AS MINISTER TO GERM ANY- 1879 -1881 551 



of the whole table were turned upon us, and I fully 

 expected that some gallant Frenchman would come up 

 and challenge me for insulting a lady ; but no one moved, 

 and presently all went on with their dinners. The next 

 day the countess again appeared at my side, amiable as 

 ever, but during the remainder of my stay I kept far 

 from every possible allusion to politics. 



The Turkish ambassador, Sadoullah Bey, was a kindly 

 gentleman who wandered about, as the French expres- 

 sively say, "like a damned soul." Something seemed to 

 weigh upon him heavily and steadily. A more melan- 

 choly human being I have never seen, and it did not sur- 

 prise me, a few years later, to be told that, after one of the 

 palace revolutions at Constantinople, he had been executed 

 for plotting the assassination of the Sultan. 



The Russian ambassador, M. de Sabouroff, was a very 

 agreeable man, and his rooms were made attractive by 

 the wonderful collection of Tanagra statuettes which he 

 had brought from Greece, where he had formerly been 

 minister. In one matter he was especially helpful to me. 

 One day I received from Washington a cipher despatch in- 

 structing me to exert all my influence to secure the re- 

 lease of Madame , who, though married to a former 



Russian secretary of legation, was the daughter of an 

 American eminent in politics and diplomacy. The case 

 was very serious. The Russian who had married this 

 estimable lady had been concerned in various shady 

 transactions, and, having left his wife and little children 

 in Paris, had gone to Munich in the hope of covering 

 up some doubtful matters which were coming to light. 

 While on this errand he was seized and thrown into jail, 

 whereupon he telegraphed his wife to come to him. His 

 idea, evidently, was that when she arrived she also would 

 be imprisoned, and that her family would then feel forced 

 to intervene with the money necessary to get them both 

 out. The first part of the programme went as he had ex- 

 pected. His wife, on arriving in Munich, was at once 

 thrown into prison, and began thence sending to the 



