There seems something like a lull here for the moment, and less of excitement and violence than there was. Palmerston has not been in office a fortnight, and already he is enormously _baissé_; his speeches night after night are miserable. The truth is, he never had any power as a debater, and he is out of his element as leader in the House of Commons, where he has to answer everybody, to speak on every subject, and to be continually debating more or less. He has made a few great speeches, prepared, and on his own subject of foreign affairs, and every now and then a smart chaffing retort which excited the hilarity of the House, and that has been all he could do. Then he seems supine and undecided; he does not fill up the vacant places or seemingly endeavour to do so, and he does not put good men in the places he does fill up, all of which does him harm in general estimation. Clarendon has told Lady Palmerston very frankly that he will soon ruin himself in public opinion if he goes on in this way. Few things are more extraordinary than the notion that was abroad of Palmerston's fitness and efficacy. Never was there a greater delusion, and never one that is so rapidly being dissipated. _March 10th._--It is remarkable that, though seven days have elapsed since the news of the death of the Emperor of Russia reached us, and that we heard of it by electric telegraph the very day it happened, we are still without authentic and detailed information of what has since occurred at St. Petersburg; and of the manifesto of the new Emperor, which is looked for with so much curiosity, we have only a partial extract or imperfect summary, so that we have still no means of judging whether the chances of peace are improved by the accession of Alexander II.