ousy.

What more and more absorbed him--bringing with it a curious comfort of
its own--was his work. With the advent of Peel, he began to intervene
actively in the affairs of the State. In more ways than one--in the cast
of their intelligence, in their moral earnestness, even in the uneasy
formalism of their manners--the two men resembled each other; there was
a sympathy between them; and thus Peel was ready enough to listen to the
advice of Stockmar, and to urge the Prince forward into public life.
A royal commission was about to be formed to enquire whether advantage
might not be taken of the rebuilding of the Houses of Parliament to
encourage the Fine Arts in the United Kingdom; and Peel, with great
perspicacity, asked the Prince to preside over it. The work was of a
kind which precisely suited Albert: his love of art, his love of method,
his love of coming into contact--close yet dignified--with distinguished
men--it satisfied them all; and he threw himself into it con amore.
Some of the members of the commission were somewhat alarmed when, in his
opening speech, he pointed out the necessity of dividing the subjects
to be considered into "categories-" the word, they thought, smacked
dangerously of German metaphysics; but their confidence returned when
they observed His Royal Highness's extraordinary technical acquaintance
with the processes of fresco painting. When the question arose as to
whether the decorations upon the walls of the new buildings should,
or should not, have a moral purpose, the Prince spoke strongly for the
affirmative. Although many, he observed, would give but a passing glance
to the works, the painter was not therefore to forget that others
might view them with more thoughtful eyes. This argument convinced the
commission, and it was decided that the subjects to be depicted should
be of an improving nature. The frescoes were carried out in accordance
with the commission's instructions, but unfortunately before very long
they had become, even to the most thoughtful eyes, totally invisible.
It seems that His Royal Highness's technical acquaintance with the
processes of fresco painting was incomplete!

The next task upon which the Prince embarked was a more arduous one:
he determined to reform the organisation of the royal household. This
reform had been long overdue. For years past the confusion, discomfort,
and extravagance in the royal residences, and in Buckingham Palace
particularly, had been