lui; c'est un traÓtre et un menteur qui s'est conduit indignement envers moi, mais je ne serai pas ministre.' However, he could afford to wait; he was forty-eight years old, and his health excellent. As long as the King was in no danger he would never send for him; as soon as he was he would send for him. The King could endure nobody who would not consent to be his tool; he would never take office without being his master, _et j'en viendrai ‡ bout_; he would rather continue in his independence than take office on any other terms. He told me he had seen the notes, and was amazed at the sharpness of their contents. We then went out together, and walked to the Faubourg St. HonorÈ, talking about his book, Napoleon, etc. [Footnote 6: [Louis Philippe was certainly not wanting in physical courage, but in moral courage he appeared in his later years to be deficient. M. Thiers was in the habit of using exaggerated language, and he disliked the King; for M. Thiers' great defect was that he could not _serve_ anyone. The Revolution of February 1848 proved that there was a good deal of truth in these predictions. But the want of resolution which M. Thiers imputed to the King arose solely from his honourable and consistent aversion to violence and war.]] [Sidenote: CONVERSATION WITH M. THIERS.] _At night._--I have been dining with Thiers, and met Odilon Barrot, Cousin, RÈmusat, Duvergier de Hauranne, Mignet, and several others I can't remember. They were all prodigiously civil to me, and with Cousin and Mignet I had a great deal of conversation. Palmerston's note arrived this morning. It is very clever and well done, but too long, and his _polÈmique_ about the Treaty of Utrecht in my opinion _dÈplacÈe_ and mischievous. But he is determined to urge this point, and is endeavouring to get the Allied Powers to join with him in a protest or some formal expression of opinion upon it. I don't believe they will ever do this; but if they did, it would probably produce most serious consequences. His policy in this is perfectly inconceivable to me. Normanby read it to Guizot this afternoon, and at the same time offered him the despatch of the 19th July (to Bulwer), and Aberdeen's to Sotomayor to publish with the other pieces, _both or neither_, but he refused them. I had another furious set-to with Madame de Lieven, who is the most imprudent woman I ever saw; but we always part friends. Normanby has shown Thiers several papers, and MolÈ _many more_ he tells me. I have begged him to be cautious. [Sidenote: FEAR OF THE COBURG MARRIAGE.]