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
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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
And now came the storm, springing from a misunderstanding pitifully out
of proportion to the _furore_ it excited! Miss J. and her friend Mrs.
L. had engaged a cottage, and were about to move into it. Miss J. wrote
to her guardian, desiring him to advance her funds for the furniture of
her new abode. A day or so later, in writing to the Duke, Miss J. told
him of the transaction, in her usual involved style, and asked his
opinion of the matter. The rest of the note was, as usual, filled with
incoherent reproaches for his lack of promptness in writing. The
unfortunate Duke probably perused the letter hastily, and comprehended
nothing but that Miss J. found fault with him about something, and that
she wished a loan from somebody. His patience had been worn threadbare
by much carping and criticism, and he answered her letter in that given
below. The whole affair is so absurd, as sketched in Miss J.'s Diary,
that the account is given in her own words, only omitting a few of the
superfluous and irrelevant quotations from Scripture.
LONDON, Sept. 23, 1846.
In order to prevent Irritation; and to avoid the receipt of
repeated Letters expressing the same; I determined that I would
inform Miss J. that I would write no more.
I had before repeatedly assured her, that I could not answer Her
Letters regularly; but nothing would do, She continued to be
angry and to complain with bitterness.
I have therefore been under the necessity of announcing that she
is not to expect to hear from me! She has now mentioned to me
that she had written to me to desire that I would assist Her with
a Loan of Money. I have not received the Letter containing that
Desire.
But I answer at once; that I will give her any reasonable
assistance she can require from me; when she will let me know in
clear distinct Terms what is the Sum she requires.
But I announce again; that I never will write upon any other
Subject.
WELLINGTON.
"_Friday, September 26^th, 1846._ O my God, Wherefore hast Thou
thought proper to let Satan try and distress me in this
unanticipated manner?
"I did not ask Thee to bestow the Duke upon me! I did not think of
ever writing to him until Thou madest me do so! and therefore I
marvel at his being allowed to torture me first in one way and then
in another for the last twelve years of my life, and above all by
what he has now so insultingly done in pretending to think that I
have written to him for a _Loan_, which Thou knowest, for Thy honor
and glory I would not do under existing circumstances, for a
thousand worlds! And I bless Thee for influencing me to Copy the
letter addressed to my Guardian, word for word in my Diary,
commencing my letter to the Duke as follows:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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