When the rule first came into operation, Ticknor heard one of
the attendants announce that the Duke of Wellington was at the door.
"What o'clock is it?" Lady Jersey asked. "Seven minutes after eleven,
your ladyship." She paused a moment, and then said, with emphasis and
distinctness, "Give my compliments,--give Lady Jersey's compliments to
the Duke of Wellington, and say that she is very glad that the first
enforcement of the rule of exclusion is such that hereafter no one can
complain of its application. He cannot be admitted"
('ibid'., vol. i. pp. 296, 297).
Politically, Lady Jersey was a power. Such an entry as the following
sounds strange to modern readers: Dining at Lord Holland's, in 1835, in
company with Lord Melbourne, Lord Grey, and other prominent politicians,
Ticknor notes that
"public business was much talked about--the corporation bill, the
motion for admitting Dissenters to the universities, etc., etc.; and
as to the last, when the question arose whether it would be debated on
Tuesday night, it was admitted to be doubtful whether Lady Jersey
would not succeed in getting it postponed, as she has a grand dinner
that evening"
('Life', vol. i. pp. 409, 410).
Lady Jersey, whose mother-in-law, 'nee' Frances Twyden, had
been a bitter opponent of the Princess of Wales, provoked the wrath
of the Regent by espousing the cause of his wife. The Prince
was determined to break off this friendship with his wife's champion,
and sent a letter to her by the hand of Colonel Willis, announcing
his determination.
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