-ffiT. 42.] QUEEN CAROLINE. 353 



that among the advisers of her going abroad was Can- 

 ning. This he owned in the House of Commons, in 

 the debate of 1820, upon her return. Neither Whit- 

 bread nor I were at all aware of it ; and this was one 

 of the instances of which I always complained of her 

 listening to persons whose interference we were not 

 apprised of. We never could object to her asking 

 the opinion or even taking the advice of others ; but 

 we had good right to complain if she consulted per- 

 sons without letting us know who they were. While 

 she remained abroad, many rumours, of course, reached 

 this country ; but I had accounts which I could better 

 rely upon from those in her suite, and there was great 

 ground for alarm at the carelessness with which she 

 suffered strangers to make her acquaintance, and of 

 her gaiety and love of amusement leading her into 

 the society of foreigners, and thus exposing her to the 

 constant risk of false reports being conveyed to Eng- 

 land by the spies set about her. Nothing, however, 

 was done until the Princess Charlotte's death removed 

 one of her steady friends, with whom it was not 

 thought convenient to renew a quarrel that had 

 proved injurious to all but herself. When she no 

 longer remained to take her mother's part, the Com- 

 mission was sent to Milan, and then it was quite mani- 

 fest that measures were prepared to attack her. My 

 correspondence with some friends of the Princess, on 

 whom I could entirely depend as Sir William Gell, the 

 Miss Berrys, Lady Charlotte Lindsay, and Lady Glen- 

 bervie made it quite clear that, after her daughter's 

 death, she had given up all wish to return ; but that 

 the vexation of the constant spies she was beset by, 

 and all the mean contrivances to lower her in the 

 VOL. IT. z 



