Lord Dufferin is very much worried by the constant attacks
on him in Paris, in which he is represented as a man who ia perpetually plotting underground against the Franco-Russian alliance. He took the occasion, therefore, of a dinner given by the British Chamber of Commerce to make one of his soothing speeches. He admitted little jars over Colonial questions between France and England; but pointed to the seventy years of peace which had prevailed between the countries, to the growing comprehension of France in this country, and to the immense increase of social, artistic, and sporting intercourse as guarantees that these jars would produce no result. The pith, and probably the object, of his speech, however, was a warm eulogiuni on the Emperor of Russia as ithe man with whom the- decision of peace or war rested, and in whose hands the destinies of the world were safe. He had, he said, admired the character of the Emperor before he went to India, and. events had entirely borne out his predictions. The speech, which surprised his audience, has greatly pleased the French, and effectually disposed of the rumour that Lord Dufferin was specially plotting against any Russian benevolence for France. Lord Drifferin always does this kind of thing well; and he would not have stepped out of the usual diplomatic reserve without the full consent of his chief at the Foreign Office.
Previous page
