The following story quotes some people as saying that it happened in Regensburg. This cannot be true, for from Regensburg to Mayence one must go quite a distance by land as far as the river Rhine, and then go down stream. [There is no statement in the story that it happened in Regensburg. Obviously that statement was omitted in the Amsterdam edition. M.G.].

Once upon a time there lived in Cologne on the Rhine a man named Rabbi Amram. He had a Yeshibah there, but he had come originally from Mayence. When he grew old, he became ill and sent for his pupils and said to them: "My dear young men, I am lying ill and about to die. I therefore ask you to carry me to Mayence and bury me next to my parents."

The pupils replied: "Our dear master, we cannot do this, for it is dangerous to take you so far."

Then R. Amram said: "When I die, wash the body, put it in a coffin and place it in a small boat on the Rhine and let it go by itself."

When R. Amram died, the pupils washed the body, put it in a coffin and placed the coffin in a boat on the Rhine. The little boat went up the stream until it reached Mayence.

When the people saw the strange sight of a boat sailing up the stream by itself, they came towards it and, finding a corpse in a coffin, they said: "This must be a holy man, who desires to be buried."

But when they went to lay hands on the boat, it slipped away. The Gentiles reported the matter to the Bishop of Mayence, and the whole population came running to the Rhine, Jews and Christians together. When the Jews approached the river bank to see the great miracle, the boat moved towards them. But when the Gentiles tried to take hold of the boat they were not able, for it slipped away each time. At last it became clear that the boat wanted the Jews and not the Gentiles.

Then the Gentiles said to the Jews: "Go into the boat and see what is in it."

The little boat again approached the Jews, who went into it, opened the coffin and found the corpse, with a letter attached to it, wherein was written as follows: "Dear

brethren and friends, Jews of the town of Mayence, know that the reason why I, Amram, have come to you, although I died in Cologne, is because I wish you to bury me next to my parents, who lie buried in Mayence. May you have much peace and long life."

When the Jews had read the letter, they all mourned and brought the coffin on land. The Gentiles attacked the Jews with great ferocity and drove them away, but they could not move the coffin from its place. Thereupon the bishop gave an order to keep watch over it, so as to prevent the Jews from taking it away. Then he built over it a huge church.

The Jews begged and entreated for permission to take the body, but it was all in vain. And to this very day the church is called by the name of Amram.

Every night R. Amram came to his pupils in a dream and said to them: "Bury me with my parents."

When his pupils in Cologne heard this, they grieved very much and went to Mayence. When they reached Mayence, they cut a thief from the gallows, dressed him in a white shroud, took R. Amram's body from the coffin and put that of the thief in its stead, and buried R. Amram next to his parents. God protected the Jews and the matter remained a secret.