THE STRUGGLES OP LORD AUGUSTUS LOFTUS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1696, 27 October 1887, Page 2

THE STRUGGLES OP LORD AUGUSTUS LOFTUS.

•' Only the mordant satire ofaGrenvllU M irray," writes a correspondent of the " P«*U Mall Gasaite," "could adequately 'hit off' the * absolutely unique pheno* menon of the appearance m the London Bankruptcy Court of an ex-British Ambassador. To that pass Lord Augustus Loftus has just coma, after exactly half a cc «tury'a employment m our diplomatic service "Hard lines " these, and none the less bard beoauaa Lord Augustus William Frederick Spencer Loftui dv always been what society oalls • " poor man." fi.nw his lordship came to bs pitchforked into the expensive St. Peters* burg Embassy always was, and probably will ever remain a mystery ; it may have been (Mr Murray would have sworn it was) solely that he might furnish yet another illustration of the accuracy of the square man and round-hole theory. The "Jingo" poseurs of the olabi and the terribly smart (and perhaps not altogether disinterested) soions of the bureaucracy m Downing street affected to laugh Lord Augustus 1 diplomatic pretentious to soorn, and when he was sent to Russia exalted over the " dead certainty " that the Tzir's Ministers would pat oar unsophisticated, amiable representative "m their pockets," And all this, forsooth, beoause the poor gentleman against whom a receiving order was made last Saturday was not a quarrelsome, hectoring bellicose bully, bat ft Minister, who, according to his lights, acted m the interests of peace, instead of keeping the wires throbbing with oypher despatches conveying to our Foreign Office the alarming tidings that the Tnr'c trodki had dashed past him near the Kidmg School without stopping, acd that the " Easter eggi" sent by the Emperor to her Britannic Majesty's representative were of inch a trumpery obaraoter as to provoke the merriment of even the Embsay servants. What made against Lord .Augustus Lof(u3 remaining at oar Embassy m the bf-autiful town of the Neva was the terrible expenslveness of the place as a residence, except to those blessed with a protuoien of this world's goods. It was, not to mince matters, tho res angusta domi wbioh drove Lord Augustus from St Petersburg; Having scarcely any private fortune, he simply found himself unable to make both ends meet. An ambassador who oannot afford to be " In the swim " socially Is m mnoh the same poaiMon as the email tradesmen whom some Whlteley or other has ewal* lowed cp must pa up the shatters and open a now shop elsewhere! From the financial point of view it was exceedingly unfortunate for Lord Augustus that the marrioge of tbe only daughter, of the laic Czar and the seoond son of oar Queen should have taken place during his term m offioe. That event was nuturally made the occasion of innumerable fetea and parties, and of course the British Ambassador was the first to be caught m the whirlpool of gaiety. It is within the writer's knowledge that His Excellency kept the violins going merrily. It was not exactly " open house " at our Embassy (for, aftel all, the residence of one who is " Amb, and Mln Plan," is a semi-sacred place), but it was next door to it. Invitations were "as plenty as blackberries. " " L'Ambaesadeur p'Angleterre et Lady Augustus Loftus prient M— — de leur faire l'nonneur do passer le solres ones oux M&rdi, &, dix heures." L'Ambassa* deur d'Angleterre prie M,-— L. de lot faire Thonnear de diner ohez lul Mercredl k Bept deores." "Le Ministers, des Etats-Unis d'Amerique et Mdme Jewell prlentM— — de leur faire l'honneur da venir passer la sode'e ohez enx le Lnndl 2k nen heures." Every day brought with It a card for some festivity or other j and everybody agreed that "the Loftuses did the thing well." Ho one family could have slaved more than the Lof taies to maintain the reputation of England' for hospitality. The merest acquaintances were made as welcome, and felt themselves as much at home, as old personal friends ; nor was It a slight advantage to those Englishmen present for perhaps the first time m the Russian capital to be afforded In this agreeable way an opportunity of conversing with eminent natives, and so get at first hand, Informa* tion on a great variety of matters concerning which we had all been at sea. Thus much at least, is due to tho gentleman who, for several years represented us at the Imperial Court ; while none who ever croaaed the threshold of the Embassy at the time I speak of are likely to forget the grace and abounding courtesy of the lovely daughter of the house, whose marriage was, alas 1 destined to tarn out so unhappily for her. It was neoeuary to find a " new shop" for Lord Augustus, and one was at length found but not nearer than Australia. The ex-Ambas-sador of St Petersburg beoame Governor ol New South Wales, the post now held by Lord Oarrington.