Who is Elishama from Anecdotes of Destiny ; and, Ehrengard and what is their importance?

Elishama appears in The Immortal Story. He lives in the semi-colonial city of Canton in China, which is dominated by British and French merchants. Elishama calls himself Ellis in Canton, but he is actually a young Polish Jew who is alone in the world, and who has fled persecution. Elishama is described as very intelligent, but lacking in ambition.

Over the course of the story, Elishama develops a close relationship with Mr. Clay, who becomes like a father to him. As a result, he carries out Mr. Clay's outrageous demands to make the sailor's story occur in real life.