Page:The invasion of the Crimea vol. 1.djvu/172

 130 ORIGIN OF THE WAR OF 1853 oh A P. was iii the right, he never came to understand the awe which he inspired. However, by de- grees the Turkish Ministers went so far as to tell him that ' since the arrival of Prince Ments- ' chikoff, the language held by the Russian Eni- ' bassy to them had been a mixture of angry ' complaints and friendly assurances, accompanied ' with positive requisitions as to the Holy Places ' in Palestine, indications of some ulterior views, • and a general tone of insistence bordering at ' times on intimidation.' * They declared that as to what the ulterior views were, ' there was still ' some uncertainty in the language of Prince ' Mentschikoff. In the beginning he had sound- ' ed the sentiments of the Porte as to a defensive ' alliance with Russia, but, receiving no encour- ' agement, had desisted from the overture. His 'intentions were now rather directed to a remod- ' elling of the Greek Patriarchate of Constantino- ' pie to a more clear and comprehensive definition ' of Russian right under treaty to protect the Greek ' and Armenian subjects of the Porte in religious ' matters, and to the conclusion of a formal agree- '. ment comprising those points.' Then eager to place themselves under Lord Stratford's guidance, but still shrinking from a disclosure of the whole truth, the Turkish Ministers entreated the Ambas- sador to tell them how to meet the demands which, although they only spoke of them hypothetically, had been already made by Prince Mentschikoff. Lord Stratford instantly saw that he must
 * 'Eastern Papers,' part i. p. 125.