"I have omitted to notice that I gave Mohhammad Ali a copy of Dr Hirschel's letter to me, respecting the charge brought against the Jews of using blood in their religious ceremonies. I gave him copies of the same in Turkish and French; he looked at them, and promised to read them.
"We then went to the Palace of Sáeed Bey. Mr Thurburn was with him. 'Excellency,' I said, 'I have come to take leave of you previous to my return to Europe,' and repeated to him all the accounts we had from Damascus. He was very civil to us, and invited us to take wine and coffee, but, being much pressed for time, we declined. I said I hoped to see him in London. He replied that as soon as affairs were settled he should travel, and would certainly pay us a visit. We then took leave of Count Medem, the Russian Consul. He congratulated me on the success of our Mission, having attained all that was possible in the present unfortunate state of affairs. I told him I was most anxious to visit Damascus, to trace the whole transaction respecting the charges against the Jews. He said it was quite impossible to go just now, the country was in revolt; Beyrout was threatened with bombardment, and all accommodation for travellers stopped.
"We next went to Monsieur de Wagner, the Prussian Consul (who expressed the same opinion), and to Colonel Hodges and Monsieur Laurin, expressing to both our sincere thanks for what they had done in favour of the Jews in Damascus, Safed, and the Holy Land in general."
September 17th.—We embarked in one of the Pasha's large boats, being escorted to the water side by three janissaries, and were safely on board the Leonidas at 3 p.m.
September 18th.—We are detained in the harbour for despatches.
Mr Reinlin, the Dutch Vice Consul, came on board with letters. He went with me into our berth, and informed me that news had been received last night from Beyrout; the English had entirely destroyed that town, and had landed two thousand English and four thousand Turks. The French Consul had taken a house in a garden about a mile out of town, with the French flag flying on it, nevertheless four cannon balls had struck the house. Ibrahim Pasha was at Beyrout, and Suleiman Pasha was in the neighbourhood.
At 10 a.m., the anchor being weighed, we started, and were soon safely out of the port. "Then," Sir Moses writes in his Diary, "we sang the 'Song of Moses,' and with joy and thanks, left the land of Egypt."
September 21st.—After eighty hours at sea, with a strong north wind, we arrived at five in the morning at Syra. The captain and the surgeon went on shore with letters and despatches; they soon returned. When a boat with the health officers came alongside, we learned to our great dismay that we had a man dangerously ill on board. The officers insisted on seeing him. The poor man was carried on deck with much difficulty; they asked him many questions, but he was so weak that he could scarcely answer. The officers then left us, to make their report to their superior; they did not know whether we should be allowed to go that night into the Lazaretto. This was a serious matter, as the Leonidas was to start at twelve for Alexandria. Our ship was soon surrounded with boats, occupied by Turks, male and female, with their luggage, who had secured their berths for Alexandria. The captain would not allow them or their luggage to be received on board till he had got rid of those he had brought with him. The noise and confusion that arose in consequence were dreadful. It was nearly nine o'clock when permission arrived for our leaving the ship for the Lazaretto; the captain put us in his long boat. It was blowing hard, the sea was rough, and the night very dark.
Sir Moses was dreadfully uneasy, but there was no choice. We all went in the same boat, which was long and narrow. It was half-an-hour before we reached the landing place, and it was not without great difficulty that we scrambled up the rocks in the dark.
On getting into the Lazaretto we found that the guardian and officers had left for the night, and there were but two miserably dark rooms for the whole party. We were told to make the best we could of them for the night. All our luggage had been left at the water's edge, and there was not a soul to assist in bringing it to the Lazaretto. After much time and trouble, our servants got one bedstead and mattress for Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore, and a few mattresses for the rest of our party.