Frederick William,
whom I saw at the wedding of his son and the Princess Royal, after acting as
Regent since November, 1858, has mounted the throne, by the death of the old
crazy King William IV., under the name of William V. of Prussia. His politics
are more liberal than his predecessor's.
Brougham publishes
in the Times of to-day his brief correspondence with Redpath, who invites to a
consultation how to extinguish slavery in the United States. The poor old
trimmer is backing out, and wants to abdicate his chiefdom of Exeter Hall. This
is his second or third effort to wriggle himself out of the humiliation consequent
upon his fanatical negrophilism at the Statistical Congress.
On Wednesday last
the ceremony of again proroguing Parliament took place in the House of Lords.
The day appointed for meeting is the 5th of February, but "for despatch of
business" was omitted; inadvertently, or by design?
Mr. Motley, the
historian, called and spent an hour in chat. I expressed my great delight with
his recently issued work, the "Dutch Republic." Told him I had noted
two new spellings, Escorial and Burghley; the first he said was unquestionably
correct, the second he took from the Lord Treasurer's uniform mode of signing
his name, though it was spelled very variously. In the course of conversation
he avowed the opinion that Walsingham, not Burghley, was the great Minister of
Queen Elizabeth, and he thought that Elizabeth had taken to herself merit and
glory which really belonged to the British people generally. We turned over the
distressing condition of American politics. He is for saving the Union at
almost any sacrifice; but I thought I could perceive that he entertained the
theory that, maintaining the name, the flag, and the Constitution, we should be
happier and equally great without the cotton States. He is inveterately hostile
to slavery. Now that his two volumes are making him famous, he proposes to be
presented with his wife and daughter at Court. Of course I shall be proud to
gratify his wish in that respect. I think he remembers that the literary fame
of Washington Irving made him chargé at this Court and subsequently Minister at
Madrid. Lincoln can give me no more acceptable successor. The foundations for
such an appointment are more broad, more durable, and in every way more
satisfactory than those of mere political partisanship.
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