" He reported a feeble
drama written by his ancient idol, Lord Stratford de Redcliffe; "it
is a painful thing to see a man of his quality and of his age
unduly detained in the world; when the Emperor Nicholas died, the
Eltchi lost his raison d'etre." He disparaged the wild fit of
morality undergone by the "Pall Mall Gazette" during the scandalous
"Maiden Tribute" revelation, pronouncing its protegees to be
"clever little devils." He was greatly startled by Gortschakoff's
famous circular, annulling the Black Sea clause in the Treaty of
Paris, and much relieved by Bismarck's dexterous interposition,
which saved the susceptibility of Europe, and especially of
England, by yielding as a favour to the demand of Russia what no
one was in a position to refuse; but he maintained, and Lord
Stratford agreed with him, that Gortschakoff's precipitate act was
governed by circumstances never revealed to mankind. He learned,
too, that it caused the Chancellor to be deconsidere in high
Russian circles; he was called "un Narcisse qui se mire dans son
encrier." Kinglake used to say that in conceding the right of the
Sultan to exclude any war-flag from the Bosphorus and the
Dardanelles, Russia was treating Turkey as a bag-fox, to be gently
hunted occasionally, but not mangled or killed; and he felt keenly
the ridicule resting on the allies, who were compelled to surrender
the neutralization purchased at the cost of so much blood and
treasure.
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