our lives and our laws." The able leaders sent against him by the Syrian king were successively defeated, and thus was achieved the triumph of a petty province over a great empire, which, according to Hales (Analysis ii. 551)," is hardly to be paralleled in the annals of history." As soon as Judas Maccabeus had become the undisputed master of Judea, he determined to carry out the object which he and his adherents had most dearly at heart to cleanse the Temple of Jerusalem from the defilement of idolatry. When they entered the Holy City they found the gates of the Temple burnt, and the sanctuary dilapidated. In the deserted and neglected courts of the Lord's house shrubs were growing, "as in the forest or on the mountain." At this sight the heroes wept like children; they rent their garments, and strewed ashes upon their heads. With tearful eyes, but heartfelt gratitude, the Maccabees set about their task of repairing, cleansing, and consecrating the sacred buildings. The work of restoration was carried on with such ardour that the inauguration of the Temple could take place, and the public worship again be performed, on the 25th of Chislev (December), 166, the self-same day on which, three years before, Antiochus had defiled the holy edifice. The renewed dedication was ushered in with great solemnity. At the earliest dawn the priests' trumpets were sounded, a new fire was kindled by the striking of two fire-stones, and as soon as the flame ascended to heaven the lamb of the daily sacrifice was offered, the holy candlestick was lighted, and every other part of the Divine service was performed. The festival of dedication lasted eight days, and, to perpetuate its memory, we read in the Book of the Maccabees that "Judas and his

ration of the lamps of the holy candlestick having again been lighted, and of the houses of Jerusalem having been illuminated during this festival, as Josephus relates (Antiq. 99, lib. xii. c. 11), that the principal ceremony observed by the Jews on this festival consists in lighting lamps. One is kindled on the first night, two on the second, and so on till the last night, when eight are lighted. Tradition also relates, in explanation of this observance, that, when every preparation for the inaugu ration was completed, no consecrated oil could be found for the sacred lights, and the pious Maccabee feared to contaminate the purity of the restored utensils by using oil that had been desecrated by idolaters. In this strait a small jar of oil, with the seal of the high priest still intact upon the cover, was found; and though the quantity of oil which it contained was only enough for the requirements of one day, yet, by a special blessing, it sufficed for the consumption of eight days, during which period new oil was obtained and consecrated.

In the accompanying sketch we see the rabbi, clad in the tallith, the garment bordered with fringes (according to the commandment contained in Numbers xv. 37-41), lighting the eight-branched candlestick. The choir, who chant the responses, stand round him. The rite is introduced by the recitation of benedictions: "Blessed art thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who wrought miracles for our fathers in those days and in this season." Then a thanksgiving is offered to the Lord, who did "deliver the mighty into the hands of the weak, a multitude into the hands of a few, the defiled into the hands of the pure;" and the whole concludes with the singing of the 30th Psalm, that is so

remarkably appropriate: "I will extol thee, O Lord; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not suffered my foes to rejoice over me. Thou hast turned for me iny mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness." The festival, named Hanukah in Hebrew, is also called the Feast of Lights. The kindling of the lights is an apt symbol of the light which Providence shed upon Israel, and which dispersed the darkness of an overwhelming tyranny. The small flask of oil that lasted during the eight days may typify the small spark of faith that had remained in Israel, and which was kindled into pious enthusiasm among the whole people. The lighting of the candles is not alone observed in the synagogue, but also in the houses, accompanied by the singing of suitable hymus. This simple ceremony has always made a deep impression upon the youthful mind, and has been found instrumental in perpetuating the event which the great composer Handel has wedded to immortal music.

It would be difficult to name any branch of commerce that has tended more to develop man's energy, courage, and patient endurance of every hardship and privation than has the fur trade. To the explorations of sturdy trappers, pioneers, and adventurers of all classes, and from all countries, in pursuit of fur, we may trace the sources from which the knowledge of three-fourths of the continent of North America has been derived.

The use of furs, as of other skins, may be said to have existed since the days when man first wore garments; but not until the early part of the sixth century was there any direct trade in furs brought from remote districts. At this early period we find the wealthier Romans used sables from the shores of the Arctic Ocean. In the twelfth century wearing furs had become very general in England, and we learn that Edward III, in 1337, made an order that none of his subjects should wear fur unless able to command an income of £100 per annum. About the seventeenth century the idea of establishing a settlement for the purpose of procuring the rich furs said to abound on the shores of the frozen seas was suggested by one Grosseliez to the French Government, but being coldly received he left France and came to England, and obtained an interview with Prince Rupert. This negotiation ended in the fitting out of a ship, which in 1638 reached the land which has since borne the name of Rupert's Land. The ship returned after a sojourn of three years, with a report so favourable in all its details that several noblemen and gentlemen of wealth, headed by Prince Rupert, formed themselves into a company, and subscribed a capital of £10,500.

In 1670 a charter was granted by Charles II, giving the new company, calling themselves "The Hudson's Bay Company," the entire possession "of all the lands and territories upon the countries, coasts, and confines of the seas, lakes, bays, rivers, creeks, and sounds, in whatsoever latitude they shall be, that lie between the entrance of the straits called Hudson's Straits." It would be of little interest to trace the gradual rise of this Company, or to relate the terrible jealousy, forays, and deadly feuds that for many years, to the disgrace of civilization, raged betwixt the Hudson's Bay and a rival company, that subsequently grew into existence, known as the North-west Company. These feuds happily

ended about the year 1838, when the two companies, to use an Indian expression, "buried the hatchet," and became one, still retaining the old title, "The Hudson's Bay Company."

The territories of this Company are truly enormous, extending from the Canadian frontier to the shores of the Pacific and Arctic oceans, including lands that on the one hand own allegiance to Russia, and on the other to the United States. The area of the country under its immediate influence is about 4,500,000 square miles in extent, divided into 4 departments, 53 districts, and 152 trading posts. This vast extent of hunting country is everywhere sprinkled over with lakes, and in all directions intersected by rivers and lesser streams, abounding with edible fish. East of the Rocky Mountains are vast prairies over which roams the bison, lord of the plains; whilst west of these mountains the land is densely timbered. The most northerly station, east of the Rocky Mountains, is on the Mackenzie river, within the Arctic circle; so terribly intense is the cold at this post that axes tempered specially can alone be used for splitting and cutting wood, ordinary hatchets breaking as though made of glass. West of the Rockies, the most northerly station is Fort Simpson, situated near the Silka river, the boundary betwixt Russian America and British Columbia.

The system of trading at all the posts of the Company is entirely one of barter. In early days, when first I wandered over the fur countries east of the Rockies, money was unknown; but this medium of exchange has since then gradually become familiar to the Indians, and the all-potent dollar is rapidly asserting its supremacy in savagedom.

The standard of value throughout all the territories of the Company is still, however, the skin of the beaver, by which the price of all other furs is regulated. Any service rendered, or labour executed, by the Indians is paid for in skins; the beaver skin being the unit of computation. To explain this system more clearly, let us assume that four beavers are equivalent in value to a silver-fox skin, two martins to a beaver, twenty musk rats to a martin, and so on. As an example, let us suppose an Indian wishes to purchase a blanket or a gun from the Hudson's Bay Company: he would have to give, say, three silver foxes, or twenty beaver skins, or two hundred musk rats, or other furs, in accordance with their proper relative positions of worth in the tariff. For a very evident reason, the price paid for furs is not fixed in strict accordance with their intrinsic value; if this were so, all the valuable fur-bearing animals would soon become extinct; as no Indian would bother himself to trap a cheap fur whilst a high prized one remained uncaught. He may very possibly have to pay five silver fox-skins for blankets (worth about £3), the value of the skins paid representing £40; still he can, if he chooses, buy the same article by paying for it in musk rat, yellow fox, or other fur of inferior worth. The Company very generally issue to the Indians such goods as they need up to a certain amount, when the summer supplies arrive at the posts-these advances to be paid for at the conclusion of the hunting season. In hiring Indians east of the Cascade Mountains, whilst occupied in marking the boundary line, our agreement was always to pay them in beaver skins, say, two or three per day, in accordance with the duty required; but this agreement did not mean actual payment in real skins-a matter that to us would have been impossible-but that we were to give the Indian an order on the nearest trading post of the Hudson's Bay Company, to supply him with any goods

The trading posts of the Company are strange, quaintlooking places, built according to a general type. A trading fort is invariably a square inclosed by immense trees or pickets, one end sunk deeply in the ground and placed close together; a platform, about the height of an ordinary man, is carried along the sides of the square, so as to enable any one to peep over without being in danger from arrow or bullet; the entrance is closed by two massive gates, an inner and an outer; and all the houses of the chief traders and employés, the trading house, fur room, and stores, are within the square. In many of the posts the trade room is cleverly contrived, so as to prevent a sudden rush of Indians; the approach from outside the pickets being through a long narrow passage, only of sufficient width to admit one Indian at a time, being bent at an acute angle, near the window, where the trader stands. This precaution is rendered necessary, inasmuch as were the passage straight they might easily shoot him. At the four angles are bastions, octagonal in shape, pierced with embrasures, to lead the Indians to believe 'in the existence of cannon, and intended to strike terror in any red-skinned rebel daring to dispute the supremacy of the Company.

The total worth of the furs that have been collected by this Company alone, at a rough estimate, represents a money value equal to £20,000,000 sterling. It will be interesting to give a brief history of the various furs traded by the Hudson's Bay and other companies, how and where caught, together with a statement of the average number of each species annually imported from the Company's territories and other fur-yielding countries. Foremost in the list is the Hudson's Bay Sable (Mustela Americana). The pine martin, or sable of Northwest America, is not esteemed so valuable as the sable from Russia, known to naturalists as Mustela Zibillina; but there is no doubt that the two species are in reality one and the same, the difference of temperature, and other local modifying causes, readily accounting for the better quality of the Russian fur. About 120,000 skins are brought on an average into this country every year by the Hudson's Bay Company, and to these we may add quite as many, if not more, from Russia and Tartary. The lighter-coloured skins are usually dyed, and frequently sold as Russian sable. Martin trapping requires great skill and experience. The favourite haunts of the little robber are the pine forests, especially where dead or burnt timber abounds. Its food consists of anything he can catch by craft or cunning, young birds and eggs, squirrels, the lesser rodents, marmots, and rabbits. The trap most frequently used is a fall trap (although sometimes steel traps are employed, in other words the ordinary rat gin). The fall trap is of Indian invention, and a very ingenious contrivance. A half circle is first built of large stones to the height of about three feet: then a heavy tree is laid across the entrance, one end being raised and supported on a contrivance, very like the figure of four trap, used by boys for catching small birds; a dainty bit of rabbit, or a ruffed grouse skinned, is hung on a projecting stick, built into the back of the semicircle of stones. The little poacher can only get at the bait by creeping under the tree; then seizing it, and finding himself unable to pull it down, he backs out, tugging the string to which the bait is attached along the stick, on which rests the figure of four, supporting the tree. Just as the centre of his back comes under the fall or tree, he looses the support by tugging the meat off the stick, when down it falls on him, killing him instantly, but doing no injury to the

the Indians say, the first shower of rain after the snow disappears spoils the martin. The animal is skinned somewhat like a rabbit, the skin being inverted as it is removed, then placed on a flat board, and so dried in the sun. A good martin skin is worth in the trade from two and a half to three dollars, about ten or twelve shillings. Very fine martins come from the western slopes of the Cascade and coast ranges of mountains; the further north, the darker and better are the skins.

The Russian Sable inhabits the forest-clad mountains of Siberia, a desolate, cold, inhospitable region. The animal is hunted during winter, and generally by exiles. There are various methods of taking the sable. Great numbers are shot with small-bore rifles; others are trapped in steel and fall traps, and many taken in nets placed over their places of retreat, into which they are tracked on the snow. Who can picture to himself, without shuddering, the case of the condemned sablehunter? He leaves, with heavy heart, the last thinlyscattered habitations which border the pathless wilds; a sky of clouds and darkness is above, bleak mountains and gloomy forests before him, the recesses of the forests, the defiles of the mountains must be traversedthese are the haunts of the sable. The cold is below zero, but the fur will prove the finer! Nerved by necessity, and stimulated by the hope of sharing the gains, on he presses. Fatigue and cold exhaust him, a snow-storm overtakes him, the bearings or way-marks are lost or forgotten. Provisions fail, and too often he who promised, to his expecting and anxious friends, a speedy return, is seen no more. Such is sable-hunting in Siberia, and such the hapless fate of many an exile, who perishes in the pursuit of what only adds to the luxuries and superfluities of the great.

The Fisher (Mustela Pennantii) is very similar to the pine martin in all his habits, but much larger. Why it was named a fisher I could never imagine, as it is not known to catch fish or go in the water, except to wash or swim a stream. It climbs readily, and lives on birds and rodents. A very fine pair are in the Regent's Park Zoological Gardens. It is trapped much in the same way as the martin. The tail is very long and bushy, tapering to a fine brush-like point, and quite black. At one time a large trade was carried on with tails, only the tail being worn by Jewish merchants as an ornament in Poland. About 12,000 fisher skins are annually imported. I obtained some remarkably fine specimens of the fisher in the pine woods of the Na-hoi-le-pit-ke valley, on the Columbia river. The value, or trade price, in British Columbia, is from two dollars fifty cents to three dollars per skin. The fisher in full winter fur makes a far handsomer muff than the sable.

The fur of the Mink (Mustela vison) is vastly inferior