Lord Granville answered: “If you think your resistance can bring about a better result for you, you are right in continuing the struggle, however unequal it may be. But if this only serves to weaken the country even more, the men who have the fate of the nation in their hands are _in duty bound_ to stop and not to ask for useless sacrifices from this courageous people. The resources of France are immense; we know it well. She will very quickly lift herself up from these temporary disasters.”... M. de Beust, it will be remembered, had already expressed the same idea.... “Yes,” continued Lord Granville, “she will recover very quickly. Her elasticity is wonderful, but one must not put it to too severe a test. One must not break the springs.” I found pleasure in hearing him speak in this manner, and I began to like his slow and well-weighed words, which so far had not given me much encouragement. Lord Granville had shown a certain warmth in admiring the resources and the “wonderful elasticity” of France. He finished by laying weight on his words: “Your Government’s responsibility in continuing the conflict is great, for the nation itself has not yet pronounced on the serious question: Does it want war to continue _ad infinitum_? “Your Government is full of confidence in the vitality of the country and refuses to surrender to Prussian demands, but you do not know what are the feelings of the nation. And if the nation is not of your way of thinking, or if your Government is mistaken, if instead of pushing back the enemy you were to see him advance still further? His demands would only be increased and you would have imposed sacrifices on your country that are as fruitless as they are painful.” It was difficult not to admit the justice of this reasoning, and I did not hesitate to tell him so. But I again and insistently asked him to reflect and to admit that it was impossible to go to the country to sound its feelings while the enemy refused us the physical means of doing so. I assured him that the Government would have been happy to be able to consult the country, and that even now there was no greater nor more pressing desire; but how was it to be effected? “Can one make Electors come together with rifles on their shoulders in order to vote, while the Prussians are advancing to occupy our towns? Is it not evident that to have Elections we must have an armistice? “Just now,” I said, “I think I gathered that if you had a counsel to give us it would be to try and have the Elections in the shortest possible time, and to ask for a shorter armistice than in the previous negotiations, which fell through over the question of re-victualling. Would you in such a case offer your good services, and would you charge yourself with reopening the negotiations on this matter?” He answered: “I have already told M. Thiers that the best form of negotiation would be for you to address the General Staff at Versailles direct and without intermediary.”