At the conclusion of the service Sir Moses came back, laid his hands affectionately on the head of Lady Montefiore, and invoked Heaven's blessing upon her, which she reciprocated by placing her hand upon his head, in token of blessing. Sir Moses then descended to the dining-room, where the relatives were assembled, to pronounce the grace before meals, but he had scarcely pronounced the blessing when he was called up by Dr Hodgkin, who had been watching by the bed of the invalid, and who informed him that the end was very near. All present immediately followed Sir Moses, the solemn prayers for the dying were recited, and the pure spirit of Judith, the noble, the good, and the truly pious, took flight Heavenwards.
CHAPTER XVII.
1862.
BURIAL OF LADY MONTEFIORE—SIR MOSES SETS OUT FOR JERUSALEM—INTERVIEW WITH SULTAN ABD-OOL-AZEEZ—ABANDONMENT OF THE JOURNEY TO THE HOLY LAND—MORE PERSECUTIONS IN MOROCCO—SIR MOSES PROCEEDS THERE ON A MISSION.
ON the following Saturday night her mortal remains were taken to Ramsgate, accompanied by Sir Moses and his near relatives, the officers of the Synagogue, and Dr Hodgkin, her physician. In the morning the Chief Rabbi of the German congregation, and the Rev. B. Abraham of the Spanish and Portuguese congregation, the ministers of all the Synagogues in London and in the country, together with a considerable number of gentlemen, representatives of schools and charitable institutions, assembled in the house of mourning, and at two o'clock in the afternoon the mournful cortege left East Cliff Lodge. Hundreds of the inhabitants of Ramsgate and the neighbouring places assembled near the Synagogue, where the place of burial is situated, to manifest their feelings of sorrow and regret; nearly all the vessels in the harbour had their flags half-mast high; in most of the churches the ministers in their sermons feelingly dwelt on the great loss which the poor had sustained by the death of Lady Montefiore.
The body having been taken into the Synagogue, the Chief Rabbi addressed outside a large assembly of various denominations, describing to them the noble qualities of the deceased, the services she had rendered to humanity by the encouragement she had given to the promotion of every good cause, and by the manner in which she had associated herself with her husband in all his philanthropic missions. Subsequently the coffin was carried to the spot selected by both Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore, many years before her death, for their final resting-place.
There the Rev. B. Abrahams, of the Spanish and Portuguese congregation, delivered another oration, dwelling on the manifold virtues of the departed, and reminding his hearers of the innumerable good deeds of her whom they now deeply deplored.
At the conclusion the body was lowered into the grave, and in commemoration of her devotion to the interest of the Holy Land, Terra Santa was copiously thrown upon the coffin. The orphan children of the Spanish and Portuguese schools of London intoned hymns and psalms to the ancient solemn and mournful melodies, after which the mourners and all present entered the Synagogue, where the afternoon service was performed. During the night workmen were engaged in building a brick vault for the coffin, and all that time several members of the community recited psalms and prayers near the spot and in the house of mourning. After the grave was closed, the nearest relatives and friends returned with Sir Moses to East Cliff, and remained with him during the first seven days, endeavouring to comfort and console him, joining with him in prayers, and assisting him in receiving the numerous visits of condolence.
Although Sir Moses and Lady Montefiore had both decided upon their last resting-place, Sir Moses still appeared earnestly to entertain the idea of having her body taken to Jerusalem. He had a letter written to that effect to the representatives of the Holy City, requesting them to send a number of respectable persons, students of the Holy Law, to England for the purpose of taking charge of it, and interring it in the Valley of Jehoshaphat. Upon reconsideration of the matter, however, the idea was abandoned.