Lord Ampthill.]

[Footnote 4: Secretary of Legation at Florence, afterwards
successively Minister at Rio Janeiro and Stockholm.]

[Footnote 5: Richard Bickerton Pemell Lyons, who had just been
transferred from Rome to Washington. He had recently succeeded
his father, the Admiral, in the Barony of Lyons, and was
himself subsequently promoted to an Earldom.]

[Footnote 6: Secretary of Foreign Affairs for the Papal
States.]

_The Earl of Malmesbury to Queen Victoria._

LONDON, _18th January 1859_.

The Earl of Malmesbury presents his humble duty to the Queen, and
has the honour to inform your Majesty that he has seen the French
Ambassador to-day, who came of his own accord to say that we need be
in no apprehension, of a war _at present_, as the public opinion in
France, especially in the large towns, had been so strongly pronounced
against a war that it was impossible. Lord Malmesbury is also glad to
inform your Majesty that the Cabinet has agreed to-day to make a great
addition to the effective force of your Majesty's Navy.

Your Majesty's commands are obeyed respecting the telegram to Berlin.

_The Earl of Malmesbury to Queen Victoria._

LONDON, 25th _January 1859_.

The Earl of Malmesbury presents his humble duty to the Queen, and
regrets to say that he shares your Majesty's apprehensions. The
Emperor is extremely irritated at our not concurring in his views on
Italy, and Lord Malmesbury believes that nothing will restrain him but
the public opinion expressed against them, in France.[7] Austria
has, against all our advice and common prudence, made a false move by
sending troops into the Papal States _against_ the wish of _the Pope_,
and is now obliged to recall them. The speech of your Majesty is to
be discussed in Cabinet to-day. Lord Derby intended to introduce a
paragraph stating that your Majesty's Alliance with France remained
"unimpaired," but it now appears to us that such a statement might
provoke a question "_why_" it should be made a special one. Lord
Malmesbury entirely agrees with your Majesty as to an allusion to
Treaties.

[Footnote 7: Yet the Emperor had just written to Queen
Victoria on 20th January: "Le corps legislatif va bientot
s'ouvrir, presque en meme temps que le parlement; je tacherai
d'exprimer dans mon discours tout le desir que j'ai de vivre
toujours en bonne et sincere intelligence avec votre Majeste
et son gou