Many complimentary speeches then followed.
Sir Moses afterwards went to the barracks to see the Mosque of Omar and the adjacent courts and buildings from the roof; and paid a visit to the commandant to thank him for the attentions he had shown to him. On leaving the house a guard of honour was turned out, presenting arms as he passed, the commandant himself walking with him along the street as far as the spot where the sedan chair was waiting for him.
The day following being the anniversary of the destruction of the two temples, was kept by all of us in solemn devotion, attending Divine service, and abstaining from food and drink during four-and-twenty hours, which in the hot weather in Jerusalem requires some resolution.
Neither Sir Moses nor Lady Montefiore showed any sign of faintness or exhaustion, and whilst others hastened to take a glass of water as soon as stars appeared in the sky, they proceeded, but slowly, to prepare for the breaking of the long fast.
July 26th.—They received an invitation from the Pasha to see all the places held in veneration by Moslem, Christian, and Jew.
The Patriarchs of the Greek, Armenian, and Latin convents also invited them to visit their convents. Sir Moses, however, was not able to accept them all; he had but one object in view in coming to Jerusalem, which was to help the poor and destitute, and his attention was entirely directed to that, no time being at his disposal even for subjects which, on other occasions, would have greatly interested him.
"Sir Moses, on his arrival at Jerusalem," as stated by him, subsequently, in the trustees' report to the committee, "had the pain of witnessing the deep distress prevailing in the several communities; and it was an aggravation of his sorrow to find that his presence had long been looked forward to as a panacea for all future suffering, many having supposed that Sir Moses would have had the power to relieve from every ill and to provide for every want.
"The mode of proceeding, however, having been previously determined upon, the greatest energy was devoted to carrying out the settled plans.
"Representatives from the Holy Cities were invited to meet in Jerusalem, each of them to be provided with statistics relating to the general affairs and necessities of their respective congregations, and to be furnished with the number, nature, working, and condition of their various institutions, especially of those recently established by trustees of the Appeal Fund in London.
"The attendance of skilled practical agriculturists was also requested, that they might be consulted as to the practicability of setting on foot an agricultural scheme.