language which has never since been used in that dignified assembly about the ambassador of a friendly Power. "There was a flirtation," he asserted amidst much laughter, "going on between the government and France which he thought most improper. . . . To see ministers running to consult with that individual (Talleyrand) was creating a disgust which he thought most natural." The Duke of Wellington, however, spoke up strongly for Talleyrand. In the many transactions upon which they had been engaged together, he assured the House that the Prince had always conducted himself with honour and uprightness. "He believed that no man's public and private character had been so much maligned as that of that illustrious individual."[160] Talleyrand was deeply moved by the Duke's conduct on this occasion. "He was especially grateful to him," he told Lord Alvanley, who the next day found him perusing an account of the debate, "because he was the only public man in the world who had ever said a good word for him."[161] Following closely upon the announcement that the French government had agreed to evacuate Belgium came the intelligence of the defeat of the Poles and of the entry of the Russians into Warsaw. The news was the signal for the outbreak of disturbances in Paris. Sébastiani's famous statement to the Chamber "_l'ordre règne à Varsovie_," was denounced with indignation by the demagogues. Both he and Casimir Périer were surrounded by a furious mob upon the Place Vendôme, and were for a time in no little danger. The rioters interrupted the performances at the theatres, crying out that all places of amusement must be closed on a day of mourning. The marked reluctance of the national guards to act against their fellow-citizens imparted a serious aspect to the situation. But the regular troops retained their discipline and dispersed the rabble.[162] At the first outbreak of the rebellion in Poland the French government had sought to induce England to join with it in a proposal to mediate between the Emperor and his revolted subjects. Talleyrand, however, who was always disposed to create difficulties for Russia, was obliged to report regretfully that British ministers were extremely averse to embarking upon any diplomatic action calculated to add to the Tsar's embarrassments.[163]