1912] Haldane' s Mission to Berlin 379 



Ward's ' Life of Newman,' which is just out. Meynell has taken up 

 the cudgels for Manning in the ' Tablet,' which has moved the Duke 

 of Norfolk to anger. 



" 6th Feb. — Sat with Rivers Wilson at his house in Berkeley Square. 

 He has been reading my Gordon book and also ' Egypt's Ruin.' He 

 says both are very accurate, and that I have converted him on many 

 points regarding Egypt. He told me some interesting things. First 

 as to the origin of the famous Joint Note of 1881. [The Joint Note 

 signed by the English and French Governments promising help to the 

 Khedive Tewfik against Arabi and the Parliament. It was that that 

 causedi the war of 1882 and the English Occupation.] Wilson told me 

 that it was he who suggested the idea of it to Gambetta, assuring him 

 that the English Government would go with him. Though he did not 

 take part in drafting the note, Gambetta sat down to draft it before he 

 left the room, where they had been discussing it. It was to be a dead 

 secret between the two, but Wilson told Nubar of it, who highly ap- 

 proved, and Nubar let it out to Blowitz, and it thus got talked of in the 

 1 Times.' Gambetta was very angry with Wilson on account of it. 

 Also he told me a number of tales about Omar Lutfi, Shahin Pasha, 

 and others, and what scoundrels they had been, with other stories 

 nearer home. 



" gth Feb. — Haldane has been sent on a secret mission to Berlin, 

 well advertised in all the papers. There seems to be a real attempt at 

 a rapprochement with Germany. If it comes to anything they will 

 probably shift Haldane to the Foreign Office in Grey's place. Any- 

 thing will be better than Grey, though I don't trust the other. 



"nth Feb. (Sunday). — A young man, Borthwick, appeared with 

 a letter of introduction from Stead. He has been in the 10th Hussars 

 for three years in India, and since in Algeria and Morocco. He wished 

 to consult me about a wild cat scheme he has of going to Ghadames 

 raising the Senussia against Italy, and driving the Italian army into 

 the sea. I had him up to talk to me, but did not much encourage him, 

 as I think the thing impossible of success, though of course desirable. 

 The right strategy for the Arabs is to harass the Italians and prevent 

 their moving inland, and not to attempt to retake the sea coast towns 

 where the Italian army is protected by the Fleet. Belloc dined with 

 me. He says he hears that Kitchener is considered at the F. O. to be 

 overdoing his part at Cairo. 



" 12th Feb. — I am reading Ward's ' Life of Newman,' a rather 

 dreary work, though it interests me from the many mentions it makes 

 of persons I used to know, nor do I think the book does any good 

 service either to Newman or the Catholic cause. The truth is, a re- 

 ligious life is at least as unsatisfactory as any other, and seen near at 

 hand there is much in Newman's which would have been better for- 



