IN 1826 a little book appeared in London which immediately attracted attention. It was neatly printed in splendid large type making it by far the most attractive output of the Jewish press of that period. Intrinsically too it represented the flowering of Hebrew literature in England. Indeed no other English work on a Jewish subject with the possible exception of Emanuel Deutsch s memorable essay on "The Talmud"?published ten decades later in The Quarterly Review?was so favorably received. Its elevated tone simple dignity and choice phrasing no less than its modest learning combined to make it the most popular repertory of Jewish lore and legend for more than a generation and its unique value as a source-book of Rabbinic tradition to Jew as well as Gentile has not been impaired by the publication of a host of similar works a few of which as the anthologies of Fuerstenthal Levi Polano and S. Baring-Gould are still highly prized by students.
