rtin；　complaining　to　him　bitterly　of　the　unjust　attacks　which　were　made　upon　her；　and　declaring　that　〃the　great　worry　and　anxiety　and　hard　work　for　ten　years；　alone；　unaided；　with　increasing　age　and　never　very　strong　health〃　were　breaking　her　down；　and　〃almost　drove　her　to　despair。〃　The　situation　was　indeed　deplorable。　It　seemed　as　if　her　whole　existence　had　gone　awry；　as　if　an　irremediable　antagonism　had　grown　up　between　the　Queen　and　the　nation。　If　Victoria　had　died　in　the　early　seventies；　there　can　be　little　doubt　that　the　voice　of　the　world　would　have　pronounced　her　a　failure。
  III
  But　she　was　reserved　for　a　very　different　fate。　The　outburst　of　republicanism　had　been　in　fact　the　last　flicker　of　an　expiring　cause。　The　liberal　tide；　which　had　been　flowing　steadily　ever　since　the　Reform　Bill；　reached　its　height　with　Mr。　Gladstone's　first　administration；　and　towards　the　end　of　that　administration　the　inevitable　ebb　began。　The　reaction；　when　it　came；　was　sudden　and　complete。　The　General　Election　of　1874　changed　the　whole　face　of　politics。　Mr。　Gladstone　and　the　Liberals　were　routed；　and　the　Tory　party；　for　the　first　time　for　over　forty　years；　attained　an　unquestioned　supremacy　in　England。　It　was　obvious　that　their　surprising　triumph　was　pre…eminently　due　to　the　skill　and　vigour　of　Disraeli。　He　returned　to　office；　no　longer　the　dubious　commander　of　an　insufficient　host；　but　with　drums　beating　and　flags　flying；　a　conquering　hero。　And　as　a　conquering　hero　Victoria　welcomed　her　new　Prime　Minister。
  Then　there　followed　six　years　of　excitement；　of　enchantment；　of　felicity；　of　glory；　of　romance。　The　amazing　being；　who　now　at　last；　at　the　age　of　seventy；　after　a　lifetime　of　extraordinary　struggles；　had　turned　into　reality　the　absurdest　of　his　boyhood's　dreams；　knew　well　enough　how　to　make　his　own；　with　absolute　completeness；　the　heart　of　the　Sovereign　Lady　whose　servant；　and　whose　master；　he　had　so　miraculously　become。　In　women's　hearts　he　had　always　read　as　in　an　open　book。　His　whole　career　had　turned　upon　those　curious　entities；　and　the　more　curious　they　were；　the　more　intimately　at　home　with　them　he　seemed　to　be。　But　Lady　Beaconsfield；　with　her　cracked　idolatry；　and　Mrs。　Brydges…Williams；　with　her　clogs；　her　corpulence；　and　her　legacy；　were　gone：　an　even　more　remarkable　phenomenon　stood　in　their　place。　He　surveyed　what　was　before　him　with　the　eye　of　a　past…master；　and　he　was　not　for　a　moment　at　a　loss。　He　realised　everythingthe　interacting　complexities　of　circumstance　and　character；　the　pride　of　place　mingled　so　inextricably　with　personal　arrogance；　the　superabundant　emotionalism；　the　ingenuousness　of　outlook；　the　solid；　the　laborious　respectability；　shot　through　so　incongruously　by　temperamental　cravings　for　the　coloured　and　the　strange；　the　singular　intellectual　limitations；　and　the　mysteriously　essential　female　elements　impregnating　every　particle　of　the　whole。　A　smile　hovered　over　his　impassive　features；　and　he　dubbed　Victoria　〃the　Faery。〃　The　name　delighted　him；　for；　with　that　epigrammatic　ambiguity　so　dear　to　his　heart；　it　precisely　expressed　his　vision　of　the　Queen。　The　Spenserian　allusion　was　very　pleasantthe　elegant　evocations　of　Gloriana；　but　there　was　more　in　it　than　that：　there　was　the　suggestion　of　a　diminutive　creature；　endowed　with　magicaland　mythicalproperties；　and　a　portentousness　almost　ridiculously　out　of　keeping　with　the　rest　of　her　make…up。　The　Faery；　he　determined；　should　henceforward　wave　her　wand　for　him　alone。　Detachment　is　always　a　rare　quality；　and　rarest　of　all；　perhaps；　among　politicians；　but　that　veteran　egotist　possessed　it　in　a　supreme　degree。　Not　only　did　he　know　what　he　had　to　do；　not　only　did　he　do　it；　he　was　in　the　audience　as　well　as　on　the　stage；　and　he　took　in　with　the　rich　relish　of　a　connoisseur　every　feature　of　the　entertaining　situation；　every　phase　of　the　delicate　drama；　and　every　detail　of　his　own　consummate　performance。
  The　smile　hovered　and　vanished；　and；　bowing　low　with　Oriental　gravity　and　Oriental　submissiveness；　he　set　himself　to　his　task。　He　had　understood　from　the　first　that　in　dealing　with　the　Faery　the　appropriate　method　of　approach　was　the　very　antithesis　of　the　Gladstonian；　and　such　a　method　was　naturally　his。　It　was　not　his　habit　to　harangue　and　exhort　and　expatiate　in　official　conscientiousness；　he　liked　to　scatter　flowers　along　the　path　of　business；　to　compress　a　weighty　argument　into　a　happy　phrase；　to　insinuate　what　was　in　his　mind　with　an　air　of　friendship　and　confidential　courtesy。　He　was　nothing　if　not　personal；　and　he　had　perceived　that　personality　was　the　key　that　opened　the　Faery's　heart。　Accordingly；　he　never　for　a　moment　allowed　his　intercourse　with　her　to　lose　the　personal　tone；　he　invested　all　the　transactions　of　State　with　the　charms　of　familiar　conversation；　she　was　always　the　royal　lady；　the　adored　and　revered　mistress；　he　the　devoted　and　respectful　friend。　When　once　the　personal　relation　was　firmly　established；　every　difficulty　disappeared。　But　to　maintain　that　relation　uninterruptedly　in　a　smooth　and　even　course　a　particular　care　was　necessary：　the　bearings　had　to　be　most　assiduously　oiled。　Nor　was　Disraeli　in　any　doubt　as　to　the　nature　of　the　lubricant。　〃You　have　heard　me　called　a　flatterer；〃　he　said　to　Matthew　Arnold；　〃and　it　is　true。　Everyone　likes　flattery；　and　when　you　come　to　royalty　you　should　lay　it　on　with　a　trowel。〃　He　practiced　what　he　preached。　His　adulation　was　incessant；　and　he　applied　it　in　the　very　thickest　slabs。　〃There　is　no　honor　and　no　reward；〃　he　declared；　〃that　with　him　can　ever　equal　the　possession　of　your　Majesty's　kind　thoughts。　All　his　own　thoughts　and　feelings　and　duties　and　affections　are　now　concentrated　in　your　Majesty；　and　he　desires　nothing　more　for　his　remaining　years　than　to　serve　your　Majesty；　or；　if　that　service　ceases；　to　live　still　on　its　memory　as　a　period　of　his　existence　most　interesting　and　fascinating。〃　〃In　life；〃　he　told　her；　〃one　must　have　for　one's　thoughts　a　sacred　depository；　and　Lord　Beaconsfield　ever　presumes　to　seek　that　in　his　Sovereign　Mistress。〃　She　was　not　only　his　own　solitary　support；　she　was　the　one　prop　of　the　State。　〃If　your　Majesty　is　ill；〃　he　wrote　during　a　grave　political　crisis；　〃he　is　sure　he　will　himself　break　down。　All；　really；　depends　upon　your　Majesty。〃　〃He　lives　only　for　Her；〃　he　asseverated；　〃and　works　only　for　Her；　and　without　Her　all　is　lost。〃　When　her　birthday　came　he　produced　an　elaborate　confection　of　hyperbolic　compliment。　〃To…day　Lord　Beaconsfield　ought　fitly；　perhaps；　to　congratulate　a　powerful　Sovereign　on　her　imperial　sway；　the　vastness　of　her　Empire；　and　the　success　and　strength　of　her　fleets　and　armies。　But　he　cannot；　his　mind　is　in　another　mood。　He　can　only　think　of　the　strangeness　of　his　destiny　that　it　has　come　to　pass　that　he　should　be　the　servant　of　one　so　great；　and　whose　infinite　kindness；　the　brightness　of　whose　intelligence　and　the　firmness　of　whose　will；　have　enabled　him　to　undertake　labours　to　which　he　otherwise　would　be　quite　unequal；　and　supported　him　in　all　things　by　a　condescending　sympathy；　which　in　the　hour　of　difficulty　alike　charms　and　inspires。　Upon　the　Sovereign　of　many　lands　and　many　hearts　may　an　omnipotent　Providence　shed　every　blessing　that　the　wise　can　desire　and　the　virtuous　deserve！〃　In　those　expert　hands　the　trowel　seemed　to　assume　the　qualities　of　some　lofty　masonic　symbolto　be　the　ornate　and　glittering　vehicle　of　verities　unrealised　by　the　profane。
  Such　tributes　were　delightful；　but　they　remained　in　the　nebulous　region　of　words；　and　Disraeli　had　determined　to　give　his　blandishments　a　more　significant　solidity。　He　deliberately　encouraged　those　high　views　of　her　own　position　which　had　always　been　native　to　Victoria's　mind　and　had　been　reinforced　by　the　principles　of　Albert　and　the　doctrines　of　Stockmar。　He　professed　to　a　belief　in　a　theory　of　the　Constitution　which　gave　the　Sovereign　a　leading　place　in　the　councils　of　government；　but　his　pronouncements　upon　the　subject　were　indistinct；　and　when　he　emphatically　declared　that　there　ought　to　be　〃a　real　Throne；〃　it　was　probably　with　the　mental　addition　that　that　throne　would　be　a　very　unreal　one　indeed　whose　occupant　was　unamenable　to　his　cajoleries。　But　the　vagueness　of　his　language　was　in　itself　an　added　stimulant　to　Victoria。　Skilfully　confusing　the　woman　and　the　Queen；　he　threw；　with　a　grandiose　gesture；　the　government　of　England　at　her　feet；　as　if　in　doing　so　he　were　performing　an　act　of　personal　homage。　In　his　first　audience　after　returning　to　power；　he　assured　her　that　〃whatever　she　wished　should　be　done。〃　When　the　intricate　Public　Worship　Regulation　Bill　was　being　discussed　by　the　Cabinet；　he　told　the　Faery　that　his　〃only　object〃　was　〃to　further　your　Majesty's　wishes　in　this　matter。〃　When　he　brought　off　his　great　coup　over　the　Suez　Canal；　he　used　expressions　which　implied　that　the　only　gainer　by　the　transaction　was　Victoria。　〃It　is　just　settled；〃　he　wrote　in　triumph；　〃you　have　it；　Madam。。。　Four　millions　sterling！　and　almost　immediately。　There　was　only　one　firm　that　could　do　itRothschilds。　They　behaved　admirably；　advanced　the　money　at　a　low　rate；　and　the　entire　interest　of　the　Khedive　is　now　yours；　Madam。〃　Nor　did　he　limit　himself　to　highly…spiced　insinuations。　Writing　with　all　the　authority　of