394 Dr. Granville’s Travels to St. Petersburgh. [Ocr. 
monarch, at that time residing in Corfu, was Count Mocenigo ; anobleman 
who, by his impartial conduct, had gained the esteem of persons of all parties. 
He lived in a style of splendour well becoming his high station, and it was at 
his hospitable table that I recollect seeing, for the first time, Count Capo 
d’Istrias. One could observe, even at that early period of that gentleman's 
public career, that he possessed, within him, all the necessary elements for 
ensuring his future elevation. General Romieux, the Representative of the 
French Consular Government to the Septinsular Republic, near to whom I sat 
on that day, said to me, pointing to the Count :—‘ Cet homme ira bien loin 
dans la carriére de la diplomatie. Il ne lui faut que des circonstances favor- 
ables” The General’s prophecy has long been verified ; but its final and most 
triumphant accomplishment is even now taking place, by the Count’s eleva- 
tion to the chief station in the Greek Government. From the year 1813, when 
Capo d’Istrias was Minister Plenipotentiary from the Emperor of Russia to 
the Swiss Cantons, and, for his firm and upright conduct, was honoured with 
the right of citizenship by one of the Cantons, to the beginning of 1827, his 
career has been, with little interruption, a constant succession of highly 
honourable distinctions. He assisted at all the most important deliberations 
in.some of those Congresses of Sovereigns which peculiarly mark the diplo- 
matic history of Europe during the last fifteen years ; and, on the part of 
Russia, affixed his name to the memorable treaty of peace, concluded in Paris 
on the 20th of November, 1818. In the full enjoyment of the confidence and 
good opinion of his Sovereign, the Emperor Alexander, Count Capo d'Istrias 
ollowed his Imperial Master to St. Petersburgh after the signature of that 
Treaty, where he assumed, in conjunction with Count Nesselrode, the func- 
tions of Secretary of State for the Foreign Department. 
“ The more opportunities I have of conversing with Count Capo d'Istrias, 
the more convinced I feel of the justice of public opinion in regard to his 
merits. On one occasion he discoursed at full length on the state of Greece, 
and the form of Government best adapted for that country. On a subject 
that had been so long and so often discussed, I should have thought it impos- 
sible for any one to offer any thing new. The Count, however, proved by his 
opinions, corroborated by facts, and an appeal to long experience, that much 
which is novel, striking, and important, remained yet to be told on so interest- 
ing a subject. His notions respecting finances and loans, in particular, made 
a great impression on my mind. I had never heard those questions treated 
in so original a manner ; nor was I the less struck by the prudence and cau- 
tion which seemed to mark the sentiments of this statesman. The facility 
with which, while speaking, he referred to certain facts, led me to remark to 
him that his memory appeared surprising. He assured me that the compliment 
must not be generally applied, and that he never had any memory for precise 
words and numbers, but only for ideas. In support of this assertion, he 
related an anecdote respecting his admission as Doctor of Philosophy, in the 
University of Padua. On that occasion he had endeavoured to commit to 
memory his thesis, which had been previously approved of by the professors, 
with a view to his defending it, according to custom. But on mounting the 
rostrum, not a word could he recollect of his composition. He knew well 
enough what it was all about—recollected the arrangement of the different 
paragraphs by the help of the ideas which each contained; but the words, 
the provoking words, escaped his mind’s grasp. He hummed, and made the 
triple bow to his audience twice over, and stood mute; when at last, tired of 
this mummery, he took the thesis out of his pocket, and began reading it 
aloud, very-coolly, to the great amusement of the whole assembly. I take it, 
that this ,is, in fact, the best kind of memory for men of business: it helps 
them to retain things and ideas, rather than mere words and the arrangement 
of phrases. We saw a good deal of this distinguished individual during our 
stay at Brussels. His personal appearance is striking. 'The squareness and 
great elevation of his forehead—the extraordinary size of his ears, considerably 
el 
