_London, October 30th._--Clarendon came to town yesterday morning on his way to Windsor and called here. He told me that we were going to send a representative to the Congress, and I was not a little surprised to perceive that he would not be at all disinclined to go there himself. He did not indeed say so, but unless I am greatly deceived this is in his mind, though not without feeling the difficulty of his acting with John Russell. Clarendon says that the preparations going on in France are on the most enormous scale, and can have no object but one hostile to this country, and that the feeling against England is fomented by the Government and extending all over France. He is persuaded that the fixed purpose of Louis Napoleon is to humble this country, and deprive her of the great influence and authority she has hitherto exercised over the affairs of Europe. He is bent upon getting us to take part in the Congress, and that in order to persuade us he will pretend to be entirely agreed with us in opinion, and only wishing to concert the most proper means of carrying out our common objects, and when he has thus cajoled us into a participation he will throw us over, and place us under the necessity of agreeing to what we disapprove, or of putting ourselves _en désaccord_ with all Europe. He told me that John Russell is supposed on the Continent to be the implacable enemy of the Catholic religion, and this will be a great disqualification for his acting at a Congress mainly composed of Catholic Powers; that this opinion, which is rife in Ireland, is propagated all over the world, and that the recollections of the Durham Letter and the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill are still as strong as ever.[1] Footnote 1: [The Congress which it was proposed to hold had reference to the affairs of Italy, which were extremely perplexing to the Emperor Napoleon himself. But Lord Clarendon's apprehensions were certainly unfounded, for it deserves to be remarked that about this time negotiations were opened between the Emperor and Mr. Cobden for a commercial treaty, which was intended to strengthen, and did strengthen, the amiable and pacific relations of France and England.] _November 18th._--- Last week at the Grove to meet the Duc d'Aumale, who is one of the most enlightened and agreeable Princes I ever met, very simple and natural, and full of information and knowledge of all sorts.