MUFFLING'S MISSIONS TO CONSTANTINOPLE AND ST. PETERSBURG, IN 1 829
AND 1830.* THE posthumous memoirs and notes of Baron Muffling are ae- , counted of great authority ; and justly as regards his means of knowledge, for he was employed in confidential positions through- out the wars which ended in the final downfall of Napoleon, as well as in delicate and difficult business afterwards. To our no- tions, the extraordinary self-opinion of the Baron throws some doubt upon the perfect truth of his representations in matters where his own importance is at all in question. He is so anxious to exhibit himself as " first fiddle," that in any contention between truth and his vanity truth would certainly have the worst of it. Baron Muffling it was who really gained the battle of Waterloo, by advising the Duke of Wellington to adopt a precautionary mea- sure that strengthened his right, and by stopping the retreat of the Prussians, which a bungler would inevitably have caused but for the timely presence of the Baron. As diplomacy works more secretly than generalship in the actual field, the Baron has it still more his own way in this account of his mission which led to the treaty of Adrianople, and of a subsequent visit to St. Peters- burg to " assist " at after arrangements.
Although Lord Aberdeen was beset by a Whig pro-Russian Opposition, and the assistance of France under the restored Bour- bons was doubtful,yet England and Austria had resolved to make a Russian occupation of Constantinople a case of war. On arriving at Constantinople, says Muffling,
"I suspected at the time, that which I afterwards discovered to be the fact, that an arrangement had been made between England and the Porte to meet such an event ; and that it had been settled that if this should hap- pen, the English fleet should pass the Dardanelles, appear before Constanti- nople, and declare themselves as allies of the Porte, unless the Russians per- formed certain conditions or gave security for their performance. An Eng- lish frigate, which lay before the dwelling of the English Ambassador at Therapia, had been appointed to transport the Sultan into Asia, and thus to secure his person and his treasure."
The Russian Emperor was probably as well aware of the lion in the path as the Prussian Baron, and at an earlier stage of the business. As 'nothing would have been more " embarrassing " at that time than a war with Austria and England in support of Tnrkey,—Poland being perfectly ripe for revolt, as it soon after appeared,—and the extent and duration of the war being as un- certain as the present, it became necessary to pause ; and Prussia was made use of as a tool for the purpose. The Emperor visited his father-in-law at Berlin ; and, after a pompous and theatrical display of moderation, the King of Prussia undertook to send, not an ambassador who would have been bound by diplomatic usages, but a " military man, as an extraordinary envoy from the King of Prussia personally to the Sultan personally." "And although the ancient usages and etiquette of the Sultans were en- tirely opposed to the admission of a military ambassador to the person of the Turkish Sovereign, yet both the Emperor and the King were of opinion that it might be easily effected in the case of the present Sultan, who was himself a distinguished military character, who appeared personally as a combatant in the field, and who must be conscious that his very existence was involved in the results of this momentous war. • • Narrative of My Missions to Constantinople and St. Petersburg in the years 1829 and 1830. By Baron Mifflin. Translated by David Jardine, Esq., of the Middle Temple, Barrister-at-law. Published by Longman and Co.
"The two Monarchs had agreed that the mission should for the present remain a profound secret, in order that no intelligence on the subject should reach Constantinople before the arrival of the ambassador. And the Empe- ror offered to convey the ambassador in a ship-of-the-line from Odessa to Constantinople, and to bring him back again in the same manner.
" The Emperor had written down in his own hand every point which had been determined with respect to the mission, even to the sum to be demanded by way of indemnification for the expenses of the war, and had delivered the memorandum to the King. He had gone so far as to set down the precise sum which the campaign of 1828, and the first half of the second campaign, had cost him ; claiming in this estimate merely the amount of the expenses over and above the ordinary etat of his military establishment. Although the Emperor insisted upon maintaining the principle of an indemnification for the expenses, he showed no indisposition to lighten the burden of pay- ment to the Sultan' by taking in lieu of money, ships, productions of mines, merchandise, &c. The details of this latter part of the arrangement, how- ever, his Imperial Majesty reserved entirely to himself, and merely allowed the ambassador, if it should become necessary, to hold out the prospect of such an accommodation."
The Mission to Constantinople is an account of how skilfully Baron Muffling carried out his instructions and accomplished the objects of those who sent him. The difficulty, of course, was with the Turks ; for neither France, Austria, nor England, desired a war, though the last two powers had determined to brave it. To settle the matter, or at least to stave off the evil day, was the object of them all. The diplomatists therefore were quite willing to second the efforts of the Prussian envoy, even without the negotiator's skilful proceedings, of which the reader hears quite enough, and something more than enough of his even- tual influence, power, and favour with the Sultan. With the Turks it was different. Independently of national pride, and 'a dread of popular commotion, report had magnified the sickness in the Russian army into a plague ; and they looked to seeing their enemies swept away by disease. Much argument was required to shake the opinion of the Turkish Ministry and dispose them to listen to negotiation. In this case, however, the Baron was greatly assisted by his military knowledge, which enabled him to place clearly before the mind of the Turkish Minister the exact position of the Turkish armies. He was helped, doubtless, by his own persuasion that the Russians were in greater force and in less straits than they actually were, which naturally gave the con- fidence of belief to his arguments. The great argument, however, was the capture of Adrianople. Present circumstances give the chief interest to Baron Miiffiing's Narrative ; but it is not devoid of intrinsic utility. It exhibits a mode of diplomatic management laid down by so great =a mas- ter as the late Emperor Nicholas, and the manner in which the de- tails were carried out by a negotiator of experience and ability, if not such an all-accomplished homme d'etat as the Baron pictures himself. The negotiations present a real account of diplomatic business as carried on among the Turks, exhibiting incidentally pictures of their practices and opinions. It seems that, in spite of what we fancy of Oriental ambition, posts of importance some- times have to go begging, when there is difficult business to be done, and danger to be encountered such as a then negotiation with Russia might produce.
" I was at the same time informed by the Prussian interpreter that the Grand Vizier, who was at Shumla, had received commands to despatch ple- nipotentiaries from his camp. This arrangement, which seemed absurd enough, had a deeper foundation than ancient usage. I supposed that the object was to gain time by. the delay which this reference to the Grand Vizier must occasion ; but this was not the case. The real reason why the plenipotentiaries were not despatched at once from Constantinople was, that there could not be found in Constantinople a single person who would volun- tarily undertake nor one who by reason lac" o
to dour s, to whom it had
office he held been proposed, had said, You have made this war a war of religion, and therefore any peace you can make will be unpopular. Should we undertake the office of plenipotentiaries for the conclusion of peace, and should we exe- cute it to the entire satisfaction of the Grand Seignior, so that his Highness would cover us with honours and dignities on our return, yet this will be no security to us, that if the peace displeases the people the Grand Seignior will not send us the silken cord and make us the sacrifice. Let those, there- fore, to whose office this duty belongs, carry out so dangerous a matter.' It was not without astonishment that I understood from these objections the weakness of the Sultan's Government."
The mission to St. Petersburg immediately followed that to Con- stantinople; and though nominally of a complimentary kind, it also was connected with Turkish affairs. The Emperor had previously sent to Baron Muffling a letter of approval, and the order of St. Vla- dimir, "never before bestowed on any foreigner?' On the Baron's arrival they entered into a business discussion ; the Emperor disap- proving of the Turkish embassy to St. Petersburg, which the envoy had been a means of causing, but graciously listening to a longish speech in which the Baron defended the course as the best that could be taken. Nicholas also expressed himself concerning ambition and his duties, in a manner which sounds strangely.
" The Emperor rejected the mere suggestion of an overthrow of the Turk- ish empire as a scheme equally criminal and foolish. He represented the frontiers of the Russian and Austrian empires as perfectly secure against the Turks; who, moreover, since the downfall of the Janissaries, had ceased to desire conquests. He praised the character of 'the Mussulmans, and admit- ted their love of faith, and the fidelity with which they observed their pro- mises. He declared, therefore, that he could not desire betterg neighbours ; and that he would do all in his power to preserve the integrity f their em- pire, and to protect it as far as he could from the effects of internal dissen- sion or foreign attack. Anxiety had been expressed,' he said, ' from time to time in Europe, that he might be induced by a love of war or a false am- bition to take up the part of a conqueror against the Porte. Such an im- pression resulted from a total ignorance of the direction of his mind, and from an assumption that he had not well considered his own position and the political relations of his empire. The extent of territory subject to his sceptre and the necessities of its vast population were fully sufficient to occupy a man's life. It would be folly in him to strive for territorial acqui- sitions. The path pointed out to him by God was to promote the wellbeing
of his subjects, and in pursuing that object above all things to abstain from frivolous ware. This would be attained by a faithful observance of all en- gagements contracted with other powers, and by a rigid abstinence from all interference with foreign rights. This had been the uniform endeavour of his life, and he prayed God to give him the health and strength necessary to arryit into execution.' " Mese expressions produced in my mind an emotion which it would be difficult to describe. They were uttered with such simplicity and warmth of feeling that the very notion of art or design was out of the question. A noble heart, a generous disposition, and a clear understanding, had laid it- self open with entire sincerity upon an important but wholly accidental occa- sion."
In translating My Mission, Mr. Jardine has done good service, not only by completing Muffling's remains in an English dress, but by producing a book which throws a light upon Russian diplomacy and resources, at a time when it is more especially necessary to be on our guard against both. In this volume we see the manner in which she skilfully conceals her own condition and purposes, avails herself of circumstances to make what she really desires appear to be pressed upon her by the efforts of the three leading powers of Europe, while she turns Prussia into a mere tool and a secret player of her game in the guise of a disinterested bystander interfering to compose quarrels.
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