ost elegant and exclusive
society of Europe. Had Rhodes remained alive he would have proved the one
great obstacle which the magnates of the Rand would have to take into
consideration, the disturbing element in a situation that required calm
and quiet.

If Cecil Rhodes had been allowed to decide alone as to the best course of
action to pursue he also might have come to the same conclusion as these
magnates. During those moments when he was alone with his own thoughts and
impulses he would have realised his duty toward his country. He was
conscious, if others were not, of how utterly he had lost ground in South
Africa, and he understood that any settlement of the South African
difficulties could only become permanent if his name were not associated
with it. This, though undeniable, was a great misfortune, because Rhodes
understood so perfectly the art of making the best of every situation, and
using the resources to hand, that there is no doubt he would have brought
forward a practical solution of the problems which had cropped up on every
side. He might have proved of infinite use to Sir Alfred Milner by his
thorough knowledge of the Dutch character and of the leaders of the Dutch
party with whom he had worked. But Rhodes was not permitted to decide
alone his line of conduct: there were his supporters to be consulted, his
so-called friends to pacify, the English Jingoes to satisfy, and, most
difficult of all, the Bond and Dutch party to please. Moreover, he had
been indulging in various intrigues of his own, half of which had been
conducted through others and half carried out alone, with what he believed
was success. In reality they proved to be more of these disappointments he
had courted with a carelessness which would have appeared almost
incredible if one did not know Cecil Rhodes. The Rhodesians, who with
intention had contrived to compromise him, never left him a moment to his
own thoughts. Without the flatterers who surrounded him Rhodes would
undoubtedly have risen to the height of the situation and frankly and
disinterestedly put himself at the disposal of the High Commissioner. But
they managed so to irritate him against the representative of the Queen,
so to anger him against the Dutch party to which he had belonged formerly,
and so to persuade him that everybody was jealous of his successes, his
genius and his position in South Africa, that it became relatively easy
with a man of Rhodes' character to make him