478 STATE OF PARTIES. [1827. 



she could not last many days. Her confessor per- 

 suaded Lord Wellesley that, as she was on her death- 

 bed, he ought to enable her to receive the last sacra- 

 ment of her Church by marrying her, which he did. 

 He then went to Eton for a week, to be out of the 

 way till all was over, and he told the butler to write 

 to him the moment the event took place. He received 

 no letter, and after some days returned to town. 

 When he saw the butler, he asked when it had 

 happened. "Happened!" he said; "Milady is in the 

 drawing-room at luncheon, and has been quite well 

 these three days ; " and so she continued for some 

 years; but from that time he made her live in a 

 house which, he took for her in Harley Street. 



The Duke prevailed, and Canning became Foreign 

 Secretary, and leader in the House of Commons. He 

 did nothing for the Catholic question, on various 

 pretences, but in reality because he was afraid of 

 setting the King against him, and of dividing the 

 Cabinet. But he took a sound and liberal part on 

 foreign affairs, and got rid of the embarrassment which 

 Castlereagh had left of the Holy Alliance, and generally 

 of the numerous Continental intrigues and the aggres- 

 sive views of the foreign courts. This naturally led 

 to a great inclination in his favour among the leading 

 Whigs, some of whom gave him a very hearty support. 

 He was very sensible of this, and I remember his 

 expressing himself strongly on this subject to Scarlett, 

 with whom he was intimate, saying to him "how grate- 

 ful he felt to me in particular for the part I had taken 

 on the Spanish question." All recollection of the 

 Liverpool contest had long since ceased. We continued 

 on the same friendly footing after he became leader 



