_August the 27th._--Sir Moses had scarcely despatched his appeal to the Shah on behalf of his brethren at Hamadan, in Persia, when a heartrending cry came from the Holy Land, an unusual combination of misfortunes having befallen them. "No rain had fallen for many months, the harvest was spoilt, locusts covered the ground for miles around, the cholera had broken out in all its fury, famine and plague reigned supreme in the Holy Cities.
"The fatal disease commenced its ravages on the coast of Egypt, and raged furiously in Alexandria; with intense virulence it advanced to the city of Jaffa, and devastated it. The corpses of the dead lay in the streets unburied, the living fled on every side, and the once bustling seaport town was stricken with terror and awed into silence. All the towns and villages between Jaffa and Jerusalem were affected. The gates of the latter were closed, so that none could come out or go in. The city was in a state of siege, and the inspectors of quarantine surrounded it.
"The representatives of all the congregations combined to do all in their power to alleviate the distress, but their funds were exhausted, the plague showed no signs of abating, and they sent forth their piteous cry for help to their brethren abroad."
The Chief Rabbi and Sir Moses at once invited the attention of the London Committee of Deputies of the British Jews to the distressing condition of the Jews in Palestine, asking their powerful aid, and suggesting that they should issue an appeal to all the congregations in the British Empire. To this the Board of Deputies readily agreed, and immediately published an appeal in all the leading papers. The result was most satisfactory. The contributions to the appeal fund amounted to a large sum, and, knowing the willingness of Sir Moses to assist personally in the administration of the same, the Board invited him to proceed to Jerusalem for that purpose.
Sir Moses, without hesitation, disregarding his advanced age and feeble state of his health, accepted the invitation, and promised to proceed to the Holy City as soon as the necessary preparations for such a journey would permit.
Before giving the reader a full account of this fresh journey to the Holy Land, I have still to bring to his notice some entries in his Diary of the current year.