It has been said that every rich man is generally surrounded by parasites,
and Cecil Rhodes was not spared this infliction. Only in his case these
parasites did not apply their strength to attacks upon his purse; they
exploited him for his influence, for the importance which it gave them to
be considered by the world as his friends, or even his dependants. They
appeared wherever he went, telling the general public that their presence
had been requested by the "Boss" in such warm terms that they could not
refuse. It was curious to watch this systematic chase which followed him
everywhere, even to England. Sometimes this persistency on the part of
persons whom he did not tolerate more than was absolutely necessary bored
him and put him out of patience; but most of the time he accepted it as a
necessary evil, and even felt flattered by it. He also liked to have
perpetually around him individuals whom he could bully to his heart's
content, who never resented an insult and never minded an insolence--and
Rhodes was often insolent.

Another singular feature in a character as complex as it was interesting
was the contempt in which he held all those who had risen under his very
eyes, from comparative or absolute poverty, to the status of millionaires
possessed of houses in Park Lane and shooting boxes in Scotland. He liked
to relate all that he knew about them, and sometimes even to mention
certain facts which the individuals themselves would probably have
preferred to be consigned to oblivion. But--and here comes the singularity
to which I have referred--Rhodes would not allow anyone else to speak of
these things, and he always took the part of his so-called friends when
outsiders hinted at dark episodes which did not admit of investigation. He
almost gave a certificate of good conduct to people whom he might have
been heard referring to a few hours before in a far more antagonistic
spirit than that displayed by those whom he so sharply contradicted.