312 \His Evil Influence with Grey C 1 !? 10 



thing of the East, and will have the recommendation of having been 

 the late King's right-hand man. Nothing, however, in the shape of 

 new men will much affect the march of Asiatic and Egyptian things. 

 Egypt's future depends on the success of Turkey; India's on the suc- 

 cess of China and Japan. One thing Grey's speech will certainly have 

 effected : all Egypt will now become Nationalist and anti-English. 



' i$th June. — Dr. Rutherford came to lunch with me. In the after- 

 noon I went to Belgrave Square, and on with Madeline and Dorothy 

 to the Court Theatre to see Lady Gregory's play ' The Image,' which 

 disappointed me, being in three acts without much action, and the 

 dialogue being difficult for any but an Irishman to follow. The little 

 farce, ' Hyacinth Halvey,' which followed it, was quite delightful. 



" 16th June. — I have written to reproach Dillon with his absence 

 and the Irish silence at the Egyptian debate. Dillon, if he had been 

 there, could have led a serious attack on Grey, who once more was 

 able to hypnotize the Radicals below the gangway and obtained a com- 

 plete success for coercion in Egypt. The Irish were probably afraid 

 of offending Roosevelt. The Irish entertainment of Roosevelt the day 

 after his Guildhall speech was a betrayal of liberty which may cost 

 the Eastern world dear. [The incident of Roosevelt's intervention 

 marks an evil turn in Grey's diplomacy. The American's influence 

 with him was a personal one, due to their common interest in natural 

 history and out of door sports, which with Grey was paramount. I 

 attribute his marked preference for American rather than any other 

 foreign suggestions to the fact that with Americans only he could 

 converse in their own language, being ignorant of French or German.] 



" Lady C, on whom I called, told me she had just met M. de Soveral, 

 who had told her the King was certainly killed by his doctors. Soveral 

 was quite broken down by the King's death. As to the new Court, 

 she tells me Knollys was the only one about the old King who was 

 really faithful to him. He was left heir to all the King's papers and 

 correspondence, and knew absolutely everything of the King's secrets, 

 having been entrusted with the keys, while he lived, of every box. 

 Most of these secrets, she said, will die with Knollys. Queen Alex- 

 andra has been well provided for, the King having left her £30,000 a 

 year, which will be made up to £100,000 by Parliament. She will go 

 with her sister, the Empress of Russia and her daughter to Copenhagen 

 at the end of July and- stay there till Christmas, then to Sandringham, 

 where she will live when in England, her son reserving the shooting. 

 King George is entirely devoted to his mother and will do everything 

 possible for her. 



" Kitchener has been recently to see Lady C. She had talked to 

 him about me and he had said I had done a deal of mischief in Egypt; 

 I am glad he thinks so. 



