and exciting petty
disturbances with the view of disorganising and impeding the
consolidation of Turkey, she redoubled her efforts to promote her own
influence by alienating the Greek Christians from their spiritual
allegiance to the Archimandrite, and transferring it to the Czar. Nor to
attain this end did she scruple to resort to presents, bribes, and even
more unworthy means. That her efforts have not met with more signal
success than has as yet attended them, is due to the indifference
displayed by the people on these subjects.

One measure which was deemed most important was the substitution in
Servia of the Obrenovitch family for that of Kara George. This occurred
in 1858; and during the lifetime of Milneh, Russian influence was ever
in the ascendant. The familiar roughness of tone and manner assumed by
that Prince towards his uncultivated people procured for him great
weight; while his astute cunning, his hatred of Turkey, and his Russian
bias, would have given a most valuable ally to that power, had she
procured his restoration before her armies crossed the Pruth.
Fortunately no opportunity presented itself for him to promote actively
the cause of his imperial master; and the two years which he survived
his return to power are marked only by occasional ill-judged and
bloodthirsty emeutes, as prejudicial to his people as they were
ineffectual in overthrowing Turkish supremacy.

The eastern policy of France, during the Italian war, was subjected to
many powerful conflicting influences. The chances of creating a
diversion in the rear of Austria, owing to the unsettled state of the
Turkish provinces, was probably thought of. Why the idea was abandoned
is not for us here to enquire; but it may be in part attributed to the
display of force which Turkey for once put forth at the right moment. Be
this as it may, no disturbance took place until the winter of 1859,
when, upon the withdrawal of the Turkish troops, fresh rumours of an
insurrectionary nature were heard. These are well known to have been
encouraged and circulated by the Servian Government, which calculated
upon foreign support, at any rate that of Russia. But Russia has no wish
to precipitate a crisis. The disastrous results of Prince Gortschakoff's
mission have, at any rate, taught her the impolicy of plucking at the
fruit before it is ripe. Her own internal reorganisation, moreover,
occupies her sufficiently, and renders any active interference for the
m