Part 6 (1/2)

FOES OR FRIENDS (1862)

OF the year 1862 Henry Adams could never think without a shudder The war alone did not greatly distress hi people wade in blood, and he could plainly discern in history, thathad found his chief amusement in bloodshed; but the ferocious joy of destruction at its best requires that one should kill what one hates, and young Adams neither hated nor wanted to kill his friends the rebels, while he wanted nothing so ood co to save his own life Every day the British Governrave He could see it; the Legation knew it; no one doubted it; no one thought of questioning it The Trent Affair shohere Palmerston and Russell stood The escape of the rebel cruisers fron of hesitation, but the proof of their fixed intention to intervene Lord Russell's replies to Mr Adams's notes were discourteous in their indifference, and, to an irritable young private secretary of twenty-four, were insolent in their disregard of truth Whatever forms of phrase were usual in public to modify the harshness of invective, in private no political opponent in England, and few political friends, hesitated to say brutally of Lord John Russell that he lied This was no great reproach, for, more or less, every statese sprang from his belief that Russell's form of defence covered intent to kill Not for an instant did the Legation draw a free breath The suspense was hideous and unendurable

The Minister, no doubt, endured it, but he had support and consideration, while his son had nothing to think about but his friends ereunder McClellan in the swa in Pall Mall He bore it as well as he could till midsummer, but, when the story of the second Bull Run appeared, he could bear it no longer, and after a sleepless night, walking up and down his roo that his father was beneath hio home into the army His mother seemed to be less i over her head, which was so unlike her as to surprise her son His father, too, received the announcement quietly

No doubt they expected it, and had taken their ot used to all sorts of announcements from their children Mr Adams took his son's defection as quietly as he took Bull Run; but his son never got the chance to go He found obstacles constantly rising in his path The remonstrances of his brother Charles, as himself in the Arreatest weight with Henry, hadaction; but he felt, of his own accord, that if he deserted his post in London, and found the Capuan coinia where he would have only bullets to wound hi his father and mother alone to be devoured by the wild beasts of the British aht not have stopped hiestion was decisive The Minister pointed out that it was too late for hi before next spring they would all go ho man had copied too many affidavits about rebel cruisers to ain to copy some more Consul Dudley at Liverpool provided a continuous supply Properly, the affidavits were no business of the private secretary, but practically the private secretary did a second secretary's work, and was glad to do it, if it would save Mr Seward the trouble of sending more secretaries of his own selection to help the Minister The as nothing, and no one ever coation after the departure of Charley Wilson, though he ht to copy Not the work, but the play exhausted The effort of facing a hostile society was bad enough, but that of facing friends orse After terrific disasters like the seven days before Richmond and the second Bull Run, friends needed support; a tone of bluff would have been fatal, for the averageanswers but candor; yet private secretaries never feel candid, however much they feel the reverse, and therefore they must affect candor; not always a si with tears over the blunders and incapacity of one's Government If one shed tears, they must be shed on one's pillow Least of all, must one throw extra strain on the Minister, who had all he could carry without being fretted in his fa over one'saloud--”Another disastrous Federal Defeat”; and one e in har friends requireda quiet face before enemies Great men were the worst blunderers One day the private secretary s with the crowd in the throne-room while the endless procession , behind his shoulder, one Cabinet Minister reot another licking!” The point of the remark was its truth Even a private secretary had learned to control his tones and guard his features and betray no joy over the ”lickings”

of an eneether beside itself on one point, in especial; it created a nightave it the shape of Abraham Lincoln Behind this it placed another demon, if possible ard to these two lish society seemed demented Defence was useless; explanation was vain; one could only let the passion exhaust itself One's best friends were as unreasonable as enemies, for the belief in poor Mr Lincoln's brutality and Seward's ferocity becama of popular faith The last time Henry Adams saw Thackeray, before his sudden death at Christ the house of Sir Henry Holland for an evening reception Thackeray was pulling on his coat downstairs, laughing because, in his usual blind way, he had stu house and not found it out till he shook hands with old Sir Henry, whom he knew very well, but as not the host he expected Then his tone changed as he spoke of his--and Adams's--friend, Mrs Frank Hampton, of South Carolina, whom he had loved as Sally Baxter and painted as Ethel Newcoe, his war revived when he heard that she had died of consumption at Columbia while her parents and sister were refused per of it, Thackeray's voice trembled and his eyes filled with tears The coarse cruelty of Lincoln and his hirelings was notorious He never doubted that the Federals s of women--particularly of women--in order to punish their opponents On quite insufficient evidence he burst into violent reproach Had Adams carried in his pocket the proofs that the reproach was unjust, he would have gained nothing by showing them At that moment Thackeray, and all London society with hi emotion; for if Mr Lincoln was not what they said he--ere they?

For like reason, the ation kept silence, even in private, under the boorish Scotch jibes of Carlyle If Carlyle rong, his diatribes would give his true measure, and this measure would be a low one, for Carlyle was not likely to be ht than in another The proof that a philosopher does not knohat he is talking about is apt to sadden his followers before it reacts on himself Demolition of one's idols is painful, and Carlyle had been an idol Doubts cast on his stature spread far into general darkness like shadows of a setting sun Not merely the idols fell, but also the habit of faith If Carlyle, too, was a fraud, ere his scholars and school?

Society as a rule was civil, and one had no more reason to complain than every other diplomatist has had, in like conditions, but one's few friends in society weresocial control The best they could do was to escape ood enough to save the Minister's family from that annoyance Now and then, the fact could not be wholly disguised that some one had refused to meet--or to receive--the Minister; but never an open insult, or any expression of which the Minister had to take notice Diplomacy served as a buffer in times of irritation, and no diplomat who knew his business fretted at what every diplolish--had to expect; therefore Henry Adah not a diploh, seeing clearly that society cared little toalso no reason why society should discover charms in him of which he was himself unconscious He here he was asked; he was always courteously received; he was, on the whole, better treated than at Washi+ngton; and he held his tongue

For a thousand reasons, the best diplomatic house in London was Lord Palmerston's, while Lord John Russell's was one of the worst Of neither host could a private secretary expect to know anything He ht as well have expected to know the Grand Lama Personally Lord Palmerston was the last man in London that a cautious private secretary wanted to know Other Pri diplomatists as much distrust as Palmerston, and yet between Palmerston's word and Russell's word, one hesitated to decide, and gave years of education to deciding, whether either could be trusted, or how far The Queen herself in her faave her opinion of Palmerston in words that differed little from words used by Lord John Russell, and both the Queen and Russell said in substance only what Cobden and Bright said in private

Every diploreed with them, yet the diplomatic standard of trust seemed to be other than the parliamentarian No professional diplomatists worried about falsehoods Words ith them forms of expression which varied with individuals, but falsehood was more or less necessary to all The worst liars were the candid What diplomatists wanted to knoas the motive that lay beyond the expression In the case of Palues that they ht expect to be sacrificed by him to any momentary personal object Every new Minister or Ambassador at the Court of St James received this preliminary lesson that he must, if possible, keep out of Palmerston's reach The rule was not secret or merely diplomatic The Queen herself had emphatically expressed the saain, he would go down to the House of Con Minister, without concern for his victiot back on him with a blow equally mischievous--not even the Queen--for, as old Baron Brunnow described hiained his point, he laughed, and his public laughed with him, for the usual British--or Aht it very aht and tossed and gored on the horns of this jovial, slashi+ng, devil-ht to complain of mere lies; it is their own fault, if, educated as they are, the lies deceive them; but they complain bitterly of traps Palmerston was believed to lay traps

He was the enfant terrible of the British Governood and loyal All the diplomats and their wives see that she would try to help thes at houe An ignorant young Ae House was no better for entertaining than a score of others Lady Pal or handsoe have been vivacious The people one ely diploely political, and politicians rarely decorate or beautify an evening party; they were sprinkled with literary people, who are notoriously unfashi+onable; the woed; the men looked e House was the best, and perhaps the only political house in London, and its success was due to Lady Palmerston, who never seenition As a lesson in social education, Caht First or last, one was to know dozens of statesreeable than Lord Pal than Lady Pale House The world never explains such riddles

The foreigners said only that Lady Palations were adnize their existence, but they were pleased because rarely tolerated anywhere else, and there they could at least stand in a corner and look at a bishop or even a duke This was the social diversion of young Adams No one knew hi he ever attended, he gave his name as usual at the foot of the staircase, and was rather disturbed to hear it shouted up as ”Mr Handrew Hadams!” He tried to correct it, and the footman shouted more loudly: ”Mr Hanthony Hadams!”

With some temper he repeated the correction, and was finally announced as ”Mr Halexander Hadams,” and under this name made his bow for the last time to Lord Palmerston who certainly knew no better

Far down the staircase one heard Lord Paluests, talking probably to one of his henchmen, Delane, Borthwick, or Hayward, ere sure to be near The laugh was singular, mechanical, wooden, and did not seem to disturb his features ”Ha!Ha!Ha!” Each was a slow, deliberate ejaculation, and all were in the sah he meant to say: ”Yes!Yes!Yes!” by way of assurance It was a laugh of 1810 and the Congress of Vienna Adams would have much liked to stop a ton had laughed so; but young n Ministers asked no questions at all of Palmerston and their chiefs asked as few as possible One lance of civility; then passed on to Lady Palmerston, as always kind in manner, but asted no rehter, who coh the diplolio, Apponyi, Van de Weyer, Bille, Tricoupi, and the rest, finally dropping into the hands of soe there as one's self The routine varied little There was no attempt at entertainment Except for the desperate isolation of these two first seasons, even secretaries would have found the effort almost as mechanical as a levee at St Jan Secretary; he was Prin affairs and could noa point in diplo his habits, tried to hold hied to court the actual Foreign Secretary, Lord John Russell, who, on July 30, 1861, was called up to the House of Lords as an earl

By some process of personal affiliation, Minister Ada himself that he could trust Lord Russelland ill-balanced in telishmen saw little difference between thelish experience in English character Minister Adah with hian to count as aeons

Just as Brunnow predicted, Lord Palmerston made his rush at last, as unexpected as always, and h still a private secretary of twenty-four Only a ar could be fresh and jaunty to that point, but Minister Adaenarian youth and found hier as critical as that of his numerous predecessors It was late one after noon in June, 1862, as the private secretary returned, with the Minister, from some social function, that he saw his father pick up a note from his desk and read it in silence

Then he said curtly: ”Palmerston wants a quarrel!” This was the point of the incident as he felt it Palratified; he must be stopped The matter of quarrel was General Butler's famous woman-order at New Orleans, but the motive was the belief in President Lincoln's brutality that had taken such deep root in the British ranted that hethis note in the House of Commons If he did this at once, the Minister was lost; the quarrel was made; and one new victim to Palmerston's passion for popularity was sacrificed

The moment was nervous--as far as the private secretary knew, quite the most critical moment in the records of As to history, not to education, and can be read there by any one who cares to read it As a part of Henry Adams's education it had a value distinct fro Palh for the Minister, but was not enough for a private secretary who liked going to Cae House, and was puzzled to reconcile contradictions That Palmerston had wanted a quarrel was obvious; why, then, did he sub made the victim of the quarrel?

The correspondence that followed his note was conducted feebly on his side, and he allowed the United States Minister to close it by a refusal to receive further coh Lord Russell The step was excessively strong, for it broke off private relations as well as public, and cost even the private secretary his invitations to Cae House Lady Palmerston tried her best, but the two ladies found no resource except tears They had to do with American Minister perplexed in the extreme Not that Mr Adaht of responsibility, and was neverhis Government, not to speak of himself, than to force Lord Russell to interpose He believed that Palmerston's submission and silence were due to Russell

Perhaps he was right; at the tih afterwards he felt less sure Palmerston wanted a quarrel; the motive seemed evident; yet when the quarrel was made, he backed out of it; for some reason it seemed that he did not want it--at least, not then He never showed resentan another quarrel Incredible as it seeentlee may have been due to Lord Russell's remonstrances, but the private secretary would have felt his education in politics more complete had he ever finally ry with General Butler, oras in both cases an unpardonable betise

At the time, the question was hardly raised, for no one doubted Palmerston's attitude or his plans The season was near its end, and Cah without caring to publish ainst it that one could only wait to see whether General McClellan would bring it relief The year 1862 was a dark spot in Henry Adaladly forgot As far as he are, he made no friends; he could hardly make enemies; yet towards the close of the year he was flattered by an invitation from Monckton Milnes to Fryston, and it was one of ave Milnes immortality Milnes made it his business to be kind Other people criticised hi it, but never imitated him Naturally, a dispirited, disheartened private secretary was exceedingly grateful, and never forgot the kindness, but it was chiefly as education that this first country visit had value Commonly, country visits are much alike, but Monckton Milnes was never like anybody, and his country parties served his purpose of e eleht for its natural beauties, and the winter mists of Yorkshi+re were rather more evident for the absence of the hostess on account of theuests who to do but astonish each other, if anything could astonish suchto the wit or humor, except as a listener; but they needed a listener and he was useful Of the re four, Milnes was the oldest, and perhaps the sanest in spite of his superficial eccentricities, for Yorkshi+re sanity was true to a standard of its own, if not to other conventions; yet even Milnes startled a young Aton mind was still fresh He would not have been startled by the hard-drinking, horse-racing Yorkshi+reman of whoe of society and literature that only himself possessed, if one were to try to keep pace with hi that Europe could offer He knew it all from several points of view, and chiefly as hue; a quiet, well-entleman of the literary class

When Milnes showed Adams to his room to dress for dinner, he stayed aof Keir

His sketch closed with the hint that Stirling was violent only on one point--hatred of Napoleon III On that point, Adams was hientleht be The third was a man of thirty or thereabouts, who his ar were syentle char story He was Lawrence Oliphant, just from japan, where he had been wounded in the fanatics' attack on the British Legation He seemed exceptionally sane and peculiarly suited for country houses, where every man would enjoy his company, and every woman would adore him He had not then published ”Piccadilly”; perhaps he riting it; while, like all the young n Office, he contributed to The Owl

The fourth was a boy, or had the look of one, though in fact a year older than Adams himself He reseeneration later, by another fah-crested, long-beaked, quick-, with rapid utterance and screaale One could hardly call hi owls, and yet no ordinary contrast availed

Milnes introduced hi Milnes was always unearthing new coins and trying to give them currency He had unearthed Henry Adams who knew hiered a moment in Adams's room to add that Swinburne had written some poetry, not yet published, of really extraordinary merit, Adams only wondered what more Milnes would discover, and whether by chance he could discover merit in a private secretary He was capable of it