Chapter VI: Comparative Calm

The next letter is copied from the original:

LONDON, June 28, 1836.

The Duke of Wellington presents his Comp^s to Miss J. The Duke
has this morning received her very kind Letter of yesterday for
which he returns His thanks. The Duke begs leave again to assure
Miss J. that whatever may be the form in which he writes to her;
the motive in doing so is the same as ever; and that he is ever
sensible of and grateful for her kindness.

The Duke will with the greatest pleasure go to see her whenever
it may suit Miss J. to receive him.

The Duke did not say anything upon the Letter which Miss J. had
written to the Gentleman in question because he was unwilling to
obtrude His opinion upon a matter which Miss J. considers one of
Duty; in which the Duke is so unfortunate as to differ in opinion
with her.

Prudence and Discretion would appear to require that Miss J.
should not rebuke a Gentleman for words spoken not to Her; not
even in Her Presence; but to Her Landlady in the relation of a
Lodger in the House.

The Duke may be wrong. But he considers the exercise of Prudence
and discretion virtues; not unbecoming to any Character however
exalted.

The Diary continues:--

"Judging by the contents of the Duke's next letter dated June 29th,
1836, I presume I had felt from circumstances under the necessity
of putting aside his proposed visit adverted to in his last, as
follows 'The Duke will with the greatest pleasure go to see her
whenever it may suit Miss J. to receive him'--for in this of the
29th he writes--'I cannot but concur in your decision to postpone
to receive my visit. Nothing would distress me more than to give
you any pain. I sincerely hope that your journey to the Country
will reestablish your health and spirits.'

"I perceive by this that the Duke had again commenced addressing me
in the first person.

"It would appear by the Duke's next, dated July 1st, 1836, that I
had changed my intention concerning receiving him, as he
wrote--'Since I wrote you this morning I have had a fall by which I
have bruised my knee so that Leaches have been applied. I am not
otherwise hurt but it is quite obvious that I shall not be able to
wait upon you to-morrow. I hope to be able to do so however at the
same hour on Monday.' That such was not the will of the Lord of
lords I now perfectly recollect proving to the Duke that 'The way
of man is not in himself; it is not in man that walketh to direct
his steps,' a divine lesson which I was so anxious from time to
time, as circumstances permitted, to impress on his mind."

The Duke probably had a vivid realization of this truth just at this juncture, although possibly not in the sense intended by Miss J. She seems to have been devoid of any sense of humor, and saw nothing but the spiritual application of this one of her favorite quotations.

"In the Duke's next, of the 4th of July, he writes; 'I am much
recovered from the accident under which I suffered on Friday--but I
am afraid that I shall not be allowed to quit my House this day.
Indeed I am convinced that I could not do so without increasing the
risk of being confined to my house for weeks or months. I lament
this particularly as you are going out of Town early to morrow. I
am very sensible of your Confidence in attending to my opinion in
sending your letter to Mr. B.'

"This was a letter written by me to a Minister of the Gospel whose
worldliness was justifiably condemned. It is still I believe in my
possession among my papers, the Duke having received it for perusal
and at my request returned with advice not to forward it.

"In the letter dated the 5th the Duke acknowledges a packet from me
to which he adds 'I continue to improve and hope to go out tomorrow
or next day.'

"I presume this was a very thick letter. In that of the 9th of
July, the Duke writes; 'I am better and I am in hopes that on
tomorrow I shall be able to put my foot to the ground.'

"The Duke's next letter is I see directed to me at Hastings, in
which he writes on July 11th, 1836--'I am so much better that I am
going to the House of Lords and I hope soon to be able to go about
without inconvenience' to which the Duke again refers in his next
thus; 'I continue to recover from the effects of the Accident and I
hope to be able to go out in a day or two. I am happy to find that
you are settled at Hastings to your satisfaction.'

"The next of the 13th of July refers to my letters being
overweight--apparently, but judging by the letter of the 28th I
must have been mistaken, as the Duke writes;

"'You did not send me a letter overweight. But I warned you of the
necessity of taking care not to do so because I was apprehensive
that if I should be absent my servants would decline to receive the
letter.'

"The next letter from the Duke is dated July 30th wherein he
writes; 'I am much better and can walk a little. But my Knee is
bandaged up; and some time will elapse before I shall have the use
of it as heretofore.'

"The next letter from the Duke is dated Aug. 3rd 1836 in which he
writes 'I am much flattered by the anxiety which you express
respecting the injury which I received in my knee. I am getting the
better of it and I hope soon to be quite well.'

"Alas! it grieves me as I thus proceed, running my eye over so many
references to God's mercies to observe such were not adverted to by
the Duke--a subject I did not omit expatiating upon occasionally,
however reluctant to irritate whilst laboring under indisposition,
as my Diary will doubtlessly imply.

"On the 5th of August the Duke writes; 'I am very much obliged to
you for your letter and flattered by your desire to see me. I am so
far better as to be able to walk and I can go to see you when you
will come to Town.'

"By that of the 8th of Aug. I presume I had made enquiries
concerning his seal as the Duke writes--'I use black wax to seal my
letters as a Relation of mine died lately.'"

Immediately after the receipt of the last letter quoted, Miss J. left Hastings for Tunbridge Wells. The Duke's letters followed her here. She writes:--

"The Duke's next letter is directed to Tunbridge Wells, thanking me
for my letter to him dated Aug. 11th, 1836. In the Duke's next he
again adverts to his knee thus--'My knee continues to improve and I
hope to walk as well as ever in a few days.'

"In the Duke's of Aug. 16th he writes--'I entertain some doubt
whether a letter which I wrote to you yesterday was sent to the
Post. If not, I laid it by in one of my writing cases and in the
uncertainty I think it best to write again. I hope that the waters
will prove beneficial to your Health and that you will remain at
Tunbridge as long as it may be necessary that you should drink
thereof.'

"In the Duke's letter of the 20th of Aug. he writes--'I have found
in one of my writing cases the letter which I had omitted to send
on the day before yesterday. I rejoice to learn that your health
improves so much at Tunbridge Wells.'

"The Duke's next letter is directed to me at Brighton wherein he
writes 'My Knee continues to improve but it has not yet all its
strength and elasticity, but I hope that it will soon. I am much
obliged to you for enquiring about it.'

"Judging by the Duke's next letter, dated Aug. 22nd, I must have
requested him to send me the letter he had placed in one of his
writing cases, for he replies--'You will have seen that I had
destroyed the letter not sent.'

"In the Duke's next, dated Aug. 31st, the Duke writes--'I received
in due course a letter which you were so kind as to write to me on
nineteen sides of paper under three covers.'"

One ceases to wonder at the slowness of the poor man's recovery, under such circumstances as these.

"Upon the 6th of September a letter arrived from the Duke in which
he again refers to his accident as follows--'I am getting better
every day--but slowly, as is the case with recovery from such
accidents. I hope however to recover entirely and to be quite
well.'"

Another cause of offence had been found by Miss J. The Duke's letter explains it:--

WALMER CASTLE, Sept. 17, 1836.

MY DEAR MISS J.,--I was much surprized at not hearing from you;
and I am still more surprized now that I learn the Cause of your
Silence.

Begging Your Pardon you don't repeat accurately what I wrote
respecting Your Hand writing; and you have consequently
misrepresented my Meaning; which was however not worth attending
to.

I totally forgot that your Mind is occupied with affairs of more
Importance; the Hand writing in which you convey your thoughts to
others, is a matter of but little Importance to you; and that at
all events you are seldom in a disposition to allow any body to
complain; much less to find fault with you.

Accordingly I beg your Pardon for having ventured to tell you
that I experienced great Difficulty in reading your Hand writing.

I hope that you will not give yourself the trouble of writing to
me; if it should be at all irksome or inconvenient to you.

Believe me Ever Yours most faithfully

WELLINGTON.

The unmistakable irony of the above seems to have been quite thrown away upon Miss J., for she placidly remarks:--

"I am well aware that the poor Duke was justified in finding fault
with my writing, through finding my pen could not keep pace with my
feelings, more especially as I generally sent off whatever I wrote
just as it was _thus_ written.

"Again I see by the Duke's letter of Sept. 26th that he has
returned to the third person in addressing me, which may have been
accidental as his next dated Oct. 1st, 1836, is again in the first
and on the 11th he writes--'I have received your Note and two
Covers containing Tracts, for all of which I return my thanks.'

"In the Duke's letter of Oct. 14th he writes--'I am, I assure you,
very sensible of the kindness of your motive in writing to me.'

"The Duke's next letter is as follows 'I did not arrive in London
in time to be able to wait upon you this evening but I will wait
upon you to-morrow afternoon as soon after five as it may be in my
power.'

"On October 19^th the Duke called, after an absence of about two
years. So seldom did The Lord of Lords allow personal interviews to
take place which doubtlessly was wisely ordered for His Glory Who
knows the end from the beginning and is consequently too jealous of
His Holy Name to suffer it to be tarnished. Of this holy jealousy I
was rendered especially sensible on the visit above alluded to. I
accosted the Duke accordingly on his entering the room. He
exclaimed 'You shall do this and you shall do that!' without any
reference to God's holy Will, expatiating accordingly until dear
Mrs. L. who was only separated from us by folding doors said
afterwards she pitied the Duke and was glad when I had said
whatever I considered my duty. Nor was it until then that I even
asked him concerning his knee, although that was the first visit
since the Accident. When I did so, he appeared delighted, brushing
up his chair nearer to me, which of course met with the withdrawal
on my part _due_ to Christianity. I bless God for the grace and
strength afforded me on that occasion, causing the Duke to sink
into the utmost insignificance in comparison with His favor which
is better than life.

"The next letter from the Duke is dated Nov. 3rd, 1836, wherein he
writes, 'I am much flattered by your desire to have my opinion
whether you should send the letter you had written to a gentleman,
but had refrained from putting it into the Post.'

"The Duke alludes again to this in his next letter of Nov. 10th.
The next letter from the Duke is dated Nov. 11th, 1836, entreating
me to date my letters.

"In the Duke's next letter dated Nov. 12th he writes--'It is true
that I burn every letter the preservation of which is not of
importance, but I do not forget their contents as you will have
perceived, at least, those that are material.' With this letter I
see one of mine thus written and which I presume consequently was
forwarded.--'I had imagined My Lord Duke this day would have
brought with it an acknowledgement of my two last letters whereas I
have only received a brief reply to that addressed to you on
Sunday. However as it is my duty to acknowledge the receipt of that
this day received--I do so subscribing myself

"'Your Grace's faithful Christian Friend

"'A. J.'

"The above looks very formal but I presume it was all right,
yielding up my heart to God as I did and do to govern as seemed
good in His sight.

"The next letter from the Duke is dated Nov. 14th, 1836, wherein he
writes; 'I shall be in London in the end of this week, that is on
Friday, and I beg you to write to me if you should wish to see me.'
How little did the poor Duke think when he wrote thus that the
great Lord of lords had decreed he should not behold me again for
nearly eight years, namely until the summer of 1844--O how
mysterious are His unerring ways!!

"During the year 1836 I received from the Duke fifty-six Letters.

"1837.--I do not see any letter from the Duke until Feb. 26th in
this year when he writes therein as follows from Hartford Bridge;
'I am very much obliged to you for your letters, and I assure you
that I always receive with thankfulness whatever you think proper
to write to me. I do not like to trouble you when you do not write
to me lest my intrusion should be considered offensive.'

"The next letter from His Grace is dated March 2nd, wherein he
writes; 'I have now got such a cold that I cannot quit the house. I
have no fever however and I shall be quite well, I hope, in a day
or two.'

"The Duke's next letter is dated March 5th wherein he writes--'I am
much obliged to you for your enquiries. I came down to the Country
to get rid of the cold and I am much better, indeed, nearly well. I
will return the letter enclosed in yours the next time.'

"The Duke's next letter is dated March 12th 1837 in which he again
notices my letter, as follows; 'I return you the enclosed which I
ought to have sent you when I wrote last.'"

Still another dispute is now chronicled. Miss J. states that she wrote the Duke a letter in which she referred to his "brushing up his chair to me with so much familiarity during his last visit." The Duke's answer shows his irritation very plainly:--

LONDON, April 18, 1837.

The Duke of Wellington presents His Compliments to Miss J. She is
quite mistaken. He has no Lock of Hair of Her's. He never had
one.

The Duke is not aware that he has been guilty of _presumption_,
of _daring presumption_.

Miss J. wrote to him a letter in which she expressed displeasure
at his having omitted to call upon Her as she expected he would.

The Duke was extremely concerned that Miss J. was displeased. But
he considered it best not to aggravate the Offence by writing
again. If he had ventured to approach Miss J., or had written to
her; he might have been accused of _daring presumption_. But he
purposely avoided both; in order not to give fresh grounds for
Irritation.

The Duke is exceedingly concerned that Miss J. should consider
that she has reason to complain of Him.

He thinks that upon reflection she will be opinion [_sic_] that
she has no reason to be offended.

Miss J. does not mention what ground she had for supposing the Duke to be in possession of a lock of her hair. He had bestowed one of his upon her, and it is only natural to surmise that she had given one of hers in return. The matter was apparently smoothed over, as there is no cessation of letters.

LONDON, April 27, 1837.

The Duke of Wellington presents his Comp^ts to Miss J. and is
very sensible of the kindness of her expressions on the loss
which a part of His family has recently sustained.

The Duke is much concerned to learn that Miss J. still thinks
that she has cause to be displeased with the Duke.

The Duke trusts that Reflection and time will convince her; that
no such cause [_sic_]. The Duke assures her, Miss J., that he is
not sensible that he has given her such cause; by anything that
he has said written done or omitted.

"In a letter dated April 29th the duke writes 'He is very
grateful for the interest which Miss J. has been pleased to
express about the health of the Duke's brother. The Newspapers
were misinformed. The Duke's brother has not been seriously
indisposed. His niece however has lost her daughter which is the
misfortune to which the Duke imagined that Miss J. had
referred.'"

LONDON, May 1, 1837.

The Duke of Wellington presents His Comp^ts to Miss J. He returns
many thanks for Her Note. The Duke will make enquiries respecting
that of the 22^nd addressed by the Duke to Miss J. which she had
not received in due course.

It is wonderful that there should be so little delay and so few
mistakes in an establishment of this Description. But the few
that do occur should render letter writers cautious not to write
in a moment of Irritation; that which would not be written if
time were taken for reflection.

Some coolness followed this letter. The Duke wrote once again saying, "He does not know what to do to please her." Miss J. adds, "Which it was quite impossible he could do while in and of 'the world.'"

A silence of over three months followed this latest tiff. Miss J., as usual, re-opened the correspondence. The Duke's reply was not cordial:--

LONDON, August 14, 1837.

The Duke of Wellington presents His Comp^ts to Miss J. He returns
His thanks for her Letter of the 13^th.

The Duke is going out of town; and he intends to go to Walmer
Castle in a few days.

The Duke assures Miss J. that he has not published an Intention
of giving what is called a grand Dinner at Walmer Castle.

In general he would recommend to Miss J. not to believe one Word
that she reads respecting the Duke of Wellington.

LONDON, August 16, 1837.

The Duke of Wellington presents his Comp^ts to Miss J. He returns
His thanks for Her letter of the 15^th.

The Duke is much concerned that Miss J. should have had the
trouble of writing a second time upon the subject of
misrepresentation in the Newspapers. They are really not
deserving of Notice.

"The next letter from the Duke is dated Aug. 16th, with which I see
a copy of a letter referring to a parcel containing Tracts, etc.
for his acceptance, from which I copy as follows--'Miss J. trusts
the accompanying Tracts may not be considered an intrusion, but
received and perused with the prayerful consideration they deserve
as not from man but from That God Who has put it into her heart to
send them; relying on His own gracious Word which runs thus, "My
Word shall not return unto ME void but it shall accomplish that
which I please and shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent
it."--Miss J. begs to be excused giving her address, being desirous
to avoid all observation etc. but if on her return to Town it
should be the will of God that she should make His Grace acquainted
with her abode, wherever that may be, (respecting which there is at
present great uncertainty,) she will then give him an opportunity
of acknowledging the receipt of the parcel and its consequences,
hoping they may be of a gratifying nature; that is, beneficial to
His Great Soul which Miss J. is still desirous to behold robed in
the only Robe of righteousness that can render it safe for
Eternity.'

"The letter written on Aug. 26th is as follows 'He has received and
returns His thanks for her Note of Friday and the Tract enclosed
therewith.'

"In the Duke's next letter dated Sept. 1st he writes--'He is happy
to learn that her health is so far reestablished as that she can go
to the Country.'

"The next letter from His Grace dated Oct. 5th, 1837, acknowledges
the parcel referred to in mine as follows 'He returns thanks to
Miss J. for Her Note of the 3rd inst. received this morning, with a
Hymn for which he is very grateful. He received the Parcel
containing Tracts etc, some time ago.'

"Finding a copy of the letter which called forth the above enclosed
with it I am induced to give it a place herein, more especially as
I perceive one portion is almost defaced, regretting exceedingly
that I do not recollect the title of the Hymn alluded to and
forwarded.

"'Miss J. having promised His Grace the Duke of Wellington the
accompanying Hymn, takes the present opportunity for sending it,
however unsuited to the taste of any but the Regenerated Soul,
which _blessed_ state Miss J. has no good reason for believing His
Grace the Duke of Wellington has yet experienced. However, as there
is nothing too hard for The Lord of Lords, it is not impossible
that the period _may_ arrive when the accompanying Hymn will be
_experimentally_ understood, _consequently_ admired and valued,
being one of the most beautiful to be found.

"'Miss J. is not in the habit at present of seeing _any_ Newspaper,
and is consequently unacquainted with His Grace's present
proceedings. She concludes they are as worldly as ever, therefore
calculated to draw from her pen nothing but a _repetition_ of what
she has so frequently written, namely; "What is a man profited if
he shall gain THE WHOLE WORLD and LOSE his own SOUL? or what shall
a man give in _exchange for_ his _SOUL?_" An important enquiry sent
by her for a long time almost without interruption in every letter
to His Grace,--but Alas! with how little effect!! Rest assured, the
moment will arrive when a fervent desire will be experienced that
such advice, entreaties, observations, Scriptures, etc, etc, etc,
had been _practically_ attended to. Yes, there _is_ a period, and
an _awful_ one which must induce the _trembling soul_ that has been
swelled up by earthly splendor and earthly adulation, (BOTH
_equally empty_ and _unsatisfying_) to exclaim in the words of
Cardinal Wolsey, "Had I but served my GOD with HALF the zeal I
served my King, etc."

"'That such may not be His Grace the Duke of Wellington's fearful
state when the things of Time are giving place to those of
Eternity, Miss J. continues fervently to hope, however _groundless_
at present such hopes may appear.

"'Nor would she hesitate to address him more frequently if she had
not from long experience proved how little impression anything she
writes or says is permitted to make either in his life or
conversation, having no reason to imagine the slightest alteration
has taken place in his worldly feelings from the moment she first
beheld him to the present--on which account God seems to think
proper to restrain her pen, and address--thus preventing her from
being subject to receiving Notes as formal as they are
unsatisfactory, the loss of which she cannot,--does not regret,
being happier, infinitely happier when allowed by her gracious
Heavenly Father to indulge in, and enjoy her former as well as
present loved occupations. Yet when HE thinks proper to make her do
either, she submits, and only then--as the pleasure once enjoyed on
such occasions has long since fled, giving place to others more
satisfying.

"'Miss J. does not for a single moment by the above acknowledgments
mean to offend or displease His Grace which were she to find him
labouring under any _serious_ afflictions either of body or mind
she trusts her conduct would prove, as in the hour of necessity her
desire would be to afford him comfort and consolation: and since he
is so public a character as to insure such circumstances being
_generally_ known Miss J. trusts they will be obliged to meet her
eye or ear whenever God thinks proper to occasion the one or the
other--which HE _can_ do at any moment, and to any extent, and WILL
_if His Holy Name can be magnified thereby_.'

"I have underlined the above just as forwarded to His Grace.

"The Duke's next letter is dated Oct. 6th, in which he writes--'He
returns his thanks for her letter of Saturday just received' also
the next, dated Oct. 11th contains his thanks.

"In the Duke's next letter of the 12th of Oct. he writes--'He
returns many thanks for her letter of the 10th inst.,' and his
letter of the 14th of Oct. acknowledges another from me.

"In the Duke's letter of Nov. 1st he writes 'The Duke is unable to
give any other answer to Miss J.'s letters excepting His thanks for
taking the trouble of writing them.'

"The next is dated Nov. 7th also containing his thanks, followed by
one of the 15th, the last of that year."