26th.—Lord Beaconsfield's funeral.
Of this last, he received the following account from Mr. T. Norton
Longman:—
April 28th.—The sad ceremony I had the honour of attending the day before yesterday will for ever live in the memory of all who were present. Nothing could have been more simple in its character, nothing more striking in its solemnity, and nothing more in strict accordance with his wishes. I may well say I shall not forget so great an occasion, not only from the fact that the ceremony was the burial of a great man, but from the very select band of followers I had the privilege of joining. There were only 120 invitations sent out, and all these were not made use of. I travelled down in a saloon carriage with Drs. Quain, Bruce, Lord Lytton, Lord Alington, Count Münster, with all of whom I had very pleasant conversation. Sir William Harcourt, Lord Rosebery, the Danish Minister, and another ambassador were also in the carriage; so I had plenty of good company. I had a little conversation with poor Lord Rowton, and thanked him for thinking of me. 'Not at all,' he said; 'I am quite sure it would be his wish that you should be here to-day.' This was, to say the least of it, gratifying. The persons who appeared to be most touched were poor Bruce and Lord Henry Lennox. On our return to the Manor about fifty of us went into the drawing-room to hear the will read, and a very interesting document it proved to be. It is perfectly clear Lord Beaconsfield contemplated a great deal of publication. After the reading was finished and those present had mostly left the room, I waited behind a little for the three Princes to move first; and, much to my surprise, the Duke of Connaught turned round and shook me by the hand. This little incident makes it all a peculiarly interesting and eventful day. We all returned to town together (I mean the Princes and the guests); and I think I may safely say that a train never arrived at Paddington Station with a more distinguished company on board.
As I walked up from the church I could not help thinking that the last time I walked up that hill I had poor Lord B. on my arm. The demand for 'Endymion' is very great, and in fact the demand for all his novels is greater than we can meet. We are printing night and day to try and keep the trade supplied.
From M. B. St.-Hilaire
Paris, 27 avril. Il y a bien des jours que je voulais vous écrire, et ce long silence me faisait craindre que vous ne fussiez malade, comme vous l'étiez en effet; mais je me disais aussi que les vacances de Pâques vous ameneraient sans doute à Paris. J'espère que le printemps vous guérira complètement de cet accès; et que vous serez délivré de ce mal si douloureux, dès que la chaleur nous sera revenue. Ici, nous avons un temps des plus maussades.
I have done everything in my power to keep clear of this Tunis business; but the Khroumirs' affair has filled the cup to overflowing, and we are obliged to resort to force. I shall finish the business off as quickly as I can, and as we have no idea of annexation, all that we want is a treaty with the Bey, giving a lasting guarantee for the security of our frontier and our interests. I believe that even in Italy people are beginning to understand or to admit the necessity which is pressing on us; but they will owe us a grudge, and later on will resent it, if they can. For the present, the loan of six hundred and fifty millions paralyses their wrath. We are no more going to refound Carthage than Italy is going to re-establish the Roman Empire.
The death of Lord Beaconsfield is a great blow for England. I have noticed, not without some surprise, that I am of the same age as he was.
I have reason to believe that Lord Dufferin is quite of your opinion about Russia, and thinks that the most truly sick man is not at Constantinople. He may be right. Meanwhile the Conference will fail. I happen to know that three of us will refuse—England, Italy, and France. Austria would like to do the same.
People are speaking no more of the scrutin de liste than if the question did not exist. It was in fact altogether artificial; but the talk will begin again with the meeting of the Chamber. The scrutin d'arrondissement appears to gain ground. Its success is much to be desired; for if it is rejected, we shall pretty quickly find ourselves in a critical position.