Both these noble lords,
however, are fortunate in a keen appreciation of the national
prejudices, and know how to make use of the existing tone of public
feeling. A long vicissitude of successes and failures has taught both a
lesson which is every day a practical benefit; and after finding that
they were powerless when mutually opposed, they have succeeded in
swallowing the hatred of half a century, that they may join and divide
the power. The fact that there has been for some time a Tory majority in
the House of Commons shows the cunning with which Palmerston
manoeuvres his machinery. If we could conclude at all from his acts
what his sentiments are toward America, there is little love wasted on
us from that quarter; and Lord Russell, even while addressing the House
of Lords in terms favorable to us, never lets the occasion pass without
slipping in a sneer between his praises.
Selfishness, national or individual, is ever cautious and ever
suspicious. It seldom rashly grasps the thing coveted: it oftener lets
the apt occasion pass without improvement. The diplomatic intercourse
between Lord Palmerston's government and our own for the last year or
two amply illustrates this.
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