A despatch to Baron Budberg contained the following words: “As regards the responsibility which His Majesty may assume in his international relations, those relations are regulated by international law. The violation of those principles may alone lead to a responsibility. Our august Master has always respected and observed these principles towards other States. His Majesty has the right to expect and to demand the same respect on the part of the other Powers.” M. Drouyn de Lhuys was furious, and it was not long, as we shall see, before he had the opportunity to make Lord Russell feel it. Lord Russell climbed down not handsomely. In a despatch to Lord Napier of the 11th of August he said: “If Russia does not perform all that depends upon her to further the moderate and conciliatory views of the three Powers” [Great Britain, Austria and France] “if she does not enter upon the path which is opened to her by friendly counsels, she makes herself responsible for the serious consequences which the prolongation of the troubles of Poland may produce.” And that was the lame and impotent conclusion of a game of brag and insolent bluster which had been carried on for many months. The fizzling out of a damp squib! But there is one story which Mr. Hennessy, Conservative member for King’s County, told in the House of Commons, _and was never contradicted_, which is too good and too characteristic to be omitted—I take it verbatim from Lord Salisbury’s essay on Foreign Politics, p. 202. “When Prince Gortchakoff’s last defiance had arrived, and the Government had made up their minds to practise the better part of valour, Lord Russell made a speech at Blairgowrie, and being somewhat encouraged and cheered by the various circumstances of consolation which are administered by an entertainment of that kind, he recovered after dinner somewhat of his wonted courage, and under the influence of the valour so acquired he proclaimed that, in his opinion, Russia had sacrificed her treaty right to Poland. Having made the statement thus publicly, he felt that he could not do less than insert it into the despatch to Prince Gortchakoff, with whom it was proposed to terminate the inglorious correspondence. He flattered himself, indeed, that so hostile an announcement, while not leading actually to a war, might enable him to ride off with something like a flourish, which his friends might construe into a triumph.