remarkable that not a line of
contradiction has appeared in any of Palmerston's papers. No less
than three men (Labouchere, Morpeth, and Le Marchant) spoke to me
about it yesterday, full of doubt and anxiety, and very curious
to know 'what people said.'

[19] [The Hon. William Strangways, afterwards Earl of
Ilchester, was at this time Under-Secretary of State
for Foreign Affairs. Mr. Strangways was an old and
intimate friend of Prince Adam Czartoryski, by whom the
papers were brought to England which afterwards
appeared in the 'Portfolio,' and it was through this
Polish connexion that Mr. Urquhart was introduced to
the notice of the Under-Secretary. Lord Palmerston was
at that time (about 1834) strongly anti-Russian, and
was perfectly cognizant of several undertakings which
originated with Prince Adam Czartoryski, and his more
energetic nephew, Count Ladislas Zamoyski, who had very
much the ear of the English Government at that time.
These undertakings were the publication of the
'Portfolio,' Mr. George Bell's expedition to the coast
of Circassia in the 'Vixen,' which was seized there,
and the attempt to establish a Consulate in the then
Free-Town of Cracow. But after having encouraged and
promoted these objects for some time in conjunction
with Mr. Strangways, Lord Palmerston suddenly became
violently opposed to them, and disclaimed all knowledge
of those whom he had employed. See _infra_, January
30th, 1839.]

[Page Head: MR. URQUHART AND LORD PALMERSTON.]

Le Marchant told me that Palmerston was a strange mixture of
caution and imprudence; that as long as he did not commit himself
_on paper_ he thought himself safe; that he would see any
newspaper editor who called on him, and often communicate to such
persons matters of great delicacy; yet, at the very time he would
do this, he demurred to a request that was made to him to
communicate freely with him (Le Marchant) and Drummond, who were
managing the press on the part of Government; and this reserve
was exercised towards him when he was Brougham's private
secretary, cognisant of all that Brougham knew (which, of course,
was everything), and frequently employed to communicate verbally
between the Chancellor and his colleagues on the most
c