THOUGHTS ON VISITING EPHESUS-VILLAGE OF AIASALUCK-SITUATION OF EPHESUS-RUINS-MOUNTS PRION AND CORISSUS--QUARRIESRUINED CHURCH-DESOLATION OF EPHESUS-STORKS-THE THEATRE

-REFLECTIONS.

SCRIPTURE NOTICES.

"AND he (Paul) came to Ephesus . . . and reasoned with the Jews. When they desired him to tarry longer time with them, he consented not; but bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus."-Acts xviii. 19-21.

"And it came to pass, that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper coasts,

came to Ephesus; and finding certain disciples, he said. unto them, Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?

"And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for the space of three months... But when divers were hardened and believed not. . . he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus. And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.. (See further in the same chapter the account of the exorcists, and of the burning of the conjuring books).. So mightily grew the word of God, and prevailed...

"And... there arose no small stir about that way. For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen; whom he called together... and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth. Moreover, ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands: so that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth. And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians! And the whole city was filled with confusion; and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul's companions in travel, they rushed with one accord into the theatre. And when Paul would have entered in unto the people, the disciples suffered him not ... And after the uproar was ceased, Paul called unto him the disciples, and embraced them, and departed for to go into Macedonia."—Acts xix. 1, 2, 8, 9, &c. (read whole chapter); xx. 1.

"And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the

...

elders of the church, and . . . said unto them, Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all seasons . . . and have taught you publicly, and from house to house . . . And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more... Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock... for I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears. . . And when he had spoken these words, he kneeled down, and prayed with them all. And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul's neck, and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake, that they should see his face no more. they accompanied him unto the ship."-Acts xx. read from verse 17-38.

And

"If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not?"-1 Cor. xv. 32 ; xvi. 8.

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Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus."—Ephes. i. 1. (The Epistle to the Ephesians was written from Rome.)-See also 1 Tim. i. 3; 2 Tim. i. 18; iv. 12.

"Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith He that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil, and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars; and hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

Remember, therefore, from whence thou art fallen; and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; to him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God."-Rev. ii. 1—7.

THOUGHTS ON VISITING EPHESUS.

"WHAT would have been the astonishment and grief of the beloved apostle and Timothy (observes Mr. Arundell) if they could have foreseen that a time would come when there would be in Ephesus neither angel, nor church, nor city! When the great city would become 'heaps, a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby !' Once it had an idolatrous temple celebrated for its magnificence as one of the wonders of the world, and the mountains of Corissus and Prion reechoed the shouts of ten thousand tongues, 'Great is Diana of the Ephesians!' Once it had Christian temples almost rivalling the Pagan in splendour, wherein the image that fell down from Jupiter lay prostrate before the cross, and as many tongues moved by the Holy Ghost made public avowal that 'Great is the Lord Jesus!' Once it had a bishop, the angel of the church, Timothy, the beloved disciple of St. John; and tradition relates that it was honoured with the last days of both these great men, and of the mother of our Lord. Some centuries passed on, and the altars of Jesus were again thrown down to make way for the delusions of Mahomet; the cross is removed from the dome of the church, and the crescent glitters in its stead. A few years more, and

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all may be silence in the mosque and in the church! A few unintelligible heaps of stones, with some mud cottages untenanted, are all the remains of the great city of the Ephesians! The busy hum of a mighty population is silent in death; Thy riches and thy fairs, thy merchandize, thy mariners and thy pilots, thy caulkers, and the occupiers of thy merchandize, and all thy men of war, are fallen.' Even the sea has retired from the scene of desolation, and a pestilential morass, covered with mud and rushes, has succeeded to the waters which brought up the ships laden with merchandize from every country."

"Aiasalúck is a small village, inhabited by a few Turkish families, standing chiefly on the south side of the castle-hill, among bushes and ruins. It was dusk when we arrived, lamenting the silence and humiliation as we conceived, of Ephesus. While supper was preparing, we sat in the open air; when suddenly, fires began to blaze up among the bushes, and we saw the villagers collected about them in savage groups, or passing to and fro with lighted brands for torches. The flames, with the stars and a pale moon, afforded us a dim prospect of ruin and desolation; a shrill owl, called Cucuvaia, from its note, with a night hawk, flitted near us; and a jackal cried mournfully, as if forsaken by his companions on the mountain. We retired early in the evening to our shed, not without some sensations of melancholy, which were renewed at the dawn of day. We had then a distinct view of a solemn and most forlorn spot a neglected castle, a grand mosque, and a broken aqueduct, with mean cottages, and ruinous buildings interspersed among wild thickets, and spreading to a considerable extent; many of the scattered structures are square, with domes, and have been baths. Some gravestones occurred, finely painted and gilded... But the castle, the mosque, and the aqueduct, are alone sufficient evidences, as well of the former greatness of the place, as of its importance. The castle is a large

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