The Iron Duke.

Otago Witness, Issue 1539, 7 May 1881, Page 25

The Iron Duke.

INCIDENTS OF HIS LIFE-HIS SAYINGS AND DOINGS.

Lord Grey, who spent the flower of his manhood in cavilling at Wellington, once took up a volume of the Dnke's dispatches. After perusing many pages he said,* in answer to a question as to what he thought of them, 'In my opinion he was the greatest man who ever lived.' Perhaps the Queen is the one person now living who would agree with Lord Grey. Her Majesty shed ,tears when she heard that ' the good, gray-head which all men knew ' would so longer be seen on this earth, and spoke of him in terms whloh have rarely been applied to even O»aar or Napoleon. If to adhere rigidly to a very stern oode of virtue is to be great, then few men were greater than Wellington, and perhaps if his power and fame never attained such gigantio proportions as those of some other conquerors the fact is rather to his credit then otherwise. 'He is too great to be a subject,' said Napoleon in 1815. 'He will ohange the dynasty.' This sentence has sometimes been quoted in Illustration of Napoleon's ignorance of England. But the truth Is, Napoleon knew perfectly well what he was Baying, and the probability is that Wellington might have changed the dynasty. He did not for three reasons : He was too good a man, too unimaginative, too satisfied with the position he had actually acquired. The lack of imagination is, indeed, the most serious defeot in the character of Wellington. Curiously enough he was never very popular with his men — they admired rather than loved him. Nelson was simply worshipped by the sailors he led to victory. A certain coldness of demeanour, which sometimes amounted to positive haughtiness, was the reason which prevented the establishment of sympathethio relations between Wellington and his officers. After his elevation to the peerage ho was commonly spoken of as ' the Peer,' partly, no doubt, to distinguish him from certain lords who were not peers. But what mortal seaman would ever have dreamed of calling 'Nel' the Peer?

That part of Wellington's life which has been the most visited with censure is hia civil career, mrjustly as I think. He no doubt committed grave faults ; bub he was, honest and courageous to a degree. A curious instance of the latter quality may ba seen in his conversation wich George IV, who oouoeived that his 'honour' forbade him to acoept Canning as a Minister. 'I can't, Arthur, I oan'fc, as a gentleman — oan If ' Your Majesty is not a gentleman,' replied the Duke to the startled King, and pro« ceeded to explain to him that a sovereign Is not a gentleman, because something more. The King gave way. On a subsequent oo« casion the Duke showed equal oourage, bat more tact. George IV, as is well knowp, -laboured under the hallucination that he had been present at Waterloo. One day at a State banquet he made this amazing statement, and appealed to the Duke for confirmation. 'Your Majesty has often told me so,' replied Wellington. The Duke cared little to talk of his campaigns—at least to civilians. A foolish lady once asked him' to ' give her an account of the battle of Waterloo.' ' There is nothing easier, madam,' he answered : ' the French pounded us and we pounded the French, and I suppose we pounded the hardest, for they ran.' He made one fine observation after the battle. ' I know nothing sadder than a victory,' he said, 'except it be a defeat.' On another occasion the Duke remarked that an accurate description of a battle was a miracle of literary art. With reßpect to literary composition the Duke oan scarcely be considered a master, but the earnestness and simplicity of his dispatches, throwing a still brighter light upon bright actions, made one understand the judgment of Lord Grey on the man. He was never much of a reader, and seemed (in hi s later years at all events) to know the Bible better than any other book. When in London he would go regularly every morning to the chapel Royal at St. James.

After dinner, about the time when other persona would take tea, he had a couple of decanters full of iced water brought him, and thtae lie would finish before going to bad. For the rest ho was no gourmet, and still leas of £i gourmand. At one time he took a very light breakfast (towards 10) of tea and toast and nothing more till at 8 o'clock dinner. A French paptr, nevertheless, ventured to assert that the great duke had died of a

Srarfelt ol apple pudding, Quelle mort peu ghrieuse I it added. As a matter of fact I have heard that this homely dish was the last that he partook of on earth. He really died of an affection of the ear. He was very hospitable, especially at Walmer, but had his own notions on the subject of equality. Thus he had once a3ked Grlsi to come down (in a professional capacity) to entertain some illustrious guests whom he was expecting. On Grisi's arrival the Duke was very civil to the lady, and asked her; among other questions at what hour she would like to dine. Grisi replied (with her mosfc gracious smile) that his Grace's hour, whatever it might be, would perfectly suit her. The Duke bowed and the priina donna became his guest, but he had not at all Intended it. And yet he had once asked a olookmaker, who had come to repair the docks at Walmer, to dinner, though this invitation, too, is believed to have originated in a mistake. The Duke fanoied that the head of a famous firm had arrived in person to do the work, and issued the invitation accordingly. It was, however, a mere artisan who had been sent, but the Duke was too good-natured and too much of a gentleman to withdraw it when he learned the facts. 'He is a man of science,' quoth Wellington, and that waß enough for him. It was a high honour— for which any human being, I suppose, would have almost given a day of his life— except the epiourlan Lord Sef ton. That nobleman had a very poor opinion of the Duke, whom he once asked to dinner— to one of those exquisite little .banquets which he alone knew Sow. to give. Lord Sef ton was much piqued at the Duke's evident want of appreciation of his cook's triumphs, and at length asked the old soldier point blank his opinion of a dish. The Duke answered that it seemed excellent, but that for his part he never paid any attention to what he ate. ' Why,' said Lord Seftoa (with an oath) to a friend to whom he told the story, ' did he come and dine with me then ?'

. The Duke, as stated above, admired ' men of science ;' also • lawyers,' who seemed to him possessed of a subtle tcraft beyond his own powers. His political adversary, Brougham, ha almost loved • for the learning that was in him.' On one occasion he ventured to 'spar' with the Chancellor, and was worsted. •My lord,' he said, * you will be remembered in history, not for your exertions In abolishing slavery, or reforming the laws, or ohanging our Constitution, But simply from giving your name to a new style of carriage.' 'And your Grace will not be remembered for Salamanca, or Vittoria, or Waterloo, but for a new style of boot.' 'D n the boots, I had forgotten them,' naively replied Wellington. Wellington had not that bitter hatred of Liberalism which has been foolishly attributed to him. He quite understood and respected the motives of Radicals as well as Whigs. But he thought the former, at all events, however well-meaning, were completely mistaken and should be vigorously opposed ' all along the line.' In the last year of his life he had become, perhaps, a trifle 'ultra' in his conservatism. 'Keep the command of the army, madame, whatever you do,' was the advice he once tendered her Majesty, in very earnest tones. Towards the close of his life he became rather morose. He was fond of driving himself about, especially in the country, and used that most dangerous of carriages, a curricle. Then he went to Bleep while driving, and drove into ditches by the way, but no one dared interfere or touch the rein on pain of a terrible scolding. A few days before he died he boasted that ' he could do whatever any other man could do,' and was always rather vain cf his health and physical strength. His death was quite unexpected, at least by himself, and it is said nis life might have been prolonged had he been in London instead of at Walmer, where help was not handy. When he was dead, some one spoke lightly of him in the presence of Lord RusseD, who had always been in opposition to him. 'Don't blaspheme/ replied the Whig leader, curtly. — B. C. Grenville-Murray, in the Swiss Continent.