We have elsewhere dwelt upon the Malinckrodt incident, and the
irritation Prince Bismarck appears to feel at every Ultra- montane attack, but we must here add that the Italian Govern- ment has been applied to, to ascertain whether the "Govone despatch," included in General La Marmora's book of revela- tions, was anything but a forgery. The Italian Government is reported to have replied that it was not in the archives, which is likely enough, as La Marmora, being Premier, may have kept a document so secret, or fofwarded it to Napoleon. Of course, it may be a pure forgery, but our impression from the whole dis- cussion is that Prince Bismarck talked freely to General Govone of cessions he might make, but his King would not, except in some extreme moment of victory or defeat ; that General Govone, excessively anxious to keep Napoleon out of the business on hand, took all these expressions a great deal too literally ; and that they were forwarded, as they were meant to be forwarded, to Napo- leon, who, in his eagerness for an unjust gain, abandoned his ally and broke up his own throne. It is just possible that the King did not know of these negotiations, and that the Chancel- lor's irritation proceeds from that. He had only to say that he fought intriguers with their own weapons to have stood fully exonerated before his countrymen, who will not in any case judge him like other men.
