v ‘ 0 A W E E K A T I N 181 5 LADY DE LANCEY’S NAR R ATI VE BEING AN ACCO UNT O F HOW SHE NURSED HE R HUSBAND COLONEL S IR WI LLIAM OWE E , H D - LANCEY , Q UARTE R MASTE R GE NE RAL O F THE AR MY MORTALLY WOUN E IN THE R EAT , D D G BATTLE MAJOR B WAR D E DITE D BY . R R O Y AL EN G INE E R S LONDO N JO HN MUR R AY , ALBE MARLE STR E E T 1906 “ D im i s t he ru m u r o f a c mm n fi ht o o o g , When h st meet s h st and man names are su nk o o , y ; ” Bu t o f a s i n le c mb at Fame s ak s c ear g o pe l . —Sokrab a nd R ustum . LIST O F ILLUSTR AT IO N S 5 f MAJO R WILLIAM HOW D A Y 4 th R . O E E L NCE , egt F 00 F rom a miniature in the ossessio n 0. 18 . oot, p Wm Hea thco te D e Lance o New Y k F r nt s of . y f or o i piece THE O LD OSS O I R WM Y r c i v G C S . D A R F E L NCE , e e ed af r rvi n i n th e in la r Wa r i te se g Pen su , w th a fo r Ta av ra i v a am a n a San cl sps l e , N e, S l c , d Vi i I n th s ssi n a ian an r a . e se o o Seb st , tto p o f F ace p . 10 D D Y Y F m in tur a . r a m ia e er J . LA DE LANCE . o fl E nglelzea rt PART OF AN AUTOGRAPH LETTER OF S I R WALTER SCOTT P O A O H O H L S I K S ART F AN UT G RAP LETTER F C AR E D C EN . COLO L S I R WILLIAM HOWE D A Y c . 1813 NE E L NCE , MAP OF PART OF THE BATTLEFIELD OF WATERLOO THE VILLAG O MO ST J A 1815 E F NT E N, THE WATERLOO MEMORIAL IN E VERE CEMETERY 49 53 7 7 A WE E K AT WATE R LO O IN 1 81 5 I NTR ODUCTION E TH following narrative, written over eighty years ago, and now at last given to the world in 1906 . , is remarkable in many respects A It is remarkable for its subject, for its style, and for its literary history . — — The subject a deathbed scene might seem e Th at first sight to b a trite and common one . e - - — — mise en scene the Field Of Waterloo alone however redeems it from such a charge ; and the principal actors play their part in no common - place “ ” or unrelieved tragedy . Certainly, as Bacon V retiou s says, ertue is like p Odours, most fragrant when they are incensed o r crushed : F o r Pr osp er ity doth best discover Vice ; But Adversity doth best ” discover Vertue . to will f to As the style, it be su ficient quote the authority Of Dickens for the statement that no o ne but Defoe could have told the story in fiction . A 2 A WEE K AT WATERLOO I ts literary history is even more remarkable than either its style or its subject . It is no exaggeration to say o f the narrative as Bacon said Of the Latin volume o f his E ssays R ” that it may last as long as ookes last . And yet it has remained in manuscript fo r more than eighty a T ye rs . his is probably unique in the history Of o f literature since the Invention Printing . As regards the hero of the narrative, the Duke o f Wellington once said that he was an excellent f O ficer, and would have risen to great distinction ” 1 had he lived . Captain Arthur Gore, who afterwards became - to Lieutenant General Gore, alludes him in the following terms : This incomparable Officer was s uk o f de ervedly esteemed by the D e Wellington, who honoured him wi th his particular confidence ” 2 and regard . His ancestors, for several generations, had been men Of great distinction, and he undoubtedly inherited their great qualities in a very high degree . 1 tes o C nversati ns with the D ulce o Wellin t n b E ar No f o o f g o , y l a . 183 . St nhope, p 2 E x lanato N tes on the Battle Waterl b a ai p ry o of oo, y C pt n Ar G r 1817 . 83 . thur o e, , p I NTRO D U CTI O N 3 The De Lancey family is o ne o f Huguenot E origin, the founder Of the family%: tienne De fio m F o f Lancey, having fled rance at the time the 5 R evocation o f the Edict Of Nantes in 16 8 . The following extracts treating o f the family ’ history are taken from Appleton s Cyclopoedia of r a h Amer i can Bi og p y . he E F T author Of the articles, dward loyd De 2 1821 Lancey, was born in , and died at Ossining, Y o n 7th r 1905. o ne N . , the Ap il At time he held the position o f President Of the New York Genea logical Society, and has done a great deal of work in the field o f historical research . Etienne De Lancey (great - grandfather Of Sir was F William De Lancey), born in Caen, rance, 1 I n Fren ch annals the fa mily c an be tra ced b ack to the ’ f r rs W o f i o a ar . Th e rs a O t me the Hund ed Ye fi t the n me, f r is an a n i r r was G u La ne whom the e y uthe t c eco d, y de y, Vi c La va et i in 1432 O rin omte de l de Nouv on, who held f the P ce Bi s O La and vi n v i a s an d rri ri s a i s hop f on Nou o , ll ge te to e few m le a i Hist o New Yo r/c durin the R evo lu south Of th t c ty . See ory f g ti na Wa r b T m a n i b E ar F D e o ry , y ho s Jo es, ed ted y dw d loyd c v o l i d Dicti nnaire de la blesse d F r e La . 651 an o e anc n ey, , p , No , i vo l . v iii . Lane , t tle y . 2 ’ Fo r i ra i a s s ee A C clo cedia VO L 1L b og ph c l ketch, ppleton s y p , , 1 p . 30. 4 A WEEK AT WATERLO O 24th October 16 63 ; and died in the city of New 18th N 1741. York, ovember Having been com elled to F o n p , as a Protestant, leave rance the revocation o f the Edict o f Nantes (18th October he escaped into Holland . Deciding to become a British subject and to emigrate to E America, he crossed to ngland and took the oath New Of allegiance to James II . He landed in th 1 7 686 . York, June His mother had given him, on his departure from Caen, a portion of the family 300 . £ jewels He sold them for , became a merchant, and amassed a fortune of He married Cortlandt Anne, second daughter of Stephanus van , 23rd 1 January 700. He took a prominent part in f r o f New public af airs, representing the fou th ward 1691- 93 o f York as alderman in , and was a member - Assembly for twenty four years . While sitting in the latter body he gave his salary, during one session, to purchase the first town - clock erected in New York ; and with the aid of his partner imported and presented to the city the first fir e- engine that The D e had been brought into the province . E 1700 Lancey house, built by tienne in upon a piece o f - in- land given to him by his father law, is now the I NTRO D UCTI O N 5 f New Oldest building in the city o York . Mr De Lancey was buried in the family vault in Trinity New Church, York . T hi a ft hree of s sons, J mes, Peter, and Oliver, le Of descendants . Descendants the eldest son, James, amongst whom were included Edward Floyd De Lancey, the historian of the family, are resident in o f New N Y the city York, and also at Ossining, . o f no w Descendants the second son, Peter, are 2 o f N living in the county Annapolis, ova Scotia . The f o f third son, Oliver, grand ather the hero of E the present narrative, went to ngland after the R No f evolutionary War .