mily, he was an adored master; in the country, the Great Exhibition
had brought him respect and glory; and now in the secret seats of power
he had gained a new supremacy. He had wrestled with the terrible Lord
Palmerston, the embodiment of all that was most hostile to him in the
spirit of England, and his redoubtable opponent had been overthrown. Was
England herself at his feet? It might be so; and yet... it is said that
the sons of England have a certain tiresome quality: they never know
when they are beaten. It was odd, but Palmerston was positively still
jaunty. Was it possible? Could he believe, in his blind arrogance,
that even his ignominious dismissal from office was something that could
be brushed aside?

III

The Prince's triumph was short-lived. A few weeks later, owing to
Palmerston's influence, the Government was defeated in the House, and
Lord John resigned. Then, after a short interval, a coalition between
the Whigs and the followers of Peel came into power, under the
premiership of Lord Aberdeen. Once more, Palmerston was in the Cabinet.
It was true that he did not return to the Foreign Office; that was
something to the good; in the Home Department it might be hoped that
his activities would be less dangerous and disagreeable. But the Foreign
Secretary was no longer the complacent Granville; and in Lord Clarendon
the Prince knew that he had a Minister to deal with, who, discreet and
courteous as he was, had a mind of his own. These changes, however, were
merely the preliminaries of a far more serious development.

Events, on every side, were moving towards a catastrophe. Suddenly the
nation found itself under the awful shadow of imminent war. For several
months, amid the shifting mysteries of diplomacy and the perplexed
agitations of politics, the issue grew more doubtful and more dark,
while the national temper was strained to the breaking-point. At the
very crisis of the long and ominous negotiations, it was announced that
Lord Palmerston had resigned. Then the pent-up fury of the people burst
forth. They had felt that in the terrible complexity of events they
were being guided by weak and embarrassed counsels; but they had been
reassured by the knowledge that at the centre of power there was one man
with strength, with courage, with determination, in whom they could put
their trust. They now learnt that that man was no longer among their
leaders. Why? In their rage, anxiety, and nervous exhaustion, t