Iam] LAST INTERVIEW WITH THE EMPEROR. 8 31
¥

had been applied to Italy, should be adopted towards 186k.
European Turkey ; that the Christians should be allowed to Zr. 57.
drive the Turks back into Asia; that the Greeks had a right
to repossess themselves of their ancient capital of Constantinople
 ; and no foreign Power had a right to stand between
them and the recovery of their rights from their Mahometan
conquerors. He remarked that it would be desirable to let
Austria bave Bosnia and Herzegovina, in exchange for
Venetia; and that it had been the policy of Russia to
prevent the formation of a Greek empire at Constantinople.
I urged strongly that if France and England were to apply
the policy of non-intervention to Turkey in Europe, and
renounce all selfish objects themselves, they would be in
80 strong a position both morally and materially as to be
able to dictate the same course to Russia. I urged the
necessity of abandoning the idea of sustaining the Turks
in Europe; that the Christians in Turkey constituted the
only element of progress; that they possessed the wealth,
carried on the commerce, and comprised the artists, professional
 men, &c.; that the Turks did not possess a single
vessel engaged in foreign trade ; and that all the commerce
of the Black Sea and the eastern parts of the Mediterranean
were rapidly falling into their hands (the Greeks); in fact,
Turkey in Europe, so far as the Mahometan population was
concerned, had hardly more relations with the progress and
civilization of the age, than Timbuctoo had.
« May 14th.—Called on Mduwe. Cornu, a lady who from
her childhood had been the playmate and friend of the
Emperor, and who showed us a couple of volumes of his
letters to her, the first of which was dated in 1820, when
he was only twelve years old. Several of the letters were
read to us. They were written in an affectionate and sentimental
 tone. She described him as possessing a feminine
softness of character, that he always as a boy was very slow