those who were not in Parliament. The
Duke did not give any decisive answer about it, but advised the Queen
not to begin with conditions of this sort, and wait till the matter
was proposed. The Queen then said that she felt certain he would
understand the great friendship she had for Lord Melbourne, who had
been to her quite a parent, and the Duke said _no one felt and knew
that better than he did, and that no one could still be of greater
use to the Queen than Lord Melbourne_. The Duke spoke of his personal
friendship for Lord Melbourne, and that he hoped I knew that he had
often done all he could to help your (Lord Melbourne's) Government.
The Queen then mentioned her intention to prove her great _fairness_
to her new Government in telling them, that they might know there was
no unfair dealing, that I meant to see you often as a friend, as I
owed _so_ much to you. The Duke said he quite understood it, and knew
I would not exercise this to weaken the Government, and that he would
take my part about it, and felt for me. He was very kind, and said he
called it "a misfortune" that you had all left me.

The Queen wrote to Peel, who came after two, embarrassed and put out.
The Queen repeated what she had said to the Duke about her former
Government, and asked Sir Robert to form a new Ministry. He does not
seem sanguine; says entering the Government in a minority is very
difficult; he felt unequal to the task, and far from exulting in what
had happened, as he knew what pain it must give me; he quite approved
that the Duke should take office, and saw the importance of it; meant
to offer him the post of Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and if he
refused, Lord Aberdeen; Lord Lyndhurst, Chancellor; hoped to secure
Stanley and Graham; Goulburn to be the candidate for the Speaker's
Chair; he expects a severe conflict then, and if he should be beat
must either resign or dissolve Parliament. Before this the Queen said
she was against a dissolution, in which he quite agreed, but of course
wished no conditions should be made; he felt the task arduous, and
that he would require me to demonstrate (_a certain_ degree, if _any_
I can only feel) confidence in the Government, and that my Household
would be one of the marks of that. The Queen mentioned the same thing
about her Household, to which he at present would give no answer, and
said nothing should be done without my knowledge or approbation. He
repeated his surprise at the course you