lian fluently, and read and
translated correctly the Hebrew language of her prayers, as well as
portions of the Pentateuch, generally read in the Synagogues on
Sabbaths and Festivals.

Nor were the accomplishments of music and drawing neglected; but that
which characterised and enhanced the value of her education most was
"the fear of God," which, she had been taught, constituted "the
beginning of knowledge."

By the example set in her parents' house, this lesson took an
especially deep root in her heart. One day at Park Lane the
conversation happened to turn on the practice of religious
observances, and Lady Montefiore related what had occurred when she
was still under the parental roof.

"Once," she said, "on the fast-day for the destruction of Jerusalem,
we were sitting, as is customary, in mourning attire, on low stools,
reciting the Lamentations of Jeremiah. Suddenly the servant entered
the room, closely followed by Admiral Sir Sidney Smith, and several
other gentlemen. My sisters became somewhat embarrassed, not liking to
be thus surprised in our peculiar position, but I quietly kept my
seat, and when Sir Sidney asked the reason of our being seated so low,
I replied, This is the anniversary of the destruction of Jerusalem,
which is kept by conforming Jews as a day of mourning and
humiliation. The valour exhibited by our ancestors on this sad
occasion is no doubt well known to you, Sir Sidney, and to the other
gentlemen present, and I feel sure that you will understand our grief
that it was unavailing to save the Holy City and the Temple. But we
treasure the memory of it as a bright example to ourselves and to all
following generations, how to fight and to sacrifice our lives for the
land in which we were born and which gives us shelter and protection."

"Sir Sidney and the other gentlemen," she said, "appeared to be much
pleased with the explanation I gave them; they observed that it was a
most noble feeling which prompts the true patriot to mourn for the
brave who have fallen on the field of battle for their country; and
that the memory of the struggles of the Jews in Palestine to remain
the rightful masters of the land which God had apportioned to them as
an inheritance, would ever remain, not only in the heart of every
brave man in the British realm, but also in that of every
right-thinking man in all other parts of the world as a glorious
monument of their dauntless valour and fervent devotion to a good a