"8.30 a.m., left Park Lane; 9 o'clock, breakfasted at the Old Bailey; 10, attended the Recorder into the Court, was present at a meeting of the subscribers to the Sheriffs' Fund, met the Lord Mayor at the Guildhall, and attended the Hustings. At 12.30 went back to the Old Bailey, had lunch there, re-entered Court, and remained there till near five, then returned to Park Lane. Accompanied by my wife, proceeded at 6.30 to the Mansion House, where we dined with the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress, and a very large and elegant party; had music, and singing and dancing; returned home at one o'clock."
On the 11th of October Mr Montefiore in his turn gave a dinner to the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress, the Sheriffs and Aldermen and their ladies, after which Mrs Montefiore held a reception, which was followed by a concert.
The next day he went to Newgate, and saw the prisoners who had just been received. He went through the male and female wards, and spoke to many of the prisoners. He then proceeded to Whitecross Prison, and gave Mr Barrett, the governor, a cheque for £20 for distribution among such cases of distress as he thought most deserving.
There are entries in the diary which show that on many occasions Mr Montefiore did not leave the Old Bailey before nine o'clock in the evening. "Sometimes," he remarks, "the duties of Shrievalty cause me much trouble." But however numerous or onerous his duties may have been, they never prevented his leaving the Old Bailey in time to attend Synagogue, on the eve of the Sabbath and festivals, the Judges in Court always, in the most kind manner, giving him permission to do so.
About that time one of his near relatives happening to be dangerously ill, he more than once, after having performed the daily duties of his office, and been present at an entertainment which lasted till midnight or later, instead of returning home, proceeded to the house of sickness, where he watched at the bedside of the patient till morning.
On Monday, November 6th, his uncle died. "I have always," Mr Montefiore said, "regarded him as a second father, but I must not grieve at his being taken from us, for he is gone to receive the reward of a well-spent life in a better world; very many of his relatives will miss his kind liberality." Mr Montefiore remained with the family that day for a considerable time, but had afterwards to leave them to attend to the necessary preparations for the important day of the 9th of November.
If the many thousands of spectators who fill the streets and occupy the balconies and windows on Lord Mayor's day, and witness the glorious institutions of the Livery of the largest and most wealthy city of the world, and to gaze at the magnificent cavalcade preceding the state carriage of the Lord Mayor, think that the Aldermen, Sheriffs, and under-Sheriffs have but to mount their chargers, and be comfortably seated in the saddle, to receive the shouts of approbation from the multitude, they are in error. As the glorious entry of a victorious army on its return from the field of battle requires previous organisation, so as to ensure the perfect regularity of the marching and evolution of each respective battalion, even thus does the entry into the metropolis of the assembly of citizens, almost equal in number to a powerful army, require much previous organisation.
Mr Montefiore, in order to prepare himself for the duties he would have to perform at the forthcoming procession, went to Davis' riding school, where he met the Lord Mayor and the Lord Mayor elect, as also most of the Aldermen, Sheriffs, and Court of Common Council. They each had a horse appointed for their use. A troop of artillerymen, with their horses, headed by Colonel Jones, were also present. After trying the horses they went through the plan of the procession, and it was five o'clock before they returned home.
On November 7th he called at the Mansion House, attended the Court of Hustings in the Guildhall, went with the Lord Mayor, the Lord Mayor elect, and Mr George Carrol to the Entertainment Committee, and then to Downing Street to see the Lord Chancellor. On finding him absent he went to his house, where he met with a most friendly reception.
In the evening he went to the house of his late uncle. While the Lavadores were performing their mournful duties, he and his wife read, in an adjoining room, the prayers which his lamented uncle had selected during his extreme illness. Greatly fatigued, they both returned to Park Lane, with the intention of retiring to rest. They had scarcely been home an hour when Mr Montefiore's colleague, Mr George Carrol, called. The cause of his coming at so late an hour, that gentleman said, was his desire to be the first to inform him that Lord John Russell had that day acquainted the City Remembrancer with his intention of recommending Her Majesty to bestow a baronetcy on the Lord Mayor, and to confer the honour of knighthood on the Sheriffs. "It was very kind," Mr Montefiore said, "of Carrol to come, and to acquaint me with the pleasing news, for which I am very grateful to the Almighty."