"I was in better spirits," said Mr Montefiore, "than I had been for months."
Saturday, October 20th.—They again attended the house of God. Mr Montefiore took the opportunity to offer a special prayer in grateful recognition of the great mercy it had pleased heaven to bestow upon him and his wife, in permitting them to behold the Land of Promise.
The President of the congregation requested Mr Montefiore not to make any offering of a large amount, otherwise the local authorities might hear of it, and would still further raise their taxes.
At 12 o'clock they called on the Rev. Hahám Moses Soozin, after which they went to dine with the Rev. Rabbi Mendel. Here Mr Montefiore expressed his hope that both the German and Portuguese communities would always remain united in the blessed bonds of harmony. In the afternoon he paid his respects to the Governor at the Palace. The Governor offered him coffee and other refreshments, and was extremely civil and friendly. On Mr Montefiore's expressing a wish to see Jerusalem again, his Excellency said he would be happy to let him have his guard. Mr Montefiore sent him a valuable telescope as a souvenir of the pleasant interviews, while hoping that the Governor might behave better to the Jews in future. His Excellency, in return, as a token of his appreciation of Mr Montefiore's visit, affixed the Visa to his passport in most flattering terms. As these were very peculiar, I append a translation.
"We declare that to-day arrived at Jerusalem our friend the English gentleman, Mr Montefiore. He has visited all the holy places, and all the grandees of the town, as well as several of lesser note, who have been highly gratified by making his acquaintance, he being a person of the greatest merit, and unequalled among the nation for propriety and amiability of manners; and having ourselves experienced the highest pleasure in his society we have written this to testify our sense of his politeness.
"Given in the last day of Rubic-el-owal, 1243.
"El Hha'jj Háfiz Mohhammad Ráshid Sathashour (or Selhhoor) Hassa, Governor of Jerusalem."
"No city in the world," Mr Montefiore observes in his diary, "can have a finer situation than this; nor is there a better climate;" and he concludes his record of his day's proceedings by wishing "Many happy returns of the day to his dear Judith."
The 20th of October being his wife's birthday, which was generally signalised, whether at home or abroad, by the distribution of numerous gifts to the poor and to the charitable institutions, it was, as a matter of course, thus observed in the Holy City, and in an unusually liberal spirit.
Sunday, October 21st.—Their short sojourn in Jerusalem was now concluded. Mr Montefiore rose at half-past two in the morning, and joined a number of persons who had been sitting up all night in the house of his host praying for his safe return, and for the welfare of all friends and lovers of Zion. Both the Rev. Moses Soozin and the Rev. Rabbi Mendel, accompanied by more than one hundred of the principal inhabitants, came to see them off. At 7.38 they took leave of their kind host and hostess, who had most liberally housed and fed them without asking for the smallest remuneration, and had loaded them with cakes, wine, &c., for their journey. After a charming ride of over five hours between the mountains they came to the first well at the commencement of the plains, and arrived at the Greek convent of Ramlah. The road was very stony, rough, and steep, but no precipices; on the sides of the mountains were olives and fruit trees; the valleys well cultivated, the plain sandy.