The Letters of the Duke of Wellington to Miss J., 1834-1851: Edited, with Extracts from the Diary of the LatterWellington, Arthur Wellesley, Duke of
History
The Letters of the Duke of Wellington to Miss J., 1834-1851: Edited, with Extracts from the Diary of the Latter
Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, Duke of
Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, Duke of, 1769-1852 -- Correspondence
"Mary received such an angry letter, prohibiting her visiting poor
Cook,--to whom, notwithstanding, we of _course_ went, saw him, and
the next day were at chapel with him (being Sunday); after which he
said he would like _then_ to fall asleep in the Lord, etc. On
Monday evening we had singing and prayers with him. On Tuesday saw
his chains taken off, and remained with him until he left the
prison. On Wednesday were at court, and left S., feeling our work
was done,--grateful, I trust, for such manifold mercies, and more
anxious than ever to glorify our heavenly Lord. Today, the 10th,
poor Cook suffered; and I can now fancy him a glorious spirit,
hovering near, ministering to those that are to be heirs of
salvation."
The result of Miss J.'s success with this unfortunate man naturally
strengthened her in her devotion to a religious life; and the effect
was deepened by the commendations of her pious friends. It was not so
common then as now to make pets of condemned criminals; and the success
of this young girl in subduing a man with whom priests and parsons had
hopelessly labored, created a sensation and called forth comment from
the press. It would have been almost phenomenal had the girl's head not
been turned. Her devotion to the advancement of the cause of Christ as
she understood it, was strong and genuine. Surrounded by judicious
advisers, she might have manifested her zeal in a different fashion. As
it was, she now felt she had been especially called of God to do a
great work. Looking around her for an object, her attention was drawn
to the Duke of Wellington. She seemed to have known more of him as the
public man than as the soldier; for she expressly states at a later
period that when she first wrote to him she was not aware that he was
the conqueror of Bonaparte, and did not even know when the Battle of
Waterloo took place,--a statement that leads to the inference that
instruction in the fashionable schools of that day dealt more with
playing on the harp and similar showy accomplishments than with a
knowledge of English history.
Miss J. leaves in her Diary a list of the letters received from the
Duke, prefacing them with the following introduction:--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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