Note 1 — Chapter XXVIII
Reading edition
The famous duel between Castlereagh and Canning—those, unhappily, were still the days of duels in England—was supposed to have taken place because Canning had ousted Castlereagh from office. But on the authority of Lady Castlereagh, Sir W. Napier offered a different explanation. This was, that her husband might have been reinstated in office if only he would have agreed to “sacrifice the reputation of Sir John Moore.” Such a proposal was, as the stern old historian writes, “an insult well answered with a shot.”—Life of Sir Charles Napier, by Sir W. Napier.