Charles Audley Posted 18 hours ago Share Posted 18 hours ago The letter was written in a strong, elegant, slightly sloping hand, in black ink on fine quality paper. It was accompanied by four quail and two bottles of Chatham's favourite Rhenish wine. After the requisite salutations and courtesies it read: Quote Your Highness, I am aware that you are, even at the best of times, a man burdened with many cares and responsibilities, with a great many calls on your time and attention, and that a court season at Windsor is far from the best of times in this regard. I shall therefore first beg your indulgence and forgiveness for the unsolicited nature of this missive, and then come straight to the point, the better to avoid wasting your valuable time. For some months now, an idea has been germinating in my mind, an idea as to how to secure and increase our access to gunpowder. It is my belief this idea, properly implemented, would be of great benefit to the security and power of his Majesty's Realms. I worry, however, that having cherished this notion for so long, I may not be best placed to objectively assess its merits and the practicality of its execution. Your Highness is uniquely qualified, as both a man of science and a man of arms, to perform such an assessment, and so I write to ask if it would be possible for me to meet your Highness to present this idea in detail, and for your Highness to offer your opinion as to its feasibility and any benefit it might offer to Crown and State. Your Servant, Chatham. Charles was not exactly best pleased with the missive, but he had vacillated more than enough on this matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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