Rabbi Benjamin then gives an account of David El-rui who represented himself to be the Messiah. Disraeli's novel "Alroy" is founded upon the details given by Benjamin.
The passages in Benjamin's Diary which refer to the Ten Tribes are fully given by Dr. Neubauer in the articles already referred to (see "Jewish Quarterly Review," vol. 'i, p. 189). Dr. Neubauer's remarks with reference to Prester John will be found of interest.
Benjamin next makes mention of various places in Arabia, Khorassan, Thibet, China, and India, including Ceylon. He then gives a short notice of Aden, Lybia, Æthiopia, Abyssinia, and furnishes fuller details respecting Egypt.
The return home to Spain from Alexandria was made by way of Sicily and Italy. He closes his work with a brief account of Germany, Bohemia, and France.
I may mention that Dr. Steinschneider has drawn up a very complete list of Jewish travellers to Palestine. This list will be found in Luncz's "Jahrbuch Jerusalem," vols, iii and iv, and also in Röhricht's well-known bibliographical work on Palestine.
NOTE ON THE SWASTICA.
By Rev. Prof. T. F. Wright, Ph.D.
In the very interesting papers by Herr von Schick and Major Conder in the Quarterly Statement for July the swastica is figured on pp. 187 and 206, with brief comments. The form is—
It may not be unimportant, as indicating the wide extension of this primitive type, to say that numbers of them were found in excavating for the Columbian Exposition the Hopewell Mound, in Ohio, U.S.A. In this mound more copper was found than had been obtained from all previously explored mounds, also silver, mica, sharks' teeth, quartz, crystals, and obsidian. The copper had apparently been hammered cold and cut by stone chisels to various forms, prominent among which is the swastica in many sizes, very neatly done. The same has been found in Mexico and Peru. Americans can as yet offer no explanation of this connection between Troy and our aborigines.
