FIRST INTERVIEWS.
Miss J.'s first letter to the duke was written on the 15th of January,
1834, from Devonshire, where she was spending several months. She was
greatly encouraged by receiving an answer from the duke by return post.
This letter is unfortunately missing, nor does Miss J. give extracts
from it, as from many others, but she indulges in a few comments upon
it.
"It was," she says, "dated from Hartford Bridge, Jan. 18, 1833,
instead of 1834,--a remarkable circumstance for one so accurate in
such particulars. It had also a mistake in one place and a blot in
two,--betraying consequently, I should imagine, feelings which
overwhelmed him on the receipt of my Epistle; and since it is not
at all unlikely that the same Lord who worked in me to write may
('His eyes being in every place') have allowed him to participate
in the same in some way known only to Himself, in order to effect
His purposes."
Stimulated by this reception of her first venture, Miss J. proceeded
further, and on the 24th of April carried a Bible to the town-house of
the Duke, and with her own hand gave it into the charge of the servant.
She writes a minute account of this occurrence:--
"After earnest prayer the Bible was taken by me, with a fluttering,
agitated feeling, to the Duke's gates and delivered into the
porter's hands, after asking him if the Duke were at home. He
replied, 'Yes, ma'am.' I then asked, 'Is he engaged?' He told me
Lord--I forget his name--and Sir Thomas Somebody were with him. I
then inquired, 'Who delivers parcels into His Grace's hands?' He
respectfully said, 'I do, ma'am.' I rejoined, 'Then you will
deliver that,'--returning home, marvelling wherefore such things
were permitted, and what the end thereof would be. Of course a
suitable note accompanied The Bible."
The Duke was not as prompt in acknowledging "The Bible" as he had been
in replying to the first note, for he did not write until the 27th of
August. Even then the letter was delayed by a mistake he made in the
address, directing the envelope to Mrs., instead of Miss J. She says,
"I presume he was in doubt on the subject whether I was a married or
single lady, as my signature could not decide on that point." In this
note the Duke asks if he may not have the pleasure of meeting her; and
Miss J., acting under the advice of her friend Mrs. L., grants his
request and expresses her own desire to know him,--"considering it may
be The Lord's will to permit personal interviews, proposing under such
circumstances to use my influence with him; accordingly craving the
Divine blessing thereon."
From the Duke's reply, which follows, it is evident that she had
corrected his uncertainty as to whether she was married or single:
WALMER CASTLE, Oct. 24, 1834.
The Duke of Wellington presents his compliments to Miss J. The
Duke has received her Letter in which she expresses a desire to
see the Duke and that he should call upon her.
The Duke has certainly received one, if not more, letters from
Miss J., all written upon the same important subject and with the
same beneficent object in view, although the desire to see the
Duke was not expressed in them; and the Duke lately acknowledged
the receipt of one, and of the book, etc., accompanying it.
Although the Duke is not in the habit of visiting young unmarried
ladies with whom he is not acquainted, he will not decline to
attend Miss J. He is at present at a distance from London, and he
will be detained at Walmer Castle by business in this part of the
county for more than a fortnight.
Miss J. will probably write to the Duke again, and will let him
know whether she will be in London in a fortnight or three weeks
from this time.
This was followed by a note, dated November 8, renewing the expressions
of the Duke's desire to meet one who took such an interest in his
welfare, and informing Miss J. of his intention to call upon her the
twelfth of the month. She was then with her friend Mrs. L. in lodgings
in London, and here the Duke presented himself.
The interview was most curious, and is fully described in Miss J.'s
Diary. It seems to furnish the key to this correspondence, that lasted
over seventeen years. Even the pietistic phrases with which Miss J.'s
account is thickly interspersed are of value as demonstrating the
woman's real character, and making plain how completely all that
concerned her was subordinated to her conception of what constituted
the glory of God. The full statement was not written immediately after
the Duke's visit, although the main facts were noted in her Diary. The
following narrative was committed to paper some years after the
occurrence it reports. Her motive in giving particulars is, as she
herself states, to protect herself, lest at her death some question
might arise as to the precise relations that had existed between the
Duke and herself.
She writes:--
"I was about to enter further into a copy of the list of the Duke's
letters, in the book with the lock and key, without comment on the
past; but I am not permitted to do so, considering the Lord is too
jealous for his holy name to suffer me to be exposed to censure
which a full knowledge of circumstances would explain and prevent.
Consequently, however reluctant (_recoiling from the_ TASK _as I
do_) to enter into such, the honor due to the holy name so justly
declared to be above every name demands the _effort_; and may _HE_,
as I have upon my knees especially implored him, be with my pen
accordingly, influencing it to write only what is agreeable to his
unerring will, and likely to obtain the end in view above alluded
to, for his holy _name's_ sake! Since he must have influenced the
Duke of Wellington to love me above every other lady upon earth
from the first moment he beheld me, I am not afraid, as in his
sight, to imply such feelings were permitted to exist towards one,
through the workings of his power, for the accomplishment of his
own ends, be they _whatever_ they may,--_which_ ends, _however_
varying from those I had naturally anticipated, will, I trust,
redound far more to _His Glory_ than my anticipations, if realized,
could possibly have done.
"I say _naturally anticipated!_ And who can presume to think such
were not _justifiable_ when the individual _thus_ brought into my
presence by 'the Lord of Lords' for the purpose of receiving
instruction from his holy word, never spoke, all power of speech
seeming to be withdrawn, until he was compelled to exclaim: 'Oh,
_how_ I _love_ you! _how_ I _love_ you!' repeating the same over
and over and over again with increasing energy.
"I will proceed to describe this visit, which took place through a
declaration on _his part_ in a former letter that the desire to see
me sprang from the consideration evinced _by me_ concerning his
_everlasting welfare_. This induced me to receive him accordingly,
praying to God to be with me every moment of the time, directing
even my dress. This He did, letting me be dressed on the occasion
as HE pleased, which, as my Diary relates, was in my old _turned_
dark green merino gown, _daily_ worn,--not permitting me to be
decorated in any way likely to attract notice, which, as the
employment in view was of so sacred a nature, was neither required
nor obtained.
"Having committed myself on my knees into his gracious hand, 'whose
I am and whom I serve,' to do with me whatever seemed agreeable to
His unerring will, I descended the stairs after the Duke was
announced, with these words from dear Mrs. L. following me: 'Now if
the Lord should send his arrow into his soul!' (She had fancied
from the commencement that God intended to exalt me for the purpose
of showing forth _his_ praise, so that this impression must
necessarily have been powerfully strengthened by what followed.)
"I entered the Parlour, where, standing before the fire, I beheld
anything but the kind of individual personally imagined. I had not
had the slightest idea that the Duke has such a beautiful, silver
head, such as I always from my childhood admired, inducing me as I
approached to offer my hand with additional pleasure, saying, 'This
is very kind of Your Grace!' He received my hand graciously and
respectfully,--but spoke not a word. I then requested him to be
seated, two chairs having been placed for that purpose each side of
the fire,--and occupied one of them myself; when recollecting the
purport of his visit, I immediately rose, saying, 'I will show you
_my Treasure_!' He also rose, standing until I re-seated myself
with this _large_ beautiful Bible in my arms. I placed it upon the
table between us, opening it at the Third Chapter of Saint John's
Gospel, announcing the same. On arriving at the seventh verse
thereof, containing this MOMENTOUS passage, flowing from the divine
lips of him who spoke as never man spake, '_Ye_ MUST _be born
again_,' I, as is usual with me, raised my hand, pointing my finger
emphatically, with the solemnity so important an occasion demanded,
being desirous to impress the same on his mind, when to my
astonishment he eagerly _seized_ my hand, exclaiming, as before
described: 'Oh, _how_ I _love_ you!' This was his first
utterance!...
"Should any one consider strange the expression of _agonizing_
applied to the Duke's feelings at the time he seized my hand, and
exclaimed as written, I can only say that such an expression seems
hardly doing justice thereto in my estimation. Nor can I find _any_
language adequate to display the same, for God appeared to have
struck the Duke dumb on beholding me, giving him no power of speech
until he _betrayed_ the effect such had on him. He seemed
determined from first to last to overcome or conceal these
feelings; yet on one occasion, with great solemnity of voice and
manner, on my questioning him concerning who caused him to feel
thus towards me, he replied,
"'GOD ALMIGHTY.'"
One hesitates how to comment upon this singular interview. As has been
said, the Duke was at the time of its occurrence sixty-five years old,
a father and a grandfather. Under no circumstances was he a man likely
to fall in love at first sight, even with so beautiful and interesting
a woman as Miss J. Yet the length of time that the correspondence
endured, as well as the tone he generally observed of interest in her
plans, of solicitude for her health, and the readiness with which he
renewed his letters when some misunderstanding had for a while
interrupted them, all go to prove that he must have had a feeling for
her of more than common interest. Miss J. does not demur at avowing her
affection for him again and again. In later years, when there had been
a decided break between them, she writes of him constantly as "my
still-loved, precious Duke."
That the Duke did not have a general reputation for softness of heart,
even among those who knew him well, may be gathered from Greville's
comments. He styles the Duke:--
"A man of great energy, decision, and authority. The Duke is a very
_hard_ man; he takes no notice of any of his family, he never sees
his mother, has only visited her two or three times in the last few
years, and has not now been to see Lady Anne, though she has been
in such affliction for the death of her only son, and he passes her
door every time he goes to Strathfieldsaye.... He is a very
extraordinary man certainly, and with many contradictions in his
character.... He will not endure any one who will not be
subservient to him."
Several passages in the Duke's letters to Miss J. written when there
had been deaths among his friends or in his family, lead one to modify
the estimate made of him by Greville, who was always too apt to let his
personal prejudices color his statements. M'Carthy declares that while
the Duke was cold and brusque in manner, his affections were warm and
enduring. This softer side of his nature was evidently that shown to
Miss J. The oddest part of the affair was that he should have betrayed
it on such short acquaintance.
On parting from Miss J. the Duke told her he should be absent from town
for several days, but would call upon her on his return. At his request
she promised to write to him. This she afterwards found "the Lord of
Lords" would not permit.
"I attempted to fulfil my promise repeatedly; but felt so
restrained that I was obliged at length to relinquish all thought
of doing so, considering such was not the will of God."
A letter from the Duke dated December 5 inquires the reason of this
silence, and proposes calling again. To this Miss J. sent no answer;
but in spite of her silence she received another note, dated London,
December 22, announcing the Duke's return, and informing her that he
would wait upon her the next day at three o'clock. The following
account of this call is from Miss J.'s Diary:--
"During the next visit from the Duke he exclaimed, speaking of his
feeling for me, 'This must be for life!' twice over successively.
He then asked me if I felt sufficient for him to be with him a
whole life, to which I replied: '_If it be the will of God_.' I
observed much excitement about him, and he in a very hurried manner
told me that he was going on a visit to the King. This led me to
reply, 'I wish you were going on a visit to _The King_,' which he
evidently interpreted to mean The King of kings. He left me
hastily, saying he purposed returning in a short time. In the
interim I locked my door and knelt down, beseeching God to be with
me and protect me, showing me what he would have me do under such
marvellous circumstances. Forgetting that the door was fastened, I
was obliged on the Duke's return to explain wherefore, stating that
it is written, 'When thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father
which is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in secret shall
reward thee openly;' adding, '_Therefore_ I locked the door when
you were gone, Your Grace, to kneel down and ask God to take care
of me.' On hearing this his eyes dropped, but he said nothing. On
his asking me why I had not written to him during his absence from
town, I replied, 'Because _God_ would not let me;' when his eyes
again fell, and he was silent."