and
his action was, to some extent, countenanced by the French
Emperor. The matter was finally adjusted in 1857.]

[Pageheading: M. DE PERSIGNY]

_The Earl of Clarendon to Queen Victoria._

FOREIGN OFFICE, _11th November 1856_.

Lord Clarendon presents his humble duty to your Majesty, and humbly
begs to transmit the letters which arrived yesterday together with a
copy of Count Walewski's despatch.

Lord Clarendon begs to return his thanks to your Majesty for allowing
him to see the Empress's letter.... The letter does not seem to require
an answer at present.

Lord Clarendon had a conversation of two hours this morning with M. de
Persigny, who fought all his battles o'er again, but did not say
much beyond what Lord Cowley had reported. He is quite sure that the
Emperor is as staunch as ever to the Alliance, and that he believes
all his own personal interests as well as those of France are bound up
with England. He said, too, that the Empress was not the least taken
in by the flatteries of Russia, which she estimates at their _juste
valeur_.

M. de Persigny seems to have performed an act of painful duty and
rather of true devotion, by giving the Empress some advice about her
own conduct and the fate she was preparing for herself if she was not
more properly mindful of her position and the obligations it entails.
Lord Clarendon has seldom heard anything more eloquent or more
touching than the language of M. de Persigny in describing what he
said to the Empress, who appears to have taken it in the best part,
and to have begun acting upon the advice the next day. M. de Persigny
has no doubt that Count Walewski will soon be removed from his present
office, and will be _promoted to St. Petersburg_, but Lord Clarendon
will wait to believe this until it is a _fait accompli_, as it is more
likely than not that when M. de Persigny is no longer on the spot to
urge the Emperor, Count Walewski will resume his influence.

Count Walewski's despatch made a very unfavourable impression upon
the Cabinet, who were of opinion that upon such an invitation and such
slender assurances respecting the course that Sardinia might take,
we ought not to give up our solid and often repeated objections to
reassembling the Congress--at all events it was considered that we
ought to have a positive answer from Turin before we gave a final
answer....

[Pageheading: SIR ALEXANDER COCKBURN]

_Viscount Palmerston to Qu