Star.
London, England, 1830-06-21 00:00:00

tar

MONDAY EVENING, JUNE 21, 1830. PRICE 7D.

SCOTTISH AND JEWISH ABOMINATIONS.

All persons conversant with theprovincial press must have heath
of the following infamous case of imposture, which has occurred
within the last few weeks; and which, for the sake of truth, we
trust, will not take as many weeks more, to bring to a satisfactory
exposure. The Scottish papas—one after the other—inform us
that about a twelvemonth ago a volume was published, entitled,
" Peace in Believing, being the Letters and Memoirs of Isabella
Campbell," a young person who died of consumption. This vo.
lume acquired great popularity with &certain class of readers, partly
from the quarter from whence it issued, and partly from the inte-
resting character of the subject of the memoir, as well as the natural
eloquence which really distinguished many of her letters. The book
was published with the benevolent purpose of relieving the pecu-
niary distresses of the family, and about the period of its appearance,
a brother and sister of Miss Campbell were taken ill of the com-
plaint of which she died. The similarity of circumstances of the
two sisters, as well as the similarity of character and acquirements,
excited an unusual interest, and many a pious pilgrim visited Fer-
nicarrie, the residence of Isabella Campbell. Every word Mary ut.
tered concerning Isabella, which-was still more interesting, as
seeding from the bed of an apparently dying sister, was Ustoned to
as the dictates of inspiration; and she spoke with fervour and flu-
ency truly wonderful.
Contrary to all expectation. continues the narrative, Mary began
to recover, with the prospect of returning health, determined to de.
vote her uture life to the conversion of the heathen. Soon after this
she imagined herself endowed with "the gift of tongues," which gift
consisted in uttering certain articulate sounds, without any meaning
attached to them, but which were supposed to be a language, and
in forming on paper certain marks, which were supposed to be
either words or lettere ; and as every time she opened her mouth or
put her pen to paper, the sounds or marks were different, the len.
guages were of course different; and her acquirements are now so
numerous, that she possesses more languages than Sir William
Jones ever did, with the trifling difference that he understood his.
Having related the beginning of the miracles on the banks of the
Gareloch, we shall proceed to the other side of the Clyde, whither
the intelligence was rapidly wafted ; and the miraculous power took
root in a soil peculiarly favourable for its growth. At first it came
in the shape of curing diseases in a family in which the enthusiastic
' abuse of the doctrine of the divine influence which is so marked a
feature in the sect, and which has been the origin of all these delu-
sions, prevails in ns common degree. One of the brothers of this
family approached the bed of his sister, who had been confined to
it for a long period, and commanded hcr' in the name of Loan
Jusus, to get up and walk. Astonished at the command, she ex-
claimed, "Is it possible ? / trill try !" She accordingly did getup,
and walked about, and slept better than she had done for &longtime,
and has continued well ever since, although still thin and emaciated.
The report of this miracle was sent back to Fernicarrie in an epistle
from the brothers, asserting that in spite of all" the Children of the
Devil" could say, they were endowed with the miraculous power of
healing, and accordingly they commanded Miss Campbell to rise
and walk. Here there was no exclamation "Is it possible !" but
Bliu Campbell, (who had been for months getting better) most
obediently got up and walked. Miss Mary herself carried the in.
telligence of her cure to Port-Glasgow, and with it the gift of
tongues, which the brothers forthwith acquired, although they were
still in the dark as to the meaning of the words. A new actor, how.
ever, now appeared on the scene—no less a person than the clerical
leader of the sect. At a meeting at which he was present, when the
gifted brothers were pouring forth in these tongues, he exclaimed,
" It is written, pray that you may interpret," and immediately a
new miracle took place : One of the brothers spoke in an unknoun
tongue, and the other uttered a rhapsody about the milleniuss, partly
of texts of Scriptute, with frequent repetitions of the name of our
Saviour, accompanied with such epithets as enthusiasts delight to
indulge in. The miracle-workers next proceeded to cure a lame boy
at Helensburgh, who also received the command to rise and walk,
but unfortunately without success. The failure of this attempt ought
to have opened their eyes to the delusion under which they bad been
labouring ; but the clearest evidence is no rule of faith on the banks
of the Gareloch.

This damnable imposture puts us strongly in mind of an anecdote
which we have perused in early youth, with much satisfaction, as
exposing the tricks of puritanical quackery. In COO the reader may
not have immediate access to the Voituirianstof Mary Julia Young,
we transcribe her translation of an historical fact, which bears but
too closely—more particularly as it regards the "gill of tongues"
—on the present blasphemous, and cursed imposture of the Camp.
bells of Gareloch. It is the brief history of Sabbatei Seri, who pre.
tended to be the AIESSIAH, and it is related in the following terms
" During the siege of Candle, an affair happened among the
Turks that drew the attention of Europe and all Asia. A general
rumour was spread at that time, founded on an idle curiosity, that
the year 1666 was to be remarkable for some great revolution; the
source of this opinion was the mystic number 668 found in the
book of Revelations. Never was the expectation of the Antichrist
so general. On the other hand, the Jews pretended that their
Messiah was to come this year. A Smyrna Jew named Sabbatel
Seri, who was a man of some learning, and son of a rich broker
belonging to the English factory, took advantage of this general
opinion, and set up for the Messiah ; he was eloquent, and of a
graceful figure, he affected, and recommended justice, spoke like an
oracle, and proclaimed wherever he came that the times were ful-
filled. He travelled at first into Greece and Italy. At Leghorn he
ran away with& girl and carried her to Jerusalem, where he began
to preach to his brethren. It is a standing tradition among the
Jews that their Shiloh or Messiah, their avenger and king, is not to
appear again till the coming of Elijah, and they_ are persuaded that
Elijah is to appear at the renewing of the world. TbisElijab, or Eliu,
has by some learned persons been taken for the sun, on account of
the conformity between this name and the word Enos, which in
Greek signifies the sun ; as also from the story of Rlijah's being
carried up to Heaven in a fiery chariot drawn by four horses, which
has a great resemblance to the poetical fiction of the chariot of the
sun and his four horses.

" But without employing our time on such researches, or examin.
ing whether the Hebrew books were written after the time of Alex.
ander, when the Jewish factors residing in Alexandria had learned
something of the Grecian mythology ; it is sufficient to remark that
the Jews have been in expectation of the coming of Elijah from
time immemorial ; and to this very day, when these people perform
the ceremony of circumcision on a new-born infant, they always
place a chair for Elijah, in case he should please to honour them
with his presence. Elijah, according to them, is to introduce the
great Sabbath, the great Messiah, and the general revolution of all
things. This notion has been received among Christians. Elijah
is to come to declare the dissolution of this world, and a new order
of things. Almost all the different sects of fanatics expect an Eli-
jah. The prophets of the Cevennes, who came to London in 1707
to raise the dead, pretended to have seen Elijah, and to have spoken
to him, and that he was to show himself to the people. In 1724,
the lieutenant of the police at Paris sent two Elijahs to prison, who
fought with each other who should be accounted the true one. It
was necessary, therefore, that Sabbatei Sevi should be announced to
his brethren by an Elijah, otherwise his pretended mission would
have been treated as an imposture.
" He met with one Nathan, a Jewish rabbi, who thought there
was something to be gained by playing a part In this farce. Ac-
cordingly, Sabbstei declared to the Jews of Asia Minor and Syria,
that Nathan was Elijah, and Nathan, on his part, indemd that Sob.
betel was the Messiah, the Shiloh expected by the theme mole.
" They both performed great works at Jerusalem, and -rmed
the synagogue. Nathan explained the prophecies, and demesstrased
that at the expiration of that year, the Sultan would be ashlars;
and Jerusalem become mistress of the world. All the Jews of By.
ria were convinced ; the synagogues resounded with sadist mph&
ales; they grounded themselves on these words of Isaiah: 'Awake,
awake, put on thy strength, 0 Zion, put on thy beautiful gartneMs,
0 Jerusalem, the holy city ; for henceforth there shall no Mill
come Into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. All the rabbis,
had the following passage in their mouths : And they shall brim
all your brethren for an offering unto the. Lord ; out of all
upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upwi mules, as
upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain, Jerusalem.' In ohm,
their hopes were fed by thae and a thousand other whisk
both women and children were for ever repeating. There was net a
Jew but prepared lodgings for some of the ten diverged tribes; so
great was their enthusiasm, that they left off trade every where, and
held themselves ready for the voyage to Jerusalem.
"Nathan chose twelve men at Damascus to preside over the.
twelve tribe/. Sabbatei Sevi went to thew himself to his Bath*
at Smyrna, and Nathan wrote to him thus t • King of 'Slags, Lekli
of Lords, when shall we be worthy to put ourselves under Me sits-,
dow of your ass ? I prostrate myself• to he trod under the bole a
your feet.' At Smyrna, Sabbatei Sevi deposed Kane deems efi
the law who did not acknowledge his authority, and established.;

others more tractable. One of his most violent enemies, named
Samuel Pennia, was publicly converted, and proclaimed him to be
the son of God. Sabbatei having presented himself one day before
the Cadi of Smyrna, with a multitude of his followers, they all de-
clared they saw a column of fire pass between him and the Cadi.
Some other miracles of this sort set his divine mission beyond all
doubt. Numbers of Jews were impatient to lay their gold and their
precious stones at his feet.
" The bashaw of Smyrna would have arrested him; but he set
out for Constantinople with his most zealous disciples. The grand
vizir Achmet Cuprogli, who was getting ready for the siege of
Candia, gave orders for him to be seized on board the vessel that
brought him to Constantinople, and to be confined. The Jews
easily obtained admittance into the prison for money, as is usual in
Turkey ; they went and prostrated themselves at his feet, and kissed
his chains. He preached to them, exhorted them, and gave them his
blessing, but never complained. The Jews of Constantinople, believ-
ing that the coming of the Messiah would cancel all debts, refused to
pay their creditors. The English merchants at Galatea waited upon
Sabbatei in gaol, and told hies, that as the king of the Jews, he
ought to command all his subjects to pay their debts. Sabbatei
wrote the following words to the persons complained against :
" To you, who expect the salvation of Israel, &c. &c. discharge
your lawful debts; it you refitse ft, you shall not enter into our joy,
and into our empire." Sabbatei, during his imprisonment. was
continually visited by his followers, who began to raise some dis-
turbances at Constantinople. At that time the people were greatly
dissatisfied with Mehemet IV. and it was apprehended that the
Jewish prophecy might occasion some disturbance. Under these
circumstances, one would Imagine that such a severe government as
that of the Turks would have put the person, calling himself King
of Israel, to death. Yet they only removed him to the Castle of the
Ihrtlimelles. The Jews then cried out, that it was not in the power
of man to take away his life.
" His fame had reached even the most distant parts of Europe ;
at the Dardanelles he received deputations from the Jews of Poland.
Germany, Leghorn, Venice, and Amsterdam : titer paid very dear
for kissing his feet, and probably this was what preserved his life.
The distributions of the Holy Land were very quietly in the tower
of the Dardanelles. At length the fame of his miracles was so
great, that Sultan Mehemet had the curiosity to see the man, and
to examine him himself. The king of the Jews was brought to the
seraglio. The Sultan asked him in the Turkish language whether he
was the Messiah ? Sabbatei modestly answered, "he was ;" but es he
expressed himself incorrectly in this tongue, " You speak very ill,"
said Alaitomet to him, " for a Messiah, who ought to have the gift
of languages. Do you perform any miracles ?" " Sometimes,"
answered the other. " Well, then," said the Sultan, "let him be
stripped stark naked ; he will be a very goad mark for the arrows of
my pages, and if he is invulnerable, we will acknowledge him to be
the Nlessiah." Sabbatei flung himself upon his knees, and con.
leased it to be a 'miracle above his strength. It was proposed to
him immediately either to be impaled or to turn Alussulman, and go
publicly to the Turkish mosque. He did not hesitate in the least,
but embraced the Turkish religion directly. Then he preached
that lie had been sent to substitute the Turkish to the Jewish reli-
gion, pursuant to the ancient prophecies. Vet the Jews of distant'
countries believed in him a long time. The affair however was not
attended with bloodshed, but increased the shame and confusion of
the Jewish nation." So do the Scottish scribes and Pnarisees be.
lieve in the preposterous nonsense of Mins Campbell.