136 RECOLLECTIONS OF FORTY YEARS. 



"If all terminates as I hope, I shall hand to the 

 heads of each Legation a memorandum which I have 

 prepared with confirmatory documents appended." 



To Chevalier Revoltella, Trieste. 



" CONSTANTINOPLE, December 10, 1859. 

 " There haye been two councils within the last three 

 days, and there will be another to-morrow. The Porte 

 is still hesitating, for Sir H. Bulwer has held out 

 threats of war, but we have made the Turkish ministers 

 understand that this is only bluster, and that he would 

 look very foolish if asked to put this in writing." 



To M. Ruyssenaers, Alexandria. 



" CONSTANTINOPLE, December 24, 1859. 



"M. Thouvenel has informed me that at last the 

 agreed reference to the Powers has been drawn up, 

 after sixteen ministerial councils. This reference, the 

 terms of which were so long discussed, has been commu- 

 nicated to M. Thouvenel, and by him sent on to Paris. 



" The Sultan sent, the day before yesterday, for the 

 Grand Vizier, as well as for Fuad Pasha, the Minister 

 of Foreign Affairs, to congratulate them upon their 

 conduct of the negotiations. 



" Yesterday afternoon, we were thunderstruck to 

 hear that the Grand Yizier, Kuprisly Pasha, had been 

 dismissed, and I was afraid at first that there had been 

 a change of front in Turkish policy. But I was at 



