1907] King Edward's Influence Abroad 175 



Mark had to read his part. Claud was costumed in one of George 

 Wyndham's old undress Guard's uniforms he had sent us for the occa- 

 sion. He could not come himself to see the play. Guy Carleton did 

 Boilas. The other actors were Benjamin by Everard Meynell, a won- 

 derful personation of an Oriental, the Makawkas by Lucas, the Patri- 

 arch by Daisy Blunt, with Mrs. Lucas and the youngest Meynell girl 

 for Coptic women in attendance on Jael and afterwards as Arabs. 

 Though we had only had three rehearsals the play went off without a 

 hitch. 



" 2jth July. — Lady Paget was here to-day and talked very pleas- 

 antly, telling amongst other things the latest spiritualistic story accord- 

 ing to which the late Lord Carlingford has re-entered into communica- 

 tion with the living and is carrying on a correspondence in his own 

 handwriting with one of his friends, principally on Irish politics, of 

 which he has found a new devolutionary solution. He is in daily inter- 

 course with Gladstone and has converted him to the doctrine of pro- 

 tection ! 



" 2&th Jidy. — Horace Rumbold has been staying with me, and his 

 son Horace, now Secretary to the Madrid Embassy, was here for the 

 day yesterday. Horace is seventy-eight and rather feeble, but still a 

 good companion. I had a long talk with him last night about European, 

 Egyptian and Indian politics. He gave me an interesting account of the 

 King's influence in foreign affairs. His Majesty insists now on making 

 all important diplomatic appointments himself, and busies himself 

 much more than ever the old Queen did in the foreign policy adopted. 

 This works sometimes for good, sometimes for harm. The King and 

 the Emperor William have been for years on the worst of terms, and 

 it is only quite recently that the quarrel between them is being made up. 

 Seckendorff, the confidential adviser of the Empress Frederick, who, 

 people say, married her after the Emperor's death, had talked to him 

 about it, and had done his best to bring about a better understanding. 

 The Emperor of Austria had greatly desired to attend the late Queen's 

 Diamond Jubilee, as he had never been in England, and the sole 

 reason why he was not invited was, that he could not be so without 

 inviting also the Emperor William. Wilhelm was a bitter enemy of 

 England, and if he lived would some day make Germany a danger to 

 us. I told him of the old Prussian scheme of uniting with Holland 

 and reviving the claim to the Dutch Colonies. [I had learned this fact 

 in 1866 from Count d'Usedom, the Prussian Minister to Italy; while I 

 was staying with him at the Villa Capponi at Florence. He told me 

 that this was a settled policy of the Berlin Foreign Office.] Rumbold 

 said it was news to him, but he quite believed it, and some day this 

 would come about through a failure of direct heirs to the Dutch 

 throne. He considers England would be easily invaded from the 



