o business with de Giers alone, to receive the
assurances of one who was being betrayed by his own ambassadors, to make
his protests to one who could not effectively remedy the grievances. His
difficulty was increased by de Giers's manner--'when getting on to
slippery ground he has a remarkable power of speaking only half
intelligibly and swallowing a large proportion of his words'. Morier was
often conscious that he was building on sand; but in quiet weather it
was possible to stem the flood for a while even with dikes of sand.
Perhaps a little later the tide of Balkan troubles might be setting in
another direction and the danger might be past. In Russia, where so much
was incalculable, it was wise to make the most of such help as presented
itself. Meanwhile the Russian Ambassador in London, Baron de Staael,
co-operated as loyally with Lord Salisbury as Morier with de Giers; and
thanks to their diplomatic skill, rough places were smoothed away and
bases of agreement were found. In the course of 1887, the smouldering
fires of Anglo-Russian antagonism died down, and Russia adopted a
waiting attitude in Bulgaria.

But this happy result was not attained till after Asiatic problems had
given rise to serious alarms. The worst moment was in July 1886, when
the Tsar suddenly proclaimed, contrary to the Treaty of Berlin, that the
port of Batum was closed to foreign trade. His point of view was
characteristic. His father had, autocratically, expressed in 1878 his
intention to open the port; this had been done, and it had proved in
practice a failure; as a purely administrative act, he (Alexander III)
now declared the port closed, _et tout etait dit_. But naturally foreign
merchants resented the injury to their trade, and insisted on the
sanctity of treaties. The Berlin Government, as usual, left to Great
Britain all the odium incurred in making a protest, and the other
Continental powers were equally silent. Morier asserted the British
case so strongly that he roused even de Giers to vehemence; but when he
saw that protests would avail nothing, he advised his Government to cut
the loss and to avoid further bitterness. He reminded them that Russia
had given way in Bulgaria, where the British point of view had
prevailed, and that they must not expect her to submit to a second
diplomatic defeat. Besides, a quarrel between Russia and Great Britain
would only benefit a third party, ready enough to avail himself of it.
Harmony was pre