The death of the Duke of Sussex took place at this time, and Sir Moses deeply lamented the loss sustained by his demise.
The Lord Chamberlain sent him a command to attend the funeral on the 4th of May, and Lord Dinorben wrote a letter to inform him that a card of invitation had been sent, and that he would be permitted to follow in his own carriage.
Sir Moses, describing the funeral, says:—
"I left home after six in the morning, and was at Kensington Palace a quarter before seven. The company began to assemble between seven and eight: I suppose there were more than one hundred and fifty persons. The procession commenced at half-past eight; the roads were lined with people, every window filled, also many scaffoldings. The chapel at Kensal Green was solemn and grand, being filled with the grand officers of state, the Duke of Wellington, Sir Robert Peel, &c., &c. We saw none of the Tories or Royal Family at the palace, but in the chapel there were the Duke of Cambridge, chief mourner; Prince Albert, &c. The ceremony was over at twelve. I reached home at a quarter to one, and after breakfast proceeded at once with Lady Montefiore to the city to attend the funeral service in the Portuguese Synagogue, where Dr Loewe (who filled the office of oriental linguist and Hebrew lecturer to his late Royal Highness) delivered a discourse, at the conclusion of which we repaired to the great Synagogue of the German community. There was a funeral service, but no discourse." "The Jews," Sir Moses says, "have lost an excellent friend: may he be rewarded with eternal bliss for his kindness to suffering humanity."
On May 30th the Earl of Thanet informed Sir Moses that Lord Lyndhurst had given directions for the insertion of his name in the commission of the peace for the County of Kent.
On July 13th the first step was made for the repeal of the Deportation Ukase in Russia.
"I called at Baron Brunnow's," he writes. "He was just stepping into his carriage, dressed in full uniform, going to celebrate a mass on some public occasion; but he very kindly insisted on my going into his library, and returned with me. I gave him the letter I had received from Königsberg, which he read, also the Ukase. He said he believed the Minister of Justice thought it was an act of mercy to remove the Jews from the temptation of smuggling, of which crime many had been guilty, and, no doubt, the Emperor was of that opinion, which was the cause of the order. 'It was possible,' he continued, 'if I were to be at St Petersburg, by speaking with one and another, my influence might cause its revocation;' but he advised me to write to Count Ouvaroff, and, if I showed him the letter, he would suggest such alterations as he thought would be advisable. He recommended that no public steps should be taken in the way of petition to the Emperor, as there were two years still before the Ukase would take effect; he thought it a bad measure."
This statement corroborated what some of the letters from Russia previously addressed to him on the subject had already stated.
A few days later Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore were present at an entertainment given by Mrs Rothschild to the King of Hanover, and met the Duke of Cambridge, the Duchess of Gloucester, and most of the nobility, besides all the Ambassadors. They were introduced to the Marchioness of Ely at her own request, and she complimented them on the result of the Damascus Mission. Several of the Ambassadors spoke to him on the recent reports respecting the state of the Jews in Russia.
June 1st, 1844.—The Emperor of Russia arrived in London.