mber was legion, always declared
that the reason why he had faced the music and braved public opinion in
England lay in the fact that, for some reason or other, he was afraid of
Doctor Jameson. I have referred already to this circumstance. Whilst
refusing to admit such a possibility, yet I must own that the influence,
and even the authority exercised by the Doctor on his chief, had something
uncanny about it. My own opinion has always been that Rhodes' attitude
arose principally from his conviction that Jameson was the only one who
understood his constitution, the sole being capable of looking after his
health. Curious as it may seem, I am sure the Colossus had an inordinate
fear of death and of illness of any kind. He knew that his life was not a
sound one, but he always rebelled against the idea that, like other
mortals, he was subject to death. I feel persuaded that one of the reasons
why he chose to be buried in the Matoppo Hills was that, in selecting this
lonely spot, he felt that he would not often be called upon to see the
place where he would rest one day.

This dread of the unknown, so rare in people of his calibre, remained with
him until the end. It increased in acuteness as his health began to fail.
Then, more than ever, did he entertain and plan new schemes, as if to
persuade himself that he had unlimited time before him in which to execute
them. His flatterers knew how to play upon his weakness, and they never
failed to do so. Perhaps this foible explains the influence which Doctor
Jameson undoubtedly exercised upon the mind of Rhodes. He believed himself
to be in safety whenever Jameson was about him. And so in a certain sense
he was, because, with all his faults, the Doctor had a real affection for
the man to whom he had been bound by so many ties ever since the days when
at Kimberley they had worked side by side, building their fortunes and
their careers.

By a curious freak of destiny, when the tide of events connected with the
war had given to the Progressive English party a clear majority in the
Cape Parliament, Jameson assumed its leadership as a matter of course,
largely because he was the political next-of-kin to Rhodes. The fact that
at that time he lived at Groote Schuur added to his popularity, and he
continued whilst there the traditional hospitality displayed during the
lifetime of Rhodes. That he ultimately became Prime Minister was not
surprising; the office fell to his share as so many ot