Sometimes he did leave the room; but with dignity and discretion.

A false step, a "break," might have led to a request for his recall.

He knew that his constant presence, close to the English Government, was vital to our cause.

Russell and Palmerston were by turns insolent and shifty, and once on the very brink of recognizing the Southern Confederacy as an independent nation.

Gladstone, Chancellor of the Exchequer, in a speech at Newcastle, virtually did recognize it.