Part 8 (1/2)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WALMER CASTLE, Sept. 17, 1836.

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

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

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

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

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

Believe me Ever Yours most faithfully

WELLINGTON.

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