Note 36 — Chapter II · THE ITALIAN REVOLUTION.

This important secret pact was not unknown to the British Government. It came into Mr. Kinglake’s possession, and at Lord Palmerston’s request he gave a copy of it privately to Mr. Seymour Fitzgerald, who represented the Foreign Office in the House of Commons. The text was revealed by Lord Malmesbury. The Princess Clothilde made a grim joke upon her loveless and ill-fated marriage—“Quand on a vendu l’enfant, on peut bien vendre le berceau.”—Memoirs of an Ex-Minister, Vol. II., pp. 220, 221, 223.