Page:The invasion of the Crimea vol. 1.djvu/264

 222 ORIGIN OF THE WAR OF 1S53 chap, which for a time he might be able to stand un- decided. Just as the indolent man becomes clevei in framing excuses for his delays, so Prince Louis, because he was so often hesitating between the right and the left, became highly skilled in con- triving — not merely ambiguous phrases, but — ambiguous schemes of action. Partly from habits acquired in the secret socie- ties of the Italian Carbonari, partly from long years passed in prison, and partly, too, as he once said, from his intercourse with the calm, self- possessed men of the English turf, he had derived the power of keeping long silence ; but he was not by nature a reserved nor a secret man. To- wards foreigners, and especially towards the Eng- lish, he was generally frank. He was reserved and wary with the French, but this was upon the principle which makes a sportsman reserved and wary with deer and partridges and trout. No doubt, he was capable of dissembling, and con- tinuing to dissemble through long periods of time; but it would seem that his faculty of keeping his intentions secret was very much aided by the fact that his judgment was often in real suspense, and that he had therefore no secret to tell. His love of masks and disguises sprang more, perhaps, from the odd vanity and the theatric mania which will be presently spoken of, than from a base love of deceit ; for it is certain that the mystery in which he loved to wrap himself up was often contrived with a view to a melodramatic surprise. It is believed that men do him wrong who speak