Paris, 18th February 1856.
Lord Clarendon presents his humble duty to your Majesty, and humbly begs to say that he dined last night at the Tuileries, and had a conversation of two hours with the Emperor, which was in all respects satisfactory. On no occasion has Lord Clarendon heard the Emperor express himself more warmly or with greater determination in favour of the Alliance, and H.M. entirely concurred with Lord Clarendon, that upon the perfect understanding between the two Governments, and the conviction on the part of others that the Alliance was not to be shaken, depended the facility with which negotiations might be conducted, and the terms on which peace would be made. Lord Clarendon spoke with the utmost frankness about the flattery that had been and would continue to be addressed to His Majesty, and the contrast perpetually drawn between England and France, to the disparagement of the former, for the purpose of disturbing the relations between them; but that your Majesty and your Majesty's Government had always treated these tricks with contempt, because the confidence in the Emperor's honour and loyalty was complete. Lord Clarendon dwelt particularly upon the feelings of your Majesty and of the Prince on this subject, and the pleasure it gave the Emperor was evident; and he desired Lord Clarendon to say that your Majesty should never find such confidence misplaced.
He promised Lord Clarendon that he would give Baron Brunnow and Count Buol to understand that if they thought the Alliance could be disturbed by them they would find themselves grievously mistaken, and that it would be waste of time to try and alter any conditions upon which he had agreed with the English Government.
The Emperor appeared to be much gratified by your Majesty's letter, for the first thing he said to Lord Clarendon on coming into the room before dinner was "quelle charmante lettre vous m'avez apportée de la Reine," and then began upon the extraordinary clearness with which your Majesty treated all matters of business, and the pleasure he derived from every discussion of them with your Majesty....
The Empress was looking in great health and beauty. She was in the highest spirits, and full of affectionate enquiry for your Majesty.
Calcutta, 19th February 1856.
The Governor-General presents his most humble duty to your Majesty, and has the honour of submitting to your Majesty a copy of a Proclamation, whereby the Kingdom of Oudh has been placed exclusively and permanently under the authority of your Majesty's Government.14
The various considerations, and the course of public events, which led to this necessity, have long since been laid before your Majesty's Government in great detail.
The Governor-General during the past summer communicated to the Home Authorities his readiness to remain in India as long as he dared, namely, for one additional month, until the 1st of March, for the purpose of carrying into effect the proposed policy regarding Oudh—if it was desired that he should do so.
The orders from the Home Government reached the Governor-General only upon the 2nd of January, leaving barely two months for the assembling of the military force which was necessary to provide against all risks—for the negotiations with the King—and for the organisation of the future Civil and Military Administration of Oudh.
Every preparation having been completed, the Resident at Lucknow waited upon the King in person—communicated to him the resolution which the British Government had taken—and tendered for his acceptance a new Treaty, whereby the transfer of the Government of Oudh would have been made a matter of amicable agreement.
The King wholly refused to sign any Treaty. He declared himself ready to submit to the will of the British Government in all things. He bade the Resident observe that every mark of power had already been laid down by His Majesty's own orders—the guns at the palace gates were dismounted, the guards bore no arms, and, though drawn up as usual in the Court, they saluted the Resident with their hands only; while not a weapon was worn by any officer in the Palace.
The King gave way to passionate bursts of grief and anger—implored the intercession of the Resident in his behalf—and finally, uncovering his head, he placed his turban in the Resident's hands. This act—the deepest mark of humiliation and helplessness which a native of the East can exhibit—became doubly touching and significant when the head thus bared in supplication was one that had worn a royal crown.
The Government, however, had already borne too long with the wrongs inflicted by the sovereigns of Oudh upon their unhappy subjects. The clamorous grief of the King could not be allowed to shut out the cry of his people's misery. The King's appeal, therefore, could not be listened to; and as His Majesty, at the end of the three days' space which was allowed him for deliberation, still resolutely refused to sign a Treaty, the territory of Oudh was taken possession of, by the issue of the Proclamation which has now been respectfully submitted to your Majesty.
It is the fourth kingdom in India which has passed under your Majesty's sceptre during the last eight years.15
Perfect tranquillity has prevailed in Oudh since the event which has just been narrated. General Outram writes that the populace of Lucknow, more interested than any other community in the maintenance of the native dynasty, already "appear to have forgotten they ever had a King." In the districts the Proclamation has been heartily welcomed by the middle and lower classes; while even the higher orders, who of course lose much in a native state by the cessation of corruption and tyranny, have shown no symptoms of dissatisfaction.
There seems every reason to hope and expect that the same complete tranquillity will attend the further progress of our arrangements for the future administration of Oudh....
The Governor-General has only further to report to your Majesty that Lord Canning arrived at Madras on the 14th inst., and that he will assume the Government of India on the last day of this month.
The Governor-General will report hereafter Lord Canning's arrival at Fort William; and he has now the honour to subscribe himself, your Majesty's most obedient, most humble and devoted Subject and Servant,
Footnote 14: In a letter of the 13th, Mr Vernon Smith had told the Queen that the Press rumours of "annexation" were premature, and that the use of the word itself had been avoided in Lord Canning's correspondence with the Court of Directors.
Footnote 15: The earlier annexations were those of the Punjab (1849), Pegu (1852), and Nagpur (1853); some minor additions were also made under what was called the "doctrine of lapse."
Buckingham Palace, 27th February 1856.
The Queen returns Lord Clarendon's letter.
The matter becomes very serious, and it would be a bad position for us to be left quite alone in the Conference, which the Russians, the Queen has every reason to believe, are anxiously striving to bring about. In fact, well-informed persons pretend that this was the main aim of Russia in accepting the Austrian ultimatum and going to Paris.
Would it not answer to take this line: to say to Russia, "You have accepted the ultimatum, pur et simple, and have now again recognised its stipulations as preliminaries of peace. You will, therefore, first of all, have to execute them; you may then come to the question of Kars and say you mean to keep it—then you will see that Europe, bound to maintain the integrity of Turkey, will be obliged to go on with the war, and it will be for you to consider whether you mean to go on fighting for Kars; but at present this is not in question, as you are only called upon to fulfil the engagements to which you have solemnly pledged yourself"?
Perhaps Lord Palmerston will discuss this suggestion with his colleagues to-night.
Piccadilly, 27th February 1856.
Viscount Palmerston presents his humble duty to your Majesty, and begs to state that as the result of the deliberations of the Cabinet this evening, the accompanying telegraphic message is proposed to be sent to-morrow morning to Lord Clarendon. It is founded upon the substance of your Majesty's memorandum of this afternoon. Viscount Palmerston has taken another copy of this draft.
28th February 1856.
[Enclosure.]
Your letter has been considered by the Cabinet.
Russia should be told that she cannot recede from the conditions which she deliberately agreed to by a pur et simple acceptance at Petersburg, which she afterwards formally recorded in a protocol at Vienna, and which she has within a few days solemnly converted into preliminaries of peace.
Those engagements must be fulfilled, and those conditions must be carried into execution.
As to Kars, Austria, France, and Great Britain have undertaken to maintain the integrity of the Turkish Empire, and that integrity must be maintained.
Russia received no equivalent for giving up the principalities which she had occupied as a material pledge. She can receive none for giving up Kars.
If Russia determines to carry on the war, rather than give up Kars, things must take their course.
Government House, 29th February 1856.
Lord Dalhousie presents his most humble duty to your Majesty.
The guns are announcing from the ramparts of Fort William that Lord Canning has arrived. In an hour's time he will have assumed the Government of India. Lord Dalhousie will transfer it to him in a state of perfect tranquillity. There is peace, within and without. And although no prudent man will ever venture to predict the certainty of continued peace in India, yet Lord Dalhousie is able to declare, within reservation, that he knows of no quarter in which it is probable that trouble will arise.16
Lord Dalhousie desires that his very last act, as Governor-General, should be to submit to your Majesty a respectful expression of the deep sense he entertains of your Majesty's constant approbation of his public conduct while he has held the office of Governor-General of India; together with a humble assurance of the heartfelt gratitude with which he shall ever remember your Majesty's gracious favour towards him through the eight long years during which he has borne the ponderous burden he lays down to-day.
Lord Dalhousie begs permission to take leave of your Majesty, and has the honour to subscribe himself, with deep devotion, your Majesty's most obedient, most humble and faithful Subject and Servant,
Footnote 16: It has been, however, freely alleged that the failure to repress acts of insubordination in the administration of Lord Dalhousie was a contributory, if not the direct, cause of the events of 1857. See post, p. 223, and Walpole's History of England from the Conclusion of the Great War in 1815, ch. xxvii., and authorities there referred to.
Buckingham Palace, [? March] 1856.
The Queen returns these letters to Lord Palmerston. She entirely concurs in Lord Palmerston's general views of the question, but at the same time she thinks—as circumstances, which are beyond our control, may so vary from day to day or even from hour to hour—that Lord Clarendon should receive full powers to act according to what may appear to him to be best and wisest at the time, even if it should not be in strict accordance with what we originally contemplated and must naturally wish. Such a power would certainly not be misplaced in Lord Clarendon's hands; his firmness, and his sense of what this country expects, are too well known to lead us to doubt of his permitting anything but what would really be for the best of this country, and for the maintenance of the Alliance.
Buckingham Palace, 6th March 1856.
With reference to Lord Clarendon's letter, the Queen must say that she, though very reluctantly, shares his opinion, that we have no choice now but to accept the peace, even if it is not all we could desire, and if another campaign might have got us better terms. She feels certain that the bad accounts of the French Army in the Crimea, which appears to suffer now all the misery which ours suffered last year at the worst time of the siege, will more than ever indispose the Emperor from risking a renewal of hostilities. It is affirmed that the French have beyond 20,000 men in hospital!
If we are to have this peace, however, the Queen must again agree with Lord Clarendon that we ought not ourselves to depreciate it, as our Press has done the deeds of our Army.
With regard to the principalities, it is the Queen's opinion that nothing will oppose a barrier to Russia and her intrigues but the arrangement which will satisfy the people themselves, viz. an hereditary monarchy. The example of Egypt might perfectly well be followed in Wallachia and Moldavia.
The subject of Poland would, in the Queen's opinion, be much better left unintroduced into the present negotiations; we have no claim arising out of this war to ask Russia to make concessions on that head, which, moreover, would be treated by her as an internal question not admitting of foreign interference.
The clause in the Treaty of Vienna about the Bonapartes is a dead letter, as this very Treaty, now to be signed, will prove, and the Emperor would act very unwisely to call for an alteration in which all Powers who signed the original Treaty would claim to be consulted. We have every interest not to bring about a European Congress pour la Révision des Traités, which many people suspect the Emperor wishes to turn the present Conference into.
The Queen wishes only to add that, should Prussia be asked to join in the final Treaty on the ground of her having been a party to the July Treaty, we should take care that it does not appear that this was an act of courtesy of all the other Powers towards Prussia except England, who need not be made to take additional unpopularity in Germany upon herself.
Paris, 18th March 1856.
Lord Clarendon presents his humble duty to your Majesty, and humbly begs to say that the Emperor gave him to-day the most satisfactory report of the Empress and the young Prince.17 There appears to be little or no fever now, and a great power of sleeping. The Emperor's eyes filled with tears when he described the tortures of the Empress and his own sensations. He said he hardly knew how to express his gratitude for the interest which your Majesty had manifested for the Empress, and for the letters which he had received from your Majesty and the Prince.
The Prussian Plenipotentiaries18 were admitted at the close of the Conference this afternoon—all important matters under negotiation having been concluded.
Count Walewski made an ineffectual attempt to make it appear by a doubtful form of expression that Prussia had taken part throughout in the negotiations. Lord Cowley and Lord Clarendon said that they wished to show all courtesy to Prussia, but could not consent to sign what was manifestly untrue....
Footnote 17: The Prince Imperial, Napoléon Eugène Louis Jean Joseph, was born on the 16th of March.
Footnote 18: Baron Manteuffel and Count Hatzfeldt.
Midhurst, 20th March 1856.
... It is generally thought that the young Prince Frederic William of Prussia is to be married to our Princess Royal. I was dining tête-à-tête with Mr Buchanan, the American Minister, a few days ago, who had dined the day before at the Queen's table, and sat next to the Princess Royal. He was in raptures about her, and said she was the most charming girl he had ever met: "All life and spirit, full of frolic and fun, with an excellent head, and a heart as big as a mountain"—those were his words. Another friend of mine, Colonel Fitzmayer, dined with the Queen last week, and in writing to me a description of the company, he says, that when the Princess Royal smiles, "it makes one feel as if additional light were thrown upon the scene." So I should judge that this said Prince is a lucky fellow, and I trust he will make a good husband. If not, although a man of peace, I shall consider it a casus belli....
Footnote 19: Submitted to the Queen.
Paris, 29th March 1856.
Lord Clarendon presents his humble duty to your Majesty, and humbly begs to say that the Emperor sent General Ney to him this morning to request that Lord Clarendon would convey the cordial thanks of the Emperor to your Majesty for the feu de joie fired by your Majesty's troops in the Crimea upon the announcement of the birth of the Prince Imperial.
Lord Clarendon was much embarrassed by a letter this morning from Lord Palmerston, desiring that the signature of the Treaty should be postponed till Monday, in case the Cabinet should have any amendments to propose; and Lord Clarendon humbly hopes that your Majesty may not be displeased at his not having acted upon this injunction, because he had promised to sign the Treaty to-morrow in accordance with the general wish of the Congress, notwithstanding that it was Sunday, and he could not therefore go back from his engagement—every preparation is made for illuminations, not alone at Paris, but throughout France, as all the Prefects have been informed of the signature—the odium that would have fallen [on] us all would have been extreme throughout Europe it may be said, and it would have been regarded as a last proof of our unwillingness to make peace. The friendly feeling of the Congress towards the English P.P.'s20 would have changed, and they probably would have agreed to no amendments, requiring that all the seven copies of the Treaty should be recopied. In short, Lord Clarendon felt that he had no choice but to take upon himself the responsibility of signing to-morrow; but he has suggested that Lord Palmerston's private letter should be converted into a despatch, in order that the sole and entire blame should rest with Lord Clarendon....21
Footnote 20: I.e., Plenipotentiaries.
Footnote 21: For the chief stipulations of the Treaty, see Introductory Note, ante, p. 158. In addition to the actual Treaty, an important declaration was made as to the rules of international maritime law, to be binding only on the signatory powers, dealing with the following points:—
(a) Abolition of Privateering.
(b) Neutral flag to cover enemy's goods, other than contraband of war.
(c) Neutral goods, other than contraband of war, under enemy's flag, to be exempt from seizure.
(d) Blockades to be binding must be effective, i.e. maintained by adequate marine force.
Piccadilly, 30th March 1856.
Viscount Palmerston presents his humble duty to your Majesty, and in submitting the accompanying letter from Lord Clarendon, he begs to state that he informed Lord Clarendon by the messenger yesterday evening that all he had done and agreed to was approved, and that he might sign the Treaty to-day. It was to be signed at half-past twelve this day.
Viscount Palmerston begs to congratulate your Majesty upon an arrangement which effects a settlement that is satisfactory for the present, and which will probably last for many years to come, of questions full of danger to the best interests of Europe. Greater and more brilliant successes by land and sea might probably have been accomplished by the Allies if the war had continued, but any great and important additional security against future aggressions by Russia could only have been obtained by severing from Russia large portions of her frontier territory, such as Finland, Poland, and Georgia; and although by great military and financial efforts and sacrifices those territories might for a time have been occupied, Russia must have been reduced to the lowest state of internal distress, before her Emperor could have been brought to put his name to a Treaty of Peace finally surrendering his sovereignty over those extensive countries; and to have continued the war long enough for these purposes would have required greater endurance than was possessed by your Majesty's Allies, and might possibly have exhausted the good-will of your Majesty's own subjects....
Paris, 30th March 1856.
Lord Clarendon presents his humble duty to your Majesty, and humbly begs to congratulate your Majesty upon the signature of peace this afternoon. It is not to be doubted that another campaign must have brought glory to your Majesty's arms, and would have enabled England to impose different terms upon Russia, but setting aside the cost and the horrors of war, in themselves evils of the greatest magnitude, we cannot feel sure that victory might not have been purchased too dearly—a continuation of the war would hardly have been possible either with or without France—if we had dragged her on with us it would have been most reluctantly on her part, her finances would have suffered still more, she would have borne us ill-will, would have acted feebly with us, and would on the first favourable occasion have left us in the lurch. If we had continued the war single-handed, France would feel that she had behaved shabbily to us, and would therefore have hated us all the more, and become our enemy sooner than under any other circumstances; a coalition of Europe might then have taken place against England, to which the United States would but too gladly have adhered, and the consequence might have been most serious.
Lord Clarendon would not make such an assertion lightly, but he feels convinced that your Majesty may feel satisfied with the position now occupied by England—six weeks ago it was a painful position here, everybody was against us, our motives were suspected, and our policy was denounced; but the universal feeling now is that we are the only country able and ready, and willing, if necessary, to continue the war; that we might have prevented peace, but that having announced our readiness to make peace on honourable terms we have honestly and unselfishly acted up to our word. It is well known, too, that the conditions on which peace is made would have been different if England had not been firm, and everybody is, of course, glad even here that peace should not have brought dishonour to France.
Lord Clarendon, therefore, ventures to hope that the language in England with respect to the peace will not be apologetic or dissatisfied. It would be unwise and undignified, and would invite criticism if such language were held before the conditions are publicly known.
Windsor Castle, 31st March 1856.
The Queen thanks Lord Clarendon much for his two letters of Saturday and yesterday; and we congratulate him on the success of his efforts in obtaining the Peace, for to him alone it is due, and also to him alone is due the dignified position which the Queen's beloved country holds, and which she owes to a straightforward, steady, and unselfish policy throughout.
Much as the Queen disliked the idea of Peace, she has become reconciled to it, by the conviction that France would either not have continued the war, or continued it in such a manner that no glory could have been hoped for for us.
We have a striking proof of this in Pélissier not having obeyed the Emperor's orders and never having thought of occupying Sak.22 This really might be hinted to the Emperor....
The Queen finds Lord Palmerston very well pleased with the Peace, though he struggled as long as he could for better conditions....
Footnote 22: The word is so written in the original draft. There was a place of the name near Old Fort in the Crimea, but this is more probably an abbreviation for Sakatal in Caucasia.
Windsor Castle, 1st April 1856.
My dearest Uncle,— ... Peace is signed! But till the ratifications have taken place its terms cannot be known. That so good a Peace has been obtained, and that this country stands in the high position she now does by having made peace, but not yielding to unworthy and dishonourable terms, is all owing to Lord Clarendon, whose difficulties were immense, and who cannot be too highly praised.
May I beg to remind you to make enquiries, quietly, about the young Prince of Orange23—as to his education, entourage, and disposition? Pray also don't forget to try and let us have a new Russian; it would be infinitely better.24
We were much grieved to hear the day before yesterday from Sommer that poor Stockmar had had a relapse, but the illness is clearly of a spasmodic nature and therefore not at all dangerous, and the pain had speedily left him, but of course left him again weaker, which is most distressing.
Now with Albert's affectionate love and our reiterated warmest thanks, in which Vicky is included, for your having so VERY kindly come over for her Confirmation, believe me, ever, your devoted Niece and Child,
Footnote 23: Prince William Nicholas, born 1840, elder son of King William III. of Holland.
Footnote 24: The new Russian Ambassador was Count Creptowitch.
Palais de Buckingham, le 3 Avril 1856.
Sire et mon cher Frère,—V.M. me permettra de lui offrir toutes mes félicitations à l'occasion de la paix qui a été conclue sous vos auspices, et peu de jours seulement après l'heureux événement qui vous a donné un fils. Quoique partageant le sentiment de la pluspart de mon peuple qui trouve que cette paix est peut-être un peu précoce, j'éprouve le besoin de vous dire que j'approuve hautement les termes dans lesquels elle a été conçue, comme un résultat qui n'est pas indigne des sacrifices que nous avons faits mutuellement pendant cette juste guerre, et comme assurant autant que cela se peut, la stabilité de l'équilibre Européen....
Le Prince me charge de vous offrir ses hommages les plus affectueux, et je me dis pour toujours, Sire et cher Frère, de V.M.I., la bien affectionnée Sœur et Amie,
Paris, 6th April 1856.
Lord Clarendon presents his humble duty to your Majesty....
Lord Clarendon humbly begs in Lord Cowley's name and his own most gratefully to acknowledge the kind and gracious intention of your Majesty to raise each of them a step in the Peerage, and they venture to hope that your Majesty will not have been displeased at their having respectfully declined this great distinction. Lord Cowley's reason was his extreme poverty, and the feeling that an accession of rank would only aggravate the inconvenience he already experiences from being a Peer....
Lord Clarendon felt that courtesy titles to his younger sons would be a positive injury to them in working for their bread, and he relied upon your Majesty's unvarying kindness for appreciating his reluctance to prefer himself to his children. He may, with entire truth, add that the knowledge that your Majesty has approved of their conduct is ample and abundant reward for Lord Cowley and himself. Lord Clarendon hopes it is not presumptuous in him to say that he would not exchange your Majesty's letters of approval for any public mark of your Majesty's favour....
Buckingham Palace, 11th April 1856.
Now that the moment for the ratification of the Treaty of Peace is near at hand, the Queen wishes to delay no longer the expression of her satisfaction as to the manner in which both the War has been brought to a conclusion, and the honour and interests of this country have been maintained by the Treaty of Peace, under the zealous and able guidance of Lord Palmerston. She wishes as a public token of her approval to bestow the Order of the Garter upon him. Should the two vacant Ribbons already have been promised to the Peers whose names Lord Palmerston has on a former occasion submitted to the Queen, there could be no difficulty in his being named an extra Knight, not filling up the next vacancy which may occur; this course was followed when Lord Grey received the Garter from the hands of King William.
Piccadilly, 11th April 1856.
Viscount Palmerston presents his humble duty to your Majesty, and is unable to express in words the gratification and thankfulness which he feels upon the receipt of your Majesty's most gracious and unexpected communication of this morning. The utmost of his ambition has been so to perform the duties of the high position in which your Majesty has been pleased to place him, as to prove himself not unworthy of the confidence with which your Majesty has honoured him; and the knowledge that your Majesty has found no reason to be dissatisfied with your choice; and that his endeavour properly to discharge his duties to your Majesty and the country have met with your Majesty's approval would of itself be an ample reward for any labour or anxiety with which the performance of those duties may have been attended, and, therefore, the gracious communication which he has this morning received from your Majesty will be preserved by him as in his eyes still more valuable even than the high honour which it announces your Majesty's intention to confer upon him.
That high and distinguished honour Viscount Palmerston will receive with the greatest pride as a public mark of your Majesty's gracious approbation, but he begs to be allowed to say that the task which he and his colleagues have had to perform has been rendered comparatively easy by the enlightened views which your Majesty has taken of all the great affairs in which your Majesty's Empire has been engaged, and by the firm and steady support which in all these important transactions your Majesty's servants have received from the Crown.
Buckingham Palace, 12th April 1856.
The Queen returns the draft of Treaty, which she approves, and of which she would wish to have a copy.
The Queen believes that the Cabinet are going to consider to-day the amount of retrenchments which may be necessary in the Army and Navy.
She trusts and expects that this will be done with great moderation and very gradually; and that the difficulties we have had, and the sufferings which we have endured, may not be forgotten, for to the miserable reductions of the last thirty years are entirely owing our state of helplessness when the War began; and it would be unpardonable if we were to be found in a similar condition, when another War—and who can tell how soon there may be one?—breaks out.
We must never for a moment forget the very peculiar state of France, and how entirely all there depends upon one man's life.
We ought and must be prepared for every eventuality, and we have splendid material in that magnificent little Army in the Crimea.
The Queen wishes Lord Palmerston to show this letter to the Cabinet.
Paris, le 12 Avril 1856.
Madame et très chère Sœur,—Votre Majesté m'a fait grand plaisir en me disant qu'elle était satisfaite de la conclusion de la paix, car ma constante préoccupation a été, tout en désirant la fin d'une guerre ruineuse, de n'agir que de concert avec le Gouvernement de votre Majesté. Certes je conçois bien qu'il ait été désirable d'obtenir encore de meilleurs résultats, mais était-ce raisonnable d'en attendre de la manière dont la guerre avait été engagée? J'avoue que je ne le crois pas. La guerre avait été trop lentement conduite par nos généraux et nos amiraux et nous avions laissé le temps aux Russes de se rendre presque imprenables à Cronstadt comme en Crimée. Je crois donc que nous aurions payé trop chèrement sous tous les rapports les avantages que nous eussions pu obtenir. Je suis pour cette raison heureux de la paix, mais je suis heureux surtout que notre Alliance sorte intacte des conférences et qu'elle se montre à l'Europe aussi solide que le premier jour de notre union. (Je prie le Prince Albert de ne pas être jaloux de cette expression.)
Nous avons appris avec la plus vive satisfaction que les projets que votre Majesté avait conçus pour le bonheur de la Princesse Royale allaient bientôt se réaliser. On dit tant de bien du jeune Prince Frédéric Guillaume que je ne doute pas que votre charmante fille ne soit heureuse. L'Impératrice, qui attend avec impatience le moment de pouvoir écrire à votre Majesté, a été bien touchée de votre aimable lettre. Vers le commencement de Mai nous irons à St Cloud où votre souvenir nous y accompagne toujours, car ces lieux nous rappellent le séjour de votre Majesté et nous faisons des vœux pour qu'un si heureux événement puisse se renouveler.
Je prie votre Majesté de me rappeler au souvenir du Prince Albert et de recevoir avec bonté l'assurance des sentiments de respectueuse amitié avec lesquels je suis, de votre Majesté, le dévoué Frère et Ami,
Buckingham Palace, 21st April 1856.
The Queen has heard from Colonel Phipps that Lord Hardinge is most anxious for her sanction to the paper submitted yesterday, if even as merely a temporary measure, before the mail goes this evening, as all the shipping at Balaklava is waiting for it. She hopes Lord Hardinge will see how inconvenient and unpleasant it must be to the Queen to have important matters submitted at such short notice that they cannot even be discussed by her without detriment to the public service, and trusts that she may not again be placed in a similar position. She has now signed the paper, but only as a temporary measure, and upon the understanding that Lord Hardinge will submit to her, between this and the next mail, the arrangements which are now wanting.
She has also signed the proposal about Canada, but must express her conviction that General Le Marchant,25 as Civil Governor of the Colony, cannot possibly attend to the command of the Brigade, which ought to have a distinct Commander. There may be Artillery in Canada, but is it horsed? and in Batteries?
We are rapidly falling back into the old ways!
Footnote 25: Sir John Gaspard Le Marchant, 1803-1874, Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia from 1852 to 1857.
Buckingham Palace, 6th May 1856.
My dearest Uncle,—Having returned late from a drive, I have but little time to spare to thank you for your kind letter of the 2nd. Last Thursday (1st) was our darling Arthur's sixth birthday, which he enjoyed duly. On the 3rd we received Brunnow26—who was so nervous and humble, and so ému that he could hardly speak. He dines with us to-night, and the dinner is given for him, being a funny collection of antagonistic elements—Granville, Clarendon, Lansdowne, Aberdeen, Graham, John Russell, Derby, and Malmesbury! "The Happy Family," I call it.
The Opposition have taken the line of disapproving the Peace and showing great hostility to Russia.
To-morrow we have a Levée, and on Thursday a ball in our fine new room, which we open on that day; and on Friday there is a Peace Fête at the Crystal Palace. On Saturday we go out of town; and now I must end, begging to be forgiven for so hurried a scrawl, but I had to write a long letter and to sit to Winterhalter. Ever your devoted Niece,
Footnote 26: He had come to England, charged with a special mission.