had informed him that the feeling against him was
very strong just now, precluding support in Parliament; he gave him
credit for good intentions, but said the whole difficulty was owing
to what he termed his (Lord John's) _rashness_. He felt he could not
separate from Lord Aberdeen, and had no confidence in the views of
Foreign Affairs of Lord Palmerston.

He had then seen Sir George Grey, who told him he had no idea that
a Government of Lord John's could stand at this moment; the country
wanted Lord Palmerston either as War Minister or as Prime Minister.
He must hesitate to engage himself in Lord John's Government, which,
separated from the Peelites, would find no favour. Lord Clarendon
had reiterated his objections, saying always that this must be gone
through, and something new would come up at the end, when all these
attempts had failed. He could not understand what this should be. Did
Lord Clarendon think of himself as the head of the new combination? I
asked what Lord Lansdowne had said. He answered he had a letter from
him, which was not very agreeable either. He read it to us. It was
to the purport--that as Lord John had been commissioned to form an
Administration, and he did not intend to join it, he thought it better
not to come to his house in order to avoid misconstruction. Lord John
wound up, saying that he had asked Lord Clarendon and Sir G. Grey to
reflect further, and to give their final answer to-morrow morning.
The loss of the Peelites would be a great blow to him, which might
be overcome, however; but if his own particular friends, like Lord
Clarendon and Sir G. Grey, deserted him, he felt that he could go on
no farther, and he hoped the Queen would feel that he had done all he
could.

VICTORIA R.

[Pageheading: LORD JOHN'S FAILURE]

_Memorandum by Queen Victoria._[28]

BUCKINGHAM PALACE, _3rd February 1855._

[Footnote 28: This Memorandum, though signed by the Queen, was
written by the Prince.]

Lord Lansdowne arrived at half-past nine in the evening, and met our
question whether he had anything satisfactory to report, with the
remark that he saw his way less than ever, and that matters had rather
gone backward since he had been here in the morning. He had been
in the afternoon at Sir James Graham's bedside, who had had a
consultation with Mr Gladstone, and declared to him that the country
was tired of Coalitions, and wanted a united Cabinet; that they (the
Peelites) could