Ambassador had led the Turks into an untenable CHAP. XII. ground, there would have been an opportunity of giving the Czar this gratification; but Lord Stratford's moderation had been so firmly maintained, his sight had been always so clear and just, and his advice had gone so close to the edge of what could safely be conceded by the Turks, that (without doing a gross wrong to the Sultan) it was hardly possible to contrive any way of giving the Czar a semblance of triumph over the English Ambassador.

represen

France,

and

Aus- Prussia, at

the Court

of St Pe

tersburg.

From this time and thenceforth down to the final Defective rupture between Russia and the Western Powers, tation of there was a cause of evil at work which was every Austria, day tending to draw the Czar on into danger. tria, Prussia, and France were unfitly represented at St Petersburg. In order to understand the nature of this evil, it must be remembered that in the reign of Nicholas the society of the Russian capital was what in the last century used to go by the name of a 'Court.' It was a mere group of men and women gathered always around one centre, bending always their eyes on one man, and striving to divine his will. Moreover, the worshippers were always watching to see who was in favour and who was in disgrace; and whoever was seen to be in favour with the Czar was brought into favour with all; and whoever was believed to have incurred the Czar's displeasure, was immediately forced to perceive that he had become displeasing to the rest of his fellowcreatures. Strange to say, the members of the diplomatic body were not exempt from these vicissitudes :

XII.

CHAP. if a foreign envoy felt obliged to offer resistance to the imperial will, his life was made cold and gloomy to him; and, on the other hand, he was sure to be well caressed if he chose to cringe to the Czar. This condition of society made it a matter of great moment for foreign States to be represented at St Petersburg by men of high spirit and endued with some strength of will. Unhappily for the peace of Europe, France was represented at St Petersburg by M, Castelbajac, Austria by Count Mensdorf, and Prussia by Colonel Rochow; and at a time when the Governments which they professed to represent were labouring to repress the violence of Russia by a policy of almost hostile resistance, these three men had suffered themselves to become the mere courtiers of the Czar.*

Sir Hamilton Seymour alone held language corresponding with the disapproval which the acts of the Czar were exciting in Central Europe as well as in France and England. He alone represented at St Petersburg the judgment of the four Powers. From the moment when the occupation of the Principalities was first threatened, he always treated it as an act perilous to the tranquillity of Europe, and always declined to give any measure of the extent to which it was likely to affect the relations between Russia and England. In using this wholesome language he was left without support from any of his colleagues.

It is conceived that the facts which will be hereafter stated in connection with the names of these men are alone sufficient to justify the statement in the text.

XII.

Of course, in a literal way, the representatives of CHAP. Austria, Prussia, and France obeyed their orders, and remonstrated when they were directed to do so; but the Czar was so prone to believe what he wished to be true, that diplomatists who were forced to make painful communications to his Government could easily do a great deal to blunt the edge of their instructions. So, although in Europe the Czar was isolated, yet in Europe, as represented at St Petersburg, the true order of things was reversed. There, it was Sir Hamilton Seymour who stood alone. More than this, it was believed at St Petersburg that the delinquency of M. Castelbajac often went beyond mere inaction, and that when the Czar was pained and discouraged by the reserve or the warning language of the Queen's representative, he was accustomed to turn for solace to the complaisant Frenchman, who was always ready to assure him that Sir Hamilton Seymour's grave tone was the sheer whim of an obstinate Englishman.

reliance

upon the

acquies

cence of England.

The Emperor Nicholas had laid down for himself The Czar's a rule which was always to guide his conduct upon the Eastern Question; and it seems to be certain that at this time, even in his most angry moments, he intended to cling to his resolve. What he had determined was, that no temptation should draw him into hostile conflict with England. He did not know that already he was breaking away from England, and rapidly going adrift. Persisting in the belief that the opposition which he had been encountering at Constantinople was the work of the English Ambas

XII.

CHAP. sador, and of him alone, or at worst of the Foreign Office, he refused to accept the conviction that he was falling out with the English people, or even with the English Government. It was in vain that Lord Clarendon, in words as clear as day, disclosed the anger and the growing determination of the Cabinet. It was in vain that, by grave words and by pregnant reserve, Sir Hamilton Seymour strove to warn the Czar of the danger which he was bringing upon his relations with England. The Czar imagined that he knew better. My dear Sir Hamilton,' Count Nesselrode seemed to say, 'you have lived away from your country so long that, forgive me, you do not 'know its condition and temper. We do. We have 'studied it. Your Foreign Office speaks as if we 'did not know that England has her weak point. My dear Sir Hamilton, we have mastered the 'whole subject of the "School of Manchester." Certainly it cost us some trouble, but we have now 'made out the difference between a "Meeting" on a Sunday morning, and a "Meeting" on a Monday 'night. Nothing escapes us. We comprehend the 'Society of Friends. Pardon me, Sir Hamilton, for saying so, but your country is notoriously 'engaged in commerce. With that we shall not ' interfere.'

6

6

In truth, the Czar's theory was, that the foreign policy of the English Government was dictated by the people, and that the people loved money, and for the sake of money loved peace. In other words, he thought that the English nation had undergone

XII.

what historians term corruption.' As far as he CHAP. could make out, the vast expanse of men and women which presented itself to his imagination under the name of the people' was the same sort of thing as the crowd which went to hear a fierce speech against princes, and statesmen, and parliaments, and armies, and navies, and taxes. He also thought

that the cheers which this crowd uttered at the end of sentences denouncing war, were proof of a settled determination to prevent any Government from ever again breaking the peace without stringent reasons. A deeper knowledge would have taught him that what the crowd applauded was not the mere doctrine, but the pure racy strenuous English, and the animating ferocity of the speaker: for, in speeches of this kind, praises of peace were always blended with rough attacks upon public men; and therefore, to a shallow observer, the hearers might seem to be lifting up their voices for peace and goodwill among men, when in reality they were only acknowledging the pleasantness of the sensation which is produced by hearing good invective. A prince of the Russian Emperor's breed might have known that, even if it be given in praise or in joy, the ' hurrah' of a northern people has in it a sound of conflict. What it negatives and forbids is peace and rest. His battalions were destined to hear it some day, to know its import, and to blend it long afterwards with recollections of mist and slaughter, and the breaking strength of Russia. But to the mind of the Czar at this time, the cheering which