, Letter, Ratisbon (Regensburg), Bavaria, to JS, , Hancock Co., IL, 17 July 1841. Featured version published in “Letter from Elder Hyde,” Times and Seasons, 15 Oct. 1841, vol. 2, no. 24, 570–573. For more complete source information, see the source note for Letter to Isaac Galland, 22 Mar. 1839.
Historical Introduction
On 17 July 1841, wrote a letter from Regensburg, Bavaria (now in Germany), to JS in , Illinois, to share information regarding his mission abroad. This was Hyde’s third letter to JS since arriving in Europe.
After leaving on 20 June 1841, arrived in , the Netherlands, where he met with the area’s chief rabbi to discuss the restoration of the Jews to the Holy Land. Hyde traveled through the Netherlands, unsuccessfully seeking audiences with local Jewish leaders before continuing on to . After traveling through Mainz and Frankfurt, Hyde stopped in Regensburg, where he boarded with a hospitable German family for nearly two months. The family reportedly taught him German in exchange for English lessons and offered him the use of their carriage during his stay.
planned to travel to , but because he had failed to send his passport to the Austrian consulate upon his arrival in Frankfurt, he was required to forward the passport to Munich and await approval before he could legally enter Austria. While he waited, Hyde concentrated on learning German and writing. This letter to JS was one among many of his resulting works. Combining a mission report and travelogue with sentimental expression, the letter outlines Hyde’s efforts to fulfill his charge to “be [an] agent and representative in foreign lands . . . and converse with the priests, rulers and Elders of the Jews.”
JS likely received this letter in in September 1841. The original letter is apparently not extant, but it was published in the 15 October issue of the Times and Seasons; that is the version featured here.
An 1837 travel handbook warned travelers that “without the signature of an Austrian ambassador or minister on his passport, no traveller is allowed to enter the Austrian dominions.” If a signature was not procured before reaching the border, travelers would be “turned back to seek the signature . . . of an Austrian minister, in the nearest capital.” (Handbook for Travellers in Southern Germany, 107, italics in original.)
Handbook for Travellers in Southern Germany; Being a Guide to Bavaria, Austria, Tyrol, Salzburg, Styria, &c., the Austrian and Bavarian Alps . . . . London: John Murray and Son, 1837.
Postal transmission times were irregular. Letters from England to Nauvoo generally took between thirty and ninety days to arrive. Hyde’s letter was written on 17 July and received before 2 October in Nauvoo, when JS read it aloud at a churchconference, suggesting JS received it sometime in September. (JS History, vol. C-1, 1228.)
With pleasure I take my pen to write to you at this time, hoping this communication may find you as it leaves me, in good health and enjoying a comfortable measure of the Holy Spirit.
On the 20th of June last, I left for . in Holland, after writing a lengthy epistle to you, and also the copy of a letter addressed to the Rev. Doct. , President Rabbi of the Hebrews in , which I hope you have recieved ere this. The work of the Lord was steadily advancing in under the efficient and zealous labours of our worthy brother, .
The fine Steamer, Battavier, brought me safely over the billows of a tremendous rough sea in about 30 hours. Never did I suffer more from sea-sickness than during this short voyage; but it was soon over and we landed safely in . I took my lodgings at the London Hotel at two florins per diem, about three shillings and five pence sterling, or seventy five cents. Here I called on the Hebrew Rabbi, and proposed certain questions to him; but as he did not understand a word of English, it was hard for me to enter into particulars with him. I asked him, however, whether he expected his Mesiah to come directly from Heaven, or whether he expected him to be born of a woman on earth. He replied, that he expected him to be born of a woman, of the seed and lineage of David. At what period do you look for this event? Ans. “We have been looking a long time, and are now living in constant expectation of his coming.” Do you believe in the restitution of your nation to the land of your fathers, called the land of promise: “We hope it will be so,” was the reply. He then added, “We believe that many Jews will return to and rebuild the city—rear a Temple to the name of the Most High, and restore our ancient worship.” “ shall be the capital of our nation—the centre of our union, and the Standard and Ensign of our national existence. But we do not believe that all the Jews will go there, for the place is not large enough to contain them. They are now gathering there,” [p. 570]
Regensburg was commonly known as Ratisbon throughout the nineteenth century. (Handbook for Travellers in Southern Germany, 18, 91.)
Handbook for Travellers in Southern Germany; Being a Guide to Bavaria, Austria, Tyrol, Salzburg, Styria, &c., the Austrian and Bavarian Alps . . . . London: John Murray and Son, 1837.
Snow arrived in London on 11 February 1841. He was made president of the London conference of the church at its organization three days later. The conference comprised congregations from London, Bedford, Ipswich, and Woolwich. (Woodruff, Journal, 11 and 14 Feb. 1841.)
Woodruff, Wilford. Journals, 1833–1898. Wilford Woodruff, Journals and Papers, 1828–1898. CHL. MS 1352.
A traveler taking Hyde’s same route aboard the Batavier in 1835 described the vessel as “a large, black-looking, rounded whale of a vessel,” with a “comfortable cabin on deck, and a platform on the roof of it.” (Rhenish Album, 4.)
The Rhenish Album; or, Scraps from the Rhine: The Journal of a Travelling Artist through Holland, up the Rhine to Strasburg, and Returning through Belgium. With Notices of Public Edifices, Hotels, &c. London: Leigh and Son, 1836.
The New London Hotel was located behind Boompjes street in the center of Rotterdam and on the north bank of the New Meuse River. (New Picture of Rotterdam, 95; Rhenish Album, 1.)
A New Picture of Rotterdam; Containing: I. An Account of Its Origin and Subsequent Enlargements. II. A Succinct, but Complete and Critical History of the Town. III. A Complete Directory. . . . Rotterdam, Netherlands, Arbon and Krap, 1825.
The Rhenish Album; or, Scraps from the Rhine: The Journal of a Travelling Artist through Holland, up the Rhine to Strasburg, and Returning through Belgium. With Notices of Public Edifices, Hotels, &c. London: Leigh and Son, 1836.
Probably Rabbi E. J. Löwenstamm, who functioned as chief rabbi of Rotterdam from 1834 to 1845. (Jewish Encyclopedia, 9:229.)
The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day. Edited by Isidore Singer. 12 vols. New York and London: Funk and Wagnalls, 1901–1906.
The rabbi spoke in Dutch. Jewish congregations in the Netherlands had largely been assimilated into their country by this time, speaking Dutch instead of languages they previously spoke, including Yiddish. Hyde presumably conversed with the rabbi through a translator. (Zweip, “Yiddish, Dutch, and Hebrew,” 56–73.)
Zweip, Irene E. “Yiddish, Dutch, and Hebrew: Language Theory, Language Ideology and the Emancipation of Nineteenth-Century Dutch Jewry.” Studia Rosenthaliana 34, no. 1 (2000): 56–73.