Duke of Wellington at Apsley House. This was an occasion not to be
forgotten, but I cannot describe it. On Tuesday I went for the
first time to hear a debate upon the Portugal interference in the
House of Lords. It brought out all the leaders, and I was so
fortunate as to hear a most powerful speech from Lord Stanley, one
from Lord Lansdowne in defence of the Ministry and one from the Duke
of Wellington, who, on this occasion, sided with the Ministers. On
Wednesday was the great FETE given by the Duchess of Sutherland to
the Queen. It was like a chapter of a fairy tale. Persons from all
the courts of Europe who were there told us that nowhere in Europe
was there anything as fine as the hall and grand staircase where the
Duchess received her guests. It exceeded my utmost conceptions of
magnificence and beauty. The vast size of the apartment, the
vaulted ceilings, the arabesque ornaments, the fine pictures, the
profusion of flowers, the music, the flourish of trumpets, as the
Queen passed backward and forward, the superb dresses and diamonds
of the women, the parti-colored full dress of the gentlemen all
contributed to make up a scene not to be forgotten. The Queen's
Ball was not to be compared to it, so much more effective is
Stafford House than Buckingham Palace. . . . We were fortunate to be
present there, for Stafford House is not opened in this way but once
in a year or two, and the Duke's health is now so very uncertain,
that it may be many years before it happens again. He was not
present the other evening.



LETTER: To Mr. and Mrs. I.P.D.
My dear Uncle and Aunt:
LONDON, June 20, 1847