ort by the material help
which he offers in the hour of need.

It is in the house of a devoted minister of his congregation, the Rev.
Hazan Shalom, that we find him now performing the duties of a
Lavadore, preparing the dead for its last resting-place.

The pleasures of his last journey, and the change of scene and climate
appear to have greatly invigorated him, for we find him on another
mournful occasion, exhibiting a degree of physical strength such as is
seldom met with.

His mother-in-law having been taken ill on Saturday, the 14th of
November, he went on foot from Smithembottom to Town, a walk of five
hours, in order to avoid breaking one of the commandments, by riding
in a carriage on the Sabbath. Unfortunately on his arrival, he found
she had already expired. Prompted by religious fervour and attachment
to the family, he attended during the first seven days the house of
mourning, where all the relatives of the deceased assembled, morning
and evening, for devotional exercises, and, with a view of devoting
the rest of the day to the furtherance of some good cause, he remained
in the city to be present at all the meetings of the representatives
of his community.

In the month of December he went down to Brighton to intercede with
General Bloomfield for three convicts. (The particulars of the case
are not given in the diary), and on his return he resumed his usual
financial pursuits.

1818 (5579 A.M.). He is elected President of the Spanish and
Portuguese congregation. "I am resolved," he says, "to serve the
office unbiassed, and to the best of my conscience." Mr Montefiore
keeps his word faithfully, for he attends punctually all the meetings
of the elders; and, on several occasions, goes about in a post-chaise
to collect from his friends and acquaintances contributions towards
the fund required for the hospital "Beth Holim" of his community.

This was the year in which the political crisis came, when public
meetings, in favour of Parliamentary reform were held everywhere, and
Parliament passed six Acts restricting public liberty. In the midst of
these troubles, on the 24th of May, the Princess Victoria, daughter of
the Duke of Kent, the fourth son of the king, was born at Kensington
Palace.

1820 (5580 A.M.). The Diary opens this year with observations on the
life of man, and with a view of affording the reader an opportunity of
reflecting on Mr Montefiore's character, I append a record of his
pursuits su