548 IN THE DIPLOMATIC SERVICE-V 



most precious time, and asked Lord Odo how he got rid 

 of them. After making some reply, the latter asked Bis 

 marck what plan he had adopted. To this the chancellor 

 answered that he and Johanna (the princess) had hit 

 upon a plan, which was that when she thought her hus 

 band had been bored long enough, she came in with a bot 

 tle and said, i Now, Otto, you know that it is time for you 

 to take your medicine/ Hardly were the words out of 

 his mouth, when in came the princess with the bottle and 

 repeated the very words which her husband had just 

 given. Both burst into titanic laughter, and parted on 

 the best of terms. 



At court festivities, Lord Odo frequently became very 

 weary, and as I was often in the same case, we from time 

 to time went out of the main rooms together and sat 

 down in some quiet nook for a talk. On one of these 

 occasions, just after he had been made a peer with the 

 title of Baron Ampthill, I said to him, &quot;You must allow 

 me to use my Yankee privilege of asking questions. &quot; 

 On his assenting to this pleasantly, I asked, &quot;Why is it 

 that you are willing to give up the great historic name 

 of Eussell and take a name which no one ever heard of ! 

 He answered, &quot;I have noticed that when men who have 

 been long in the diplomatic service return to England, 

 they become in many cases listless and melancholy, and 

 wander about with no friends and nothing to do. They 

 have been so long abroad that they are no longer in touch 

 with leading men at home, and are therefore shelved. 

 Entrance into the House of Lords gives a man something 

 to do, with new friends and pleasing relations. As to the 

 name, I would gladly have retained my own, but had no 

 choice; in fact, when Lord John Eussell was made an 

 earl, his insisting on retaining his name was not espe 

 cially liked. Various places on the Russell estates were 

 submitted to me for my choice, and I took Ampthill. 



Alas ! his plans came to nothing. He died at his post 

 before his retirement to England. 



Among those then connected with the British Embassy 



