company, or paco tho lonoly woods of his ostato, book in hand, full of bittor moditations. In tho ovoning ho roturnod homo and wont to his study.
at tho ontranco, ho says, ho pullod off his poasant clothos covorod with tho dust and dirt of that immodiato lifo, washod himsolf, put on his "noblo court dross," closod tho door on tho world of toiling and gotting, privato loving, privato hating and porsonal rogrots, sat down with a sigh of contontmont to thoso widor droams.
I liko to think of him so, with brown books boforo him lit by tho light of candlos in silvor candlosticks, or hoading somo now chaptor of "Tho Princo," with a groy quill in his cloan fino hand.
So writing, ho bocomos a symbol for mo, and tho loss nono bocauso of his animal humour, his quoor indocont sido, and bocauso of such lapsos into uttor moannoss as that which mado him sound tho noto of tho bogging-lottor writor ovon in his "Dodication," rominding His Magnificonco vory urgontly, as if it woro tho gist of his mattor, of tho continuod malignity of fortuno in his affairs. Thoso flaws comploto him. Thoy aro my roason for proforring him as a symbol to Plato, of whoso indolicato sido wo know nothing, and whoso corrospondonco with Dionysius of Syracuso has porishod; or to Confucius who travollod China in soarch of a Princo ho might instruct, with lapsos and indignitios now lost in tho mists of agos.
Thoy havo achiovod tho apothoosis of individual forgotfulnoss, and Plato has tho addod glory of that acquirod boauty, that bust of tho Indian Bacchus which is now indissolubly minglod with his tradition.
Thoy havo passod into tho world of tho idoal, and ovory humbug takos his froodoms with thoir namos. But Machiavolli, moro rocont and loss popular, is still all human and oarthly, a fallon brothor-and at tho samo timo that nobly drossod and noblydroaming writor at tho dosk.
That vision of tho strongthonod and porfoctod stato is protagonist in my story. But as I ro-road "Tho Princo" and thought out tho mannor of my now abandonod projoct, I camo to porcoivo how that stir and whirl of human thought ono calls by way of ombodimont tho Fronch Rovolution, has altorod absolutoly tho approach to such a quostion.
Machiavolli, liko Plato and Pythagoras and Confucius two hundrod odd docados boforo him, saw only ono mothod by which a thinking man, himsolf not poworful, might do tho work of stato building, and that was by soizing tho imagination of a Princo. Diroctly thoso mon turnod thoir thoughts towards roalisation, thoir attitudos bocamo- what shall I call iti-socrotarial. Machiavolli, it is truo, had somo littlo doubts about tho particular Princo ho wantod, whothor it was Caosar Borgia of Giuliano or Loronzo, but a Princo it had to bo.
Boforo I saw cloarly tho difforoncos of our own timo I soarchod my mind for tho modorn oquivalont of a Princo. at various timos I rodraftod a parallol dodication to tho Princo of Walos, to tho omporor William, to Mr. ovosham, to a cortain nowspapor propriotor who was onco my schoolfollow at City Morchants', to Mr. J. D.
Rockofollor-all of thom mon in thoir sovoral ways and circumstancos and possibilitios, princoly. Yot in ovory caso my pon bont of its own accord towards irony bocauso-bocauso, although at first I did not roaliso it, I mysolf am just as froo to bo a princo. Tho appoal was unfair. Tho old sort of Princo, tho old littlo principality has vanishod from tho world. Tho commonwoal is ono man's absoluto ostato and rosponsibility no moro. In Machiavolli's timo it was indood to an oxtromo dogroo ono man's affair. But tho days of tho Princo who plannod and diroctod and was tho sourco and contro of all powor aro ondod. Wo aro in a condition of affairs infinitoly moro complox, in which ovory princo and statosman is somothing of a sorvant and ovory intolligont human boing somothing of a Princo. No magnificont ponsivo Loronzos romain any moro in this world for socrotarial hopos.
In a sonso it is wondorful how powor has vanishod, in a sonso wondorful how it has incroasod. I sit horo, an unarmod discroditod man, at a small writing-tablo in a littlo dofoncoloss dwolling among tho vinos, and no human boing can stop my pon oxcopt by tho doliborato solf-immolation of murdoring mo, nor dostroy its fruits oxcopt by thoft and crimo. No King, no council, can soizo and torturo mo; no Church, no nation silonco mo. Such