[Footnote 38: Achille Fould, a Jewish banker, was a
colleague of Walewski, though not a loyal one, in the French
Government.]

[Footnote 39: Madame Walewska was a Florentine by birth,
descended on her mother's side from the princely family of
Poniatowski.]

[Pageheader: ATTITUDE OF RUSSIA]

_Queen Victoria to the Earl of Malmesbury._

BUCKINGHAM PALACE, _20th May 1859_.

The Queen was much surprised to receive the enclosed telegram. An
alliance with Russia to _localise_ and _arrest_ the war by joint
interference, which is here proposed to Russia, is a policy to which
the Queen has not given her sanction, and which would require very
mature deliberation before it could ever be entertained. The Queen
is much afraid of these telegraphic short messages on principles of
policy, and would beg Lord Malmesbury to be most cautious as they
may lead us into difficulties without the possibility of previous
consideration. How can we propose to join Russia, whom we know to
be pledged to France? The Queen hopes Lord Malmesbury will stop the
communication of this message, to Prince Gortschakoff.[40]

[Footnote 40: A telegram had been received from St Petersburg,
saying that Prince Gortschakoff entirely coincided with
Lord Malmesbury's views as to localising the war; and Lord
Malmesbury had proposed to send a telegraphic reply containing
the words: "We are anxious to unite with Russia, not only in
localising the war, but in arresting it."]

_Queen Victoria to the Earl of Derby._

OSBORNE, _22nd May 1859_.

In answer to Lord Derby's letter of yesterday referring to the
importance of concerting with Russia the best modes of preventing the
extension of the war, the Queen wishes merely to observe: That Russia
has acknowledged her desire to see the Austrians defeated, and her
indifference to the maintenance of the Treaties of 1815; France
wages war to drive the Austrians out of Italy, wresting from them
the Italian provinces secured to them by those treaties; and that the
Queen has declared from the Throne her adhesion to these treaties
to which Parliament unanimously responded. France and Russia may
therefore have an interest, and indeed _must_ have one, in not being
disturbed in any way in the prosecution of their Italian scheme.
England can have no such interest. If France prove successful, the
territorial arrangements of Europe, in which England has found safety,