“The political significance of this change cannot be placed too high. A mighty revolution has been accomplished in Europe, and all our traditions have suddenly become antiquated. No one can pretend to predict the relations of the Great Powers; but it is not very difficult to forecast in a general way the political tendencies of the time on which we are about to enter. There will be a powerful united Germany, presided over by a family which represents not only its interests, but its military fame. On the one side will be Russia, strong and watchful as ever; but on the other side will be France, which, whether patient under her reverses or burning for revenge, will be for a time incapable of playing that great part in Europe which belonged to her even under the feebleness of the Restoration. Thus, whereas we had formerly two strong centralised military empires, with a distracted, unready nation between them, which might be ground to powder whenever the two closed to crush it, there is now a firm barrier erected in Central Europe, and the fabric is correspondingly strengthened. In this the policy of past generations of English statesmen is fulfilled. They all desired the creation of a strong Central Power, and laboured for it in peace and war by negotiations and alliances, now with the Empire, now with the new State which had arisen in the North.” On the instructions of the Chief, I also wrote a paragraph for the press to the effect that we are no longer opposed by France, but rather by the cosmopolitan Red Republicans, Garibaldi and Mazzini (who are with Gambetta, and act as his counsellors), and Polish, Spanish, and Danish adherents of that party. The aims of these good people are indicated in a letter from the son of the Prefect Ordinaire, who describes himself as an officer in Garibaldi’s General Staff. This letter, which is dated from Autun on the 16th of November, and addressed to the editor of the newspaper _Droits de l’Homme_, contains the following passage:--