nsions which have arisen in the public mind in
consequence of his last speech in the House of Lords, and the effect
of which has given the Queen very great uneasiness.[39] She knows
Lord Aberdeen so well that she can fully enter into his feelings and
understand what he means, but the public, particularly under strong
excitement of patriotic feeling, is impatient and annoyed to hear at
this moment the first Minister of the Crown enter into an _impartial_
examination of the Emperor of Russia's character and conduct. The
qualities in Lord Aberdeen's character which the Queen values most
highly, his candour and his courage in expressing opinions even
if opposed to general feelings of the moment, are in this instance
dangerous to him, and the Queen hopes that in the vindication of his
own conduct to-day, which ought to be triumphant, as it wants in fact
_no_ vindication, he will not undertake the ungrateful and injurious
task of vindicating the Emperor of Russia from any of the exaggerated
charges brought against him and his policy at a time when there is
enough in it to make us fight with all might against it.

[Footnote 39: The speech of Lord Aberdeen, to which the Queen
here refers, had created a very unsatisfactory impression. On
the 19th of June the venerable Lord Lyndhurst had denounced
the aggressive policy and the perfidy of Russia; in the debate
which followed, Lord Aberdeen spoke coldly, in a strain of
semi-apology for Russia, and with an unlucky reference to the
Treaty of Adrianople. Popular feeling against Russia being
then at a white heat, the speech was considered indicative of
apathy on behalf of the Government in the prosecution of the
war. Accordingly, by moving on a later day for a copy of his
own despatch of 1829, relative to the Treaty, the
Premier obtained an opportunity of dispelling some of the
apprehensions which his speech had excited.]

[Pageheading: THE RUSSIAN LOAN]

_Queen Victoria to the Earl of Clarendon._

BUCKINGHAM PALACE, _27th June 1854._

The Queen observes in Lord Cowley's letter a suggestion of M. Drouyn
de Lhuys to stop, if possible, the Russian Loan. She thinks this of
the highest importance as _cutting_ the _sinews_ of war of the enemy.
The Queen does not know whether we have by law the power to forbid the
quotation of this stock in our market, but a short Act of Parliament
might be obtained for the purpose. The London