named Paul. But afterwards he reflected that the laws in Russia would make such a change of name practically impossible; he would not be allowed to bear the new name at his home, so that to be called by another than his own at his baptism would seem to be an empty form. He told me this; and as I saw no necessity of a change of name, I made no objection. But when Rabinowitz's change of mind was reported to his German friends, some of these at first insisted that he must be persuaded to consent to receive the new name. Rabinowitz, however, was firm, but calm, in insisting that under the cir cumstances to assume a new name would be an idle form, not consistent with the simplicity of a religion which requires one's

communication to be "Yea, yea," or "Nay, nay," not both at a time. Fortunately the scruple of the Germans was relieved by my showing, in a printed report of a similar baptism, that the candidate's name had not been changed.

Another thing that for a while threatened to mar the smoothness of the procedure was this: it is customary, at such baptisms, for the candidate to avow his assent to the Apostles' Creed. Rabinowitz, however, had worked out a creed of his own-one which had been the outgrowth of his own experience, and, while it was fully Christian, yet laid special stress on Jesus as the Messiah prophesied of, and looked for, by the covenant people of God. He wished, when he received baptism, to express his belief in the form which he had carefully elaborated. "That is my belief," he said, "can you baptize me?" He had no objections to the Articles of the Apostles' Creed; but he wished to avow his Christian faith in a way expressive of the manner in which the faith had come to him. Here, too, as I regarded his creed as quite satisfactory-more so in some respects than the other—I saw no reason for resisting his will. But others, and among them the pastor at whose church the rite was to be administered, were at first disposed to insist uncompromisingly on his assenting to the Apostles' Creed. I undertook to induce him to yield the point; but he was firm. It seemed to him important-almost a matter of principle that he should be permitted to express his faith in his own form. I could not have the heart to press the matter, and reported that, if I was to administer the rite, I must have liberty to exercise some discretion as to the formulæ to be used, and that I thought it wise to yield to Rabinowitz's wish. The others consented; and on March 24, 1885, the ceremony took place in the presence of a few Christians, all of whom were enjoined to keep the matter private for the present, lest the Jews, hearing of it, might be disposed to telegraph word to Russia and stir up trouble before Rabinowitz could get back. He did not wait, however, till his return, before he announced to his friends in Kischinev the step which he had taken. He hastened home nevertheless, as soon as possible, in order to enter on his work.

The foregoing account will have given the impression that Rabinowitz is a resolute character. Possibly he may seem to be too self-willed. I am inclined, from my personal acquaintance with him, rather to say that he is a man of strong convictions and earnest purpose, willing to take advice, glad of the sympathy and help of Christian friends, but unwilling to surrender his judgment regarding matters wherein he is confident that he is better qualified to judge than his advisers. He knows the Jews of Southern Russia, and thinks he understands the best way of winning them away from their superstitions into the acceptance of the gospel. For one I am disposed to approve his course and cordially wish and pray for his success. When we consider the peculiar difficulties which beset mission work among the Jews, and the slight success which has hitherto attended the efforts to bring them to an adoption of Christianity, it certainly is worth the while to encourage a project which aims to avoid some of the obstacles which have hitherto stood in the way. The continued practice of circumcision and the observance of the seventh day of the week may seem to involve too much of what Paul condemns in his Epistle to the Galatians; but we must remember that to the Jews Paul himself became as a Jew, and that what Rabinowitz proposes to concede in these matters is only what was practiced by the Jewish-Christians at the outset. He does not expect these distinctively Jewish observances to be permanently retained. But temporarily, as a harmless concession to the weakness of those who cannot easily be made to throw off at once all Jewish feelings and prejudices, he would let them continue, so that the converts, while Christians, may still not be required suddenly and violently to renounce their name and race. The establishment of a Jewish-Christian Church, as an institution distinct from other Christian Churches, would only be analogous to that of an English or Swedish or French Church. Distinctions of nationality and of language necessarily involve certain restrictions in the form of the Christianity which is adopted. As the Japanese are moving towards the establishment of a Japanese Christian Church, so the Jews, being a separate race, may legitimately have a Christian Church of their own. There is every reason for believing that this policy is likely to be much more success

ful than that of requiring every converted Jew at once to tear himself away from all connection with his race. There are unfortunately only too many who would be glad to monopolize Rabinowitz's work and make it inure to the aggrandizement of their own particular Church. As over against them it is well that Rabinowitz has a will of his own; for dependent, as he is to a considerable extent on pecuniary help from well-wishing Christians, it requires some force of character to insist on keeping his movement independent of other ecclesiastical organizations.

The movement is embarrassed somewhat by the slowness of the Russian government to give liberty to Rabinowitz to baptize his converts. Probably the desire to get the JewishChristians into the Greek Church makes the authorities hesitate to give its sanction to a movement which seems too much like Protestantism. In his last letter to me, written a year ago last July, Rabinowitz says (I translate from the Hebrew in which it is written): "I am not able to congratulate myself upon having received permission of the head of the government to baptize all those who desire to take refuge in the shadow of faith in the Son of the Living God, without changing their name, their tongue, and their costume, and to complete the organization of the Church of the Sons of Israel'the Sons of the New Covenant '-upon the foundation of the prophets, the apostles, and Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, to my joy, and to the joy of all Christians who are waiting in faith for the consolation of Israel in the Lord, I am able to tell you that thousands of the Jews dwelling in darkness and the shadow of death have begun by my agency to direct their feet towards the ways of peace, to know the salvation of their people, the forgiveness of sins, and to believe in the Son of God. Every Sabbath the house of prayer, Bethlehem,' in Kischinev, is full of men, women, and children, who hear, in the fear of God and with love to their Saviour Jesus, the holy gospel which I preach before them. Almost every day I receive into my house travelers, Jews who come from afar to inquire about the word of the Messiah. Also I receive many letters and cards from all quarters of Russia from Jews who desire to connect themselves with our congregation in

Kischinev. I take delight in the favor of God upon the distribution of sermons in the language of Russia, in Hebrew, in German, and in the Jargon (a mixture of Hebrew and Russian, the language used by the Jews in Bessarabia, where Rabinowitz lives), the sweet savor of the knowledge of Christ in all the dwelling places of the Jews in Russia. And we are continually waiting for the acceptable time and the day of deliverance, and to hear from the mouth of the government the words: Rise up, and be baptized and wash yourselves from your sins; and go, serve Jehovah. Also your name, and your language take, as ye have said, and bless me also' (a paraphrase of Ex. xii., 32)." Further on, alluding to the wish I had expressed that he would keep himself and his adherents from all entanglements which might come from the zealots of ecclesiasticism, he says: "My dear brother, do not give heed to the voices that go out. against me and against my work in Russia. Know that they go up from the midst of the hearts of men whose eye is evil towards me because I have not put my neck and the necks of my brethren who follow me under the yoke of their Church, and who are ashamed and confounded in their expectation of leading us captive to human teachers. . . . . Be confident that the love of God will be continually with me. I shall live and proclaim the gospel to my brethren who are weary and heavy laden; for only in the Son of God (not in the sons of changing churches) can they find rest to their souls; for surely his yoke is easy, and his burden is light."

It would be idle to try to predict what the outcome of this movement will be. But there can be no doubt that it is one in which all Christians may well feel the deepest interest. So far as human judgment can discern, the movement is an eminently hopeful one.

C. M. MEAD.