It has been suggested by Byron's enemies that he flattered himself with the notion of some day becoming King of Greece, and that his conduct during the latter part of his life was influenced by ambition. The idea is, of course, absurd. No one knew better than Byron that the Greek _leaders_ were not disposed to accept a King at that time. He also knew that, in order to attain that position, it would have been necessary to have recourse to measures which were utterly repugnant to his deep sense of humanity and justice. That Byron may have been sounded by some of the intriguing chieftains with some such suggestion is more than probable, but he was far too honest to walk into the snare. One day he said to Parry: 'I have experienced, since my arrival at Missolonghi, offers that would surprise you, were I to tell you of them, and which would turn the head of any man less satiated than I am, and more desirous of possessing power than of contributing to freedom and happiness. To all these offers, and to every application made to me, which had a tendency to provoke disputes or increase discord, I have always replied: "I came here to serve Greece; agree among yourselves for the good of your country, and whatever is your _united_ resolve, and whatever the Government commands, I shall be ready to support with my fortune and my sword." We who came here to fight for Greece have no right to meddle with its internal affairs, or dictate to the people or Government.' That Byron, if he had lived, and if he had chosen to _usurp_ power, could have made himself a Dictator admits of no doubt. In the then state of that distracted country, and the well-known mercenary disposition of the Greeks, he might with his dollars have raised an army which would have made him supreme in Greece. 'No single chieftain,' Parry says, '_could_ have resisted; and all of them would have been compelled--because they would not trust one another--to join their forces with Byron's. The whole of the Suliotes were at his beck and call. He could have procured the assassination of any man in Greece for a sum too trifling to mention.' But Byron had no such views; he never wished to possess political power in Greece. He had come to serve the Greeks on their own conditions, and nothing could have made him swerve from that intention. Byron's talk with Trelawny at Cephalonia on this subject was not serious, and it took place before he had mastered all the perplexing problems connected with Greece. It is to Byron's lasting credit that, with so many opportunities for self-aggrandizement, he should have proved himself so unselfish and high-minded.