On the 20th of December, Lord John Russell announced to her Majesty that he was unable to form an Administration, and Sir Robert Peel was immediately recalled to the Royal presence at Windsor Castle. On entering the room, the Queen said to him very graciously, “So far from taking leave of you, Sir Robert, I must require you to withdraw your resignation.” She added that her late Minister might naturally require time for reflection, and for communication with his colleagues, before he gave a decisive answer. “I humbly advised her Majesty,” writes Sir Robert Peel, “to permit me to decide at once upon the resumption of office, and to enable me to announce to my late colleagues, on my return to London, that I had not hesitated to reaccept the appointment of First Minister.” He goes on to state that the Queen was pleased cordially to approve of this suggestion, and he reached London on the evening of the 20th, once more invested with the functions of Prime Minister. [Illustration: THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT.] CHAPTER XII. THE MINISTRY OF RENUNCIATION. The _Times_ Reveals a Secret of State--Mr. Sidney Herbert and Mrs. Norton and the _Times_--A Court Scandal--Peel’s Resignation--Lord John Russell’s Failure to Form a Ministry--Peel Resumes Office--The Ministry and the Queen--The Duke of Wellington and Peel--Disintegration of the Tory Party--Croker’s Correspondence with Wellington--Peel’s Instructions to the _Quarterly Review_--A. Betrayed Editor--Peel and the Princess Lieven--Guizot’s Defence of Peel--The Queen’s Conduct in the Great Crisis--How she Strengthened the Position of the Crown--Her Popular Sympathies--Why Peel Changed his Policy--The Potato Rot--Impending Famine--Distress in England--The Campaign of the Free Traders--Scenes at their Meetings--The Protectionist Agitation and the Agricultural Labourers--Sufferings of the Poor--The Duke of Norfolk’s Curry Powder--Meeting at Wootton Bassett--The Queen and the Sufferers.