CHAPTER V.1854-1855.
A HOSPITAL FOR JERUSALEM—DISTRIBUTION OF RELIEF IN PALESTINE—BATTLE OF THE ALMA—SIR MOSES AGAIN SETS OUT FOR THE EAST—HE RECEIVES THE ORDER OF THE MEDJIDJEH—HIS SECOND INTERVIEW WITH THE SULTAN.
JULY 25th.—TheTimespublished the news of Abbas Pasha's death and Said Pasha's succession. Sir Moses immediately addressed letters of congratulation to the new ruler, expressing at the same time the hope that under his benign sway a new era of prosperity would begin in the Holy Land.
August 5th.—Mr Gershon Kursheedt, one of the executors of the late Juda Touro, of New Orleans, arrived to arrange with Sir Moses about the legacy of fifty thousand dollars left at his disposal for the purpose of relieving the poor Israelites in the Holy Land in such manner as Sir Moses should advise.
Sir Moses, at the first interview he had with this gentleman, suggested that the money should be employed in building a hospital in Jerusalem. Mr Kursheedt immediately assented, and Sir Moses gave him the plan and drawing made about a year before, and he said the thing was done. He was most happy, as it settled the principal business he had in England; the co-executors had given him full power to agree to any plan Sir Moses should propose. A letter was prepared by a solicitor to that effect, which Mr Kursheedt signed.
A remittance of £1200 from the Appeal Fund was now forwarded to the Holy Land, and instructions were given to the representatives of the various communities to have Loan Societies in each of the four Holy Cities. Letters were addressed to the Baroness James de Rothschild in Paris and Baron Amschel de Rothschild at Frankfort, to apprise them of the legacy of thelate Juda Touro, and of the manner in which it had been decided to employ it.
Sir Moses, however, had soon to learn that Mr Kursheedt had been induced to alter his mind, and had withdrawn the consent he had given to the building of a hospital. The 15th of August, it appears, had been fixed by Sir Moses for communicating the consent of Mr Kursheedt to the American Consul in London, but at the appointed hour, when Sir Moses met Mr Kursheedt at the Alliance, the latter, to Sir Moses' great surprise, said that he must decline going with him to the American Consul, and could not sign the proposed memorandum.
August 22nd.—Sir Moses went to Lord Clarendon to acquaint him with his desire to obtain a firman from the Sultan, giving power to purchase land for agricultural purposes, buildings, &c.; as also to build a hospital in Jerusalem with a Synagogue attached to it. His Lordship said he had written to Lord Stratford de Redcliffe, but there were great difficulties regarding the land; as to the hospital, he had heard that one for the Jews had been opened only a month since. This was the hospital known by the name of the "Rothschilds Hospital." Sir Moses informed his Lordship of the Juda Touro bequest, and received a promise that he should be assisted in his good work whenever necessary.
September 19th.—He called on Mr B. Osborn at the Admiralty, to request that he would give him a letter enabling him to see the Russian Jewish prisoners of war at Sheerness.
That gentleman acceded to his request, and gave him a letter to the superintendent of the dockyard, Captain Tucker. An opportunity of seeing them was thus afforded him, and by the permission of the Captain he left many tokens of his benevolence to be distributed, according to the judgment of the superintendents, among the men, women, and children.
September 20th was the day on which the great battle on the left bank of the Alma was fought. In commemoration of the victory of the English, Her Majesty graciously appointed a "Royal Commission of the Patriotic Fund" for the collection and distribution of the money pouring in for the widows and orphans of our soldiers, sailors, and marines who had died in the war, to which Sir Moses at once contributed £200.
At the Board meetings of the Alliance Marine and AllianceFire Assurance Companies, and at the Imperial Continental Gas Association, Sir Moses, being in the chair, successfully pleaded in favour of the fund, and obtained donations to the amount of £600 from the three offices.
The Central Jewish Consistory of France having petitioned the Emperor to extend the privileges about to be obtained for the Christians in Turkey to Jews who might be subjects of the Sultan, he was most anxious that an application of a like import should be made to our Government without delay. He communicated with the London Committee of Deputies of the British Jews, and an address to that effect was sent to Lord Clarendon.
As President of the Board of the same committee, accompanied by the solicitor and secretary of the same, he called on the Lord Advocate of Scotland on the subject of the Scotch Birth Register Bill, and it was intimated to him that the wishes of his co-religionists would be complied with.
As one of the trustees of the appeal fund, he forwarded remittances for the relief of the poor in the Holy Land, a duty which frequently necessitated his attendance at the committee for whole days together.
He consulted an eminent physician regarding his health. The latter examined his heart and lungs, and informed him that his heart was feeble, there was poison in his blood, and his digestive organs were not perfect. The disheartening statement of the doctor, however, did not prevent him from continuing his labours, nor stop his preparations for another journey to the East.
The trustees of the appeal fund on behalf of the suffering Jews in the Holy Land published their first report, in which they enumerated the several appropriations of money they had made up to date, giving at the same time the detailed particulars of the grants awarded for immediate relief, those made in augmentation of the funds of existing charities, and the sums set apart for the establishment of institutions designed to relieve distress, and to encourage and promote industry.
"With reference to the future," the report stated, "it was the intention of Sir Moses to proceed shortly, accompanied by Lady Montefiore, to the Holy Land, to ascertain, by personal inspection and examination of the several charities the extent towhich the temporary and provisional relief, already mentioned, had proved effective, and to organise the best means which might be devised for the appropriation of the remainder of the funds, with the view to the utmost benefit of the supplicants, and, at the same time, to the effectual accomplishment of the intentions of the benevolent contributors."
Before they set out on that mission, there was still a great deal of communal work in connection with the London Committee of Deputies of British Jews to be done. There was the new Marriage Act, in which a clause had to be inserted to exempt the Jews from Lord Lyndhurst's Act regarding affinity and consanguinity, and it was the duty of Sir Moses, as president, to take the necessary steps in the matter. He also attended various meetings of the "Assyrian Excavation Fund," and was present at the meeting of the City Lieutenancy at the Guildhall, where he took the oath of qualification.
March 25th.—Sir Moses called on Lord Palmerston, and informed him of his intention of going to the East with the object of erecting a hospital at Jerusalem and encouraging the cultivation of land in Palestine, which would be greatly promoted by the security afforded by the presence of Turkish troops, officered by Englishmen, and by the Sultan allowing Jews to purchase land. He also wished to secure the removal of the inscription from the tombstone in the Church of the Capuchins at Damascus. His Lordship said that the hospital was a desirable institution. The superstition of the Turks, he believed, created obstacles which prevented Englishmen from buying land in Syria, but it might be obtained on long leases. As for the troops, they wanted all the men they could get now for the war. He however wrote a letter to Lord Stratford de Redcliffe, and another to Lord Cowley, which he handed to Sir Moses, wishing him every success. Lord Clarendon, he said, would give him letters to the Consuls.
On the 17th April Sir Moses proceeded to Windsor for the purpose of assisting at the presentation of an address to the Emperor of the French on behalf of the Commission of Lieutenancy. The Lord Mayor had already preceded him, and they at once went to the Castle. "There," the entry in the Diary records, "we were soon admitted to the presence of the Emperor. The Lord Mayor read the address, to which His Majesty madea very kind reply. The Lord Mayor then presented Colonel Wilson, as the mover of the address, and Mr Moon, as the seconder, with myself. The Emperor most graciously said to me, 'I remember having already had the pleasure of seeing you in Paris.'"
April 19th.—Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore went to the Guildhall to witness the presentation of the city address to the Emperor and Empress of the French. "It was impossible," Sir Moses said, "to have been present at a more gratifying sight." "The Emperor's reply was most distinctly heard in every part of the hall."
April 25th.—With the concurrence of Lady Montefiore, Sir Moses, accompanied by the author, started for Paris, where he at once called on Lord Cowley, the British Ambassador, and informed him of his earnest desire to place a petition into the hands of the Emperor, in which he begged for a letter to the French Consul at Damascus, to enable him to secure the removal of the infamous inscription from the Church of the Capuchins. A few days later Sir Moses received a letter from Lord Cowley to the effect that he had placed the petition into the hands of the Emperor Napoleon.
April 30th.—Sir Moses called on his Lordship to thank him for his courtesy, and then rode to the Tuileries to put his name in the Emperor's book. We then left Paris.
Preparations for the fourth journey to Jerusalem were now made with great expedition, and Tuesday, the 15th of May, was fixed for our departure.
Before leaving England Sir Moses had the satisfaction of receiving a further sum of about £3000 in addition to the £5028 of the Juda Touro legacy already remitted to him on the 24th of February, and Mr Kursheedt was now, it appeared, in possession of full powers regarding the building of the hospital in Jerusalem.
Sunday, May 13th.—Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore started for Dover, where they were soon joined by their relatives, Mr and Mrs H. Guedalla, by Mr Kursheedt, and myself.
After calling on the Wardens of the Synagogue to give them instructions regarding the distribution of some of his offerings, he took leave of the numerous friends who had come expressly to Dover to see us off. We reached Calais at one. In spite of the recent gales the sea was tolerably smooth.
Sir Moses' carriage having been very much injured by the rolling of the ship, it was found dangerous to use it, and to his great vexation no coach-maker in Calais could repair it; he was therefore obliged to send it back to London.
All our luggage—an immense number of packages—had to be taken out, and marked with our names. "The railway charges," Sir Moses says, "will be immense, but I must submit to the disappointments and vexations I am doomed to meet."
His servants made everything comfortable, but in order to be ready to start at two in the morning, Sir Moses did not go to bed at all. This was a peculiar habit of his which I noticed on all his journeys. However tired others around him may have been, he would sit up and write or arrange his numerous memoranda.
We left Calais on May the 17th, and proceededviâCologne and Dresden to Prague, where we remained during the Pentecost festival, visiting the celebrated ancient Synagogue, known by the name of "Alt-Neu-Schul," the restoration of which, after a great fire, dates from soon after the year 1142, and the ancient burial ground, in which there is a tombstone bearing the Hebrew date of 4366A.M., corresponding to 1280 of the Christian era.
The short stay of Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore in that city was made particularly gratifying to them by the great number of deputations they received from communal, educational, and literary institutions.
The Rev. S. L. Rapoport, the spiritual head of the community, spoke to them on several occasions on the subject of the Holy Land, and the necessity of securing protection to its Hebrew inhabitants.
May 25th.—We left Prague for Kolin, where we attended the examination of the pupils of the Hebrew Communal School under the direction of the eminent Chief Rabbi Frank; and Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore, as a token of their satisfaction with the teachers and pupils, left a sum of money with the school committee for the purpose of having a medal struck, with their Chief Rabbi's name on it, to be given as a prize to the best scholar.
We left Kolin early in the morning, and reached Vienna the next day.
Monday, 28th.—Baron Anselm de Rothschild called.He conversed with Sir Moses on the subject of the journey, and offered his services. Lord Westmoreland invited Sir Moses to dinner. The representatives of the Hebrew community and most of their members came to pay their respects, and expressed their wishes for a happy and successful journey.
We remained in the Austrian Metropolis three days, and then proceededviâLaibach to Adelsberg, making a halt in the latter town for two days, for the purpose of visiting the famous grotto, which, in honour of Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore, was illuminated by one thousand candles.
The formations produced here by the union of the stalactites and stalagmites are of the most picturesque beauty and effect, and the guides have a variety of names for them. One they call "the throne," another "the altar," and a third they call "the Synagogue."
One might almost be justified in assuming that they introduced the latter appellation on the very day of our arrival for the special purpose of paying Sir Moses a compliment. Sir Moses at all events appeared to regard it as such. He accepted from the guide a beautiful piece of stalactite as a souvenir of his visit to the grotto, for which he gave him in return a very handsome present. It was preserved in his library to the day of his death.
June 3rd.—We continued our journey to Trieste, where we remained five days. As in Prague and Vienna, solemn services were held in the Synagogues, both German and Portuguese, which were brilliantly lighted for the occasion, and addresses were delivered by the ministers and spiritual heads of the Hebrew community.
On Sunday, June 17th, we arrived at Constantinople, and took up our quarters with Mr Abraham Camundo at Galata. During the first days of his arrival, Sir Moses delivered his letters, and called on Lord Stratford de Redcliffe, Ali Pasha, the Grand Vizier, Rechid Pasha, and Rifaat Pasha, being most anxious to hear from Mr Pisani what arrangements had been made by the Turkish Minister regarding his audience with the Sultan.
"June 25th.—Received a note from Mr Pisani, stating that the Secretary of the Turkish Government had informed him that the Sultan would receive me at a private audience on Thursday next.
"June 27th.—Dr Loewe brought me a note from Mr Pisani, informing me that the Turkish Ministers, being desirous of showing me some mark of the high esteem they entertain for me, expressed the desire of conferring upon me the honour of the Medjidjeh.
"June 28th.—Soon after two o'clock Mr Et Pisani came, and he accompanied me and Dr Loewe to the Palace. We were shown into a large handsome room, and served with pipes and coffee; the mouthpiece of the one I had was worth at least £200, and the cup-stand was ornamented with diamonds. Having sat some time, an aide-de-camp of the Sultan informed us that the Sultan had gone to the New Palace, and wished to see me there. About ten minutes afterwards we were met by an officer at the first gate, and I had to walk round the Palace; at least it took us twenty minutes before we reached the door. Here we entered by a private gate, and walked up to the Sultan in a splendid room, though but partially furnished. His Majesty was standing, and, on Mr Pisani presenting me to him, he graciously said he remembered me very well, and was happy to see me again. I then informed His Majesty of the purport of my visit in nearly the same words that I had addressed to his Ministers, and prayed His Majesty to grant me his countenance and support and his compliance with my petition to the Porte. His Majesty replied that it was his happiness and duty to do all in his power to promote the welfare of his subjects; that he would grant my request, and was happy to do so for my philanthropy and humanity.
"I expressed my gratitude, and then introduced Dr Loewe as having accompanied me on my former visit to His Majesty, and as having made a translation of a hieroglyphical inscription on the obelisk in the Atmedan (Hyppodrome). Mr Pisani was here my interpreter. We then bowed, and backed out of His Majesty's presence. We were conducted out of the Palace through a magnificent marble arch to the carriage.
"I feel deeply indebted to Lord de Redcliffe, who has by his great kindness aided my endeavours to assist my co-religionists in Palestine. May God reward him. Amen.
"I entreated Mr Pisani to obtain the firman for me by Monday next, and he promised to do his best. He rode with Dr Loewe and me as far as the Arsenal, where he took leave of us.We returned to Mr Camundo's, much delighted with the success of our mission, but excessively fatigued.
"Friday, 29th.—My dear Judith and I walked to the British Embassy, and were most kindly received by Lord and Lady Stratford de Redcliffe; we were there nearly two hours. His Lordship had been informed of all that had passed at my audience with the Sultan, and was pleased with the result. He will give me a letter to Mr Wood (now Sir Richard Wood) at Damascus, respecting the inscription in the Capuchin Church, and will endeavour to obtain my firman on Monday next. He spoke for some time to me respecting the Holy Land, and the purchase of land there. A few years since three Englishmen bought an estate of 40,000 acres, with much good timber, within two miles of the Sea of Mormora, within a mile of a town, and with good roads, for £15,000 sterling.
"Lady Stratford was most courteous, and walked with Judith and me through her garden; it is quite a paradise. They wanted us to stop and dine with them, but on account of the Sabbath in the evening, we could not accept.
"July 1st.—Mr William Doria of the British Embassy came with his Káwáss, and accompanied me to the Porte, and to Ali Pasha, the Grand Vizier. Dr Loewe went with me. His Excellency claimed acquaintance with me, and confirmed in the most flattering manner all that His Majesty the Sultan had promised me. He said the firman should be ready in two or three days. Ali Pasha is a mild and agreeable man, and expressed much pleasure in assisting my philanthropic efforts.
"July 2nd.—Dr Loewe accompanied me to Rechid Pasha. We smoked a pipe, and had coffee with him. He will send me to-morrow letters of introduction to the Governors of Beyrout and Jerusalem. On my taking leave, he said I should write to him from England, if I should at any time desire anything for my co-religionists. I gave him a copy of Dr Loewe's Circassian and Turkish Dictionary; he conversed with the Doctor about it."