The Letters of the Duke of Wellington to Miss J. 1834-1851 Part 16

"The Duke's next letter is dated Oct. 19th, in which he writes; 'This Note cannot be sent from hence this day, there being no post.

I will add a line to it when I shall have an opportunity of sending it off, concluding at present with thanking you for your continued kindness toward me.

"'P.S. I add a line to tell you that I have received; and am very sensible of the kindness of your Letter of the 18th in the middle of the day; which was brought down here this evening by a messenger from my House in London.

"'I am happy to find that you had received my Letter; you need not be apprehensive of my catching Cold on my Journeys. You may rely upon my taking care of myself.

"'Believe me Ever Yours most faithfully,

"'WELLINGTON.'

"In the Duke's next letter, dated Oct. 24th, he writes--'I have to acknowledge the receipt of, and to thank you for your continued kindness in writing me two long letters.' At the end the Duke writes; 'It is possible that I may be under the necessity of going to London to attend to the opening of the New Royal Exchange.'

"The next letter from the Duke is dated Nov. 6th wherein he writes;

"'Some days have elapsed since I have heard from you and as I cannot recollect any reason for your silence I begin to be apprehensive that you may have been unwell and have been prevented by indisposition from writing to me. I therefore write this line to request you to write to me and let me know how you are.'

"On the same sheet the Duke writes Nov. 7th; 'I have this morning received yours of the 6th and am delighted to find that you are not indisposed. I was in Town on two different days in last week; in one I attended the Ceremony of opening the Royal Exchange by Her Majesty the Queen [Endnote 6]--on another to attend the marriage and indeed to give away in marriage a young Lady and was under the necessity of returning here as Time, Tides and Trains or Railroads wait for no Man and I had not time even to write, much less to go to see you.'

"The Duke's next letter is dated Nov. 10th 1844 wherein he writes--'You always express in your letters the same interest for my welfare which has always drawn from me the expressions of my grateful sense of your kindness.' Again in the Duke's next letter dated Nov. the 12th he writes; 'Notwithstanding that I wrote to you so lately I will not suffer the Post to go this day without expressing my sense of your kindness in writing to me.'

"The Duke's next letter is dated Nov. 19th, in which he writes--'I intend to go to see you as soon as I shall have a moment's leisure.

But my time is really so much employed in the service of the Public as to leave me none for social purposes and scarcely enough for Repose.'

"The Duke's next letter is dated Nov. 20th, wherein he writes--'I write you one line to tell you that if it should be in my power I will call upon you this day after three o'clock.'

"The Duke's next letter is dated Dec. 3rd, wherein he writes--'I was so much occupied with public business that I could not call upon you again. I am quite well. Then I was at Windsor Castle in attendance upon Her Majesty the Queen during the five last days of last week. I have not got the Parcel to which you referred.'

"In the Duke's letter dated Dec. 11th, he writes; 'I have been very much concerned to hear that you are unwell. You must take care of yourself and keep yourself very warm in this bad weather.'

"The Duke's next letter is dated Dec. 14th wherein he writes--'I returned to London last night having been detained at Windsor Castle till late in the afternoon and I went there on Thursday and received your Note dated the 13th, for which I am much obliged.'

"The Duke's next letter is dated Dec. 20th wherein he writes--'I am very sorry, but my time is so much occupied, and while the Almighty will deign to permit me to live will be so occupied as that I shall not have leisure to pay visits. I have frequently expressed my regret that it should be so and repeat them now.'

"In the Duke's next letter, dated Dec. 21st, he writes; 'I am very sensible of the kindness of your letter of yesterday afternoon which I received last night.

"'I am, thank G.o.d! in perfect good health but have had the misfortune of losing my Sister. But I trust that by the Mercy of G.o.d! She is Happy.' [Endnote 7]

"The Duke's next letter is dated Dec. 24th, wherein he writes--'I have received several letters from you after my return to Town after paying the last Respects to the Memory of my poor Sister--I return you my thanks for them all and am very sensible of your kindness in writing to me.'

"In a letter from the Duke dated Dec. 26th, he writes--'I am sorry to learn that you have caught cold and are suffering from sore throat. I hope that you will take care of yourself and avoid to expose yourself to cold in this severe weather. I am very sensible of your kindness in writing to me as you have; I hope that I feel as I ought upon the occasion of the recent described affliction which I have suffered.'

"1845.--The first letter from the Duke, of this year, is dated Jan.

3rd, wherein he writes; 'I am very much obliged to you my dear Miss J. for several letters received from you in these last days; and regret that I was so much occupied when I received each of them as to be unable to acknowledge its receipt by return of Post. I am very sensible of your kindness in writing to me.'

"The next letter from the Duke is dated Jan. 13th wherein he writes--

"When I wrote to you last My dear Miss J. I omitted to thank you for one letter which I had received from you. The one to which I refer was dated the 23rd Inst., the day on which I attended the funeral of my poor Sister. I was in London for three days but my time was so much occupied that I could not even write to you, much less fix a time at which I could be able to pay you a visit.'

"In the next letter from the Duke dated Strathfieldsaye, Jan. 17th, he writes; 'You have been correctly informed; Her Majesty the Queen does intend to pay me a visit here on Monday the 20th and to remain till Thursday the 23rd.' [Endnote 8]

"In the next letter from the Duke, dated Jan. 23rd, he writes--'I am much obliged to you my dear Miss J. for all your letters dated the 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st which I have received regularly in due course. I wish that it were in my power to peruse them when I receive them--still more to acknowledge the receipt of them regularly. But that is impossible. My time is so much occupied that I have scarcely sufficient for Rest. However my Health continues excellent and my strength unimpaired.' The next letter from the Duke is dated Feb. 7th 1845, wherein he writes; 'I have received many letters from you, dated the 20th, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 26th and Feb. 2nd, which I have not expressed the sense of grat.i.tude I felt for your kindness in writing them. But in truth I have been so much occupied, not alone by my public business but by the afflicting sickness of one of my Family; one of whom,--My Niece, we have lost; and another, my brother, is still very unwell that I have really scarcely had time to turn about. However I thank G.o.d! my brother is stronger and better and I hope that he will be able to bear the remedies which must be administered to him.'

"In the Duke's next letter he writes, dating it Feb. 8th--'I fear that there was one letter which I did not acknowledge in my note of yesterday--that of the 3rd Inst. But I must say that my time and attention are so much taken up from morning till I go to bed at night that it is not surprising that I should pa.s.s over a letter in acknowledging the receipt of others, however kind and interesting, its contents. I have really more to do than I can find time for, notwithstanding my constant attention and diligence.'

"In the poor Duke's next letter he writes--dating it Feb. 25th; 'My omission to write to you etc--is to be attributed to my constant occupation in the Public service and since My return to Town in these latter days, since the Queen paid me a visit, by the continued illness of my poor brother; and by my attendance upon Him, his wife and afflicted family. I was very sensible of your kind offer of a.s.sistance--But he had everything. We lost him, Alas!

on Sat.u.r.day night, I am happy to say without pain or suffering.

[Endnote 9] His last moments were those of a good Christian in peace with all the world and I trust, in the Mercy of the Almighty, in favor with Him! You are very kind and I am very sensible of your kindness in offering me consolation and in urging me to call upon you and I will do so as soon as it will be in my power and will write to apprize you of the Time.'

"In the Duke's next letter, dated March the 1st, he writes--'It is true I have been greatly afflicted. But by the Mercy of G.o.d My poor Brother suffered but little in his last Moments. Indeed I may say--no pain, from the disorder by which he had been afflicted and his mind was at ease and full of confidence in the Mercy of the Almighty.'

"In the Duke's next letter dated March 6th he writes--'I am concerned to learn that you are not well.'

"In the Duke's next letter he, after dating it March 15th, 1845, reports how occupied he is, adding; 'I regret exceedingly to learn that you are still unwell. But hope that we shall have moderate weather usual at this season, which will soon recruit your health.'"

LONDON, April 18th, 1845.

MY DEAR MISS J.,--I will give you an answer to your Note of the 17^th just now received because my attention has just now been drawn to two paragraphs in the Morning Post, stating that I was taken ill in the House of Lords last night. I was last night and am at this moment thank G.o.d! as well as I ever was.

The truth is this. A n.o.ble Lord, well known to be blind was standing on the floor near the place where I was sitting. I arose, gave him the a.s.sistance of my Arm and conducted him towards the door till I met another person who took charge of him.

That is the whole Story!

I returned to my place where I sat and took part in the discussion going on till the House adjourned.

A man called at my door to enquire how I was at _eleven_, not at _twelve_ o'clock. The answer was. _He is quite well_, not, _He is convalescent_.

Ever Yours most faithfully,

WELLINGTON.

"The next letter from the Duke is dated April 21st, 1845, in which he replies to an enquiry I had made in a former Note or letter as follows; 'You did not see me in Piccadilly on Sat.u.r.day the 19th. I was not in the Street on that day except to cross it on Horseback from my own House to the Park.'

"The Duke's next letter is dated May 8th wherein he writes; 'I have received and thank you for all your letters; the truth is that it takes me a long time to peruse them and I am obliged to do so by daylight, which I have not at command of sufficient duration to finish the whole that I have to read at one time.'

"In the Duke's next letter dated May 28th he writes--'The truth is that n.o.body can tell the amount of business which I have to transact who should not be a witness of my constant and unremitting exertions, and the degree in which my time is occupied. Thank G.o.d that I have health to perform all that is required.'

"Again in the Duke's letter dated May 30th he writes--'The truth is that my occupation in the service of the Public is incessant from one week's end to the other. It is not given to Man to be in two places at the same time and I have scarcely time for Rest--none for recreation or amus.e.m.e.nt even social.'

"In the Duke's next letter dated June 5th he writes 'My time is really so much employed as to have none for either repose or meals.

We are now at the 5th of June. I have dined but twice since the 29th of May, although in perfect Health. I have scarcely time for Repose as you will see when I tell you that I returned home this morning only at half past four.'

"I knew that the Duke could find time to go to parties, etc, etc, therefore I considered such letters as mine ought not to be laid aside in silence, more especially as he was continually implying he meant to call upon me, but never did, so thus keeping my mind in suspense and expectation. This doubtless The Lord of lords in His infinite wisdom did not see fit to gratify, knowing far better what is good for us than we do for ourselves. Otherwise HE could and would have compelled him to come to me daily, whatever his occupations may have been.

"The Duke's next letter is dated June 7th, wherein he writes--'Besides being very good, you must admit that patience under disappointment is required from us all. That is all I ask from you.'