Her attitude towards the Tory Minister had suddenly {241} changed when she found that he alone among public men had divined her feelings at Albert's death. Of the others she might have said 'they pity me and not my grief'; but Mr. Disraeli had understood; and all his condolences had taken the form of reverential eulogies of the departed. The Queen declared that he was 'the only person who appreciated the Prince.'[3] She began to show him special favour; gave him and his wife two of the coveted seats in St. George's Chapel at the Prince of Wales's wedding, and invited him to stay a night at Windsor. When the grant for the Albert Memorial came before the House of Commons, Disraeli, as leader of the Opposition, eloquently supported the project. He was rewarded by a copy of the Prince's speeches, bound in white morocco, with an inscription in the royal hand. In his letter of thanks he 'ventured to touch upon a sacred theme,' and, in a strain which re-echoed with masterly fidelity the sentiments of his correspondent, dwelt at length upon the absolute perfection of Albert. 'The Prince,' he said, 'is the only person whom Mr. Disraeli has ever known who realised the Ideal. None with whom he is acquainted have ever approached it. There was in him an union of the manly grace and sublime simplicity, of chivalry with the intellectual splendour of the Attic Academe. The only character in English history that would, in some respects, draw near to him is Sir Philip Sidney: the same high tone, the same universal accomplishment, the same blended tenderness and vigour, the same rare combination of romantic energy and classic repose.' As for his own acquaintance with the Prince, it had been, he said, 'one of the most satisfactory incidents of his life: full of refined and beautiful {242} memories, and exercising, as he hopes, over his remaining existence, a soothing and exalting influence.' Victoria was much affected by 'the depth and delicacy of these touches,' and henceforward Disraeli's place in her affections was assured.[4] When, in 1866, the Conservatives came into office, Disraeli's position as Chancellor of the Exchequer and leader of the House necessarily brought him into a closer relation with the Sovereign. Two years later Lord Derby resigned, and Victoria, with intense delight and peculiar graciousness, welcomed Disraeli as her First Minister.[5]