singing of royal songs he not only beat time to the chorus, but
actually accompanied it with his voice. His parting words when he was
leaving the shores of Scotland were the deep-toned and thrilling
benediction, "God bless you all!" The loyal chroniclers of the time
proclaimed that the visit to Scotland was a perfect success, and if the
loyal chroniclers at the time were not in a position to know, how can
we of a later date, who had not the advantage of being present at the
scene, or even of being alive at the time, pretend to dispute the
accuracy of their estimate?

{31}

CHAPTER LXV.

GEORGE CANNING.

[Sidenote: 1720-87--Canning and the King]

[Transcriber's note: the above dates are what were in the book, but
1820-37 would seem more logical.]

We have seen how the course of the proceedings taken against the Queen
deprived the Liverpool Ministry of the services of its most brilliant
member, George Canning. Canning had made up his mind from the beginning
that he could not appear as one of the Queen's accusers, although he had
consented, as a compromise, to the omission of her name from the Royal
Liturgy. He had consented to this compromise because, although he did
not believe in the worst of the charges against the Queen, he could not
help admitting that there was much in her conduct which rendered her
unsuitable as the reigning consort of the King; and at the time he did
not understand that the King's disapproval of her actions was to take the
form of a prosecution and a demand for divorce. He had applied to the
King for leave to resign his office in the Ministry, and had only been
induced to remain on the understanding that he was not expected to take
any part in the public proceedings against the unhappy Caroline. When,
however, it became evident that the whole question would be raised in the
House of Commons, and that he must either give a silent assent to the
course taken by the King's advisers or publicly condemn it there, he felt
it his duty to send in his resignation of his place in the Ministry and
to stand by his resolve. Canning withdrew from office and became, for
the time, merely a private member of the House of Commons. King George
got it into his mind that his former minister had deserted his cause at
an anxious and critical moment, and the King, who was flighty enough in
most of his purposes, seldom forgot what he regarded as an injury. He
never forgave Canning, {32} although the