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
"After earnest prayer the Bible was taken by me, with a fluttering,
agitated feeling, to the Duke's gates and delivered into the
porter's hands, after asking him if the Duke were at home. He
replied, 'Yes, ma'am.' I then asked, 'Is he engaged?' He told me
Lord--I forget his name--and Sir Thomas Somebody were with him. I
then inquired, 'Who delivers parcels into His Grace's hands?' He
respectfully said, 'I do, ma'am.' I rejoined, 'Then you will
deliver that,'--returning home, marvelling wherefore such things
were permitted, and what the end thereof would be. Of course a
suitable note accompanied The Bible."
The Duke was not as prompt in acknowledging "The Bible" as he had been
in replying to the first note, for he did not write until the 27th of
August. Even then the letter was delayed by a mistake he made in the
address, directing the envelope to Mrs., instead of Miss J. She says,
"I presume he was in doubt on the subject whether I was a married or
single lady, as my signature could not decide on that point." In this
note the Duke asks if he may not have the pleasure of meeting her; and
Miss J., acting under the advice of her friend Mrs. L., grants his
request and expresses her own desire to know him,--"considering it may
be The Lord's will to permit personal interviews, proposing under such
circumstances to use my influence with him; accordingly craving the
Divine blessing thereon."
From the Duke's reply, which follows, it is evident that she had
corrected his uncertainty as to whether she was married or single:
WALMER CASTLE, Oct. 24, 1834.
The Duke of Wellington presents his compliments to Miss J. The
Duke has received her Letter in which she expresses a desire to
see the Duke and that he should call upon her.
The Duke has certainly received one, if not more, letters from
Miss J., all written upon the same important subject and with the
same beneficent object in view, although the desire to see the
Duke was not expressed in them; and the Duke lately acknowledged
the receipt of one, and of the book, etc., accompanying it.
Although the Duke is not in the habit of visiting young unmarried
ladies with whom he is not acquainted, he will not decline to
attend Miss J. He is at present at a distance from London, and he
will be detained at Walmer Castle by business in this part of the
county for more than a fortnight.
Miss J. will probably write to the Duke again, and will let him
know whether she will be in London in a fortnight or three weeks
from this time.
This was followed by a note, dated November 8, renewing the expressions
of the Duke's desire to meet one who took such an interest in his
welfare, and informing Miss J. of his intention to call upon her the
twelfth of the month. She was then with her friend Mrs. L. in lodgings
in London, and here the Duke presented himself.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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