Page:Life of the Duke of Wellington.pdf/14

14 of the Garter, and was introduced to the house by the Dukes of Beaufort and Richmond. He had not been in England since his elevation to the peerage; and thus, in his introduction to the House of Lords, his patents of creation as Baron, Earl, Marquis, and Duke, were all read on the same day. No ceremony of honour was omitted on this occasion; the Duchess of Wellington, and his mother, the Countess of Mornington, were present, seated below the throne. After the oaths had been administered, and the Duke had taken his seat, the Lord Chancellor Eldon addressed him for the purpose of conveying the thanks of the House, which had been voted to him the preceding evening, for the twelfth time.

On Saturday the 9th of July, the Duke of Wellington was entertained at a banquet by the corporation of London; great cost and magnificence were displayed on the occasion, and he was presented with the freedom of the city in a gold box, and with a splendid sword. In returning thanks, he, as invariably on other occasions, gratefully alluded to the support of his officers, and the bravery of his troops. When he received the sword, he energetically declared that he was ready, whenever called upon, to employ it in the service of his king and country, should it unfortunately happen that the general wish of Europe for a peaeepeace [sic] should be disappointed. He did not then suspect how soon his pledge would be redeemed.

On the 8th of August, he left England again, having been appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the court of France. On his way to Paris, he visited the Netherlands, and, in company with the Prince of Orange, made a careful examination of the frontier fortresses on that line. On the 24th of August, he was presented to Louis XVIII., delivered his credentials, and took up his residence in Paris.

The intelligence of Napoleon's return from Elba,