converted Jews, which, with its lands, etc., was annexed to the Office of Master of the Rolls by Edward VI., and he settled £202 os. 4d. on the converts who have lately been very few in number; were converted in the kingdom, but are destitute of maintenance.-Ibid., vol ix.

GRANTS OF DENIZATION.

May 9, 1662. Denization of Daniel Bueno Enriquez, a Portuguese, at request of Sir William Davison.-Vol. liv. September 2. Grant to David Dacosta, of denization Vol. lix.

PERMISSION TO LAND.

February, 1665. Petition of Abraham Meza and David Baruh, and their families, to the King, for permission to come on shore, being all in perfect health. Came from Rotterdam, and are on their way to Surinam, but were stopped at Tollhaven in the Thames, by his order.-State Papers, Domestic Series, vol. cxiii.

PETITION FOR PROTECTION.

August 22, 1664. Petition of Emanuel Martinez Dormido and two others in behalf of the Jews trading in and about London to the king, for protection and leave to remain and trade in the kingdom, unless ordered by His Majesty to depart. Have long traded there and behaved with due obedience to the laws, but Mr. Rycaut and others threaten seizure of their estates, and say that both life and estate are forfeit; the Earl of Berkshire says he has a verbal order from His Majesty to prosecute them and seize their estates, unless they come to an agreement with him. With answer thereto that the king has given no such order, that they may enjoy the same favour as before, as long as they demean themselves peaceably and obey the laws.-State Papers, Public Record Office, vol. ci.

PETITION FOR A PASS.

February 5, 1660. Petition of John d'Illan, Jew, of Amsterdam, for a pass for a Holland ship to transport himself and fifty families of Jews from Amsterdam to Palestine. God has at length begun to gather in His scattered people, having raised up a prophet for them. They will pray for His Majesty when they arrive at Jerusalem.-State Papers, Domestic Series, vol. cxlvii.

About this period there was an impostor who gained many believers as the Messiah. In a letter about this date I read, "The Jews hurry from Amsterdam with great expectation of their Messiah, who is said to be a silly fellow, a baker's son." And in a subsequent letter: "The new Messias of the Jews was hanged in chains at Stamboul, having first confessed, after some blows on the feet, that he was persuaded by some Jews." A still later letter says, "The King of the Jews, who was reported to be destroyed, is still living." (See further on this.)

BYRON AND THE MID MOTsos.

After leaving his lordship, it occurred to me that as he was particularly fond of biscuits, some Passover cakes would be acceptable to him on his voyage. I accordingly sent some to him, with the following letter :

MY LORD, I cannot deny myself the pleasure of sending your lordship some holy biscuits, commonly called unleavened bread, denominated by the Nazarenes (sic) Motsos, better known in this enlightened age by the epithet Passover cakes; and as a certain angel at a certain hour ensured the safety of a whole nation, may the same guardian spirit pass with your lordship to that land where the fates may have decreed you to stay for a while.

My Lord, I have the honour to remain, etc.,
I. NATHAN.

Lord Byron's Reply.

MY DEAR NATHAN,—I have to acknowledge the receipt of your very seasonable bequest, which I duly appreciate; the unleavened bread shall certainly accompany me in my pilgrimage; and with a full reliance of the efficacy, the Motsos shall be to me a charm against the destroying angel wherever I may sojourn. His serene highness, however, I hope, will be polite enough to keep at a desirable distance from my person, without the necessity of smearing my doorposts or upper lintels with the blood of any animal. With many thanks for your kind attention,

Believe me, my dear Nathan, yours very truly,

To I. Nathan, Esq.

THE HEBREW MELODIES.

BYRON.

The "Hebrew Melodies" are a selection from the favourite airs which are still sung in the religious ceremonials of the Jews. Some of them have, in common with all the sacred compositions, been preserved by memory and tradition only; their age and originality therefore must be left to conjecture; but the latitudes given to the taste and genius of the performers, has been the means of engrafting on the original melodies a certain wildness and pathos which at length become the chief characteristics of the sacred songs of the Jew.-NATHAN. Fugitive Pieces.

JEWS IN CEYLON.

Two Mussulman travellers in the ninth century, and the Nubian geographers, probably on their authority, declare that there were many Christian Manicheans, Jews, and Mussulmans in Ceylon, and that the learned Hindoos of that country used to frequent them, and the king kept secretaries to write down their respective histories, and the

expositions of their doctrines and laws.

Ferishta, in his

general history of Hindostan, says, "Formerly, before the rise of the religion of Islam, a company of Jews and Christians came by sea into the country (Malabar) and settled as merchants or Pishcáras. They continued to reside there until the rise of the Moslem religion.-Asiatic Researches, vol. x.

HINDOO MONSTROUS STATUES.

It is remarkable that ancient travellers make no mention of the monstrous stones of the Hindoos. It is not improbable that at the time of Alexander the Hindoos had not yet attempted to represent either in stone or wood their monstrous deities.

They were first introduced to notice by Jews, according to Claudian, who wrote in the fifth century, and who says,

-Jam frugibus aptum

Aequor, et assuetem silvis delphina videbo ;

Jam cochleis homines junctos, et quidquid inane
Nutrit JUDAICIS, quæ pingitur India velis.

From this it appears that in his time the Romans adorned their houses with tapestries worked by Jews, and represented all the wild and monstrous figures of Hindoo mythology, such as men growing out of shells, etc.-Ibid., vol. x., p. 112.

ALTERATION OF THE COMMANDMENTS.

The "Holy Santa Croce," or Christ's-cross row (a common school book), contains a creed, a short catechism, and a manufactured copy of the Decalogue. In this last, the second commandment is completely omitted, to accommodate the pictures and images of the Roman worship, and the tenth is split to make up the number. Indeed, we do

not see how the commandment against idolatry could be retained when the practice is so prevalent.—MARIA GRAHAM. Three Months in Rome.

On this the "Edinburgh Review," vol. xxv., page 142, remarks, "But of all the changes made in the ten commandments above referred to, we may here add that it is not the only one introduced to serve the purposes of the hierarchy. The fourth, which stands third in their version, requires not that the Sabbath, but that the days of festivals should be kept holy." The reviewer should not have omitted to notice that the Protestants do the very thing which he cavils at, for they split" the second commandment into two, so as to omit the first, which would certainly militate against the doctrine of the Trinity.-P. A.

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HEBREW ART.

Whatever arts the Hebrews may have originally possessed, it was obviously the policy of Assyrian and Roman conquests to annihilate. To the pages of Holy Writ we must refer for information on this subject, although the scattered and incidental notices which they contain only make the task of realisation the more difficult. Those illustrations which have been furnished by learned Fathers of the Romish Church must be accepted with the reservation due to mere assumption.

It must, however, be recollected, in considering Hebrew Art, that the great incentive to art study was wanting to the Israelite. Forbidden by divine command from employing it for the noblest objects, and for the highest purposes, Religion, which in other countries enlisted and almost engrossed the artist's assistance, in Judea rejected his aid, and thus deprived of its patronage and excluded from its service, it is not surprising that no school of art should have