resident in China. That volume was sought
afterwards by Europeans at Pekin, but not
found. Certainly, such a volume does exist
among the Chinese records. The Jews,
however, told Father Gozani not only about what
existed at Pekin, but all about themselves at
Kai-foung-fou. The father wrote a letter,
dated 1704, containing what he learned in
this manner. It appears that by that application
of "soft sawder" which is or ought to
be well understood by men of the world and
Jesuits, the father gratified the Jews, so that
they paid him voluntary visits. He returned
their visits by a call upon them at their
synagogue, where, he says—"I had a long
conversation with them; and they showed
me their inscriptions; some of which are in
Chinese, and others in their own tongue. I
saw also their Kims, or religious books, and
they suffered me to enter even the most secret
place of their synagogue, to which they can
have no access themselves. That place is
reserved for their Chan-Kiao; that is to say,
chief of the synagogue, who never approaches
it but with the most profound respect.

"There were thirteen tabernacles placed
upon tables, each of which was surrounded
by small curtains. The sacred Kim of Moses
(the Pentateuch) was shut up in each of these
tabernacles, twelve of which represented the
Twelve Tribes of Israel; and the thirteenth,
Moses. The books were written on long
pieces of parchment, and folded up on rollers.
I obtained leave from the chief of the synagogue
to draw the curtains of one of these
tabernacles, and to unrol one of the books,
which appeared to me to be written in a hand
exceedingly neat and distinct. One of these
books had been luckily saved from the great
inundation of the river Hoang-ho, which
overflowed the city Kai-foung-fou, the capital
of the province. As the letters of the book
have been wetted, and on that account are
almost effaced, the Jews have been at great
pains to get a dozen copies made, which they
carefully preserve in the twelve tabernacles
above mentioned.

"There are to be seen also in two other
places of the synagogue, coffers, in which are
shut up with great care several other little
books, containing different divisions of the
Pentateuch of Moses, which they call Ta-Kim,
and other parts of their law. They use
these books when they pray; they showed
me some of them, which appeared to be
written in Hebrew. They were partly new
and partly old, and half torn. They, however,
bestow as much attention on guarding them
as if they were gold or silver.

"In the middle of the synagogue stands a
magnificent chair, raised very high, and ornamented
with a beautiful embroidered cushion.
This is the Chair of Moses, in which every
Saturday, and days of great solemnity, they
place their Pentateuch, and read some
portions of it. There also may be seen a
Van-sui-pai, or painting, on which is inscribed
the Emperor's name; but they have neither
statues nor images. This synagogue fronts
the west, and when they address their prayers
to the Supreme Being, they turn towards
that quarter, and adore him under the name
of Tien, Cham-Tien, Cham-ti, and Kao-van-voe-tche;
that is to say, Creator of all things;
and lastly, of Van-voe-tchu-tcai, Governor of
the Universe. They told me that they had
taken these names from the Chinese books,
and that they used them to express the
Supreme Being and First Cause.

"In going out from the synagogue, I
observed a hall, which I had the curiosity to
enter, but I found nothing remarkable in it,
except a great number of censers. They told
me that in this hall they honoured their
Chim-gins, or the great men of their law.
The largest of these censers, which is intended
for the Patriarch Abraham, stands in the
middle of the hall, after which come those of
Isaac, and of Jacob, and his twelve branches,
or the Twelve Tribes of Israel; next are those
of Moses, Aaron, Joshua, Esdras, and several
other illustrious persons, both male and
female.

"After quitting this apartment, they conducted
us to the Hall of Strangers, in order
to give us an entertainment. As the titles of
the books of the Old Testament were printed
in Hebrew at the end of my Bible, I showed
them to the Cham-Kiao, or chief of the synagogue;
he immediately read them, though
they were badly printed, and he told me that
they were the names of their Chin-Kim, or
Pentateuch. I then took my Bible, and the
Cham-Kiao took his Beresith (thus they name
the Book of Genesis); we compared the
descendants of Adam, until Noah, with the
age of each, and we found the most perfect
conformity between both. We afterwards ran
over the names and chronology in Genesis,
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy,
which compose the Pentateuch, or
five Books of Moses. The chief of the
synagogue told me that they named these five books
Beresith, Veelesemoth, Vaiiora, Vaiedabber, and
Haddebarim, and that they divided them into
fifty-three volumes; viz., Genesis into twelve,
Exodus into eleven, and the three following
books into ten volumes each, which they call
Kuen. Some of these they opened, and presented
to me to read; but it was to no purpose,
as I was unacquainted with the Hebrew
language.

"Having interrogated them respecting the
titles of the other books of the Bible, the
chief of the synagogue replied, that they were
in possession of some of them, but that they
wanted a great many, and of others they had
no knowledge. Some of his assistants added,
that they had lost several books in the
inundation of the Hoang-ho, of which I have
spoken."

Father Gozani has spoken of the inundation,
but we have not, and so we will do so
now. Previously, however, we may call