The Black Swan Read Online Free PDF Page B

of Wight to kiss me Queen’s hand, at which she showed no great pleasure. So there was the Grand Old Man ready to take office once more, and if his health was feeble, his convictions were as strong as ever. So the Liberals were in power in spite of an election victory with such a slender majority which meant that the reforms they wanted to get through would stand a good chance of being thrown out by the Opposition. It boded ill for the length of the Parliament. It was a Pyrrhic victory.
    The government staggered along and, perhaps because of its difficulties, almost a year elapsed before the question of the mission to Buganda was raised.
    It was late August which was a year since Mr. Gladstone had gone to Osborne to kiss the Queen’s hand when the mission was ready to depart, and Joel was one of the chosen six.
    Two days before his departure, my father gave a dinner party so that all his friends and well-wishers could say goodbye to Joel.
    It was a wonderful evening, although there was some depression among members of the government, for they were wondering how long they could totter on; but it was a triumph for Joel, as one of the younger members of the House, to have been selected for this important mission.
    After the men had left their port and joined the ladies in the drawing room, Joel and I sat together.
    “Everything is going well,” he said. “I don’t know how long I shall be away. Not more than two months, I imagine, and then …”
    “I don’t think they will be very surprised,” I said.
    “Isn’t it comforting that we shall be doing what they all want?”
    “Oh yes. It is nice to please people.”
    “Though,” added Joel, “I want you to know, Lucie, that if we had had to face opposition … even from your father … it would have made no difference.”
    “I’m glad of that,” I replied. “Yes … I am so glad.”
    My father came over to us.
    “You sound very vehement,” he said. “May I ask what you are so glad about?”
    I hesitated.
    “Secrets?” he asked.
    I looked at Joel and I knew he understood what I was asking. Tacit agreement passed between us.
    I said, “When Joel comes back from Buganda we … we thought about becoming engaged.”
    My father’s pleasure was apparent.
    “That,” he said, “seems to me an excellent idea.”
    “We had already fixed it and were saying how pleased we were because we knew it was what you all wanted.”
    “So that is what you were so firmly glad about. How right you are. It was what we have always had in mind for you both.”
    “It’s a secret at the moment,” I said. “Among just the three of us. We want to wait until Joel comes back from Buganda.”
    “Wonderful timing!” He was beaming at us. I had rarely seen him so pleased.
    I was glad afterward that we had told him that night.
    My father, Celeste and I went to Southampton to see Joel off on the P & O liner. There was quite a celebration. The press was present to report the departure of the Members of Parliament and to give their views on the Buganda project with some enthusiasm.
    My father said a few words to them and we went on board and drank champagne before the vessel sailed.
    “This will be the making of Joel,” he said as we traveled back to London. “He is very young and to be chosen for such a mission is an honor. I do wish our hold on the government was a bit more firm. Salisbury is determined to get us out and with our tiny majority how can we stop him? We’re powerless to do so.”
    It was very shortly afterward when Mr. Gladstone introduced his Home Rule Bill for Ireland. My father was very preoccupied. He told me during one of our sessions that he was convinced the Irish question would destroy Gladstone and put the party out of office.
    He was becoming increasingly aware that he was in something of a dilemma, which was unusual for him. Generally he was so certain that he was right. He at length admitted to me that he was not at all sure that Gladstone’s solution