arred. Sir Moses indeed observed that he
could not live in Egypt, even to be king of the land.

_Sunday, July 14th._--A deputation from the Hebrew community, headed
by their Ecclesiastical Chief, and the representatives of their
schools and charitable institutions, waited on Sir Moses to report on
the state of their Synagogues, &c. Sir Moses, with his usual
liberality, contributed towards the funds of all their charities. He
then requested me to wait on Boghoz Bey to receive the letter which
the minister had promised him. Accompanied by Lady Montefiore, Sir
Moses afterwards paid some visits, and took leave of all who had
called on them; and, this being accomplished, they proceeded to the
harbour, where a boat belonging to the Pasha was waiting to take them
on board the _Acheron_. The peculiar phraseology of the conversation I
held with Boghoz Bey, partly in Arabic and partly in Turkish, made it
desirable to give Sir Moses, on my return, an exact translation of it
in writing, but it may be briefly related as follows. After the usual
exchange of compliments, I endeavoured to obtain a definite answer to
the letter addressed by Sir Moses to the Pasha, but the Bey did not
care to express himself on any other subject than that of the proposed
bank, and the elaborate manner in which he sought to induce Sir Moses
to establish the bank without delay, the enticing promises of
protection, patronage, and personal profit which he held out, left no
room for doubt as to the interest he took in the scheme. I, on my
part, enumerated in detail all the points to which Sir Moses attached
so much importance, and the concessions which he asked in favour of
religious toleration, justice, and the practice of agriculture and the
establishment of colonies. Upon my pressing for an early reply, the
Bey again endeavoured to gain time, and for that purpose changed the
subject by opening a religious discussion, taking for his theme the
interpretation of the prophet's words, "And the Eternal shall be King
over all the earth; on that day there shall be one Lord, and His name
One." He seemed to be under the impression that this would be an
earthly king. I soon succeeded in allaying his fears, and convincing
him that the words of the prophet Zachariah referred to the King of
kings, the Almighty in Heaven.

Eventually he fixed ten o'clock as the time for receiving my reply,
and after a repetition of the customary Eastern complimentary phrases
I withdrew