On the 7th of November, Sir Stratford Canning, previous to leaving for Constantinople, called on Sir Moses, and afterwards sent him a note, appointing to see him on the following day at twelve o'clock. Sir Moses accordingly went to him. The purport of this interview was to solicit protection for the Israelites in the East. Sir Moses informed him of the directions given by Lord Palmerston, and Sir Stratford said he should be happy to do all that his duty permitted, and to hear from Sir Moses whenever he pleased. They had a long and interesting conversation respecting the Jews and the Holy Land, and Sir Moses was exceedingly gratified by Sir Stratford's kindness.
Amongst the numerous letters received by Sir Moses on this matter was one from Messrs Grindlay, Christian & Matthews, East India Agency, containing an extract from a letter from Commodore Brucks, of the Indian navy, which showed that the great esteem in which both Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore were held by the people in the far East sometimes proved detrimental to the interest of their admirers. "A Jew," it stated, "and his wife had been passing themselves off for Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore. Under this supposition the Government Agent at Muscat, a Jew of the highest respectability, received them, and did all in his power to make them comfortable. They eventually left, telling him they would pay when they came back, leaving him more than a thousand dollars out of pocket."
On reading this, Sir Moses at once expressed a desire to ascertain the name of the victim of the fraud, in order that he should not suffer any loss on his account.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
1842.
PRESENTATION FROM HAMBURG—SIR MOSES MEETS THE KING OF PRUSSIA—ADDRESS TO PRINCE ALBERT—ATTEMPT ON THE QUEEN'S LIFE—PETITIONS TO SIR MOSES FROM RUSSIA.
The entries of the next five years in the diaries refer to numerous important events, interspersed with appeals from communities to Sir Moses to plead the cause of their brethren before the Emperor of Russia.
The Hamburg Jews, who were among the first to support their British friends in the mission to Damascus, had a gold medal struck, which was presented to Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore by Mr H. de Castro. The complimentary address which accompanied it, in speaking of the Queen, says:—
"God bless Her Majesty, and prosper her, whose enlightenment knows how to appreciate and reward such exertions as are performed for the benefit of us and ours."
The obverse of the medal bears a representation of the arms of Sir Moses Montefiore. The margin has a verse in Hebrew, taken from Psalm cxxii. 8: [Hebrew] "LEMANN AKHAI VEREAI ADABERA NA SHALOM BEKHA" ("For the sake of my brethren and companions I will declare peace unto thee"); and a chronogram in Hebrew: [Hebrew] "SHNAT GAON ISREAL LEP'AK" signifying, "The year of the pride of Israel," the numerical value of the dotted lines representing the date of the Damascus Mission, viz.: 5601.