had, thirty-three years before, been compelled to turn away.
'I was the first person,' Lord Granville writes, 'who told him of the probability of the Governor-Generalship of India being offered to him. He at once discussed it, and seemed inclined to accept it. It was an interesting conversation. We had travelled by rail to Windsor, attended service at St. George's, and rode to Cleveden, where we had tea; and then dined at Salt Hill. His departure, and that of the beautiful and clever Lady Canning, created a great void in a very intimate society. Lord Palmerston gave me leave to write all Cabinet secrets to him while in India. ... His departure for India deprived me of the most valuable assistance I ever had in speaking. He always gave me his opinion on my speeches. I knew his criticisms to be exactly what he thought, and I had absolute confidence in his judgment. There was no question, from the most important points of public and private life to the shape of a saddle, on which I did not desire his advice. He was one of my greatest friends. I am not sure that he was the most intimate. He had some natural reserve, and, on the other hand, I should not willingly have told him of things that I had said or done of which I was ashamed.'
On August 1st, 1855, Lord Canning was introduced at a Court of Directors and took the customary oath of office. In the evening he attended the banquet, with which, in that hospitable epoch, the Company
