I don't think he was very
anxious to go. His career had been made almost entirely at the Foreign
Office, and he was much more at home in his cabinet, with all his papers
and books about him, than he would be abroad among strangers. He came to
dinner one night, and we talked the thing over. W. thought the rest and
change would do him good. He was named to the Vatican, where necessarily
there was much less to do in the way of social life than at the
Quirinal. He was perfectly au courant of all the questions between the
Vatican and the French clergy--his son, secretary of embassy, would go
with him. It seemed rather a pleasant prospect.
W. went once or twice to the Senate, as the houses met on the 12th or
14th of January, but there was nothing very interesting those first
days. The Chamber was taking breath after the holidays and the last
ministerial crisis, and giving the new ministry a chance. I think
Freycinet had his hands full, but he was quite equal to the task. I went
late one afternoon to the Elysee. I had written to Madame Grevy to ask
if she would receive me before I left for Italy.
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