The Duke is quite well. He earnestly recommends to Miss J. to be satisfied with the Accounts which she gets in the Newspapers. It is impossible for the Duke to be certain of receiving a letter from Miss J. to a Moment; and that he will be able to send an answer forthwith. He has frequently stated this to Her; and in order to avoid disappointment he now tells her that he will write no more. WHO is he that saith _and it cometh to pass_, when THE LORD _commandeth it_ NOT? Lam. iii. 37. Indorsed by Miss J. Miss J. writes in her Diary at this period: "Whether the Duke would write again or not, I told him in my reply, must depend upon God rather than himself, adding that I never wished to hear from him till God pleased, and defied him accordingly,--trusting in 'The Lord of Lords.'" CHAPTER VIII. A PEACEFUL PERIOD. Of the long silence that followed, extending from the third of August, 1840, to the tenth of June, 1844, Miss J. thus speaks:-- "That Christ is The Lord of Lords unto Whom all power is given in Heaven and on earth, nothing can more clearly imply than the circumstances connected with this Portion of my Diary. The Duke's last letter had decidedly declared he would write no more, and his character is too well known by the World for such to conclude he would not act up to his word and determination. But since 'IT IS WRITTEN' 'The King's Heart is in the Hands of the Lord as the rivers of water, He turneth it which way soever he pleaseth,' _so_ likewise ALL hearts. Consequently when _The Lord's_ time came for proving to him the folly of forming such a rash resolution, he writes accordingly, and that too at a moment when I least expected it, so long a period having elapsed in silence. Nor do I, as he therein specifies, recollect requesting him to answer that any more than other letters from time to time forwarded as the Lord condescendingly influenced me, however solicitous I was for their safety. I continued to hope that their contents would eventually be permitted to lead him to feel the emptiness and nothingness of all earthly grandeur, in comparison with the enjoyment of a Crown of Glory." What induced the Duke to reopen the correspondence is hard to determine; but the interchange of letters was soon as regular as ever. June 10, 1844. MY DEAR MISS J.,--I have received all your letters, including one written yesterday, the 9^th Ins^t; and I am very sensible of your kindness in giving me so continually such good Counsel. I did not write to acknowledge the receipt of your Letters; because you did not express a wish that I should do so clearly till you wrote this last. Believe me Ever Yours most faithfully WELLINGTON. LONDON, June 14, 1844. At night.