John Bartlett (1820–1905). Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. 1919.
Arthur Wellesley
| 1 |
| Nothing except a battle lost can be half so melancholy as a battle won. |
| Despatch, 1815. |
| 2 |
| It is very true that I have said that I considered Napoleon’s presence in the field equal to forty thousand men in the balance. This is a very loose way of talking; but the idea is a very different one from that of his presence at a battle being equal to a reinforcement of forty thousand men. |
| Mem. by the Duke, 1 Sept. 18, 1836. |
| 3 |
| Circumstances over which I have no control. 2 |
| Mem. by the Duke, 3 Sept. 18, 1836. |
| 4 |
| I never saw so many shocking bad hats in my life. 4 |
| Upon seeing the first Reformed Parliament. |
| 5 |
| There is no mistake; there has been no mistake; and there shall be no mistake. 5 |
| Letter to Mr. Huskisson. |
| Note 1. Stanhope: Conversations with the Duke of Wellington, p. 81. [back] |
| Note 2. This phrase was first used by the Duke of Wellington in a letter, about 1839 or 1840.—Sala: Echoes of the Week, in London Illustrated News, Aug. 23, 1884. Greville, Mem., ch. ii. (1823), gives an earlier instance. [back] |
| Note 3. Stanhope: Conversations with the Duke of Wellington, p. 81. [back] |
| Note 4. Sir William Fraser, in “Words on Wellington” (1889), p. 12, says this phrase originated with the Duke. Captain Gronow, in his “Recollections,” says it originated with the Duke of York, second son of George III., about 1817. [back] |
| Note 5. This gave rise to the slang expression, “And no mistake.”—Words on Wellington, p. 122. [back] |