Francis, widow of Mark Pattison [q. v.; see Dilke, Emilia Francis, Lady, Suppl. II]. The marriage was singularly happy, and Dilke owed much to her affection and belief in his innocence. Although saddened, he was not soured nor corrupted by his political and social eclipse. On his retirement from parliament in Dilke returned with great zeal and industry to the study of those larger English and imperial problems which had engaged his attention at the outset of his career. In 1887 he published 'The Present Position of European Politics' (translated into French) and in 1888 'The British Army.' In 1890 appeared his 'Problems of Greater Britain' in two volumes, designed as a sequel to his earlier work on 'Greater Britain.' It was a treatise on the present position of Greater Britain in which special attention was given to the relations of the English-speaking countries with one another and to the comparative politics of the countries under British government. Foreign travel varied his occupation. He paid at least one annual visit to Paris, where his French friends always welcomed him with enthusiasm. In the autumn of he made a journey through the Near East, visiting Greece, the cause of which he had always championed, and Constantinople, where he was entertained by the Sultan. In the winter of 1888-9 he was the guest of Lord Roberts, commander of the forces in India, and attended with his host the military manoeuvres of the season.
In 1892 Dilke returned to public life as member of parliament for the Forest of Dean. The electors had convinced themselves of his innocence. He beat his conservative opponent after a contest by a large majority. He represented that constituency till his death, fighting the elections of 1900 and Jan. and Dec. 1910, but being returned without a contest in 1895 and 1906. Henceforth a private member, he did not speak frequently in the House of Commons. He confined himself almost entirely to industrial questions, to foreign and imperial affairs, and to the larger questions of policy involved in the navy and army estimates. On these subjects his authority was recognised, but his position in the house remained one of some aloofness. He enjoyed, however, the complete confidence of the labour party. He continued his literary work, publishing in 1898 a little volume on 'Imperial Defence' in co-operation with Mr. (now Professor) Spenser Wilkinson; and yet another work on the British Empire in the same year. Although he hospitably entertained his friends, he continued to be little seen in society. In Oct. 1904 the death of his wife gravely disabled him, and he prefixed a touching memoir to a work of hers, 'The Book of the Spiritual Life,' which appeared in 1905. In 1906 he served as chairman of the select committee on the income tax and drafted its report, some of the recommendations of which were subsequently embodied in legislation. In 1910 his health began to fail. After the exhausting session of that year he fought with success the general election of Dec. 1910 in the Forest of Dean. But he was unequal to the effort. He returned in Jan. 1911 from a brief vacation in the South of France only to die. He died of heart failure at his house in Sloane Street on 26 Jan. 1911, and his remains were cremated at Golder's Green. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his only son.
A portrait of Dilke by G. F. Watts was left to his trustees for presentation to a public institution. It is now on loan at the National Portrait Gallery. A caricature portrait appeared in 'Vanity Fair' in 1871.
Dilke owned a valuable collection of works of art, and he dedicated those which were of historic interest to public uses. He left by will the portrait by Watts of John Stuart Mill to the Westminster city council; the portrait by Madox Brown of Mr. and Mrs. Fawcett, and the portrait by Frank Holl of Mr. Joseph Chamberlain, to the National Portrait Gallery; the portrait of Gambetta by Alphonse Legros went to the Luxemburg Museum in Paris. Most of the relics of Keats, which he inherited from his grandfather, were bequeathed to the Hampstead public library. His literary executor, Miss Gertrude Tuckwell, his second wife's niece, was warned, in preparing his political papers for the press, against seeking the assistance of 'anyone closely connected with either the liberal or conservative party.' His pictures by old masters, water-colour drawings, tapestries, and miniatures were sold by auction at Christie's on 7-8 April 1911. The 'Athenæum' and 'Notes and Queries' were, in accordance with the powers given by the trustees under Dilke's will, transferred in 1911 to the printer and publisher, Mr. John Collins Francis.
[Authorities mentioned in the text; obituary notices in the press, especially The Times, 27 Jan. 1911; Dilke's publications; Herbert Paul's History of Modern England; personal knowledge and private information.]
