ble to waste and the amount of trouble he was
able to give were simply amazing.

The Prime Minister had been quite right; the resignation of the Home
Secretary caused just that flutter of unfavorable suspicion which he had
expected. For some reason or another he was extremely distressed by it,
and begged from his Majesty the grant of a full State pension to the
retired minister. But the King would not hear of it. "It is not my
duty," he said, "to grant full pensions to those who fail in their
official obligations. Where I am more personally concerned I have not
pressed you; I have not asked for the resignation of the Prefect of
Police, though I think I might have some reason to show for it. He
prevented nothing, and he has discovered nothing. Do you expect me to
open Parliament for you again next week, with the same ceremony, along
the same route, and at the same risk?"

He was assured that every precaution would be taken.

"I hope so," he said in the tone of one who very much doubted whether
the ministerial word was now worth anything.

Under this harassing and unhandsome treatment the Prime Minister was
beginning to show age; and the coming session gave no promise that his
cares in other respects would be less heavy than before; the Women
Chartists were threatening a bigger outbreak in the near future, and
Labor was now claiming to be freely supported from the rates either when
out of work or when on strike. And when the Address to the Throne was
being moved Labor and the Women Chartists would be in renewed agitation,
asking for things which would make party politics quite impossible, and
which it was therefore quite impossible for party politics to grant. If
the Government had not still got that thoroughly unpopular House of
Bishops to sit upon and coerce, things would be looking very black
indeed.

III

And meanwhile where was the Princess Charlotte? Seven horrible days had
gone by; and the inner circle of the detective force had been running
about in padded slippers, so to speak, giving an accurate description of
a lady whose name nobody knew, and who had been last seen in the
vicinity of a college for women. Very privately and confidentially the
titled lady who was the head of that institution had been interviewed;
but her information was limited.

"She came to me only for one day," said the Principal, "though I thought
she was intending to stay a week. I hardly know when I missed her; she
had laid it d