One man whose lot the attack on Russia has made
con- siderably easier is M. Ivan Maisky, the Russian Ambassador in London, who, as representative of a country fighting side by side with Britain, finds himself a persona grata in all circles. As a matter of fact he has never been anything but a persona grata, whatever may have been thought of his country's policies and practices. As an envoy in an often difficult and delicate position he has been, I should say, a quite unqualified success. For eight years he has, apart from his formal official duties, dispensed quiet and dignified hospitality at the Embassy in Kensington Palace Gardens, first of all to guests mainly of the Left, but latterly to companies catholic enough to include, among others, Mr. Chamberlain, Lord Halifax and Mr. Eden. Through it all he has retained the complete confidence of his own Government. Two of his predecessors, M. Rakovsky and M. Sokolnikoff, whose salt also I have eaten in my time, are, I believe, still in prison, as the result of the so-called " treason trials " of a few years ago.
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