As I drove away from the Embassy I could think of nothing but the great charm of my Chief and Chiefess. She was certainly one of the most fascinating women I ever had the good fortune to meet. Handsome, clever, agreeable, well read, very dignified, beautifully dressed, she was delightful to look at, delightful to listen to; the type of what an ambassadress should be, doing the honours of the Queen’s house on the Neva like the great lady that she was. She had at that time not very good health and the climate of Russia did not suit her; but she was none the less a noble helpmeet to His Excellency; to all of us she was so gracious and kind, so thoughtful and considerate, that we worshipped her. I reverence her memory. As for Lord Napier, I don’t think that anybody who ever served under him would say that it would be possible to have a kinder or a better chief. He was undeniably a most astute diplomatist, full of resource, a master of the art of ingratiating himself with those who came into contact with him. [Illustration: EMBASSY HOUSE, ST. PETERSBURG. _From a water-colour drawing by Charlemagne, 1864._] The Russians, from the Emperor downward, all liked him, and he was able to put through, by the stern force of pleasing, many a tangled piece of business which would have been perhaps an impossibility to others. I shall cite one notable instance later on. In society he was popular wherever he went. He was an admirable _raconteur_ and always a kindly listener, possessing the art of drawing out men so as to make them show at their best, and they were duly grateful. His ready wit and power of repartee were enhanced by the most infectious twinkle of his eye; he was one of those rare men who laugh with their eyes, and to me that quality is irresistible. He was young for an ambassador (only forty-two years old when he reached that rank in 1861), but looked older than his years, and even in his earliest days could never have been anything but a _grand seigneur_. Quite apart from the joy of living in intimacy with such a man, any young diplomatist who might be attached to his Embassy had a rare chance to learn his business under so able a chief.