1862.
BURIAL OF LADY MONTEFIORE--SIR MOSES SETS OUT FOR
JERUSALEM--INTERVIEW WITH SULTAN ABD-OOL-AZEEZ--ABANDONMENT
OF THE JOURNEY TO THE HOLY LAND--MORE
PERSECUTIONS IN MOROCCO--SIR MOSES PROCEEDS
THERE ON A MISSION.
On the following Saturday night her mortal remains were taken to
Ramsgate, accompanied by Sir Moses and his near relatives, the officers
of the Synagogue, and Dr Hodgkin, her physician. In the morning the
Chief Rabbi of the German congregation, and the Rev. B. Abraham of
the Spanish and Portuguese congregation, the ministers of all the
Synagogues in London and in the country, together with a considerable
number of gentlemen, representatives of schools and charitable
institutions, assembled in the house of mourning, and at two o'clock in
the afternoon the mournful cortege left East Cliff Lodge. Hundreds of
the inhabitants of Ramsgate and the neighbouring places assembled near
the Synagogue, where the place of burial is situated, to manifest their
feelings of sorrow and regret; nearly all the vessels in the harbour
had their flags half-mast high; in most of the churches the ministers
in their sermons feelingly dwelt on the great loss which the poor had
sustained by the death of Lady Montefiore.
The body having been taken into the Synagogue, the Chief Rabbi
addressed outside a large assembly of various denominations, describing
to them the noble qualities of the deceased, the services she had
rendered to humanity by the encouragement she had given to the
promotion of every good cause, and by the manner in which she had
associated herself with her husband in all his philanthropic missions.
Subsequently the coffin was carried to the spot selected by both Sir
Moses and Lady Montefiore, many years before her death, for their final
resting-place.
There the Rev. B. Abrahams, of the Spanish and Portuguese congregation,
delivered another oration, dwelling on the manifold virtues of the
departed, and reminding his hearers of the innumerable good deeds of
her whom they now deeply deplored.
At the conclusion the body was lowered into the grave, and in
commemoration of her devotion to the interest of the Holy Land, Terra
Santa was copiously thrown upon the coffin. The orphan children of
the Spanish and Portuguese schools of London intoned hymns and psalms
to the ancient solemn and mournful melodies, after which the mourners
and all present entered the Synagogue, where the afternoon service
was performed. During the night workmen were engaged in building a
brick vault for the coffin, and all that time several members of the
community recited psalms and prayers near the spot and in the house of
mourning. After the grave was closed, the nearest relatives and friends
returned with Sir Moses to East Cliff, and remained with him during the
first seven days, endeavouring to comfort and console him, joining with
him in prayers, and assisting him in receiving the numerous visits of
condolence.
Although Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore had both decided upon their last
resting-place, Sir Moses still appeared earnestly to entertain the idea
of having her body taken to Jerusalem. He had a letter written to that
effect to the representatives of the Holy City, requesting them to send
a number of respectable persons, students of the Holy Law, to England
for the purpose of taking charge of it, and interring it in the Valley
of Jehoshaphat. Upon reconsideration of the matter, however, the idea
was abandoned.
Lady Montefiore, Sir Moses said, made, no will, but among her papers
was found an unfinished letter to him in her hand writing, in which she
most touchingly expressed the wish that a token of her esteem should be
handed to relatives whom she named, to friends, and to charitable and
educational institutions, when it should please the Almighty to call
her away from this world. In compliance with her wishes, Sir Moses sent
upwards of 360 very liberal souvenirs and parting gifts to relatives,
friends, Synagogues, and charitable and educational institutions in
England and abroad. He then invited a number of distinguished Hebrew
poets to prepare an epitaph to be engraved on the marble slab which
covers the grave of Lady Montefiore. This was followed by the following
lines in English:--
"Angels saw thy glorious works, and called thee to join them in
singing the praises of the Most High in Heaven, where God is thy
strength.
"Ask mercy for thy husband, and also for thy brethren, and pray that
the light of Zion may again shine, when in its splendour thou shalt
re-appear in radiance."
"SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF JUDITH, LADY MONTEFIORE, THE BELOVED WIFE
OF SIR MOSES MONTEFIORE, BART., AND DAUGHTER OF JOSHUA LEVI COHEN,
ESQUIRE, WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE ON THE EVE OF THE FIRST DAY OF THE
NEW YEAR, 5623 A.M.
In the course of a few months an edifice, surmounted by a cupola,
was erected, after the model of the Tomb of Rachel on the road to
Beth-Lékhém. Tablets, containing prayers and psalms to be recited
by those who visit the tomb, were placed on the walls, and a lamp
suspended from the centre of the cupola, bearing a Hebrew inscription,
the translation of which is, "The spirit of man is the light of the
Lord" (Prov. xx. 27). A seat was placed in the corner, intended for
Sir Moses, who often used to visit the mausoleum, and remain there in
prayer and meditation.
The Tabernacle festivals which for half a century had always been spent
so happily by Sir Moses at East Cliff were this year shrouded in the
gloom of sorrow and affliction. There was no other way to rouse him
than by reminding him of his useful pursuits, which soon prompted him
to follow in the path which his angel wife had so often traced out for
him, and in the continuance of his service in the cause of all that is
good, noble, and holy. It had been the ardent wish of Lady Montefiore
that Sir Moses should pay another visit to the Holy Land, in order to
secure from the Turkish Government some concessions which were greatly
needed for the proper working and expansion of the institutions that
had been established for the benefit of our poor brethren. Although
suffering in mind and very weak in health, Sir Moses determined to
fulfil the desire Lady Montefiore had so often expressed before her
lamented death, and prepared for the journey. He began by addressing
the following letter to Musurus Pasha, the Turkish Ambassador in
London:--
"I need not assure your Excellency," he writes through an amanuensis,
his state of health not permitting him to write the letter with his
own hand, "that I feel sincerely grateful for your kind offices,
and I flatter myself, at the same time, that it may interest your
Excellency to learn that a considerable number of almshouses,
and other buildings, and especially a large windmill, which, in
consequence of the concession, were erected in Jerusalem, are
offering shelter, social advantages, and employment to a great number
of the poorer inhabitants.
"Being anxious to extend the scope of their benefits, as far as it
may be in my power, I propose once more to revisit the Holy Land,
and expect to leave England in a few days, to make a short stay for
the restoration of my health in the south of France, _en route_ for
Constantinople.
"With a deep sense of the advantage of the aid and support which
your Excellency has on all occasions so readily accorded to me on my
visits to the East, may I request the favour of your kindly giving
me, at your early convenience, letters to His Highness the Grand
Vizier, and His Excellency the Minister of Foreign Affairs to the
Ottoman Government, to use their good offices in furtherance of my
desire to obtain from His Imperial Majesty the Sultan 'Abd-ool-Azeez
a confirmation, and a letter to the Governor of Jerusalem, to afford
me the necessary assistance and facilities towards the accomplishment
of my objects."
The readers of these Memoirs will probably remember the difficulties
encountered in Jerusalem in connection with the building of the Juda
Touro Almshouses, notwithstanding the special permission for that
purpose granted by the late Sultan 'Abd-ool-Medjid, and will perceive
for this reason that it was a most judicious step on the part of Sir
Moses, to secure the confirmation of the said permission by an edict
from the new Sultan.
Musurus Pasha readily and kindly complied with Sir Moses' request, and
forwarded to him the letters required.
In the month of May 1863, we find him at Constantinople, where the
British Ambassador and the Turkish Ministers received him with marked
attention, supporting with their advice in all matters. The Sultan
accorded him an audience, whereat he confirmed all the privileges
granted to his Israelite subjects, and the concessions which had been
given to Sir Moses personally with regard to the purchase of land and
the building of houses in Jerusalem. Vizierial letters were ordered to
be forwarded to the Governor of the Holy City, and Sir Moses had the
satisfaction of seeing the object of his visit to Constantinople fully
accomplished.
During his stay at the Ottoman capital he visited the charitable and
educational institutions of his community, and distributed generous
gifts to the poor of all religious denominations, in memory of Lady
Montefiore, as he had done in all places in Italy where he happened to
stop on his way to Constantinople. At Rhodes, where the inhabitants
suffered severely from an earthquake, he also gave donations in his own
and his departed wife's name.
Prayers for the preservation of his health and long life were offered
up by rich and poor, irrespective of their religious creed. But his
deep sorrow had affected his health so much, that serious symptoms
began to appear, and his physician strongly disapproved of Sir Moses
continuing his journey to Jerusalem.
His friends joined with the physician in dissuading him from proceeding
further, calling his attention to the many changes which had occurred
during the last few months in Eastern politics. Said Pasha, the Viceroy
of Egypt, and friend of Sir Moses, was dead, and Ismael Pasha had
assumed the reins of the Egyptian Government. This new Viceroy did
a great deal for Egypt, by introducing financial and other reforms.
The papers reported that he had made a very promising speech to a
deputation of merchants. He was not inclined to support the Suez Canal,
but it was thought that he would have to yield to French influence, and
to pressure from the Emperor of the French.
The Sultan had visited Egypt, and signed a firman guaranteeing eight
per cent. for the railway to be established along the banks of the
Orontes, which it was supposed would have a most favourable influence
on the traffic in the Holy Land. These events were accompanied by other
political events in Turkey, where Fuad Pasha, the former Governor of
Damascus, had been raised to the high office of Seraskier. All this,
the friends of Sir Moses said, did not make the time propitious for
the objects Sir Moses had in view in going to Jerusalem, and so he was
reluctantly persuaded to give up the journey and return to London,
where he arrived early in July, after going first to Ramsgate.
There is the following entry in his Diary:--
"I have returned home in safety, and somewhat better in health, after a
long journey and an absence of more than six months, but am still very
depressed in mind."
He drove immediately to his wife's grave, and prayed to God to give him
strength to bear his irreparable loss with resignation, and to grant
him the happiness of joining his angel wife in Heaven, when it should
please God to call him from this world.
He intended going to London, but still had not sufficient fortitude to
sleep at Park Lane. Mr and Mrs Benjamin Cohen having heard of this,
immediately requested him to stay with them in their house at Richmond,
and he was pleased to accept the hospitality of his kind relatives.
During his stay with Mr and Mrs Cohen, his health and spirits improved
so much that he soon felt able to go to London, and during the time
he remained there to attend, as before, the meetings of the financial
and communal institutions of which he was President. After he returned
to Ramsgate, his time was fully taken up in answering his numerous
correspondents in all parts of the world.
To his young friend, Toussoun Pasha, he sent an affectionate letter,
conveying to him his sympathy and condolence on the death of his
father; and, in return, the young Egyptian Prince wrote to him,
expressing his deep grief at the death of Lady Montefiore, and his
gratitude for the kind sentiments Sir Moses manifested to him on the
mournful occasion of the early and unexpected death of his father.
The young Prince himself did not live long. He died at an early age of
consumption--so it was said.
_October 20th._--This being the eve of the seventy-ninth anniversary of
his birthday (corresponding in that year with the Hebrew date, the 8th
of Heshván), he sent £79 to the secretary of the Spanish and Portuguese
community for distribution among seventy-nine families. He also sent
similar sums to other congregations in the Holy Land.
In recording in his Diary the events of the day, the memory of his
wife appears to have been ever present with him, and in moments of
hesitation, or when undecided what course of action to pursue, he would
frequently say, "What would my dear Judith have advised?"
He was at this time overwhelmed with letters and work, and it would
appear from various entries that nothing would have been more welcome
to him than a recommendation from his friends to withdraw from all
his financial engagements, as well as his communal work, at home and
abroad, and simply enjoy rest, contemplating the pleasures of the
past, and hoping for a blissful future. But the necessity of energy
and action in any good or holy cause soon roused him from such moments
of depression. We read in his Diary on October 21st:--"Before I was
dressed this morning, I received a packet, marked private, from A----.
The writer says: 'My dear Sir,--I am unwilling to bring you up to
town in order that you may read this duplicate. I therefore send it
you to Ramsgate.' The papers which accompanied this were from ---- of
Tangiers, and told of the warm and generous efforts of Her Majesty's
Government on behalf of the two unfortunate Jews now in prison at
Saffi. But the situation of the poor men appeared to me so dangerous
that I determined to go at once to London to get the Board of Deputies
to take some active steps to secure their release from prison."
These dispatches refer to an unfortunate occurrence at Saffi, in
Morocco, concerning which the Jews of Gibraltar and Tangiers had
addressed Sir Moses and the Board of Deputies of the British Jews.
A Spaniard in Saffi, in the service of the Spanish Vice-Consul,
had died suddenly, and suspicions of his having been poisoned were
aroused in the mind of the Vice-Consul, who insisted upon the Moorish
authorities investigating the case, and inflicting punishment on the
guilty person. No steps were taken to ascertain whether there were any
facts to prove that the death of the Spaniard was due to violence;
but, according to the custom in Morocco, those parties upon whom it
was sought to fix suspicion were examined under severe torture, and
the application of the bastinado. A Jewish lad, about fourteen years
of age, who resided in the family of the deceased, was the first
person so examined (the Jews being the most unprotected portion of
the population). After persisting for a long time in the assertion
of his innocence, he at length yielded to the protracted agony, and
declared that poison had been administered. Again, under the influence
of torture, ten or eleven other persons, whose names were suggested to
him, were denounced by the lad as participators in the crime.
Most of these were arrested, but one of them only was submitted to
examination under torture. Though this measure was pushed to a fearful
extremity, no confessions of guilt could be wrung from him. The lad
also, when released from torture, uniformly asserted his innocence.
However, as he had confessed his guilt, and the man had been denounced,
both were condemned to death, doubtless to prove the readiness of the
Morocco Government to comply with the demands of its recent conqueror.
The lad was accordingly executed at Saffi, the execution naturally
producing great dismay amongst the Jewish population; but the man was
conveyed in a Spanish vessel to Tangiers, to be executed there. Nothing
is known of the reason which led to the adoption of this course, but
it seems probable that it was taken in order that the knowledge of the
circumstance might spread more rapidly and extensively through the
Moorish dominion. This public execution could not fail to impress the
people with a striking idea of the strength of the Spanish influence at
the Court of the Sultan.
The alarm felt by the Israelites at Tangiers was extreme, and as has
already been said, was forthwith communicated to Gibraltar.
Nine or ten individuals lay at Saffi, menaced with a fate similar to
that of their two brethren.
Sir Moses immediately sent a telegram to the President and Secretary of
the Board of Deputies of the British Jews, appointing a meeting with
them in London. At the time mentioned, these gentlemen came to him, and
he read them the dispatches he had received. It was then agreed to call
a meeting of Deputies for the earliest day possible. A letter was also
drawn up for the Foreign Office.
On the following Tuesday, a meeting of the Board of Deputies was held,
and Sir Moses was invited to proceed to Saffi, an offer which he
readily accepted.
_November 12th._--He went to the Foreign Office for his letters of
introduction, and also called at the Mansion House to see the Lord
Mayor and several of the Aldermen, who took a great interest in his
Mission.
_November 14th._--Prayers were offered up for him in all the Synagogues
in London and the country.
_November 16th._--We find Sir Moses at Dover, accompanied by Mr Haim
Guedalla, Mr Sampson Samuel, the Secretary and Solicitor of the Board
of Deputies, and Dr Hodgkin; proceeding to the Lord Warden Hotel, with
the intention of remaining there over night, in order to be ready
to leave the next morning for Calais. Many friends being anxious to
express their good wishes, they came in the evening to see him, and
remained till a late hour. Even then he did not retire, but continued
writing and making arrangements, until he was entreated by his
physician to take some rest.