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might probably smooth some of our difficulties. The King of the Netherlands would wish his son to wear the crown of Belgium; the Belgians want much to have Luxembourg. Could not the King give up Luxembourg to his son, on condition of his being elected by the Belgians? and might not the Belgians choose the Prince of Orange, on condition that he should bring Luxembourg with him? Talleyrand looked very grave, and said he thought his Government would not like to see Luxembourg united to Belgium. I asked why, inasmuch as it had been so united hitherto, and would not be more inconvenient to France when united to Belgium alone, than when united to Belgium joined with Holland. He said, the fact was that their frontier in that direction is very weak and exposed, and Luxembourg runs into an undefended part of France. He then said, Would there be no means of making an arrangement by which Luxembourg might be given to France? I confess I felt considerable surprise at a proposition so much at variance with all the language and professions which he and his Government have been holding. I said that such an arrangement appeared to me to be impossible, and that nobody could consent to it. I added that England had no selfish objects in view in the arrangements of Belgium, but that we wished Belgium to be really and substantially independent. That we were desirous of living upon good terms with France, but that any territorial acquisitions of France such as this which he contemplated would alter the relations of the two countries, and make it impossible for us to continue on good terms. I found since this conversation that he had been making similar propositions to Prussia about her Rhenish provinces, in the event of the possibility of moving the King of Saxony to Belgium and giving Saxony to Prussia. To-day he proposed to me that France should get Philippeville and Marienburg, in consideration of France using her influence to procure the election of Leopold for Belgium. I do not like all this; it looks as if France was unchanged in her system of encroachment, and it diminishes the confidence in her sincerity and good faith which her conduct up to this time had inspired. It may not be amiss for you to hint, upon any fitting occasion, that though we are anxious to cultivate the best understanding with France, and to be on the terms of the most intimate friendship with her, yet that

it is only on the supposition that she contents herself with the finest territory in Europe, and does not mean to open a new chapter of encroachment and conquest.

My dear Granville,
Yours sincerely,

PALMERSTON.

CCLXXXI.

Lord Palmerston to Sir H. L. Bulwer, Paris.

Carlton Terrace: September 27, 1840.

My dear Bulwer,-Notwithstanding the mysterious threatening with which Thiers has favoured us, I still hold to my belief that the French Government will be too wise and prudent to make war; and various things which come to me from different quarters confirm me in that belief. Besides, bullies seldom execute the threats they deal in; and men of trick and cunning are not always men of desperate resolves. But if Thiers should again hold to you the language of menace, however indistinctly and vaguely shadowed out, pray retort upon him to the full extent of what he may say to you, and with that skill of language which I know you to be the master of, convey to him in the most friendly and unoffensive manner possible, that if France throws down the gauntlet we shall not refuse to pick it up; and that if she begins a war, she will to a certainty lose her ships, colonies, and commerce before she sees the end of it; that her army of Algiers will cease to give her anxiety, and that Mehemet Ali will just be chucked into the Nile. I wish you had hinted at these topics when Thiers spoke to you; I. invariably do so when either Guizot or Bourqueney begin to swagger, and I observe that it always acts as a sedative. I remind them that countries seldom engage in unprovoked war, unless they have something to gain by so doing; but that we should very soon have nearly three times the number of ships that France could put to sea, and must, therefore, have the command of all their interests beyond sea; and that even if we had not such a decided superiority upon our own bottom, Russia would be with us, and has a fleet equal to the fleet of France. These considerations perhaps might weigh more with Louis Philippe than with Thiers, but I am inclined to think that they will weigh with some

body or other at Paris. However, I may be mistaken, and the French may either make war, in spite of their assurances, or commit some violent and outrageous act of aggression against the Sultan, which the four Powers will be obliged to resent; in that case France must take the consequences, and her Government bear the responsibility.

While Thiers is telling you that this last absurd proposal of Mehemet is the last word of Mehemet and of France, Guizot is getting conveyed to me through all sorts of out-of-the-way channels, that if we would but make the most trifling concession, if we would give way the very least in the world, the French Government would jump at our proposals, and the whole thing might be settled satisfactorily (to France he means, of course). But as to the offer which has been modestly trumpeted forth as a concession, it happens to be just the reverse; for France has said for some time past that she would engage that Mehemet should be content with Egypt hereditary and Syria for his life; but now by a juggle he wants us to give Syria for the life of Ibrahim, which is nothing less than an anticipated inheritance of Syria for Ibrahim; and, therefore, something more instead of less than what was talked of by France before. Really Thiers must think us most wonderful simpletons to be thus bamboozled. As to concessions, the fact is, that, when four Powers make a treaty, they intend to execute it; and, as we made our whole extent of possible concession to France before the treaty, by offering to let Mehemet keep St. John of Acre, there is nothing more left that we can concede. If we go further at all, we must let Mehemet have Beyrout and Damascus, neither of which it is by any means possible to allow him to retain.

I conclude by the great anxiety that some parties have to settle the matter soon, though at our expense, that they look forward to a speedy settlement of differences at the Bourse at the expense of other people; and that, having made a large sum by the fall, they want to double their profits by the rise. Pray let me know when the next settling day happens at the French Bourse. I should like to know what day it will be, as I foresee that it will be a critical period. I hear that Flahault is coming over upon a special mission to the Court of Holland; but that will not be of any essential use to Thiers.

Metternich is just as stout and firm as we are, and Thiers' intrigues will fail there also. I must say I never in my life was more disgusted with anything than I have been by the conduct of certain parties-useless now to naine-in all this affair.

I hear from persons who have been in Germany that the same feeling of indignation that is felt by us against the conduct of the French Government is felt by the Germans, and that France would find no friends beyond the Rhine. One notion of Thiers seems to be that he might attack Austria, and leave the other powers alone. Pray undeceive him in this, and make him comprehend that England is not in the habit of deserting her allies; and that if France attacks Austria on account of this treaty, she will have to do with England as well as with Austria, and I have not the slightest doubt on earth that she would find Prussia and Russia upon her also. It is quite impossible that the severe pressure brought upon all interests in France by Thiers should not soon begin to be felt, and that loud complaints should not force him to take his line one way or the other. You think he may then cross the Rubicon. I still think that he will be unwilling or unable to do so.

Yours sincerely,

PALMERSTON.

CCLXXXII.

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On February 3, 1813, Leigh Hunt was sentenced to two years' imprisonment for an article in the Examiner,' in which the Prince Regent, who had been spoken of by the Morning Post' as an Adonis and a Mæcenas, was somewhat freely ridiculed. The result of the following letter to the governor of the gaol was that the poet was not only allowed to see his friends, but to decorate his cell in the most profuse manner; he was visited in the bower he made for himself by nearly all his distinguished literary contemporaries.

Leigh Hunt to Mr. Ives.

Surrey Jail: February 5, 1813. Mr. Leigh Hunt presents his compliments to Mr. Ives, and puts down his wishes upon paper as requested.

His first and greatest wish, then, is to be allowed to have his wife and children living with him in the prison. It is to be observed, that his is a new case within these walls; and not only so,

but that his habits have always been of the most domestic kind, that he has not been accustomed to be from home a day long, and that he is subject, particularly at night-time, to violent attacks of illness, accompanied by palpitations of the heart and other nervous affections, which render a companion not only much wanted, but sometimes hardly to be dispensed with. His state of health is bad at the present moment, as anybody may see; not so bad indeed as it has been, and he wishes to make no parade of it; but quite bad enough to make him feel tenfold all the wants of his situation, and to render it absolutely necessary that his greatest comforts should not all be taken away. If it would take time, however, to consider this request, his next wish is that his wife and children be allowed to be with him in the day-time. His happiness is wound up in them, and he shall say no more on this subject except that a total separation in respect to abode would be almost as bad to him as tearing his body asunder.

His third and last request is, that his friends be allowed to come up to his room during the daytime; and if this permission be given, he will give his word that it shall not be abused. His physician has often declared that society is necessary to his health; but though he has been used to every comfort that domestic and social happiness can bestow, he is content with as little as possible, and provided his just wish be granted, could make almost any sacrifice.

This is all he has to say on the subject, and all with which he should ever trouble anybody. The hope of living in Mr. Ives's house he has given up; many privations, of course, he is prepared to endure; with the other regulations of the prison he has no wish to interfere; and from what little has already been seen of him in this place, he believes that every credit will be given him for conducting himself in a reasonable and gentlemanly manner; for as he is a stubborn enemy of what is wrong, so is he one of the quietest and most considerate friends of what is right. He has many private friends who would do their utmost for him; and his character, he believes, has procured him some public ones of the highest description, who would leave no means untaken for bettering his condition, but he would willingly leave his comforts to those about him. To conclude, he is prepared to suffer all extremities rather than do himself dishonour; but it is no dishonour

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