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 THIRD MARQUESS OF SALISBURY 267

In 1876, the crisis in the Near East turned all thoughts away from home affairs, and the course of events provided Lord Salisbury with his first experience as a diplomatist. Servia and Montenegro declared war on Turkey in July, and in the autumn Gladstone's agitation over the Bulgarian atrocities stirred up passions and created an atmosphere in which sane diplomacy found its difficulties enormously increased. In November, Turkey granted an armistice at the instance of Russia, and Britain at once suggested a conference of the Powers, which sat at Constanti- nople from December nth, 1876, to January 2Oth, 1877. To this conference Lord Salisbury was sent as the English plenipotentiary, and the selection was warmly approved by Gladstone.

" I think it right," he wrote to a correspondent, " at once to give you my opinion of Lord Salisbury, whom I know pretty well in private. He has little foreign or Eastern knowledge, and little craft ; he is rough of tongue in public debate, but a great gentleman in private society ; he is very remarkably clever, of unsure judgment, but is above anything mean ; has no Disraelite prejudices ; keeps a conscience, and has plenty of manhood and character. In a word the appointment of Lord Salisbury to Constantinople is the best thing the Government have yet done in the Eastern question." *

Accompanied by Lady Salisbury, Lord Cran- borne, and Lady Maud Cecil, the British representative left London on November 20th, and after visiting Paris, Berlin, Vienna and Rome,

1 Morley, Gladstone, Life of, ed. 1905, II. 168.

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