62 The Khedive in London [ T 9°3 



from the very highest quarter could have forced upon him, a quarter to 

 which I, too, owe obedience." 



" This will, I think, draw the whole truth from him, for he cannot 

 leave my letter unanswered without admitting that it is in reality the 

 King who forbade him. If it is not the King, he will make haste to 

 explain what other personage it was. In either case I shall arrive at 

 the facts. 



"1,0th June. — There is an account in to-day's papers of a banquet 

 given last night by the King to the Khedive, with a long list of the guests. 

 Here are all the officials who for the last ten years have been worrying 

 the Khedive's life out of him at Cairo, thirty or forty of them, Rodd, 

 Lane, Talbot, and the rest. Also an uncle of Lord Lansdowne's with 

 Rodd again. This is intended to impose upon the world, and per- 

 suade the British public that the Khedive is England's devoted servant. 



" 1 st July. — That other high and mighty prince, Athrobold Charles 

 Stuart de Modena, alias William Brown, the coachman's son at Frimley 

 and ex-footman, has been brought before the Winchester Assizes. The 

 charges of felony, which would have necessitated a public inquiry into 

 his past life, were at the last moment withdrawn by the Crown, and 

 he was allowed to plead guilty to a misdemeanour only, that of marry- 

 ing Lady Russell under a feigned name. This looks as if there had 

 been a desire to screen the other noble ladies he befooled. 



" 4th July. — Our annual Crabbet Sale, but most of the fine ladies 

 from London failed to come, only 300 persons sitting down to lunch- 

 eon in the tent. The speeches were good, Cunninghame Graham pro- 

 posing my health. Redmond and Dillon were both there, and I sat be- 

 tween Mrs. Redmond and Caroline Grosvenor." 



[N. B. This was our last public sale at Crabbet.] 



" 8th July. — To London and lunched with Ameer AH, who talked 

 to me about a scheme of a Mohammedan University for India as an 

 original idea of his own. We also discussed George Curzon. George 

 Wyndham told me the other day that it is settled that Curzon comes 

 back to England at the end of the year. He will cease to be Viceroy, 

 for a Viceroy may not leave India. But if the Tories are still in 

 office six months later, he will be reappointed for a new term. 



" gth July. — Saw George this morning in Belgrave Square, where he 

 was still in bed, having been up late getting the last clauses of his Land 

 Bill through Committee. He was very triumphant. 



"nth July. — George writes me confidentially (gth July, 1903): 



' The sections interested in the Sugar Convention, Education, and 

 the Tariff proposals seek to " blackmail " the Government over the 

 Land Bill by delaying it to extract time for their favourite questions. 

 Unfortunately, some whose advice may be taken, want Education to go 

 to the Lords before the Land Bill. The only way to defeat this acci- 



