The Life of the Rt Hon Canning Author:Robert Bell General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1846 Original Publisher: Chapman and Hall Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you ca... more »n select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: II. BOYHOOD. WINCHESTER. ETON. THE MICROCOSM.- -- OXFORD. The childhood of George Canning was passed under the inauspicious guardianship of Mr. Reddish, whose disorderly habits excluded the possibility of moral or intellectual training. The profligacy of his life communicated its reckless tone to his household, and even the material wants of his family were frequently neglected to feed his excesses elsewhere. Yet, amid these unpropitious circumstances, the talents of the child attracted notice ; and Moody, the actor, who had constant opportunities of seeing him, became strongly interested in his behalf. Moody was a blunt, honest man, of rough bearing, but of the kindliest disposition; and foreseeing that the boy's ruin would be the inevitable consequence of the associations by which he was surrounded, he resolved to bring the matter at once under the notice of his uncle, Mr. Stratford Canning. The step was a bold one ; for there had been no previous intercourse between the families, although the boy was then seven or eight years old. But it succeeded. Moody drew an indignant picture of the boy's situation ; declared that he was on the highroad to the " gallows" (that was the word); dwelt upon the extraordinary promise he displayed; and warmly predicted that, if proper means were taken for bringing him forward in the world, he would one day become a great man. Mr. Stratford Canning was at first extremely unwilling to interfere; and it was not until the negotiation was taken up by other branchesof the family, owing to honest Moody's perseverance, that he ultimately ...« less