“I own I have no confidence in the world-wisdom of Conservatives. They know the Carlton, and they know, not thoroughly but a good deal of, the ‘House’; but of Englishmen at large and the nation,--of what moderate, commonplace, fairly educated and hard-headed people say and think,--they know nothing. But one has only to look at them to see that they represent idiosyncrasies, not classes. Lytton and Disraeli are only types of two families. “How well the Yankees have behaved in this Fenian brawl! Let us not be slow to acknowledge it. If I were a man in station I would say, now is the time to pay all Alabama claims, and not higgle whether we owe them or not. Now is the moment not to be outdone in generosity, but say let us have done once and for ever with this miserable bickering--let us criticise each other frankly and fairly, but in the spirit of men who wish each other well. As for _us_, we want one ally who will really understand _us_, and if we could once get the Yankee to see that we meant to be civil to him, we _might_ make a foundation for a friendship that would serve us in our day of need. “We are actually deluged now with war correspondents--‘Times,’ ‘Post,’ ‘Telegraph,’ ‘D. News,’ &c. By the way, what a series might be made of M’Caskey’s advices for the war: insolent braggart notices of what was and what ought to have been done, &c. I thought of it yesterday when I had a lot of these war Christians at dinner. “Only think, there is a Queen’s messenger called Nigor Hall (Byng Hall, or, as the Frenchmen call him, ‘Bunghole’) who, criticising Tony Butler, said I had made a gross blunder in making him lose his despatches. Now the same B. H. has just lost the whole Constantinople bag on arriving at Marseilles, and Louis Nap. is diligently conning over Lyons’ last missives to F. O. and seeing what game we are ‘trying on’ to detach Russia from France. “P.S.--I send an instalment of ‘Sir B.’ and let me have it early, as I am drawing towards the ‘Tattenham corner of the race.’ I want to see how it looks. Read it carefully, and give me your shrewdest criticism. “I have just heard that there is a plot here to carry off Cook’s excursionists for ransom by the brigands. What a good ‘O’Dowd’ it would make to warn them! “The first shot is to be fired by the Italians tomorrow, the anniversary of ‘St Martin’s,’ which they think they won!” _To Mr John Blackwood._ “Villa Morelli, _June_ 28, [1866].