Page:The invasion of the Crimea vol. 1.djvu/426

3S4 APPENDIX. For farther proofs of the fact that Russia understood Austria to be bitterly hostile and to be endeavouring to form a league against her, see passages from the same de- spatch appearing in vol. i. of the Portfolio, at the following pages : — 343, 358, 359, 362-3, 409, 410, 412, 413, 414, 41G, 417, 419, 420, 421, 426, 429, 430, 433, 441, 446, 447, 450, 451, 452 rt seq., 455, 456, 457, 458, 459, 460, 461, 462, 46+, 466, 467, 409, 473, 474, 476. The Duke of Wellington had evidently been urged by Metternich to- wards the adoption of strong measures, but profoundly dis- trusting the courage of Metternich, he yielded but little attention to warlike counsels coming from that quarter. On the 7th of November the Duke thus wrote to Lord Aberdeen : — ' In truth, Metternich is as much at a loss as ' we to know what to do. He teas very angry with us for ' not seizing the apparent opportunity afforded by the block 1 - 1 ade to declare against Russia, because that would have ' been a commencement of resistance which, at all events, ' would have saved the Turks, and would have enabled him 1 to do wdiat he calls " prendre une position ; " that is to ' say, either to support us or to oppose us, or wdiat is more ' probable, do nothing but talk. But, as I said before, he ' no more knows what to do under existing circumstances 1 than we do.' The Russian Government, though it knew, as it con- ceived, that Prince Metternich was in earnest, adroitly re- solved to allow the Duke of Wellington and Lord Aberdeen to remain under the false impression (for so they regarded it) which the Duke's low estimate of Metternich had pro- duced. After saying that he had communicated to Count Pozzo di Borgo Metternich's denial, M. de Tatischeff, the Russian ambassador at Vienna, thus writes to his Govern- ment on the 5th of February 1829 : — ' J'ai rceu de notrc ambassadcur a Paris par un courier