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all the Prince's friends. There are many letters of Stockmar's to the
Prince extant, which prove that Stockmar never shrank from speaking
the plainest truth to the Prince on matters of duty and faults of
temperament, without any courtier-like attempt to blink criticism
that might have been unpalatable. The Prince had the generosity and
humility to value this trait of Stockmar's very highly, to such an
extent that Stockmar's influence possessed if anything too great a
preponderance. Stockmar had jealously nursed two profound political
ideals--the unity of Germany under Prussia, and the establishment of
close relations between Germany and England. He induced Prince Albert,
heavily burdened as he was with work, to devote almost too much time
and thought to the former of these aims. Stockmar was a profound
student of social and constitutional questions. He had made a close
study of English political institutions; but though he grasped the
constitutional theory of the English Throne, and saw that the first
necessity for the Sovereign was to hold a position independent of
party, he never clearly understood that the Monarch should keep as
far as possible clear of political details. Stockmar's view of the
position was that the Sovereign should be practically Premier as well;
and much of the jealousy that was felt, on various occasions, at
the position which Prince Albert assumed with regard to political
situations, is referable to Stockmar's influence.

He was a very able man, with immense political knowledge, and without
personal ambition; Lord Palmerston, who was no friend to Stockmar's
theory of government, admitted that he was the most disinterested man
he had ever encountered. Stockmar's ambition was to achieve his
own political ideals, and to modify the course of events in what he
conceived to be beneficial directions; he was entirely indifferent
to the trappings of power, and this very disinterestedness made his
influence more supreme.

He suffered all his life from feeble health and a hypochondriacal
tendency, and was genuinely fond of retirement and quiet life. He
certainly deserved the devoted confidence reposed in him by Prince
Albert and the Queen; it may perhaps be questioned whether his own
_doctrinaire_ bias did not make itself too strongly felt, in the
minuteness with which Prince Albert dealt with English politics; but
the net result of his influence was that the danger, which lies in
wait for strictly con