58 ABERDEENA ND WKLUNGTON
hadb eena doptedth, eT reatyo f Adrianoplew asi n be worked
out in the spirit of Nicholasd1e rision. Russiam ight slowly
increase her influence over Servia and in Moldavia and
Wallachiap,e rhapasl soo verG reec;e s hem ights lowlya dvance
in Asia. But therew ast o be no precipitation ; in Palmersto ns
phrasiet wasb ettetro taket hep lacel by sapt hanb y storm.1
Russia would not favour frontal attacks or violent impacts
upon Turkey in her own case or in any other. A sudden
collapsme ighti nvolveT urkey in ruin and Russiain war,
bringA ustriain to theD anubea nd Frencha nd Britishf leets
into the Black Sea, As Russia favoured no sudden blow
againsTt urkey,t he resulto f an attack by MrhemetA H, the
militarily efiicient and ambitions pasha of Egypt, iilied the
Czar with dismay. Not only would it involve European
complicationbs,u t it m'ght erecta newv igorousE asternp ower
at ConstantinopleH. ow could Russia prefer that to the
feeble and decaying power of Mahmiul ? So Russia was for
the status quo.
VI
Opinionsa w strongetrh ana ntritt.
Wellington saw nothing but evil in the Treaty of Adrianoplc,
t then he did not know the real views of Nicholas, lie
another. Hitherto in his zeal for Turkey he had done everything
to make the new state of Greece as small am! as weak as
possible. He now saw an argument for making her strong,
For, if she had more power and territory, she would be the
more ablet o resistR ussia'sin fluence. To this pro-Cireek
view, so tardily perceived,A berdeena lso becamea convert.
But bothw eree ntanglebdy pro-Turkishp roclivitiesa nd commitmentasn
dh adl ittle timet o framea newp olicyb eforet hey
fell from power. IndeedA berdeena,s alwaysw, asa little
timorous.E vent en yearsla ter,o n resumingo ffice,h e looked
backo n the pro-Greekp olicyw ith someh esitation. He felt
it necessatroy say that ' the creationo f the Greek statew as
notr eallya t variancwe ith the principleos f thisp olicy* » 7( Le*
thei ntegritay ndi ndependenocf Te urkey).B ut it wasb etter
to havea newp olicyin auguratebdy menw hor eallyb elieved