The Continental Courts appear to have been stupefied by the
result of the Elections. They are accustomed to trust their diplomatic agents, and the Envoys are accustomed to. trust official assurances, mildly tempered by the views of " society " and the metropolitan Press. As Lord Beaconsfield's. opinion of the future, and that of society, and that of the metropolitan Press, happened to be all alike and all wrong, the luckless Envoys were all taken in together. The Courts are,. therefore, seeking ways out of the scrape, and the best which occurs to them is to believe that no change in foreign policy will be attempted. They do not believe that, nevertheless, and their annoyance at finding England again Liberal is very perceptible. There is a story in some of the papers that Prince Bismarck is so irritated with Count Munster's credulity, that he has recalled him, but that must be mere gossip. If Prince Bismarck had been Ambassador, and had been in contact with Ministers, and had lived in London, he would have been mis- taken, too. How is a foreigner to know that a Press with an immense circulation and popularity has ceased to be an indi- cator of national sentiment, or to calculate whether a policy will or will not bring thousands of new voters to the poll ?- Next time, however, Envoys will perhaps ask the Opporition. Whips, as well as the Ministerial.
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