278 RECOLLECTIONS OF FORTY YEARS. 



" Lord Clarendon then went on to speak of Con- 

 stantinople, and said that Lord Stratford de Redcliffe 

 complained very much of Benedetti, to which I re- 

 plied that this was a case of the wolf complaining of 

 the lamb. As he told me that Lord Stratford de 

 Bedclifte had not originally taken any action against 

 the project at first, I told him how Eeschid Pasha 

 himself had confided to me the difficult position he 

 was placed in, owing to the active steps taken by 

 Lord Stratford de Bed cliff e on the one hand, and the 

 passive attitude of Benedetti on the other. 



"'I may tell you, 7 added Lord Clarendon, 'that 

 Lord Stratford de Eedcliffe speaks in the highest terms 

 of the excellent personal relations he has had with you. 

 To revert to the present relations of the French and 

 English cabinets, I can assure you that my colleagues 

 and myself consider ourselves members of one and 

 the same Cabinet. Our confidence in the Emperor and 

 Count "Walewski, whose loyalty has done much to 

 tighten the bonds between the two countries, is com- 

 plete and unrestricted.' 



"I am pleased to find that Lord Clarendon, in 

 speaking thus, is expressing the unanimous opinion of 

 all classes in this country. 



" The only fear seems to be lest the very sincere 

 desire which exists for an alliance should not be 

 shared by public opinion in France, and fashionable 

 people who have been in France, and passed some time 

 in Paris society, help to accredit this hesitation. This 



