Part of an Autograph Letter, missing signature page, to "Wellesley", prob. a Richard Wellesley.

Four pages, 4to, incomplete, fold marks, some tears on folds, complete and legible, as follows: "It is perfectly true. I am indeed, my dear Wellesley, the most faithless of correspondents. And towards you too! You, who deserved so different a treatment at my hands. . . . My time has passed away for the last four months in such an odd sort of bustling, hurrying, half occupied, half dissipated way . . . Will you believe that till yesterday I had not written a syllable to Gally Knight [see DNB] for the last four months? From my mischance a warning borrow, / Ye youths so light & gay; / and ne'er defer until tomorrow / What may be done today! / But what do I care? What is it to me whether you are out of humour or not? I have seen & am in the habit of seeing daily, the greatest man in the world, and what is more I find him near at hand just as great as he seemed at a distance - which you know is not always the case. Pardon my vanity but I really look upon myself as no inconsiderable person since I have had the honour of shaking hands with & and being slied upon by your illustrious uncle [Wellington]. Exclusive of his great name, he has almost every quality fit to captivate one's admiration. His open, honest, manly countenance & his deportment naturally noble & unaffected , the extreme simplicity of his character & his good nature, straightforward sense, & total want of fudge are all delightful. A bad [?] has no more chance before him than a french column. It is impossible to disguise the [?] pride & pleasure that one feels in seeing one's country so represented, at a moment when, if ever, she ought to take the place of pre-eminence among the powers of Europe. Do not be surprised at this profession of enthusiasm. I am just come ffrom passing an hour tete-a-tete with the great man, and listening with all my ears to what I suppose are old stories to you - how he beat the French at Busaco & Salamanca - when he first formed the plan of defending Lisbon & with what [?] confidence he always bore up against the doubts & difficulties which stood in his way. An hour so passed is no trifling enjoyment.- Before you receive this you will probably have heard from the mellifluous lips of Lord Castlereagh [first head of British delegation] himself in what way the principal questions before Congress have been arranged. He worked very hard this last week or two before he went away, & considering the hold which Russian influence had taken upon every thing, it is matter of surprize that he should have been able to effect so much. It is really melancholy to reflect upon the way in which Congress has gone on. The false liberality of the Emperor Alexander, the levity of Metternich, the tenacity & egoism of almost every party, [/] augments to a most fearful degree the difficulties naturally arising from the complicated nature of the affairs to be settled. That the whole will ultimately close in peace I have no doubt. . .[master interest] . The report of the day - but at present it is only a report - is rather against that doctrine. It is said that [??] would war against the Pope, & is either marching - or preparing to march upon Rome. This, if it be true, may produce some singular changes. Murat has an army of 50,000 men - and Italy is throughout in a most frightful state of uncertainty and inquietude.- I am longing to see the first debates upon the meeting of Parliament. Everything seems to announce a vigorous Campaign on the side of opposition, but with the decided advantages which Ministers derive from their natural ductility & the labours of Lord Castlereagh, I should not think that these attacks will be more successful than heretofore. What part are you to take? Not a silent one, I hope. What you wrote to me in your last about the continued neutrality of your situation has given me much concern. I am [sure?] it must be very painful to you. Still, my dear friend, let me urge you not to be discouraged - questions always arise in the course of a [?] upon which even a neutral may give a decided opinion, or at least make a flourishing speech. The House of Commons is your theatre, & surely you cannot have a more noble one. It is there, if anywhere, that you must distinguish yourself. And can you ever hope to have a more favourable opportunity for oratorical effect? A very moderate effort, & I'll" [END] The hand of Stratford Canning who attended the Congress because he was involved in sorting out Switzerland. At Eton he had been friendly with Gally Knight and Richard Wellesley (see Canning in DNB) and they had written adn published "The Miniature" together. Knight and Canning were both born in 1786 as must Wellesley (or thereabouts) but this Richard Wellesley does not seem to feature in Burke's though he may well be the subject of a poem "Lines in memory of the late R.W. [Richard Wellesley]" pubd 1831. The paean to Wellington (pre-Waterloo) is obviously of some importance, as are the comments on the Treaty and Castlereagh of "melliflous lips", particularly from someone of such ultimate distinction.