It holds up in every page to hatred and scorn all the vices which can stain, and to admiration and emulation all the virtues which can adorn, a public career. It is impossible for anyone to study that great work without sentiments of profound admiration for the lessons it inculcates, and they who become thoroughly imbued with its spirit, no matter whether they coincide or not with his opinions, will be strengthened in a profound veneration for truth and justice, for public and private integrity and honour, and in a genuine patriotism and desire for the freedom, prosperity, and glory of their country. [Sidenote: THE AFFAIRS OF ITALY.] _January 7th._--In a letter from Clarendon yesterday from the Grove he says: 'Cowley came over here last night. I had a long talk with him; he is low and unhappy, and does not see his way out of the labyrinth; he is not for the Congress meeting _now_, but still does not think we should abandon the Emperor altogether in his Italian policy. The fact is, we are in a great difficulty. If we had from the first taken the wise part of saying that as we had had nothing to do with the war or the peace, and should therefore not interfere with the arrangements the Emperor thought proper to make, we should now be on velvet; but from the moment we knew of the Villafranca arrangement we have been thwarting the Emperor, and goading him on further than he wished to go, and encouraging the Italians to persist in their own ideas, till at last when he does what we want, and is prepared to throw over the Pope and asks to be backed by us, it is rather awkward to break away and declare we only wanted the credit of recommending a fine liberal policy, but that we don't mean to be at any trouble or expense about it.' All this is undoubtedly true, but it is the old inveterate habit of Palmerston's policy, united with John Russell's crotchets, which has brought it to this pass. Palmerston has always been Conservative at home and Revolutionary abroad, and the gratification of a silly spite against Austria has always been paramount to any other consideration and object. While the enemies of the late Government accused them, very unjustly as the documentary evidence has shown, of having unduly favoured Austria during the recent conflict, and therefore having been neutral only in name, it is true that the present Government, _i.e._ Palmerston and John Russell, have gone out of their way to interfere in an underhand manner, and have been constantly patting on the back the insurgent Italians, and, as Clarendon says, urging the Emperor to go further than he wishes, or than he can do consistently with the engagement he has entered into. When Cowley was here some months ago, I remember his telling me that one day when he met Cavour, either at Compiègne or Paris, I forget which, when it was the question of the Congress before the war, Cavour said to him, 'So you are going to have a Congress.' 'Yes,' said Cowley, 'thanks to you and all you have