yet in ancient times their rocky sides reverberated to the roar of cannon, and Norman and Englander and Frenchman all tried, like the conqueror of whom Tacitus speaks, "to make a desert. and call it peace." In the reign of Edward VI. the French fitted out a formidable expedition against Guernsey, and took Sark en route; here they found an easy conquest, and proceeded to remove the good folks of St. Peter Port, who were asleep in their vessels; and here too they were successful, till the guns from Castle Cornet awoke the island, and changed the aspect of affairs; the invaders were repulsed, and retired to Sark. Early in Mary's reign this island was recovered in the following way, as described by Sir Walter Raleigh, afterwards Governor of Jersey, in his "History of the World:"-" The island of Sark, contiguous to Guernsey, having been surprised and taken by the French, could never have been recovered by strong hand, having cattle and corn upon the place to feed as many men as were required for its defence, and being so inaccessible that it might be held against the Grand Turk himself; yet by the ingenuity of a gentleman of the Netherlands it was regained. He anchored in the harbour with one ship, and pretending that the merchant who had freighted it had died on board, besought permission of the French to bury him in consecrated ground, and in the chapel of the island, offering them a present of such commodities as they had on board. This request was granted on condition of the Flemings not landing armed with any weapon, not so much as even a pocket-knife. All this was assented to. Whereupon a coffin, not containing a dead body, but swords, targets, and arquebuses, was put into the boat. The French received the mourners on their landing, and searched every one of them so narrowly that they could not have concealed a penknife. The coffin was drawn up the rocks with great difficulty. Some of the French meanwhile took the boat of the Flemings, and rowed to their ship to receive the promised commodities; but as soon as they got on board they were seized and bound. The Flemings on land, after having carried the coffin into the chapel, shut the door, and taking out the weapons fell upon the French, who ran down to the beach, calling upon their companions on board the vessel to return to their assistance: but when the boat landed it was filled with Flemings, who, uniting with their countrymen, effected the complete capture of the island."

Since that time, though "war's alarms" have from time to time disturbed the other islands, we believe that Sark has been

left at peace to sleep amid the murmur of the sad sea waves. The Bishop of Winchester has just held his confirmation throughout the Channel group, beginning with Guernsey, thence travelling to Sark, and leaving that place for Alderney, where in the beautiful church of St. Anne nearly eighty persons were confirmed.

Our summer day in Sark is ended. Stern necessity bids us retire "to fresh fields and pastures new;" and as we reluctantly spread our sails to the breeze, and watch the rocky shores grow dim in the distance, we murmur the words of the old song,—

"Isle of beauty, fare thee well!”

TEMPERATE USE VERSUS INTEMPERATE

over.

DISUSE.

BY WILLIAM DOUGLAS, M.A.

I HAVE lately read a very sparkling paper in the Churchman's Shilling Magazine, entitled "Moral Blisters," in which I find that peculiar form, the person who has a mission, is not passed How could it be? It is one of the most common and most vexatious of blisters. Those who exercise a mission are, very generally, well-meaning but weak-minded people, "unicorn-minded," as Galt, I think, expressed it; when one idea, like the cuckoo in the nest, has grown so big as to require all the room for himself. I have lately suffered much from one of these mission blisters. It has created very considerable cutaneous irritation of the mind. My own character has been impugned because I will not, in spite of philology and reason, assent to the position that he who imbibes in any shape, and however diluted, any portion of alcohol, sins; and my poor parishioners have had their minds much distracted by the assertion that there are but two words in the Bible which denote wine, and that both mean the fresh-pressed, unfermented juice of the grape; and that consequently-I stay not to consider the logic-whoever drinks "strong drink," irrespective of quantity or effect, is a sinner-a drunkard.

Now though I cannot go so far as Lord Byron, and affirm that "man, being a reasoning animal, must get drunk;" or say, as a toper is reported once to have said to a friend who reproved him for sometimes" making a beast of himself by drink," and recommended total abstinence as a duty, that he and his abstinent friends were the greater beasts, as "they only drank when they were thirsty, and then only water;" still I hope to establish that total abstinence is not one of the cardinal virtues; that it cannot be so exalted without doing violence to the Bible; and that, consequently, to drink a little wine-might I not go so far as to say even a modicum of whiskey?-is not to be added as an eighth to the seven deadly sins.

I shall best do this by examining what the Bible tells us about wine. In the first place let me observe that my moral blister is utterly wrong in saying, first, that only two words (he did not specify them) are used to denote wine; and, secondly, that the wine spoken of in the Bible means only the unfermented, freshpressed grape-juice.

I find in the Bible at least six words for wine, and I propose to examine each one. I will not, by giving the words in Hebrew characters, attempt to appear learned; an English dress will answer all the purpose.

1st, Thyrosh. This word is derived from the verb signifying he possessed, occupied, held; and means, so says the venerable Simon in his lexicon, "must" (new wine),-" wine, so called, says the philologists, because it takes possession of a man by occupying his brain, so that he is no longer master of himself." That there is some truth in this appears by Hos. iv. 2, "wine" (yayin, a word we will consider presently), "and new wine (thyrosh) "take away the heart." Unfermented grape-juice, immoderately used, might make a man mortally sick, but could scarcely affect the heart; and how different must have been "maids" in Zechariah's time, who were made "cheerful" by new wine" (thyrosh), Zech. ix. 17, if that was by simply eating grapes or drinking the fresh juice! I find, from Numb. xviii. 12, that God commands this very thyrosh to be offered to Himself; and that the frequent use of the word in Deuteronomy ends with these words, in that beautiful passage in which Moses concludes his song:“The fountain of Jacob shall be upon a land of corn and wine" (thyrosh). Let me add, Psa. iv. 7, "Thou hast put gladness in my heart more than in the time that their corn and wine (thyrosh) increased."

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2nd, Mimsach. I can find this word only twice used. Prov. xxiii. 31, in which reference is evidently made to its intoxicating qualities; and in Isa. lxv. 11, where we translate it "drink offering." It is derived from a verb signifying "he mixed-specifically about wine, he poured it out so that the lees were mixed with it." According to others-Michaelis, for instance,—" He mixed wine with various sorts of inebriating aromatics."

3rd, Asis. From the root meaning "to press;" so "juice expressed by treading." 4th, Sheker, from the root "he became inebriated; hence strong intoxicating drink." I take these two words together on account of the following verse from Joel i. 5:"Awake, ye drunkards (shekers), and weep; and howl, all ye

drinkers of wine (yayin), because of the new wine (asis); for it is cut off," nothing to come on to replace the 1820 port. Again, at Joel iii. 18, it is promised as a blessing that "the mountains shall drop down new wine" (asis); so also Amos ix. 13; and, moreover, while asis is promised as a blessing, sheker, like thyrosh, is commanded to be offered to God.

5th, Yayin. The root whence this word is derived is not found. Simon finds the idea of effervescence and fermentation in a cognate Arabic verb. That it means something intoxicating is quite clear from Gen. ix. 21, where it is connected with the verb from which sheker comes. "Noah drank wine" (yayin) made from the vineyard he had planted, "and was drunken " (shekered). I do not mean to excuse him for this, I think he was very wrong. But observe, this yayin, which he abused, is yet spoken of as one of the three choice gifts of God. "Wine (yayin) that maketh glad the heart of man, and oil to make his face to shine, and bread which strengtheneth man's heart," Psa. civ. 15. So good old Isaac was not wrong when he washed down the venison he fancied he had eaten with a cup of wine (yayin), and promised plenty of wine (thyrosh) to his deceitful son as a blessing.

6th, Shamyr, from the root "he kept, stored up, reserved." Isa. xxv. 6 makes the meaning of this very plain :-"In this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things" (a symposion, as the Greeks would say), "a feast of wines on the lees" (shamyr); " of wines on the lees well refined." Clearly good old wine, kept till, like 1820 port, it had laid down its crust and lost its sweetness, and become, like John Gilpin's, strong and clear."

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I think I am now justified in saying that strong drink is a blessing, not a curse (for so much has my blister asserted). That we may use it and give God thanks; that it is the abuse, not the use, which is a sin. That drunkenness is a sin, ruinous to the body and deadly to the soul, I am prepared to preach boldly, to both rich and poor; and that temperance is a virtue profitable to both soul and body. But I do not think I shall promote the cause of it by making bold and unqualified statements, contradicting my Bible; and moreover, with reverence be it spoken, representing God—which is little short of blasphemy—as giving to His people what is a curse; and requiring them solemnly to offer that cursed thing to Himself. It is a very weak argument for my giving up my cheerful and, I hope, moderate glass of sherry,