t parts. Poor Grisi is quite going off, and after the pure
angelic voice and extremely quiet, perfect acting of J. Lind, she
seems quite _passee_. Poor thing! she is _quite_ furious about it, and
was excessively impertinent to J. Lind.

To-morrow we go to a ball at Stafford House, and on Thursday to one at
Gloucester House. Ever your truly devoted Niece,

VICTORIA R.

[Footnote 4: The Government were severely attacked by
a coalition of Radicals and Protectionists for their
intervention in Portugal. A hostile motion of Lord Stanley's
in the House of Lords was opposed by the Duke of Wellington
and defeated, while one of Mr Hume's in the House of Commons
was talked out, Sir Robert Peel supporting the Ministry.]

[Footnote 5: She made her _debut_ in London on the 4th of
May in _Roberto il Diavolo_. The Queen had heard her sing
previously at Stolzenfels. In May 1849, after singing for two
years to enthusiastic audiences, she retired from the stage,
and made extended concert tours in Europe and America.]

[Pageheading: THE WELLINGTON STATUE]

_The Duke of Wellington to Queen Victoria._

LONDON, _12th July 1847._ (_Five in the afternoon_.)

Field-Marshal the Duke of Wellington presents his humble duty to your
Majesty. He submits to your Majesty the expression of his sorrow and
shame that your Majesty should be troubled for a moment by anything so
insignificant as a statue of himself.

When he first heard of the intention to remove the statue from the
pedestal on which it had been placed, he was apprehensive that the
measure might be misconstrued and misrepresented in this country as
well as abroad.

That feeling was increased when the probable existence of such
misconstruction was adverted to in one of the printed papers
circulated by the Committee for the erection of the statue; and still
farther when the removal became the subject of repeated discussions in
Parliament. His daily experience of your Majesty's gracious reception
of his endeavours to serve your Majesty; and the events of every
day, and the repeated marks which he received of your Majesty's
consideration and favour proved clearly, as the Duke stated in his
letter to Lord John Russell, that there was no foundation for the
misconstruction of the intended act--which undoubtedly existed. The
apprehension of such misconstruction had from the first moment created
an anxious wish in the mind of the Duke th