1841.
MONSIGNOR BRUTI AND HIS HINTS--CARDINAL RIVEROLA--INEFFECTUAL ATTEMPTS
TO INTERVIEW THE POPE--RETURNING HOMEWARDS--ALARMING ACCIDENT--THE
GOVERNOR OF GENOA--INTERVIEW WITH KING LOUIS PHILIPPE.
At Rome, 1st January 1841, Sir Moses writes: "Monsignor Bruti called
on us, and I asked his advice as to the best means of obtaining the
removal of the stone, &c. He advised my first trying the head of the
Capuchins here, also of the Propaganda, before I went to the Secretary
of State, and offered, if I would postpone my visit to the Secretary
of State, which I had arranged with Mr Kolb for to-morrow, to make
enquiries in some influential quarters, and see me again to-morrow to
acquaint me with the best mode of proceeding. He spoke in a liberal
manner, and appeared to think I might succeed. In consequence of this,
Mr Wire wrote to Mr Kolb to postpone the appointment.
"_January 2nd._--Monsignor Bruti came in. He said he had spoken to
several influential persons, but the one he particularly wished to see
was out of town; if he did not return in a few days, he would go to
him. Monsignor Bruti thought the petition I had prepared for the Pope
very likely to meet with success, if I first gained the concurrence of
some of the Capuchins, and he advised my making some presents of
money. I instantly stopped him, and assured him that, in the execution
of my Mission, I had not given a single dollar, nor would I do so in
Rome, even if I was sure to obtain by it the object I had so much at
heart. This information had a great effect on his manner of speaking,
and he left us in two minutes. I daresay we shall see little more of
him."
_January 4th._--Mr Kolb went with us to the Monastery to endeavour to
see Cardinal Riverola, the head of the Capuchins; he was unwell, but
appointed to see us the next day at twelve. Monsignor Bruti called;
he seemed very desirous to know how Sir Moses was going on; the
latter, however, did not think Monsignor Bruti could assist him.
_January 5th._--"I received a letter," Sir Moses writes in his diary,
"from Prince Torlonia, expressing his regret that he had not succeeded
in his application for me, and enclosing a letter he received from the
Chamberlain of His Holiness, stating that at present His Holiness did
not give any audiences. At twelve, I and Dr Loewe went to Monsieur C.
de Kolb; he joined us, and we went to the Monastery. We were admitted
immediately to his Eminence, Cardinal Agostino Riverola. Mr Kolb
introduced me. I acquainted the Cardinal with the object of my visit
to him, as he was the chief of the Capuchins. I urged the injustice of
allowing such a libel to exist in the Convent at Damascus, pointing
out that the inscription stated that Padre Tommaso was assassinated by
the Hebrews. I said that both Mohhammad Ali and the Sultan were
satisfied as to the innocence of the accused, and they had both given
me firmans confirming their opinion. The Cardinal said the firman was
most important, and he would at once sanction the removal of the
stone, whether the firman had been obtained by Rothschild's fortune or
by other means. I instantly stopped the Cardinal, and assured him that
I had not given a dollar for the firman, nor would I have attempted to
obtain justice by bribery. He said that was immaterial, he would not
enter into the subject; the firman was of great importance. The
inscription, he said, was most improper, as it charged all the
Israelites with the murder. What would be said if a Florentine
committed a crime, and all Florentines were charged with it? I assured
the Cardinal that Padre Tommaso had not been murdered by a Jew, but he
did not seem to credit my assurance. I said I thought it possible that
the Padre might still be living in one of the Monasteries of Lebanon.
The Cardinal laughed, and turning to Mr Kolb, said, perhaps Cardinal
Fesch was still living. It was his opinion, however, that the stone
should be removed, and he would confer with the general of the
Capuchins on the subject, as he could not give instructions for its
removal without his concurrence. I asked if he would see him to-day,
but he replied, 'Look at the weather; it is impossible, but I will in
a day or two.' I enquired when I might call again; he said, 'whenever
I pleased.' I gave the Cardinal two copies of the firman, also
translations of the letters sent me by Mr Shadwell and the Rev. J.
Marshall. The result of my interview leads me to hope that with
patience and perseverance I may succeed in getting the inscription
removed.
"_January 6th._--Signer Scala paid us a visit, and advised me to
forward the petition I had prepared for His Holiness to the Cardinal.
I and Dr Loewe then went to the Cardinal's house; we sent in the
petition, enclosed in one to himself. We then had an interview with
him in his library. He told us that he had read the petition, but that
it was not his department to present petitions to His Holiness. I
asked him kindly to inform me in whose department it was. He replied,
the Cardinal's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. I gave him two
of my pamphlets with the firman, and we took our leave. We returned to
our hotel, and I immediately wrote to Cardinal Luigi Lambruschini,
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. We took the letter to his
house, but he was at dinner, and the servant informed us he must not
be disturbed. We could leave the paper, and it would be given to the
Cardinal. If we returned at six o'clock we should have an answer. We
left the papers. At six, Dr Loewe went to Cardinal Lambruschini. His
servant said the Cardinal had read the papers, but he had nothing to
do with them; that the application had been made before, and that he
returned them. Thus, it appears, all doors are closed against my
petition finding its way to His Holiness.
"Mr Kolb said I must be prepared to hear bad news to-morrow from the
Cardinal Riverola, as the Cardinal felt great surprise at my boldness
in replying to him respecting the Rothschilds having purchased the
firman with their fortunes, and also about the Jews not having
murdered Father Tommaso. I believe it is not of much consequence, but,
at all events, I would not suffer any one to suppose for a moment that
I had been base enough to bribe any one for the purpose of freeing the
Jews from false and base accusations. At twelve I went with Dr Loewe
and Mr Wire to Mr Kolb. He joined us, and we proceeded to the Convent
of the Frati di St Marcello to Cardinal Riverola, the protector of the
Capuchins. We were all presented to him. I took my seat next to him by
his desire. He informed me that he would write to advise the removal
of the stone from the Convent of the Capuchins at Damascus; that he
could not order the removal of the stone, but would advise it; that
the Convent was under the protection of the French authority, who had
caused it to be erected; that all the monks belonging to that Convent,
except one, had died, and that several monks would be sent there as
soon as Syria became more tranquil. The Cardinal was most friendly in
his manner. Before I left he returned me the copies of the letters of
Mr Shadwell, &c., I gave him to read at my last interview, but he kept
the copy of the firman, as well as the copy of the firman of Mohhammad
Ali which I gave Mr Kolb for him. Cardinal Riverola had consulted with
the Chief of the Capuchins at Rome. It was this person who assured the
Cardinal that he had not the power to remove the stone, but if he
advised it, the advice would certainly be followed. I must see when I
get to Paris what can be done with the French Minister."
Sir Moses then called on Baron Binder and Prince Torlonia, and
informed them of what he had done. In the course of the day Signor
Scala came to inform him that the Pope had appointed the next day at
eleven o'clock to receive the deputation of the Jews of Rome who
annually paid their homage to him at that season.
_January 8th._--We called on Mr Aubin to ask his advice respecting the
petition to His Holiness. He was of opinion that Sir Moses had better
not present it unless Cardinal Riverola advised it. We afterwards
called on Mr Kolb. He said he was satisfied the Cardinal would keep
his promise, and Sir Moses would only do mischief if he attempted to
petition the Pope. Signor Scala and the deputation that accompanied
him were received by the Pope, who said he was well satisfied with his
Hebrew subjects, and would grant them all the privileges his religion
permitted.
We quitted Rome on Monday evening (January 11th), and travelling _via_
Viterbo and Sienna, reached Leghorn on the 14th January.
"Most grateful do I feel," said Sir Moses, "to the Almighty for having
conducted me and my dear Judith in safety and peace to this my native
city."
_Saturday, January 16th._--About one o'clock the Chancellor of the
Congregation came, saying that he had received an intimation from the
Governor of the town that the latter wished to make the acquaintance
of Sir Moses, but that etiquette prevented his calling on him, and he
had therefore sent his card by his aide-de-camp. In consequence of
this we all went to His Excellency, accompanied by the Chancellor,
Signer Basevi. He received us most politely, and paid Sir Moses a
great many compliments. He said, among other things, that every friend
of humanity owed him a debt of gratitude. He was delighted to have
made his personal acquaintance, and hoped to see him again.
_January 17th._--Accompanied by Signor Basevi, we went to the old
burial-ground, where we met seventeen old men who knew Signor R. H.
Racah, Sir Moses' uncle and godfather. Sir Moses distributed money
among them, and proceeded to the new burial-ground, where, on seeing
the grave of one of his relations without a tombstone, he gave the
order to have one made at his expense.
_19th January._--We left Leghorn at 1 P.M., Sir Moses being obliged to
leave by a side door to escape the great numbers of people who were
waiting in front of the hotel to pay their respects to the Champion of
Israel. About two o'clock we were all much alarmed by Lady Montefiore
being suddenly taken seriously ill, with a numbness of her hand and
arm, and a dizziness and great pain in the head, which almost deprived
her of speech and motion. She was just able to ask for the Prayer
Book. Gradually she recovered from the attack, which Sir Moses hoped
was only spasmodic, though she remained weak and very unwell.
From Genoa we made our way to Savona, but in consequence of a serious
carriage accident, in which Buck, one of the servants, was badly hurt,
we immediately returned to Genoa to obtain medical assistance. By some
misunderstanding which had arisen between our couriers and the
postillions of another carriage on the road, that of the Prince and
Princess Marc de Beauvaix, in changing horses, ours took fright and
went off down a hill. On the one side there was a deep precipice, of
at least a hundred feet, into the sea; on the other a deep ditch. The
carriage was thrown into the ditch, and fell on the side of the hill,
which prevented it from being entirely overturned. Sir Moses, on
getting Lady Montefiore out of the carriage, found she had lost all
power to help herself, and placed her on the side of the road, while
he endeavoured to restore her. As soon as the carriages were ready
again, the invalids were carefully placed in them, and we all returned
to the Hotel Croce di Malta, our old quarters, where we found
everything prepared for us, all having been ordered by the young
couple who were the innocent cause of our misfortune. We soon had
Robert carried to bed, and Dr Bennett, an English surgeon and a very
clever man, very carefully examined the patient, and did all that was
necessary for his comfort and recovery. He said the wound in his leg
would be of no consequence, but if it had been extended the hundredth
part of an inch it would have cut the artery, and he would have bled
to death before we could have even placed him in the carriage.
Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore were much fatigued and agitated, but
full of deep gratitude to Heaven for the mercy shown to them and to
their faithful servant, Robert, whom they would not leave; and they
remained at Genoa till he was sufficiently recovered to travel.
_January 26th._--Mr Yates Brown, the British Consul, called with the
compliments of the Governor of Genoa, who desired to make Sir Moses'
acquaintance. The latter agreed to accompany him the next day to His
Excellency.
_January 27th._--I accompanied Sir Moses to His Excellency the
Marchese Paulucca, the Governor of Genoa, who received him most
kindly, enquired as to the result of his voyage to the East, and was
happy to hear of its success. "He had never," he said, "for a moment
believed the charges against the Israelites; he had been Governor of
Georgia, where there were many of that nation, and he had never heard
of such a thing; he had known many Jews for eighteen years, and
respected them. He had allowed a contradiction of the charge to appear
in the Genoa _Gazette_, for which he said he had been reprimanded by
the Government; nevertheless, he was glad he had done it. Sir Moses
gave His Excellency two copies of the firman, with which he seemed
much pleased. The Rev. E. Bondi subsequently related to Sir Moses an
anecdote concerning the Marchese. About three months previously an
Englishman, a Protestant, with a large family, had given much trouble
to the British Government respecting a claim he had on the Sardinian
Government, but not having succeeded in gaining his object, in a fit
of spleen he embraced the Catholic religion with all his family. The
ceremony took place in the great church at Genoa, in the presence of
the King, the Royal family, and the great officers. On the following
day the King inquired of the Marchese Paulucca if he was not delighted
with the beautiful ceremony (supposing him to have been present), but
the latter informed His Majesty that he was not in the church at the
time. The King expressed his surprise, and inquired the reason. The
Marchese replied that he disliked hypocrisy of all kinds. The King was
silent, but did not speak to him for three days."
Monsieur Blaurie, the Consul General of France, sent us the key of his
box at the opera, and begged we would go there in the evening, but Sir
Moses declined the favour.
_Friday, January 29th._--Mr Wire left us to-day to proceed by sea to
Marseilles and thence to England, accompanied by a French courier whom
Sir Moses engaged to attend him. The _Gazette_ of Genoa (a paper which
contained many articles unfavourable to the Jews) now published the
firman, and other journals followed the example. The representatives
of the Hebrew community requested to be favoured with some copies, to
be distributed among their acquaintances, not only in this city, but
in every town where there were Israelites, as they had all suffered
more or less by the infamous calumny. In Genoa a song had been printed
and sung about the streets, relating the particulars of the supposed
murder of Padre Tommaso, and the confessions of the persons accused of
the crime.
_February 1st._--Lord and Lady Roden and Lady Stratford Canning came
to see Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore. They spoke much on the subject
of our Mission. His lordship told Sir Moses that the upper classes
even of that place were ignorant and fanatic. An Italian lady only
three days before told him at a large party that a young woman was
missing in the city, and she believed the Jews had taken her, with the
intention of keeping her for a time to see if her blood was pure, and
then to kill her to use the blood in the Passover cakes. His lordship
asked her the name of the person who gave her the information, and on
what authority they did so, but she could not answer that question.
_February 9th._--We travelled by Marseilles and Avignon, and reached
Lyons the next day.
_February 17th._--Reached Auxerre. During the last three days we had
noticed some reports in the papers to the effect that Sherif Pasha,
the late Governor of Damascus, had incurred the displeasure of Ibrahim
Pasha, the latter having threatened to have him tried by court
martial. His troubles were therefore beginning, and he would perhaps
regret the injustice he committed when enjoying the favour of his
Highness.
_February 18th._--On our arrival at Paris, Mr S. Almosnino, the
Secretary of the Spanish and Portuguese Hebrew congregation of London,
came expressly to Sir Moses to deliver some letters to him from the
representatives of that body. Sir Moses was much pleased to see this
worthy and faithful officer of his community, and gave him a hearty
welcome. After paying visits to the Barons James and Solomon de
Rothschild, to report to them on the result of the Mission, Sir Moses
left his card at Lord Granville's.
_Friday, February 19th._--Sir Moses called on Lord Granville, and told
his lordship that he was anxious to present to His Majesty the King a
copy of the firman Hatti-Sherif granted by the Sultan to the
Israelites in his dominions. His Lordship said, as Monsieur Thiers had
taken a prominent part in the affair of Damascus, it was probable the
King might not wish to receive the firman. Sir Moses replied that he
thought His Majesty too great a lover of justice to refuse his
request. His Lordship then asked him whether he would publish the
refusal, in case the King's reply should be unfavourable. Sir Moses
immediately replied in the negative; that his object was to promote
peace, and not to create animosity. Upon which his Lordship said he
would consult Monsieur Guizot, and let him know the result. The next
day Sir Moses received a note from Lord Granville, informing him that
His Majesty had notified his willingness to receive him at the
Tuileries the same evening.
_Saturday, February 20th._--At half-past eight his Lordship also
informed him in a second note that he would be at the Palace to
present him.
The following is an account of the interview with the King in Sir
Moses' own words:--
"I was so fatigued that I could eat no dinner, but
dressed myself in my uniform, and at half-past eight I
went to the Palace, accompanied by Dr Loewe. A minute or
two afterwards Lord Granville came in, and we were
immediately conducted into the presence of the King and
the Royal family. There were a number of officers in the
room. His Majesty came up the moment we entered. Lord
Granville presented me. I then offered to the King the
translation of the Hatti-Sherif; he accepted it of me in
a most gracious manner, said he was happy to receive it,
and enquired if I had been at Damascus. I informed him
that the disturbed state of the country had prevented
me, but His Majesty would perceive by the firman I had
the honour of placing in his hands, that there was no
longer any occasion for my going, as the Sultan had
expressed his entire conviction that the accusations
against the Jews at Damascus were calumnies. His Majesty
said he was happy it was so. He said he feared he had
put me to some inconvenience by the very short
notification he had given me, but as to-morrow was
Sunday, he was fearful it would be detaining me longer
at Paris than I wished. He then turned to Lord
Granville, and said he also feared he had occasioned him
some inconvenience. Dr Loewe was then presented, and
Lord Granville took me to the Queen, and afterwards to
the King's sister; both were very gracious, and spoke to
us in French for a long time.
"There was a Member of the Chamber who appeared to know
me, and spoke to me about the Damascus affair. He began
to rail against Monsieur Thiers, but I stopped him,
saying that the result of my Mission had been so
completely successful, I was desirous of having
everything of an unpleasant nature forgotten."
Sir Moses expressed himself to all his friends as being greatly
pleased with his reception by the King.
Numerous visitors called and left cards. Some of them came expressly
from England, so as to be able to offer their hearty welcome to Sir
Moses and Lady Montefiore a few days sooner than they could have done
by awaiting their arrival at home.
_February 22nd._--Sir Moses went to Monsieur Guizot, who was very
civil, and spoke much on the Mission. He requested Sir Moses to give
him copies of the letters he had received from the Rev. Joseph
Marshall, Lieutenant Shadwell, and the Rev. E. Schlientz.
On his return to the hotel the members of the Consistoire Israelite,
the spiritual chiefs of the community, and deputations from all the
charitable institutions called, and presented to him and Lady
Montefiore addresses of congratulation.
_February 24th._--We left Paris, and reached Dover on Friday, where we
rested over the Sabbath.