Mr. Shaw Lefevre followed Mr. Adam as First Commissioner. By one of those wonderful inconsistencies, which, thanks to the ability and devotion of the permanent civil servants of the Crown, England, in some incomprehensible way, manages to survive, Mr. Shaw Lefevre, who had devoted his whole life and energies to the solution of problems connected with the land, had been sent to the sea, and made Secretary to the Admiralty. But being a man of ability and industry, he was obviously marked for promotion. He had a great power of mastering detail and was a most valuable exponent in Parliament of the very complicated Estimates of his department which, in addition to all the services which it now controls, had at that time to deal with the Ordnance Survey, Kew Gardens and those parks (Victoria, Kennington and Battersea) which are now managed by the County Council. Mr. Shaw Lefevre, moreover, though as First Commissioner he did not have a seat in the Cabinet, had the knack of bringing great influence to bear upon the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and was thus able to push through more than one useful scheme, some of which had been periodically shelved. The last two months of 1882 were a busy time for the Office of Works. On the 18th of November the Queen reviewed the troops that had come back from Egypt on the Horse Guards Parade in St. James’ Park. The arrangements for the review, erection of stands, issue of tickets and other details fell upon us. It was a difficult undertaking on account of the smallness of the space; however, we got through it without a hitch. Lord Wolseley was delighted; and came up to me in the evening, saying, “To-day was your triumph.” Lord Wolseley was always very friendly to me. I used to meet him very often at Eastwell during the tenancy of the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, with whom he was intimate, and we often had long and very interesting talks. Like most successful men—and he was very successful—he had his enemies; but also, like most men who have rendered good services and done really great work in the world, I always found him as singularly modest about his own achievements as he was firm in his opinions, especially as regarded administration. Naturally the _noli me tangere_ school dreaded and disliked him. A very serious matter, which gave rise to no little anxiety, was the opening of the Law Courts by Queen Victoria on the 4th of December. The Government were seriously alarmed lest there should be any attempt upon Her Majesty’s life by Fenians, who had been giving a great deal of trouble. In Ireland there had been many murders, the chief and most tragic of which was that of Lord Frederick Cavendish and Mr. Burke, on the 7th of May, and it was known that plots had been hatched for the blowing up of public buildings and monuments in England.