Page:Curious myths of the Middle Ages (1876).djvu/37

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imposition, if any. An English nobleman conversed with him in Arabic. The mysterious stranger told his questioner in that language that historical works were not to be relied upon. And on being asked his opinion of Mahomet, he replied that he had been acquainted with the father of the prophet, and that he dwelt at Ormuz. As for Mahomet, he believed him to have been a man of intelligence; once when he heard the prophet deny that Christ was crucified, he answered abruptly by telling him he was a witness to the truth of that event. He related also that he was in Rome when Nero set it on fire; he had known Saladin, Tamerlane, Bajazeth, Eterlane, and could give minute details of the history of the Crusades[1].

Whether this wandering Jew was found out in London or not, we cannot tell, but he shortly after appeared in Denmark, thence travelled into Sweden, and vanished.

Some imposters assuming to be the mysterious Jew, or lunatics actually believing themselves to be him, appeared in England in 1818, 1824, 1830[2]

  1. Calmet, Dictionn. de la Bible, t. ii. p. 472.
  2. Athenæum, Nov. 3, 1866, p. 561.