242 Swinburne's Death [!909 



military helplessness, and secondly of France's entire unwillingness to 

 fight. Of this Aerenthal and Biilow have taken full advantage, and 

 have not only gained their end in Servia, but have done it in such a 

 way as to make it clear to all the world that their will is law, and that 

 they care not a brass button for either Russia or England. This 

 cannot but react on Constantinople, and it is probable now that the 

 Turks will have to make terms with Austria, perhaps even an alliance, 

 and leave English influence aside. I confess I do not see what else 

 they are to do. It is clear England cannot and will not give them 

 military help, and they are forced back on Kaiser Wilhelm's good 

 will if they are to preserve Macedonia or even Constantinople. Roth- 

 stein, however, assures me that no farther advance will be made by 

 Austria yet, as Germany will not be ready with her navy for some 

 years. Then the war with England will certainly be." 



This remarkable forecast of the situation marks the point at which 

 Grey's incredible mistakes in diplomatic dealing with Europe and at 

 Constantinople began to declare themselves. That he should have been 

 ignorant of Russia's impotence and have sacrificed to her alliance all 

 his relations with the East, was a cardinal mistake which led to his 

 subsequent gambler's folly of joining France and Russia in the great 

 war. 



" Rothstein had hardly gone when letters came from Farid Bey at 

 Cairo and Malony at Teheran. Malony's account of the Persian revo- 

 lution is more cheerful than any I have yet read. He considers the 

 whole of Persia to be now on the Constitutional side, even Teheran, 

 where the Shah has a few troops. He does not think the Shah can 

 maintain himself even there. Farid complains of new press laws and 

 laws prohibiting meetings. He urges me to raise my voice once more 

 in the Egyptian cause. 



" George and Sibell dined with me and Saleeby and his wife, a 

 fortunate combination, and we had a very pleasant evening. 



' nth April {Easter Sunday). — The news of the day is that Swin- 

 burne is dead. ' The greatest lyric poet of the English tongue,' is my 

 judgment of him, and perhaps ' our worst prose writer.' Beyond being 

 a poet, he was almost nothing. He never enjoyed his life, wasting his 

 youth on drink and his old age on Theodore Watts. Mrs. Morris says 

 he never was in love with any respectable woman, but Lady C, who 

 knew him well, says that he was once when quite young. His most 

 respectable connection was probably Ada Menken. It was a poor life as 

 far as action was concerned. As a poet, however, he will live when 

 nearly every other of our age is forgotten, for he was a prince of 

 harmony and rhyme and created an entirely new kind of lyric verse. 

 He was seventy-two last week and died of a rapid pneumonia. He 

 ought certainly to have been Laureate after Tennyson, but the old 



