34
NOTES AND QUERIES. tn s. vi. JL-LV 13,191-2.
NICOLATJS MYSTICUS (11 S. v. 408).
Nicolaus Mysticus was Patriarch of Con-
stantinople from 895 onwards. Some par-
ticulars of his life are given in Gibbon,
chap, xlviii. ; and there is an account of
him (in which, however, some of the dates
seem inaccurate) in Zedler's ' Lexicon,'
vol. xxiv. p. 616. THXJRITONA.
DRAGOON REGIMENTS: BAND (11 S. v. 289, 397). It has always been the custom for the bands of all regiments, and not only of dragoon regiments, in the British Army, to be dressed in a uniform differing in various respects from that of their comrades. Interesting information may be found in the ' History of Military Music in England,' by Bombardier H. G. Farmer, R.A. Band (published by Boosey & Co., London, 1904). Although the book is primarily devoted to the history of the R.A. Band, a considerable amount of information is given on the other bands of the Army. C. S. H.
REMBRANDT AND MENASSEH BEN ISRAEL (11 S. v. 429). The work of Menasseh Ben Israel for which Rembrandt executed four etchings is a small Spanish treatise entitled :
" mp 11 |2X | Piedra Gloriosa | o | de la | Estatua | de | Nebuchadnesar. | Con muchas y diversas authoridades | de la S. S. y antiguos sabios. | Compuesto por el Hacham | Menasseh Ben Israel. | Amsterdam An. 5415." 12mo, 6 11. + 259 pp. + 3 11.
The Dedicatoria, " Al muy noble y doc- tissimo Senor Isaco Vossio, Gentil hombre de la camara de su Magestad, La Reyna de Svedia," is dated from Amsterdam "25 de Abril, An. 5415" (1655). Rembrandt had already, in 1636, etched the portrait of the famous Rabbi. They were neighbours, and resided in the Jewish quarter in Amsterdam. In the preliminary leaves of the ' Piedra Gloriosa,' a work of a Messianic character, the author states that he has added four illustrations to make his meaning clear. The British Museum copy is, however, without them, though Rembrandt's etchings on a single sheet in various states can be seen in the Print-Room. The subjects are : 1. ' Nebuchadnezzar's Image ' ; 2. ' Jacob's Dream ' ; 3. ' David and Goliath ' ; 4. ' Vision of Daniel.' I have a copy of this mystic work with the four illustrations ; but, although contemporary, these are not Rem- brandt's etchings. They are adaptations of his designs, probably the work of Salom Italia, an Italian Jew who had engraved the author's portrait in 1642. Although not so valuable as the original etchings, they are much rarer.
I do not think the Rembrandts were issued
with the work. I have seen copies contain-
ing them in the libraries of Mr. Fairfax
Murray and Mr. Elkan N. Adler, but'
they had evidently been inserted by some
previous owner. Although quite in accord
with the subjects, they illustrate, they
are very sombre and mysterious in appear-
ance, and in the first states so full of
burr that many of the figures could hardly
be distinguished. Again, in the ' Vision of
Daniel,' the Almighty is pictured as a grey-
bearded patriarch, in a manner quite alien
to the Jewish spirit. Probably, for these
and other reasons, the Rembrandts were
not made use of. The artist, however, with
remarkable generosity, permitted another
engraver to utilize his conception of the
subjects. The etchings were made much
clearer, and the points likely to offend the
susceptibilities of the orthodox were elimi-
nated. Sets of the Rembrandts could not,
I am informed, be purchased under 1001. or
more if on one sheet and in good state.
ISRAEL SOLOMONS.
KNIGHTS OF MALTA : GRAND MASTER VILHENA (11 S. v. 429).' L'Art de Verifier les Dates ' (vol. v. p. 334 of the 1818 8vo edition) states that Antoine Manuel Vilhena was a Portuguese by origin, and that he was Grand Master from 19 July, 1722, to his death on 12 Dec., 1736, at the age of 74J years. M. de Mas Latrie's ' Tresor de Chro- nologie,' col. 2209, gives the same dates. A detailed life is given in the Abbe de Vertot's ' Histoire des Chevaliers Hospita- liers ' (Amsterdam, 1732), vol. iii. pp. 480-86. He was the reigning Grand Master when this book appeared. W. A. B. COOLIDGE.
OMAR, KHAYYAM'S ' RusAiYAT ' (11 S. v. 464). The bibliography of this work covers an immense area. There is scarcely a printing press in the United States that has not issued an edition of the ' Rubaiyat.'
In one of these editions which was printed by the Caxton Society, Pittsfield, Mass., in 1909, as one of " The Caxton Brochures," the following notice appeared :
" A Bibliography of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam will be "pubh'shed about March 31st, by H. M. Schroeter, of Los Angeles, Calif. The book will be dedicated to the Omar Khayyam Club of America ; and will contain the various trans- lations in English as well as many foreign lan- guages. All matter on the subject will be in- cluded, verses, parodies, side degrees, criticisms pro and con, magazine and newspaper items, allied degrees, &c. If you are interested, write to H. M. Schroeter, Fulton Apartments, Los Angeles, Calif."
