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Article A DIPLOMATIST'S MEMORY. ← Page 2 of 6 →
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A Diplomatist's Memory.
tion of government was desired for the widow—or for the family jointly—or for one of the children . His Lordship ' s suggestion was adopted ; and his favourable decision solicited for the second son . The minister's answer was
speedily given , and in his own autograph throughout . He stated briefly , but decisively , that , in recognition of the services of the father , and as the result of the earnest application made b y Sir Charles for the family , an appointment in one of the government offices would , ere long , be conferred on the second son . The joy of the widow and her household was deep and uncontrollable ; hope seemed not to have entirely deserted them . Blessings were invoked on Lord S ' s name : and his communication was hailed
as an omen of future competence and peace . Meanwhile days , weeks , months sped away : no second communication from the Home Secretary arrived ; Sir Charles , long passed the meridian of life , sank , unexpectedly , into the grave ; and still the promised appointment was in abeyance . At length an appeal was forwarded
to Lord S , claiming , in terms Avhich perhaps had rather too much of fhefortite r in re , the redemption of his pledge . His Lordship ' s reply was immediate and cautious . He "had but a very faint recollection of the name of M , " and " none whatever of any promise . " A " perusal of the letter alluded to would afford the best solution of
the difficulty . " The family were alarmed . Their rejoinder was immediate and lengthy . It gave names , dates , conversational details , and ended with begging for an early appointment for the wearied aspirant . Lord S replied by again calling for the letter . It was not forthcoming . It had been most carefully set aside . It was in existence ;
all were sure of that . Each member of the family had perused it—kneAV it by heart—could quote it verbatim , but no effort of recollection could point out its hiding place . All this was submissively stated to the Home Secretary with considerably more of the suaviter in modo . His Lordshi p wrote no more—an official took his place—he replied by order of his chiefthe
— brevity of his communication was only equalled by its sting . " Lord S—' s first impression remaining unshaken , he is not at all surprised at the non-appearance of the letter . " Further representations were made—long—earnesttouching—repeated . Fruitless all . They served but to call forth , anew , the impracticable command , " Produce the
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
A Diplomatist's Memory.
tion of government was desired for the widow—or for the family jointly—or for one of the children . His Lordship ' s suggestion was adopted ; and his favourable decision solicited for the second son . The minister's answer was
speedily given , and in his own autograph throughout . He stated briefly , but decisively , that , in recognition of the services of the father , and as the result of the earnest application made b y Sir Charles for the family , an appointment in one of the government offices would , ere long , be conferred on the second son . The joy of the widow and her household was deep and uncontrollable ; hope seemed not to have entirely deserted them . Blessings were invoked on Lord S ' s name : and his communication was hailed
as an omen of future competence and peace . Meanwhile days , weeks , months sped away : no second communication from the Home Secretary arrived ; Sir Charles , long passed the meridian of life , sank , unexpectedly , into the grave ; and still the promised appointment was in abeyance . At length an appeal was forwarded
to Lord S , claiming , in terms Avhich perhaps had rather too much of fhefortite r in re , the redemption of his pledge . His Lordship ' s reply was immediate and cautious . He "had but a very faint recollection of the name of M , " and " none whatever of any promise . " A " perusal of the letter alluded to would afford the best solution of
the difficulty . " The family were alarmed . Their rejoinder was immediate and lengthy . It gave names , dates , conversational details , and ended with begging for an early appointment for the wearied aspirant . Lord S replied by again calling for the letter . It was not forthcoming . It had been most carefully set aside . It was in existence ;
all were sure of that . Each member of the family had perused it—kneAV it by heart—could quote it verbatim , but no effort of recollection could point out its hiding place . All this was submissively stated to the Home Secretary with considerably more of the suaviter in modo . His Lordshi p wrote no more—an official took his place—he replied by order of his chiefthe
— brevity of his communication was only equalled by its sting . " Lord S—' s first impression remaining unshaken , he is not at all surprised at the non-appearance of the letter . " Further representations were made—long—earnesttouching—repeated . Fruitless all . They served but to call forth , anew , the impracticable command , " Produce the