Note 331 — Chapter XV · FALL OF THE SECOND EMPIRE.

According to Mr. T. H. S. Escott’s brilliant sketch of the late Mr. Hayward in the Fortnightly Review for March, 1884, the first person M. Thiers sounded in England on the subject was Mr. Hayward. “My friend,” said Hayward, when M. Thiers began to argue about the balance of power, “put all that stuff out of your head. We care for none of these things.” Writing to his sister on the 17th of September, 1870, Mr. Hayward says:—“I passed yesterday evening with the Thiers party, and breakfasted with them this morning. They are himself, his wife, sister-in-law, and secretary. His mission seems to be to persuade England to interfere on behalf of France, which England won’t do. I saw Gladstone yesterday, who told me he could not mediate, as he knew neither what Prussia meant to demand nor France to concede.”—Correspondence of Abraham Hayward, Q.C., Vol. II., p. 217.