Lord Granville’s Embassy was of a very different character. England and Russia were at peace after the struggle of the Crimean War; but there was anything but a good feeling between the two governments. The leanings of Russia were all towards France, and it was a matter of the first importance to arrive at a better understanding. The Cabinet determined to send out a Cabinet Minister as Ambassador, and, obviously, Lord Granville was the man. His knowledge of French—the language chiefly spoken at the Russian Court—his exquisite discretion, and his authority as a prominent member of the Government, were bound to produce the best effect. It was a happy choice. There were moments of great difficulty which needed all Lord Granville’s great qualities of tact and temper to tide over. His conversations with the Emperor might easily have degenerated into discussions anything but friendly. Not for one moment did Lord Granville allow the Tsar to imagine that the Queen’s Ambassador could be treated with anything but the respect due to the sovereign of whom he was the personal representative; and yet he knew that if he were to take huff his special Embassy must come to an end, and a ridiculous end. His own account of his interviews with the Emperor and Prince Gortchakoff is a liberal education in diplomatic tactics.[25] It will be evident to any one who may have had the patience to read this sketch, that in my judgment the public services rendered by Lord Granville have not been recognized as they deserved. That was also the opinion of my old friend and colleague, Sir Robert Meade, who, as private secretary and Under Secretary of State, had been his confidential right-hand man for more than a quarter of a century. Sir Robert Meade, a man of singularly calm and solid judgment, absolutely repudiated the myth which spoke of him as a pleasure-loving man, who sacrificed business to pleasure. Never was a greater mistake. “He enjoyed amusements but never neglected business.” (Note by Sir R. Meade quoted by Lord Fitzmaurice.) To the truth of those words I can myself bear witness.