VII. titular rank, was one of the chief of the Czar's sub- CHAP. jects; but Russia has not disclosed the grounds on which it was thought fit to intrust to him-first the peace, and then the military renown of his country; for when Russians are asked about the qualities of mind which caused a man to be chosen for a momentous embassy, and for the command of an army defending his country from invasion, they only say that the Prince was famous for the strange and quaint sallies of his wit. However, he was of the school of those who desired to govern the affairs of the State upon principles violently Russian, and without the aid and counsel of foreigners. It was understood that he held the Turks in contempt; and it was said also that he entertained a strong dislike of the English. He had not been schooled in diplomacy, but he was to be intrusted with the power of using a threatening tone, and was to be supported by a fleet held in readiness, and by bodies of troops impending upon the Turkish frontiers. The Emperor Nicholas seems to have thought that harsh words and a display of force might be made to supply want of skill. Great latitude was given to Prince Mentschikoff in regard to the means by which he was to attain the objects of his mission; but it is certain that the general tenor of his instructions contravened with singular exactness the honourable and generous language in which the Emperor Nicholas loved to mark out the duty of the great Powers of Europe towards Turkey. In the last Secret Memorandum VOL. I. H CHAP. solemnly placed in the hands of our Envoy at St VII. Petersburg as a record of the Emperor's determina Mentschikoff at tinople. tion, Nicholas, as we have seen, had laid it down that it was the duty of great Powers not to harass 'the Porte by imperious demands put forward in a manner humiliating to its independence and dig'nity;' and yet these very words, which so well point out what the Czar said ought not to be done, are a close description of that which he ordered his Ambassador to do. The approach of Prince Mentschikoff to ConstanConstantinople was heralded by the arrival of Staff officers, who were charged to prepare the way, and cause men to feel the import of the coming embassy. For many days rumour was busy. When for some time men's minds had been kept on the rack, it became known that the expected vessel of war was nearing the gates of the Bosphorus; and at length, surrounded with pomp, and supported by the silent menace of fleets equipped, and battalions marching on the Danube, Prince Mentschikoff entered the palace of the Russian Embassy. The next day another warsteamer came down, bringing the Vice - Admiral Korniloff, the commander of the Black Sea fleet, and the Chief of the Staff of the land-forces under General Rudiger, with several other officers. All this warlike following went to show that the Ambassador had the control of the military and naval forces which were hovering upon the Turkish Empire. Then also came tidings that General Dannenburg, commanding the cavalry of the 5th corps d'armée, VII. had pushed his advance-guard close up to the frontiers CHAP. of Moldavia; that funds had been transmitted to merchants in Moldavia and Wallachia for the purchase of rations; and, finally, that the fleet at Sebastopol was getting ready to sail at the shortest notice. the Divan. In the midst of the alarm engendered by these tidings, Prince Mentschikoff began the duties of his mission; and he so acted as to make men see that he was charged to coerce, and not to persuade. With his whole Embassy he went to the Grand Vizier's Panic in apartment at the Porte, but refused to obey the custom which imperatively required that he should wait upon Fuad Effendi, the Minister for Foreign Affairs. With him, as it was understood, the Ambassador declined to hold intercourse. Fuad Effendi, the immediate object of the affront, was the ablest member of the Government. He instantly resigned his office. The Sultan accepted his resignation. There was a panic. It was understood that Prince Mentschikoff was going to demand terms deeply humiliating and injurious to the Sultan, and that a refusal to give way would be followed by an instant attack. The Grand Vizier believed that the mission, far from being of a conciliatory character, as pretended, was meant, on the contrary, 'to win some 'important right from Turkey, which would destroy 'her independence,' and that the Czar's object was 'to trample under foot the rights of the Porte and 'the independence of the Sovereign.'* In short, the Divan was so taken by surprise, and so overwhelmed *Eastern Papers,' part i. p. 88. VII. Colonel CHAP. by alarm, as to be in danger of going to ruin by the path of concession for the sake of averting a sudden blow. But there remained one hope- the English fleet was at Malta; and the Grand Vizier went to Colonel Rose, who was then in charge of our affairs at the Porte, and entreated that he would request our Admiral at Malta to come up to Vourla, in order to give the Turkish Government the support of an approaching fleet. Colonel Rose, being a firm, able man, with strength to bear a sudden load of responsibility, was not afraid to go beyond the range of common duty. He consented to do as he was asked; and although he was disavowed by the Government at home, and although his appeal to the English Admiral was rejected, it is not the less certain that his mere consent to call up the fleet allayed the panic which was endangering at that moment the very life of the Ottoman Empire. Happily there was not a complete perfect communication by telegraph between London and Constantinople; and long before the disavowal reached the Bosphorus the Turkish statesmen had recovered their usual calm. On the other hand, the Russian Government was much soothed by the intelligence that the English Cabinet had declined to approve Colonel Rose's request to the Admiral; and it might be said with truth, that both the act of the Queen's Representative and the disavowal of it by his Government at home were of advantage to the public service.* * Colonel Rose was the officer who afterwards became illustrious for his career of victory in India, but at that later time he was known to his grateful country as Sir Hugh Rose. VII. seemingly lised. It would seem that in the middle of the month CHAP. of March the anger of the Emperor Nicholas had grown cool. He had always felt the difficulty of The Czar basing a war upon the question of the Holy Places tranquil. alone, and the language of his Government at this time was moderate and pacific.* But unhappily there were distinct centres of action in Paris, in London, in St Petersburg, and in Constantinople, and it was constantly happening that when the fire seemed to be got down in three out of the four capitals, it would spring up with fresh strength in the fourth. Thus, at a moment when the panic of the Divan had entirely ceased, and when the Court of St Petersburg, already inclining towards moderation, was about to be further pacified by the welcome tidings which informed it of the disavowal of Colonel Rose by the Home Government, the Emperor of the French suddenly determined to send a naval force into the Levant, and notwithstanding the opposition of our Government, the French fleet was ordered to The Salamis. This was done without sound reason, for fleet suddenly orthe panic which had induced Colonel Rose to appeal to the English Admiral at Malta had long ago ceased. The step gave deep umbrage to Russia. When the Emperor Nicholas learned that the advance of the French fleet had been disapproved by England, his anger was followed by gladness, and the relations between the Governments of St Petersburg and London then seemed to be upon so friendly * Lord Cowley's account of Count Nesselrode's Despatch of the 15th March. 'Eastern Papers,' part i. p. 96. French dered to Salamis. |