I mentioned these views to several of my acquaintances, and the idea seemed to meet with general approbation. I found my military friends fully alive to the advantage of such a course for the benefit of the service, and also as a consolation to surviving relatives. Amongst others, I proposed it to the late General Sir Charles Napier. He highly approved of the plan, about which we had several conversations. In one of these I suggested that he should mention it to the Duke of Wellington; to which Sir Charles replied, “No, I could not do that: you should tell him yourself.” I smiled at the notion, not thinking that my friend was in earnest.
A short time after I met Sir Charles Napier at a large evening party. We were sitting together on a sofa talking: he resumed the plan I had proposed, spoke of it with much approbation, and concluded by saying, “You ought to tell the Duke of it.”
I replied that I had thought he was only joking when he had on a former occasion made the same observation.
“No, indeed,” said Sir Charles; “I am serious. The Duke will attend to what you say more than to any of us.”
“If you really think so,” I replied, “I will follow your counsel. I hope,” I added, “the Duke may excuse me as a civilian for speaking about it, but after such an expression of your opinion I feel bound to take that course.” {177}
〈MENTIONED TO THE DUKE.〉
The conversation then turned upon other subjects, when shortly after the Duke of Wellington was announced.
“There,” observed Sir Charles, “is the Duke, now go and talk to him about it.” I promised to do so at a proper opportunity.
After the Duke had made his bow to the lady of the house, and recognised and conversed with many of his friends, I threw myself in his way. On the Duke shaking hands with me, I remarked that I was particularly glad to meet him, because an idea had occurred to me in which I thought he would take an interest. He stepped with me a little out of the crowd, and I then stated shortly my views. The Duke paid great attention to the subject; made several remarks upon it; and when we separated, I felt satisfied that he took a strong interest in it. I thought, however, that he had applied the idea rather more to the officers, whilst my main object was the interests of the privates.
Much later in the evening I was taking some refreshment in another room, when the Duke entering, saw and rejoined me. He reverted to the subject; I observed that though officers and privates should have the same official acknowledgment, yet that the Commander-in-Chief and the Government possessed other more substantial means of benefiting the surviving relatives of the officers than of the privates. We had some further conversation about it, and I then felt quite satisfied that he both understood and approved of it.