New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-07-03
LORD DUFFERIN.
TILE ATTACK ON HIM IN PARIS, AND WHAT
IT SIGNIFIES TO AMERICA.

one point which may b. prOhtaby p0ndercd in
America So far as the French accusations or i'm
putatious against the British Ambassador are
concerned, they need not detain us. lie Is &C
cused Of doing his duty to his own country; OF
Considering English interests before French In
tercsts Of having done in times past. before he
came to Paris and Of continuing to commit this
crime while protesting good will 10 France also.
In no country but France would such an attack
be made; there is in the civilized world no other
nation which carries It's patriotic egotism t. the
point Of demanding, directly or Indirectly that
the representative Of foreign Power should
hcrifce hts own Government 10 France, or prefer
the interests of the French people to those OF DIS
own people. Charges Of that sort deserve no erl-
o,Is attention elsewhere, even though they are
taken up or at least considered, by very I'm
portsnt journals.
What l. interesting to us is TO note how this
amazing accusation started ont of what 1t arose
how it was chat the susceptiblties OF these very
susceptible persons were first touched. LORD Dui-
ferin has not been very long In Paris lie mas
hardly bad time To enter upon great polcy II
an Ambassador can be supposed to have a policy
independently Of his own Government Loro
Duferin, who has both training and tact Ia
supreme degree certainly has no such policy lie
is in Paris to carry out the instructions OF the
There is, in fact absolutely nothing TO show thas
since his appointment, any change whatever has
occurred The diplomacy of Lord Salisbury Is
what il was The position of England with
reference 10 France and other Continental Powers
has undergone no modification The relations
between Paris and London are neither better nor
worse than they
It Is. in q word; not Lord Duferin's dim but
his method which arouses French alarm; or what
they desire to have taken for alarm or anxiety
To talk Of his bribing the French Press can i'm
pose on nobody. That great portion OF the
French press is bribablc the French themselves
believe That Lord Duffenn would try To bride
Il Is what nobody believes. If there be any real
basis Of fact at the foundation of all this tar
mol, II Is much more likely to have taken the
form Of "chantagcn much more likely that one
or more of the more venal papers has offered
itself for sale and been refused, and thcreupon
begun these attacks
The offence Of which Lord DuTerin now stands
accused is the offence of making himself too
agreeable to French society He has revived the
long dormant traditions Of the Palace in the
FaubouIg ST. Honore He has made ii again
social headquarters In Paris. From the moment
he took up his residence at the Embassy. Paris
perceived there to be a change. and. from
the social point Of view. q change for the better
Lord Lyons a bachelor and cared little for
society, and did nothing beyond giving t'e
strictly necessary official receptions When Lord
Lytton came there were great hopes; bu: the
Bohemianism Of Lord Lytton got the upper
hand, and the Faubourg st. GERMAN soon shook
it's head. One or two great ladies began to say
sou never knew whom you might meet at the
British Embassy. and the misohe. was done.
Lord Lytton was liked personally he YVES not
liked Us Ambassador and not q success as
Ambassador though he easily might have been
Lord Duffenn plainly began with the rcsolu-
ton to restore the glorles OF the Embassy. to
rcconquer the social prestige 1t once enjoyed and
to use the influence which springs from that
prestige For him and for Lady Duflerin 1t was
easy. All his life long this prestige has gathered
about him and about her. In Canada, in lnd'a.
in Egypt, in Rome,-wherever be has been and
whatever great post he has filed fo- the time. he
has used all the advantages of rank. OF social
experience of those extraordinary personal
qualities which belong TO hm-tbe fascination
of character which comes TO him in part by in
beritance, the charm which is in great part his
own all these resources he has put at the service
of his Government They are the great secret
of hts almost unrivalled success Alike from
taste and from policy he has lived like a prince.
His Viceroyalty In India was Of the most
splendid knownl He captvated Canada. He
delighted Rome; 10 some respects one OF the most
difficult capitals Ia Europe. There and every
where ne the grand segneur, and as he was
also one Of the most accomplished of men, every
body found him irresistible
He was irresistible because he took care that
these personal gifts and charms should be set of
to their height by his surrounding In a cell
they would have been Of avail. The affairs
of the world are not transacted In q monkish
dormitory. In a third-rate house they would
have availed Just as little In Palace. and
amid the society which is attracted by luxury
and refinement they gave him an ascendency
which Is simply not 10 be had in any other
way. No people are Of quicker perception than
the Parisians They felt the difference OF once.
The Fauboura St German eagerly crossed the
river. TO the left bank Of which it has adhered
with a fidelity which would be touching il it
were not slightly hdcrous. The official world.
which is a totally different world, goes a
matter OF course 10 a diplomatic reception or
dinner when it Is asked; and here is another
point 70 consider.
Among all the great Embassies at Paris, one
bnly has. of late. been great social rendezvous
The German Il, Of course, out of the question.
Between German and Frenchmen no real
dality Is possible, and 1t has not been thought
worth while 10 make pretence OF it. Italy Is
hardly on better terms with France than Germany.
and General Menabrea. who like Count Munster.
had all the personal qualifications for playing
distinguished social part, played none at all The
Austrian EmbassJ has been pleasant and splendid.
but without any definite political object. While
the Triple Alliance holds together, Austria can
draw no nearer than she Is TO France Russia
has been the exception. Long before Cronstadt.
NJ. de Mohrenhcim was hard at work cousolidat-
ing that friendship between his own country and
France which circumstances seemed to impose.
and his Imperial master to reject lie opened
wide the great doors Of the Russian Embassy, aud
made 1t one Of the most brilliant and one of the
most attractive houses in Paris That was NJ.
de Mohrenheims conception Of bis diplomatic
mission. II hos been a social mission. lie sought