Paul does not appear, however, to have been present when this uproar began, but as soon as he heard of it, he wanted to go to the theatre, to speak to the people. His friends would not permit this, and he remained away. The meeting which took place in the theatre was nothing but confusion. No one knew what they came for-some cried one thing and some another. There was one Alexander, who was thrust forward, and attempted to speak; but as soon as the multitude knew that he was a Jew, they sat up a shout, and continued for about two hours, crying out nothing but "Great is Diana of the Ephesians." At last, however, a person who is called the town clerk, induced them to listen to him. He made a speech, in which he first flattered the Ephesians about their goddess Diana, and then defended Aristarchus and Gaius, for he said, they had not been speaking against Diana and then he very sensibly observed, that if Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen had any cause against any one, they ought to prosecute them regularly at the court of the deputies. He then tells them, that the present was an unlawful assembly, and that if

they did not take care, the Romans might punish them for a riot. This speech had the desired effect-they appear to have been alarmed, and the assembly was quietly dismissed. And it was thus that Paul and the brethren were delivered from apparent danger by the providence of God.

CHAPTER XIII.

Paul leaves Ephesus-Troas-Death and restoration of Eutychus-Miletus—Address to the elders of Ephesus-Voyage and journey back to Jerusalem-Close of third Missionary Tour.

FROM the accounts which have been given in the last chapter, it appears that Paul was induced, by a proper prudence, to retire from Ephesus; and, after having taken an affection-. ate leave of his disciples, he directed his course to Macedonia. Ever intent upon his duty, he preached and exhorted from place to place, and thus passed on to the southern part of Greece. Here he abode three months, and

as he was about to sail for Syria, his life was in danger, by the malice of the Jews, who watched some opportunity to destroy him. To prevent this, he altered his course, and took a circuit by land, as far as Philippi, whence he sailed to Troas; Sopater, Aristarchus, Secundus, Gaius, Timotheus, Tychichus, and Trophimus, all of them devoted followers of the Lord, having gone there to meet the Apostle. In this place he remained seven days, and on the first day of the week, the Christian Sabbath, or Sunday, as it is otherwise called, he addressed the disciples at Troas. As he was about to depart the next day, the religious services were continued to an unusual length, even until midnight. It would seem strange in our days, to have our religious meetings so long continued; and, on ordinary occasions, it would not be at all adviseable. In seasons of reli, gious revival, however, when there are manifest indications of the outpouring of the Spirit of God, it may sometimes be necessary to devote more than the usual time to devotional and other religious exercises. The more deeply our hearts are affected with divine things, and the stronger our impressions be

come of the love of Christ, the more eager shall we become both to hear and declare the truths of the Gospel. The men of the world may wonder and revile; but while they devote days and weeks to the pursuit of vain pleasures, we ought not to think a few hours too much to devote to exercises of a spiritual character, and to the service of our God. The christians at Troas, we are told, assembled in an upper chamber, which was in the third story. In the window, there sat a young man, named Eutychus, who, either because he was inattentive, or from some reason which the history does not mention, became so overpowered with sleep, that he fell down to the ground, and was taken up dead. This circumstance naturally produced confusion and distress; till Paul restored him to life, by the miraculous power which had been given him. It is wicked to be so inattentive to the preached word, as to fall asleep in church, and it is highly disrespectful to God.

After the restoration of the young man, Paul went on with his discourse, even to the break of day, and then he commenced his journey, which he pursued on foot, as far as

Assos, a few miles from Troas. At Assos, which was a sea-port opposite the island of Lesbos, in the Egean sea, he took passage in the vessel in which several of his friends had started from Troas, and went over to Mitylene, which is the capital of the island of Lesbos, and situated on a penninsula, on the eastern side. The next day, they passed the island of Chios, now called Scio, that ill-fated island, which suffered so much from the Turks during their last war with the Greeks. The next day, after passing Scio, they arrived at the island of Samos, and passed over to the main land, to a place called Trogyllium, which was situated on a point of land which projected into the sea, westward towards Samos. The next day they reached Miletus, which was a seaport town of that division of Asia Minor called Caria; of which it was the capital. As Paul was in haste to get to Jerusalem by a certain time, he purposely passed by Ephesus, without stopping, but as he was very anxious to see the principal persons of the church at Ephesus, he sent for them to come to him at Miletus, which they could easily do, as the distance was only about twenty miles. The