The Sun.
London, England, 1839-09-16 00:00:00

ENT N EDT I'ION.

there may be no mistake, now or hereafter, should this
utter become known (in which case I will publish eve-y
,thing, having it writing); and I am certain the inor. it is
knoWn the better my poet-sister's conduct will appelr, and
the more revolting the conduct of those who have taken
part against her.
" I REFEAT, that the whole business has been base Reel
Friel, and reflects dishonour and discredit on nil concerned
in it, from the highest to the lowest ; and I cannot find
words sufficiently strong to convey the sense of my disgust
end s contempt for the conduct of all who have figured in
this business ari.d though by your assertion, on your word
~t onour as a
the Ledies of the'
gentleman, that the whole thing rests with
that it Li Court, yet' I cannot brine m) self to think
as been the deliberate act or her Majesty, judging
niere
has
dl):.rticulerly from the conduct of the Queen since 5110
but ere the foulness and falseness of the accus tion ;
! ascribedt to that baneful influence which surrounds
:ne Throne, and poisons and deadens all the best feel-
g3 and dictates of human nature. And now, my
Lord, it may be right for me to state (not only as a
duty to toy family and myself, hut in case misconstruc-
tion might hereafter be put upon the hue of conduct
I have adopted, what I have done on this occasion
The very moment I heard of it I posted day and night to
London,, and believing that vou had been the chief
mover in the business, I waited upon Lord Winchilsea,
and asked him (if such were the case) to call you out. By
his advice I called upon you myself, and received from you,
" Your word of honour as a gentleman, a denial of any
.!i-ticipation in it, beyond having been sent for by the
adios of the Court. I next sought the advice of the
Duke of Wellington, Lord Winchilsea being out of town ;
and his Grace advised, for the sake of avoiding the pain-
falros of publicity, that the matter should rest where it
noteis.
" The Queen has expressed her sorrow; and here, I
suPPose, is to END as cruel a case as ever disgraced the
Court of a British Sovereign. But the matter will not
rest in my breast ; and should it appear that I have not
n()vv learnt all particulars, or that more have taken part in
this infamous transaction than I am at present aware of, I
trio ready at any moment to take it up again, and, as far as
2a"l e,sein my power, will punish all concerned in it. Having
b- thus much I now close this painful and disgusting
usiness, and retire from the polluted atmosphere of a Court
which I hope my poor sister will no longer remain than
to allow her Majesty to mark her sorrow for what has
Passed, and her sense of the deep injury, that has been in•
fleeted upon a guiltless and unprotected vioman. I shall
remain in London till to-morrow morning, in case you
have any further communication to make to me; ar.d have
the honour to be, my Lord, your obedient servant.
"HASTINGS."
In CO
his Lordna
sequence of this letter, Lord Melbourne aquainted
h hip that her Majesty would receive him at Beck-
fi am Palace on Feb. 28. Of this interview the Mar.
Outs 1:t
It might be improper for me more particularly
ranee e_what occurred on that occasion, beyond the assu-
L _ of her Majesty that my sister should be treated with
theourrsubject of my inquiries as to who had been the ()RIM
furthe deniedat the Palace,
°RS of the plot having beenme
r than the exculpation of Lord Melbourne, I was
driven to find it out as I best could by myself; a thing
inna"t difficult, from the length of time that had elapsed, the
p number of persons supposed to be implicated,
period of and the late
the business at which I was called upon to act
.letne days after the outrage bad taken place). It there-
ore oeiy
ni remained for me to detect the perpetrators of the
eruteilty I could prevent nothing •
th sving seen my sister reinstated in her proper place at
e Royal table, and finding that I could be of no further
use to d dd s d the following
Lett her, I returned home, an a re. se
ers to Lords Tavistock and Portman, which I herewith
Publish, with their answers :
c°,II,,RESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE MAR-
OF HASTINGS AND THE MARQUIS
OF TAVISTOCK
MI.IIQUIS OF HASTINGS TO THE MARQUIS OF TAVISTOCK.

" Donington Park, March 1839.
" bear Lord Tavistock—From the length of time I
'lave known you, from the respect and regard which I have
ever entertained towards you as a man of the highest honour
and integrity, I bare determined to write to yeti on the
Most painful subject that it has ever been my lot to be
Called to act upon, the more painful to me, because not
only are those nearest and dearest to me chiefly concerned
in it, but there are those whom I have ever ccnsidcred as
friends, and whose conduct now stands in such a light
that I can no longer consider them as such, till the whole
of the infamous business in which their names have been
'nixed up is explained, and the strong impressions which
now rest upon my mind proved to be groundless. I
need tell you no more than that I allude to the gross lie
Fch has been circulated about my unfortunate sister
ora, who is in the Duchess of Kent's household. Though
ewel' at the time I lost not a moment in going to London,
and after ten days spent in the most painful investigation
of the business, having received from Lord Melbourne, on
his word of honour,' his assurance that none but the Ladies
of the Court were connected with this business, and that it
originated with them alone, and that THEY sent to him,
and having pressed him to mention WHO sent to him, he
Mentioned the name of Lady Tavistock (I believe Lady
Tavistock was then in waiting) ; and it is to know from
HER with WHOM this accusation first originated that I
has
to you, and that I may know what part each person
uks taken in the business. I think I know more about it
than some persons imagine, but I will not act upon my
suspicions only. That Lady Portman has taken a very
active part in it there can be no doubt, from the manner in
•,;k',426' she sought my poor sister's forgiveness, after having
'Coed the deepest injury she could upon her! I have
received from the Queen's own lips (having with
"Ally got an audience of her Majesty) an assurance
oftn° only of her sorrow for what has taken place, but
her determination to mark her sense of the falsity
of the accusation and the injury inflicted upon my
Poor sister, by showing her every mark of attention;
Ind I have the happiness to feel that I have done much
(I believe I may say everything in MY power) to alleviate
her sorrow on this trying occasion ; and I owe much to the
kindness and judgment both of Lord Winchilsea and the
lluke of Wellington in the manner in which I have pro-
ceeded. Though my conscience acquits me of not having
done ALL I CAN in the business, yet I know that my poor
sister will have the painful ordeal to go through of EVERY
version which the public may give of this story, and that I
myself must submit to the same, and AM at THIS moment
submitting to the same UNFAIR judgment till I publish
everything connected with the business from the time I
Lst became acquainted with it (which determination I told
()I'd Melbourne, b letter, I had come to); and have only
refrained from doing so in the hope that my poor sister
'tight be s ar d th pain of the publicity of this matter.
h t
May I P e een a sk WAS NOT Baroness Lehzen the first person
%14,ho.originated 'this ton' slander, and mentioned it to Lady
lavistock ; and if she be not the individual, who wasp—
remain, dear Lord Tavistock, yours very truly.
( Signed) " HASTINGS."
unwin, Marquis of Tavistock in reply, stated that he was
Inn'
La,even now, to name the übject of the letter to
The
ra;istock, and should not tills he received an answer.
ue next day, however, he wrote as follows,_
MARQUIS OF TAVISTOCK TO THE MARQUIS OF HASTINGS.
" Oakley, March 7, 1839.
" My dear Hastings—Since I wrote to you yesterday
I have bad some conversation with Lady Tavistock on this
unfortunate subject, without saying that I had heard from
You. I find that the case, so far as she was concerned, lies
in a nutshell; therefore, I may as well state it to you at
once.

" When she went to Buckingham Palace, just before
the meeting of Parliament, to attend the Qu en to he
theatres and the House of Lords, she was inf.rined (ii the
°Pinion that had unhappily been entertained with respect
t° Your sister's state of health, and was requested to name it
to Lord Melbourne, as the proper person to advise upon it.
Her first impulse was to mention it herself to Lody. Flora,
as the more direct and friendly course, coosci us that the
opinion in question was altogether erroneous, or that she
must have been married clandestinely. This feeling was
Overruled however, by considerations which I need not de-
!a.il to you. She accordingly told Lord Melbourne just
what I have repeated to you, stating to him also her first
intention of speaking to Lady Flora.
;i" I did not ask Lady Tavistock, nor did she tell me (for
:le is one of the most discreet of ladies), from whom she
had received her information, nor do I think she would feel
jast
"ided in doing so under any circumstances.
lOf course she must take the responsibility of having
tilatned the subject to Lord Melbourne and to Lord Mel-
"erle only. She considered it the best course to be
adopted, and there she left it. Soon after this she left
r
mldon with me, and has since been informed, much to her
Y and relief, from her successor in waiting ( Lady Portman ),
thhat there is no foundation whatever for the suspicion that
ad been excited. On every account, on Lady Flora's, and
Yours especially, she has been much distressed, but is con-
suious of having acted for the best in the painful position in
which she was placed. Having now, my dear Hastings,
stated to you without reserve, all Lady Tavistock has told
oe that :s essential to her part of the case, I hope you will
lt press me to do more, for I must tell you fairly that
,do not think she will give up her authority—even to me.
allude to the opinion of the medical attendant, which you
are aware was borne out by appearances. It has been an
Unfortunate business, but I am persuaded that the best in-
tention prevailed among the few that were concerned in it.
" Your feelings have been naturally roused and your
suspicions excited ; but, after the danger you have lately
Witnessed of forming opinions rashly, I hope you will do
nothing publicly, except upon the fullest consideration and
the best advice.
" Pray pardon this piece of gratuitous counsel, given in
tae sincerity of friendship and regard ; and believe me,
dear Hastings, ever truly yours,

'tilled to continue and spread, without some step being
take,: to put a stop to them. Observing the opinion in
question was borne out by appearances, and cone, iving that
Lady Flora might have been privately married, I felt much
desire to :.13,0k to lo.r t once upon the subject ; but cir-
cumstances orcuried which prevented my carrying this
wish into uff•et, and rendered it my painful duty to inform
the Prime Minister of the opinion that had been unfortu-
nately entertained. I hope I did so in the most delicate
and cautious manner, and for this I consider myself re-
sponsible.
" ANNA MARIA TAVISTOCK.

" Oakley, March 15 1839."
CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE MAR-
QUIS OF HASTINGS AND LORD PORTMAN.
THE MARQUIS OF HASTINGS TJ LORD PORTMAN,

" March 7, 1839.
"My Lord,—l have been prevented from sooner writing
to you by the expectation of receiving an answer from
Lord Tavistock on the subject of the late disgraceful
attack on the character of my sister, Lady Flora Hastings.
My purport in now writing to your Lordship, is to know
whether Lady Portman's suspicions were suggested to her,
or occurred to herself ; and what communication, if any,
passed between her Ladyship and the Baroness Lehzen.
I wrote firA to Lord Tavistock, Lady Tavistock's name
having been frst mentioned to me by Lord Melbourne.—l
have the honour to be, my Lord, your obedient servant,
" HASTINGS."
LORD PORTMAN TO THE MARQUIS OF HASTINGS. •

" Bryanston, March 12, 1839.
"My Lord,--I have this day received your letter of the
7th of March. I havo the honour of reminding your Lord-
ship that Lady Portman remained in London for the
purpose of personally affording you any explanation of
facts that you might require, and did not have the Palace
until you had declined to see her. Under these circum-
stances I must decline to give you any answer to any
isolated questions that you may ask ; but I shall be most
happy to receive you here at any time, or to receive you at
6, Belgrave-square, on our return to London in April,
that Lady Portman may personally inform you most fully
of such facts as are within her knowledge, and connected
with the discharge of her duty on the late painful occasion.
" I have the honour to be your Lordship's very obedient
" The Marquis of Hastings. " PORTMAN."