It is therefore desirable that before entering the profession of diplomacy the young man should have travelled to the principal courts of Europe, not merely like those young persons who on leaving the academy or college go to Rome to see the beautiful palaces and the ancient ruins, or to Venice to enjoy the opera and the courtesans; he should indeed embark on his travels at a somewhat riper age when he is more capable of reflection and of appreciating the form and spirit of government in each country, and of studying the merits and faults of princes and ministers--doing all this with the deliberate design of returning to these countries at a future day with profit to himself and his master. Travel conducted on these lines obliges the traveller to keep a vigilant eye upon everything that comes under his notice. It would be well that in certain cases they should accompany the King’s ambassadors or envoys as travelling companions after the manner of the Spaniards and the Italians, who regard it as an honour to accompany the ministers of the Crown on their diplomatic journeys. There is nothing better calculated for instruction upon the manner of events in foreign countries or for the training of a young man to represent his own country abroad. [Sidenote: _Foreign Languages Indispensable._] It is highly desirable that such novices in diplomacy should learn foreign languages, for thus they will be protected from the bad faith or the ignorance of interpreters, and from the grave embarrassment of having to use them for the purpose of audiences with the sovereign. It is obvious, too, that an interpreter may be a betrayer of secrets. _Every one_ who enters the profession of diplomacy should know the German, Italian, and Spanish languages as well as the Latin, ignorance of which would be a disgrace and a shame to any public man, for it is the common language of all Christian nations. It is also very useful and fitting for the diplomat, on whom grave national responsibility rests, to have such a general knowledge of science as may tend to the development of his understanding, but he must be master of his scientific knowledge and must not be consumed by it. He must give science the place which it deserves, and must not merely consider it as a reason for pride or for contempt of those who do not possess it. While devoting himself to this study with care and attention he must not become engrossed in it, for he who enters the public service of his King must consider that he is destined for action and not for academic study in his closet; and his principal care must be to instruct himself regarding all that may affect the lives of living men rather than the study of the dead. His professional aim is to penetrate the secrets and hearts of men; to learn the art of handling them in such a manner as to make them serve the great ends of his royal master. [Sidenote: _A Rule for the Diplomatic Service._]