much of their political quietude has been due to the judicious exercise of his influence over the Queen and the Court, and they do not conceal their uneasiness as to the future without him[449].”  The nation was plunged into deep mourning, but not to distraction from the American crisis, for on the day when all papers were black with mourning borders, December 16, they printed the news of the approval of Wilkes by the United States Congress, and gave a summary of Lincoln’s message of December 2, which, to their astonishment, made no mention of the Trent affair.  The Congressional approval caused “almost a feeling of consternation among ourselves,” but Lincoln’s silence, it was argued, might possibly be taken as a good omen, since it might indicate that he had as yet reached no decision[450].  Evidently there was more real alarm caused by the applause given Wilkes by one branch of the government than by the outpourings of the American press.  The next day several papers printed Lincoln’s message in full and the Times gave a long editorial analysis, showing much spleen that he had ignored the issue with Great Britain[451].  On the eighteenth this journal also called attention, in a column and a half editorial, to the report of the American Secretary of War, expressing astonishment, not unmixed with anxiety, at the energy which had resulted in the increase of the army to 700,000 men in less than nine months.  The Times continued, even increased, its “vigour” of utterance on the Trent, but devoted most of its energy to combating the suggestions, now being made very generally, advocating a recourse to arbitration.  This would be “weak concession,” and less likely to secure redress and peace for the future, than an insistence on the original demands.

Statesmen also were puzzled by Lincoln’s silence.  Milner Gibson wrote that “even though Lyons should come away, I think the dispute may after all be settled without war[452].”  Cornewall Lewis thought the “last mail from America is decidedly threatening, not encouraging[453].”  But on December 19, Adams was at last able to give Russell official assurance that Wilkes had acted without authorization.  Russell at once informed Lyons of this communication and that he had now told Adams the exact terms of his two instructions to Lyons of November 30.  He instructed Lyons to accept in place of an apology an explanation that Wilkes’ action was unauthorized—­a very important further British modification, but one which did not reach Lyons until after the conclusion of the affair at Washington[454].  Meanwhile a notable change had taken place in American public expressions.  It now regarded “the Wilkes affair unfavourably, and would much prefer it had not occurred at all[455],” a reaction without question almost wholly caused by the knowledge of the British demand and the unanimous support given it by the British public[456].  On Great Britain the alteration in the American tone