The Sun.
London, England, 1840-03-17 00:00:00

THE JEW AND THE GENTILE

As or.e of the most striking and signficant signs of
the times in which our destiny is cast, we cannot avoid
referring to a recently published appeal addressed to the
Protestant monarchs of Europe, on the subject of the
Restoration of the Jews to their own country of the
Promise. This singular document recites the original
covenant made with Abraham, and referring to the

opening suggested by the present posture of Oriental al-
fairs, pleads the cause of the wanderers before the
Princes of Europe, in every one of whose dominions the)
were so lately a proscribed and denounced race, that it

seems as if the world could scarcely have got so much
older and wiser in the short interval. In the face of gene-
ral demonstrations so full of meaning, all partial at-
tempts to re-establish the reign of bigotry lose their
terrors. If there be something striking in this appeal
from the Jew to the Gentile on the strength of other
arguments than his gold, there is, if possible, some-
thing still more strange to our antiquated notions of
the Jewish character itself, in a fact which we fled
stated elsewhere. It appears that the Hebrews of
the town of Rosemberg, the capital of the district of
Oppelen, in Prussian Silesia, understanding that the
erection of the new Lutheran Church in that place
was impeded for want of funds, subscribed the re-
quired amount for its completion, and accompanied the
gift by a letter, expressing their earnest desire for the
spread of the feeling of universal brotherhood, un
disturbed by differences of religion. Verily, the Jex
is another character lost to the page of European ro-
mance ! The foregoing facts are pleasantly significant
of " progress." Another more whimsical indication of a
disposition to re-consider the decrees of our forefathers,
may here be recorded. A literary gentleman of Athens,
named M. Sophianopoulos, a passionate lover of " pro-
gress," to whose service he has dedicated a periodical,
among other methods of enforcing its cause has hit on
the very original one of appealing to the tribunals of
his caentry for a reversal of the decision pronounced
500 years before Christ, in re Socrates ! To this effect,
he has actually addressed the King and the Court of
ihe Areopagus, urging the iniquity of the sentence,
the sympathy which all nations will feel in his (the nt .
morialist's) motion for a new trial, the example of Louis
Philippe in the case of Ncy, and concluding by a de-
mand that the judgment shall be formally set aside (the
heirs of Socrates, of course, paying the costs). The
Court of the Areopagus seems to be as impenetrable as
it was 2,300 years ago. As soon as the President
found out the drift of the zealous advocate. he very
abruptly interrupted M. Sophianopoulos, who has taken
nailing by his mc :ion. The sentence condemning thl
philosopher to death, is, therefore, virtually confirmed.
—Met:mum.

We understand that Mr. Schomburgk had the
honour of exhibiting to her Majesty (Thursday, the 12th), at
Buckingham Palace, the drawing of the magnificent flower ap-
propriately named the Victoria Regia, which that gentleman
discovered in one of his exploring journeys up the river Ber-
bice. Her Majesty was graciously pleased to express her ad
miration of the painting, and to take much interest in five views
which accompanied it. representing the scenery on the Esse-
quibo and in the interior of British Guiana.