along which the procession moved,
and of that multitude exceeding great numbers were dressed in deep
black. In parliament and throughout the country, demonstrations of
respect for the memory of the departed hero were made, and the court
went into mourning. Thus closed the life and obsequies of one of the
greatest men to whom the British Isles had ever given birth. His grace
was a widower at his death. He had married, in 1806, an Irish lady of
rank, the Honourable Catherine Pakenham, daughter of the second Baron
Longford, and sister to the gallant Generals Pakenham, who distinguished
themselves under the command of his grace in the Peninsular. The duchess
died in 1831, leaving two sons, the Marquis of Douro, heir to the title,
and Lord Charles Wellesley, both military men. Lord Charles Wellesley,
from loss of sight, has since been obliged to give up the military
profession; and the successor to the great duke, although a man of
general talent, and allowed by military men to possess remarkable
ability for the profession of arms, has not followed that career, but
maintains a high position at court and in public affairs.

THE COURT.

There were few incidents connected with the court in 1852 interesting
to the general reader. Her majesty and the royal family spent the usual
season in London, especially in connection with ministerial changes
and parliamentary proceedings. Windsor Castle and Osborne House also
received their royal proprietor at the accustomed seasons. In the
summer, however, her majesty made a cruise in her yacht, before retiring
to her autumnal Scottish retreat. A royal yacht squadron escorted the
queen and the royal household from Cowes along the southern coast of
England to Plymouth, the party landing at various points celebrated
for their picturesque situation. Having cruised about the south and
south-west coast, the squadron returned to Osborne. At the close of
August, her majesty, the prince, and the elder five children left
Osborne for Balmoral. Her residence there was shortened by tidings of
the death of the Duke of Wellington, which reached her September 16th.
Early in October she left for Windsor, visiting _en route_ the Menai
Straits, and passing through the tubular bridge.

A curious circumstance occurred to her majesty on the 30th of August.
The royal lady was then made aware that she was legatee to a large
fortune, bequeathed by a barrister of Lincoln's Inn. He was a man of
singularly pe