Chapter VII: Peaceful Development (2)

After a slight improvement on the 8th the condition of the child became so alarming at midnight that her parents, who had not left her side till eleven P.M., were again summoned to her bed. They found their little daughter gasping for breath. The hastily summoned physicians declared the condition of their patient to be hopeless. As she lay in the lap of her English nurse, the child's strength seemed to ebb with every minute, and as the first rays of the rising sun touched the windows of the room, the despairing parents were kneeling by the lifeless body of their only child. Only a short time could be given them to be near her; the little coffin was closed, and carried by the grief-stricken father out of the death-chamber. A long procession accompanied the body of the little Princess to the Church of Cotroceni, where it was to remain until the morrow, which was Good Friday. At two o'clock the last sad rites of the Orthodox Church were celebrated in the presence of an enormous concourse of sympathetic representatives of every class of society.

_From the_ GERMAN CROWN PRINCE.

"We have just received the unexpected and afflicting news of the terrible misfortune that has befallen you. May God's grace be with you and grant you strength to bear the desperate sorrow, the burden of which we know from our own experience! In thought I put myself in your frame of mind, and realise that you must both be numbed with grief at seeing your sweet child lifeless before you, and at knowing that you can never again see a light in her dear eyes, never again a smile on her face!

"These are hours in which, in spite of all Christian principles, one still asks: why need it have been? And certainly it is hard to say: 'Thy will be done!'

"I wrote this text on the tomb of my son Sigismund, your god-child, because I know of no other consolation: and yet I cannot conquer that pain to-day, though many years have already passed, and though God has given me a large family. Time does certainly blunt the keenest edge of a parent's anguish, but it does not remove the burden, which remains a companion for life....

"Your grief is also ours, and you are both the object of our anxiety and our prayers; for that my wife is at one with me in these thoughts of sympathy you know as well as that these lines are for poor Elisabeth no less than for you. God be with you, and be merciful to you!"

* * * * *

In the following letter, addressed to the President of the Ministry, Prince Charles endeavoured to thank his people for their sympathy.

"The Almighty has summoned our only and dearly loved child from
this world of trouble.

"If a proof of my country's devotion had been needed, it could
not have been shown in a more affecting manner than in these
days of sorrow, when the sense of the sincere sympathy of all
has been our chief consolation in distress.

"And so I desire to assure my country that just as it has
supported me by its affection in the hardest moment of my life,
so I shall endeavour to repay in good measure the kindness which
it has manifested towards me.

"The sweetest memory which our lost daughter has left us as an
inestimable treasure is her boundless love for the country in
which she was born, a love so strong that despite her tender
age she felt the pangs of home sickness during her first stay
abroad.

"Our child's faith and the language which she spoke have assumed
a new sanctity in our eyes, for every Roumanian word will from
henceforth be to us the echo of that voice which we shall never
again hear on earth.

"Though the dearest and most intimate bond of our family circle
has been severed, a still stronger tie unites us now with our
greater family, the Roumanian nation, which joins with us in
mourning the loss of our and their child.

"It is a sacred duty with the Princess and myself to express
to one and all, from the depth of our sorely tried hearts, our
cordial gratitude, together with the hope that all will unite
with us in prayer that the Almighty may grant us strength and
patience in the trial which He, the Father of All, has in His
inscrutable wisdom sent to us."

_From_ PRINCE CHARLES ANTHONY, _April 15th, 1874_.

"What terrible news! Though yesterday we awaited your telegram not without anxiety, still we were reassured towards evening. As long as I live I shall not forget to-day's awakening--I opened the telegram without agitation--speechless, and with the keenest heartache, I read it again and again. For a long time I could not believe in the possibility of the destruction of your domestic happiness. God's ways are inscrutable! He has for only too short a time entrusted to you a being whom He loved so much that he could not but recall her to Him. These lines are not meant to console you, for at such moments there can be no consolation: they are only to remind us all that we must humbly submit, come what may!"

_To_ PRINCE CHARLES ANTHONY, _May 5th_.

"We established ourselves here (Cotroceni) yesterday, and we hope to find more peace and a little consolation for our sorrowing hearts, since we shall now be close to the resting-place of our loved child. The palace in the capital seemed so empty and melancholy to us that we awaited with impatience the day when we could leave it. But we shall feel our loss bitterly even here. Our daily walk is to her grave, where we sit and talk over the legacy of rich and manifold memories left us by our dear child. The whole country mourns for little Marie; this you know, and will have seen from our newspapers; many expressions of sympathy have also reached us from abroad. The German Emperor wrote me a very kind letter in which he shows his true kindness of heart. I also received a letter from the King of Italy, and Elisabeth one from the Queen of England, which was couched in very warm and affectionate terms. The Empress Eugénie also telegraphed her sympathy with me.

"... Elisabeth's nerves are so shaken that the greatest care is necessary. I must confess to you that I am often anxious myself, and am much depressed by pain, sorrow, and apprehension. I get but very little sleep at night, and have repeatedly heard my poor Elisabeth cry out in her dreams: 'Dead, dead!' This cry of pain is each time a fresh stab in my wounded heart!"

* * * * *

Whilst Princess Elisabeth sought to conquer her grief by distraction in translating Roumanian legends and fairy tales, Prince Charles's time was claimed by affairs of State. Great Britain, in pursuit of its Turkophile policy, wished to accredit its new agent, Mr. Vivian, with a letter in which mention was made of the "good relations which exist between England and the Sublime Porte and the territory governed by your Highness." The Roumanian Government declined to receive this communication, but the incident was eventually settled by an exchange of Notes between the English Consul-General and the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Mr. Vivian had a private audience on May 4 with the Prince, who expressed his opinion very plainly on the Oriental policy of England.

_To_ PRINCE CHARLES ANTHONY, _May 26th, 1874_.

"We are impatiently awaiting Leopold's arrival, which is promised for Monday. The Prince of Servia will have left us by then; he has truly Oriental ideas of hospitality! We hold aloof from all public entertainments in his honour, and only invite him now and again to dinner or tea. Every time he comes to Cotroceni he brings a wreath, which he places, either with his own hand or by another's, on the grave of our child. He is a very pleasant, bright, and handsome man, an excellent talker; he is by nature gifted with understanding, but is deficient in higher culture. His visit here is making a great impression in Constantinople, which he quitted in anger. The Servians are now on a worse footing with Turkey than we are, since they have been refused Swornik. After voting us addresses of condolence _in corpore_ the Chambers are endeavouring to overthrow the Ministry and to form a coalition."

* * * * *

On June 7 a law was passed providing for the allotment of land in Bessarabia to the Bulgarians expelled from the right bank of the river. This measure was warmly advocated by the Russian Consul-General, but Prince Charles, mindful of Russia's declaration in 1871, was disquieted by the discovery that the Russian Government had not surrendered its hopes of the reacquisition of Bessarabia.

After a short stay in the pleasant groves of breezy Sinaja the journey to Franzensbad was commenced on July 15 in the company of the Hereditary Prince. The Princess of Hohenzollern arrived a few days later alone, Prince Charles Anthony's infirmities keeping him practically a prisoner in his room. Prince Charles was delighted to find that his mother's health was unaffected by her exertions: "We are inexpressibly happy to have her here, but reproach ourselves for having taken her from you, and we are grieved that you should remain alone at Krauchenwies. We fully appreciate the sacrifice you have made for us, and thank you with all our hearts.

"The Empress had been so kind as to inquire from the Queen of England what watering-place would suit us best. The latter replied by telegraph that her physician, Sir W. Jenner, recommended Eastbourne for Elisabeth 'and her husband.'

"When ladies of so high degree look after a watering-place for us, we ought certainly to reap the full benefit from our stay! We shall, therefore, probably go to Eastbourne or Hastings.

"One day is very much like another, and we live solely according to the '_Kur_.'... These places in Bohemia are fortunately so accustomed to Royal visitors that a Queen and an Oriental Prince create very little stir."[17]

[17] The Queen of Saxony [his cousin] was staying at Marienbad.

After paying a flying visit to the German Emperor at Eger the Prince and Princess arrived in London on August 19. The Marchioness of Lorne came to express the Queen's regret at her inability to receive the travellers, as she was about to set out for Scotland. The Prince of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh welcomed Prince Charles and his wife with warm sympathy. The young Duchess of Edinburgh had changed greatly since the first time Prince Charles saw her at Livadia in 1869. Then she left the impression of a charming child, but now she appeared with all the character of a young mother.

During their three weeks' stay at St. Leonard's the Prince and Princess made many excursions to Brighton, Oxford, Woolwich, Chislehurst, and the neighbouring country seats of the nobility. The visit to Oxford, with Professor Max Müller as _cicerone_, was of especial interest to the Prince, who was much impressed by the ancient University, with its glorious colleges. By the courtesy of the Secretary of War, Gathorne Hardy, Prince Charles was able to make a minute inspection of the Woolwich Arsenal. The Prince was astonished to find that the heaviest naval guns for the British fleet were still built on the muzzle-loading principle, and endeavoured, without much success, to convince his guide, Major-General Simmons, of the advantages of the breechloading system.

Several very pleasant hours were spent at Lord Brassey's castle and on board his yacht. Lord Brassey had visited Roumania on several occasions, as he was interested in the Offenheim railway concession, and was, therefore, no stranger to the Prince. A couple of visits were also paid to Holmebury House to Lady Mary Anne Alford and her brother, Mr. Leveson-Gower, whose brother, Lord Granville, had formerly been in communication with Roumania as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.

"_To_ PRINCE CHARLES ANTHONY.

"We shall commemorate in quiet and grief the birthday of our dear daughter on the 8th of September. She was the light of our home life. Now this anniversary will only teach us, as each year comes round, that this earthly life, with all its pleasures and sorrows, is but the preparation for a better life, and that, therefore, we must not cling too much to the things of this world. England by no means seems full of this sentiment. I believe that in no other country has materialism gone to such a length as here. People live solely to enjoy their lives--_et voilà tout_. Commerce and industry, therefore, flourish, which bring in money, and money is the essential requisite for English comfort!

"I discussed the social condition of England with Max Müller, and derived much benefit from the insight into the situation here which I owe to him.

"Roumania is a _terra incognita_ here, and the sympathy with Turkey is so great that it is useless to struggle against this folly. Nevertheless, I have placed myself in communication with several influential Englishmen.

"In spite of the cutting cold winds, we continue our sea-bathing, and derive much benefit from it...."

* * * * *

Lord Derby, in reply to a letter from Prince Charles, who expressed his regret at not having met the Foreign Secretary in London, professed his deep concern at being unable to pay the Prince a visit before his departure from England.

On the way home Prince Charles visited the Oriental Congress in London, where representatives of all Eastern nations were assembled. Amongst others, the Prince made the acquaintance of Sir Henry Rawlinson, the decipherer of the cuneiform inscriptions; of Léon Rosnez, the learned exponent of Semitic languages; of Sir Henry Bartle Frere; of Sir John Lubbock and Charles Kingsley. The majority of these were presented to Prince Charles at a Mansion House banquet given in honour of the Oriental Congress. The quaint ceremonies, the ancient costumes of the civic dignitaries, the luxury and wealth of the table appointments, and the excellent music discoursed during the dinner all contributed to attract the Prince's attention and interest.

The homeward journey lay through Paris, where the ruins of the Tuileries awakened melancholy reflections; Strassburg, which still bore plain traces of siege, to the Weinburg where Prince Charles Anthony was feverishly awaiting their arrival. The meeting was most affecting, and the memories awakened by the deep mourning of his children almost overcame the aged Prince, whose bodily infirmities were increasing with every year. The stay at the Weinburg ended on October 8. Prince Charles Anthony's bodily suffering, though borne with heroic courage, threw a melancholy shadow over the otherwise happy home life of the Hohenzollern family.

With their return to Sinaja the grief of the unfortunate parents was constantly aroused by the absence of their dear one from the rooms which once were enlivened by her presence; the very gloom of the weather seemed to encourage this melancholy mood.

_From the_ GERMAN EMPEROR, _September 26th, 1874_.

"I was very pleased to make the acquaintance of the bearer of these lines (the Roumanian Minister of War) and to see him at our manœuvres, which appeared to interest him greatly. My best thanks to you for the letter he brought me. I think it most natural that your journey this time should have been undertaken solely on account of the health of both of you, and that, moreover, your mood was not such as to care to make any visits except in the narrowest family circle. Let us hope that another time you will give us the pleasure and joy of seeing you here. In any case I am happy to have spoken with you, though only for a short time in Eger.

"With a thousand greetings to your wife,
"Your sincere Cousin,
"WILLIAM."

_To_ PRINCE CHARLES ANTHONY, _November 28th_.

"We quitted Sinaja three weeks ago with heavy hearts to return to Bucharest. The weather remained beautiful until a week ago, and our longing for the mountains was increased; the more so as the empty rooms of the Palace can never appear lively. We endeavour to distract ourselves as much as possible and invite people to dinner every day, but nothing can make us forget the dear voice of our child, which we miss everywhere and at all times.

"I opened the Chamber yesterday. My speech was short, and touched only on practical questions.

"The question of the commercial treaties is on the high road to an immediate solution, the only difficulties are matters of detail. We are now negotiating with Austria-Hungary, whose interest it is to enter on closer relations with us both politically and commercially. Even now the Porte cannot grow resigned to a defeat which is due to its own lack of skill. England, France, and Italy will have no course left but to adopt the same line as the three other Great Powers; their representatives here are quite willing to influence their Governments in our favour. We have every reason to be satisfied with our Diplomatic Corps; France and England, in particular, have sent us amiable and experienced men, who have already travelled throughout the country, and can judge of our circumstances with intelligence. They have both pleaded for the commercial conventions in their reports."

* * * * *

A most interesting and important report on the condition of the Servian forces in 1874 was received on January 9, 1875. M. Sturdza prefaced his remarks by insisting upon the extreme difficulty of ascertaining the truth about Servia: Chauvinism and love of exaggeration conspired to keep strangers in the dark. He had, however, been able to discover enough to prove that the Servian troops were, strictly speaking, no army at all. Both quality and quantity left much to be desired, whilst the standing force of 5000 men was hardly sufficient to keep order in the interior. The permanent force of cavalry amounted to but one solitary squadron, whilst only one battery was armed with modern guns. The fortresses were in an indefensible condition, as their sole armament consisted of the guns which the Turks had left there. The Territorial Army was of still less value than the standing army. Without officers and without equipment or proper arms it in no way deserved serious consideration. The political situation of Servia also gave rise to considerable doubt as to the stability of Prince Milan's Government. The Press constantly urged the Croats, Slavonians, and Hungarian Servians to rebel against Austria. Prince Milan had flouted Germany by his openly expressed sympathy with France, whilst England's favour had been lost by the anti-Turkish policy of the Ministry. Russia, Servia's best friend, had supported the Ministry, until it applied to the French Ambassador in Constantinople for his assistance in the Swornik question. Count Ignatiew was so much exasperated by this step that he counselled the Porte to resist the demands for the withdrawal of the Turkish troops from that fortress.

The attitude of the populace of Montenegro and Herzegowina towards Turkey threatened most serious complications in January 1875. The massacres of Christians at Podgoritza late in 1874 still remained unpunished, though the instigators had already been sentenced by Turkish Courts. Representations to the Sublime Porte resulted in the preposterous demand that the Montenegrins, who had been the cause of the disturbance, should be tried by a Turkish Court before the sentences on the Ottoman officials were carried out. Eventually the Ambassadors of the Powers succeeded in persuading the Porte to abandon this claim.

Prince Milan's popularity had suffered greatly by his favouritism and caprice, whilst his Ministry seemed to aim either at forcing him to abdicate, or at least at putting such difficulties in his way that the Powers would be forced to intervene, and thus effect his fall. His long stay in Paris in 1874, together with his unbounded extravagance, gave rise to most unfavourable comment. "It is asserted that the Prince's debts now amount to the whole of his private fortune. Bills of exchange arrive every day from abroad and cannot be paid. His landed property in Wallachia will be invaded. Expedients for borrowing from all sides are seen at the Palace. Many people here, even peasants, are owed money. The civil list has been spent six months in advance."

_From_ PROFESSOR MAX MÜLLER.

"... I only now realise the magnitude of the work your Highness has undertaken, a work which demands the highest form of heroism, the heroism of patience! To sow without the hope of enjoying the harvest demands a degree of faith such as is not common in the present day. If I were younger, I would enthusiastically offer my services to the warden of European culture on the Danube, and would leave him no peace until the schools and universities had become the pride of his people and an example to the whole world. Guns are wanted; railways are wanted; but, above all, schools are wanted; they are the most sacred duty of all! It is often hard to love or to benefit our neighbours, but we can all love and benefit our own posterity. When the Budget of Love (education) is as high as the Budget of Hatred (war), the Eastern Marches will be under the protection of Europe even without treaties.

"Public opinion in England remains unaltered--the arrival of a telegram from the Danube makes us tremble in every limb. Two reasons for this are apparent. Humanity is the slave of phrase, and the phrase, 'integrity of the Ottoman Empire,' is as much a matter of course to the English as 'Britannia rules the waves.' Such phrases have a firmer hold on English policy than on French or German. The Turkish funds form the second reason...."

* * * * *

On February 14, 1875, Prince Charles received the Spanish Ambassador, who came to announce the accession of Alfonso De Borbon y Borbone "by the Grace of God and the National Will King of Spain." Don Gherardi was received with every honour usual on such occasions at the European Courts. Though this step of the King of Spain was entirely due to his personal relations to the Roumanian Court, and not to any political motive, it nevertheless caused much excitement in diplomatic circles, as it was practically tantamount to the recognition of the independence of Roumania. The Sublime Porte at once demanded satisfaction from Spain, and declared that Turkey would not recognise the new kingdom until such satisfaction had been given.

_From_ PRINCE CHARLES ANTHONY.

"One of the most ridiculous and narrow-minded of political interests is the unbounded importance attached to the Spanish notification to Bucharest, which is treated as seriously as though the whole Eastern Question depended upon it. The English papers, followed by those of Berlin, never tire of discussing this matter from every point of view. It is truly ridiculous, but, on the other hand, discloses the still prevailing aversion from your emancipation."

_To_ PRINCE CHARLES ANTHONY, _March 19th, 1875_.

"We lost all communication with abroad and the interior for a whole month in consequence of heavy snowstorms. Many accidents and considerable losses have occurred which will be more severely felt here, where misfortunes, as well as prosperity, are ascribed to the Government, than elsewhere. It is hard to realise the sufferings of the poor peasants: famine and typhus raged in several villages; and it was impossible to send them help! No one dared to go out of doors on account of the multitude of wolves which infested every locality in search of food. According to official reports, these brutes have devoured a number of human beings and cattle, whilst the bears have done equal damage on the mountains! The total suspension of railway traffic has caused a most unwelcome loss of 3,000,000 francs to the State at a moment when the deficit had been covered with difficulty. Trade also has suffered materially, as all business was interrupted; the Exchequer has had no money for the last ten days, as no remittances arrived from the districts--and all payments had to be suspended in consequence! All this had a serious effect on every one; discontent and ill-humour prevail everywhere!...

"The slowness of the present thaw will, it is to be hoped, prevent larger inundations; the streets in town, however, are in an incredible state; locomotion is only possible in sleighs--which are in imminent danger of being capsized. This happened to us last week, but we escaped unhurt. Elisabeth was delighted at the adventure, but I am ashamed at having been upset in my capital! Our hound, Mentor, was so terrified by this accident that he refused to get into the sleigh again, and went home on foot....

"Russia and Germany have declared themselves willing to negotiate commercial and consular conventions with us. England regrets that she has not been able to frustrate the _fait accompli_, but, nevertheless, makes a _bonne mine à mauvais jeu_. Yet she could not help inciting the Sublime Porte, by her very anti-Roumanian representative in Constantinople, to issue the ridiculous protest about the Spanish notification. This was an ill turn to Turkey, as an innocent affair was expanded into a _cause célèbre_.... The expenditure of 5,000,000 francs (for warlike purposes) produces not a little disquiet, and has set England against us; and yet England is one of the keenest competitors for the contract! Very significant!"

* * * * *

On March 28, 1875, the Chambers legislative period of four years came to an end. Not only was it the first time that one and the same Chamber had sat for the full term, but it was also the first time that the same Ministry had both opened and closed the Chamber, an achievement which speaks volumes for the progress and development of the Principalities during this period.

Prince Charles accepted the presidency of the Bucharest Jockey Club, founded by Mr. Vivian, the English Consul-General, in April 1875. At a banquet on April 18 the Prince expressed the hope that the foundation of the Club would be beneficial to horse-breeding in Roumania, and restore the industry to the position it held in the time of Frederick the Great, who procured part of his remounts from Moldavia.

_From_ PRINCE CHARLES ANTHONY.

"My life is so quiet and lonely that my connection with the outer world is actually based on confidential letters and the newspapers alone.

"Nevertheless, I am very well posted, and am daily better able to appreciate that one sees, hears, and judges all the more clearly for being more concentrated and quiet. Unfortunately I cannot say that the policy of the young German Empire satisfies me at present.

"The demand on the Italian Government about the Papal Guarantee law appears to me to be out of place. Difficulties increase every day in the religious-political field, and it does not seem clear how we are to get out of it without entrenching on matters of Catholic belief. I certainly am no Ultramontane; but my objective sense of justice revolts against our tactics, groping wholly in the dark against a power which possesses an unparalleled spiritual influence. Our alliances at present are more of a personal nature than based upon mutual interests. Fortunately the universal desire for peace has now gained the upper hand everywhere.

"Everything seems to be going well and quietly with you; it is to be hoped that the elections will not cause too great excitement in the country. However, you are already more or less accustomed to these agitations: and with _sangfroid_ one may regulate much which at first appears to be overwhelming."

* * * * *

As a matter of fact, with the exception of a couple of student demonstrations in Bucharest, the elections took place in perfect peace and order, and resulted again in a large majority for the Conservative Government. The Opposition, it is true, attempted to prove that the Ministry had influenced the elections, and twelve Liberal judges of the first instance resigned as a protest.

One of the first duties of the new Chamber was the election of a successor to the venerable Niphon, the Metropolitan of Bucharest, who died suddenly on May 17, 1875, at the age of eighty-four. The body, in accordance with a strange old custom, was seated on the archiepiscopal throne in the Metropolie, dressed in full canonicals--a picture of peaceful and spiritual dignity. Countless numbers of orthodox believers thronged the church to kiss the Metropolitan's hand for the last time. All through the night priests chanted before the altar, whilst high and low, rich and poor, passed in one long line before the dead Prince of the Church.

Owing to the great heat it was found impossible to comply with the custom of carrying the seated corpse to the monastery of Cernica. Four priests therefore held the chair on a hearse open on all four sides, and thus bore the venerated priest to the burial-place of his predecessors. Many of the spectators threw themselves to the ground as the procession passed them.

_To_ PRINCE CHARLES ANTHONY, _June 21st, 1875_.

"I write to you to-day with painful emotion, after an escape from a great danger.... The railway journey to Giurgiu, when I was accompanied by a number of senators and deputies, as well as the return journey as far as Filaret, passed uneventfully; at the last-named station the train crossed over to the loop line. The engine had the tender in front.

"I looked out of the window and noticed that the train was moving on to a line at Dealu-Spirei, where a ballast train was already standing. I sat down quickly and said to those who were with me in the saloon-carriage: 'Sit down, there is going to be a collision!' At the moment a violent shock took place, throwing my companions on to the floor; I was thrown in my armchair against the table opposite. A second shock threw me backwards, breaking the chair; my sword was bent round my knee and probably caused the contusion, but unquestionably saved my leg. Every one hastened to help me, but I got up unaided and said a few reassuring words. We had all blows about the head; Davila was bleeding....

"The tender and the engine were both derailed and ran into the sand. Three carriages of the ballast train were destroyed and a couple of our carriages were much damaged.... We were about one mile from Cotroceni, and walked there in spite of the heat.... Fortunately Elisabeth first heard what had happened from my own lips!"

_From_ PRINCE CHARLES ANTHONY.

"God has clearly protected you! You can imagine the tremendous play that imagination possesses when so great a distance divides us....

"I know from experience how tedious injuries to the shin bone are; on reckoning up my own threefold experiences of that kind I find that I spent a good six months' time on the _chaise longue_!...

"I prefer to be silent about our policy--it is most unpleasant for us that the Czar of Russia should be hailed on all sides as the apostle of peace. Radowitz is said to have conducted himself passionately and without tact: his immediate transfer to Athens is discussed. I congratulate you on your successful elections; it is quite clear that the longing for material development has gained the upper hand over the empty aims of the dreamers!"

_From_ THE SAME.

"The excitement over the Church struggle is beginning to abate.

"The blunders of the Government and the Ultramontane party mutually set each other off. It is a pity that they are not confined to one side, for then the crisis would be hastened to the general benefit.

"I had an opportunity of going thoroughly into these questions with the Emperor during his visit here. He is inclined to a conciliatory attitude, but is not sufficiently informed. I have made him understand much, for which he was grateful, and which he is the readier to believe since I adhere to the basis of the May laws, but condemn the petty method of carrying them out. The Emperor was full of touching sympathy with us, asked minutely after you, and was very well pleased with the course of your policy."