_February 19th._--The general complaint is that nothing is done in Parliament, and that there is a general apathy, under the continuance of which the Government gets on without hindrance, while their faults or blunders pass unchecked. The Chancellor incurred a momentary odium by his attempt at perpetrating a very shameless job, by making his son-in-law a Judge in Lunacy without having any qualifications for such an office; but after a little spurt in the House of Commons, the result of which was the appointment being rescinded, the matter quietly dropped. Gladstone's extravagant proceedings at Corfu[1] have elicited something like an attack led on by Lord Grey, but although this subject will probably be more seriously and warmly discussed after he comes home, it does not seem likely to lead to much at present, and Derby will probably parry Grey's attack on Monday next. Footnote 1: [Mr. Gladstone had accepted, temporarily, the office of Lord High Commissioner of the Ionian Islands, under Lord Derby's Government. His proceedings there excited great surprise in England. The eventual result of his mission was the surrender of the Protectorate of the Ionian Islands to the Kingdom of Greece.] [Sidenote: LORD COWLEY'S MISSION TO VIENNA.] _February 27th._--Derby prevailed on Grey to defer his Ionian motion till Gladstone's return, which he said would be in a fortnight at least. Palmerston had given notice of his intention to call the attention of the House of Commons to the present state of Europe, and to ask if the Government could give the country any information on the subject. The Government tried to persuade him to defer his intention, but without effect, and he persisted in his course. In the meanwhile Cowley suddenly arrived in England, sent for by the Government, as it was said, for the purpose of receiving instructions in respect to the conferences expected at Paris on the Danubian affairs. On Thursday morning the world was electrified at reading an article in the 'Times' stating that Cowley was going on a special mission to Vienna for the purpose of making matters up, if possible, between France and Austria. The day before I had been apprised of the fact by Granville, who had heard it from Clarendon, to whom Cowley had imparted the secret of his mission. The mission was in fact rather one from the Emperor than from our Government, who had really done nothing whatever, but were too happy to allow Cowley to go and try his hand in patching matters up. He has done it all off his own bat. Seeing how day after day war appeared to be becoming more imminent, he resolved to see if he could not do something to arrest the evil; he found the French Ministers quite agreed with him, and the Emperor in a state of mingled rage, disappointment, and perplexity, clinging with his characteristic tenacity to the designs on which his mind has been so long fixed, and to which he probably stands committed more than we are aware of, by