ave been summoned back for a further spell of six years'
tenure of power exactly at the moment when Nicholas, prompted by the
knowledge of the absence from Constantinople of the man who had held him
in check, and of the accession to power in Downing Street of a statesman
of mild temper and friendly disposition to Russia, was beginning once
more to push his claims in the East. Lord Stratford had many virtues,
but he had also a violent and uncertain temper. He was a man of
inflexible integrity, iron will, undeniable moral courage, and
commanding force of character. Yet, for a great Ambassador, he was at
times strangely undiplomatic, whilst the keenness of his political
judgment and forecasts sometimes suffered eclipse through the strength
of his personal antipathies.

[Sidenote: FAREWELL TO THE FOREIGN OFFICE]

Meanwhile, Lord John Russell, who had expressly stipulated when the
Cabinet was formed that he was only to hold the seals of the Foreign
Office for a few weeks, convinced already that the position was
untenable to a man of his views, insisted on being relieved of the
office. The divergent views in the Cabinet on the Eastern Question were
making themselves felt, and Lord Aberdeen's eminently charitable
interpretation of the Russian demands was little to the minds of men of
the stamp of Palmerston and Russell, neither of whom was inclined to pin
his faith so completely to the Czar's assurances. When Parliament met in
February, Lord John quitted the Foreign Office and led the House of
Commons without portfolio. His quick recognition of Mr. Gladstone's
great qualities as a responsible statesman was not the least pleasing
incident of the moment. In April, Lord Aberdeen once more made no secret
of his determination to retire at the end of the session, and this
intimation no doubt had its influence with the more restive of his
colleagues.

When Parliament rose, Lord John Russell's position in the country was
admitted on all hands to be one of renewed strength, for, set free from
an irksome position, he had thrown himself during the session with
ardour into the congenial work of leader of the House of Commons. The
resolution of the Cabinet to send Lord Stratford to Constantinople has
already been stated. He received his instructions on February 25; in
fact, he seems to have dictated them, for Lord Clarendon, who had just
succeeded to the Foreign Office, made no secret of the circumstance that
they were largely borrowe