of the date of his birth, and Sir Moses having
generally received and accepted the congratulations of his friends on
the the 8th of Heshvan, it will not be out of place to give here an
exact copy of the original entry in the archives in the Italian
language, just as it has recently been forwarded to me by the
Cavaliere Costa of Leghorn.

It reads as follows:--

"_Nei registri di Nascite che esistone nell' archivie
delle Universita Israelitica a C. 8, si trova la
seguente nascita_:--

"9 Heshvan, 5545--24 Ottobre 1784.

"Domenica.

"A Joseph di Moise Haim e Raquel Montefiore un figlio,
che chiamarone Moise Haim."

(_Translation._)

"In the registers of births, which are preserved in the
archives of the Hebrew community, there is to be found
on p. 8 the following entry of birth:--

"9th Heshvan 5545 A.M., 24th October 1784.

"Sunday.

"Unto Joseph, son of Moses Haim, and Rachel Montefiore,
a son was born, whom they call Moses Haim."

Sir Moses never signed his name "Haim," nor did his mother in her
letters to him ever call him so. His father Joseph, after recovering
from a dangerous illness, adopted the name of Eliyahoo (the Eternal is
my God) in addition to that of Joseph.

Various opinions have been expressed respecting the early history of
Sir Moses Montefiore's ancestors, and the place whence they originally
came, to Modena, Ancona, Fano, Rome, and Leghorn.

A manuscript in the library of "Judith Lady Montefiore's Theological
College" at Ramsgate--containing a design of the original armorial
bearings of the Montefiore family, surrounded by suitable mottoes, and
a biographical account of the author of the work to which the
manuscript refers--will greatly help us in elucidating the subject.

The manuscript is divided into two parts: one bears the name of "Kan
Tsippor" ([Hebrew]), "The bird's nest," and treats of the Massorah
of the Psalms, _i.e._, their divisions, accents, vowels, grammatical
forms, and letters necessary for the preservation of the text; and the
other, the name of "Gan Perakhim" ([Hebrew]), "The garden of
flowers," containing poems, special prayers, family records, and
descriptions of important events.

The hereditary marks of honour which served to denote the descent and
alliances of the Montefiore family consisted of "a lion rampant," "a
cedar tree," and "a number of little hills one above the other," each
of these emblems being accompanied by a Heb