ympathising
letter, and is much gratified at Count Persigny's kind note. He _is_
a good, honest, warm-hearted man, for whom we have sincere esteem.
The news from India was a great relief and a _ray_ of sunshine in our
great affliction.[51] The Queen had the happiness of informing poor
Sir George Couper of the relief of Lucknow, in which for four months
his son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren were shut up. The loss of
two such distinguished officers as Generals Nicholson and Neill, and
alas! of many inferior ones, is, however, very sad.

We visited the house of mourning yesterday, and _no words can_
describe the scene of woe.[52] There was the venerable Queen with
the motherless children, admirable in her deep grief, and her pious
resignation to the Will of God! yet even now the support, the comfort
of all, thinking but of others and ready to devote her last remaining
strength and her declining years to her children and grandchildren.
There was the broken-hearted, almost distracted widower--_her
son_--and lastly, there was in one room the lifeless, but oh! even in
its ghostliness, most beautiful form of his young, lovely, and angelic
wife, lying in her bed with her splendid hair covering her shoulders,
and a heavenly expression of peace; and in the next room, the dear
little pink infant sleeping in its cradle.

The Queen leaves to Lord Clarendon's kind heart to imagine what this
spectacle of woe must be, and how _deeply_ afflicted and impressed _we
must be_--who have only so lately had a child born to us and have been
so fortunate! The Prince has been _completely_ upset by this; and she
was besides like a dear sister to us. God's will be done! But it
seems _too_ dreadful almost to believe it--too hard to bear. The dear
Duchess's death must have been caused by some affection of the heart,
for she was perfectly well, having her hair combed, suddenly exclaimed
to the Nurse, "Oh! mon Dieu, Madame"--her head fell on one side--and
before the Duke could run upstairs her hand was cold! The Queen
had visited her on Saturday--looking well--and _yesterday_ saw her
lifeless form in the very same spot!

If Lord Clarendon could give a slight hint to the _Times_ to say a few
words of sympathy on the awful and unparalleled misfortune of these
poor exiles, she is sure it would be very soothing to their bleeding
hearts.... The sad event at Claremont took place just five days later
than the death of poor Princess Charlotte under ver