36

DOMESTIO MANNEBS OF THE PEUSSIANS.

perial Diet of the year 1521, and before whom " tfje foelUk-Iofaetf anü pfcus Boctor Jtflattm Uutfjer, of tfjc ©rötr of gUtps-u'rus," was cited to appear and " gtbe ansfoer touching tlje öoctrtnesanü rtje lioofts tfjat ftc Ijaü lateln tssuetr;" still, though there is

hardly a buikling and not a street left such as it was inLuther's time, it is sufficient for the mind to know that theground it is treading was once trodden by the valiant Re-former's foot in order to conjure the memorable old places andscenes back into lifo—to build up in the Imagination theImperial Council Chamber once more—to people it with itsprincely and papal host again — to throng the narrow streetsanew, and crowd the Windows of the tall old houses with the

dark, with the low roof supported by tliick and durapy Egyptian-lookmg columns.The antique brass candlesticks beside the desk of the high priest are peculiar, andhave eaeh nine branches to them, to hold the nine candles for Moses and hischildren. Here in a closet are kept Bibles and prayer-books, that are Said to beG00 years old ; these are written in large Hebrevv characters on long skins ofparchment wound on rollers, and covered with cloths embroidered with Hebrew.Tlie Hebrew Community of Worms is believed to be one of the most ancientin Germany. A tradition asserts that such a Community existed at the timeof the first destruction of the temple of Jerusalem by the Babylonians—588years before Christ; and some declare it to be proven by historical documentsthat a body of Israelites was located at Worms before the birth of theSaviour. Worms, indeed, was formerly regarded by the Hebrews as the German.Jerusalem ; and there was a proverb current through the country saying, "WormsJews — good Jews." Under the Emperor Ferdinand I., in 1559, and, indeed,from the earliest dates, the Jews of this city were allowed privileges andliberties accorded to no other Israelites in the empire ; they were permitted tohave a chief of the synagogue, and the Grand Rabbi of Worms took precedence ofevery other German-Jewish priest. The origin of these special indulgences is said(according to an ancient legend) to be due to the circumstauce of the HebrewCommunity of Worms having, in a letter addressed to the King of Jerusalem,protested against the crucihxion of Jesus Christ. The legend, however, unfortu-nately, omits to explain how it came to pass that the news of the Saviour'scondemnation travelled from Jerusalem to Worms in time sufficient for the Jewsthere to send a letter back to the " Holy Land," begging for a remission of thesentence—especially as the crucifixion is represented by each of the Evangelistsas having been carried out on the same day as the judgment was delivered; andthere were assuredly no electric telegraphs in those times !