"I was far from my home and relatives; and my gay companions, seeing I was depressed in spirits, though ignorant of the real cause of this depression, earnestly urged me to frequent the theatres, and other public amusements, to cheer my mind. At first this partially succeeded; but the merciful kindness of God left me not thus to my own devices, but graciously interposed, and again roused me to seek after more solid happiness.
"God, in his tender mercy, had again disturbed and disquieted my conscience so much, that I fully realised the words of the Psalmist, 'I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly, I go mourning all the day long, for my loins are filled with a loathsome disease, and there is no soundness in my flesh. I am feeble and sore broken; I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart' (Psalm xxxviii. 6-8). I had no peace nor rest; but wherever I went, or however I was employed, I carried about with me a sense of misery that was intolerable. I could say with Job, 'The arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit' (Job vi. 4).
"One morning I went to purchase an article in a shop, little knowing that God had there stored up for me the 'pearl of great price,' which He was about to give me 'without money and without price.' The article I purchased was wrapped up in a leaf of the Bible, which contained a portion of the Sermon on the Mount. The shopkeeper was, probably, an infidel, who thought the Bible merely waste paper; but God over-ruled the evil for good. As I was walking home my eyes glanced on the words: 'Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.' This arrested my attention, and I read the whole passage with deep interest.
"'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for their's is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for their's is the kingdom of heaven.' (St. Matthew v. 3-10.)
"I was much struck with the sentiments contained in this passage, and felt very desirous to see the book of which it was a portion; I had no idea what book it was, never having seen a New Testament. A few days after, God directed my footsteps to the house of an acquaintance, on whose table lay a copy of the New Testament. Impelled by curiosity I took it up, and in turning over the leaves beheld the very passage that had interested me so much. I immediately borrowed it, and began to read it with great avidity. At first I felt quite bewildered, and was so shocked by the constant recurrence of the name of Jesus, that I repeatedly cast the book away. At length I determined to read it through. When I came to the twenty-third chapter of the Gospel of St. Matthew, I was astonished at the full disclosure of the nature of Pharisaism, contained in it; and Christ's lamentation over Jerusalem, in the concluding part: 'O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!' affected me even to tears. In reading the account of the crucifixion, the meekness and love of Jesus of Nazareth astonished me; and the cruel hatred manifested against Him by the priests and rulers in Israel, excited within me a feeling of compassion for Him, and of indignation against His murderers. But I did not as yet see any connexion between the sufferings of Jesus and my sins."
In 1828 he entered the Operative Jewish Converts' Institution, which was under the superintendence of Erasmus Simon, and was baptized April 14, 1830, when he took the name of his godfather, Rev. Henry Calbone Ridley. Owing to some scruples, he preferred to enter the nonconformist ministry, in which he also zealously laboured for the spiritual welfare of his brethren. He was one of the founders of the British Society. Among his converts was Dr. A. Fürst, a very able missionary of that Society. Ridley Herschell edited a periodical under the title, "Voice of Israel." He wrote also an account of his journey to his home, "A Visit to my Fatherland"; "Reasons why I am not a Roman Catholic." With the assistance of Sir Culling Eardley he built Trinity Chapel, Regent Street, where he was, one might say, a father to the converts in London in 1845-6, and they reciprocated his love by sixty of them presenting him with a polyglot Bible, in eight languages, in 1845.
Herschell, Rev. David Abraham, a brother of the above, a very saintly man, baptized in Basel, 1845, was first his assistant at Trinity Chapel and afterwards, nearly all his life, minister of the Congregational Church, Loughborough Park, Brixton.
Herschell, Rev. Louis, another brother, laboured for many years as missionary and deputation of the British Society, and was a minister at Ware, and later at Peckham Rye, London. He died in 1890.
Herschell, Rev. Victor, another brother, emigrated to the United States, was baptized in the Seventh Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, and was ordained to the ministry there.
The son of the fourth brother, who remained in Judaism till late in life, embraced Christianity in Germany.