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THE TRAVELS OF A JEW . Travels of Rabbi Petachia , of' Ratisbon . Translated from the Hebrew by Dr . A . Benisch , with . Explanatory Notes by the Translator , and William F . Ainaworth , F . S . A . &C . TrUbner . The heart of Rabbi Moses Petachia , brother of Yizchak the White , and Nachman the Learned , burned within with him the desire of visiting his brethren of the captivity , scattered over the various districts and through the numerous cities of Western Asia and Southern Europe . Hence he resolved to encounter the perils of far journeyings , and leing , if not wealthy , in easy circumstances , he made the necessary preparations . Rabbi Petachia , the reader ought to know , was born about the middle of the twelfth century at Ratisbon , distinguished , at the time of his birth , for its numerous congregations of wise men , which gained for it the title of the
the grave of Ezekiel , our traveller tells us , is a wait , a large town and ^ large enclosure . Those entering the wicket have ordinarily to crawl „ hands and feet ; but on the festival of Tabernacles , people from all countriS resort thither , when the entrance becomes enlarged by itself , so that thev can enter it even on camels . Whoever wishes to go to a distant land dp posits his purse , or any valuables , with Ezekiel , and many purses with monpv he there rotting , because , observes the Rabbi , they lay there many year ? their proprietors probably having been murdered on their journev ' From , the grave of Ezra a column of fire ascended to the sky , during the eleventh and twelfth hour , and sometimes was seen in the first hour of the night . Ry its light people could walk three or four passages , that is from twelve to sixteen miles . However , before setting out for the grave of the Eabbi Petachia shownat Sushan
Ezra , was , , the coffin of Daniel . Originally \ t was buried on one side of the river , and caused great " plenty " prosperity , and blessing . But the men * or the other side of the river said " Because , the holy man is not buried on our side , therefore is our land not blessed ; " and there were constant wars for the possession of the coffin . At last some elders came and the affair was compromised . The coffin was sus pend ^ d by strong iron chains on high pillars , in the centre of the river , thus the land oh either side obtained an equal share of the prophet ' s blessin « - But the marvels end not here . Vessels passing underneath the coffin onfy proceeded in safety if those in it were pious : if this was not the case they foundered . Moreover , our traveller was assured by the Jews inhabitants of the place , that underneath the coffin there were fish with golden pendants in their ears . However , we -will dwell no longer in these gardens of enchantment though the . Jew has much to tell in the style of Pinto—who may have been his imitator . We must pass by those rich trees whose berries were pure gold , as verified by Kabbi Moses Betachia , brother of Yizchak tie White and Nachman the Leai-ned , himself , and forsake those beautiful cities whose gates of brass were so highly polished that the horses , seeing themselves reflected in the panels , refused to approach . We cannot , however , conclude without observing that , stripped of the fabulous and marvellous ] the book contains incidental descriptions of manners and customs very interesting , and that the notes by which it is accompanied , and for which we are indebted to the translator and Mr . Ainsworth , are not only useful but amusing * ¦
Jewish Athens . In what year he set out upon his travels is unknown ; but it must have been before the year 1187 , since lie describes the Holy Land as being still held by the Crusaders . On . his return , b . e told the marvellous things that he had seen and heard to the groups of faithful and credulous Israelites who gathered around him . Whether ^ however , he wrote an elaborate account of his travels , an abridgment of which we have before us , or whether he only kept an itinerary , or whether Rabbi Yehoodah the Piou 3 , who was amongst his hearers , obtained possession of his notes , it is difficult to say . From the fragmentary character of this work , and other internal evidence we are led to believe that it is the production of the Rabbi Yehoodah , and not of Petachia himself .
Travellers are privileged to tell strange tales , and the travellers of the middle ages availed themselves abundantly of this privilege . Benjamin of Tudela before him , and Marco Polo after him , saw things , or related that they saw them , which excellently keep in countenance the experiences of the Rabbi Petachia . In fact , the marvellous is never a stumbling-block to his reason . Whatever he sees he believes , whatever he hears he credits . Yet his fondness for the marvellous has its limits . If a miracle is performed it must t > e wrought by some prophet , or the disciple of a prophet , or he is incredulous . All the wonders he relates to his brethren take place at or near the tombs of the holy men of God , and though not so volutainous in bulk , this work before us savours of the spirit of the Acta Sanctorum .
Rabbi Petachia set out on his travels from Prague in Bohemia , journeying to Poland , from Poland to Kieff , in Russia , and fromRussia in six days to the River Dnieper . This river he crossed on ten extended horsehides sewn together—a kind of leathern raft which served the country people for a boat—and thus entered the country of Kedar or Little Tartary , where there were no Jews , only heretics , the inhabitants live in tents , we are told ; are far-sighted , recognizing objects not distant less than a day ' s journey , and have beautiful eyes , because they eat no salt , and feed oh fragrant plants . Thence , traversing Togarma or Armenia , our traveller passed through the country of Ararat , and in eight days , which , by the-by , is impossible , arrived as far aS Nisibis , leaving the high mountain of Ararat to the right . la three more davs he comes to . New Nineveh
, which , according to his account , is three days' journey from Old Nineveh . The . whole land around this latter city is black like pitch . There is neither herb nor any vegetation whatever . He exclaims that it has shared the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah . However , at New Nineveh his heart is rejoiced , for there he finds more than six thousand Jews ruled over by two princes of the seed of David . Here the Rabbi sees an elephant—for the first time . ¦ "It is big , " he tells us , " and eats about two waggon loads of straw at once ; its mouth is in its breast , and when it wants to eat it protrudes its lip about two cubits , takes up with it the straw , and puts it into its mouth . When the sultan condemns any body to death , they say to the elephant , 1 This person is guilty . ' It then seizes him with its lip , casts him aloft , and kills him . Whatever a human being performs with his hand it performs with its lip ; this is exceedingly strange and marvellous . " At Nineveh the Rabbi embarked on the Tigris , and descending its stream , came to Babel , where was a garden belonging to the head of the academy ,
in which grew mandrakes having the face of a human being . A few hours more brought him to Bagdad , which was a day ' s journey from end to end , and three days' journey in circumference . Here no women -were to be seen , nor did anybody go into the house of his friend lest he should see the wife of his neighbour . If business calls a person to the house , he knocks with a tin knocker , when the master comes forth and speaks to him . The Jews of Babylon are very learned , and well versed in the Talmud . " There is no one so iguorant in the whole of Babylon , Assyria , Media and Persia , but he knows the twenty-four books , the punctuation , the grammar , the superfluous and omitted letters , " &c . Even the daughter of one of the Rabbin was expert in the Scripture and Talmud , and gave instruction to the young men . She , however , was invisible ; her words proceeded through a dark window , whilst her disciples stood outside the house listening to catch them .
Many strange anecdotes are told about the tonVbs of the prophets . The sultan who reigned in the days of Rabbi Sholomoh wished to sec the prophet Ezekiel , whose sepulchre was distant a day and a half ' s journey from Bagdad . The Rabbi objected : " Thou canst not see him , for he is holy , nor must thou uncover his grave . " The monarch insisted . "My lord and king , " replied Shelomoh , " Baruch ben . Neriah , his disciple , is buried near the enclosure of the prophet . If it be thy will , uncover his grave . If thou canst see the Bervant thou mayst try to see the master . "
The princes and potentates of the kingdom are assembled and commanded to dig \ but whoever touches the grave of Baruch hen Neriah falls down immediately and dies . The Jews are then ordered to dig . After three days ' fasting they commence , and are not hurt . The coffin of Baruch is reached , when the Bultan exclaims , " It does not become this righteous man to be near Ezekiel . I will transfer his coffin to another locality . " When , however , they come to the distance of a mile from the grave of Ezekiel they cannot Btw , neither can horse nor mule move the coffin from its place . Then said Rabbi Sholomoh , « Here the righteous man wishes to be buried . And tjiev buried there the coffin , and built a beautiful palace over hie grave . lhiB w not the only legend in connexion , with the prophet's tomb . Round
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... ¦ ¦ . ... . ¦ ¦ ¦ ? . . ¦ ¦; . ¦ ¦ ' . DRAMATIC AND MUSICAL NOTES . The Italian week at Drurt Lane terminated last Saturday with the performance of II Trovatore , when Madame Gmsi was seen for the first time these several years by a London audience in a new part—that of Leonora , in which she first appeared at Dublin last season , and which was played here during the summer by Mademoiselle PiccoLOMiNr . Manrico was sustained by Mario ; and Grazuni , ¦ who had been singing on the previous Thursday at Paris , was . brought over expressly to sing in the character of the Count de Luna on this one night . The success , as a matter of course , was immense ; the house was crowded to overflowing , and the audience was as enthusiastic as if the locality hud been the bottom of the Haymarket , and the month had been May . A second brief season is advertized to commence next Monday .
The same company gave a concert last Monday evening at Exeter Hall . Besides various Italian airs , Mario sang Hatton ' s ballad " Good-bye , sweetheart , " with the English words , which he pronounced with great correctness . Gxusi enchanted tlie audience , not only in conjunction with . Mario , "with whom she sang Donizetti ' s duet , "Un tenero core , " but also in the air " Taceala notte , " from the Trovatore . M . and Madame Gassier , Herr Formes , Madame Ajiadei , and Messrs . Lobini , Albicini , and Tknnant , also contributed to tlie success of the evening ; and between the acts a party of Swedes , just arrived in England , performed a quintet on the Sax brass instruments , to the entire satisfaction of those who beard them .
Chablks Ma . tu . bws made his first appearance since the death of Madame Vestkis at Dkujry Lane on Monday night , when he played Marplot in the-ffwy Body , and one of bis favourite burlctta parts in Cool as a Cucumber . He was received with a perfect fever of applause , which showed itself in four demands for his appearance before the curtain , with which he complied . —The Keeleys afterwards performed in the farce of Twice Killed . The Lyceum has made two additions to its stock—one , a revival ; the other , a new farce . The revived piece is Mr . White head ' s two-act drama , The Cavalier , in which Mr , Dillon performs the part of Captain Hargraves , and Mrs . Dillon that of Mrs . Uargraves . The- farce is entitled Doing the Hansom , and comprises a set of incidents of most preposterous improbability . But it g ives an opportunity to Mr . Toolis to exhibit that genuine faculty for grotesque humour which has earned him a position in the course of a few weeks , and which , on the present occasion , as on one or two others , drew forth the hearty sympathy of the audience . —Mr . Dillon appeared on Wednesday evening in the part of Claude Melnottein the The Lady of Lyons .
, Mr . and Mrs . Barney Williams have vanished from the Ar > ELr » ii , and the (! reen Bushes supplies the place of the vivaoiouB Irishman and the fascinating " Yankee Girl , " whoso acting ( wo speak more especially of tlie lady ) was like a lnt of fresh wild nature set blooming in the midst of the faded , made-up , gaslight conventionalities of the stage , and kindled us Londoners into enthusiasm "by sheer force of truth and novelty . In the caat of the revival , there was something sad in the absence of the well-known voices and looks of Mrs . Fitzwu > liam , Mrs . Yateb , and Mr . O . Smith , two of whom have now departed from » U earthly stages ; but the gaps were well filled up . After the conclusion of t \\\ $ } the most successful of melodramas , a little piece was produced called A Border Marriage , which brought forth the united faculties of Mr . Leigh Muriiay , M' - Wricht , and MLiaa Wyndhak , the lady giving especial delight by fighting w »»
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1076 THE LEAPEB . [ No . 346 , Saturday ,
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rrjNCH'S POCKET-BOOK FOR 1857 . Punch ' s Pocket-Bookfbr 1857 . Bradbury and Evans . Everyone knows what Punch ' s Pochet-Book is . "We have only to say , then , that this year it is as usual . The frontispiece concerns hoops , petticoats , and tent-like silks and gauzes , while in the ' miscellaneous ' . 'department Flinch frolics among follies and fashions in- . great ' -pride * and to the content of the jovial , generous reader .
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Leader (1850-1860), Nov. 8, 1856, page 1076, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2166/page/20/
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