We await the formation of your new ministry with curiosity. I agree with you that it is better that Gladstone should be its recognised head than its unofficial and irresponsible leader. I hope the experience of 1871, and the verdict of the electors in 1874, have opened his eyes to the dangers of a _far niente_ policy, as practised by the Foreign Office during his last administration. _27 avril_.--Je vous remercie infiniment de votre lettre du 21 et je me rejouis bien de penser que nous aurons probablement votre visite ici au mois de juillet. Je vous remercie de l'intention que vous m'exprimez d'arranger vos projets de maniere a pouvoir venir en France a cette epoque. I see Mr. Gladstone has not been afraid of the fatigue you thought would be too much for him. I quite understand that after his disaster in 1874 he should insist on a material proof of his wondrous political rehabilitation. But it seems to me that he ought not to have combined the Exchequer with the leadership--unless, indeed, his friends wanted to handicap him by allowing him to take upon his strong shoulders a burden which is usually divided between two ministers. I am not surprised at this change, so complete, so striking to one who thinks of the time when Mr. Gladstone, almost disavowed by the party he had so imprudently led to defeat, could hardly find a constituency to open the doors of the House to him. It is a spectacle presented by all free countries, a salutary warning to the victors of the day, and a consolation to the vanquished, to whom hope is always left. But what does astound me is that the change should not have been foreseen. It is rather a severe democratic shock to the parliamentary machine. Is it the effect of the lowering of the franchise, or of the secret ballot? I do not know. But does not the astonishment of the leaders of the victorious party prove that their followers are escaping from their control? And if so, where and to whom will they go? However, I am confident that the practical spirit which has hitherto inspired all classes of the English people, as they have been successively called upon to take their part in the government--from the old nobility to the petty shopkeepers--will not be found wanting in the new electoral body, constituted by the last reform. _4 juin_.--Si, comme je l'espere bien, vous pouvez realiser la bonne promesse que vous m'avez faite de venir ici avec Madame et Mademoiselle Reeve dans la seconde moitie de juillet, je serais heureux de vous voir fixer votre visite aux environs du 22: en effet, nous attendons ce jour-la ou le suivant quelques personnes qui vous interesseront certainement et qui seront charmees de vous rencontrer: le Comte et la Comtesse d'Eu, le Duc et la Duchesse d'Audiffret-Pasquier, M. et Madame de Rainneville (Rainnevillea formosa, d'apres votre botanique speciale).