Madrid, Lisbon, and Athens.... He is going to read
them to Lord Granville, and also to communicate as much as possible
all the despatches of the French diplomats to the English Government.
This will be a proof of confidence, and it will besides have the
advantage of giving often useful information, enabling thereby the
English Government to hear two opinions instead of one. It cannot be
denied that the idea that the Plenipotentiaries of the two countries
were following two different lines of policy has been hurtful to
the causes of the two Queens in the Peninsula. To put a stop to this
double action is the only benefit which the Queens will at present
derive from a better understanding between England and France; but as
it is, it will be still of some importance to them, and take away from
the different political parties the possibility of using the pretended
misunderstanding against the Government of the Queens. I trust that
you will tell your Ministers to meet this friendly disposition with
frankness and kindness. The wish of the King here is, to have matters
concerted between the Plenipotentiaries of both countries. In this way
it would become difficult for the parties in Spain or Portugal to
say that the two Plenipotentiaries support different candidates for
Ministerial power, and the division in the parties connected with the
Queens might be in this manner _prevented_ or _reconciled_. Many and
many are the ill-natured hints thrown out against the King's policy
here, and because he is clever, he is suspected of having _ambitious
schemes without end_; it may not be without some importance to set
this, in your mind at least, to rights. Whatever may have been the
King's views immediately after the revolution of July[72] I will not
decide; perhaps he may a moment have wished to be able to do something
for France. Supposing this for the sake of argument to have been so,
two months of his reign were sufficient to show him that the great
question was not to conquer territories or foreign influence, but
to save Monarchy. He saw clearly that though _he_ might begin a war,
necessarily it would soon degenerate into a war of propaganda, and
that he and his family would be the first victims of it. His struggle
has constantly been to strengthen his Government, to keep together or
create anew the elements indispensable for a Monarchical Government,
and this struggle is far from being at its end, and most probably
the remainder of h