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WORDS ON WELLINGTON
THE DUKE— WATERLOO— THE BALL

WORDS ON WELLINGTON

THE DUKE— WATERLOO— THE BALL

Sir William Fraser, Baronet
M.A. CHRIST CHURCH, OXFORD

LONDON
JOHN C. N I M M O
14, KING WILLIAM STREET, STRAND
1889

GUIS WICK PRESS :— C. WHITTINGHAM AND CO.
TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE.

THE DUKE.
T^REQUENTLY as I have heard the subject dis-
cussed, I never have knoAvn it finally settled as
to who would have commanded at Waterloo, if the
Duke of Wellington had been killed. The folloAving
bears upon this point. The Duke was always reticent
on the subject of his intentions; even toward those
ivith Avhom he was most intimate. He had not said
a single Avord on this subject before the Battle of
Waterloo to Lord Anglesey, then Lord Uxbridge,
commanding the Cavalry. Late on the 17th of June
Lord Anglesey called upon Sir Hussey Vivian, who
commanded a Brigade of Light Cavalry under him.
He said " I find myself in a very difficult position. A
great battle will take place to-morrow. The Duke,
as you know, will not economize his safety. If any
accident happens to him I shall suddenly find
myself Commander in Chief. Now, I have not the
slightest idea what are the projects of the Duke.
B

2 THE DUKE.
I would give anything in the world to know the
dispositions AA'hich, I have no doubt, have been pro
foundly calculated. It will be impossible for me
to frame them in a critical moment. I dare not ask
the Duke what I ought to do." Sir Hussey Vivian
replied " Consult Alava. Perhaps he will take it upon
himself to speak to the Duke." Count Alava was, as
is well known, the Duke's friend and confidant during
the Peninsular War; a Spanish officer of high rank;
and of still higher character ; for ivhom the Duke, to the
end of his life, entertained a warm friendship; offering
him, among other things, a residence near Strathfield-
saye. Lord Anglesey followed the advice; and, going
to head-quarters, soon found the Spanish General :
" I approve of your idea," said Alava, so soon as Lord
Anglesey had explained his fears. " The question is
a very serious one ; but I do not feel that I know the
Duke sufficiently intimately to ask him for explana
tions. This is your affair entirely; but, if you Avish, I
will go and tell the Duke that you are here." Lord
Anglesey hesitated for a minute : then decided to
follow Count Alava. In a feAv moments he found
himself in the presence of the Duke. He explained
the motive of his visit Avith all the delicacy imagin
able. The Duke listened to him quietly to the end ;

THE DUKE. 3
Avithout saying a single word : and when he replied,
it Avas without impatience ; without surprize ; and
without emotion. He said calmly " Who will attack
the first to-morrow, I or Bonaparte?" "Bonaparte,"
replied Lord Anglesey. " Well," continued the Duke
in the same tone " Bonaparte has not given me any
idea of his projects : and as my plans ivill depend
upon his, how can you expect me to tell you what
mine are?" Lord Anglesey bowed: and made no
reply. The Duke then said, rising; and at the same time
touching him in a friendly way on the shoulder ;
"There is one thing certain, Uxbridge, that is, that,
whatever happens, you and I will do our duty."
He then shook him ivarmly by the hand : and Lord
Anglesey bowing, retired.
There is no doubt that Picton joined the campaign
of 1815 with reluctance. He had told the Duke that
his health was such that he did not consider himself
fit to undertake the anxious task of commanding a
Division ; and it was only at the earnest personal
•solicitation of the Duke that he joined the Army.
He was, I believe, killed, Avearing plain clothes ; so
hurried had been his departure from London.
Severely wounded at Quatre-Bras, he concealed the

4 THE DUKE.
fact ; which was only knoAA'n after his death. I
heard many years ago, on good authority, that a
Commission was found on Picton's person, giving
him the absolute command of the British forces,
and their Allies, in case of the Duke's death. This
seems to me to be a very interesting question; and
should, if possible, be cleared up.
Whatever may have been Lord Anglesey's merits
as a Commander of Cavalry, the anecdote related
above reflects credit upon him. He must have
felt conscious that he had never had the experience
of commanding an Army ; and his position would
have been an impossible one, had the Duke been
killed. The careful mind of the latter must surely have pro
vided for this contingency. He thought it necessary,
in the interests of the army which he commanded, to
expose himself incessantly during the battle : and
must have been conscious that at any moment a
tremendous responsibility might fall upon another.
Who that other would have been is a question worthy
of inquiry, in the interests of History.
ONE OF THE EARLIEST occasions on which I
saw the Duke of Wellington was a memorable one.

THE DUKE. 5
It was at the Funeral of his brother in the Chapel,
when I AAras a boy at Eton.
When the Duke received the news of Lord Welles
ley's death, he closed the letter, saying " There is a
great man gone " : he then retired from the breakfast-
table : and did not reappear during that day. I
believe that this happened at Walmer.
Lord Wellesley had expressed an injunction in his
Avill that he should be buried at Eton. This, in itself,
ivas a pathetic incident. The man of surpassing
intellect, the brilliantly successful Statesman felt, we
may assume, that his earliest associations were the
happiest ; and wished to lie in the place where his
sense of enjoyment had been keenest. The usual
Morning Service was held previous to the Funeral ;
and at this were present, probably for the first time,
all the brothers : the head of the family lay in his
coffin ; his brother Lord Maryborough who, by
Lord Wellesley's death, had become Earl of Morn-
ington ; the Duke of Wellington ; the Revd Gerald
Wellesley, and Lord Cowley sat together in Upper
Stalls ; that is, on the Provost's side ; the boys, Avho
usually sat there, having left them vacant for the
occasion. The coffin on trestles was placed in the
central aisle of the Chapel. At Morning Service,

6 THE DUKE.
choral, Avhich was not usual, Lord Mornington's anti-
phonal chant, composed by the father of this illus
trious family, was used for the Psalms. The Pall
bearers were Lord Henley; Lord Belgrave, now
Duke of Westminster; the Earl of Darnley ; Lord
Burghley, noAV Marquess of Exeter; Lord Dunkellin,
(dead); and Lord Robert Cecii, noiv Marquess of
Salisbury. After Morning Prayer the Funeral Ser
vice followed. Ahvays impressive, that beautiful
composition never can have been more so than on
this occasion. What associations crowded on the
mind ! I cannot imagine any of the boys insensitive
enough, and I think none were, not to be deeply
moved by what took place. No one who was there
could ever in the course of his life have forgotten it.
The coffin was slotvly moved towards the grave,
which was near to the steps rising from the ante-
chapel into the chapel ; and to the Avest of what Avas
then the organ gallery.
At the conclusion of the service the boys filed out.
We passed to the right of the grave, and, though
many years have elapsed, I can see noAV the Duke
standing alone on the left side of his brother's grave ;
looking down into it. His upper lip quivered. This
I observed distinctly : and his arms ivere folded. The

THE DUKE. 7
boys descended to the school-yard ; and thence into
' Long Walk ' : taking it for granted that the Duke
would come out that way. It would, of course,
under such circumstances have been unseemly to
cheer him : and yet, ivhat Eton boy that ever saiv
him did not long to do so ? I calculated that he
would do all he could to avoid this ; and my sur
mises turned out to be quite correct. Going doAvn
into the school-yard with the rest of the boys, instead
of turning into ' Long Walk,' I passed through
Lower-School passage ; turned to the left ; and Avaited
alone near the door of Chambers ; close to the gate
of Weston's Yard. In a few minutes, as I expected,
the Duke emerged alone, having passed from the
Chapel through the Upper School, the Flogging-
room, down the stairs, into the Head-master's Cham
bers ; and thence out. He at once stepped into one
of Dotesio's crimson britzskas; and drove off to
Slough; no boy, but myself, saw him. I ought
perhaps to be proud of having circumvented even the
Great Duke.
The following Latin lines are an Epitaph written
by Lord Wellesley on himself and placed in the
hands of his old friend D1' Goodall, for many years
Provost of Eton.

THE DUKE.
" Fortuna. rerum que vagis exercitus undis
In gremium redeo, serus, Etona tuum :
Magna sequi, et summae mirari culmina famae,
Et purum antiquae lucis adire jubar,
Auspice te didici puer ; atque in limine vitas
Ingenuas verse laudis amare vias.
Siqua meum vitae decursu Gloria nomen
Auxerit, aut siquis nobilitaret honos,
Muneris, Alma, tui est : Altrix da terra sepulcrum !
Supremam lacrymam da ! memoremque mei."
Wellesley.
Kingston House,
January 5, 1842.
Tossed on the stormy waves of Fate,
Eton ! I seek thy breast, though late :
To hope to climb the heights of Fame,
To tend of classic lore the flame,
'Twas here I learned : and, in Youth's days,
To seek the paths of honest Praise.
If Glory shines upon my name,
Eton ! to thee I oive my Fame :
Of thee, sweet Nurse ! one boon I crave :
May Eton weep above my grave !
W. F.

THE DUKE. 9
Lord Wellesley was originally at Harrow.
Great excitement was caused in that school by an
Eton man being appointed Head-master. Almost
every boy joined in the uproar : and they Avere
headed by the future Governor-General of India.
Lord Wellesley either to set an example of prowess,
or, moved by a deep feeling against Eton in general,
threAv a stone Avith fatal effect at the Avindow of the
carriage by AA'hich the obnoxious intruder entered
Harrow. An early, and Poetic retribution overtook him.
Removed from Harrow ; he was immediately sent
to Eton ; Avhere, as ive knoAv, he rose to great dis
tinction.
I ASKED the Duke of B., a relation of the Duke,
which portrait his family considered the best. The
Duke replied "The one ringing the bell." He explained
that he meant by this the picture in which the Duke
is holding the Sword of State in his right hand; St.
Paul's Cathedral is in the background : the scabbard
looks not unlike an old-fashioned bell-pull. This
portrait of the Duke in full uniform, Field-Marshal's
coat, white leather pantaloons, Hessian boots with
gold edging and tassels, and wearing the Orders of the

io THE DUKE.
Garter, the Golden Fleece, Maria Theresa, Tower and
Sword, and the sash of a Captain-General of Spain,
was, I have no doubt, painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence
with great care. When, as he occasionally was,
inspired by his subject, Lawrence ceased to be com
monplace. His portraits of Lord Castlereagh, in
Windsor Castle, and of his brother the 3rd Marquess
of Londonderry, bearing a sword on his shoulder,
are very fine.
I WAS TOLD by the 2nd Duke of Wellington an
interesting circumstance in relation to this picture.
I mentioned to him what the Duke of B. had said ;
and he replied "Well, I think he is right. The one
thing my father was vain of was that he was the only
man, to whom the Sword of State had been given,
who Avas able to carry it upright. Everyone else, the
sword and scabbard being very heavy, ' sloped ' it on
the right shoulder : my father carried it upright : and
he insisted upon Sir Thomas Lawrence painting him
doing this. Sir Thomas did everything he could to
persuade him that, as a matter of Art, this would
never do; that the portrait of a man perennially
carrying a heavy sword from his Avrist Avould even
tually fatigue persons looking at the picture; in

THE DUKE. n
short it was against all the canons of Art. After
long disputes Sir Thomas affected to give in; and he
has painted my father, ivho still held to the point,
Avith his right elbow apparently resting on a cushion.
If you look closely at the print, you will see that his
arm does not rest upon the cushion ; but this can
only be discerned by minute examination."
THE DUKE had a large hand and a very poiverful
wrist. I have a note on this subject from the 2nd
Duke, ivhich I may add later in relation to the SAvord
worn by the Duke in all his battles.
THE ORIGIN of a term rather frequent when I Avas
at a private school has not, I believe, been traced,
A very common form of derision in the streets was
" What a shocking bad hat ! " applied generally, as
usual, AA'hen undeserved. The origin Avas this. When
the first Reformed Parliament met, the Duke Avent to
the Bar of the House of Commons, to inspect them.
Expecting, of course, to be questioned ; and knowing
that his words would be repeated, the Duke was
ready for the inquisition : when asked, on walking
back to the House of Lords, what he thought of the
new Parliament, he evaded responsibility by replying

12 THE DUKE.
" I never saw so many shocking bad hats in my life" :
Hence the popular saying.
DURING MY Parliamentary life, I have always ob
served that the hats and boots of M.P.s were far
inferior to those of the average of mankind. In the
first Parliament in AA'hich I sat, the only man really
neat in these respects Avas Sir Benjamin Hall. I
think Disraeli came next.
I believe that the practice of wearing the hat, as of
that of the Peers sitting by command when the Queen
reads her speech, originated, as these things do, in
good sense. Were it compulsory on the Peers to
stand; or on M.P.s to sit bare-headed, an easy and
safe insubordination might be shown at any time, by
the latter covering themselves, or by the former sitting
down unbidden.
MARVELLOUS AS a compilation of good sense as
are the Duke's Dispatches, they are, in addition,
models of style. Whether he wrote in English or
French, and in the latter he wisely avoided idiom,
they show his clearness of mind; and admirable
powers of expression. " Le style c'est l'homme " :
and in no one ivas this more conspicuous than in the

THE DUKE. 13
Duke of Wellington. The following was given to me
by the late Lieutenant-Colonel Johnson of the
Guards. THE DUKE on one occasion Avished a bridge to be
constructed, or something of a similar kind, the duty
of the Royal Engineers. The Officer, after examina
tion, reported to the Duke that it could not be done.
The Duke ivas displeased; and sent for another officer,
a young man, attached to another Division of his
Army. This officer performed Avhat the Duke de
sired. The Duke put the following in " Orders " :
" He who in War fails to do ivhat he undertakes,
may always plead the accidents which invariably
attend military affairs : but he who declares a thing
to be impossible, Avhich is subsequently accom
plished, registers his own incapacity." His splendid
clearness of intellect gave him the power of express
ing himself clearly : and, numerous as are his writings,
hardly one can be found, the meaning of Avhich is
doubtful.NO GREATER tribute could be paid to the lofty
honour of the Duke than that shown by his enemies.
Before the Battle of Orthez, the bridge over the

14 THE DUKE.
Gave de Pau, had been passed by the French
army. The Duke sent a note to Marshal Soult,
saying that a battle would, of course, take place
on the following day; but that, as it was desirable
in the interests of the inhabitants of Orthez not
to destroy the bridge, he promised that, if Marshal
Soult would abstain from blowing it up, no soldier of
the British army should cross it. Soult trusted him :
and the bridge is to this day intact. My father, Sir
James Fraser, was at the time a Captain in the
7th Hussars, which formed part of Picton's Division.
General Picton rode up to the regiment ; and said
" Surely some of you Hussars can find the way
across that river : there must be a ford." My father
accordingly, with a detachment of men, after some
search, and under fire, discovered the ford and
crossed it ; the Division traversing the river in this
manner later. It was at this battle that the Duke of
Richmond, serving with his Regiment the 52nd,
received a bullet, which remained in his body until
his death.
I remember a remark ofthe same Duke of Richmond
some years ago, at Gordon Castle. I thought it a
Avise one. He said " People talk nonsense about
Lord Nelson being imprudent in wearing his stars at

THE DUKE. 15
Trafalgar. He was not shot because the man believed
him to be Lord Nelson ; but, seeing him ivalk up
and down the quarter deck, Avithout a SAvord, and
giving orders, he knew that he Avas a person of im
portance." I may point out here that the stars were
not, as now, hooked on to the uniform by a brooch
and pin ; but were in those days worked on the coat :
and formed as much a part of the uniform as the em
broidery on the collar.
Passing through Orthez some years ago, and
naturally feeling very much interested, the following
incident occurred, ivhich I venture to give in its most
condensed form :

DA-SHEALLADH.
{Second Sight.)
At Orthez, one hot Summer's day,
When passing o'er the dusty Avay,
That flanks the Pyrenees,
I stopped an hour ; " La Belle Hotesse '
The Inn was called ; the Inn's maitresse
Wished, smilingly, to please.

THE DUKE.
" The room where the Great Duke reposed
Pray shoiv me." Quickly she unclosed
A door : " 'Twas there he lay."
" 'Twas 'mid the storm of shot and shell
That on your foot an Obus fell,
The morning of the fray.
"Which is the cupboard, where the dinde,
Left by the diligence behind,
Furnished the hero's supper ? "
" Here, Sir, it is ; forgive surprise !"
"Twas on this shelf" ("Why, Sir, my eyes
You open wide ! ") " the upper.
" ' We do not come to do you harm,'
He said ; then took you by the arm,
I think it was the left."
" Sir has not numbered thirty years;
Of speech, so wondrous this appears,
I vow I am bereft."
" Nay, more than this, Madame, I knoiv :
The day he crushed his country's foe,
When hot from Toulouse fight

THE DUKE. 17
He bought for you a grey silk dress,
Which now your daughter does possess,
And sent it the same night."
" 'Tis true Sir, all that you have said :
But hoAv the Past you thus have read,
In parting, tell me, pray ! "
" To me a second sight is given :
A Scotsman I." " Protect me, Heaven ! "
" Madame, a most good day ! "
I Avill only add that the excellent old lady, " La
Belle Hotesse," was named Bergerau ; that I have
not altered in the slightest degree what occurred;
and that, should the intelligent reader wish for an
explanation beyond what is given, he or she may
satisfy their curiosity by the purchase of the second
edition of this book.
THE DUKE was asked which he, on the whole,
thought was the sharpest fight at ivhich he had been
present. He said "That near Tarbes." This was
principally, I believe, fought by the Rifle Regiments ;
and is included in the generic term " Pyrenees."
WHETHER NAPOLEON ever entered his car-
c

1 8 THE DUKE.
riage after Waterloo is doubtful. He certainly left
the field on horseback : the route of his escape to '
Charleroi was pointed out to me by M. Coulon, from
the Maison du Caillou on the Genappes road. He
Avas on horseback Avhen he reached Charleroi ; and
his travelling carriage had been captured by the
Prussians; but Avhether he Avas in it shortly before
this capture I doubt. The carriage contained among
other things his swords : one is the sword alluded to
later in my letter to the " Daily Telegraph"; another,
a small straight sword Avith an eagle head, which I
have seen the Duke of Wellington wear when in full
dress. I believe that the dress SAvord of the Officers
of the Scots Greys, when dismounted, was made from
the pattern of this; and, no doubt, was given to them
for the capture of the standard of the 45th French
Regiment. " Ces terribles chevaux gris ! comme
ils travaillent," said Napoleon : and well he might.
I REMEMBER at a ball at Lord Wharncliffe's house
in Curzon Street, Madame Brunnow, for many years
the Russian Ambassadress in London, appearing with
a sort of pink velvet semi-circular cushion on the top
of her head ; in which many diamonds were fastened.
The Duke immediately walked up to her; and kissed

THE DUKE. 19
her on both cheeks. The old lady looked extremely
delighted. I heard someone say " Madame, vous ne
rougissez pas?" She replied " Au contraire ! J'en suis
fiere." The Duke, with his stern sense of duty, and
total disregard of what ignorant people thought,
walked on ; and Madame Brunnow then explained
that on the Emperor of Russia's birthday, I think that
was the occasion, everybody kissed everybody else ;
so far as I could make out : at any rate everyone
of a certain rank in society such as Dukes, Ambas
sadresses, etc. etc.
THE DUKE when visiting an Embassy, or in the
presence of a Foreign Sovereign, always wore the
first class of the Order which that Sovereign had
given to him. I remember that, at the balls at the
Russian Embassy, then at Ashburnham House, the
Duke always wore the ribbon and star of the first
class of the great Russian Order of St. George, the
highest Military Order in Russia : he also possessing
the Order of Sl Andrevv, which is still higher in
rank ; he preferred to wear the former for good
reasons. I observed one day at Baden Baden the
Emperor of Russia wearing the first class of this
Order ; on my return to London, I asked Baron

20 THE DUKE.
Brunnow how it was that the Emperor of Russia was
permitted to wear this decoration ; the first class of
Sl George. Baron Brunnow replied "Wha.t makes
you ask the question?" I replied "He has never
commanded an army of, I think, seventy thousand
men in a decisive campaign." The Baron replied "I
will explain the matter to you. You are quite correct
as to the statute of the Order ; but that was for
one hundred years only. Two years ago the century
expired : and now our Emperor is permitted to wear
the Order."
The year before the war broke out between Eng
land and Russia, Baron Brunnow proposed to me to
accompany him to S* Petersburg. He Avas about to
pay the fatal visit that brought on the War in the
Crimea. He had a place free for anyone to accom
pany him in the Malle Poste. I have often deeply
regretted that I did not accept his offer. His honest,
but bad advice to the Emperor Nicholas, and the
wretched expedition of the Peace Society, did all the
mischief. Sir Hamilton Seymour, then Ambassador
at S* Petersburg, told me that the Emperor Nicholas
would not believe till the last moment that a shot
would be fired; and Lord Aberdeen, the British
Prime Minister, very shortly before the outbreak

THE DUKE. 21
told a relation of mine, who was in Parliament,
that he might safely go to Rome for the winter Avith
his family, " for there will be no Avar." Fatal words !
THE FOLLOWING has been told over and over
again ; but incorrectly. I have ascertained lately
from Lord D. and D., that this version is absolutely
correct. He says that, coming from Newmarket,
Thomas 2nd Lord Wilton, well known as an Author
of Hymns ; the hero of " The Tommiad," by Lord
Winchilsea ; told him among other stories about the
Duke, Avith Avhom he Avas very intimate, what really
occurred. The Duke was having his portrait painted,
a practice he disliked, but submitted to. On one
occasion he said " They have painted me in every
attitude ; except standing on my head." The painter
AA'as Pickersgill. Finding the Duke getting rather
drowsy under the operation, he wished to excite his
attention ; and thus give some expression to his face.
He succeeded only too Avell. Pickersgill said " I
have often wished to ask your Grace a question."
The Duke was far too prudent to say "What is it? "
Pickersgill then said " Were you really surprized at
Waterloo or not ? " The Duke instantly replied
" No ! but I am now." I am not sure that Lord

22 THE DUKE.
Wilton was not at Walmer at the time : he was
frequently the Duke's guest at the Castle.

ON ONE OCCASION at Walmer the Duke found
himself in an embarrassing position ; but even here
his mental resources did not fail him. He found
himself shut into a very small room indeed : and, by
an accident to the bolt, he failed to open the door.
This very small room had a very small Avindow,
through which it was possible to see horizontally ;
but, from the thickness of the castle wall, not ver
tically. Few would, I think, have known Avhat to
do. It would not have been well for the Duke
to rouse the neighbourhood by shouts ; for those
shouts would have reverberated throughout the civi
lized world ; and every sort of story of illness, and
death would have circulated. The Duke retained
the same calmness as he did in battle. Opposite to
the window was a tower deeply covered with ivy.
In this ivy the Duke had observed that starlings were
in the habit of nestling. He accordingly waited ; and
no sooner did the little birds fly out in a mass, than
the Duke concluded that some human being was
passing. He then called out : and was liberated.

THE DUKE. 23
ON THE MEMORABLE occasion of the Duke's
ride through London, on the 18th of June, 1832, he
had been to the Mint : on his return he Avished to
visit Sir Charles Wetherall in Lincoln's Inn. The
Liberal Party in London had got scent of his arrival
on Tower Hill ; and were determined to give him
a " Charivari " on his way home. Most of the par
ticulars of his ride are well known : but I may
mention that the gentleman in a gig, ivho helped to
protect him in East Holborn, and Avho disappeared,
without giving the Duke his name or address, when
he arrived at Lincoln's Inn, was ultimately knovvn.
The Duke made every exertion to find him at the
time by advertisement ; but failed. Many years after
wards a gentleman sent his card up to the Duke at
Apsley House ; and the latter saAV him. The Duke
asked him Avhat his business was : and he replied,
that his Grace might remember that many years
before he had been of some slight service to him in
Holborn. The Duke expressed his great delight at
seeing him ; and asked if it were possible for him to
be of any use to the stranger. The latter replied
that he had a very small favour to ask on behalf of
some individual, which the Duke instantly granted ;
and expressed his regret that the favour asked for

24 THE DUKE.
was not greater. On the day in question, after leav
ing Lincoln's Inn he proceeded along the Strand, and
Pall Mall. When passing the United Service Club,
the windows of which were, of course, lined with
members, the Duke looked straight between his
horse's ears. I had this from Lord Sl Germans, Avho
happened to meet him. He turned his horse; and
rode with the Duke through the Park gates near Staf
ford House, and up Constitution Hill, the mob at the
same time rushing across the Green Park, in order
to intercept him at his own door. The Duke said
but little on the road ; but passing through the
crowd, which he did without the slightest hesita
tion, when the door of his house was reached, he
touched his hat to Lord S' Germans; and quietly
said, " An odd day to choose ! " (Waterloo day).
" Good morning."
The Duke would not have the windoAvs of Apsley
House repaired ; he had iron shutters placed ; the
interior window being at night covered with large
plate-glass sliding mirrors. He felt, no doubt, that his
house might at any time be attacked ; and that these
shutters would be a good protection : but the reason
for not mending the ivindows was not, I believe, due
to his wishing to keep them as a memorial of this

THE DUKE. 25
atrocious outrage ; but because the Duke held that,
in cases of public riot, the "Hundred" was bound
to make good the loss. Familiar, as he AA'as, with
the history of the " Great Book," he may on that
afternoon have thought of One Avho was received
with the Avildest shouts of " Hosannah to the Son
of David " : and, a little later was surrounded by the
same vile Avretches crying " Crucify him ! Crucify
him ! "
Some years afterwards, Avhen the Duke was at the
height of popularity, a great crowd waited in Picca
dilly ; and gave him a tremendous ovation on his
return home. The Duke took not the slightest notice
of their cheering; but, just previously to entering
his gates, he pointed ivith his right hand calmly to
the iron shutters. He then took his hat off, with a
mockery of gratitude ; and entered his house.
I saw, after his death, the windoAvs being mended :
every pane without exception on the Piccadilly side
ivas smashed.
A RIBBON AND MEDAL Avere given eventually to
the survivors of the Peninsular War ; after too many
brave men had passed away. I observed that the
Duke ivore the second ribbon, which differed very

26 THE DUKE.
slightly from that given for Waterloo, attached also to
the Waterloo medal : one bright the other faded.
THE DUKE was mindful of the oath which he had
taken when made a Knight of the Garter, always
to have some insignia on his person. In this, as in
other things, he was a lover of truth.
The popular idea that the only civilians who have
a right to hoist the " Union " flag over their house
are Lords-Lieutenant of Counties, is a mistake.
Knights of the Garter have the right ; no doubt as
the sequence of the permission to hoist the white
banner of Sl George, before the "Union" flag was
invented.THE DUKE received, almost Avithout exception,
the first class of every European Order. The
principal ones, the Golden Fleece of Spain, the
S* Esprit of France, S1 Andrew of Russia, the
Black Eagle of Prussia, the Elephant of Denmark,
he had no difficulty, of course in discriminating; but,
when it came to the minor States, he was sometimes
puzzled. On one occasion, being asked to meet at
dinner at Windsor Castle a second class Crowned
Head, the Duke, who carried his orders with him

THE DUKE. 27
iii a lined box, could not recollect, among so many,
which was the Grand Cross of the particular Sove
reign. Accordingly he desired his servant to consult
the valet of the distinguished personage in question.
Either by the maladroitness of the Duke's servant,
or more probably of the seri'ant of the foreign Prince,
the Duke's drawer of Orders was carried up to the
latter ; no doubt to his disgust.
THE DUKE being asked Avhether he found much
advantage in being a great man, and having a com
pletely acknowledged position, besides his wealth,
and political power, said "Yes; I can afford to do
without servants : I always brush my own clothes :
and if I were strong enough, I ivould black my own
boots." I HAVE AVOIDED, and shall avoid going into the
question of the Duke's political career. The first
Soldier, and the first Diplomatist in Europe, he knew
little of home politics; and he knew that he knew
little. Circumstances, the principal of which Avas his
high, unblemished character for honesty, forced him
into a position for which he knew that he was unfit.
The seven best years of his life, when Statesmen are

28 THE DUKE.
learning, or ought to be learning, their duties, Avere
passed in the campaigns of Portugal and Spain: and
no one can have felt more acutely than the Duke hoAV
this absence of apprenticeship had unfitted him for his
subsequent political career. He said so repeatedly :
and he felt it. There are silly and shallow people
ivho have said that the first dozen men passing through
Temple Bar would make so good Cabinet Ministers
as any others. Nothing more senseless ever came
from human lips. It has been said that nothing
more is required than Good Sense. Good sense
is, of course, required in every art. No man can
paint a picture without good sense. No man can
amputate a limb Avithout good sense. The total
absence of this quality from the minds of those AA'ho
utter such Twaddle is wonderful.
What is required to be a Cabinet Minister ? It is
Good Sense plus Experience : to suppose for a
moment that a man of fifty can suddenly take up a
science, and become master of Avhat requires a life
time of observation, and an exceptional intellect, is
absurd. With our extremely complicated political system ;
with the endless variety, and constantly shifting
opinion of the Houses of Parliament, who can pos-

THE DUKE. 29
sibly be of use, unless he has commenced his
career at an early age? Find your most sensible
friend : ask him if he will go to S' George's Hospital,
and cut off a man's leg. Would not your friend laugh
in your face ? Find another sensible friend, and ask
him to paint an oil picture for the Exhibition next
year : would not he do the same ? Yet in an Art
and Science which require more Genius than all the
rest put together, we have been seriously told that the
first man we meet in the street is as good as any
other : and that any man of fifty, who is not an
absolute fool, can govern a Kingdom. We all know
Byron's irony " Critics all are ready made."
If this sarcasm applies to Criticism, possibly, in its
loftiest sense, a higher art than Art itself, it is ten
times more applicable to the mental condition of "a
Statesman.
THE DUKE SPOKE of the Reform Act of 1832,
as a " Revolution in due course of law."
ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING sights I
saw ivhile at Eton, Avas the Review of the Household
Brigade, and Artillery, and one Regiment of the

30 THE DUKE.
Line, given by the Duke for the Emperor Nicholas
in Windsor Park.
The Review took place on the Eastern side of
Queen Anne's ride : the weather was perfect. A very
large Staff, and a vast number of Officers, Lords-
Lieutenant, and others, were present. The Life
Guards, and Guards, looked, as usual, splendid.
The Emperor had especially insisted upon seeing a
Regiment of the Line, " such as those with Avhich
you win your battles in India." Accordingly the
47th Regiment was paraded. It being soon after
Montem, the last, we Fifth Form boys wore our
scarlet coats.
The Emperor was dressed in a dark green uniform ;
trousers of nankeen ; his boots round at the toes ;
black helmet, and cuirass, and gold epaulettes. He
rode very short. His features were different from
those of the Emperor Alexander; whose portraits
had a retrousse" nose, and a rather insignificant
face. The Emperor Nicholas had a fine Greek
face. Everything possible was done to receive him
with exceptional honour. The Knights of the Garter,
and other Orders, wore their ribbons ; and, Avhat I
have never seen before nor since, Lord Combermere
and Lord Anglesey Avore the Stars of the Bath and

THE DUKE. 31
Garter respectively, screwed to the cuirasses which
they Avore as Colonels of the ist Life Guards and
Blues. One incident occurred which brought down
great vituperation upon the Prime Minister. When
the Review Avas about half way through, Sir Robert
Peel, who was then at the nadir of unpopularity in
relation to his political conduct, cantered up into
the midst of the large and brilliant group of uniforms,
in plain clothes. He rode a handsome chestnut
horse ; and was dressed in a loose blue frock coat,
yelloAv waistcoat, and drab trousers. He at once
rode up to the Emperor Nicholas ; made him a
low bow; and, on the Emperor extending his right
hand, kissed it. I may mention here that the
Emperor drove through Eton on his way from
Slough to Windsor Castle a few days before ; while
we were in three o'clock school. The false report
spread that he was coming ; and Ave were allowed
to rush out to see him. It turned out to be only
the King of Saxony; for whom the boys, by com
parison, expressed great contempt. However a little
later the Emperor passed. He Avas sitting in one of
Dotesio's britzkas;. alone; and on the edge of the
seat. He struck me as a singularly handsome man ;
very tall ; with very broad shoulders ; but not very

32 THE DUKE.
Avell-bred. Being always in uniform, and holding
himself square, no doubt gave him this appearance.
I believe that it has always been reckoned the
pride of the British officer that, when out of uniform,
no one should take him for a soldier.
I recollect that in afternoon church at Eton on
the day of the Review a somewhat novel effect in
music occurred. The beautiful anthem " Holy,
Holy" was being sung in the chapel of Eton, and
one of the choristers, named Foster, who had an
extraordinary alto voice, was giving a very high and
prolonged note. At that instant a battalion of the
Guards returning from the Review crossed Barnes
Pool Bridge : the Band struck up, as it was bound
to do when leaving a town, " The girl I left behind
me." Anything so extraordinary as the effect of the
music reverberating through the chapel I have never
heard before nor since.
THE DUKE REMEMBERED no doubt what was
said to him who consulted the oracle at Delphi as to
how to achieve Immortality. " Go," said the Oracle
"and kill One already Immortal." We know that
he took the Oracle at its word; and murdered
Philip of Macedon.

THE DUKE. 33
Neither Napoleon, nor the Duke of Wellington, ever
allowed anyone to shave them. The Duke performed
this delicate operation with consummate skill : but
declared that he never could get his servants to keep
his razors in order. He Avas in the habit of taking a
number of them at a time to a little cellar, subse
quently a newspaper shop, in Piccadilly, close to the
Burlington Arcade : he waited while they were
sharpened. Charles II. showed his astuteness on one occasion
when his barber was at work on his head. This
was at a time when full bottomed wigs were worn.
The barber who was no doubt, like his master, fond
of a joke, said, with a slight flourish of his razor, '-'I
have often thought hoAV completely I have got your
Majesty in my power." Charles rose : and said good-
humouredly, but decisively " You shall never shave
me again : there is treason in the thought."
BRILLIANT AS were the abilities of the Duke he,
like other great men, could not talk twaddle. He
found no difficulty in speaking to children ; Avhose
naive manners, and originality of thought delighted
him; but the wretched trash talked by grown-up
children was to him intolerable. The story is well-

34 THE DUKE.
known of his saying "I have no small talk; and
Peel no manners."
We cannot fancy the Duke asking, even in a rail
way carriage, "Have you seen Salvini?" nor "Do
you admire Mra Langtry?"
THE DUKE'S whole nature Avas practical. Instead
of considering, and theorizing, as to various arms,
garments, belts, etc. worn by the British soldier, he
sent for a man of a Line Regiment. Having pro
vided a large pair of scales, he said to the soldier " Step
into that scale Avith your musket, pouch, knapsack,
schako etc." He had the iveight written down.
''Now then, get out; strip yourself naked; and then
get into the scale again." That settled the question.
There is, or Avas, at the Clothing Department in
Pimlico a quaint old Infantry schako. It bears
Roman numerals on the front. With it was this
memorandum: "The Duke of Wellington has worn
this schako for seven hours to-day. He considers
it an excellent head-dress for the soldier." Most
men avIio have tried it on ivould be very sorry
to wear it for seven minutes; and would differ
Avith the Duke. HoAvever, " there were giants in
those days."

THE DUKE. 35
I ASKED the 2nd Duke why it was that his father
always patronized the Ancient Concerts ; terrible per
formances, which I attended once or tAvice in my boy
hood. He replied " I will tell you why. My grand
father, Lord Mornington, was, as you know, a great
musician ; my father attended the concerts regularly,
because his father had either instituted or patronized
them." The Concerts Avere held at the Hanover
Square Rooms. I said that I had always noticed that
the Duke took care to sit between two handsome
Avomen on the sofa which was placed in the front rank
for his special use. This may have consoled him for
what must have been to him severe suffering. He
had a dinner party at Apsley House ; and took, I
believe, his party to the concert.
THE -2nd DUKE told me the following story in
relation to the horse whose name will never die :
* Copenhagen.' The Duke gave a long price for him,
I think three -hundred pounds. He Avas a holloiv-
backed, powerful horse. Some years after the ist
Duke's death, an old servant, who had served the
family for many years, came to him. He produced
something wrapped up in the " Times " newspaper ;
and, with hesitation, said " My Lord ; I believe that

36 THE DUKE.
I shall not live very long: I have come to place
in your Grace's hands what belongs to you." The
Duke naturally asked, with some surprize, what this
could be. The old man then slowly took out of the
parcel a horse's hoof. He said : " My Lord : when
Copenhagen was buried" (near Strathfieldsaye House)
" I cut off one of his hoofs. None of us imagined
that the Duke would trouble his head about the
body of the horse : but he AA'alked down ; and saw
him buried. He instantly noticed that the hoof
was gone. He was in a most terrible passion ; and
no one dared to tell him what had happened. I
have kept the hoof carefully ever since : and now
I give it back to your Grace." I have often heard
ivhen in the ist Life-Guards, dining at S* James's
Palace, regret expressed that, whereas the hoof of
Napoleon's horse ' Marengo ' was used there daily as
a snuff-box, the hoof of ' Copenhagen ' could not be
placed beside it.
I HAVE SAID that the Duke shaved himself. Here
is another remarkable indication of the good sense
which told him that, whereas he had always been the
butt of the slanderer, he remained the object of the
less cowardly assassin. An Officer in the Regiment

THE DUKE. 37
quartered in the neighbourhood, walked to Walmer
Castle soon after the Duke's death. He asked his
servant Avhether he could spare any article, hoivever
insignificant, of the Duke. The servant said " There
are a lot of umbrellas in that corner ; if you like, you
can have one of them." The Officer took up one of the
umbrellas ; and endeavoured to open it. To his sur
prize he drew out a sword. He pointed this out : the
servant replied " Oh, yes ; there is a sword in every
umbrella." This, no doubt, would have given the
Duke a chance, who ivalked about London, and else
where, absolutely unattended, had he been attacked.
THE DUKE being asked how it was that he had
succeeded in beating Napoleon's Marshals, one after
another, said " I will tell you. They planned their
campaigns just as you might make a splendid set of
harness. It looks very well ; and answers very Avell ;
until it gets broken ; and then you are done for. Noav
I made my campaigns of ropes. If anything went
wrong, I tied a knot ; and Avent on."
WHEN ASKED what was the best test of a great
general, he replied " To know Avhen to retreat ; and to
dare to do it."

38 THE DUKE.
TWO FRIENDS upon whom I could rely, both
General Officers, told me that, on separate occasions,
they heard the Duke say this. He rarely spoke about
Waterloo ; but they heard him say, sweeping the table
with his closed hand " Had I had the army that broke
up at Bordeaux, I should have swept him off the face
of the earth in tAvo hours."
ON SOME one saying " Do you think it true that
Habit is second Nature ? " he replied " Second Nature ?
it's ten times Nature."
THE 2Nn DUKE said to me, when riding in Hyde
Park, " You told me some years ago that ivhen
Napoleon heard of my father's first victory at Assaye,
he said ' That is the man with whom I shall have to
deal : ' I would give a great deal to knoiv AA'here you
learned that." I replied that I could not tell him: but
that I was quite sure that I had heard it on some very
good authority.
AN ORIGINAL PORTRAIT of the Duke which
I have, wearing the Star of the 'Tower and Sword,'
of Portugal, without other decoration, was carefully
examined by the 2nd Duke at my chambers. He
said " Has he given him a tusk ? " I asked an

THE DUKE. 39
explanation. He said " He had at that time an
over-hanging tooth from his upper jaw." I looked
closely at the portrait ; there was the tooth.
He told me at another time a very interesting fact
in relation to the configuration of the Duke's face,
which I shall give further on.
In the portrait named above by Dighton, 38th Regi
ment, the Duke wears a General's uniform, a handsome
blue cloth plastron; ivith flat gold embroidery, now only
seen on the uniform of the Master of the Horse; high
blue collar ; his scarlet coat slightly open at the waist,
showing a scarlet waist-coat with gold edging ; blue
stocking-net pantaloons, well fitting Hessian boots,
and spurs. The cocked hat with white edging and
no plume is, I think, peculiar.
I have placed on the frame of this picture the lines
altered from Lord Lytton, which I shall quote later.
THE DUKE used to say that he attributed his
success, in some measure, to always being a quarter
of an hour earlier than he was expected : and that the
wise course, in Action, is to attack your enemy at the
moment he is preparing to attack you.
I BELIEVE that everyone, who has achieved great

40 THE DUKE.
success, has, at some time of his life, staked everything
upon a card.
THE POPULAR IDEA encouraged especially by
his enemies, Avas that the Duke had plenty of solidity;
but no dash. Greater rubbish never was talked. His
circumventing Soult by passing his whole army across
the River Douro in three punts, certainly excelled in
dash anything that any French General ever did.
I believe the title of " Douro," a name by which he
was always, after this, saluted by the Spanish troops,
was dear to him. When created a Duke he took it as
his second title,
WHEN THE STARTLING neivs of Napoleon's
leaving Elba reached the Congress of Vienna, Talley
rand said "Wherever he goes, he never dare enter
France." The Emperor Alexander turned to the Duke
of Wellington, and, placing his hand upon his shoulder,
said " C'est pour vous encore sauver le mond^."
I HAVE HEARD from many, who Avere in public life
at the time, that the Duke's position after Waterloo was
not nearly so great as that which he subsequently
attained. He was then looked upon as a brilliantly

THE DUKE. 41
successful General. The facts, which placed him so
high as a diplomatist, ivere not then known : Lord
Castlereagh overshadowing him. His fame, and repu
tation, in the minds of those Avhose good opinion
is alone Avorth having, rose steadily. Every year of
his 'ife increased his appreciation by wise, and honour
able, men.
TWO GREAT OFFICERS are appointed for
special occasions only. These are the Lord High
Constable, and Lord High Steward of the Kingdom.
On the occasion of the Coronation of George IV. the
Duke was nominated to the function of Lord High
Constable. On either side ofthe Champion of England,
and adding greatly to the splendour of the function,
were the Lord High Constable, and the Deputy Earl
Marshal. When the Champion enters Westminster
Hall, during the banquet, he rides between these
two Great Officers from the principal door up to
the King's table; the King being seated under the
window at the farther end. After the customary
challenge made by the King's Champion to anyone
who should dispute the right of the Monarch, and
the throwing doAvn of the glove, the King drinks
to the health of the Champion in a goblet of gold,

42 THE DUKE.
Avhich he there and then presents to him. This
being done, it is the duty of the Champion, the Lord
High Constable, and the Earl Marshal to rein their
horses backwards, until their exit at the door by
which they entered from Palace Yard.
The Duke, with his practical good-sense, antici
pating the scene of tumultuous enthusiasm which Avas
certain to occur, took care to obtain for the occasion
a Avell-trained steed from the establishment across
the river, since known as Astley's. Accordingly, an
animal of handsome appearance, and dignified de
meanour, was selected : and, a backward movement
being unusual to horses, the steed upon whom so
much honour was conferred was carefully drilled
day after day for some weeks to move in an inverse
direction round the Circus. In time he became quite
perfect ; and equally insensible to the efforts made
by persons employed to disturb his equanimity. No
amount of cheering, nor throwing up of hats, nor
noises of any kind induced the animal to swerve
from his backward path.
The great day arrived. The King was in his seat.
The Peers, and Peeresses, and everything that was
great in the Kingdom had found their proper locality
in Westminster Hall ; the noble building raised by

THE DUKE. 43
William Rufus (for his bedroom). The great doors
were throivn open ; and a sight ivhich eclipsed
all other sights enchanted the spectators. The
Champion of England in brilliant armour entered
between his supporters. Nothing could be more
imposing. The Hero of Waterloo wearing his Coronation
Robes, his Ducal Coronet placed rather forward on
his broAv, and bearing in his right hand the baton of
a Field-Marshal, bestrode with great dignity his noble
steed, duly caparisoned for the occasion. The sight
was irresistible. The Peers, Peeresses, and com
moners rose to their feet : a wild burst of cheer
ing echoed through that vast, and picturesque roof.
What was the horror of the spectators; what Avas
the dismay of the Sovereign ; and what must have
been the feelings even of that iron soul, that had
confronted death in every shape unmoved, when the
intelligent animal which he rode, assuming that the
noise was the preliminary to his turning round, as he
had been trained to do, instantly did this : aud
advanced towards the Sovereign with his head point
ing to the door by which he had entered Westminster
Hall. As children say at the end of a good story,
" What did they do then ? " Some of those in atten-

44 THE DUKE.
dance with great difficulty succeeded, to use a
sailor's expression, in "slewing" the animal round;
and possibly by dint' of holding the bridle, and
caresses, enabled the great Duke to approach
George the Magnificent, in a decorous, and dignified
manner. My father, who Avas page to the Lord High Steward,
was present on this occasion ; and Lord Lucan, who
only died in the autumn of '88, told me that he
walked up Westminster Hall Avith him ; he, Lord
Lucan, being page to Lord Lauderdale carrying the
Great Banner of Scotland.
IT HAS BEEN SAID of George IV. that he asked
Sir Walter Scott pointedly whether he was the author
of " Waverley," or not. George IV. was much too well-
bred a man to do anything of the sort. What I have
heard happened was this. At the time, when it ivas
almost universally known who the Author in question
Avas, George IV., at a dinner at Carlton House,
looking at Sir Walter Scott, said "Mr Scott : I drink
to the author of ' Waverley.' " Scott replied " I ivill
take care that your Royal Highness's toast is con
veyed to the Author." This, no doubt, originated the
silly, and slanderous story.

THE DUKE. 45
THE DUKE was a practical philosopher of the best
sort. He says himself that he had been slandered
from his boyhood ; but no amount of Calumny ever
induced him to SAverve from the straight, and wise
path. Of a far gentler nature than Frederick the
Great, he partook of some of his qualities. Frederick,
riding one day with his aide de camp, saw a crowd,
collected in a by-street of Berlin, doing their best to
read a placard posted rather beyond their sight. The
King enquired what it was. His aide de camp replied
" A scurrilous poster against your Majesty." "Oh,"
said Frederick " have it brought loAver down at once :
they cannot read it where it is." When Voltaire
wrote to him, threatening all sorts of disclosures, he
at once put his letter into the Official Gazette.
STAYING AT KNEBWORTH with the late Lord
Lytton, we drove thence to Lord Salisbury's house at
Hatfield. In the dining room are two portraits :
at one end that of Charles XII. of Sweden, at the
other that of the Duke. I said to Lord Lytton '¦ If
I Avere Lord Salisbury, I should write under that por
trait (Charles XII.)
' A frame of adamant ; a soul of fire ;
1 No dangers daunt him ; and no labours tire/

46 THE DUKE.
and, under this (of the Duke) ' He rose
' Without one thought that Honour could oppose.' "
Lord Lytton seemed delighted : and said, " You
have improved my lines : you will see that I shall
alter them."
I cannot resist to insert, although they are, or
ought to be, familiar to every one, the beautiful
description given by the Ist Lord Lytton of the
Duke of Wellington in " The New Timon."
"Next, with loose rein, and careless canter view
Our Man of men ; the Prince of Waterloo :
O'er the firm brow the hat as firmly prest,
The firm shape rigid in the buttoned vest :
Within, the iron Avhich the fire has proved :
And the close Sparta of a mind unmoved !
# # # #
Warm if his blood ; he reasons while he glows :
Admits the Pleasure ; ne'er the Folly knoivs.
If for our Mars his snare had Vulcan set,
He had won the Venus ; but escaped the net.
# # # #
Yet oh ! how fe\v his faults, how pure his mind
Beside his fellow-conquerors of Mankind :

THE DUKE. 47
Hoav Knightly seems the iron visage shoAvn
By Marlborough's tomb; or lost Napoleon's throne !
Cold if his lips, no smile of fraud they Avear :
Stern if his heart, still ' Man ' is graven there :
No guile, no crime his step to Greatness made :
No Freedom trampled : and no Trust betrayed :
The eternal ' I ' was not his law : he rose
Without one art that honour might oppose."
I asked Lord Lytton, on the same day, Avhether
some lines that I had found many years before, Avhen
staying at Hatfield House, in a scrap-book, on the
" Amorino " in the Vatican, were not written by him.
He told me that they were not : but my recollection
of the style, and particularly of the handwriting,
induced me to suppose that he had written them ;
and forgotten the fact.
THE DUKE was perhaps the only great man we read
of, avIio was perfectly neat in his dress. He AA'as known
in Spain as " The Dandy " ; not as a term of deterior
ation : he was conspicuous, at a time when the British
Army was not Avell dressed, for the careful manner
in Avhich he wore his clothes. I never remember to
have seen him, in the morning, nor in evening Society,

48 THE DUKE.
but what he was a model of good taste in this respect.
I must not be understood to say that there was any
thing made up, or, as the French would say, "apprete."
He had the perfection of art ; for whether dressed as
soldier or civilian, he looked as if his clothes naturally
fitted him well, if I may use the term. In later years
he almost invariably wore a garment, then novel, and
known as a 'Paletot,' single-breasted, straightly cut, and
reaching to his knees; with a narrow, turn-down, collar
of the same material as the coat ; and buttoned rather
high up. His hat always with a very clean lining of
pale yellow leather, had a narrow brim, trousers usually
of grey, or " Oxford mixture," as it was called; and
his boots or shoes ivell shaped, and well blacked : he
always carried two cambric pockethandkerchiefs. On
the Ist of May, on which day all soldiers in uniform
had to wear white trousers, the Duke so appeared;
supplementing them, no doubt, by very thick draAvers.
In the evening he wore, usually, a blue tailed coat,
with velvet collar, and handsome gilt pin-buttons;
sometimes a white waistcoat ; sometimes a black one.
On great occasions black breeches, black silk stockings
and buckled shoes ; of course with the ' Garter ' below
the left knee. On ordinary occasions, and in cold
weather, black cloth pantaloons, with the ' Garter '

THE DUKE. 49
tied over them; black silk stockings, shown at the
ankle, and shoe-strings.
THE DUKE invariably wore, except in the presence
of a Foreign Sovereign, or at a Foreign Embassy,
across his Avaistcoat, only the Garter ribbon ; the Star
of the Garter on the left breast of his coat ; the Golden
Fleece of Spain, with its red ribbon pendent from his
neck; the "Fleece" itself lying upon the blue ribbon
of the Garter. The Duke ivas much too smart a
man to wear his "George'' upon his thigh. The
"George" could only just be perceived above his right
hip. The Golden Fleece ivas believed to be the one
that had been worn by the Emperor Charles V. ;
and to have been given him as a special honour.
The Duke wore round his neck a peculiar cravat,
not easy to describe. The white cambric Avas in
numerous folds in front, Avithout a bow or tie; and
was fastened into a broad buckle, several inches
deep, at the back of his neck. His silvery hair was
combed forward. I have frequently seen him standing
in a ball-room; looking on with a kind smile; evidently
pleased at seeing others happy; speaking cordially to
those who addressed him ; and certainly, to the last, in
the fullest possession of his perceptive faculties. At

So THE DUKE.
his OAvn house he played the host well ; even at his
great age showing a real knowledge of the individual ;
and a wish to please him or her.
PESTERED as he must have been all his life, with
attentions, many of them insincere, he never showed
in his manner consciousness of the annoyance.
HIS WAS A FACE vhat Avould have been picked
¦out of thousands by anyone who had read of him;
and knew his history ; and his marvellous exploits.
I never remember to have seen anyone who sur
passed him in thoroughly well bred demeanour.
With perfect Dignity, his manner was gentle in
the extreme. At the same time, I cannot imagine
Impertinence itself venturing to take the slightest
Hiberty with him.
During the last few years of his life his look was
certainly senile ; not that his mind was in any degree
affected; but, from being partially deaf, having lost
many years before, the use of one ear from the acci
dent of a cannon being discharged close to him, this ail
ment, no doubt, gave him occasionally a vacant look.
There was one man, and only one man, speaking

THE DUKE. 51
the English language, who dared to utter a vile
sneer : " I blot not my page with his name."
With infamous taste, which brought down upon
him the contempt of everyone Avhose opinion ivas
worth having, he quoted publicly, in allusion to the
Duke, Johnson's Avell-known line
" Down Marlborough's cheeks the tears of dotage
flow."
This was absolutely false. I know well those who
had intimate relations Avith the Duke to the last : he
was as acute at his extreme old age as he had ever
been. The following occurred when Lord Derby's Govern
ment was formed in 1852, very shortly before the
Duke's death. A list of the new Government Avas
read to him : he being at the time Commander in
Chief. Listening carefully, he observed that the Sec
retary at War, in those days a subordinate officer,
had been omitted from the list read out. He asked
"Who is Secretary at War?" The answer, given
Avith hesitation, was " Beresford " ; this being the
notorious W. B. a noisy and foolish Irishman. The

52 THE DUKE.
Duke, Avho did not consider such an appointment
possible, thought it was his old friend, Marshal
Viscount Beresford ; and quietly remarked, " A very
old man ! "
The Duke asked Avho was Colonial Minister; the
Secretary /«- War at that time being also Minister
for the Colonies. The reply was " Pakington."
" Who ? " said the Duke in a loud voice. " Pak-
ington ; Sir John Pakington." " Never heard of the
gentleman ! " said the Duke.
Two incidents that occurred in Sir John's Naval
career always charmed me.. Sir John paid a visit to
one of the Queen's finest ships lying at Spithead.
He was accompanied by the Naval Lords of the
Admiralty, of which he was then First Lord ; and
others. Walking round the Ship in a solemn manner, with
the Captain, he overheard a Naval Lord immediately
behind him say to the First Lieutenant of the ship
" I observe your yards are not so square as they
might be." On leaving the Ship, immediately before
descending to his boat, while the Marines presented
arms, Sir John turned to the Captain, and, after
some graceful compliments as to the condition of
his ship, added in a stage whisper " There is one

THE DUKE. 53
thing I observe Captain  the only thing that I
can criticise ; and that is that your yards are not
perfectly square."
Whether the Captain was astounded by this tech
nical knowledge ; or whether he was sharp enough to
read Sir John, History does not record.
This, however, AA'as nothing to what followed. It
is the custom, it appears, Avhen the Lords of the
Admiralty visit a Man-of-War, or are in any boat con
veying them in their official capacity, for the First Lord
to steer the boat. Admiral Lord Hardwicke, a rough
and tough old salt, known in the Navy as ' Old Blow-
hard,' and the Junior Lords ofthe Admiralty, were in
the boat ; Avhich was propelled with great velocity
from Spithead to Portsmouth by a number of stalwart
oarsmen. All went well while they were in the open
sea, which was smooth ; but Sir John, whose know
ledge of boats was confined to those on a river, steer
ing on the occasion in question, and wishing to do
everything " secundum artem," at each stroke of
the oars bent forward ; as may be seen every day on
the Thames. No one interfered with him; and, as
I have said, all went well until they approached the
landing stairs. The most awful catastrophe then
ensued. Sir John, instead of giving the word, or its

54 THE DUKE.
Naval equivalent, to "back water," wishing to do the
thing correctly, said " Oars up " or " Oars in." His
ignorance of dynamics at once showed itself. The
prow of the boat struck the piles of the landing stage
with fearful force ; and the Lords of the Admiralty,
and half the crew, with Sir John Pakington on the top
of them, were precipitated into the bottom of the
boat. I have been told that Lord Hardwicke's
language was dreadful beyond belief. The pent-up
rage of the fine old seaman, who had been watching
this landsman playing his antics during the day,
fairly boiled over at this hideous disaster. Nothing
in the History of Naval Objurgation had been heard
like his expressions.
NOTHING in the Duke's life shoivs his lofty sense of
honour more than in relation to his Marriage. Some
years before his return to England from India, he had
engaged himself to a relation, the daughter of Lord
Longford. During his absence the lady had the mis
fortune, a common one in those days, to catch the
small-pox ; and was terribly disfigured by it ; so much
so that the Duke did not recognize her ivhen he met
her in Society on his return. The lady Avith true
nobleness of character, ivrote to him telling him that

THE DUKE. 55
she considered him under the circumstances of her
disfigurement absolutely free from his engagement.
Years may possibly have diminished his attachment ;
and I have never heard that it was exceptionally
strong. The Duke, however, felt that in his position,
looked up to as he was, as an example of what was
right, the fact of his breaking off the marriage, even
Avith the full sanction of his intended wife, Avould
have a very bad effect. Numerous officers in his
army were, possibly, similarly, or nearly similarly,
placed ; and, had he set the example, no doubt in
many places engagements of a serious kind would
have been broken. He accordingly married the lady ;
who was a most excellent person in every respect.
THE PHYSICAL exhaustion which the Duke had to
endure in Spain would have broken down the health
of a man of less strength. For the first three years
he never slept out of his clothes ; the hardships of his
life could hardly have been surpassed.
He always said "The worst house is better than
the best tent."
The food in Spain, which even in quiet times is very
bad, must have been execrable during his campaign.
The Duke felt that all rested upon him : that he

56 THE DUKE.
AA'as the first ; and the rest nowhere ; and that on his
mind, and, to use his own term, his "iron hand"
everything depended. Worried by the ' Juntas ' of
Portugal, and Spain ; with the overwhelming respon
sibility in relation, not only to his army but to theirs ;
surrounded by Jealousy, Envy, and their subordinate,
Malignity, it seems marvellous that any human being
could live ; and preserve his intellect unimpaired.
MANY SUPPOSE that the boot known as the "Wel
lington '' boot Avas a name. This is quite erroneous.
The Duke himself invented the boot ; and for this
good reason. He found that if, in a campaign, the
surface of the boot of a horse- or foot-soldier became
soaked with moisture, the man could neither pull it
off, nor, as an Irishman would say, pull it on again.
He therefore insisted upon the use of what is known
as the " Wellington " boot. By this means the
external trouser, or, in the Cavalry, the ' over-all,' as it
was called, absorbed the moisture, the boot itself
remaining comparatively dry. The nondescript half-
boot, known to the school-boy of our days as the
"Blucher," had merely a catch name; invented to
follow the " Wellington."
When I was at Eton there ivas the strictest sump-

THE DUKE. 57
tuary law against Avearing Wellington boots. The
result was that every boy possessed a pair : but,
not being allowed to keep them at his Tutor's or
Dame's house, they were invariably left at the boot
maker's; the first thing done by every boy after he
had "got leave" by the mouth of Dr. Hawtrey's
butler, Finmore, or
The nameless flunkey Avith the blue-plushed base,
was to go ' up-town,' and order his Wellington boots
to be sent to his rooms. This was "de rigueur;"
and I doubt Avhether any boy at Eton in those
days AA'ent ' on leave ' except in ' Wellingtons.'

HEROIC as Avas the Duke's endurance of life-long
calumny, another, and a very great trait, characterized
him. The Nonappreciation, the Misconstruction, the
Slander of which he was perpetually the object, not
only fell harmless from him : it did not embitter him. .
Many and many a man, however strong his powers of
endurance, must have had the character of his dis
position changed by such undeserved, and envenomed
animosity; but no amount of injury that was inflicted
upon him in this manner changed his noble nature.

58 THE DUKE.
His kindness of heart, his extreme benevolence to
everyone ivho sought his assistance, of whatever kind,
were not to be surpassed.

SOME OFFICER being mentioned to him as being
invariably ' in the thick ' of every fray that took place,
and this officer being recommended to him for Com
mand, the Duke quietly said " I prefer to appoint an
Officer to an independent command, who keeps out
' of the thick of it ' " : knowing, of course, that an
officer could not very well superintend a fight, if he
engaged in single combat with one of the enemy.
FOR A MAN so clear-sighted as the Duke, Life could
not have offered many enjoyments. Feiv illusions
could have haunted his steady brain : the Chapter of
Mankind to all men of acute mental sight is a sad
one. Horace Walpole tells us that " Life is a
Comedy to those who think ; a Tragedy to those who
feel." The Duke probably endeavoured to treat it,
more or less, as the former.
To suppose that because he was firm he was hard is
the shallowest of blunders. Like Outalissi, in Camp
bell's beautiful Poem

THE DUKE. 59
"As lives the oak unwithered on the rock
By storms above, and barrenness below,
He scorned his oivn, who felt another's woe."
THE STORY is well known of the Commissary Avho
came to the Duke to complain of the General of his
Division. This was attributed to Picton : I have
taken the trouble to ascertain that it was of Craufurd
of whom the officer spoke. He said to the Duke
"General Craufurd, my Lord, says that if the pro
visions for his Division are not ready in time, he
will hang me. What do you advise me to do ? "
The Duke calmly replied " I strongly advise you
to obtain them ; General Craufurd, I observe, keeps
his word."

NOTHING REDOUNDED more to the credit of
that much abused monarch, George IV., than his con
sistent, and persistent regard for the Duke of Welling
ton. I believe that the King's friendship for him was
perfectly genuine. The Duke, when out of humour,
occasionally sneered at him : but George IV., through
out his whole conduct, from the beginning of the War
to his last hour, invariably showed his respect for ihe

60 THE DUKE.
Duke of Wellington. There was no jealousy towards
him, as was the case, it is to be feared, between the
previous Monarch and Lord Nelson. From the first
moment that the Prince Regent got the opportunity
of rewarding the Duke, he did so most liberally ; and
heaped Honours, Titles, and Wealth upon his most
deserving subject. He seems to have been never
so much pleased as when he was giving the Duke
something more : and it is evident that he was proud
to have the Duke of Wellington counted among his
friends. George IV. was a man of acute perceptions : it
suited the purpose of Byron, and Moore, who ought
to have been ashamed of themselves, to write down
the King ; and to turn him into ridicule : but neither
of them pretended that George IV. AA'as a fool. The
Duke latterly expressed a high opinion of his intel
lectual gifts : and indeed it is wonderful, consider
ing the selfish life which George IV. was supposed to
have lived as a young man, how he could endure,
and retain possession of his senses, the tormenting
which he underwent later, in regard to Catholic
Emancipation ; his Ministers ; and other matters.
Had he been the self-seeking Sybarite which the
Whig Poets and writer^ represented him to be, he

THE DUKE. 61
would never have taken the infinite trouble ivhich he
did to act a constitutional part, at a terribly difficult
crisis in the history of his country.
It was said of George IV. that "he hated Avith
out a cause ; and never forgave." With strong in
stincts ; and large experience of human nature ; he
probably read people through ; who little dreamed
of his powers : and although it may have appeared
to the world in general, ignorant of the facts, that he
was cynical, and heartless, it is more likely that his
alienation was brought about from some secret cause,
of which the outside world knew nothing. His con
duct to Brummell, whom he had himself selected
when a young Hussar at Brighton, appeared to be
base : but judging the character of the two men
calmly, it seems most probable that Brummell offered
the Prince some insult that it was impossible for a
man to endure. The Prince Regent, from his
position, was absolutely barred from placing himself
on a level with anyone who insulted him ; and this,
I believe that Brummell, at some time or other, did.
It is, of course, known that insanity shoived itself
in Brummell some years before his death; and,
superior in his way, as Brummell undoubtedly was,
I suspect that his head was turned by the position

62 THE DUKE.
Avhich he attained; and that on some occasion he
must have offered to his Sovereign some very gross,
and unpardonable insult.
No one can form an idea of the peculiar position
held by Monarchs. Absolutely isolated by their situ
ation; in some cases not having mixed, even in
youth, with their subjects ; utterly shut out from the
ivorld by a small circle; and totally dependent on
that circle for information; great allowances should
be made for what may appear fickleness or injustice.
George IV. as a young man mixed, of course, much
in Society ; in fact was much more a part of Society
than those who had gone before him. He was
therefore, with natural shrewdness, better able to
judge, than most of those in his position, of human
character. His friendship with the Duke remained
unchanged. Nothing can be easier for those who
have the ear of a Monarch than with " whispering
tongue to poison truth " ; and to create a prejudice,
the more lasting from its object having no means of
defending himself. No doubt George IV. 's Court
AA'as made up, in some degree, of unscrupulous
men : but I believe that, Avith the exception of
Brummell, there was never any conspicuous case of
desertion.

THE DUKE. 63
As regards Sheridan, great injustice Avas done. It
Avas supposed that George IV., having amused him
self Avith Sheridan so long as the latter was amusing,
turned his back on him, when Poverty, and Misfor
tune visited his sick bed. Nothing could be more
untrue. Public recognition of Sheridan on the part
of the King would hardly have been seemly. Sums
of money advanced to the splendid Wit for the pur
pose of Parliamentary Elections had, I fear there
is little doubt, been spent by him in other ways ;
that money was liberally and secretly sent to him
by the King is now well known.
It surprizes me that no one has investigated, nor
endeavoured to investigate the question as to what
were the personal opinions of Monarchs in history.
We know that generation after generation has lavished
Criticism, frequently Contempt, and occasionally Vi
tuperation upon those vvho have occupied thrones :
but we have had no opportunity of knoAving what
the Monarch himself thought of his contemporaries.
Entirely unable from their position to reply to Criti
cism, or Abuse; compelled to sit still while every
sort of interpretation is being put upon their acts by
those vile minds which invent, Avhere they cannot
find, vileness; one would like to hear the "Case of

64 THE DUKE.
the King," as stated by himself. Many Monarchs
have been persons of exceptional ability ; well able to
defend themselves if they had the opportunity : but
History does not record one case of the defence of a
King by himself. A few casual observations have
been handed down ; and that is all.
How much one would like to know, for instance,
George IV.'s private opinion of his slanderers. He
found Moore good company ; and he admired Byron.
He never lost an opportunity of showing kindness,
and doing what was good-natured, by both. Byron
and Moore turned upon him mercilessly. We have
never heard the disagreeable things that George IV.
might have said about them ; possibly a good many.
The gossips of each age would be delighted if
George IV. had told us the original, deep-seated
reason for his inextinguishable hatred of his wife.
One would have liked to have heard the opinions
of George III. ; who had to do, in his day, with a
great many conspicuous persons ; what he thought of
Lord Bute in his boyhood ; whether he really liked
William Pitt. One ivould like to have heard his
grandfather's opinion of Sir Robert Walpole, the
dominant spirit of England for so many years.
Queen Anne's views, clearly expressed, in relation to

THE DUKE. 65
her brother; and to the Protestant Succession; ivould
be interesting.
What would not Charles II.'s witty account of Lord
Clarendon be Avorth ?
Of James I. and his friends, the less said the
better. How gratifying it would be to knoAv from Queen
Elizabeth Avhich, on the whole, she preferred ; the
handsome, and chivalrous Essex, or the broad-
shouldered, and brutal Leicester : and Avhether she
had such another satisfactory moment in her life as
that in Avhich she endeavoured to shake the remains
of life out of old Lady Nottingham.
Edward VI. kept a diary; and we find the item
" The Lord Protector beheaded this morning." The
young King, however, was discreet ; and wrote his
memoranda in Greek characters. He cannot be
expected to have expressed what he felt, or what we
hope he felt, on the occasion of his kind uncle's death.
How interesting would be Henry VIII.'s real views
as regards the Reformation; and his position in rela
tion to Sir Thomas More ; whether Sir Thomas More
privately expressed to King Henry the opinion that
he would make an excellent head of a Christian
Church ; and whether the condemning Sir Thomas
F

66 THE DUKE.
More to the fate to which he had himself condemned
others made any difference in the personal relations
between the great Chancellor and his King. Pro
bably King Henry could have told queer stories
about Cardinal Wolsey.
Shakespeare has given us Queen Margaret's views
with regard to the Wars of the Roses ; but her me
moranda, written by herself, would have been very
interesting. I should like to have asked Edward I. whether
he had anything to say for himself in reference to
the foully barbarous execution of Sir Simon Fraser,
on Tower Hill.
To go further back : Julius Caesar gave us his
Commentaries ; but has not told us what he personally
thought of Brutus, and the Senators : whether he
believed them to be friends ; or always suspected
them to be traitors, who would sooner or later destroy
him. We should like to have heard his impartial
opinion as regards Cleopatra ; and from the last-named
Monarch to have heard her comparisons between
Augustus, and Antony. She might have told us
whether in her heart she despised the latter for giving
up a world for her sake ; and whether she did not in
reality prefer a man who did not care for her.

THE DUKE. 67
We should like to have heard from Augustus why
he banished Ovid ; a secret that has been completely
kept from mankind.
In short, there is no limit to the questions which
we should like to put to the Monarchs of the past.
NAPOLEON took a conventional, and a vulgar vieAv
of the British race. His utter Avant of just apprecia
tion brought about his ruin. He judged men accord
ing to commonplace rules. He met with a people
that was not commonplace ;
"With daring aims; Irregularly Great":
and they annihilated him.
He believed that in the field, as in politics, once
he had established a commanding position, his enemy
would yield. He found out his mistake.
Napoleon III. was far wiser : he had lived among
us ; and understood us ; and although, as a last
card, I have no doubt Avhatever that he Avould have
attacked us, it would have been his very last card;
and would have been played with great apprehen
sions for his own safety.
I HEARD from the 2nd Duke particulars of Lord
Castlereagh's end. He had heard a good deal

68 THE DUKE.
about it from his father. The Duke observed Lord
Castlereagh's behaviour at the Cabinet Council ; and,
leaving it, he went straight to Dr Bankhead, the first
Physician of that day. Not finding him at home, the
Duke returned again ; rode to. the Park; and, on his
Avay home, the Physician still being absent, wrote on
his visiting card, which I believe still exists, " Either
Lord L. is mad or I am. — W." Lord Castlereagh
had become, by his father's death, Marquess of Lon
donderry, in the Peerage of Ireland. The rest is
known : even the active treatment which Dr Bank-
head used was not sufficient to save the unfortunate
man's life. The Duke told me that his father was
absolutely certain that Lord Castlereagh had been
mad for some time ; worn out by work : and that
the horrible conspiracy, which his imagination pic
tured, was a sheer hallucination. No trace of it
whatever could be found after his death.
AN ATTEMPT was made on Sir Robert Peel's
life, ivhich has never been made public. His second
daughter, one of the most beautiful, and amiable
women that I have known, told me, that on one pub
lic, or semi-public occasion, her father and mother
were going through the City in a closed carriage.

THE DUKE. 69
Lady Peel sat on the right. The door on the right
Avas opened ; and a man presented a pistol. Seeing
that Lady Peel was in the place in ivhich he expected
to find Sir Robert, he Avithdrevv his arm ; closed
the door; and disappeared. She added that this
occurrence, which she had from her father, and
mother, had never been made known. She was
unable to recollect the precise occasion.
THE DUKE, Avhen a young man, lost a sum, im
portant for him, at play; he discouraged gambling
among officers.
Crockford's was an Institution that, I regret to say,
I never saw. The splendid palace, still existing, on
the West side of S* James's Street, was not, as is
supposed, the actual scene of Play. These grand
rooms, magnificently furnished in the style of
the Renaissance, were used for ordinary club pur
poses. The gambling room Avas in the small house,
which adjoins the building on the South. The
reason of this was that, in case an indictment had
been brought, the actual Club itself ivould not have
been sacrificed. For those Avho chose to ruin them
selves, Crockford's was no doubt a bad place ; but
for the more sensible portion of the Club, who were

7o THE DUKE.
content to lose a few hundreds for the good of the
House, it must have been charming. To find the
best society in the world under circumstances of
excitement, must have been truly delightful.
The following incident occurred at the end of
Crockford's career : I have thought it Avorthy of
being put into verse :
A CHRONICLE OF CROCKFORD'S.
The Derby is lost, and the Derby is won ;
The race of all Races has come and is gone ;
So homeward each whirls, whether loser and sad,
Or winner of " flimsies " Avith countenance glad :
When in Rome a grand Triumph enlivened the Road,
That leads to the Victor's Imperial abode,
"Via Sacra " they called it; so multitudes greet
The Winners who climb up Se James' holy Street.
" Thou art mortal!" still whispers a voice in each ear:
Some have paid for life's whistle uncommonly dear ;
As at Crockford's they glance, 'twixt a sigh and a
frown,
Some remember won money's not always one's OAvn.

- THE DUKE. 71
On the eve ofthe Derby a whisper had spread;
A ridiculous, rumour that "Crocky" was dead ;
A tale th'at had faded ere brightened the looks
Of the " Jeunesse doree " who were deep in his books.
There he sits, in a window, as four-year-old fresh ;
Rather paler than usual, but still in the flesh ;
With Nugee's best surtout ; and a faultless cravat :
Some old friends he salutes ; to some touches his hat.
No choice but to pay ; all the winners are known :
To the usurer's dovecot the " flimsies " have flown :
And the payers ne'er knew, till a twelvemonth had
sped,
That the man in the window was " Crocky," but —
dead.
ONE CHARACTER in the great European drama
of the beginning of the century has become faint : the
Archduke Charles of Austria. The Duke of Wel
lington, and Napoleon, had a very high opinion of
him. In one place the Duke says that the Archduke
excelled them both. My uncles, Sir Charles, and
General Robert Craufurd, served under him. The
former was desperately wounded on the Rhine.

72

THE DUKE.

The Archduke Charles had one extraordinary
peculiarity; not in the least the result of intem
perance : up to five o'clock in the afternoon his
intellect was splendid ; but, for some mysterious
cause, it faded out at that hour.
NAPOLEON I., though he must have faced death
often in the battle-field, could never summon sufficient
resolution to swallow a black dose ; a most horrible
trial, as everyone must admit, to a generation that
had to take them : but it seems singular that he
had not philosophy enough to go through this
abominable and, as it now seems, unnecessary horror.
IT WAS SAID in 1815, as to the letter repeated
over and over again on public buildings, "Nous
avons les 'N' mis partout."
Some one speaking of the empty chariot brought to
Paris from Sl Mark's, Venice, asked who was to
stand in it. The answer AA'as "The Emperor." "Ah !
le char l'attend." A good story murdered by Sir
Walter Scott.
Said of Charles X. in 1830, " L'ex, et lent Roi " is
not a bad pun.

THE DUKE. 73
THE DUKE FIGURED conspicuously at the Coro
nation of Her present Majesty : Canon Barham of
Sl Paul's mentions him in " Mr. Barney Maguire's "
ballad on the subject in the " Ingoldsby Legends," as
" AVellington Avalking
With his sivoord drawn, talking
To Hill, and Hardinge, haroes of great fame."
Some of the phrases in this Poem are now obscure :
it Avill save future generations trouble if I clear them
up : " The Prince of Potboys " is a delicate allusion
to Prince Putbus, the Ambassador of the King of
Prussia. " 'T would have made you crazy
To see Esterhazy
All jools from his jasey to his di'mond boots."
I remember Lord D., now Lord D. and A., Avho
knew Barham well, telling me at Christ Church that
' Jasey ' was a word invented for the rhyme ; and had
no meaning : I suggested that it was a cant name for
a wig : I have heard since that it is an ecclesiastical
ornament, worn on the breast.

74 THE DUKE.
Of another passage I have been asked the interpre
tation ;
" Och ! the Count von Strogonoff,
Sure he got prog enough,
The sly ould divil undernathe the stairs."
The meaning is as follows : Boards were placed hori
zontally behind and above the Peers' and Peeresses'
seats raised in a high slope in the North and South
Transepts : on these privileged persons ivere seated :
there were, however, no boards placed vertically,
except here and there for support : the result being
that those who put their cocked hats, swords, sand
wiches, etc., under their seats, lost them : the articles
falling in an intermittent cascade to the floor of the
Abbey below. Luncheons innumerable disappeared ;
and the incident immortalized by the Poet may no
doubt have occurred ; the individual being selected, I
suspect as a brother Poet, for the sake of the rhyme.
There were fearful articles called "portable dinners"
invented for the occasion ; which, were said to con
tain in one lozenge so much nourishment as a leg of
mutton : they drove those who were so imprudent as
to eat them, almost mad from thirst.
THE DUKE was strongly in favour of preserving the

THE DUKE. 75
army-rank of Lieutenant-Colonel for Captains in the
Guards. When asked his reason he replied : "In
case of another war I must have young officers,
about whom I know something, to command the
Second Battalions Avhich ivill be raised."
THE DUKE Avas naturally impatient of the endless
portraits that were insisted upon. He exclaimed one
day, " They have painted me in every attitude, except
standing on my head."
The numerous portraits of the Duke in the cha
racter sketches by H. B. give some idea of him ; but
not one that I have been able to find exactly repre
sents him.
THE EXPRESSION has been used, ivith a half sneer,
in relation to the Duke, of his excellent " Common
Sense." This much abused term is supposed by many
to represent a common, or ordinary quality ; the fact
being that " Common Sense " means the collective
Wisdom of generations ; which is occasionally found
concentrated in the mind of one individual ; as it was
in his. The envious majority of Mankind will not
admit the word " Wisdom " to be applied to any
human being; and they basely attribute to the term

76 THE DUKE.
"Common Sense" the meaning "which is common";
thereby hoping to disparage the glorious quality,
which ought to bear another name.
IT HAS BEEN said that Genius is an "infinite capa
city for taking pains." This seems to me to be an
error. That it is a quality which Genius possesses ;
and without which Genius cannot succeed, I have no
doubt. The Duke had it as regards War and Diplo
macy in the highest degree.
He said "If you want a thing done well, doit yourself."
THE ARMIES of great nations have been created by
individuals. This was the case Avith the conquering
armies of Pompey, and of Caesar : and, in later days,
Europe has produced the same results.
The Prussian Army was created by Frederick II. ;
the French Army was created by Napoleon ; and the
British Army owed its existence to the Duke of
Wellington. In each case a master mind had to deal
with the materials : and in each case the results were
brilliant. ONE OF THE MOST striking scenes in the dra
matic life of the Duke was that in the Theatre of

THE DUKE. 77
the University of Oxford, when he was inaugurated as
Chancellor. A spectator, who now worthily repre
sents the University in Parliament, has described the
scene to me. The Duke, sitting in his splendid robes
of black and gold as Chancellor : everyone who was
distinguished in the University about him : encom
passed by the great men who had, in some degree,
shared his glorious career; the English Prize-Poem
was recited. On the occasion every element Avas
present that could impress the hearers. The subject
of the Poem was "The Hospice of Sf Bernard"; its
author Joseph Arnould, of Wadham College. I have
the Poem, not easy to obtain, before me now. It is
of some length. There is naturally an allusion to the
passage of Mount Sl Bernard, equivocally related of
Hannibal, and Charlemagne ; really of their rival, the
Ist Napoleon. The latter is not dwelt on to any extent.
The great effect produced Avas, as is almost essen
tial, by a surprize.
The Poet, standing in the rostrum, turned slightly
to the left, in the direction of the Chancellor; and
gave these lines with marked emphasis :
" When on that field, where last the Eagle soared,
War's mightier Master wielded Britain's sword :

78 THE DUKE.
And the dark soul a World could scarce subdue
Bent to thy Genius, Chief of Waterloo 1"
bowing at the same time to the Duke. My informant
tells me that never could he have conceived a scene
of such wild enthusiasm as that which ensued.
The Undergraduates in the galleries rose to their
feet, and for five minutes continued cheering; joined,
of course, by the Masters on the floor of the Theatre :
the ladies who were present waving their handker
chiefs. There was then a pause : and the Poet
endeavoured to go on ; but he was again and again
interrupted by vociferous cheering ; in fact it seemed
as if the noise would never come to an end.
During the A\'hole of this scene the Duke sat like a
Statue ; apparently unmoved : after a time motioning
to the Poet to continue.
The Poem may be found in "Oxford Prize
Poems; 1839." The copy which I have is of
remarkable value in consequence of its containing
a Poem by John Ruskin of Ch. Ch. called " Salsette
and Elephanta," recited in 1839. It contains Poems
by some who have since played a more or less con
spicuous part in their generation : one, a Congratu
latory Address recited by E. Cardwell of Baliol ; and

.THE DUKE. 79
one recited, but not written, by Lord Maidstone,
afterwards Lord Winchilsea; author of "A Paraphrase
of the Book of Job"; and "The Tommiad." The
latter was under the impression that the lines above
quoted, relating to the Duke, were part of those
recited by him, but this was not so. It does not
state in the A'olume by whom the lines recited by
Lord Maidstone were ivritten ; but I have ascertained
that they were by D1' Bull, Avhom I remember as a
portly Canon of Ch. Ch. No matter by whom : they
are Avorthless. There is a Poem in the volume on
"The Burning of Moscow," by W. L. Seymour Fitz
gerald, of Oriel, 1835 ; another by Frederic Faber, of
University College, on the "Knights of S' John,"
1836 ; and one on "The Gipsies," by Arthur Penrhyn
Stanley, of Baliol, 1837. Of an earlier race, the
volume has " Palestine," by Reginald Heber, of
Brazenose, 1803: and, best of all, "The Belvidere
Apollo," by Henry Hart Milman, of the same College,

A STORY was told of General Grant, the great
American President and warrior, Avhich fascinated me.
General Grant was invited to dine at Apsley House
by the 2nd Duke of Wellington. A most distinguished

80 THE DUKE.
party assembled to meet him. During a pause, in
the middle of dinner, the ex- President, addressing the
Duke at the head of the table, said " My Lord,
I have heard that your father was a military man.
Was that the case?"
I HAVE DESCRIBED the review given to the
Emperor Nicholas when at Windsor in 1844. An
incident occurred during his stay at the Castle that is
worth recording. A boy told me that he had been for
a walk, "after four," on the North terrace of the
Castle. On this terrace are the windows of the low
rooms on the ground floor, at one time occupied by
my friend, and brother officer Sir Thomas Biddulph,
an important member of the Queen's Household ; and
and at an earlier period by the unfortunate Monarch,
George III. while insane; I assume because theyivere
quiet; more or less secluded from the rest of the
Castle ; and easily accessible. There is a small ledge
or ramp, which would enable anyone, as it enabled
me after hearing the story, to look into these rooms.
The boy told me that, walking along the terrace, he
heard the sound of voices, and from natural curiosity
he climbed on to this ledge; and looked in at the
window. He distinctly saw Sir Robert Peel sitting

THE DUKE. 8 1
near the fireplace ; the Emperor Nicholas walking up
and down the room ; speaking very loudly, and
gesticulating. This was narrated to me Avithin an
hour of the fact having occurred. It will be remem
bered that in his conversations Avith Sir Hamilton
Seymour, Avhich were published, and Avhich Sir
Hamilton Seymour subsequently repeated to me, the
Emperor Nicholas said that, Avhen in England, he
had conversed with three important members of the
Queen's Government. They ivere, no doubt, Sir
Robert Peel, the Duke of Wellington, and Lord
Aberdeen. The Emperor said that one only of the
three personages in question had agreed Avith him
with regard to his projects in the East, in which he
wished the British Government to take part. The
other two sternly refused to entertain his proposals.
I have no doubt that this conversation, half overheard
by the Eton boy, was on the subject which brought
such misfortunes upon that part of the Avorld ; and
such slaughter upon three great races.
THE FOLLOWING STORY has been told; but
I have not met with it in its absolute correctness.
The Duke of Wellington received a letter AA'hen sitting
in the House of Lords, from the eminent landscape
G

82 THE DUKE.
designer, and great authority on botanical matters,
J. C. Loudon. The Duke had lost sight of him for
some years. It was a note to this effect : " My lord
Duke : It would gratify me extremely if you would
permit me to visit Strathfieldsaye, at any time con
venient to your Grace, and to inspect the 'Waterloo
beeches.' Your Grace's faithful servant, J. C.
Loudon." The Waterloo beeches Avere trees that
had been planted immediately after the battle of
Waterloo ; as a memorial of the great fight. The
Duke read the letter twice, the writing of which was
not very clear; and, with his usual promptness and
politeness, replied as follows ; having read the signa
ture as " C. J. London," instead of "J. C. Loudon " :
" My dear Bishop of London
" It will always give me great pleasure to see you
at Strathfieldsaye. Pray come there ivhenever it suits
your convenience ; AA'hether I am at home or not.
" My servant ivill receive orders to show you so
many pairs of breeches of mine as you wish ; but
why you should wish to inspect those that I wore at
the battle of Waterloo is quite beyond the com
prehension of " Yours most truly
" Wellington."

THE DUKE. 83
This letter was received, as may be supposed, with
great surprize by the Bishop of London. He showed
it to the Archbishop of Canterbury, and to other
discreet persons : they came to the melancholy
conclusion that the great Duke of Wellington had
evidently lost his senses.
The Bishop of -London (Blomfield) declared that
lie had not Avritten to the Duke for two years ; and
to receive this extraordinary intimation puzzled the
whole Bench of Bishops.
Explanations, however, of a satisfactory kind, fol
lowed: and the friendship of these AA'orthy men Avas
not changed.
I HAVE USED colloquial titles, as it AA'Ould seem
absurd, and certainly contrary to the "manner of
speaking," to say ' the Marquess of this did that; ' or
the ' Earl of that said this.' As regards an individual
Peer, the approximate date in Sir Bernard Burke's
edition of the ' British Bible ' will indicate which of
his race he AA'as.
I KNEW the man, Avhom the Duke of Welling
ton selected as a tutor for his sons, Avell. He was
the Vicar of Brighton. His name Avas Wagner ; the

84 THE DUKE.
father of a clergyman who became subsequently a
very conspicuous member of the Ritualist party.
His character was not unlike that of the Duke : firm,
determined, calm, positive in his views, and acting
up to them. At one time there ivere symptoms of
Parochial mutiny at Brighton. Wagner AA'ould stand
no nonsense : and ultimately triumphed over the
attempts which had been made against his authority.
THE TERM, now become' a part of the language
"Circumstances over which I have no controul"
originated with the Duke of Wellington.
SOON AFTER HIS FIRST BATTLE, the great
Victory of Assaye, in ivhich, Avith three thousand
British, and some black troops, the Duke routed
over thirty thousand Maharattas, the best troops in
India, he was taken to visit a female Magician famous-
throughout Hindostan. This person presented him-
Avith a SAvord, traditionally believed to have belonged
to Genghiz Khan, the Conqueror of India. The Pro
phetess told him, at the same time, that he would be
the greatest Conqueror in the World.
This sword the Duke Avore in all his battles. It
was lost for some years. The sword Avas ultimately

THE DUKE. 85
recognized at an Auction Room, at the sale of Sir
Thomas Lawrence's effects. It was bought for thirty
shillings; and given back to the Duke; who was
delighted at its recovery.
WELLINGTON.
Before the dark Enchantress
The firm-faced Victor stands ;
Her cavern in the desert rock
'Mid India's burning sands :
" Wear this ; a mighty Conqueror's Sword,
Ay, gird it on thy thigh ;
And Avave it where it has been waved,
In the van of Victory !
" That Sabre through long years has hung ;
For never yet my soul
Has felt the presence of the Man
Red blazoned in Fate's scroll.
" Go ! Man of Men ! in Battle's storm
Raise o'er thy head the brand !
Through waves of blood, on War's proud mane
Place fearlessly thy hand !

86 THE DUKE.
" In visions on my soul that crowd
I see thy Banners fly,
Where Thunders rive the battlement,
And hide in storm the sky :
" I see thy baffled foes return,
Where Havoc strews their path ;
Where Murder and foul Rapine stalk,
And all is Fire and Death.
" Then, borne on Valour's pinions, sweep
Thy Armies to pursue ;
Thy Lion-race shall croAvn their Chief
Where the plume-stripped Eagle fleAv.
" Fame's dazzling honours deck thy breast ;
A world's RenoAvn is thine :
When thy country greets thy Glory, think
What Prophecy Avas mine !
" But brighter yet a vision glows,
Ay ! nobler yet thy Fame ;
A terror-stricken world shall call
Upon thy saving name :

THE DUKE. 87
"The Nations cast on thee their Hope ;
Their Power at thy feet ;
That Sword shall deck thee on the day,
When warring Empires meet :
" Thy Comrades Avho around thee fight
Shall fall among the slain ;
But thou shalt bear a charmed life
Upon that Northern plain.
" When through that day, that long, dark day,
The lurid clouds have spread,
A Sunburst at the evening hour
Shall blaze above thy head :
" Then, Soldier ! is thy Triumph's hour,
The hour that's sealed by Fate :
Go, Hero ! Of the Sons of Men
Most fitly called ' The Great.' "
W. F.
THE DUKE, at Waterloo, was Colonel of the Blues:
and, before a charge, said " Now, Gentlemen, for the
honour of the Household Troops."
On. that day, when the Household Cavalry Brigade
under Lord Edward Somerset was returning from a

88 THE. DUKE.
successful advance, the Duke raised his cocked hat ;
and said " Life Guards ! I thank you." I have these
AA'ords from one who was present.
THE DUKE Avas a frequent visitor when in Paris,
during the occupation, of the celebrated Madame
Craufurd ; it Avas on his return from an evening party
at her house that he was fired at ; this lady Avas the
Avife of my great grand-uncle. Mr Quentin Craufurd,
her husband, was the younger brother of my great
grandfather, Sir Alexander Craufurd ; and an Indian
Nabob. He bequeathed the Avhole of his A'ast for
tune, not to his relations, but to the grand- daughter
of Madame Craufurd, the beautiful Duchess de Gram-
mont, sister of Alfred Count d'Orsay.
Madame Craufurd was for many years one of the
principal ladies of fashion in Paris : her salon being
in the Rue d'Anjou.
THE DUKE AA'as asked by a lady if the innumerable
Caricatures ivhich had been published of him in the
course of his life had ever caused him annoyance.
He answered " Not a bit ! not a bit ! " and then ;
after a pause; "There's only one Caricature that
has ever caused me annoyance: Douro."

THE DUKE. 89
THE FRIEND and confidante of Byron, Wellington,
and Disraeli ; in constant correspondence with Em
perors and Kings; Avith intellect to appreciate the
various changes that took place in her long life in
European affairs, the volume of Sarah Lady Jersey's life
would have been priceless. " I Avas the one thing he
loved," said she, in my hearing, after the Duke's death.
I believe that at one time the Duke had great admira
tion for her half-sister, Lady Georgiana Fane, who
did not marry ; and that during the Waterloo cam
paign he took a kind interest in several young ladies;
and addressed to them letters in the same terms as
have lately been published. Of course these attach
ments Avere purely Pickwickian. The Duke Avas an
Augustus, not an Antony ; and I do not suppose that
he at any time was ever influenced in his actions by
female poiver.
The state of London society during Lady Jersey's
career can hardly be imagined now. Within the last
few years all evening entertainments on a large scale
haA'e ceased. No large houses are open : in fact the
London season, which AA'as supposed to be dying, is
now, in this respect, absolutely defunct : an earlier
change came over London society, as I have heard it
described, at the time of the Reform Bill of 1832.

90 THE DUKE.
The effect of Politics upon Society manifested itself
very soon. The most exclusive assembly in the world
was, as is well known, Almack's. I have heard that
the original Almack came from the Highlands ; that
his real name AA'as MacCall, and that it was to avoid
the odium which, in the middle of the last century,
attached to Scotchmen that he ingeniously changed his
name to Almack. I believe that the relation to the
rooms of Neil Gow, the great fiddler, who said that no
man could play with effect till he cried at his OAvn play
ing, thus began. Certain great ladies, of whom Lady
Jersey was one of the principal, Avere the Patronesses
of these balls ; and no one could receive an invitation
except by application to them. The seven battalions
that form the brigade of Guards ; and here I trust that
no reader will commit the social shibboleth of even
thinking of any troops but the Foot Guards when the
term " Guards " is used; have about 150 officers : the
reader will be surprized to learn that of this number,
many of them young and dancing men, not more
than fifteen were invited in any one year. This is the
legend : and, I believe, it is founded on truth. The
Duke of Wellington has been blamed by shalloiv people
for placing his name on the Patronesses' list. The Duke
had the good sense, wishing to attend the balls, to do

THE DUKE. 91
as other men did ; and to take his chance with
them. THE BEARSKINS of the Officers of the Guards are
usually kept in boxes, which can be opened at both
ends, in order to preserve their "raven down of dark
ness.'' The Duke, however, for some good reason,
invariably removed his bearskin from the box in which
it was put aside with his own hands : and preferring
the appearance of the head-dress when so treated,
pulled it out so as to make
" Each particular hair to stand on end."
I CAN CONCEIVE nothing more exhilarating than
to have had the opportunity of breathing the air of
good sense which surrounded the Duke.
To listen to his clearly and tersely expressed
opinions on various subjects must have been re
freshing in the highest degree : and those are much
to be envied who had these opportunities.
I HAVE READ an interesting letter written by the
Right Hon. William Windham, to General Robert
Craufurd when in Spain ; in which the Minister ex-
pressess his regret that the 30,000 men about to be

92 THE DUKE.
sent on the unfortunate expedition to Walcheren,
should not be landed in the Peninsula.
Toward the end he says : " I begin to think that
your chief (the Duke), is really possessed of military
talent ; and I am sorry that the troops will not
be placed under his command in the Peninsula.
Depend upon it no expedition can succeed, however
well organized, that is placed under the command of
such a man as the Earl of Chatham."
This prophecy ivas too sadly fulfilled.
THE DUKE'S POLITICAL CAREER is an
answer to those shallow persons Avho declare that
in Politics nothing is required beyond good sense.
To do anything well requires good sense ; whether
to paint a picture ; or to amputate a limb : and any
one attempting to do either of these things, unless they
have good sense will inevitably fail ; but the most
sensible reader, unless he be a specialist, would
hesitate to paint a picture, or even to amputate a leg.
In the former case he would only bring ridicule upon
himself; in the last he Avould inevitably cause the
death of the patient.
The government of a country such as ours, with
its political system more complicated than that of

THE DUKE. 93
any nation that ever existed, is hardly to be taken
up in middle life ; or carried on successfully by men
possessing no quality except good sense.
There is a passage in " Prince Albert's Golden
Precepts," 1862, in Avhich the Prince Consort says:
" Nobody'will tell me that Genius would not take an
incomparably higher flight, if supplied Avith the
means which knowledge can impart : or that Common
Sense does not become only truly powerful, when in
possession of the materials upon which Judgment
is to be exercised." Applied Good Sense will
do Avonders : Good Sense Avithout special know
ledge and application will not govern States. This,
however, is a notion Avhich is evidently fast dying
out. Having been an observer for many years of the
House of Commons ; its ways, and the best method
for its treatment, I should say that to influence it
requires a man of exceptional intellect, unlimited
energy, unwearied perseverance; and, above all, for
him to have made it the specialty of his life.
The Duke passed the best years of his life else
where : and, though early holding office as Secretary
for Ireland, a good seven years had been passed by
him aivay from his country.

94 THE DUKE.
That he did his best no one can doubt : that his
best was a failure few Avill hesitate to say.
THE COMMON IDEA that Napoleon called us
a " Nation of Shopkeepers " is a delusion. The
Phrase Avas never used as quoted : the term "Nation
boutiquiere " ivas used, not by Napoleon, but by
Barrere in a speech made in the National Assembly
on the subject of Lord HoAve's victory ofthe Ist June.
The speech was delivered on 28 Prairial; Monday,
June 16 ; 1794. The passage is this ; " Let Pitt then
boast of this victory to his 'Nation boutiquiere.'
Already do the English newspapers announce that
a division of our fleet has taken a Dutch convoy.
But we can tell you better neAvs. Not a day passes
but the commerce of our enemies affords us pro
visions of wealth. Here then is Avhat the French
Marine has done ; no\v that it is rid of its vermin
Nobility." The speech is to be found in " The Register of
the Times"; published 1794; page 72. Some
pages earlier, page 9, another delusion is dispelled.
The folloAving, signed by Lord HoAve, is- the " List
of French Ships captured on the ist day of June,
1794:

THE DUKE

95

' La Juste,'

So

guns;

' Sans Pareil,'

So

11

' L' America,'

74

53

' L'Achille,'

74

) >

' Northumberland,'

74

11

' LTmpetueux,'

74

1)

' Vengeur,'

74

„ : sunk al-

most immediately upon being taken

possession of";

not ivith her flag flying.

THE 2Nri DUKE was, I should say, not unlike what
his father had been in middle life : a thin, hollow face,
the configuration of the head of the same sort; but
smaller than his father's; a very pleasant, and kind
smile ; having rather the manner of an ' enfant gate ' ;
Avho, being born to everything that the Avorld can give,
did not derive much enjoyment from the gift.
As a rule, good-natured; and Avilling to go out of
his way, and to take a little trouble to do anyone a
kindness; an acute observer, and a good reader of
character. He once AA'rote to me that he had never
presumed to wear his father's sAArord.
Immediately on inheriting Apsley House he re
moved the boards ivhich had been placed on the
front railings, to prevent a crowd assembling to see

96 THE DUKE.
the ist Duke mount and dismount from his horse :
saying at the time " I don't think a crowd is ever
likely to assemble to see me get on to my horse."
He had a good seat himself on horseback ; and was
by no means unlike his father AA'hen mounted, at a
certain distance.
He once or twice said that I ought to come to
Apsley House ; and make a catalogue raisonnee of the
various objects that had belonged to his father.
Wishing, of course, not to intrude, I did not remind
him of this suggestion. I regret it now : although
pains have evidently been taken, in showing the
objects of great interest that are displayed there.
The Duke told me that the amount of manuscript
found after his father's death AA'as beyond all belief.
AS REGARDS the historical exclamation of the
Duke, " Up Guards ; and at them ! " it is too thea
trical ; and not like him. My own belief is that,
having given the general order to advance, through
his Staff Officers, he rode along the flank of the
Battalions of Guards, who were lying down by order :
the Duke probably used a Avell-known phrase, "Now
Guards: up and at 'em; up and at 'em!" just as
a school-boy would say "Up and at him !"

THE DUKE. 97
The Duke himself said he could not remember
Avhether he had said it, or not.
THE DUKE was asked Avhether he cared much about
an exceptionally good dinner; his questioner added
that Lord Douro was particularly fond of Avhat Avas
nice. The Duke replied : " I like a good dinner
when it is set before me : Douro will take the
trouble to order one." A large section of the dis
criminating portion of Mankind will answer as the
Duke. A LADY said to the Duke " I suppose, Duke, during
your life you have inspired a great deal of admiration,
and enthusiasm among women, both abroad and at
home." The Duke at once replied " Oh, yes, plenty
of that ! plenty of that ! but no ivoman ever loved
me : never in my whole life."
IT IS KNOWN that the Duke, being asked to
present the sum bequeathed to the bravest man in
the British Army, refusing it himself, selected Gene
ral Sir James Macdonnell, Avho divided the money
with Sergeant Graham, of the Coldstream Guards,
who assisted him in closing the door at the rear of
H

98 THE DUKE.
Hougomont. This shut out a party of Frenchmen ;
Avho had crept round under the Avestern wall. I
knew Sir James Macdonnell well. He carried his
recklessness, as regards fire, into old age. On one
occasion I was shooting Avith a large party in Berk
shire. The coppice was very dense ; it was difficult
to see a few yards in front. We noticed, however,
that every noAV and then a gun was fired immedi
ately in front of the line; apparently about fifteen
yards. A gentleman Avho was shooting on my right
said "Who can that be in front?" I went forward
and discovered Sir James Macdonnell. He appeared
totally regardless of the circumstance that at any
moment a charge of shot might be lodged in
the small, or rather the large, of his back. I
remonstrated with him ; but I have forgotten whe
ther he changed his position. However, he was not
shot.
THE DEPUTY QUARTER-MASTER GENE
RAL, Avho Avas in attendance on the Duke's person
at Waterloo was one of his favourite officers ; and
I believe that the Duke felt his death more than
that of anyone else. Sir William de Lancy resembled
the Duke in face ; and the idea obtained at one time

THE DUKE. 99
that the French deliberately fired at him ; under the
impression that he was the Duke of Wellington. He
was close to the Duke when killed.
The Duke, in after life, said that he could not
remember Avhether he AA'ore a cloak at Waterloo
or not. He wore one in- the early part of the day :
in the afternoon, when the weather became AA'armer,
he took it off. Sir William de Lancy, for the Duke's
convenience, was fastening the Duke's cloak on to
the front of his, Sir William's, saddle ; he being dis
mounted. At this moment he was struck fatally.
Believing that he would die in a few minutes, he
urged his attendants to leave him, and join the
battle. This heroic action, it is to be feared, cost
him his life. He was found the next morning alive ;
and lived for some days longer in Brussels. Possibly
had his wound been attended to at the moment, his
valuable life might have been spared. A sharp frost
on the night of the 18th saved many lives. Sir
William de Lancy was buried in the old cemetery at
Brussels, where I saw his grave last year; his body
has lately been transferred to the new one.
THE DUKE said that he was slandered from a boy.
Horace Walpole tells us that Calumny usually selects

100 THE DUKE.
some innocent action ; and places upon it its own
false, and foul interpretation. The more honourable
and straightforward was the Duke's career, the less
would he be appreciated by his miserable slanderers.
The Duke felt that his shoulders were broad enough;
and he disregarded his enemies, and their lies, as
being ephemeral. As he said in one place " I have
acted according to the best of my judgment; and
what the enemy says of me, and what they say of
me at home, I do not care." This was the sum
ming up of his great mind.
I VISITED APSLEY HOUSE on the 20ffl of
March 1889, by the kind permission of the Duke
of Wellington ; and made a careful and minute in
spection of all that had belonged to the great Duke.
His Orders, Batons, Swords, complimentary plate,
and splendid sets of dinner and dessert services are
admirably arranged in a room on the ground floor.
The late Duke some years ago showed them to me.
They were not then in the perfect order in which they
now are. Among the Orders there is one that is
exceptionally noticeable. The ordinary military
Cross of the Bath is of white enamel. After
Waterloo the King granted to the Duke of Welling-

THE DUKE. 101
ton and to Lord Anglesey to add to the top of the
cross a Royal Crown.
THE COLOSSAL STATUE OF NAPOLEON by
Canova, holding a small Globe in his right hand sur
mounted by a statue of Victory, is no doubt placed
in its present position, the inner hall, because there
was nowhere else to put it : its proportions dAA'arf
the house.
The Duke when he purchased the statue, of
Canova, made the obvious remark that the Globe
was much too small for the figure. Canova, with
Italian adroitness, replied " Your Grace forgets that
Great Britain is not included." (La grande Bretagne
n'y est pas comprise.)
Pompey's Statue at Rome gives a far finer idea : he
holds the Globe in his left hand ; as with disregard.
In one room on the ist floor is a portrait of Mr.
Perceval, the Prime Minister, painfully like Robes
pierre. In the same room is the well known picture
by Wilkie ofthe "Chelsea Pensioners receiving the
news of Waterloo." When this picture was first pro
duced, someone, sharper than the average, at once
detected a fault; a serious anachronism. The intelli
gent reader, to whom no doubt the print is familiar,

102 THE DUKE.
may exercise his or her ingenuity in finding out
Avhat this is. Opposite to the Wilkie is, I think, the
only poor work that Sir Edwin Landseer ever executed.
It is of Van Amburgh in a Cage of Lions : it is faulty
in almost every respect. The Lions have retained
none of their dignity : and as for Van Amburgh, he
looks as if he were stuffed with sawdust.
In the Ball Room, bringing pleasant recollections,
are some of the best pictures. At the Eastern end is
a fine portrait of Charles I. by Vandyke ; at the
opposite end an indifferent copy of a picture from
Correggio. Over the central mantelpiece is a beauti
fully soft sketch by Murillo of Isaac blessing either
Esau or Jacob. Apropos of this picture, I appealed
to my friend, an Ex-Lord Chancellor, who accom
panied me, as to whether the bequeathment could
not have been set aside. He replied " Certainly."
Looking at the beautiful Titian, of Venus, which is
in this room, I quoted Lord Byron's well known
couplet " I've seen much finer Avomen ripe and real
Than all the nonsense of their stone ideal."
The Ex-Chancellor said " Do you know of whom
Lord Byron Avrote that?" I replied in the negative.

THE DUKE. 103
He said " He wrote that of Lady Charlemont."
Lady Charlemont I knew Avell. She was by birth a
Birmingham, a descendant of a very ancient family,
the Lords Athenry. She was for many years a Lady
in Waiting to the Queen ; and certainly in old age
had traces of extraordinary beauty. I have dined
with her and Lord Charlemont in Grosvenor Street :
and have seen in their dining room the original
picture by Hogarth, " The Lady's Last Stake."
In the room in which the 1st Duke received his
guests at balls, there is a well known picture of Water
loo by Sir William Allan. I believe it was of this that
the Duke said " Very good ! not too much smoke."
The painting is supposed to be taken from Napoleon's
position ; and at the moment, ivhen his last column
was advancing. Other incidents are represented, Avhich
occurred during the day ; but certainly not at the
same time. In this room is a poor portrait of Sir
Thomas Picton; and several more or less grotesque
representations of the Duke's friends; some of whose
names have disappeared from history. Colonel Gur-
wood, the Duke's Secretary, and Editor of his Dis
patches, is there in a curious dress. It is that of
Squire to the Duke as a Knight of the Bath. In the
room used for the supper-room at the Duke's balls,

104 THE DUKE.
are several portraits of European Sovereigns, pre
sented by them to him : none of the slightest merit.
The poor Emperor of Austria ivith his red pantaloons
appears to be in the last stage of decrepitude.
Over the chimney-piece in the supper-room is a
terrible portrait of George IV., almost so tad as that
of William IV., in another room, by Wilkie. I do not
know AA'hich is the most grotesque. King William 'is
strapped down ; with enormous spurs ; and looking as
miserable as a jovial sailor ivould do in a General's
uniform. George IV. is depicted in a dress, the most
picturesque in the Avorld, if Avorn by a well-shaped
man, with a good leg and foot : these the King had ;
but Wilkie has contrived to make the portrait reA'olting.
George IV., as is well known, attended a ball at
Holyrood Palace dressed as a Highlander. His
Majesty had become corpulent at the time ; and could
hardly have "set off" the dress: but he made the
mistake of wearing a coat of the same tartan as the
kilt. This might have been done with good effect by
Prince Charles Edward, Avho was a handsome young
man; but the simplicity of the tartan material is
quite unsuited to the velvet cuffs, embroidered with
gold, Avhich George IV. added to it. The sporan is
too small and short, and should have been dark;

THE DUKE. 105
not white. The hose, of the Royal colours, red and
Avhite, are unbecoming in themselves; but instead of
reaching to three inches below the knee, as good
sense and art would dictate, they are fastened round
the centre of His Majesty's calves ; and Wilkie has
not even given him a good foot ; Avhich he certainly
had to the last. The kilt is too short : indeed it
Avould be difficult to find a much Avorse ivork of art
in the history of Portraiture ; and that is saying a
good deal.
We have all read that at a subsequent ball, also in
the Gallery of Kings at Holyrood, Sir William Curtis,
a plethoric Alderman of London, appeared also in a
kilt; to the boundless disgust of His Majesty; Avith
whose person, of course, disagreeable comparisons
were made.
The silver-gilt statue of the Duke by Alfred Count
d'Orsay in this room is good. Criticism has been passed
upon it that he has reduced the horse's flanks too much.
In this statue the Duke wears the sivord which I have
described elsewhere as having been given him in
India. The sword itself is contained in one of the
horizontal cases of swords below. It is of distinctly
Oriental character, and has a somewhat convex
scabbard.

106 THE DUKE.
Descending to the ground floor I asked if we
could see the Duke's bedroom. The housekeeper
replied that we could see it ; but that it was no
longer in the same condition in which it originally
had been. When the 2nd Duke showed me over
Apsley House, he pointed out his father's bedroom.
It could hardly be dignified by the name of room; it
Avas a closet. This closet is gone ; but I found the
precise spot where the bedstead stood. The bed was
one that had belonged to Napoleon; and was in
the style of the Empire. Anyone, in the least taller
than the Duke, could not have laid at full length
upon it ; it looked very uncomfortable : the head of
the bed was close to the half-door, which still exists,
outside which is a small balcony directly leading to
the garden. I hope that this spot may not be lost
sight of; I am perfectly certain as to the locality.
This room, in the north-Avest corner of which the
closet existed, containing the bedstead, is now known
as the " Garden Room." The rooms now built
beyond it were, I believe, at the time of my earlier
visit, occupied by the stables.
I was much struck with the excellence of the book
cases in the Library. They seemed to me not only in
refined taste; but to be admirably suited for their

THE DUKE. 107
purpose. I hope that the Duke of Wellington may
be induced to place a small label upon every item of
furniture in the house that belonged to his grand
father. It will make them priceless.
I induced my school-fell ow, Mr. Webb of NeAvstead,
to do this with the articles that had belonged to Lord
Byron, and I am pleased to knoAv that he did so.
I Avas invited to a party at Apsley House on what,
in a small way, Avas an historical occasion. It was
the first night on Avhich Disraeli Avore the Garter.
He had, of course, as Avell the broad ribbon and the
star; the latter made of magnificent diamonds pre
sented to him by Sir Richard Wallace, Avho had
inherited the star from Lord Hertford.
THE DUKE detested being helped ; not from In
gratitude ; but from two distinct feelings ; one that
he did not like to be thought, what he certainly Avas
not, decrepit ; the other that he kneAv very well that
the majority of persons who helped him simply did so
in order to be able to say that they had done so.
This was to him revolting. Standing opposite to
Apsley House in the evening in Piccadilly, when the
street was even more crowded than it is noAV, the
Duke was hesitating on the curbstone. A gentleman

108 THE DUKE.
nearly so old as himself, made some demonstration
of assisting him to cross the road ; endeavouring to
check the tide of cabs and other vehicles that Avas
setting strongly. When the Duke reached the gate
of Apsley House, he touched his hat ; and said " I
thank you, Sir." The elderly stranger immediately
uncovered : holding his hat at his knee, he addressed
the Duke as follows : " My Lord, I have passed a
long, and not uneventful life ; but never did I hope
to reach the day when I might be of the slightest
assistance to the greatest man that ever lived."
The Duke looked at him calmly; and in a voice,
not in the least choked by emotion, replied
"Don't be a damned fool !" and walked into Apsley
House. I WAS ON DUTY with the Guard of Honour of the
ist Life-Guards at the lying-in-state of the Duke at
Chelsea Hospital ; on, what Avas called, " the select
day." I believe that there were not more than
thirteen thousand persons admitted. We marched
from the Hyde Park Barracks in the early morning.
It Avas blowing a gale, from the east; and the
men Avere cloaked. We Avere ordered to ivear our
cuirasses, though dismounted; and I need hardly

THE DUKE. 109
say that a Lifeguardsman, in full uniform, and ivear-
ing a heavy cloak, is an object upon which the wind
may operate with telling effect : Avhen Ave Avere cross
ing Sloane Square I thought my squadron would be
bloAvn out to sea. However Ave weathered the gale.
The dress which the Officers Avore, possibly from being
unusual, I thought very picturesque. A broad black
silk weeper covered the front of the helmet, and
hung down the back. A black silk scarf crossed the
cuirass from the shoulder to the hip ; and our gaunt
lets, instead of being Avhite, were black. Our swords
held all day with the point downwards. The room in
which the Duke's coffin was placed was too small for
so great an occasion. A sort of bedstead lighted up
with numerous candles, sconces etc. ivas, I should
say, copied from an old print of Marlborough's Lying-
in-State. There seemed to me a want of Simplicity;
and in its place an amount of geAvgaiv which was not
in character with either the circumstances, or the man.
Being a Member of Parliament, I was not on duty
with my Regiment at the Duke's funeral : so I had
an opportunity of witnessing the Procession as well
as the Ceremony in S[ Paul's. The Course of the
Procession - was along the Mall, Constitution Hill,
Piccadilly, Pall Mall and thence westward. Contrary

iio THE DUKE.
to expectation the day Avas beautifully fine. I rode
from the Hyde Park Barracks, Avearing the uniform
of the ist Life Guards, when not on duty; and met
the procession near Buckingham Palace. I waited
near Stafford House to see them pass ; rode on ; and,
when I arrived at the foot of the Duke of York's
steps, found that what might have been a serious
difficulty had occurred. I had noticed, when going
off guard a few days before, that the little gutter
which runs to the Avest of the Duke of York's steps
in the Park, had been covered with new gravel. This
was soft : and the result, as might have been expected,
AA'as that the enormously massive car, weighing many
tons, stood still. No amount of exertion could pro
duce the slightest movement. One of the standard-
bearers, Lieutenant-Colonel Purvis, Equerry to the
Duchess of Cambridge, finding that the car was
immovable, asked me to ride back and tell the Officer
Commanding at the head of the column that the
procession must halt. I accordingly galloped off
along the Mall, through Stafford House Gate, up S'
James's Street, and along Piccadilly, telling each of
the Officers Commanding Brigades what had hap
pened. I then returned down Constitution Hill;
and was glad to find that the car had been moved ;

THE DUKE. in
and had already gone some way towards its desti
nation. Anything more impressive than the reception which
the Duke's body received cannot be imagined. Few
of the millions of London but contrived to see some
part of it. Every atom of space, that could be utilized,
was occupied. The bands at intervals played Handel's
magnificent " Dead March " ; as also Beethoven's,
" On the Death of a Hero " ; the former producing by
far the finer effect. I rode through Whitehall to the
river-steps near the House of Commons : sent back
my horse : and by the steamboat, Avhich vvas Avaiting
there, reached S' Paul's Chain. Thence I Avalked
up to the Cathedral ; finding my place among other
Members of the House of Commons, some time
before the procession arrived. The dome of the
Cathedral Avas lighted with gas ; and black curtains
had been drawn over the windows, so that the light
from above might be thrown on to the coffin ; the
remainder of the Cathedral being in gloom. Unfor
tunately for the effect the day turned out brilliant.
I remember while we were Avaiting seeing Count
Walewski, the French Ambassador, standing up con
spicuously among the diplomatic corps; so that
everyone might see him. This was no doubt done

112 THE DUKE.
at the wise suggestion of the reigning Emperor of the
French. The service, always beautiful, was Avell per
formed; and the fine chapter from the Epistle to
the Corinthians being read by the Poet Dean
Milman, the coffin was lowered; the effect of the
" Dead March " in Saul, on the organ, was very poor.
It could be scarcely heard ; the organist, by way of
being pathetic, playing it too piano. There should
have been a large band in the Cathedral to play this
glorious melody.
The following admirably written Article from the
"Times" of November i8lh, 1852, made a great
impression on me at the time.
" Before the most honourable tomb this country
can give closes over the remains of our great General
and Statesman, our old and faithful servant and
support, it is natural to pause, and cast yet another
lingering retrospect on the career about to be so
gloriously closed. Much has been written on this
fruitful theme, but few can fail to observe that the
sterling, and genuine character of the Duke of
Wellington gains more by careful, and critical
analysis than by the most brilliant bursts of rhetoric,
or best sustained flights of fancy. Let us, then, before

THE DUKE. 113
Ave give to the Past one avIio was so lately a Mighty
Presence among us, cast once more a glance over
that wondrous life, and trace out the causes of his
Greatness, and our Regret. Who can tell what Avould
have been the state of Europe, or of England during
the last half century, or at this moment, had
Arthur Wellesley never lived ; or had his fate
been cut short by the bullet, or the sabre under the
walls of Seringapatam ?
"Without the slightest personal ostentation, Avith
a simplicity of character utterly alien from display,
or egotism, such was the force of his talents, and the
vigour of his energies, that he became the life, and
soul of every transaction in ivhich he took part ; and
the prominent figure in almost every one of the long
series of historical pictures in Avhich he must always
be included. It is ever difficult to separate the
history of the Campaign from the biography of the
General, but in the campaigns of the Duke of
Wellington they become absolutely identical. Cool ;
cautious ; daring ; and indefatigable ; noAV Fabius
and now Marcellus, he preserved in either capa
city the same mind ; which Adversity could not
depress nor Prosperity elate ; the same self-sacri
ficing caution, which checked the ardour of an
1

n4 THE DUKE.
advance ; and the same firm, and unbounded re
liance in his own Genius, and in the valour of his
troops, Avhich often wrung Victory out of retreat ; and
converted a momentary disaster into a permanent
triumph. Without him there would probably have
been no Assaye : Avithout him there would certainly
have been no Waterloo. The same quick glance,
and unfaltering hardihood detected in both the pos
sibility of Victory amid the elements of danger. Yet
this daring man Avas not more daring than cautious.
The masterly retreat into Portugal; the lines of
Torres Vedras ; and the advance into the South of
France, all testify that the one quality was as natural
to him as the other. Unlike ordinary campaigners,
the whole events of the War he conducted bear the
impress of his single mind : and our interest is, in
spite of ourselves, concentrated on the General.
" Nor should it be forgotten, in estimating the
claims of this greatest of our AA'arriors to our Grati
tude and' Respect, that the Duke of Wellington
had to create the Military System under ivhich he
conquered ; and AA'hich he has bequeathed to us.
The complete system of the Commissariat which
facilitated so much the operations of his later Cam
paigns, was the creation of his untiring diligence:

THE DUKE. 115
the painful result of his unremitting labour. He
found our army a disorganized mass : he left it, at the
end of the Peninsular War, an instrument of destruc
tion as complete and efficient as Genius ever framed,
or skill ever Avielded.
" Nothing that related to the comfort of the soldier
Avas to him a matter of indifference. His method of
cooking ; the time, and manner of receiving his pay,
and many other things, which to ordinary minds
ivould appear beloAV the dignity of the heroic stature,
were objects of constant attention to him, while he
was manoeuvring in the face of a powerful and skilful
enemy ; Avas striving to animate his allies Avith his
OAvn spirit ; cajoling half a dozen obstinate, and
-intriguing Juntas ; checking the anxiety of the
English Ministry for a little bloodshed, to help them
through the Parliamentary Campaign ; advising Spain
on the treatment of her revolted colonies; and enter
ing into financial speculations to obtain funds for the
payment of his Army.
"Without this spirit, which could dare everything
and endure everything ; Avhich could grasp the
mightiest events; yetnot neglect the smallest details,
it is indeed difficult to conceive how the Peninsular
War could have been carried on to a successful ter-

n6 THE DUKE.
mination. The Duke of Wellington alone of
all whom history mentions soared superior to mere
good fortune; and impressed upon the proceedings
of the day the unvarying stamp of his own Vigilance,
and Genius. We are, therefore, justified in con
cluding that we we ivere successful because we had
him for our Commander : that he was not carried on
by an irresistible tide of events ; but made for himself
those opportunities which he knew so well how to
improve. " If this was not also the case in his Political Career,
it Avas probably because he had to deal Avith events
over which no individual mind can exercise a com
manding influence; but even here, dangers, Avhich he
could not avert were clearly foreseen ; justly appre
ciated ; and prudently met. The Simplicity, Upright
ness, and Massiveness of his character, free from all
those perplexing influences of Vanity, Passion, Irreso
lution, or Selfishness Avhich blind the vision of ordi
nary mortals, gave his firm, and impassible glance a
peculiar and inexplicable intuition into the imme
diate results of every conjuncture of affairs, civil or
military. The medium was clear, solid, and without
a flaw; and the refraction was free from distortion,
or the delusive brilliancy of prismatic colouring.

THE DUKE. 117
" A want of the imaginative faculty rendered him
it is true, a just, rather than a farsighted, observer,
but if the range of mental vision AA'as limited, the
vision within those limits AA'as exquisitely, and un
erringly correct. Like Themistocles, he could fore
see the better, and the worse : and, like him, by
the mere effort of natural Genius he could ahvays
strike out the course that ought to be adopted.
Such a power, limited as it Avas to the more imme
diate results of existing conjunctures, Avas the highest
perfection of the Practical Intellect ; had it extended
to more remote contingencies, it Avould have been,
not Intuition, but Inspiration.
" Almost the only good fortune Ave can ascribe to
this extraordinary man was, that his position in life
gave him, in common with thousands of others, Avho
are gone down to the grave unremembered, an easy
access to the sphere of Command, and Activity ; and
that his mental qualities were such as eminently
qualified him to be of the utmost service to his
country, in an age of War from without, and of
Faction and Tumult from within. If his Caution,
and Valour repeatedly saved us from the most immi
nent danger, his Wisdom, Patriotism, and Modera
tion preserved us at least as frequently from internal

u8 THE DUKE.
discord : perhaps from Revolution. The very nar
rowness of the political school in which he was
educated probably served his Country just as effec
tually as his more brilliant qualifications. A man
more desirous of Popularity, more open to Impulse,
more carried away by Imagination, and Feeling,
ivould never have obtained that hold over the minds
of the Aristocracy which the Duke of Welling
ton so frequently exerted at critical and dangerous
moments. " A AA'eak man advising concession ; a timid man
advocating conciliation ; or a vain man speaking on
the popular side, ivould have carried but little weight :
but when the strong, the bold, and single-minded
soldier counselled peace, and compromise, it ivould
have argued desperate rashness in the House of Peers
to have resisted the opinion of one whose Judgment
was never swayed by fear ; and whose Wisdom never
courted, nor shunned the applause of the multitude.
How often has the Duke of Wellington inter
posed betiveen his own Order and its Passions and
Prejudices! How often has the dauntless soldier
been the advocate and counsellor of Peace !
"Nothing shows more clearly the intellectual
stature of the man than the undoubted fact that,

THE DUKE. 119
boived down as he was by the unceasing toils of more
than eighty years, he was, up to the last moment of
his life, not only a mighty Memory and Glorious
Record of the heroic past, but an actual Power Avhose
existence every one kneAv ; and Avhose intervention
the Country was ready at any moment to invoke.
Having survived the Generals, the Subalterns, and the
Armies he commanded, his friends, his colleagues,
and his subordinates in office, he still remained the
Great Mediator between the conflicting powers of the
State ; the adviser of the CroAvn ; and the moderator
ofthe Peers.
" But he is gone ; suddenly, though not prema
turely, Avith his years and his honours : and where
shall Ave find the man Avho can in the slightest degree
fill the void which a Personage so august has left
behind him?
"There has been but one such subject since
England was a Monarchy ; and a wonderful com
bination of circumstances must occur before there
can be such another. We are not of those Avho
underrate the existing generation of men, in order to
render exaggerated, and often undeserved, honour to
their predecessors. There is not another actor on
the political scene whose place cannot be supplied :'

120 THE DUKE.
but never the place once filled by Arthur Wel
lesley. Truly we may say to those who Avould
treat the death of The Duke as a theme for
reviving old party dissensions; avIio contrast his
political Avith his military career; and introduce the
paltry criticism of partisanship into their estimate of
a character too vast to be held in the bonds of
faction, even as David said when they told him of
the death of Abner — ' Know ye not that a Prince,
and a Great Man has fallen this day in Israel ? ' "
AS JOHNSON has wisely said, " Patriotism," (sham
Patriotism, "the good of his country") "is the last
refuge ofthe scoundrel." The Duke's patriotism was
pure. So consummate was his Honesty that the some
what feeble question put by him "How is the King's
Government to be carried on ? " did not bring any
imputation upon his good faith.
Of course to a Statesman this question is hardly an
argument. The duty of a Statesman is to do his best
to carry on the King's Government ; and at the same
time to withstand noxious measures. The Duke ulti
mately surrendered his position in relation to any
measure ; however much he disapproved : and, won
derful to relate, he openly declared to his enemies

THE DUKE. 121
that he expected that they Avould beat him. His well
knoAvn statement in the House of Lords in relation to
Civil War was founded upon Knowledge, and Gene
rosity ; but his declaration that he ivould sacrifice his
life sooner than see his beloved country plunged into
Civil War for one month, however admirable in senti
ment, was surely Imprudence itself; at any rate it
certainly led to his defeat.
ON ONE OCCASION a member of the King's
Cabinet apologizing to the rest for not knowing so
much as many of them, the Duke turned to him ;
and said " Don't apologize : you know quite as
much as you can digest."
I HAVE ALLUDED to the saying "What a shock
ing bad hat." There was another phrase known in
my childhood ; " No mistake."
Everyone added to what they had said '' and no
mistake." " There is a fine horse, ' and no mistake ; ' "
" There is a fine woman ' and no mistake ; ' " " That
Avas a fine speech ' and no mistake ; ' " "I am quite
ready ' and no mistake ; ' " " He has got it now ' and
no mistake ; ' " etc. etc. ad infinitum.

122 THE DUKE.
This saying, apparently unmeaning, originated
in the following circumstance. Mr. Huskisson, the
eminent statesman, being a member of the Govern
ment of which the Duke was the head, voted in the
Opposition lobby, on a Division in the House of
Commons. The Duke who had no idea of Insubor
dination, Avrote to the wanderer at once to say that
the Sovereign Avould accept Mr. Huskisson's resig
nation. Mr. Huskisson Avrote back to say that he
had received the Duke's letter ; and that " there
must be some mistake." The Duke answered in his
usual terse style " There is no mistake : there has
been no mistake : and there shall be no mistake ; "
and out went Mr. Huskisson. This became known,
and gave rise to the slang saying.
I WAS INTRODUCED to the Duke by my mother
at an evening party at Lady Laura Meyrick's, 30
Curzon Street, May Fair. The Duke shook hands with
me very kindly. I leant forward and said distinctly
" Your Grace may possibly remember my father, Sir
James Fraser?" He answered "I remember him
perfectly: in the 7th Hussars." His manner, par
ticularly to young people, was always most gratifying.
He always seemed pleased : and though frequent pre-

THE DUKE. 123
sentations must have bored him, he never showed
this in his manner.
THE 1st AND 2nd Duke both had the same defect, a
most uncomfortable one ; their tongues being too large
for their mouths ; this made them both occasionally
inarticulate. The Ist Duke overcame this defect
by placing the point of the tongue so loiv down as
possible in the mouth. This gave a cavernous, and
peculiar sound. The Duke's voice Avhen addressing
the House of Lords was most sonorous ; and never to
be forgotten.
THERE IS NO SUBJECT relating to the termina
tion of the Great War, upon which more bitter things
have been said than the execution of the Prince of
the Moscowa. I have no wish here to go into the
circumstances which lead to his death ; but there was
one person who unquestionably was grossly Avronged
in the affair, and that Avas the Duke of Wellington.
All the Envy and Malice which had accumulated
during his brilliant, and honest career Avas poured
upon him at this juncture. It has been said a
hundred times that he could have saved Ney's life
had he chosen to do so. He went every possible

124 THE DUKE.
length with the King's Ministers to induce them to
spare the life of one of the bravest soldiers that ever
lived. He found his remonstrances were vain : he
then endeavoured to approach the King personally
on the subject. Louis XVIII., who knew perfectly
well what the Duke ivished, shoAved him gross rude
ness on the occasion when he attempted to ask
him to spare Ney's life; and the Duke felt that it
was impossible to do more. Foolish, shallow, and
malignant people have declared that such Avere the
obligations of Louis XVIII. to the Duke that he
must have obeyed his slightest hint. Nothing more
absurd can be conceived. The very fact of the
boundless obligations which the King of France was
under to his restorer put them upon more or less
distant terms. The 2nd Duke told me more than
once that his father said to him often that whatever
Ney deserved, he had done his utmost to prevent
his execution.
Ney's infatuation in refusing the tribunal of Marshals,
four of whom were his own comrades, and insisting
upon being tried by the House of Peers, teeming at
that time with political excitement, and rancour,
brought about his fate. In appointing the Marshals
to try him, I shall always believe that the French

THE DUKE. 125
Government wished to get out of a difficult situation ;
but in spite of the advice of his excellent, and
chivalrous friend, and advocate, Berryer, the Prince
of the Moscowa absolutely refused any tribunal but
that of the Peers. The first words that Berryer
addressed to him after the sentence were, " My poor
friend, you Avould have it so." The Duke never
in his life showed anything but a feeling of great
Humanity, great Forbearance ; and whatever he may
have thought of Ney's conduct, and let us remember
that Waterloo and its slaughter would not have taken
place had it not been for Ney's joining Napoleon,
he decidedly left no stone unturned to prevent his
death. Mr. Quentin Dick, who sat in the Irish Par
liament, and after the Union, in the English Parlia
ment for many years, whom I knew well, saAV Marshal
Ney shot ; and described the execution to me.
His laquais de place told him, on the morning of
the fatal day, that Marshal Ney was to be shot in the
Gardens of the Luxembourg; he immediately went
there. The weather was perfect ; and the gardens
Avere filled, as usual, ivith children, and nursery-maids.
He waited at the gate, where Ney's statue noiv is ;
and Avhere a wall then stood. A fiacre drove up,
containing the Marshal, an officer of Gendarmerie,,

126 THE DUKE.
and two sergeants. The four stepped out' of the
carriage. The officer beckoned to the picket of
soldiers stationed on duty at the gate. Marshal Ney
was dressed in a black surtout, Avhite neck-cloth, with
crape round his hat ; he was in mourning at the time
for (I think) his father-in-law ; dark pantaloons, and
Hessian boots. He wore no decoration. He Avas
placed against the Avail, uttered a few Avords Avhich
Mr. Quentin Dick could not hear; the picket fired;
and the Marshal fell on his face. The body was at
once placed in the fiacre; ivhich drove off; the
whole transaction not occupying three minutes. It
was all over before the nurses, and the children
could realize what had happened.
The official account is evidently a fabrication ; for it
says that the body of the late Prince of the Moscowa
was allowed, according to law, to remain a quarter of
an hour in a public thoroughfare. This, in itself, is
of course absurd. Half Paris would have been there.
I confess to have yet a lingering doubt whether Ney
was shot to death. Some years afterwards, on the
death of the Duke de Reichstadt, a gentleman residing
in North America, bearing a name which I at this
moment forget, connected ivith that of Michael Ney,
(I rather think it was his mother's name), hearing of

THE DUKE. 127
the death of Napoleon's son, exclaimed " Then my
last hope is gone." He never alluded to the sub
ject of his birth, nor history, either before or after
that moment : but there were people at the time of
his death Avho insisted that he might have been the
great soldier, the Prince of the Moscowa, and Duke
of Elchingen ; and, as he himself said while the fatal
sentence was being read to him, " Michel Ney : very
soon a few handfuls of dust." Nothing would be
more consistent with the Duke's truly great cha
racter than this willingness to bear all the abuse, the
slander, the venom, of the commonplace wretches
ivho yelled at him ; and to knoAv the whole time that
the man was not dead ; and, as a matter of Honour,
to carry the secret with him to his grave.
The 2nd Duke told me, in the same conversation,
of a scene that occurred at Windsor Castle ; a scene
very much to be regretted. Having been invited by
the Queen to dine there to meet the Emperor and
Empress of the French, Avho were on a visit, while
coffee was being handed round after dinner, the Em
peror led up to the Duke Marshal Ney's son, who was
of his suite. The latter did not know him, which
seems surprizing from the Duke's striking resem
blance to his father; and wearing his star, garter etc.

128 THE DUKE.
The Emperor said " I must introduce two great
names." The Duke made a low bow. The Emperor
observing that General Ney did not know the Duke,
whispered to him ; whereupon Marshal Ney's son
clearly indicated that he did not wish to make the
Duke's acquaintance. It seems a pity that this feeling
should continue so long ; particularly under the cir
cumstances which I have mentioned : that the Duke
not only had nothing to do with the condemnation of
the unfortunate Marshal ; but did everything to save
his life.
So determined was the King, and those about him,
to prevent the Duke having any opportunity of per
sonally asking that Ney's life should be spared, that
not only did Louis XVIII. turn his back upon the
Duke, when he approached him ; but the Comte
d'Artois placed himself between the Duke and the
King. The Duke felt this insult very much : and,
openly, and very properly, showed his resentment.
After Marshal Ney was shot, and their object Avas
attained, every effort Avas made on the part of the
French Royal Family to reconcile the Duke to the
King. The Comte d'Artois, afterwards -Charles X.,
called upon the Duke; and begged him, almost on
his knees, to visit the King. The Duke sternly

THE DUKE. 129
refused : pointing out that he knew perfectly well the
motives that had influenced the Comte d'Artois, and
others. For some time he abstained from all approach
to the Sovereign.
At length, possibly from political necessities, he
consented to an interview with the King on business ;
but I believe that he showed to the last how deeply
he felt the indignity to ivhich he had been exposed.
For the abuse lavished upon him by envious minds
he cared nothing; but I know that, to the last, he felt
deeply the base requital which he had received at the
hands of those to whom he had given a kingdom.
The 2nd Duke of Wellington told me these facts
more than once.
AMONG THOSE who joined in the cry against the
Duke was one who, for many reasons, ought to have
known better; one who had himself met with Calumny ;
and who had been socially proscribed; not because he
was wickeder than many of his accusers ; but because
he was infinitely cleverer. When Lord Byron wrote
his abusive lines on the Duke of Wellington, he dis
graced himself. They degraded him : and belied his
Genius. Lord Byron in another place had Avritten
lines that will never perish. The beautiful lines

130 THE DUKE.
" He who surpasses or subdues Mankind
Must look doAvn on the Hate of those below,"

are true.
Well might he have taken example from the Duke
as to Avhat a man's conduct should be under such
circumstances. On this, as on every other occasion of his life, the
unbending dignity of the Duke was conspicuous: and
one regrets not to have seen more of this real superi
ority in the mental characteristics of Lord Byron.
A CURIOUS INCIDENT occurred at the time
when Mr. Tylney Wellesley, afterwards 4th Earl of
Mornington, who by marrying an heiress, acquired
a number of other names, was Master of the Mint.
He caused a certain number of shillings to be struck,
on ivhich the letters " T. W." were placed on the
lower edge of the Sovereign's neck. George IV.
found this out : and was extremely angry. I believe
those shillings are at a considerable premium at this
time. I have seen one.
THE 2nd DUKE told me that in examining his

THE DUKE. 131
father's papers, of which there was an enormous
accumulation, he observed that, except in the earlier
ones, the first paragraph was not headed with the
figure 1. He conceived that this might have been
from carelessness : but he ascertained from some
memorandum that the Duke had done it intentionally.
Indeed, as a matter of good sense, any number would
be superfluous at the beginning of a document ; the
other numbers 2. 3. 4. etc., being carefully placed to
mark the separation.
I HAVE ALWAYS THOUGHT that the Duke, at
the time of the difficulty with Queen Caroline, formed
a very sound, and, I am sure, a not ill-natured opinion
relating to her. It appears from a book lately published
that so far from the Queen having been excluded from
Westminster Abbey, arrangements were made at each
door for her admission : and a pew, or reserved seat,
was kept for her. The R{ Hon. George Bankes, of
Kingston Lacy, ivho held office in Lord Derby's
Government in 1852, told me that, as a Page, he wit
nessed Avhat took place on the Queen's arrival at the
Abbey. Her carriage stopped at the small gate lead
ing to Poet's Corner, immediately opposite to the
House of Lords. The Queen, Avith her Lady-in-

1 32 THE DUKE.
Waiting, and Lord Hood, walked up the narrow pas
sage between the railings ; and at the actual door of
the Abbey Avas received by some official, whose duty
it was to inspect the tickets of persons admitted. He
said that this person may or may not have known
the Queen by sight: few people did. The official
gentleman said to the Queen "Madam, I must ask
you for your ticket." The reply was " I don't require
a ticket : I am the Queen." The official made a very
low bow; and looking at the Lady-in- Waiting said
" I must ask this lady for her ticket." None Avas pro
duced. The Queen turned to Lord Hood ; and said
" My Lord, what do you advise?" After a short pause,
Lord Hood said " I really cannot advise your Majesty."
Queen Caroline hesitated: looked distressed: then
Avalked slowly back to her carriage. The Guard of
Honour, which had received her with Royal honours,
again presented arms ; and she drove off. Not much
excitement Avas caused in the crowd. These statements
are not altogether inconsistent. Had she persevered
in going into the Abbey, a place no doubt would have
been kept for her : and I should think that the Duke's
generalship would have enabled him to take care that
no unseemly interruption of tbe august ceremony took
place.

THE DUKE. 133
AT THE TIME when every effort was being made
to enlist public sympathy with Queen Caroline, various
devices were resorted to : among others, sending
deputations to Brandenburg House, Hammersmith ;
where the Queen was residing. It was anxiously
wished to enlist the sympathies of the Scottish nation
on her side : and as a means of doing this
" Five hundred Mile Enders
Dressed up as Highlanders "
AA'ere marched to her house : and courteously received.
LORD REDESDALE told me the following story
shortly before his death. It ivas felt by the deep and
earnest portion of the population that a great effect
would be produced if the Charity Children of London
attended the Queen ; and expressed to her Majesty
their conviction that she Avas perfectly innocent. It
ivill be remembered that Lord Denman, after an elo
quent, and final harangue in defence of the Queen,
after protesting for a day that her Majesty's character
Avas spotless, terminated his speech in this remarkable
manner : he entreated the House of Lords to follow
the example of One, whose name is too sacred to be
here inserted; and implored the Peers to say to her

134 THE DUKE.
Majesty " Go, and sin no more." This excited some.
derision among his professional brothers ; however, the
passage was thought not unworthy of. being turned into
a Hymn. Accordingly the innocent children, who ivere
assembled in front of Brandenburg House, the Queen
being on the balcony, addressed her in the following
verse, set to a well-knOAvn psalm tune :
" Gracious Lady ! Ave implore
You will go, and sin no more:
Or, if the effort be too great,
Go away at any rate !"
LORD M., who is now living, has told me that he
remembers the Queen's entrance into London.
The mob surrounded her carriage ; exclaiming
vociferously "God bless your Majesty; we know you
are innocent; God bless your innocent son." This
allusion being to William Austin, who was in the
carriage. George IV. seems to have been most annoyed
by Alderman Wood sitting next to the Queen.
In her delirium before death, Queen Caroline never
alluded to her alleged accomplice.
IT HAS BEEN said of the Duke that he was asked

THE DUKE. 135
what Avere the rules for a good speaker in public : this
is a mistake. The Duke was asked Avhether he had
rules for his own speaking: he said "Only two: one is
I never speak about what I know nothing ; and the
other I never quote Latin." With his imperfect recol
lection of Latin quantities, the latter rule, as well as
the former, showed his good sense.
THE DUKE had a high opinion of Marlborough,
Avhich he generously expressed. When asked who ivas
the greatest General in history, nothing would have
been easier than to say Napoleon; the sequitur being,
of course, that he had beaten him ; and therefore that
he ivas greater. He took care to point out Iioav the
Duke of Marlborough had been thwarted by the States-
General ; and by his other Allies. When reminded
that the English Government had refused him what he
wanted, at least according to the popular impression, he
generously replied "No; they always yielded when I
pressed them."
THE DUKE escaped one great source of Envy,
Avhich accounted for some of the venom with which
Marlborough Avas attacked. The Duke Avas not a

136 THE DUKE.
beauty. Marlborough was the handsomest man of
his day. No one could possibly say of the Duke
that his Avas an ugly face; teeming Avith character,
and with good features, one would certainly put him
on the beauty side of the line.
THE DUKE had ahvays the greatest contempt for
the Avorthlessness of the public opinion of the moment.
The "ignorant present" he considered beneath
notice. He felt that he was doing, and had done, his
duty. He trusted that ultimately Justice would be
done him: and, if it were not, he could bear the
wrong philosophically.
IN THESE DAYS every thing is done by exarni-
ations. WThether the examinations prove much is a
doubtful question. They are the means of getting rid
of many candidates for the Army. I have heard it
said that a viva, voce examination is not fair upon
a young man; and that, what at Oxford ive call "paper
Avork" should be used for military examinations. I
hold exactly a contrary opinion. They say that a
young man may be unnerved by being asked questions
viva voce. That is exactly one of the things that you
wish to test. If a man has half an hour to think

7 HE DUKE. 137
how to answer a question, that is one thing. If he
is obliged to answer it instantly, it is another : no
better test could be applied as regards intellectual
nerve, ivhich a soldier requires, than a viva voce
examination ; particularly at Oxford, Avhere, in former
days, three mistakes were sufficient to turn you out of
the Schools. I sincerely hope that viva voce exami
nations will never be done away with. What is wanted
in an Officer is to have ready, and instantaneous
Resource. The Duke preferred an University graduate to all
other officers : there are several monuments in Christ
Church Cathedral to graduates killed in action.
IT IS SAID that the Duke avoided reading histories
of himself ; lest he should have to contradict them;
very possibly, this was the case ; except in instances
ivhere facts were brought officially before him.
HIS LONG RELUCTANCE to grant a Medal to
the veterans of the Peninsular War at first seems harsh.
One must suppose that he felt that the intricate
questions of individuality involved would be insuper
able. The identity of the soldiers' names, and the
A'arious, and complicated circumstances under Avhich

138 THE DUKE.
different Regiments were engaged, would no doubt
have led to very great difficulties. I believe that he
gave this as a reason for his objection. Still, it seems
a pity that when the heart of the nation was honourably,
and justly set upon this, he did not show a greater
willingness to accede to the request. The concession
was ultimately brought about entirely by the personal
exertions of the late Duke of Richmond, who deserves
every credit for fighting the battle of the Old Soldiers.
Knowing, as one does, the great value that soldiers
attach to these things, it must have been very hard for
a man, who had been through a dozen severely fought
battles in the Peninsula, to see a youth half his age,
who had smelt powder for the first time at Waterloo,
wearing a decoration ; while he, having lost possibly a
limb or an eye, should have nothing to show for his
long services.
THE DUKE no doubt was occasionally angry, and
probably with just cause, at the careless conduct of his
Regimental Officers; but their behaviour at Waterloo,
many of them never having been in action before,
roused the enthusiasm even of his philosophical
nature. He describes them behaving as if they were
playing at cricket. Most of us have read the well

THE DUKE. 139
knoAA'n passage in Montalembert, Avhere he describes
the Duke as saying "The battle of Waterloo was won
in the playing fields of Eton." The manliness of
that great school told upon his Officers.
THE DUKE said that Strathfieldsaye, which seems
to have been bought iii a hurry, in order to be pre
sented to him, would have ruined any other man.
APSLEY HOUSE, ivhich has been called "No. 1.
London," was, when purchased for the Duke, of red
brick; and belonged, I believe, to Lord Bathurst.
Like most corner houses, it is, I should say, a
cold house in the winter ; three sides being exposed :
but it is bright and cheerful; the situation very
healthy ; and easy of access to the Parks and the
west end of London generally.
NO MAN EVER EXTORTED Admiration, with
out much valuing it, more than the Duke of Wel
lington. Johnson wisely says in his preface to
Shakespeare " How easy is it to obtain Praise for
him whom no man may envy ! " The Duke's
character triumphed over this. He forced Man
kind, as it were, to their knees : and, in the end,

140 THE DUKE.
they could no more shut their eyes to his greatness
than obscure the light of the sun at noon,
I HAVE SAID that Sarah Lady Jersey ivas an
intimate friend of the Duke. Becoming Lady
Grandison in 1804, her husband succeeded to his
higher title in 1805 : from that time to the day of
her death in 1867 she was absolute Queen of London
Society. She never had a real rival. Frances Anne,
Lady Londonderry, sister-in-law of the great Castle
reagh ; and wife of a distinguished soldier, was richer;
had higher rank ; a much larger house ; and was, in
her own person, the representative of an ancient,
and wealthy family ; and devoted herself, to a great
extent, to Society. She never had such Sovereignty.
Lady Palmerston, the wife of one Prime Minister,
the sister of another ; most beautiful in her youth,
and handsome to the last, held a high position
in London Society : but from circumstances, princi
pally political, she never showed the same exclusive-
ness as Lady Jersey. Lord Palmerston being more
closely connected with our political system, she was,
of course, not so absolutely a free agent ; and, though
fastidious in her choice, she was more or less com
pelled to bend to necessity.

THE DUKE. 141
Lady Jersey never was a beauty. She had a grand
figure to the last ; never became the least corpulent ;
and, to use a common term, there was obviously no
" make up " about her. A considerable mass of grey
hair: dressed not as a young woman, but as a middle-
aged one : entirely in this, as in other things, without
Affectation, her appearance was always pleasant. No
trace of rouge, nor dye could ever be seen about her.
She had natural, simple manners, as a Grande Dame
ought to have. She seemed to take her Sovereignty
as a matter of course: to be neither vain of it; nor,
indeed, to think much about it. Very quick, and in
telligent; with the strongest sense of humour that I
have ever seen in woman ; taking the keenest delight
in a good joke ; and having, I should say, great physi
cal enjoyment of life ; yet, withal, few went through
greater family misfortunes than she did ; surviving all
her children. It would be a great mistake to suppose
that she was a person of hard, or unfeeling disposition.
I have seen her more than once under circum
stances that disproved this. I remember a day's
journey round Beauly Firth which T took ivith Evan
Baillie of Dochfour, Lady Jersey, and her daughter.
We kept up cheery conversation all day long ;
and a very amusing day it Avas. Towards evening,

142 THE DUKE.
by some chance, an allusion was made to her son,
Augustus Villiers, usually known, why I know not, as
" Jack Villiers " ; who died at Rome. From that
moment I observed " Lady Jersey's manner change.
She hardly said anything : and, leaning back in the
carriage, I saw the tears, under her veil, rolling down
her cheeks. I believe that hers was one of those
healthy, and elastic natures upon which Grief, al
though weighing heavily at the time, as with children,
does not produce a lasting impression.
Lady Jersey was very intimate with Disraeli, who
admired her intellectually, and philosophically ; and
paints her in at least one of his novels. It was
to her that the Duke gave his opinion the day
before he left the Premiership, not to return, " Oh,
ive're all right : Ave're not going out." Lady Jersey in
herited a considerable fortune and a share in Child's
bank under peculiar circumstances ; Avell known
at the time, now almost forgotten. Mr Child, the
Banker, who purchased, and furnished in the most
perfect taste, the house at Osterley Park, near Brent
ford, had an only daughter; heiress presumptive to
his wealth. Almost immediately after he had com
pleted his house, filling it with every beautiful object
that he could collect of the Taste, and Style of the

THE DUKE. 143
last century, his daughter, a most beautiful girl, eloped
with Lord Burghersh, the eldest son of the Lord
Westmorland of that day.
I can remember this smart young officer, when
very old, and totally blind, riding at a smart trot
along the crowded cliff at Brighton : he is depicted
by H.B. in his Equestrian Sketches, as " Old
Rapid." This young nobleman, an Officer in the Guards,
eloped with Miss Child for Gretna Green. The in
dignant father pursued them : so near was he to their
capture that, but for the presence of mind of Lord
Burghersh, he would have been able to prevent the
marriage. When beyond Carlisle M1' Child was ivithin
a few yards of their post-chaise ; Lord Burghersh
leaning out of the window, fired his pistol, and struck
one of the leaders of Mr Child's carriage between the
fore legs. The horse staggered; and fell: and the
couple were enabled to carry out their intention at
Gretna Green, on crossing the border.
Mr Child however, was determined that although
he could not deprive Lord Burghersh of his wife ;
he ivould effectually deprive him, and his family, of
her fortune. He accordingly settled it upon any
daughter that might be born of the marriage. The

144 THE DUKE.
daughter that was bom was Sarah Lady Jersey;
who always remained a partner in Child's bank.
Osterley is a beautiful house. I have visited it
during its occupation by Duchess William of Cleve
land; who was an excellent tenant of Lord Jersey's
for many years.
I discovered in the Library ivhich was purchased
by Mr Child about 1770, and no book of which had
apparently been touched from that time, a perfect
'Faust's Bible '; and a parchment copy in manuscript
with beautiful illuminations of Gower's " Confessio
Amantis." These most valuable books, with many
others, were lying absolutely unprotected ; and at the
mercy of any ignorant, and still more of any knowing,
and crafty, individual. I begged that my hostess
would point out the fact to the owner of the house :
and they were afterwards protected by wire net.
The Collection was sold a few years ago; and
fetched a very large sum ; the two books I have
mentioned fetching many hundreds. The furniture
in every room in the house, of which, I believe, but
very little has been removed, was the most perfect
that could be bought at the time, 1770-1780. Eveiy
carpet, curtain, lamp, bedstead etc. were in the ideal
perfection of that period ; and many very valuable

THE DUKE. 145
old pictures hang still in the bright sunny south
gallery. The walls of one large square room are
covered with beautiful French tapestry. This bears
the date. The house, as is well known, was built by
Sir Thomas Gresham : and on Queen Elizabeth visit
ing it, having at her entry remarked that it was a pity
to divide the court-yard by a wall, her Majesty, on
rising the next morning, found that her loyal subject
had removed the impediment.
I have spoken of Lady Jersey's appearance. I re
member Madame Colloredo, for many years Austrian
Ambassadress in London, speaking to me of her at
Nice soon after Lady Jersey's death. Some French
ladies were in the room ; and the conversation was
carried on in that language. She turned to them and
said " I will tell you what Lady Jersey was. A quatre-
vingt ans elle portait une robe decolletee ; et elle
n'dtait pas choquante."
More remarkable than all ; during a long life, passed
in a most scandalous age, no word was ever uttered
against her character : this I know from those who
saw her in Youth, and Prime.
LORD WELLLESLEY and the Duke of Wellington
were at the same house at Eton. The rooms were in
L

146 THE DUKE.
my day in the same state as when occupied by the
Duke. The windows looked into the garden, through
which is the path to the front door. The house stands
across the road to the right, when you enter Eton
from the Slough road.
I received the following letter from one who could
not be mistaken in the matter : "5th April, 1889.
" My dear Fraser.
"I can give you information about the Duke's
and Lord Wellesley's rooms at first hand : you are
quite right about their being the tivo rooms just inside
the door, and passage, between the boys' part and my
own part, on the first floor.
" When I was building the rooms at right angles to
the old house, I got Lord Hardinge to bring the
great Duke down to my house from the Castle; and
to point out his room.
"The Duke made at once for the recess or lobby,
on the right hand of the passage. The Duke said
' That we called " Maidens' Bower," because the
"boys' maids" sat there at ivork every afternoon.'
His, and Lord Wellesley's rooms Avere opposite that.
" Accordingly, Avhen I ivas pulling down a good

THE DUKE. 147
deal ofthe old house, I religiously preserved those two
rooms. " Further ; I was told at the time by an old Etonian
that the Duke's name had been seen in one of the
rooms cut out on some of the panelling : I searched
in vain for it.
" Thirty-five years' after that, when I was staying
with Provost Goodford at the Lodge, what should I
see in his Drawing-room but a picture of the Duke,
with a piece of a skirting board or panelling, with the
name cut on it ' Wellesley min., 1784.'
" I said to the Provost ' What does this mean ? '
' Oh,' he said, 'that board was found in the Duke's
room in your old house.' I was obliged to say,
' Provost, you have been hoaxed : that was never cut
out in 1784.' 'Why not?' said the Provost. 'Be
cause in 1784 the Duke's name was "Wesley mini
mus," not Wellesley.'
" The old Dean of Windsor, Wellesley, was dining
there : and I appealed to him. He gave it against
me ; and said he had never heard of it.
" A week later he wrote to say that he had been
talking to the 2nd Duke of Wellington, who knew
nothing of the Duke's being Wesley min. at that time.
However, ivhen he Avent to Strathfieldsaye he hunted

148 THE DUKE.
up the papers ; and found I was right. It was Lord
Wellesley ; who had changed his name five or six
years before the Duke did."
In a subsequent letter, dated 7th of April, 1889, the
same excellent authority says :
" I am grieved to say that when I last went to the
old quarters to look about, I found that the Wellesley
(or Wesley) rooms were demolished. I heard that it
was not done by the present occupant."
Unless I am very much mistaken, I saw the cutting
" Wellesley min." when I went to Eton.
THE ORIGIN of the well-deserved promotion of
Chaplain-General Gleig is interesting. The Duke
staying in a country house was, like other great
men, reluctant to go to bed early. However, he
retired with the rest of the company. Returning to
the drawing room for a book, he saw lying on the
table " The Subaltern." The Duke was pleased with
the technical accuracy, and honesty, with which this
book was written. He wrote to the publisher; and
said that as it Avas obvious that the author of " The
Subaltern " was an Officer, he would be very glad to
assist him. The publisher replied that the author
ivas a Clergyman, ivho had formerly served in a

THE DUKE. 149
Regiment of the Line; and that he held a curacy in
Kent. On the Duke becoming acquainted ivith M1'
Gleig, the latter said that he had always wished to be
made Chaplain to Chelsea Hospital. Later on this
was done : and he ultimately developed into Chap
lain-General of the Forces. I have heard him preach
occasionally at Chelsea ; and thought his style good ;
simple; terse : ivith not unfrequent apostrophic appeals
to " Soldiers ! " I cannot, hoAvever, quite forgive him
for his dullness about the Duke's bedstead, at Apsley
House. Some one remarking to the Duke that no one could
turn in such a bed, he replied " When a man begins to
turn in his bed, it is time he should turn out." Gleig
mangles this : making the Duke say " When a man
begins to turn in his bed, it is time he should get up." !
I HAVE SAID that no portrait ofthe Duke ivas like
him. I had a very interesting conversation with the
2nd Duke on this subject. He said " I agree with you
that none of the portraits of my father are like him."
I said " I cannot account for the fact of every one
representing him with hollow, 'lantern,' cheeks ; ivhere-
as his head was formed on the most beautiful lines ;
particularly the straight line from the temple to the

150 THE DUKE.
corner of the jaw : his was a fine, massive, sym
metrical head ; only fit to be sculptured in granite ;
faultless in its proportions ; a head such as you don't
see twice in your life ; such he was, when I recollect
him." The Duke replied : " Yes, you are quite right !
I will tell you all about it. You may have ob
served that my father, Avhen not speaking, had a
movement of his lips, as if he were chewing. That
arose from his artificial teeth not fitting him properly.
He lost all his back teeth early in life ; this Avas
the reason of the sunken condition of his cheeks.
It was only Avhen he was compelled to wear a set of
artificial teeth that the natural configuration of his
head returned." It is impossible to get any idea of
his appearance from any of the portraits of him that
have been done. I have examined almost every
portrait of him, whether painted or engraved ; and not
one of them represent him in the least degree such as
I can perfectly recall him.
I have an original portrait in ivatercolours of him.
I HAD THE FOLLOWING from the widow of
the excellent churchman, whose name appears in the
story. When Dr Monk was Dean of Peterborough,
the Verger of the Cathedral said to him one day, after

THE DUKE. 151
Evening Week-day Service was over, "A Gentleman
has been here this morning, Sir, who asked a great
many questions." " Who was he ? " "I don't know,
Sir." " Where did he come from ? " "I don't know,
Sir : he was on horseback ; and said to his groom :
' Take the horses outside the town ; and don't
chatter.' He went all over the Cathedral, and asked
me a great deal about all sorts of things. When he
went away, he said ' I wish your master had charge of
all the Cathedrals in England ; he'd save me a lot
of trouble, I can tell you.' " A feAv months after
Avards the Dean of Peterborough received a letter to
the following effect :
" M1' Dean : Should it suit you, I shall be glad to
recommend you to the King for the Bishopric of
Gloucester, which has recently become vacant.
Please to let me have your answer so soon as you
can. Yours faithfully " Wellington."
AN AUTHENTIC STORY is told of a certain
noble lord, Avhose name I will suppress; but who
held at one time a very important political position.
Being on duty at the Horse Guards with the Guard
of the Household Cavalry, he had occasion to write

1 52 THE DUKE.
a note to the Duke of Wellington, ivho was in the
Commander in Chief's office closely adjacent. The
Duke looked at the address; and finding himself
designated on it as " Field Martial," asked ivith sur
prize ivhere the note came from ; ivithout opening
it. He was told from the Officer commanding the
Guard of the Blues. The Duke sent the note back
Avith the intimation that Captain  had made a
mistake in the address. Another note was promptly
brought to the Duke, in which the word " Martial "
had been changed into a word, representing the senior
member of a ivell known firm in Oxford Street. This
the Duke could not stand ; and he told the story in
every direction. It is to be hoped that in these
days of examinations such an aAvful solecism is now
totally unknown. I may say that notAvithstanding
his ignorance of the humble art of etymology, the
individual in question played so successful a part in
life as anyone of his day.
THE DUKE invariably Avore such uniform as he was
entitled to, that had relation to the circumstances in
ivhich he was placed. On any Parade of the Guards
he invariably wore his dress as Colonel of the Grena
diers. The dress which, in my opinion, suited him best

THE DUKE. 153
was a Field Marshal's second dress ; that is to say,
ivith the plain blue collar and cuffs, no epaulettes, but
a handsome double aiguillette on his right shoulder ;
a gold and red sash, Avith very handsome tassels, and
the sword which I have described elsewhere Avith
eagle head, which he Avore when dismounted. When
mounted he Avore a curved scimitar. The sword given
to him in India is represented in Count D'Orsay's
spirited figure of him on horseback, now in the dining
room at Apsley House.
I believe that considerable jealousy was harboured
against him by the Duke of Cumberland, the latter a
man, I cannot help believing, of sinister character ;
and although both were Tories of the severest school,
I suspect they never were friends either politically or
socially.
THE DUKE was most peremptory as regards each
Regiment having distinctive marks : not only for
sentiment, but far more, for practical purposes. As
regards Regimental facings, and other distinctions, I
am surprized that they should have been, to a great
extent, abolished ; and for this reason ; it surely must
be desirable that each Regiment should be dis
tinguished, not by the enemy, but by the Officer

154 THE DUKE.
commanding the Division, or Brigade. The enemy at
a moderate distance cannot possibly tell the difference
between blue and green, yellow and white ; nor indeed
observe the facing, so long as it is confined to the
cuffs and collar ; whereas the General Officer can
discriminate at once; and order this or that Regiment
to perform this or that duty.
As regards the colour red, I am surprized that it is
not so much in favour now as it used to be ; the
belief that it offers a conspicuous mark to the enemy is,
I should say, more or less delusive. The effect of
Aveather upon red cloth, when exposed, is to render it
very soon, as we all know, of a violet colour. Any
fox-hunter's coat will testify to this. Again, the men's
coats being, of course, of not of a brilliant scarlet, the
colour is by no means conspicuous. In twilight red
becomes invisible sooner than any colour. The Duke,
in a dispatch from Spain, alludes to the proposal to
alter the British uniform. He says emphatically
"Whatever you do, our uniforms must not resemble
those of any foreign country." He adds " It is ab
solutely necessary that I should be able to distinguish
my Regiments of Infantry, Artillery, and Cavalry,
from the enemy's," and he gives, as an illustration,
that the unsightly and cruel short tails of the British

THE DUKE. 155
Dragoon Horse at that period, were an excellent
means of knowing his own Cavalry from that of the
enemy.WILLIAM IV. was surely right, although it caused,
as I know, in the 7"1 and many other Regiments great
annoyance, when he said that all his soldiers should be
clothed in red; altering the pelisse, but not the jacket,
of the Hussars into scarlet.
A serious disaster befell a British Regiment of In
fantry in consequence of the orders being given at
Quatre-Bras to deploy, notAvithstanding the remon
strance of its Commanding Officer to his General that
the enemy's Cavalry was near. The reply he received
from the General, who was not a British subject, was
" You need have no anxiety ; those are your own
Cavalry, Avearing blue." In a very few minutes the
unfortunate Regiment was cut up by this very body of
cavalry. Red has been hitherto the conquering colour :
surely it is worth ivhile to retain this colour : at any
rate, so long as it retains this character.
WHEN GENERAL OUDINOT besieged Rome in
1849, he received the strictest injunctions not to

156 THE DUKE.
damage any Work of Art, architectural or other, ivithin
the walls. Someone pointing out to the Duke that
General Oudinot was a very long time getting into the
Eternal City, he replied " It is not very easy to break
into a house, when you mustn't crack a window."
THE FACT that the Duke combined Honesty with
Intellect was not to be endured. Cleverness being
associated in the commonplace mind with the idea of
Roguery, it must have been very exasperating to find a
man combining transcendent Wit with absolute purity
of purpose : no wonder that the Duke, whenever
opportunity offered, was maligned.
I have said that the Duke was not a Beauty; but
he possessed the highest quality, in looks, for a man :
that of consummate Dignity : Grace being its counter
part in Woman. No one could look at the Duke and
not see that he was a born gentleman : perfectly
natural and simple in his manner ; calm philosophic
Thought, combined with unlimited Energy was shown
in his face, and in his demeanour.
DISRAELI told me that the best reading he had
ever had was the Middle Series of the Duke of Wel
lington's Dispatches; from 1819 to 1832.

THE DUKE. 157
THE HISTORY of the Duke of Wellington's Sword
ivas told to me by the 2nd Duke at a dinner party at
Lady Elizabeth Steele's, 22 Upper Brook Street.
Some time afterwards the Duke, at Apsley House,
placed the Sword in my hands, saying " That is my
father's sword which I told you about." I have
lately examined it twice in the glass case in Avhich it
lies at Apsley House. It is at present labelled " Sword
Avorn by the Duke of Wellington in the Peninsula."
It has a black scabbard with a very deep gilded cap
on the point with Eastern ornamentation ; tAvo loops
for the "carriers"; no guard whatever over the gripe.
On returning to my chambers I examined the water-
colour portrait which I have ofthe Duke, by Dighton.
The Sword which the Duke wears in that portrait is
the same as that ivhich I have just named. I also
took the opportunity of again examining in the supper-
room at Apsley House the silver-gilt statuette of the
Duke by Count d'Orsay. The same Sword is pre
cisely copied in every detail in this Statuette. I may
point out also that in my water-colour by Dighton
the sword-knot hangs over the hand, and might be
taken for a "guard"; there is no "guard" Avhatever
to this sword, which is thoroughly Eastern in character.
Wishing to be perfectly accurate on such a very in-

158 THE DUKE.
teresting matter, I will add that the sword worn by the
Duke in the indifferent portrait of him with a cloak,
telescope etc., by Sir Thomas Lawrence, is a sword of
a different character. It is apparently French; but
might be of any nation. The mounting is brass ; and
there is a slight bar as a guard for the hand. It is
curved, but of a completely different character from
the Eastern sword given to the Duke after Assaye.
Of this I am quite certain : that the Sword ivhich I
have described as such was the actual sword presented
to the Duke after the battle of Assaye.
WHEN THE ALLIED ARMIES in their smart uni
forms occupied Paris, the British soldiers appeared in
the dress in which they had fought the campaign.
This produced a great effect upon the French ; and
upon impartial spectators.
A SOLDIER BELIEVES, and the belief ought to
be encouraged, that the character of his Regiment is
the one thing that he should esteem. Some may not
care much for their own character ; and still less for
that of their family ; nor for the Army of which they
form a part ; but a real soldier, when appealed to in the
name of his Regiment, will always feel acutely if he
has disgraced it.

THE DUKE. 159
LORD ANGLESEY'S LEG was amputated at
Waterloo; in a house nearly opposite the Inn which
was then the head-quarters of the Duke. My father
was with him ; and held his hand at the time of the
amputation.
THE ORIGIN ofthe flat watches, ivhich have been
popular for several generations, is curious. When the
Allies took possession of Paris, there was, of course, a
great demand for French watches. " Breguet," and
" Le Roy " are names still famous. Up to that time
watches had been convex ; in fact they acquired the
name of " turnips " from their shape. The reason of
the change of form was this. In several foreign
armies, particularly the Russian, smart Colonels
objected to the " bulbous " appearance of watches
either in the breast of the uniform, or the "fob " ofthe
nether garments ; considering that they spoiled the
symmetry of the figure : hence came the necessity for
the watchmakers of the " Palais Royal " to contrive a
method of avoiding this difficulty ; and we have since
had the blessing, no small one, of flat watches. Let
anyone compare his father's watch with his grand
father's ; he will appreciate the change.
I have a flat watch given to my father by Lord

160 THE DUKE.
Anglesey very soon after Waterloo. It was bought
of Le Roy in 1814, and has the Earl's Coronet of
Uxbridge.
THE FATHER of my friend M. S., a North Devon
Worthy, accompanied the Duke on his visit to Antwerp,
after Waterloo. The Duke was received there, as else
where, by the multitude with ivild enthusiasm. They
clung round his horse ; and used every expression of
idolatry. The Duke took not the slightest notice :
and when his companion asked him if he was pleased,
he replied "Not in the least: if I had failed, they
would have shot me."
WHEN THE EMPEROR NICHOLAS visited the
Houses of Parliament, he called the building "Un
reve en pierre."
During the time that he was in England, one heard
nothing but the Russian Hymn, a beautiful air
arranged by his pianist Wolff: Haynes Bayly's Song
" I'd be a Butterfly," played slowly.
I REMEMBER a conversation which took place at a
dinner party at the Duke of Somerset's, the father of
the present Duke, in Park Lane. There ivere several

THE DUKE. 161
"Heroes of Waterloo" there; among them Lord
Strafford, formerly Sir John Byng, of Hougomont,
and Sir James Kempt. They spoke of the march to
Paris after Waterloo. Lord Strafford mentioned a
remark made by a very distinguished General Officer
on the road. After deploring the terrible loss of
good soldiers among the officers and men, he added
" And all this for a man who never was in love in his
life." No doubt it ivas to remove this terrible cause of
offence in the eyes of the French people that Louis
XVIII. 's Platonic intimacy Avith Madame Ducayla was
instituted. Several of the stories Avhich I have related, I heard
at the Duke of Somerset's hospitable board. His
Duchess, a Scotch lady, loved to invite the great men
of an earlier day. I may mention here a curious fact,
which neither Lord Seymour nor his brother, the
grandsons of the Duke I allude to, had ever heard.
A small balcony placed on a level with the bedroom
Avindows, at the angle of the house nearest to Oxford
Street, was removed a few years ago. None of the
family knew for what purpose that balcony was placed
there. It not only faced the Park, but also was con
tinued round the corner where there ivas no Avindow.
M

1 62 THE DUKE.
The purpose for which this balcony was erected was
to watch the executions at Tyburn Tree.
ON THE FIRST PAGE of this volume I have not
alluded to the Prince of Orange. The Prince, hold
ing the rank of full General, ivas nominally the Second
in Command; but it cannot be supposed that the Duke
Avould commit the destinies of Europe to an inexpe
rienced lad of twenty-two.
The Ist Lord Seaton, who was the Prince's Military
Secretary, but who acted with his Regiment the 52nd
at Waterloo, Spoke of him as a "growing lad." Of
exceptional bravery, ivhen severely Avounded, and
carried from the field, he took off his principal decora
tions, and handed them to the Officers ofthe Regiment
near which he fell. They still preserve them.
It has occurred to me, only as a possibility, that
Lord Seaton, then Col. Colborne, being at his elbow,
the Prince of Orange might have succeeded the Duke.
THE DUKE writing to a very intimate friend after
Waterloo says "I never had so much trouble with a
battle in my life " ; speaking of it as a man would, I
assume, of a domestic quarrel.
I have been told by two General Officers that they

THE DUKE. 163
heard the Duke say, speaking of Waterloo, "If I had
had my 'Bordeaux' army at Waterloo, I'd have swept
him off the face of the earth in two hours " ; sweeping
his closed hand across the table.
IT WAS BY THE* DUKE'S advice- that the Queen's
Palace of Westminster, better known as the Houses
of Parliament, was built where it is. A far better
position, as regards centrality and convenience, might
have been chosen on or near the site of S' James's
Palace. The Duke, however, gave advice to which
there could be no answer. He said, "With a vast
and growing population, such as yours in London, you
must never make it possible that you can be sur
rounded. You must build your House of Parliament
upon the river : so that the nieans of ingress and
-egress are safe : and that the populace cannot exact
their demands by sitting down round you." I
mentioned this fact at an interesting interview which
I had with the Emperor Napoleon III. not long
before his death. He seemed a good deal struck
with the idea ; and said twice " What Wisdom !
what Wisdom ! " It doubtless occurred to him that
the history of France might have been different,
if a similar precaution had been taken.

1 64 THE DUKE.
SPEAKING ONE DAY to Mr George Hudson,
kn.own as ' The Railway King,' a very shrewd York-
shireman, I said that I never could understand why
Lord Hardinge, though possessing ability, should
have been placed in the very high position of Com
mander in Chief. Mr Hudson replied : " The man,
Sir William, whom the Duke of Wellington chose to
be his second in a duel, is no ordinary man." This
answer seemed to me at the time to be very good
indeed : but on reflection, and reading, as I have done
carefully, the circumstances of the Duke of Welling
ton's duel with Lord Winchilsea, I came to the con
clusion that the Duke had selected Lord Hardinge
because he was one who would do what he was told.
The Duke, with his admirable shrewdness, felt that
he had head enough for any number of men. The
imputation made against the Duke was most un
worthy ; and it seems very much to be regretted that
Lord Winchilsea did not absolutely and completely
retract it. The Duke, as exceptional men do, knew
clearly where Honour stops. He felt that the im
putation made against him was not the ordinary im
putation of one Statesman against another; but that
it reflected upon his personal character. He had no
doubt that he must, and ought to resent it. He gave

THE DUKE. 165
his adversary every opportunity of retracting ; and,
according to what Lord Winchilsea's eldest son told
me, fired straight at him, when on the field.
I BELIEVE THAT the Duke of Wellington as a
boy, and young man, showed no marks of intellect.
Like many men of surpassing energy, he probably
found Latin grammar not to his taste. Indeed, I
believe that in general the greatest minds mature
latest ; and are
" MelloAved by the stealing hours of Time.''
THE ATTITUDE of the Duke, in Landseer's
picture, showing the field of Waterloo to Lady
Douro, makes him much too senile. On horseback,
he never had that appearance in the least. Landseer
evidently felt that he could not represent his face
well, and has made him turn away from the spectator.
I cannot believe that the Duke ever had a yellow stripe
down his white trousers.
THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON in a letter which
he wrote in French not long after the Battle of Water
loo, speaks of it as a " Battle of Giants " : he used the

1 66 THE DUKE.
same term in a speech which he made in the House
of Lords on the subject of the Militia Bill ; almost
the last speech, and a most excellent one, which
he ever delivered. He there said " Avowedly a
Battle of Giants."
THE DUKE'S EMOLUMENTS as Generalissimo
of the Allied Armies which occupied France after
Waterloo were enormous. It had been agreed that
these armies should remain for five years ; and it was
by his own strenuous, and utterly disinterested exer
tions that the period was reduced to three. During
this time it was suggested that the French army should
be led against Italy by the Duke. He describes this
proposal as " all nonsense."
THE DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH was older at
his first battle than the Duke at his last.
WE DO NOT KNOW the Duke's views as regards
the prudence of sending Napoleon to Elba. One is
surprized indeed that such a risk should have been
run. As regards his return from Elba, the matter has
been imperfectly reasoned upon. It is clear that, had
Napoleon waited, the Powers assembled at Vienna

THE DUKE. 167
must have come to a coolness ; if not a quarrel. The
reason of Napoleon's apparently premature return was
that his informants told him that the Family of Orleans
were intriguing for the throne. That this was true
is confirmed by the fact that on hearing that Napo
leon had landed at Frejus, Fouchd, Duke of Otranto,
the arch-intriguer, advised Louis XVI., previous to
his leaving France, to make the Duke of Orleans
Lieutenant-General of the Kingdom. This seems
very like an attempt on the Throne, developed earlier
than its projectors intended.
THE WORD " WELLINGTON " inscribed on the
Waterloo Medal is, I should say, the only case of a
man ivearing a medal bearing his own name. The
medal has not much pretension as a Avork of art ;
but is inoffensive. It is a curious illustration of the
different extrinsic values which these things possess
that it became necessary to make the Medal a
"Soldier's Necessary"; so that he would be punished
if he sold, or paAvned it. I assume that it ivas made
of silver, so that the soldier might attach more value
to it : the secret of the preservation of these things
is that the material of the article should be valueless ;
the extrinsic value priceless.

1 68 THE DUKE.
I ASSUME that to one in the position of the Duke
whose every word would be valued and repeated, it
was necessary to have a conventional courtesy of
reply, ivhich may or may not have touched his con
science. I remember perfectly at a Ball at Devonshire
House, standing at the head of the white marble stair
case when the Duke of Wellington ivalked up the stairs.
He came late : I heard a lady say " I suppose, Duke,
you have been. to see the neiv play?" the occasion
being, unless I am mistaken, the private performance
of Lord Lytton's play " Not so bad as we seem,"
for the benefit of the " Guild of Literature and Art."
The Duke replied "Yes, I have." " What did you
think of it?" "Very good indeed; very good indeed.
Capital, capital ; very good indeed." He then Avalked
on into the crowd. A few minutes later I happened
to be in the drawing-room. I heard another lady
say " Tell me, Duke, what was the play about ? "
" Couldn't hear a word : not a word." This, I feel
sure, like my Uncle Toby's oath, must have been
blotted out by the Recording Angel.
AS REGARDS THE ENVY by which he was sur
rounded until the later years of his life, he, no doubt,
took the practical view expressed by Sir Walter Scott.

THE DUKE. 169
Sir Walter compares one ivho has acquired Fame
to him who gallops through a village : all the curs
bark at him : he adds, with his usual good sense,
that should he stop to chastise each, he would not
reach the end of his journey. The Duke's coincided
with this view.
I FOUND that Mr Knox, author of novels, who
lived at Brighton, had purchased every newspaper
published on the announcement of the Duke's death.
Should my volume come into the hands of the present
owner, I should be glad to purchase the collection.
I collected the leading articles of every European
Newspaper on the announcement of the death of the
Emperor Napoleon III.
THE DUKE was one of those men whom one
cannot fancy laughing. He had a strong sense of
humour ; like all men of clear intellect.
THE DUKE did everything that was possible to
prevent plunder on the part of his troops in Spain :
if he expressed himself with occasional bitterness
about them, notwithstanding their courage, it can be
accounted for by the extreme annoyance ivhich this

170 THE DUKE.
conduct gave him. He was, however, just : he never
hesitated to praise those who, in this respect, fol
lowed his strict injunctions. He recognized the high
state of discipline in which were the Battalions of
Guards : and in several instances exempted them
from appearing on Parade, when an execution took
place, or even a reprimand was given by him to other
Regiments. In a General Order, dated Cartaxo, 3rd of
March, 181 1, in which the finding and sentence of a
General Court-Martial on a soldier for desertion and
robbery is confirmed, and the sentence, that of being
hanged until dead, ordered to be carried into execu
tion, in the presence of the troops at Cartaxo, in
order to deter others from the commission of similar
crimes, the following is the concluding paragraph :
"As during the two years during Avhich the Brigade of
Guards has been under the command of the Com
mander of the Forces not only no soldier has been
brought to trial before a General Court Martial, but
no one has been confined in a public guard, the
Commander of the Forces desires that the attendance
of the Brigade of Guards at the execution to-morrow
may be dispensed with."
IN AN EARLIER PART of this work I told the

THE DUKE. 171
story of President Grant dining at Apsley House.
I regret that I asked the 2nd Duke what really took
place. However, as the reader has had the full enjoy
ment of the story, I must now, in the interests of
-truth, state Avhat the Duke told me happened. He
said that during dinner General Grant kept trying to
get him to say what Avas the greatest number of men
that his father had commanded in the field. The
Duke added " I saw what he was at ; if I had said
forty or fifty thousand men, he would have replied,
'Well, I have commanded a hundred thousand;'
so I was determined not to answer his questions as
to this; and I succeeded."
WILLIAM IV. made an excellent change in the
dress of the army. He insisted upon the Officers of his
Regular Troops wearing Gold lace ; of the Irregular,
Silver. It appears hard that a man who has gone
round the world, and devoted his life to serving in the
most unhealthy climates, and who has been repeatedly
in action, should ivear the same uniform as one who
has never left his own County. As regards the enemy
being supposed to distinguish between the Militia
and Regular Regiments, the Militia Regiments have
always shown themselves to be quite equal to their

172 THE DUKE.
brethren in arms ; indeed more than one of the
battles in Spain was won mainly by men Avho had
just joined from the Militia. The notion that, at a
quarter of a mile, or indeed at a hundred yards, after
a little bad Aveather, the enemy could distinguish
between gold and silver lace seems ludicrous.
WHEN THE DUKE was asked about the new
conical bullet, he said " Not less than an ounce ;
or it will not break a horse's leg;" meaning, of
course, that the diameter should not be less than
that of an ounce ball. This particular advice was
not understood ; nor followed.
IT HAS BEEN SAID that the words "Glorious,"
and " Glory," do not occur in the Duke's Dispatches.
As a matter of historic truth, this is not the case.
They do occur : but the Duke never appealed to them
as an incentive to his soldiers.
AN. INSTANCE of the Duke's shrewdness,, and self-
respect occurred at the opening of the great Exhibition
of 1851, While waiting for Her Majesty to arrive, a
Chinaman, in his native costume, walked into the inner
circle of the Ministers, Court etc., and addressed the

THE DUKE. 173
Duke. The latter saw at a glance that the man was
of no importance in his own country, beckoned to
a policeman ; and had him instantly removed.
THE CROWN has no longer the power to create
Irish peers. When Disraeli was asked whether an
Irish Peerage was valuable, I heard him say "Valu
able ! why the World is governed by Irish peers ; look
at Castlereagh, and Palmerston."
AT ONE TIME much nonsense was talked as re
gards the valueless character of " Prestige" : Lord Rus
sell sneered at it. The Duke had too much good
sense to take such views. He knew that the dominant
power of England, as proved in 1815, and the Prestige
of his own name, preserved the Peace of Europe for
forty years. He was the Keystone of European Peace.
No sooner was he gone than difficulties began : and
developed into a bloody, and more or less useless,
War. Such was the'opinion held of his Wisdom, and
Honesty by European Statesmen that not one would
dare to move seriously had he objected.
WELL MIGHT be applied to the Duke the words of
the great Irish Orator in relation to Lord Chatham :

174 THE DUKE.
" The Secretary stood alone ; modern Degeneracy had
not reached him."
Well might the Duke echo the words of Lord
Chatham, " I live for the Wise and Good ; the igno
rant, and the malevolent I despise." [In a private
note to Sir Edward Wilmot, his Physician.]
HORACE WALPOLE tells us that "Life is a
Comedy to those who Think : a Tragedy to those who
Feel." The Duke probably looked upon Life from the
former point of view. His mind was healthy enough
to be able to banish, after a time, Sorrow, and Suffering.
It is impossible to conceive an Intellect such as his
to have been devoid of Sensibility ; but the iron self-
controul, which he invariably exercised, neutralized
the effect of feeling. The Sense of Duty of a Wise
Mind was the predominant, pervading characteristic
of his nature.
ON THE OCCASION of a Reference being sug
gested to a young gentleman, whose conduct to a
young lady had been compromising, the Arbitrators
proposed were the Duke of Wellington, and Count
d'Orsay. The selection was ingenious: it was not
accepted.

THE DUKE. 175
SPEAKING TO LORD WINCHILSEA, son of
the Duke's antagonist, he said " Everyone does not
know that it was I Avho recited the Address to him
at Oxford, when he was inaugurated in the Theatre."
He added " I did not write the Address ; and I
forget the man's name who wrote it." I said " How I
envy you that splendid Apostrophe ; turning to the
Duke unexpectedly, and saying
"And the stern soul the World could scarce subdue
Bowed to thy Genius, Chief of Waterloo !"
I have ascertained subsequently, that though Lord
Winchilsea did recite a Congratulatory Address to
the Duke on that occasion, it ivas not his fate to
declaim these lines. I have lately received from Sir
J. M., a graphic account of the scene. The ordinary
Prize Poem, usually known as " The Newdigate," was
on the subject of "The Hospice of Mount St. Ber
nard " : and this, of course, gave an opportunity for
describing Napoleon's traversing the mountain : but
the Apostrophe above quoted was unexpected; and
the effect was electrical. The Undergraduates rose
from their places and bufst into one roar of applause.
This was continued for several minutes. Then a

176 THE DUKE.
pause ; during which, on the Duke's motion, the Poet
endeavoured to continue his recitation; but the Under
graduates again rose ; and it seemed as if there would
never be an end to their cheering. It must have
been one of those moments never to be forgotten.
The Duke sat perfectly unmoved.
THE DUKE, as is well known, stumbled over his
" quantities." When he became Chancellor of Oxford,
a quotation from Shakespeare was appropriate ;
" Never was such a sudden scholar made " :
and I suspect that during his Eton career he did not
trouble his head much about Latin verse. Having
pronounced the word "Jacobus" short, no doubt
having heard the term Jacobite, and Jacobin used,
he was corrected; and immediately afterwards made
another blunder, making the "o" in Carolus long.
This must have excited considerable merriment in,
a Theatre full of Scholars. He made an excellent
Chancellor; and no one could have looked better
in the Cancellarial robes.
THE DUKE seems to hav$ had an indifferent opinion
of Kings in general ; and certainly had no overween-

THE DUKE. 177
ing appreciation of Louis XVIII. The latter, I believe,
had no over-cordial feeling towards the Duke.
The Bourbons showed themselves a spoiled race :
and I suspect that this was the case on their return.
Louis XVIII. was undoubtedly the cleverest of his
family ; indeed he was a man of exceptional gifts. One
trait of his Wisdom was exhibited on his death-bed.
When informed by his Physicians that he could not
live beyond a few days, the King at once sent for his
Ministers; and said to them, "I shall be dead within
a week. At once reduce the five per cents. : and shackle
the Press. The hatred ofthe middle classes (la haine
bourgeoise) will be buried in my coffin. Omit to do
this, and it will cost my successor his throne." His
orders ivere not obeyed : and we know the result.
WHEN THE DUKE was asked to what cha
racteristic of his mind he attributed his invariable
success, he replied " I attribute it entirely to the
application of good sense to the circumstances of
the moment."
THE DUKE, when in Spain, wisely allowed his Regi
mental Officers of all ranks to ride. Twaddle, of
course, would denounce this, as setting a bad example
n

178 THE DUKE.
to -the men ; and say that the Officers avoided fatigues,
which the men Avere obliged to submit to. The
Officers showed themselves, Avhen necessary, quite
capable of sharing the hardships of the men : in fact it
AA'as not unfrequent for an Officer to lend his horse to a
wounded, or fatigued man : the Duke considered that
the balance Avas in favour of their riding ; and for this
reason ; when the Regiment arrived with the men
exhausted, if the Officers had been in the same
condition, but little trouble would have been taken to
provide for the night: whereas the Regimental Officers
being comparatively fresh, they were enabled to assist,
and stimulate the men, in making themselves what
was ironically termed " comfortable for the night."
AS REGARDS political promotion, Lord Palmerston
took a thoroughly sound view. On giving an Irish
Member of Parliament (one P. S.) some small appoint
ment, a critic remarked that the Member in question
had not been sober for years. " Drunk, or sober,"
said Lord Palmerston, "I observe that he never
mistakes our lobby."
THE DUKE had no very high opinion of an over-
educated Officer; that is to say one who relied upon

THE DUKE. 179
scientific knowledge, without, having the good sense
to apply it instantly to circumstances. On one occasion
an officer was sent out to him whose reputation for
Military Science was very great. The Duke wrote
back " You have sent me A. B. He is as much fit to
be Adjutant-General of this army, as I am to be King
of England. I have always got on very well with
C D." An Oxford graduate was his favourite type.
THE DUKE, when Prime Minister, organized a
system by which he could travel rapidly between
Strathfieldsaye, and Apsley House ; which, I believe,
is called in India " a Dauk." He purchased a
¦Curricle; and he arranged for frequent relays of
post-horses along the road ; probably the most rapid
means of conveyance that could be contrived in those
days.
THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON AND CRAU
FURD did not agree particularly well. Both were
men of exceptional capacity: and the Duke knew that
Craufurd was, what was sadly wanting in the British
army, a Scientific Soldier. He had been thoroughly
.educated in his profession; in addition to having

180 THE DUKE.
great intellectual power. But he was hot-tempered :
and self-willed.
The first quality, I believe, the Duke did not
mind; but, knoAving his own surpassing Wisdom, he
felt acutely being thwarted by those beneath him. I
do not feel competent to criticise Craufurd's conduct
in relation to the bajtle of the Coa ; and, being
his nephew, I shall not presume to do so. His
reception by the Duke the following morning on
Parade is well known. "I am glad to see you safe
General Craufurd !" "I was never in danger." "Oh !
I was.'' General Craufurd, walking away, said " He's
damned crusty this morning ! " The Duke no doubt
felt that he must do one of two things, either send
General Craufurd to England ; or, if he could not
spare him, which no doubt was the case, to do nothing.
He adopted the latter course. The simple instructions
to storm Ciudad Rodrigo were carried out with the
greatest possible skill ; and General Craufurd lost his
life by placing himself in a position to see that every
thing was done with precise accuracy. He died when
in front, to the left, not only of the Storming Party,,
but of the Forlorn Hope.
The Duke visited him on his death-bed; and
Craufurd having expressed his deep regret that there

THE DUKE. 181
should have been a difference between them, the
Duke subsequently related the conversation, saying
" Craufurd talked to me as they do in a novel." The
Duke and the whole of the Staff attended General
Craufurd's funeral. One of the most striking pictures
I have ever seen was shown many years ago at the
Gallery of Illustration. Among a series of dissolving
views was one of the Duke standing alone before the
High Altar, in the Cathedral of Ciudad Rodrigo, look
ing at the coffin of General Craufurd, ivhich was
placed on a bier immediately in front of it. i
I regret very much that I did not follow up an
enquiry as to further minute particulars relating to'
the storming of Ciudad Rodrigo. My dear, and
excellent friend, the isi Lord Seaton, who com
manded the 52nd on that night, could, I have no
doubt, have told me much ; and on one occasion,
when staying at the Baierischer Hof at Munich, I sat
next to Sir George Napier at the table d'hote ; and I
cannot bear to think how much I might have learned
from him. He lost an arm on that night, and could,
doubtless, have given me numerous and valuable
details. I may, however, say more on the subject
another time. Sir James Shaw Kennedy, General
Craufurd's A.D.C., wrote me a most clear and in-

1 82 THE DUKE.
teresting account of his General's death. General
Craufurd was buried in the breach which he had
taken ; and the bastion bears the name of " Craufurd's
Bastion." I wish to place a tablet to my uncle's memory
in the Cathedral ; but his not being a member of the
Church of Rome may prevent my doing this.
LORD HILL was supposed to have had the Duke's
confidence more than any other General. He was
not, I believe, a man of very great abilities ; but had
one great merit in the eyes of the Duke : who said
" Hill does what he is told."
I remember my father saying this of him ; and it
has been said by others.
THE DUKE'S handwriting is indistinct. It is the
handwriting of a man who has written a great deal :
in fact he was always writing. One would be curious
to know what the verdict of those who read Character
from handwriting ivould be.
FROM THE TONE of. the Duke's writings and
sayings it ivould seem as if even his splendid career
had not afforded him any supreme satisfaction. The

THE DUKE. 183
consciousness of having done his duty no doubt con
soled him. It seemed hardly to have done more.
He must have felt in rising in the world the sensation
attributed to those who go up in a balloon. They
do not seem to rise : but the earth seems to sink :
as he got higher and higher in the atmosphere of
success, I should say the feeling I have described
must have prevailed in his mind.
A STORY IS TOLD of Lord William Lennox, when
serving in ' The Blues,' which may or may not be well
founded. The Cavalry Regiment at Windsor, in those
days, was paraded for Review at the back of the
Cavalry barracks, in meadows now partly built over.
Sir Charles Dalbiac, the Inspector-General of Cavalry,
on retiring with the Commanding Officer to luncheon,
desired that one of the Captains should put the Regi
ment through some simple movements in his absence.
Lord William Lennox was selected for this honour;
and before the end of the half hour, when the General
etc., returned, had succeeded, to use a technical term,
in 'clubbing' the Troops, and even the Sections,
effectually. At this critical moment Sir Charles
Dalbiac and his Staff reappeared at a distance. Lord
William showed himself not wanting in military judg-

1 84 THE DUKE.
ment. Looking at the conglomerate mass of the
Regiment, which was a complete ' olla podrida,' he
said, loud enough for the men to hear, and not
loud enough for the General, " Royal Horse Guards !
Damn your eyes! Find your places! March!" A
movement, indistinct in the distance, took place ;
and by the time the Inspecting-General arrived ' The
Blues ' Avere in perfect order.
IT HAS BEEN WISELY SAID that the man who
excels in one thing alienates half mankind ; that he
who excels in two has not a friend left. That the
Duke should be honourable, and successful, was too
much for his fellow creatures to endure. Had he
been successful, and a rogue, well and good ; or had
he been a highminded man, and failed, it might have
been pardoned. The good, old, pagan saying that
" the Gods are jealous of an honest man " is so true
now as when Jupiter, and Juno ruled the roost ; and
looked down laughingly upon the monkey tricks of
mankind.

IT HAS BEEN ASKED, with some point, what
possible firing could the Duke of Brunswick have

THE DUKE. 185
heard when seated in the "long low room," which
Byron idealises.
So far as History records, there was no firing what
ever on the night between the 15th and 16111 of
June ; "The car rattling in the stony street,"
may have suggested the idea to his imagination ;
but as the French army Avas at Charleroi ; and they
had no one to fire at (there had been fighting in the
day), this seems to be purely fanciful. It was very
remarkable, that although the firing at Waterloo was
heard in Norfolk, it was not heard by the Division of
the Army that was out of sight of the field towards
the Avest. They knew nothing till the next morning.
WATERLOO GAVE A PATENT of Nobility to
all who Avere present. So long as Britain shall exist,
a man Avho can trace his ancestry to one who fought
at Waterloo, will have a position of distinction.
PROBABLY the most popular caricatures that came
out in relation to the Duke were the set by Heath in
which the Duke figures as the man " Wot drives the
Sovereign." Another is " The Guard wot looks after

1 86 THE DUKE.
the Sovereign." The Guard (Lady C.) is made to say to
the King, " Keep your eye on them leaders, George."
WHEN LORD ANGLESEY was appointed to
command the Cavalry for the Campaign of 1815,
some one ivho was intimate with the Duke remarked
to him that he thought Lord Anglesey's appoint
ment would cause considerable scandal in London.
The Duke asked why. "Your Grace cannot have
forgotten the affair with Lady Charlotte." "Oh no !
I have not forgotten that." " That is not the only
case, I am afraid. At any rate Lord Uxbridge has
the reputation of running away with everybody he
can." The Duke calmly replied, "I'll take good care
he don't run away with me : I don't care about
anybody else." In this anecdote I have been com
pelled to soften the vigorous vernacular of the Great
Duke.
THE PRESENTATION of a flag on the morning
of the anniversaries of the great battles of Blenheim
and Waterloo is the tenure by ivhich Blenheim,
and Strathfieldsaye are held. The small, silk, gold-
fringed flags are placed in Windsor Castle. I en
quired at the shop in S' James's Street ivhich

THE DUKE. 187
supplied them, as to what precautions were taken to
ensure the delivery of the flag upon the proper days
of each year, before noon. I learnt that a man
was sent with the flag by an early train in the morn
ing : that another was kept ready in case of accident.
The Duke of Marlborough's is a white banner with
three gold fleur de lis. The Duke's flag for Strath
fieldsaye is a tricolour. After Waterloo the Duke
was allowed to add to his Coat of Arms an
' Escutcheon of Pretence,' bearing the Field, Colours,
and Crosses of the ' Union ' flag.
IT HAS BEEN SAID that Ridicule is the test of
the Sublime : it never seems to have had the slightest
effect on the reputation of the Duke. The thousands
upon thousands of caricatures which were issued for
days, weeks, months, and years, did not diminish
the respect in which he was held by the several
generations in ivhich he lived.
IN COMPARING the opportunities of the Duke
and of Napoleon the First, people seem to forget
what utterly different positions they held.
The Duke was under strict orders from home :

1 88 THE DUKE.
and had, when in Spain, very little controul over the
political intentions of the Government.
His place was to obey their orders ; and to do his
best in circumstances frequently very difficult.
He had little means of knowing what was passing
in the East of Europe.
He took his instructions from home : and as re
gards Foreign political matters, he must have been
in the dark ; or at any rate dependent entirely upon
what the Government chose to tell him. He could
no more order a conscription, nor levy troops ad
libitum, than he could fly. He had to put up with
the soldiers sent him from England ; some of whom
were, no doubt, a very bad lot ; and he was bound
to make the best of often very indifferent materials.
How completely different was the position of the
Emperor Napoleon. The Autocrat of France : hold
ing the wires, by which the mechanism was worked,
in his hands alone; perfect master of his own secrets:
well able to extort from the French Nation any num
ber of soldiers : the destiny of those soldiers being
entirely dependent upon his will, or caprice, his powers
were enormously greater than those the Duke of Wel
lington ever had.
The more we read the history of the two men the

THE DUKE. 189
more marvellous do the Duke's exploits seem. To
sweep the Armies of France before him, out of a
difficult, and mountainous country like Spain ; to pass
from Victory to Victory ; and finally to lead his con
quering army into the country of the enemy ; an
enemy grown desperate at last ; fills one with bound
less admiration.
THE DUKE did ample justice to the brilliant
courage of the French at Waterloo ; and to the skill
with which the battle was conducted on their side.
He modestly says that he has repeatedly stated this,
not for his own glorification, but with the honest
conviction that it was impossible for troops to do
more than the French did. This no doubt was
the case. Justice has hardly been done to them by
their own writers. To the French people Success is
an essential for Praise : and whether it be their
Emperor losing his throne at Sedan, or a poor
soldier who bleeds to death in a ditch, scanty praise
is given by that race to Failure.
THE EXPECTED Commander of the Cavalry at
Waterloo was Lord Combermere : the Prince Regent

I go THE DUKE.
appointed Lord Anglesey. Lord Combermere was
esteemed the best Commander of Cavalry in Europe.
One small incident in Lord Combermere's life must
have gratified him. At the time when Civilians .first
came to the conclusion that they knew a great deal
more about army matters than Soldiers, one of the
most conspicuous of them wrote to Lord Combermere
telling him that he, the writer, who held high office,
considered that the Standing Orders of the Ist Regi
ment of Life Guards, that is the Regulations that
controul the interior economy of a Regiment, Officers'
duties, etc., were unsuitable; and should be changed.
The Avriter also especially called Lord Combermere's
attention to the Standing Orders of the — th Regiment
of Cavalry of the line : and added that he thought
these latter might be adopted as a good model by
which a Regiment of Horse ought to be ruled.
Lord Combermere replied seriatim to the objections
to the Standing Orders of the Ist Life Guards of
which he was Colonel. He then added : " I have had
the honour to examine the Standing Orders of the
— th Regiment of Cavalry to ivhich you have called
my attention. I read them not only with attention,
but with interest ; for they were written entirely by
myself, when I commanded that Regiment. I consider

THE DUKE. 191
them utterly, and totally unfitted for the Ist Regiment
of Life Guards, AA'hose Colonel I have now the honour
to be."
OF ALL THE BLOWS struck of late years at the
British Army none was felt more severely than that of
taking away the Numbers of Regiments : a more
wanton affront never was put upon any set of men :
and nothing was ever felt more deeply.
It may of course be said, as it has been said, that
the Numbers of Regiments Avere changed in the last
century; and that many Battalions Avere embodied,
dis-embodied, and re-embodied. All this is true ; but
it is a poor excuse.
The Classic Time of the British Army began with
Egypt ; and ended ivith Waterloo.
This period stands absolutely apart. Their glo
rious achievements, and the splendid renown that
the British Regiments acquired during those eventful
years can never be forgotten. Its recollection in
the minds of soldiers should have been preserved
by every possible means. Every distinction, whether
by badges, facings, names of Battles on Colours,
should have been carefully preserved. Almost
every Regiment engaged in that great struggle won

1 92 THE DUKE.
some special distinction : and no one who knows
anything of a soldier's heart does not believe that
he treasures these Emblems of Tradition above every
thing. It ivould be invidious to recapitulate here the
particular honours conferred, and the Numbers of
particular Regiments who have won immortal glory.
It was a cruel act to take them away : and an absurd
one to place the names of Battles on the Colours of
a Regiment, which was not present as a Regiment, at
the action named.
Nothing would be more popular, nor more wise,
than the restoration of Numbers to the respective
Regiments. It is said that, by naming Regiments after Coun
ties, and sections of Counties, what the French call an
" Esprit du Clocher " ivill grow up. It may in time :
but it will take another War of fifteen years, and a
successful War, to give the Regiments a prestige
equal to that of 1 800-181 5.
THE DUKE particularly disliked to be treated,
spoken to, and of, merely as a Soldier. He always
resented this. I should say, that he would have
wished to be esteemed, as he was, a very great

THE DUKE. 193
Diplomatist. His perfect Honesty; and the con
viction which the chief Diplomatists of Europe held
of that rare quality, served him in excellent stead.
No doubt he and Lord Castlereagh were England's
Great Men in those days. The latter has not been
done justice to : the Duke always had a very high
opinion of him. So superlative was the good sense
of the Duke, that he triumphed over the chicanery
of others. They might well say
" His Nobleness of Spirit
O'ertops our Genius."
His powerful mind did not stoop to the paltry
manoeuvres of smaller beings. He acted on broad,
and noble principles ; and scorned the miserable
tricks used by inferiors. He lived long enough to
prove to the world his complete disinterestedness;
and the marvellous acuteness of his intellect. These
two qualities, rare in combination, brought about his
final triumph. A French Statesman of long expe
rience, hearing some disparaging remarks as to the
Duke's Simplicity in Diplomacy, said " Je connais le
Due de Wellington : e'est un Diplomate fort h
craindre : il voit tres clairement son but ; et y marche
bien droitement." The breath had scarcely left his
0

194 THE DUKE.
body when the Eastern intrigue began. No one can
doubt that had he lived the movement on the part of
Russia would not have taken place ; the Duke would
have seen at once its object ; his personal remon
strance would have checked it ; or his splendid
prowess ivould have defeated it.
I HAPPENED to be staying at the Castle in Dublin
when the 33rd Regiment, which had just received
the great distinction of bearing the name of "The
Duke of Wellington's Own," was presented with its
new Colours. I have never longed so much for the
opportunity of making a speech as on that occasion.
General D., who had just been made Colonel in Chief,
addressed a very smart Regiment, principally com
posed of well set up young men. The Colours, pre
sented by the wife of the Lord Lieutenant, bore
the Duke's arms, and his grand family motto
"Virtutis Fortuna Comes."
Even an allusion to his greatness ivould have been
something. Instead of this the poor old gentleman
could find nothing better than to say that " the Duke
was always a sober man." I am not sure that he did
not add that the Duke did not smoke. The whole

THE DUKE. 195
exhibition was dull, and disgraceful. I believe he
managed to say, that where those Colours were brave
hearts would be gathered ; which he had probably
read in a book. The next year in storming the
heights of the Alma this fine Regiment showed that
they were of the right sort ; notwithstanding the
feeble address of the General, Avho was their Colonel
in Chief.
ON THE OCCASION of the Bill of Pains and
Penalties against Queen Caroline a good deal of
rioting took place on the road to the House of
Lords. The 3rd Lord Londonderry being surrounded
by a mob, who insisted on his crying " God Save
the Queen," took off his hat ; and exclaimed " God
save Her Majesty ; and may every one of you have
a. wife like her."
Lord Brougham stated privately that he had no
doubt that Queen Caroline's mind was more or less
affected ; and that this affection took the form of an
inordinate wish to nurse infants : whenever she saw
a mother, or nurse with a child in arms, she would
order it to be brought to her house at Blackheath.
This of course gave rise to the scandals, ivhich at that
time surrounded her. As regards the parentage of

196 THE DUKE.
William Austin there could be no doubt that his
father and mother were clearly identified by the
Government ; and although prudence dictated this
step, the result was thoroughly satisfactory.
IT HAS BEEN SAID as a good illustration of the
difficulty of ascertaining facts that when the Duke at
a great Review in Hyde Park, where many thousands
of persons were looking on, fell from his horse, no
agreement could be found as to what had happened.
Some said the horse reared ; others that he ' bucked.7
Some that he laid down, and rolled upon the Duke ;
others that the Duke had a fit ; some said that it was
in going away ; others that it was soon after arriving.
No one agreed as to ivhere the fall occurred : a
large number declared that he had no fall at all.
SOON AFTER the Duke's death, Roebuck, the
Member for Sheffield, told a story in a speech at
that place, which he subsequently assured me was-
precisely true. Staying in a country house, he heard
the news of the Duke's death. He spoke, in the early
morning, to the gardener, an elderly man, who was
mowing the lawn. He said : " There is bad news
come." "Is there, sir?" said the man. "Yes," he

THE DUKE. 197
said; "the Duke's dead at last." "Who sir?"
" The Duke of Wellington." " I'm very sorry for
the gentleman," replied the man, going on with his
work ; " but I never heard of him."
WALKING WITH DISRAELI, he told me the
following story. I have never made up my mind
whether he believed it to be true or not. He spoke
as if he implicitly believed it.
Speaking of the small circle in which even the
greatest move, he told me that the First Napoleon,
a year after he became Emperor, was determined to
find out if there was anyone in the world who had
not heard of him. AVithin a fortnight the Police of
Paris had discovered a wood-chopper at Montmarfre,
within Paris, who had never heard of the Revolution ;
nor the death of Louis XVIth; nor of the Emperor.
BRUSSELS during the Campaign of Waterloo has
been painted in deathless colours by Thackeray. He
asked me which I thought to be the best passage
of all his writings : I said ; " No more firing was
heard. The pursuit rolled miles away. Darkness
came down on the Field ; and on the City : and

198 THE DUKE.
Amelia was praying for George; who was lying on
his face ; dead ; with a bullet through his heart."
I was riding past Stafford House, when I met
Swinton, the Painter. He told me of Thackeray's
death. On entering Hyde Park I saw Alfred Wigan,
the Actor, and told him the news. We went together
at once to Thackeray's house in Kensington ; I have
narrated in verse the circumstance that occurred :

W. M. T.
The fog is dank in Rotten Row;
The Sun a disc of dingy red :
" How are you ? " " How d'ye do ? " " No news
Is there ? " " Yes ; Thackeray is dead."
A breathless gallop to his door :
The footman for a moment pales ;
" They're searching for the cause of death
Upstairs : I've taken tip the Scales."
Ironic Fate ! fell Humour thine !
The Brain but yesterday that glowed
And glittered in the air of Wit
Has left its fifty years' abode :

TEE DUKE. 199
A World his penstrokes watched yestreen ;
Last night a film of tissue fails :
" How many ounces weighs his brain ? "
And then ; " I've taken up the Scales''

Oh deeply-cutting Workman dead !
Oh mighty Mind gone from our gaze !
Oh child-like Heart ! oh, priest of Truth !
Sky-piercing marble let us raise !
Oh judgment-giving King ! while Truth
To poise the rolling World avails,
Say from thy tomb, " With giant's grasp,
Of Men I've taken up the Scales."

When, millions of dead ^Eons gone,
Thy Glorious Spirit shall arise :
And listen to the thunder-peals :
And watch the lightnings of the skies :
Then, when the Spheres their Music cease ;
While Silence o'er all Space prevails ;
Hear, undismayed, the Eternal Voice
Pronounce, " I've taken up the Scales ! "

200 THE DUKE.
NO MILITARY SPECTACLE of the kind, that I
have seen, has equalled that of the Duke's coming
on to the Parade of the Flank Companies of the Foot
Guards, in the rear of the Horse Guards, on the
morning of the Queen's birthday. The Duke, as
Commander in Chief, accompanied by a numerous,
and most splendid Staff, rode down Constitution Hill
from Apsley House. He was dressed in the uniform
of his Regiment, the Grenadier Guards. The line
was of course formed previous to his arrival ; with the
squadron of the Life Guards on duty on the right
flank. At the first stroke of the Horse Guards' clock,
the Duke appeared on the left flank of the line. At
the moment that his horse passed the extreme left,
the word was given by the Commanding Officer
to stand at "Attention"; then "Present arms " : in
stantly the magnificent band of the three Regiments
of Guards, ivith their drums and fifes, numbering
together over 200 instruments, played the first note
of Handel's glorious air. Not since the composition
of "See the Conquering Hero comes" can it ever
have been given under more effective circumstances.
While listening to that grand melody, you looked at
the mighty Conqueror.

THE DUKE. 201
The Duke, on arms being presented, instantly and
slowly raised his right hand, nearly touching the lower
right edge of his bearskin Avith tivo fingers. He
rode sloAvly across the Parade ; and the ceremony of
" Trooping the Colours " was gone through. During
this time some well chosen air, not unfrequently the
" Benediction des Poignards," from " Les Hugue
nots," was played. The March-Past folloived. The
united bands played Mozart's noble melody " Non
piu andrai " ; the finest march for sIoav time that ever
was composed. Afterwards the Guards marched past
in quick time; the Grenadiers playing "The British
Grenadiers " ; the Coldstream Guards a beautiful
March known as " The Milanollo," the most perfect,
as regards time, that I have heard. The Scots
Guards, the national, but mediocre melody "Will ye
go to Inverness ? " The line then advanced ; and
presented arms ; the Duke again saluted : leaving the
ground amidst tumultuous cheering.
THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON speaking of
Napoleon frequently called him "Jonathan Wild the
Great," a humorous expression ivhich will be undep
stood by those Avho have read the life of the latter by
De Foe. He seems to have had a much more just

202 THE DUKE.
appreciation of Napoleon than Napoleon had of him.
Nothing could be more absurd than the Emperor's
idea expressed at S' Helena, that the Duke of
Wellington would, or could take possession of the
Throne of England. The first Napoleon's downfall
was mainly owing to his utter incapability of com
prehending the British Character. He took a con
ventional and vulgar vieAv of Mankind ; and was
utterly baffled by those who have shown themselves
to be unconventional. The Irish Poet understood
the British when he said they were
"With daring aims; Irregularly Great."
WHITE'S IS NOW A CLUB : it was an Institu-
tion : an Institution of the most powerful, and
effective character, Avhich for 130 years ruled the
Society of London as regards men, with wonderful
discrimination, and marvellous force. To be ad
mitted a member of that body gave a young man a
" cachet " such as nothing else could give. Looking
through the volumes of candidates for many years,
the discrimination to be observed is marvellous.
The absolute qualifications are difficult to define;
but still are strongly marked. " Je ne scais quoi" its
device. Neither Rank, Wealth, Wit, nor any quality

THE DUKE. 203
in itself, enabled a candidate to be sure of election ;
and although the blackballing, which in some instances
continued for years, appears at first tyrannical, it
rarely happened that ultimately the individual, if pos
sessing the particular qualifications desired, did not
gain admission. Some were excluded, notwithstand
ing the annual efforts of a lifetime : some few were
admitted at once : but, sooner or later, Justice AAras
done. The Duke had a high opinion of that mysterious
and terrible tribunal " White's Bow Window." Disraeli
describes it in " Lothair " as being occupied by a
few cynical middle-aged gentlemen, from Avhose pre
sence " Lothair," after reading a newspaper upside
doAvn, retires. In the days I speak of no man under
forty ever ventured to sit within that sacred semi
circle : and there was more shrewdness, good sense,
and knowledge of things, to be found there than in
any other space of the same size on the surface of
the Globe.
I remember before the Franco-German War was
begun, one member, sitting there, asking another
"What is this to be?" The reply was, " A race to
Bavaria." This turned out to be absolutely true :
for, had the French succeeded in reaching Munich,

204 THE DUKE.
there can be no doubt that the Bavarians, and South
Germans, would have taken up their cause. Before
the last war between Russia and Turkey, I remember
the question being put there : "What do the Russians
want?" the answer was : "Bessarabia, and Batoum":
precisely Avhat they obtained.
NO GREATER INSTANCE of the Duke's quick
ness could be found than his rapid coup d'ceil when
he rode to S* Sebastian. He pointed out at once that
the attack was being made from the wrong stand
point; and by his directions, the troops attacking
crossed the river at low Avater, and stormed the
breach successfully. My old friend, the Duke of
Saldanha, commanded a Brigade during the attack.
He told me that one evening when he was wash
ing his hands for dinner a shot came, knocking the
basin to atoms ; without hoAvever even touching his
fingers. The popular idea of a Portuguese General is
that he should have a dark, salloAV, and rather worn
countenance ; the Duke of Saldanha was the most
refined type of John Bull that I have ever seen;
clear blue eyes, bright complexion, a look of extreme
intelligence, and with a polished bluffness that was
very charming. I saw him in his coffin; and in-

THE DUKE. 205
stead of being past eighty, his appearance Avas as that
of a man of forty; and his face almost the handsomest
that I have seen.
THE DUKE said that he had obtained a hint from
Lord Anglesey in relation to Cavalry crossing a river
that AA'as the most valuable on the subject that he had
heard from anyone. Lord Anglesey told him that for
certain reasons, which I cannot here more exactly
describe, no Cavalry could exist, if the water were
above the horses' backs, for more than three quarters
of an hour. The Duke said that he found this know
ledge most useful when crossing the rivers into France.
THE DUKE'S OPINION of the French Marshals
was not yery high. No doubt Napoleon was afraid
to give a man command who had superior military
knowledge : in case of a defeat by himself the other
might have become a dangerous rival. The Duke,
with the good nature that always marked his conduct,
avoided individual criticism of his opponents. He
knew that his word would be carried : and knew how
difficult it is to form a just opinion of one to whom
you are opposed. Walking with a friend in Paris in
1815, and passing a statue which was in process of

206 THE DUKE.
erection, the friend remarked, that after all, although
the French had been ultimately defeated, it was a
grand thing to be able to put up so many statues to
their Generals. The Duke quietly said, " Yes ; and
if they knew as much about them as I do, they'd
take down a good many." Massena (Manasseh)
Avas, in the opinion of the Duke, and of Napoleon,
the best in action.
I HAVE ALWAYS HAD a fixed opinion as regards
the death of Desaix : and have little doubt by whose
hand he fell. The death of Pichegru, murdered in
his prison ; and of the Duke d'Enghien in the ditch
at Vincennes, the same man being close at hand in
each case, confirm my theory.
HOW STRANGE it is that Napoleon, the great
conqueror, entirely failed in attaching the affections,
so far as fidelity Avas in the case, of either of his wives.
LORD SEATON, by whose friendship I was
honoured up to the time of his death, was certainly
the noblest type of a soldier that I have known.
He told me, I remember, when I was on his Staff
at Chobham, that the hill opposite our lines, crowned

THE DUKE. 207
with pine trees, was not unlike the heights of Busaco.
I cannot help dwelling for a moment upon his cha
racter. Mildest, kindest, gentlest of human beings ;
clear-headed, calm, vigorous in mind as he was strong
in body, he was always my idea of a Soldier. In
speaking to him you felt that the good, unworldly
being you were talking to Avas the same gallant spirit
who had headed the 52nd at Ciudad Rodrigo; and
had taken part in all the desperate actions in which
that heroic body fought. He had not much graphic
poiver of description ; indeed very few men have} but
I regret that I did not ask him more questions in
relation to the Peninsular War. He was well known
to, and thoroughly trusted by, the Duke.
I HAVE READ a very interesting letter addressed
to my uncle General Robert Craufurd by The Right
Hon. William Windham. It was written not long
before the unfortunate expedition to Walcheren. He
says in it that the Expedition will be the most perfect,
as regards arrangements and organization, that has
ever left England. He expresses regret that it is not
to be sent to the Peninsula, nor to be placed under
the orders of the Duke, of ivhom he adds " I begin
to think that your chief (the Duke) has some military

208 THE DUKE.
ability." Mr Windham at the end of this letter says
that no expedition however well organized, and how
ever well fitted for conquest, can ever succeed "if
placed under the command of such a man as the Earl
of Chatham." We know the terrible disaster that fol
lowed ; owing almost entirely to the want of good
sense in the British Government at home. The fate
of Europe would have been changed, had those
30,000 men been sent to Spain.
Due political appreciation has hardly been given to
the great effects of the Duke's success in the Penin
sula: the overwhelming loss of the French Army in
the premature snows of Russia, for the season was
early, has distracted historical attention from what
took place in 1812 in Spain. Napoleon's mind never
was at ease from the moment when he saw the be
ginning of British success : the defeat of his Armies
in succession in Spain was the " ver rongeur " that dis
turbed his rest. However much he may have affected,
for a purpose, to sneer at the British troops, his
military perception ivas too astute not to be early con
vinced that they were, and would prove themselves
still more to be, dangerous customers.
I DO NOT KNOW whether the Duke had anything

THE DUKE. 209
to say to the appointment of Sir Hudson LoAve to
be the custodian of Napoleon at Sl Helena; but
it was no doubt an unfortunate selection. My father
used to say that Sir Hudson, though not a bad
soldier, was wanting in many of the essentials of a
Gentleman. No doubt it must have been very
difficult to find a man with the rare combination of
' suaviter in modo' with 'fortiter in re,' who would
undertake such heavy responsibility, involving ban
ishment from his own country ; and accept an office
Avhich every sensible man would know Avas sure to
lead to abuse, and calumny. Still the appointment
seems to have been made somewhat hurriedly : and
it certainly turned out ill. It gave Napoleon a sort
of justification for some of his usually unfounded
complaints. The cause of Napoleon's decline of hope, and with
it his decline of health, was the fact that Lord
Holland's motion in the House of Lords in his favour
had no seconder.
Knowing as he did the absolute independence of
the Members of that House of Parliament, he must
have felt that if there were not two Peers to support
his cause it was indeed desperate.

210 THE DUKE.
MADAME CRAUFURD, at whose house the Duke
was a constant guest in Paris, was an Irish woman
by birth ; extraordinarily handsome, and clever, she
was for many years almost at the head of the fashion
able world in Paris ; a somewhat surprizing cir
cumstance, considering her not very distinguished,
origin. She lived in the Rue d' Anjou. M1' Quentin
Craufurd had behaved with exceptional loyalty to
the Royal House of France. It was he who pro
vided the carriage which conveyed Louis XVI"1,
Marie Antoinette, and their family to Varennes.
Owing to two circumstances, the Dauphin refusing
to be dressed as a girl, and the cavalry picket being
placed at the wrong end of. the town, the unfortunate
family ivas captured. As they drove back through
Paris, someone in the crowd said, " I know that
carriage: it is Craufurd's." A friend, fortunately
standing by, adroitly replied, "Oh, no, it is not: I
knoAv his carriage very well." No more pathetic
sight could be seen than the poor children of the
King, who had been taught to kiss their hands in
reply to the cheers of the multitude, still doing so,
while the foul wretches who surrounded the carriage
were thirsting for their blood.
On. learning the news that the King and Queen had

THE DUKE. 211
been captured, Mr Quentin Craufurd, who was in
safety at Brussels, immediately returned to Paris, and
had a most interesting interview witlvMarie Antoinette,
at the Tuileries.
The Queen asked for his ring, as a means of
communicating with him. M1' Craufurd expressing
hope, Avith reference to the engraving on it, a bird
holding a branch, the Queen replied, " No, I have
no hope for myself. My one prayer is, that my son
may reign."
AS REGARDS George IV. towards the end of
his life much nonsense was talked. The late Lord
Lucan, with whom I had several conversations on
the subject, and Avho at the period was in London
Society, told me that anything so ridiculous, as the
notion of the multitude relating to George IV. could
not be conceived. As for the two old ladies with
whom as Prince Regent, and King, he associated,
one, Lady H., was exceptionally ugly; and his last
innamorata, Lady C, preposterously fat. The King
liked gossip ; was soon weary of his own company :
and these two old ladies furnished him with a daily
pabulum of news : either he believed that his visits
to Hamilton Place were unknoivn ; or, more pro-

212 THE DUKE.
bably, was quite indifferent whether they were known
or not. The elderly person supposed to be the ob
ject of the King's attachment was glad no doubt to
'pavoner' herself; and to excite the envy of her
Sex by his exceptional attention; but as for there
being more than this between this old couple, Lord
Lucan assured me, and he Avas no prude, it Avas
perfectly out of the question : and that anyone in the
London Society of those days would have laughed
at the possibility of anything else.
When the King went to Ireland a great opportunity
Avas afforded for feminine display. This was of course
grasped. When King William came to the throne he
showed tact and good feeling. He requested that the
very handsome presents, that had been made by the
late King, of diamonds Avhich were held to be those.
ofthe Crown, should not be returned to himself; but
should be made into the splendid decoration of the
Order of S' Patrick, still worn by the Lords Lieu
tenant of Ireland.
THE DUKE was frequently appealed to in matters
of right and justice : it was felt not only that his
judgment AA'as most acute, but his calmness of de
cision perfect. On one occasion he received a letter

THE DUKE. 213
in the following terms : I correct the spelling : " Mr
Tomkins ventures to address the Duke of Welling-
011. Mr Tomkins's mother is a washerwoman ; M1'
Tomkins regrets to say that, having washed for the
Marquess of Douro for many years, his mother has
been unable to obtain payment for the last three
years. Mrs Tomkins is very poor ; and cannot afford
to lose the money. She hopes the Duke Avill kindly
pay it. Mrs Tomkins's address is . . . ."
After carefully reading and considering the letter,
the Duke sent the following reply :
" Field Marshal The Duke of Wellington has re
ceived a letter from Mr Tomkins ; stating that the
Marquess of Douro is in debt to his mother, Mrs
Tomkins. " The Duke of Wellington is not the Marquess of
Douro. "The Duke regrets to find that his eldest son has
not paid his washerwoman's bill.
" Mrs Tomkins has no claim upon the Duke of
Wellington. " The Duke recommends her, failing another appli
cation, to place the matter in the hands of a respect
able solicitor."
Some six weeks, later the Duke had a dinner party at

214 THE DUKE.
Apsley House. One of the guests, with whom he was
on intimate terms, introduced the subject of Auto
graphs; and someone present asked the Duke if he
was not tormented in this respect. The Duke re
plied "Oh, yes; constantly." The friend then said:
" A few days ago I was examining a most interesting
collection put together by a person who has laboured
at it for many years. I saw your Grace's in the place
of honour in his book." "Which was that?" said
the Duke. " Well, the Collector's plan is to write
to every person of eminence ; and to accuse his eldest
son of bilking his Avashenvoman. He pastes his OAvn
letter, and the reply, face to face."
I should like to have seen the Duke's face Avhen he
heard the first Prussian cannon at Waterloo : I should
also like to have seen it on this occasion.
THE CONGRATULATORY address recited by
Lord Maidstone afterAvards Lord Winchilsea, at the
Duke's Inauguration, as Chancellor of Oxford, was
ivritten by Dr Bull, in my day Canon of Christ
Church. It is quite worthless. The couplet
" Brought him to earth and tamed his tyrant wing
And closed our twenty years of suffering "

THE DUKE. 215
is very bad. The allusion to Rome, Carthage, Fabius,
and Zama distract the hearers.
I cannot imagine anyone with good sense asking
the question " Shall science in her pride a soldier spurn
Say can she nothing from a soldier learn ?"
" The light elastic loftiness of soul."
An elastic loftiness is worthy of the heavy old gentle
man whom I recollect tottering into the Cathedral of
Christ Church. Then follows :
" To set at nought self-interest and ease
These are their arts — and'let us copy these !
He ruled the state when dark and troublous round
Gloomy and wild the dubious tempest frowned."
" This will never do."
I must do D1' Bull justice : his figure on the south
side of the Altar in our Christ Church Chapel, a
Cathedral to the outside world, balanced by Dr Pusey
on the north side, exemplified two types of Churchmen.'
I admire him as a good logician ; as the following
shows. Eating his luncheon, a Clergyman present

216 THE DUKE.
remarked that Canon Bull had not said grace : " I do
not say grace when the meal is cold." " But, Sir, the
soup was hot." "The heat of the soup was an acci
dent, and not an essential, of the luncheon."
THE DUKE no doubt reckoned assassination
among the contingencies of his life. The attempt
by Cantillon in Paris on his return from Madame
Craufurd's soire'e was a serious one ; and he received
frequent letters threatening a repetition of the crime.
It has always been considered that the bequeath-
ment by Napoleon of a sum of money to Cantil
lon, the would-be murderer, was one of the worst
acts of his life. I saw the original will containing
this clause, ivhen it was at Doctor's Commons;
the grammar bad ; the spelling incorrect ; and the
writing execrable. It must, hoAvever, be remembered
that this will was made at a time ivhen Napoleon
AA'as suffering under terrible gastric irritability; and
although he never, until a few hours before his
death, lost the complete command of his mind,
still it seems probable that this disposition was
made when he was hardly himself: at least one
must hope so. None knew better than Napoleon
that the Duke of Wellington had but little lo do

THE DUKE. 217
with his punishment; that it was done by the Powers
of Europe.
One incident has always struck me as most pictu
resque. When Napoleon's body lay, dressed in his
uniform, on the bed on ivhich he died, a yellow satin
damask sofa cushion being placed under the head,
the English garrison of S' Helena marched past the
body in single file. Each Commissioned Officer, as
he passed, grasped the hand of the deceased soldier.
The realities of History are infinitely more poetical
than those of Fiction ; and have much deeper -senti
ment. This is one of them.
I may mention here that I have the cushion on
which Napoleon's head was placed.
I have also his escritoire ; and the chairs which he
used at S' Helena. The reader must not infer from
this that I admire his character. Had he lived, I
should have given them at the Tuileries to the poor
lad, whose death was brought about by stupidity in
the far off deserts of Africa.
LORD COMBERMERE ivas undoubtedly the best
cai'alry officer that the war had produced. The
Duke was most anxious to have him at Waterloo ;
having long experience of his services in Spain ;

218 THE DUKE.
and it was a cruel fate that deprived a man, who
had been so frequently engaged, and with such great
success, of the Command of the Cavalry on that
momentous day. The reason, I have heard on good
authority, was this. When the Duke of Wellington
was first sent to the Peninsula, Lord Anglesey, who
had rendered good service there, Commanding the
Cavalry, being senior to the Duke in the Army,
ivas obliged, of course, to go home. The Prince
Regent, feeling that Lord Anglesey was unfortunate,
promised him that whenever an opportunity occurred
he should command the British Cavalry. The Duke's
promotion to be a Field Marshal placed him above
Lord Anglesey in the Army List ; and therefore at
Waterloo the same objection did not occur ; and,
by the wish of the Prince Regent, Lord Anglesey
commanded the Cavalry.
SPLENDIDLY as the British troops fought; and
with a cheerfulness that excited the admiration of a
not very enthusiastic leader, the Duke must have
longed repeatedly during the Battle of the 18th for
his Army which broke up at Bordeaux. Of this
army he said repeatedly " They could go anywhere ;
and do anything." Of these he had the nucleus of

THE DUKE. 219
twelve thousand admirable infantry ; and it is possible
that the confidence in these veterans of the Duke
felt by a younger race, may have combined with the
worship of their leader to achieve the glorious victory.

THE DUKE had won battle after battle. He had
marched from Cintra to Paris. He had routed all the
Generals opposed to him, one after another ; he had
never lost a gun. Doivn to the youngest recruit, and
the boy Ensign who had joined the week before,
there was not one of his Army who did not believe in
him as being above humanity : there was not one
who. ever doubted that the great man who was leading
them, was leading them to Conquest. This it was
that kept the men firm in their squares. They no
more believed that the French could beat them than
that they could fly over their heads.
I BELIEVE that no Army ever fought more bravely
than the French at Waterloo. I believe that their
courage on that day even transcended what Marengo,
Friedland, Jena, and Austerlitz showed : it is surprizing
that their commander, for whom they jeopardized
everything, seemed to think them unworthy of his

220 THE DUKE.
praise. They were simply "the broken tools" which
his Ambition " threw away."
IN ADDITION to its great political importance,
giving Europe a peace of forty years, Waterloo was a
fitting scene to terminate the Great Drama that
had been enacted for twenty-five years.
Beginning Avith the fall of the Bastille in 1789,
History presents nothing so interesting, nothing so
varied, as the struggle AA'hich ended on that Sunday
evening. The heroic death of the French Nobility,
Avho proved themselves Avorthy of their race on the
scaffold; the exceptional, and genuine piety of Louis
XVI. ; the heroic character, and conduct of the
daughter of Maria Theresa ; the fate of the little
Dauphin ; combined to fill the Imagination of the
growing generation Avith hopes that Justice Avould at
last be done them. After long waiting, Retribution
came. The Exiles, who had for the most part borne their
banishment with equanimity, returned to their an^
cestral homes; and the lawful King of France once
more entered the Tuileries.
Nothing could have shown the Duke of Wel
lington's tact, and well-bred feeling more than his

THE DUKE. 221
behaviour at this critical time. Never attempting
to thrust the Bourbons back upon the French people;
refusing even to advise them as to what they should
do : having freed their country of one who had
stripped every family in France of at least one of
its sons, he would play no active part in giving a
Sovereign to France. He knew human nature too
well : and though everything was owing to his
prowess, he always kept in the background. Giving
honest advice when asked, he never for a moment
assumed the part of a king-maker. He doubtless
recalled, in his dealing with worldlings, the cruel
words of Hobbes of Malmesbury " Obligation is Serf
dom : inexpiable Obligation is eternal Serfdom."
Having studied with effect the character of the Bour
bon family, he was too wise to let them feel, more
than could be helped, that they owed everything to
him. Content with the appreciation of the wise, and
sober portion of his countrymen, he felt that at last.
Justice was being done him : and Retaliation for his-'
cruel wrongs did not fill his mind.
LORD CASTLEREAGH, moving a Vote of Thanks
to the Duke on the 23rd of June, 1815, said "One
feature of the Victory was that it had been gained

222 THE DUKE.
over the best troops of France ; and that, too, at a
moment when they displayed all their ardour; and
when their conduct even surpassed all that they had
before performed. This force did not amount to less
than one hundred and thirty or one hundred and forty
thousand men, the Flower of the French Army: ivhich
was a regular, and disciplined, army, even before the
Bourbons quitted France ; and for which, since the
return of Bonaparte, everything had been done to
make it effective. It was the force which had been
selected, and combined, to act upon the Northern
frontier." The speech is feeble, . and commonplace ; and by
no means worthy of the occasion. With all his
talents Lord Castlereagh never was a good speaker.
He says towards the end :
"Such was his" (the Duke's) "dauntless activity,
that he was much more exposed than any private
soldier, who could only bear the hazard of a single
spot. The Duke was everywhere : at least wherever
danger was."
IN A WORK published very shortly after the battle,
in which allusion is made to Picfon's reluctance to
accept the command, it is said : " Since our army

THE DUKE. 223
was sent to Flanders, the Government offered Sir
Thomas Picton the command of a division ; but,
apprehending that the Duke of Wellington, as Com
mander in Chief, would leave the British force to
some Officer in whom he could not repose the same
confidence, he declined the offer; adding, however,
that if the Duke should personally require his ser
vices, he would instantly repair to the army."
THE DUKE, like all men of sound intelligence, had
a strong sense of humour; and I was delighted to find
in a recent publication that the Duke occasionally
read out, ivith great enthusiasm, and delight, Dickens's
immortal description of the scene in Court of ' Bardell
versus Pickwick.' I was so charmed with this ac
quisition to my knowledge of the Duke's character
that I thought of it when going to sleep that night ;
and in that semi-dreaming condition, in which one is
prone to be before absolute repose, I unconsciously
mixed up Mrs Bardell, the Duke, Mr Winkle,
Sergeant Snubbin, Mra Cluppins, her umbrella, chops
and tomato sauce, Sam Weller, Walmer Castle, ivarm-
ing pans; and even old Mr Weller in the gallery
formed part of my half-dream.
Suddenly I had one of those extraordinary sensa-

224 THE DUKE.
tions, such as many of my readers must have felt
when they dream that they have fallen off a precipice,
and come to the ground. I awoke, as the French say,
" en sursaut " ; Avith a shock never to be forgotten. It
flashed into my mind that there Avas a mysterious
connection between the phantoms of the Duke, and
Mrs Bardell; it AA'as almost Avith pain that I recol
lected all about it :
" And thrice ere the morning I dreamt it again."
At the very time of the Waterloo campaign, or
shortly aftenvards, there can be no doubt that the
Duke was in the habit of addressing letters not unlike
those recently published, which we have read with
interest, to another young lady. So far, nothing could
be more innocent, nor more simple. No doubt he
wrote to her also equally graphic descriptions of the
leap-frog, kiss-in-the-ring, driving in goat-chaises, rug-
riding by ladies, etc., which was going on in the
Country House near Cambrai. All this showed a
playfulness, of which his nature AA'as full. But unfortu
nately, this playfulness was expressed in writing ; and
when the young, and gushing lady in question became
a decidedly elderly person, whom I knew well, and
who never married, the Duke received warnings of

THE DUKE. 225
a " Bardellian " character from the lady in question. I
do not know whether any Dodson, or Fogg appeared
on the scene. Imagination can picture nothing more.
awful, than the Great Duke, in a sweltering Court,
listening to himself being denounced as a Monster of
Iniquity by the Buzfuz of the period ; and held up to
an envious, and delighted world as a fiend not to be
surpassed : one to whom Don Juan was a S' Anthony.
Nothing so far as is popularly known, came of the
affair. I have always had a suspicion that the half-
sister of the lady, whom the Duke himself on one
great occasion suspected of mischief, instigated these
preliminary proceedings. The Christian name of
the lady, which from exaggerated gentleness I do
not mention, and who Avas of high rank, makes the
Duke's conduct appear still more what ladies call
" abominable."
THE FAMILY of Heath played a distinguished part
in an earlier generation. One was the Head Master
of HarroAi', against whom the boys mutinied, in con
sequence of his being an Eton man, as I have men
tioned; the rebellion being headed by Lord Wellesley.
Another was Head Master of Eton, previous to Dr
Goodall. The third rose, I believe, to eminence in
Q

225 THE DUKE.
the law. A fourth, Baron Heath of the Kingdom of
Italy, was Governor of the Bank of England. I knew
the latter in his old age well. He was known as
'Barren Heath': another was described as 'Black
Heath'; and the Head Master of Eton as 'Ascot
Heath.'
IT WAS said of the Duke that he knew so much that
he thought he knew everything..
IT WAS also said that he spoke French as he
fought; "bravement." No faults are to be found
in the grammar of his ivritten French.
I AVOIDED in my allusion to the Duke's ride from
the Mint in 1832, to give particulars that have
already been published. There is one however which
has been omitted in the account published not long
ago. It is related that the Duke watched with
some anxiety the approach of a coal-waggon : what is
not mentioned is, that when .the Duke saw it ap-1
proach, he said : " Hillo ! here's the Artillery coming
up : Ave must look out."
THE DUKE, like all those whose intellects are ex-

THE DUKE. 227
ceptional, although he AA-as surrounded to the last by
those who gave him Appreciation, more valuable than
Admiration, never can have found any one on a level
with himself: and, until old age had defended him
from Envy, must have felt that he was one of those
Who tread the friendless desert of success.
WITH AN honest Avish to Avin the good opinion of
sensible, and honourable men, the Duke Avas from
first to last indifferent to the views of the multitude.
He was by no means one of those
Who fancy Notoriety is Fame.
He accepted the great position to Avhich his conduct
had led; and wisely obtained so much enjoyment from
it as he could. To pretend that he did not value his
position would be absurd. He knew that he deserved
what he had obtained ; and appreciated his honours
accordingly. The Duke felt that he could appeal
to that loftiest of all tribunals, the Conscience of a
Just, WTise, and Honourable man. The great pagan
Poet Menander said,
To every man his Conscience is a God ;
and the Duke could look imA'ards Avithout fear.

228 THE DUKE.
THE NEWS of the death of Napoleon reached
London on the 4th of July 1821. This was announced
to George IV., with due solemnity, by the High Official
on duty, in these words, befitting the occasion : " It is
my duty to inform your Majesty that your greatest
enemy is dead." " Is she by — " said the King.
THE DUKE never claimed for one moment credit
to himself where he did not feel that it was thoroughly
deserved. Someone saying to him : " How do you
account, Duke, for your having so persistently beaten
the French Marshals ? " The Duke simply replied :
" Well, the fact is their soldiers got them into scrapes :
mine always got me out."
I HAVE compared the Duke with Frederick the
Great of Prussia. He had all that Great Soldier's
determination ; but ivhere he had to act in a manner
to give pain, I feel sure that the Duke did so with
reluctance. • A story is told of the Great Frederick, from ivhichi
a few words might have been recently taken with
great effect : it fills me with astonishment that, of
the millions who speak the great Teutonic language,
no one thought of it.

THE DUKE. 229
In the midst of a severe action, Frederick rode
past the spot where a young Officer, whom he knew
well, and who had recently joined his Army, was writh
ing in the agonies of death. The King stopped; and
heard some groans escaping the unfortunate boy.
The King turned to him; and said, "Die silently,
Frederick ! "
Should not these words be placed on the tomb of
one who obeyed the order of his great ancestor more
than any man of whom Ave have read in History ?
Rapidly passing away as do the circumstances of life,
his recent death can never be forgotten.
To have divided counsels, especially when the
opposed counsellors are in earnest, is dreadful ; and
must have broken many a Monarch's heart : to lie on
arsick bed, while Doctors dispute your real condition,
and the character of the illness, is torture of the most
exquisite kind to a sick man. What must it have
been when both these sources of suffering were felt by
the same person ; and to know, in addition, that his
Life, and Death were the objects of Political Intrigue !
All this was borne by the late German Emperor
ivith a persistent, and calm Fortitude not to be
surpassed in the records of Mankind. Let them
write on his tombstone " Sterbe still, Fritz ! "

230 THE DUKE.
OF THE DUKE it might be said that he was :
" In rebus adversis Magnus : in prosperis Bonus :
utriusque fortunse Dominus."
THE COURT of Napoleon the ist, judging from
their portraits, notwithstanding their splendid dresses,
must have looked more or less like persons on the
stage. Their coats, in the great pictures at Versailles,
and elsewhere, never seem to fit them ; they are too
long in the sleeves. It must be a very difficult thing
to improvise a number of courtiers, ivhere there is no
aristocratic tradition. The Duke, in whatever dress
he was, whether in his various uniforms, the splen
did robes of Chancellor of Oxford, or the Parliamen
tary, or Coronation robes of his rank, always looked
worthy of the dress. You felt that however magnifi
cent the apparel, the great man Avho wore it was
grander still.
I SHOWED TO DISRAELI some lines on the
Duke Avhich Lord Stanhope gave me : he said " I
must have written those forty years ago." They have
since been published : and, for that reason only, I
do not give them here.

THE DUKE. 231
I hope at some time to publish a volume containing
my recollections of Disraeli, the intellectual successor
of Lord Byron : and perhaps some unpublished facts
anent the latter.
I SHOULD like to know what the Duke's grand
parents were like ; I believe that Genius, like gout,
skips a generation. The Duke's father, Lord Mor-
nington, was a Musician. With all his Genius, ive
cannot conceive the Duke composing a Cantata; nor
writing a Sonnet.
A REAL LOVE letter of the Duke's would be
priceless. I cannot imagine his writing one. Lord
Byron, who found it very troublesome work, copied his
out of "Les Liaisons Dangereuses"; and whenever a
fresh innamorata appeared oh the scene, she uncon
sciously received facsimiles of previous epistles.
ON ONE OCCASION George IV. persuaded the
Duke to smoke : I believe that he never did this
a second time.
THE DUKE owed nothing to his Mother.
" There is my ugly boy Arthur," Lady Mornington

232

THE DUKE.

said, on seeing him at the Dublin Theatre after a long
absence. The conventional notion that clever men have
clever mothers is, I believe, a delusion : successful
men have clever mothers. Most men pass the best
years of their life in discovering what they are fit for.
A mother who can place her son in the right groove ;
tell him which talents to cultivate; and show his
Genius the road to success, may be sure that, should
her son possess the qualities which she believes, her
Glory will be great. This is very rarely the case.
I LATELY VISITED Londonderry House, formerly
Holdernesse House, Park Lane, for evidence as to the
Duke's Indian sword.
I have spoken of Frances Anne Lady Londonderry
as the rival of Sarah Lady Jersey as a Queen of
London Society. With more pretension, and a very
imperious manner, which Lady Jersey had not, Lady
Londonderry never had anything like Lady Jersey's
poiver. " Frances Anne," at the tea-table covered
with gold vessels, in the great gallery, was an awe-
striking sight : but you felt that there ivas stage effect.
The 3,,d Marquess, Frances Anne's husband, had
rather too much of the old dandy, the Major Pen-

THE DUKE. 233
dennis, for. the brilliant soldier of the Peninsula.
" Quel beau Sabreur ! " had been then said of him.
His eldest son the 4th Marquess I knew well : he
AA'as the "Young Rapid" of H. B.'s "Equestrian
Sketches." A pathetic incident occurred in his childhood. His
mother, Lord Londonderry's first wife, was writing a
letter to his father, then abroad. She said to the boy
of seven, " Write me something to send to Papa." The
boy in a few minutes produced some lines headed
" Epitaph on Poor Mamma " : his mother was quite
well. "Lord Londonderry received the lines and the
announcement of his Wife's death, at the same time.
The 5th Marquess was my brother officer : a most
amiable, kind man ; a great sufferer.
My last visit was to look at the two fine pictures
placed on the wall of the central hall of Londonderry
House: they are of 'The Heroes of the Peninsula,'
and ' The Heroes of Waterloo ' : vigorously painted :
the likenesses are good. They are by J. P. Knight.
The Duke in both wears the Indian sword.
On leaving the 1" Life Guards as a Captain I was
made by the Officers an honorary member of their
Mess ; a very exceptional distinction. Some years later
the ist Life Guards' Club was formed; and in 1882,

234 THE DUKE.
I had the honour to be elected President. The Club
consists of Officers of the Regiment who are actually
serving, or have served ; subject to exclusion if
thought proper. The locality of the Dinner is abso
lutely at the choice of the President for the year:
and is usually held at a City, or West End, Hotel.
Lord Londonderry, when he told me that his summer
duties with the Regiment of Yeomanry which he
commanded required his presence in Durham, most
kindly offered me Londonderry House for the even
ing. Nothing could be more splendid, nor more
picturesque than the large gallery lighted up for the
occasion : the summer evening's light coming in from
above. Seventy-three dined in the Gallery, in which
Pictures, and Statues, and all that is ornamental,
abound. LORD CHARLES WELLESLEY, the Duke's second
son, the father of the present Duke, was sent from
Malta (I believe) with Dispatches of importance : he
reached London a fortnight later than he was expected.
The Duke, who supposed that he had loitered amid
the amusements of Paris, reprimanded him ; and fctf
some days did not speak to his son.
Hearing accidentally that Lord Charles had been

THE DUKE. 235
delayed at. Marseilles for the time lost, by Quaran
tine, he went up to him, after breakfast, and in the
gentlest manner, pressing him to his breast, said,
" Charles, you would like to hunt this winter, would
you hot?" "I have no horses, Sir." "I have sent
a, thousand pounds to your Bankers, you can buy
some."I WROTE THE LINES on Orthez many years ago ;
soon after my visit to ' La Belle Hotesse.'
I received on the 13th of May last, from the Revd
R. W., whom I did not know, a note addressed to
him by Madame Bergereau, dated " Orthez ; le 6
Novembre, i860." She says in it, "Wellington
arrived at my Inn the 27 th of February, 1814, (the
day of the Battle of Orthez) at four o'clock in the
afternoon, ' extenue de fatigue ; et mort de faim.'
The Duke, with charming politeness, but absolute
insistance, demanded food. I had nothing ; and told
him so. He replied, 'On the contrary; you have
truffles ! smell for yourself ! ' I failed to smell any :
the Duke, however, whose nose was sharper in every
sense than mine, declared that he could not be mis
taken : he triumphed : and a mass of truffles was found,
of which I knew nothing. More than this ; pursuing

.236 THE DUKE.
his investigation, the Great Hero discovered, in a
cupboard, a fine cooked turkey : it had been sent to
a solicitor of Orthez, from Toulouse, as an annual
present at Carnival time : the solicitor, refusing to
pay the carriage, the Turkey had been lodged in my
Hotel, as the bureau of the diligence." Madame Ber-
gereau was a humourist. She adds : " I have said
that the Duke's nose was sharper than mine : the
weight of seventy years has not failed to sit upon my
nose, as upon most things ; ' il s'affaisse, et s'elargit
sous leur poids.' "
LORD WELLESLEY wrote these lines on his
brother's Installation as Chancellor of the University
of Oxford.
"Conservata tuis Asia, atque Europa, Triumphis
Invictum Bello te coluere Ducem :
Nunc umbrata geris Civili tempora Quercu ;
Ut desit Famse Gloria nulla tiise."
Asia hath seen thy conquering Sword ;
And Europe's Laurels crown her Lord :
Now, round thy brows the Oak we twine ;
That every Glory may be thine.
W. F.

THE DUKE. 237-
I HAD THE GLAD FORTUNE to hear, as a
Member of Parliament, the following speech, de
livered on the Vote for the Duke's Funeral.
The House of Commons was crowded to the ceil
ing : the seats, and galleries, of the Members were
full : and almost every distinguished man in England
was present.
"The Queen's Message considered."
"The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr.
Disraeli) rose and said Mr. Speaker : Sir, The
House of Commons is called upon to-night to per
form a sorroAvful, but a noble duty. It has to recog
nize, in the face of the Country and of the Civilized
World, the loss of the most distinguished of our Citi
zens; and it has to offer to the ashes of the great.
departed the solemn anguish of a Bereaved Nation.
"Sir, the Princely Personage who has left us was
born in an age more fruitful of great events than any
other period of recorded time. Of its vast incidents
the most conspicuous were his own deeds : deeds
achieved with the , smallest means ; and against the
greatest obstacles.
" He was, therefore, not only a Great Man, but the
Greatest Man of a Great Age.
"Amid the chaos, and conflagration ivhich attended

238 THE DUKE.
the close of the last century there arose one of those
beings who seem born to master Mankind. It is
not too much to say that Napoleon combined the
imperial ardour of Alexander with the strategy of
Hannibal. " The Kings of the earth fell before his fiery and
subtle Genius : and at the head of all the Powers of
Europe, he denounced destruction against the only
land that dared to disobey him, and be free.
" The Providential Superintendence of the World
seems scarcely ever more manifest than when we
recollect the dispensations of our day : that the same
year which gave to France the Emperor Napoleon,
produced also for us the Duke of Wellington; that
in the same year they should have embraced the
same profession ; and that, natives of distant islands,
they should both have repaired for their military
education to that illustrious land ivhich each in his
turn was destined to subjugate. During that long
struggle for our Freedom, our Glory, I might say for
our Existence, Wellesley fought, and Avon, fifteen
pitched battles; all of them ofthe highest class; con
cluding with one of those croAvning Victories that
give a colour, and a form to History. During that
period, that can be said of him which can be said of

THE DUKE. 239
no other Captain ; that he captured three thousand
cannon from the enemy ; and never lost a single gun.
" The greatness of his exploits Avas, perhaps, even
surpassed by the difficulties which he had to en
counter. He had to encounter a feeble Government ;
a factious Opposition ; a distrustful people ; scan
dalous allies ; and the most powerful enemy in the
world. " He Avon Victories with starving troops ; and he
carried on Sieges Ai'ithout Munitions.
" As if to complete the fatality which attended him
throughout life in this respect, Avhen he had at last
succeeded in creating an Army Avorthy of the Roman
Legions, and worthy of himself, this Invincible Host
was broken up on the eve of the greatest conjuncture
of his life : he had to enter the Field of Waterloo
with raw levies, and discomfited Allies.
, " But the star of Wellington never paled.
" He has been called fortunate ; but Fortune is a
Divinity ivhich has ever favoured those who are, at
the same time, Sagacious and Intrepid.; Inventive
and Patient It was his own Character that created
his Career; alike achieved his exploits; and guarded
him from every vicissitude : for it ivas his sublime
Self-controul alone that regulated his lofty Fate.

240 THE DUKE.
"Sir, it has been of late years somewhat the fashion-
to disparage the Military Character. Forty years of
Peace have, perhaps, made us somewhat less aware
hoiv considerable, and how complex, are the qualities
which go to the formation of a Great General..
" It is not enough that he must be an Engineer, a
Geographer, learned in Human Nature, and adroit in
managing men : he must also be able to fulfil the
highest duty of a Minister of State ; and then to
descend to the humblest office of a Commissary, and
clerk : and he has to display all this knowledge, and
to exercise all these duties, at the same time ; and
under extraordinary circumstances. At every moment
he has to think of the eve, and of the morrow ; of his
flank, and of his rear. He has to carry with him
Ammunition, Provisions, and Hospitals. He has to
calculate at the same time the state of the weather,
and the moral qualities of man : and all these elements,
that are perpetually changing, he has to combine ;
sometimes under overwhelming heat ; and sometimes
under overpowering cold : sometimes even amid
famine ; and often amid the roar of Artillery. Behind
all these circumstances, too, there is ever present the
image of his country; and the dreadful alternative,
whether that country is to welcome him ivith the Laurel,

THE DUKE. 241
or the Cypress. Yet this image he must dismiss from
his mind; for the General must think; and not only
think ; he must think with the rapidity of lightning ;
for on a moment more or less depends the fate cf a
most beautiful combination : and on a moment more
or less depends the question of Glory, or of Shame.
Unquestionably, Sir, all this might be done in an
ordinary manner, and by an ordinary man ; as, every
day of our lives, we see ordinary men who may be
successful Ministers of State, successful Authors, suc
cessful Speakers : But to do all this with Genius is
Sublime. Doubtless, to be able to think with Vigour,
with Clearness, and with Depth, in the recess of The
Cabinet, is a fine intellectual demonstration : but to
think with equal Vigour, Clearness, and Depth, amidst
bullets, appears the loftiest exercise and the most
complete triumph of the human faculties.
"Sir, when we take into consideration the prolonged,
and illustrious life of the Duke of Wellington, we are
surprized how small a section of that life is occupied
by that military career which fills so large a space in
history. Only eight years elapsed from Vimiera to
Waterloo ; and from the date of his first commission
to the last cannon-shot which he heard on the Field
of Battle, scarce twenty years can be counted.

242 THE DUKE.
" After all his triumphs he was destined for another
career; and the greatest, and most successful of
warriors, if not in the prime, at least in the perfec
tion of Manhood, commenced a civil career scarcely
less successful, scarcely less splendid, than that military
one ivhich will live for ever in the memory of men.
" He was thrice the Ambassador of his Sovereign at
those great historic Congresses that settled the affairs
of Europe : twice was he Secretary of State : twice he
was Commander-in-Chief of the Forces : once he was
Prime Minister of England : and to the last hour of
his life he may be said to have laboured for his country.
" It was only a few months before we lost him that
he favoured with his counsel, and assistance the present
advisers of the Crown respecting that war in the East,
of ivhich no one could be so competent to judge :
He drew up his views on that subject in a State Paper
characterized by ail his Sagacity, and Experience : and,
indeed, when he died, he died still the active chieftain
of that famous Army, to which he has left the Tradition
of his Glory.
" Sir, there is one passage in the life of the Duke of
Wellington, which in this place, and on this occasion,
I ought not to let pass unnoticed. It is our pride
that he was one of ourselves : it is our glory that Sir

.THE DUKE. 243
Arthur Wellesley once sat on these benches. If we
view his career in the House of Commons by the
tests of success which are applied, to common men,
his career, although brief, was still distinguished.
" He entered the Royal Councils ; and filled high
offices of State. But the success of Sir Arthur Wel
lesley in the House of Commons must not be tested
by the facts that he was a Privy Councillor; or a
Secretary of a Lord Lieutenant. He achieved here
a great success which the greatest Ministers, and the
most brilliant Orators may never hope to accomplish.
That was a great Parliamentary triumph, when he
rose in his place to receive the thanks of Mr. Speaker
for a brilliant victory : and, later still, when at that
bar to receive, Sir, from one of your predecessors in
memorable words, the thanks of a grateful Senate for
accumulated triumphs.
" Sir, there is one source of consolation ivhich I
think the people of England possess at this moment
under the severe bereavement over which they mourn :
It is their intimate acquaintance with the character,
and even the person, of this great man. There never
was a man of such mark who lived so long, and so
much, in the public eye.
"I will be bound there is not a Gentleman in this

244 THE DUKE.
House who has not seen him : many there are who
have conversed with him : some there are who have
touched his hand. His Image, his Countenance, his
Manner, his Voice are impressed on every memory
and sound almost in every ear.
"In the golden saloon, and in the busy market
place, to the last he might be found.
"The rising generation among whom he lived will
often recall his words of kindness : and the people
followed him in the street with that lingering gaze of
reverent admiration, which seemed never to tire.
Who, indeed, can ever forget that venerable, and
classic head, ripe with Time ; and radiant as it were
with Glory ?
" 'Stilichonis apex-et cognita fulsit
Canities.'
"To complete all, that we might have a perfect
idea of his inward, and spiritual nature ; that we might
understand how this Sovereign Master of Duty fulfilled
the manifold offices of his life with unrivalled Activity,
he himself gave us a collection of Military, and Ad
ministrative Literature, which no Age, and no Country
can rival. And, fortunate in all things, Wellington

THE DUKE. 245
found in his lifetime an Historian, whose immortal
page now ranks with the classics of that land which
Wellesley saved.
" Sir, the Duke of Wellington has left to his Country
a great Legacy; greater even than his Fame : he has
left to them the contemplation of his Character.
" I will not say of England that he has revived here
the Sense of Duty : that, I trust, was never lost. But
that he has inspired Public Life with a purer and more
masculine tone, I cannot doubt : that he has rebuked
by his career restless Vanity ; and regulated the mor
bid susceptibility of irregular Egotism, is, I think, no
exaggerated praise.
" I do not believe that among all orders of English
men, from the highest to the loivest, from those who
are called on to incur the most serious responsibilities
of Office, to those who exercise the humblest duties of
Society, I do not believe there is one among us
who may not experience moments of doubt and
depression ; when the image of Wellington will occur
to his Memory, and he finds in his example Support,
and Solace.
" Although the Duke of Wellington lived so much
in the minds, and hearts of the people of England ;
although at the end of his long career he occupied

246 THE DUKE.
such a prominent position, and filled such august
offices; no one seemed to be conscious of what a
space he occupied in the thoughts and feelings of his
countrymen, until he died.
" The influence of true Greatness was never, per
haps, more completely asserted than in his decease.
" In an Age in which the belief in intellectual equa
lity flatters so much our self-complacency, every one
suddenly acknowledges that the world has lost its
foremost man. In an age of Utility, the most busy,
and the most common-sense people in the world find
no vent for their woe ; and no representative for their
sorrow ; but the solemnity of a pageant ; and we, who
are assembled here for purposes so different; to
investigate the sources of the Wealth of Nations ; to
busy ourselves in Statistical Research ; to encounter
each other in fiscal controversy; we offer to the
World the most sublime, and touching spectacle that
human circumstances can well produce ; the Spectacle
of a Senate mourning a Hero."

WATERLOO.
T EAVING BRUSSELS on a fine afternoon in
— ' August, 1888, I reached the little station near
Braine l'Alleud in half an hour ; and thence drove to
the Hotel du Musee, close to the Prince of Orange's
mound. This horrible disfigurement of the Plain of
Waterloo has materially altered the defensive position
taken by the Duke of Wellington. Well might he say,
when visiting the spot some years after the battle,
"They have spoiled my Battle-field."
A high ridge extended along the greater part of
the British front : the removal of this to form the
Mound has given quite a different character to this
part of the scene. The Hotel du Musde is situated
near the right centre of the British line.
I ordered a carriage to be ready at four o'clock to
take me to Quatre-Bras : In the meantime I walked
in an easterly direction over the battle-field. The
old pave from Brussels passes through the Villages of

248 WATERLOO.
Waterloo, and Mont S' Jean, in the rear of the British
centre. In former days the Museum, now at the
Hotel, which was principally formed by Sergeant-
Major Cotton of the 7"1 Hussars, who acted as
orderly to Sir Hussey Vivian, commanding a Brigade
of Light Cavalry, on the 18th June, was in his house,
in Mont S' Jean.
A circumstance, very interesting to myself, occur
red on my first visit to Waterloo. This was before
I had left Eton ; and just previous to my going to
Oxford. Sergeant-Major Cotton, who was an excellent,
and intelligent guide, and who had acquired a vast
amount of information from having traversed the field
with the distinguished Officers who had taken part in
the battle, showed us over Hougomont ; and pointed
out in the kitchen-garden, which still adjoins the
orchard, the grave-stone Avhere my cousin, Captain
Thomas Craufurd of the 3rd Guards, Avas killed. He
was most unfortunate ; for I believe he was almost, if
not quite, the only Officer slain inside the enclosure.
The brick wall, which is still pierced with loop-holes
protected the troops, in a great measure. The south
line of wall was defended by the Coldstream Guards.
Craufurd occupied the little kitchen garden, on their
right flank, with a detachment of the 3''d Guards.

IV A TEE LOO. 249
Cotton, who did not know who I Avas at the time,
told me that he had seen many sad sights ; but that
the saddest he had ever seen Avas that of Sir James
Craufurd weeping over his son's grave. Thence I
walked across the fields to Cotton's house ; in which
there Avas a large collection of arms, uniforms,
etc., etc., found after the battle ; in addition to some
things that had been presented to, or been purchased
by him. Looking about I saAv hanging on the wall,
high up, a Sword ; to ivhich was attached a card
somewhat soiled by time. I read on it " Sword worn
by Lieut.-Colonel Sir James Fraser B', 7th Hussars,
at Waterloo." I asked to be allowed to examine
it ; and I then said to Cotton " I should like to
purchase that sword ; but before I make you an
offer, it is only fair to tell you who I am, as it
will add to the value : Sir William Fraser." He
seemed startled ; and said "Sir James's son?" "Yes."
I said to him " What will you take ? " He replied
" Sir William, I am fairly Avell off, and I don't want
to part with the sword." I said "I will give you
twenty-five pounds." He declined. I then said
"Thirty; forty; fifty pounds?" He replied "No;
I must give you the same answer ; I do not wish to
part with the sword." I then said " If you should

250 WATERLOO:
ever part with the sword, I hope you will give me the
first opportunity of buying it ; and will not let it go
into other hands." He said " You may rely on it,
that, should I ever decide to sell it, I Avill let you
know." About a year afterwards I wrote from Oxford.
I reminded him that both he and I were mortal ; and
that the loss of such a sword to my family would
be irreparable. I desired him to name his price : he
replied that he would accept my first offer, i.e. twenty-
five pounds. I obtained the sword. Cotton was then
in full, vigorous health ; he died soon aftenvards. I
have the sword now.
So much for the past.

AT FOUR O'CLOCK 1 started for Quatre-Bras.
Passing close to the farm of 'LaHaye Sainte,' of
Avhich more hereafter ; the road is through the
hamlet of ' Vieux Genappes ' : I stopped at a house
called " La Maison du Caillou." I was reluctant to
ask permission of the owner to see the house. How
ever, he most courteously admitted me at once. M.
Emile Coulon, the owner, an Architect of eminence,
was so very polite as to show me everything that was
of interest. He pointed out to me the bed-room

WATERLOO. 251
in which Napoleon slept on the night of the 17''11
of June; the table upon ivhich he breakfasted with
Marshals Soult, and Ney ; and the two tables upon
which he spread. his maps. These three are excep
tionally beautiful ; the proprietor has had a drawing
of them registered in the most formal manner. I
begged him, in addition to this, to have a small plate
attached to each ; and I sincerely hope that he has
done, or will do, this. M. Coulon took me into the
kitchen garden, from the northern angle of which
Napoleon first saw the battle-field in the distance.
He also pointed out to me what Avas most interesting,
the line of country taken by Napoleon, and his per
sonal Staff, when riding away from the field, on the
evening of the 18th. A large meadow intervenes
between the road, which was then blocked with wag
gons etc., and the line which Napoleon took across
country. Avery remarkable conversation, took place
during this ride.
Continuing, I reach Genappes, a flourishing, busy
town, with clean streets, and a look of vitality about
it very different from the old towns of Belgium.
Crossing the narrow bridge, which spans the little
river, hardly more than a canal, I was astonished,
and am still, as to how four armies could have

252 WATERLOO.
crossed it in the time occupied by them. On the
1 7th of June the British, and French armies crossed
it : on the 18th the French Army, followed by the
Prussian Army, recrossed the bridge. Another sur
prizing fact is that within half a mile there is
another bridge across the river, which was not used
by any one man of the three armies. When Lacoste,
Napoleon's guide, was asked why he did not lead the
Emperor over this bridge, the latter having requested
him to show him the shortest way to Charleroi, he
simply replied : " I knew nothing about the bridge."
It seems incredible that in a country, destined, as
was well known before, to be, and as it had been, the
" Cock-pit of Europe," the fact that there was a
second available bridge was unknown to both Com
manders. Continuing from Genappes, Quatre-Bras
was reached. The little hamlet at first appeared to
be deserted. I could find no one. At last I came
upon the inhabitants, collected apparently in a sort of
club at the common inn, situated at the angle of four
roads. They repudiated all knowledge of the battle ;
in fact declared that there had been no battle there.
They pointed over their shoulders, meaning that there
had been fighting at Waterloo ; of which I told them
that I had heard something ; but they persisted in

WATERLOO. 253
the statement that there had been no engagement at
Quatre-Bras : Such is Fame !
I Avalked slowly down the Nivelles Road, and Avas
shortly overtaken by a Belgian farmer; who showed
what I have frequently noticed in the provincial dis
tricts of Belgium, great personal courtesy. I have
never been in any country where passers-by treat
strangers Avith more respect. He kindly offered to
show me what I wished to see : pointing out the spot
where the Duke of Brunswick fell. I may here say
that when I mentioned in a letter, which will follow,
that the Duke of Brunswick "fell as his father fell,"
I did not say die, as his father died ; but Avas wounded
almost precisely in the same part of his body, dying
in half an hour; his father being carried, after the
battle of Jena, in a litter a considerable distance, to
Ottensen, a suburb of Altona, near Hamburg.
THE BATTLE-FIELD of Quatre-Bras is plain
enough. The Bois de Bossu, the scene of such
severe fighting, and carnage, exists no more : there
is not a trace of it. It was in this wood that revolting
barbarity was perpetrated. The Highlanders had
been driven out for a few minutes only : on recaptur
ing the wood they found that their dead, and wounded

,254 WATERLOO.
comrades had been mutilated in the most horrible
manner. The Highland dress was the object of the
real, or affected ridicule of the French : a ridicule
ivhich they were induced to repent two days after
Avards. THE BARN with its yard, in which the Duke was
nearly captured, is as it was ; in fact I should say that
very little change has taken place in the few buildings
adjacent to the field. I am very glad to take this
opportunity of repeating the thanks, which I gave
M. Brasseur, Fermier, de Quatre-Bras, for his kind
ness, and courtesy, in showing me over the field.
Had it not been late, and the evening very cold, I
should have been glad to visit his farm, to ivhich he
was so kind as to invite me.
RETURNING through Genappes, I examined care
fully the upper part of the town ; where an encounter
had taken place on the 17th of June. It is surprizing
that Napoleon did not follow up the British on their
retirement to Waterloo. The Duke of Wellington
said "Napoleon is not there; or he would not have
allowed me to get through the town so easily." My
own impression is that the defeat of the French at

WATERLOO. 255
Quatre-Bras was more severe than is generally thought.
I also believe that the reason why Napoleon did not
follow up the battle of Ligny, which he certainly won,
was that the Prussians did not sustain so severe a
defeat as is generally believed.
In the rear of the army that had passed through
Genappes on the 17th of June was the 7th Regiment of
Hussars, associated, I am proud to say, with my family;
my father having served in it for twenty-five years,
and commanded the Regiment; my brother having
been Major; and in which my nephew now serves as
Lieutenant. With imprudence Lord Anglesey, who
was Colonel-in-Chief of the Regiment, and who had
long served in it, hurled them against a dense mass
of Lancers, very heavy troops, who had just emerged
from Genappes.
The 7tt Hussars could naturally produce no im
pression upon them ; with their short, curved swords,
and the comparatively light horses, they fell away as
water from a wall. Not only were they checked,
but a squadron captured; General Robbins telling
me, that the fact of his escape was due to his
riding a powerful hunter ivhich he had bought in Dor
setshire the year previous : by this means he was en
abled to clamber up a high bank. Two officers were

256 WATERLOO.
taken. Lord Anglesey then ordered the i!t Life
Guards to stop the Lancers. They attacked in column,
the rear rank of the rear troop charging first. They
made very short work of the French Cavalry, and so
effectually stopped their approaches that the Army was
unmolested; and able to take up its position on the
Plain of Waterloo. The following incident happened
on the evening of the 1 7th. The two officers, who had
been taken in the affair just mentioned, were brought
before Napoleon. Standing near his chair was Count
Flahault, his A.D.C., who had been in London during
the First Restoration : and, being a handsome young
Frenchman, of good birth, and manners, had been
made a great deal of in London society. Wishing, I
assume, to show to the Emperor, his master, that he
had been by no means inoculated with a love for the
British race, he said something, what I do not know,
that was considered offensive by the British officers.
Although Count Flahault subsequently married his
relation, Miss Elphinstone, the daughter of Admiral
Lord Keith, in her own right Baroness Keith and
Nairne, Mr Elphinstone and Count Flahault never
spoke to one another to the end of their lives.
I returned to the Hotel du Musde an hour after
dark. The next morning I ivalked over to Hougo-

WATERLOO. 257
mont. I may point out here a long-standing evil ;
which I think the Belgian Government ought to
remove. They could do so without difficulty. I refer
to the beggars, who, under the guise of selling sticks,
pester everyone who goes in and cut of the Hotel.
It is disgraceful that such a state of things should be
permitted; and I feel sure that their persistency, with
the proximity of sticks, must not unfrequently lead to
breaches of the peace.
I found the Chateau of Hougomont renovated; but
not seriously altered.
It is a very strong position : its occupation by the
Division ivhich held the buildings, and their rear, is
easily understood.
The dense wood, which existed at the time of the
Battle to the south of the building and enclosures, is
now entirely gone.
When I first visited Waterloo there were some
remains of this wood; some stumps of trees riddled
with shot; but even these have now disappeared.
About fifteen yards distant from the south front of
the enclosure are a hedge and ditch. The former
has grown up again since Waterloo ; and forms an
excellent screen. The British Guards were able to
fire through the loop-holes of the south wall, and
s

258 WATERLOO.
through this screen of hedge into the French column
headed by King Joseph Bonaparte ; the French being
entirely unable to see their adversaries; indeed there
can be little doubt that they persisted in firing at
the brick wall from whence our fire issued, under the
impression that it was a line of British Infantry. The
loop-holes are still in the wall : and, although the top
of the wall has been repaired, it is materially in the
same condition in ivhich it was on the day of the
battle. A considerable part of the Chateau, as is well known,
was burned by the French shells. The Chapel still
remains, in ii'hich, I am sorry to say, half a dozen
" 'arrys " were hoAvling. On entering, the gate, I walked
at once into the orchard; and climbing over the low
Avail, which separates the little kitchen garden from
the orchard, I found that the Avhole space of the
kitchen garden Avhich, Avhen I formerly saw it, was
in an utterly neglected condition, was covered with
vegetables. The stone Avhich I saiv there on my two
previous visits, placed on Captain Thomas Craufurd's
grave, was gone. I remember perfectly that there ivas
an inscription on it, stating his name, and that he had
fallen on that spot. I could see no trace of the
stone: it has been removed, I am quite certain without

WATERLOO. 259
the knowledge of the proprietor, in order to make
room for a few more beans.
As regards the heavy doors, formerly under a brick
arch which has fallen down, in the rear of the buildings
of Hougomont, which were closed by Sir James Mac
donnell, and Sergeant Graham, it is well known that
the Duke handed the legacy bequeathed to the bravest
man in the British Army to Sir James Macdonnell,
as having shown the most useful courage that the
Duke could think of. Sir James Macdonnell insisted
upon sharing it with Sergeant Graham; and I am glad
to have been' able to ascertain his name. He was a
sergeant of the Coldstream Regiment of Guards. His
name has lately been published as Fraser : but, I be
lieve, in error.
The younger brother of Captain Thomas Craufurd
of Kilbirnie, whom I have mentioned as having
been killed at Hougomont, ivas extra A.D.C. to
Sir William Ponsonby unfortunately killed while
endeavouring to restrain the charge of the well-
known Union Brigade.
The British Cavalry on that day performed deeds
of valour, and prowess that will for ever live in history;
but their horses were fresh ; and the men were eager
for the fray. Entirely unexhausted by a previous cam-

260 WATERLOO.
paign, they had but one idea, to ride to the front ; and
annihilate the French army. This unhappily in several
instances led to the almost entire destruction of these
fine Regiments.
It was the Duke's wish to keep his Cavalry well in
reserve. He knew that the Infantry ivould, as they
did, withstand the shock of the French attacks : and
certain as he was that sooner or later an opportunity
would be given him to advance, it was his hope that a
strong, fresh body of cavalry would quicken the de
parture of the French.
Passing from Hougomont, across the fields in a
state of wonderful fertility, I examined the outside
of the farm of ' La Haye Sainte.'
The inevitable " amari aliquid " seems to have
arisen in the Duke's mind as regards this fortress.
Numerous as are the descriptions of this block of
buildings ; and simple as was the matter, errors have
been made.
The cause of its capture by the French in the after
noon has been attributed to the absence of an open
ing in the wall on the north side of the enclosure.
This wall is not above one hundred and fifty yards from-
the front of the British line ; and, looking at a plan
or map, it seems incredible that it could not be

WATERLOO. 261
reached. Some accounts state that there is a small
door in the rear of the building ; others relating that
there -is not. The fact is this; in addition to the
principal entrance, ivhich opens on to the road towards
Genappes, there is a small door towards the rear of
the building; but it is at the side of the rear, or
rather at the rear of the east side : and opens, like
the large one, on to the road. This road was swept
by the French guns : and it was absolutely impossible
to reach it from the British line. Had there been
an opening in the wall, immediately at the rear, the
building itself ivould have covered the approach of
a small and determined body of men ; but enfiladed
as both doors were, no one could get near them.
At the same time it surprizes me that, with the
powder contained in the cartridges, the fine Hano
verian corps ivho defended it so gallantly for many
hours, and perished almost to a man, could not blow
a hole in the Avail at the rear of their little for
tress. I heard many years ago that it was not the
case that their final surrender Avas caused by this
defect : but that the cartridges, AA'hich Avere carried to
them through a desperate fire, were found not to
fit their rifles. I suspect that this ivas really the
case : being of a different service, this might well have

262 WATERLOO.
occurred. The Duke, when asked the question, at first
said that the Prince of Orange commanded the Divi
sion ; and ought to have attended to it : he irhme-
diately corrected himself, however, and said " No ; it
was my fault : but one cannot think of everything."
Could generosity go further ? A man Avith his vast
responsibility actually blamed himself for a detail :
thereby showing, as he did at every opportunity, the
noble unselfishness of his nature.
As regards many stories told of things that he did
on that day, they bear the semblance of truth. The
Duke said that he could not remember Avhether he
wore a cloak on the 18th. He said he did on the
17th, for it rained. In the afternoon of the 18th, I
have this on good authority, he took off his cloak, and
Sir William de Lancy, who Avas his Q.-M. General,
and his most intimate friend, in order not to put the
Duke to inconvenience, dismounted ; and AA-as fasten
ing the Duke's cloak to the front of his own saddle,
when he was struck doivn : he most unfortunately
gave orders to those who were carrying him from
the field, to leave him there ; and to go back, and
fight. He was found alive the next morning; and
his life might possibly have been saved under other
circumstances. He died some days later in Brussels.

WATERLOO. 263
It is related of the Duke that on one occasion,
when the French were advancing, he entered a
Square; chatted quietly with the Commanding Officer,
and said " Oh, it will be all right : if the Prussians
come up in time Ave shall have a long peace."
The fine, stiff-necked Colonel, mounted in the
centre of M1S Butler's spirited picture of "A Square
at Quatre Bras," is, I should say, taken from a por
trait, ivhich I have, of Cameron of Lochiel; not of
course of his Regiment. His neatly arranged Avig,
and whiskers, are utterly different from the conven
tional idea of a wild Highlander.
IT WOULD FAR exceed the limits of this volume
to go into the various questions of the Duke's strategy,
and tactics. A great deal of nonsense has been talked,
and ivritten on the subject. Napoleon is reported to
have said at S' Helena that the Duke was at fault in
taking up a position in front of a forest, which at
that time extended from Waterloo to Brussels. Now
it is nearly all gone. Napoleon ought to have defined
what he meant by the term " forest." To take up a
position in front of a forest, that has the character of a
jungle, full of impassable underwood, ivould certainly
be very imprudent. The Forest of Soignies was no-

264 WATERLOO.
thing of the sort. It was a wood of pine trees ; than
which there is nothing more easy for troops to traverse
or defend ; no underwood : and not only no obstacle
to their retreat, but it would have proved the most
admirable means for their defence.
In addition to this, three good roads led through
this Avood. The Duke AA'ould not allow a wheel-barrow
to block these means of retreat. He could have used
them Avithout any difficulty.
The Duke intended to move, not towards Brussels,
but toAvards the West. His first object Avas to keep
up his communication with the sea : and with the
great fortress of AntAverp.
It Avas for this reason that he placed a 'corps
d'armee ' under Lord Hill on the right flank of his own
army; in order that, had it been necessary to retire
from his position, he could have done so, without diffi
culty, in that direction. Lord Hill's force would have
afforded protection ; and had the French endeavoured
to press upon the Duke, this part of the Avhole force,
which was absolutely unfatigued, combined with the
Prussians, ivho he knew perfectly well must come up
sooner or later, would have entirely prevented Napo
leon penetrating to Brussels.
People who are in the habit of speaking without

WATERLOO. 265
thinking, or who are incapable of thought, have said
that if the Prussians had not come up the British
Army must have been annihilated. More perfect
nonsense never was uttered.
Had the Duke not known that the Prussian Army
was ivhere it was, he ivould never have fought the
battle. Every movement that he made was in accord
with the fact that the Prussians ivere near him.
Napoleon said " La guerre est une affaire de jambes
autant que de courage " : had it not been for the
overwhelming deluge of rain ivhich fell on the pre
vious day and night, the whole Prussian force would
have been on the flank of the French at four o'clock
in the afternoon, or soon after.
To anyone who will take the trouble to spend half
an hour in examining the map ; to say nothing of the
easy method of walking over the field itself; it is per
fectly clear that the Duke had arranged matters with
the perfection of wisdom. No human being could
tell the secret, which ivas in Napoleon's breast alone,
as to how he Avould advance from his own country
into Belgium. The probabilities AA'ere that he would
come by Mons, and Hal. That seemed to give him
the best opportunity of reaching Brussels, which was
his political object. Wishing, above all, to convince

266 WATERLOO.
the French people that he was still invincible, he
desired to obtain possession of the Belgian Capital.
This was his first object ; thinking thereby that the
people of France would again allow levies to be
raised ; and that he might be able to carry on a
desperate, and possibly successful War. This was the
cause of his hurrying toivards the Belgian frontier.
The Duke of Wellington has said that he ought to
have waited ; and that " Napoleon never had patience
enough to fight a defensive war." It does however,
notwithstanding this dictum, seem probable that his
first object was political. His newly regained throne
was, as he well knew, tottering under him. He had
the French Army with him; not the French People.
He was as a gambler playing his last stake ; and
nothing but a brilliant, and immediate success ivould
have enabled him to remain Emperor of France.
Impossible as it clearly was for the Duke to know
by which route Napoleon intended to advance, he
posted his troops on the various roads in such con
tiguity that each corps d'armee could help the others.
So soon as he ascertained the line of Napoleon's ad
vance he took steps to check him ; and succeeded.
IT HAS been said, with a view to disparage the

WATERLOO. 267
Duke, that he was not prepared for Napoleon's attack.
A very few minutes' consideration will put an end to
this idea. There were three principal roads leading
from the French frontier to Brussels. That on the
east by Namur ; that in the centre by Charleroi ; that
on the west by Mons. No human being but Napo
leon knew by which of these roads Brussels ivould be
attacked. The Duke took every possible precaution
to guard these three roads. If the reader will place
the three central fingers of his, or her, right hand on
this page, the matter can very easily be explained.
Let the reader assume that the centre of the knuckles
represents Brussels ; the forefinger to represent the
road from Namur ; the central finger from Charleroi ;
the third finger from Mons.
The Duke posted troops on each of these roads,
say at the first joint from the point of each finger.
So soon as it was known that Napoleon was
advancing from Charleroi, that is, by the central
finger, the British and Prussian armies were, so far
as possible, brought together, at the first joint of
that finger. Quatre-Bras, and Ligny were there
fought on the i6tb of June. In consequence of the
Prussian army being driven back, it became necessary
for the British army, in order to effect a junction with

268 WATERLOO.
them, to retire to the plain of Waterloo, that is, the
second joint of the central finger. There the Battle
was fought on the 18th-
AMONG OTHER absurd questions this has been
asked. " What would have happened if the Prussians
had not come up?" The reply to this is very simple.
The Battle would not have been fought. The Duke
arranged everything with the Commander in Chief of
the Prussian Army, Marshal Blucher; he had surveyed
the country the year before ; and had made memoranda
showing where the Battle must be fought. It was abso
lutely certain that the. Prussian army must, sooner or
later, join his own. The Duke had asked Marshal
Blucher for one Division of 25,000 men. Blucher
promised this ; and kept his word. Blucher also
promised, without the Duke suggesting it, that the
whole of his army should join the Duke's, and attack
the French right flank so early as possible. Bulow's
Division arrived between three and four, according to
promise ; and also according to promise, Marshal
Blucher joined ivith his main army so soon as the
desperate condition of the roads from rain permitted.
IT HAS BEEN SAID that the detachment of a corps

WATERLOO. 269
d'armee to the west, Avhich took no part in the battle,
was faulty ; that this corps d'armee was useless. It is
surprizing how much ignorance, or malignity can be
shown. I consider that the corps d'armee detached
to the west answered three distinct purposes. The
First, that it blocked the road from Mons, by which it
might reasonably be supposed Napoleon would attempt
to advance upon Brussels. In fact, on the night of
the 17th Napoleon detached 2,000 cavalry on this very
road. They found their path stopped; and returned to
the main army. The Second object of the position of
the corps d'armee was to intercept the French : had
they been driven back by the Prussians under circum
stances which would have prevented the British Army
from attacking them at the same moment. Had
the French right front, ivhich fought ' en potence,'
that is to say, thrown back ; and which became their
front toivards the Prussians, been compelled to re
treat, this western corps d'armee would have pre
vented their escape ; and they would have found
themselves placed between two fires ; a hopeless
position. The Third great object of the detachment
of the corps d'armee to the west, was to enable the
Duke to pass in that direction, had he been unable to
defeat the French ; this detached corps d'arme'e pro-

270 WATERLOO.
tecting his left flank. The Duke's best troops were
landing daily on the west coast. These appear to
me to be the reasons, simply expressed, for the Duke
acting as he did.
IN THE DUKE'S official account of the battle, dated
"Waterloo, June 19, 1815," the last paragraph but one
is as follows : " The operation of General Bulow upon
the enemy's flank was a most decisive one : and even
if I had not found myself in a situation to make the
attack which produced the final result, it would have
forced the Enemy to retire if his attacks should haA'e
failed ; and- would have prevented him from taking
advantage of them if he should unfortunately have
succeeded." These last words should be learned by
heart. They explain the situation with absolute
clearness. ORDERS WERE SENT to clear the bridge at
Genappes at five o'clock in the afternoon of Waterloo.
I have lately heard that a very distinguished French
soldier, ivith good means of knowing the facts, has-
stated that Napoleon knew that he ivas defeated at
three o'clock; in fact the failure of his first attack
of Horse, Foot, and Artillery must have shown1

WATERLOO. 271
him the extreme difficulty of -penetrating the British
position. WHEN NAPOLEON was told that the advancing
Prussians were Grouchy coming up at last, he looked
through his opera-glass ; and said " No, no ; black is
black ; and blue is blue ; those are Prussians."
THE GREATEST MEN have probably owed their
ultimate success to promotion in early life. Julius
Caesar was the nephew of Marius : Napoleon married
a friend of Barras : the Duke of Wellington was
Lord Wellesley's brother.
WHAT MUST HAVE BEEN the Duke's feelings
of honest triumph when Lord Grey who, after the
failure at Burgos, had denounced him in unmeasured
terms, declared in a speech in the Duke's presence,
in the House of Lords, that in his, Lord Grey's,
opinion the Duke's character transcended that of
every ancient, and modern hero.
THE CARDINAL DE RETZ declared that the
great Marquess of Montrose was the only man who
equalled the Pagan Heroes : having the ideal virtues

272 WATERLOO.
of Classic Times. What would he have said of
Wellington ?
AMONG THE INCIDENTS OF WATERLOO,
it is startling to find that Bulow's Division, whose
advent first alarmed Napoleon, might have completely
failed but for the judgment of a single Belgian peasant.
On leaving the woods of Frischermont, to the right
of the French army, two roads diverge. The man
ivho guided the Column hesitated : and for a few
minutes considered which path he should take. He
chose the left one ; saying " Now we shall take them
all." Had he led by the other, the Prussian Division
would have found it impassable by their Artillery.
The rain of the previous night had rendered the
ground extremely heavy ; and in fact a mistake might
have changed the destiny of Europe.
I should have thought that every inch of ground in
the neighbourhood of Waterloo would have been
surveyed ; for it is well known that the Duke recon
noitred the position _ the previous year ; and had
previously determined ivhere the fight would be for
the protection of Belgium.
TWO MEN have not been done justice to in the

WATERLOO. 273
history of the campaign : Grouchy, and Thielman.
Napoleon, who invariably blamed everybody but him
self, insisted that Grouchy Avas a traitor; and was
paid. A more absurd fabrication never came even
from his lips, who, as the Duke said, "never tripped
into Truth." Thanks to the exertions, and admir
able strategy of Thielman, Grouchy Avas entirely
unable to make the attack on the Prussians Avhich he,
no doubt, would otherwise have done. The more
the matter is looked into, the more clearly Avill this
appear. Thielman held Grouchy's Division in what
might be called a " movable vice," the whole day :
and Grouchy could do nothing more than he did.
I HAVE NEVER UNDERSTOOD why the Officer
Commanding in Chief the Cavalry should not ride
with the Commander in Chief, as does the General
Officer commanding the Royal Artillery. I should
have thought that such a system would be infinitely
better than for the Commander in Chief, who is gene
rally an Infantry Officer, to send messages, which may
or may not be understood, as at Balaclava, to the
Officer Commanding the Cavalry.
I HAVE spoken of a conversation between Napoleon
t

274

WATERLOO.

I. and Count Flahault, who was his companion in his
flight from Waterloo to Charleroi. Count Flahault,
AA'ho was on terms of personal intimacy with the
Emperor, and his family, said to him " Is not your
Majesty surprized?" Napoleon replied "No: it has
been the same thing since Crecy ; " throwing, as was
his wont, the blame upon the brave soldiers who had
died for him by thousands on that day.
A common friend asked me if he might inquire as
to this fact from Count Flahault, ivhen he was French
Ambassador in London. I gave him permission to
do so ; and he reported to me subsequently that
Count Flahault had said that it was true, word for
word. Napoleon's conduct towards Marshal Ney, his con
stant companion at arms, and, as Napoleon himself
called him, ' the bravest of the brave,' was atrocious.
Not only had Ney risked his life over and over again
at Waterloo ; not only had he headed the last des
perate charge of the Old Guard, fighting, after his
horse had been killed, on foot, and still holding his
ground at the head of the Column, ivhich received
twenty-nine rounds of grape and canister shot, at fifty
yards distance, before it began to yield; not only had
he with difficulty, weary, and foot-sore, in the crowd of

WATERLOO. 275
fugitives, scarcely survived the battle ; but he had
made for Napoleon a sacrifice greater than all this.
What was his reward ? The Emperor lost not a
moment in turning upon him ; and endeavouring to
throw the blame for the destruction of the French
Army upon his ablest Lieutenant.
Contrast this conduct with that of Napoleon III. at
Sedan. Nothing would have been easier for the defeated
Emperor than to have thrown the blame of such an
overwhelming disaster upon his Generals, Macma-
hon or Wimpfen ; he knew that the future of his
Dynasty would be probably fatally affected by the
admission that the responsibility of surrender rested
upon him. He made no attempt to put the blame
on other shoulders : he himself sent his personal
aide-de-camp to hoist the flag of surrender on the
citadel of Sedan. Whatever may have been the short
comings of Napoleon III., he knew the meaning
of the word ' Gentleman.'
NO MAN IN HIS ARMY was so much exposed
during the battle as the Duke himself. He rode
along the top of the ridge, now demolished, which
sheltered his troops in some measure from the fire of

276 WATERLOO.
the French Artillery. This was done, not in the
slightest degree for theatrical display; but because,
after carefully balancing in his mind the advantages,
and disadvantages, he determined that it was better
for him to do so. He felt that everything depended
upon himself; and that the loss of his life might
be the loss of his Army. On the other hand,
he knew that he had to deal with troops, not, with
a few exceptions, veterans; but chiefly boys, for
they were hardly more, many of whom had never
been engaged ; and who had had no opportunity of
seeing him win a battle. He felt that his first object
must be to inspire confidence in his soldiers. His
calmness of demeanour, his methodical way of deal
ing with the various Regiments during the day, all of
which was visible to his men, gave them unbounded
confidence in the success of his orders.
Not only did he feel this ; but he also felt that he
would show to the brave men who fought under him,
that however great were their risks, however much he
exacted from their courage, and their endurance, he
exacted the same qualities, and conduct from himself.
All that they risked he risked ; at any moment their
lives might have been sacrificed ; so might his at any
moment. There Avas not one, from the Chief of his

WATERLOO. 277
Staff to the last joined recruit, who did not know, and
who did not see the self-sacrifice of this great man.
Not a private in the ranks but felt during that
tremendous conflict that the Duke of Wellington, the
man of Wealth, Rank, and Success, with the World at
his feet, Avas jeopardizing his life to at least the same
degree as the poor outcast, AA-ho had become a soldier
from stan'ation.
THERE MUST HOWEVER, have been a deeper
feeling in Wellington's breast.
Those who have obtained extraordinary, and almost
inordinate influence over mankind mainly by Military
Genius have persuaded themselves that they Avere the
instruments of the Almighty. We can hardly be sur
prized that Mahomet did so; and Attila called himself
" The Scourge of God."
A Thought, the converse of this, must have visited
the Duke. He knew that in those Belgian meadows
he was fighting the true, honest cause of Civilization,
and of Freedom. He had known his own long, and
successful career. He knew that those opposed to
him were fighting bravely for a man whom Honesty,
and Honour had ceased to respect; and he felt, I
can have no doubt, that the battle would be his.

278 WATERLOO.
Anxiety may have crossed his mind in the long
delay of the arrival of his faithful allies ; but he never
doubted the result of the day : and he must have felt
during the Greatest Battle that the World has ever
known, that it was his guiding spirit that would give
Europe half a century of peace.
Well might he say, with unaffected Piety, "The
finger of Providence was upon me."

THE BALL.
' I ^HERE was a sound of Revelry by night ;
And Belgium's Capital had gather'd then
Her Beauty and her Chivalry ; and bright
The lamps shone o'er fair women, and brave men :
A thousand hearts beat happily ; and when
Music arose with its voluptuous swell,
Soft eyes look'd love to eyes ivhich spake again ;
And all went merry as a marriage-bell :
But Hush ! Hark ! a deep sound strikes like a rising
knell !
" Did ye not hear it ? No : 'twas but the wind ;
Or the car rattling o'er the stony street :
On with the dance ! let Joy be unconfined :
No sleep till morn, when Youth and Pleasure meet
To chase the glowing Hours with flying feet :
But, Hark ! that heavy sound breaks in once more ;
As if the clouds its echo would repeat ;
And nearer, clearer, deadlier than before !
Arm ! Arm ! it is ; it is ; the Cannon's opening Roar !

28o THE BALL.
"Within a windowed niche of that High Hall
Sate Brunswick's fated chieftain ; he did hear
That sound the first amidst the Festival ;
And caught its tone with Death's prophetic ear :
And when they smiled, because he deem'd it near,
His heart more truly knew that peal too well,
Which stretch'd his father on a bloody bier ;
And roused the Vengeance blood alone could quell :
He rush'd into the field, and, foremost fighting, fell.
" Ah ! then, and there, was hurrying to and fro ;
And gathering tears ; and tremblings of distress ;
And cheeks all pale, which but an hour ago
Blush'd at the praise of their own loveliness :
And there were sudden partings ; such as press
The life from out young hearts ; and choking sighs
Which ne'er might be repeated : Who could guess
If ever more should meet those mutual eyes ;
Since upon Night so sweet such awful Morn could
rise?
"And there was mounting in hot haste : the Steed,
The mustering Squadron, and the clattering car,
Went pouring forward with impetuous speed ;
And swiftly forming in the ranks of War :

THE BALL. 281
And the deep thunder, peal on peal, afar :
And near, the beat of the alarming drum
Roused up the soldier, ere the Morning Star :
While throng'd the Citizens Avith Terror dumb ;
Or Avhispermg, Avith white lips, " The Foe ! They
come ! they come ! "

"And Wild, and High, the "Cameron's Gathering"
rose !
The War-note of Lochiel; which Albyn's hills
Have heard ; and heard, too, have her Saxon foes :
How, in the noon of night, that Pibroch thrills,
Savage, and shrill ! But with the breath ivhich fills
Their mountain-pipe, so fill the mountaineers
With the fierce native daring, ivhich instils
The stirring memory of a thousand years :
And Evan's, Donald's, fame rings in each Clansman's
ears !
"And Ardennes waves above them her green
leaves,
Dewy ivith nature's tear-drops, as they pass ;
Grieving, if aught inanimate e'er grieves,
Over the unreturning brave ; Alas !

282 THE BALL.
Ere evening to be trodden like the grass,
Which now beneath them, but above shall grow-
In its next verdure ; when this fiery mass
Of living Valour, rolling on the Foe,
And burning with high Hope, shall moulder cold, and
low.
" Last noon beheld them full of lusty life ;
Last eve in Beauty's circle proudly gay ;
The Midnight brought the signal-sound of strife ;
The Morn the marshalling in arms ; the Day
Battle's magnificently-stern array !
The thunder-clouds close o'er it : ivhich when rent
The earth is cover'd thick with other clay ;
Which her own clay shall cover, heap'd, and pent,
Rider and horse ; friend, foe ; in one red burial
blent!"
IN THE SPRING of 1884, Colonel Montague,
formerly commanding the 4th Hussars, asked me, at
the Carlton Club, whether I could give him informa
tion relating to the Duchess of Richmond's ball; which
took place at Brussels on the 15th of June, 181 5 ; the
night before the battle of Quatre-Bras.
I told him that I ivould do my best to ascertain the

THE BALL. 283
facts. Soon afterwards I happened to meet Lord de
Ros at an evening party at Londonderry House, Park
Lane. I mentioned the subject to him, and he re
minded me that his mother, Lady De Ros, whom I
had known all my life, would be glad to tell me all
that she knew about the matter. I Avrote to Lady de
Ros ; and immediately communicated her reply to
Colonel Montague. The following letter has lately
been handed to me by him. It bears the date, and
post-mark of August 8, 1884.
"Dear Colonel Montague,
" I trust that illness has not kept you away from
the Carlton : I received last night a very interesting
letter on the point anent which you asked me.
" It is from Lady de Ros, who was present at the
ball ; and at whose father's house (The Duke of Rich
mond's) it was given. She says ' It was at our house,
Rue de la Blanchisserie. The house and street no longer
existed in 1869 : the house stood in a garden in the
lower part of the town. I have a plan of the ball
room; and a list ofthe invitations to the ball, which I
will show you on my return to London.'
" The thermometer being at 900 in the shade while
I write, you will understand how much I appreciate
your interest in those glorious days.

284 THE BALL.
"My father was on the Staff; as A.D.C. to the
Commander of the Cavalry : and my cousin, Captain
Thomas Craufurd of the Third Guards was the only
Officer killed in the kitchen-garden of Gomont.
" Yours very truly,
" William Fraser.
"V Col. Montague."
I subsequently saw Lady de Ros ; and had a very
interesting conversation with her on the subject. She
was so good as to give me the list of those invited to
the Ball ; which I append. She gai'e me many par
ticulars as regards what happened at the ball; the
dancing continuing all night after the departure of
the Officers ; not by the ladies of the house, but by
other young ladies, in a more or less heartless way.
Lady de Ros informed me that when she and the
late Lord de Ros had endeavoured to find the
place some years ago (it appears it was in 1868),
they completely failed : that they were informed that
not only the house, but the street, in fact the whole
" quartier " had been demolished ; and that the quest
of the ball-room was perfectly hopeless. Lady de Ros
produced a plan on a large scale ; but as she told me
that the Duke of Richmond's house no longer existed,
I scarcely glanced at it ; and retain no impression

THE BALL. 285
whatever of what it was like. Colonel Montague, I
may mention, had on two occasions done his utmost
to find the ball-room ; but he, like Lady, de Ros, had
failed ; and for the same reason : they both accepted
as true what they were told. Lady de Ros told me
that the Ball Avas in a long narrow room, that had at
one time been a coachmaker's depot : and was used
occasionally by her sisters and herself, as a play-room.
The following is the List of Invitations to the
Duchess of Richmond's Ball at Brussels, June 15,
1815.
H.R.H. the Prince of Orange.
H.R.H. Prince Frederic of Orange.
H.R.H. the Duke of Brunswick.
Prince of Nassau.
Due d'Arenberg.
Prince Auguste d'Arenberg.
Prince Pierre d'Arenberg.
Le Maire de Bruxelles.
Due et Duchesse de Beaufort et Mademoiselle.
Due et Duchesse D'Ursel.
Marquis et Marquise D'Assche [from their house we
saw the wounded brought in : Lord Uxbridge, Lord
F. Somerset, &c.J.
Comte et Comtesse D'Oultremont.

286 THE BALL.
Comtesse Douairiere D'Oultremont et les Mesde-
moiselles.
Comte et Comtesse Liedekerke Beaufort.
Comte et Comtesse Auguste Liedekerke et Made
moiselle.
Comte et Comtesse Latour Lupin.
Comte et Comtesse Mercy D'Argenteau.
Comte et Comtesse de Grasiac.
Comtesse de Luiny.
Comtesse de Ruilly.
Baron et Baronne D'Hooghvoorst.
Mademoiselle D'Hooghvoorst et Monsieur C.
D'Hooghvoorst.
Madame Constant D'Hooghvoorst.
Monsieur et Madame Vander Capellan.
Baron de Herelt.
Baron de Tuybe.
Baron Brockhausen.
General Baron Vincent, wounded at Waterloo.
General Pozzo di Borgo.
General Alava.
Comte de Belgade.
Comte de la Rochefoucauld.
Gen. D'Oudenarde.
Col. Knife, (?) A.D.C.

THE BALL. 287
Col. Ducayla.
Major Ronnchenberg, A.D.C.
Col. Tripp, A.D.C.
Capt. de Lubeck, A.D.C. to H.R.H. the Duke of
Brunswick.
Earl and Countess of Conyngham, and Lady Elizabeth
Conyngham.
Viscount Mount Charles and Hon. Mv Conyngham
(afterwards 2nd Marquess Conyngham).
Countess Mount Norris and Lady Juliana Annesley.
Countess Dowager of Waldegrave.
Duke of Wellington.
Lord and Lady Fitzroy Somerset (neither were
present ; Lord Fitzroy lost his arm at Waterloo).
Lord and Lady John Somerset.
Mr and Lady Frances Webster.
M1' and Lady Caroline Capel and Miss Capel.
Lord and Lady George Seymour and Miss Seymour.
Mr and Lady Charlotte Greville.
Viscountess Hawarden.
Sir Henry and Lady Susan Clinton (he was Ll-Gen.
and G.C.B. and commanded a Division).
Lady Alvanley and the Miss Ardens.
Sir James, Lady, and Miss Craufurd.
Sir George Berkeley, K.C.B., and Lady Berkeley.

288 THE BALL.
Lady and Miss Sutton.
Sir Sidney and Lady Smith, and Miss Rumbolds.
Sir William and Lady Johnstone.
Sir Hew and Lady Dalrymple.
Sir William and Lady Delancy.
Hon. Mrs Pole (afterwards Lady Maryborough).
M1', Mrs, and Miss Lance, and Mr. Lance, jun.
Mr and the Miss Ords.
M1' and Mvs Greathed.
Mr and Mrs Lloyd.
Hon. Sir Charles Stuart, G.C.B. (Minister at Bruxelles),
and M1' Stuart.
Earl of Uxbridge (commanded the Cavalry ; lost his
leg at Waterloo).
Earl of Portarlington.
Earl of March, A.D.C. to H.R.H. the Prince of
Orange.
Gen. Lord Edward Somerset (commanded a Brigade
of Cavalry; wounded at Waterloo).
Lord Charles FitzRoy.
Lord Robert Manners.
L'-Gen. Lord Hill (commanding the 2nd Corps).
Lord Rendlesham.
Lord Hay, A.D.C. (killed at Quatre-Bras).
Lord Saltoun.

THE BALL. 289
Lord Apsley (afterwards Earl Bathurst).
Hon. Col. Stanhope (Guards).
Hon. Col. Abercromby (Guards ; wounded).
Hon. Col. Ponsonby, afterwards Sir Frederick
Ponsonby, K.C.B. (severely wounded).
Hon. Col. Acheson (Guards).
Hon. Col. Stewart.
Hon. Mr O. Bridgeman, A.D.C. to Lord Hill.
Hon. Mr Percival.
Hon. Mr Stopford.
Hon. Mr John Gordon.
Hon. M1' Edgecombe.
Hon. Mr Seymour Bathurst, A.D.C. to Gen. Mait
land.
Hon. Mr Forbes.
Hon. M1' Hastings Forbes.
Hon. Major Dawson.
Hon. Mr Dawson, 18th Light Dragoons.
Maj. -Gen. Sir Hussey Vivian (commanded a Brigade
of Cavalry).
Mr. Horace Seymour, A.D.C. (afterwards Sir Horace
Seymour, K.C.B. ).
Col. Hervey, A.D.C. (afterwards Sir Felton Hervey,
B-art).
Col. Fremantle, A.D.C. u

290

THE BALL.

Lord George Lennox, A.D.C.
Lord Arthur Hill, A.D.C. (afterwards Gen. Lord
Sandys).
Hon. Major Percy, A.D.C. (son of ist Earl of
Beverley. He brought home three Eagles and
dispatches).
Hon. Mr Cathcart, A.D.C. (afterwards Sir George
Cathcart; killed at Inkerman, 1854).
Hon. Sir Alexander Gordon, A.D.C. (died of his
wounds at Waterloo).
Sir Colin Campbell, K.C.B., A.D.C.
Sir John Byng, G.C.B. (created Earl of Strafford ;
commanded 2nd Brigade of Guards).
L'-Gen. Sir John Elley, K.C.B.
Sir George Scovell, K.C.B. (Major commanding Staff
Corps of Cavalry).
Sir George Wood, Col. R.A.
Sir Henry Bradford.
Sir Robert Hill, K' ) (Brothers of Lord Hill.)
Sir Noel Hill, K.C.B.)
Sir William Ponsonby, K.C.B. (brother of Lord
Ponsonby ; commanded a Brigade of Cavalry ;
killed at Waterloo).
Sir Andrew Barnard (afterwards Governor of Chelsea
Hospital).

THE BALL. 291
Sir Denis Pack, Maj.-Gen., G.C.B. (commanded a
Brigade).
Sir James Kemp, Maj.-Gen., G.C.B. (commanded a
Brigade).
Sir Pulteney Malcolm.
Sir Thomas Picton, Ll-Gen. (commanded 5"1 Division;
killed at Waterloo).
Maj.-Gen. Sir Edward Barnes, Adjt.-Gen. (wounded
at Waterloo).
Sir James Gambier.
Hon. General Dundas.
Ll-Gen. Cooke (commanded ist Division).
Maj.-Gen. Maitland (afterwards Sir Peregrine, G.C.B. ;
commanded ist Brigade of Guards).
Maj.-Gen. Adam (not present ; commanded a Brigade ;
afterwards Sir Frederick Adam, K.C.B.).
Col. Washington.
Col. Woodford (aftenvards F.M. Sir Alexander Wood
ford, G.C.B., Governor of Chelsea).
Col. Rowan, 52'"1 (afterwards Sir Charles Roavj.ii,
Chief Commissioner of Police).
Col. Wyndham (afterwards Gen. Sir Henry Wynd-
ham).
Col. Cumming, i8& Light Dragoons.
Col. Bowater (afterwards Gen. Sir Edward Bowater).

292 THE BALL.
Col. Torrens (afterwards Adjt.-Gen. in India).
Col. Fuller.
Col. Dick, 42nd (killed at Sobraon, 1846).
Col. Cameron, 92nd (killed at Quatre-Bras).
Col. Barclay, A.D.C. to the Duke of York.
Col. Hill (?) (Col. Clement Hill, brother to Lord
Hill).
Major Gunthorpe, A.D.C. to Gen. Maitland.
Major Churchill, A.D.C. to Lord Hill and Q.M.G.
(killed in India).
Major Hamilton, A.D.C. to Gen. Sir E. Barnes.
Major Harris, Brigade Major to Sir Hussey Vivian
(lost an arm).
Major Hunter Blair (wounded).
Capt. Mackworth, A.D.C. to Lord Hill.
Capt. Keane, A.D.C. to Sir Hussey Vivian.
Capt. FitzRoy.
Capt. Wildman, 7th Hussars, A.D.C. to Lord
Uxbridge.
Capt. Fraser, 7th Hussars (afterwards Sir James Fraser,
Bart.).
Capt. Verner, 7 th Hussars.
Capt. Elphinstone, 7th Hussars (taken prisoner
June 17).
Capt. Webster.

THE BALL. 293
Capt. Somerset, A.D.C. to Gen. Lord Edward
Somerset.
Capt. Yorke, A.D.C. to Gen. Adam (afterwards Sir
Charles Yorke ; not present).
Capt. Gore, A.D.C. to Sir James Kempt.
Capt.. Pakenham, R.A.
Capt. Dumaresiq, A.D.C. to Gen. Sir John Byng (died
of wounds).
Capt. Dawkins, A.D.C.
Capt. Disbrowe, A.D.C. to Gen. Sir G. Cook.
Capt. Bowles, Coldstream Guards (afterwards Gen.
Sir George Bowles, Lieutenant of the Tower).
Capt. Hesketh, Grenadier Guards.
Capt. Gurwood (afterwards Col. Gurwood).
Capt. Allix, Grenadier Guards.
Mr Russell, A.D.C.
Mr Brooke, 12th Dragoon Guards.
M1' Huntley, 12th Dragoon Guards.
M1' Lionel Hervey (in diplomacy).
M1' Leigh.
M1' Shakespear, 18th.
Mr O'Grady, 7th Hussars (aftenvards Lord Guillamore).
Mr Smith, 95th, Brigadier-Major to Sir Denis Packe
(killed at Waterloo).
Mr Fludyer, Scots Fusilier Guards.

294 THE BALL.
2 Mr Montagus (John, and Henry, late Lord
Rokeby, G.C.B.).
M1' A. Greville.
M1' Baird.
Mr Robinson, 32nd.
M1' James.
Mv Chad.
Mr Dawkins.
Dr Hyde.
Mr Hume.
Rev. M1' Brixall.
ON MY RETURN to Brussels from Waterloo last
August I visited the old Cemetery ; in a neglected
corner of ivhich were buried the bodies of the Officers
who died in Brussels from wounds received in the
Battles of the 15th, 16th, and 17th of June. Some of
the graves are empty ; the bodies having been removed
to England. Over a few the stones still remain : the
only name that I could recognize as being distinguished
was that of Sir AVilliam de Lancy, the Deputy-Quarter
master General; whose death while speaking to the
Duke I have described.
I subsequently paid a visit to Count  , a
Belgian Nobleman, well-known in the world of Art.

THE BALL. 295
I told the Count that I was very anxious to find, if
possible, the scene of the famous ball. I mentioned
to him that in Cotton's "Voice from Waterloo" it is
stated that the Duke of Richmond's house was in the
Rue des Cendres ; Avhereas a lady, who had been
present, had more than once told me that it was in
the Rue de la Blanchisserie.
The Count said "That may Avell be; for the Rue
des Cendres, and the Rue de la Blanchisserie are back
to back." This first gave me hopes. I ivent straight
from his house to the Rue de la Blanchisserie ; and
examined the first section of it, if I may use the term,
very carefully. I could find no house that answered
the description in any way whatever. I then walked
up the Rue des Cendres to the left. On my light
hand I noticed a vast Hospital ; Avith an extensive
dead Avail. A gentleman standing in his doorway
ansAvered my questions by telling me that the Duke
of Richmond's house had been absorbed ; and made
part of this large Hospital. I rang the bell ; and
was immediately admitted by one of the Nursing
Sisters of the Order of Sl Augustin. I at once
asked her if she would point out to me the Duke of
Richmond's house ; or, at least, what remained of it.
Passing from the " porte cochere," in AA-hich Ave Avere

296 THE BALL.
standing, she at once pointed to a house on the left,
which she said was the Duke of Richmond's house.
Adding " It is now, as you see, part of the Hospital;
I cannot allow you to enter; for it is the abode ofthe
Nursing Sisters."
The windows were wide open, the weather being
very hot ; and I could distinctly examine the rooms
from outside. The ceilings were ornamental, in the
Renaissance style; the central ornament of one had
been painted black, and the other was still gilded : it
was obvious that the rooms had not been built for the
purposes of a Hospital ; they had evidently been the
dwelling-rooms of a family of good position. Between
the rooms wpre steps leading into the court-yard, or
old garden, in which we were standing. My first
impulse naturally was to examine the rooms so care
fully, and accurately as I could ; hoping that one of
them might be ihe famous ball-rocm : but neither of
them was nearly large enough. They were the ordi
nary sitting-rooms of a family ; and neither of them
could have held the two hundred and twenty persons ;
AA'hich was the number of guests according to the list
given to me by Lady de Ros. I looked round the
yard, ivhich I have named ; and was leaving the
premises in despair. I said to the Nursing Sister

THE BALL. 297
" Would you allow me to go back by myself, and
think for a few minutes ? " I felt that being so near
the quest, and not to find it, was provoking. I stood
in the yard; and carefully examined the adjacent
buildings. In the plan which I reproduce, a fac
simile of that lately published by Lady de Ros, none
of the buildings adjacent to the Duke of Richmond's
house are given. The whole of the buildings of the
Rue de la Blanchisserie are omitted : it is the ground
floor of the Duke's house only; and no more repre
sents the locality than the ground-plan of Lord Sef-
ton's house ivould represent Belgrave Square. I, at
length, noticed behind me a lofty wall; and over the
top of this I observed a gabled roof. I had no idea
that the Rue de la Blanchisserie did not terminate at
the foot of the Rue des Cendres ; but on asking the
Nursing Sister what that building ivas behind the
lofty ivall of separation, she at once said "That is the
great Brewery of the Rue de la Blanchisserie." I
replied " But surely the Rue de la B. stops below ? "
"No," she said, "it continues." My hopes were raised.
I ivalked down the Rue des Cendres, turned to the
left, into the continuation ofthe Rue de la Blanchis
serie, which is obviously an old street, much older
than the Rue des Cendres ; and rang the bell at

298 THE BALL.
number ¦ 40. I was admitted ; and what took place
will be found in my letter to "The Times," p. 299.
I measured the room by paces ; and may have
slightly overstated its length ; and diminished its
height. There were doors at either end ; which had
at one time communicated with the court-yard ofthe
Duke of Richmond's house. It is clear that the lofty
wall, separating the hospital yard from the granary,
was built long after the latter : it blocks the lights
completely on that side. Returning to my hotel,
and believing that the one person in the world who
would be most delighted at the discovery, was Lady
de Ros ; although the weather was very hot, and
Brussels stifling, I wrote her a letter, sketching briefly
what I had found ; not asking a single question ; for
I had no more doubt at that time than I have now
that this was the room in which the Ball was given ;
but mentioning particulars which I thought would
interest her. I wrote to no one else. I was delighted
to think that I should please Lady de Ros ; and this
feeling I expressed in the strongest terms. A day or
two afterwards I wrote to Colonel Montague to the
same effect : leaving Brussels, and travelling leisurely
into Germany, I wrote from Homburg my first letter
addressed to the Editor of " The Times." On the

THE BALL. 299
same day on which I saw " The Times " containing
my letter, I received a note from Lady de Ros, who
had read it.
Before leaving Homburg Sir Albert Rollit, and the
Rev. Teignmouth Shore, separately volunteered the
information Avhich, at different times, they had received
from Lord William Lennox.
MY LETTER appeared in "The Times" of
August 25.
THE WATERLOO BALL.
To the Editor of The Times.
Sir, — The following particulars relating to a fre
quently disputed question may interest your readers.
A few days ago I visited the field of Waterloo. The
only alteration observable is the improved condition
of the farm-houses, historically famous, of Gomont,
popularly known as Hougoumont ; and of ' La Haye
Sainte.' I regretted to find, in the former, that the
monumental stone placed on the spot where Captain
Thomas Craufurd, of the 3ld Guards, fell had disap
peared. I hope that it may be replaced.
On the road between ' La Belle Alliance,' and Ge-

300 THE BALL.
nappe I was courteously permitted to see the room in
which Napoleon slept the night before Waterloo ; the
tables upon ivhich he spread his maps on the morning
ofthe 1 8"' of June; and the spot, in the garden, from
which he had his first view of the Field of Battle.
At Genappe I saw the ground on which the ist Life
Guards successfully charged the French Lancers, on
the 17th of June; and, a few miles further on, the field
of Quatre Bras, the scene of almost, if not quite, the
sharpest fight of the British Army, appeared pic
turesque in the light of a setting sun. A monument is,
I am glad to say, soon to be placed on the spot, close
to the Nivelles road, where the heroic Duke of Bruns
wick "fell as his father fell"; at the head of his
devoted corps.
One pathetic incident of this battle has escaped the
notice of Poets, and Painters. I can remember my
father saying that on the evening of Quatre Bras he
noticed many Officers lying dead in the silk stockings,
and buckled shoes ivhich they had worn at the
Duchess of Richmond's ball on the previous night;
their servants having joined the column earlier
making it impossible for them to change their full-
dress uniforms.
On returning to Brussels, I determined to find, if

THE BALL. 301
possible, the scene of the Ball given by the Duchess
of Richmond, the evening before Quatre Bras.
Endless have been the discussions, angry the
quarrels relating to the locality of this ball. Brussels
during that brief, but momentous Campaign has been
described by the mighty spirits ofthe century. Byron,
Thackeray, and Scott were inspired in the highest
degree by the circumstances of that time. " Childe
Harold," " Vanity Fair," and " Paul's Letters to his
Kinsfolk" will live as Classics of the English language.
The discovery of the scene immortalized by these
writers seemed to me worthy of the effort.
I am glad to say that I succeeded.
Some time before leaving England I conversed with
a lady who danced with my father at the ball [this is
doubtful], and who has, as you will see from her name,
which I enclose, the best means of knowing where it
took place. This lady, giving me at the same time a
list of those who Avere invited, told me that Lord
Byron's allusion to " that high hall " was " nonsense."
She added that the ball took place, not in the Duke of
Richmond's house, but in a coachmaker's depot, alow-
roofed room, at the rear of it ; the street being named
Rue de la Blanchisserie. I made many inquiries in
England, and in Brussels. No one knew anything of

302 THE BALI,.
the place ; but all agreed that the scene of the ball
had been frequently sought without success : and that
it no longer existed.
I at last ascertained that the site of the Duke of
Richmond's house was now covered by a large Hospital
in the Rue des Cendres. I visited the Hospital, and
one of the Nursing Sisters politely pointed out a wing
which had formed part of the Duke's house. I ex
amined the garden behind this wing ; neither in this ,
nor in the building itself was there any trace of a ball
room. I observed above the wall of the Hospital the
roof of a high building ; and inquired what it was ; the
sister replied that it was the Brewery of the Rue de la
Blanchisserie. I walked round to this street; and was
informed by the proprietor of the brewery that he
knew nothing on the subject. After some conversa
tion I asked if he could tell me of whom his father
purchased the property ; he replied of a coachbuilder
named Van Asch. I inquired if the coachbuilder had
a depot. " Yes, a very large one ; it is now my
granary." He then took me to the first floor (entre
sol), and I found myself in the room, the remem
brance of which will live so long as the English
language. It is 120 ft. long, 54 ft. broad, and about
13 ft. high, the floor smooth enough to be danced

THE BALL. 303
on to-night. This room answers precisely to the
description given to me : it is immediately in the rear
of the Duke of Richmond's house : it is in the street
named: it belonged in 1815 to a coachbuilder : and it
is capable of holding at least 400 persons.
I do not think that further proof can be required.
I have the permission of the proprietor to give his
name ; V. Vanginderachter, Brasseur, Rue de la
Blanchisserie, 40 et 42. He most courteously added
that he would be glad to show the room to visitors.
Your obedient servant,
Homburg. William Fraser.
THE FOLLOWING Leading Article appeared in
"The Morning Post" on the 27th of August, 1888.
" There is, probably, no merely Social Event in
the History of the present century which has become
more enshrined in the public memory than the Ball
given by the Duchess of Richmond at Brussels on
the eve of the Battle of Quatre Bras ; ivhich imme
diately preceded Waterloo. Romance, and Literature
have vied with each other in the endeavour to depict
a scene so brilliant in its beginning, so stirring in its
development, and so darkened with the shadow of
the coming events, which was thrown beforehand on

304 THE BALL.
its closing hours. But of the great mass of com
petitors who have striven to identify their names with
the story of this historic night two, and these two
appropriately enough Englishmen, have outstripped
all others. The verse of Byron, and the prose cf
Thackeray, have procured for the Brussels ball a
place in the classical literature of England which will
preserve the recollection of it for all time. Strangely
enough, in an age distinguished for relic hunting of
every description, the almost universal curiosity to
stand 'Within a windowed niche of that high hall'
has been invariably baffled by the accident that no
body seemed quite sure where the house occupied by
the Duke of Richmond was to be found. The secret
has, to all appearances, been finally discovered by
Sir William Fraser. A lady, whose competence to
relate the facts is absolutely vouched for, still survives
as a representative of the ' Beauty, and Chivalry '
gathered in Belgium's capital, and by her directions
Sir William Fraser was enabled to track the spot
which henceforward will invest Brussels with a new
attraction for the British and American tourist. The
Ball, according to this A'eteran participator in it, took
place not in the Duke's house, but ' in a coachmaker's
depot, a long, low-roofed room at the back of it ; the

THE BALL. 305
street being named the Rue de la Blanchisserie.'
Here at once may be discovered an adequate reason
for previous failures to identify the spot. The land
once occupied by the Duke of Richmond's house is
now covered by a Hospital looking upon the Rue des
Cendres. The coachmaker's depot is now the
granary of a Brewery, and still stands back to back
with the Hospital, but not, as before, connected with
it. Thus, even if there had been no doubt about
Avhich Avas really the house, there would have been
no possibility, in face of the local rearrangements, for
discovering the long-lost ball-room. It is this fact
probably that accounts for the preference assigned to
many other houses in Brussels which possessed rooms
corresponding more to the ' high hall ' where ' Bruns
wick's fated chieftain ' first heard the roar of the
French cannon with a prophetic instinct that his
father's fate at Jena would be his on the morrow of
Quatre Bras. Byron, in the opinion of the lady ivho
had the advantage of being there, ' talked nonsense '
in describing as a ' high hall ' this low room of about
thirteen feet in height. Considering, however, that
the poetic inspiration was in this case wholly depen
dent on imagination, it would be somewhat hard to
blame the poet himself for picturing the ducal hos-
x

305 THE BALL.
pitalities in language which probably slipped naturally
from his pen. Whether the room was thirteen feet
high or thirty, it is sacred ground to more people
even than the large class who rejoice to sit in the
favourite tavern seats of Johnson, or walk up the
steps of some house ivhere one of Dickens's fictional
characters is represented as living.
" For the granary in the Rue de la Blanchisserie has
a great advantage over the famous places of Fiction
which can be claimed only by the few spots where
truths which are even more strange have been
enacted. At least half that brilliant assembly must
have trembled for what the morrow would bring forth ;
while for the Duke of Wellington, and his officers, the
night was one of intense anxiety and of high-strung
anticipation of the possible fate of Europe. Many
ridiculous stories were current at the time, and are
credited even now, of the circumstances under which
Wellington first discovered the rapid and decisive
movements of his great antagonist. The real facts,
hoivever, were soon afterwards made clear in a
history of Napoleon, ivhich was published for the
'Family Library.' Wellington had been informed
by his scouts of the French advance before the
ball began; and at first it was decided to counler-

THE BALL. 307
mand the permission to attend it. Motives of policy,
however, decided the Commander-in-Chief to keep
his information to himself. The inhabitants of
Brussels were trembling for the fate of themselves,
and their beautiful city ; and even throughout the
eventful days which followed readily believed every
rumour to the effect that the British troops were cut
to pieces, and that the French were advancing to sack
the capital. Moreover, the spirit of the foreign levies
was broken by the exploits which had made the
armies of Napoleon seem well nigh invincible; and
much might be lost by prematurely exciting them.
Accordingly, Wellington bid his General Officers go to
the ball; and after ten o'clock to steal away one by
one in preparation for the march. Thus it happened
that the tragic interest of this festival has taken so
deep a hold upon the imagination. From Picton to
young Frederick Howard, immortalized by Byron, the
English officers quitted their partners, in many cases
to be heard of again only Avhen, like the unworthy
George Osborne of ' Vanity Fair,' they were lying on
the field of battle dead, with a bullet through their,
hearts. "There is little Avonder that this veritable 'dance of
death ' should have appealed to the Genius of Poets,

308 THE BALL.
and prose-writers alike. Admitting the justice of
Johnson's aphorism that ' where Truth is sufficient to
fill the mind, Fiction is worse than useless ' the palm
must in this instance be awarded to Byron. The
graphic account of Thackeray can scarcely be sur
passed by anyone who is daring enough to essay the
task of touching the subject. Nevertheless, the days of
Waterloo seem still too near for the present generation
quite to accept the intrusion of such characters as
Becky Sharp, and Osborne upon the stage of these
stern, and saddening realities. Paradoxically enough,
and in spite of the ' high hall,' it is the Poet who has
adhered to Truth, and the gifted novelist who has
mixed it with fiction. ' I am not sure,' said Sir
Walter Scott, always the more generous of Byron's
contemporary critics, ' that any verses in our language
surpass in Vigour, and in Feeling this most beautiful
description.' This verdict has, we believe, been
fully endorsed by posterity ; which recognizes in the
lines of Byron just that aid ivhich the art of the Poet
could lend to the march of facts at once so stately
and so terrible. The courteous proprietor of the
' long, low-roofed room,' who has declared his willing
ness to throw it open for public inspection, is likely
to find the number of his visitors truly considerable.

THE BALL.

3°9

The placid fields of Waterloo afford very little evi
dence to the pilgrims of history of the the dire event
which has made them Immortal. The land of waving
corn, and 'reckless birds' is suggestive now, as it was
to Byron, principally of ' what it cannot bring.' But
in the old granary of the Rue de la Blanchisserie the
lovers of the scenes which have become historic may
well feel that the echoes of the past have become
audible once more,"
ON THE SAME DAY " The Daily Telegraph "
commented on my letter as follows :
" ' Everything,' says the proverb, ' comes to those
who know how to wait ' ; although the sage monition
was once met by a scoffer with the irreverent re
joinder that the things most earnestly desiderated
were often so late in coming that life was not long
enough to wait for their advent. Historical students,
however, if they be worthy of the task which they
have set themselves, are bound to be of a more
patient temperament ; and they may account it a
comparatively trifling matter if they have only had to
wait some three -and -seventy years before having
reason to be grateful to Sir William Fraser for the
discovery of the exact locality of the historic enter-

310 THE BALL.
tainment given by the Duchess of Richmond, at
Brussels, the night before Quatre Bras ; and popularly
known as the 'Waterloo Ball' Sir William has been
rambling about the field ofthe 'King-making Victory' ;
and, after visiting Hougoumont, Genappe, and Quatre
Bras itself, he remembered that his father, who fought
gallantly in the campaign, had noticed on the last-
named battle-ground many British officers lying dead
in the silk stockings, and buckled shoes, ivhich they
had worn at the Duchess's ball on the previous night ;
their servants having joined the columns earlier ; and
so making it impossible for their masters to change
their full-dress uniforms. Moreover, before the
Baronet left England he had the advantage of con
versing with a lady who had danced with his father at
this selfsame ball, and who was good enough inci
dentally to remark that Lord Byron's allusion, in the
immortal lines in ' Childe Harold,' to 'that high
hall' was 'nonsense.' The lady was apparently un
aware that there is such a thing as poetic licence.
However, she added that the ball really took place in
a coachbuilder's shop, which happened to be a room
with a somewhat low roof, at the rear of the mansion
occupied by the Duke and Duchess of Richmond
during their sojourn in the Belgian capital; the name

THE BALL. 311
of the thoroughfare in ivhich it was situated being the
Rue de la Blanchisserie. Sir William made many
inquiries on the subject both in England and abroad ;
but all he could glean was that the precise scene of
the ball had often been sought for; though without
success. "At length the researches of Sir William Fraser have
been rewarded. During his recent visit he ascertained
that the site of the Duke of Richmond's temporary
domicile at Brussels was now covered by a large
Hospital in the Rue des Cendres ; one of the Aiings of
which is the original fabric ; but neither here, nor in
the garden beyond, Avas there any trace of a ball-room.
The indefatigable Baronet, determined not to be
baffled, pursued his investigations until he observed,
beyond the hospital Avail, the roof of a high building,
which he was informed Avas the brewery of the Rue
de la Blanchisserie. He Avalked round to the ' bras
serie ' in question ; but the proprietor could tell him
nothing about any terpsichorean doings there in the
year 1815. His father, he said, had purchased the
property of a coachbuilder named Van Asch, and
his depot for carriages was now his, the brewer's,
granary. This room he courteously offered to show
to his visitor; who was conducted to an apartment a

312 THE BALL.
hundred and twenty feet long, fifty-four feet broad,
and about thirteen feet high, the floor being quite
smooth enough, even after this long lapse of time, to
be danced upon. On the night of the 15th of June,
1815, the 'parquet' was, in all probability, chalked in
a symmetrical and particoloured pattern. Certainly
a saloon the altitude of ivhich did not exceed that of
two ordinarily strapping Life Guardsmen could not
with technical precision be called a ' high hall ' ; but
the Poet is King ; and may consider himself to
be as much above a mere question of inches as the
German Emperor asserted that he was above gram
mar. It ivould, however, have been some slight con
solation to the lovers of Byron had Sir William Fraser
only been kind enough to tell us whether in this low-
roofed ex-coachmaker's depot there was anything in
the nature of a ' Avindowed niche ' suitable for the
accommodation of ' Brunswick's fated chieftain,' who,
by the way, did not, as Sir William Fraser seems to
think, precisely fall ' as his father fell.' The old
Duke of Brunswick, whose madly wicked proclama
tion led to the murder of Louis XVI. and half the
horrors of the French Revolution, was not killed at
the Battle of Jena. He was badly wounded there,
but died at Dantzic some days afterwards. In any

THE BALL. 313
case, Sir AVilliam Fraser seems to have conclusively
made out his contention that the ' Waterloo Ball '
was held in the carriage depot of the coachbuilder
Van Asch ; now the granary of the ' brasserie ' Van-
ginderachter, Nos. 40 and 42, Rue de la Blanchis
serie, Brussels ; and the public are indebted to the
Baronet for a long-needed, and vainly-sought-for
piece of information. The doubt which for so many
years has enveloped the question is not, after all, so
very incomprehensible. The coachbuilder's ware
house was evidently used as an ' annexe ' to the Duke
of Richmond's house ; and, considering that there
were some four hundred guests at the ball, most of
whom may have been almost strangers to their noble
host and hostess, it is quite feasible that the majority
of the company never troubled their heads for a
moment whether the capacious, but low-roofed, ball
room was part and parcel of the house of their enter
tainers, or whether it belonged to some contiguous
premises, of Avhich opportunity had been taken, just
as the promoters of the tea-party to Messrs. Smith
O'Brien, and Meagher in 1848, 'by the Shannon
Shore,' ' took the opportunity of Tim Doolan's store.'
It AA-as enough for the guests at the Duchess's ball
that ' there was a sound of revelry by night,' that ' the

314 THE BALD.
lamps shone o'er fair women and brave men,' that ' a
thousand hearts beat happily,' and that 'all went
merry as a marriage bell,' when a sound arose ivhich
was not that of the wind nor of the car rattling o'er
the stony Street, but ' the cannon's opening roar.' It
does not in the least detract from the melody, and
majesty of Byron's stanzas, of ivhich W'alter Scott
wrote, ' I am not sure that any verses in our language
surpass in vigour and in feeling this most beautiful
description ' — an opinion amply confirmed by Jeffrey,
who declares that ' there can be no finer proof of the
greatness of Byron's genius than the spirit and in
terest Avhich he has contrived to communicate to his
picture of the often-draAvn and difficult scene of the
breaking up from Brussels before the great battle ' —
that early in the afternoon of the 15th a memorandum
from the Quartermaster-General's Department had
warned the Commanding Officers of Regiments of the
First Division to collect that night at Ath, and to be
in readiness to move at a moment's notice ; and that
at ten in the evening, when the ball had probably
begun, an ' after order,' signed by the Duke of Wel
lington himself, was issued deciding the immediate
march of the troops. It was the Duke's wish, how
ever, that all officers of rank should attend the ball,

THE BALL. 315
to prevent any panic which might arise from their
absence. "The late Lord William Pitt Lennox ivas, as a
young subaltern, on the personal staff of the Duke in
the Waterloo campaign, and in his novel of ' Percy
Hamilton,' which is mainly autobiographical, he states
that his Chief and his Etat-Major, of whom Lord
William was one, took leave of the noble host and
hostess shortly after eleven o'clock ; and, ' having
changed their dress-clothes,' rode aAvay to the front.
The officers whom Sir William Fraser's father saw
lying dead on. the field of Quatre Bras, ' in silk stock
ings, -and buckled shoes,' must have been Regimental
Officers who were not so fortunate as the staff in being
able to change their dress before joining their divi
sions. The venerable and happily living Earl of
Albemarle was, as Ensign or Lieutenant Kepp, at
Waterloo. It would be curious to know whether the
patriarchal veteran was at the ' Waterloo Ball ' ; and
whether he went thither in silk stockings and buckled
shoes; a garb which for a subaltern in a marching
regiment in front of the enemy would have been
manifestly out of place. They used, however, to
order things differently in the Navy ; and there is on
record a very characteristic conversation between

316 THE BALL,.
Lord CollingAvood and one of his flag captains on the
advantages of going into battle in silken hose ; the
brusque ' Coll ' expressing his opinion that, if an
officer fought in silk stockings, and happened to get
knocked over, his silken-clad extremities might save
the surgeon much trouble if the amputation of one or
both legs Avas required. No Avonder if the valiant
sea-lions Avho could talk thus placidly of the chances
of death, and mutilation Avere the men of the Is' of
June, and Cape Sl Vincent, of the Nile, and Trafalgar.
But in the Waterloo Aveek it rained heavily ; and the
heroes who laid down their lives on the field of the
great battle would have fought more comfortably in
breeches and gaiters ; or even in those trousers which
Wellington had introduced for the use of his troops
in the Peninsula ; although he himself adhered to
buckskins, and hessians. It is still possible that he
might have worn kerseymeres, silk continuations, and
buckled shoes at the ball in the Rue de la Blanchis
serie ; but there is one other point touching this me
morable festival ivhich, could Sir William Fraser clear
it up, would entitle him to a still greater meed of
gratitude at the hands of his contemporaries. Napo
leon's travelling carriage, captured by the Prussians
after Waterloo, and now at Madame Tussaud's, was

THE BALL. 317
built at Brussels. Was it built by Van Asch, who
seemingly was a leading ' carrossier ' of the period ?
The question is worth asking ; for when Byron,
after his separation from his wife, started on that ivhich
was virtually Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, he pur
chased at Brussels a travelling carriage which ivas the
exact counterpart of the one made for Napoleon the
Great. If Mynheer Van Asch was the maker, the
Poet in all probability visited the depot in the Rue de
la Blanchisserie, ivhich only recently had been used
as a ball-room ; and in that long, low apartment, con
verted by poetic licence into a 'high hall,' he might
have felt the first inspiration for one of the most
magnificent of his lyrical achievements."
I NEED NOT SAY that, reposing on a chair on the
terrace of the Kur Saal of Homburg, I read these
articles with complacency : reflections on the calm
good sense, extensive reading, and judicial capacity
of the writers followed : and I may have eaten my
dinner at the excellent table d'hote of the Hotel
Victoria with increased zest on that day : but
" What is mortal Happiness in truth ?
The torrent's smoothness ere it dash below ! "

318 THE BALL.
The very next morning a friend " called my atten
tion " to a contradiction on the part of Lady de Ros
to my carefully drawn conclusion.
The article did not give the terms used : but I
fairly assumed that they were the same as those
in Lady de Ros's letter to me : accordingly I wrote
the following letter, which appeared in " The Daily
Telegraph" on the 5th of September.
THE WATERLOO BALL.
To the Editor of the Daily Telegraph.
Sir, — I read your article of the 28th ult. with sur
prize. The only note that I have received from Lady
de Ros was written after reading my published letter ;
and is strongly confirmatory of my statement. You
will, perhaps, permit me to say, so briefly and so
clearly as I can, what has taken place.
Two [this should be four] years ago I received
from Lady de Ros the facts that the ball given by
her father and mother (the Duke and Duchess of
Richmond) the night before Quatre-Bras did not
take place in their house ; but in a coachmaker's
depot adjacent to it; and that this coachmaker's
depot was in the Rue de la Blanchisserie. This
statement was given to me, not only verbally ; but
subsequently in writing. Lady de Ros added that

THE BALL. 319
Lord de Ros, and herself had tried hard, twenty years
earlier, to find the room ; and had failed ; all those
whom they consulted at Brussels having told them
that the ball-room no longer existed. The house
having disappeared, that the ball-room had gone with
it was a natural conclusion. A friend of mine, a
Colonel in the army, to whom I gave the facts,
tried hard to find the room. He wrote to me from
Brussels ; and said that his inquiries were met with
the invariable reply, " Ah, Monsieur, cela n'existe
plus." Having six near relations at the ball ; and far more
on public grounds; being at Brussels a feAv weeks ago,
I determined to ascertain for myself whether this most
memorable spot still remained. Of this I have now
not the slightest doubt. I, like Lady de Ros, was told
by all of whom I inquired that the. ball-room was
gone. One old gentleman assured me that the whole
quarter had been demolished ; and that there was no
longer a Rue de la Blanchisserie.
I ascertained that the Duke of Richmond's house
in 1815, stood in the Rue des Cendres, on the site of
what is now a very large Hospital. I went there, and
was admitted without difficulty. The Nursing Sister
pointed out to me Avhat remains of the Duke's house,
this surviving portion being occupied by the nurses of

320 THE BALL.
the hospital. / observed through the open windows that
the ceilings were ornamental ; and such as would not be
placed in hospital rooms. In the yard,, or neglected
garden, between this building and the lofty boundary
wall, are 'a small mortuary chapel, and several non
descript buildings ; none of them of any great age.
After a careful survey of the premises, I observed a
lofty building, in apparent contact with the boundary
Avail of the hospital. Asking the Sister what this
building was, she replied, the Brewery of the Rue de
la Blanchisserie. My hopes were at once raised.
Leaving the Hospital, I descended the Rue des
Cendres ; and entered the Rue de la Blanchisserie at a
very sharp turn to my left. I was at once shown into
the office ofthe proprietor of the brewery. He knew
nothing of any ball having taken place ; and there were
certainly no visible signs of a ball-room from the out
side, nor the inside, of his house. After some con
versation, in which not the slightest hint was given by
me of Lady de Ros's information, I asked the pro
prietor if he happened to know of whom his father
had purchased the premises. He replied, "Certainly;
of a coachbuilder, named Van Asch." I asked
whether this coachbuilder had a depot. "Yes, a
very large one ; it is now my granary." " Can

THE BALL. 321
you show it to me? " " With pleasure : at this time
of year it is, of course, empty." We then ascended
about twelve steps to ihe entresol, and I found my
self in the long-sought room. Immediately opposite
to the door of entrance are windows, of which the
light has been almost completely blocked by the wall
of the hospital yard ivhich I had just left. I may say
here that neither the Duke of Brunswick, nor any
other guest, could have sat in a niche ; for, although
the windows are numerous, and deeply sunk in the
wall, the lower edge of each recess is 5 ft. from the
floor. On returning to my hotel I at once wrote a
letter to Lady de Ros. I asked no questions in it, for
I required no further confirmation. My motive in
writing was that I thought that Lady de Ros would be,
of all people, the most pleased at the discovery of the
room ivhich she and others had sought in vain. I did
not receive any reply from her until she had read my
published letter addressed to " The Times " from
Homburg [as printed above]. In her reply there is
not the slightest denial ofthe essential facts. With the
three particulars demurred to, in my opinion unimpor
tant, I will now deal. First, that the room AA'as not in
the rear of the Duke of Richmond's house. To this I
reply that, supposing that the house faced towards the
Y

322 THE BALL.
boulevard, I stated that the room was in its rear ; but
as I have now no doubt that the principal front of the
house was toivards the Rue des Cendres, this would
put the room in its right position, at the side, according
to Lady de Ros. The second objection is that the
dimensions given by me are larger than those of the
ball-room described by her. I should suppose that,
from the period when balls ivere first given, no young
lady has ever measured the room in which she
danced : a room full, or half full, of people appears
much smaller than when empty. The third objection
strengthens my case. It is that the ball-room was on
the ground floor; and not on the first floor. The level
of the Rue de la Blanchisserie is below that of the
Rue des Cendres : and, taking the few outside steps
of No. 40 and the twelve additional steps leading to
the ball-room, the precise level of the Hospital yard is
reached ; from this an easy access to the ball-room
no doubt existed. That there should be such a
marvellous series of coincidences as I have related
seems to have struck Lady de Ros as difficult to
account for ; she suggests, however, that " probably
the present Rue de la Blanchisserie has been rebuilt
since then."
To this very improbable theory I have two good

THE BALL. 323
answers: first, the room is ancient; more than 100
years old ; it is supported by many strong square
Avooden posts; they have never been painted. The
only room that I have ever seen that closely resembled
it is the " Lower School " at Eton, immediately be
neath " Long Chamber.'' It reminded me of this at
once. The Rue de la Blanchisserie itself, so far from
having been recently rebuilt, is an old-fashioned, and
partially Avorn out street, that has seen better days.
I may be permitted to say that I am in the habit
of weighing evidence, and balancing facts carefully ;
and I think that most of your readers Avill come to
the same conclusion as myself.
No doubt Lord and Lady De Ros, who did not see
the room, ivhich certainly existed at the time of their
visit, a fact proving that their search was not exhaus
tive, were convinced by those AA-ho, knowing that the
Duke of Richmond's house had been removed,
honestly believed that the ball-room had gone with
it : in fact Lady de Ros, in her letter to me, says that
they accepted the dictum of "an old inhabitant."
Old age does not always bring wisdom, and the oldest
inhabitant may be as fallible as the youngest.
To prove anything absolutely is difficult.
We have all read, or heard of Archbishop Whateley's

324 THE BAL.L.
" Historic Doubts as to the Existence of Napoleon
Bonaparte"; and the inscription which I have read
on the monument of Descartes, " I think ; therefore
I am," is certainly not logical. I believe, however,
that the careful consideration of the above facts will
convince those interested in the matter that my con
clusion is sound.
Lord Byron, turning aside from the melancholy
metaphysics in which he so frequently indulged,
astonished the world by his most magnificent apos
trophe ; and penned lines that will ahvays thrill British
hearts. The most prominent cause of the doubts as
to the locality of the ball arose from the unscrupulous
asstheticism of our great painter Turner. Observing a
picturesque building, which still exists in the neigh
bourhood of the Hotel de Ville, he illustrated Byron's
description by depicting the ball as taking place in
what was once, as it is said, the Duke of Alva's
residence. [I found on returning to England that Finden, the
Engraver, had imitated Turner, who was not, in this
case, to blame : as regards ivhat follows Turner was
guilty.] In the "Pleasures of Hope" he represents, in a
beautiful vignette, the line —

THE BALL. 325
" On Prague's proud arch the fires of ruin glow,"
not as at Praga, the suburb of Warsaw ; but Prague,
the capital of Bohemia.
Another good reason for the losing sight of the ball
room is that it is, and has long been, completely
masked by the houses of the Rue de Blanchisserie,
and by the wall of the Hospital.
One incident in relation to Genappe may interest
your readers. I have in my possession a splendid
sword that was taken there by the Prussians from
Napoleon's carriage, on the evening of Waterloo.
The history of the sword is, I should say, unrivalled.
It belonged originally to Mourad Bey, the Chief of
the Mamelukes; it was surrendered by him, in the
midst of a fierce action in Egypt, to Murat, afterwards
King of Naples, and is depicted in a large painting
by Gros at Versailles ; the sword was given by Murat
to Napoleon Bonaparte. When the latter met the
Directory, on his sudden return from Egypt, not
wishing to frighten them, he wore plain clothes ; but
over them this beautiful sabre, as stated in Ireland's
" Life of Napoleon." Intending, no doubt, that it
should adorn his triumphant entry into Brussels, the
Emperor had it in his carriage at Waterloo. Prince

¦326 THE BALL.
Blucher presented it soon afterwards to the Duke of
Wellington ; by him it was given to Lord Anglesey,
who commanded the Cavalry; and by him to my
father, his A.D.C. during the Campaign. The sword
has a repousse" silver-gilt scabbard; and the blade,
which is as sharp as when wielded by Mourad Bey,
has jewels set in the upper part.
You ivould not thank me for prolonging this letter
by a disquisition on the Campaign of Waterloo. You
may, however, permit me to express my surprize that,
among the numerous Historians who have written on
the subject, none have dwelt sufficiently upon the
prudence of the Duke of Wellington in sanctioning,
and probably suggesting, the Ball. It was of great
importance that the inhabitants of Brussels should
not know the precise time of the inevitable crisis.
The sympathies of many of them were strongly in
favour of the French. Had the slightest e'meute
taken place in Brussels, the news AA'ould have been
carried, with exaggeration, by Napoleon's spies, of
whom the town was full, to the French camp ; and
would, of course, have given his troops the greatest
encouragement. The nonsensical theory that the
Duke AA'as surprized has long passed away. He pre
viously marked Avith his thumbnail on the Duke of

THE BALL. 327
Richmond's map the precise spot on ivhich Waterloo
was fought ; and he expressed his wish to such Officers
as had been invited, not a numerous body, that they
should attend the ball.
Unreasoning persons have called the Duke of
Wellington a hard man, because he was a firm one.
Clear in his views, and unflinching in the execution,
of his duty, he showed on numerous occasions that
his nature was gentle. Not only did he shed abundant
tears when the list of his friends who had fallen in the
Great Battle was read to him ; but his conduct on the
day after was that of one who felt the deepest grief.
I know, from one who stood by, what occurred. On
the morning after Waterloo some young ladies met
him in Brussels ; and naturally welcomed him ivith
enthusiastic delight : he had defeated the day before
the great conqueror ; and, with inferior forces, he had
won, as he above all others well knew, a Victory the
most decisive in its effects that the World has ever
known. The Hero turned away from these congratu
lations : and in a tearful voice replied, " No, no : it
has been bought very dearly, I assure you."
Your obedient servant, William Fraser.
Homburg. Sept. 3.

328 THE BALL.
The following reply from Lord de Ros appeared in
"The Times" of Sept. 13.
THE WATERLOO BALL.
To the Editor of The 7'imes.
" Sir, — As the statement made by Sir William
Fraser regarding the supposed discovery of the room
in ivhich the ball given by the Duchess of Richmond
on the 15th of June, 1815, took place has given rise
to much correspondence, I desire to state that my
mother has distinct recollections connected with this
subject. She assures me that the room in which
the ball took place was on the ground floor, and that
its size does not by any means correspond with the
dimensions of the room which Sir William Fraser
has discovered ; this is further proved by a ground
plan of the Duke of Richmond's house in my mother's
possession. " When in Brussels in 1868 every possible effort was
made by my mother to trace out the house in ivhich
the Duke of Richmond lived, ivithout success. I
therefore think that the conclusions drawn by Sir
William Fraser must be erroneous.
" This may appear a trifling matter, but as it may
affect future history I venture to send you these few

THE BALL. 329
remarks, more particularly as I am anxious to put an
end to the annoyance caused to my mother in her 93rd
year by the unnecessary amount of correspondence
which has been forced upon her in consequence of
allusion having been made to her presence at the ball.
" I have the honour to be, Sir, your obedient servant,
" De Ros.
" Old Court, Strangford."
I will only say that there ivas no allusion in my
first letter that pointed to Lady de Ros, if this
be the meaning of the expressions used : I most
thoughtfully, and carefully worded it so that the
public should not know to whom I referred : all that
I said might have been given to me by my cousin,
Lady D., who, as Miss Craufurd, appears ivith her
father and mother in the list of those present at the
Ball. Lady de Ros's personal communication, in her
own name, to the " Daily Telegraph," compelled me
to mention her in my reply. In her letter to me
Lady de Ros expressed doubts as to Avhether my
allusion was to herself.
" The Times " containing Lord de Ros's letter
reached Interlaken on the evening of the 15th of Sep
tember. I had the day before posted the following :

330 THE BALL.
THE WATERLOO BALL.
To the Editor of The Times.
Sir, — I have to-day read the letter in " The Times "
of the n,h inst. The quotations confirm the state
ment made by me in the letter which you did me
the honour to insert on August 25. That statement
covers, I think, the whole argument on the question.
The facts being admitted that I was told by a lady in
whose father's house the ball was given, and who was
present herself, that it did not take place in the house,
but in a coachmaker's depot closely adjacent; that
this coachmaker's depot was in 1815, in the Ruedela
Blanchisserie ; that, after visiting what remains of the
Duke of Richmond's house, I should, without any
intimation that I was seeking for a coachmaker's
depot, be shown into one precisely on the spot indi
cated, touching the Duke of Richmond's house on
one side, and placed in the old Rue de la Blanchisserie,
still bearing the same name, seems to me an incon
testable proof that the ball of June 15, 181 5, the
night before Quatre Bras, must have been given at
No. 40 in the street named, and nowhere else.
Various places have been shown at different times
in Brussels, ivithout any authority, for the simple

THE BALD. 331
purpose of obtaining money from travellers. I have
within the last few days met two gentlemen, not
known to each other, Sir Albert Rollit, and the Rev.
Teignmouth Shore, who have added their confirma
tion. Sir Albert Rollit told me that eight or ten years
ago he presided at a lecture given at Hull by Lord
William Lennox on "Wellington." Sir Albert does
not recollect whether he introduced the circumstances
of the ball, in his lecture ; but he perfectly remembers
that, in the course of a long conversation after it,
Lord William, who was, I believe, staying in his house
at the time, said that the ball given by the Duchess
of Richmond, his mother, was not in the Hotel de
Ville, as sometimes shown ; but in a room adjacent to
his father's house.
The Rev. Teignmouth Shore Avrites to me :
" Some years ago I Avas going to Brussels ; and
spoke to my friend Lord William Pitt Lennox as to
the ball which his mother had given, and at Avhich he
had been present ; and inquired could he give me
any indication as to Avhere the house was ; as I had
on other occasions failed to find it. He told me that
the house no longer existed ; but that in any case the
Ball had not taken place at the residence of the Duchess ;
but in some sort of an old barn at the back of behind

332 THE BALL.
[printed in error 'or']. This rough-and-ready de
scription seems to correspond with your view ; and
to confirm its truth."
In all cases there are persons inclined to doubt and
disbelieve, however precise the evidence. In this
matter the arguments against the identity of the room
have been very feeble. As I stated in my letter to
you, the locality has been hunted for during the last
fifty years repeatedly ; and Avithout success. Had the
investigations been thorough, the room, of which I have
written, and have seen, would certainly have been found.
It was not found by those who accepted, without
proof, the statement of the inhabitants that the ball-
had gone with the house.
That there should be two Coachmakers' Depots,
each touching the Duke of Richmond's late house,
and each situated in the Rue de la Blanchisserie,
ivould be a most marvellous coincidence. This, how
ever, is physically impossible, for there is not space
enough between the Rue des Cendres and the street
named for another room capable of holding 200
guests ; about the number invited.
The dancing took place, no doubt, in the old-
fashioned pillared room described. The probabilities
are that the supper-room, and other apartments

THE BALL. 333
necessary for a ball, were in the mansion itself, with
which there was communication.
The ball-room has been masked, I might say
buried, by the wall of the Hospital on one side, and
by the houses of the Rue de la Blanchisserie on the
other. The latter is an old, and somewhat worn-out
street. The Duke of Wellington, remarking on Incredulity,
which is, I think, a greater indication of feeble reason
ing powers than its converse, used to say that he
had read more than once that he could not possibly
have been present in person at the battle of Quatre
Bras; adding, "However, I never found that they
could explain away the 25,000 men who fought there
under my orders." Your obedient servant, William Fraser.
Interlaken. Sept. 14.
The following letter appeared on Dec. 10.
THE WATERLOO BALL.
To the Editor of The Times.
Sir, — I have been unwilling to trouble you on the

334 THE BALL.
above subject, until I was in possession of some new
facts. Since' my return to England, a few days ago, I have
ascertained that in 1815 no other Coachmaker's Depot
existed in the Rue de la Blanchisserie, except that at
No. 40, in which the ball took place. In " Bruxelles
a travers les Ages " M. Hyman, the author, states
in vol. ii. that the historical ball was given by the
Duchess of Richmond in the Rue de la Blanchisserie.
The Rue de la Blanchisserie existed in 1815 ; it
existed in 1868; and it exists now. It is a long,
narrow, old street ; it has always borne its present
name. As regards the plan spoken of, it has never been
compared with the room. The plan of a house nearly
demolished cannot be of much value ; and, as it is
admitted that the ball did not take place in the house,
it appears to be worthless.
I am glad to hear that there are daily visitors to the
scene of the ball. Your obedient servant,
December 7. William Fraser.
On the 8th of December the following article was pub
lished by M1' Richard Edgcumbe, whose researches in

THE BALL. 335
relation to Lord Byron are well known : I have not
the honour of his acquaintance : nor have I had any
communication with him, direct, nor indirect.
" Shortly after the appearance of Sir William
Fraser's very straightforward, and, to my mind, con
vincing letter, a lady wrote to ' The Times,' and
pointed out that 'Notes and Queries,' 4th S. iii. 261,
[in the year 1869,] contained a note by M1' C. W.
Bingham, which runs as follows :
" ' I had a recent opportunity of inquiring of a per
son, than whom none was more likely to be informed,
and although he could not give me the number of
the house, he appeared to me to identify it with that
in the Rue des Cendres. He said it was in a small
street near the Jardin Botanique, and leading out of
the Rue de la Blanchisserie; and added that the
room in which the ball ivas given was the gallery of a
late coachbuilder 's shop, thus rather destroying the
illusion of
" The ivindow'd niche of that high hall." '
" In April, 1884, 1 approached Lady De Ros through
the Duke of Richmond, Avith a vieAv to settling once
and for ever two very difficult Byronic points. I had,

336 THE BALL.
of course, like every other gaping tourist, been shown
the ' Salle de Reception ' in the Hotel de Ville at
Brussels, where, according to those pests, the town
guides, I had been assured that the Duke of Bruns
wick's ' prophetic ear ' had caught the sound of his
own doom. And yet I was not happy. Feeling sure
that the Duchess of Richmond would not have given
a ball in the Hotel de Ville, I determined to apply to
a lady who was actually present on that occasion. On
April 9, 1884, Lady De Ros very kindly wrote down
the following words, which I shall treasure all my life
long: "'The ball given by my mother the Duchess of
Richmond, 15 June, 1815, took place in the Rue de
la Blanchisserie, where we lived, in the lower part of
the town of Bruxelles. There was no park attached
to it, but a moderate-sized garden. The house had
belonged to a coachmaker, and the warehouse in which
he kept his carriages was converted into a long narrow
room, in which the ball took place. In 1868 I looked
in vain for the house and the street, and, after many
inquiries, ivas told that the house had been pulled
down, and the street no longer existed, or if it did its
name was changed. " ' Georgiana De Ros.'

THE BALL.. 337
" It further appears, by the evidence of Lord Wil
liam Pitt Lennox, published by Sir AVilliam Fraser in
'The Times' (September 18), that the ball which his
mother had given, and at which he was present, did
1 not take place at the residence of the Duchess, but
in some sort of an old barn at the back of behind.'
Thus it will be seen that the theory of Sir William
Fraser is borne out by strong contemporary evidence,
I congratulate him on having made the discovery ;
and on settling a point which has perplexed us long,
" Richard Edgcumbe.
" 33 Tedworth Square, S.W."
The excellent plate of the Ball-room appeared in
" The Graphic " : it was done without my knowledge :
D1' Lewis Jones, of 6 West Street, Finsbury -Circus,
from whose admirable photograph the plate is taken,
has kindly permitted me to reproduce it in this volume :
I have to thank him, and the Editor of " The Graphic "
for their courtesy.
I believe that the case which I have put will, if
carefully considered, be held to be conclusive that
the Ball was held in the granary of Nos. 40 and 42
Rue de la Blanchisserie. z

338 THE BALL.
THE CONCURRENCE OF TESTIMONY of ab
solutely disinterested persons cannot in my opinion be
gainsaid. I have, however, a witness whom I can
place in the box, not anticipated, that will strengthen,
if there be any necessity of strengthening, my case; and
whose evidence is, as the reader will admit, irresistible.
It is this : The rooms shown by Lady de Ros in
the plan published by her last January, as existing in
1815, exist at this moment. I have reproduced here
an absolute facsimile of the plan published by Lady
de Ros. I ask the reader either to take this volume,
or, if more convenient, to trace carefully, and exactly,
the plan ofthe ground floor ofthe Duke of Richmond's
house published by Lady de Ros, and reproduced
here. Let him desire the driver of his hired carriage
to take him to the Rue de la Blanchisserie. Let him
ascertain Avhether the street exists now. Let him
observe the length of the street : then let him enter
the Hospital in the Rue des Cendres; and place
himself at the point A. Let him observe the stone
steps into the house. Let him look into the room on
his left, marked B. If not permitted to enter, he can
judge of the size, as I did, from the outside. He will
be able to form a sound opinion as to whether a room,
ofthe size ivhich he will see, could have held the 220

^%,

N Entrance Oite
Gate Rue de

Shrubs and Trees

la Blanchisserie

THE BALL. 339
persons named, with the musicians, servants, and
probably other guests, whose names do not appear.
Of the rooms beyond, E. F., I have no knowledge :
but these two rooms B. C. I saw distinctly. Let the
intelligent reader form his own opinion as to whether
the room is not an ordinary, ornamental, dwelling-
room of a by no means large house. Let him judge
for himself whether the room marked in Lady de
Ros's plan ' Ball-room ' answers to her description
written to M1' Richard Edgcumbe on April 9, 1884,
p. 336: "The warehouse, in which he (the coach-
maker) kept his carriages, was converted into a long,
narrow room, in which the ball took place : " or to
Lord William Lennox's description of a " sort of old
barn, at the back of behind."
Having done this, let him observe the lofty wall
H. H. behind him. Let him look at the tiled
roof, which appears above, which attracted my
attention (C. is a Chapel recently built) : having
done this, let him leave the Hospital, not forgetting
the poor-box of the excellent Sisters ; and, des
cending the Rue des Cendres, marked C, formerly
the carriage road to the garden front of the house,
let him ascend the left division of the Rue de la
Blanchisserie, carefully noting the space between

340 THE BALL..
the Hospital and the Rue de la Blanchisserie. Let
him pay a visit to the granary of Monsieur and
Madame Vanginderachter, at Nos. 40, 42, where he
will be received with courtesy ; and let him enter the
" long, low, narrow, room," that was Mr Van Asch's,
the coachmaker's, depot : let him, after consideration,
decide in his own mind whether, had Lord William
Lennox written volumes on the subject, he could
have given a more accurate, and precise description
of the room, than when he said " The Ball was not
in my father's house ; but in a sort of old barn at the
back of behind." Let the visitor particularly observe
how the ivindows have been completely darkened by
the lofty wall built for the seclusion of the Hospital.
He will, I think, come to the conclusion that in a
family proverbial for hospitality, the room B. was
frequently the scene of dancing, and festivity ; but
that on this particular evening the Duke of Richmond
inviting a very large number, certainly far more than
he ivould on an ordinary occasion, did what a sensible
man would do under the circumstances ; namely hired
this old empty room ; and that he and the Duchess
entertained their guests in an apartment which,
although now not dignified except by age, was, no
doubt, -decorated for the night; and made sublime

THE BALL. 341
by those who ivere present ; and by the circumstances
under ivhich the Ball was given.
The addition ivhich 1 have made to Lady de Ros's
plan is not drawn ' to Scale ' : it is merely intended to
convey my recollection of the locality. Had the same
proportions been observed as in Lady de Ros's plan
there would not, of course, have been room for it in
the page.
FOR ONE REASON I might wish that the room
ivhich Lady de Ros has pointed out, and ivhich now
exists, might be the scene of the Ball : it is this : thc
Rue de la Blanchisserie is, as I have said, an old
street. It may very possibly follow the destiny of old
streets, ivhich debouch on a fashionable quarter. Its
Brewery, and its shops may be removed ; and replaced
by a Street of Palaces. The present Proprietors of
40 and 42, are, I believe, soon about to retire upon
their wealth. No one can tell what may be the fate
of the old ' carriage depot ' ; noiv a granary ; and for
one immortal night a ball-room : whereas, the smail
room indicated in Lady de Ros's plan will, we may
well assume, as part of a new, substantial, and
flourishing Institution remain in its present condi
tion for many generations.

342 THE BALL.
I am quite incapable of permitting such a non
sensical idea to enter my head as to wish for a
monopoly of the ball-room.
In any case, Avhat the Italians call 'La poca Gloria'
will be mine.
Half a century of investigation having failed to find
the room, I may claim some little credit in having
done so ; Avhether the ball was given in the granary,
or Avhether it was given in one of the private rooms of
the Hospital. That the room exists at this moment
is a fact Avhich certainly no one kneiv before the
month of August 1888. I did my best in 1884 to
enable Colonel Montague to find the ball-room.
I told Mr Vanginderachter that I would not repay
his courtesy in showing me the ball-room by attracting
attention to it ; as this might involve him in a good
deal of trouble from persons who wished to gain
admission. I said that there was one person that I
should probably see at Homburg who, I felt sure,
ivould be interested in the matter, and whom I should
like to tell. He at once said that I need have no
scruples on the subject ; gave me several of his cards :
and expressed most cordially his willingness to show
the room to anyone who chose to come.

343

I HAVE, in wriiing this volume, wished to give only
my own recollections ofthe Duke, and facts related to
me by those whom I considered excellent authorities.
Had I written all the stories that I could remember,
I could have added for each one told at the least
two : had I referred to the many works already
published relating to him, I could of course have
increased this number almost ivithout limit.
In cases ivhere I have referred to relations already
in print, it has been with a view to correct them.
The lines in rhyme or blank that are not between
inverted commas are not quotations.
I HAVE TAKEN from the book-shelves of my
brain the volumes ' AA'ellington,' and ' AVaterloo ' :
the reader has the result.
THE MORE deeply, and thoroughly, we examine
the Duke's character, the more we admire it.
To those who have ihe fatal gift of idealization
such a character as the Duke of AVellington's offers
Repose. For once they find their Ideal exists.
To those who have the sad talent of minute, and

344
perspicuous observation, the Duke's conduct is also
satisfactory. To those, and they are but few, who have the mis
fortune to possess both these qualities ; who ' walk in a
region that they find almost uninhabited'; it is a con
solation to believe that Human Nature has for once
reached such perfection.
This Globe has produced three beings, whose
names will only perish when the Earth itself shall
be dissolved into its elements; a Poet, an Artist,
ahd a Man : of these Britain claims two ; Italy
one: Shakespeare the Poet; Michael Angelo the
Artist ; Wellington the Man.

INDEX.

ALAVA, Count, the Duke's
intimate friend, 2.
Almack's, 90.
Anglesey, Lord, 4, 159, 186,
190, 218; and the Duke be
fore AVaterloo, 1.
Apsley House, 139.
Army, the British, its greatest
period, 191.

Baillie, Evan, of Dochfour, 141.
Bankes, Rt. Hon. George, 131,
Bankhead, Dr., 68.
Barham, Rev. R. H. (Ingoldsby),
his poem on the Coronation,
73-
Barrere, speech by, in the
National Assembly, 94.
Bearskins ofthe Guards, 91.
Beresford, W., Secretary at
War in 1852, 51.
Bergereau, Madame, 235.
Bingham, C. AV., 33S-
Blenbeim, the tenure of, 186.
Blucher, Marshal, 268.
"Blucher" boot, the, 56.

Bourbons, 177.
Brasseur, M., of Quatre-Bras,
254.
Brougham, Lord, 195.
Brummell, Beau, and George
IV., 61.
Brunnow, Baron, Russian Am
bassador, 19, 20.
BrunnOAv, Madame, Russian
Ambassadress in London,
18.
Brunswick, Duke of, 253.
Brussels, as depicted by
Thackeray, 197.
Bull, Dr., 214.
Bulow, General, 270, 272.
Burghersh, Lord, his elopement
with Miss Child, 143.
Byron, Lord, 102, 107, 129,
185 ; and George IV., 60.
Byron's verses on the night be
fore Waterloo, 279.

Cameron of Lochiel, 263.
Cantillon's attempt to assassinate
the Duke, 88, 216.

34"

INDEX.

Cardwell, A'iscount Edward,
78.
Caricatures, 88.
Caroline, Queen, 131, 133, 134,
195; her exclusion from
Westminster Abbey at George
IV. 's Coronation, 131.
CasanoA'a, his statue of Napo
leon, 101.
Castlereagh, Lord, 193, 221 ;
his madness and death, 67.
Charlemont, Lady, 102.
Charles, Archduke, of Austria,
71 ; his mental peculiarity,
72.
Charles the Second, anecdote
of, 33-
Chatham, Second Earl of, 92,
208.
Child, the Banker, 142.
Ciudad Rodrigo, the storming
of, 180-1.
Club, the 1st Life Guards, 233.
Colloredo, Madame, Austrian
Ambassadress, 145.
Colours, Presentation of, lo the
33rd Regiment ("Duke of
Wellington's Own") 194.
Combermere, Lord, 189, 217.
"Copenhagen," the Duke's
charger, 35.
Cotton, Sergeant-Majcr, 248.
Cowley, Lord, 5.
Craufurd, Sir Charles, 71.
Craufurd, Madame, 88 ; her
high social position, 210.

Craufurd, Quentin, 88; his
loyalty to the Bourbons,
210.
Craufurd, General Robert, 71,
91, 207.
Craufurd, Genera], and the
Commissary, 59 » an(i 'ne
Duke, 179; at the Battle of
Coa, 180 ; his bravery, and
death, 180.
Craufurd, Captain Thomas,
killed at Hougomont, 248,
258.
"Craufurd's Bastion," 182.
Crockford, the death of, 70.
Crockford's, the notorious club,
69.
"Daily Telegraph," leading
article in the, regarding the
Waterloo Ball, 309-317; the
author's letter to, 318-327.
Dalbiac, Sir Charles, 183.
Darnley, Earl of, 6.
" Da-Shealladh " (Second Sighl ),
IS'
De Lancy, Sir William, a fa
vourite officer, 98 ; his death,
99, 262, 294.
Denman, Lord, 133.
De Ros, Lord, his letter to the
"Times" in contradiction of
the author's theory as to the
AVaterloo Ball, 328.
Dj Ros, Lady, daughter of the
Duke of Richmond, 283, 298 ;

INDEX.

347

her recollections of the Ball,
284, 336 ; contradiction by
her of the author's theory re
garding the location of the
Ball, 318, 321.
Desaix, General, 206.
Dick, Quentin, M.P., 125.
Disraeli, Benjamin, (Lord Bea-
consfield), 156, 173, 197,203,
230; a well-dressed man, 12 ;
the first time he wore the
Garter, 107 ; his friendship
with Lady Jersey, 142 ; his
speech on the ATote for the
Duke's Funeral, 237-246.
Dunkellin, Lord, 6.
Edgcumbe, Richard, on the lo
cation of the Waterloo Ball,
334-
Eton, AVellington's room at,
145-
Examinations, 136.
Exeler, Marquess of, 6.
Fane, Lady Georgiana, 89.
Flags, presentation of, the
tenure by which Blenheim and
Strathfieldsaye are held, 186.
Flahault, Count, 274.
Fraser, Sir James, 122, 159 ; at
the Battle of Orthez, 14 ; the
sword he wore at Waterloo,
248 ; the author purchases the
sword, 250.

Frederick the Great, anecdote
of, 45 ; 22S
Genappes, 251.
George IV., the Duke al his
Coronation, 41-44; his allu
sion to the authorship of
" AVaverley," made to Scott,
44; his friendship for Welling
ton, 59 ; and his enemies, 60-
64; in Highland dress, 104;
nonsense talked about him,
211; how he received the neAvs
of Bonaparte's death, 228.
Gleig, Chaplain-General, the
reason of his promotion, 148.
Goodall, Dr., Provost of Eton,
7-
Graham, Sergeant, of the Cold
stream Guards, 97, 259.
Grant, General Ulysses S.,
anecdote of, 79 ; 170,
"Graphic," plate of the Ball
room published in the, 337'
Grouchy, Marshal, 273.
Guards, their good conduct in
the Peninsula, 170.
Hall, Sir Benjamin, 12.
Hardinge, Lord, 164.
Hardvvicke, Admiral Lord, 53.
Haye Sainte, La, farm of, 260.
Heath, the family of, 225.
Heath's caricatures of the Duke,
185.
Henley, Lord, 6.

348

INDEX.

Highlandersat Quatre-Bras, 253.
Hill, Lord, 182.
Hood, Lord, 132.
Hougomont, 256.
Houses of Parliament, their site
suggested by Wellington, 163.
Howe, Lord, his victory of the
ist June, 94.
Hudson, George, the " Railway
King," 164.
Huskisson, Mr., and the Duke,
121.
Hussars, the 7th, the connection
ofthe Frasers with, 255.
Irish Peerages, 173.
"Jasey," the meaning of ihe
word, 73.
Jersey, Lady Sarah, 89 ; the
Duke's liking for, 89 ; the
Queen of London Society, 140;
her appearance and character,
141, 145 ; her intimacy with
Disraeli, 142 ; her share in
Child's Bank, I42.
Johnson, Lieutenant-Colonel, 13.
Kempt, Sir James, 161.
Kennedy, Sir James Shaw, 181.
Knox, a collector of papers
regarding the Duke, 169.
Lawrence, Sir Thomas, his
portrait of the Duke, 9.

Lennox, Lord William, 183, 299,
33L
London, Bishop of, ludicrous
mistake in connect'on with,
81.
Londonderry, third Marquess of,
195, 232; fourth Marquess of,
233 ; fifth Marquess of, 233.
Londonderry, Lady, 232.
Loudon, J. C, the landscape
designer, 81.
Louis XVI., 210.
Louis XVIII., 161, 177; and
the execution of Ney, 123.
Lowe, Sir Hudson, 208.
Lytton, Lord, his description of
Wellington in " The New
Timon," 46 ; his play, " Not
so bad as We seem," 1 68,

Macdonnell, General Sir James,
selected as the bravest man in
the British Army, 97, 259 ;
his recklessness under fire, 98.
"Marengo, "Napoleon's charger,
36-
Marie Antoinette, 210.
Maryborough, Lord, 5.
Massena, Marshal, 206.
Medal, the Peninsular, 25, 137 ;
the Waterloo, 167.
Monarchs, their opinions of
their contemporaries, 63.
Monk, Dr., Dean of Peter
borough, 150.

INDEX.

349

Montague, Colonel (4U1 Hussars),
2S2.
Moore, Thomas, and George
IV., 60.
" Morning Post," leading article
in the, regarding the Waterloo
Ball, 303-309.
Mornington, Lord, the Duke's
father, 231,

Napier, Sir George, 181.
Napoleon I., 2, 94; his escape
from AVaterloo, 17 ; his
prophecy of Wellington's emi
nence, 38 ; his escape from
Elba, 40 ; his mistaken idea
of the British race, 67, 202 ;
his horror of a black dose, 72 ;
his statue by Casanova, 101 ;
his return from Elba, 166 ;
compared with the Duke, 187 ;
and Sir Hudson Lowe, 208 ;
his lying-in-state at St. Helena,
217 ; his death announced to
George IV., 228; his Court
notdistinguished-looking, 230;
at Waterloo, 270-1 ; his un
generous conduct towards his
generals and soldiers, 273-5 '•
his splendid sword captured
after Waterloo, 325.
Napoleon III., 163 ; his know-
of the British, 67 ; his conduct
at Sedan, 275.
Nelson, Lord, 14.

Ney, General, son of the Mar
shal, 127.
Ney, Marshal, 274 ; his execu
tion, 123-6; the Duke tried to
save his life, 123, 128.
Nicholas, Emperor of Russia,
160 ; review before him at
Windsor, 29 ; his personal
appearance, 30 ; and Sir
Robert Peel, 31, 80,
Officers and soldiers, 177.
Orange, Prince of, 162.
Orthez, Battle of, 13, 235.
Osterley House, 144 ; ils perfect
furniture, etc., 144.
Oudinot, General, his siege of
Rome, 155.
Oxford, the Duke's Inauguration
as Chancellor of theUniversity
of) 7°. 175 ; graduates the
Duke's favourite type of officer,
179.
Pakington, Sir John, 52 ; two
incidents in his career as First
Lord of the Admiralty, 52.
Palmerston, Lord, on political
promotion, 178.
Palmerston, Lady, 140.
Peel, Sir Robert, 31 ; an unre
corded attempt to assassinate
him, 68 ; and the Emperor
Nicholas, 80.
Pickersgill, the artist, 21.
Picton, Sir Thomas, 3, 222 ;
said to be named as the

35o

INDEX.

Duke's successor in the Penin
sula, 4.
Plan of the Waterloo Ball
room, 338,
"Prestige," 173.
Putbus, Prince, 73.
Quatre-Bras, 250, 252, 253.
Redesdale, Lord, 133,
Regiments, value of distinctive
marks, 153 ; soldiers' regard
for the character of, 158; the
folly of abolishing the numbers
of, 191.
Richmond, Duke of, 138 ; shot
at Orthez, 14.
Richmond, Duchess of, the
Ball given by her the night
before Waterloo, 279-342 ;
list of those invited to the
Ball, 285.
Roebuck, J. A., M.P., 196.
Rollit, Sir Albert, 229, 331.
Rue de la Blanchisserie, Brussels,
the street in which the Ball
took place, 295.
Ruskin, John, 78.
St. Germans, Lord, 24.
Saldanha, Duke of, 204.
Salisbury, Marquess of, 6.
Saxony, King of, 31.
Scott, Sir Walter, George IV. 's
allusion to the authorship of
" AVaverley," 44.

Scots Greys, the, 18.
Seaton, Lord, 162, 181 ; his
high courage and gentle cha
racter, 206.
Seymour, Sir Hamilton, 20, 81.
Sheridan, R. B., and George
IV., 63.
' ' Shopkeepers, a Nation of, " 94.
Shore, Rev. Teignmouth, 299,
331-
Somerset, Duke of, 160, i6j,
Soult, Marshal, 14,
Strafford, Lord, 161.
Strathfieldsaye, 139 ; the tenure
of, 186.
Strogonoff, Count Von, 74.
Tarbes, battle near, 17.
Thackeray, William Make
peace, his grand description
of Brussels during Waterloo,
197 ; his death, 198 ; verses
on "W. M. T.," 198.
Thielman, General, 273.
"Times," the author's letters
to the, regarding the Waterloo
Ball, 229-303, 330-3, 333-4;
its article on the Duke's
death, 112.
Tyburn Tree, 162.
Uniforms, changes in, 155, 171.
Uxbridge, Lord. See Anglesey.
A'erses, "Da-Shealladh" (Second
Sight), 15; "A Chronicle of

INDEX.

35>

Crockford's," 70 ; " Welling
ton," 85; " AV. M. T„" 198.
Villiers, Augustus, son of Lady-
Jersey, 142.
Vivian, Sir Hussey, 1.
AVagner, Rev. Mr., tutor to the
Duke's sons, 83.
Walcheren Expedition, the, 92,
207,
Walewski, Count, the French
Ambassador, at the Duke's
funeral, m,
Watches, origin of flat, 159.
Waterloo, 162; the night before,
184 ; gave a Patent of Nobility
to all Avho were present, 185 ;
the firing at, heard in Norfolk,
185 ; the bravery of the French
at, 189, 219 ; its great political
importance, 220 ; description
of the field, 247 ; the author's
visit to in 18S8, 247 ; the
Duke's tactics at, 263-270.
Waterloo Ball, 279-342.
Waterloo Beeches, the, 82.
Waterloo Medal, the, 167.
Wellesley, Lord, the Duke's
brother, 145 ; buried at Eton,
5 ; his Epitaph, 7.
Wellesley, Lord Charles (the
Duke's second son), 234.
Wellesely, Rev. Gerald, 5.
Wellesley, Tylney, as Master of
the Mint, 130.
Wellington, 1st Duke of, and

Lord Anglesey, before the
Battle of AVaterloo, 1 ; his
successor, in the event of his
being killed, 1, 4; at his
brother's funeral at Eton, 5 ;
portraits of the Duke, 9, 75,
149, 165 ; his strength of
wrist, 10 ; his expression of
opinion regarding the first
reformed Parliament, n ; the
excellence of his dispatches,
12 ; his high sense of honour,
13 ; and Madame Brunnow,
l8 ; his observance of etiquette,
19 ; asked an injudicious ques
tion by Pickersgill, the artist,
21 ; accidentally shut in a
small room at AValmer, 22 ;
the attack made on him by the
mob in 1832, 23, 226 ; his
foreign orders, 26, 49 ; his
qualities as a politician, 27,
193 ; his practicality, 33, 34 ;
patronized the Ancient Con
certs, 35 ; his famous horse
"Copenhagen," 35 ; his pre
cautions against attacks, 37 ;
his plans of campaign, 37 ;
his " test of a great general,"
37 ; Napoleon prophesies his
eminence, 38 ; portrait of him
by Dighton, 38; his "dash"
as a general, 39 ; nominated
Lord High Constable at the
Coronation of George IV., 41 ;
his mischance with his horse

352

INDEX.

Wellington — continued.
at the Coronation, 43 ; the
object of calumny, 45, 99 ; his
perfectly neat dressing, 47 ;
his dignity and gentleness, 50,
57 ; his marriage, 54 > his
physical powers, 55 > George
IV. 's friendship for, 59; and
Lord Castlereagh, 68 ; his
dislike of gaming, 69 ; at
the Queen's Coronation, 73 ;
his common sense, 75> 9T>
177 ; the British Army created
by, 76; the striking scene at
his Inauguration as Chancellor
of the University of Oxford,
76, 175; the Bishop of London
and the "Waterloo Breeches,"
81 ; a sword given to him by
an Indian magician,- 84 ; and
the Guards at Waterloo, 87 ;
shot at in Paris, 88, 216 ; and
Lady Jersey, 89 ; and Lady
GeorgianaFane, 89 ; his politi
cal career, 92 ; his exclamation
of ' ' Up guards, and at them ! "
discussed, 96 ; his views as to
u good dinner, 97 ; women's
admiration for him, 97 ; and
General Macdonnell, 97 ; and
Sir William de Lancy, 98 ;
his Cross of the Bath, loo ;
his pictures, &c, at Apsley
House, 100-107 > his dislike
of being helped, 107 ; his
lying in state at Chelsea Hos

pital, 108 ; his funeral proces
sion, 109 ; the ceremony at
St. Paul's, in; "The Times"
article on his death, 112 ; his
patriotism, 120; and Mr.
Huskisson, 121 ; his defect in
speaking, 123 ; his endeavours
to save Marshal Ney's life,
123, 128; insulted -by Louis
XVIII., 128 ; Byron's abusive
lines on, 129 ; his rules for a
public speaker, 134; his high
opinion of Marlborough, 135;
his contempt for public opinion,
136, 227 ; his reluctance to
grant a Peninsular medal, 137 ;
his satisfaction ivith his officers
at Waterloo, 138 ; his room
at Eton, 145 ; and Dr. Monk,
151; and an officer who could
not spell, 152 ; his uniform,
152 ; strong views as to value
of distinctive marks between
regiments, 153; the excellence
- of his dispatches, 156 ; the
sword ivhich he wore in the
Peninsula, 157 ; his visit to
Antwerp, after Waterloo, 160;
statements made by him re
garding Waterloo, 162, 165,
189 ; his advice as to the site
of the Houses of Parliament,
163 ; his duel with Lord Win
chilsea, 164 ; his emoluments
as Generalissimo of the Allied
Armies, 166 ; his name in-

INDEX.

353

Welli ngton — continued.
scribed on the Waterloo medal,
167 ; at Lytton's play " Not
so bad as we seem," 168 ; his
destestation of soldiers plun
dering, 169; "glory" and
"glorious" seldom occur in
his dispatches, 172 ; instance
of his shrewdness, 172; his
prestige, 173 ; not a deep
scholar, 176 ; his favourite
type of officer, 179 ; his
"Dauk," 179 ; and General
Craufurd, 179; his handwrit
ing, 182 ; caricatures of, 185,
187 ; and Lord Anglesey, 186;
his tenure of Strathfieldsaye,
1 86 ; compared with Napoleon,
187 ; disliked to be considered
merely a soldier, 192 ; his
honesty and nobleness of spirit,
193 ; his fall from his horse in
Hyde Park, 196; at the parade
of the Guards, 200 ; his opinion
ofBonaparte, 201 ; hismasterly
tactics at St. Sebastian, 204 ;
his opinion of the French
Marshals, 205 ; taken in by an
autograph hunter, 212-214; the
confidence of his army in him,
219 ; his tact at the Restoration
of the Bourbons, 220 ; Lord
Castlereagh's speech on the
Duke's achievements, 221 ;
his delight in the "Trial

Scene" in " Pickwick," 223 ;
threatened with an action for
breach of promise, 224 ; his
trust in his soldiers, 228 ;
compared with Frederick the
Great, 228 ; did not smoke,
231 ; his Indian sword, 232 ;
at the inn at Orthez, 235 ;
Disraeli's speech on the vote
for the Duke's funeral, 237-
246 ; his strategy and tactics
at AVaterloo, 263-270 ; his
courage in exposing himself
under fire, 275 ; an ideal
character, 343.
AVellington, Arthur Richard
Wellesley, second Duke of,
10, 35, 38, 67, 79, 123, 127,
130, 149, 157, 171 ; his
appearance and character, 95.
" Wellington " boot, the, 56.
AVestminster, Duke of, 6.
" White's," 202.
Wigan, Alfred, 198.
William I V. , 212 ; and changes
in regimental uniforms, 155,
171.
Wilton, Lord, 21.
Winchilsea, Lord (ninth Earl),
his duel with Wellington, 164.
Winchilsea, Lord (tenth Earl),
79. 175-
Windham, Rt. Hon. William,
91, 207.
Wood, Alderman, 134.

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